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Author"s Note: This is my Christmas present to all of my fans! Love you guys and I hope you enjoy Distant Dream. Today was a day like any other. He came by every afternoon after work around five fifteen sharp to see her, his sister. She resided on floor three room 307 B, and she was dying unless she was given a heart transplant in the next few months. The odds of that happening in three months were slim since she had been placed on a waiting list nine months long. "Hello Mr. Oswald how are you this afternoon?" the well groomed female nurse named Rita greeted him as usual just like every day he visited. She was tall and slender with wavy brown hair and painted red lips. She had piercing cerulean eyes and looked like she"d stepped out of Vogue. "I"m well and you?" he replied back courteously trying to sound as pleasant as possible. He knew where this was going. Rita asked him out at least once a week. "Just fine, my shift ends in a couple of hours, and I was wondering if you might want to get a cup of coffee or something?" She stated invitingly as she twirled a strand of hair flirtingly. "No thanks. You know that I"m only here for one reason." He chided ignoring her completely and walking towards the elevator. It wasn"t uncommon for him to be asked out. He was a very attractive man with a tall physique, broad shoulders, muscular build, and silvery white hair. He pushed the button for the third floor and waited for the ride. Leon hadn"t been in a relationship that he could recount. He"d never really taken the time for them since his life revolved around her. She was his sister and the only family he had left. They had been inseparable since childhood. He remembered of being a boy of only five and seeing her for the first time. Flashback "What"s her name?" asked the little boy gazing over his mother"s shoulder. "Her name is Sophie. Would you like to hold your new baby sister Leon? "His mother asked lovingly holding out the tiny baby in a pink blanket. Leon nodded softly and held out his arms carefully. His mother gingerly handed him the bundle, and he took her carefully into his arms. He gazed into her soft blue eyes in wonderment as she peered up at him, smiling. "Sophie." He said tenderly as he cradled her gently. She cooed as she fisted a strand of his silvery hair, creating a bond between them instantly. Flashback End Sophie had always had a feeble heart, but she had presently outlived what the doctors had expected. She was only supposed to live to see her twelfth birthday, but she was now eighteen and had already beaten the odds of her condition. Leon walked into the dimly lit fluorescent room to see her enraptured in a book. He knocked lightly on the door almost causing her to drop the hardback. "Leon you almost gave me a heart attack!" she squealed. "Could you not have chosen a better choice of wording?" he cringed at her unpleasant humor. "Sorry." She apologized for being desensitized by her ailment. "It"s all right." He responded having a seat in the chair beside her bed. "So which nurse asked you out today?" she teased. "Rita." He said rolling his eyes. "She"s the pretty one, what did you say?" she prodded. "no." he said wryly. "You"re such a meanie butt! One day there"s going to be someone you really like, and she"s going to turn you down!" she shot at him. "I doubt it." He smiled one of those smiles only she ever got to see. "I think I"m right." She stated proudly. "And why is that?" he sneered. "Because I"m always right." She smirked, resulting in a flood of laughter. Visiting hours were soon over as he walked into the dark parking garage to his car. He saw the most unusual thing as he approached his car. There stood a girl fishing for her keys with a coat hanger. "Stupid short arms!" she cursed under her breath as she tried effortlessly to retrieve her keys. Leon stood there for a moment watching this amusing scene right before his eyes. The girl was about five foot two with obsolete cherry colored hair. She looked to be around eighteen with a very plan anatomy, nothing that he would gawk at or cause him to do a double take in public. "May I help you miss?" Leon found himself saying. He had no idea why he was helping this stranger. It was no concern of his. The girl looked up at him vigilantly. "I"ve locked my keys in my car and have no way to get home. Could you give me a ride? I don"t live far." She said cautiously. "Sure." Leon shrugged pointing in the direction of his car. The girl hopped in on the passenger side and immediately buckled up. "Where do you live?" he asked starting the car. "I live in Rose Creek apartments about a mile from here." She told him. Leon looked at her rather surprised, "It"s rather funny that we live in the same apartment complex." "You live in Rose Creek apartments too?" she questioned. "Yes but I"ve never seen you there before." He commented as he changed lanes. "I just moved in a couple of weeks ago." She responded. "Well then where are you from?" he asked not sure why he was phishing for information from this girl. "I"m from the area, but I moved closer because my grandmother is in the hospital." She informed him. "I see." He said pulling into the apartment complex. They walked up two flights of stairs until the girl confirmed that they were at her apartment. Leon watched as she emptied her pockets searching for her keys. "I must have lost them." She sighed quietly staring at the floor. "It"s no big deal, why don"t you come over to my place. I"ll let you use the phone." He offered. "Thanks but I don"t want to trouble you. I"ll just sleep outside my apartment tonight." She retorted as she curled in a ball beside the door. "That"s nonsense, you will stay with me tonight!" he blurted out regretting it. Her eyes lit up as she stood up and smiled at him like he"d just given her the greatest gift in the world, "Really?" "Yes I insist." He replied shoving his foot in his mouth again, leading her to his apartment and unlocking it. "Thank you so much! I will pay you back for sure!" she chirped. "That won"t be necessary. You may sleep on the couch. There are clean linens in the closet, and I"ll fetch you some clothes. You look to be about my sisters size." He said curtly. "You have a sister...What"s her name?" she queried mystically looking at him with sincere brown eyes. "Sophie." He simply stated as he fetched her pair of pajamas. He came back to see her admiring his paintings hanging on the wall. "How do you like my work?" he questioned startling her. "You painted these?" she asked in admiration. "Yes I did." He replied smiling faintly. "They"re wonderful!" she beamed. "Thank you." He replied as he handed her the pajamas. "Bathrooms down the hall for you to change in and use as you please. I will call someone to come unlock your car in the morning." He retorted before walking off. "Sora." She said loud enough for him to hear. "What?" he inquired turning around. "My name is Sora, Sora Naegino. I forgot to introduce myself earlier." She stammered nervously. "Leon Oswald." He stated before retiring to his bedroom, wondering why she"d played upon his thoughts the entire night. The following morning he awoke to a delightful aroma wafting into his bedroom. He rubbed his tired eyes and looked at the clock. It was five thirty in the morning. He could"ve slept another hour but decided to get up and investigate. He threw on a pair of blue jeans and a wife beater and headed towards the kitchen. He walked in to find loads of food occupying the table from crepes, buttered toast, sausage, bacon, biscuits, and an assortment of fruit. "You"re up!" smiled Sora frying an egg. "What"s all this and where did this food come from?" he demanded. "I went shopping this morning and this is thank you for yesterday. You clearly never have a nice hot breakfast very much according to your food supply." She retorted pointing to his bare cupboards. "I live alone, so I don"t need much food." He remarked. "Have a seat and partake of this spread!" she commanded scooting a chair under him and pushing him up to the table. "Um thank you." He cleared his throat, eyeing all the delicacies. Leon found himself loading his plate with food and wondering why the whole time. He had only met this girl yesterday and now she was cooking him breakfast! "Would you like some orange juice?" she offered "Sure." He said civilly as she filled his glass. "Aren"t you going to eat?" he probed. "Of course I am!" she laughed filling her plate higher than his and finishing before he even took his first bite. He was appalled at how much one tiny girl could eat. "Is it good?" she questioned. "Delicious." He nodded. Leon eyed the clock to see that it read six thirty, "I have to start getting ready for work but thanks for breakfast." "You"re welcome!" she chimed gathering up the dishes to wash. "That"s really unnecessary." He objected. "Someone has to clean up." She replied. "I"ll do it after I get off work." He stated. "I really see that happening." She giggled as she began to gather up the dishes. Leon shrugged and went off to start a shower. He wasn"t used to all this hospitality. Why had he bumped into her the previous night in the parking garage? There had to be some reason. He couldn"t figure out why he was so drawn to her. She was plain compared to most women that hit on him. He was almost sad to let her go, but he would never admit it. They drove in silence back to the parking garage to find that her car was gone, "Where"s your car?" he questioned. "Oh it"s all right I"ve already taken care of it." She stated. "Okay well where will you go from here?" he inquired. "I"m going to visit grandmother, she"s on the fourth floor and I usually spend time with her every day." She explained. "Okay well be careful." He said bidding her goodbye. He could"ve swore when he drove off that he could see only a glimmer of light where she stood. Had it all been a dream? He felt like he was in a daze the rest of the day as he organized files and graded papers. He was an art teacher at a local high school in town. He didn"t favor teaching all that much because he would rather work from home and paint but things had gotten a lot tighter with Sophie in the hospital. He had taken the job to bring in the extra income to help out with her medical bills. The students he taught had either taken the class for two reasons, they needed an elective to fill in the gap so they could graduate, or they had failed algebra and needed a quick filler so that they could pass for the year. Leon was very anal about grades and didn"t pass anyone with an A unless they deserved it which would result in a few angry parents every semester lecturing him about how their precious son or daughter had never made less than an A in any course. Leon didn"t care for politics and refused to pass a freeloader. Leon walked into the hospital after a long day of work. It was Friday thankfully which meant he wouldn"t have to see any hormonal adolescents for two days. Rita didn"t greet him today; instead she snubbed her nose at him. It was a relief not to draw any attention to himself. He was just about to walk into the elevator when Sora walked out. "I didn"t expect to see you here." She said startled by his entrance. "I come here every afternoon." He retorted. "Well I was just about to head home." She replied about to leave, but he stopped her abruptly. "Why don"t you come over around seven, and I"ll make dinner for you." He found himself requesting. "You cook?" she quizzed. "A few dishes." He retorted. "All right I"ll see you at seven then." She said cheerfully prancing off. Had he just asked her out? He couldn"t believe what he"d just done. He had never dated anyone in his life and for some reason he didn"t want to mess this one up. He sauntered off towards Sophie"s room wondering what in the world he was going to do now. Sophie was knitting some pink baby booties when he walked in. One of her favorite things to do was to make baby booties for all the newborns in the birthing wing. She claimed it helped her relax and take her mind off herself. Sophie was always cheerful and never down no matter how sick she was. She was always thinking of ways to help others. "How are you today brother?" she greeted him sunnily. "I"m fine." He responded without drawing any further details about his encounter with Sora. "You seem different." She commented as she put her knitting away. "I"m the same old Leon." He told her but she could see through his façade. "What"s her name?" she pressed. "Sora..." he whispered to where she couldn"t hear. "What"s that? You"re going to have to speak louder!" she exclaimed. "Her name is Sora! Why does it matter!" he protested. "Because you"re my brother." She smiled. "Do you have fun torturing me?" he bellyached. "Any chance I get." She snickered as she picked back up her knitting. Leon had decided that he would make something simple but satisfactory. He was not a man of gourmet meals, and he knew if he"d tried to make one that it would end in a fiasco, so he settled on spaghetti. Who could go wrong with spaghetti? Leon had the table set, a candle lit, and soft music playing by six forty-five. He took out a bottle of champagne from his chateau and set it in the middle of the table. Did she even drink or was she even old enough to drink? He was suddenly greeted by a soft knock. He went to the door and opened it to reveal her standing there with her hair pulled back, wearing a dark crimson dress that came to her knees, with diamond studs in her ears. She wore black heels and carried a black handbag. "Wow you look stunning." He complimented unable to stop staring. "Thank you." She blushed. "I had no idea what I should wear, so I dressed up." She told him. "Well you look amazing. Why don"t you step into my kitchen?" he invited. "I"d love to!" she smiled walking into the kitchen. "It looks lovely and smells good!" she expressed. "Let"s just hope it tastes good!" Leon remarked as he pulled a chair out for her. "What a gentleman you are Mr. Oswald!" she applauded as he sat down across from her. "I try." He replied as he uncorked the champagne bottle. "Would you like some?" he offered. "I"d love some!" she smiled holding out her glass. He filled her glass as it bubbled and fizzed leaving a mauve froth on the sides of the glass. "Would you like a toast?" he queried. "Yes to a long happy and healthy life!" she said raising her glass into the air. "To a long happy and healthy life!" he repeated clacking his glass against hers. They ate dinner peacefully as she chatted away about her life and all the places she"d been. She told him how she was hoping to settle down here and make a life for herself and that she hated moving from place to place. "You know you really can cook!" she complimented as she took another bite of spaghetti. He noticed a little sauce on her upper lip; he immediately took his napkin and wiped her lip gently. "Sorry sometimes my mouth tends to run a little faster than I can chew." She blushed. "That"s all right. I"m just glad you like my cooking." He chuckled. "So do you have any family that lives around here?" she queried. "I have one sister who stays in the same hospital as your grandmother, her name is Sophie." He replied taking a sip of his champagne, eyes darkening. "I"m very sorry." She said softly touching his hand gently. He was quiet startled by her gesture and did what he felt like doing all night. He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the chair, with one hand placed on the small of her back, he dipped her back into a mesmerizing kiss. She fell smoothly into his arms as he pulled at the tie in her hair as it fell fluidly around her shoulders. He carried her bridal style into the bedroom and placed her gently on the bed, leaving soft trails of kisses down her neck. He stopped and looked deeply into her russet colored eyes. She said nothing but her eyes said everything and that was the only confirmation he needed. She never had to say anything to tell him that she was his, he knew by every gentle kiss and touch she imparted. He was like a thirsty deer that panted for a drink, and she was his brook. The love they made that night felt like a cleansing rain to his soul washing away the pain he felt. He knew for one night that he could cast away all his cares of tomorrow and just let love in. He awoke the following morning to his blaring alarm clock. He hit it with his fist attempting to shut it off. He reached out to touch her supple skin, but he only felt air. He opened his eyes to see that she wasn"t there so he immediately jumped up to hunt for her. He searched every nook and cranny of his apartment, but she was nowhere to be found. He noticed she"d left her black purse lying on the couch. He knew he shouldn"t be nosey but why would she leave her purse? He looked inside to find a dead cellphone, a set of car keys, a broken mirror, an empty tube of lipstick and a wallet. He opened the wallet to find a small calendar that was more than three years old, old pictures of her and an expired driver"s license. Why did she have all this junk in her purse for? It made no sense. He grabbed his keys and started his car and headed to the hospital. He ran into the front lobby and looked Rita in the eye. "Rita how many older patients do you have on the fourth floor?" he demanded. "There are lots Mr. Oswald, why?" she questioned rather baffled by his sudden entrance. "I"m looking for an older woman with a granddaughter that comes by to visit every day!" He replied hastily. "That describes many of our patients Mr. Oswald." She remarked. "Rita her granddaughter has unusual cherry colored hair." He described. "What"s her name?" Rita inquired sifting through some files. "Sora Naegino." He spat out. "Mr. Oswald the only Sora Naegino I know in this hospital is a patient here." She stated. "What do you mean!" he countered. "Sora started visiting her grandmother in the hospital about four years ago. She was very cheerful and the entire staff adored her. Her grandmother was a cancer patient here, and Sora was on her way here one afternoon after school as always. She was crossing the street and was hit head on by a car. She has been in a coma ever since. The doctors aren"t sure if she will ever wake up." Rita explained. Leon felt as if he"d been shot in the head and remembered it. "Mr. Oswald are you okay?" Rita asked. "Yes I had the wrong person. Sorry..." He said shaking it off and walking towards the double doors. "Wait Mr. Oswald!" Rita yelled catching up to him. He spun around to look at her, "I"m not really sure what"s going on here but if you"re interested, the Sora Naegino I was referring to is in room 208 A. She doesn"t get many visitors and I"m sure would love some company." She informed him. "We"ll see." He said before walking out into the crisp cold air. He needed to clear his head and figure out if he was crazy or if this was anything short of a miracle. He didn"t believe in miracles. He didn"t visit Sophie in over a week. He just couldn"t bring himself to walk into that phantom dwelling. Had the beautiful lively girl he had made love to been an apparition? One day he could take it no longer and knew he could not run from her forever. He walked quietly into room 208 to see a girl hooked up to dozens of monitors and wires. He walked to her bedside and examined her features. Her hair was cherry red and very long. She had long finger nails and soft porcelain skin. He retch out to touch her face gently, stroking her cheek lightly. It was her. Leon didn"t try to figure it out, he just went with it. He began visiting her often, reading to her, and talking to her hoping that one day she would wake up and one day she did. He walked in one day to see her sitting up in bed looking out the window. "Sora..." he breathed. She turned around to face him with her hands in her lap. He longed to run to her and throw his arms around her, but he didn"t want to frighten her. "You"re the man from my dreams." She breathed. "It wasn"t a dream." He smiled walking to her and gently touching her hand. "What a peaceful dream I"ve been having. Is this a dream?" she asked in wonderment. "No this is real." He replied feeling tears roll down his cheeks. "I feel like I"ve had a really long nap." She retorted. "Something like that." He smiled The next few weeks Sora was required to learn to walk again and relearn the simple things she had forgotten. She had no living family left it turned out and no place to go, so he moved her in with him immediately. "Come on Leon let"s go see Sophie!" Sora said impatiently. "I"m coming." He reported as he put his coat on. "I"m so glad they found a donor for her." she said happily. "Me too and you know what else?" Leon reverberated. "What?" she inquired. "I"m glad I found you." He told her kissing her lips softly. "Me too." She smiled as they both walked outside arm and arm. It had begun to snow rebirthing a new life for all of them. The End A/AN: You may find this story to be a bit unusual but if you"ve seen the movie Charlie St. Cloud you would totally understand. I hope you all have enjoyed this story. I have especially loved writing it. I hope you all very Merry Christmas!

"Who"s there!?" gasped Miki startled. Suddenly a man appeared out of the shadows and Miki thought her heart had stopped. The man was very tall and guess what he looked just like Yuu. He had the exact same features. Every little detail was like Yuu"s even his accent. "Yuu...?" whispered Miki under her breath as Tenshi began to squirm restlessly in her arms. "Come on let me walk you home." replied the stranger. She didn"t know this man or were he had came from but something inside her trusted him. The man stuck his hand out towards Miki"s. "You coming?" he asked politely. "Sure..." she replied. She placed her hand in his. She thought she had touched those same hands before. I mean Yuu was dead this was not Yuu! He lifted her up as she held Tenshi close to her to keep her warm. "Here take my coat." he replied as he draped it across her shoulders. This man she"d just met was being very polite to her and she didn"t even know a thing about him. "Cute kid." he replied as he admired a sleeping Tenshi. "Thanks... She"s my daughter. I just had her last night." she replied as she looked down at the little baby that"s head barely peeped out of the blankets. "Then what are you doing all the way out here on such a snowy night." replied the man. "Nothing... Got lost." she said as she made up something quickly not wanting to go into major detail of what had happened earlier. "Were"s your husband?" replied the man. "He died a month ago." she replied as she looked down. "I"m sorry to hear that." he said as he looked down. The rest of the walk was silent. "This your house?" he asked as he pointed at her house. "Yes... How did you know?" she questioned him. "Lucky guess." he replied giving her sarcastic smile that almost reminded her of Yuu"s smile. He walked her to the door. She smiled. "Thanks." she replied. "Anytime." he replied as he walked off. "Hey what"s your name!?" yelled out Miki. "Oh you know me very well Miki Matsuura." he replied with a gleam in his eye and when she turned her head back around he was nowhere in sight. How weird and how did he know her name!? She walked inside and put Tenshi to bed in her little cradle Yuu had made for her himself. She then noticed Meiko had left a million messages on her answering machine but she"d call her tomorrow because it was getting late. She lied down in bed and kept wondering who that strange guy who looked so much like Yuu could be and then she fell asleep wondering about this great mystery. "It was just so weird Meiko the guy looked so much like Yuu..." replied Miki into the receiver as she sat in her comfortable fetal position on the couch. "Well you can"t trust everyone Miki-chan..." replied Meiko in a concerned tone. "I mean this guy could be some kind of rapist or something." proclaimed Meiko. "I don"t know but when he held my hand it felt like it was Yuu"s." replied Miki as she sighed passionately as she let his name escape her lips. "Just be careful Miki-chan... You have a baby now and it"s high time you start thinking of Tenshi-chan"s well being along with your own. Yuu would"ve wanted it that way." proclaimed Meiko. "Ok..." replied Miki as she sighed. "Miki-Chan I have to go to work ,but if you need anything just call me on my cell." replied Meiko. "Alright I will." replied Miki. "Ok I love you Miki-chan." replied Meiko. "Love you to Meiko." replied Miki as she hung up the phone. Miki sighed as she decided to check on Tenshi. She tiptoed quietly up the stairs and peeped in on her little one. She looked over in the crib as she seen Tenshi curled up in a little ball as she clutched the little blanket to her chest as if she was protecting it. She smiled and lightly kissed her forehead affectionately. She quietly tiptoed out of the room and quietly closed the door. Miki then decided she might go outside for a while so she quickly bundled up and walked outside. She took in the frost bit air and she then softly gazed at the mist of air in front of her. She then looked upon the white vast wonderland in her back yard. Suddenly as she had decided that the experience with that guy was probably just a dream. Yuu was dead and he wasn"t coming back and she was foolish to think that he was. "Hey what are you doing just standing there?" said a voice that cut right through Miki"s soul. The voice of Yuu and when she looked out there was the guy she"d met the night before skating on her pond. "Hey what are you doing on my property!?" demanded Miki furiously as she placed her hands on her hips. "Well no one seemed to have been taking advantage of this very nice skating spot so I didn"t think you"d mind. Care to join me?" he replied as he grinned. His grin reminded her so much of Yuu"s grin and before she even thought about skating with this guy something inside her made her reply. "Yes let me go get my skates." she quickly came out of the house and darted onto the ice and began to slip and slide and the mysterious man grabbed her hands and pulled her forward. "Hey gotta be careful." he replied in a concerned tone. "Yeah sorry I"m such a klutz." she said laughing and blushing. "Here let me show you." he replied as he began to lead her step by step in a slow motion. Then memories of Yuu flooded back into her mind. Her and Yuu would always skate on their little pond every winter. :::Flash Back::: "Come on you can do it." replied Yuu as he led Miki in a gently waltz along the ice. "Whoa! I"m gonna fall!" yelled out Miki sacredly as she began to slip and slide. "Hey just take it easy." replied Yuu as he grabbed onto her and showed her how. "Wow I"m doing it!" replied Miki very proud of herself as she skated on the ice firmly holding her balance and then she was caught off guard and fell onto the ice. "Man Miki your such a klutz." laughed Yuu as he skated around her. "Oh is that so?" replied Miki as she grabbed Yuu before he could say anything he had fallen beside Miki. "Whose the klutz now?" laughed Miki. "Were both klutzes aren"t we?" he laughed. "Yeah we are." laughed Miki as Yuu held her close to him. "I love you Miki-chan" replied Yuu. "I love you to Yuu." replied Miki as she snuggled into him as the snow fell. :::End of Flashback::: "Hey you ok?" replied the mysterious guy. "Yeah I"m fine." she replied as he led her once again on the ice. Soon she felt him drawing her closer and before she knew it he was kissing her. This kiss was Yuu"s kiss. The moment seemed to last forever as she let him kiss her and when she felt him draw away she opened her eyes. He was gone. The only thing that remained was falling snow. Maybe it had all been a dream... She didn"t know. She looked up into the now grey sky as the snow fell hanging by a moment. Time flowed by freely and Miki never seen the beloved face of the mysterious man that was identical to Yuu for nearly three whole years. She had put it behind her and had went on with her life. Right now she sat on the couch going through the bills and suddenly the sound of a little girl of about three filled the room. "Mommy look!" yelled out the brown pig-tailed toddler as she waddled into the room holding up a scribbled piece of paper very proud of her creation like it was a work of art. Miki put down the bill she was holding and adjusted her glasses as she scooped the child into her arms and let her set comfortably onto her leg. "What have you got here?" added Miki. "It"s a rainbow!" she said excitedly as she fidgeted on her leg. Miki very content with herself at the moment studied the picture carefully. There was a rainbow and under it stood three people. One which she knew was herself the other her daughter and then her eyes caught a glimpse of the man beside Tenshi. She traced her eyes very carefully over it. "Who"s this dear?" she asked as she pointed to the male figure. "That"s daddy!" said Tenshi happily. Tenshi had a picture of her daddy that Miki had given to her because she would always take it off the table and look at it so Miki just gave to her after she seen how much she adored it. She kept under her pillow for safe keeping and would always look at it until she fell asleep. Miki thought she was going to cry as she put the picture down and let tears escape her eyes as tiny beads of water dotted the picture. "Why you cry mommy?" asked Tenshi innocently as she looked at Miki in a confused manner. "It"s just I miss daddy so much." said Miki as she wrapped her arms around Tenshi"s small body and hugged her tightly. Soon Miki ended the hug and Tenshi looked up at her with big brown eyes. "But Daddy is here!" said Tenshi. Miki starred at her very puzzled. "What are you talking about sweetie?" asked Miki as she looked down at Tenshi. She probably figured this was another one of her silly childish games she had made up to try and jumble her brain with. "Daddy"s alive." replied Tenshi. "He"s dead sweetie and he"s never coming back." replied Miki bitterly as she gazed at Tenshi coldly. She felt pain and agony feel her heart. Tenshi looked at her innocently. "Daddy"s alive!" yelled Tenshi. "No he"s not Tenshi! You"re daddy"s dead and he"s never coming back! Do you understand me!?" replied Miki as she shook Tenshi violently. Tenshi"s eyes began to water as she began to cry. "You"re mean mommy!" cried out Tenshi as she jumped out of Miki"s arms and ran out of the living room and a few moments later she heard a door slam and Tenshi"s loud sobs fill the air. Miki felt herself crying as she fell down on her knees crying uncontrollably. So she was mean... Since Yuu had left emotions from all those years were left bottled up inside her soul ,and on occasions like this she would release many of those emotions on the people she loved. Sometimes she would even become violet and abusive ,and it was all Yuu"s fault... He had left her and when he had left part of her heart had went with him. "You know a pretty girl like you shouldn"t cry." replied a familiar voice. "Yuu..." Miki breathed silently to herself. She opened her tears gazed eyes as her vision became blurred as she knew she seen Yuu leaning up against a wall gazing at her. "Who are you!?" Miki stammered as she got up and almost fell backwards. "I wonder Miki... Who am I?" he said as he curled a smile. She gazed at him as he came closer to her and tilted her chin up towards his brown eyes. "It"s me Yuu." he replied as he looked her straight in the eyes and then she thought she would scream. Her emotions began to run wild in all directions...Was she going crazy? Could this be Yuu!? Was Yuu back from the dead!? He just smiled at her and embraced her body in his arms as he eloped her in a deep heart-warming kiss. She thought her heart had melted and would seep through her skin at any moment as he kissed her. This was Yuu and no one else ,and he had come back for her. Suddenly she opened her eyes and their eyes locked as well as their hearts. Her heart had fallen in love with him all over again. Yuu was back and she wasn"t letting her leave him again. :::Later that Night::: Miki slept soundly in her bed as Yuu gently kissed her forehead softly. He gazed at her for a long moment as she slept peacefully and his heart cried out to her because he didn"t want to leave her like this again ,but he knew he had to because his time on Earth had been cut short and he"d already had spent a long time here to start with. To long actually. He was lucky he was even allowed to get to see Miki. He had already broken who knows how many rules by doing this ,but he didn"t care. He missed Miki. She had been his life and he wanted her to be apart of his new life to ,but he knew it wasn"t her time. Maybe soon enough , but he knew she had a daughter to think about and that would be selfish of him to want her to be with him now. Maybe soon ,but not now. Miki deserved to live life to the fullest until it was time. It wouldn"t be to much longer now. The day would soon come when they would never be apart again ,but just what day was that? Yuu didn"t know and he wasn"t going to batter his brain by trying to figure it out either. He walked over to her bedside and gently whispered in her ear. "Miki please be strong and take care of our baby... Please do it for me. I love you both and someday we"ll be together again. I promise but for now please be happy and take care of Tenshi... If you do it for anybody do it for me ,and remember I love you both and I"m always with you." he replied as he moved away from her bed and gazed at her one last time before disappearing into the moonlight. OCC: Spooky eh? Well no more happy parts for awhile. I hope you liked this chapter and stay in tune for the next one. ~Anjyu Miki woke up the next morning to hear the sound of the phone ringing. She then yelled out to no one in particular. "I"m coming...I"m coming! Just hold on!" she yelled out in a very annoyed tone. She walked down the hallway and tiredly picked up the phone. "Hello?" she replied tiredly into the phone. "Miki... It"s Meiko..." replied a frantic and scared sounding Meiko into the phone. "What is it Meiko-chan?" asked Miki very worriedly. "Miki... Miwa has-" her voice then broke off as she choked out in sobs. "He"s what Meiko-chan?" asked Miki in a now very concerned tone. "He"s had a heart attack..." she said as she began to bawl madly. "Oh...Don"t worry Meiko-chan I"ll be right over..." replied Miki as she hurriedly let Meiko go and tried to get dressed. Suddenly she noticed that Yuu was gone... Her heart filled with so much agony and hurt but she didn"t have time to worry about that... She had to get to Meiko"s very quickly. Miki went to the bathroom and attempted to very quickly brush the frizz and rats out of her hair but that attempt didn"t go so well. She brushed her teeth quickly and frantically. She dabbed no makeup on her face ,nor did she take anymore time to primp. She ran to her bedroom and took out some red sweat pants and a green sweater not caring if she matched or not. She then walked upstairs and opened Tenshi"s door to see that her daughter was still sound asleep and it was way to early to wake her so she decided to call a neighbor to come over and watch her for a while until she could come home and tend to her herself. So she quickly called the neighbor and made plans with them , and they said they"d be over shortly. She grabbed her keys and her purse and headed out the door and got in her car and quickly drove off to meet Meiko. ~*~ Miki sat with a bawling Meiko in the waiting room of the hospital where she had not visited in nearly three years since she had Tenshi. She didn"t like it much either because it had to many painful and foul memories of Yuu in it... Plus the grieving pain of having a fatherless child. Miki tried to calm Meiko by patting her back gently and repeating the phrase "Shh.....It"s gonna be ok." over and over. Meiko then began to talk between cries. "They said he was stressing himself way to hard at work and I knew he was but I didn"t even try or consider stopping him from doing what he loved... because he took so much pride in it and it seemed wrong to tell him to ease up and break himself from it a while... ,but maybe if I had this wouldn"t have happened...It"s all my fault." she said as she broke down crying again. "Shh...Hush up Meiko you"re being silly...It"s not your fault that any of this happened! You had no idea he was stressing himself out so much..." she replied tilting Meiko"s chin up to meet her eyes. Meiko tried to push back the tears as she looked at Miki very sadly. "But-" Meiko tried to cut in but Miki stopped her. "But nothing...Miwa is going to be fine... He"s always been fine." replied Miki as she looked sternly into the eyes of her best friend. "You"re right Miki-chan... I can"t lose hope." proclaimed Meiko as she smiled through all her tears. "That"s the old Meiko I know." replied Miki as she gently hugged her friend and suddenly the door opened and there stood a tall middle-aged man with slightly graying hair in a white coat. "Is there anyone here by the name of Meiko?" replied the doctor and Meiko then jumped up excitedly as her lips quivered and then replied. "I"m her!" she exclaimed nervously. "Well we have your husbands results and they are quiet well..." announced the doctor as Meikos heart filled with relief. "Well is he going to be ok!?" questioned Meiko. "Yes he"s perfectly fine... It was only a mild heart attack...He should be his old self in a couple of weeks but he will have to be put on proper medication and rest up..." replied the doctor. "May I see him!?" she questioned excitedly. "Why yes of course..." replied the doctor. "Follow me..." he announced but suddenly a nurse looked at Miki and called to her. "Miss Matsuura you have a call on line one." replied the nurse. "Ok just hold on." she announced and then she turned to Meiko. "Meiko-chan I will be there in a few minutes I have a phone call." she explained to her friend. "Ok that"s fine just take your time.." replied Meiko as she followed the doctor down the hall to her husbands room. Suddenly Miki approached the desk and the nurse handed her the phone and she spoke in the receiver. "Hello?" she replied into the phone. "Miki...This is your neighbor Mrs. Yoshino... When I got here this morning about thirty minutes after you called... I went up to your daughters room to check on her but she was gone...I"ve looked everywhere... She"s nowhere to be found." replied the neighbor as she broke out in tears. "Just stay there I"ll be right over!" she replied and quickly hung up the phone in much shock and worriment. "Please tell Meiko there"s an emergency at home and tell her I"ll call her later but I have to go!" she explained to the nurse as she rushed out of the Hospital. Miki drove up into her small vacant driveway as she jumped out of the car to see two police cars parked outside her house. She quickly ran past the flashing blockade of red ,and blue lights as she opened the front door to see Miss.Yoshino setting at her small table choking out random words in between sobs while she talked to the police. She suddenly looked at the two policeman who"s eyes met her own ,and suddenly one looked very familiar... It was Ginta! "Miki is that you?" questioned the tall muscular black haired man as his eyes met Miki"s. "Yes! Is that you Ginta!?" questioned Miki as her heart started to beat with excitement as she looked upon his familiar face. "Yea it is..." he replied as gentle blue eyes played upon her face. "Hey...We"ll talk later Miki ,but for now we need to talk about this ,and straighten out the facts."he added. "Ok..." replied Miki as she sat down beside Ms. Yoshino. "What time did you leave the house this morning?" asked Ginta. "Umm about 6:30 I believe." answered Miki. "Did you call this woman to come to your house?" he said asking a second question. "Yes..." replied Miki. "Mam what time did you reach the house?" asked Ginta Wearily. "7:00..." replied Miss. Yoshino. "Did you see anyone suspicious looking lurking around the premises before you left Miki?" asked Ginta. "No...I wasn"t really paying attention ,because I was in a hurry." she answered while sighing. "Alright...Well I believe that"s all we need to ask you...We"ll take this investigation further momentarily... Miss.Yoshino it"s probably best if you go back home...Miki you need to come with us. There"s no use for us to be looking around here anymore. We"ll find her...Indeed we will ,because there"s no way a three year old could"ve gotten very far." added Ginta as we soon got to work on finding my little Tenshi... "Mommy hates me...I just know she does..." replied a little girl as she stumbled through the wood as she fell in a pile of brush to weak to go on anymore. She then began to shiver as the sun started to set. "I"m so cold...If only I could be home in my warm blankie..." she replied as she wearily closed her eyes to meet a restless dreamless sleep. "I must stay warm..." she sighed to herself mumbling useless nothings while trying to fight sleep. Suddenly to warm loving arms embraced her tiny body. "Shh... It"s ok daddy"s got you..." replied the tall muscular figure. "Dada is that you?" asked Tenshi. "Yea it"s me...Daddy"s got you ,and he"s going to keep you warm." replied Yuu as he cradled her in his arms. "I love you dada..." added the little girl as she soon started to doze off to sleep while he rocked her in his arms. "Tenshi!" called out Miki into the darkness as Ginta followed not to far behind her. "Hey Miki maybe we should resume our search in the morning...It"s nearly 11:30 ,and we"ve been looking all day..." suggested Ginta. "No not until we find my baby!" yelled out Miki with determination. "Ok Miki ,but you look tired...." added Ginta. "No! You just don"t understand Ginta! She"s my only one... I lost Yuu ,and I"m not going to lose her!" yelled out Miki back to Ginta. "Actually I do..." replied Ginta in a quiet tone. "How can you possibly understand what I"ve been through these past three years!?" cried out Miki with tears rolling down her cheeks. "Don"t forget Miki I feel in love to...I had a son ,and I lost them both in a car crash..." replied Ginta sadly. "Arimi"s dead!?" asked a shocked Miki as her heart nearly beat out of her chest.

And here that perfect combination was, and as it turned out his plan was pointless anyway because she really did look gorgeous. She"d chosen a green, floor length dress that hugged her beautifully in the right places. He realised he hadn"t said anything and she was starting to look insecure, but she should never look insecure, especially not in that dress... "That one,' "You"re just saying that because you don"t want to see the others" "I"m not, Mac you look beautiful,' She knew him well enough to know he wasn"t joking. She looked to his face, waiting for his smile, but it never came. She just watched his eyes which were moving slowly up and down her figure. "So this one?' "That one" "Great, I"ll be two seconds" He sat down on the bed facing the window as she went back into her bathroom to get changed. He tried so hard to focus on the skyline from the window but she"d left the door oh so slightly a jar and from the corner (ok maybe not so much the corner) of his eye he could see her silhouette against the black tiles of her bathroom. He hadn"t allowed himself to think of her body in a long time but right now he was losing the battle with his conscious, God, she really was beautiful. He forced the memories of how soft her skin was and how perfect her lips felt and all the others to the back of his brain and in doing so realised that this weekend, for the first time in a long time they were going to be spending the weekend as just them. They had no newsroom staff to buffer the tension, no Charlie or Don to interrupt the chemistry- it was just him and her and if these feelings were anything to go by, well, it was going to be difficult to remain "professional". She emerged from the bathroom two minutes later, fully clothed and ready to go. They resumed the air quote debate on the way down the stairs- if nothing else; this was going to be fun. Thank you guys sooo much for the reviews- for some reason it won"t let me message you to thank you personally but it really means the world that you did. You"ll hopefully be pleased to know that the fluff continues in part 2. This part is dedicated to Katycat1970, lillivanessi11, build up to the fall, kronoskingofthemonkeypeople, Anastasia, inothernews, rexie123, blue cube76, lilacmermaid33 & serialstorylover (you guys made my day) Enjoy part two, Cx Part 2 The flight had been relatively uneventful. Mac has dropped her hand luggage on an old lady who was sat under the luggage rack. Watching her try and apologise had amused Will greatly and he"d got even more of a victory when the same woman, after scolding Mac, had turned round and asked for his autograph. What could he say, he loved meeting the fans!The airport in Chicago had been a nightmare, they"d sent the luggage to the wrong terminal so they were waiting for it for over an hour, plus the fight had been just under an hour delayed so it was really getting late and all Mac wanted to do was get to the hotel, get something to eat and curl up in bed. However the Chicago traffic had other ideas and by the time they got to the hotel it was almost 10pm and so as she wearily approached the check in desk all she wanted to do was sleep. "Welcome to the Hilton Chicago, how can I help you" this check in girl was going to be annoyingly perky. "Hi, yes, we"ve got two rooms reserved, MacHale and McAvoy?' "We sound like such a double act? I"ve never noticed that before,' Will mumbled to himself as she rolled her eyes and turned back to the receptionist who was looking slightly perplexed. "We have a booking under McAvoy but no registered booking under MacHale, what is the first name?' "MacKenzie" "Thank you madam, let me just take a look,' Even though Mac was holding it together remarkably well Will knew she was getting towards the end of her tether, she was tired and tired Mac was not someone you wanted to cross. "I am sorry madam but we have no booking under your name,' "Well, I rang and booked a week ago and I spoke to a very nice young man who confirmed my booking for me,' "I see madam, did he give you a reference number?' "A what?' "A booking reference number?' "No, he just said, excellent madam, we will see you on Friday,' "I am very sorry Madam but we have no record of you booking,' "Well, fine. I"ll just take another room, what is available?' Will could tell by the look on the receptionists face that Mac wasn"t going to like this answer. "I"m afraid because of a large conference this weekend we are already at full capacity,' "Full, capacity?!' Mac"s voice was getting higher, Will contemplated stepping in, but it wasn"t quite intervention time yet "So what you"re telling me is, I, the key note speaker at this "busy" conference, cannot get a bed in this entire hotel?' "I"m very sorry madam, we can try ringing one of our sister hotels and see if they have a space?' As Will saw Mac contemplating this request he knew now was the time to stop it, there was an obvious solution and they were professional. They were professional adults who could share a room without it being awkward. They could, and they would so, plus he enjoyed being the one to come to rescue. "It"s alright, you don"t need to ring any other hotel,' As Will finally piped up Mac turned round and looked like she was about to hit him, hard. "Will, now is really not the time for-' "She can stay in my room,' Mac turned round to fully face him now. Her eyes were wide and her head was slightly rotated, "And where are you going to sleep?' "In my room,' "But that"s where I"m going to sleep,' "Yes Sherlock, get there...' "So we"re both going to sleep, in your room?' she paused "Together?' "Well we"re professional adults, it makes no sense for you to go to another hotel when the conference is here and its late. Let"s just go upstairs, order room service and get some sleep?' He knew she far more things she wanted to say on the matter but she was too tired to care and so just nodded. Will turned to the receptionist, "Can we get two keys please?' "Certainly sir,' She disappeared through a door momentarily. Mac looked over at Will slightly apprehensive of what was about to occur. Yes they were professional, yes they were adults but they were also ex partners who had had their fair share of "moments" this last year. Would putting them in a bed, especially after a formal meal where wine would undoubtedly be involved be a good idea? But if it was such a bad idea why was she having to stop herself from smiling, god they were fucked up and she had a strange suspicion this was only going to complicate things further. She was interrupted from her thoughts by Will tapping her on the shoulder and handing her her key- Room 101- how appropriate. The walk up to the room had been strangely quiet. It wasn"t a completely uncomfortable silence but they both knew that this whole "adult professional" tactic was probably going to be difficult to adhere to but they were both silently coming to the conclusion that for the other"s sake they would try. Will opened the door, and they both shuffled through. Mac was happily reunited with her suitcase that the porter had kindly brought up which she swiftly opened and started hanging up the various suits and that dress in the closet. Will went straight into the bathroom- he was still in suit he"d been wearing at work and so quickly got unchanged and into his pyjamas. He appeared back in the room and for a second just watched as Mac gently look down and ran her fingers through her hair, before stepping out of her shoes and turning round to see him stood, looking a little gormless in the the bathroom doorway, "I knew you"d like my pyjamas!' She sounded so triumphant. "What do you mean?' He knew exactly what she meant and when he"d packed the pyjamas, which he did happen to really like he didn"t intend, at any point this weekend to be stood in front of her wearing them. "Those pyjamas, they"re the ones I bought for you while you were in hospital,' She looked slightly disappointed about his apparent amnesia but enjoyed playing games with her, it was what they did. "Oh right, so they are,' She was smiling again and maybe it was because he was tired, or maybe it was because it was her and they were in a hotel and he was stood in the pyjamas that she"d bought him, but all he wanted to do was turn the lights out and fall asleep with her in his arms. No McAvoy, you are professional, she is your colleague and it would be inappropriate, this is just a friend helping a friend, that"s all. When she came out the bathroom, he"d already got into bed. "I assumed you still liked the left side?' She looked over and couldn"t quite get over how strangely perfect this was working out, infact she"d gone from hating the moron that took her booking to now actually being quite a big fan, but she was still scared and so she wanted to give Will one more "get out of jail free" card. "Will I really don"t mind the floor,' She knew as well as he did that she wasn"t being very convincing. "Mac, it-' "No. honestly. When I was in Afghanistan I slept on corrugated iron for a week, I really don"t mind,' "Mac, as impressive as it is that you, formerly miss "I sleep on duck down pillows" can now sleep on metal, you don"t have to the hero now. It"s a big bed, and its November and it"s not like we"ve not done it before, "He pulled over the sheets as she tentatively wondered over to the left side of the bed. They decided they were both too tired to bother with eating and so decided just to go to sleep. Mac turned her light of first, and, just like she used to be was fast asleep before Will had even realised. As she nuzzled down into their duvet (he didn"t ever think he"d be thinking of a duvet as "theirs" again") he couldn"t help but watch her. He"d always been amazed at how peaceful Mac looked when she was sleeping. For someone so frenetic to be so still was kind of a miracle. God it was hard not to pull her close into him, to be sleeping in the same bed as her and yet feel further, in this respect, than he ever had before. He didn"t know how long it had taken him but before he knew it he was asleep too- his nose as physically close to the edge of the pillow as it could be. He was woken up at 3am by the sound of her teeth chattering and as his eyes became more accustomed to the darkness he could see, despite the fact she"d pulled herself up into a ball, her whole body was shaking. He knew that this wasn"t going to be the best move and it was going to be something they"d have to talk about in the morning but he was drowsy, he wanted sleep and she was freezing. So without saying a word, he shuffled over to her side of the bed. Surprised to see him awake she turned around so she was facing him again. Their eyes met for a second before she felt his strong right arm wrap around her body and pull her into him. She was too tired to care about what this meant, or what the consequences would be and so she shuffled down the in bed slightly and moved her head so it laid gently in the notch in chest that it always used to. As she moved she felt his legs intertwine with hers in the same loose plait they used to. His right hand rubbed her back gently, and as he did she could feel herself warming up and so she snuggled sleepily into him as he heard her breathing slow as she drifted off again. He let his drowsy gaze linger on her for longer than it should and before he knew it he had planted a gentle kiss on her forehead before himself drifting off into a peaceful slumber, so still, so familiar and so perfect. Just the way it should be. A/N: Hey guys. So sorry its taken so long to update-I"ve been busy and sort of lacking inspiration. Although I"m loving season 2 I am missing my WillxMac fixes and I"m totally not enjoying this whole Nina Howard thing but anyway lets just hope that "true love always wins". Anyway here is chapter 3- hope you like it. It was 5am in the morning. It was 5am and she was so hungry that she was really quite surprised the small earthquake in her stomach hadn"t at least caused him to stir. But nope, there he was, sleeping so very peacefully and that was the dilemma because although she was so hungry she actually thought she might die she realised that tomorrow there would probably be another room free and so tomorrow she probably wouldn"t wake up in his arms. Tomorrow she"d probably wake up cold and alone and so despite how starved she felt right now she realised she had to make the most of it and just appreciate him, his smell, his rhythmical breathing, how peaceful he looked when he slept because this might be the last time she"d ever be this lucky. As she sat she found herself wanting to touch him; wanting to stroke his hair and wrap her own arms back around him but again she knew she"d just wake him and then they"d be back- back to their to and fro, their banter and although she loved it (no-one else could keep up with her like him) it wasn"t this. And she loved this, she"d missed this so much and the fact that this was one off was killing her to the point where she wouldn"t even let it enter her mind because it was just wrong. This felt natural- this was where she was meant to start everyday but she"d been such a fool and so no- today was the anomaly when it should"ve been the norm and that, well that was just unbearable so she refused to let herself dwell on it, calming herself down again with the slow rhythm of his heart against her palm and of course it worked, it always had done. She let herself lie there for another 90 minutes, drifting dazedly in and out of consciousness before the alarm crept up on them. It sounded so loudly that they both jolted, both of them simultaneously retracting their limbs and practically flinging themselves back onto their own sides of the bed. "Morning,' He still sounded so damn sexy. "Morning,' She paused, unsure about whether to bring up last night but she felt she should, they had enough elephants in the room already ' Look, I"m sorry about last night, its just it was cold and-' "Mac, its fine, honestly" "But, I don"t want it to be awk-' "Mac-' "Right, got it, it was fine" "It was fine- and its not like we haven"t done it before" "Well, still, thank you. It was nice not be cold" "Anytime" The silence was awkward. She hated it. In the past now he would have rolled over cupped her face in his hands and kissed her so softly on the mouth that she"d be struggling to breathe. His hands would be though her hair as he mumbled something about how he loved her and how lucky they were and then it would just flow so naturally from there; they"d always been morning sex people- it was how she"d started her day for 18 months but now here they were on opposite sides of the bed staring at the ceiling and God it was awful. Her stomach went again but this time it was welcome as it shattered the silence. "Christ Mac, we better get to that buffet,' And then they both got up and slipped back into the non sexual part of their routine. He put the TV straight on the news channel as she flicked through her emails. Now they could talk about the news it wasn"t quite so awkward, and so it just slipped away- but it still wasn"t the same. She used to read her emails in his shirt. She used to watch the news channel in his arms but at least it was something- at least it wasn"t silent. She decided the best thing was just to get quickly on with the morning and so grabbed her clothes from her luggage but didn"t quite pull them out properly sending her open handbag flying across the room. Bits were everywhere; lipstick, coins, credit cards (she really should learn to fasten her purse) amongst other random crap she"d managed to accumulate. "Damn,' She muttered under her breath- as she dropped to her knees, trying quickly to gather up all her stuff. She grabbed everything she could see, knowing full well he was watching her. "Well that was clever,' "Shut up McAvoy,' She stood up, trying her best to hide just how flustered she was "What, who doesn"t enjoy a morning treasure hunt,' "Well at least I can still get down on my knees...' "Oh I see, because I"m old,' "Well yes, that is what I was oh so subtlety implying,' "Funny" "I thought so yes" "Mac?' "Yes Will" "Go and get dressed- if your stomach misses the buffet we will not be able to hear a single talk today,' And they were back- the to and fro, in their weird sort of muted sexual tension masked in banter- well its better than nothing. As she went to reach into her make up bag she realised her lipstick, amongst many other items she"d missed in the quick grab, was probably somewhere on the bedroom floor. She smoothed down her skirt, ruffled her hair and exited the bathroom. Will was sat on their bed. In his right hand her lipstick and in his left a piece of paper. It took her two seconds to realise what it was- "Who is Matt Johnson?' "He"s a friend of Sloan"s" "Are you her PA now?' "No,' "So why is his number, sorry I should say, was his number, before you threw it across the room, in your purse?' "He wants to meet for drinks,' "Oh,' "I"m probably not going to go, it was Sloan"s idea. He"s speaking tonight and she thought we"d hit it off. He"s British,' "So are lots of people,' "Yes, well as I said I"m probably not going to go,' "Why?' Why? He was seriously sat there asking her why. Maybe because for the first time in ages she woke up happy this morning (apart from the fact her insides were digesting themselves but that was a mere technicality). Probably because she didn"t want to date anyone else again ever and would quite happily stand and swear this minute that if she had option she"d wake up every morning for the rest of her life in his arms. But no, here he was, the aging idiot, asking her "why?'- he really did love torturing her didn"t he? Wanker. "Because- well, for one, Sloan picked him out,' "Yes,' "And Sloan has, well, "interesting", taste in men,' "I think you should go,' "You do?' "You never know,' What was he fucking doing to her. She could feel herself just staring at him because she was shocked. She"d felt him last night, his heart had been beating so hard when he"d pulled her close. Why couldn"t he just let himself go just for a second, because that second was all she needed to slip into his arms and kiss him like she used to- she knew that"s all it would take. But fine, she"d play his weird little game for now. Just for now. "I suppose you"re right,' "I usually am,' "Debatable. But I"m hungry so lets eat shall we?' "I"m just gunna call the office, I"ll meet you down there,' "Suit yourself, don"t blame me if all the bacon has gone-' And with that she closed the door. He let himself lie back on their bed. Their bed. God it felt weird. You know what else felt weird? That whole previous interchange. As if he"d just encouraged her to meet up with one of Sloan"s scumbags when she"d spent the night in his arms? What kind of sick individual does that? Habib was going to have something to say about this one, he could just feel it. He didn"t ring the office. He just lay there for a few minutes with her lipstick in his hand. He looked up at it and just let himself remember how her lips used to feel. It had been so painful this morning, all that silence that used to be filled with her laughter. He remembered one distinct time when she"d chucked her handbag across the room before, except that time it was because she"d thrown it at him for telling her she didn"t know what she was talking about (to be fair, she didn"t- the Yankees were awesome) and that had resulted in so much laughter and playfighting that they ended up just having sex there right on the bedroom floor. That was before Brian, before any of the lies, when everything was easy- just the two of them. But then it hit him- that"s all that it had been this morning and its not like she"d spent the night in Brian"s arms or this Matt Johnson"s. She had been in his. And when he"d woken up at 4am and smelt her hair and felt his chest swell it wasn"t a feeling he never wanted again. He wanted her back in his arms every night. So no, she wouldn"t be going to meet Matt Johnson tonight. It was time to stop pratting around and putting off the inevitable- because they did belong together and he just needed to stop fighting it. He had punished her enough and it just wasn"t worth it anymore because my God he loved her. He loved her so much he didn"t even understand it and yet it all seemed so simple. She was his and he was hers and all this stuff, well it was irrevelant because when you hold the girl you were supposed to hold in your arms again it all just blurs into some kind of perfect serenity. Why had Habib just told him to do this? It would have saved him so much over analysis and so many games because at the end of the day, after all the crap they"d been through holding her made him happy and, God, it was so simple now. He just needed to hold her, hold her on a regular basis and everything would be easier. So he decided there and then- all this bullshit about not being able to forgive her was irrelevant because yes it hurt and yes it was painful when he thought about Brian, but Brian was in the past and you know what the thought of not being able to hold her again hurt more. So it was time, time to take back the girl (how very valiant he was feeling) but maybe after breakfast, because lets be honest nobody ever won the girl on an empty stomach.

"Yeah," he looked at the floor and then up at Addison"s concerned face. He couldn"t tell her how bad things were at home, or how it didn"t feel that Violet had chosen him as Sheldon was there the whole time and to add insult to injury- that Sheldon was so much better at dealing with Violet and Grace than he was. He had tried but he couldn"t bond with the baby- and he was angry that Violet had expected him to when he still didn"t know whether she was his or not. He had thought he loved her and he"d thought he"d love the baby no matter what but the more time he spent with them, the more unhappy he felt. But then he looked up at Addison again, she was still stood there, concerned. And so Pete decided to do something he never normally did, he started to talk. He didn"t know why he was, but he knew that he wanted her to listen, he wanted her opinion. He talked for over fifteen minutes about how he was struggling, how he felt trapped and how he needed to know either way whether Grace was his or not. His tone got increasingly angry as he referred to how Sheldon patronised him and Addison found her own temper rising as Pete"s did. How could Violet be so selfish? Pete seemed to be really trying here, heck he"d even sold his bike and bought in his words "a big ugly people carrier" instead. He told her about the time he"d tried to spend with the baby- but he didn"t know what to do, he"d never been around babies outside a hospital environment and so it was a new experience for him, but Violet or Sheldon didn"t seem to get that being a father figure was such an effort. She could see the pain he was in and she wanted so badly to help him, and as his explanation of wanting to return to work came to an end, she just held his gaze "Ok, if that"s what you want, then sure you can come back whenever, in fact if I"m being honest, the sooner the better," she smiled, "Mrs Fenwick refuse to see anyone else again?" She saw him smile after saying it- it was nice to hear the slightly cocky tone that she associated so strongly with him back. "Yeah, I wish it had only been her! But what can I say Dr Xiu is apparently no Dr Wilder," He smiled at this comment, even though it used to seem superficial, it made Pete feel a bit less useless at least some people wanted him around. But then the smile faded and he turned to leave. Addison, aware of the fact that he had just poured his heart out to her, and Pete didn"t do that lightly, felt she had to say something, but what? "Pete?" She walked briskly out of her office and saw him turned to face her in the empty corridor, "keep trying, and maybe try to do it somewhere away from Sheldon," his eyes considered her advice, but Addison still saw the layer of scepticism caused by his battered belief in his parenting abilities. She found herself with a desire to inspire him again, to remove this layer of doubt, so she continued "you"ll be a great dad Pete, you"re a good guy so you"ll be a good dad. Take Grace to the park or something, somewhere it"s just the two of you. At the end of the day, if you and Violet are going to be together then this baby is going to be a big part of your life," he still looked sceptical so she added "Pete, I know you can do this, you have to be comfortable around her- for Violet, you can do this" and she just held his gaze and she could have sworn she saw his eyes lighten, only fractionally, but it was there. He smiled at her, Addison added, "Take at least one more day off," "Thanks," and with that Pete left. But his head was up and he was walking more confidently. He could do this- Addie was right, this baby was going to be part of his life and he needed to love her whatever, and he trusted Addison, so he would try. He pulled up at Violet"s house, it was only just past 9 in the morning but Sheldon"s Volvo was already in the drive. He sat in the car transfixed by the Volvo"s ugly shape, Sheldon was a Volvo man. Pete really wasn"t, he had bought apparently ,"the next best thing,' according to Sheldon, but then in Sheldon"s opinion "nothing could beat a Volvo for the best family transportation,' and Violet had agreed. God that car really is ugly he thought as he got out of his own and locked the door, he turned to look at both cars from the front, his was clearly better. He pulled out his keys from his pocket and let himself in. He walked slowly into the hall and had an overwhelming feeling of wanting to turn round, go back to Oceanside, go back to Addison and Sam and Coop, joking about Mrs Fenwick or Dell"s inability to pull, but no, Addison"s words echoed round his head, he could do this. He would do this. "Hi," He said as he saw Violet and Sheldon in the kitchen "Oh hey," Violet got up and hugged him; he nodded at Sheldon over Violet"s shoulder, who did his best to fake a smile in return. Violet pulled away from their hug "I thought you were going back to work today?" "Oh I was, but Addison gave me another day off," "Oh great, do you wanna go out, do something?" Sheldon stood up, "Well, I, I could watch Grace if you two want to erm do something or-" Pete didn"t notice hopeful way in which Violet looked up at him. She hadn"t seen him properly, they hadn"t really talked since that day he told her he loved her, and she needed to talk to him. He"d been so distant. She was ready now, now Katie had been caught and charged, she was ready to move on. She wanted Pete to be the father of her baby, biological or not, she was sure it didn"t matter to him anyway as she had convinced herself that the reason he hadn"t been here much was because of the flash backs of finding her, the woman he loved, in a pool of blood on the floor with his baby- the memory was still too painful, but Violet was sure this was why he hadn"t been here- they still had a future. "Well actually I was wondering if I could spend some time alone with Grace today," Neither Pete or Sheldon saw Violet"s face fall, but Pete carried on "I dunno go to the park or something," "Or something?" Sheldon began to pipe up, "Pete, I"d like you to be a bit more specific, we need to know exactly wha-" "Sheldon, Pete can take Grace wherever he wants to," Violet looked angrily over at Sheldon but then she softened her gaze. He had been amazing, so attentive, always here and Violet wished so hard she could love him, and sometimes she thought she did but then Pete"s face always crept into her mind. But then did she really love him? She didn"t love him like she loved Alan but love like that grew. She and Pete were thrown together so quickly, of course it wasn"t going to feel as strong as the love she felt for Alan but she felt the potential. "Great, well I"ve got the car seat all set up in the car," "I"ll just go and get her things," Violet went off into the dining room where Grace was sleeping and started to collect her things together. As Violet left the room Sheldon began to speak again "Have you checked your car seat?" "Yes Sheldon," "Are you sure, it"s just I read an article in Which? the other day and-" "It was fitted and checked when I brought it," "Good," "Yes Sheldon, I thought so," his tone was getting slightly more aggravated but it wasn"t worth another fight. He just wanted to get Grace and leave, he had to try, Addison"s words circled his head again, she believed in him. He could do this. Half an hour later, after another lecture from Sheldon about the angle of the stroller wheels, Pete arrived at the park. He unfolded the stroller, it wasn"t as simple as it looked but eventually, after making sure it was secure he lifted little Grace out of her car seat and placed her gently in the stroller. He grabbed her bag from the back seat and placed it under the stroller, this wasn"t so hard. He locked the car and started to wheel Grace around the park. It really wasn"t that exciting and Pete was still at a loss of what to do, so he saw a park bench and sat down. He turned the stroller to face him and gently pulled back the hood so he could safely remove Grace. She opened her eyes and her baby blue eyes connected with his. He loved how they didn"t judge him, he loved how new they were, and the more he looked the more he loved blue eyes. "Hello," Grace was in his arms and as he spoke she opened her eyes, "Hello little girl, we haven"t really spoken much yet, my name is Pete, I could be your daddy." He jokily extended his hand towards hers but she grabbed his index finger, wow she had a grip on her, he couldn"t stop smiling. This was a real little person, his little person, how had he not seen how perfect she was? I mean he"d seen it but, no, she was really perfect, "So yeah, hi. Sorry I haven"t been around much lately, I think I"m your daddy, how could anything so perfect have come from Sheldon?" Pete smiled, this was far easier, without Violet or Sheldon judging him, Addison was right. She was always right. "Oh don"t tell him I said that. So are you enjoying yourself then? This was your auntie Addison"s idea; she"s a doctor too, like mummy and daddy. She saved mummy"s life, and yours- so we like her. We like Addison. Would you like to go and meet her? I think she"d like to meet you," Pete decided he would like to be the one to show his daughter off at work, and he wanted to go anyway, to thank Addie, this was just what he needed. Pete stepped out of the elevator door at Oceanside. He and Grace had been for a walkabout town first where he had shown her some shops and bought her a stuffed toy horse; he"d had one as a kid and never put it down so he figured with genetics and that she might like one too. This walk had meant it was lunchtime at Oceanside so the reception was empty. Pete was pleased; it meant the likes of Mrs Fenwick wouldn"t be cooing over Grace for ages, he wanted to see Addison, to show her how right she"d been. So he wheeled the stroller round to her office. She was sat in the same place as she had been earlier this morning, "I assume in five hours you have actually moved?" His whimsical tone caused Addison to look up quickly and she couldn"t help herself smiling when she saw the huge grin that was across his face. She got up and crouched by the front of the stroller, Pete kneeled down next to her. "Addison I would like you to meet Grace again, Grace this is Addison," "Hi Grace, you look alot better than the last time I saw you- yes you do," she turned to Pete, "can I?" "Sure, yeah" Addison watched as Pete so carefully removed Grace from the stroller. He cradled her so lovingly in his own arms before he passed her to Addison. She placed her so naturally in her arms and leant back on her desk. Pete couldn"t understand what Addison was mumbling to her but the tenderness in her eyes moved him. He couldn"t describe the feeling- it was only momentary but it was there. "Wow Pete, she"s gorgeous," Addison looked down at the baby again; she was searching for Pete in her face. But the more she looked she thought she recognised Sheldon"s features, after working with babies for so long she could notice subtle things like the shape of the nose and the size of the forehead. Of course this wasn"t a conclusive analysis, she could be Pete"s; she was perfect enough to be his. But Addison had a feeling in her stomach, but no it didn"t matter if she was his or not, he had clearly bonded with Grace and as she had said he would be part of her life forever, so no it didn"t matter. But it did, Addison knew Pete too well, he couldn"t accept not knowing, he was trying so hard here but he needed to know. "Do you like Horace?" "What?!" Addison said, breaking her gaze from the infant Pete had reached into the stroller and pulled out the stuffed toy horse "Horace the horse." "Horace the horse? Yes well Horace is a very handsome horse," "I bought him today- I used to have one when I was a kid-" Addison interrupted "You had a stuffed toy horse?!" "Well yeah, I was only like three," Pete looked a touch embarrassed and Addison let out a small laugh "I"m sorry, so you brought Horace..." Addison was still smiling; the image of Pete with the stuffed toy animal menagerie she had now drawn was highly amusing. "Yeah- well I figured you know genetics and all, maybe she"d like one too," Oh no this was dangerous; he was assuming she was his. Not even assuming, he"d decided. Addison was all for him being comfortable around the baby but deciding she was his- no that wasn"t good- because if she wasn"t then Addison didn"t dare to imagine how crushed Pete would be. This was before Sheldon was even considered, he deserved to know too. She had to ask Pete, she knew it would hurt him, but in the long run he would be hurt far more or he would hurt people far more if he didn"t lose this naivety. "Genetics?" Pete"s face fell, "Well, I don"t know for sure but I"m pretty sure she"s mine," "How?" Pete looked at her confused- what was she doing? she had been the one to build his confidence earlier and now she was taking it away again. He was happy not knowing, she had been right before. "Well it doesn"t matter anyway- I"m going to raise her as mine," "But what about Sheldon?" Her blunt questioning was killing her because she could see it again widening the gaps in his self esteem, but he needed to think this through. "Well he"ll just have to accept that this is how it"s going to be," Pete"s answer was abrupt. What the hell was she doing? Only this morning it was oh Pete you"re gunna be a great dad and now it"s you need to know- what the fuck did she want from him? Why was she even bothering with him, it wasn"t her business, it wasn"t her place, it was his, and he knew she was his kid. That"s what matters. Yes she was his, "I think I should be going," He took Grace quickly from Addison"s arms and put her in the stroller "Pete, no come on I didn"t mean you shouldn"t love her it"s just surely you need to know," "I"m just fine, you sure it"s not just you who wants to know?" Pete turned out of her office and began pushing the stroller down the hall, he was so mad at her. What right did she have? "What?!" He heard her call, but he didn"t plan what he said next, he was just angry "Well your own life"s now so damn empty, maybe you need to distract yourself?" He regretted it as soon as he"d said it. She looked at him and he"d never felt so guilty in his whole entire life. He looked back into her blue eyes as they fought back the tears, as she just turned and slammed her office door. Pete just stood frozen in reception, the image of her eyes breaking etched on his mind. He had to apologise so he walked over to her office door and opened it gingerly. Her chair was facing the wall; he could see her shoulders shaking. Without turning round she murmured "Get out," "Addison, I"m sorry I didn"t mean-" "Get out," "Addison," She got up from her chair and stormed straight past him towards the toilets, "Addison come on," She turned round to face him, "I tried to help you- but if you want to be so naive then fine, but I was only trying to help," she had never spoken to him in such a cold tone and he was taken aback, but her words riled him up again, but he stopped before he came back with another uncontrolled one liner. So he turned the stroller around at the same time Addison turned and continued her walk to the ladies room. Slamming the ladies door, she slumped down against the sink and for the first time since Noah allowed herself to cry. She needed someone, she couldn"t go on like this- falling in and out of love, Pete had really hit home, her life was empty. She needed someone- anyone, and she needed them tonight. Nothing else mattered so she stopped herself from crying and picked up her cell phone. She opened her contacts and made her way down the list, she reached N, she pressed dial. The phone seemed to take forever to connect, but then it was ringing. She was too numb to hear the morals screaming in the back of her head, she needed this. The ringing stopped, a woman"s voice answered, "Hi Ken, Noah"s busy at the moment, he"s just changing Toby" Morgan"s voice made Addison freeze "Hello?" "Hello?" "Ken? You there?" Addison put the phone down and hurled it across the room; it shattered as it hit the white tiled wall on the other side. Then she began to cry again, even more uncontrollably than before. How could he tell her he loved her? She was in his phone as Ken? And she had called while he was with his kid? Her morals were screaming so loud and she felt so dirty these two things intertwined making her sobbing borderline hysterical. Pete was so right- she was so lonely, she wanted company- she needed someone to tell her it was ok. Someone to love her, someone to listen to her, someone who she could trust. She wanted to date, she wanted to get out there but the idea of exposing herself to more heartbreak was something Addison didn"t think she could take, could she really afford to take another chance? Pete got home, his mood completely changed from how it was at the park. He couldn"t stop thinking about her broken eyes, the tears that rolled down her cheeks. Why had he said that? He had been so defensive- and he knew why. Of course he needed to know, Addison was always right and he knew it was time to know. He couldn"t honestly have the same relationship with a baby that wasn"t his- someone people could- but Pete wasn"t one of those people- he needed to know, even more now he knew how perfect she was. So as he walked into the house he placed Grace, sleeping, in her crib and then walked into the kitchen where Sheldon and Violet were sitting at the table. He walked over to them, took a deep breath "We need to do a paternity test," Sorry this one wasn"t very exciting- it"s sort of a necessary transitional chapter. I will try and update soon, in the mean time- press that lovely button- you know you want to! Hey, again thanks for reviews! Here is part 5, oh and for this fic I meant to say Naomi didn"t take the other job and is still working at Oceanside. Hope you enjoy The three figures sat with their backs to the glass, even though they"d all been in this office before it seemed so much bigger now. Pete glanced at the pictures of Maya on the desk, one in particular caught his eye- Sam was giving her a piggy back and Naomi was laughing next to him- it looked like one of those pictures that came with the frame. It was what a family should look like he thought- and as he looked over at Violet he wondered, even if Grace was his, would they ever look like that? Naomi came in slowly, she had tried to convince them to get this done at another practice, she didn"t want to be the one to do this, but Violet had insisted it be her- "she wanted to involve as few strangers in the situation as possible.' Addison stood alone in the kitchen watching the three backs that were all sat facing Naomi. She saw Pete sit up in his seat as Naomi came in; she watched his head as he followed her movements to behind her desk. She saw Naomi open the envelope she"d been carrying and look, no now she was reading the piece of paper out loud to the room. Addison tried to make out her lip movements but from what happened next she didn"t need to. It seemed to play out in slow motion; Sheldon leant back in his chair and put his hands on the back of his neck, Violet turned to look at Pete who was shaking his head. Addison could see by his shoulders he was aggravated. He"d lost, she was Sheldon"s. Naomi was talking to Pete, Violet was talking to Pete but Pete didn"t seem to be listening. Now he was side profile to Addison she could see he was telling them to do the tests again, "Grace was his, he knew she was". Violet had stopped talking, Naomi had her reassuring face on but Addison couldn"t take her eyes off Pete and the way he just crumbled at the realisation. His head went to his hands, no-one was talking now- this continued for awhile but Addison, like Violet and Naomi, was still transfixed by Pete. Violet extended her arm, but he got up without looking at anyone. He left the room, his eyes transfixed on the elevator, which he entered and the doors closed. Addison didn"t think she should go after him, but he clearly needed someone and she didn"t have any patients, but they hadn"t spoken since their arguement, what would she say? Against her own judgement she found her feet moving anyway, he needed someone. She walked towards the elevator and pressed the ground floor button. "Tilly?" No reply "Tilly are you there?" still no reply "Tilly was he ok?" "I don"t know, he hit the wall, three times, then he got out," her voice rattled out the intercom, "Did you see where he went?" Tilly didn"t reply but Addison didn"t wait, the doors opened as she reached the ground floor and she quickly walked out the building. She had no idea where he"d be but she wanted to find him. She"d seen him when he"d brought Grace to her, how proud he was, how much he was falling in love with this baby, and she felt partially responsible. She"d pushed Grace on him, telling him to take her to the park and to bond. So she had to find him, help fix the thing she had broken. Pete stood in the parking lot looking at the family car in front of him. It really was hideous, so square, so mundane. Who had he been kidding, Pete Wilder and this car did not go together. He was a bike man or a soft top coupe man with two seats. He wasn"t a six seat family wagon man, he was crazy to ever allow himself even for a moment to think he was. He hated it, but now he was stuck with it, at least until he could trade it in. He walked around it, and as he got level with the back passenger seats he saw the baby car seat securely placed in the back. He flung open the door and ripped the seat from the car. He threw it hard against the pillar of the parking lot, it didn"t break. He picked it up and threw it harder at the middle of the empty parking bay next to him but it still didn"t break. He picked it up again taking hold of the handles and raised it above his head and clattered it down on the bonnet of the car. The force hurt his shoulders but he didn"t care so he repeated the action, each time fragments of the chair flew off in opposite directions and the dent in the bonnet became greater and greater. He turned around and started smashing it into the pillar, this was more effective and the seat ,that he"d assured Sheldon "Which?' magazine had given 5 stars, broke into three pieces. The edges were sharp and as he breathlessly tried to pick up the largest remaining piece to continue the smashing, he cut his hand. It started to bleed, and Pete sank down against the pillar.

"Of course, my dear," Daniel sat next to her. "What it is?" "Do you know anything about a boat builder from Bristol, Rhode Island, named John Brown Herreshoff?" "Hmmm, Herreshoff...." Captain Gregg stroked his beard. "Bristol, Rhode Island...let me think." "He was blind, made yachts." "Ah, of course! Blind J.B. the yacht maker. I"ve heard of him. But, I never had much use for racing yachts, my dear. I was in the shipping business you know." Carolyn felt her heart sink at his words. Had she made a mistake in agreeing to buy the sailboat? Would Daniel really be surprised or would he just think the gift was trivial and pointless? She tried not to let him know what she was thinking. "I thought he sounded very interesting. I came across some information about him and his brother today while I was doing some research at the library. I thought it would make a fascinating story." "Aye, it would. I had always heard they built extremely fast vessels. Too bad I never had much time for pleasure cruising," Captain Gregg stated. "Oh, I wouldn"t say that, some of the tales we put in your book sounded very pleasurable." Carolyn remarked. Daniel considered her comment for a moment, his crystal blue eyes taking in every inch of her face, "None as much as these times I spend with you, my dear." He spoke the words barely above a whisper. "What a very sweet thing to say, Daniel." "Madam," he started, but Carolyn interrupted. "I know, you are not now, nor have you ever been sweet." "No, I was going to say that I didn"t know if it was sweet or not, but the sentiment is certainly true." He smiled at her, "But, you are correct, I am not now, nor have I ever been, sweet." Carolyn return his smile and said, "I know better." "You are sure of yourself, aren"t you?" he teased her, taking her wine glass from her hand and setting it down on the table beside the love seat. "I rarely make a statement, unless I am sure of myself." she slipped her hand into his. "Aye" he rolled his eyes, "Now she sounds like me." "Shut up and kiss me, Captain Gregg." his name rolling off the tip of her tongue. He pressed his lips into hers, the kiss deepening, as their bodies moved closer. He brought a hand to her breast, stroking it through the material of her blouse, while their tongues played a battle of wills with each others. Carolyn extracted her hand from his, moving down to the broadness of his thigh, running her fingers over the curve of his leg, smoothing her palm over his knee, before letting it rest comfortably just a very small distance from his fly. "Very sweet." she giggled when they paused, knowing they couldn"t get out of hand just now. "Indeed!" He frowned, his hand still fondling her, much to her delight. This was a perfect part of life. The following day, Carolyn took the stern board over to Ed Peevey"s workshop. He agreed to sand off the name Whisper and refinish it with the name Surprise. "How do you want it to look?" He asked. "Any certain colors?" "Well, Ed, I liked the black letters with gold outlines. Don"t you think that makes it look rich and strong." "Yup. When do you need it by?" "I absolutely need it by April 7th, Ed." Carolyn stated, "Can you have it finished by then?" "Oh sure, it"s only the 22nd. I can probably have it for you my Monday the 3rd." "That"s fine Ed, but I won"t pick it up until the 7th. It"s meant to be a surprise. Get it?" "I gotcha, Miz Muir." As Carolyn head back to her car, Claymore Gregg hailed her from across the street. "Mrs. Muir! Oh, Mrs. Muir!" he shouted heading in her direction. "Hello, Claymore," Carolyn said. "Hello, Mrs. Muir," the gangly man greeted her breathless after running a few short yards. "I have Peevey"s estimate for re-roofing Gull Cottage, and it is quite a bit more than I had anticipated. I wondered if, perhaps, you might be willing to pick up the difference." "Claymore, as my landlord, you have the responsibility," She said determinedly. "Mrs. Muir, I certainly appreciate that, but your lease does come up for renewal in June, and . . .well, with inflation today . . .my only recourse will be to raise your rent to cover any future expenses." Carolyn considered Claymore Gregg"s intention for several seconds before she responded. "Claymore, what kind of a rent increase are you thinking about?" "Well, Mrs. Muir, a substantial one. Gull Cottage is in need of many repairs, and well, now that ol" Spooky"s book is doing so nicely that you can afford to buy Nestor Tuttle"s doughdish, I am sure it won"t be a problem for you." "That"s not fair, Claymore. The repairs to Gull Cottage are your job. I have paid for many of them out of my own pocket in the last four years! Re-roofing the house is up to you." Carolyn was tired of Claymore trying to take advantage of her, and with the sale of the Captain"s memoirs she finally felt as if her head was above water, financially-speaking, for the first time since moving to Schooner Bay. No way was she going to let Claymore Gregg brow beat her into paying for repairs that were his responsibility. "Either repair the house, or . . . perhaps we should discuss the sale of Gull Cottage again. I am certain the Captain would be interested to hear your selling price." "Now, Mrs. Muir, there is no need to bring that ghoul into this," Claymore stumbled over the words, then turned on his heel to head back to his office. "I"ll see what I can do. Ed Peevey isn"t the only carpenter in this town." The next eleven days passed pretty uneventfully for the Muir family. The kids" week of Spring Break from school began on April 3. They were very excited about having the whole week off from school and the mild weather made the break seem even more enticing. Carolyn, still had work to do, unfortunately, and spent the first part of the week working, while the kids tried to maintain some level of quiet. Thankfully, Captain Gregg stepped in to entertain them with building a ship in a bottle and the three spent a lot of time in the wheelhouse playing some kind of game involving pirates. By Thursday morning Carolyn"s article was in the mail and she was able to spend the weekend relaxing. On Friday night, she took the kids out for pizza and a movie. But first she stopped off at Ed Peevey"s to pick up the stern board. It was just as she and the kids had imagined: Black letters with gold outlining. The name Surprise was painted in script, and Schooner Bay, Maine painted underneath in smaller block letters. "Oh, Ed, it"s just perfect." Carolyn declared. "Thank you, Mrs. Muir. I think it turned out well," he said. Carolyn paid Ed for the work and then she carefully slid the stern board back under the blanket in the back of the station wagon. After Carolyn and her children arrived home from the movie and the kids were cuddled up in their beds, Captain Gregg appeared by the telescope in the main cabin. Carolyn entered quietly and saw him standing there. "Good evening, Captain." She said. "Madam." He acknowledged her. "How was your evening?" She asked walking over to him. "Fine." "Did you get a chance to update your sea charts?" "Yes." Again he gave a single word response. Carolyn stood behind him and reached out to touch his arm, "I want to thank you for helping with the kids this week." "Certainly," he answered. "Daniel, is there something wrong?" She asked. "No. Not that I"m aware of." His voice was steady. "Really?" There was a long silence before he said, "Do you know what day tomorrow is?" "Yes, it"s Saturday." Carolyn replied matter-of-factly just to egg him on. "And?" he continued. "Perhaps a certain someone"s birthday." "I certainly hope that there will be no fuss made this year," the spirit declared. "Now, Daniel, you know that Candy and Jonathan always want to remember your birthday. But, this year we all decided that a picnic and clamming over at Hadley"s Cove would be more appropriate than a lot of fuss." "Hmmm . . .well . . . I suppose that would be permitted," he relented. "And, I do believe that low tide is at one o"clock tomorrow afternoon." "Then it"s a date?" She asked. "Yes, my dear," Daniel replied. He reached down and took her hand in his, gently squeezing her fingers. "I am pleased you completed your work before the weekend." "Me, too. The kids and I had a really nice time tonight. I wish you could have come with us," She confessed. "Sometimes, I think Danny the fisherman needs to make more frequent appearances around Schooner Bay." "Now, my dear, if Danny is seen too often, people will begin to wonder about him. " "Sean Callahan, then?" Carolyn knew that was sure to elicit a bluster from the Captain. "That miserable, womanizing octopus! Huh!" He stomped over to the telescope. "I would only impersonate that pusillanimous toad in the most dire of circumstances!" He fumed; a short rattle of thunder shook the house. "I was only teasing," Carolyn said. She ran her hand over his back. "I didn"t mean to upset you." Daniel turned and faced her. "Perhaps, I was only teasing you as well, my dear." He had a huge grin on his face that brought a laugh from Carolyn. "I should have known." "I would have thought by now you would know when I was jesting." Daniel"s arms encircled her waist, pulling her close. "I suppose I should," she said. "I was thrown by the thunder. It"s been a while since you"ve groused that much." "Just for effect. I meant nothing by it." Daniel leaned down and captured her lips in a tender embrace. "I meant everything by that, however," he said softly. Saturday, April 8, arrived in a blaze of sunshine and unseasonably warm temperatures, which the weatherman informed Schooner Bay was not to last. The final gasp of cold Arctic air would be there by Tuesday. Carolyn and the kids met at the bottom of the stairs that lead up to the wheelhouse so they could get the Captain to come down for the planned picnic and clamming at the Hadley"s cove. Martha was busy putting the finishing touches on the picnic lunch. The three Muirs headed up the stairs to the wheelhouse, knocked on the door and entered. "Captain. Captain Gregg." Jonathan called. "Good day, lad," the Captain said as he materialized. "What brings all of you up here on such a beautiful day?" "We came to invite you for a birthday picnic," Candy announced. "Yah, Captain, it"s your birthday today," Jonathan reminded the spirit. "So, it is. So, it is." "Martha"s made a picnic lunch and we can go clamming over at the Hadley"s cove." Candy said. "Well, I can"t pass up an opportunity such as that, " he said. "Let"s go down." Jonathan and Candy hustled down the stairs in front of their mother and Captain Gregg. "Happy Birthday, Daniel," Carolyn said, stopping at the top of the stairs. She reached up and kissed him. "Happy Birthday." "Thank you, my dear." He said pulling her to him. "I hope that is not my one and only birthday kiss?" "There might be a few more later," she admitted. "Good afternoon, Captain," Martha said as they came down into the hall "And many happy returns." "Thank you, Martha," the spirit said in his most charming way. Martha had a picnic basket and two blankets all ready to go. Jonathan, Candy and Scruffy headed out the front door ahead of everyone else. "Don"t forget the clam bucket!" Candy shouted as Jonathan raced around the side of the house. "I"ll get the rake!" "Here Martha, let me carry that blanket," Carolyn said. She hoped that they had cleverly disguised the stern board, but she wasn"t so sure. The back path to the Hadley"s cove started in the back garden of Gull Cottage and was a quick five minute walk through a small wooded area to Knobs Neck. The path came out almost behind the boat shed. By the time Carolyn and Martha got to the cove the kids were already jumping on the wet sand exposed by the receding tide looking for water squirts from buried clams. Captain Gregg stood on the dock looking out on to the water. The three boats moored there bobbing gently in the wash of the changing tide. Carolyn caught sight of the look on his face; it was one of quiet enjoyment. He stood there for several more seconds before materializing next to the two women. Martha plunked down the picnic basket on the grassy knoll just at the edge of the beach and laughed at the kids and Scruffy. "Those clams will be so far down in the sand, they"ll never get them out." "C"mon Captain!" Jonathan shouted, "You"re the best clammer here." "Excuse me, ladies." He said. He took off his blue pea coat and handed it to Carolyn. "Won"t be needing that." He walked down to the beach and joined the kids. "Mom, you, too!" Candy called. "Go on, I"ll be just fine right here . . . watching," Martha said. Carolyn joined Daniel and her children on the beach. "Now, when you see a squirt of water come up, that"s a clam, Mom," Jonathan explained. "Ah, I believe this is an excellent spot," the Captain said as he pushed up the sleeves of his turtleneck and knelt down to dig in the wet sand. Jonathan"s eyes got as big as dinner plates when he saw the anchor tattoo on the inside of Daniel"s forearm. "Wow! Cap, I never knew you had a tattoo," the boy exclaimed. "Aye, that"s for sailing the Atlantic," he said. He pulled a big longneck clam out of the sand. "Here is a beauty," he remarked and dropped it in the bucket. "Got any more?" Jonathan asked "There are several clams here," the Captain replied. Scruffy stuck his snout in the hole that had been dug out. "No, I meant tattoos." "Oh...No!" the seaman replied as he felt a finger poke the back of his neck, and he knew whose finger it was. "Only one and I highly regret getting this one. It was quite painful and nearly went septic." "Oh, well, it"s pretty groovy. I think I"ll get one," Jonathan said, "But I"m getting a big dragon "You will not be getting a tattoo, Jonathan," his mother declared. "Not right now, Mom. When I"m older, like 16 or something." "No tattoos!" "But, Mom, the Captain has one," Jonathan protested. "I am not the Captain"s mother. I am your mother and I say no tattoos!" "Alright," the boy relented. "Mothers." "You and those blasted tattoos," Carolyn muttered to Daniel. "Marks of great nautical prowess, Madam," he replied with a wink. "But, let me say how delighted I am that you are not my mother." "What kind of clam is this, Captain?" Candy asked as she hurried over to where the Captain was still kneeling in the sand. She handed over a bumpy-shelled creature to the seaman. "That"s not a clam. It"s an oyster," he replied. "An oyster! Like with a pearl in it?" The girl asked. "Well, I have never seen a pearl from an oyster in these waters, but I suppose it"s possible." "Open it, Captain, and let"s find out!" Candy was brimming with excitement, certain that there was a pearl of immeasurable quality in the oyster. A jackknife materialized into Captain Gregg"s hand and he slid it between the two halves of the oyster shell until he was able to snap the mollusk open. "Hmm, sorry Candy, no pearl in this one. But keep looking." Then the seafarer scraped the oyster meat from the shell and slurped it down in one gulp. "They are tasty." "Oh, yuk. Captain, you did not just eat that thing raw?" Jonathan moaned, grabbing his stomach in pretend agony. "Ewww, a raw oyster. Ugh," Candy chimed in, flailing her arms in disgust. "Mmm, that"s the best way to eat "em," the Captain retorted. "And you expect another birthday kiss after that?" Carolyn asked him in a low voice. "My dear, have you not heard that raw oysters are the most potent of aphrodisiacs?" Daniel replied in a whisper. "Funny, I always thought that"s what champagne and strawberries were for." Her rejoinder was smooth and sure. The group dug clams until Carolyn declared that there were plenty for everyone. "I didn"t know you cared for clams, my dear? Daniel asked. "I like anything you dip in melted butter. Clams, lobster, scallops." The group sat comfortably on the grass near the dock as Martha retrieved some sandwiches from the wicker hamper in which she had packed the picnic lunch. "Who would like deviled ham and who wants a fluffer-nutter?" she asked. Scruffy bounded around her looking for a chance to have off with anything he could get his mouth on. "Fluffer-nutter for me!" Candy said. "Me, too." Jonathan agreed. "Fluffer-nutter?" asked Daniel. "Mmm, peanut butter and marshmallow fluff. You ought to try it, Captain. It tastes way better than raw oysters." Candy reported and tore off a corner of her sandwich and passed it over to the spirit. "Just try it." Captain Gregg popped the bit of fluffer-nutter in his mouth. "I don"t believe I have tasted anything that sweet in over a hundred years." "Do you like it?" Jonathan asked. "Well, lad, I don"t think I could eat them in quantity, but it"s quite enjoyable." Captain Gregg smiled at the boy. "Better than raw oysters?" Carolyn asked, passing him a sandwich. "Hardly the same thing." Daniel replied as he took a deviled ham sandwich from the woman he considered his salvation. He would never admit that to anyone. The day was warm and a light breeze blew across the cove, gently resting in the pines that crowded around the boat shed and the Hadley"s cottage. The sound of the waves lapping against the dock was soothing and the spirit of Gull Cottage and "his" family spent an enjoyable time picnicking and he found himself in a better mood than he had been in in quite sometime. After everyone had had enough to eat; Jonathan had managed to gobble down two fluffer-nutters, matching his hero"s two deviled hams and each managing to shove in a piece of birthday pie, Candy looked in the picnic hamper for the birthday card she had made for the Captain. "Here, Captain," she handed him the card, "Happy Birthday." "Me, too, Captain." Jonathan handed over his card, too. "Well, thank you very much." He opened Candy"s card first. She had drawn a very good likeness of a gull perched on a piling. The sentiment was a simple "Happy Birthday, love, Candy.' "Why, Candy, what a wonderful drawing. The gull looks almost as if he could fly right off the page. Thank you very much, my dear." Candy blushed slightly at Daniel"s words. "You"re welcome, Captain." "Open mine," Jonathan implored. "Alright, Skipper." Daniel opened the boy"s card to see what looked like a man harpooning a whale, or was it a whale eating a man that was trying to harpoon him? Daniel chuckled at the words Jonathan had written under the drawing. "Here"s hoping you have a whale of a birthday.' "Aye, lad, it has been so far," he reached out and tousled the boy"s hair. "My gift is the lunch, Captain," Martha said, "Happy Birthday." "Thank you, Martha." Carolyn looked over at the seaman and their eyes met in a gaze that spoke of both love and desire. "My card, Daniel." She handed him a letter-sized envelope. "My dear?" He took it from her, their fingers touching for the briefest of moments. Inside the envelope was not a card, but a poem, written in Carolyn"s hand. Daniel read these words: LOVE SONNET XVII By Pablo Neruda I do not love you as if you were a salt rose, or topaz or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off. I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul. I love you as the plant that never blooms but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers; Thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance, risen from the earth, lives hidden in my body. I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride; So I love you because I know no other way than this: where I do not exist, nor you, so close that your hand on my chest is my hand, so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep. Happy Birthday. Love, Carolyn. Daniel sat for a long minute re-reading the words again, a feeling of complete and utter joy coursing through him. "My dear, how lovely," he whispered. Forgetting that they were not alone, he leaned over and kissed her. "Thank you." Giggles from Candy and Jonathan broke the spell of the moment. Daniel refolded the page and stuck it in his breast pocket, a smile on his face. He stared out at the water, thinking about the meaning of the poem he had just read. After another few minutes, Jonathan plopped himself down next to the Captain. "Captain, what kind of sailboat is that moored out there?" the boy asked, quite able to keep himself in check as he set in progress the announcement that the sailboat was the birthday surprise. "Just a twelve or fifteen footer. I think people refer to them sometimes as "day-sailers.' " "Looks pretty nice. We saw it here last summer when we came over to have a picnic with the Hadleys. They took us out on their launch." Jonathan turned around and smiled at his mother. "You think you could sail a boat like that, Captain?" "Certainly, a boat that small would be quite easy to sail." "Great! Because she"s your birthday present." Jonathan announced and they all yelled, "Surprise!" Carolyn handed Daniel the stern board with the name painted on it. Her face was a picture of elation and love. "What?" He spoke as he took the piece of heavy wood from Carolyn"s hands. "I must confess, Daniel, that the picnic and clamming were not the only gifts. We got you the sailboat. Nestor Tuttle was selling it, so we bought it for you. Happy Birthday." For perhaps only the second time in the last one hundred years, Daniel Gregg found himself in the unusual predicament of being speechless. He wanted to chastise Carolyn for wasting her money on something like this for him, tell her he had no need of such possessions, but he couldn"t.

"How many children live here, Miss Reece?" Perry Mason asked. "Twenty-two. Ten girls and twelve boys. All of them wonderful kids. They"ve thrived here because Bertram Cole gave us the ability to help them grow and learn." "I understand that Pinetop has implemented some unique programs." Mason said. "Yes. All of our children attend the public schools here in Kirkston and live as one big family. Each child has a specific chore to do and each helps Mrs. Jefferson, our cook, prepare meals. It helps the children understand what it means to be a family and have personal accountability. These kids didn"t choose to be parentless and we don"t want them to feel that they are. The older ones help the younger ones, just as if they were all brothers and sisters." "I see," Perry Mason said. "On top of that, we"re able to provide each child with individual counseling. Some of our kids remember losing their parents, others don"t understand why they don"t have a mother and father like their classmates." "What do you tell them?" Della Street asked. "That there are all kinds of families made up of all kinds of people. One kind of family isn"t better than another and that our family here at Pinetop is special because each of them is special." Ginny Reece smiled. "And, they are all special kids with tremendous love to give and great gifts to share. Bertram Cole saw to it that the Pinetop children were able to share those things with the rest of the world. I just don"t know what we"ll do now." "I"m not sure what I can do to help, Miss Reece. Mr. Cole did leave it to his son to decide whether to keep Pinetop going," Perry Mason said. "Is there anything we can do? Anyway we can appeal to Mr. Cole"s compassionate side?" Ginny asked. "I was hoping there would be." Perry looked at the photos of the former Pinetop residents on the wall of Ginny"s office. "If only we could get him up here, then he"d see what a wonderful place this is," Ginny said. "I understand." There was a knock on the door and a tall young man stuck his head in, "Ooops, sorry Miss Ginny, I didn"t know you were busy." He started to close the door. "Come in, Peter, what do you need?" "Mrs. Jefferson wanted to see you in the kitchen, if you have a moment." "Thank you, Peter. Tell her I"ll be right in." "Sure thing, Miss Ginny." Peter hurried out the door. Ginny Reece turned back to Perry Mason and Della Street, "I guess now"s a good time to give you a tour of our facility - for however long it remains." Ginny showed them first to the kitchen where Addie Jefferson, the cook and wife of Harry the caretaker, was supervising some of the children as they made cookies for Christmas. "As you can see we have a very modern kitchen - another gift thanks to Mr. Cole"s generosity." "These cookies are all cooled - help yourself," Addie offered to Perry Mason and Della Street. Ever the sucker for a good Christmas cookie, Perry Mason popped one into his mouth. "Delicious," he declared. As he munched the cookie he was formulating a plan to help save Pinetop. Della Street could see from the expression on his face that he had some plan hatching in that big brain of his. Ginny Reece showed them the rest of the building, the bedrooms of the children, the gymnasium, the playground and the library. Pinetop could function as a self-sufficient home for the children, but the decision to have the children attend the local public school, while met with some trepidation, had permitted the students to interact with their peers as they would once they left Pinetop. Miss Reece explained that most of the students, as she called them, left Pinetop to attend colleges and trade schools at a much higher rate than their local contemporaries. A "Pinetopper" could only live at the home until the age of twenty-one. By then, most of the students were out on their own. Perry Mason also learned that nearly all of the former students continued to support Pinetop financially - a circumstance that benefitted the home even more because Bertram Cole matched each student"s contribution dollar for dollar. Perry Mason thought, again, that Henry Cole was making a tragic mistake by withdrawing his funding of the home. The lawyer was brought out of his thoughts by someone tugging on his pant leg. ""Cuse me..." a small boy said. Perry Mason looked down at him, "Yes?" "Who are you?" Perry knelt down by the boy, "My name"s Perry Mason." "My name"s Charlie Ellington. I"m five." "Five, as old as that?" "Yes. I"m the littlest stu"ent here." "You don"t seem very little to me," Perry said even though Charlie Ellington seemed much too small to be five. He looked more like he was three. "Miss Ginny says someday I"ll be all growed up." Charlie said. "How old are you? Seventeen?" Perry Mason laughed, "Oh no, I"m much older than that." "Peter"s seventeen - he"s a real big guy like you." "I know, I met Peter earlier." "I like Peter; he"s nice to us little guys." Charlie spotted Della Street standing nearby. "Is that lady your wife?" "That"s Miss Street, she"s my secretary," Perry said. "Wassa sec"tary?" "Someone who helps you with your work." "Oh." Charlie didn"t quite grasp Perry"s meaning. "She"s pretty." "You"re right, Charlie, she is pretty. Why don"t you go tell her that? I bet she"d like to hear it." Charlie walked over to where Della stood by Miss Reece. ""Cuse me, lady. You"re pretty." "Well, thank you." Della said. "Charlie, this is Miss Street," Ginny said. "I know. He told me she"s a sec"ratrary." Charlie pointed to Perry Mason. "Yes," Della said, "I"m Mr. Mason"s secretary." "Mr. Mason and Miss Street are here to see what a nice place Pinetop is," Miss Ginny said. "Oh..." Charlie looked down at his feet, "Not here to find a really nice little boy to take home." Della Street looked at Charlie an immense sadness in her heart. She wanted to scoop the boy up in her arms and do just that - take him home and care for him. "Don"t you like it here, Charlie?" she bent down to him "It"s okay. But, some day I want a home with a mommy and a daddy just for me." He flung his little arms around Dell"s neck. Ginny Reece felt tears in her eyes again at the scene. These children needed Pinetop. Perry Mason felt exactly the same. He looked at Della Street comforting young Charlie and was more determined than ever to find a way to help save Pinetop. "Charlie... Mrs. Jefferson has some cookies in the kitchen. Why don"t you go have some and we can talk in a few minutes." Ginny Reece guided Charlie toward the kitchen. "I"m sorry about that. Charlie"s at the age where he"s fixated on being adopted," she explained to Perry and Della. "He"s a cute little guy," Perry Mason said. "He is. There"s a chance he could be adopted. But, it"s rare for older children." "Why is he here?" Della asked. She wiped a tear away with her handkerchief. "I"m afraid I can"t tell you that. We have very strict confidentiality rules," Ginny said. Perry Mason looked at his wristwatch, "Thank you for the tour, Miss Reece and the information about Pinetop. Even though there"s nothing I can do in regard to Bertram Cole"s will, I will assist in any way I can to help Pinetop stay open." Perry Mason shook the young woman"s hand. "Thank you so much, Mr. Mason, Miss Street. I really appreciate your time. I only wish I could appeal to Mr. Cole. It will be a great loss for Pinetop to close." "It will indeed," Mason agreed. "Let me look into a few things and I"ll get back to you as soon as I can." "Thank you," Ginny Reece said sincerely. Perry Mason held Della Street"s arm as they walked out to his car. He opened the passenger side door for her. "Charlie"s such a sweet boy - it makes me sad to think of him here," Della said. "He seems so lonesome." Tears spilled over her eyes. "Come on, now... none of that. We"ll find a way to help them," Perry said as he handed her a clean handkerchief from his pocket. "I have a plan." Della flung her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "I knew you"d think of something." "Don"t I always?" he said, his arms holding her closer. A plan was brewing at Pinetop Home for Children, too. Betsy Hilliard had overheard the last of the conversation between Miss Ginny and the two visitors. She kept this information to herself until well after "lights out" and then woke Katie McPhee and Peter Bradford. "You know Miss Ginny will never tell us - not until the last minute. By then, we"ll all be separated. We have to act now - we need a plan." "I see your point, Bets. The younger kids will be so upset," Peter added. "What we need is a way to raise some money - but fast!" Katie said, "But, what?"As the three oldest students at Pinetop Peter, Katie and Betsy felt an immense responsibility to the younger children - and to Miss Ginny. "I"ve got it! We"re already singing on Christmas Eve at St. Timothy"s, let get Reverend Phelps to help us - we can make it a fundraiser for Pinetop!" Katie said. "That"s brilliant!" exclaimed Peter. "Reverend Phelps will help us - and we all know how he feels about Miss Ginny." "Everyone with two eyes can see that." Betsy added. "And, Reverend Phelps is so dreamy." "Everyone but Miss Ginny sees that!" Katie giggled. Peter shook his head. "Let"s get serious, kids. We"ll have to get fliers and posters made up." "No problem. I"ll get Mr. Jefferson to lend a hand with that. I bet we can get Mr. Crane at the newspaper to help us, too!" The three stayed up far too late contemplating the details of their plan to save Pinetop. They had high hopes of making it work - and without tipping their hand to Miss Ginny too early. It would require secrecy and timing to pull it off and they hoped they could do it. Meanwhile, back in Los Angeles, Perry Mason had started on his plan as soon as he returned. He"d closed himself in his office and started making phone calls. Della assumed he was trying to raise financial pledges, she couldn"t know what he was really up to since he was making all the calls himself - something she found quite unusual. She pressed her ear against the office door to try to hear some of what was going on, but it was no use. It was well after eight o"clock when Perry finally emerged to see if Della was still there. "You are still here," he said. "I know it"s late, but are you interested in dinner?" "I"m always interested in dinner, Mr. Mason," she said. "How goes the planning?" "Very well. Very well indeed," he said with a grin. "I think I may have young Mr. Cole licked!" "You do? What? Tell me?" "Not yet. But, you"ll know soon enough," he added with a wink. "You mean you won"t tell me?" "Can"t yet, it"s top secret." "But, I"m your confidential secretary." "Yes. But you also have a soft spot for those kids at Pinetop. I"ll tell you soon enough and you"ll have a big part to play, Miss Street." He helped her on with her coat and then slid his hand down into hers. "C"mon let"s go to Morey"s for a steak. I"m starved." Gordon Phelps was proud that he wasn"t like other Methodist ministers. He was smart, funny, athletic, and good looking. Most congregants expected, as he said, "a baldy with a beard and bad breath." He was young, a situation he used to his advantage when possible. One way he used it was to connect with the younger members of St. Timothy"s Church. He appreciated and respected the more mature members and could always count on them to fill the pews on any given Sunday, but, his passion was in his youth ministry. To that end, he spent many hours at the Pinetop Home for Children. He didn"t spend time there because of pity; he spent time there because he knew that he could learn a lot about life and helping people from the kids. Then there was Virginia Reece, too. She was young and beautiful, but smart and also passionate about her work. In many ways they were very much alike. Five years before, Phelps started a choir at Pinetop. Phelps loved music and singing had always been part of his life, thanks to his mother, who was a music teacher. The choir let him have lots of time with the Pinetop kids and more time to speak with Ginny Reece. Each Christmas Eve the Pinetop Choir sang at St. Timothy"s and this year was no exception. ******************************************************************************"So, you see, Reverend Phelps, don"t you think it would be a great idea to turn the Christmas Eve concert into a fundraiser for Pinetop, too?" Betsy asked. "It"s an interesting idea, kids. Have you spoken to Miss Reece about it?" "We want it to be a surprise for her. We know how worried she is about Pinetop closing," Peter added. "I"m sure she is worried. I"m worried now that you"ve told me." Phelps started to pace. "I suppose we could ask for contributions. But, I need to think about it." "There"s not much time, Reverend Phelps. We just have to do something," Katie said imploringly. "I know. Leave it with me for now and I"ll speak with you later today. I have a few ideas." Judge Thomas J. Hood had a reputation for being difficult. Attorneys appearing before him often had a very rough ride - that is, attorneys who were unprepared or lazy had a rough ride. Perry Mason usually managed to make it through a hearing unscathed. Today Perry Mason met with the judge for a completely different reason. "I appreciate your time, Judge," Mason said as he sat in the chair opposite the judge"s desk. "You can imagine, Mason, how surprised I was when you telephoned and brought up Pinetop." The judge regarded Mason carefully. "Not many people know I am a former resident of the Pinetop Home for Children." "I didn"t know it myself, Judge, until I saw your photograph in the director"s office." "I"ll take that as a compliment. I must not look as old as I feel." The judge lit a cigarette and offered one to Perry Mason. "I am glad you called to tell me that young Cole intends to withdraw funding of Pinetop." "I admit that I"m not surprised by it, just disappointed. I found Bertram Cole to be an exceptionally fine man," Perry Mason said. He took a long drag on the cigarette. "Count me in for your plans, Mason. Although I may regret letting this bit of my past out of the bag, I owe much to Pinetop and Bertram Cole." "I was hoping you"d say that, Judge. I couldn"t think of any other way to help save Pinetop." "You"ve contacted Ross Fowler and Harvey Cook?" "Yes." "And, they"re in agreement?" "They are." "I know Cook likes to talk up his orphan past - he and Bert Cole are two of a kind. But, Ross Fowler"s inclusion seals it for me. If anyone can get young Cole"s head on straight it should be Ross Fowler." "I agree Judge and I"m pleased that you and Mr. Cook are on board." "Of course I am, Mason, of course." The judge looked at the clock on the wall. "Now, best let me get these orders signed or Hazel will have my head - she really runs these chambers. I"ll see you later today." Perry Mason shook hands with the judge. "Thank you." Ross Fowler was forty-two, slim, blond-haired and rich. So rich, Perry Mason thought, he could buy and sell Henry Cole several times over and not notice. Growing up at the Pinetop Home for Children hadn"t done him any harm. Fowler emerged an independent and savvy real estate broker. He"d managed to parlay the purchase of once-considered-worthless desert into millions. Moreover, he"d been a classmate of Henry Cole"s at college. Fowler"s office was big and spacious and had a view across Los Angeles and out to the Pacific that was staggering. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Mason, this is quite an honor for me," Fowler said as he shook hands with the attorney. "It"s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Fowler." "It"s Ross - everyone calls me Ross." He indicated a chair for Mason. "Can I get you anything? Coffee or something with a little more Christmas cheer?" "Coffee would be fine, thank you," Perry Mason said. He looked around at Fowler"s office and saw photographs of the man with not only the current President, but the last two as well. Interspersed were photographs of Ross Fowler with film stars and professional athletes. "Well, I can only say that I"m sorely disappointed in Henry Cole," Fowler said as he handed a cup of coffee to Perry Mason. "He was always a brat, I just never expected him to be this much of an ingrate." "I"ve only met him on two occasions and the last was when he came to my office to review the terms of his father"s will. I will say that I think Bertram Cole was a fine man." "He certainly was. Bert Cole was a great man and Henry Cole is a poor substitute for his father." They chatted convivially while they awaited Judge Hood and Harvey Cook. Fowler, Cook and Hood had grown up at the Pinetop Home for Children and all three had become successful in their chosen fields. "Good afternoon, Judge, Harvey," Fowler said as he ushered them into his office. "And the lovely Kay Rodgers, what a treat," Fowler greeted her warmly. "Fowler, good of you to have us all here," Harvey Cook said. "Ross, wonderful to see you. It"s the fault of this old coot, he told me about Pinetop closing, and well..." "I know. Come in and meet Perry Mason - the reason for our little get-together." Fowler said. "Perry, I believe you know the Judge and Harvey. Have you met Kay Rodgers?" "I haven"t had the privilege," Perry Mason said. "The privilege is mine, counselor. I"ve read so many nice things about you and it appears that some of them are true." Kay Rodgers extended her hand to Perry Mason and gave him an approving if not provocative look. Kay Rodgers was a top journalist for the Los Angeles Chronicle and also a former Pinetop resident. "When Harvey called to tell me of Henry Cole"s plan to close Pinetop I told him I had to come along to this little meeting." "Yes, we may need to resort to the power of the press, if all else fails," Cook said. "The more armed we are to go forward the better," Judge Hood added. Gordon Phelps was reluctant to turn his Christmas Eve service into a fundraiser for Pinetop, but he knew the people of Kirkston would want to know that Henry Cole planned to close the home, too. He wanted to include Ginny Reece in any plans he made, she was the director of the home and she would need to know. It was a stroke of luck that he ran into Harry Jefferson at the drug store and Harry had told him about Perry Mason"s visit and hoped that the lawyer would have a way to convince Henry Cole to continue to support Pinetop. Armed with this new information, Gordon headed to Los Angeles to see Perry Mason. "I certainly appreciate your seeing me like this Mr. Mason. I"m sure you"re very busy," Rev. Phelps said as Della Street brought him into the attorney"s private office. "Anything I can do to help Pinetop, Reverend." "Well, that"s it exactly. I have an idea, although it won"t raise the kind of money Bertram Cole gave to Pinetop, but it might delay the closing until Ginny, I mean, Miss Reece has a chance to secure other means." "I see. What"s your plan?" "I direct the choir at the home and some of the kids, the older kids, heard that Henry Cole was withdrawing his funding and they want to hold a benefit concert on Christmas Eve for Pinetop." "I think that sounds like a wonderful idea!" Della Street interjected. "It does and the choir always sings at our Christmas Eve service. But, in my mind it would be more effective if we could entice Mr. Cole to come." Phelps shifted nervously in his chair. "I agree it would, Reverend. I think you should extend an invitation to him personally," Perry Mason said. "I was hoping you could do that, Mr. Mason. I"ve never met Mr. Cole." "I have and I can assure you any invitation I offer will be soundly refused. But, you, on the other hand, could couch your invitation in terms of a remembrance of his late father." "That"s a splendid idea! And, I think it might work. Will you and Miss Street attend?" Phelps asked. "The more bodies I can get in the pews the better it looks to my bishop," he said with a laugh. Perry glanced at Della even though he already knew her answer. "We"d be delighted." "Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Mason." Phelps stood to leave. "Oh, our service begins at nine o"clock, will that be all right?" "Fine. We"ll see you then." Perry Mason shook hands with the young clergyman and smiled. The reverend"s service would fit nicely with the plans he"d made previously with the four former Pinetoppers! Tuesday, December 24, 1957 The headline in the Los Angeles Chronicle, although appearing on an inside section, still attracted attention: "Pinetop Home for Children Save By Group of Former Students." Kay Rodgers had managed to get the story of Henry Cole"s decision to stop funding the home and the promise of Harvey Cook, Ross Folwer, Judge Hood and herself to form an endowment to save the home planted in every newspaper from San Francisco to San Diego. It was, by her account, the exact type of "good news people love to read at Christmas." The story, with a byline of some anonymity, managed to paint Henry Cole as a latter-day Scrooge who really did like to drown puppies and take food from the mouths of babies. Figuring prominently in the story, apart from the four former residents, was Perry Mason, attorney for the newly formed endowment. It was exactly 8:58 a.m. when the telephone on Perry Mason"s desk rang. "Mason speaking," he said. "Is it true, Mr. Mason? What"s in the papers, is it true?" Ginny Reece could hardly contain her joy. "It is indeed true, Miss Reece." "Oh, this is too wonderful...you"re too wonderful! How can I ever thank you?" "It"s not me you need to thank, but the former students," Perry Mason said. "I just brought them the news of Pinetop"s demise."

Until I saw them in the street one night. They were both drunk off their asses, staggering around in stupid party hats, and having a blast. It made me sick to see the depths to which Saint Jimmy had dragged poor, naïve Johnny. Why couldn"t Johnny see that this creep wasn"t his friend? I lost it. I know I should have just kept walking, but- ugh! I told Johnny exactly what I thought of his companion and how he was being an idiot for playing his twisted games. Jimmy ran away, pathetic coward that he was, and left Johnny staring at me in open-mouthed shock. I stormed off, shouting over my shoulder that Johnny needed to wake the fuck up. And after getting back to my apartment, I let go of any remaining rage, sure that I was done with the two of them for good. Yeah, I know that"s pathetically short. But it seemed like a good intro, so I"m going to leave it as its own piece. By the time I post this, Chapter 1 will be completed and will go up within several minutes of the Prologue. I know nothing happened yet, but... reviews? A/N- Restated from previous chapter: Although Tony Vincent is no longer performing as Saint Jimmy and I saw Billie Joe in the role this Sunday, Mr. Vincent will always be Saint Jimmy to me. So if you"re imagining this story in your mind, it is his Jimmy I encourage you to picture. THE CITY"S BURNING- IT"S NOT MY BURDEN Whatshername"s Point of View About ten days after my explosive run-in with Johnny on the street, I went to a party with a few of my friends. The band was good and the beer was cheap; I was thoroughly enjoying myself. I tried not to look over to the side of the room where the very high people seemed to be congregating, just in case I saw someone who recognized me and wanted to ask about Johnny. For hours, my just-ignoring-them strategy worked fine, but then something caught my eye. It was hair. Stupid, right, to notice hair in a room full of people. Now maybe if it was my hair, that would make sense. Pink tends to be rather eye-catching. But this was just black hair. Very black hair that contrasted sharply with the white skin out of which it grew. Cursing the day that I had first seen that utterly ridiculous hairstyle and the man who wore it so proudly, I turned to fully look at the group. Typical. A bunch of brainwashed zombies begging Saint Jimmy for drugs. Involuntarily, I scanned the many faces for Johnny. I couldn"t suppress the twinge of concern I felt when I was certain he wasn"t there. What had Saint Jimmy done to him? But then I began to notice that there was something off about the great drug dealer. His usually hypnotic movements seemed somehow clumsy and several times, he swayed as if on the verge of falling. "Hey, you okay?" I turned to see my friends staring at me with worried looks. "What? Oh, yeah. I"m fine. Just spaced out for a minute. Sorry." Forcing my attention back on to my companions, I turned my back on Saint Jimmy. As hard as I tried to get back into the swing of conversation with my friends, I could not stop my mind from repeating the same question over and over again. Where was Johnny? If he wasn"t with Jimmy, where could he be? The decision was finally made to call it a night. I wanted to walk home with my friends and never come back to this club again. But every time I glanced over at Saint Jimmy, I pictured Johnny lying dead in some filthy gutter. Giving way to my fears and desire for answers, I told my companions that I had spotted an old acquaintance and wanted to go and say hello. They nodded in understanding, bid me goodnight, and left. I watched Jimmy for a few minutes before approaching him. There was indeed something wrong with him. His typical way of walking could be described as gliding; that night it more closely resembled staggering. His clothes looked rumpled and unwashed, as if he had slept in them the night before. His usually perfect eye make-up was smeared onto his cheek. His speech was slurred. Seeing Saint Jimmy drunk and high was nothing unusual. I don"t think I had ever seen him sober before he and Johnny moved into my apartment. But he never let himself get to the point where he could no longer control his actions. To be honest, it was more than a little concerning to witness Jimmy under the influence of the drugs he used to make everyone else adore him. I called to him from several feet away, not sure how he would react to my presence. He spun around to face me, nearly losing his balance. "Tha"s my name. And don" wear it out." He squinted at me as if trying to focus on my face. I watched in mild amusement as recognition flooded over him and his normally attractive features twisted into a hideous expression of hate mixed with... fear? Really? "Long time no see, Jimmy," I began casually, purposefully neglecting to address him by the ridiculous title of "Saint". He started toward me, but his steps were much too wobbly for me to be intimidated. Stopping an inch away from my face, he snarled, "Get th"fuck outta my life. You ruined ev"rything, you goddam bitch. Now go "way." I honestly had no idea what he was talking about and I told him so. "I was just wondering why Johnny wasn"t with you. Just answer that and I"ll go. Seriously, I have no desire to be around you any longer than I have to." Concern suddenly filled Jimmy"s face. "Y"mean he"s not with you? I thought he"d"ve come right back here." "What are you talking about, Jimmy?" I asked, trying to be patient. "You made"im go "way, you fucking bitch. In the street that day, when you yelled at him. He packed up all his junk, said you were right, I"m a manip"lative sonofabitch and he hadda go wake up. I thought he was coming back t"you. Maybe he wanted to get clean first? I dunno. I dunno where he is. But he"ll come find you. When he does, c"you tell him I said... tell him I said... Fuck it!" He took a few steps away from me, then shouted, "Fuck it! Fuck you! Get outta here!" He grabbed a large glass of whiskey out of one of his groupie"s hand, drank it down, and smashed the glass on the floor while flipping me off. Deciding I didn"t want to see whatever stupid-ass thing he was going to do next, I left. I floated back to my apartment with Jimmy"s voice ringing in my ears. You made"im go "way, you fucking bitch. In the street that day, when you yelled at him. Johnny had listened to me. He had gone off to get his life back on track. I hoped Jimmy was right in his speculation that Johnny would come back to see me once he was clean. I wasn"t in love with him, but he had been a really great friend, something that"s getting more and more hard to find in this crazy world. I would love having him back in my life. But I knew that if he didn"t come back, that would be okay, too. He was free of Saint Jimmy, and that was all that really mattered. Wow. Again, short. I know. But I kind of like how this is coming out so far. Does anyone else? This fic is still sort of up in the air in my mind, so feedback would be very much appreciated. As stated in earlier chapters: 1- Tony Vincent is the one and only Saint Jimmy 2- These characters are not my creation. I just love them. NOW YOU"RE COMING UNGLUED Whatshername"s Point of View The next night found me, to my great displeasure, in the same club where I had spoken to Saint Jimmy the night before. Several of the other employees of the restaurant where I waitressed wanted to go out for drinks after a particularly hectic day, and since I had been personally invited by Jakob, the very attractive assistant manager, I thought it would be very stupid of me to refuse. Being less than two blocks away from the restaurant, that club was the natural choice. I went along anyway, deciding that the likelihood of bumping into Saint Jimmy two nights in a row was quite small. Once again, the music was good and the beer was cheap. Now, the atmosphere was made even better by the presence of Jakob, who seemed to be a very nice gentleman. We talked amiably about music and movies for some time- he had good taste in both areas. All thoughts of Jakob and his interesting assessment of Shutter Island flew from my mind, however, as I heard a voice cry out, "Yeah, Saint Jimmy!" I turned around to see one of Jimmy"s most loyal fans, a confused young man called Theo, egging Jimmy on as he danced provocatively on a table. Try as I might to forget the scene unfolding mere yards away from me, I couldn"t help but notice that Jimmy looked even more disheveled than he had the night before. Reminding myself that Saint Jimmy was no concern of mine and that I felt nothing but ill will toward him, I resumed my conversation with Jakob. Minutes later, however, a loud crash brought my attention back to Jimmy"s corner of the room. In his very drunken state, he had managed to overturn the table on which he had been dancing, sending both it and himself to the floor in a jumbled heap. "Seriously, Jimmy? What the hell?" "Do you know him?" asked Jakob curiously. Dammit, I hadn"t meant to say that out loud! I decided to just be honest; Jakob seemed like a pretty cool guy. "Yeah, unfortunately." There. That was honest without being too revealing, and it made it clear that my association with Jimmy was not anything I particularly enjoyed. "Maybe you should go over there?" my companion suggested, attempting to be helpful. "He"s fine," I said confidently. "Look". Sure enough, Jimmy was on his feet again, dancing in a vaguely indecent manner with two girls who could scarcely be considered dressed. It didn"t escape my notice, however, that the way he was sandwiched between them made it unnecessary for him to try to hold himself upright. Soon, our conversation drifted back to other topics and I almost managed to forget that Saint Jimmy was getting smashed on the other side of the room. When Jakob offered to walk me home, I left with him, not sparing a glance for the half-conscious man now sprawled across the pool table. I told myself that my return to the club the following night was due to sick curiosity. I only stayed about ten minutes, long enough to see the unshakeable Saint Jimmy fall to the floor in a fit of hysterical giggles brought on by the needle he was pressing into his thin arm. The night after that, however, I knew I could no longer justify my actions with the excuse of curiosity. Jimmy"s behavior had freaked me out. Since the day I met him, I never had never seen his façade weaken. Night after night of hard partying had never seemed to catch up with him. Groupies came, went, died, overdosed, whatever; it had never even phased him. Now, he could barely stand up from all the drugs flooding his body. His impeccable appearance was flawed, wrinkled, and chipped. I wondered briefly if whatever was happening had to do with Johnny, but dismissed the thought quickly. Johnny meant nothing to Saint Jimmy; he only cared about his drugs and himself. Like I had told Johnny so many times, he was no more than Jimmy"s latest toy, which he would use until it broke, then throw it away. Whatever the cause of Jimmy"s downward spiral, however, I found myself wanting to snap him out of it. I knew he hated me and didn"t think sitting him down for a friendly chat was a very good idea. Not knowing what else to do, I simply returned to the club each night to check on the crazed drug dealer. Never before had I seen Jimmy stumble or fall. Never had I seen him stare into blank space for minutes at a time or collapse in a fit of laughter brought on by nothing at all. Never had I thought him capable of actually blacking out, speaking nonsense, or falling to the floor unconscious. Over the course of the week and a half that I visited the club on Jimmy"s behalf, I witnessed all of these things. To say it scared me was an understatement. At first it concerned me that none of his little fans had noticed anything wrong with their "Saint". But after a few days, I came to two possible conclusions: One- He was giving them more drugs to keep them oblivious or Two- As long as he kept them high and entertained, they didn"t really give a shit about his wellbeing. I wasn"t sure which one of these theories disturbed me more. Either way, I felt with growing certainty that I had been grossly misjudging Saint Jimmy in my former assessments of him. Something was eating up the "Jimmy" underneath the "Saint" persona and I was sure that if it didn"t stop soon, it would destroy him completely. I sat at the bar one night, sipping a beer and watching Jimmy discreetly when someone tapped me on the shoulder. It was one of my fellow waitresses, who had come out for a night of relaxation after a double shift. We chatted for a while before her boyfriend showed up and dragged her onto the club"s crowded dance floor. It was after ten o"clock and anyway, Jimmy had managed to vanish while my back was turned. I left. The narrow alley behind the club served as an excellent shortcut between it and my apartment building, so I slipped out the service entrance as usual. But unlike most nights, I had the distinct impression that there was someone else in the alley. A soft groan issued from the general vicinity of the dumpster. I approached cautiously, fishing around in my purse for the little can of mace I always carried. Saint Jimmy stood propped up in the corner made by the dumpster meeting the brick wall. I watched him anxiously, remaining in the shadows even though his eyes were tightly closed. After several minutes, I decided that I should just retreat as quietly as possible and go on home. But just as I took my first step away from the dumpster, Jimmy"s thin frame lurched forward violently and he threw up on the already filthy pavement. Cringing, I stepped toward him, determined to do something, even if it was as simple and meaningless as holding him steady as the next wave of nausea hit. I stopped less than two feet away from him, my arm outstretched. Obviously, Jimmy needed help and it seemed like I was going to have to be the one to offer it. But this probably wasn"t the best moment to call a truce and explain that I was now on his side. No, having me show up during this breakdown so complete that he had even gone outside to hide it from his lackeys would only make him hate me more. And so I left the great Saint Jimmy puking behind a dumpster, wordlessly promising him that I would intervene at the next possible moment. Poor Saint Jimmy has finally reached his breaking point and Whatshername is at least trying to be helpful. You see, she"s not a bad person, just... not very patient or understanding at times. So, how am I doing? Makes sense? In character? My first thought was that Jimmy"s meltdown was OOC, but in the real story he shoots himself in the head. Obviously, Jimmy has some serious inner turmoil. (And that"s the beauty of his character.) Enough about my own thoughts on Jimmy. Feedback? Please? As stated in earlier chapters: 1- Tony Vincent is the one and only Saint Jimmy. But I heard Melissa Etheridge did really great last week! So sad I wasn"t able to see her. 2- Billie Joe wrote the characters and a bunch of brilliant minds together created the musical. I own nothing except ticket stubs from three performance. YOU"RE IN RUINS Whatshername"s Point of View I returned to the club the following night, determined to speak to Saint Jimmy. Luckily, it was not my night to work late at the restaurant, so I managed to leave exactly at closing time. I hurried straight to the club, hoping to get a chance to talk to Jimmy before he was too drunk to think rationally. Unfortunately, Jimmy"s idea of happy hour had begun to blur with most people"s idea of lunch time. I arrived at the club no later than nine o"clock to find him and a handful of his groupies already partying in full swing. I stood off to one side, observing Saint Jimmy"s behavior before attempting to approach him. As I had come to expect, he was visibly intoxicated, staggering between his followers and calling wildly to them in a slurred voice. His hair and clothes were disheveled and he looked to be on the verge of collapse. I didn"t have to wait long before an opportunity for me to approach presented itself. After fifteen minutes of watching him down shots like a man dying of thirst, I was not surprised to see the great Saint Jimmy"s knees buckle under his unsteady weight. None of his supposedly loyal fans made a move to help him. Though I had come to realize that they only cared about the drugs Saint Jimmy offered, it still disturbed me to see them completely ignore him as he lay sprawled on the dirty dance floor. I approached him cautiously, as one would a wounded animal. He was struggling to stand when I reached him, and failing spectacularly in the attempt. Disregarding the many unpleasant possible outcomes of touching Saint Jimmy without his permission, I knelt beside him and grabbed his arms in an attempt to steady him. His head snapped up instantly and he stared at me through bloodshot eyes. The vacant, hazy look vanished as soon as he recognized me, but the expression of strong dislike he cast my way looked somehow diminished by the general air of exhaustion that enveloped him. "Thought I toldya t"leave me "lone." "Yeah, Jimmy. You did." "Then wha"the fuck"re you doin" here?" I hesitated, not sure how to tell someone I"ve always hated that I was seriously concerned about them. As I stared speechlessly at him, Jimmy"s face suddenly filled with a mix of excitement and worry. "Where"s Johnny?" he asked loudly. "Didya find him? S"he okay?" He pulled out of my grasp and tried to stand, leaning heavily on me and still yelling about Johnny. "Jimmy," I shouted over him. "Jimmy, stop! I don"t know where he is." He moved toward the door, as if he thought Johnny would be there. But the drugs and alcohol coursing through him dragged him back to the floor just feet into his journey. I hurried to his side as he started to sway, breaking his fall and lowering him carefully to the floor. "Stay still, Jimmy. He"s not here." "Then what"reya doing here? Go "way." "No, Jimmy. I"ve seen you here a lot lately and you"re worrying me." "Yeah, I bet I am," he mumbled. "Scared I"m gonna screw up your nex" hot fuckbuddy, ya selfish-lil-bitch?" "No, Jimmy," I answered patiently. "I"m worried about you." He snorted sarcastically. "Oh yeah. "Cuz you suddenly don" hate my guts." He laughed nastily, then dissolved into a fit of hysterical giggles. I took a deep breath, pushing my annoyance and lingering dislike aside. "Come on, Jimmy, let"s go home. We"ll talk tomorrow when you"re sober." I could almost hear Jimmy"s drunken mind whirring as he tried to understand my words. "Home? Whaddaya mean, home?" "My apartment, Jimmy. You remember the futon in the spare room? That place where you always crash when you"re not couch-surfing?" "You"re gonna lemme back in there? Thoughtya threw us outta your life cuz I got"cher boyfriend fucked up." "Oh, please, Jimmy," I quipped. "You pissed me off long before Johnny ever came to this city and I always let you sleep there." A ghost of Saint Jimmy"s signature grin flashed across his pale face. "Okay, fine, whatever-the-fuck-your-name-is. Lesgo home." He leaned heavily on me during the short walk to my apartment. I wrapped my arm firmly around his narrow waist and supported him as best I could. Try as I might to focus only on dragging Jimmy"s drunken form to bed, I couldn"t help but notice how sharply his shoulder blade dug into me. When he stumbled, I gripped his torso to keep him standing; I clearly felt the ridges formed by his protruding ribs and spine. Jimmy had always been thin, but the sort of thin that could be attributed to body type and activity. Now, he seemed half starved and I wondered if he had been remembering through his drugged stupor that eating was a necessary chore. But this was a concern for a later time. The drugs raging through him were numbing his mind further with each passing step. Somehow, I managed to drag him up the narrow flight of stairs leading to my apartment and into the spare room that I had begun to consider "Jimmy"s room". By the time I dumped him onto the futon, he was mumbling incoherently. I stopped trying to listen when I caught the words "Johnny" and "stupid sparkly party hat". He had fallen into a drunken sleep before I had finished pulling his leather boots off. My mind was spinning with questions and concerns as I left Saint Jimmy sprawled unconscious on my futon. What had made his unshakable façade finally crack? Why, in his drunken babbling, had he brought up Johnny and the night I had finally managed to get through to him? Where was Johnny, anyway? Had he done something to actually upset Jimmy? Would Jimmy be angry in the morning when he woke up in my apartment? It was late. I was tired and frustrated and starting to wonder if bringing Jimmy back here was a really stupid idea. But none of my questions could be answered until the morning, when Jimmy was sober and I had at least a small chance of getting logical answers out of him. I crawled into bed and slowly fell into a restless sleep. Thoughts, anyone? Do you like it? Or do you just want Whatshername to stop talking? (I"m the one writing it and sometimes I want her to shut up, so...) Let me know what you think and if you have any plot ideas! PS. Chapter title? Yeah, I know. I picked the most non-descriptive line from the best song in the show...

"Hey, Penny." She whirled around; Billy jumped, then took a step toward her when he realized she had recently been crying. "What happened? What did he do to you?" "He watched out for me, warned me of the danger I"ve been in." The sorrow in Penny"s beautiful eyes and musical voice turned to anger. "He protected me from, you, Doctor!" Billy froze. His mind filled with desperate thoughts. Run away! Beg for forgiveness! Jump off the nearest bridge! Deny everything! Confess his love! Explain! Yes, that one seemed almost reasonable. Penny was, or at least used to be, his friend. She would listen to him, and once he told her why he wanted to take over the world, she would... forgive him? Maybe not, but it was better than just fleeing and never talking to her again, which was his second option. "Look, Penny-" "No. There"s nothing you can say, Doctor, so don"t try." She turned away and brushed at her watering eyes. Billy didn"t- couldn"t- move. Suddenly, she turned back to face him. "Actually, I do have one question. I don"t even know why it matters, but... Do you like me?" "What?" Billy had no idea how "I hate you, you monstrous villain" could suddenly turn into "Are we friends?' What was she talking about? "Do you care about me at all? Or did you just think it would be a clever idea to mess around with your nemesis"s girlfriend? All those conversations we had, was any of it true? Are you..." Her voice broke. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed. The elderly man who worked behind the counter, the only other person in the laundromat, stared at Billy reproachfully. "No, Penny, don"t," Billy pleaded. He knelt beside her and placed his trembling hand on her shoulder. She pulled away instantly. "Penny, listen to me. Everything you know about me is true. All my ideas, my dreams, the problems I see in the world. I just... underemphasized how far I would go to change it. I was going to tell you eventually. I would never hurt anyone, though. It"s just..." He sighed. "Don"t you agree things have to change?" Penny looked up at him through puffy red eyes and nodded. "So be a hero, Billy. Do something to make a change. But not this." "Heroes are useless. Look at Hammer. Who has he ever helped? They"re just like everyone else. Pretend they"re doing something special and use their power to score hot girls." Penny blushed, but Billy continued on without pause. "He wants you to hate me, Penny. He wants you to stay away from someone who would actually treat you like the perfect person you are so you won"t see how much he"s not doing for you!" "Well I guess he succeeded." Penny"s heart was breaking, but she knew she was doing the right thing. Her sweet Billy Buddy was a lie. There was only a villain who had somehow managed to get under her skin and hurt her. "Because I do hate you, Dr. Horrible. Now please, just get away." Billy couldn"t breathe. She didn"t mean that. She hadn"t said it. Penny was his only hope, the only thing that could save him from the desperate villain inside himself. The still-functioning part of his brain told him that he needed to leave. His heart wanted to pull her close and hold her until she understood how very wrong she was about him. Penny turned around when she heard the bell over the door jingle. She hadn"t actually expected him to give up so easily. She looked down and saw, placed carefully just inches from her feet, a slowly melting cup of frozen yogurt. She hated him. She hated him! Billy didn"t know what to do, didn"t know what to feel. He felt the darkness of the world around him and the darkness of his own frustrated mind closing in around him. Suddenly, there was no reason to fight it. There was no hope of finding joy in his cold, miserable life. Billy stood in his lab, trying desperately to slow his racing heart and frantic mind. How? What could he possibly do? He could build a weakness ray, he thought wildly, take away Hammer"s strength, kidnap him, and torture him. But that wouldn"t make Penny forgive him; it would probably make her murder him. He wondered if that would be such a terrible thing. Hammer did not love Penny and Billy did. This was the only thing he knew, the only workable fact his desperate mind could cling to. But Penny didn"t know it, and that was the problem. Billy knew he couldn"t convince her of Hammer"s true nature, He was a superhero, thus automatically loved by everyone. Besides, Penny wouldn"t take his advice now; she"d think destroying Hammer"s love life was part of his villainous evil plan. His only hope of getting the girl of his dreams back into his life was to convince her of his worth. Once upon a few short days ago, Penny had considered him her very best friend. They had common ideals and could easily converse with a level of honesty Billy had never known before. The only thing that had changed was Billy"s name. But it obviously meant much more than that to Penny. Billy tried to imagine the conclusions that Penny had drawn from learning his identity. Within minutes, he had developed a very sinister image of himself, in which he was not at all nervous and frustrated, but violent and horrible. Dr. Horrible, in fact. He shuddered at the thought and then realized with a sickening jolt that this terrible vision had very recently been his greatest desire. "Why?" He didn"t notice that he had begun talking aloud. "How could I willingly give in to one evil to stop another? No wonder she hates me. But even in the League, I wouldn"t have-" He stopped, suddenly seized by a memory. It was that first day that Penny had spoken to him, the day she had met Captain Hammer. Then, Penny had wanted to talk to him, get to know him, recruit him for Caring Hands. Dr. Horrible had thrown away that chance to steal Wonderflonium. For the first time, Billy realized that that moment had been a fork in the road of his life. He felt suddenly cold as he realized that he had chosen evil. He deserved Penny"s hatred. In his battle against the world, mankind"s evil had won, corrupting him and taking from him everything he ever really wanted; Penny. But how could he blame the world? Penny saw the same wickedness that he did and came out of it kinder every day. Billy had lost his battle with Dr. Horrible and until he managed to conquer the villain within himself, he had no right to even hope for Penny"s forgiveness. Penny sat on the leather couch in Captain Hammer"s living room, listening intently as Hammer told of his recent defeat of Dead Bowie. After her recent brush with a villain, she felt obligated to be more appreciative of heroes. She told herself every day that she was the luckiest girl in the world and she had to give Captain Hammer the sort of adoration he deserved. His story finished, Hammer looked at Penny expectantly. She smiled brightly, displaying a loving pride that did not meet her eyes. "Thank goodness you"re here to protect us." Hammer pulled his incredibly cute girlfriend to his strong body. "Yeah. You"re a lucky little lady, huh?" He tilted her head up and pressed his mouth to her soft lips. Penny leaned into the kiss, telling herself that this was right, that this was perfect, that she was hopelessly in love. She closed her eyes and deepened the kiss, running her hand through fluffy blonde hair, allowing the smell of detergent and the taste of frozen yogurt to overwhelm her. No! She couldn"t have just pictured... No. He was a villain. And even just Billy, the way they were before Dr. Horrible had come between them, no, it hadn"t been like that. This was where she belonged, wasn"t it? Hammer"s strong hands slid to the edge of Penny"s Caring Hands t-shirt and ran up her chest, making her shiver. She wasn"t sure it was a reaction of delight. He cupped her breasts, sliding his mouth expertly down to meet his fingers. Penny knew this was wrong, but hadn"t the slightest idea how to say no to a super hero. Billy"s gentle voice flashed through her mind. Why don"t you just tell him you"re not interested? Her sweet Billy Buddy hadn"t been evil then. He had been compassionate and genuinely concerned about her. She had almost dared to break up with Hammer that day because she knew that Billy was on her side. Why had his identity changed everything? Why had everything Billy ever said become twisted into something evil? Why was Hammer suddenly a suitable boyfriend? She pulled back just as Hammer moved to unclasp her bra. "Listen, I have to go. They need me back at the shelter." Hammer snorted. "They have other volunteer people, baby. You"re busy." He reached for her, but Penny moved away. "No, really. I have to go. Sorry." She rushed out the front door, not daring to look back. "I"ll call you!" she shouted after her, hoping to appease him. That night, Penny stayed up past midnight, though the events of the day had left her drained and tired. She couldn"t get that image of kissing Billy out of her head. Why had she thought of that? Obviously, she told herself, I"d rather have been with anyone that Captain Hammer, corporate tool. She laughed humorlessly. Billy had taught her that term. Okay, it kind of makes sense that I was attracted to him before, she rationalized. He was sweet, funny, socially aware. He signed my petition and came to Caring Hands to volunteer. He treated me with respect, even too much so at times. Always went out of his way to make me happy. But it was all a cover, her mind continued, spinning in dizzying circles. And while he must have been genuine- my best friend can"t have been totally made up, right?- he"s dangerous. I could never date a villain, could never be friends with one. On the other hand, heroes haven"t turned out to be all that heroic. When she finally fell asleep, Penny dreamt of being kidnapped by Dr. Horrible and rescued by Captain Hammer, who tried to molest her as he drove her away from Horrible"s lab. She screamed for help, knowing that the only person who could get to her in time was famous for being a soulless villain. But suddenly Billy was there, Billy, who had been trapped in Dr. Horrible"s evil lair and had only just gotten himself loose. He took her to the laundromat, where the mayor handed her a cup of frozen yogurt and her petition with his seal of approval on it. She woke up feeling more confused than before. The next morning, Penny walked in to Caring Hands with her head held high, determined not to think of either the perfect man who had entered her life or the villain who had taken away her brief happiness. Nor, she vowed, would she spend any more time trying to establish which man was which. Her harbor had sunken back into the sea and she was once again thrust into the stormy sailing that had always been her life. No use dreaming of things that might have been. The temperature outside was dropping, which meant that the shelter was getting steadily busier. Penny was glad of this and made sure to work extra hard, not giving her mind a moment to wander. The staff was simply glad that Penny was leaving less for them to do, but some of the clients, who all loved Penny very much, thought she seemed... off. "You been getting" enough sleep, girl?" Penny jumped, but saw only Mr. Harding, a wheelchair-bound veteran, eying her with concern. "Yes, I"m fine, Mr. Harding." She tried to laugh casually, but found a weak smile was the best she could manage. She was saved from having to make excuses by the ringing of her cell phone. "Oh, excuse me." Penny spoke patiently to the Girl Scout troop leader who wanted to bring several girls in as volunteers, then to the local grocery store, which was holding a food drive for the shelter, then to the trucking company that was delivering the food, on and on until her phone grew hot under her chin, chopping vegetables the entire time. Putting down her phone at long last, she left the kitchen to begin making up the freshly laundered cots. She only managed to go halfway across the room, however, before she found herself frozen to the spot as firmly as if she were under the power of a freeze ray. Billy swallowed hard, fighting down the nervous butterflies in his stomach as he stood outside the Caring Hands shelter. He knew Penny was inside; the dropping temperature had surely made the shelter very busy. But did he have the nerve to go in to see her? He couldn"t leave it like this, just walking away with her hating him. She would never go back to the laundromat, at least not at a predictable time. Of course, he knew where she lived, but it would be too creepy to show up at her doorstep. So Caring Hands was the only place to take the chance to build a new existence with Penny, free from Dr. Horrible and Captain Hammer. Holding his breath, he pushed open the heavy double doors and entered. Nervous blue eyes scanned the crowded dining hall, searching for the beautiful red hair of the most wonderful person Billy had ever known. He saw her for a split second, but she disappeared into the kitchen before he could even take a step toward her. Not daring to follow her into the kitchen, Billy wandered aimlessly around the shelter, waiting for the perfect opportunity to approach the love of his life. Each step he took brought new memories of the times he had shared with her in this building filled with such hope and sorrow. Would they ever get the chance to make new memories? Billy"s wanderings took him to a small room at the back of the dining room. It was a sort of nursery and playroom, where parents could leave their children while they got food, met with social workers, or went job-hunting. Two teenage girls stood in a corner, "watching" the children for community service hours as they gossiped eagerly about the most recent party they"d attended. Two babies slept comfortably in plastic cribs pushed against the stone walls. A handful of children, ages three to ten, played amiably on the hard floor. Billy wondered at such complete innocence and thought it was uplifting how they could find happiness even in such circumstances. But Billy knew that no joy is absolute; his peaceful reflection upon these children was interrupted by the soft sound of crying. A little girl, about seven years old, crouched in the darkest corner of the playroom, her long blonde hair covering her face and her clenched fist stifling her sobs. Billy approached her slowly, not wanting to frighten her, but desperate to stop her tears. He hated seeing people unhappy. "Um... are you okay?" The girl jumped and looked up at Billy, dark eyes filled with tears and fear. Billy knelt before her, reaching out a placating hand. "Hey, don"t be scared. It"s okay." He tried to smile at her, but found the expression on her little face too heartbreaking. "My name"s Billy. What"s yours?" The girl"s mother had told her not to talk to strangers, but she didn"t see how she could possibly feel unsafe around this man. He looked so friendly and kind of afraid himself. His eyes looked as sad as her heart felt. "Kayla." "Hi Kayla. Why are you crying?" "I"m lonely," she sniffled. "You don"t want to play with the other kids?" She shook her head. He hesitated; he had to go find Penny. But this poor little girl was hurting. He remembered the many times in his childhood when he would have given anything just to build a Lego castle with someone. "Will you play with me?" Kayla buried her head in her hands and sobbed. "No, don"t cry! Please!" Billy"s heart pounded. Had he made her even more upset? Why couldn"t he make anyone happy? "Tell me what"s wrong. I can try to fix it." Through slightly subdued crying, Kayla stammered, "I made my mommy homeless." Billy was taken aback. What did this little girl think of herself? "How?" He was almost afraid to hear the answer. "I cost money to feed and I"m too little to work." "Did your mommy tell you that?" "No. But I know food costs money and I eat and I don"t work. And now mommy goes out all day and leaves me here. She mad at me "cause of what I did, right?" Billy never knew what to say in a difficult situation. He rarely knew what to say when the words were apparent. But somehow, he managed a response to the broken little girl. No of course she isn"t mad. And it"s not your fault. She"s probably been out trying to find work. She"ll be back pretty soon and then you can spend the evening with her. But right now, your job is to have fun." He cast his mind around for some sort of distraction for Kayla. She watched as he stood swiftly, walked over to the game closet and returned in seconds, sitting cross-legged before her on the floor. He held a small rectangular box in one hand. "Want to see some card tricks?" As the minutes ticked by and Billy repeated the same several tricks, Kayla forgot her sorrow and loneliness. Billy was nice. Maybe he could come and play with her when she was here alone. She didn"t like those girls in the corner; they never noticed anything or wanted to play. "Okay, pick a card." Penny stared at the heartwarming scene before her, not sure if she wanted to hug Billy for coming back to Caring Hands and being as sweet and good as she always thought he was or attack Dr. Horrible for coming so close to an innocent child. Kayla laughed as Billy drew her card from the pile yet again. Penny smiled. The poor girl had been taking her family"s situation very hard. This was the first time Penny had seen her without tears building in her wide eyes. This was the Billy she knew; this was her best friend. She took a step closer, trying not to draw attention to herself. "Miss Penny!" Billy whirled around, face scarlet, looking as though he had been caught doing something bad. "Miss Penny, this is my friend Billy. He can do card tricks! Wanna see?" "Sure." Penny sat down on the floor between them, drew a card, and allowed Billy to perform his trick. She tried to ignore how much his hands were trembling. Had Billy really become afraid of her? She had told him that she hated him, she remembered sadly. Both girls clapped as Billy successfully produced Penny"s card, the two of hearts. "Kayla, honey, do you mind if I borrow Billy for a little bit?" Penny asked, not daring to look at her friend. "Your mommy should be here in a few minutes." "Okay." Miss Penny was nice, the girl reasoned. She could take Billy if she needed him. Besides, Mommy would be back soon. Billy followed Penny wordlessly, not daring to speak until she had led him down and stopped in a deserted hallway on the way to the pantry. Even then, he could not force the words he had come to say out of his mouth. "Is the mother going to find something?" "That"s why she"s coming back." Penny"s voice seemed tight, as if she were struggling to control it. "I just got called as a reference. She starts tomorrow as a waitress at that seafood place down the block. It"s a fancy restaurant, which means decent pay and big tips." She sighed. No use standing here dancing around the issue when she had work to do. "What are you doing here?" "I guess I came to apologize." What did he come here for, anyway? How could this perfect woman think of him as anything but a monster? Besides, even if she forgave him, he"d still just be her dorky laundry buddy. "You guess?" "I came to apologize." He sounded more sure than he felt. Might as well just go for it before his voice broke. "Penny, you know me. You know I"m no villain. I tried because I was desperate and... and scared." "Scared? Being a decent human being is so terrifying?" "Scared of getting trampled by the messed up system of the world. It was stupid and rotten and I shouldn"t have even considered it, but I did. Then they asked me to kill someone. But killing isn"t elegant or creative. It"s just...horrible." Penny snorted. "And besides, I figured out a new way to get things done. A really great friend of mine showed me that treating a symptom isn"t as useless as I thought. Besides, I sort of... fell in love with her along the way. And she"d hate me if I were a villain, so..." Billy closed his eyes, waiting for Penny to slap him. He wondered if he should be concerned that he suddenly felt like throwing up. After what felt like an eternity, Penny spoke, her voice shaking. "Would you give up Dr. Horrible for her?" Billy nodded, his jaw locked and his eyes squeezed shut. "And if she told you to go away and never come back, what would you do?" "I"d give it up anyway," Billy answered honestly. "She taught me a lot about myself." At the wonderful sensation of Penny"s arms encircling his waist, Billy"s knees gave way. Penny giggled as he leaned against the wall, staring at her with apprehension. "Funny. I fell in love with someone who taught me some important things too" Billy"s heart froze. This really wasn"t a good time to hear Penny quote Captain Hammer. "Like what?" "Like sometimes villains are just misguided heroes who do dumb things. And sometimes heroes are nothing more than overinflated high school jocks, looking for attention and bullying the guy in the tech club." "What?" "I think I love you, Billy." They walked into the dining room, perfectly fitting hands interlaced. Billy knew he was blushing or pale or something; he felt lightheaded, but not in the way he felt after Hammer hit his head against a brick wall.

Billy felt the aches in his body ebb away as Penny carefully placed a cup of frozen yogurt in the hand of his injured arm and a plastic spork in the other. They sat in comfortable silence, eating their frozen yogurt. Penny got up to change the laundry when the timer rang, but returned to Billy"s side seconds later. After some minutes, Billy became aware that Penny was staring at him out of the corner of her eyes. She seemed about to ask him something that never quite made its way past her lips. He considered simply ignoring it and continuing to eat his yogurt, but she was making him nervous. "What?" he finally blurted out, sounding angrier than he had intended. Penny drew back, hurt visible in her large, soulful eyes. "I"m sorry," Billy muttered, reaching his right hand toward his true love and accidentally poking her with his spork. "I"m sorry. I"m having a really bad week." "It"s fine," Penny assured him, placing a hand on his hunched shoulder. "I was just going to ask what happened to you." Billy could not bear to tell this gentle creature the awful truth. If she ever discovered that he was a villain, she would never speak to him again. And she was in love with Captain Hammer. Though it broke Billy"s heart, he wanted her to be happy. Hammer was a hero; naturally every girl"s dream. Telling Penny that her boyfriend beat him up and nearly knocked his head off with a car would hurt her. "I got mugged," he mumbled, praying that he sounded convincing. Penny said nothing, so he kept talking, making up details to prove the truth of his words. "Coming home from my friend"s house Monday night. It was really stupid, too. I didn"t have any money except half a roll of quarters I use for laundry. So they got kinda mad." He stopped his rambling explanation, for Penny had forced all words from his mind; she was hugging him as tightly as she could without putting pressure on any of his injuries. After several blissful seconds, Penny released her friend, stood, and began fussing with the laundry, trying to hide the growing blush on her ivory face. "You can tell me the truth, you know," she stated without turning around. "Wh- what do you mean?" "I know you, Billy Buddy. You were nervous telling me what happened; I think there"s something you"re hiding." Lowering his head, for Penny would surely see the lie in his visible blue eye, Billy muttered some nonsense about having nothing to hide. He hadn"t heard Penny return, almost expected that she would leave after catching him in his attempt to conceal his actions. The warm, thin arm that snaked around his shoulders proved him wrong. "You don"t have to tell me anything at all. You don"t even have to sit here with me. But I"m here if you need me, okay? Whenever you want, not just on laundry day." Whenever he wanted? Billy wished nothing more than to spend the rest of his days talking with Penny at the Coin Wash. "Thanks, Penny. I really appreciate it. And it"s not that I don"t trust you; I do. The whole situation is just incredibly complicated ... and unfair." The buzzer on the nearest dryer rang, signaling the end of Billy"s final load of laundry. It would be so easy for them to simply say goodbye and part ways, for Penny to worry about her own problems, not this man"s, for Billy to retreat into his shyness. But neither of them moved; this was where their hearts told them they needed to be. "Is your wrist broken?" "I, uh... I think it"s just a bad sprain. But it still hurt after I wrapped it, so I figured I should keep it as still as possible for a while." "You think? Billy Buddy, you did go to a doctor, didn"t you?" Billy blushed. It was humiliating enough that Penny was doing his laundry as he sat uselessly on a plastic chair a few feet away. Now she was worriedly asking him about the injuries her boyfriend had caused, injuries of which she must never know the source. "Well, I took a bunch of biology classes in college and I did some first aid volunteer stuff for a while. I- I could deal with it." Penny seemed about to protest, so Billy decided to continue his explanation. It would be easier to control the situation if he confessed a half-truth. "I wasn"t supposed to be where I was when I got hurt." Penny"s well-meaning battery of questions was momentarily impeded by this statement, but working with the homeless at Caring Hands had taught her not to let the shock of the stories people told her affect her efficiency. "You could have gone to the emergency room and told them that fib about getting mugged." Billy shrugged uncomfortably. Penny sighed. How could she help her friend if her most simple suggestions upset him? "I worry about you, Billy. You"re such a sweet person, but there"s so much pain in your eyes. I think you"re in trouble, but I don"t know how to help." She worried about him. Billy smiled, ignoring the pain in his lip caused by the motion. It wasn"t love, but it was a start. Bad Horse"s latest message shot through his mind, tearing the smile from his face. Nothing that Penny could do would take away this dreadful choice he had to make. Only by joining the Evil League of Evil could he effect drastic change in the world. But Billy was not as horrible as he made himself out to be. He hated blood; he nearly passed out in dissection labs in college. The thought of taking a human life revolted him; he couldn"t do it! And yet he couldn"t throw away his chance to join the League. The girl of his dreams sat mere inches away from him, her hand resting on his bandaged wrist, assuring him that she would look after him. Why let pride stand in the way of a deep conversation between them, of his potential salvation? He phrased it so that it came out as a philosophical inquiry, not a plea for advice. "Is it wrong to do something evil to change an unfair system?" "Is this about that rotting fish stuff again, Billy Buddy?" "What?" "Your philosophy on change. "A total overhaul of the system,' I think you said? That we have to change the way things work, not just treat the symptoms like we do at Caring Hands." Billy blushed, pleased that she remembered his words so well. "Yeah, I guess that"s what I mean." Penny nodded, her eyes full of understanding. "I thought about that for a while after you said it. And I"ve decided that the system could be changed without a revolution or someone blowing something up. If everyone signed petitions, volunteered their time, and helped out where they could, the system would follow that trend. I know you want things to happen to you, want life to work out, but just be careful, Billy Buddy. I don"t want to see you get hurt." "You mean you don"t want to see me break any bones," Billy muttered darkly, readjusting the sling supporting his arm. "Exactly," Penny laughed. "You know, Billy, you should stop by Caring Hands. See what good comes out of treating a symptom." Somehow, Billy doubted that spending a day with the broken people left as debris in the wake of mankind would make him feel better. But Penny was offering to spend time with him outside of the laundromat, in a place where she had had dinner with Captain Hammer. It would be sheer idiocy to refuse her. "When do you work there? I"ll see if I can stop by." "I"m there whenever they need me, really. There"s not a schedule. But I"ll definitely be there tomorrow for most of the day." Billy"s only job at the moment was being horrible, which did not set have work hours. Tomorrow, he decided, he would be taking a vacation. "What time would I be most useful?" Penny smiled. A new volunteer! "Well, we"ll have to be careful with that arm, but you can still help set tables and serve food. Do you think you can be there around eleven?" "Sure, I"ll be glad to help. Treating a symptom is better than just being angry." "Thanks, Billy Buddy. And look after yourself, okay? Don"t do anything rash." Billy nodded, taking his laundry basket under his good arm. "I"ll see you tomorrow, Penny." God, that felt good to say! "And thank you for all the help, and the yogurt." He walked out the door that Penny held open for him and floated home, not feeling the aches of Captain Hammer"s attack. A warm sensation coursed through his veins, something he had not felt since that day so long ago when Penny- whose name he did not even know yet- casually smiled at him. Such a small word, but powerful enough to erase even Bad Horse from his mind: hope. What do you think of chapter one? Please tell me, because I"m really unsure about this piece. I think I"m gonna hold Chapter 2 until I get at least 5 reviews, so if you want more, TELL ME! (Or if you want me to take this down and die.) PS. If I personally told you to review, please do! :=) PPS. Wow, now I"m just begging, ain"t I? Good thing I have no dignity to lose! PART 2, finally! Thanks so very much, all my kind reviewers. I no longer have a review quota due to your kindness. I was not holding the story hostage for attention, merely curious to see if people care about Dr. Horrible fanfiction. Obviously, you do. (This does not mean I don"t still want reviews- the number is simply no longer important.) Penny was thrilled that her friend would be joining her at the homeless shelter that meant so much to her. Helping to relieve the suffering of others would surely lift Billy"s spirits. The shelter could use the assistance, too, for the number of people they served was steadily increasing. Everyone was grateful when she brought Captain Hammer; his superhuman strength made setting up tables light work. But half of the time he was there he spent signing autographs for the staff, ignoring both the homeless clients and Penny. "Hi Penny, I"m sorry I"m late." Penny blinked, bringing herself back to her surroundings and finding herself staring into the stormy blue eyes of Billy. She put him to work setting the tables for lunch as she bagged donated rolls for the non-residential clients to take with them. He worked efficiently, not stopping to idly chat as many of the volunteers did. But when an elderly woman, a harmless, slightly confused new resident of Caring Hands asked him if he had seen her son Simon, Billy instantly put down his handful of forks and aided her in her search. Penny watched with tear-filled eyes as the head cook pulled Billy away from Mrs. Reynolds and quietly explained that Simon had died in a car accident several years earlier, but the distraught mother refused to acknowledge this truth. Billy took the old woman"s wrinkled hand and told her calmly that her son had gone on vacation with his girlfriend, but would be home soon. Mrs. Reynolds smiled, assured by the comforting lie, and sat down with Billy, who comfortably listened to her give a rambling, disconnected account of her life. When it was time to serve lunch, Penny tore the old woman"s newfound friend away and helped him into an apron. Billy felt useless; he had come here to assist Penny, who had to dress him because of his injury after forcing him to stop socializing with the clients. "I"m really sorry I didn"t finish setting the tables. I just felt so bad for that lady, I couldn"t walk away." Penny placed her hands reassuringly on Billy"s shoulders. "What you did for her was more important than putting forks on tables, Billy Buddy. Most of the people here got exasperated with her deteriorating mental state soon after she came. She wants to talk to someone, but nobody has time to listen. Thank you." "But I wanted to help you," Billy muttered. "But you helped her," countered Penny. "Now help me. Can you scoop baked beans into trays with your good arm?" Once all the clients were fed, the volunteers were free to eat the leftover food for their own meals. Through some blissful twist of fate, Billy found himself eating baked beans and a hot dog off of a cheap paper plate less than a foot away from his beloved Penny, who was munching happily on one of the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that were kept on hand for picky children and vegetarians. He wasn"t sure if it should please or hurt him that she had once shared this very table with Captain Hammer. Talking with Billy was a relaxing experience for Penny, though their conversations were deep, delving into the causes of social problems and their possible solutions. Why was it, she wondered, that it was easier to converse with Billy on an intimate level than to causally chit-chat with Captain Hammer? It was clear to Penny that Billy had been hurt badly by this world. His cynical views of mankind and almost violent desperation for change made her heart ache. But she was convinced that showing him the colors in the world, the hope contained even within this very room, could save him from the darkness within himself. Billy walked home as the sun was setting, painting the sky in magnificent colors, primarily purple and blue, but also fiery gold along the western edge. He often viewed the sunset as a parallel to the twisted system of mankind. The age of shining light was over and the reign of darkness was imminent. But light was strong and would not die quickly. The last glimpse of brightness in the world burned the sky like a holocaust. Billy wanted to be a part of that fire, shooting memorable sparks into the air before he was smothered. Tonight, the sky looked different. The darkness was soothing, freckled with pinpricks of smiling stars. The sun"s final rays were a warm song, a tale of the future. Billy might at times fear the dark, but there was no need! In but a few short hours, the sun would return, bringing a new day filled with endless possibilities. Penny sat at a small table in the Caring Hands kitchen, peeling a small mountain of potatoes. Her hero, the man who was perfect for her- so they said- stood outside signing autographs for a horde of air-headed young women who she felt were much more Hammer"s type than she could ever be. She wondered why he even bothered coming to the homeless shelter; it was apparent that such social issues mattered little to him. He sat with her at supper, eating a meal he had done nothing to help prepare, smiling at her with that cheesy expression that she could not believe she once considered "sweet". She found herself tuning out his self-congratulatory voice and wondering whether it was more heroic to beat up a villain or provide shelter for a homeless man. The well-known uniform of Captain Hammer drew Mrs. Reynolds"s eye as she once again searched her surroundings for her son. She approached the living symbol of justice and laid a withered, unwashed hand on his thick arm. "Captain Hammer, sir, I"m so sorry to bother you, but if you could help me, sir, please." Penny watched as her Prince Charming tried in vain to hide the revolted look on his face with an understanding smile. How could he have become known as a champion of the oppressed? He was nothing but a champion of the wealthy, beautiful, and popular, protecting their money and stealing their hearts. "Well, Ma"am, how can my totally amazing services be of use to you?" "I"m looking for my son. He- that nice boy said he"d be back, but he isn"t and I miss him. Can you help me find him?" "I"m not exactly a detective. Leave the finding out stuff to them, unless he"s a criminal. Then I"ll find him faster than you can say "Hero"." The brokenhearted mother"s eyes filled with tears as she clutched even tighter to Hammer"s sleeve. "Oh, no! My Simon never did anything wrong. It"s not his fault he"s got better things to do than to visit his poor old mother." Hammer recoiled as Mrs. Reynolds sobbed into his shoulder, gesturing at Penny to get her off of him; she obeyed instantly, for the sake of the woman at his feet. Penny took Mrs. Reynolds into an empty office in the back of the building and sat with her until she had calmed down. She did not dare explain to the already distraught woman why her son never visited. The shelter had connections with physicians and mental health workers; Penny believed it was time to call someone in to speak to Mrs. Reynolds. Upon reentering the main dining hall, Penny saw Hammer"s empty dinner plate lying on the table next to hers, just where she had left them. The unhelpful hero stood talking to several of the volunteers, college girls who had come merely to fulfill a class requirement. Sighing, Penny cleared the plates, wrapped her purple wool coat around her body, and approached Captain Hammer. She stood behind the pack of fan-girls until Hammer met her gaze. Then she smiled, waved, and left before he had the chance to offer to take her home. Sorry this is so short. I just didn"t know where to break it next if I didn"t do it now. Future chapters will be longer, I promise. Chapter 3 may be a long time in coming, because I have to make Christmas presents for my friends, family, and everyone I"ve ever met! All good, though. Happy Healthy Hectic Holidays to all, unless you don"t celebrate anything- in which case I urge you to just take pleasure in how pretty and sparkly everything is. MERRY CHRISTMAS (a little late) HalfBrachenDemon! And I hope you all had/ are having a wonderful holiday season. Sorry this is short again, but I"m actually really happy with it. Nerdy girls do not break up with superheroes. Penny knew that this was a societal law of nature, but that didn"t mean she couldn"t dream about it. She had visualized the scene a hundred times in her mind developing countless new ways to say, "This isn"t working out." But she was always stumped by the next line; Hammer"s reaction. How does a pompous superhero deal with getting dumped? Somehow, this relationship with Hammer had to end. He was too shallow to even understand her hopes and dreams; she doubted he knew a thing about her. Except that he found her attractive. That he knew most definitely. She had never known kisses to feel so wrong, so possessive, as if his mouth were claiming her body and soul as his. He seemed to imply with every touch that it was only natural for her to bend to his greatness. The quiet, troubled boy from the laundromat had become her refuge. Billy understood her completely, understood things about her that she had never mentioned. He came to Caring Hands several times a week, eagerly assisting in any way he could. They shared meals together, after which Billy cleared the table and hurried off to the kitchen to help wash dishes. It made no sense that Penny"s quiet, platonic friend treated her like a princess while her boyfriend seemed to think of her presence as a matter of course, an accepted fact. Hammer never considered that Penny was more than a pretty trophy, a maid, a romantic game. Billy seemed to view his time with Penny as a precious gift and appeared to be desperate to prove to her that he deserved it. Of course, Penny was not supposed to pick up on Billy"s insecurities; he always attempted to come off calm, cool, and collected, though his utter failure made him all the more endearing to his newfound friend. She walked into the laundromat to find Billy already stuffing his sheets into a washing machine and humming. "Hey, Billy Buddy." In one swift movement, Billy reached into the paper bag at his feet, turned toward Penny, and offered her a cup of frozen yogurt, a hopeful smile shining on his face. "Hi Penny." They talked about the Caring Hands petition and the possibility of procuring a new building while Penny"s colors tumbled through a machine. Billy enjoyed the comfortable silence that then enveloped them as they ate their frozen yogurt. But as he glanced up at the beautiful woman next to him, he noticed that her delicate features were marred by the look of sadness that overshadowed them. "Penny? Are you okay?" She smiled at her friend, knowing that the happiness did not reach her eyes. "Yeah, Billy, it"s not a big deal." "Of course it is! Anything that"s making you sad is a really big deal!" He paused, blushing, and when he began speaking again, it sounded to Penny that he was trying to swallow the anger her sadness had obviously caused him. "You"re always here to listen to me, Penny, to help me with my problems. I want to be able to do the same for you. Tell me what"s up?" For the first time in Penny"s life, she wasn"t the one fixing someone else"s problem. With Billy, it was perfectly alright to be herself, to be weak. "You were right when you told me to trust my instinct about Hammer, Billy. He"s so... I don"t know what he is, but he"s horrible!" Billy coughed violently, apparently choking on his yogurt. Penny thumped him gently on the back until he managed to catch his breath. "S-sorry," he gasped. "Keep going." "Um... anyway, he"s really a jerk. And he makes me so uncomfortable, always touching me. I think he"s waiting for me to beg for more." How could he respond to that? Penny had no idea that the man in whom she was confiding her romantic troubles wanted her more passionately and deeply than Hammer had ever wanted anyone or anything. He knew he had to say something; Penny was asking for his guidance and he couldn"t let her down. "Well... why don"t you just tell him you"re not interested?" "He"s a superhero, Billy. You don"t tell Captain Hammer that you"re not interested."

man is mad." Claude Frollo proved quite clearly to his guests that he was insane, what with his disparaging speeches on the respected sciences. But he did not care what they thought, for he knew what he believed. He would not give up his precious studies of alchemy simply because these fools thought him unstable. He would persevere and succeed, he was sure. He would learn the secrets of Nicholas Flamel"s work. He would learn to make gold! It was not an unattainable goal, as many thought, but a scientific process that he could, and surely would, master soon. I tried a different twist with this one. A slight deviation from a direct reflection. Again, I don"t bloody own this! Mankind once wrote their history in stone, through the supposed everlasting art of architecture. But nothing is forever, even granite and marble. Ink and paper have long since taken their place and writing has become the earth"s new biographer. This was a logical course of events; printing presses made building expenses not worthwhile. But what if it had not occurred? What would the world of Hugo, or our own, look like when written out in stone? Would we be reading this novel in symbols and hieroglyphs on the side of a cathedral? Or would literature like this exist at all? Okay. Again, I own nothing. Quasimodo did not struggle against his bonds as he was led in to be sentenced. He watched in resigned silence as people pointed at him, gossiping about his ugliness. Was it only yesterday that he had been crowned their king? Just hours ago, they had carried him joyously through their streets, laughing, and now they stood eagerly watching his public condemnation. He did not understand a word of what was shouted at him. All he knew was that he was in terrible trouble. Even through his deafness, he could sense that these people surrounding him would enjoy seeing him punished. The people of Paris knew little of the women who locked themselves inside this voluntary prison. Of course, they heard the rumors whispering why she had taken to this cave; at times they could even hear her praying. But no one could truly understand why a woman would make such a choice. She would have to be in such emotional pain that her life had become intolerable. The prospect of hiding there, spending her remaining days looking toward her next destination would seem more appealing than normal existence. What horrors must the poor creature have suffered to affect her thus? So onward I go! I own nothing. Please review, or at least make me stop writing these time-consuming things! Again: No ownership! Victor Hugo is my best friend. The child was all she"d ever had in her bleak life; the one gift that God had granted her. Then the gipsy witches had snatched her away for the devil and left a monster in her place. Sorrow can only be felt by one who has emotion; she had none. She was a breathing corpse whose mind, or what remained of it, was focused solely on that which she had lost. Her days and nights were spent praying for the soul of her little darling while her own soul shriveled away. Death was the only relief this world could offer. Property of Victor Hugo! Please review. She had been dancing for a small group of people when the crowd began to gather around the pillory. Attention in her immediately ceased, for violence was more intriguing to the masses than beauty. She watched with them as the monster that had accosted her the night before was punished. But though those around her jeered at his anguish, Esmeralda felt her heart ache. She found it dreadful that no one would help this suffering creature. True, she was still frightened of him, but he was obviously a simple man unaware of his wrongdoings and undeserving of this cruel treatment. Again, this ain"t my property. Eustache knew not why his mother and her friends were clustered around the small building until he heard a female voice issue from it. He tried his best to be polite to the lady in the cell whose cake, he was sure, he"d been guarding for quite some time. But she did not seem to like him, so he wandered away to greet a hungry looking dog. As Eustache scratched the friendly canine behind its ears, the dog lunged forward and took a bite of the cake. Though momentarily dismayed, Eustache seized the opportunity to partake of it as well. Onward I trudge through these drabbles, though I wish my OCD would free me and just let me READ the book. Again, I claim no ownership. Upon first meeting the delicate young lady to whom he found himself betrothed, Phoebus was quite enchanted. But now that the marriage was looming in his face, he desperately wished for a way out. The two had nothing in common, he mother was ancient, and her friends were rather annoying. He belonged more with someone to whom he could speak without having to constantly watch his common tongue. This lovely gipsy girl whom he had rescued was precisely what he had in mind. She was beautiful and seemed quite gentle, without being stifled by the overdone propriety of his fiancé. I found this chapter rather tedious, but I still managed to get this out of it I found this chapter rather tedious, but I still managed to get this out of it. The Flemish embassy! He tried to smile as they entered the gallery; he smiled for the sake of his political interests with the guests and he smiled for the sake of the masses below, all eyes being firmly fixed upon him. But oh! how he wanted to scowl at them, to express how he could no longer bear to entertain them! Alas, he could not do this, and so he continued to smile. It was tiring, he mused, to have to smile at those one does not like. For if the joy in one"s life is false, what is real? Oh, my sweet readers! I love you all so much. Please review me, even if you hate this. I feel like this one is actually pretty bad, only because it is too short. But hey, 100 words is 100 words. Again, not my characters. Also, this chapter is actually called "Showing That a Priest and a Philosopher are Two Different Men" but it was too long to fit in the title bar. Gringoire did not know why Claude Frollo had taken such an interest in him and his lovely wife. The intimate nature of the archdeacon"s questions unnerved him, yet he answered them honestly. He"d never touched Esmeralda; any attempt would most likely result is him being stabbed. Still, Frollo"s warnings against her unsettled him. Frollo stood seething at the thought of that poet making advances to the gipsy girl. He told himself repeatedly that he only asked the things he did out of concern for the young man"s soul. Then why had he felt so uncomfortable when Gringoire questioned his motives? I own not these characters. Once again Quasimodo climbed the tower and rang his beautiful bells. Once again, he directed the metal choir of Notre Dame, making the church sing throughout the city. Today, Quasimodo was the joyous ringer of the bells that he had been for so long. But what had caused his absence prior to this? The people of Paris attributed it to the poor creature"s public abuse on the pillory. Could it be, however, that it was a different event of the same day? Could the lovely gipsy"s gift of a drop of water had distracted this monster from his precious bells? Onward I trudge... but I have a snow day today, so I"ll try to make some real headway in this thing. (Still not mine.) When Jehan approached his brother"s room, he was unsure as to what he would find within. He had heard rumors about his brother"s obsession with alchemy, but was unsure whether they were based on truth or fear of Quasimodo, with whom Claude associated. Upon entering the little room, Jehan saw at once that the rumors were quite true. Aside from the texts, skeletons, and symbols cluttering the room, Claude was muttering endless nonsense about killing someone with a magic hammer and the relationship between gold and fire. Jehan was shocked by the cold, obsessive attitude of his once adoring brother. ONWARD! Still not mine. The men in black talked of nonsensical feats while Jehan listened, confused. What was it that his brother was attempting? The way he talked to this newcomer startled Jehan. What were they doing to this poor man the called Cenaine? The scholar"s confusion was multiplied by Claude"s rant about the spider in his window. Inhibiting Jehan"s reasoning was his biting hunger. There is only so much a man can uncover about his brother on an empty stomach. Imagine his delight, therefore, when he found a bit of old food in his hiding place. His brother was no longer a concern. This chapter is actually called "The Effect Produced By Seven Oaths Uttered in the Open Air" which is so ridiculously long that it won"t fit in the title bar. (Not that I"m criticizing a literary genius.) Again, not my property. The foolish men paid no attention to their surroundings as they walked through the streets, thus they did not notice the archdeacon walking behind them, marking their every sound and movement. He could not tear his eyes from this man who could be the thing that had been preying on his mind for so long. So consumed was he by "Phoebus" that he did not even notice that the money Jehan flaunted was his own. Finally, his eavesdropping was rewarded. His soul ignited as the captain spoke of that wicked gipsy. How could the thought of the witch burn so? N. M.P. (Not My Property) When Claude Frollo saw his foolish brother lying in a drunken heap near the drinking house, he nearly abandoned Captain Phoebus. His dear brother, whom he loved despite his cold exterior and the boy"s rambunctious, flippant nature! To see Jehan in such a disgraceful condition wounded him, and he wondered for a moment how he could have failed so utterly in the boy"s upbringing. It was, he remarked, quite ungrateful of Phoebus to leave Jehan there, seeing as the scholar had paid for their drinks. But the call of Esmeralda was so strong that he left Jehan and continued on. Again, N.M.P. (please review) This chapter"s full name is "The Convenience of Windows Looking Out on the River." Claude Frollo had never in his life seen anything as intoxicatingly beautiful as that little gipsy. She was beyond human; it was as if she were a sculpture come to life. Then, that wretched captain began to toy with her, reaching for a prize she did not wish to give. As her clothes fell away, a sort of monster leapt up in this man of faith, tearing at him, causing a feeling that he wasn"t exactly sure was unpleasant. And yet the fire became burning anger as Phoebus continued to clutch at her, stealing her soul from all other men. Terrified ramblings of Esmeralda"s frightened mind. Enjoy! :=) Still N.M.P. Esmeralda sat petrified as she was tried for witchcraft. The foolishness of these men was astounding. How could they think for a moment that she would harm her darling Phoebus? Poor, innocent Phoebus! There had been so much blood! What if that terrible specter that was haunting her had killed her beloved? What would she do if he was gone? That man mentioned his name! What did they know of his condition? Was he alive? The answer made her blood freeze. She cared not that she would be tortured; there could be no pain worse than this. Phoebus was dying! N.M.P. The young girl did not live in a fine home or have large amounts of money at her disposal. She had, however, lived a peaceful life free of suffering; the gipsy Clopin had seen to that. The emotional strain she"d been under since the night Phoebus had been attacked had weakened her and this impending threat of bodily harm shattered her. She caved at the first sign of pain, inwardly begging Phoebus"s forgiveness for this professed betrayal. "Gentleness" the man said! What could be less gentle than attempting to break a dancer"s leg to force a false confession from her? I"m back! (I"ve been reading We the Living, By Ayn Rand, which was not at all as painful as I imagined.) Any way, still NMP. The judges, in truth, cared very little about the gipsy girl before them or her goat. The case of one of these foreigners being found to have used dark magic or colluded with Satan was far from unheard of. The girl had confessed; all that remained was the formalities. They were hungry, however, and found themselves dozing off with their eyes open, imagining their supper, quite oblivious to their colleague"s speech. But the witch"s little goat shook them from their stupor with her antics. This shocking display of sorcery made the judges even more eager to condemn the wicked pair. Yes, I need a new hobby Yes, I need a new hobby. No, I don"t own this stuff. Yes, I would appreciate a review. Thanks. Jacques Coppenole lived in two worlds, enjoying the best of each. He was a hosier whose skill had caused the status of his clientele to rise greatly since his humble beginnings. Now he was celebrating the Feast of Fools in Paris with honoured dignitaries of two countries! Still, he was not quite one of them; he was like the people below him at heart. In this room of strangers, the one face he recognized was that of a beggar, a man he called friend. Still, those of the upper class accepted him, as did those upon whom these "gentlemen" trod. I loved this chapter, so I experimented with its drabble. This is first person, Claude Frollo"s point of view. NMP. Standing before her in that dungeon, I nearly perished. Oh, this poor wretch, whom I love so terribly and whose suffering was entirely my fault. I was helpless in her presence; I found myself telling her of my pitiful existence since the day I first saw her. Yet when my tale was finished and I lay bleeding on the stone floor before her, she spat on my broken heart and threw my love back in my face. Still she loved that gilded officer, though he was surely dead! She would not take the life and, if desired, love I offered. NMP A quick note before starting. Attention has been brought to my spelling of "gipsy". Yes, I know that in modern English, the word is "gypsy" but in Monsieur Hugo"s day (and in my copy of the book dated around 1915) the spelling is with an "i" . So forgive my old-fashioned ways... And thank you for trying to keep my atrocious spelling in line! (I really can"t spell at all.) She was going to watch the gipsy witch hang! All these years of praying for mercy, begging the Lord to return her beloved child, had been for nothing! But today, although her daughter was gone forever, she would be granted a taste of sweet revenge. That disgusting gipsy wench had been nothing but a cruel reminder for the poor woman. She was her daughter"s age, but a product of the enemy"s womb. She lived the life the recluse"s daughter had been denied! It was she who was meant to die before living! Today, on the gallows, justice would be served! NMP Quasimodo watched in horror as the gipsy, the only person who had ever shown him kindness, was led up the steps of Notre Dome, a rough rope tied about her delicate neck. He knew nothing of the accusations which had brought her there; he did not need to know. She was an angel and he would not let harm come to her. Holding his golden trophy above his head, he looked at the silently cheering crowd below him. They were pleased! He had saved this perfect creature, and mankind, which typically cringed at his hideous visage approved of his actions! NMP He did not know that the human soul could endure such agony as he now felt! The most beautiful creature that had ever been put on the Earth was dead. Her life had been wrung from her delicate body not by a rope, but by the wickedness of Claude Frollo himself. He had worked all of his life toward a higher end, be it heaven or gold. How could this artfully arranged lump of flesh drive him to such base extremes? He felt the weight of his misdeeds crushing him; the demons of man had won against this poor spirit. Again, NMP When the frighteningly hideous man seized Esmeralda in that alley a lifetime ago, she believed herself doomed. Not too long after, she found herself soothing the pain mankind had caused; her heart filled with pity for the once fearsome beast. Now, she lay in his domain, where he had taken her for protection. He spoke to her with a gentleness that she would not have imagined such a roughly hewn being could possess. It was, of course, the wretched archdeacon"s fault that their first meeting had been so nightmarish. This poor creature had been used by the priest like herself. And again NMP This poor creature showed such devotion and pain in his every word and gesture. It was heartrending to watch him speak of his devotion to this young woman who had shown him pity; for a moment she forgot her own dark fate. How cruel of the heavens to place such a gentle, beautiful soul in a form as monstrous as his! He treated her as if she were glass. She was upset by her ordeal and he knew his hideousness would inflict more discomfort. To be given this opportunity to simply watch her and care for her was heaven enough. NMP. I"m kind of getting bored with these, so I"m shaking it up to keep me awake. This piece is based on one casual line in the chapter about Fleur-de-Lys, who is not directly mentioned by me because I couldn"t figure out how many words are in her name, thus I couldn"t count 100 words. The handsome Captain Phoebus was the sort of man who was desired by women of all social classes and had no qualms about crossing those barriers in pursuit of a beautiful maiden. His fiancé, therefore, had every reason to be upset by his disappearance following the incident with Esmeralda and her bewitched goat. A part of her was glad the gipsy was to be hanged. But fate and the hunchback intervened on the gipsy"s behalf. Phoebus had not seen the miraculous rescue; to protect herself, his golden young woman "forgot" to mention it. Now, the captain was entirely hers forever! NMP... Quasimodo cowered outside Esmeralda"s doorway, shaking in anguish. His chest throbbed where Frollo had kicked him, but it was nothing compared to the ache in his heart. How could his master hurt that angel? He was a kind man of God who was harsh only to Quasimodo, who deserved it, he was sure. What had she done? Or perhaps Dom Claude had simply desired to be near her as did Quasimodo. Esmeralda had been through a terrible ordeal that had left her nerves on edge. If it were otherwise, Quasimodo did not know if he could fight his master again. For the 100th time NMP... (This chapter"s full name is "Gringoire Has Several Good Ideas in the Rue des Bernardins") Gringoire was grateful that Esmeralda had saved his life. Indeed, he enjoyed his new existence among the Truands more than that which had preceded it. Still, he saw no need to sacrifice this gift from the gipsy girl simply to save her pretty neck. It was a shame that the wicked grip of justice had seized upon the goat as well; she had been more of a companion to Gringoire than her mistress. If Esmeralda"s people could save them, all the better, but Gringoire vowed that he would not sacrifice himself for the unhappy pair, despite the archdeacon"s determined plans. N.M.P. Once upon a lifetime ago, the antics of his foolish brother would have saved Claude Frollo from any unhappiness he felt. Now, Jehan merely served to irritate him. There were people in this cold world with true problems, innocent young women being hanged for no reason! How dare the boy bother him with such foolishness as money? Despite his anger, the archdeacon"s blood ran cold at his brother"s flippant threat to turn Truand. How could his dear Jehan, whom he had raised and loved so well, join the ranks of those fiends who had raised the girl who destroyed him? Yes, I need a new hobby And here he (finally) is! Quasimodo! (Whom I do not own.) He could not hear the words the women spoke as they turned their faces away from him, but he knew what they felt from the way they shied from looking at him. Some of them glanced back at the spectacle, and when they did, he could clearly see their horror and disgust. Why did they fear him so? The men, however, seemed thrilled by him. They crowned him their fool"s pope and carried him on a throne. True, they were mocking him, but he enjoyed the positive attention. It was better than the typical reaction to his appearance; abject hatred. Like it? Love it? Want me to go die? Let me know! N.M.P. I intend to finish this **** book tonight, so wish me luck! Jehan was, indeed, grateful that his brother had supplied him with further funds to keep his wine flask replenished. This did not mean that he had to do as the archdeacon would wish of him. Upon receiving the money, he weighed his options and decided to turn Truand anyway. He reached the Court of Miracles and was instantly accepted by the crowd, which was preparing for battle. He would join them, he resolved, and fight as one of them at his brother"s cathedral. These people were the open, cheerful family he had never had! Life would be better amongst them. No way I"m going to finish this tonight; I"m making posters for a Doctors Without Borders fundraiser. Review me please, and cheer me up. (I cut my thumb open on a pair of scissors.) Still N.M.P. Quasimodo did not fear a moment for himself; his life was devoted to the young woman who was now in mortal peril. He knew only that he had to protect her from these monsters who would cheerfully see her hanged, for he knew not that they were coming to spirit her away to safety. His heart raced as he fought the scholar, for he recognized the boy

therefore, when he found a bit of old food in his hiding place. His brother was no longer a concern. This chapter is actually called "The Effect Produced By Seven Oaths Uttered in the Open Air" which is so ridiculously long that it won"t fit in the title bar. (Not that I"m criticizing a literary genius.) Again, not my property. The foolish men paid no attention to their surroundings as they walked through the streets, thus they did not notice the archdeacon walking behind them, marking their every sound and movement. He could not tear his eyes from this man who could be the thing that had been preying on his mind for so long. So consumed was he by "Phoebus" that he did not even notice that the money Jehan flaunted was his own. Finally, his eavesdropping was rewarded. His soul ignited as the captain spoke of that wicked gipsy. How could the thought of the witch burn so? N. M.P. (Not My Property) When Claude Frollo saw his foolish brother lying in a drunken heap near the drinking house, he nearly abandoned Captain Phoebus. His dear brother, whom he loved despite his cold exterior and the boy"s rambunctious, flippant nature! To see Jehan in such a disgraceful condition wounded him, and he wondered for a moment how he could have failed so utterly in the boy"s upbringing. It was, he remarked, quite ungrateful of Phoebus to leave Jehan there, seeing as the scholar had paid for their drinks. But the call of Esmeralda was so strong that he left Jehan and continued on. Again, N.M.P. (please review) This chapter"s full name is "The Convenience of Windows Looking Out on the River." Claude Frollo had never in his life seen anything as intoxicatingly beautiful as that little gipsy. She was beyond human; it was as if she were a sculpture come to life. Then, that wretched captain began to toy with her, reaching for a prize she did not wish to give. As her clothes fell away, a sort of monster leapt up in this man of faith, tearing at him, causing a feeling that he wasn"t exactly sure was unpleasant. And yet the fire became burning anger as Phoebus continued to clutch at her, stealing her soul from all other men. Terrified ramblings of Esmeralda"s frightened mind. Enjoy! :=) Still N.M.P. Esmeralda sat petrified as she was tried for witchcraft. The foolishness of these men was astounding. How could they think for a moment that she would harm her darling Phoebus? Poor, innocent Phoebus! There had been so much blood! What if that terrible specter that was haunting her had killed her beloved? What would she do if he was gone? That man mentioned his name! What did they know of his condition? Was he alive? The answer made her blood freeze. She cared not that she would be tortured; there could be no pain worse than this. Phoebus was dying! N.M.P. The young girl did not live in a fine home or have large amounts of money at her disposal. She had, however, lived a peaceful life free of suffering; the gipsy Clopin had seen to that. The emotional strain she"d been under since the night Phoebus had been attacked had weakened her and this impending threat of bodily harm shattered her. She caved at the first sign of pain, inwardly begging Phoebus"s forgiveness for this professed betrayal. "Gentleness" the man said! What could be less gentle than attempting to break a dancer"s leg to force a false confession from her? I"m back! (I"ve been reading We the Living, By Ayn Rand, which was not at all as painful as I imagined.) Any way, still NMP. The judges, in truth, cared very little about the gipsy girl before them or her goat. The case of one of these foreigners being found to have used dark magic or colluded with Satan was far from unheard of. The girl had confessed; all that remained was the formalities. They were hungry, however, and found themselves dozing off with their eyes open, imagining their supper, quite oblivious to their colleague"s speech. But the witch"s little goat shook them from their stupor with her antics. This shocking display of sorcery made the judges even more eager to condemn the wicked pair. Yes, I need a new hobby Yes, I need a new hobby. No, I don"t own this stuff. Yes, I would appreciate a review. Thanks. Jacques Coppenole lived in two worlds, enjoying the best of each. He was a hosier whose skill had caused the status of his clientele to rise greatly since his humble beginnings. Now he was celebrating the Feast of Fools in Paris with honoured dignitaries of two countries! Still, he was not quite one of them; he was like the people below him at heart. In this room of strangers, the one face he recognized was that of a beggar, a man he called friend. Still, those of the upper class accepted him, as did those upon whom these "gentlemen" trod. I loved this chapter, so I experimented with its drabble. This is first person, Claude Frollo"s point of view. NMP. Standing before her in that dungeon, I nearly perished. Oh, this poor wretch, whom I love so terribly and whose suffering was entirely my fault. I was helpless in her presence; I found myself telling her of my pitiful existence since the day I first saw her. Yet when my tale was finished and I lay bleeding on the stone floor before her, she spat on my broken heart and threw my love back in my face. Still she loved that gilded officer, though he was surely dead! She would not take the life and, if desired, love I offered. NMP A quick note before starting. Attention has been brought to my spelling of "gipsy". Yes, I know that in modern English, the word is "gypsy" but in Monsieur Hugo"s day (and in my copy of the book dated around 1915) the spelling is with an "i" . So forgive my old-fashioned ways... And thank you for trying to keep my atrocious spelling in line! (I really can"t spell at all.) She was going to watch the gipsy witch hang! All these years of praying for mercy, begging the Lord to return her beloved child, had been for nothing! But today, although her daughter was gone forever, she would be granted a taste of sweet revenge. That disgusting gipsy wench had been nothing but a cruel reminder for the poor woman. She was her daughter"s age, but a product of the enemy"s womb. She lived the life the recluse"s daughter had been denied! It was she who was meant to die before living! Today, on the gallows, justice would be served! NMP Quasimodo watched in horror as the gipsy, the only person who had ever shown him kindness, was led up the steps of Notre Dome, a rough rope tied about her delicate neck. He knew nothing of the accusations which had brought her there; he did not need to know. She was an angel and he would not let harm come to her. Holding his golden trophy above his head, he looked at the silently cheering crowd below him. They were pleased! He had saved this perfect creature, and mankind, which typically cringed at his hideous visage approved of his actions! NMP He did not know that the human soul could endure such agony as he now felt! The most beautiful creature that had ever been put on the Earth was dead. Her life had been wrung from her delicate body not by a rope, but by the wickedness of Claude Frollo himself. He had worked all of his life toward a higher end, be it heaven or gold. How could this artfully arranged lump of flesh drive him to such base extremes? He felt the weight of his misdeeds crushing him; the demons of man had won against this poor spirit. Again, NMP When the frighteningly hideous man seized Esmeralda in that alley a lifetime ago, she believed herself doomed. Not too long after, she found herself soothing the pain mankind had caused; her heart filled with pity for the once fearsome beast. Now, she lay in his domain, where he had taken her for protection. He spoke to her with a gentleness that she would not have imagined such a roughly hewn being could possess. It was, of course, the wretched archdeacon"s fault that their first meeting had been so nightmarish. This poor creature had been used by the priest like herself. And again NMP This poor creature showed such devotion and pain in his every word and gesture. It was heartrending to watch him speak of his devotion to this young woman who had shown him pity; for a moment she forgot her own dark fate. How cruel of the heavens to place such a gentle, beautiful soul in a form as monstrous as his! He treated her as if she were glass. She was upset by her ordeal and he knew his hideousness would inflict more discomfort. To be given this opportunity to simply watch her and care for her was heaven enough. NMP. I"m kind of getting bored with these, so I"m shaking it up to keep me awake. This piece is based on one casual line in the chapter about Fleur-de-Lys, who is not directly mentioned by me because I couldn"t figure out how many words are in her name, thus I couldn"t count 100 words. The handsome Captain Phoebus was the sort of man who was desired by women of all social classes and had no qualms about crossing those barriers in pursuit of a beautiful maiden. His fiancé, therefore, had every reason to be upset by his disappearance following the incident with Esmeralda and her bewitched goat. A part of her was glad the gipsy was to be hanged. But fate and the hunchback intervened on the gipsy"s behalf. Phoebus had not seen the miraculous rescue; to protect herself, his golden young woman "forgot" to mention it. Now, the captain was entirely hers forever! NMP... Quasimodo cowered outside Esmeralda"s doorway, shaking in anguish. His chest throbbed where Frollo had kicked him, but it was nothing compared to the ache in his heart. How could his master hurt that angel? He was a kind man of God who was harsh only to Quasimodo, who deserved it, he was sure. What had she done? Or perhaps Dom Claude had simply desired to be near her as did Quasimodo. Esmeralda had been through a terrible ordeal that had left her nerves on edge. If it were otherwise, Quasimodo did not know if he could fight his master again. For the 100th time NMP... (This chapter"s full name is "Gringoire Has Several Good Ideas in the Rue des Bernardins") Gringoire was grateful that Esmeralda had saved his life. Indeed, he enjoyed his new existence among the Truands more than that which had preceded it. Still, he saw no need to sacrifice this gift from the gipsy girl simply to save her pretty neck. It was a shame that the wicked grip of justice had seized upon the goat as well; she had been more of a companion to Gringoire than her mistress. If Esmeralda"s people could save them, all the better, but Gringoire vowed that he would not sacrifice himself for the unhappy pair, despite the archdeacon"s determined plans. N.M.P. Once upon a lifetime ago, the antics of his foolish brother would have saved Claude Frollo from any unhappiness he felt. Now, Jehan merely served to irritate him. There were people in this cold world with true problems, innocent young women being hanged for no reason! How dare the boy bother him with such foolishness as money? Despite his anger, the archdeacon"s blood ran cold at his brother"s flippant threat to turn Truand. How could his dear Jehan, whom he had raised and loved so well, join the ranks of those fiends who had raised the girl who destroyed him? Yes, I need a new hobby And here he (finally) is! Quasimodo! (Whom I do not own.) He could not hear the words the women spoke as they turned their faces away from him, but he knew what they felt from the way they shied from looking at him. Some of them glanced back at the spectacle, and when they did, he could clearly see their horror and disgust. Why did they fear him so? The men, however, seemed thrilled by him. They crowned him their fool"s pope and carried him on a throne. True, they were mocking him, but he enjoyed the positive attention. It was better than the typical reaction to his appearance; abject hatred. Like it? Love it? Want me to go die? Let me know! N.M.P. I intend to finish this **** book tonight, so wish me luck! Jehan was, indeed, grateful that his brother had supplied him with further funds to keep his wine flask replenished. This did not mean that he had to do as the archdeacon would wish of him. Upon receiving the money, he weighed his options and decided to turn Truand anyway. He reached the Court of Miracles and was instantly accepted by the crowd, which was preparing for battle. He would join them, he resolved, and fight as one of them at his brother"s cathedral. These people were the open, cheerful family he had never had! Life would be better amongst them. No way I"m going to finish this tonight; I"m making posters for a Doctors Without Borders fundraiser. Review me please, and cheer me up. (I cut my thumb open on a pair of scissors.) Still N.M.P. Quasimodo did not fear a moment for himself; his life was devoted to the young woman who was now in mortal peril. He knew only that he had to protect her from these monsters who would cheerfully see her hanged, for he knew not that they were coming to spirit her away to safety. His heart raced as he fought the scholar, for he recognized the boy to be his master"s beloved brother. Still, Jehan Frollo was a threat to the dear Esmeralda, and for this he had to perish. They all would die before he let them harm her. I finished the book (finally) a week ago, and now just have to type my hand-written drabbles. Not My Property. Note- the real chapter"s title is "The Closet Where Monsieur Louis de France Says His Prayers" The prisoner within this great, expensive cage saw a glimmer of hope upon the entrance of His Majesty, King Louis the XI. He begged this regal personage for freedom, for he was innocent of any crime. But the king continued his inspection of the cage that was as cold and unyielding as he. It mattered not to him what the prisoner had done to condemn himself to this fate, as long as this cage which had cost so much to construct held its inhabitant. Iron bars were not needed, however; his soul had been bound and crushed by the years. NMP. Please review. I"m sad. My kitty cat just died. :=( The man in black had waited by the stone cross in the Porte Baudoyer for what felt like hours before Gringoire emerged from the dark night. The poet had sworn that he would bring the password to him so that they could safely enter the cathedral. What, he wondered, was taking the fool so long? They had to hurry if they wished to rescue the lovely Esmeralda from the king"s men. He shuddered at the thought of a coarse rope once again encircling her swan"s neck, chafing the smooth skin. What could be keeping her unconcerned husband, the wretched Gringoire? NMP... Clopin Trouilefou moved into the crowd of the king"s warriors with resolute calmness. He sang as he hacked away at their horses" legs, perfectly at ease in this situation fraught with chaos and destruction. His men would surely overcome these gilded monsters as they would conquer Notre Dame. Then they would rescue their beloved Esmeralda and the "enterprising" among them would loot the cathedral. He thought of this sweet victory when pain shot through his breast; he fell to the ground soaked with the blood of many, including his own. He had failed Esmeralda and his people with his demise. Well, this one is kind of a rambling summary of the chapter. Sorry and please don"t be irritated enough to not review! (NMP) Emotions fleeted through Esmeralda"s exhausted brain so rapidly they made her feel ill. Surely, she would soon wake from this nightmare. The relative peace she had found in the cathedral was gone. He husband had rescued her, then run off with her goat, leaving her in the clutches of the man who had destroyed her. The priest"s madness was terrible to behold, but not as terrible as that of the old woman. Her mother! In seconds, that fearsome hag had transformed into her loving mother! And then she was dead, killed trying to protect her! Death now seemed a relief. NMP Everything within Claude Frollo froze in an unbearable expression of spiritual pain as he fell through the air. True, his hands reached out to grab the roof, but this was more a natural reflex of his body than a desire to live. It was all gone. He had betrayed science and God with his untamed love of the gipsy girl. Quasimodo stood before him, turned to stone by the angel"s cruel demise. Jehan, the archdeacon"s dear brother, was dead, his brains splashed upon the pavement. And now the gipsy too was gone, leaving nothing for Claude but this final fall. Just so y"all know, I finished the book a week ago and wrote all of these. Now I"m just typing them up. And my bird died today, so review and cheer me up. (Yes, this is the second pet death this week.) NMP Just days after the uprising at Notre Dame, Captain Phoebus married. It was for him a bittersweet day; although his lovely, wealthy wife was entirely and irrevocably his, he could no longer explore other options within the fairer sex, which he so enjoyed. But perhaps it was for the best, for his last such escapade had nearly killed him. He thought, not for the first time, of the beautiful gipsy who had almost murdered him. He hoped, for some reason, that her death had not been too painful. Setting these depressing thoughts aside, he leaned in to kiss his wife. Here"s the last one, folks! (Thank God they"re over, right? Remind me never to do something so time consuming again, and if I do, tell me to stop being so OCD and to quit halfway through.) Well, bye for now, gang. I have to go write my essay on Ayn Rand"s The Fountainhead. (No, I"m not an Objectivist; yes, my paper will probably piss off the judges. No offence to any of my Objectivist readers. Now that my author"s note is as long as my drabble, I shall leave. Please remember that these characters belong to the great Victor Hugo, not me. And be kind and review, even if it"s to say you think these are stupid. There was nothing left for him in the world of the living; all that he loved was dead. Thus he resolved to wait out eternity with her, the only one who had ever shown him any kindness. He lay with her amongst the remains of countless other victims of a hemp rope, many as innocent as she had been. This was how life could have been, had he been beautiful like the captain. Now, she lay in his arms despite his ugliness. She did not run, or even flinch, for she no longer feared him who would love her always. Yes, I need a new hobby I think this chapter is ineptly named, but who am I to argue with one of the greatest authors- one of the greatest men- who ever lived? Esmeralda! What in God"s name, he wondered, was La Esmeralda, and why had it taken precedent over the mystery which had gathered everyone here in the first place? He had promised his Jupiter who could not climb to the stage to act his part that he would pay the company if he himself were paid. He doubted that he would be, for upon reflecting on the day, those who had hired him would likely not remember they had done so. Still, he would go on writing, as all poets must do, and pray for more cultured audiences in the future. End of Book One. Any comments? Pretty please? Here we go Here we go! Welcome to Book Two! I don"t own anything. I"d like to take this opportunity to wish myself a happy birthday. It was a year ago today when I first posted a story on ! The entire city was wildly celebrating the Feast of Fools, enjoying itself, and mocking Gringoire"s pain. Everywhere he went, he saw people without a care in the world; people who, even if they did have concerns, had laid all their burdens aside for this joyous day. Yet here he was, attempting to hide from the festivities, but lacking a safe, quiet place in which to hide. The excitement at this holiday and the exceedingly short attention span of the people celebrating had torn his very living space from him when they neglected to pay him for his beautiful unheard masterpiece. What do you think? After a bit of a break to read a book for school, I have returned to my sweet Victor Hugo After a bit of a break to read a book for school, I have returned to my sweet Victor Hugo. Obviously, the aforementioned genius has all the rights to Quasimodo and company. For hundreds of years, the Place de Grève has stood in the midst of Paris. Over the time, its appearance has changed, as have the people who look upon it. What would it say if it could tell us all it has witnessed? Would it perhaps tell us of our beloved author, sitting on the steps of the Marchandise and taking notes for this chapter? Or of Parisians walking by in 1831, their noses buried in the volume which we now explore? How long will it stand as a witness to human passage? What else will its stone eyes see? Please review me! I have but one lonely review (of which I am greatly appreciative, but still... more is better!) And onward I plunge And onward I plunge! The updates will most likely be coming with more frequency, for I am reading this book with my friend, who is 200 pages ahead of me. I must catch up! The poor girl had done nothing wrong. She was an entertainer- was that such an awful crime? Why did those people say such things to her? She was no witch and a goat could not commit sacrilege. Why could her performance not simply be considered amusing? There was at least one in every crowd; one person who disapproved of her act. But, she assured herself, it was an honest living she made. If people did not like her dancing or Djali"s tricks they did not have to pay her. Still, the angry words stung her heart, as they always did.

Billy froze. His mind filled with desperate thoughts. Run away! Beg for forgiveness! Jump off the nearest bridge! Deny everything! Confess his love! Explain! Yes, that one seemed almost reasonable. Penny was, or at least used to be, his friend. She would listen to him, and once he told her why he wanted to take over the world, she would... forgive him? Maybe not, but it was better than just fleeing and never talking to her again, which was his second option. "Look, Penny-" "No. There"s nothing you can say, Doctor, so don"t try." She turned away and brushed at her watering eyes. Billy didn"t- couldn"t- move. Suddenly, she turned back to face him. "Actually, I do have one question. I don"t even know why it matters, but... Do you like me?" "What?" Billy had no idea how "I hate you, you monstrous villain" could suddenly turn into "Are we friends?' What was she talking about? "Do you care about me at all? Or did you just think it would be a clever idea to mess around with your nemesis"s girlfriend? All those conversations we had, was any of it true? Are you..." Her voice broke. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed. The elderly man who worked behind the counter, the only other person in the laundromat, stared at Billy reproachfully. "No, Penny, don"t," Billy pleaded. He knelt beside her and placed his trembling hand on her shoulder. She pulled away instantly. "Penny, listen to me. Everything you know about me is true. All my ideas, my dreams, the problems I see in the world. I just... underemphasized how far I would go to change it. I was going to tell you eventually. I would never hurt anyone, though. It"s just..." He sighed. "Don"t you agree things have to change?" Penny looked up at him through puffy red eyes and nodded. "So be a hero, Billy. Do something to make a change. But not this." "Heroes are useless. Look at Hammer. Who has he ever helped? They"re just like everyone else. Pretend they"re doing something special and use their power to score hot girls." Penny blushed, but Billy continued on without pause. "He wants you to hate me, Penny. He wants you to stay away from someone who would actually treat you like the perfect person you are so you won"t see how much he"s not doing for you!" "Well I guess he succeeded." Penny"s heart was breaking, but she knew she was doing the right thing. Her sweet Billy Buddy was a lie. There was only a villain who had somehow managed to get under her skin and hurt her. "Because I do hate you, Dr. Horrible. Now please, just get away." Billy couldn"t breathe. She didn"t mean that. She hadn"t said it. Penny was his only hope, the only thing that could save him from the desperate villain inside himself. The still-functioning part of his brain told him that he needed to leave. His heart wanted to pull her close and hold her until she understood how very wrong she was about him. Penny turned around when she heard the bell over the door jingle. She hadn"t actually expected him to give up so easily. She looked down and saw, placed carefully just inches from her feet, a slowly melting cup of frozen yogurt. She hated him. She hated him! Billy didn"t know what to do, didn"t know what to feel. He felt the darkness of the world around him and the darkness of his own frustrated mind closing in around him. Suddenly, there was no reason to fight it. There was no hope of finding joy in his cold, miserable life. Billy stood in his lab, trying desperately to slow his racing heart and frantic mind. How? What could he possibly do? He could build a weakness ray, he thought wildly, take away Hammer"s strength, kidnap him, and torture him. But that wouldn"t make Penny forgive him; it would probably make her murder him. He wondered if that would be such a terrible thing. Hammer did not love Penny and Billy did. This was the only thing he knew, the only workable fact his desperate mind could cling to. But Penny didn"t know it, and that was the problem. Billy knew he couldn"t convince her of Hammer"s true nature, He was a superhero, thus automatically loved by everyone. Besides, Penny wouldn"t take his advice now; she"d think destroying Hammer"s love life was part of his villainous evil plan. His only hope of getting the girl of his dreams back into his life was to convince her of his worth. Once upon a few short days ago, Penny had considered him her very best friend. They had common ideals and could easily converse with a level of honesty Billy had never known before. The only thing that had changed was Billy"s name. But it obviously meant much more than that to Penny. Billy tried to imagine the conclusions that Penny had drawn from learning his identity. Within minutes, he had developed a very sinister image of himself, in which he was not at all nervous and frustrated, but violent and horrible. Dr. Horrible, in fact. He shuddered at the thought and then realized with a sickening jolt that this terrible vision had very recently been his greatest desire. "Why?" He didn"t notice that he had begun talking aloud. "How could I willingly give in to one evil to stop another? No wonder she hates me. But even in the League, I wouldn"t have-" He stopped, suddenly seized by a memory. It was that first day that Penny had spoken to him, the day she had met Captain Hammer. Then, Penny had wanted to talk to him, get to know him, recruit him for Caring Hands. Dr. Horrible had thrown away that chance to steal Wonderflonium. For the first time, Billy realized that that moment had been a fork in the road of his life. He felt suddenly cold as he realized that he had chosen evil. He deserved Penny"s hatred. In his battle against the world, mankind"s evil had won, corrupting him and taking from him everything he ever really wanted; Penny. But how could he blame the world? Penny saw the same wickedness that he did and came out of it kinder every day. Billy had lost his battle with Dr. Horrible and until he managed to conquer the villain within himself, he had no right to even hope for Penny"s forgiveness. Penny sat on the leather couch in Captain Hammer"s living room, listening intently as Hammer told of his recent defeat of Dead Bowie. After her recent brush with a villain, she felt obligated to be more appreciative of heroes. She told herself every day that she was the luckiest girl in the world and she had to give Captain Hammer the sort of adoration he deserved. His story finished, Hammer looked at Penny expectantly. She smiled brightly, displaying a loving pride that did not meet her eyes. "Thank goodness you"re here to protect us." Hammer pulled his incredibly cute girlfriend to his strong body. "Yeah. You"re a lucky little lady, huh?" He tilted her head up and pressed his mouth to her soft lips. Penny leaned into the kiss, telling herself that this was right, that this was perfect, that she was hopelessly in love. She closed her eyes and deepened the kiss, running her hand through fluffy blonde hair, allowing the smell of detergent and the taste of frozen yogurt to overwhelm her. No! She couldn"t have just pictured... No. He was a villain. And even just Billy, the way they were before Dr. Horrible had come between them, no, it hadn"t been like that. This was where she belonged, wasn"t it? Hammer"s strong hands slid to the edge of Penny"s Caring Hands t-shirt and ran up her chest, making her shiver. She wasn"t sure it was a reaction of delight. He cupped her breasts, sliding his mouth expertly down to meet his fingers. Penny knew this was wrong, but hadn"t the slightest idea how to say no to a super hero. Billy"s gentle voice flashed through her mind. Why don"t you just tell him you"re not interested? Her sweet Billy Buddy hadn"t been evil then. He had been compassionate and genuinely concerned about her. She had almost dared to break up with Hammer that day because she knew that Billy was on her side. Why had his identity changed everything? Why had everything Billy ever said become twisted into something evil? Why was Hammer suddenly a suitable boyfriend? She pulled back just as Hammer moved to unclasp her bra. "Listen, I have to go. They need me back at the shelter." Hammer snorted. "They have other volunteer people, baby. You"re busy." He reached for her, but Penny moved away. "No, really. I have to go. Sorry." She rushed out the front door, not daring to look back. "I"ll call you!" she shouted after her, hoping to appease him. That night, Penny stayed up past midnight, though the events of the day had left her drained and tired. She couldn"t get that image of kissing Billy out of her head. Why had she thought of that? Obviously, she told herself, I"d rather have been with anyone that Captain Hammer, corporate tool. She laughed humorlessly. Billy had taught her that term. Okay, it kind of makes sense that I was attracted to him before, she rationalized. He was sweet, funny, socially aware. He signed my petition and came to Caring Hands to volunteer. He treated me with respect, even too much so at times. Always went out of his way to make me happy. But it was all a cover, her mind continued, spinning in dizzying circles. And while he must have been genuine- my best friend can"t have been totally made up, right?- he"s dangerous. I could never date a villain, could never be friends with one. On the other hand, heroes haven"t turned out to be all that heroic. When she finally fell asleep, Penny dreamt of being kidnapped by Dr. Horrible and rescued by Captain Hammer, who tried to molest her as he drove her away from Horrible"s lab. She screamed for help, knowing that the only person who could get to her in time was famous for being a soulless villain. But suddenly Billy was there, Billy, who had been trapped in Dr. Horrible"s evil lair and had only just gotten himself loose. He took her to the laundromat, where the mayor handed her a cup of frozen yogurt and her petition with his seal of approval on it. She woke up feeling more confused than before. The next morning, Penny walked in to Caring Hands with her head held high, determined not to think of either the perfect man who had entered her life or the villain who had taken away her brief happiness. Nor, she vowed, would she spend any more time trying to establish which man was which. Her harbor had sunken back into the sea and she was once again thrust into the stormy sailing that had always been her life. No use dreaming of things that might have been. The temperature outside was dropping, which meant that the shelter was getting steadily busier. Penny was glad of this and made sure to work extra hard, not giving her mind a moment to wander. The staff was simply glad that Penny was leaving less for them to do, but some of the clients, who all loved Penny very much, thought she seemed... off. "You been getting" enough sleep, girl?" Penny jumped, but saw only Mr. Harding, a wheelchair-bound veteran, eying her with concern. "Yes, I"m fine, Mr. Harding." She tried to laugh casually, but found a weak smile was the best she could manage. She was saved from having to make excuses by the ringing of her cell phone. "Oh, excuse me." Penny spoke patiently to the Girl Scout troop leader who wanted to bring several girls in as volunteers, then to the local grocery store, which was holding a food drive for the shelter, then to the trucking company that was delivering the food, on and on until her phone grew hot under her chin, chopping vegetables the entire time. Putting down her phone at long last, she left the kitchen to begin making up the freshly laundered cots. She only managed to go halfway across the room, however, before she found herself frozen to the spot as firmly as if she were under the power of a freeze ray. Billy swallowed hard, fighting down the nervous butterflies in his stomach as he stood outside the Caring Hands shelter. He knew Penny was inside; the dropping temperature had surely made the shelter very busy. But did he have the nerve to go in to see her? He couldn"t leave it like this, just walking away with her hating him. She would never go back to the laundromat, at least not at a predictable time. Of course, he knew where she lived, but it would be too creepy to show up at her doorstep. So Caring Hands was the only place to take the chance to build a new existence with Penny, free from Dr. Horrible and Captain Hammer. Holding his breath, he pushed open the heavy double doors and entered. Nervous blue eyes scanned the crowded dining hall, searching for the beautiful red hair of the most wonderful person Billy had ever known. He saw her for a split second, but she disappeared into the kitchen before he could even take a step toward her. Not daring to follow her into the kitchen, Billy wandered aimlessly around the shelter, waiting for the perfect opportunity to approach the love of his life. Each step he took brought new memories of the times he had shared with her in this building filled with such hope and sorrow. Would they ever get the chance to make new memories? Billy"s wanderings took him to a small room at the back of the dining room. It was a sort of nursery and playroom, where parents could leave their children while they got food, met with social workers, or went job-hunting. Two teenage girls stood in a corner, "watching" the children for community service hours as they gossiped eagerly about the most recent party they"d attended. Two babies slept comfortably in plastic cribs pushed against the stone walls. A handful of children, ages three to ten, played amiably on the hard floor. Billy wondered at such complete innocence and thought it was uplifting how they could find happiness even in such circumstances. But Billy knew that no joy is absolute; his peaceful reflection upon these children was interrupted by the soft sound of crying. A little girl, about seven years old, crouched in the darkest corner of the playroom, her long blonde hair covering her face and her clenched fist stifling her sobs. Billy approached her slowly, not wanting to frighten her, but desperate to stop her tears. He hated seeing people unhappy. "Um... are you okay?" The girl jumped and looked up at Billy, dark eyes filled with tears and fear. Billy knelt before her, reaching out a placating hand. "Hey, don"t be scared. It"s okay." He tried to smile at her, but found the expression on her little face too heartbreaking. "My name"s Billy. What"s yours?" The girl"s mother had told her not to talk to strangers, but she didn"t see how she could possibly feel unsafe around this man. He looked so friendly and kind of afraid himself. His eyes looked as sad as her heart felt. "Kayla." "Hi Kayla. Why are you crying?" "I"m lonely," she sniffled. "You don"t want to play with the other kids?" She shook her head. He hesitated; he had to go find Penny. But this poor little girl was hurting. He remembered the many times in his childhood when he would have given anything just to build a Lego castle with someone. "Will you play with me?" Kayla buried her head in her hands and sobbed. "No, don"t cry! Please!" Billy"s heart pounded. Had he made her even more upset? Why couldn"t he make anyone happy? "Tell me what"s wrong. I can try to fix it." Through slightly subdued crying, Kayla stammered, "I made my mommy homeless." Billy was taken aback. What did this little girl think of herself? "How?" He was almost afraid to hear the answer. "I cost money to feed and I"m too little to work." "Did your mommy tell you that?" "No. But I know food costs money and I eat and I don"t work. And now mommy goes out all day and leaves me here. She mad at me "cause of what I did, right?" Billy never knew what to say in a difficult situation. He rarely knew what to say when the words were apparent. But somehow, he managed a response to the broken little girl. No of course she isn"t mad. And it"s not your fault. She"s probably been out trying to find work. She"ll be back pretty soon and then you can spend the evening with her. But right now, your job is to have fun." He cast his mind around for some sort of distraction for Kayla. She watched as he stood swiftly, walked over to the game closet and returned in seconds, sitting cross-legged before her on the floor. He held a small rectangular box in one hand. "Want to see some card tricks?" As the minutes ticked by and Billy repeated the same several tricks, Kayla forgot her sorrow and loneliness. Billy was nice. Maybe he could come and play with her when she was here alone. She didn"t like those girls in the corner; they never noticed anything or wanted to play. "Okay, pick a card." Penny stared at the heartwarming scene before her, not sure if she wanted to hug Billy for coming back to Caring Hands and being as sweet and good as she always thought he was or attack Dr. Horrible for coming so close to an innocent child. Kayla laughed as Billy drew her card from the pile yet again. Penny smiled. The poor girl had been taking her family"s situation very hard. This was the first time Penny had seen her without tears building in her wide eyes. This was the Billy she knew; this was her best friend. She took a step closer, trying not to draw attention to herself. "Miss Penny!" Billy whirled around, face scarlet, looking as though he had been caught doing something bad. "Miss Penny, this is my friend Billy. He can do card tricks! Wanna see?" "Sure." Penny sat down on the floor between them, drew a card, and allowed Billy to perform his trick. She tried to ignore how much his hands were trembling. Had Billy really become afraid of her? She had told him that she hated him, she remembered sadly. Both girls clapped as Billy successfully produced Penny"s card, the two of hearts. "Kayla, honey, do you mind if I borrow Billy for a little bit?" Penny asked, not daring to look at her friend. "Your mommy should be here in a few minutes." "Okay." Miss Penny was nice, the girl reasoned. She could take Billy if she needed him. Besides, Mommy would be back soon. Billy followed Penny wordlessly, not daring to speak until she had led him down and stopped in a deserted hallway on the way to the pantry. Even then, he could not force the words he had come to say out of his mouth. "Is the mother going to find something?" "That"s why she"s coming back." Penny"s voice seemed tight, as if she were struggling to control it. "I just got called as a reference. She starts tomorrow as a waitress at that seafood place down the block. It"s a fancy restaurant, which means decent pay and big tips." She sighed. No use standing here dancing around the issue when she had work to do. "What are you doing here?" "I guess I came to apologize." What did he come here for, anyway? How could this perfect woman think of him as anything but a monster? Besides, even if she forgave him, he"d still just be her dorky laundry buddy. "You guess?" "I came to apologize." He sounded more sure than he felt. Might as well just go for it before his voice broke. "Penny, you know me. You know I"m no villain. I tried because I was desperate and... and scared." "Scared? Being a decent human being is so terrifying?" "Scared of getting trampled by the messed up system of the world. It was stupid and rotten and I shouldn"t have even considered it, but I did. Then they asked me to kill someone. But killing isn"t elegant or creative. It"s just...horrible." Penny snorted. "And besides, I figured out a new way to get things done. A really great friend of mine showed me that treating a symptom isn"t as useless as I thought. Besides, I sort of... fell in love with her along the way. And she"d hate me if I were a villain, so..." Billy closed his eyes, waiting for Penny to slap him. He wondered if he should be concerned that he suddenly felt like throwing up. After what felt like an eternity, Penny spoke, her voice shaking. "Would you give up Dr. Horrible for her?" Billy nodded, his jaw locked and his eyes squeezed shut. "And if she told you to go away and never come back, what would you do?" "I"d give it up anyway," Billy answered honestly. "She taught me a lot about myself." At the wonderful sensation of Penny"s arms encircling his waist, Billy"s knees gave way. Penny giggled as he leaned against the wall, staring at her with apprehension. "Funny. I fell in love with someone who taught me some important things too" Billy"s heart froze. This really wasn"t a good time to hear Penny quote Captain Hammer. "Like what?" "Like sometimes villains are just misguided heroes who do dumb things. And sometimes heroes are nothing more than overinflated high school jocks, looking for attention and bullying the guy in the tech club." "What?" "I think I love you, Billy." They walked into the dining room, perfectly fitting hands interlaced. Billy knew he was blushing or pale or something; he felt lightheaded, but not in the way he felt after Hammer hit his head against a brick wall. "You okay, Billy Buddy? " "I"m fine." He stopped, still holding tight to Penny"s hand. She stood beside him, looking at him with a tender mixture of concern and love in her eyes. Surrounding him were a group of people who needed help, people he could help. Here with Penny, he could be good and be important and belong. Yes, for the first time in his life, Billy was fine. Yes, Kayla is a reference to Kaylee. YAY Firefly! WHEW! Done! Sorry Rebecca, I know I said I"d finish on Saturday. 1 AM Sunday was the best I could do. Thank you Claire for your help with the end. Please review! Thanks!

Jill"s teasing smile and light-hearted eyes effectively put Cindy at ease. She couldn"t help but smile back. "Um, it doesn"t quite work that way." "No? Well we females are pretty awesome, so I can"t blame you there. Anyway," Jill continued, pulling up to the curb, "Get out of my car. I don"t feel like playing chauffeur any more." Cindy frowned in confusion, until she looked out the window and saw that they had reached Cindy"s apartment. Laughing, she smacked Jill on the arm. "Damn you, Jill, I was about to launch into a rant about passive-aggressive homophobia." Jill just smiled innocently. Cindy got out of the car and turned to say goodnight, but Jill had gotten out as well, coming around to lean casually against the side of the car. "So, you"re not freaked out?" Cindy asked hesitantly. "Are you kidding?" Jill scoffed. "We live in Gay Francisco, of course I"m not freaked out!" "Well, thanks." Cindy stuck her hands in her pockets, feeling vaguely shy again. "Most of my coming-out experiences haven"t exactly gone very well, so thanks for not freaking out. And I"ll tell Claire and Lindsay at some point, too. There just never seems to be an appropriate moment for this kind of thing." "You could always go out on more bad dates in lesbian bars and then call each of them to pick you up," Jill suggested. "But in the meantime, don"t worry, your secret"s safe with me. Now c"mere. I feel like we"ve bonded, so I think we should hug." Cindy giggled again as Jill reached out and pulled her into a tight embrace. "I"m glad you felt comfortable enough to tell me," Jill continued genuinely, pulling back from the hug, but keeping her hands on Cindy"s shoulders and holding her at arm"s length. Noticing the switch in Jill"s tone from teasing to sincere, Cindy could only smile at first, unsure how else to answer and feeling unexpectedly choked up. After a moment, she settled on, "Well, thanks for the ride," inwardly cringing at how lame she sounded. With a smile and a nod of her head, Jill simply got back in her car, but didn"t drive away until Cindy had reached the top step to her apartment and turned around to wave. TBC... "So, do you have a girlfriend?" Jill asked as soon as the movie ended. Cindy"s blush was almost instantaneous. She had been wondering when Jill was going to bring up Cindy"s newly-revealed sexual-orientation. The club had gotten together for dinner at Jill"s new apartment, but Cindy was the only one left, since Claire had a husband and kids to attend to, and Lindsay had one of her scheduled long-distance phone calls with Pete. Taking a moment to swallow her handful of popcorn, Cindy replied, "Don"t you think you"d know if I had a girlfriend?" "Well one would think so, sure, but you managed to hide the fact that you"d even be interested in having a girlfriend, so you never know. Or, well, you know, obviously, so I guess it"s really more like I never know." Cindy laughed lightly, idly thinking that Jill was cute when she rambled. "No, I don"t have a girlfriend," she answered, as Jill reached over to grab the popcorn bowl. "And have you had a girlfriend since I"ve known you?" "No." "Why not?" Cindy frowned at the question. "What do you mean, "why not?'" Jill pulled her legs up onto the couch, twisting around to fully face Cindy, who was sitting at the other end. "Well, you"re an attractive girl. I"m sure there are plenty of interested females out there. So why not?" Cindy shrugged. She wasn"t interested in random hypothetical females so much as the one female in front of her, but she wasn"t about to admit that out loud. "I dunno. I"ve been on dates, as you well know. Just...no one"s clicked yet." Jill eyed her speculatively. "Okay then, when did you have your first girlfriend?" "Junior year in high school. And what"s with the twenty questions?" Jill smirked, and Cindy found herself thinking that her friend"s expression was impossibly sexy. "I"m interested in your lesbian lifestyle." Once again, Cindy laughed, forcing herself to shift her gaze away from Jill"s lips. - - - - - Cindy was at home, working on an article, when her phone started ringing. She reached over and grabbed it, not bothering to look at the caller ID. "Cindy Thomas," she greeted. "It"s your turn to play chauffeur, Cindy Thomas," came the reply on the other end. "What? Jill?" Cindy switched her attention from the computer screen in front of her to the phone. "Yes, it"s Jill." The attorney sounded almost offended that Cindy even had to ask. "And Denise, who is much drunker than I am, by the by, has informed me that if I try to drive myself home, she"s going to call Lindsay and have me arrested for driving while intoxicated. And why call a cab, when I can call you? So come pick me up." Cindy had to try very hard not to laugh out loud. "Sure thing. Where are you?" "Not at The Lesbian Club, unfortunately." Cindy paused, unsure about what to make of the word "unfortunately.' "Lexington. You mean The Lexington Club." "Sure, close enough. But I"m not there, so it doesn"t matter. Anyway, one of the ADAs in the narcotics unit is moving to Seattle, so we"re having a goodbye party, and there"s free booze, but now I"m bored, so get your ass over here." When Cindy pulled up in front of the function hall fifteen minutes later, the first thing that Jill said upon entering the car was, "Have I ever told you that you look cute in glasses?" Cindy simply stared at Jill for a moment, before slowly responding, "Um, no. You haven"t." "Well I should have, because you do. Look cute, that is. But you always look cute, damn you, so no surprise there." "Uh, thanks? You"re not so bad yourself." Cindy couldn"t be sure if Jill had always been this flirty, and she simply hadn"t noticed, or whether all the free alcohol was to blame. The ride back to Jill"s apartment was filled largely with gossip about Jill"s colleagues, but Cindy couldn"t have repeated any of it if asked to, since she found herself too distracted by the generous bit of cleavage she could catch whenever she glanced in the rearview mirror. "Cindy!" Startled out of her daydream, Cindy became aware of the fact that Jill was staring at her. "What? What"s wrong?" "You just drove right past my apartment!" Cindy looked out the window, finally paying attention to where she was. "Huh? Oh. Shit, sorry." "Jesus," Jill exclaimed, as Cindy suddenly hit the brakes and pulled a quick three-point turn. "You suck as a chauffeur." "Good thing I still have my day job, then," Cindy commented dryly as she parked Maggie. "Well to make up for it, you have to come inside and keep me company for a while." Jill exited the car and walked straight up to her building without a backward glance, leaving Cindy no choice but to follow. Inside the apartment, Jill waved a vague hand towards the living room, indicating (Cindy assumed) that Cindy should go there, as Jill disappeared into the kitchen. Cindy settled into the plush couch, waiting until Jill reappeared, with a beer in one hand, and a bottle of water in the other. She handed the beer to Cindy before sitting in the chair opposite the couch. "I probably shouldn"t drink," Cindy said, taking the offered beer anyway. "I still have to drive myself home, after all." "Not if I get you drunk enough to convince you to have a sleepover," Jill replied with a grin. "And either way, one beer won"t kill you. I know you"re little, but you can"t be that much of a lightweight." So Cindy convinced herself that she had to drink the beer at that point, if only to prove that her tolerance could handle it. The problem with that, however, was that once she"d accepted the first beer, it made it easier to accept a second one, and then a third. And then Cindy could only watch, wide-eyed and seemingly forgetting to breathe, as Jill stood up and strode over to the couch, removing the empty bottle from Cindy"s fingertips, and proceeding to essentially crawl into Cindy"s lap. "Um, hello," was all Cindy could seem to say. "Hi," was Jill"s breathy reply, as she leaned down and captured Cindy"s lips with her own. Cindy remained frozen to the spot, completely bewildered, until she finally moved the upper half of her body (the half that Jill wasn"t straddling) sharply to the right, pulling slightly away from Jill. "Jill! Wh- What are you doing?" "Isn"t it obvious? Trying to kiss you." With that, Jill leaned back in, but at the last second, Cindy moved her hand in between their lips. "Why?" she asked against the palm of her hand, an element of panic entering her voice. She had in no way seen this coming, and had no idea what to do about it. Sighing, Jill pulled back, but chose not to remove herself from Cindy"s lap. "Oh come on. Haven"t you noticed that I"ve wanted to kiss you for awhile, now? And I totally caught you checking me out in the car, so I know you"re not completely averse to the idea." In spite of the circumstances, Cindy couldn"t help but be impressed with Jill"s use of the word "averse," considering the fact that neither one of them was completely sober. Regardless, Cindy decided to ignore Jill"s last sentence for the moment. "You... you"ve wanted to kiss me? No, I can"t say that I"d picked up on that." "Then you"re blind, Cindy Thomas. But you"re still hot, so I"ll forgive you." Jill leaned in again, but Cindy was a bit more prepared for it this time, so she managed to shift and slide completely out from beneath Jill. "I... I should go." Jill sighed once again, flopping down onto the couch and then turning to look over at Cindy, who was now sitting up straight, as far to the other side of the couch as she could get. "Wow, you really had no idea, did you? I thought I had been more obvious about it," Jill commented idly, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. Beneath her panic, Cindy couldn"t help but notice how beautiful Jill looked in that moment, the soft light of the nearby lamp falling gently across her pale skin. Cindy swallowed audibly, finding her throat to be uncomfortably dry. "Look," Cindy began, "I don"t know what"s going on. Not really. But I"ve been a straight girl"s random experiment, before. Things like that don"t end well. They never end well. I don"t know if you"re just curious, or what, but I won"t do that with you, Jill. For the sake of our friendship, and my sanity, I won"t do that with you." Cindy could only wait anxiously as Jill continued to silently gaze at her. Finally, the blonde blinked, sitting up straighter and breaking their eye contact, before shyly looking back over at her through long eyelashes. "I"m sorry, I"ve..." Jill paused to run her tongue over her lips and a hand through her hair. "I"ve fucked this whole thing up. I shouldn"t have just accosted you like that. But seriously, you"ve had three drinks. Just stay here tonight, okay? Will you stay if I promise not to sexually harass you?" Cindy couldn"t help but smile at Jill"s choice of words. "Okay," she replied, briefly wondering if she was giving in too easily, and then deciding that she didn"t quite care. TBC... Cindy gulped as she watched Jill slide into their booth at the diner, sitting next to Claire and opposite Cindy. "You look nicer than usual," Claire commented as Jill sat down. "You trying to impress someone at work?" "I always look nice!" Jill immediately protested. She caught Cindy"s eye as she continued, "I did get this new outfit recently, though. You gals like it?" Cindy could only nod in the affirmative. She had assumed that the issue of Jill apparently wanting to kiss her would disappear once Jill was sober again, but it hadn"t been that simple. Granted, Jill had been nothing but friendly (if more touchy-feely), but Cindy was still finding her restraint almost unbearably tested. Like now, for example. Instead of paying attention to her friends" conversation, Cindy found her eyes following Jill"s fingers, as they trailed up and down the column of her neck, idly scratching the smooth skin there, before lowering to play with the top (open) button of her well-tailored blouse. That button, of course, was perfectly placed at the top of Jill"s chest, so that when Jill"s fingers moved down to the table, Cindy"s eyes did not go with them. "Thomas!" Cindy jumped at Lindsay"s sharp tone, automatically lifting her eyes to Jill"s smirking face, before turning to look at Lindsay. "Huh? What, I"m paying attention. What?" she asked rapidly. Lindsay simply stared at her for a moment. "Did you even hear a word of what anyone just said?" Cindy frantically searched her brain for some hint of what they had been talking about. "Uh, yeah, of course. Two gunshot wounds to the head, found a suspect, need a warrant, but you"re not totally sure about the whole thing, because it still might be the older brother." Cindy rattled off the information she had independently gathered from each of her three friends, hoping desperately that it would match the conversation. "Sounds like you just pulled that out of your ass, but you"re right," Lindsay muttered, still skeptical but apparently satisfied with Cindy"s response. Cindy took a deep breath and forced herself to follow the conversation. After a few minutes, however, her efforts were immensely impeded when she felt a soft foot run up the side of her leg under the table. Cindy nearly jumped out of her skin at the contact, and immediately blushed from head to toe. Three pairs of eyes turned to stare at her. Lindsay looked confused, Claire looked concerned, and Jill looked amused. Claire was the first one to speak up. "Honey, are you okay? You look like you might be coming down with something." "Me? No, I"m perfectly fine." Jill chose right that moment to start moving her foot again, stroking slowly up and down Cindy"s calf. Cindy gritted her teeth and continued, "But I just remembered, that, um, that I have a deadline! Yeah, which means that I have an article. An article that I need to write. Right now. Because it"s due. In ten minutes. Okay, this has been fun, bye!" Cindy jumped up from the table and was half-way to the door before she realized that she had left her purse sitting next to Lindsay. So she returned to the table, grabbed the bag, smiled awkwardly, and then retreated once again to go write her imaginary article. By the end of the week, Cindy had been similarly tortured several more times. Admittedly, Jill"s actions were only slightly more demonstrative than they had been before the night when Jill kissed her. It occurred to Cindy that she may very well have been blind to the earlier hints that Jill regarded her as more than just a friend. Being aware of what was going on only made the situation harder to deal with, though. Even if Jill wasn"t trying to play footsie, she was wearing low-cut shirts, and making witty double-entendres, and touching Cindy way more than was strictly necessary. Given her recently spastic behavior, Cindy was sure that Lindsay and Claire were fully convinced by that point that she was certifiably insane. - - - - - Cindy had managed to avoid being alone with Jill for a while, but her luck ran out when Jill unexpectedly stopped by her apartment one day after work. Supposedly, Jill needed to talk with Cindy about one of the reporter"s contacts at the San Francisco Municipal Railway. It was something about the streetcar system -- Cindy had no idea what Jill could possibly need to know about the streetcar system, but she seemed to have missed some of the important details that had been shared during one of the not-a-club meetings earlier that week. Cindy had been cooking herself dinner when Jill arrived, so she was at least glad to have something other than Jill"s distracting form on which to focus her attention. The flaw in this plan soon became evident, however, as Jill walked up right behind Cindy, peering directly over her shoulder. "What"cha makin"?" Jill asked, and Cindy felt a chill run down her spine as the attorney"s warm breath slid over her ear. "Um, it"s chicken stir fry. It"s got chicken, obviously, and peppers, onions, mushrooms, carrots. All kinds of good stuff. It"s really easy to make, too..." Cindy continued speaking, even as she was well-aware of the fact that she was rambling. "Cindy," Jill spoke up, raising her voice slightly above Cindy"s and taking a step backwards. The redhead immediately stopped talking, both relieved and disappointed at the increase in distance between them. "Look at me, Cindy." Although half of her wanted to simply run away, she couldn"t stop herself from turning around and looking vaguely in Jill"s direction. Her eyes focused on Jill"s shoulder, however, regarding it as the safest way to look at Jill without really looking at her. "Look at me, Cindy," Jill repeated, softer this time. Figuring that she might as well get the most out of it, Cindy finally allowed her eyes to slowly rake up and down Jill"s body, feeling her heart rate climb with each passing second. Her gaze eventually settled on Jill"s bright blue eyes, and the two women simply stared at each other. "Fuck it." Unable to stand the tension any longer, Cindy reached forward and grabbed Jill by the lapels of her suit, pulling the blonde to her. "Finally," Jill murmured, just before their lips crashed together. The kiss started off rough, all lips and teeth and tongues. Cindy moved one hand around Jill"s neck as the other stretched backwards to blindly turn off the stove, very nearly burning herself in the process. Jill"s hands immediately went to either side of Cindy"s head, her fingertips sinking into soft hair as her palms gently tilted Cindy"s face to an angle that provided her better access to the petite redhead"s mouth. Cindy couldn"t help but moan, wrenching her mouth from Jill"s in order to fill her oxygen-deprived lungs, when Jill pushed harder against Cindy"s body, forcing a knee in between Cindy"s legs and pressing her thigh upwards. Jill"s mouth lowered along Cindy"s jaw line as her arms wrapped tightly around the reporter"s back, one hand slipping under the hem of Cindy"s shirt. "Holy shit, you"re good at this," Cindy murmured breathlessly. "Especially since you"ve never done this with a woman before." Cindy felt Jill"s lips move, as the blonde mumbled something against her neck, but it took Cindy"s mind longer than normal to fully process the words. "Technically, I never told you that I"d never been with a woman before." Cindy paused, her brow furrowing in slight confusion, even as Jill continued to kiss her way down Cindy"s neck. "Wait. What?" "Um, I may have lied by omission a little bit." Cindy noticed that Jill was blushing slightly, as the blonde brought her lips firmly back into contact with Cindy"s. Allowing herself to be distracted for the moment, Cindy ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of Jill"s neck, before she forced herself to pull back again. "You lied by omission. What does that mean?" "It means..." Jill paused, nervously biting down on her lower lip. "It means that I"m not exactly a girl sex virgin. If you asked either Lindsay or Claire, they"d tell you that I"m bi." Cindy simply gaped at Jill. She vaguely felt like she should be angry about such an omission, but found that she was mainly just confused. Finally, she managed to speak. "What? But you were curious about the lesbian lifestyle!" Jill simply smirked. "No," she corrected, "I do believe I told you that I was curious about your lesbian lifestyle." "Huh." Cindy ran her mind through the various conversations she"d had with the blonde. "The Lexington Club. From the very second I mentioned that name, you knew it was a lesbian bar," Cindy realized, almost talking to herself. "Straight girls wouldn"t have known that." Jill smiled sheepishly, silently confirming the statement. "But..." Cindy continued, "But why didn"t you just tell me? Things could have been so much simpler, if I hadn"t thought that you were going to have your little experiment with me and then break my heart." Jill"s expression changed somewhat, as she looked at Cindy tenderly. Cindy blushed as she realized that she had let slip that her heart was out there for the breaking. Reaching out to lightly caress Cindy"s cheek, Jill explained, "I"ve liked you for a while, now, Cindy Lou. And when I found out that you sometimes "date females,' as you put it... I don"t know, I just balked. Because it meant that maybe this could actually happen, if I didn"t screw it up, and it took me a little while to wrap my head around that." Cindy smiled at Jill"s admission. "Okay, I guess I can see that. But what about later? Especially after that night at your apartment?" Jill"s grin was almost feral as she replied, "I"ll admit that I kind of liked the idea of being the sweet, innocent straight girl, seduced by the evil lesbian." Cindy laughed. "But you"re apparently not straight, and you"re certainly not innocent. And anyway, you seduced me!" "Small details, whatever." Jill waved her hand vaguely in the air, shrugging away the discrepancies Cindy mentioned. "And it was a reverse-seduction." "A reverse-seduction?" "Yeah." Jill smiled. "I seduced you by making you seduce me." Cindy paused briefly before responding, "That makes no sense."

Then Sam noticed Katie, her roommate, and went over to join her. Katie had quickly become good friends with both Sam and Brooke. Together, the three of them had inspired the telling of quite a few jokes about, "a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead." "Hey, Sam, there you are. I was wondering where you"d gone off to. Your sister seems to be having a great time with Charlie. That guy seriously needs to work on being less sleazy." "Seriously. And she"s my STEP-sister, not my sister." "Yeah, yeah, whatever. You both keep telling me that, but I can just never seem to remember those extra four little letters. I mean, does it really matter?" Sam considered the question, taking another swig of her drink, as she watched Brooke squeeze away from Charlie and make her way over to the keg. "Damn, I"m not drunk enough for this party yet. My drink still tastes like shit. And yes, it does matter. Whether Brooke and I were at each other"s throats, or were actually friends, our relationship has never been exactly...sisterly." But soon Sam"s second drink turned into her sixth, and she no longer noticed the bad taste to the cheap alcohol. And before she quite knew how it had happened, she was dancing with Brooke. Brooke drunkenly draped her arms over Sam"s shoulders, as Sam clumsily placed her hands on Brooke"s waist and pulled their bodies together. "Sammy, I just want you to know that I"m really really glad that we"ve become friends." Sam giggled. "I know, Brooke. You make a point of telling me that every time we get drunk." "Well it"s true! I mean, I eventually forgave Nic and everything, but ever since the accident, you"ve become the only person I can count on. The only person I really trust to always be there for me." Brooke leaned forward and softly kissed Sam on the forehead. )) And then what? Then everything gets fuzzy. How did we get from dancing at the party, with so many people around...to standing in Brooke"s room, just the two of us? I honestly can"t remember how we got there. Does Brooke remember? What would happen if I asked her? But I can"t ask her! That would be way too embarrassing. So what else do I remember on my own? I remember kissing her. Lying down on her bed, pulling her on top of me. Flashes of us together. Was it good? I think it felt pretty good. And then waking up to her talking on the phone with Nicole, with Satan. I couldn"t handle it, I just had to get out of there. Shit! I can"t believe this happened, how the hell did this happen?? Sam groaned in frustration, waking up Brooke, who glanced over at her. Sam glanced back, before clenching her jaw and resolutely turning to look out the window. To look away from Brooke. Well, it"s going to be a long vacation. A/N: Well, I"m not as happy with this chapter as I was with the first part. But I felt like it was important to go over some of the stuff right before the girls end up in bed together. So hopefully it was ok, and you"ll stick with me, and hopefully it"ll get better! Same disclaimers as the last eighteen parts... Please don"t sue me; Sam and Brooke are college kids; feedback makes me very happy; thoughts. This chapter is pretty strange. I had fun writing it, though. Hope it turned out okay. Chapter 19 Brooke was walking through the streets of Santa Monica. She wasn"t sure where she was going. She was just walking. Suddenly, Sam was there walking beside her. Where did she come from? "Hi, Brooke!" Sam smiled cheerfully. "Uh, hey Sammy." They walked together in companionable silence. Occasionally, Brooke stole small glances toward Sam, trying to figure out why she was there. "Here, let"s go this way." Sam turned abruptly, leading the way down a street that Brooke had somehow never noticed before. Strangely, the road seemed to narrow, and more and more trees lined the sidewalks. Eventually, the pavement gave way to a dirt path. Brooke had no idea where they were going, but Sam just confidently walked forward. With Sam walking ahead of her, Brooke couldn"t really see what was coming up ahead. "Sam? Where are we going?" Sam laughed lightly. "You"ll see," was her cryptic answer. Then, the path started to widen again, and it gradually opened up onto a field of wildflowers. The field ended at a cliff. Walking up to the edge, Brooke saw a river at the bottom, flowing out to the ocean. Another cliff rose from the opposite bank of the river. A lone tree was visible on the other side. Where the hell are we? And how did I not know that this was here?? Brooke turned to look at Sam, who was staring across the expanse between the two cliffs. "It"s beautiful, isn"t it?" Sam asked. She then turned to gaze into Brooke"s eyes, bearing a wide smile. Brooke just nodded, not moving her eyes from Sam"s. "Well, you ready to go?" "Go? Go where?" Brooke frowned in confusion. She knew that Sam didn"t really make sense a lot of the time, but this was even stranger behavior than usual. "To the other side, of course." Sam rolled her eyes, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world. But Brooke was now only more confused. "The other side?" She looked around. "But how do we get there? Is there a bridge somewhere?" Sam smiled again, laughing. "We don"t need a bridge, silly." Brooke sighed in frustration. "Sam, you"re not making any sense. What the hell are you talking about?" "Well, there is a bridge, if you really want to go that way. It"s about fifty miles away from here, though. Personally, I"d rather go as the crow flies." With that, Sam gave Brooke one last dazzling smile before taking a running start and jumping from the edge of the cliff. "Sam!" Brooke screamed, panicked. She was astonished to see Sam immediately turn into a bird, and fly easily across the ravine, landing on a branch high in the tree along the edge of the other cliff. Whoa. I didn"t know that Sam could do that. Brooke was somewhat surprised by how not-surprised she was that Sam had just turned into a bird. Somehow, it just didn"t seem like that big of a deal. Except for the fact that Sam was now on the other side, and Brooke wasn"t sure how she would be able to follow her. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Brooke shrieked again, this time in surprise. Sam had once again appeared standing beside her. She"s really got to stop with the suddenly sneaking up on people! Brooke looked at Sam, her eyes wide. Then she looked across at the tree again. Bird-Sam was still there. "How...? You flew away." Sam scoffed. "Brooke, if you"re okay with the fact that I turned into a bird and flew away, are you really going to doubt that I can be in two different places at the same time?" Brooke supposed that that made sense. Or at least, about as little sense as everything else that had been happening. "Well, okay, I guess. But are you the real Sam? Because if you"re the real Sam, then I don"t have to worry about getting over to Bird-Sam." "No, Bird-Sam is Real-Sam. Sorry. I"m just here because you seem to require a little more pushing than Sam anticipated." "Pushing?? Are you going to push me off the cliff?!?" Brooke was starting to panic again. "Preferably, no. But no guarantees." I"m going to die. Sam"s gone insane. Or maybe I"ve gone insane. And Second-Sam is going to push me off the cliff. And I"m going to die. Brooke warily took a few steps farther away from the edge. Second-Sam just stood calmly, gazing contemplatively at Brooke, who simply stared back at her, unsure of what to do next. Then, Second-Sam turned to look back at Bird-Sam. "Oh, look. There"s Luke," she commented offhandedly. Brooke followed Second-Sam"s gaze. Sure enough, there was Luke, walking up to the tree. Brooke watched as Luke reached the base of the tree and seemed to start talking with Bird-Sam. He then jumped up, grabbed a lower branch, and began to climb up the tree. "This is SO not fair! LUKE gets to be over there? But Sam dumped Luke! He shouldn"t be there! I should! I love her more than he ever did!" Brooke sharply turned to look anxiously at Second-Sam. Oh shit...I think I just admitted to Sam that I"m in love with her. Second-Sam just sighed. "Don"t worry. Even though Real-Sam tells me what to do, she doesn"t know what"s going on over here, and I"m not allowed to tell her what you say. So your secret"s safe with me, Princess." Second-Sam looked disappointed. Brooke exhaled in relief. But then she remembered about Luke. She looked back to the tree. Luke was getting closer to Bird-Sam"s branch. Luckily, he seemed to be moving very slowly. "So, you deserve to be there more than Luke? Well? What are you going to do about it?" Brooke turned to look again at Second-Sam. Sam had that tell-tale look in her eyes...she was daring Brooke. Daring Brooke to get to Bird-Sam before Luke did. She doesn"t think that I can do it, does she? Well screw what she thinks! Brooke defiantly stared back at Second-Sam. She then turned to face the cliff, took a deep breath, and started to run. As she got to the edge, she looked straight towards Bird-Sam, and took a flying leap into the air. She could hear Second-Sam cheering excitedly behind her. "Go, Brooke! Go!" Unfortunately, she didn"t immediately turn into a bird. She could feel herself falling. It wasn"t too scary though. And somehow, the ground didn"t seem to be getting any closer, even as the edge of the cliff got farther and farther away. Brooke began to hear a loud beeping noise. She couldn"t tell where it was coming from, though. She tried to twist around in the air, searching for the source of the noise. Then, Bird-Sam was there beside her, flying downwards along with Brooke. Bird-Sam opened her beak, and Brooke was surprised to hear English come out. Bird-Sam didn"t sound too happy. "What the hell are you doing, Brooke?? You"re supposed to be going up, not down! It"s really not that hard! Just follow me," Bird-Sam commanded. Bird-Sam quickly changed directions, flying back where she came from. Brooke was still slightly distracted by the beeping, but she screwed her eyes tightly shut, trying to will herself into a bird. When she opened her eyes again, Brooke was shocked. I did it! I"m a bird! She chirped happily, and turned to follow Bird-Sam. "I"m coming, Sam! I..." Brooke woke up to see Sam leaning across her to hit the snooze button on the beeping alarm clock. Sam settled back against Brooke"s side, mumbling a sleepy "Good morning," when she saw that Brooke was awake. Wow. Such a weird dream! Same disclaimers as the last nineteen parts... Please don"t sue me; Sam and Brooke are college kids; feedback makes me very happy; thoughts Chapter 20 Sam was watching Brooke. Again. She couldn"t help it. She didn"t know how it was possible that everyone in the room wasn"t watching Brooke. Brooke was just so...watch-able. Specifically, Sam was watching Brooke dance. It was only the third time since the thing with Charlie that Brooke had been convinced to go out to a club. But it seemed like it was the first time that Brooke was actually allowing herself to relax and have some fun. And a relaxed, dancing Brooke is very much a sexy Brooke. Sam knew that Brooke probably hadn"t had much, if any, alcohol -- if Brooke found herself in any more unwanted situations, she didn"t want her senses or her reactions or her judgment to be dulled -- but unlike Sam, Brooke didn"t need any liquid confidence to get her onto the dance floor. A few guys had come up to Brooke, trying to dance with her, but she easily brushed them off. Alexis and Katie were there too, the three of them dancing in a group, along with Jason and his boyfriend Seth. Sam had been with them, but had recently escaped for a bit, as the urge to reach out and kiss Brooke grew to be too overwhelming. Their relationship had been feeling even more complicated lately, if that were possible. Sam had attempted a few more bits of subtle flirting, and she had been shocked when Brooke started to actually flirt back. Somehow, Sam had never really expected that Brooke might actually flirt back. Sam now understood why Brooke had freaked out the first time Sam said anything suggestive. Because now that Brooke was flirting too, Sam was finding it to be absolutely terrifying. It wasn"t anything major. Sam still felt like she sucked at flirting. But Brooke, on the other hand... Brooke was VERY good at flirting. A light touch here, a dazzling smile there. Maybe a small flirtatious comment. That was all it took to make Sam"s insides feel like mush. She usually managed to keep it cool on the outside, but she really felt like a nervous wreck. So now she simply stood at the edge of the room, away from the crowd, allowing herself to watch Brooke"s every move. She idly noticed Katie walk away from the group, but she didn"t really pay her much attention. Because her eyes remained on Brooke, Sam didn"t see that Katie was headed in her direction. "Oh my god...now you"re doing it too?!" Sam turned in surprise, finding that Katie was right beside her, staring at her in shock. "Who, me?" Sam questioned. "Doing what too?" "Holy shit, this is SO Spring Break déjà vu! The two of you just switched places." Sam just looked at Katie in confusion, as Katie stared back with a big grin on her face. What the hell is Katie talking about? She"s not making any sense. I don"t even know what I could possibly say in response to that. Katie continued, "Okay, I"m too not-sober to deal with you and deal with all this craziness right now. But you need to talk to Brooke. Like, seriously. Promise me that you"ll talk to Brooke!" "Huh? Talk to Brooke about what?" Katie rolled her eyes. "If you don"t know, then maybe you"re not as smart as I thought you were. Figure it out." And with that, Katie turned and walked away, still smiling and chuckling to herself. Okay, what was that all about?? Did she catch me watching Brooke? Is that what that was? If so, why was she so happy about it? What does she know that I don"t? Did she mean that I"m supposed to tell Brooke how I feel? Does Katie know how I feel about Brooke? Does she know how Brooke feels about me? I"m so confused. Sam turned to look back towards Brooke. The blonde was still dancing, but was now staring right back at Sam. Brooke smiled, before biting down on her lower lip and raising one finger to beckon Sam. Damn, that may just be the sexiest thing, like, ever. It was a classic "come hither" gesture, and Sam really had no choice but to obey. She walked toward Brooke, neither one breaking eye contact. The closer Sam got, the faster it felt like her heart was beating. Out of the corner of her eye, she vaguely noticed Katie again, this time grabbing Alex"s and Jason"s hands, and unceremoniously pulling them off the dance floor. "I"m, um, tired. Yeah. So come keep me company. Let"s go...away...over there, somewhere," Katie mumbled hurriedly. Sam finally stood in front of Brooke, who had turned to curiously watch the exit of their friends, before turning to look back at Sam. Brooke smirked, but Sam could see a definite nervousness in Brooke"s eyes as well. It made her feel better, somehow, knowing that Brooke wasn"t quite as calm and as she appeared on the surface. That maybe Sam wasn"t the only one who was a nervous wreck. "Well, looks like it"s just you and me, Sammy. Wanna dance?" Sam exhaled audibly, practically breathing out the one-word response, "Yes," as she stepped forward into Brooke"s personal space. It occurred to her that Brooke might have simply meant dancing in the same vicinity, not dancing TOGETHER, but Sam didn"t care. She reached out, gingerly placing her right hand on Brooke"s hip. She was relieved when Brooke draped her arms around Sam"s neck without any hesitation. The last time we danced like this...I woke up the next day, naked and in Brooke"s bed. What craziness might tomorrow bring? There was a definite charge in the atmosphere between them. Neither one felt any need to talk, but their eyes stayed focused on each other. The music was fast, but they quickly settled into a rhythm together. Externally, Sam was doing her absolute best to keep from falling apart. Internally was quite a different matter, though. She was overjoyed. Overwhelmed. Terrified. Turned on. In shock. In love. In love?? Yeah, I think that"s what this is. I think I"m in love with Brooke. Holy shit, I"m in love with Brooke. Or at least in the process of falling. When a slower song came on, Sam reluctantly released her hold on Brooke, figuring that their dancing was over. Brooke didn"t let go, though. She only wrapped her arms tighter around Sam, keeping her close. Sam looked at Brooke in happy surprise. Smiling softly, she returned her hands to Brooke"s body, wrapping her arms around Brooke"s waist. Sam could feel Brooke"s body melded perfectly against her own. She closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of Brooke. There were still tons of other people around them, but Sam only felt Brooke. Her head was swimming with the sensation of Brooke. Suddenly, though, Brooke seemed to stiffen and took a step away from Sam. Sam tried not to look hurt. Great. She"s finally come to her senses, and has realized that she doesn"t want to be here. I knew this seemed too good to be true. Sam then heard someone behind her, clearing their throat. Sam looked over her shoulder, and saw a very guilty-looking Katie. Wait, so Brooke probably only stepped away because she saw Katie coming. It wasn"t because she didn"t want to be dancing with me! Yes! "I"m really really really sorry, guys," Katie stammered. "I didn"t want to, you know, um, interrupt or anything. But...well, Alexis has had a bit too much to drink. She just puked in the bathroom. So yeah, we"re gonna take her home. You don"t have to come with us, though. You should totally feel free to stay here and...yeah..." The end of Katie"s sentence trailed off. "Is she okay?" Brooke asked worriedly. "We should probably go with all of you. Seth shouldn"t have to deal with this, so Jason gets off the hook too, and you shouldn"t have to take care of her on your own. Is that okay, Sam?" It took a moment for Sam to realize that Brooke was talking to her. She had been too busy trying to get her heart to slow down. "Huh? Oh yeah, that"s fine, let"s go. Where"s Alex? Poor thing, that really sucks." What also really sucks is that I"m no longer dancing with Brooke. The three girls went to rejoin the rest of the group, and then the suitemates split from Seth and Jason, catching a cab back to their dorm. "Sorry I made everyone leave. I didn"t mean to get this drunk. I don"t usually get this drunk. Just sorta happened." Alexis was sitting between Sam and Brooke, with Katie in the front seat of the cab. Sam chuckled. "Hey, don"t worry about it. It"s happened to the best of us," she replied. "Plus, your speech is remarkably non-slurred, for someone who"s trashed. Impressive." "By the way," Alex continued, looking back and forth between Sam and Brooke, "you two were really hot out there." "Alexis!" Katie turned around sharply, staring reproachfully at the girl. "What? It"s true! I"m just stating a fact. You can"t tell me that they weren"t hot out there. Well, you CAN, technically...I just won"t believe you if you do." Sam laughed embarrassedly, hiding her face in her hands. She snuck a look over to Brooke, who was blushing profusely. Fuck. They were all watching us? I didn"t even think about that. The cab lapsed once again into silence, as Alexis snuggled contentedly against Brooke. Back at the dorm, they all easily got Alexis to bed. Katie soon disappeared into her own room as well. "And then there were two..." Sam commented idly. Now that they were in the glaring light of the hallway, Sam was nervous again. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and rocked back and forth from the balls of her feet to her heels. "You tired?" "Yeah, kind of. Bed?" When Sam nodded, Brooke grabbed one of Sam"s hands out of her pocket and pulled her down the hall, to her room. She stopped suddenly, and Sam almost crashed into her. Turning around, Brooke added, "I forgot. You need pajamas." She released Sam"s hand and gently pushed her towards the opposite end of the suite. "And brush your teeth and whatever. Then come back." When Sam re-entered Brooke"s room, the light was off, and Brooke was already in bed, waiting for her. Sam slipped between the sheets, lying on her side. Brooke was also on her side, facing Sam. Watching her. Sam draped her arm over Brooke"s waist. Her thumb quickly found a small patch of bare skin at the edge of Brooke"s shirt. She moved her thumb back and forth, slowly stroking the smooth skin. It took a minute for Sam"s eyes to adjust to the darkness, but then she could clearly see Brooke"s face. Brooke"s eyes were intently searching Sam"s. I wonder what she"s looking for. She was starting to grow uncomfortable under Brooke"s obvious scrutiny. She felt the need to break the growing silence. "I...I had fun tonight," she whispered, smiling shyly. "Me too." And before she could stop herself, Sam leaned forward, bringing her lips to Brooke"s. She kissed Brooke lightly, then pulled back in surprise. She hadn"t been planning on doing that. Brooke was looking at her, her eyes wide. Well, she hasn"t slapped me, or run away screaming. That"s good. Before she could lose her nerve, Sam closed her eyes and leaned back in. As their lips connected, Sam brought her hand up to Brooke"s face, cupping her cheek.

A/N: It is sophomore year in high school. A/N2: Sorry about the long delay on this one. I skipped ahead in my writing, and wrote chapter 6 before this one, but now I have to catch up with myself. A/N3: Thanks so much to theagonyofblank and wolfemeister for the beta reads! Proof! Brooke had proof, dammit, and it was right there in the shower. No way could Sam deny the cold, hard, (icky, wet) evidence. Because there was hair left at the bottom of the shower, and it was unmistakably brown. The first time that Brooke had accused Sam of leaving hair in the drain, it was after Brooke herself had also showered, so the mess of hairs left behind included blonde ones as well as brown. Sam had adamantly argued that maybe Brooke had a few brown hairs of her own, but that was bullshit, and Sam knew it. From then on, Brooke made a point of checking for evidence before she stepped in the shower. And there it was, about a week after the first incident. Proof! Brooke barged into Sam"s room without knocking, ready to launch into an indignant tirade, but she was momentarily thrown off when she didn"t see Sam right away. Taking a moment to scan the room, Brooke caught sight of the top of Sam"s head, that damn brown hair visible just beyond the far end of Sam"s bed. Damn it, what now? Sam heard her door burst open, heard Brooke start to say something, only to stop after a single syllable. She didn"t move from her spot on the floor, though. She really couldn"t be bothered with whatever the hell was troubling her blonde housemate this time. Even when Sam could see Brooke out of the corner of her eye, standing at the edge of her bed and looking at her curiously, she still didn"t move at all. She just sat there, staring at the photograph in her hands. The empty picture frame lay discarded on her bed. Sam liked to actually hold the photograph in her hands, sometimes, as evidenced by its numerous creases and the visible fingerprints covering the face of it. This was the closest Sam could get to actually touching him. Sam barely noticed when Brooke came and, without a word, sat down next to her on the floor. Part of her really just wanted Brooke to leave, wanted to be left alone, but part of her almost appreciated the company. Almost, mind you. Because even though it was company, it was still Brooke, and Sam refused to appreciate Brooke"s presence, if only out of principle. Still, actively telling the blonde to go away felt like it would take too much effort at the moment, so she remained motionless. Okay, so apparently now wasn"t the greatest time for yelling at Sam. The girl"s quiet, melancholy stillness was definitely disconcerting. Brooke didn"t know what to say, and Sam obviously wasn"t planning on speaking, so Brooke just observed Sam for a moment. Her almost-stepsister was sitting against the edge of the bed, shoulders slumped, leaning her forearms on her bent knees. Brooke couldn"t quite see what it was that Sam was holding tightly in her hands, staring at intently, so she leaned in a little further. Oh, Sam"s dad. Brooke cleared her throat awkwardly, but Sam still didn"t look at her, didn"t even flinch. "Is that..." Brooke started to speak, but she wasn"t sure how to finish her question. After another moment of silence, she settled on, "Was it today?" Sam still didn"t say anything for what felt like the longest time. Brooke was about to take the hint and leave, when finally, Sam spoke, quiet enough that Brooke had to lean in a little more to fully hear her. "Yeah. Today is the day that he died." If she hadn"t been afraid that laughter would lead to tears, Sam would have laughed at Brooke"s obvious discomfort with the situation. Clearly, Brooke didn"t know what to do, but Sam didn"t know what to tell her. "Um, is...is Jane around?" Brooke asked quietly. Sam sighed. "Mom deals with today very differently than I do. She always, I dunno, goes completely manic or something. I can"t deal with her today. I think she"s out shopping." "Oh. Okay. Um. Well what about Harrison, or Lily, or Carmen? Should I call one of them? Do you want them to come over?" Sam couldn"t be sure whether Brooke honestly wanted to help, or whether she was just trying to pass off the situation to someone else. Whatever, it didn"t really matter, she supposed. "No, that"s okay. They always try to get me out of the house, but being around too many people just bothers me." "Right. Well, I"m sure I"ve bothered you enough, now, too. I"m really sorry, Sam. I...I"ll just go." "Wait..." Brooke had started to stand up, but the word escaped Sam"s mouth before she could stop herself. The blonde froze mid-motion, and Sam turned to look at Brooke for the first time since she had walked in, only to quickly look away again. "I mean, you could stay, if you wanted to," Sam mumbled. Sam didn"t know what the hell had possessed her, asking Brooke to stay, but she felt some amount of relief as Brooke sat back down. Stealing another quick glance towards Brooke, Sam was surprised to see honest caring in Brooke"s expression. "All right," Brooke replied gently. Brooke still didn"t know what to do, but the fact that Sam apparently wanted her to be there made the whole situation easier to deal with, somehow. Sam was once again staring at the photograph, so Brooke leaned back against Sam"s bed, deciding to simply wait Sam out, allowing the brunette to talk if and when she wanted to. Brooke wasn"t sure how long they sat there, in relatively comfortable silence, but she had almost fallen asleep when Sam"s soft voice caused her head to jerk forward. "I promised myself that I would never forget him. But what I remember is getting more and more static, you know? I have pictures of him in my mind, but it"s like I can"t be sure if I"m actually remembering him, or if all I remember is just based on the photographs we have of him." Taking in a deep breath, Brooke managed to suppress her brief urge to panic. Sam was actually opening up to her, and it was so different from their usual interactions that it almost froze Brooke to the spot. But Sam was trusting her, surprisingly, and Brooke wasn"t going to screw it up. No matter what she thought about Sam most of the time, Brooke knew she"d feel horrible if she messed this up. "Tell me about that one." Brooke nodded towards the object still clutched in Sam"s hands. The barest hint of a smile appeared on Sam"s face. Sam had no idea what made her actually go ahead with Brooke"s suggestion, but once she started, the words just kept coming. "My dad loved camping. He had done it every summer with his family when he was growing up, and so the summer I turned eight, he and my mom decided to take me up to this regional park, about five hours north of here. At first, I was absolutely horrified by the whole thing. I mean, we were in a tent, and there were bugs, and my dad wanted to go fishing." Sam chuckled slightly, and then paused, momentarily lost in thought. Thankfully, Brooke knew enough not to say anything, though, and just waited patiently for Sam to continue. "I came around to the idea pretty soon, though. We spent a whole week there, and it was...it was great. Anyway, it was the third day or so, when my dad took me out on the lake in a canoe. I had never been in one before, so I was pretty scared, but I knew he wouldn"t let anything bad happen to me. He taught me how to use the paddle, and then we just slowly moved around the lake, with him telling me stories about when he was a kid. And then, this fish swam right by the canoe. It was the closest I had ever seen one in the wild, before, and I got so excited about it that I turned around in my seat to try to watch it, and ended up literally knocking myself right into the lake." Brooke couldn"t help but smile at the image that Sam was presenting. As much as she hated to acknowledge it, she figured that Sam had probably been an adorable little kid. "He later admitted that I really freaked him out," Sam continued, "but I had a life jacket, and we were actually pretty close to shore at that point, so I decided to just swim the rest of the way back in, and let my dad deal with the canoe. So that"s this picture. My mom took it, once the water was only about up to my knees. I was absolutely soaked, head to foot, but I was still so excited about the canoe, and the fish...and my dad was just cracking up behind me. That was the first and only time I went camping." Sam grew quiet again, and once Brooke was sure that Sam was done talking for now, she commented softly, "Well, this may just be me, but that memory sounds anything but "static.'" Brooke smiled hesitantly, gently placing her hand on top of Sam"s. The brunette released a short sound, somewhat resembling a strangled laugh, and then suddenly Sam was sobbing. It happened so quickly, the switch from calm to disconsolate, that Brooke was taken aback. For a moment, all she could do was blink at the sight of Sam"s heaving form. But as she felt something tighten in her chest, Brooke reached out and wrapped her arms around Sam. Sam stiffened at first, before shifting positions, allowing Brooke to pull her closer. Brooke held Sam tightly against her and leaned in to rest her cheek against that soft brown hair. Later, Sam wouldn"t be able to explain what made her break down like that, but for several minutes, she felt like there was absolutely nothing that she could do but cling to Brooke"s body and cry. She also wouldn"t be able to explain the comfort that she found as Brooke simply cradled her in her arms. At first, Sam was crying so hard that she could barely even breathe, but once she got a little more control over herself, she started to panic. She hated Brooke, and Brooke hated her, and what the hell was she doing letting the blonde see her when she was so vulnerable? She never liked to let anyone see her like this, let alone Brooke McQueen. Brooke was startled once again when Sam suddenly started pushing her away, extricating herself from Brooke"s embrace and scooting into the corner of her room. She was still crying somewhat, but she hugged her knees to her chest and lowered her head towards the floor, managing to rasp out, "Please leave." Sam heard Brooke move closer once again, but she refused to look up. She flinched when Brooke touched her gently on the shoulder. "Sam, what..." Brooke asked, with nothing but concern in her tone. "What happened? What did I do?" "Just leave, okay? Leave me alone. Just leave me alone." Brooke"s once-comforting presence was now nothing but claustrophobic, and the panic in Sam"s voice was obvious. Sam sat still, her heart beating alarmingly quickly, until she felt Brooke"s lips just barely brush across her hair, leaving a soft kiss. "I"m so sorry, Sam," Brooke whispered. "You know where to find me if you want to talk." Sam waited until she heard the door to her room close behind Brooke before allowing herself to cry once again. Thanks muchly to those of you who"ve reviewed so far! Feedback really means a lot :) Fandom: Popular Pairing: Sam/Brooke Prompt: 021 Friends; written for the fanfic100 challenge Word count: 1,019 Summary: Sam and Brooke make a discovery about their relationship... No, not the "I"m gay for you" discovery. We still have 95 fics to go! You didn"t think it would be that easy, did you? ;) A/N: Yep, still sophomore year in high school. A/N2: Thanks so much to theagonyofblank and wolfemeister for the beta reads! And thanks to Wolfe for the title. Brooke (unsuccessfully) tried not to roll her eyes when she heard her name paired with Sam"s. Of course, Glass teased them with the thought that the groups for the latest biology project would be completely random, but then proceeded to do nothing more than put them with their lab partners. Fantastic. Brooke had to admit that they had been getting along a lot better, recently, but that didn"t mean that she really wanted to spend any more time with Sam than she had to. At the end of class, Sam turned to Brooke. "Okay, I propose we just get this over with as quickly as possible. Agreed?" "Agreed." "Great. I have a Zapruder meeting after school, and you probably have Glamazons, so how about we just meet at the public library afterwards, and then we can get a start on research and stuff." "Sure Sam. Whatever you say." This time, Brooke did manage to not roll her eyes, but just barely. She had found that when it came to things like this, it was best to just let Sam feel like she was in charge. There tended to be less potential for bloodshed, that way. Later that afternoon, Brooke and Sam sat in the library, surrounded by several stacks of books. "Sam, this sucks," Brooke whispered. "It feels like we"ve been sitting here for ages, now, and I think my butt is going numb." Sam looked up from her notes at Brooke"s comment, with one of her trademark smirks crossing her face. "Would Her Highness prefer that I found a perfectly fluffed pillow to ease her royal behind?" Brooke just scowled. "No, Her Highness would prefer a change of scenery. And before you offer some snarky comment, yes, I am well aware of the fact that I just referred to myself in the third person. Deal with it." Sam"s grin only widened, and though she came really close to teasing Brooke further, if only out of habit, she decided to let it go. "You know, a change of scenery actually sounds good. We shouldn"t go home, though. Letting your dad and my mom see us working together would only send the wrong kind of message, since we still need to convince them that the whole family merger thing is really a bad idea." "Yeah, good thinking. Well, there"s a nice coffee shop that I like near here," Brooke suggested. "Lead the way, Princess." For the next week, Brooke and Sam spent at least a few hours every afternoon working in the same coffee shop. They ended up just drinking coffee and talking a lot more than actually working on the assignment, but it seemed to make them more productive when they did finally bring out their books and notes. At least, that"s what they told themselves. On Saturday, they took a day off from the project, but Sam decided to return to the café anyway. She really liked the atmosphere of the place, and thought it might be a good spot for her to finish up her latest article, a piece on the new Spanish teacher. Walking up to the counter, Sam recognized the server as the same guy who had been there whenever she came with Brooke. Sam smiled, but before she got a chance to order, the guy spoke, "Oh hey, you"re here! Would you hold on a sec? Your friend left her jacket here." Sam frowned in confusion. As far as she knew, none of her friends ever came there. "Wait, whose jacket is it?" "I dunno her name," he shrugged. "The one you"re in here with every day." Sam laughed. "Who, Brooke? Oh, she"s not..." Sam"s sentence trailed off, her brows knitting together. She and Brooke weren"t friends, were they? The server was still staring at Sam expectantly. Sam broke off her thought process and continued, "Well, whatever. Thanks, I"ll make sure she gets it back." After trying unsuccessfully to make any progress on her article, Sam gave up and decided to go home, acknowledging that her mind was elsewhere. Brooke returned from the mall that afternoon, and after dropping off her bags in her room, went to the kitchen for a snack. Sam was already in there, but it didn"t look like she was actually doing anything. Brooke grabbed an apple and then sat opposite Sam at the table. "Hey Sammy, what"s up?" Sam didn"t say anything, just stared speculatively at Brooke. Shifting uncomfortably under Sam"s focused gaze, Brooke tried again. "Okay, why are you looking at me like that? Do I have something caught in my teeth or something?" Sam"s line of sight shifted slightly, as she replied, "Actually, yeah, you have a tiny piece of something at the corner of your mouth, but that wasn"t why I was looking at you." Sam leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, tilting one head to the side to continue staring at Brooke. Brooke quickly wiped at her mouth, waiting for Sam to explain why she was being so odd. When no explanation followed, Brooke spoke again. "Okay, then. Why are you looking at me? You"re starting to freak me out." Sam finally seemed to snap out of it, blinking a few times, and learning forward to rest her elbows on the table. "Are we friends? "Cause it kind of seems like we might be." There was an element of surprise in Sam"s voice, like she could hardly believe it herself. Brooke laughed. "What? We"re not..." She paused, thinking about it. "Are we?" Sam merely raised an eyebrow, offering a sheepish half-smile. "Wow, we are friends," Brooke continued. "That"s weird." "I know. Very weird. No offense." Finally, the strangeness of the whole conversation caught up with Brooke and she couldn"t help but giggle. One small giggle turned into many more, though, until Sam was laughing too, and neither one was exactly sure what was so funny, but it didn"t really matter. When the laughter died down, Brooke simply smiled at Sam. "So, We"re friends. That"s interesting." She smirked playfully. "Just don"t tell the rest of our friends. I think they"d die from shock." A/N: It"s sophomore year in high school. A/N2: Thanks so much to wolfemeister and theagonyofblank for the beta reads! Sometimes, Brooke wondered why she was still friends with Nicole. On certain days, for some reason or another, Sam"s not-so-affectionate nickname of "Satan" rang especially true, and Brooke would find herself wishing that she had the strength to end their twisted friendship once and for all. It was one of those days. Brooke was supposed to be spending the night at Nicole"s place, but ever since she found out that Nicole had slept with Josh, Brooke had been less and less willing to put up with Nicole"s shit. So, having bailed on the planned shopping trip with Nicole and Mary Cherry, Brooke decided to just go home and relax instead. Mike and Jane were out of town, and Brooke didn"t know what Sam was up to, but maybe they could just hang out and watch a movie or something. Upon entering the house, Brooke was somewhat startled to hear the sound of blaring music coming from upstairs. Curious, she made her way towards the source of the music, ending up right outside Sam"s room. She hadn"t been able to tell what the song was right away, but as soon as she reached the top of the stairs, there was no mistaking the distinctive melody of Nirvana"s "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Brooke smiled as, above Kurt Cobain"s guttural voice, she could hear Sam"s more feminine tone, singing along. The music was loud enough that Brooke was pretty sure Sam wouldn"t be able to hear her knock on the door, but she did so anyway, in case Sam accused her of barging in uninvited. When, as expected, her knocks went unanswered, Brooke slowly pushed the door open and took a step inside the room. What she hadn"t expected, though, was the way that the sight on the other side of the door literally caused Brooke"s breath to hitch. Sam was dancing around her room, strumming along on air guitar and belting out the lyrics, with her long, flowing hair spreading out around her head. Brooke honestly hadn"t really thought about it before, but in that moment, it hit her. Sam was beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous. Brooke was grateful that Sam"s eyes were closed, as it gave her the opportunity to simply watch the brunette. It was the first time that Brooke got a chance to see Sam without all those walls that Sam had worked so hard to build. Now, the adjectives that used to come to mind when Brooke thought about Sam -- stubborn, self-righteous, annoying -- were replaced with new ones -- passionate, strong, free-spirited. It wasn"t so much the song itself, but more the way that Sam carried herself. Brooke smiled to herself, and then quietly backed out of the room, closing the door behind her. Brooke peered surreptitiously around the corner, watching Sam open her locker. She could tell that Sam noticed the object right away, the curious confusion easily visible on Sam"s face, even from a distance. Brooke watched Sam open the envelope, her puzzled frown deepening as her eyes scanned the note. When she opened the accompanying box, Sam simultaneously blushed and smiled widely. Brooke grinned shyly as Sam looked up and around the hallway, her eyes searching until they landed on her. Sam picked up her backpack and made her way over to Brooke. Still blushing, Sam asked, "Nirvana, Brooke? You like Nirvana?" Smirking, Brooke replied, "Well I hate to break it to you, Sammy, but sure, I like some of their stuff. Nirvana isn"t only for the dark, angsty, young rebels of the world." "Anyway, I take it you actually got home earlier than I thought, yesterday? I totally assumed I had the house to myself." Brooke laughed lightly. "Yeah, I couldn"t bring myself to interrupt your wonderful performance, though." "Well, I don"t know if it should count as a performance, since there wasn"t supposed to be an audience." Sam mock glared at the smiling blonde, but Brooke could tell that Sam wasn"t really upset. "And you really shouldn"t have gone through the trouble, but thanks for this," Sam continued, holding up the Nirvana CD.

"Shit, I woke you up, didn"t I? I"m so sorry! I was trying to be quiet, but I obviously failed miserably in that regard." Jill took a moment to simply look at Cindy. The redhead was still paler than usual, but looked a bit more like herself than she had the last time Jill had seen her. "Hey, it"s okay. I was already awake, actually." Jill looked at Cindy skeptically. "Really? Or are you just saying that to make me feel better?" "Really," Cindy assured her. "Kind of out of it, as tends to happen when I sleep too much, but awake nonetheless. I just thought that maybe I should come out and investigate the noise. What are you making?" Cindy"s rumbling stomach betrayed her interest in the matter. "Well, if I haven"t killed it, it"s supposed to fettuccini alfredo. I saw this recipe in a magazine the last time I went to the dentist, and the picture looked really good, but I think it was a little more ambitious than my barely-there culinary skills could handle," Jill explained. Cindy shrugged. "Well let"s give it a shot. Is it ready?" At Jill"s nod, Cindy got out some silverware as Jill prepared two heaping plates of pasta. It didn"t look nearly as nice as the picture she"d seen, but Cindy seemed excited about the mere prospect of food. Jill watched anxiously as Cindy took a first bite. The reporter paused for a beat at the first mouthful, before slowly swallowing and nodding her head. "It"s... good," she managed unconvincingly. Raising a disbelieving eyebrow, Jill took a quick bite of her own. The pasta was obviously overcooked, the sauce was too watery, and there was some flavor which Jill couldn"t quite identify, but which definitely seemed like it shouldn"t be there. "Wow. That"s awful," the blonde declared. Cindy giggled, clearly in agreement. "It"s a good thing I like you for more than your culinary skills." "Screw this. I can"t make you eat this," Jill laughed, relieved that Cindy was at least finding some humor in the situation. It felt good to hear her friend laugh. "Think you can handle waiting another fifteen minutes before eating?" she continued. "We can safely say that "chef" was never meant to be my calling in life, but I can make a damn good grilled cheese, if I do say so myself. And clearly, trying to get extra fancy was not a good plan." Cindy smiled. "You know, grilled cheese actually sounds a lot more appealing than fettuccini alfredo right now, anyway." Once the food was made, though, Jill wasn"t quite sure what to do next. Her plan hadn"t extended past getting some food in Cindy"s stomach, and Jill had never been very good at dealing with the emotional stuff, and she thought she"d been doing okay so far, but she didn"t know how to make Cindy feel better, and she didn"t even really know what was wrong, and while Cindy may have been asleep for the majority of the last twelve and a half hours, Jill had been too worried and restless to sleep much more than five, and... Still standing in front of the stove, Jill took a deep breath and forced herself to resist the urge to panic. Cindy appeared to be oblivious to Jill"s near-freak-out, however, and simply stepped up behind the blonde, reaching around her to grab some food. "Now that looks good," Cindy commented happily, before uttering a contented sigh as she immediately took a healthy bite out of the sandwich. The meal that followed was held mostly in silence, other than a bit of stunted small talk. Excluding the previous night, once they"d returned from the crime scene, Jill couldn"t recall a single time since she"d known Cindy that the normally talkative redhead had been so withdrawn and quiet. It was disconcerting, and Jill didn"t quite know how to handle it. She stood to clear the dishes, but Cindy"s soft voice caused her to freeze in place. "I met her in high school," Cindy began, mumbling around her finger as she chewed distractedly on a fingernail. "Her family moved nearby before freshman year, and we were in the same English class. I got to know her when we were assigned to do a project together on A Tale of Two Cities, and we bonded over our love of books." She paused, and Jill finally eased back into her chair. Cindy"s fingers tapped agitatedly on the table, but Jill reached out and silently wrapped the nervous digits in her own hand. Cindy clutched tightly onto Jill"s hand and looked up briefly to meet Jill"s eyes, but then lowered her gaze again as she stared at the tablecloth in apparent fascination. "She was my first girlfriend." The blush that ran up the reporter"s cheeks was the only indication that Cindy was aware of the fact that she had just outed herself. Jill blinked, but willed herself not to outwardly react in any negative way, even as her heart sped up at the revelation. So Cindy dated women. Jill wasn"t sure whether she was really surprised, so much as vaguely hurt that Cindy hadn"t brought it up before. Regardless, it wasn"t the time to get into it, and Jill, fingers still entwined with Cindy"s, simply began to run her thumb soothingly over the back of Cindy"s hand. Cindy glanced up at the movement, relaxing visibly at the sight of Jill"s supportive smile. With a deep breath, Cindy continued, "We were young and naïve, and were so sure that that was it, you know? One and only. I loved her, I really did, but..." She shrugged, but the professed nonchalance seemed forced. "College happened, and we just drifted apart. I didn"t see her for a while, but then the summer after junior year, I happened to randomly run into her. She was just...so different from the girl I"d known." Suddenly, Jill felt Cindy"s hand rip away from her own as the redhead stood up abruptly, pushing herself away from the table and starting to pace in agitation. Jill"s brow creased in concern, her heart aching for her hurting friend. She wanted nothing more than to simply make Cindy feel better, but she didn"t know how. "It sounds stereotypical, but she"d done the whole "running with the wrong crowd" kind of thing, and..." Cindy paused, choking back a sob. "God, she was such a mess. My Lydia was still in there, but she was hidden beneath this new mess of a girl." Cindy wiped roughly at the tears that seemed to suddenly appear on her cheeks. Jill stood up, still unsure what to do, but simply wanting to be closer. She held still, though, when Cindy immediately shook her head and took a few quick steps backwards. "It took me almost the whole summer of badgering her," Cindy continued, her voice shaking a little, "but I eventually got her into a rehab program. Last I knew, she"d been doing better. She"s supposed to be living in Seattle; she"s supposed to be doing well. She"s not supposed to be here, Jill, she"s not supposed to be dead!" Cindy"s voice grew increasingly hysterical, and Jill felt her heart break at the undisguised pain behind the bloodshot, watery brown eyes before her. Jill stepped forward once again and simply reached out towards Cindy, unable to speak past the lump in her throat. Cindy tried to retreat again, only for her back to collide with the wall behind her. "No-no-no, don"t hug me," Cindy pled. "Please don"t hug me. If you hug me, then I won"t be able to stop crying." Ignoring her, Jill extended her arms to wrap firmly around the reporter. Cindy struggled against her at first, but Jill refused to let go, and Cindy soon gave in, her own arms grasping desperately onto Jill as she buried her face in the crook of Jill"s neck. Jill could feel hot tears soak into the collar of her shirt, but she simply held Cindy tighter. When her arms began to ache with the effort of largely holding Cindy upright, Jill eased the two of them down onto the floor, sitting with her back against the wall and a bundle of redhead cradled in her lap. She lightly swayed Cindy back and forth, muttering soft words of comfort into the thick mane of red hair beneath her lips. Jill didn"t know how long they sat there, but eventually Cindy seemed to run out of tears. Jill pressed a light kiss to the top of Cindy"s head, only to pull back slightly when she felt the form within her arms stiffen. The next flurry of movement happened so quickly, Jill barely had time to react. Cindy suddenly shifted, pulling her face away from the blonde"s neck and leaning forward to press her lips against Jill"s. Shocked, Jill gasped, and Cindy took advantage by briefly pushing her tongue between Jill"s parted lips. The kiss was hard, wet, desperate, and sloppy. It was possibly the most intense kiss Jill had ever received. As soon as Jill began to kiss back, though, Cindy immediately pulled away and, without once meeting Jill"s eyes, returned to hiding her face in Jill"s shoulder. Jill was left to simply blink in bewilderment, unsure whether the kiss had actually happened or whether she had just imagined the whole thing. The lingering tingle and slight taste of salty tears on her lips left little question, though. If she hadn"t known what to say before, Jill really didn"t know what to say now, so she simply leaned her cheek against the crown of Cindy"s head and closed her eyes as exhaustion suddenly overtook her. Figuring out anything else would just have to wait. TBC Once again, I apologize for taking so long between updates on this. Thanks so much to those of you who are reading and reviewing! :) Part 4 Cindy woke up with a light groan. Disoriented at first, she quickly realized that she was lying on her side, on the floor. She didn"t feel hung-over, though, so wasn"t really sure what she was doing there. She glanced down at her watch and then reached up to rub at her dry eyes, regretting whatever had made her forget to remove her contacts the night before. It was only when she began to stretch out her stiff muscles, though, that she even realized that there was a soft hand splayed across her hip and a warm body lying behind her. Looking over her shoulder, Cindy narrowed her eyes in confusion. Jill? Suddenly, she remembered, and she felt her heart thump rapidly in response. Oh. Jill. Cindy had kissed Jill. Crap. Inching carefully out from under Jill"s touch, Cindy made her way quietly into the kitchen before turning back to watch her sleeping friend. This hadn"t been how she"d imagined her first kiss with Jill might be. Because she had imagined it, no matter how much she told herself that she shouldn"t; that it would never happen. But she"d thought about whether it might be sweet and gentle, only to decide that with someone like Jill, there was probably a greater chance of it ending up along the lines of light and meaningless. Maybe teasing. Maybe drunken. Maybe -- just maybe -- heartfelt on both ends (her own end, she could count on; Jill"s, not so much). It would definitely be sexy, though. In Cindy"s imagination, at least, kissing Jill could never be anything but toe-curling sexy. In Cindy"s imagination, it had never occurred to her that their first kiss would be forced, sloppy, rushed, and wet with tears. It didn"t exactly go along with her plan of wooing the blonde with such an amazing first kiss that Jill would immediately decide that they should start dating. Sighing, Cindy quietly slipped back by Jill and into the living room, grabbing a blanket off the back of the couch. She settled the blanket over Jill"s body and barely resisted the urge to brush the blonde bangs out of Jill"s eyes before turning to go make coffee and get some breakfast. She still had some time before she"d need to wake Jill for work. She was about to pour some milk in her cereal when Jill"s phone, lying abandoned on the kitchen counter, began to ring. A glance down at the screen revealed the caller to be Claire, and after a bit of hesitation, Cindy reached to answer the phone. "Good morning, this is Jill Bernhardt"s phone," she announced. There was a brief pause, and then Claire"s voice came over the line, asking, "Cindy?" "Yeah. Hi, Claire. I"m awake, and Jill isn"t, and the phone was right there, so I just sort of decided to answer it, but maybe I shouldn"t have, and I could have just let your call go to voicemail or something, but it"s too late to change anything about that now anyway, so-" "Cindy, it"s fine that you answered Jill"s phone," Claire interrupted Cindy"s rambling, a hint of a smile audible in her voice. "So how are you feeling, sweetheart?" she continued softly. Cindy sighed. "I"m okay. Well, not "okay" exactly, but better than before, at least. Jill... Jill helped me get some of the big emotions out, so now I can actually focus again." The sound of light footsteps alerted her that the blonde in question was awake, and sure enough, Cindy turned around to find Jill blinking sleepily at her, the blanket still wrapped tightly around her shoulders. Cindy smiled hesitantly and willed herself not to blush. Turning her attention back to the phone, she muttered, "Hey, Claire? Jill"s up, so I"m going to pass the phone off to her. Since it is, you know, her phone, after all. I"ll let her tell you about Lydia." With that, she thrust the phone towards Jill, who, obviously not fully awake yet, simply stared at it for a moment before taking it into her hand. "I don"t know if I can talk through everything all over again," Cindy explained, her voice causing Jill"s sleepy gaze to shift upwards from the phone. "Will you do it for me?" Cindy swallowed, unable to look away as clear blue eyes met hers. Jill"s short blonde hair, rumpled with sleep, stuck out in a few different directions, and Cindy felt her breath hitch at the ridiculously adorable image of the attorney. After a seemingly endless moment, Jill rubbed her eyes, apparently trying to wipe the sleep away, before releasing a yawn as she nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, sure thing," she replied. "Great." Her cereal momentarily forgotten, Cindy turned to walk out of the room, not really wanting to be in such close proximity as Jill recounted what she knew about Lydia. She paused, though, when a sudden thought struck her. Would Jill mention the whole ex-girlfriend thing? Cindy definitely planned to come out to her other friends sooner rather than later at this point, but she wasn"t sure that she was ready for it to happen right this moment, or for it to come from Jill"s mouth instead of her own. She stood frozen in the doorway, listening to Jill"s end of the conversation. "Yeah, I"m sorry I didn"t call back yesterday. I got caught up with things here," Jill was saying. "Well at this point, you"ve talked to her more than I have this morning, so I don"t really know. I think you"re right, though. ... I hope so. ... Yeah. ... Okay, so Lydia Baker. She"s an old friend of Cindy"s from high school. Got involved in some serious drugs during college. As far as Cindy knew, she"d gotten clean, though. Had gone through rehab and had been living in Seattle." Cindy exhaled. Jill had said the perfect amount, relating the important details without letting slip that certain piece of information which Cindy was happy to keep secret for the time being. She turned back around to see Jill glance down at her watch before looking up again to lock eyes on Cindy as she continued, "In an hour? Sure, I can do that. ... Okay, I will. ... Yeah, see you then. Bye." Silence filled the room once Jill hung up the phone, before they both started speaking at once. "About last night..." "How are you..." Laughing, Jill indicated for Cindy to go first. With a deep breath, Cindy tried again. "I just...wanted to thank you. For putting up with me last night." "Hey, it"s no problem. Really. I"m just glad I could be there for you," the blonde answered as she took a step forward and reached out to gently brush a hand up and down Cindy"s arm. Suddenly more nervous than before, Cindy rubbed at the back of her neck, trying not to fidget any more than that. "And about, um... Well, about how it ended..." Cindy trailed off, unsure how to finish her sentence. Jill waved off Cindy"s concern. "Don"t worry about it. It was an emotional night for you; you needed some comfort, and I happened to be there. I totally understand." Cindy nodded. Right. That was a good explanation. It made sense. She"d go with that one. Because that was definitely a better explanation than "Oh my God, I have a major crush on you, but I"ve been too afraid to make a move, because making a move would obviously be a completely moronic thing to do, but I was sad and vulnerable, and you were perfect, and I just couldn"t stop myself.' Yep, Jill"s explanation was absolutely a better one than that. "Besides," the attorney continued with a smirk, "it"s not every day that I have gorgeous women suddenly kissing the hell out of me, so I really can"t complain." Jill winked, apparently only gaining amusement as Cindy"s face instantly flushed with embarrassment. The redhead felt her heart skip a beat (Jill thinks I"m gorgeous? She"s probably just being nice to make me feel better.), but decided that it was about time to change the subject. "Yeah. I"m really sorry about that. But anyway, what"s in an hour?" At Jill"s initially confused expression, Cindy prompted, "With Claire?" "Oh, right. It"s nothing, don"t worry about it." Jill shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing?" Cindy scoffed. "If it was nothing, then you would just tell me about it. So that means that it is something, but you just don"t want to tell me. You know I"m going to find out anyway, right? So you might as well just tell me now." Cindy gave her best "I"m intimidating" look, but the attempt only made Jill grin affectionately. "Sorry babe, but I think Lindsay"s got a monopoly on the laser vision. Just not quite the same effect when it comes from you." "Are you meeting together to talk about the case?" Cindy probed, figuring she"d try to fish around until she figured something out. Jill remained quiet, eyeing her with a mixture of contemplation and sympathy. Cindy didn"t want Jill"s sympathy. "Are you meeting to decide what to get me for my birthday?" This time Cindy received a smile to accompany the blue-eyed stare. Undaunted by the continued silence, Cindy pressed on, "Are you getting together to discuss whether or not I"m mentally unstable after my little emotional breakdown thing?" That one got a response. "What? Cindy, no, that"s ridiculous." Sighing, Jill finally relented. "You"re right, though; you will find out eventually, so I may as well just spill. And look, none of us expect you to come, okay? But Claire"s done the autopsy." Cindy blanched, as Jill looked down towards the floor. Inwardly freaking out about Jill had managed to distract Cindy relatively well from the reason why she had needed Jill"s comfort in the first place. Lydia was dead. And Claire knew why. "I"m coming with you." Cindy was proud of her ability to keep her voice steady. Jill looked back up at her sharply. "You"re coming? Cindy, I really don"t think that"s such a good idea." "I need to be there. I"m obviously not going to cover the story, but I need to be part of this case." Cindy paused, taking in a deep breath. "I loved her, Jill, and I need to know who did this to her." Jill simply watched her intently at first, and it took all Cindy"s control to look squarely back at her friend, refusing to squirm under the scrutiny. Apparently satisfied with something, Jill finally looked away first, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. "Okay. But if you start to feel uncomfortable or freaked out, or whatever... Anything. You just give me a look and I will leave with you, right away. No questions asked. Okay? None of us will think any less of you for wanting to get out of there. Hell, I still think you"re kind of crazy for wanting to be there in the first place, so you"d just be convincing me that you"re normal. So you can come, but you have to promise me that you won"t stay just because you feel like you should -- just one look and we"re out of there. Deal?" Cindy smiled, touched by Jill"s concern. Still, she felt the need to point out, "Well, it"s not like you"ve got much to go with, in terms of bargaining. I mean, as much as you guys like to joke that I"m only twelve, you can"t exactly forbid me from entering the morgue. But yeah, I promise." There was a lighthearted twinkle in Jill"s eye as she replied with a wink, "Oh, I don"t know. If I really wanted to keep you out of there, I bet I could convince Lindsay to arrest you for something or other." "The sad part is that you"re probably right," Cindy laughed. "But okay, then. If we don"t want to be late, I should probably change out of pj"s, and you should get out of yesterday"s clothes." Jill looked down at herself, as if she"d already forgotten about falling asleep on their dining room floor, still dressed in her day-off outfit of jeans and a t-shirt. "Right, good plan," she agreed, turning to head towards her bedroom. "And remember," Cindy called after her, "I can get ready faster than you, so no trying to sneak out the door before me." "Yeah, yeah," Jill waved a loose hand behind her as she continued out of the room. "Watch out, maybe I"ll beat you one of these days! And I get the shower first!" With a deep breath, Cindy turned away as well. It was going to be long day, she could just tell.

"I know her." TBC... Part 2 The world in front of her was swimming. Cindy closed her eyes against the swirl of shapes and colors, only to snap them back open when that face -- that normally warm and caring face, now turned pale and lifeless -- appeared behind her eyelids. She could vaguely hear voices around her, apparently trying to talk to her, but her mind felt too muddled to make out any actual words. She felt herself moving, unsure of how it was happening until her brain finally registered the firm hands holding onto her, propelling her away from the crime scene. Cindy had never had a real panic attack before, but she had a feeling it might be something like this -- the ringing in her head, the dizziness, the pounding in her chest, the struggle to get enough air... Cindy was pretty sure that she knew a panic attack when she felt one. She felt helpless to stop it, though. Could only feel the mounting panic, rising up around her. She struggled to keep the contents of her stomach inside her, keep the panic-fear-heartbreak-confusion from spilling from her throat, already raw with the effort to hold back the threatening tears. It made no sense. She (Cindy couldn"t even bring herself to think the name, to make it real) wasn"t supposed to be here. Not in San Francisco. Not lying on the cold, dirty ground. Not here. Not like this. Cindy jumped at the feel of cool skin against her cheek. She blinked, her eyes finally becoming aware of her surroundings. She was sitting in the passenger seat of a random police cruiser, hugging her knees to her chest and facing outwards through the open door. The hand on her cheek belonged to Jill, crouching in front of her and trying to get her attention; the fuzzy forms in front of her transformed into the concerned and scared faces of her three friends. "Cindy? Honey? I"m going to take you home, okay?" Jill"s voice was soft and calm, even as her eyes frantically searched Cindy"s face. "I"m coming with you." Claire and Lindsay spoke simultaneously, clearly leaving no room for argument. Cindy could only nod her head, allowing Jill and Claire to ease her onto her feet, as she vaguely noticed Lindsay going to talk briefly with Tom and Jacobi before joining them at Cindy"s car. The ride back to the apartment was silent. Claire held her hand in the backseat, as Jill and Lindsay kept glancing back at them in the rearview mirror. Cindy forced herself to breathe deeply, keeping all her attention focused on the external, the tangible -- the whirr of air outside the car, the texture of the car seat beneath her, the feel of three pairs of eyes watching her -- instead of all the questions running desperately through her head. Once back in the apartment, the four of them silently made their way to the living room. Claire didn"t release Cindy"s hand, choosing to offer what small amount of comfort she could. Or maybe it was simply that Cindy was gripping so tightly that Claire couldn"t have let go, even if she wanted to. Sitting down on the couch, Cindy took one look around her friends" near-identical expressions, full of questions and concern, and then locked her gaze on the opposite wall. She didn"t know what to tell them. Didn"t know whether she"d be able to make her vocal chords operate correctly anyway. "Cindy..." Lindsay"s voice broke hesitantly through the silence. Cindy simply shook her head, not even allowing the inspector to finish her question. No matter what Lindsay wanted to ask, Cindy knew that she couldn"t handle answering quite yet. She dropped Claire"s hand, sinking her head down between her knees and clasping her hands over her head. How much time passed in stillness, Cindy had no idea, but eventually she felt a slight shift on the couch as Claire stood up. Presumably, she went to stand near Jill and Lindsay, as the movement was soon followed by quiet murmurs, the sound muffled by Cindy"s forearms, held tightly against her ears. In defiance of her body"s immobility, Cindy"s mind simply would not keep still. Just a stream of questions, not even allowing herself any time to think about the answers. When was the last time Cindy had seen her? What had happened? Why was she here? Why was she--? Why was she dead? And repeat. When was the last time Cindy had seen her? What had happened? Why was she here? Why was she dead? The couch shifted once again, and a light hand landed on her back, rubbing slow, soothing circles. Cindy remained bent at the waist, but forced herself to lower her arms and turn her head to the side. She hadn"t heard anyone leave, so was surprised to see that Jill was the only one left in the room with her. As if reading her mind, Jill spoke softly, "The others wanted to stay, but their cars were still down at the- Downtown. I told them they should go home. I hope that"s okay." Cindy nodded. "How did they get back there? Did you leave?" "No," Jill replied quickly. "No, we called Jacobi. He came and picked them up." Cindy frowned in confusion. She had apparently been completely unaware of a lot of things happening right around her. "What time is it?" She finally sat up again, though Jill"s hand barely missed a beat, still tracing idle patterns across her back. "Almost 6:30." "Shit, really?" A lot more time had passed than Cindy had thought. "Shit, I have to go to work. So do you!" Cindy looked fully into Jill"s face for the first time in hours, only then noticing the bags under her friend"s eyes. Jill looked like a tired mess, and Cindy was probably about ten times worse, she imagined. Cindy began to stand up, but Jill"s quick hand on her shoulder eased her back down. "We"re both taking a sick day today. Lindsay and Claire promised to smooth over any issues with potentially disgruntled bosses." "But I... I should... I need to work. I need something to focus on. Something to do!" For Cindy -- only rarely able to enjoy sitting still for very long -- a day of inactivity sounded particularly terrifying in this instance. "You need to sleep, Cindy," Jill replied gently. "You"re in no condition to get anything done right now." Jill seemed to sense Cindy"s continued agitation, though, since she went on, "At least try to rest for a few hours, okay? Then maybe you can work from home. Keep yourself busy." After a beat, Cindy nodded, absently biting down on her lower lip. She was startled when Jill reached out to her, cupping Cindy"s chin in her palm and lightly using her thumb to free Cindy"s lip from between her teeth. "Careful, there. Looks like you might almost be ready to break the skin." Cindy blinked. It was only at Jill"s words that she even noticed the way her lip was throbbing with the force of her bite. "Right." For once, Cindy couldn"t really think of anything to say. "So, okay. Sleep. You will too, right? You look like crap." Jill laughed, and the sound was enough to bring a small smile to Cindy"s lips. "Well gee, thanks Cindy. I guess I can always count on you to just cut through the bullshit and tell it like it is." They stood up together, and it occurred to Cindy that Jill hadn"t asked a single question about that night, even though she must have been dying to. She"d have to tell Jill at some point how much she appreciated it. Not now, though. Sleep was starting to sound increasingly appealing. Still, she felt the need to say something about the situation. "Jill, I..." she began haltingly. "I know you must...must wonder what the hell is going on. But I just. I can"t. I can"t talk about it. Not now. Not yet." "Hey, it"s all right," Jill soothed, once again reaching out a hand to Cindy"s cheek, brushing away two stray tears. "I understand. Whenever you"re ready." Again, with her throat feeling uncomfortably tight, Cindy could only blink back the tears and nod with a jerk of her head. She turned towards her own room and took a few steps before turning back. Jill hadn"t moved; was simply watching Cindy carefully. Cindy took a deep, steadying breath before she managed to push out any words. "Her name"s Lydia. Lydia Baker. I don"t know if she had any ID on her, or whatever, so you can tell Lindsay. I don"t know if it"ll help, but..." "I"m sure Linz will appreciate it. We"ll find him, Cindy. Find out who did this." Jill"s earnestness was clear. Cindy knew that, even without understanding any details, Jill was already prepared to give this one everything she had. It meant something to Cindy, and that was enough for it to mean something to Jill. The knowledge of that deep loyalty made Cindy"s heart beat a little faster. Once again feeling like she was about to cry, Cindy attempted a smile (though it probably came out looking more like a grimace) and turned back towards her room. She closed the door behind her and stood leaning against it for a minute, before allowing herself to collapse into bed, hoping desperately for a night without dreams. TBC An actual update?? Shocking, I know. Somehow, I just had a really hard time with this part, and I"ve just generally been really busy lately. Sorry for taking so long! Part 3 Jill listened carefully outside Cindy"s door, trying to tell whether there was any sign of movement from within the room. She jumped, startled, as the loud and sudden ringing of her phone broke into the silence. Hurrying to grab it from the living room, Jill could only hope that the sound hadn"t woken Cindy up. "Shhhh!" she whispered harshly into the phone as she rushed to answer it. There was a long moment of silence, and then Lindsay"s voice, a quiet murmur of confusion, came over the line. "How can you tell me to be quiet when I haven"t said anything yet?" Jill snorted. "Sorry. It"s just that I hadn"t realized my phone was so loud. I should whisper, but you don"t have to," she explained. "Oh. Right. So how is she?" Lindsay asked, getting right to the point. "I don"t know." Jill shrugged helplessly. "She"s been in her room all day, mostly sleeping, I think. I heard her moving around a bit early this afternoon, but it"s been quiet in there for the last six and a half hours." "Has she eaten anything? She should eat something." "Shit, I forgot!" Jill lowered the phone away from her ear as she hurried into the kitchen, arriving just in time to see water boiling over the rim of the pot on the stove. "Dammit!" "Jill? What happened, are you still there??" Jill could just barely hear the faraway sound of Lindsay"s voice. The blonde lifted the phone back up to mutter distractedly, "Potential kitchen catastrophe. Gimme a minute," before she placed it down on the counter and turned back to the stove. She quickly lowered the heat, but almost burned herself when she reached to remove the lid of the pot. Swearing, she reactively dropped the hot lid onto the floor, cringing at the clanging sound it created, echoing around the room. So much for keeping the apartment quiet. "God, this is a fucking disaster," she sighed to herself, shaking out her near-burned hand, and agitatedly running the other one through her hair. She peered warily into the pot, trying to tell whether or not the whole thing was ruined. Remembering Lindsay, she picked the phone back up; it sounded like the inspector was talking to Claire on the other end, but Jill interrupted. "Hey Linz? You"re with Claire, right? Yeah, can I just call back later? I"m working on the food issue. I"ll be in touch about things later, once she gets up." Jill turned back to her attempts at making dinner for Cindy. A light cough behind her caught her attention, though, and she turned around to find Cindy leaning against the doorway to the kitchen, wearing pajamas and a small, amused smile. "Shit, I woke you up, didn"t I? I"m so sorry! I was trying to be quiet, but I obviously failed miserably in that regard." Jill took a moment to simply look at Cindy. The redhead was still paler than usual, but looked a bit more like herself than she had the last time Jill had seen her. "Hey, it"s okay. I was already awake, actually." Jill looked at Cindy skeptically. "Really? Or are you just saying that to make me feel better?" "Really," Cindy assured her. "Kind of out of it, as tends to happen when I sleep too much, but awake nonetheless. I just thought that maybe I should come out and investigate the noise. What are you making?" Cindy"s rumbling stomach betrayed her interest in the matter. "Well, if I haven"t killed it, it"s supposed to fettuccini alfredo. I saw this recipe in a magazine the last time I went to the dentist, and the picture looked really good, but I think it was a little more ambitious than my barely-there culinary skills could handle," Jill explained. Cindy shrugged. "Well let"s give it a shot. Is it ready?" At Jill"s nod, Cindy got out some silverware as Jill prepared two heaping plates of pasta. It didn"t look nearly as nice as the picture she"d seen, but Cindy seemed excited about the mere prospect of food. Jill watched anxiously as Cindy took a first bite. The reporter paused for a beat at the first mouthful, before slowly swallowing and nodding her head. "It"s... good," she managed unconvincingly. Raising a disbelieving eyebrow, Jill took a quick bite of her own. The pasta was obviously overcooked, the sauce was too watery, and there was some flavor which Jill couldn"t quite identify, but which definitely seemed like it shouldn"t be there. "Wow. That"s awful," the blonde declared. Cindy giggled, clearly in agreement. "It"s a good thing I like you for more than your culinary skills." "Screw this. I can"t make you eat this," Jill laughed, relieved that Cindy was at least finding some humor in the situation. It felt good to hear her friend laugh. "Think you can handle waiting another fifteen minutes before eating?" she continued. "We can safely say that "chef" was never meant to be my calling in life, but I can make a damn good grilled cheese, if I do say so myself. And clearly, trying to get extra fancy was not a good plan." Cindy smiled. "You know, grilled cheese actually sounds a lot more appealing than fettuccini alfredo right now, anyway." Once the food was made, though, Jill wasn"t quite sure what to do next. Her plan hadn"t extended past getting some food in Cindy"s stomach, and Jill had never been very good at dealing with the emotional stuff, and she thought she"d been doing okay so far, but she didn"t know how to make Cindy feel better, and she didn"t even really know what was wrong, and while Cindy may have been asleep for the majority of the last twelve and a half hours, Jill had been too worried and restless to sleep much more than five, and... Still standing in front of the stove, Jill took a deep breath and forced herself to resist the urge to panic. Cindy appeared to be oblivious to Jill"s near-freak-out, however, and simply stepped up behind the blonde, reaching around her to grab some food. "Now that looks good," Cindy commented happily, before uttering a contented sigh as she immediately took a healthy bite out of the sandwich. The meal that followed was held mostly in silence, other than a bit of stunted small talk. Excluding the previous night, once they"d returned from the crime scene, Jill couldn"t recall a single time since she"d known Cindy that the normally talkative redhead had been so withdrawn and quiet. It was disconcerting, and Jill didn"t quite know how to handle it. She stood to clear the dishes, but Cindy"s soft voice caused her to freeze in place. "I met her in high school," Cindy began, mumbling around her finger as she chewed distractedly on a fingernail. "Her family moved nearby before freshman year, and we were in the same English class. I got to know her when we were assigned to do a project together on A Tale of Two Cities, and we bonded over our love of books." She paused, and Jill finally eased back into her chair. Cindy"s fingers tapped agitatedly on the table, but Jill reached out and silently wrapped the nervous digits in her own hand. Cindy clutched tightly onto Jill"s hand and looked up briefly to meet Jill"s eyes, but then lowered her gaze again as she stared at the tablecloth in apparent fascination. "She was my first girlfriend." The blush that ran up the reporter"s cheeks was the only indication that Cindy was aware of the fact that she had just outed herself. Jill blinked, but willed herself not to outwardly react in any negative way, even as her heart sped up at the revelation. So Cindy dated women. Jill wasn"t sure whether she was really surprised, so much as vaguely hurt that Cindy hadn"t brought it up before. Regardless, it wasn"t the time to get into it, and Jill, fingers still entwined with Cindy"s, simply began to run her thumb soothingly over the back of Cindy"s hand. Cindy glanced up at the movement, relaxing visibly at the sight of Jill"s supportive smile. With a deep breath, Cindy continued, "We were young and naïve, and were so sure that that was it, you know? One and only. I loved her, I really did, but..." She shrugged, but the professed nonchalance seemed forced. "College happened, and we just drifted apart. I didn"t see her for a while, but then the summer after junior year, I happened to randomly run into her. She was just...so different from the girl I"d known." Suddenly, Jill felt Cindy"s hand rip away from her own as the redhead stood up abruptly, pushing herself away from the table and starting to pace in agitation. Jill"s brow creased in concern, her heart aching for her hurting friend. She wanted nothing more than to simply make Cindy feel better, but she didn"t know how. "It sounds stereotypical, but she"d done the whole "running with the wrong crowd" kind of thing, and..." Cindy paused, choking back a sob. "God, she was such a mess. My Lydia was still in there, but she was hidden beneath this new mess of a girl." Cindy wiped roughly at the tears that seemed to suddenly appear on her cheeks. Jill stood up, still unsure what to do, but simply wanting to be closer. She held still, though, when Cindy immediately shook her head and took a few quick steps backwards. "It took me almost the whole summer of badgering her," Cindy continued, her voice shaking a little, "but I eventually got her into a rehab program. Last I knew, she"d been doing better. She"s supposed to be living in Seattle; she"s supposed to be doing well. She"s not supposed to be here, Jill, she"s not supposed to be dead!" Cindy"s voice grew increasingly hysterical, and Jill felt her heart break at the undisguised pain behind the bloodshot, watery brown eyes before her. Jill stepped forward once again and simply reached out towards Cindy, unable to speak past the lump in her throat. Cindy tried to retreat again, only for her back to collide with the wall behind her. "No-no-no, don"t hug me," Cindy pled. "Please don"t hug me. If you hug me, then I won"t be able to stop crying." Ignoring her, Jill extended her arms to wrap firmly around the reporter. Cindy struggled against her at first, but Jill refused to let go, and Cindy soon gave in, her own arms grasping desperately onto Jill as she buried her face in the crook of Jill"s neck. Jill could feel hot tears soak into the collar of her shirt, but she simply held Cindy tighter. When her arms began to ache with the effort of largely holding Cindy upright, Jill eased the two of them down onto the floor, sitting with her back against the wall and a bundle of redhead cradled in her lap. She lightly swayed Cindy back and forth, muttering soft words of comfort into the thick mane of red hair beneath her lips. Jill didn"t know how long they sat there, but eventually Cindy seemed to run out of tears. Jill pressed a light kiss to the top of Cindy"s head, only to pull back slightly when she felt the form within her arms stiffen. The next flurry of movement happened so quickly, Jill barely had time to react. Cindy suddenly shifted, pulling her face away from the blonde"s neck and leaning forward to press her lips against Jill"s. Shocked, Jill gasped, and Cindy took advantage by briefly pushing her tongue between Jill"s parted lips. The kiss was hard, wet, desperate, and sloppy. It was possibly the most intense kiss Jill had ever received. As soon as Jill began to kiss back, though, Cindy immediately pulled away and, without once meeting Jill"s eyes, returned to hiding her face in Jill"s shoulder. Jill was left to simply blink in bewilderment, unsure whether the kiss had actually happened or whether she had just imagined the whole thing. The lingering tingle and slight taste of salty tears on her lips left little question, though. If she hadn"t known what to say before, Jill really didn"t know what to say now, so she simply leaned her cheek against the crown of Cindy"s head and closed her eyes as exhaustion suddenly overtook her. Figuring out anything else would just have to wait. TBC Once again, I apologize for taking so long between updates on this. Thanks so much to those of you who are reading and reviewing! :) Part 4 Cindy woke up with a light groan. Disoriented at first, she quickly realized that she was lying on her side, on the floor. She didn"t feel hung-over, though, so wasn"t really sure what she was doing there. She glanced down at her watch and then reached up to rub at her dry eyes, regretting whatever had made her forget to remove her contacts the night before. It was only when she began to stretch out her stiff muscles, though, that she even realized that there was a soft hand splayed across her hip and a warm body lying behind her.

Sam"s breath catches at the sight of her friend, curled up and fast asleep in an uncomfortable-looking chair. Brooke is beautiful, even in such an awkward position, and Sam"s pain clouds out everything else, except for that thought. Brooke is beautiful. And she"s here. Brooke"s presence is enough to calm Sam, who simply takes a deep breath, closes her eyes again, and allows the dark to surround her. * * * The next time that Sam opens her eyes, she shuts them again almost immediately. The dark had been confusing, but at least it wasn"t as blindingly painful as the light. She tries to speak again, but all that comes out is a groan. "Sam?? Oh God. Oh, Sammy baby, can you hear me?" The breathless voice belongs to her mother, and Sam wants nothing more than to open her eyes wide, smile, and have her mom tell her that everything"s okay. But she"s afraid to open her eyes, she doesn"t think she"d be able to smile even if she tried, and her body is telling her loud and clear that everything is not okay. Shaking hands brush across her forehead, down her cheek, along her arm. Sam groans again in response, because it"s the best she can do. Sam hears footsteps take her mother away from the bed; hears her calling out for a doctor; hears the noisy commotion of more people crowding around her. Finally, she tries to ease her eyes back open again, though she doesn"t make it past a half-lidded squint. She can make out a blurry vision of her mom and various white-coated strangers, but there"s no sign of Brooke. She looks towards the chair off to the side, but it"s empty this time. It"s the sight of this empty chair that triggers some kind of memory in Sam. She doesn"t know why, but suddenly there"s this overwhelming fear -- not for herself, but for Brooke. Had she simply imagined the idea that Brooke had been there with her? Suddenly it feels so important to know where the blonde is, but Sam can"t quite find the strength to ask. Sam"s mom reaches out to her, and Sam is grateful for the warmth of her mother"s hand, clutching tightly to one of her own. Jane is openly crying, and a stray tear slides slowly down Sam"s own cheek as well, though she can"t quite decide whether she"s sad, or happy, or something else entirely. "Samantha?" Sam"s attention is drawn to the doctor, a kind- but serious-looking woman with steel-gray hair and eyes to match. "Samantha, I want you to do something for me, okay? I"m sure you"re tired, but I want you to try to squeeze your mom"s hand now, okay? Just squeeze her hand if you can," the doctor directs. It seems to take an abnormally long time for the message from Sam"s brain to reach down to her fingers, but eventually she manages to constrict the appropriate muscles, and Jane releases a broken sob of relief as she feels the result of Sam"s effort. The doctor smiles encouragingly. "That"s great, Samantha." Opening her mouth, Sam isn"t quite sure what she wants to say, but it doesn"t matter anyway, since the doctor immediately continues, "Don"t try to talk. At this point, you just need to work on saving up your energy. But I have to say, Samantha, it"s really a pleasure to finally meet you." * * * Sam falls asleep again before long -- still confused, still worried, still in pain, but unable to keep her eyes open regardless. When she wakes up, the doctors and her mother are gone, but Brooke sits once again beside her, wide eyes fixed firmly on Sam. She must be pumped full of drugs, because Sam"s head feels pretty loopy, but she doesn"t hurt anymore. She idly wonders if this is actually happening, though -- if Brooke is really there -- or if it"s some weird hallucination. Before Sam can fully process anything, though, Brooke suddenly starts crying. Not just a few stray tears, but great, heaving sobs. Brooke"s whole body seems to shake. Sam"s never seen anything like it. She blinks, confused. She opens her mouth, and it takes a few tries, but eventually Sam manages to whisper, "Jeez, Brooke. I know we"re not the best of friends, but I never thought just looking at you could make you so upset." The joke only makes Brooke cry harder. The blonde raggedly runs her sleeve across her face, but can"t seem to get herself under any semblance of control. Her hand hovers near the bed, but she seems almost afraid to touch Sam. With a bit of effort, Sam flips her hand over so that it"s lying palm up, and Brooke sees the action as the invitation that it"s meant to be, with both of her own hands immediately clasping onto the offered one. "They...they told me you were awake, but..." Brooke manages between gulps of air. "But I didn"t... I couldn"t believe them until...until I saw you myself." Brooke keeps one hand wrapped tightly around Sam"s, but the other reaches up to run shakily over Sam"s hair. "But you"re really awake. Right? You"re okay. I"m not dreaming, am I? Are you really okay? Are you really here?" "I think so," is the best that Sam can come up with as a reply. Brooke"s crying is a bit calmer now, though it hasn"t stopped completely. And maybe it"s the effect of the drugs but Sam is happy to simply lie there, staring at her. Brooke can"t quite seem to keep still, though, as her free hand keeps moving -- light touches flitting from Sam"s cheek, to her arm, to her shoulder, to her eyes -- as if to continually verify Sam"s presence, verify that Sam"s eyes are open. * * * For a while, everything is a blur. Days filled with doctors poking, prodding, and stretching Sam"s stiff muscles, trying to get them to cooperate again. Visitors come and go, and while Sam"s been told the basics -- Nicole proved herself to be the crazy psycho bitch that Sam has always known her to be, but Sam saved the day -- it almost doesn"t feel real. Sam doesn"t remember any of the details, so it feels more like a story than reality. Still, most of the information comes from second-hand sources, like her mom, or the doctors; people who"ve heard about what happened, but weren"t actually there. The people who were there don"t want to talk to her about it, though. Neither Brooke nor Harrison -- who, Sam"s noticed, never seem to visit her at the same time, somehow -- want to talk to her about what happened. It"s confusing, and it"s frustrating. As Sam is wheeled out after her latest session of physical therapy, also known as "Sam"s personal torture," Brooke is there as usual, smiling and waiting. She takes a few minutes to chat with Ian, the physical therapist, giving Sam a chance to relax before wordlessly bringing Sam back to her room. It only took one instance of Brooke trying to get Sam to talk immediately after a therapy session for the blonde to learn that Sam"s always irritable after the intense physical strain. Even from the wheelchair, Sam can tell the exact moment when Brooke sees Harrison. She stiffens, and the wheelchair jerks to a stop right outside the door. Harrison looks up from his seat inside the room, but his expression pales slightly at the sight of the two of them. He stands up, awkwardly stuffing his hands in his pockets as Brooke comes to life again and pushes Sam the rest of the way into the room. "Hey Sam... And Brooke..." Harrison begins haltingly. "I, uh, didn"t realize you"d still have company, Sam. I"ll just come back later." "No you won"t," Sam articulates forcefully. "I told you to stop by now for a reason. You"re staying too, Brooke." The blonde blushes sheepishly as Sam catches her trying to sneak out the door. "Now one of you help me out of this thing," Sam continues, starting to try to hoist herself up out of her chair. Both Harrison and Brooke immediately rush forward, almost crashing into each other in their haste, before they laugh uneasily and Brooke ends up being the one to help Sam back into bed. Once she"s settled, silence descends upon the room, and Sam starts to think that maybe this wasn"t a good idea. Sighing, she asks, "Okay, so what"s the deal with you two?" Her question is only met with two identical blank stares. "Clearly, there has to be something that"s making you two uber-weird right now, and it"s getting annoying. You know, I haven"t been oblivious to the fact that you can"t seem to stand being in my presence at the same time, and I"ve come to the conclusion that it must have to do with the whole dinner fiasco beforehand. But I don"t remember any of it, so you"ll have to help me fill in some blanks, here." Turning to directly face Harrison, Sam asks, "Who did you pick, Harrison? Which one of us? Just tell me, and then we can all just deal with it and move on." Harrison"s eyes widen as he stutters, "Um... What? I mean, uh, I..." "Look, it doesn"t matter, Sam," Brooke mercifully cuts in. "With everything that happened, I think that I can speak for both myself and Harrison when I say that there are more important things to worry about than our dating lives. The whole thing was stupid, and petty, and it just really doesn"t matter." "Which means that he picked you," Sam intuits. "Because if he"d picked me, then it wouldn"t be your place to even say that it didn"t matter." Brooke opens her mouth to speak but nothing comes out, and a red-faced Harrison is now staring intently at the floor, all of which only serves to confirm Sam"s theory. "So that"s fine, okay?" Sam continues, even though her heart thumps painfully at the thought of the two of them together. "You don"t have to worry about tiptoeing around me or whatever. You don"t have to be so weird about it. Just go ahead and date each other already!" Brooke looks torn as she gazes back and forth between Sam and Harrison, who still won"t meet anyone"s gaze. "But..." the blonde begins hesitantly. "But I don"t..." "Brooke"s right," Harrison abruptly interrupts. "Now"s just not good timing. Right now my own love life isn"t exactly high up on my priority list." He moves to the side of Sam"s bed, smiling gently at her before leaning down to kiss her on the forehead. His gaze shifts briefly to Brooke before he continues, almost more to himself than to either of the girls, "It"ll all work out. No matter what happens, we"ll be okay. But I should go. I promise to try not to be so awkward, though," he concludes. He squeezes Sam"s hand once, offers a small smile to them both, and then walks quickly from the room. It"s quiet for a minute, as Brooke watches Harrison leave, a frown etched into her forehead, and then pulls up a seat next to Sam"s bed. "I"m sorry," Sam murmurs softly, but Brooke only looks at her in confusion. "Why?" "Because things shouldn"t be so complicated for you two. If things had gone differently, you might be dating Harrison right now." It feels like Sam"s fault, somehow, that her two best friends aren"t together when it seems like they"d want to be if circumstances had been better. Brooke"s frown deepens. "If things had gone differently, I might not be here at all, Sam. We"re both alive, and nothing else matters." Sam"s somewhat taken aback by the utter conviction in Brooke"s tone. She gazes contemplatively at the blonde, seeing that she"s completely serious. There"s something in Brooke"s expression that"s different from the way Brooke"s ever looked at her before. It makes Sam"s heart skip a beat, but for lack of a better word, Sam decides to label it as gratefulness. It"s been a long day, though, and Sam feels her eyelids start to droop. Noticing, Brooke reaches out to pull up the blanket that"s been pushed to the edge of Sam"s bed. "You should get some rest, Sammy," Brooke smiles, tucking Sam in and smoothing a stray lock of hair away from Sam"s face. "Will you be here when I wake up?" Sam asks with a yawn. Sam"s sleep is usually plagued by bad dreams now, and Brooke"s presence seems to be the quickest thing that can calm her upon waking. "Of course, Sam," Brooke answers, leaning down to leave her own kiss to Sam"s forehead. "Always." With that assurance, Sam smiles and allows herself to drift back into sleep. Things are still weird between the three of them, but maybe it"s a step in the right direction. A/N: This is an extension of a drabble I wrote a while ago. A/N2: Thanks muchly to my betas, theagonyofblank and wolfemeister! A/N3: I don"t know if people are still reading/enjoying this (comments make me happy!)... Let me know what you think! Brooke was miserable. Well, maybe "miserable" was an exaggeration. Because really, there were a lot of things to not be miserable about. Sam was all right, they were still friends, and things weren"t awkward with Harrison. (Okay, that last one was a lie. Things definitely were awkward with Harrison, but they weren"t too awkward, Brooke supposed.) Still, sometimes Brooke couldn"t help but be melodramatic, and she would label her state of emotions as "miserable." The cause of her "misery" lay in the fact that, with Sam back to consciousness, Brooke was forced to think about that emotional admission of love on prom night. Brooke had only meant it in a platonic you"re-practically-family kind of way, right? So there was no need to freak out about it. Definitely not. Then why did Brooke feel like she had something to be embarrassed about? And seriously, what was with the weird feeling she got in her stomach every time she looked at Sam? It was starting to get really annoying. But somehow, Brooke had a feeling (a very scary feeling) that, in the heat of the moment, when she didn"t know if Sam would be okay, she had meant those words in a way that was at least slightly more than platonic. Sam gave no indication that she remembered what Brooke had said, though. Brooke wasn"t sure which would be worse -- the mortification of having to talk about it, or the relief of getting it out in the open. Brooke had barely given her words and the possible meaning behind them any thought while Sam was in the coma. Then, Brooke had been too focused on the guilt, fear, and hope. Now that Sam was getting back to health, though, Brooke was almost constantly confronted by the fact that Sam was vivacious, smart, loyal, and, to be perfectly honest, stunningly beautiful. Obviously, those were all good things, but the problem was that persistent flutter Brooke felt every time Sam was around. That flutter made her feel... Okay, "miserable" really was a complete exaggeration, but "uncomfortable," "nervous," and "confused" were right on the mark. And if she didn"t do something about it soon, Brooke thought her head might explode from all the self-reflection. * * * Brooke had been acting strangely, Sam noticed. It was a different kind of strange than the remaining awkwardness with Harrison, though. But whenever Sam found herself alone with Brooke, she seemed to become excessively jumpy, and Sam had caught the blonde simply staring intently at her a number of times. It was odd, and Sam didn"t know what to make of it. She also kept asking if Sam remembered any details about the night of the accident, but no matter how many times Sam repeated that she didn"t remember, Brooke just didn"t seem to get it. Still, continuing physical therapy and the process of catching up with schoolwork kept Sam so busy and tired that she couldn"t find the energy to really figure out what Brooke"s deal was. Now, Sam prided herself on her knowledge of the English language. Her vocabulary, in particular, was obviously that of someone way beyond her years. A lot of things had gone wrong in Sam"s life, but words never failed her. Except when Brooke looked at her like that, in that way that Brooke was supposed to be looking at Harrison. And when they arrived home after the last day of school, celebrating the end to junior year... When Brooke followed up that look with a sudden kiss, all soft and warm and sweet... For the first time ever, Sam"s mind, shocked, went completely blank; she couldn"t think of a single word. So instead of talking, she simply kissed back. A/N: Takes place immediately after the last part, "Beginning of Something Different" A/N2: Thanks muchly to my two betas, wolfemeister and theagonyofblank! Sam couldn"t seem to stop blinking. And she still couldn"t get any kind of coherent words out of her mouth. Brooke simply stared at her, all wide-eyed and gaping back at Sam. "You"re shocked?' Sam wanted to yell at her. "Try being me in this situation!" Finally, Sam found her voice and a bit of her vocabulary once again, and managed to stammer out, "Did... Did you just kiss me??" Sam"s words managed to shake Brooke out of her sudden stupor. Brooke blinked a few times herself, before her eyes finally focused back on Sam. She felt an intense blush spread rapidly across her cheeks, and wondered if Sam would kill her if she just walked away without saying anything. Death might be better than the utter mortification she felt at the moment, though. "Um. Well. I." Brooke had absolutely no idea what to say. "What if I did?" Sam just stared at Brooke incredulously for a moment. "What if you did?? What the hell does that mean?" An almost pleading look came over her as she continued, "You gotta help me out here, Brooke. With the whole recently-been-in-a-coma thing, I"m still a little loopy a lot of the time, and I"m honestly not sure if what I think happened a minute ago actually happened." Brooke started to panic. She had no idea what had come over her, but she just wished that she could melt into the floor right then. She covered her face with her hands momentarily, before taking a deep breath, and forcing herself to face Sam. She wasn"t sure, but it seemed like Sam had kissed her back. Still, Brooke couldn"t tell whether Sam actually wanted the thing that happened to have happened, so for the moment, she decided to stall a little longer. "Well, I mean... If I did kiss you, and I"m not saying that I did, then, um, maybe I...maybe I only kissed you in a way that friends kiss each other all the time! Or maybe...maybe there are lots of different reasons why I could have kissed you, and none of them are reasons that you should worry about, so it really wouldn"t be a big deal. If I kissed you. Hypothetically." Brooke almost whimpered in embarrassment. This was not going well. Sam regarded Brooke, trying to wrap her mind around what in the world Brooke had just said. So that meant that Brooke had kissed her, right? Otherwise, she wouldn"t be acting like a complete spaz all of a sudden. And while Sam had been relatively out of it since she woke up from the coma, she hadn"t actually invented any false memories yet, and she definitely did remember Brooke kissing her. Kissing her in a way that friends don"t kiss each other all the time. And if Brooke kissed her like that... Well, then there was really only one possible conclusion to be drawn. "Okay, that really didn"t make any sense," Sam noted. "But if you kissed me, hypothetically, then I might decide that the polite thing to do would be for me to initiate things and kiss you next time. But if you didn"t, then I guess I-" Sam didn"t get a chance to finish her sentence, because then Brooke"s lips were back on hers, and there was really no possible way to misinterpret things this time. Instinctively, Sam"s arms found their way around Brooke"s back, pulling the blonde tighter against her. Brooke"s hands buried themselves in Sam"s thick hair, and Brooke still couldn"t really believe that this was happening, but she"d now kissed Sam twice in the span of five minutes, and kissing Sam was actually really nice. Sam wasn"t sure how long they stood there, kissing, before they finally broke apart. "Well," she began, unable to hide either the surprise or the arousal in her voice, "I guess you did kiss me." Hesitantly, Brooke smiled. "I guess I did." Another A/N: I"m going to try not to take forever in updating this again, but work and grad school applications have taken over my life, so no guarantees! Sorry! A/N: It is sophomore year in high school. A/N2: Thanks so much to theagonyofblank and wolfemeister for the beta reads! There were a number of things that every student at Kennedy High School knew for an absolute fact: - Bio Glass was going to make your life a living hell. - Nicole Julian should be avoided at all costs. - You shouldn"t eat the mystery meat in the cafeteria, especially not on Thursdays. - And last but certainly not least, Brooke McQueen and Sam McPherson were bitter enemies, and always would be. Monday morning The hallways of Kennedy High "Hey, she"s alive!" Sam turned and rolled her eyes at the three people approaching her, breathing out a tortured sigh as she grabbed some books from her locker and stuffed them into her bag. "Yes, Carm, I"m alive." "Yeah, well we weren"t sure if you"d actually make it here today," Harrison commented, stopping to lean on the locker next to Sam"s, "or if you and Brooke had killed each other overnight." "Well, lucky for all of us, I managed to make it through the first night without getting murdered in my sleep. Yesterday was complete and utter hell, though. I can"t believe I have to actually live there now! I keep hoping that this is all just a nightmare, and I"ll wake up any minute now." As they hurried to make it to class before the bell rang, Lily asked, "Wait, I haven"t seen Brooke yet today... Brooke"s still alive too, right Sam?"

Still, she felt the need to say something about the situation. "Jill, I..." she began haltingly. "I know you must...must wonder what the hell is going on. But I just. I can"t. I can"t talk about it. Not now. Not yet." "Hey, it"s all right," Jill soothed, once again reaching out a hand to Cindy"s cheek, brushing away two stray tears. "I understand. Whenever you"re ready." Again, with her throat feeling uncomfortably tight, Cindy could only blink back the tears and nod with a jerk of her head. She turned towards her own room and took a few steps before turning back. Jill hadn"t moved; was simply watching Cindy carefully. Cindy took a deep, steadying breath before she managed to push out any words. "Her name"s Lydia. Lydia Baker. I don"t know if she had any ID on her, or whatever, so you can tell Lindsay. I don"t know if it"ll help, but..." "I"m sure Linz will appreciate it. We"ll find him, Cindy. Find out who did this." Jill"s earnestness was clear. Cindy knew that, even without understanding any details, Jill was already prepared to give this one everything she had. It meant something to Cindy, and that was enough for it to mean something to Jill. The knowledge of that deep loyalty made Cindy"s heart beat a little faster. Once again feeling like she was about to cry, Cindy attempted a smile (though it probably came out looking more like a grimace) and turned back towards her room. She closed the door behind her and stood leaning against it for a minute, before allowing herself to collapse into bed, hoping desperately for a night without dreams. TBC An actual update?? Shocking, I know. Somehow, I just had a really hard time with this part, and I"ve just generally been really busy lately. Sorry for taking so long! Part 3 Jill listened carefully outside Cindy"s door, trying to tell whether there was any sign of movement from within the room. She jumped, startled, as the loud and sudden ringing of her phone broke into the silence. Hurrying to grab it from the living room, Jill could only hope that the sound hadn"t woken Cindy up. "Shhhh!" she whispered harshly into the phone as she rushed to answer it. There was a long moment of silence, and then Lindsay"s voice, a quiet murmur of confusion, came over the line. "How can you tell me to be quiet when I haven"t said anything yet?" Jill snorted. "Sorry. It"s just that I hadn"t realized my phone was so loud. I should whisper, but you don"t have to," she explained. "Oh. Right. So how is she?" Lindsay asked, getting right to the point. "I don"t know." Jill shrugged helplessly. "She"s been in her room all day, mostly sleeping, I think. I heard her moving around a bit early this afternoon, but it"s been quiet in there for the last six and a half hours." "Has she eaten anything? She should eat something." "Shit, I forgot!" Jill lowered the phone away from her ear as she hurried into the kitchen, arriving just in time to see water boiling over the rim of the pot on the stove. "Dammit!" "Jill? What happened, are you still there??" Jill could just barely hear the faraway sound of Lindsay"s voice. The blonde lifted the phone back up to mutter distractedly, "Potential kitchen catastrophe. Gimme a minute," before she placed it down on the counter and turned back to the stove. She quickly lowered the heat, but almost burned herself when she reached to remove the lid of the pot. Swearing, she reactively dropped the hot lid onto the floor, cringing at the clanging sound it created, echoing around the room. So much for keeping the apartment quiet. "God, this is a fucking disaster," she sighed to herself, shaking out her near-burned hand, and agitatedly running the other one through her hair. She peered warily into the pot, trying to tell whether or not the whole thing was ruined. Remembering Lindsay, she picked the phone back up; it sounded like the inspector was talking to Claire on the other end, but Jill interrupted. "Hey Linz? You"re with Claire, right? Yeah, can I just call back later? I"m working on the food issue. I"ll be in touch about things later, once she gets up." Jill turned back to her attempts at making dinner for Cindy. A light cough behind her caught her attention, though, and she turned around to find Cindy leaning against the doorway to the kitchen, wearing pajamas and a small, amused smile. "Shit, I woke you up, didn"t I? I"m so sorry! I was trying to be quiet, but I obviously failed miserably in that regard." Jill took a moment to simply look at Cindy. The redhead was still paler than usual, but looked a bit more like herself than she had the last time Jill had seen her. "Hey, it"s okay. I was already awake, actually." Jill looked at Cindy skeptically. "Really? Or are you just saying that to make me feel better?" "Really," Cindy assured her. "Kind of out of it, as tends to happen when I sleep too much, but awake nonetheless. I just thought that maybe I should come out and investigate the noise. What are you making?" Cindy"s rumbling stomach betrayed her interest in the matter. "Well, if I haven"t killed it, it"s supposed to fettuccini alfredo. I saw this recipe in a magazine the last time I went to the dentist, and the picture looked really good, but I think it was a little more ambitious than my barely-there culinary skills could handle," Jill explained. Cindy shrugged. "Well let"s give it a shot. Is it ready?" At Jill"s nod, Cindy got out some silverware as Jill prepared two heaping plates of pasta. It didn"t look nearly as nice as the picture she"d seen, but Cindy seemed excited about the mere prospect of food. Jill watched anxiously as Cindy took a first bite. The reporter paused for a beat at the first mouthful, before slowly swallowing and nodding her head. "It"s... good," she managed unconvincingly. Raising a disbelieving eyebrow, Jill took a quick bite of her own. The pasta was obviously overcooked, the sauce was too watery, and there was some flavor which Jill couldn"t quite identify, but which definitely seemed like it shouldn"t be there. "Wow. That"s awful," the blonde declared. Cindy giggled, clearly in agreement. "It"s a good thing I like you for more than your culinary skills." "Screw this. I can"t make you eat this," Jill laughed, relieved that Cindy was at least finding some humor in the situation. It felt good to hear her friend laugh. "Think you can handle waiting another fifteen minutes before eating?" she continued. "We can safely say that "chef" was never meant to be my calling in life, but I can make a damn good grilled cheese, if I do say so myself. And clearly, trying to get extra fancy was not a good plan." Cindy smiled. "You know, grilled cheese actually sounds a lot more appealing than fettuccini alfredo right now, anyway." Once the food was made, though, Jill wasn"t quite sure what to do next. Her plan hadn"t extended past getting some food in Cindy"s stomach, and Jill had never been very good at dealing with the emotional stuff, and she thought she"d been doing okay so far, but she didn"t know how to make Cindy feel better, and she didn"t even really know what was wrong, and while Cindy may have been asleep for the majority of the last twelve and a half hours, Jill had been too worried and restless to sleep much more than five, and... Still standing in front of the stove, Jill took a deep breath and forced herself to resist the urge to panic. Cindy appeared to be oblivious to Jill"s near-freak-out, however, and simply stepped up behind the blonde, reaching around her to grab some food. "Now that looks good," Cindy commented happily, before uttering a contented sigh as she immediately took a healthy bite out of the sandwich. The meal that followed was held mostly in silence, other than a bit of stunted small talk. Excluding the previous night, once they"d returned from the crime scene, Jill couldn"t recall a single time since she"d known Cindy that the normally talkative redhead had been so withdrawn and quiet. It was disconcerting, and Jill didn"t quite know how to handle it. She stood to clear the dishes, but Cindy"s soft voice caused her to freeze in place. "I met her in high school," Cindy began, mumbling around her finger as she chewed distractedly on a fingernail. "Her family moved nearby before freshman year, and we were in the same English class. I got to know her when we were assigned to do a project together on A Tale of Two Cities, and we bonded over our love of books." She paused, and Jill finally eased back into her chair. Cindy"s fingers tapped agitatedly on the table, but Jill reached out and silently wrapped the nervous digits in her own hand. Cindy clutched tightly onto Jill"s hand and looked up briefly to meet Jill"s eyes, but then lowered her gaze again as she stared at the tablecloth in apparent fascination. "She was my first girlfriend." The blush that ran up the reporter"s cheeks was the only indication that Cindy was aware of the fact that she had just outed herself. Jill blinked, but willed herself not to outwardly react in any negative way, even as her heart sped up at the revelation. So Cindy dated women. Jill wasn"t sure whether she was really surprised, so much as vaguely hurt that Cindy hadn"t brought it up before. Regardless, it wasn"t the time to get into it, and Jill, fingers still entwined with Cindy"s, simply began to run her thumb soothingly over the back of Cindy"s hand. Cindy glanced up at the movement, relaxing visibly at the sight of Jill"s supportive smile. With a deep breath, Cindy continued, "We were young and naïve, and were so sure that that was it, you know? One and only. I loved her, I really did, but..." She shrugged, but the professed nonchalance seemed forced. "College happened, and we just drifted apart. I didn"t see her for a while, but then the summer after junior year, I happened to randomly run into her. She was just...so different from the girl I"d known." Suddenly, Jill felt Cindy"s hand rip away from her own as the redhead stood up abruptly, pushing herself away from the table and starting to pace in agitation. Jill"s brow creased in concern, her heart aching for her hurting friend. She wanted nothing more than to simply make Cindy feel better, but she didn"t know how. "It sounds stereotypical, but she"d done the whole "running with the wrong crowd" kind of thing, and..." Cindy paused, choking back a sob. "God, she was such a mess. My Lydia was still in there, but she was hidden beneath this new mess of a girl." Cindy wiped roughly at the tears that seemed to suddenly appear on her cheeks. Jill stood up, still unsure what to do, but simply wanting to be closer. She held still, though, when Cindy immediately shook her head and took a few quick steps backwards. "It took me almost the whole summer of badgering her," Cindy continued, her voice shaking a little, "but I eventually got her into a rehab program. Last I knew, she"d been doing better. She"s supposed to be living in Seattle; she"s supposed to be doing well. She"s not supposed to be here, Jill, she"s not supposed to be dead!" Cindy"s voice grew increasingly hysterical, and Jill felt her heart break at the undisguised pain behind the bloodshot, watery brown eyes before her. Jill stepped forward once again and simply reached out towards Cindy, unable to speak past the lump in her throat. Cindy tried to retreat again, only for her back to collide with the wall behind her. "No-no-no, don"t hug me," Cindy pled. "Please don"t hug me. If you hug me, then I won"t be able to stop crying." Ignoring her, Jill extended her arms to wrap firmly around the reporter. Cindy struggled against her at first, but Jill refused to let go, and Cindy soon gave in, her own arms grasping desperately onto Jill as she buried her face in the crook of Jill"s neck. Jill could feel hot tears soak into the collar of her shirt, but she simply held Cindy tighter. When her arms began to ache with the effort of largely holding Cindy upright, Jill eased the two of them down onto the floor, sitting with her back against the wall and a bundle of redhead cradled in her lap. She lightly swayed Cindy back and forth, muttering soft words of comfort into the thick mane of red hair beneath her lips. Jill didn"t know how long they sat there, but eventually Cindy seemed to run out of tears. Jill pressed a light kiss to the top of Cindy"s head, only to pull back slightly when she felt the form within her arms stiffen. The next flurry of movement happened so quickly, Jill barely had time to react. Cindy suddenly shifted, pulling her face away from the blonde"s neck and leaning forward to press her lips against Jill"s. Shocked, Jill gasped, and Cindy took advantage by briefly pushing her tongue between Jill"s parted lips. The kiss was hard, wet, desperate, and sloppy. It was possibly the most intense kiss Jill had ever received. As soon as Jill began to kiss back, though, Cindy immediately pulled away and, without once meeting Jill"s eyes, returned to hiding her face in Jill"s shoulder. Jill was left to simply blink in bewilderment, unsure whether the kiss had actually happened or whether she had just imagined the whole thing. The lingering tingle and slight taste of salty tears on her lips left little question, though. If she hadn"t known what to say before, Jill really didn"t know what to say now, so she simply leaned her cheek against the crown of Cindy"s head and closed her eyes as exhaustion suddenly overtook her. Figuring out anything else would just have to wait. TBC Once again, I apologize for taking so long between updates on this. Thanks so much to those of you who are reading and reviewing! :) Part 4 Cindy woke up with a light groan. Disoriented at first, she quickly realized that she was lying on her side, on the floor. She didn"t feel hung-over, though, so wasn"t really sure what she was doing there. She glanced down at her watch and then reached up to rub at her dry eyes, regretting whatever had made her forget to remove her contacts the night before. It was only when she began to stretch out her stiff muscles, though, that she even realized that there was a soft hand splayed across her hip and a warm body lying behind her. Looking over her shoulder, Cindy narrowed her eyes in confusion. Jill? Suddenly, she remembered, and she felt her heart thump rapidly in response. Oh. Jill. Cindy had kissed Jill. Crap. Inching carefully out from under Jill"s touch, Cindy made her way quietly into the kitchen before turning back to watch her sleeping friend. This hadn"t been how she"d imagined her first kiss with Jill might be. Because she had imagined it, no matter how much she told herself that she shouldn"t; that it would never happen. But she"d thought about whether it might be sweet and gentle, only to decide that with someone like Jill, there was probably a greater chance of it ending up along the lines of light and meaningless. Maybe teasing. Maybe drunken. Maybe -- just maybe -- heartfelt on both ends (her own end, she could count on; Jill"s, not so much). It would definitely be sexy, though. In Cindy"s imagination, at least, kissing Jill could never be anything but toe-curling sexy. In Cindy"s imagination, it had never occurred to her that their first kiss would be forced, sloppy, rushed, and wet with tears. It didn"t exactly go along with her plan of wooing the blonde with such an amazing first kiss that Jill would immediately decide that they should start dating. Sighing, Cindy quietly slipped back by Jill and into the living room, grabbing a blanket off the back of the couch. She settled the blanket over Jill"s body and barely resisted the urge to brush the blonde bangs out of Jill"s eyes before turning to go make coffee and get some breakfast. She still had some time before she"d need to wake Jill for work. She was about to pour some milk in her cereal when Jill"s phone, lying abandoned on the kitchen counter, began to ring. A glance down at the screen revealed the caller to be Claire, and after a bit of hesitation, Cindy reached to answer the phone. "Good morning, this is Jill Bernhardt"s phone," she announced. There was a brief pause, and then Claire"s voice came over the line, asking, "Cindy?" "Yeah. Hi, Claire. I"m awake, and Jill isn"t, and the phone was right there, so I just sort of decided to answer it, but maybe I shouldn"t have, and I could have just let your call go to voicemail or something, but it"s too late to change anything about that now anyway, so-" "Cindy, it"s fine that you answered Jill"s phone," Claire interrupted Cindy"s rambling, a hint of a smile audible in her voice. "So how are you feeling, sweetheart?" she continued softly. Cindy sighed. "I"m okay. Well, not "okay" exactly, but better than before, at least. Jill... Jill helped me get some of the big emotions out, so now I can actually focus again." The sound of light footsteps alerted her that the blonde in question was awake, and sure enough, Cindy turned around to find Jill blinking sleepily at her, the blanket still wrapped tightly around her shoulders. Cindy smiled hesitantly and willed herself not to blush. Turning her attention back to the phone, she muttered, "Hey, Claire? Jill"s up, so I"m going to pass the phone off to her. Since it is, you know, her phone, after all. I"ll let her tell you about Lydia." With that, she thrust the phone towards Jill, who, obviously not fully awake yet, simply stared at it for a moment before taking it into her hand. "I don"t know if I can talk through everything all over again," Cindy explained, her voice causing Jill"s sleepy gaze to shift upwards from the phone. "Will you do it for me?" Cindy swallowed, unable to look away as clear blue eyes met hers. Jill"s short blonde hair, rumpled with sleep, stuck out in a few different directions, and Cindy felt her breath hitch at the ridiculously adorable image of the attorney. After a seemingly endless moment, Jill rubbed her eyes, apparently trying to wipe the sleep away, before releasing a yawn as she nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, sure thing," she replied. "Great." Her cereal momentarily forgotten, Cindy turned to walk out of the room, not really wanting to be in such close proximity as Jill recounted what she knew about Lydia. She paused, though, when a sudden thought struck her. Would Jill mention the whole ex-girlfriend thing? Cindy definitely planned to come out to her other friends sooner rather than later at this point, but she wasn"t sure that she was ready for it to happen right this moment, or for it to come from Jill"s mouth instead of her own. She stood frozen in the doorway, listening to Jill"s end of the conversation. "Yeah, I"m sorry I didn"t call back yesterday. I got caught up with things here," Jill was saying. "Well at this point, you"ve talked to her more than I have this morning, so I don"t really know. I think you"re right, though. ... I hope so. ... Yeah. ... Okay, so Lydia Baker. She"s an old friend of Cindy"s from high school. Got involved in some serious drugs during college. As far as Cindy knew, she"d gotten clean, though. Had gone through rehab and had been living in Seattle." Cindy exhaled. Jill had said the perfect amount, relating the important details without letting slip that certain piece of information which Cindy was happy to keep secret for the time being. She turned back around to see Jill glance down at her watch before looking up again to lock eyes on Cindy as she continued, "In an hour? Sure, I can do that. ... Okay, I will. ... Yeah, see you then. Bye." Silence filled the room once Jill hung up the phone, before they both started speaking at once. "About last night..." "How are you..." Laughing, Jill indicated for Cindy to go first. With a deep breath, Cindy tried again. "I just...wanted to thank you. For putting up with me last night." "Hey, it"s no problem. Really. I"m just glad I could be there for you," the blonde answered as she took a step forward and reached out to gently brush a hand up and down Cindy"s arm. Suddenly more nervous than before, Cindy rubbed at the back of her neck, trying not to fidget any more than that. "And about, um... Well, about how it ended..." Cindy trailed off, unsure how to finish her sentence. Jill waved off Cindy"s concern. "Don"t worry about it. It was an emotional night for you; you needed some comfort, and I happened to be there. I totally understand." Cindy nodded. Right. That was a good explanation. It made sense. She"d go with that one. Because that was definitely a better explanation than "Oh my God, I have a major crush on you, but I"ve been too afraid to make a move, because making a move would obviously be a completely moronic thing to do, but I was sad and vulnerable, and you were perfect, and I just couldn"t stop myself.' Yep, Jill"s explanation was absolutely a better one than that. "Besides," the attorney continued with a smirk, "it"s not every day that I have gorgeous women suddenly kissing the hell out of me, so I really can"t complain." Jill winked, apparently only gaining amusement as Cindy"s face instantly flushed with embarrassment. The redhead felt her heart skip a beat (Jill thinks I"m gorgeous? She"s probably just being nice to make me feel better.), but decided that it was about time to change the subject. "Yeah. I"m really sorry about that. But anyway, what"s in an hour?" At Jill"s initially confused expression, Cindy prompted, "With Claire?"

"Sam, what..." Brooke asked, with nothing but concern in her tone. "What happened? What did I do?" "Just leave, okay? Leave me alone. Just leave me alone." Brooke"s once-comforting presence was now nothing but claustrophobic, and the panic in Sam"s voice was obvious. Sam sat still, her heart beating alarmingly quickly, until she felt Brooke"s lips just barely brush across her hair, leaving a soft kiss. "I"m so sorry, Sam," Brooke whispered. "You know where to find me if you want to talk." Sam waited until she heard the door to her room close behind Brooke before allowing herself to cry once again. Thanks muchly to those of you who"ve reviewed so far! Feedback really means a lot :) Fandom: Popular Pairing: Sam/Brooke Prompt: 021 Friends; written for the fanfic100 challenge Word count: 1,019 Summary: Sam and Brooke make a discovery about their relationship... No, not the "I"m gay for you" discovery. We still have 95 fics to go! You didn"t think it would be that easy, did you? ;) A/N: Yep, still sophomore year in high school. A/N2: Thanks so much to theagonyofblank and wolfemeister for the beta reads! And thanks to Wolfe for the title. Brooke (unsuccessfully) tried not to roll her eyes when she heard her name paired with Sam"s. Of course, Glass teased them with the thought that the groups for the latest biology project would be completely random, but then proceeded to do nothing more than put them with their lab partners. Fantastic. Brooke had to admit that they had been getting along a lot better, recently, but that didn"t mean that she really wanted to spend any more time with Sam than she had to. At the end of class, Sam turned to Brooke. "Okay, I propose we just get this over with as quickly as possible. Agreed?" "Agreed." "Great. I have a Zapruder meeting after school, and you probably have Glamazons, so how about we just meet at the public library afterwards, and then we can get a start on research and stuff." "Sure Sam. Whatever you say." This time, Brooke did manage to not roll her eyes, but just barely. She had found that when it came to things like this, it was best to just let Sam feel like she was in charge. There tended to be less potential for bloodshed, that way. Later that afternoon, Brooke and Sam sat in the library, surrounded by several stacks of books. "Sam, this sucks," Brooke whispered. "It feels like we"ve been sitting here for ages, now, and I think my butt is going numb." Sam looked up from her notes at Brooke"s comment, with one of her trademark smirks crossing her face. "Would Her Highness prefer that I found a perfectly fluffed pillow to ease her royal behind?" Brooke just scowled. "No, Her Highness would prefer a change of scenery. And before you offer some snarky comment, yes, I am well aware of the fact that I just referred to myself in the third person. Deal with it." Sam"s grin only widened, and though she came really close to teasing Brooke further, if only out of habit, she decided to let it go. "You know, a change of scenery actually sounds good. We shouldn"t go home, though. Letting your dad and my mom see us working together would only send the wrong kind of message, since we still need to convince them that the whole family merger thing is really a bad idea." "Yeah, good thinking. Well, there"s a nice coffee shop that I like near here," Brooke suggested. "Lead the way, Princess." For the next week, Brooke and Sam spent at least a few hours every afternoon working in the same coffee shop. They ended up just drinking coffee and talking a lot more than actually working on the assignment, but it seemed to make them more productive when they did finally bring out their books and notes. At least, that"s what they told themselves. On Saturday, they took a day off from the project, but Sam decided to return to the café anyway. She really liked the atmosphere of the place, and thought it might be a good spot for her to finish up her latest article, a piece on the new Spanish teacher. Walking up to the counter, Sam recognized the server as the same guy who had been there whenever she came with Brooke. Sam smiled, but before she got a chance to order, the guy spoke, "Oh hey, you"re here! Would you hold on a sec? Your friend left her jacket here." Sam frowned in confusion. As far as she knew, none of her friends ever came there. "Wait, whose jacket is it?" "I dunno her name," he shrugged. "The one you"re in here with every day." Sam laughed. "Who, Brooke? Oh, she"s not..." Sam"s sentence trailed off, her brows knitting together. She and Brooke weren"t friends, were they? The server was still staring at Sam expectantly. Sam broke off her thought process and continued, "Well, whatever. Thanks, I"ll make sure she gets it back." After trying unsuccessfully to make any progress on her article, Sam gave up and decided to go home, acknowledging that her mind was elsewhere. Brooke returned from the mall that afternoon, and after dropping off her bags in her room, went to the kitchen for a snack. Sam was already in there, but it didn"t look like she was actually doing anything. Brooke grabbed an apple and then sat opposite Sam at the table. "Hey Sammy, what"s up?" Sam didn"t say anything, just stared speculatively at Brooke. Shifting uncomfortably under Sam"s focused gaze, Brooke tried again. "Okay, why are you looking at me like that? Do I have something caught in my teeth or something?" Sam"s line of sight shifted slightly, as she replied, "Actually, yeah, you have a tiny piece of something at the corner of your mouth, but that wasn"t why I was looking at you." Sam leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, tilting one head to the side to continue staring at Brooke. Brooke quickly wiped at her mouth, waiting for Sam to explain why she was being so odd. When no explanation followed, Brooke spoke again. "Okay, then. Why are you looking at me? You"re starting to freak me out." Sam finally seemed to snap out of it, blinking a few times, and learning forward to rest her elbows on the table. "Are we friends? "Cause it kind of seems like we might be." There was an element of surprise in Sam"s voice, like she could hardly believe it herself. Brooke laughed. "What? We"re not..." She paused, thinking about it. "Are we?" Sam merely raised an eyebrow, offering a sheepish half-smile. "Wow, we are friends," Brooke continued. "That"s weird." "I know. Very weird. No offense." Finally, the strangeness of the whole conversation caught up with Brooke and she couldn"t help but giggle. One small giggle turned into many more, though, until Sam was laughing too, and neither one was exactly sure what was so funny, but it didn"t really matter. When the laughter died down, Brooke simply smiled at Sam. "So, We"re friends. That"s interesting." She smirked playfully. "Just don"t tell the rest of our friends. I think they"d die from shock." A/N: It"s sophomore year in high school. A/N2: Thanks so much to wolfemeister and theagonyofblank for the beta reads! Sometimes, Brooke wondered why she was still friends with Nicole. On certain days, for some reason or another, Sam"s not-so-affectionate nickname of "Satan" rang especially true, and Brooke would find herself wishing that she had the strength to end their twisted friendship once and for all. It was one of those days. Brooke was supposed to be spending the night at Nicole"s place, but ever since she found out that Nicole had slept with Josh, Brooke had been less and less willing to put up with Nicole"s shit. So, having bailed on the planned shopping trip with Nicole and Mary Cherry, Brooke decided to just go home and relax instead. Mike and Jane were out of town, and Brooke didn"t know what Sam was up to, but maybe they could just hang out and watch a movie or something. Upon entering the house, Brooke was somewhat startled to hear the sound of blaring music coming from upstairs. Curious, she made her way towards the source of the music, ending up right outside Sam"s room. She hadn"t been able to tell what the song was right away, but as soon as she reached the top of the stairs, there was no mistaking the distinctive melody of Nirvana"s "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Brooke smiled as, above Kurt Cobain"s guttural voice, she could hear Sam"s more feminine tone, singing along. The music was loud enough that Brooke was pretty sure Sam wouldn"t be able to hear her knock on the door, but she did so anyway, in case Sam accused her of barging in uninvited. When, as expected, her knocks went unanswered, Brooke slowly pushed the door open and took a step inside the room. What she hadn"t expected, though, was the way that the sight on the other side of the door literally caused Brooke"s breath to hitch. Sam was dancing around her room, strumming along on air guitar and belting out the lyrics, with her long, flowing hair spreading out around her head. Brooke honestly hadn"t really thought about it before, but in that moment, it hit her. Sam was beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous. Brooke was grateful that Sam"s eyes were closed, as it gave her the opportunity to simply watch the brunette. It was the first time that Brooke got a chance to see Sam without all those walls that Sam had worked so hard to build. Now, the adjectives that used to come to mind when Brooke thought about Sam -- stubborn, self-righteous, annoying -- were replaced with new ones -- passionate, strong, free-spirited. It wasn"t so much the song itself, but more the way that Sam carried herself. Brooke smiled to herself, and then quietly backed out of the room, closing the door behind her. Brooke peered surreptitiously around the corner, watching Sam open her locker. She could tell that Sam noticed the object right away, the curious confusion easily visible on Sam"s face, even from a distance. Brooke watched Sam open the envelope, her puzzled frown deepening as her eyes scanned the note. When she opened the accompanying box, Sam simultaneously blushed and smiled widely. Brooke grinned shyly as Sam looked up and around the hallway, her eyes searching until they landed on her. Sam picked up her backpack and made her way over to Brooke. Still blushing, Sam asked, "Nirvana, Brooke? You like Nirvana?" Smirking, Brooke replied, "Well I hate to break it to you, Sammy, but sure, I like some of their stuff. Nirvana isn"t only for the dark, angsty, young rebels of the world." "Anyway, I take it you actually got home earlier than I thought, yesterday? I totally assumed I had the house to myself." Brooke laughed lightly. "Yeah, I couldn"t bring myself to interrupt your wonderful performance, though." "Well, I don"t know if it should count as a performance, since there wasn"t supposed to be an audience." Sam mock glared at the smiling blonde, but Brooke could tell that Sam wasn"t really upset. "And you really shouldn"t have gone through the trouble, but thanks for this," Sam continued, holding up the Nirvana CD. "My pleasure," Brooke assured Sam. "The song seemed to be skipping a lot, so I thought you could use an upgrade." "Yeah, too much time jumping around my room like a wanna-be rock star, I guess. I"ve been listening to the same, old CD for years now, but somehow I was always too lazy to just get a new one, even though my copy is all scratched up. I know, I know... "Way to be cheap, Sam,' right?" Sam rolled her eyes self-deprecatingly. "Hey, you said it, not me." Brooke held up her hands innocently. Sam smiled and continued, "But don"t expect a repeat performance anytime soon, or anything. I don"t know if I"ll be able to listen to that song for a while, without being completely embarrassed, now." "Oh, don"t be, Sam," Brooke hurried to say. "You really have a beautiful voice. You have absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about, I promise." Brooke found herself hoping that Sam would play the song again soon. She had listened to it a few times in the music store, and found that, with the music flowing in her ears, all she had to do was close her eyes, and she could once again visualize Sam, dancing freely in her room. The bell suddenly rang, and the girls shared a last smile and separated to go to class. Brooke turned around again, though, when Sam called out, "Oh, and Brooke?" At Brooke"s expectant look, Sam continued, "That"s my favorite part too." Dear Sam, Well, you"re constantly teasing me about the Glamazon choreography, but now I know that you"ve got some moves of your own! Watch out, though...I like the song, too, so maybe the difference between "Teen Spirit" and "school spirit," isn"t quite as big as I"m sure you"d like to believe. Anyway, just thought you might appreciate a newer copy. Enjoy, Brooke p.s. I"m not sure what the hell it means, but this is my favorite part. What"s yours? "And I forget just why I tasteOh yeah, I guess it makes me smileI found it hard, it"s hard to findOh well, whatever, never mind" A/N: It is junior year in high school. Brooke has just decided not to move to San Francisco with her mom. If you"re not familiar with canon, this fic might not make much sense. A/N2: Thanks to theagonyofblank and wolfemeister for the beta reads! I look across the table, smiling. My family was so close to falling apart, again, but Brooke is here, still here. I don"t know what Sam did to convince Brooke to stay, but it doesn"t matter. My girl came home, and that"s all I care about. There"s still this nagging feeling at the back of my mind, though, that our table is incomplete. After Kelly left the first time, we only kept two chairs out. When Jane and Sam moved in, I got two more. Those two extra chairs are still here. Empty. I haven"t wanted to put them away. I can"t believe I almost left this behind. I came so close to falling into this vicious cycle. My mother left her family, and then I grow up to leave mine. But Kelly isn"t really a part of my family anymore. My family is in Santa Monica. Not just Daddy, but Jane and Sam too. For once, I"m glad that Sam was so stubborn. I"m still kind of surprised that she worked so hard to make sure I stayed. I know she mostly did it for Jane, but the thought that she must actually care about me makes me smile. We try a new restaurant tonight, and though the food isn"t very good, Sam is happier than I"ve seen her in a while. When she explains that Brooke has decided to stay, I feel a surge of happiness. Not just for Mike, but for all of us. I am proud of Sam. Sure, she definitely had quite a hand in this mess, but she"s done everything she could to right her wrongs. Sam deserves a real family, with not just a mother, but also a father and a sister. I miss Mike and Brooke too, but it"s never that simple. It"s such a relief that, for once, I managed to not screw everything up. Or at least, not make things worse. With Brooke sticking around, there"s still hope that Mom and Mike will get back together. Mom deserves to be happy, and for that matter, so does Mike. Mike won"t ever replace my dad, but I do care about him, and Brooke too. As dysfunctional as we may be, we"re all a family now, and Brooke"s become a better friend than I ever thought possible. I"m still kind of shocked to admit it, but I don"t want to lose her. A/N: It"s junior year in high school. A/N2: Thanks, as always, to my two awesome betas, wolfemeister and theagonyofblank! FEBRUARY 2 "What do you mean, you"re not going to be here? Why not?" Sam had finally gotten up the nerve to talk to George about potential Valentine"s Day plans, but now he was telling her that he wasn"t even going to be in California? So not fair. "I"m really sorry, Sam," George replied. "I know it"s bad timing, but I have meetings with the football coaches at both University of Texas and Texas A&M. One meeting"s on the twelfth and the other one"s on the sixteenth, so it would be pretty crazy for me to come back here in between the two." It made sense. Sam knew that it made sense, but that didn"t make it any less frustrating. "And were you ever planning on telling me all this? That first meeting is only ten days from now, George." George shrugged sheepishly. "It just slipped my mind, I guess. But I promise to make it up to you when I get back! You will be the most pampered girlfriend at Kennedy!" Sam sighed. She didn"t want to be pampered. She just wanted to spend the most romantic day of the year with her boyfriend, but apparently, that was too much to ask. FEBRUARY 13 "This sucks. I finally have a semi-serious boyfriend on Valentine"s Day for the first time ever, and where is he? In Texas! I hate Texas." Sam and Brooke were supposed to be working on homework, but Sam thought that venting about George sounded like a lot more fun. "Yeah, it"s really weird being single on Valentine"s. I"m not even sure when the last time was that I didn"t have a date for tomorrow." Sam turned to look at Brooke and laughed. "God, you don"t even realize how conceited that sounds, do you?" "What?" Brooke asked, a combination of innocence and indignation. "It"s true! I don"t see how that makes me conceited." "Never mind." Sam smiled. A year ago, Sam would have used this conversation as more evidence against Brooke"s character. Now, she could only find Brooke"s obliviousness to the trials and tribulations of the single life oddly endearing. "You know what?" Brooke"s question broke into Sam"s thoughts. "We should go out for dinner tomorrow!" Sam eyed Brooke in confusion. ""We" as in you and me? Or the whole family? Or...?" "You and me! Dad and Jane already have plans, and so do all of our friends -- Lily and Josh; Mary Cherry somehow conned Harrison into a date; there"s no way that Nicole"s going to be alone; and Carmen is still working on patching things up with her mom." "So since I"m the last option available, you might as well hang out with me?" Sam teased. "No, of course not. You know I like hanging out with you, Sam. And instead of staying home and feeling sorry for ourselves, we should go out! Come on, what do you say?" Sam shrugged. "Sure, I guess." "Oh, that won"t do." Brooke stared at Sam seriously. "I will not have an apathetic date, even if it"s you. Where"s the enthusiasm? If we"re going to have fun, there will be no "Sure, I guess.' Now let"s try again: Will you be my Valentine, Sam?" Chuckling, Sam replied, "It would be an honor, Brooke." FEBRUARY 14 "Tell me again how you managed to get a reservation here at the last minute?" Sam asked, as she and Brooke were seated at one of the nicest restaurants in town. Brooke shrugged. "The guy who takes reservations used to have a huge crush on me in middle school. He squeezed us in, somehow." Sam smirked. "You and those magical feminine wiles of yours. Seriously, sometime you"ve got to teach me how to make everyone do what you want." The evening was proving to be surprisingly comfortable for them both, with everything going smoothly until it was time for dessert. Brooke, entertaining Sam with the stories of all her bad Valentine"s Day dates over the years, was in the middle of telling about the year when Josh took her to a hockey game when the waiter showed up. "Ladies, might I interest you in some coffee or dessert this evening? Our dessert special was prepared for all you couples, tonight-" He paused, looking concerned as Sam practically choked on the water she was in the process of drinking. Her eyes widened as she took in the romantic atmosphere, the way that her hand and Brooke"s were sitting quite close together on the table, the way they"d been talking, and laughing, and smiling all night... Brooke merely laughed as Sam blurted out, "We"re not a couple! We"re just, you know, friends. I have a boyfriend. And he"s great, but just...not here, and-" "I think we"re going to pass on dessert, tonight," Brooke interrupted, still smiling in amusement. "We do have a movie to catch. Thanks, though." "You all right, there, Sammy?" Brooke asked, once the waiter had left again. Sam coughed once more before replying, "Yeah. Yeah, I"m great." She paused. "Why does it not seem to bother you in the slightest that he thought we were dating? I mean, we"re supposed to be sisters!" Not that Sam actually thought of Brooke as a sister, but still, it was weird. Brooke shrugged. "I dunno. It"s just not that surprising, I guess, given the circumstances. It"s Valentine"s Day, it"s just the two of us, and we"re not that far from West Hollywood, after all. So it"s actually pretty logical that this would look like a date." "Right." It did make sense. And yet, somehow it had never even occurred to Sam that they"d be perceived as anything but friends. The waiter returned with their bill, apologizing for the misunderstanding. Sam bit back the urge to tell him that George was in Texas but would be back soon. "Come on, girlfriend. Time for part two of our not-a-date," Brooke teased, taking Sam"s hand and pulling them out to the car. Oh, right. Sam kept forgetting about the movie -- the romantic comedy -- they were going to see. Sam got in the car, resolving to ignore the weird feeling, almost like nervous butterflies, she"d had since the waiter"s false impression of her relationship with Brooke. Well, Sam supposed that at least this could serve as an interesting story to add to Brooke"s list of Valentine"s Day adventures.

Tony sighed. I"ll deal with her after I deal with Kathleen. "I"m sorry, Kathleen. I"m beat. Perhaps we can have a rain check?" said Tony. Kathleen glared at Angela. "Maybe I should pick you up tomorrow morning and drop you off to the University." "You don"t have to..." "I want to," said Kathleen. "Suit yourself. My class is at 9am," said Tony. Kathleen gave him a kiss before leaving the front door. "Isn"t your uniform a trifle bit too short?" commented Tony as he tried to pull up the sleeve to cover Angela"s bare shoulder but it was futile as it was an off-shoulder style. "Samantha said it was just perfect. You know I trust her style and taste," said Angela. She took off her bunny slippers and stepped on the counter table to reach another part of the ceiling. Tony shook his head. "Angela! Let me get that..." "I thought you were tired," she protested. "A bit but I can still clean the ceiling. We have a long handle broom for that. I keep it in the pantry," said Tony as he went into the kitchen. Angela followed him with a big smile. "Hey, you would be proud of me. I made some lasagna for dinner." Tony took out the long broom and as he turned back he didn"t notice Angela was closely following him, and they almost collided face to face. "Oh!" cried Angela. Tony dropped the broom and steadied Angela, bringing him close to him, their lips only inches apart. Flashes of their torrid kisses in the past filled Tony"s mind. He remembered her sweet scent of lavender, the delicious taste of her soft strawberry lips and felt a sudden sense of hunger for them but before he could move an inch to kiss her, Angela"s voice doused him with ice water. "I wish you wouldn"t, Tony. Not when you gave your heart to someone else," said Angela in a soft voice. Before Tony could reply, they both heard Mona"s loud voice from the living room, "Angela! Angela! Is dinner ready? I"m starving!" Tony reluctantly let her go as the kitchen door swung open to reveal Mona"s knowing smile as he caught Tony"s uncomfortable expression and Angela"s crimson face. Samantha was swaying to and fro from the jazz music in her ipod as she stood near the kitchen counter waiting for her the coffee to brew, oblivious to her father calling her name. She was surprised to find him suddenly beside her, pinching her ear. "Dad! Not the ear dad, not the ear," she said. "Sam! Why are you encouraging Angela to wear such a sleazy outfit," he scolded her. "It"s not sleazy, dad. If it were, your eyes wouldn"t be popping out every time you see her..." "It"s not me. It"s every man in the neighborhood," he told her irritably. "Every time I go out I hear people talking about that gorgeous blond French maid I could just scream..." "That design is pretty modest. You should see the other designs that reveal the underwear..." "You call that modest. It incites imagination..." Samantha poured herself a cup of coffee. She rolled her eyes to her father and said, "It"s your wild imagination that"s the problem dad, not the dress." Just then Angela burst in the back door with two men carrying her bag of groceries. "Thank you, Paul. Thank you, Jerry. It was nice of you guys to take me home." "No problem, Angela. Just give me a call anytime you need a hand with the marketing and groceries," replied Jerry. "You don"t have to worry about Grover, I"ll pick him up from the vet this afternoon," said Paul before walking out the back door with his friend Jerry. Angela started putting away the groceries. "Who were those guys? And why are you dressed as a maid in the grocery?" asked Tony. Samantha watched her father with a pleased expression as he interrogated Angela. "You wouldn"t believe how long it was taking my mother to come back for me at the grocery. It"s a good thing Paul and Jerry offered to take me home. I can"t carry all these bags" she explained. She sat beside Samantha at the breakfast table and helped herself with a cup of coffee too. "I better have my coffee before I start making breakfast for everyone." After a sip he continued, " At first I didn"t want to be caught dead in a maid"s uniform but then I said to myself, "don"t be so snooty, Angela. There"s nothing wrong with being a maid. Tony was never ashamed of being a house-keeper and so now the maid"s uniform never bothered me a bit even if people see me in the grocery. In fact, everyone"s been so nice and friendly and helpful when they find out I haven"t the least bit notion what to get in the grocery or how to pick up fresh fruits and vegetables...Your tie"s a bit crooked. Let me get that..." "...so you see, Tony, being a house-keeper isn"t so bad...My son is such a flatterer...can"t believe he said his mother is the hottest maid on the block..." Angela was busy telling Tony about Jonathan and her experiences as a maid as she was fixing Tony"s tie, oblivious to Tony"s fascinated stare. Tony was mesmerized by Angela"s soothing narrative and her adorable pink lips. He was watching her closely, unaware that his hands found their way to her waist, enveloping them in his hands, oblivious to her daughter watching him and Angela in fascination when suddenly Kathleen burst into the back door to pick him up. She folded her arms from the door way and called Tony. Tony immediately released Angela"s waist but her hands were still holding her tie when they noticed Kathleen"s presence in the room. "Let me uhm get my briefcase...I"ll be out in a minute. Thanks for fixing my tie Angela," he said. "Good morning, Kathleen. Would you like some coffee?" said Angela. "No thanks. I don"t want to be doused by love potion," she said before turning her back to wait for Tony just outside the back door. Samantha was enjoying the show when Angela suddenly turned to her. "Is it just me, or was she being hostile with me at my own house?" asked Angela in annoyance. Tony burst back into the room and kissed Samantha on the cheek before heading out the back door. Angela and Samantha could see the pair from the window. Kathleen gave Angela a hard stare from outside before pulling Tony for a lingering kiss in front of them. "What is her problem? She already has Tony!" yelled Angela as she threw her cup of coffee on the sink in annoyance before running to the living room. "Don"t worry, Angela, not for long...not for long..."muttered Sam as she drank the last remnants of her coffee. Samantha took a huge bite from her Mc. Donald"s big Mac as she watched Angela unnoticed from the upstairs banister as she sat forlornly on the living room couch. She felt awful about not eating dinner with Angela but her cooking was really horrible that they all have to close their eyes to swallow her cooking. She called earlier to tell her she was dining out, not knowing Mona and Jonathan did too. She was hurriedly finishing her burger as she couldn"t take another minute watching Angela"s lonely expression, flipping the feather duster in her hand. She didn"t know yet that she was home. She would go down and accompany her to dinner as soon as she finished her burger. "Angela?" It was Tony"s voice. Sam watched as her father sat beside Angela, putting his briefcase on the center table. "Hey, why so sad, boss" asked Tony with a smile. "Mother called and said she would be taking Jonathan and Billy out for dinner. Samantha called too... Tony is my cooking so awful? You all hardly ate a bite for the last three days," said Angela laying her head on Tony"s shoulder as he put his arm around her bare shoulders. Samantha smiled as she took another bite of her Big Mac. His father had a great view of Angela"s bosom. The uniform was serving its purpose. Tony didn"t have the heart to confirm Angela"s suspicion about her cooking. "We ate heartily last Saturday and Sunday, and the week before last," he stated. Angela looked up at him and gave him a lazy smile. "But we ordered take out on those days... and last week you were there to teach me to cook so primarily it was your cooking." Tony squeezed her shoulder and laughed. "I"m home and I"ll eat your cooking." Angela looked at him in delight. "Really, Tony? That"s the nicest thing you"ve ever done to me since..." "Since what, Angela? I"ve always been nice to you..." said Tony. Angela looked away, "...since Kat..." she couldn"t even bear to speak her name. She took a glimpse of Tony. His eyes were unblinking, his expression unreadable that for a moment Angela thought he was mad but he stood up with his arms still around her shoulders, pulling her up with him in the process. He looked into her eyes and smiled. "Come on, Angela. I"m starved. Let"s have a taste of your recipe." Tony had three tickets to the Mets game. He originally wanted to take Billy and Jonathan but Kathleen insisted she wanted to watch the game. Tony didn"t want leave out either one of his boys so he asked Samantha to go with them but she told him to take Angela instead. He didn"t think there was anything wrong with it but Kathleen doesn"t seem to be too happy about it. Kathleen arrived at the Micelli-Bower residence several hours earlier as she insisted on hanging out with Tony before the game. They were in the living room watching television as Billy played on the living room carpet. Angela was busy making the last minute preparations and cleaning of the house for Mona"s dinner party tomorrow night. Angela glanced at the kitchen wall clock and saw she had only an hour left to dress up for the Mets game. She sighed and wiped the sweat from her brow. The kitchen sink was almost done. In no time it glistened like a crystal lake in summer, reflecting Angela"s dazzling smile. She was busy, fascinated by the reflections on the countertop when Tony"s disarming smile stared back at her from the countertop. She gasped in surprise. "Tony...I didn"t hear you come in..." "Aren"t you dressing up yet, Cinderella?" teased Tony. "I was about to...Look, everything is so shiny I could see the color of my eyes," she told him excitedly. Tony looked at his boss in amusement. She"s as giddy as a kid! Then the uniform bit him again. He suddenly had an overwhelming need to take her in his arms and kiss her senselessly but a commotion coming from the living room broke his reverie. "Bad boy, Billy. Now Angela would have to clean that up again." Angela and Tony rushed to the living room and were horrified to find the carpet stained with a puddle of hot chocolate. "It was rather careless of Billy to drop the mug of cocoa into the rug," said Kathleen. Billy was horrified. "I didn"t do it. She did it! I saw her pour the cocoa on the rug." "Don"t worry Billy, Angela won"t be mad, will you Angela?" asked Kathleen sweetly. "No! I didn"t do it. I swear it was her, Angela," cried Billy angrily. Tony was upset. "Billy, didn"t I tell you not to lie. If we did something wrong we have to say sorry..." "I didn"t do it! I didn"t do it!" cried Billy. Angela took him in her arms to pacify him. "Ssshhh... there, there now. There"s no need to cry. I"ll clean it up," she reassured him as she bathed his head with gentle kisses. "But Angela...the game..." said Tony. "I"m sorry, Tony. I don"t think I can go. Mother has a party tomorrow and I have to take the stain out of the rug," she explained sadly. "I"ll help you do that tomorrow morning," said Tony. "Thank you. But remember you have a class the whole day tomorrow. Don"t worry, we can catch another Mets game some other time," said Angela hopefully. "I guess we better go Tony. We wouldn"t want to miss the play offs. Good bye Angela," said Kathleen as she pulled the disappointed Tony out of the door. Billy clung to Angela as she pacify him as his sobs gradually subsided. "You do believe me, don"t you Angela?" asked Billy hopefully. Angela wiped a tear from his cheek with her forefinger before planting a kiss on his forehead. "Of course I believe you. Come on, I"ll draw you a bath and you can play in the tub while I clean up this mess." True to her character, Mona made a grand entrance to her dinner party. She flashed her friends and club acquaintances a super star smile. She knew she looked like a million bucks clad in drape one-shoulder neckline, long black gown with side slits and mini train. "You"re looking younger and younger my friend, " whispered her equally svelte sixty five year old comrade who serves as her companion in her constant visits to SPA"s and health clubs. Mona gave her a wink. "I should score big with Donald Roberts." Tony eased the tie of his grey suit. He still needed to get used to wearing a tie every day he teaches at the university. Despite Angela"s lousy cooking he found himself looking forward to seeing her at the end of each day, seeing her adorable smile as she rush to him at the door yelling, "welcome home, Tony." She would then proceed to ask how his day went as she take his coat. He in turn would ask whose clothes she fouled up that day at the washing machine or at the iron board, or if he could help her with any chore or household machine alien to her. He wanted to take Angela out for dinner tonight but Kathleen was taking him out to meet her friends. He only has a couple of minutes to drop off his briefcase and freshen up before she picks him up. Merry laughter, jazz music , and strangers dressed in a formal affair greeted him as he entered their living room. He sighed. He forgot that tonight was Mona"s party. He rushed upstairs without trying to find Mona among the dazzling ladies. He looked into Jonathan"s room and found Jonathan and Billy enjoying their pizza while engrossed on a monster flick. He ran to Angela"s room to ask about his suede jacket but she was nowhere in sight. He rushed back down the stairs and found Mona with a beau in her arm and another woman dressed in red gown. A crowd of men in tuxedos by the bar caught his attention. He couldn"t believe such well-dressed men would huddle all together waiting eagerly for drinks. "Is there a celebrity in the house? Why is everyone flocking on that corner?" inquired Tony. Mona flashed him a big smile. "Oh they"re just busy getting drinks from the barmaid." Tony was aghast. "Barmaid! We don"t have..." his voice trailed off as he dashed to the corner and pushed the gentlemen aside to see who they were flocking all over. "Angela! What"s going on?" he asked incredulously. "Would you like a drink Tony?" she asked as she offered him her tray of various coloured drinks. Tony eyed the drinks suspiciously. "Do you have the faintest idea on how to mix cocktails?" he asked, totally displeased with the attention the gentlemen were giving his boss in the French maid outfit. "No. But these gentlemen doesn"t seem to mind. A little vodka and cranberry juice, or lime and scotch with tomato juice...they love my concoctions!" she flashed him her delightful smile. Tony pulled Mona aside from her friends. "Mona, what are you doing? She"s your daughter, why make her a maid at your party, she"s a corporate president for crying out loud." "She"s been a maid for you for the last month. Why won"t she do this for her mother? It"s a formal affair. I need a butler but you"re off. Angela didn"t mind." "Will you stand there and let men make a pass at her?" he accused. "You"re over reacting Tony. No one"s making a pass. They"re gentlemen from the club. They"re sophisticated enough to know they can look but they can"t touch," she winked at him. "Ogling is still as bad and I won"t let it..." Tony hastily flung his jacket on the living room sofa and rushed over to Angela by the bar. He took out a black bow tie, put it on and dragged Angela away from the all too friendly men at the bar. "You go upstairs and take yourself out of that bunny costume. I"ll be the butler for the rest of the night," he told her firmly. "What? Tony! We have plans with my friends." They didn"t hear Kathleen come in amidst the jazz music and party chatter, looking as red as the cocktail dress she wore. "But Tony..." Angela began to protest. "Go up to your room, Angela," he said sternly that Angela quietly complied. Tony took Kathleen outside. "Look, Kathleen. I"m sorry about tonight. I"m needed here..." " I can"t believe I"m hearing this. You want to dump me in front of my friends all because you don"t want Angela to serve cocktails to a couple of guys in business suits," she yelled incredulously. "I"m not dumping you. I was hoping you would understand. Angela..." "Angela! Angela! I"m sick and tired of hearing her name," cut in Kathleen. Tony"s tone began to change. "Look, Kathleen. You have to accept that Angela has always been and always will be a part of my life. If you want this to work out, you just have to accept that." Tony started back to the party. "If you go back inside Tony, you"ll never see me again," warned Kathleen. Tony stopped in his tracks but did not turn around. "I"m sorry you feel that way Kathleen," he said before going back to the party without one backward glance. After everyone left that night, Tony was quietly putting away the last couple of wine glasses in the cupboard. He was about to retire for the night when he noticed a silent figure looking at him from the corner of the living room. He looked back and found a familiar playboy bunny sadly wringing her hands as though waiting to tell him something. "I...I... thought you might need a hand with the dishes." No matter how bad his day went, she never fails to draw a smile from him. She really looks cute in that playboy bunny outfit. "Thanks, Angela but I got everything covered," he replied as he started to climb up the stairs. "I"m sorry, Tony." She said quite uneasily. Tony stopped and looked back at her. "What for? There"s nothing to be sorry about." "I"m sorry about Kathleen. I never wanted to come between you and the woman you love," she said apologetically. Tony was amused. He smiled at her sheepishly and went back down and approached her until they were face to face. He touched a strand of blond hair that went out of place and pushed it back into the maid"s cap. He stared hard into her honey brown eyes. "Please tell me Angela that I have not lost the woman I love. I never meant to push her away. She"s the best thing that"s ever happened to me..." Angela looked into Tony"s dark poignant expression. Her eyes began brimming with unshed tears as she felt his torn emotions, wrecking havoc within himself. Although it was killing her, she wanted to patch things up with them. "I... I"ll talk to Kathleen..." "Kathleen? I"m talking about my high-strung, prim and proper, workaholic boss I can"t live without. I want her, not the playboy bunny and certainly not Kathleen," he whispered in a low voice. Angela looked at him with glittering tears of joy, unable to believe what she heard. "Oh Tony, she"s not gone..." that"s all she managed to utter before Tony captured her lips with his as he swept her in his arms and carried her upstairs. Samantha, Jonathan and Billy were surprised to find one another all at the same time at the hallway the moment they opened their respective bedroom doors. "Something smells yummy," said Billy. "I smelled that too," said Sam. The trio made their way down to the kitchen to check the delicious aroma that woke them up and wet their appetite for breakfast. As they swung the kitchen door open, Mona burst into the kitchen through the back door at the same time. "Tony!" "Dad!" they all exclaimed in surprise. "Good morning family! Bonne Appetite! I made you French toasts, blueberry muffins, cheese muffins, choco marble waffles, bacon, sausage and Eggs Benedict," greeted Tony as he pulled a chair for Mona to welcome them all at the breakfast table. "You"re awfully in a good mood," commented Mona as she helped herself to some sausage and waffles. "It"s such a beautiful day. Never realized how blue the sky is, how warm the sun is...everything is so perfect, couldn"t be any better," he answered cheerfully. "Wow! Everything is yummy!" said Billy. "Where"s mom? Don"t you still have classes, Tony? Why aren"t you dressed yet?" piped in Jonathan. "I spoke to the faculty head of the department. I asked if I could just teach the night classes for working students. I explained that I need to work at home myself and the 4 hour night schedule would suit me perfectly. It may take me longer to finish the internship but what the heck, what"s the rush? The important thing is everything is well in our home...and Angela can go back to the office." "Speaking of Angela, where"s our French maid? You should teach her how to make these muffins and she should learn a thing or two about your Eggs Benedict. Hers suck," said Mona. "It looks a feast in here. What"s the celebration?" teased Samantha. "We don"t have a maid. I fired her," he told Mona. He then looked at Sam. "Gee Sam it"s so great to have my boss back, " he exclaimed excitedly. "Hello! Hello! Good morning family! It"s such a nice day! What"s for breakfast?" greeted Angela sharing Tony"s cheerful mood. She was dressed back in her usual Burberry printed trench coat and "Fired her? I thought she vanished into thin air," said Billy as he shove peanut butter and waffles into his mouth. "Vanished?" "Why would you think that?" asked Samantha. "Because I saw the heap of her maid"s uniform at the top of the stairs last night," answered Billy.

"Betty, have you any idea where my mother is. She"s been avoiding me like a plague. I could never catch her in her office for more than a week but I know very well she"s in this building as the office security reveals she is unless someone else is using her id"s security code, and to my annoyance her secretary seem to be in cahoots with her." Daniel clearly was getting annoyed with the situation. Betty was speechless. She knew where Mrs. Meade was holding office but she couldn"t decide if she should tell Daniel. Tony Salvatore had been looking for her too. He already asked Betty twice but Betty both denied seeing Mrs. Meade for the past week and knowing her whereabouts. "Come on, Betty," Daniel"s voice raised a notch. He banged his fist at Betty"s desk, bringing his face close to Betty until it was only half an inch away from her face. Daniel"s blue eyes eying her own brown ones so close she could see her reflection in them. She gulped. Daniel sighed and changed his tactic to a gentler approach. "I want to talk to her Betty. She avoids my calls. The maid doesn"t open the door for me when I go to our family home. The news about her and Uncle Tony has died down a bit, but I want to know what"s the real thing behind it. Uncle Tony insists it was just a slip of the tongue and doesn"t want to talk about it. I"m sure Wilhelmina will see this as an Achilles heel. She would strike again to try and ruin this family and this corporation. I couldn"t do anything because I"m also in the dark about all this." "Daniel, I"m sure you"re all just making a mountain out of a mole hill," reassured Betty. He drew his face closer to hers once again. "We wouldn"t know for sure till I speak with my mother." They were interrupted by the sudden appearance of Matt who seem to have spoken before realizing Betty was not alone. "Hey Betty, I handed the papers for Mrs. Meade to sign. She was asking isn"t it time for your coffee break? If it is, she asked if you could bring in a Starbucks Cinnamon Dolce Latte while you both have a quick chat..." Daniel had his back to Matt. Betty tried to signal Matt to shut up but it was too late. Daniel smiled like the Cheshire cat when he caught Betty red-handed. Betty sighed. "Alright, I"ll tell you where she is but please, let me have our Dolce Latte and chat first then I"ll sort of talk to her about seeing you then you can go see her after fifteen minutes. Promise me you agree before I tell you." Daniel nodded and gave a scout"s salute. "She"s been holding office in that hidden room inside the Fashion Designers" room." "You mean the room rumoured to be Fey Sommer"s?" asked Daniel aghast. "Well nobody goes there and she knew no one would look for her there..." Daniel nodded silently as he held Betty"s hand in gesture about their agreement but unknown to the pair, a third person was listening close by. She was rehearsing what she was going to tell Mrs. Meade all the way from Starbucks to the 30th floor where some MODE employees were holding office. She was so deep in thought as she made her way to the "secret" room where Mrs. Meade was temporarily holding office that she didn"t hear Amanda call to her as she passed her by the reception area. I hope Mrs. Meade wouldn"t be so upset with me when I tell her Daniel is on his way to see her in a few minutes, prayed Betty. She gently pushed the panel designer shoes that serve as the secret door to the room. All her worries about Mrs. Meade"s anger vanished as a fashionably dressed Mrs. Meade in square flowy brown, dip-dyed rabbit fur trimmed-collar tapestry poncho and black skin-tight tapered pants greeted her with an exuberant smile. "Hey Betty, you won"t believe this...I just read the distribution reports and this month is the highest-selling percentage rate of Hot Flash. Isn"t that exciting?" she beamed as she took the coffee from Betty"s hand. Betty flashed her a big smile. "That"s great news, Mrs. Meade. Your team sure beat your last month"s target. Really awesome... I love the coat and those flannel booties." She took a deep breath in preparation for her confession. Mrs. Meade turned around before posing like a model mockingly. "Yves Saint Laurent...and Dolce and Gabbana," she smiled. She then handed Betty a purple Dolce and Gabbana chain-strap i-phone case. "Wow. This is gorgeous Mrs. Meade!" exclaimed Betty. "Do you like it? It"s yours." Betty felt even more guilty. "Mrs. Meade...I have to tell you something... I know you trust me, and you do know I will never break that trust. You"re like a second mother to me and I care about you. It"s because of that concern and love that I...that I told Daniel where to find you." "What?" she uttered in a low voice forlornly. "I know you have some issues with him but he"s your son. He loves you and he cares about you. Please, Mrs. Meade...talk to Daniel." She sat on the king sized bed in the room and sighed. "Oh Betty... there are things that I believe are best left alone. I don"t think I can talk to Daniel about them. I"m afraid he might not understand...I"m afraid he might see me differently..." Betty gave her a warm hug. "Don"t think that of Daniel. He is your son. He loves you and he is a smart man. Give him a little credit. I"m sure whatever it is. He"ll understand..." They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Kate, Mrs. Meade"s secretary appeared inside the room apologetically. "I"m sorry to disturb you, Mrs. Meade, but Stella McCartney insists on seeing you for a few minutes. She barged in without an appointment and is waiting at your office. She said it"s a matter of urgency." Claire gave Betty"s hand a squeeze. "Don"t worry about us, Betty. I guess, I do need to talk to Daniel sooner or later. I hope you like the i-phone case," she added before leaving the room. Betty felt excited about her Dolce and Gabbana iphone case. It would look great with her evening dresses when she and Matt goes out on a special dinner date during their second month anniversary. She studied the crystals that embellished the case. She wondered if they were real diamonds, or less extravagant stone like zirconium or rhinestone. She removed one of her semi-precious earrings to compare it with the stones in the i-phone case when she accidentally dropped it. She went down on her knees to look for it. It wasn"t real diamonds but the earring was important to her. It was one of the last gifts she received from her ex-boyfriend, and even if things didn"t work out between them, she treasured the good moments they once had. She crawled under the bed, the side of the dresser, and the rack of clothes on the far right of the wall but she still couldn"t find the earring. She sat exhaustedly on the loveseat partially hidden by another rack of clothes. She lost her balance and fell back. She noticed something sparkling just underneath the loveseat. She crawled further under to check if it was her earring. Suddenly Mrs. Meade"s familiar Dolce and Gabbana booties came into view. The booties paced back and forth on a moderate pace before settling down on the armchair by the desk beside the bed. She was about to call out to Mrs. Meade when another pair of shoes came into view as it stepped into the secret room. They were a polished black Italian loafers beneath a dark grey martini suit. Mrs. Meade didn"t seem aware of the presence of the person that came into the room as her back was to the door. Betty gulped. She had the sinking feeling the pair of shoes did not belong to Daniel. A smooth deep Italian accent whispered her name as though in a prayer. "Claire." The pair of legs in DG booties stood up from the chair in alarm. "Tony! What are you doing here?" "I need to see you, Claire. Why are you avoiding me?" answered Anthony Salvatore. " Please leave me alone," pleaded Mrs. Meade. Betty watched the pair of trousers in loafers rushed towards the long legs in DG booties. She couldn"t breathe, she couldn"t move but her curiosity held her gaze transfixed on the two pairs of shoes in her view. Anthony Salavatore took a protesting Claire into his arms. "Oh Claire, you have no idea how much I longed to have you in my arms again." "Let me go." Mrs. Meade pushed him away a rushed to the other side of the bed to put some space between them. "Why do you have to tell people you love me..." she barked angrily. "Because it"s true. I never stopped loving you, Claire," explained Anthony Salvatore in a level-headed tone. "Well, that"s unfortunate for you...I love Bradford..." "Maybe if you say that more often you can finally convince yourself." Tears began to fill Claire"s eyes. "Please... don"t do this...It"s been more than thirty years. I just want to forget..." Anthony Salvatore rushed to her side again and held her shoulders. He was forcing her to look into his eyes. "Forget what, Claire? Forget how happy we were? Forget how sorry you are that you gave up on our love for a miserable life with Bradford..." "Don"t say that!" Claire burst into tears. "Bradford may have been a terrible husband but without him I wouldn"t have Alex and Daniel. I love my children-they are my life. They mean more to me than anything in the world, and if it means another thirty years of misery and tears with Bradford, I will do it." Betty was starting to feel uncomfortable. She was hearing personal things she knew she shouldn"t be hearing. She swallowed hard as she put back her earring. She decided to slowly ease her way out of the room before she could hear anything further. "You"re wrong, Claire. They could have been OUR children. They could have been mine...If only..." Claire was struggling to free herself away from him. "Stop it, Tony. Let me go. It"s too late to be dwelling about what could have been, what might have been...Please...Woh!" "Uh!" exclaimed Anthony Salvatore as he and Claire tumbled on the bed when he tripped on Betty"s feet peering from under the bed. Betty was easing her way out from under the love seat at the foot of the bed while keeping an eye on the 2 pairs of legs on one side and listening to their conversation. Unfortunately, in the heat of their conversation they eased down the side where Betty was trying to crawl out from under the bed, tripping Anthony Salvatore to fall on the bed, taking Claire with him accidentally. Just then Daniel burst into the room with Amanda following him close behind. "Amanda, please, there"s nothing to discuss. I"m happy to have Betty as my secretary, I don"t need another one..." "Please reconsider. I"m prettier...gasp!" Daniel and Amanda stopped dead in their tracks and gasped dumbfounded as they saw Anthony Salvatore and Claire Meade sprawled on the king sized bed. "Mom! Uncle Tony!" Claire stood up immediately. "It"s not what you think... we tripped..." "Aw..c"mon. I wasn"t born yesterday." "Honey, please, let me explain," pleaded Claire as she tried to touch her son"s shoulder. "I don"t want to hear it, mom." "Son...listen to..." started Anthony Salvatore. "Don"t call me that. If...if only I didn"t have so much respect for you as a second father. I would have punched you on the nose for frolicking with my mother..." "Don"t say that. Your mother and I are not doing anything wrong," he replied indignantly. When Amanda recovered from her initial shock, she smiled excitedly as though she found a gold mine. She rushed out the room yelling Marc"s name. "Marc...Marc! Marc! I have something juicy for you... Marc!" she yelled on top of her lungs as she went into the direction of Wilhelmina"s office. Betty was feeling more and more terrible by the moment. She was torn of crawling out and revealing herself and hiding under the bed till all the commotion was over. She wanted to correct Daniel"s misconception about his mother and Tony, they were not in bed together, they tripped on her. On the other hand, the conversation she overheard seems to indicate there was something more between them. Perhaps Daniel was right about his perception. She didn"t know which side to take. Worse, she felt ashamed for eaves dropping. She should have revealed herself from the beginning. As Betty was battling within herself. Daniel rushed out of the room in anger. Claire tried to run after him. "Daniel" she cried but Anthony Salvatore stopped her. "Not now Claire. He"s upset. He won"t listen to you," he reasoned as he took her in his arms to comfort her. In her guilt regarding yesterday"s fiasco in the secret room, Betty decided to drop by the Meade home early the next morning. It was a big difference from the last time she was here when there were photographers and paparazzi flocking on the gate, it was now quiet and peaceful, she thought. She slowly made her way up the second floor where the maid told her to go. She turned left towards the East wing where she knew the Master"s Bedroom was located. She found Mrs. Meade half dressed in her golden robe and fuzzy bedroom sleepers on the chaise lounge sipping grape juice at the 2nd floor living room. Her hair was still damp from the shower, the flat screen television on. Before Betty could greet her, the morning news flashed on tv. Suzuki St. Pierre, the gay sleazy news reporter came on tv, the pictures of Claire Meade and Anthony Salvatore flashed on the screen along with the pictures of Bradford Meade and Fey Sommers: "Hot Mama Fashion Magazine magnate Claire Meade was caught in the arms of American Association Lawyer President turned entrepreneur Anthony Salvatore, where else but in the secret room where her husband business tycoon Bradford Meade used to have his trysts with Mode fashion editor Fey Sommers..." Claire turned off the television with the remote control. She sighed in defeat before she noticed Betty hovering in the corner. "That Wilhelmina! She was the one who sold this to the press. She"d really want to see me down. Uh! I could strangle her to death." "I"d like to greet you a good morning, Mrs. Meade, but I guess you already are having such an awful morning, I"m sorry," said Betty as she sat beside her on the living room couch. "Oh Betty, the tables have turned, now Daniel is avoiding me. I want to explain and tell him there is nothing going on between me and Anthony Salvatore. We were merely just having some discussion in the room when we tripped on something and fell on the bed...I know it sounds hallow, even to my own ears but it"s the truth. You do believe me, don"t you?" she asked earnestly. Betty thought this was the right time to bring up her presence in the room but before she could confess, Claire told her that she has a nice purse she"d like Betty to have. She was about to go inside her room to get it when the maid handed her the cordless phone. "It"s a Donna Karan beige tote on the first shelf. You go inside the walk-in closet and you"ll find the bag. It would make a nice office bag," she told Betty. Betty thanked her and started towards Mrs. Meade"s enormous bedroom. She immediately found the purse on the shelf nearest the closet door but she was intrigued by the soft music playing inside the closet. It was "Love Story". The song seemed to be played by a harp or some soft string instrument. She walked further inside the walk-in closet to find the source. She always loved that song and the movie made her cry. She reached the dresser partially hidden by a coat rack where 2 Burberry Winter coats hang. She saw the source of the beautiful music. It was a small ivory music box on the dresser. Betty stepped closer to inspect it. It held no other jewellery except a lone necklace. It was a diamond encrusted heart-shaped key pendant set in white gold with "Tony" engraved on it. Betty gasped at the discovery. Betty went home with a heavy heart that day. All day she couldn"t concentrate on her work at the office. Her mind seemed to be wandering and her concern for Daniel and Mrs. Meade was troubling her. Daniel was even more cranky and Wilhelmina took as a chance to torment Daniel even further. Mrs. Meade needed her therapy-The SPA which was a bad idea because she was no more than fifteen minutes in the spa when reporters flocked the lobby of the SPA and Mrs. Meade had to call security in order to be escorted safely back to her limousine. "Aunt Betty! Is it true that Claire Meade and that gorgeous new business investor of Meade Publications are having an affair?" Betty was no further than her front door when her nephew Justin was shouting at the top of his lungs to ask her if the juicy gossip about Mrs. Meade and Mr. Salvatore. Betty was caught by surprise and still preoccupied. "Silence means yes. Thank you Aunt Betty, now I can call my friends and tell them that the rumours are true!" exclaimed Justin as he hurriedly rushed to the phone in the living room. Betty"s older sister Hilda greeted her as Betty slumped down on the kitchen chair. "A long day, huh?" commented Hilda. "Hilda...this is terrible. Daniel is not talking to his mother and he is breaking her heart. I want to tell Daniel that he is wrong...they were not frolicking in bed the day he stumbled on them... I was there..." Hilda pulled a chair beside Betty. "Then why don"t you tell him. This is bad publicity for the company..." Justin interrupted, "it"s still publicity mom, and believe me, this is definitely going to increase the sales of Mode and Hot Flash! That Mrs. Meade is sure a hot gal. At her age, she"s having an affair..." "She is not having an affair," corrected Hilda. "Aw Come on, they were found in bed together. It"s all over the news..." said Justin. "It"s not true, ask your Aunt Betty," said Hilda. Hilda and Justin looked at Betty intently for her reaction but when she said nothing, Justin exclaimed, "See! I told you she was having an affair!" "Betty! You just said you were in the room and they were not doing anything," protested Hilda. Betty sighed. "That"s the problem Hilda. They weren"t doing anything that time Daniel and Amanda saw them but... I"m not sure if they aren"t having an affair though..." She swallowed hard. "I overheard Anthony Salvatore and Mrs. Meade talking about love...and this morning...I went to Mrs. Meade"s house. I didn"t mean to snoop around or anything but I stumbled on a beautiful expensive necklace in her music box...it"s got "Tony" engraved on its heart shaped pendant. I mean why would she have that if they were not having an affair," said Betty. "Betty, Mrs. Meade is a free woman. Her husband"s been dead for a year. She"s free to love whomever she wish and this Anthony Salvatore guy is also single I presume... I mean he wouldn"t broadcast into the world how he feels about Claire Meade if he was married. So I say it"s not an illicit affair, and you people shouldn"t be judging her for it," said Hilda indignantly. Betty was defeated. "I guess, you"re right, Hilda. Mrs. Meade deserves to be happy. God knows how much she"s been through. Maybe I should talk to Daniel. He should be more understanding and kind with his mother." Betty tripped for the third time in the high heeled shoes she borrowed from her sister Hilda. It was a Friday night and it was her and Matt"s 2nd month anniversary. They want to go out to a fancy dinner after office. She still hadn"t got the chance to speak with either Daniel or Mrs. Meade as Daniel"s been very busy and irritable all week and Mrs. Meade hasn"t been to the office. She tried to steady herself as one arm carried the papers for signature and her opposite hand carried a tall Cinnamon Dolce Latte. She fought her way to the elevator going to the 35th floor where Anthony Salvatore"s office was. She had a pile of documents she needed him to sign. Daniel had been avoiding him too. He skipped meetings when Salvatore was present, asking Betty to take his place and record the minutes, and he would just decide on matters that would require his attention later on, and then ask Betty to report it to them after he has gone through them. A delivery boy holding a dozen of peach blossom roses almost collided with Betty in the elevator. "I"m looking for Betty Suarez," said the delivery man. "I am Betty Suarez. Are these mine?" she asked excitedly. "Sign here," said the man. Dear Betty, Thank you for another month of great times with you. I love you. Matt Betty was so giddy and excited upon reading the card that she forgot to drop the flowers off her desk before going to Anthony Salvatore"s office. She found him alone in his room busy going through some papers. "Anthony," uttered Betty softly, afraid of disturbing him, her face almost hidden by the enormous bouquet of peach blossom roses. Anthony Salvatore glanced up. The sight of Betty buried in a dozen peach blossom roses seemed to have set him off into a daze. His eyes were transfixed for a moment. "Cara mia..." Betty noticed his faraway look. "Mr. Salvatore," she inquired a bit louder. The sound of the formal address seemed to have snap him out of his reverie. "Oh, it"s you, Betty. Forgive me. I just kind of lost it for a minute. The bouquet of peach blossom roses reminded me of the woman who once loved me...She brought me a dozen of these when I passed the entrance test to Harvard... and the aroma of your coffee...is that cinnamon? She loves that...for a moment it brought me back..."

"Aye, aye, Captain," he answered in jest. I decided to stop by the ladies lavatory before heading out and as I was walking back to the elevator I overheard Provenza"s reverberating voice. "Flynn! You have completely lost it. Out of all the insane things you"ve done in your life this comes first on the list," yelled Provenza. "What"s the big deal? You can come with us if you want. I"m sure the captain won"t mind," said Andy teasing. Lt. Provenza looked like he was about to drown his friend just wake him out of his so called insanity. "Be reasonable, Andy. You can"t be intruding in the Captain"s family night out. And... of all the people... The Captain! You want to watch a movie with Capt. Sharon Raydor. This is insane." I could see Provenza"s grumpy expression as he flung his arms walking back and forth around Andy, trying to reason out as Andy fixes his things. "Louie, it"s not a family thing okay. She and Jack are estranged. Besides, the captain invited me." he said matter-of-factly. "I know you too well, Andy. She didn"t invite you. You somehow got yourself invited," said Provenza. "Whatever..." said Andy, completely dismissing Provenza as he started his way towards the elevator. I immediately forced myself to fit into supply cabinet so as not to be seen. Louie Provenza followed his friend towards the elevator. I could see them from the slight crack from the supply cabinet door and I could hear them loud and clear. "Hey... if you wanted to watch a movie you could have just said so. You know I would go with you," said Provenza warmly and sincerely. "Listen, Louie. You may not understand as you think the captain is our nemesis but... I don"t want to see her get hurt. I don"t trust that Jack Raydor. I know he was your drinking buddy years back. I don"t know what kind of a buddy he was and I don"t care. But I"m not letting him hurt Sharon again." The elevator door opened and Flynn stepped in but before he shut the elevator door Lt. Provenza replied, "Jack"s not going to hurt Sharon this time around. He wants her back for good." Ping! Andy hit the elevator button forcefully and the elevator door flung open in Lt. Provenza"s face. Andy shifted from Bruce Banner to Incredible Hulk in an instant. His voice seemed to shook the entire floor when he bellowed on top of his lungs right in front of Provenza"s face, "Only when Hell Freezes Over!" With that outburst, Andy shut the door and left Lt. Provenza stunned and dumbfounded. Well, he"s not the only one. I could just scream at Louie Provenza to stop taking his sweet time and get out so I could ran to the elevator but it took him what seemed like forever to assimilate what just happened before a pleasant smile slowly lit his face as he made his way back to his desk. "Well, I"ll be darned.... Flynn is in love with the Captain!" As I approached my car I could see Jack and Andy glaring at each other. Oh boy, this is going to be a long night. "I"m sorry it took me a while..." I apologized. "Hey, Sharon, can Kris and I ride with you?" asked Rusty looking back from Jack to Andy in confusion. "Sure, hop in," I said as I put on my seatbelt. "You two little boys may follow in your own cars when you"re through glaring at each other like some wild bobcats," I said as I pulled out of the basement parking. I sighed in relief. I needed a breath of fresh air. If the children hadn"t been there I would have strangled Jack with my bare hands. How dare he show up out of nowhere and disrupt the peace in my life. If what Lt. Provenza said was true, I just would have to tell Jack that he "s twenty years too late. And Andy... how can Andy act like a possessive adolescent kid who snaps at anyone who looks at his girlfriend? But that"s the problem, I am not even his girlfriend. Even if the entire mankind comes to hurt me I am not his problem. This is ridiculous! How can 2 men be fighting over me at my age? "Uhm...Sharon. Your boyfriend seemed pretty upset that Jack"s gonna tag along in the movie," commented Kris. Before I could reply, Rusty interjected, "You mean Lt. Flynn? Oh he"s not Sharon"s boyfriend. Although he"s been acting like one today, he"s one of the officers of the Major Crimes Department." "Lt. Flynn is not my boyfriend..." "Yet...", interjected Rusty with a teasing smile. "Rusty...", I warned, trying to look angry but I couldn"t seem to suppress a grin but I wanted to sound stern and professional so I added, "Whatever issues Lt. Flynn may have with Jack has nothing to do with me." "Alright if you say so," said Rusty. I caught him giving Kris a knowing wink but I decided to ignore it. Then everything was silent as we drove to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. That night as I soaked in my tub with a glass of champagne I couldn"t fathom how Lt. Flynn ended up staying for another hour in my condo for a cup of coffee after the movie. I slowly went through the night"s events in my head wondering over and over if I should read something into Andy"s undivided attention which is getting too much for comfort. I thought I was pretty clever to find a good parking spot where we won"t have a hard time leaving after the show but at the same time not too far for a relaxing walk but it didn"t occur to me to change my business suit and high heels which I discovered the hard way wasn"t suitable for sitting on a woven mattress on the ground. "This blanket is big enough for both of us, Sharon. Come on in just like old times," said Jack as he showed me a spot on his blanket. I refused to be annoyed at Jack"s suggestive manner. If there was anything I felt for him it was only indifference. "I"m fine," I said as I stood on the pavement. But needless to say I still needed to figure out how to survive the evening in my suit. There was a gentle tap on my shoulder and I suddenly found myself looking into Andy"s warm and caring eyes. I was surprised to find warmth and gentility in them when I was so used to that man being hot-tempered, overbearing and stubborn. "I brought this for you, Captain. I figured this would make your movie watching most comfortable," he smiled. Andy saw my little predicament and produced a soft looking black bean bag chair. He laid it beside me and fluffed the cushions before helping me settle on it. "You have the habit of bringing your bean bag in your car, Lieutenant," I asked. He replied sheepishly, "I uhm... bought it two weeks ago as a present for my grandchildren but I have never gotten around to bringing it over." "What about you? Don"t you want to seat here?" I asked. It wasn"t an invitation. I just felt guilty for taking over his soft bean bag but I wondered if it didn"t sound as innocent as I wanted it to be because Andy"s Freudian slip sent my face burning red. "I"d love to snuggle with you...I mean snuggle against the cushion, Captain. I want my boss to be snug, warm and comfy. I"ll just be sitting here by this little tree." Thank god Jack was too preoccupied with his beer to hear it. Nonetheless, Rusty was too sharp not to hear it and being the mischievous kid that he was, he made sure that I knew he heard the entire repartee. He approached me and gave me that teasing smile before handing me a rootbeer. "Have an ice cold Canada Dry, Lieutenant." Rusty threw him the ginger ale and Andy caught it effortlessly. "Thanks kid!" he gave Rusty a wink. I hoped they won"t gang up on me eventually. "Don"t mention it...Andy." I was grateful when the movie began rolling at that moment. As I lay inside the tub with my head under water relieving my night at the movies, the message tone of my cellphone startled me and I jerked up, catching a few bubbles in my eyes as one of my hands groped for the cellphone beside the tub and the other reaching out for the towel to wipe my stinging eyes. It was from Lt. Flynn. I"m sorry, Captain, if I overstayed my welcome. I don"t want to encourage him but I don"t want to offend or hurt him either as he had been very sweet and charming tonight. No, you haven"t. Don"t be late for work tomorrow. I"m glad there isn"t another death today... so far. And if the heavens are good it will stay that way. I pushed back my leather chair in the office and started toward the break room. It was shortly before noon time and I needed another espresso cup. I couldn"t sleep a wink last night. I kept remembering how Andy went back to his car (which was foolishly parked inside the cemetery) and took his Dodger"s jacket to drape it around my shoulder to protect me from the chilly winds of the cemetery. He wasn"t trying to make a pass nor trying to get on my good side. I felt the sincerity of his concern when I started shivering against the cold night air. Good thing Kris and Rusty were both prepared with their warm blankets and gigantic bag of chips so I need not to worry about them. I have never considered myself a damsel in distress. I have always been a strong, independent woman but last night fate must have other plans. Andy didn"t only play a hero to a cold maiden in the middle of the cemetery who might have ended up watching a 2 hour movie standing up on three inch heels but he also so gallantly offered his handkerchief to me when some rowdy teen-agers accidentally splashed some soda on me. Andy flashed his badge and scared the misbehaving teenagers. "Hey... watch it! Pipe down or you"ll be spending the night in jail." Was he concerned about me or was he concerned about his Dodger"s jacket? I wondered. The two boys apologized profusely but due to the commotion I must have missed my step on the crooked asphalt, and not only sprained my ankle in the process but broke the heel of one shoe. My throbbing ankle wasn"t my first concern neither was it my broken Prada pumps but how was I supposed to get to my car on the next block. Andy caught me before I could totally lose my balance and fall flat on my butt. "Sharon! Are you okay?" cried Rusty. He was immediately beside me and trying to help me get my balance. He was acting more and more like a son each day. "I"ll be alright, Rusty," I reassured him. "Let me help you to the car," he said. "I don"t think it"s a good idea for Sharon to walk that far with a broken heel. It"s going to put more pressure on her sprained ankle," observed Andy. Jack yelled at Andy. "Who cares about what you think Flynn! She"s my wife and I know what"s..." "Hey! Hey! Let"s not fight!" I interrupted. "Maybe you should take off both shoes that way it"s balanced," said Jack. "And walk bare foot?!" cried Kris as though Jack"s suggestion was preposterous. "My car is just on that corner. I can carry you there and then drive you and the kids to your car on the next block," suggested Andy. "Carry me? No way, Lieutenant. I can manage..." In my big pride I tried to walk on my own too soon and ended almost flat on my face had Rusty and Kris not been so close. "...with a little help," I reluctantly added, feeling defeated. "Where are you parked, Jack? In the cemetery?" I asked. "Of course not! What do you think of me-stupid?" cried Jack. I touched Andy"s shoulder to calm him down as I know he was beginning to lose his patience. Jack just knows how to rub people the wrong way sometimes. Parking inside the cemetery was not a good idea because of the heavy flow of traffic. It may take you ages just to get out of the cemetery but in this case it was beneficial for me that Andy was parked in the cemetery. "It may take a while before we can get to my car. It"s getting late. I would appreciate it Jack if you could drive Kris home," I requested. "Of course. I can take care of our little mademoiselle. Come on, Kris. This way," said Jack. "I"ll come too," said Rusty. "Woho! No, you won"t, young man. Stay there with Sharon and I"ll take care of Kris," said Jack. Rusty looked at me as though seeking for approval should he decide to argue with Jack. "Let the boy decide, Jack," I said. I could read the annoyance in his face and Rusty must have seen it too and being a natural pacifist decided to give in to Jack"s directive. "I guess I"ll just see you in school, Kris," said Rusty. "Good night, Rusty. Good bye Sharon, Lt Flynn. Thanks for the fun evening," said Kris. After waving goodbye to Kris, Rusty scooted in pretense excitement. "Alright Sharon! Last one in Lt. Flynn"s car is a rotten egg." He dashed towards Andy"s car leaving me alone like a damsel in distress clinging to Andy"s shoulder. "Hey, wait for Sharon" yelled Jack. "Jack just go," I said, my voice in the verge of irritation. I leaned on Andy as we walked to the direction of his car. I was so close to him I could smell the Cool Water scent of his aftershave or was it his cologne? I felt his manly scent clinging to my senses and I did my best to stay as calm as possible lest he hears the rapid beating of my traitorous heart. "Am I leaning too much on you," I asked, afraid that I was too heavy. "Are you kidding? You feel as light as a feather. You must be still putting pressure on that ankle. Here let me carry you. It"s not too far to the car," insisted Andy as he showed an indication to carry me. I glared at him and in my most authoritative voice warned him, "Don"t you dare, Lieutenant. Touch me and I"ll send you a memo first thing in the morning." I thought it would anger him and for a moment I believed he was going to leave me to fend for myself but an amused smile lit up in his face. I could see the sparkle of endearment in his grey eyes. "Thou dost protest too much, my Capatain," he said. I stared at him dumbfounded, quite embarrassed but relieved that he didn"t carry me. He took my hand and drew me close as he nudged me to put my wait on him. "Come on, Captain. I"ll walk you to the car. I wouldn"t want you to be the only rotten egg." And that time I didn"t protest anymore. Like a Broadway ensemble with a repeat performance, the scorching hostility between Jack and Lt. Flynn welcomed me through the open blinds of the glass on my office that served as the stage for the drama of the two men glowering at each other like school boys ready for a fight outside the school grounds as I hobbled to the dramatic stage with much contained difficulty due to my recovering sprained foot, trying not to holler like a frustrated musical director to an out of tune performer. The team greeted me as I came into view, each one trying to appear disinterested in the drama visible from the glass, Mike Tao pretending to be absorbed at the task at hand, Amy Sykes was doing her best to conceal the amusement in her eyes while Buzz and Julio suddenly turned away from the glass engaged themselves in a pretense conversation. As expected, only Lt. Provenza was audacious enough to spring himself amidst roaring waves, trying to calm them as though he was Moses. "You asshole, Jack, I will not let you intimidate Sharon into changing her mind. She should have thrown you out of her life centuries ago. You drunken, gambling addict bastard..." I caught Andy yelling at Jack, his face crimson with anger as Lt. Provenza was standing between them, albeit uselessly, trying to keep the distance between Jack and Andy. "She"s my fuckin" wife and there"s nothing you can do about it..." yelled Jack from behind Provenza. Before Andy could yell another retort I slammed the door shut as I entered. But before I could say anything I noticed the A4 sized papers that Jack was clutching tightly on his left hand as he kept trying to hit Andy with the other. The documents seemed to glisten like they were dusted with silver glitters. Finally it reached him...It"s been weeks since I filed them. Suddenly I was deaf to the squabble and uninvolved in the enmity as I stared at the crucial documents that would set me free. Free? Why did I think of that word? I have been away from Jack and independent for years. But those papers he now held would seal my freedom. He only had to sign it.... "...you think you can get into Sharon"s knickers with a bunch of flowers..." My thoughts were suddenly distracted by a dainty Tiffany vase crashing on the concrete, scattering beautiful red Tulips all over my office floor which I didn"t notice until Jack"s enormous frame came crushing down beside them with Andy right on top of him. "Damn You Jack Raydor!" cursed Andy as he wrestled Jack on the floor. Provenza immediately tried to intervene between the raucous duo wrestling on the floor but was thrown off balance. "Stop it. The captain is here..." But the two fighting pitbulls were deaf to his plea. I regained my composure and exerted my authority. "Stop it! Both of you! I command you to stop this nonsense right this minute!" I demanded. Andy immediately obeyed and stood away from Jack but my traitorous husband took this as an advantage and hit Andy squarely on the jaw. I saw red and instinctively grabbed Jack"s suit by the shoulder to draw him away from Andy. I grabbed him so fiercely the polished nail on my index finger broke and despite the pain, I didn"t flinch. My ferocity must have surprised him that he stared at me dumbfounded, his dark eyes boring into my green ones, trying to read me or manipulate me I wasn"t sure but I was certainly angry. He had no right to disrupt the peace in my life. I said crisply, "Damn you Jack Raydor. Get out of my office... now!" He snapped out of his penetrating stare. "Not until you tell me what is the meaning of this?" he demanded, holding the divorce papers up towards my face. I calmly replied while staring intently on his obnoxious expression. "You know how to read, don"t you, Jack? I want our separation sealed and done with." "You can"t do this..." he started to protest. "C"mon, jerk, it"s only a formality. You"ve been separated for ages," interrupted Andy. "Shush..." said Provenza, nudging Andy. "Let"s go out and leave the Captain a little privacy..." said Provenza. But before either Provenza nor Andy could move to the door Jack flared up. "You can"t do this, Sharon," he snapped. "Why can"t I? It"s been 10 years since I got fed up with your alcoholism, gambling and womanizing. It"s about time I rid of you Jack Raydor...permanently," I said unemotionally. "I"m still your husband..." "And just because you"re my husband doesn"t give you the right to barge into my office and assault my officers...." "Officers? You mean officer, he"s just one... and he"s not your officer, he"s your lover," accused Jack. To my surprise my hand flew to his face. "How dare you Jack!" "Watch your mouth, dickhead!" snapped Andy, angrily moving towards Jack. "Shush, Flynn! Come on let"s go..." protested Provenza. Julio and Mike came bursting into the room. I was shaking in anger. "Are you alright, Captain?" asked Mike Tao. "Sir, with all due respect,let me escort you out of the premises. You are upsetting our Captain," said Julio firmly but calmly, taking Jack by the arm. "Sharon... wait...I"m sorry," Jack said flailing from Julio"s grasp. "Get out Jack..." I said without emotion. "Sharon..." Jack tried to approach me but Julio, Mike, and Provenza were pulling and pushing him out of my office. "Come on, sir. We don"t want to call for further security to escort you out," said Julio. He was outnumbered. I steadied myself by holding onto the edge of my desk. I was still upset that Jack would hail untruthful accusations so easily without caring for her feelings. Andy sensed my trepidation and touched my shoulder with surprising tenderness and comfort. Before I could look up into his eyes to try and read his thoughts Jack burst out from the door. "Hey.. wait... why does Flynn get to stay in the room with Sharon," protested Jack as he was led out. Provenza turned back and called for Andy. "Flynn! Come on. Leave the Capatain alone." I saw Andy smirked before following Provenza out the door. But before he closed the door he spoke in a most sincere manner. "I"ll be right outside if you need me...Captain." I felt disconcerted. Never in those ten years did Jack say he was sorry for all his short-comings and failings as a husband. Never did he show any interest to change and have us back together. But now he he"s making me pass through an eye of a needle in order to have my freedom. He couldn"t bear to see me happy. How could I have loved such a heartless and selfish person? My rage was beginning to surface but the beautiful Tulips seem to beckon a sense of warmth and peace as I looked at their deep red color against the white marble floor surrounded by shattered glass as though to protect them from beasts that might crush them. I gathered them one by one carefully so as not to hurt myself from the protecting it. A folded wet note caught my eye lying by the foot of the desk. I hope your ankle is feeling better, Captain. If not, perhaps the flowers would help. Andy I have always been a strong person and what I went through in life with Jack only made me tougher, wiser, and yes even colder. Very cold and detach... But having someone care broke my defenses and shattered the wall I used to protect myself. For the first time in a very long time a tear slid down my cheek. "I"m afraid to ask... what was that all about?" asked Buzz as he took a seat on a nearby desk looking at Flynn then at Provenza with curiosity. Before Provenza could reply Flynn replied, "The Captain"s soon to be ex-husband is making an ass of himself. Well... he"s really an ass. Period." His boiling blood pressure not diminishing a bit.

"Don"t call her ugly. You"re hurting her feelings. She"s a sensitive dog and she needs special care. It"s 5:15 and it"s her bath time. She"ll catch a cold if she bathes any later..." protested Tony. "Then you should have bathed her earlier. My father is coming and I want things to be perfect..." Suddenly the doorbell rang. Who is this unwelcome visitor? Kathleen let out a silent curse as she went to get the front door while Tony proceeded to bathroom unmindful of Kathleen"s request to clean up. Kathleen opened the door, prepared to tell the unwanted visitor to come back another time when his father"s dignified form greeted her. "Pardon me, can you tell which house is Kathleen Sawyer"s?" "Daddy! You"re here early!" exclaimed Kathleen, giving her father a warm hug. "Kathleen! My, you "re looking good...I thought I got the wrong house. What"s this gigantic Angel with a sword doing outside your front door?" his father asked in confusion. Kathleen led her father inside the house and before she could answer his question, he tripped on one of Missy"s toys and he steadied himself by holding on to the nearest wall. He was startled when he suddenly came face to face with a life sized crucifix in the middle of the hallway, the statue of Jesus Christ on the crucifix seem to be staring at him in agony for past misdeeds he had committed during his lifetime. He swallowed hard and looked back at his daughter. "Are you expecting a visit from vampires and zombies or have you converted to Catholicism?" he asked in bewilderment. Kathleen helped her father steady himself. "No, uhm... my boyfriend... he is Catholic," she explained. "Must be one of them altar boys... good and prim and proper..." "Let me get him dad while you wait in the den." Kathleen led her father to the Study where Tony and Missy have not made a mess. She straightened out the living room before she went to get Tony. "Tony!" "Tony!" she was calling out as she went to the bedroom. She could hear the water running in her bathroom. She opened the door to her bathroom and screamed. "Tony! What"s that mutt doing in my tub?" Tony was draped in a white bathrobe as he was leading Missy out of the tub. "I bathed her in your tub. There isn"t enough time if I bring her outside. I have to bathe Missy AND take a shower. Your father will be here..." Kathleen glared at Tony. "My father is here. Please get dressed in five minutes. I don"t want to keep him waiting AND YOU will scrub my tub tonight..." she said before banging the door behind her. "Gee... what do you think is wrong, Missy?" asked as he dried the dog and brushed his mane with Kathleen"s Dior hairbrush. Mr. Sawyer almost spit out the coffee he was drinking as her daughter"s black leather and chains clad boyfriend in a Mohawk haircut and dark shades and a tooth-pick in mouth entered the dining room. I thought he was an altar boy. Kathleen"s father stared at him with distaste. "Sonny, you forgot your nose ring somewhere," he commented rather impolitely as he stared at Tony"s repulsive tattoos sticking from his neck and arms despite the heavy leather clothing. "Dad!" Kathleen gave his father an eye. "Oh, my friend Philly borrowed my nose ring. In exchange he let me his navel ring," he laughed coarsely as he sat on the dining table in an uncouth manner. Tony looked at Kathleen without giving her father a proper greeting. "Hand me over the chicken legs, baby doll!" he ordered Kathleen, "and go fix "em dog food for my Missy and be quick about it," he added. Tony"s father was seething with anger that he was trying to control. "You can"t order my daughter around like that. She"s not a servant." Tony eyed him with hostility. "Ay-oh. There"s no such thing as servants. All men are created equal. All men, except women of course, they"re just there to do our bidding," he laughed. "Tony!" Kathleen exclaimed in disbelief. "Why you chauvinistic pig...get out of my daughter"s house" he ordered. "Why you dirty old man. This is my house and you get out!" yelled Tony. "Tony, that"s my father!" yelled Kathleen in rage. "Well, when I get back. I don"t want to see him," said Tony as he grudgingly walked out the door in anger, banging it behind him. Kathleen sighed, "I"m sorry, daddy. He wasn"t like this before. I"ll talk to him..." It was almost 3 hours after her father left with a heavy heart and disapproving look. He told her he was disappointed that after being educated in such a good school, she would just end up with scoundrel like Tony. He told her he was worried for her safety, and worried about her future. Kathleen appeased him and told him she knew what she was getting into. She"ll have a talk with Tony and give him another chance. Tears started streaming down her cheeks as she watch Missy sleeping soundly on her side of the bed, her brand new stilettos in tatters lay on the foot of the bed, apparently chewed on by the dog again. It was the 3rd shoe she had used as a bone chew and Tony never bothered to scold the dog or to buy him a chew bone to save her shoes. She sat on the carpeted floor bedroom and leaned her head on the bed by the side of the dog. She wondered if Tony truly loved her. It"s been a long time since they"ve been intimate. She thought that after he moved in, things will change and it will bring them closer but apparently it was the opposite. He doesn"t even share her bed! He sleeps with the dog on her bed, leaving her to stay at the guest room that"s why she couldn"t even invite her father to spend the night even if the confrontation with Tony hadn"t occurred. She glanced at Tony"s topsy-turvy suitcase lying open at the foot of the bed near her broken shoes. She better take out his things and fix them in the cabinet. It"s been lying in disarray since he arrived as though he never intended to take them out of the suitcase in the first place. She examined the contents of the suitcase. Baseball cards... his wallet, shaving cream, black comb, after-shave, cologne, underwear... slacks...socks... a couple of shirts...Obsession perfume, isn"t Angela also wearing this brand? Although Tony"s clothes were modest and moderately priced. She noticed items of expensive nature... his toiletries were fairly expensive and sophisticated which a man of Tony"s personality and means wouldn"t pick-out...unless a wife or girlfriend picks it out...She didn"t remember giving them to him as presents and her daughter doesn"t seem to have that kind of money. An old box shape of a treasure chest caught her attention. She opened it and found a couple of missives. Letters from Samantha from when she was a little girl, they letters were written in crayons with some misspelled words, some were her drawings from pre-school. Kathleen had no plans to go through all the letters but coloured and scented papers at the bottom of the pile caught her attention. She picked up a small gift tag and read it. It was dated five years ago. Thanks for another year of keeping an eye on my son and my home. Angela The gift tag was of Crabtree and Evelyn. She walked to the bathroom and found Tony"s old worn out maroon towel hanging by the shower curtain, embroidered in gold thread in bold font at the bottom of the towel was "Crabtree and Evelyn". She rushed back to the suitcase and took out all the coloured missives. She read one after another... all from Angela. Nothing romantic, nothing too personal, just friendly greetings but why did Tony kept them? She heard the front door slam shut. She scrambled to return all of Tony"s belongings back to the suitcase and just as she pushed the suitcase back at the foot of the bed, the bedroom door swung open. Without looking at her, Tony changed his shirt and lay beside Missy. Kathleen wanted to yell and confront him but before she could utter anything further than Tony"s name he interrupted her told her he was tired and wanted to sleep. Right after Tony ran out of Kathleen"s house after his spat with Kathleen"s father, he walked around the neighbourhood in Oakhills Drive and when he was sure it was dark enough, he proceeded toward the house with white picket fences. Tony sat on a huge decorative rock in their garden. He looked up at the full moon which illuminated the peaceful surroundings of their backyard. He miss being home. He wanted to at least say hello to Mona and the children but he couldn"t risk running into Angela. It"s been days since he ran off to live in Kathleen"s house. He stared at the huge tree in the garden wherein he built a tree house for Sam and Jonathan, where now Billy plays. He glanced at the empty basketball court and longed for the moments he used to shoot hoops with his daughter and Jonathan when they were a couple of kids, and now he was just beginning to teach little Billy who of course couldn"t really play ball yet, but nevertheless was a great joy to teach. From where he sat he could see Mona"s window which appeared to be dark. He wondered if she was asleep or out on another hot date. The vision of Angela on their dinner date that night they thought Mitch wouldn"t show up invaded Tony"s thoughts. He gave up a date with Tanya just so Angela wouldn"t be alone and it turned out to be one of the best decisions he"d ever made in his life. He smiled as he remembered playing ball with her in her fancy red dress. It was the night he realized how cool a chick she was, how easy it was to talk to her despite the fact that she was a hot shot corporate president and his boss at that. Tony"s musings were interrupted by a vision walking in the dark. It was Angela. She was in a jade and black rose print deep v-neckline one piece swimsuit. Her thin black long-sleeve cover-up with slits was untied, revealing the jade colour that dazzle beneath the moonlight. Tony held his breath. He was glad the moonlight hid him in the shadows. He glanced at his watch. It was almost midnight. Wouldn"t Angela catch a cold? He watched her disrobe and sink into the tub. She sat chest deep in water looking at the sky forlornly. She looks as sad and broken as I am, thought Tony. And I think it was I who caused those misery and sadness in her beautiful eyes that used to twinkle with delight in every little thing. Tears began to fall from Angela"s cheek, each teardrop glistened in the moonlight before rolling down to mix with the warm pool. Tony watched her, trying to memorize every inch of her face, he wanted to remember every inch of her as he goes to bed tonight. The pain reflected in her honey eyes was tearing him apart. He didn"t realize that he too was crying until the silence was broken by Mona"s arrival. He felt his warm tears on his cheek as he saw Mona seat at the edge of the pool to put her arm around her daughter and pull her in a hug without saying a word. She knew how much pain her daughter was going through. "Oh mother, I wish I didn"t love him this much," cried Angela as she sobbed in her mother"s arms. Tony never knew Mona was capable of such emotion. Her usual happy-go-lucky, and hilarious disposition was sombre, her expression filled with anguish as she comfort her sobbing daughter. "Remember when you broke up with your first boyfriend and you cried so hard, you didn"t even want to go back to school...I"ll tell you again what I told you that time: It"s going to be alright. It just wasn"t meant to be...but you"ll get over it. Move on and someday the right man will come along to wipe your tears." "Why does it seem a lot harder now that I"ve grown up?" asked Angela. "Come on dear, stop crying. Tony will be back. I know he will," said Mona as she wiped her daughter"s tears. "You really think so, mother? When Tony gets back I won"t accept him with open arms. It"s going to cost him sweat and blood!" vowed Angela in between sobs. "That"s my daughter! That"s the spirit! Now move over so I can join you before we return this jacuzzi," smiled Mona. Angela smiled at her mother amidst her tear-stained cheeks. Then in a more serious tone she confided, "Do you think Peter will take offense...I mean I like the tub and I appreciate the gesture...but if it"s going to keep Tony from coming home...I"d rather return it." "If you expect to remain friends with Peter, I don"t think that"s going to happen. That"s expecting too much from him, Angela," replied Mona. Long after Mona has retired for the night, Angela still stayed in the tub looking at the sky thinking of Tony. How could you hurt me like this? she thought as tears stream down her cheeks and into the water. I love you but you only kept me hanging like a spare tire. And now that some people want to love me, you want me to turn them down and continue being your spare tire. Tony was tempted to come out of his hiding place and kiss Angela"s tears away but he knew he would either lose himself being in the tub with her or she might drown him in anger. He knew more than ever he loved her. Angela emerged out of the pool and slid into in her long black cover up. She sighed as looked at the stars once again. She forego tying her wrap and lay down on a chaise lounge in the garden. He was undressing her with his eyes. Tony wasn"t aware he"d been having such unholy thoughts watching the woman he loves in close to nothing Oh Angela even if you wrap yourself up in thick wool I know what lies beneath those Escada business attires. You can"t hide from me Angela. One day you"re going to be mine. I"ll run my lips in every inch of you until you cry out my name in pleasure... He could vividly recall the night he saw her in the bathroom. "Argghh!" cried Tony as a strong fist hit his jaw, causing him to lose his balance in the rock he was seated on. He was about to hit back when he caught sight of a teenage boy"s angry scowl, his blond hair glistening in the moonlight, his blue eyes glittering in anger. The noise startled Angela making scramble to her feet and tightening her robe around her. "Who"s there?" she called out in a quivering voice. "It"s just me, mom. I"m sorry I startled you. Aren"t you going to bed? You"ll catch your death of cold," said Jonathan, hidden from view. "Jonathan? Is that you, honey. Where are you? I can"t see you," she replied in relief. Tony was speechless as he looked at the young boy he considers his son in amusement. Jonathan was still scowling at him as he replied to his mother in a nonchalant manner. "It isn"t safe to be out here this late, mom. I"m just uh... getting something in the garage. I"ll follow you inside. Good night, mom." "Alright! Good night, honey," said Angela. When he was sure that Angela was out of earshot, Tony spoke with incredulity. "Ouch! What was that for?" he asked Jonathan. "I didn"t like the way you were looking at my mother. She"s not some woman displayed in Penthouse." "I don"t think she was," protested Tony, touching his cheek. "I was only admiring her... I was summing up the courage to tell her I love her...hey, where did you learn to hit like that..." It took a moment for Jonathan to sink in what Tony said. He looked at him in disbelief, his scowl banishing from his boy next door looks, as a thin smile slowly crept out of his mouth. "From you...you l..love my m..mother? All those help you asked from me to get rid of Kathleen was because you loved my mother?" he uttered in disbelief. Tony couldn"t look at him straight in the eye. He had only recently came to terms about his feelings for Angela with himself, it was tougher to admit to other people. He gave Jonathan a short nod before digressing the issue. "Hey... and where did you hear that word Penthouse. Those are not for kids..." he scolded him. Jonathan couldn"t suppress his delight with Tony"s revelation. He answered him with a smile. "Oh, come on Tony, I"m fifteen. I know about Penthouse." And in a serious tone he continued, " When you wanted to get rid of Kathleen... I thought it was because you got tired of her... you know... some macho men do that to women..." "Oh come, on Jonathan, you know me better than that..." interrupted Tony. "...so totally disgraceful to the male species... and then now I saw you looking at my mother like that... I thought you just wanted to add her to your collection...I"m sorry. I should have given you some credit... you"re like a father to me for crying out loud" he continued a bit shameful about his presumption. "No, Jonathan. You did the right thing by hitting me. I did something worse to your mother than what other men do to women...I"ve hurt her Jonathan. I"ve hurt the only woman I love... And I need to rectify it...fast." "Would you like to keep your French nails or would you like to change the color to red?" asked the nail spa attendant to Kathleen. "RED!" she uttered in rage. "Red! Red! Red!" she said in anger. The nail spa attendant was surprised at the fury in her voice. Kathleen needed a break from her constant spar with Tony. He refused to eject Missy out of her bed so she can sleep beside him at night and he refused to lift a finger to clean the house. He refused to talk about Angela, and her father was giving her the silent treatment-never returning her calls, and Missy ruined another pair of shoes. This has been the longest week of her life. She couldn"t believe her eyes. She had to blink twice...thrice... just to make sure her eyes weren"t deceiving her. She swallowed every horrible day that she had to live with Tony but she will not swallow this! She glanced out Tips and Toes and found Tony seated outside at one of the tables of Cheesecake Factory, his arms around a very young blond girl, they were feeding each other what appears to be a New York cheesecake. Occasionally, the girl would give him a peck or two at the cheek. Kathleen stormed out of the nail spa even if her nails were only half way done. She couldn"t restrain herself. Tony was laughing at something Frederique was whispering in his ear when he suddenly noticed and angry Kathleen standing in front of their table. When their eyes met, he took the glass of iced tea and dumped it on Tony. "How dare you, Tony? You turned my house into Vatican, your dog uses my bed, my brush, my shoes... You shamed me in front of my father and now this? You... you paedophile..." "Ay-oh...I"m not committing any crime...she wants me, don"t you, doll-face," said Tony giving the girl a peck on the cheek. "Yeah, I want all of him...it"s not my fault he prefers someone young and pretty..." said the girl haughtily at Kathleen. Kathleen was suppose to haul a big slap on Tony"s face when they both suddenly noticed Angela watching them a few yards from the next table. Her tears were brimming with tears and she turned away to run from them but Tony was quicker. He caught her by the arm before she could go any further. "Let me go! I hate you!" cried Angela, pushing at Tony"s chest. But Tony was frantic. He was restraining her with a tight hug, kissing her hair. "Please Angela, let me explain... it"s not what you think..." "I don"t want to hear your explanation. It"s one thing to prefer Kathleen to me but to be with a fourteen year old girl..." "Please Angela, she"s Jonathan"s girlfriend. Please believe me..." "That"s worse, you"re breaking my son"s heart by taking his girl from him!" "No! It"s not like that! Angela, please" Tony wouldn"t let her go. He was embracing her so hard and pleading with her that they were causing a scene . "Mrs. Bower... it"s true. I"m your son"s girl. We"re together at the drama club. We were just putting on a show." Angela would not heed the explanation. "I don"t care, Tony. It"s your business. Please let me go!" Tony reluctantly let her go and Angela left them without a word. Tony was devastated. He didn"t know how he could get himself out of trouble with Angela. I love you, Angela. I"m doing all these for you. "Tony..." said a gentle voice. Tony looked up and found Kathleen beside him, looking at him sympathetically. "You should have told me you wanted out because you realized your feelings for Angela..." "I"m sorry, Kathleen...I really am... didn"t mean for you to find out like this...I just wanted you to hate me and leave me...I don"t want to hurt you" "Well, you"ve hurt me, Tony. You could have saved us both the trouble by just telling me what you feel. It would hurt but it would save all the drama...I ought to be mad at you but I"m not. I could tell you love Angela... the way I love you...it"s the only reason people put up with anything because of love. And because I love you, I"ll let you go, Tony. I hope you get Angela back." Kathleen kissed Tony on the forehead and left. Tony sat silently in dejection. He suddenly felt a gentle pat on his back. It was Jonathan. "I"m sorry, Tony. I should have stopped mother harder..." Frederique glared at her boyfriend. "Jonathan! I thought you said your mother would be home all day. What happened?" Jonathan was embarrassed. "I wanted to watch your show for Kathleen so I said I was coming here...and she wanted to go to the Spa... I thought she wouldn"t see you...I really feel awful about all this." Tony ruffled Jonathan"s hair the way he used to when he was a kid. "Don"t worry, buddy boy, I"ll get your mother back. ...If it"s the last thing I do," swore Tony. I"ll be writing a sequel to this story entitled "Let me kiss you, Boss". I hope you had fun reading.

"Alright if you say so," said Rusty. I caught him giving Kris a knowing wink but I decided to ignore it. Then everything was silent as we drove to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. That night as I soaked in my tub with a glass of champagne I couldn"t fathom how Lt. Flynn ended up staying for another hour in my condo for a cup of coffee after the movie. I slowly went through the night"s events in my head wondering over and over if I should read something into Andy"s undivided attention which is getting too much for comfort. I thought I was pretty clever to find a good parking spot where we won"t have a hard time leaving after the show but at the same time not too far for a relaxing walk but it didn"t occur to me to change my business suit and high heels which I discovered the hard way wasn"t suitable for sitting on a woven mattress on the ground. "This blanket is big enough for both of us, Sharon. Come on in just like old times," said Jack as he showed me a spot on his blanket. I refused to be annoyed at Jack"s suggestive manner. If there was anything I felt for him it was only indifference. "I"m fine," I said as I stood on the pavement. But needless to say I still needed to figure out how to survive the evening in my suit. There was a gentle tap on my shoulder and I suddenly found myself looking into Andy"s warm and caring eyes. I was surprised to find warmth and gentility in them when I was so used to that man being hot-tempered, overbearing and stubborn. "I brought this for you, Captain. I figured this would make your movie watching most comfortable," he smiled. Andy saw my little predicament and produced a soft looking black bean bag chair. He laid it beside me and fluffed the cushions before helping me settle on it. "You have the habit of bringing your bean bag in your car, Lieutenant," I asked. He replied sheepishly, "I uhm... bought it two weeks ago as a present for my grandchildren but I have never gotten around to bringing it over." "What about you? Don"t you want to seat here?" I asked. It wasn"t an invitation. I just felt guilty for taking over his soft bean bag but I wondered if it didn"t sound as innocent as I wanted it to be because Andy"s Freudian slip sent my face burning red. "I"d love to snuggle with you...I mean snuggle against the cushion, Captain. I want my boss to be snug, warm and comfy. I"ll just be sitting here by this little tree." Thank god Jack was too preoccupied with his beer to hear it. Nonetheless, Rusty was too sharp not to hear it and being the mischievous kid that he was, he made sure that I knew he heard the entire repartee. He approached me and gave me that teasing smile before handing me a rootbeer. "Have an ice cold Canada Dry, Lieutenant." Rusty threw him the ginger ale and Andy caught it effortlessly. "Thanks kid!" he gave Rusty a wink. I hoped they won"t gang up on me eventually. "Don"t mention it...Andy." I was grateful when the movie began rolling at that moment. As I lay inside the tub with my head under water relieving my night at the movies, the message tone of my cellphone startled me and I jerked up, catching a few bubbles in my eyes as one of my hands groped for the cellphone beside the tub and the other reaching out for the towel to wipe my stinging eyes. It was from Lt. Flynn. I"m sorry, Captain, if I overstayed my welcome. I don"t want to encourage him but I don"t want to offend or hurt him either as he had been very sweet and charming tonight. No, you haven"t. Don"t be late for work tomorrow. I"m glad there isn"t another death today... so far. And if the heavens are good it will stay that way. I pushed back my leather chair in the office and started toward the break room. It was shortly before noon time and I needed another espresso cup. I couldn"t sleep a wink last night. I kept remembering how Andy went back to his car (which was foolishly parked inside the cemetery) and took his Dodger"s jacket to drape it around my shoulder to protect me from the chilly winds of the cemetery. He wasn"t trying to make a pass nor trying to get on my good side. I felt the sincerity of his concern when I started shivering against the cold night air. Good thing Kris and Rusty were both prepared with their warm blankets and gigantic bag of chips so I need not to worry about them. I have never considered myself a damsel in distress. I have always been a strong, independent woman but last night fate must have other plans. Andy didn"t only play a hero to a cold maiden in the middle of the cemetery who might have ended up watching a 2 hour movie standing up on three inch heels but he also so gallantly offered his handkerchief to me when some rowdy teen-agers accidentally splashed some soda on me. Andy flashed his badge and scared the misbehaving teenagers. "Hey... watch it! Pipe down or you"ll be spending the night in jail." Was he concerned about me or was he concerned about his Dodger"s jacket? I wondered. The two boys apologized profusely but due to the commotion I must have missed my step on the crooked asphalt, and not only sprained my ankle in the process but broke the heel of one shoe. My throbbing ankle wasn"t my first concern neither was it my broken Prada pumps but how was I supposed to get to my car on the next block. Andy caught me before I could totally lose my balance and fall flat on my butt. "Sharon! Are you okay?" cried Rusty. He was immediately beside me and trying to help me get my balance. He was acting more and more like a son each day. "I"ll be alright, Rusty," I reassured him. "Let me help you to the car," he said. "I don"t think it"s a good idea for Sharon to walk that far with a broken heel. It"s going to put more pressure on her sprained ankle," observed Andy. Jack yelled at Andy. "Who cares about what you think Flynn! She"s my wife and I know what"s..." "Hey! Hey! Let"s not fight!" I interrupted. "Maybe you should take off both shoes that way it"s balanced," said Jack. "And walk bare foot?!" cried Kris as though Jack"s suggestion was preposterous. "My car is just on that corner. I can carry you there and then drive you and the kids to your car on the next block," suggested Andy. "Carry me? No way, Lieutenant. I can manage..." In my big pride I tried to walk on my own too soon and ended almost flat on my face had Rusty and Kris not been so close. "...with a little help," I reluctantly added, feeling defeated. "Where are you parked, Jack? In the cemetery?" I asked. "Of course not! What do you think of me-stupid?" cried Jack. I touched Andy"s shoulder to calm him down as I know he was beginning to lose his patience. Jack just knows how to rub people the wrong way sometimes. Parking inside the cemetery was not a good idea because of the heavy flow of traffic. It may take you ages just to get out of the cemetery but in this case it was beneficial for me that Andy was parked in the cemetery. "It may take a while before we can get to my car. It"s getting late. I would appreciate it Jack if you could drive Kris home," I requested. "Of course. I can take care of our little mademoiselle. Come on, Kris. This way," said Jack. "I"ll come too," said Rusty. "Woho! No, you won"t, young man. Stay there with Sharon and I"ll take care of Kris," said Jack. Rusty looked at me as though seeking for approval should he decide to argue with Jack. "Let the boy decide, Jack," I said. I could read the annoyance in his face and Rusty must have seen it too and being a natural pacifist decided to give in to Jack"s directive. "I guess I"ll just see you in school, Kris," said Rusty. "Good night, Rusty. Good bye Sharon, Lt Flynn. Thanks for the fun evening," said Kris. After waving goodbye to Kris, Rusty scooted in pretense excitement. "Alright Sharon! Last one in Lt. Flynn"s car is a rotten egg." He dashed towards Andy"s car leaving me alone like a damsel in distress clinging to Andy"s shoulder. "Hey, wait for Sharon" yelled Jack. "Jack just go," I said, my voice in the verge of irritation. I leaned on Andy as we walked to the direction of his car. I was so close to him I could smell the Cool Water scent of his aftershave or was it his cologne? I felt his manly scent clinging to my senses and I did my best to stay as calm as possible lest he hears the rapid beating of my traitorous heart. "Am I leaning too much on you," I asked, afraid that I was too heavy. "Are you kidding? You feel as light as a feather. You must be still putting pressure on that ankle. Here let me carry you. It"s not too far to the car," insisted Andy as he showed an indication to carry me. I glared at him and in my most authoritative voice warned him, "Don"t you dare, Lieutenant. Touch me and I"ll send you a memo first thing in the morning." I thought it would anger him and for a moment I believed he was going to leave me to fend for myself but an amused smile lit up in his face. I could see the sparkle of endearment in his grey eyes. "Thou dost protest too much, my Capatain," he said. I stared at him dumbfounded, quite embarrassed but relieved that he didn"t carry me. He took my hand and drew me close as he nudged me to put my wait on him. "Come on, Captain. I"ll walk you to the car. I wouldn"t want you to be the only rotten egg." And that time I didn"t protest anymore. Like a Broadway ensemble with a repeat performance, the scorching hostility between Jack and Lt. Flynn welcomed me through the open blinds of the glass on my office that served as the stage for the drama of the two men glowering at each other like school boys ready for a fight outside the school grounds as I hobbled to the dramatic stage with much contained difficulty due to my recovering sprained foot, trying not to holler like a frustrated musical director to an out of tune performer. The team greeted me as I came into view, each one trying to appear disinterested in the drama visible from the glass, Mike Tao pretending to be absorbed at the task at hand, Amy Sykes was doing her best to conceal the amusement in her eyes while Buzz and Julio suddenly turned away from the glass engaged themselves in a pretense conversation. As expected, only Lt. Provenza was audacious enough to spring himself amidst roaring waves, trying to calm them as though he was Moses. "You asshole, Jack, I will not let you intimidate Sharon into changing her mind. She should have thrown you out of her life centuries ago. You drunken, gambling addict bastard..." I caught Andy yelling at Jack, his face crimson with anger as Lt. Provenza was standing between them, albeit uselessly, trying to keep the distance between Jack and Andy. "She"s my fuckin" wife and there"s nothing you can do about it..." yelled Jack from behind Provenza. Before Andy could yell another retort I slammed the door shut as I entered. But before I could say anything I noticed the A4 sized papers that Jack was clutching tightly on his left hand as he kept trying to hit Andy with the other. The documents seemed to glisten like they were dusted with silver glitters. Finally it reached him...It"s been weeks since I filed them. Suddenly I was deaf to the squabble and uninvolved in the enmity as I stared at the crucial documents that would set me free. Free? Why did I think of that word? I have been away from Jack and independent for years. But those papers he now held would seal my freedom. He only had to sign it.... "...you think you can get into Sharon"s knickers with a bunch of flowers..." My thoughts were suddenly distracted by a dainty Tiffany vase crashing on the concrete, scattering beautiful red Tulips all over my office floor which I didn"t notice until Jack"s enormous frame came crushing down beside them with Andy right on top of him. "Damn You Jack Raydor!" cursed Andy as he wrestled Jack on the floor. Provenza immediately tried to intervene between the raucous duo wrestling on the floor but was thrown off balance. "Stop it. The captain is here..." But the two fighting pitbulls were deaf to his plea. I regained my composure and exerted my authority. "Stop it! Both of you! I command you to stop this nonsense right this minute!" I demanded. Andy immediately obeyed and stood away from Jack but my traitorous husband took this as an advantage and hit Andy squarely on the jaw. I saw red and instinctively grabbed Jack"s suit by the shoulder to draw him away from Andy. I grabbed him so fiercely the polished nail on my index finger broke and despite the pain, I didn"t flinch. My ferocity must have surprised him that he stared at me dumbfounded, his dark eyes boring into my green ones, trying to read me or manipulate me I wasn"t sure but I was certainly angry. He had no right to disrupt the peace in my life. I said crisply, "Damn you Jack Raydor. Get out of my office... now!" He snapped out of his penetrating stare. "Not until you tell me what is the meaning of this?" he demanded, holding the divorce papers up towards my face. I calmly replied while staring intently on his obnoxious expression. "You know how to read, don"t you, Jack? I want our separation sealed and done with." "You can"t do this..." he started to protest. "C"mon, jerk, it"s only a formality. You"ve been separated for ages," interrupted Andy. "Shush..." said Provenza, nudging Andy. "Let"s go out and leave the Captain a little privacy..." said Provenza. But before either Provenza nor Andy could move to the door Jack flared up. "You can"t do this, Sharon," he snapped. "Why can"t I? It"s been 10 years since I got fed up with your alcoholism, gambling and womanizing. It"s about time I rid of you Jack Raydor...permanently," I said unemotionally. "I"m still your husband..." "And just because you"re my husband doesn"t give you the right to barge into my office and assault my officers...." "Officers? You mean officer, he"s just one... and he"s not your officer, he"s your lover," accused Jack. To my surprise my hand flew to his face. "How dare you Jack!" "Watch your mouth, dickhead!" snapped Andy, angrily moving towards Jack. "Shush, Flynn! Come on let"s go..." protested Provenza. Julio and Mike came bursting into the room. I was shaking in anger. "Are you alright, Captain?" asked Mike Tao. "Sir, with all due respect,let me escort you out of the premises. You are upsetting our Captain," said Julio firmly but calmly, taking Jack by the arm. "Sharon... wait...I"m sorry," Jack said flailing from Julio"s grasp. "Get out Jack..." I said without emotion. "Sharon..." Jack tried to approach me but Julio, Mike, and Provenza were pulling and pushing him out of my office. "Come on, sir. We don"t want to call for further security to escort you out," said Julio. He was outnumbered. I steadied myself by holding onto the edge of my desk. I was still upset that Jack would hail untruthful accusations so easily without caring for her feelings. Andy sensed my trepidation and touched my shoulder with surprising tenderness and comfort. Before I could look up into his eyes to try and read his thoughts Jack burst out from the door. "Hey.. wait... why does Flynn get to stay in the room with Sharon," protested Jack as he was led out. Provenza turned back and called for Andy. "Flynn! Come on. Leave the Capatain alone." I saw Andy smirked before following Provenza out the door. But before he closed the door he spoke in a most sincere manner. "I"ll be right outside if you need me...Captain." I felt disconcerted. Never in those ten years did Jack say he was sorry for all his short-comings and failings as a husband. Never did he show any interest to change and have us back together. But now he he"s making me pass through an eye of a needle in order to have my freedom. He couldn"t bear to see me happy. How could I have loved such a heartless and selfish person? My rage was beginning to surface but the beautiful Tulips seem to beckon a sense of warmth and peace as I looked at their deep red color against the white marble floor surrounded by shattered glass as though to protect them from beasts that might crush them. I gathered them one by one carefully so as not to hurt myself from the protecting it. A folded wet note caught my eye lying by the foot of the desk. I hope your ankle is feeling better, Captain. If not, perhaps the flowers would help. Andy I have always been a strong person and what I went through in life with Jack only made me tougher, wiser, and yes even colder. Very cold and detach... But having someone care broke my defenses and shattered the wall I used to protect myself. For the first time in a very long time a tear slid down my cheek. "I"m afraid to ask... what was that all about?" asked Buzz as he took a seat on a nearby desk looking at Flynn then at Provenza with curiosity. Before Provenza could reply Flynn replied, "The Captain"s soon to be ex-husband is making an ass of himself. Well... he"s really an ass. Period." His boiling blood pressure not diminishing a bit. "Ex...? I thought they were still married" Amy Sykes joined in with apparent interest. Louie Provenza looked at Flynn with interest, eyeing his reaction. "Well, not for long, Sykes...not for long." "Well, that"s good riddance for you!" smiled Flynn. "Should I call a band? Blow trumpets and throw confetti?" replied Provenza sarcastically. "Since when was the Captain"s domestic problems any of your concern?" he continued. "All I"m saying is she"s better off without him... that scumbag." explained Andy. "But Lieutenant, she"s been without him for a very long time. No cause for you to worry," said Julio. Provenza couldn"t help it. He was having that gnawing feeling in his gut that something was going on. Well, something was up... where his friend Andy was concerned anyhow. He just had to make sure....Will Andy fall for his bait? He was extremely intrigued and interested... He was amused as he closely watched his friend"s satisfied grin. Flynn hasn"t looked like a cat that swallowed a canary in a long time. He eyed him closely as he said "Oh but I heard Jack"s intention was to have his wife back...he"ll do.." Provenza was unable to finish as Andy erupted like an active volcano, his face bright in anger. "The hell he will! I"m not letting him come close as much as a hundred yards from Sharon. Do you hear me? He"s not! I"m gonna tear his face with my own two hands and gut him like..." "Lieutenant!" I spoke from the open doorway to my office. Everyone looked at me and started to scramble back into their desks as though they were occupied except for Provenza who remained rooted to the spot. Andy slowly walked to his desk unperturbed but it was hard not to notice the distorted expression on Andy"s face that suddenly turned into a boyish grin at the sight of me. It"s surprising how his mood could change in a snap of a finger like Jekyll and Hyde. But it seemed like I was not the only one who noticed. Provenza eyed Andy like he was an organism under a microscope then as though unable to find the answers he was searching, his stare turned to my confident demeanor, his brows furrowing in growing realization. My eyes met his chocolate brown eyes that seem to bore through mine. I feigned confidence and authority to mask my mixed emotions and the same question that must be running through our heads... Does Andy like me? "What"s all the commotion? Don"t we have a murderer to catch?" I said. "Flynn seems to have hit his head harder than we thought on his brawl with Jack," said Lt. Provenza. Andy failed to notice the sarcasm. "Of course not. Not a scratch," boasted Andy. The hullabaloo in the office made me forget about my sprained ankle as I started towards the white board to check on the update on our current case. I flinched more in surprise than in pain. "How"s you ankle, Captain?" asked Andy. "Fine. It"s fine. Thank you, Lieutenant," I replied nonchalantly. Just when I think the specter of Andy"s unusual concern and odd behavior couldn"t get any more evident Rusty and Kris came into the office unexpectedly. "You"re back from school rather early," I commented. "Oh the kids were sent home earlier to prepare for the tests tomorrow. Uhm... Sharon... I.. Why don"t you tell her Kris," muttered Rusty. Kris shone her jolly smile as she excitedly obliged. "Uhm.. Sharon... My mother is throwing a black and white party at the Hilton on Saturday. It"s her birthday and she told me to invite Rusty and Rusty"s mom." "That"s wonderful," I beamed. "Would you like to go?" I asked Rusty. He was awkward like he was having second thoughts but he shrugged his shoulders and said "yeah. It could be fun." Kris gave a little yelped in excitement and flashed her beautiful smile. It was not hard to guess that she must like Rusty more than just a friend. "It"s going to be awesome! I"m buying a new dress... oh I"m so excited I"m going to tell my mom right away. I"ll tell her to go ahead and add three resrrvations..." "Wooh. Wait. Why three? It"s just me and Rusty," I asked. "Oh I forgot to tell you. You have to bring along Lt. Flynn because it"s sort of a couple"s party. Rusty would be my escort and you would have to bring a date along. I mean... you could bring Mr. Raydor if you want..." I was speechless. "Nonsense. I can take Sharon... I mean the Captain to the party on Saturday. No need to bother Jack. I do have a tux," smiled Andy.

"Ah, ah,.. we have to return it, Angela," said Tony, taking Angela on the elbow and leading her away from tub. "Why? It"s beautiful..." Tony gave her an impish grin. "Ah, ah," he shook his head, waving a naughty finger at Angela. "If you accept an expensive gift like this, it"s like accepting whatever liberties that Peter might want to extend to your person..." "What? Peter"s not like that. We"re friends and I"m keeping this Jacuzzi." "Since when are men and women JUST FRIENDS?" asked Tony, trying to conceal his annoyance with Angela not wanting to return the pool. The nerve of Tony, thought Angela. Her patience wore thin that she forgot Ernie was around. She smirked, folding her arms in front of her as she retorted. "Since when? I"ll tell you when-Since US. Since you had a girlfriend because you say WE are JUST FRIENDS. So you see, men and women can be JUST FRIENDS indeed!" With that Angela stormed out of the backyard and into the house, banging the back door behind her, leaving Ernie gaping at them and Tony silently cursing in Italian. Tony dashed after Angela and caught her at the foot of the stairs. He grabbed her arm to make her face him. He could see the burning anger in her eyes, the unsaid accusations she wanted to haul on him but before she could voice them out, he dared her first. "Either the pool goes or I go," he said firmly. Angela stared at him incredulously. "What? You"re giving me ultimatum in my own house! How dare you Tony? And how dare you dictate to me on how I handle men around me when you..." Tony didn"t want to hear the rest. He was guilty enough as it is for what transpired with Kathleen. He didn"t want to have it played over and over again. "I"m leaving." He cut her and run past her up his room. He took out his large duffel bag from his closet in haste and began shoving clothes inside without care. Angela was soon behind him. She has never been in this room since it became Tony"s room seven years ago. She was surprised how much it has changed since then. There were several personal effects of Tony such as baseball cap collections, college books on one shelf, old and new magazines by the bed, a portrait of Sam when she a little girl and another of the family when they all went to Puerto Vallarta shortly after they moved in-everything that marked this as his personal space. "Tony, you"re acting like a child. All these for just a Jacuzzi. What"s going to happen to Sam, to Billy. You"re not making any sense... What"s gotten into you these days? First your atrocious haircut and sense of style... your impulsive motorcycle habit... Now..." Angela was not one to babble or nag but she felt suddenly afraid of losing Tony for good. It"s one thing for him to love someone else but still be a part of her family but to have him leave their home... She must talk him out of it without sounding desperate. Angela was busy pleading with Tony while he grabs everything within sight that might fit the duffel, he emptied drawers carelessly, pulling them out and dumping the contents haphazardly into the bag before throwing it aside. Angela didn"t notice that among the chaotic mess in his bag was her picture. "Tony...Angela... what"s the matter? Are you two having a fight?" asked Billy while wiping the sleep from his eyes, his hair dishevelled from his nap, as he approached them groggily. Meanwhile, down stairs was Ernie looking up at the shouting match hidden from his view when Mona, Sam, and Jonathan came in the front door. "What"s going on here?" asked Sam worriedly as she hung her coat and glanced curiously up the stairs beside Ernie. Jonathan was about to go up to see what was happening when Sam stopped him. "Don"t go up there. I think it"s something serious for their voices to be heard all the way to Timbuktu." Mona settled on the couch unperturbed with all the commotion. "Tony and Angela are having a fight," said Ernie. "Tell us something we don"t know," said Mona, still unperturbed. She stood up and addressed the trio who were looking up the stairs with worried expressions. "Don"t make such a fuss. They"re just squabbling because someone just hasn"t gotten lucky for a while," she said with a condescending smile. "Grandma! Don"t talk about mother like that," scolded Jonathan. "I wasn"t referring to your mother," she said matter-of-factly with the same glint in her eyes. Jonathan looked at her puzzled. "You don"t mean Tony... but he has Ka..." She sat on the couch again and addressed them like they were 10 year old kids. "Oh you young people, you don"t understand adults... when you get to their age... it has to mean something...you come to a point when it has to be the right person... you don"t just do it..." Mona"s monologue was cut when Tony rushed down the stairs with his duffel bag and Angela, carrying Billy, nagging him in a not so friendly manner, was trailing behind him. "Don"t make me mad, Tony..." said Angela. "If this isn"t mad then I don"t want to wait and see till you are," said Tony. "Tony..." said Billy in a soft voice, clutching Angela"s neck as he looked at him questioningly. Tony smiled and ruffled his hair. "Don"t worry my man. You"ll be safe here with Angela. She may roar like a lion but believe me, she"s as nurturing as a mother hen." He then looked at Jonathan. "You"re the man now. You take care of your mother, Sam, and little Billy here." "Wait. Is this Knots Landing? Hmmm... how about Falcon Crest? Dallas?" exclaimed Mona. Everybody gave her a murderous look and she gave them her usual Mona smile. Sam stared at his father disbelievingly. "Dad, you don"t want to do this," she said tearfully as she stepped beside Angela, clutching her hand. "Believe me Sam. I need to do this," he said firmly. "What about me?" pouted Mona. "Oh, even I can"t discipline you. I doubt your grandson could," said Tony mischievously. "Oh, phooey!" replied Mona. Tony took the motorcycle keys and rushed out the door with Ernie running after him. "Tony!" "Tony!" yelled Ernie. Tony slid the duffel back on the motorcycle handle and started backing it out the garage. He was unmindful of Ernie calling him but Ernie was concerned about his buddy who might be committing the biggest mistake in his life. Ernie ran as hard as he could as Tony sped off in Jonathan"s motorcycle. Tony didn"t slow down but when he saw Ernie was out of breath catching up, he hauled him up the back of the motorcycle without stopping the machine. "Alright, Ernie! What is it?" said Tony when Ernie was behind him on the motorcycle. Ernie was out of shape and was totally out of breath. It took him a while before he could reply to Tony. "You, stupid man. Why did you ran out like that and where are you going? Are you giving up on Angela?" "I"m moving in with Kathleen," he replied without emotion. "What! I thought you were trying to lose her, not get all mushy with her." Tony parked the motorcycle at the curb where JC Penney and other stores were located. "Look, Ernie. I may have over-reacted a bit about the Jacuzzi...but then it occurred to me just when I was having a row with Angela. This is the perfect opportunity to lose Kathleen. Give me 7 days or a week the most and she"ll be out of my life." Ernie shook his head. "I don"t know about that Tony... you"re moving into her house, you"ll end up in church before you know it...hey, where are we going?" Ernie followed Tony inside a religious store near a Catholic Church where religious paraphernalia were sold. Tony took out his visa card to pay for an enormous crucifix the size of Ernie, a 4 feet St. Michael statue and several pictures of various saints. "What are you going to do with all that?" asked Ernie. "I have a huge favour to ask you, Ernie", said Tony. "I don"t like the sound of this but if it"s going to help you... what is it?" replied Ernie. "Missy..." Tony started. "What about her?" asked Ernie. "May I borrow her for a few days..." requested Tony. "Oh no, you"re not dragging my St. Bernard into this..." said Ernie. "Please, just a few days. 7 days tops. I want her with me when I move to Kathleen"s house. It"ll be all over before you know it." "Why, your hair-cut and hippie get up not enough for her?" Suddenly it dawned to Ernie... "And you"re bringing all these religious items into her house too. She"s not Catholic and she doesn"t like pets...ooooh boy! This is going to be a major mess." "Her father is coming to visit in two days, and believe me, he"ll tell her I"m Mr. Wrong. And I"ll make sure she sees it that way too..." Kathleen sighed in exasperation at the sluggish form slumped on the couch, munching on all the grocery she purchased for a month, his equally lazy mutt on the floor slurping the chips that fall from a half opened bag of Ruffles. "I know you must be adjusting the past two days that"s why I end up doing all the work around the house but my father is due here in 3 hours, can you at least help me clean up all these mess," said Kathleen. Before Tony could reply, Missy gave a lazy bark nuzzling Tony"s hand dangling from the couch. "Oh, you want to be brushed again, don"t you pretty doggie," said Tony playfully at the enormous St. Bernard with pink ribbons on both ears. He sat up and began brushing her golden brown mane. "Honey, you"re the girl. It"s your job to clean up the house," smiled Tony. "I don"t hear you saying that to Angela," she protested. "But she"s not my girlfriend. She"s my employer. Now that I"m in my own house. I"m the king. Good bye Mr. Goodmop," smiled Tony. "Look Tony...I"m not saying you clean the entire house. Just share...Hold on a minute! Is that my Dior hairbrush you"re using on that dog!" Kathleen"s voice went up several notches when she noticed the hair brush. Tony squinted and looked at the brush closer and then looked at Kathleen with a guilty smile. "Ooops... hehe...it does look like Missy"s hair brush," said Tony. "Isn"t that her brush on the tv set? How can you make a mistake, one is periwinkle and the other is lavender..." scolded Kathleen. "I said I was sorry. It"s just a brush," said Tony. Kathleen almost screamed in exasperation. "We"ll talk about this another time. My father is coming any minute. Can you clean up the living room while I prepare dinner." It wasn"t a request. "Sorry, I can"t. Need to bathe Missy," said Tony apologetically. Kathleen was getting angrier by the minute. "What! You"re giving priority to this ugly mutt..." The dog whimpered as though hurt by Kathleen"s words. "Don"t call her ugly. You"re hurting her feelings. She"s a sensitive dog and she needs special care. It"s 5:15 and it"s her bath time. She"ll catch a cold if she bathes any later..." protested Tony. "Then you should have bathed her earlier. My father is coming and I want things to be perfect..." Suddenly the doorbell rang. Who is this unwelcome visitor? Kathleen let out a silent curse as she went to get the front door while Tony proceeded to bathroom unmindful of Kathleen"s request to clean up. Kathleen opened the door, prepared to tell the unwanted visitor to come back another time when his father"s dignified form greeted her. "Pardon me, can you tell which house is Kathleen Sawyer"s?" "Daddy! You"re here early!" exclaimed Kathleen, giving her father a warm hug. "Kathleen! My, you "re looking good...I thought I got the wrong house. What"s this gigantic Angel with a sword doing outside your front door?" his father asked in confusion. Kathleen led her father inside the house and before she could answer his question, he tripped on one of Missy"s toys and he steadied himself by holding on to the nearest wall. He was startled when he suddenly came face to face with a life sized crucifix in the middle of the hallway, the statue of Jesus Christ on the crucifix seem to be staring at him in agony for past misdeeds he had committed during his lifetime. He swallowed hard and looked back at his daughter. "Are you expecting a visit from vampires and zombies or have you converted to Catholicism?" he asked in bewilderment. Kathleen helped her father steady himself. "No, uhm... my boyfriend... he is Catholic," she explained. "Must be one of them altar boys... good and prim and proper..." "Let me get him dad while you wait in the den." Kathleen led her father to the Study where Tony and Missy have not made a mess. She straightened out the living room before she went to get Tony. "Tony!" "Tony!" she was calling out as she went to the bedroom. She could hear the water running in her bathroom. She opened the door to her bathroom and screamed. "Tony! What"s that mutt doing in my tub?" Tony was draped in a white bathrobe as he was leading Missy out of the tub. "I bathed her in your tub. There isn"t enough time if I bring her outside. I have to bathe Missy AND take a shower. Your father will be here..." Kathleen glared at Tony. "My father is here. Please get dressed in five minutes. I don"t want to keep him waiting AND YOU will scrub my tub tonight..." she said before banging the door behind her. "Gee... what do you think is wrong, Missy?" asked as he dried the dog and brushed his mane with Kathleen"s Dior hairbrush. Mr. Sawyer almost spit out the coffee he was drinking as her daughter"s black leather and chains clad boyfriend in a Mohawk haircut and dark shades and a tooth-pick in mouth entered the dining room. I thought he was an altar boy. Kathleen"s father stared at him with distaste. "Sonny, you forgot your nose ring somewhere," he commented rather impolitely as he stared at Tony"s repulsive tattoos sticking from his neck and arms despite the heavy leather clothing. "Dad!" Kathleen gave his father an eye. "Oh, my friend Philly borrowed my nose ring. In exchange he let me his navel ring," he laughed coarsely as he sat on the dining table in an uncouth manner. Tony looked at Kathleen without giving her father a proper greeting. "Hand me over the chicken legs, baby doll!" he ordered Kathleen, "and go fix "em dog food for my Missy and be quick about it," he added. Tony"s father was seething with anger that he was trying to control. "You can"t order my daughter around like that. She"s not a servant." Tony eyed him with hostility. "Ay-oh. There"s no such thing as servants. All men are created equal. All men, except women of course, they"re just there to do our bidding," he laughed. "Tony!" Kathleen exclaimed in disbelief. "Why you chauvinistic pig...get out of my daughter"s house" he ordered. "Why you dirty old man. This is my house and you get out!" yelled Tony. "Tony, that"s my father!" yelled Kathleen in rage. "Well, when I get back. I don"t want to see him," said Tony as he grudgingly walked out the door in anger, banging it behind him. Kathleen sighed, "I"m sorry, daddy. He wasn"t like this before. I"ll talk to him..." It was almost 3 hours after her father left with a heavy heart and disapproving look. He told her he was disappointed that after being educated in such a good school, she would just end up with scoundrel like Tony. He told her he was worried for her safety, and worried about her future. Kathleen appeased him and told him she knew what she was getting into. She"ll have a talk with Tony and give him another chance. Tears started streaming down her cheeks as she watch Missy sleeping soundly on her side of the bed, her brand new stilettos in tatters lay on the foot of the bed, apparently chewed on by the dog again. It was the 3rd shoe she had used as a bone chew and Tony never bothered to scold the dog or to buy him a chew bone to save her shoes. She sat on the carpeted floor bedroom and leaned her head on the bed by the side of the dog. She wondered if Tony truly loved her. It"s been a long time since they"ve been intimate. She thought that after he moved in, things will change and it will bring them closer but apparently it was the opposite. He doesn"t even share her bed! He sleeps with the dog on her bed, leaving her to stay at the guest room that"s why she couldn"t even invite her father to spend the night even if the confrontation with Tony hadn"t occurred. She glanced at Tony"s topsy-turvy suitcase lying open at the foot of the bed near her broken shoes. She better take out his things and fix them in the cabinet. It"s been lying in disarray since he arrived as though he never intended to take them out of the suitcase in the first place. She examined the contents of the suitcase. Baseball cards... his wallet, shaving cream, black comb, after-shave, cologne, underwear... slacks...socks... a couple of shirts...Obsession perfume, isn"t Angela also wearing this brand? Although Tony"s clothes were modest and moderately priced. She noticed items of expensive nature... his toiletries were fairly expensive and sophisticated which a man of Tony"s personality and means wouldn"t pick-out...unless a wife or girlfriend picks it out...She didn"t remember giving them to him as presents and her daughter doesn"t seem to have that kind of money. An old box shape of a treasure chest caught her attention. She opened it and found a couple of missives. Letters from Samantha from when she was a little girl, they letters were written in crayons with some misspelled words, some were her drawings from pre-school. Kathleen had no plans to go through all the letters but coloured and scented papers at the bottom of the pile caught her attention. She picked up a small gift tag and read it. It was dated five years ago. Thanks for another year of keeping an eye on my son and my home. Angela The gift tag was of Crabtree and Evelyn. She walked to the bathroom and found Tony"s old worn out maroon towel hanging by the shower curtain, embroidered in gold thread in bold font at the bottom of the towel was "Crabtree and Evelyn". She rushed back to the suitcase and took out all the coloured missives. She read one after another... all from Angela. Nothing romantic, nothing too personal, just friendly greetings but why did Tony kept them? She heard the front door slam shut. She scrambled to return all of Tony"s belongings back to the suitcase and just as she pushed the suitcase back at the foot of the bed, the bedroom door swung open. Without looking at her, Tony changed his shirt and lay beside Missy. Kathleen wanted to yell and confront him but before she could utter anything further than Tony"s name he interrupted her told her he was tired and wanted to sleep. Right after Tony ran out of Kathleen"s house after his spat with Kathleen"s father, he walked around the neighbourhood in Oakhills Drive and when he was sure it was dark enough, he proceeded toward the house with white picket fences. Tony sat on a huge decorative rock in their garden. He looked up at the full moon which illuminated the peaceful surroundings of their backyard. He miss being home. He wanted to at least say hello to Mona and the children but he couldn"t risk running into Angela. It"s been days since he ran off to live in Kathleen"s house. He stared at the huge tree in the garden wherein he built a tree house for Sam and Jonathan, where now Billy plays. He glanced at the empty basketball court and longed for the moments he used to shoot hoops with his daughter and Jonathan when they were a couple of kids, and now he was just beginning to teach little Billy who of course couldn"t really play ball yet, but nevertheless was a great joy to teach. From where he sat he could see Mona"s window which appeared to be dark. He wondered if she was asleep or out on another hot date. The vision of Angela on their dinner date that night they thought Mitch wouldn"t show up invaded Tony"s thoughts. He gave up a date with Tanya just so Angela wouldn"t be alone and it turned out to be one of the best decisions he"d ever made in his life. He smiled as he remembered playing ball with her in her fancy red dress. It was the night he realized how cool a chick she was, how easy it was to talk to her despite the fact that she was a hot shot corporate president and his boss at that. Tony"s musings were interrupted by a vision walking in the dark. It was Angela. She was in a jade and black rose print deep v-neckline one piece swimsuit. Her thin black long-sleeve cover-up with slits was untied, revealing the jade colour that dazzle beneath the moonlight. Tony held his breath. He was glad the moonlight hid him in the shadows. He glanced at his watch. It was almost midnight. Wouldn"t Angela catch a cold? He watched her disrobe and sink into the tub. She sat chest deep in water looking at the sky forlornly. She looks as sad and broken as I am, thought Tony. And I think it was I who caused those misery and sadness in her beautiful eyes that used to twinkle with delight in every little thing. Tears began to fall from Angela"s cheek, each teardrop glistened in the moonlight before rolling down to mix with the warm pool. Tony watched her, trying to memorize every inch of her face, he wanted to remember every inch of her as he goes to bed tonight. The pain reflected in her honey eyes was tearing him apart. He didn"t realize that he too was crying until the silence was broken by Mona"s arrival. He felt his warm tears on his cheek as he saw Mona seat at the edge of the pool to put her arm around her daughter and pull her in a hug without saying a word. She knew how much pain her daughter was going through.

That night as I soaked in my tub with a glass of champagne I couldn"t fathom how Lt. Flynn ended up staying for another hour in my condo for a cup of coffee after the movie. I slowly went through the night"s events in my head wondering over and over if I should read something into Andy"s undivided attention which is getting too much for comfort. I thought I was pretty clever to find a good parking spot where we won"t have a hard time leaving after the show but at the same time not too far for a relaxing walk but it didn"t occur to me to change my business suit and high heels which I discovered the hard way wasn"t suitable for sitting on a woven mattress on the ground. "This blanket is big enough for both of us, Sharon. Come on in just like old times," said Jack as he showed me a spot on his blanket. I refused to be annoyed at Jack"s suggestive manner. If there was anything I felt for him it was only indifference. "I"m fine," I said as I stood on the pavement. But needless to say I still needed to figure out how to survive the evening in my suit. There was a gentle tap on my shoulder and I suddenly found myself looking into Andy"s warm and caring eyes. I was surprised to find warmth and gentility in them when I was so used to that man being hot-tempered, overbearing and stubborn. "I brought this for you, Captain. I figured this would make your movie watching most comfortable," he smiled. Andy saw my little predicament and produced a soft looking black bean bag chair. He laid it beside me and fluffed the cushions before helping me settle on it. "You have the habit of bringing your bean bag in your car, Lieutenant," I asked. He replied sheepishly, "I uhm... bought it two weeks ago as a present for my grandchildren but I have never gotten around to bringing it over." "What about you? Don"t you want to seat here?" I asked. It wasn"t an invitation. I just felt guilty for taking over his soft bean bag but I wondered if it didn"t sound as innocent as I wanted it to be because Andy"s Freudian slip sent my face burning red. "I"d love to snuggle with you...I mean snuggle against the cushion, Captain. I want my boss to be snug, warm and comfy. I"ll just be sitting here by this little tree." Thank god Jack was too preoccupied with his beer to hear it. Nonetheless, Rusty was too sharp not to hear it and being the mischievous kid that he was, he made sure that I knew he heard the entire repartee. He approached me and gave me that teasing smile before handing me a rootbeer. "Have an ice cold Canada Dry, Lieutenant." Rusty threw him the ginger ale and Andy caught it effortlessly. "Thanks kid!" he gave Rusty a wink. I hoped they won"t gang up on me eventually. "Don"t mention it...Andy." I was grateful when the movie began rolling at that moment. As I lay inside the tub with my head under water relieving my night at the movies, the message tone of my cellphone startled me and I jerked up, catching a few bubbles in my eyes as one of my hands groped for the cellphone beside the tub and the other reaching out for the towel to wipe my stinging eyes. It was from Lt. Flynn. I"m sorry, Captain, if I overstayed my welcome. I don"t want to encourage him but I don"t want to offend or hurt him either as he had been very sweet and charming tonight. No, you haven"t. Don"t be late for work tomorrow. I"m glad there isn"t another death today... so far. And if the heavens are good it will stay that way. I pushed back my leather chair in the office and started toward the break room. It was shortly before noon time and I needed another espresso cup. I couldn"t sleep a wink last night. I kept remembering how Andy went back to his car (which was foolishly parked inside the cemetery) and took his Dodger"s jacket to drape it around my shoulder to protect me from the chilly winds of the cemetery. He wasn"t trying to make a pass nor trying to get on my good side. I felt the sincerity of his concern when I started shivering against the cold night air. Good thing Kris and Rusty were both prepared with their warm blankets and gigantic bag of chips so I need not to worry about them. I have never considered myself a damsel in distress. I have always been a strong, independent woman but last night fate must have other plans. Andy didn"t only play a hero to a cold maiden in the middle of the cemetery who might have ended up watching a 2 hour movie standing up on three inch heels but he also so gallantly offered his handkerchief to me when some rowdy teen-agers accidentally splashed some soda on me. Andy flashed his badge and scared the misbehaving teenagers. "Hey... watch it! Pipe down or you"ll be spending the night in jail." Was he concerned about me or was he concerned about his Dodger"s jacket? I wondered. The two boys apologized profusely but due to the commotion I must have missed my step on the crooked asphalt, and not only sprained my ankle in the process but broke the heel of one shoe. My throbbing ankle wasn"t my first concern neither was it my broken Prada pumps but how was I supposed to get to my car on the next block. Andy caught me before I could totally lose my balance and fall flat on my butt. "Sharon! Are you okay?" cried Rusty. He was immediately beside me and trying to help me get my balance. He was acting more and more like a son each day. "I"ll be alright, Rusty," I reassured him. "Let me help you to the car," he said. "I don"t think it"s a good idea for Sharon to walk that far with a broken heel. It"s going to put more pressure on her sprained ankle," observed Andy. Jack yelled at Andy. "Who cares about what you think Flynn! She"s my wife and I know what"s..." "Hey! Hey! Let"s not fight!" I interrupted. "Maybe you should take off both shoes that way it"s balanced," said Jack. "And walk bare foot?!" cried Kris as though Jack"s suggestion was preposterous. "My car is just on that corner. I can carry you there and then drive you and the kids to your car on the next block," suggested Andy. "Carry me? No way, Lieutenant. I can manage..." In my big pride I tried to walk on my own too soon and ended almost flat on my face had Rusty and Kris not been so close. "...with a little help," I reluctantly added, feeling defeated. "Where are you parked, Jack? In the cemetery?" I asked. "Of course not! What do you think of me-stupid?" cried Jack. I touched Andy"s shoulder to calm him down as I know he was beginning to lose his patience. Jack just knows how to rub people the wrong way sometimes. Parking inside the cemetery was not a good idea because of the heavy flow of traffic. It may take you ages just to get out of the cemetery but in this case it was beneficial for me that Andy was parked in the cemetery. "It may take a while before we can get to my car. It"s getting late. I would appreciate it Jack if you could drive Kris home," I requested. "Of course. I can take care of our little mademoiselle. Come on, Kris. This way," said Jack. "I"ll come too," said Rusty. "Woho! No, you won"t, young man. Stay there with Sharon and I"ll take care of Kris," said Jack. Rusty looked at me as though seeking for approval should he decide to argue with Jack. "Let the boy decide, Jack," I said. I could read the annoyance in his face and Rusty must have seen it too and being a natural pacifist decided to give in to Jack"s directive. "I guess I"ll just see you in school, Kris," said Rusty. "Good night, Rusty. Good bye Sharon, Lt Flynn. Thanks for the fun evening," said Kris. After waving goodbye to Kris, Rusty scooted in pretense excitement. "Alright Sharon! Last one in Lt. Flynn"s car is a rotten egg." He dashed towards Andy"s car leaving me alone like a damsel in distress clinging to Andy"s shoulder. "Hey, wait for Sharon" yelled Jack. "Jack just go," I said, my voice in the verge of irritation. I leaned on Andy as we walked to the direction of his car. I was so close to him I could smell the Cool Water scent of his aftershave or was it his cologne? I felt his manly scent clinging to my senses and I did my best to stay as calm as possible lest he hears the rapid beating of my traitorous heart. "Am I leaning too much on you," I asked, afraid that I was too heavy. "Are you kidding? You feel as light as a feather. You must be still putting pressure on that ankle. Here let me carry you. It"s not too far to the car," insisted Andy as he showed an indication to carry me. I glared at him and in my most authoritative voice warned him, "Don"t you dare, Lieutenant. Touch me and I"ll send you a memo first thing in the morning." I thought it would anger him and for a moment I believed he was going to leave me to fend for myself but an amused smile lit up in his face. I could see the sparkle of endearment in his grey eyes. "Thou dost protest too much, my Capatain," he said. I stared at him dumbfounded, quite embarrassed but relieved that he didn"t carry me. He took my hand and drew me close as he nudged me to put my wait on him. "Come on, Captain. I"ll walk you to the car. I wouldn"t want you to be the only rotten egg." And that time I didn"t protest anymore. Like a Broadway ensemble with a repeat performance, the scorching hostility between Jack and Lt. Flynn welcomed me through the open blinds of the glass on my office that served as the stage for the drama of the two men glowering at each other like school boys ready for a fight outside the school grounds as I hobbled to the dramatic stage with much contained difficulty due to my recovering sprained foot, trying not to holler like a frustrated musical director to an out of tune performer. The team greeted me as I came into view, each one trying to appear disinterested in the drama visible from the glass, Mike Tao pretending to be absorbed at the task at hand, Amy Sykes was doing her best to conceal the amusement in her eyes while Buzz and Julio suddenly turned away from the glass engaged themselves in a pretense conversation. As expected, only Lt. Provenza was audacious enough to spring himself amidst roaring waves, trying to calm them as though he was Moses. "You asshole, Jack, I will not let you intimidate Sharon into changing her mind. She should have thrown you out of her life centuries ago. You drunken, gambling addict bastard..." I caught Andy yelling at Jack, his face crimson with anger as Lt. Provenza was standing between them, albeit uselessly, trying to keep the distance between Jack and Andy. "She"s my fuckin" wife and there"s nothing you can do about it..." yelled Jack from behind Provenza. Before Andy could yell another retort I slammed the door shut as I entered. But before I could say anything I noticed the A4 sized papers that Jack was clutching tightly on his left hand as he kept trying to hit Andy with the other. The documents seemed to glisten like they were dusted with silver glitters. Finally it reached him...It"s been weeks since I filed them. Suddenly I was deaf to the squabble and uninvolved in the enmity as I stared at the crucial documents that would set me free. Free? Why did I think of that word? I have been away from Jack and independent for years. But those papers he now held would seal my freedom. He only had to sign it.... "...you think you can get into Sharon"s knickers with a bunch of flowers..." My thoughts were suddenly distracted by a dainty Tiffany vase crashing on the concrete, scattering beautiful red Tulips all over my office floor which I didn"t notice until Jack"s enormous frame came crushing down beside them with Andy right on top of him. "Damn You Jack Raydor!" cursed Andy as he wrestled Jack on the floor. Provenza immediately tried to intervene between the raucous duo wrestling on the floor but was thrown off balance. "Stop it. The captain is here..." But the two fighting pitbulls were deaf to his plea. I regained my composure and exerted my authority. "Stop it! Both of you! I command you to stop this nonsense right this minute!" I demanded. Andy immediately obeyed and stood away from Jack but my traitorous husband took this as an advantage and hit Andy squarely on the jaw. I saw red and instinctively grabbed Jack"s suit by the shoulder to draw him away from Andy. I grabbed him so fiercely the polished nail on my index finger broke and despite the pain, I didn"t flinch. My ferocity must have surprised him that he stared at me dumbfounded, his dark eyes boring into my green ones, trying to read me or manipulate me I wasn"t sure but I was certainly angry. He had no right to disrupt the peace in my life. I said crisply, "Damn you Jack Raydor. Get out of my office... now!" He snapped out of his penetrating stare. "Not until you tell me what is the meaning of this?" he demanded, holding the divorce papers up towards my face. I calmly replied while staring intently on his obnoxious expression. "You know how to read, don"t you, Jack? I want our separation sealed and done with." "You can"t do this..." he started to protest. "C"mon, jerk, it"s only a formality. You"ve been separated for ages," interrupted Andy. "Shush..." said Provenza, nudging Andy. "Let"s go out and leave the Captain a little privacy..." said Provenza. But before either Provenza nor Andy could move to the door Jack flared up. "You can"t do this, Sharon," he snapped. "Why can"t I? It"s been 10 years since I got fed up with your alcoholism, gambling and womanizing. It"s about time I rid of you Jack Raydor...permanently," I said unemotionally. "I"m still your husband..." "And just because you"re my husband doesn"t give you the right to barge into my office and assault my officers...." "Officers? You mean officer, he"s just one... and he"s not your officer, he"s your lover," accused Jack. To my surprise my hand flew to his face. "How dare you Jack!" "Watch your mouth, dickhead!" snapped Andy, angrily moving towards Jack. "Shush, Flynn! Come on let"s go..." protested Provenza. Julio and Mike came bursting into the room. I was shaking in anger. "Are you alright, Captain?" asked Mike Tao. "Sir, with all due respect,let me escort you out of the premises. You are upsetting our Captain," said Julio firmly but calmly, taking Jack by the arm. "Sharon... wait...I"m sorry," Jack said flailing from Julio"s grasp. "Get out Jack..." I said without emotion. "Sharon..." Jack tried to approach me but Julio, Mike, and Provenza were pulling and pushing him out of my office. "Come on, sir. We don"t want to call for further security to escort you out," said Julio. He was outnumbered. I steadied myself by holding onto the edge of my desk. I was still upset that Jack would hail untruthful accusations so easily without caring for her feelings. Andy sensed my trepidation and touched my shoulder with surprising tenderness and comfort. Before I could look up into his eyes to try and read his thoughts Jack burst out from the door. "Hey.. wait... why does Flynn get to stay in the room with Sharon," protested Jack as he was led out. Provenza turned back and called for Andy. "Flynn! Come on. Leave the Capatain alone." I saw Andy smirked before following Provenza out the door. But before he closed the door he spoke in a most sincere manner. "I"ll be right outside if you need me...Captain." I felt disconcerted. Never in those ten years did Jack say he was sorry for all his short-comings and failings as a husband. Never did he show any interest to change and have us back together. But now he he"s making me pass through an eye of a needle in order to have my freedom. He couldn"t bear to see me happy. How could I have loved such a heartless and selfish person? My rage was beginning to surface but the beautiful Tulips seem to beckon a sense of warmth and peace as I looked at their deep red color against the white marble floor surrounded by shattered glass as though to protect them from beasts that might crush them. I gathered them one by one carefully so as not to hurt myself from the protecting it. A folded wet note caught my eye lying by the foot of the desk. I hope your ankle is feeling better, Captain. If not, perhaps the flowers would help. Andy I have always been a strong person and what I went through in life with Jack only made me tougher, wiser, and yes even colder. Very cold and detach... But having someone care broke my defenses and shattered the wall I used to protect myself. For the first time in a very long time a tear slid down my cheek. "I"m afraid to ask... what was that all about?" asked Buzz as he took a seat on a nearby desk looking at Flynn then at Provenza with curiosity. Before Provenza could reply Flynn replied, "The Captain"s soon to be ex-husband is making an ass of himself. Well... he"s really an ass. Period." His boiling blood pressure not diminishing a bit. "Ex...? I thought they were still married" Amy Sykes joined in with apparent interest. Louie Provenza looked at Flynn with interest, eyeing his reaction. "Well, not for long, Sykes...not for long." "Well, that"s good riddance for you!" smiled Flynn. "Should I call a band? Blow trumpets and throw confetti?" replied Provenza sarcastically. "Since when was the Captain"s domestic problems any of your concern?" he continued. "All I"m saying is she"s better off without him... that scumbag." explained Andy. "But Lieutenant, she"s been without him for a very long time. No cause for you to worry," said Julio. Provenza couldn"t help it. He was having that gnawing feeling in his gut that something was going on. Well, something was up... where his friend Andy was concerned anyhow. He just had to make sure....Will Andy fall for his bait? He was extremely intrigued and interested... He was amused as he closely watched his friend"s satisfied grin. Flynn hasn"t looked like a cat that swallowed a canary in a long time. He eyed him closely as he said "Oh but I heard Jack"s intention was to have his wife back...he"ll do.." Provenza was unable to finish as Andy erupted like an active volcano, his face bright in anger. "The hell he will! I"m not letting him come close as much as a hundred yards from Sharon. Do you hear me? He"s not! I"m gonna tear his face with my own two hands and gut him like..." "Lieutenant!" I spoke from the open doorway to my office. Everyone looked at me and started to scramble back into their desks as though they were occupied except for Provenza who remained rooted to the spot. Andy slowly walked to his desk unperturbed but it was hard not to notice the distorted expression on Andy"s face that suddenly turned into a boyish grin at the sight of me. It"s surprising how his mood could change in a snap of a finger like Jekyll and Hyde. But it seemed like I was not the only one who noticed. Provenza eyed Andy like he was an organism under a microscope then as though unable to find the answers he was searching, his stare turned to my confident demeanor, his brows furrowing in growing realization. My eyes met his chocolate brown eyes that seem to bore through mine. I feigned confidence and authority to mask my mixed emotions and the same question that must be running through our heads... Does Andy like me? "What"s all the commotion? Don"t we have a murderer to catch?" I said. "Flynn seems to have hit his head harder than we thought on his brawl with Jack," said Lt. Provenza. Andy failed to notice the sarcasm. "Of course not. Not a scratch," boasted Andy. The hullabaloo in the office made me forget about my sprained ankle as I started towards the white board to check on the update on our current case. I flinched more in surprise than in pain. "How"s you ankle, Captain?" asked Andy. "Fine. It"s fine. Thank you, Lieutenant," I replied nonchalantly. Just when I think the specter of Andy"s unusual concern and odd behavior couldn"t get any more evident Rusty and Kris came into the office unexpectedly. "You"re back from school rather early," I commented. "Oh the kids were sent home earlier to prepare for the tests tomorrow. Uhm... Sharon... I.. Why don"t you tell her Kris," muttered Rusty. Kris shone her jolly smile as she excitedly obliged. "Uhm.. Sharon... My mother is throwing a black and white party at the Hilton on Saturday. It"s her birthday and she told me to invite Rusty and Rusty"s mom." "That"s wonderful," I beamed. "Would you like to go?" I asked Rusty. He was awkward like he was having second thoughts but he shrugged his shoulders and said "yeah. It could be fun." Kris gave a little yelped in excitement and flashed her beautiful smile. It was not hard to guess that she must like Rusty more than just a friend. "It"s going to be awesome! I"m buying a new dress... oh I"m so excited I"m going to tell my mom right away. I"ll tell her to go ahead and add three resrrvations..." "Wooh. Wait. Why three? It"s just me and Rusty," I asked. "Oh I forgot to tell you. You have to bring along Lt. Flynn because it"s sort of a couple"s party. Rusty would be my escort and you would have to bring a date along. I mean... you could bring Mr. Raydor if you want..." I was speechless. "Nonsense. I can take Sharon... I mean the Captain to the party on Saturday. No need to bother Jack. I do have a tux," smiled Andy. "Just bring anyone you like..." continued Kris, her perkiness was dauntless. "You don"t mind me taking you and Rusty to the party, do you?" asked Andy. "I mean it"s a way to pay you back for going with me to my daughter"s wedding.." he continued. His obvious delight was synonymous to Kris" excitement. And even before I could utter my approval he was already deciding between his Gucci and his Saint Laurent loafers. Oh boy. ...

at Betty. "What would you do if you know someone can help you but you"re not at all certain if he was helping you in good faith or helping you to have you indebted to him? Would you accept?" "I think we both know the answer to that," said Betty as she squeezed Claire"s hand. Claire looked at Betty with soulful eyes. What if by accepting his help, you in turn can help hundreds of people who are dependent on you to make everything better." Betty smiled. "Mrs. Meade, I think I can sleep well at night, knowing I have helped hundreds of people. It probably wouldn"t hurt my pride to make a little sacrifice for the sake of many people who"s depending on me." Claire seemed still quite unconvinced but replied, "You"re right, the benefit of a greater number must be considered." She stood up and took her robe to take a shower in the other hall. Chapter 4 "East 57th Street," said Betty. "Come on, Betty. Tell me, where are we going? I"m so excited," exclaimed Matt as he got into the cab with Betty. Betty gave him one of her charming girl next door smiles that makes his heart flutter. "You"ll see. It"s a surprise." Matt suddenly rolled his eyes and tickled Betty. Betty let at a loud shriek as she tried to evade Matt"s tickle attack. They were oblivious to the cab driver that was snickering in front at the two young raucous people. "What? What are you rolling your eyes for?" laughed Betty. "You"re up to something," accused Matt with an amused smile. "What made you say that?" asked Betty. Matt eyed Betty"s black cocktail dress that reached her knees and her black Valentino sandals. "You said you don"t like dressing up and you said black is such a dire colour but here you are, all pretty in black," complimented Matt. "It"s our first month together. I want this to be special," smiled Betty. Matt couldn"t contain his curiosity but he didn"t want to ruin Betty"s surprise. "Stop right here, Mr. Thank you," said Betty as she handed the cab driver the fare. The cab stopped right in front of the Four Seasons Hotel. Wooh. Is she ready for this? We barely know each other. But I do know she"s special and I love her. If she thinks she"s ready, I won"t disappoint her. Matt ran his hands through his raven black hair and wiped his sweaty palms on his slacks. Betty led the way to the lobby of the Four Seasons. There were a lot on her mind and she feels kind of guilty for dragging Matt here on their first month anniversary. He might think she was such an expensive girlfriend who loves fancy dinners but she"ll deal with that later. First she must find the right function room. Betty was scouring the hotel for the function rooms but Matt already drawing her to the L"Atelier de Joël Robuchon restaurant. As Matt was about to settle at one of the red and black upholstered pearwood chairs, Betty found the board where the events and corresponding function rooms were listed. Betty pulled Matt. "Uhm...let"s go up," said Betty quite uneasily. She was getting guiltier by the moment. Shouldn"t we wait till after dinner? He swallowed hard as he nervously followed Betty up the elevator. He was unusually quiet. He didn"t what to do on his first time with Betty. He"s awfully quiet. He must be mad at me. He probably knows what I"m up to. I"ll try to make it up to him next time...If there is a next time, thought Betty worriedly. What if he dumps me because of this? Nah, I"m sure he"ll be understanding. The elevator opened on the fifth floor. "Look, Matt, I"m sorry..." Matt absorbed his surroundings and looked at Betty in confusion. "Where are we?" Before Betty could reply she found the function room. There was the sign The Association of American Lawyers" Annual Cosmopolitan Ball. She immediately pulled Matt and dragged him inside the room. Matt suddenly laughed so hard his cheeks hurt. Betty was furious. Here she was worried that Matt would be mad but he was laughing! "What"s so funny?" demanded Betty. It took several minutes before Matt settled down. "I thought you were taking me up to the room to make love," explained Matt. Betty was aghast. "What? Of course not, why would I do that?" "That"s why I was laughing. I feel so silly," he said sheepishly. Betty flashed him another wholesome smile. "That"s okay. We all make assumptions that turn out wrong. Come on, aren"t you hungry?" said Betty as he pulled Matt to the buffet table. Matt looked around quite nervously before whispering in Betty"s ear. "Betty, what are we doing here? Isn"t this a private function? We"re gate-crashing. If you want to have dinner, we can eat at the L"Atelier de Joël Robuchon restaurant at the mezzanine. I can afford it." But Betty was already taking some salad. "Relax. Mark and Amanda say I"m too uptight. I should loosen up a bit. It wouldn"t hurt to stray from a straight line once in a while so just relax and enjoy dinner." "You know, if you"re going to gate-crash, you should"ve worn a long-gown instead of a cocktail dress so you could fit in much better," observed Matt. "I don"t have a long gown," said Betty giving Matt an exasperated look. She was done filling her plate with prawns and lobsters. She scoured the ballroom while waiting for Matt to finish at the buffet table. Claire Meade wasn"t hard to find. She was tall and slender. The long ivory gown she wore was embellished with rhinestone detail and her shoulder-length blond hair was up on a twist held by crystal combs. The one-shoulder neck-line and cape-sleeves and flowing silhouette made her look like a Greek goddess. Tony Salvatore looked equally charming on his charcoal classic Dolce and Gabbana suit. He pulled the seat for Mrs. Meade and they both settled down on the table near the center. Betty pulled Matt to the table that would give her a full view of Tony Salvatore and Claire Meade. Mrs. Meade looks stunning but she still looks really restless. Mr. Salvatore looks like a decent man, very charming and gallant. It was nice of him to pull a chair for Mrs. Meade. Wonder what could be making Mrs. Meade restless whenever he was around. In fact, they would really make a charming couple... Mrs. Meade seem to have hardly any appetite. Her plate was untouched and she had that fake smile plastered on her face the entire night, observed Betty. She was worried that Matt might be in the same predicament. She glanced at him and found him enjoying his medium rare rib-eye steak and mashed potatoes. Betty heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that Matt was enjoying himself. She felt sorry for Mrs. Meade for being stuck with a date she disliked. She eyed Tony Salvatore as he was making his speech. His manners were impeccable. He seemed a perfect gentleman, pulling the chair for Mrs. Meade, calling the waiter for her whenever she needed to refill her champagne glass, and he appears to be a well-rounded person and a good conversationalist, judging by how pleased the people were with his company and by how much everyone seem to hang on to his every word. She couldn"t understand what Mrs. Meade would dislike about this man. He seemed warm and friendly when she met him in the office, and he wasn"t bad looking at all, thought Betty. "Earth to Betty," said Matt, snapping his fingers in front of Betty, cutting Betty out of her reverie, "you"ve been staring off into space for the past 15 minutes..." Suddenly, Matt wiped the tartar sauce off Betty"s chin with his forefinger. "You seem to be enjoying your fish," kidded Matt as he flashed Betty a winsome smile. Betty took a little ketchup on her forefinger and patted it on the tip of Matt"s nose as affectionate joke. Matt took his revenge by spraying some champagne on Betty and Betty did the same. They were oblivious to the other people seated at their round table watching them in disbelief, and some with displeasure. Betty never had such fun with any other boy. They weren"t paying much attention to Tony Salvatore until he uttered his final words that sent Betty sprawling the champagne she was drinking right in front of Matt"s face. "All my success would not have been possible if not for the special woman in my life who has always inspired me to be the best. She is my motivation and strength during those trying times and difficult challenges that I have encountered in this profession. Ladies and gentlemen...the love of my life...Claire Meade." Claire Meade buried herself deeper under the covers. She was awakened by the sunlight coming from the window of her bedroom. For a moment she was disoriented. She hadn"t the faintest notion of time and place. Was it 1975...had she just given birth to Daniel? She could hear someone calling her mother...a faint voice...was it Alex waking her to open gifts on Christmas morning? "Mother! Wake up! What"s all these juicy gossip about you and Uncle Tony. I had to fight my way in the house against all those paparazzi on the gate," said Daniel as he pulled the covers from Claire, the sunlight blinding her once again. Then it all came back to her...Alex was now a woman...and Daniel was all grown up running the family business. And last night wasn"t a dream. Tony told everyone in the party she was the love of his life. She just wanted to crawl back into the covers and hide. She couldn"t face Daniel. Groggily she pushed Daniel"s hand away and pulled the covers back. "Go away, Daniel." Daniel sat on the edge of his mother"s bed. "Mom, I want to know what"s going on? Why would Uncle Tony say that in front of all the people. And just so you know, a quarter of the twenty million dollar share he bought were all under your name, increasing your shares by half, and making it bigger than Wilhelmina"s to her chagrin. "I haven"t the faintest idea what you"re talking about," said Claire, still not looking at Daniel, still hidden beneath the covers. "Hand me a martini please," she added. "Mother! Don"t start drinking again!" scolded Daniel. They were interrupted when there was a knock at the balcony door. It was Betty, wearing a cheery outfit of fuschia blouse and black skirt, carrying a fuzzy colourful backpack behind her back. Daniel let her in. "What are you doing here Betty?" asked Daniel. He glanced down the balcony for a quick measure of its height from the ground. "Good morning Mrs. Meade! I"m here for our date to interview 2 designers whose specialty is fashion for the middle-aged women. Am I too early?" she asked, noticing that Claire was still in bed. Noticing that Daniel was in the room, she greeted him with equal cheer. "Good morning Daniel! I"m here to help out your mother in an article for Hot Flash. Our appointment is at 10 but I was hoping we could grab a bite before we meet with the fashion designers." "How in the world did you manage to climb up in here? You could have rung the bell. The maid or the butler can let you in," said Daniel. "There were so many reporters and photographers out there. I couldn"t get in. Even Mr. Salvatore is stuck out there. All the reporters seem to want a piece of him," said Betty good-naturedly. At the mention of Tony Salvatore"s name, Claire sat up in bed. "What did you say?" she uttered. "Mr. Salvatore is on his way..." "Tony is here!" she exclaimed in mortification. She immediately threw the covers and grabbed her camel and brown Ralph Lauren Silvie Long Shearling Vest from the closet and threw it over her Victoria Secret blue lace satin slip in rush. "Mom! Aren"t you going to change into a proper suit beneath your coat," exclaimed Daniel. The Shearling Vest covered her until her mid thigh but the blue satin lace slip was peeping slightly amidst the hook-and-eye closure of the vest. "I don"t mind waiting, Mrs. Meade..." "No, we have to go..." "Claire! Claire!" called a slightly Italian accented voice as it seem to come closer by the second as heavy footsteps climb up the staircase. Claire grabbed Betty by the hand as she led her to the balcony. "There isn"t time to change. Betty, come on..." "Mom! You can"t climb down there in your heels...Mom! for heaven"s sake you"re too long in the tooth to be climbing down the terrace...Don"t people know how to use the door now a days," cried Daniel in exasperation. Betty cringed as she heard Daniel explode in anger at the two feature writers of MODE. She had never seen Daniel this angry before and he seem to be really cranky the past weeks. She peeked from the folder she was holding in front of her as caught a glimpse of them from the glass walls of Daniel"s office. Daniel threw the folder he was holding on his desk as he continued to scold the writers. Betty couldn"t look as Daniel"s face became as red as the coffee mug she was sipping coffee from. The two writers scurried out of the room, passing by Betty"s desk. "What happened?" asked Betty, more with concern than inquisitiveness. "We almost got fired. We wrote an article that seemed to have tick off the boss," answered the bony African American in exasperation. "Wilhelmina was all for it. It was her idea that it will sell this month"s issue like pancakes. We should have known that Wilhelmina is bad news. Does she want us to get fired or what?" said the curly blond in DKNY. "Wilhelmina just has this sick sense of humour of course. I mean the articles aren"t about Mrs. Meade but the titles were subliminal, and that"s what Wilhelmina wanted, " continued the African American. The girls showed her the two articles that they wrote that made Daniel fly off the handle. Betty"s eyes grew big as a saucer when she read the articles that were disapproved for final printing: "Two Sexy For One Millionaire" "10 Ways to Make your Husband"s Friend Fall for You". The two girls immediately left Betty"s side as Daniel approached her desk, the furrow in his eyebrows were still apparent. "Betty, have you any idea where my mother is. She"s been avoiding me like a plague. I could never catch her in her office for more than a week but I know very well she"s in this building as the office security reveals she is unless someone else is using her id"s security code, and to my annoyance her secretary seem to be in cahoots with her." Daniel clearly was getting annoyed with the situation. Betty was speechless. She knew where Mrs. Meade was holding office but she couldn"t decide if she should tell Daniel. Tony Salvatore had been looking for her too. He already asked Betty twice but Betty both denied seeing Mrs. Meade for the past week and knowing her whereabouts. "Come on, Betty," Daniel"s voice raised a notch. He banged his fist at Betty"s desk, bringing his face close to Betty until it was only half an inch away from her face. Daniel"s blue eyes eying her own brown ones so close she could see her reflection in them. She gulped. Daniel sighed and changed his tactic to a gentler approach. "I want to talk to her Betty. She avoids my calls. The maid doesn"t open the door for me when I go to our family home. The news about her and Uncle Tony has died down a bit, but I want to know what"s the real thing behind it. Uncle Tony insists it was just a slip of the tongue and doesn"t want to talk about it. I"m sure Wilhelmina will see this as an Achilles heel. She would strike again to try and ruin this family and this corporation. I couldn"t do anything because I"m also in the dark about all this." "Daniel, I"m sure you"re all just making a mountain out of a mole hill," reassured Betty. He drew his face closer to hers once again. "We wouldn"t know for sure till I speak with my mother." They were interrupted by the sudden appearance of Matt who seem to have spoken before realizing Betty was not alone. "Hey Betty, I handed the papers for Mrs. Meade to sign. She was asking isn"t it time for your coffee break? If it is, she asked if you could bring in a Starbucks Cinnamon Dolce Latte while you both have a quick chat..." Daniel had his back to Matt. Betty tried to signal Matt to shut up but it was too late. Daniel smiled like the Cheshire cat when he caught Betty red-handed. Betty sighed. "Alright, I"ll tell you where she is but please, let me have our Dolce Latte and chat first then I"ll sort of talk to her about seeing you then you can go see her after fifteen minutes. Promise me you agree before I tell you." Daniel nodded and gave a scout"s salute. "She"s been holding office in that hidden room inside the Fashion Designers" room." "You mean the room rumoured to be Fey Sommer"s?" asked Daniel aghast. "Well nobody goes there and she knew no one would look for her there..." Daniel nodded silently as he held Betty"s hand in gesture about their agreement but unknown to the pair, a third person was listening close by. She was rehearsing what she was going to tell Mrs. Meade all the way from Starbucks to the 30th floor where some MODE employees were holding office. She was so deep in thought as she made her way to the "secret" room where Mrs. Meade was temporarily holding office that she didn"t hear Amanda call to her as she passed her by the reception area. I hope Mrs. Meade wouldn"t be so upset with me when I tell her Daniel is on his way to see her in a few minutes, prayed Betty. She gently pushed the panel designer shoes that serve as the secret door to the room. All her worries about Mrs. Meade"s anger vanished as a fashionably dressed Mrs. Meade in square flowy brown, dip-dyed rabbit fur trimmed-collar tapestry poncho and black skin-tight tapered pants greeted her with an exuberant smile. "Hey Betty, you won"t believe this...I just read the distribution reports and this month is the highest-selling percentage rate of Hot Flash. Isn"t that exciting?" she beamed as she took the coffee from Betty"s hand. Betty flashed her a big smile. "That"s great news, Mrs. Meade. Your team sure beat your last month"s target. Really awesome... I love the coat and those flannel booties." She took a deep breath in preparation for her confession. Mrs. Meade turned around before posing like a model mockingly. "Yves Saint Laurent...and Dolce and Gabbana," she smiled. She then handed Betty a purple Dolce and Gabbana chain-strap i-phone case. "Wow. This is gorgeous Mrs. Meade!" exclaimed Betty. "Do you like it? It"s yours." Betty felt even more guilty. "Mrs. Meade...I have to tell you something... I know you trust me, and you do know I will never break that trust. You"re like a second mother to me and I care about you. It"s because of that concern and love that I...that I told Daniel where to find you." "What?" she uttered in a low voice forlornly. "I know you have some issues with him but he"s your son. He loves you and he cares about you. Please, Mrs. Meade...talk to Daniel." She sat on the king sized bed in the room and sighed. "Oh Betty... there are things that I believe are best left alone. I don"t think I can talk to Daniel about them. I"m afraid he might not understand...I"m afraid he might see me differently..." Betty gave her a warm hug. "Don"t think that of Daniel. He is your son. He loves you and he is a smart man. Give him a little credit. I"m sure whatever it is. He"ll understand..." They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Kate, Mrs. Meade"s secretary appeared inside the room apologetically. "I"m sorry to disturb you, Mrs. Meade, but Stella McCartney insists on seeing you for a few minutes. She barged in without an appointment and is waiting at your office. She said it"s a matter of urgency." Claire gave Betty"s hand a squeeze. "Don"t worry about us, Betty. I guess, I do need to talk to Daniel sooner or later. I hope you like the i-phone case," she added before leaving the room. Betty felt excited about her Dolce and Gabbana iphone case. It would look great with her evening dresses when she and Matt goes out on a special dinner date during their second month anniversary. She studied the crystals that embellished the case. She wondered if they were real diamonds, or less extravagant stone like zirconium or rhinestone. She removed one of her semi-precious earrings to compare it with the stones in the i-phone case when she accidentally dropped it. She went down on her knees to look for it. It wasn"t real diamonds but the earring was important to her. It was one of the last gifts she received from her ex-boyfriend, and even if things didn"t work out between them, she treasured the good moments they once had. She crawled under the bed, the side of the dresser, and the rack of clothes on the far right of the wall but she still couldn"t find the earring. She sat exhaustedly on the loveseat partially hidden by another rack of clothes. She lost her balance and fell back. She noticed something sparkling just underneath the loveseat. She crawled further under to check if it was her earring. Suddenly Mrs. Meade"s familiar Dolce and Gabbana booties came into view. The booties paced back and forth on a moderate pace before settling down on the armchair by the desk beside the bed. She was about to call out to Mrs. Meade when another pair of shoes came into view as it stepped into the secret room. They were a polished black Italian loafers beneath a dark grey martini suit. Mrs. Meade didn"t seem aware of the presence of the person that came into the room as her back was to the door. Betty gulped. She had the sinking feeling the pair of shoes did not belong to Daniel.

I followed him to the office down the hall. He was talking about how well the guild was doing while he pulled off his tall hat, revealing his pale pink scalp. He must have heard me chuckle, because he turned around quizzically, and grinned before resuming the short walk. My cheeks burned, and I doubt he couldnt have missed it.Rose sat at the table and I handed him the paper and coinpurse. He weighed the purse idly in one palm as he read the requisition. With a smile, he sat the things on the table and looked back at me. My heart skipped a beat. "Miss Valery-" "Just "Valery"." I blushed warmly, turning my eyes away to the thick cot in a corner. Does he -live- here? How devoted."Valery," Rose began again. "You seem uneasy tonight.""I"m fine." I"ve always been a bad liar. Rose grinned, knowingly, folding his arms over his chest. What big arms he has... When I didnt continue, he sighed softly. Rose grasped my hands, pulling me closer. "If there"s something on your mind, you know you can talk to me." He chuckled, "You were quite the little talker when you were younger.""That was long ago. I"m almost twenty summers now." I was defensive. Rose looked hurt briefly and didnt say anything for a moment. I wanted to leave, but those hands were around mine. He held them loosely, I could just pull away and leave, but I didnt. "I havent seen you in a while, I feared I might have said something wrong." I stared at him, into those eyes."I-" I stammered. Was I so oblivious last time, I didnt catch onto his words or the way he talked or behaved? I"m horrible with most subtleties. He leaned in and gingerly kissed my lips. That certainly was strait forward enough, I froze for several heartbeats. When I didnt respond, Rose hesitated, sighed and let my hands go. He looked like a puppy that just got kicked and apologized.But that kiss, it said something. No, it -stirred- something. "Rose," I spoke so softly, I didnt think he heard me. He looked back at me and I returned the kiss passionately. He wrapped his arms around me and I was glad I forgot my usual armor. His embrace was just... well, it felt lovely. As lovely as finding a rose in the desert. My arms wrapped around his large neck and I buried my nose in him. I learned why he was called Redolent Rose, being so close, he smelled wonderful. Like a fragrant rose.My front and thighs touched against his torso and I could feel his crotch bulge. He whispered my name and spoke something in ancient Roe. His voice was laced with lust, and I guess it was a sweet nothing. Rose slid his hands up my back, palms warming my skin as he explored. I sighed shakily, kissing his neck. He returned the kiss on my forehead, releasing me from the hug enough to explore my front.Those huge hands, how they undid my bra I dont know. His hands found my breasts and pawed needily. I slipped my shirt and bra off, and Rose suckled one of my tits. He shivered as I groaned into his ear. His suckling paused and he traced kisses over my shoulders as I groped his breeches. "Hurry," his sucked in a breath, pulling his overcoat and shirt off. "I"m trying." I finally undid the knot, and he bulged more with the extra room.Rose got to his feet, leaning over to drop his pants. He was very large and I had a feeling he wasnt quite done getting bigger. While he guided me to the thick cot, I loosened my pants and stepped out of them when they dropped. Rose sat before me and I got on my knees. He explored my skin, elliciting groans from me when he returned to suckling, teasing my other tit with a finger. Pulling me to his lap, I wrapped my legs around him, my heat hungry for him.He moaned softly as he pushed in slowly. I gasped loudly, hugging him close. He was huge, and I nearly came when he entered. I massaged his cock and Rose whispered more sweet nothings, "I need you." He laid back on the cot, pushing up in me. I rocked on him, groaning greedily as he hit my spot. He held my ass, and he just drove me crazy, pushing in me and his lips on my breast.I swore Rose knew his way around in a woman. Not that there was a lot to explore, but it"s the way he moved in me. I held his head, my groans intensifying as he hit another spot deeper in. He bucked into me, lips releasing my tit to ellicit a lustful growl. The movement made me come and I muffled yelling his name in his neck. The warmth that flooded in me felt like it warmed my whole body as we stayed where we were, breathing heavily."Oh, Val," Rose whispered, rubbing his thumbs over my thighs. I kissed his head and slowly slid off him, laying on my side and snuggling him. He wrapped me in his arms and I felt like I was home for the first time in my life. I kissed his chin and the next thing I remember is waking up in the morning, still wrapped in his arms. He was gazing up at the early shadows, and when I stirred, he looked down at me and kissed my lips."Good morning," he whispered. Rose kissed my nose, "How are you this lovely morning?" I kissed his neck, "Lovely, my darling Rose." He chuckled as my lips grazed his skin. He held me for a moment longer before sitting up on the cot, gazing down at my naked body. He rubbed my hip, hand sliding over a breast and fingering a nipple. I inhaled, raising a knee as his touch roused me. "Ohhh," he groaned, "I think I will love you more before I open the guild..." He pulled me into his arms, hardening and stretching to his limit. Rose had his way with me, and I welcomed him. I revelled him as he moved and made me come first, groaning intensly in his ear. As he suckled my tit, I kept massaging his manhood and rocking on him until he came. "I would think you were Menphina herself," Rose held me in his lap, my legs still around him and his spent member buried in me. I grinned, "I"m glad you love it." We stayed there for what seemed like a few moments before a knock disturbed us. "Redolent Rose?" Mylla"s voice made my heart skip a beat. Rose smirked down at me when I groaned softly. He laid me down and pulled the covers over me, pressing a finger over his pursed lips. I nodded and pulled the covers over my head as Mylla knocked and asked Rose to open the door. "A moment, please," Rose replied. He pulled a robe on and opened the door. She sounded worried, "Have you see Val? She didnt return to the guild last night." "Yes, she"s-" he hesitated a split second. A loud thud met my ears and Rose exclaimed. Mylla harumphed furiously and the sound of hurried footsteps left the room. Rose grunted heavily, shutting the door and sat at his table. "Always the short tempered lass." I sat up as he spoke. He held his face in his hands, and I got up to comfort him. My legs trembled from the exurtion last night and this morning, but I forced myself to him anyway. "Rose, did she hurt you?" He lowered his hands, revealing a dark red and slightly swollen cheek. I quickly wrapped my arms around his head, carresing him to my breasts. "She tends to swing before she asks questions," I cooed softly, stroking his head. "Her and I were engaged once, a long time ago." I froze as Rose"s words registered. No wonder he knew how to move in a woman. When I didnt respond, he continued, "But some other Midlander came into her life. He was a famous Gladiator, one of a popular pair." Rose looked up at me, apologizing. I stared into his eyes, those soft and sad eyes. I thought he had looked like a kicked puppy last night before we laid down, but now... I thought he would melt... "Rose," I pressed my fingers to his lips, "Shh." I kissed his forhead, "It"s ok." I dont know how long ago it was, or whom this other Midlander was, but I couldnt tell him I didnt like him. I loved how he pleased me, and he seems like a very genuine man. Anyone that loves as good as he does definately deserves a chance. Rose could have killed the sun with his smile. He kissed all over my face and neck, hands carressing my body. Oh, those hands on me, I felt myself rousing again and groaned in his ear. "By the Twelve, I want to please you again," I gasped. Rose laughed softly, "By the Twelve, you are hungry." To my pleasant surprise, he was rising again when I snuggled into his chest, his robe wrapped around us. I draped a leg over his thigh, grinding my naked crotch against his. "You certainly know how to please a Roegadyn," Rose pulled me into a deep kiss as he pulled my other leg over his. He leaned back with a growl, cock throbbing against my pussy. I shifted just enough, hungrily letting him in and tightening my leg hold on him. He grabbed my ass, slamming himself into me. We both groaned, holding each other desperately, pounding and pounding away at our sweet spots. The shadows outside moved to their midmorning places while we were exploring each other. I didnt care. All I cared about was him, his way with me, and pleasing him. Maybe I should have cared about Mylla, too... She had sounded upset by the way she had stormed out. "You were gone all night and morning!" Mylla was pacing. I sat on the steps to the ring in the main hall. Most were out for lunch, thankfully. "And you come marching back in like it was nothing!" She fumed about my irresponsibility, how worried sick she was. My explanation? I had gone to the Quicksand and got too drunk to safely walk back. So I had stayed there. "Thank the Twelve I didnt find you with Redolent Rose," Mylla heaved a sigh. I winced with those words. It stung, but I thought I should not yet tell her the truth. After a trembling inhale, Mylla stopped pacing and faced away, "To the ring, Val. You will practice your technique until your arms are numb." I stiffened and my eyes bulged. My legs were sore beyond doing much footwork during practice, and I was certain Mylla would notice. She trained me, after all. She knew all of my strengths and weaknesses. She would notice my reluctance to move my feet and legs. Fortunately, Mylla left. I did not move for several heartbeats, wondering if she were crying when she left. Finally, with a grunt, I dragged myself to my knees. I hadnt donned my armour since yesterday, and I didnt miss it when I began with a few basic strokes on the dummy. I needed to think. The next few days crept by. Mylla hardly talked to me, except to bark a few reminders about my swing or how to improve my blocking. The shield was a new addition to my regimen. It was heavy, and felt more of a burden than of any use. I finally got out on the third evening, after training. It was about the same time that Mylla had sent me to Rose that evening for the buckles and straps. It felt like forever since I last saw him. Rose welcomed me with a warm hug. Most were gone, eager for an early start on the week"s end. Rose took me to his room, wrapping me in his arms when we sat down on his cot, "You look troubled, Val." I smiled softly at him and buried my nose into his neck, "Mylla has been rather cross with me these last few days." There shouldnt be any reason for her to suspect Rose and I. "Val," Rose whispered, "it will pass. She is not so hot headed to hold a grudge forever." I beamed, kissing his lips softly. He returned the kiss as I felt his hands pawing over me. "And I missed you very much, my Goddess." We made love. He was on top this time, driving me crazy again. I wanted him to stay in me, to keep me high. While we loved and revelled each other, nothing mattered. I gave him all I could, and the way he moved, he was giving his all. I had no desire to return to the gladiators, or Mylla by the next morning. I just wanted to make love to Rose. After our morning loving, he got up first and dressed. He was a guildmaster, afterall. It wouldnt do if he stayed in bed all day, keeping a woman full. I laid on my back, still nude in Rose"s cot. Though I thought he should get a real bed, the opinion was fleeting. I never felt such a connection with anyone before. Sure, I had plenty of guy friends, and there were plenty of Roegadyn with the gladiators. But they were all just friends. Rose came in with two plates piled with foodstuffs. He smiled broadly, joining me on the cot. I was handed a plate when I sat up, almost immediately devouring a square of aldgoat meat. I didnt realise it was already about mid day. Rose chuckled, taking a few bites from his plate. The food was delicious, and when we set the empty plates aside, Rose leaned into me. He lapped at a nipple before suckling. I held the back of his head, arching my back. I laid on my back, legs spreading and expecting another round of love. He stripped hastily and crawled over me. His hard brushed against my thigh, making me ellicit a needy groan. With a grin, Rose teased my pussy, letting his tip throb against my heat. "Oh, Love," I groaned. He entered me, pushing my heat to its limit again. Rose growled when I massaged him, repeating "Oh, Valerie" several times. I held his head tightly against my breasts, working him to his climax. He made me come first again. With a few more movements, he warmed me up inside. "I love you, Val," he panted. "I love you so much, there is no room for anything else," I kissed his lips passionately. He stayed in me for another moment before pulling out. "Are you sure you"re not Menphina herself?" Rose grinned at me. I chuckled, rubbing his large shoulders. He dressed and returned to his guildmaster duties. I laid in the cot for another bell before I rose and dressed. Mylla would be mad again, but I couldnt keep my secret forever. She may have raised me, but I am old enough to make my own choices. She would find out sooner or later anyroad. "Move your feet," Howling Sword commanded. He slammed his sword into my shield, the force making my arm numb, "Keep your shield up."With a heavy groan, I forced my shield up. The large Roe swung again, landing another blow on my shield. I exclaimed, staggered backwards and fell hard on my ass. "Hey!" Howl grunted unhappily, "What is wrong with you, lass? You"re much better than that."I sighed and stood slowly, "Sorry. I"m not feeling great today." When Howl gave me his "I dont believe you" look, I hesitated. We were close enough to know if something was the matter, even though he was hard on me during practice. "It"s..." I looked away, "I really like someone, but I dont think Mylla would approve..." "Oh," Howl nodded in understanding. I figured he understood. He had a reputation for bedding women. I think he respected me enough to leave me alone in that sense, but it could be because me and Mylla were so close. "Lass," he smiled, sheathing his weapon, "best thing to do with Mylla, is be honest and to the point.""What"s going on, you two?" Mylla came in, looking us over. She looked suspicous. "We were just commenting on your swordsmanship," I butt in before Howl could speak. Mylla shook her head, "I dont think you were. Will you leave us, Howl?" He nodded and left, lowering his nose as he passed the guildmaster. Mylla continued, "What is going on, Valerie?" She stepped closer and held my shoulders.I sheathed my sword, "I... havent been totally honest..." Mylla sucked in a breath with my next words, "I"ve been with Rose..." She held her breath and I swore her eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head. Mylla finally exhaled and just stared at me silently. "Mylla, he"s amazing. He"s kind and smart, sweet and gentle and-!?" She backhanded me. My cheek stung as if stabbed by a giant hornet."Get out..." Mylla"s voice trembled. When I didnt move, she yelled louder. Tears poured from my eyes as I ran, but I didnt care who saw them. Redolent RoseI watched her grow up when she and Mylla joined the Gladiator"s Guild. I wasnt that old myself, barely seventeen summers when I arrived in Ul"dah. Mylla couldnt have been sixteen, and Val I dont think was ten yet. It wasnt until almost a year ago, I began to realize my feelings for her.She has a snarky sense of humor that always tickled me. Her ferocious outlook on life was admirable. She is smart and a fighter at heart, I"ve seen her out wit a few Lohengardes while she practiced in the coliseum. "Redolent Rose?" One of the new recruits" voice snaped me out of my daydream. I looked down at the Lalafell, trying to remember his name as he continued, "The hempen cloth, sir."He held up a small towel. It looked like a blanket in his arms. "Oh! You"re done already?" I knelt down and held the cloth in my hands. The fabric felt very fine and well crafted. I silently swore this weaver was a prodigy. "This is a very fine piece of work!" "Shall I deliver it, too?" he asked. I nodded, handing him his cloth. The Lalafell smiled and left. I rose back to my feet and glanced over the others. They were working diligently, as usual. They all seemed so engulfed in their works today.I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, opting for a stroll. It was almost lunch time, anyroad. I nodded at the receptionist as I left. The guild would be fine without my presence for a few hours. MyllaShe was barely ten, and I was only sixteen when we met. We bumped into each other in Pearl Lane one cool evening. She was already shivering in her thin rags, and it wasnt going to get much warmer during the night.We were both skinny, starved kids, surrounded by beggars and cutthroats. Nobody bothered us, we didnt have anything worth killing us over. But oddly enough, the moment I set my eyes on her, it was like finding my long lost sister. We joined the Gladiators not long after that. I told the then First Sword that we were sisters after I passed my initiation test. Val was too young to try just yet, but when she came of age, she was a natural.Redolent Rose came into my life a few months later. He was amazing, everything a man should be; strong, courageous, gentle, smart and a wonderful lover. He eventually proposed, and I said yes. Then, Aldis and his brother-in-arms partner joined the guild. I was immediately taken by this new guy. He"s still quite the charmer, though I seethe at the mere mention of him.Aldis knew every trick in the book, and then some when he was drunk. Rose noticed my infatuation with Aldis. He noticed my increasing apprehension as the days came and went. The night before our wedding, I told him I couldnt go through with it. I didnt stick around to see his reaction. After having told Val to get out, I felt horrible. I couldnt concentrate, so I went for a walk to clear my mind. The guild would be fine for a few hours and I was getting hungry. ValerieI found myself on a bench next to the fountain under the Sultana"s corridors. I hugged my legs, resting my cheek on my knees, staring at the waterfall. My cheeks burned, I knew they were stained from the tears.A few passed by. It had to be about lunch time, the crowds likely at their usual preferred taverns and inns to eat. I felt too upset to eat, even when my stomach turned hungrily. "Val...?" A familiar voice gasped. I looked up as Rose approached. He took one look at me, sat down next to me and wrapped me in his arms. "Val, what"s wrong?" his voice cooed as I nuzzled my nose into his neck."Mylla... kicked me out," my voice cracked and I began to shake. He stroked my hair, hushing me. He pulled me into his lap, arms still around me as I buried myself in his large chest. Being in his arms, I soon calmed enough to stop shaking. I felt Rose take a deep, apprehensive breath as footsteps approached. I looked up, Mylla was coming, and she looked furious. She stopped abruptly a couple yalms away and... she relaxed. She still looked pissed, but she didnt make any more moves if she wanted to lash out. "Val... and Rose," she glanced away briefly, then set her gaze back on us. "So-rr... sorry."I shifted and stood up from Rose"s lap, "I dont know what happened between you two... but thanks, I think." "I cant hold your," Mylla cringed, "love for each other against either of you. Val, you have my blessing."Rose held my arms as he spoke, "Thank you, Mylla. I was beginning to worry." One year later...Rose held me as I leaned against him, his hands over my slightly swollen belly. He gently kissed my neck, causing me to shiver in delight. "Mm, good morning to you, too, love."His dick hardened against my ass. "Oh, my hungry little princess, what would you have of me?" He growled teasingly. I craned my neck, planting kisses on his hairy chin, "I think you, big daddy." I turned around, spreading my legs around his waist. His thick member throbbed hungrily."Oh, I"ll give it all to you," he groaned lustfully, pulling me in and pressing my breasts against his chest. We kissed passionately before he laid me down on his cot. No, it is our cot. We were engaged, after all. I held his head as he suckled my breast, groaning louder as I reached climax. He kept me going for a while, teasing my spots as he moved. I loved it when he did that.We must have been going for a while. Shortly after we finished, a knock at the door and one of the guildmembers reminding Rose of the time interrupted our intimacy. Rose lay next to me for a little while longer, carresing and kissing my belly. He sighed softly before finally getting up and gathering his clothes. "I hope it"s a boy," I sat up and leaned against the wall, holding my hands to my baby bump.Rose chuckled, "I"m hoping for a girl." He tugged his undies and pants on. I gave him a look of disbelief. Most men want sons. "You are surprised?" He smiled warmly at me. I grinned up at him and shook my head, "You still do."Rose finished dressing and returned to me. He kissed my lips, gave our baby a kiss, and stood, "I will bring you some lunch soon. What would you like?""Surprise me," I winked up at him.

The Creeper"s upper half landed in the elevator, its other half flailing over the edge. The old man pushed it off with his boot as Steve fell back against the elevator wall. Greg crouched next to Steve as the Creeper flailed and screamed below their ride.And BOOM, the Creeper exploded, feeling far stronger than any before. The elevator trembled and stalled as the shaft shuddered. "Oh, no...!" the man gave the boys a horrified look, a large rock smashing into the floor near them. "Back into the tunnel!" Not a moment too soon, the whole shaft seemed implode on itself. They coughed and sputtered, leaning against the tunnel walls. The torches were blown out by the blast of debris, but at least the old man had grabbed a lamp on the way out of the large room."We-" the man sputtered, "should find another way out.""But there is no other," Greg protested. "It wont hurt to try, and besides, I wont just sit -here- and die slowly." He made a good point. "The name is Sam, by the way.""I"m Steve, and that"s Greg," Steve nodded. "And you have a good point." Greg looked grouchy about the unanimous decision, but had to agree with the reasoning. Their trek back to the room felt longer after the Creeper rush. Steve could not shake those red eyes from his memory. Their was... fear in them? Every time he thought he saw them in the dark, his heart skipped a beat. He did his best to hide the uneasiness, thankful Greg and Sam were too focused on finding a new exit. Trapped in the darkness. No way out and likely to be buried alive. The tunnel was long and grueling, but at least they didnt come across any forks. Or so they had hoped. The tunnel split in two, both ways looking as bleak as the other. The glowshard lamp proved useless, the glow only lit a few steps ahead."This is... hopeless." Greg heaved a sigh.Steve elbowed him, "Would you rather still be back at the elevator?" Greg shook his head immediately. Sam squinted down each path, trying to decide which way. One path could lead to an exit, the other could end in a deep pit. The threat and thought of more Creepers weighed heavily on Sam"s mind between the paths. "I just cant tell which way," Sam frowned. "But I have an idea." He plucked a strand of hair from his blonde head and held it close to the lamp. There was a draft, as he hoped, and it tugged the hair. Both boys were fascinated as the hair listlessly waved to the tunnel on the right. "We go this way.""How do you know by a draft?" Steve inquired."Drafts lead the way out." Nobody wanted to argue otherwise, exhaustion was wearing them down. Steve wanted to be watching the band perform their other songs, wondering if they were even still there. Nobody had a watch, and nobody could accurately tell if even the sun was still up.The tunnel dragged until they finally entered a room that closely resembled the first room a ways from the elevator. But this one seemed to have been used recently, the few desks were in haph-hazardly decent repair and propped up by stone blocks higher than an average person would have had them. Glowstone lamps illuminated old paintings on the walls, depicting scenes of Endermen and Creepers in epic battles, but one in particular caught Steve"s attention. "Look at this painting," Steve pointed to one that had the most action and stretched almost half the wall. The far left, one Creeper rose above a swarm of smaller green figures, posing in a face off to the other side. The far right depicted an enormous black dragon flying over an army of Endermen, maw agape in a roar as it"s side faced the Creepers on the left."That must be the hero in the middle," Sam pointed. A lone young man that looked no older than sixteen flourished a sword that pointed to the Creepers, body covered in bright blue armour. "And that giant Creeper must be the Green Nightmare."The Green Nightmare caused the most devastation in all Minecraft. It laid eggs by the hundreds. Many of its children would later cause catastrophic cave-ins, find ways to burrow beneath towns and small cities, and collapse them into the ground. It caused the world to tremble and almost every night bring nightmares from the shear amount of fear it instilled. Nobody knew where the Creeper-Children would devastate next. Nobody realized they had been watched until it was an arms length away, towering above the trio like a big black blanket. "You should not be here..." The voice felt disembodied, and as the trio whirled around, Sam instinctively drawing his sword out. He lunged at the towering black figure, but the agile being easily dodged."Have at me, Ender, I will give you a swift death!" The Enderman"s form seemed to fade and dissipate in the low light of the lamps. If he meant harm, he would surely have lashed out by now, especially if he had the element of surprise. "Humansss..." That voice again. Was it the Enderman? "Thisss room was not dug by human pickax. Who are you and why are you here?""Tell us who you are, first!" Sam stood before the two younger, trying to keep track of the figure. "What is this painting and what do you mean not dug by humans!?" Sam waved his steel sword demandingly. All of Minecraft"s non-natural tunnels were dug by the sweat, blood and pickax of humans. No other creature, except the suicidal blast of a Creeper, had the means to dig and tunnel. There was a long hesitation, but the Enderman finally spoke, "I am a hermit, I choose to live here, far from my people. That painting depicts the epic battle long ago. And I carved this little hole not long after your people abandoned the tunnels because it is conveniently located directly under an air shaft that is still in use about a mile strait up.""From the shadows, you! I want to see you in the light." The Enderman was rather agitated with all the demands. He radiated loathing and frustration. "Who are you, so that I may know who I pleasure company with," the Enderman hissed."Fine! I am Sam, greatest warrior known through my village. These boys are Greg and Steve." He nodded his head to each. The Enderman was shocked. Steve? The name rang like a beat gong. "Out from the shadows!" The figure slowly emerged, up and up, the trio craned their necks to see his face. He shrinked, at least enough so the trio didnt need to crane. "Sssteve..." Steve gulped as the Enderman Hermit continued, "You even look so much like him." Hermit stared at him, long and inquisitively."I-I"m no hero, I"m not that Steve." He wasnt a warrior. Steve was as strong as the average 17-year old, he had no real talents and did what most guys did his age. Unless the family was part of the military or the king ordered new, young men for the military, most kids were part of the caravans, farms, blacksmiths, mines, or construction. Since Steve"s father died shortly before his birth, he wouldnt be forced into the caravan business if he chose a career by eighteen, which was fast approaching. "If you are not that Steve, then I think the world could be in grave danger." Sam eyed Hermit suspiciously, and Hermit continued, "I have made a few discoveries deep beneath even this room. The Creepers are returning, and so may be the Green Nightmare." Greg began to protest, but Hermit interrupted, "You cannot deny Creepers have returned after decades. They are the children of the Nightmare, and will keep coming in rising numbers.""The Nightmare is dead along with it"s last clutch of disgusting, sickly eggs." Sam couldnt believe what he was hearing. Greg and Steve exchange disbelieved looks. "You must find the Heart of Minecraft, Steve, and destroy the Nightmare once and for all.""I"m not a warrior.""Nor was he," Hermit nodded his head to the long painting behind the trio. "After a cave-in blocked him from all escapes to the surface," Hermit paused, "He was given an honorable Enderman burial, one reserved for our greatest heroes. The Heart was buried with him, and I can show you the way." "I dont believe any of this..." Sam sighed as they trudged on ever more dark tunnels. Not like there were any other ways to go. The tunnels have been unusually straitforward. At least they wouldnt have to play rock-paper-sizzors or flip a coin to decide on which way they would go."Well, at least that Hermit didnt kill us on sight." Greg groaned back. That could not be denied. Endermen and humans have had little more than very hostile relations. Humans were seen as intruders when a very old pact was violated and humans began to mine deeper into the mountains. The Endermen saw this as an invasion into their deep dwellings and retaliated. When many of the tunnels collapsed, many miners died and the blame went to the Endermen, even though no proof could be obtained from the cause of collapse. There has never been peace since. The tunnel ended with a dirt wall. The trio stared in unified disbelief, jaws dropped and eyes wide. The lamp showed nothing immediately eye catching, it was a dead end made of compacted earth and stone. Soon, Sam roared in frustration and slammed their lamp against the wall, shouting a few obseneties as the shattered remains fell and went dark. It took him a moment to realize what Greg and Steve suddenly stared at.A glow from the impact of the lamp. In a frenzy, they dug at it with their hands. They dug a hole large enough for them to file through, and when they emerged, they all gawked. Their hands bleed some from digging, but towering before them was a monument made of pure diamond. The trio circled around it to see the front. It was a statue of a human, flourishing a sword in his left hand and a smooth fist-sized stone held at his chest in his right. Around the base laid many tributes of precious stones, dried mushrooms, roots, and various delicacies beyond the trio"s knowledge."Must be the hero," Greg said rhetorically. "No doubt we are deep in Ender teritory," Sam frowned. "I dont like this at all.""Maybe I can pass for some Steve incarnate and get us out?" Steve"s idea was outrageous, but if Hermit said he looked a lot like the hero, maybe it would work. "Though, as long as we"re here, I"d wager that "Heart" could make us a lot of money when we get back." "You have a point," Sam agreed. "It could hold power, too.""Let"s get started," Greg said impatiently. They split up in the room, which thankfully wasnt too big. Tall enough to house a fifteen foot high statue. The walls were about twenty-five feet long, glittering with patterns of various figures made of gems. A glowstone at each corner of the statue were carved into Endermen figures, gently illuminating the room. The trio searched for any signs of a grave, but found no clues. Nothing to give away where a body might be buried. "Well, lets try the next room," Sam pointed to a heavy set of lapis lazuli doors. Standing at the doors, they were very ornamental, veins of red arched and swirled as if through an ocean spray."They must love this guy," Greg chuckled. The trio heaved and shoved the doors, but made no progress. They kept trying the doors until they were all too tired from the exertion. Finaly, they sat down to rest, backs leaning against the door. Steve wiped sweat from his forehead, "I"m starving..." He stared at the various delicacies scattered around the statue, "What do you suppose those dishes are made of?""Hard to say," Sam sighed. "There"s a book in Mine City"s library about some of the things Enders grow underground for food. Mushrooms, mostly.""If they just grow mushrooms, the food should be just fine," Greg rose to his knees.Sam grabbed Greg"s forearm, "Some mushrooms are poisonous to us. You"d be dead in a minute, and I wouldnt know which ones are ok." Greg flopped back down, but as his back touched the door, it opened. The trio fell backwards as their support was suddenly gone, and they stared up at a group of five Endermen, each holding various dishes or gems. Everyone was caught off guard, surprised with the other group"s abrupt appearance, Endermen more so."Humans!" "How in the Nether?" "We are too deep underground, arent we?" Sam was the first to his feet, sword drawn. Steve was quickly back to his feet, grabbing Sam"s arm. Greg slowly rose, hesitating. "It means us harm!" "Quiet!" One Enderman yelled. "That one looks like Steve." The Endermen murmured quietly."Uh, yes!" Steve stammered nervously, "I am his incarnate." All the Endermen stared at him in a long silence, then all laughed. "You dont look that much like him," said the Enderman that seemed to be leading the group. "But how did you get here?"Sam sheathed his weapon with a few more insistent arm squeezes as Steve spoke, "An Enderman hermit told us." He must have said it in a funny way because the Endermen chortled amongst themselves. "That crazy old one still obsessed with the hero of old? Ha! But I must say you"re coming here now is no coincidence. The Creepers have returned.""We noticed," Greg retorted."You must also be quite hungry. It"s a very long way from the surface." The dinning room was very long, stretching for what felt like almost fifteen minutes. And it was packed with Endermen. It must have held the entire Ender population, at least the residence under a couple of mountains. The Endermen were noisey with chatter and jovial conversations as they were served various dishes that made the trio"s mouth water. They needed booster seats, the tables and chairs were sized for beings almost three times their height.Almost every dish was mushroom based. Red and white dotted mushrooms, grey-brown mushrooms, green ones and bioluminescent ones. Few dishes were not poisonous to the human visitors, Sam was given a sauteed mushroom and onion dish with a creamy jelly like sauce. Steve was given a steak made of maroon mushrooms sprinkled with a spore based spices. Greg had a soup with an earthly scent and bioluminescent mushrooms that made the cloudy liquid glow. "You guys eat anything other than mushrooms?" Steve asked.After a group of boisterious laughing, one Enderman explained, "Yes, but most everything cant grow without sunlight, so we just make do with what we can grow." Another chimed in, "We do have a species of cow that we get milk and meat from, too." Steve thought back during the trip through the Endermen"s world to the dinning hall. Many were there, the majority of the Endermen were on their way to the same place. Others tended to the soil, laboring away. A few led cattle to tunnels that Steve did not know where went. "The mountains are huge," Sam spoke. "There must be much more space than what we saw coming here."The first Enderman nodded and spoke again, "Yes, this place is quite small compared to the kingdom as a whole. Most that reside here are for the King"s disposal. Cooks and grounds keepers mostly, but more recently, many ocilots." When the Enderman was given an inquisitive look, he continued, "Ocilots seem to be the only creature that Creepers genuinly fear. Why, though, remains a mystery." The grand, gem studed obsidian doors creaked and moaned as they opened. Silence almost immediately seized the room as a tall, husky figure entered, escorted by four Endermen each with a sword and shield. Three ocilots hissed and yowled as they sniffed the air, trailing the company."Hail, King!" The room erupted in the greeting. When the King beat his mug on the table at his big empty chair like a hammer, silence came as quickly as the shouts erupted. "My people," King spoke loudly, "I hear we have guests from the surface." He stared at the trio briefly, eyes then lingered on Steve for a moment. "One of our guests is... The Hero of the Endermen."Everyone murmured, hushed and whispered to their neighboring seats. All eyes were suddenly on Steve as the King continued, "The Hero that will end the Green Nightmare once and for all..." The feast was eventually over. It lasted for hours after the King entered. Sam was asleep in his chair, his steel armour was tugged off shortly after they began eating and it had disapeared with one of the servants. The trio"s bellies were bulging as Greg and Steve leaned back in their chairs. The King watched them talk about the surface world, their dreams and hopes, as the long table soon emptied except for just them."I just dont know what I wanna do for the rest of my life," Steve sighed. Greg was in a construction family, and loved building with a passion. Though having dabbled in most of Mine City"s family careers, Steve could not decide. Caravans travelled a lot, and even with the thrill of going to new places was fascinating, he did not want to be forced away from his mother. They"re all that"s left of their family. King Ender finally spoke, "Steve, I have a proposal... Since the return of the Creepers, my people have been fighting a losing battle, ever more so when we have tunnels collapsing and cutting off supplies. The surface world would be very useful for us to traverse our supplies to cut off settlements, without the fear of human interferance. We are at war with Creepers, trying to keep them contained. We are slowly failing.""You want me to ask my king to allow Enders to travel freely and join the war against Creepers? Nobody will listen. He wont listen, even if I could get enough of his time." King Ender sighed heavily, the rubies and sapphires on his obsidan crown made him look like he had many extra eyes. "Then, maybe he will listen if you show him the Heart of Minecraft."Steve and Greg gawked as King Ender placed a stone on the table. It was not just a stone or gem or metal. It was... supernatural. It was the size of a fist, glowed softly all the colors of gems, and made of no material Steve or Greg knew. "With the Heart, your King -will- listen." Steve leaned over the table, staring at the stone. "It is... far more beautiful than I could have imagined. If he is not convinced by this stone, what then?""Then we are all doomed." They were given warm beds to sleep, but the first thing when they awoke, they would be taken back to the surface. The journey back felt longer than their adventure to get there. It was mostly one long tunnel with fewer and fewer rooms the higher they went. King Ender explained that it was an emergency exit, and the trio would be blindfolded before they got too close to the surface.The blindfolds eventually covered the trio"s eyes. King Ender told them that they would have visitors in a few nights to hear what King Minecraft would say as they exited the tunnel. It was cool, and the absence of the sun"s warm kiss implied it was night. Mine City was in view once their eyes were uncovered, and the Endermen simply vanished into the dark night. Steve believed they could have vanished just as effortlessly under a bright, full moon. The guards gave them strange looks as one of them stopped the trio. "Halt. Who travels this late at night and why?""Sir," Sam faked a smile, "We are just back from questioning a village about the recent Creeper attacks. We are tired, for we had no piggies to ride, and wish to inform the King first thing in the morning."They were given a good look over by the guards, Steve trying not to hold his breath. The moment dragged on and Sam finally spoke impatiently, "Are we not to enter or what?" "Very well, sirs." Finally, the gate raised for them. Once out of earshot, Sam agreed to meet Steve in the morning, and they would try telling the King. Greg said he was going to be in too much trouble to go anywhere for a while, groaning about his parent"s strict rules.Steve was very happy when he landed in his own bed. How long were they gone? Last night and all of the next day? Having just gotten up just several hours before, Steve was still too wound up to relax enough for sleep. With all that just happened didnt help in relaxing, either. And King Ender called him the "Hero of the Endermen". Steve wasnt a hero, he was just a kid that helped his mother barely get by. The Heart shined brightly while Steve held it up as he lay in bed. It felt warm in his hand, comforting and gentle. He gazed at the surface, captivated by the brilliant colors that sparkled and danced. It looked like a smooth marble, but certainely couldnt be made of the same material.Bored and unable to sleep, Steve tucked the Heart into his pants pocket and sat up. It was suddenly almost pitch black, his eyes needing a few moments to adjust to the dim glow from the lamp posts outside. Steve stood up and decided to go for a walk. The air was still cool and crisp, streets still deathly quiet with the occasional scurry of a stray or pet. Steve wandered for several minutes before he looked up and noticed dawn was approaching. Several "Hyah!" shouts stole his attention to a martial arts dojo, and Steve gasped as he saw his favorite band inside. They were in formation with a few others, punching in unison. The dojo crest hung on the wall above them, a diamond sword and a pickax crossed below a shiney marble that reflected a rainbow of colors.But it was odd that they were here so early in the morning. Curious, Steve entered, just as the instructor yelled a new order, "Fall in for one-on-one!" All the students lined up in a circle around their master. "Sparklez and Rando! Hyup!"

Steve wiped sweat from his forehead, "I"m starving..." He stared at the various delicacies scattered around the statue, "What do you suppose those dishes are made of?""Hard to say," Sam sighed. "There"s a book in Mine City"s library about some of the things Enders grow underground for food. Mushrooms, mostly.""If they just grow mushrooms, the food should be just fine," Greg rose to his knees.Sam grabbed Greg"s forearm, "Some mushrooms are poisonous to us. You"d be dead in a minute, and I wouldnt know which ones are ok." Greg flopped back down, but as his back touched the door, it opened. The trio fell backwards as their support was suddenly gone, and they stared up at a group of five Endermen, each holding various dishes or gems. Everyone was caught off guard, surprised with the other group"s abrupt appearance, Endermen more so."Humans!" "How in the Nether?" "We are too deep underground, arent we?" Sam was the first to his feet, sword drawn. Steve was quickly back to his feet, grabbing Sam"s arm. Greg slowly rose, hesitating. "It means us harm!" "Quiet!" One Enderman yelled. "That one looks like Steve." The Endermen murmured quietly."Uh, yes!" Steve stammered nervously, "I am his incarnate." All the Endermen stared at him in a long silence, then all laughed. "You dont look that much like him," said the Enderman that seemed to be leading the group. "But how did you get here?"Sam sheathed his weapon with a few more insistent arm squeezes as Steve spoke, "An Enderman hermit told us." He must have said it in a funny way because the Endermen chortled amongst themselves. "That crazy old one still obsessed with the hero of old? Ha! But I must say you"re coming here now is no coincidence. The Creepers have returned.""We noticed," Greg retorted."You must also be quite hungry. It"s a very long way from the surface." The dinning room was very long, stretching for what felt like almost fifteen minutes. And it was packed with Endermen. It must have held the entire Ender population, at least the residence under a couple of mountains. The Endermen were noisey with chatter and jovial conversations as they were served various dishes that made the trio"s mouth water. They needed booster seats, the tables and chairs were sized for beings almost three times their height.Almost every dish was mushroom based. Red and white dotted mushrooms, grey-brown mushrooms, green ones and bioluminescent ones. Few dishes were not poisonous to the human visitors, Sam was given a sauteed mushroom and onion dish with a creamy jelly like sauce. Steve was given a steak made of maroon mushrooms sprinkled with a spore based spices. Greg had a soup with an earthly scent and bioluminescent mushrooms that made the cloudy liquid glow. "You guys eat anything other than mushrooms?" Steve asked.After a group of boisterious laughing, one Enderman explained, "Yes, but most everything cant grow without sunlight, so we just make do with what we can grow." Another chimed in, "We do have a species of cow that we get milk and meat from, too." Steve thought back during the trip through the Endermen"s world to the dinning hall. Many were there, the majority of the Endermen were on their way to the same place. Others tended to the soil, laboring away. A few led cattle to tunnels that Steve did not know where went. "The mountains are huge," Sam spoke. "There must be much more space than what we saw coming here."The first Enderman nodded and spoke again, "Yes, this place is quite small compared to the kingdom as a whole. Most that reside here are for the King"s disposal. Cooks and grounds keepers mostly, but more recently, many ocilots." When the Enderman was given an inquisitive look, he continued, "Ocilots seem to be the only creature that Creepers genuinly fear. Why, though, remains a mystery." The grand, gem studed obsidian doors creaked and moaned as they opened. Silence almost immediately seized the room as a tall, husky figure entered, escorted by four Endermen each with a sword and shield. Three ocilots hissed and yowled as they sniffed the air, trailing the company."Hail, King!" The room erupted in the greeting. When the King beat his mug on the table at his big empty chair like a hammer, silence came as quickly as the shouts erupted. "My people," King spoke loudly, "I hear we have guests from the surface." He stared at the trio briefly, eyes then lingered on Steve for a moment. "One of our guests is... The Hero of the Endermen."Everyone murmured, hushed and whispered to their neighboring seats. All eyes were suddenly on Steve as the King continued, "The Hero that will end the Green Nightmare once and for all..." The feast was eventually over. It lasted for hours after the King entered. Sam was asleep in his chair, his steel armour was tugged off shortly after they began eating and it had disapeared with one of the servants. The trio"s bellies were bulging as Greg and Steve leaned back in their chairs. The King watched them talk about the surface world, their dreams and hopes, as the long table soon emptied except for just them."I just dont know what I wanna do for the rest of my life," Steve sighed. Greg was in a construction family, and loved building with a passion. Though having dabbled in most of Mine City"s family careers, Steve could not decide. Caravans travelled a lot, and even with the thrill of going to new places was fascinating, he did not want to be forced away from his mother. They"re all that"s left of their family. King Ender finally spoke, "Steve, I have a proposal... Since the return of the Creepers, my people have been fighting a losing battle, ever more so when we have tunnels collapsing and cutting off supplies. The surface world would be very useful for us to traverse our supplies to cut off settlements, without the fear of human interferance. We are at war with Creepers, trying to keep them contained. We are slowly failing.""You want me to ask my king to allow Enders to travel freely and join the war against Creepers? Nobody will listen. He wont listen, even if I could get enough of his time." King Ender sighed heavily, the rubies and sapphires on his obsidan crown made him look like he had many extra eyes. "Then, maybe he will listen if you show him the Heart of Minecraft."Steve and Greg gawked as King Ender placed a stone on the table. It was not just a stone or gem or metal. It was... supernatural. It was the size of a fist, glowed softly all the colors of gems, and made of no material Steve or Greg knew. "With the Heart, your King -will- listen." Steve leaned over the table, staring at the stone. "It is... far more beautiful than I could have imagined. If he is not convinced by this stone, what then?""Then we are all doomed." They were given warm beds to sleep, but the first thing when they awoke, they would be taken back to the surface. The journey back felt longer than their adventure to get there. It was mostly one long tunnel with fewer and fewer rooms the higher they went. King Ender explained that it was an emergency exit, and the trio would be blindfolded before they got too close to the surface.The blindfolds eventually covered the trio"s eyes. King Ender told them that they would have visitors in a few nights to hear what King Minecraft would say as they exited the tunnel. It was cool, and the absence of the sun"s warm kiss implied it was night. Mine City was in view once their eyes were uncovered, and the Endermen simply vanished into the dark night. Steve believed they could have vanished just as effortlessly under a bright, full moon. The guards gave them strange looks as one of them stopped the trio. "Halt. Who travels this late at night and why?""Sir," Sam faked a smile, "We are just back from questioning a village about the recent Creeper attacks. We are tired, for we had no piggies to ride, and wish to inform the King first thing in the morning."They were given a good look over by the guards, Steve trying not to hold his breath. The moment dragged on and Sam finally spoke impatiently, "Are we not to enter or what?" "Very well, sirs." Finally, the gate raised for them. Once out of earshot, Sam agreed to meet Steve in the morning, and they would try telling the King. Greg said he was going to be in too much trouble to go anywhere for a while, groaning about his parent"s strict rules.Steve was very happy when he landed in his own bed. How long were they gone? Last night and all of the next day? Having just gotten up just several hours before, Steve was still too wound up to relax enough for sleep. With all that just happened didnt help in relaxing, either. And King Ender called him the "Hero of the Endermen". Steve wasnt a hero, he was just a kid that helped his mother barely get by. The Heart shined brightly while Steve held it up as he lay in bed. It felt warm in his hand, comforting and gentle. He gazed at the surface, captivated by the brilliant colors that sparkled and danced. It looked like a smooth marble, but certainely couldnt be made of the same material.Bored and unable to sleep, Steve tucked the Heart into his pants pocket and sat up. It was suddenly almost pitch black, his eyes needing a few moments to adjust to the dim glow from the lamp posts outside. Steve stood up and decided to go for a walk. The air was still cool and crisp, streets still deathly quiet with the occasional scurry of a stray or pet. Steve wandered for several minutes before he looked up and noticed dawn was approaching. Several "Hyah!" shouts stole his attention to a martial arts dojo, and Steve gasped as he saw his favorite band inside. They were in formation with a few others, punching in unison. The dojo crest hung on the wall above them, a diamond sword and a pickax crossed below a shiney marble that reflected a rainbow of colors.But it was odd that they were here so early in the morning. Curious, Steve entered, just as the instructor yelled a new order, "Fall in for one-on-one!" All the students lined up in a circle around their master. "Sparklez and Rando! Hyup!" Captain Sparklez and one of the Try Hard Ninjas leapt into the ring, snapped their uniforms and bowed. The master raised a hand and yelled "Begin!" as he jerked his hand down. The two immediately went into their fighting positions.Sparklez made the first swing, fast and sharp to Rando"s shoulder. Steve had a feeling it was meant to be blocked, Sparklez immediately swinging his other fist as Rando took a more defensive style. Once Rando found an opening, he took it and kicked, quick and precise. It was blocked, and the two kept at it for several more minutes until Sparklez finaly found Rando"s chest with a heavy punch. Rando took a few steps back, both combatants breathing heavily as Rando rubbed his chest. They smiled at each other, and flew at the other in a renewed frenzy of punching and kicking. Steve just gawked as their flurries of fists and feet were almost blurred.The skirmish was heating up, and finally, their fists met between them, arms straining against their fists. Slowly, they took a step back and bowed. For the brief moment he was bowing, Sparklez turned his head to stare strait at Steve. This was the first time Steve saw him without his trade mark sunglasses, and his eyes were... different. Most of the Ninja"s eyes were different. They all wore masks, so nobody saw their real faces when they performed. Their master noted Sparklez"s averted attention and followed the gaze. Suddenly, everyone stared. Their gazes were curious and eerie gazes. Goosebumps rippled over Steve"s arms, legs and back of his neck.The dojo master approached Steve, the students returning to their rows. "Young lad, we dont get many visitors this time of the day," the master smiled. "I heard the yelling and thought to admire your class," Steve returned the smile nervously."Would you like to join us?" Steve"s heart leapt in his chest and he grinned."I would love to," Steve stammered, "But I"m not that good." "It"s no problem, lad, just take your shoes and socks off and bow when you get on the mat." Steve hustled obediently and filled in a vacant spot behind Rando.They began with a basic punch. As the students yelled with each thrust of their fists, the master paced before the students, "The world is full of enemies. They have no fear, they have no mercy. When they strike, do not show fear, do not show mercy until they are fully on the ground. They will not spare either for you, but in their defeat, hope they will learn. In their defeat, show them the fear of their victims, show them the mercy of humble defeat." They started on roundhouse kicks. "There is no fear. Only the mercy of a humble defeat." The Heart in Steve"s pocket was pushed out after a few practice kicks. "Do not start a fight unless you fully accept the consequ-" The master stopped and stared with wide eyes, "The... Heart?" Everyone turned to stare, awe struck.Steve quickly scooped it up and shoved the shining stone back in his pocket, stammering, "I think I"ve had enough practice for one day." He backed up to where he left his shoes and socks and picked them up. Steve was ready to bolt out the door when Sparklez said, "Wait! How did you...?" Steve hesitated, free hand covering the occupied pocket."It"s from deep beneath the ground," Steve stated bluntly. "Yes, we do know that," Dojo Master bluntly replied. "But how did you come to have our people"s most precious possession?"Steve didn"t know how to explain, "But you are all humans, I didnt get this from humans." Most of the students, including Sparklez, glanced out the window. The sun was up enough to fully light the sky now. Dojo Master stepped to the windows and lowered a gate. No light got through as he flipped a switch, dimmed lights turned on. All but a few stretched. They stood almost to the ceiling, and one by one, took off masks and wigs that covered their entire heads. They were Endermen. The few that remained were not, and didn"t seem surprised at all. Sparklez was the first to kneel, the rest following suite, and spoke, "Our King trusted you with that stone, and we will trust you also.""Just who are you?" Steve gasped."We..." Sparklez grinned, "we are Captain Sparklez and the Try Hard Ninjas. We were disguised as a band in hopes to learn more of the humans and re-establish a peace treaty." "Why hide all these years?""We would likely have been killed, at best," Dojo Master shook his head and sighed, "Or used for experiments in your King"s dungeons. Humans can be far too curious for their own good.""Better to lay in wait for the right moment," Sparklez nodded. The attack was sudden. Creepers swarmed outside, seemingly by the thousands. Steve and Sparklez had been on the way to Steve"s home, Steve wanted to let his mom know he was well and safe. But outside the city walls, explosions boomed like canons."I wish we had ocelots," Sparklez grimmaced. He was in disguise. Otherwise, he would be dragged off the streets by the guards before he walked a block. An Enderman"s skin is extraordinarily sensitive to sunlight, anyways. Without protection, an Enderman would be literally fried on the outside. "The hero that vanquished the Creepers before, how did he use the Heart? He did, right?" Steve held the Heart in his pocket, not yet daring to pull it out yet."Nobody knows, at least from what I"ve been told," Sparklez cringed as more explosions echoed through the streets. "We should find cover, now!" When Steve began to protest to retrieve his mother, Sparklez grabbed his arm and half dragged him through the streets in a hurried dash. The Enderman was far stronger than Steve, no matter how hard he struggled against Sparklez. "We should save the city, not just her," Sparklez yelled as they hurtled through the streets. The archers were better prepared, if just minutely. The arrows struck more truely in the daylight, taking out Creepers before they detonated themselves. For every Creeper that was shot or exploded, two would arise from the mines. How so many managed to surround the city was beyond anyone, unless they had been laying in wait for the moment to strike.They were back at the dojo, Sparklez barreling through the door with Steve in tow. "Master! We"re under attack!""I know, hurry!" Sam"s eyes bulged in their sockets when the first explosions rumbled the dirt path beneath his feet. He was on his way to Steve"s house to make sure the kid didnt dilly-dally before going to the King. The street and houses ahead of him collapsed upon themselves, many screams of horror echoed in Sam"s head. For a long moment, Sam"s heart thumped in his chest and his head ached at the thought of Steve and his mother being burried in their own home.The collapse didnt look like it went very far, maybe half a dozen houses on each side. Steve"s house was much further, so at least him, his mother and the Heart were still safe. "Sam!" Greg caught up with the aging warrior. "Steve isnt at home, I ju-" Greg"s gaze went to the demolished houses and gasped, "Holy Shroom-Cows.""Kid! Since we cant find Steve at this time, I think we should see the King. Tell him we need the Endermen to help us fight."Greg gulped. It was a plan, and a sound one. Hopefully the King may be willing to at least ask for alliance from their otherwise hostile and underworldly neighbours. The most recent explosion was way too close, and came from the direction of Steve"s house and unsuspecting mother. "Mom!" Steve yelled, turning to the door.Sparklez grabbed his arm firmly, "Steve! You will save far more than just your mother if we get to your King sooner.""She"s not "just" my mother!" Steve and Sparklez stared at each other, Rando, the Dojo Master and the students almost thought they would have to break up a fight. Sparklez hesitated, "Then we hurry." He ran with Steve near effortlessly as they hurtled to Steve"s home without another word to the confounded master and students. Sparklez"s master yelled for his return, but the student did not faulter.Steve burst through the door to his home, yelling, "Mom! Mom!" Nobody was there. Steve panted heavily, returning to the front room and collapsed on the couch. He searched everywhere, but there was neither hide nor hair of her. "Where-!?" It is unlike her to leave without leaving a note behind. "She isnt here, we must get to your King," Sparklez frowned. Once outside, though, Steve sighed at the rubble that started a few houses down. The street was impassable, resembling a miniature canyon. Between the houses was a shear ten foot drop surounded by rubble."How can we-," Steve suddenly stopped talking and looked down at his pocket. The Heart buzzed softly and vibrated. Taking it out, Steve held the Heart in his palm, it sparkled, then several bolts of lightning lashed out at the mini canyon in front of them. The earth shimmered and the dirt road rebuilt itself. The street was quickly repaired, but the houses remained rubble. "Why just the road?" Steve stared in wonder."The road is made of dirt and soil. The houses are human made and not entirely of natural materials.""So the Heart has the power to repair natural materials? Could it fix the entire planet?""I dont know for sure, but it would seem so. We should hurry," Sparklez hurried ahead, Steve barely able to keep up. Another explosion rocked the earth beneath them. Steve was thrown to the ground hard, Sparklez collapsed to his knees. Hissing alerted them to nearby Creepers. How did they get into the city?!"Sparklez!" Steve yelled as three Creepers emerged from a newly made hole by a ruined house. The Enderman narrowed his eyes at the green monsters and leapt at them. With a war cry, Sparklez was a flurry of punches and kicks as Creepers screeched and died. Steve"s jaw dropped as Sparklez seemed to just fly effortlessly around them, striking precisely and hard. He knew exactly where to strike. "Amazing," Steve gasped. Creepers kept coming, they quickly began to pour out of the hole. Steve hastily thrust the Heart towards the hole, hoping it would do its magic on the rent earth, "Heart, seal that hole!" The Heart was already at work, the same lightning crackling and the hole sealed. Creepers exploded under the new seal, but it didnt reopen.Sparklez yelped as the one remaining Creeper bit his arm. With a well aimed chop, the Creeper relaxed and fell to the ground dead."Whew, that was intense," Sparklez sighed. Dark red, almost black, blood seeped out of the wound, sizzling and turning rancid merely seconds after being exposed to the sun. "Bring that Heart here, kiddo!" Steve obliged, holding the Heart to the wound. Nothing happened as Sparklez breathed heavier and faster, "I must... need a bandage!" Steve quickly tore the sleeve off his tee-shirt and slipped it over the wound. It wasnt quite big enough, so his other sleeve was added. "You gonna be okay?"Sparklez shook his head, slowly relaxing, "Just give me a moment. Even a few minutes under direct sunlight can kill us."Sparklez was much slower on the trip to the human"s King. He struggled to jog, and constantly paranoid the makeshift bandage would loosen.

Back in Ul"dah, Hunfrid sat heavily on the stone bench attached to the fountain just down the street from the Quicksand. He rested his head back on the ledge, almost too tall to do so. Closing his eyes, Hunfrid hoped he wasnt finally done growing just yet. Roegadyn usually stopped growing by their twentieth summer, but sometimes didnt stop growing for another few years. Only at eighteen summers, Hunfrid still had at least a couple more years to grow.A pair of large Sea Wolves approached, each grinning or smirking and garbed in Immortal Flames coats. Hunfrid raised his head, looking at them, "May I help you?" He had a bad feeling. "We require a... "fee" of sorts, for the goodwill of the guards," one chuckled and glared. The other nodded, "Goodwill, and fer keepin" th" peace." Hunfrid glanced around for anyone else, heart sinking when he realised they were alone. When Hunfrid gulped, the first growled, "Your money, now.""I dont have anything on me," Hunfrid said, and he was truthful. The second guard punched a hand into the other palm, sneering, "Then we a" beat it from ye"!" The first guard threw a hard punch, landing on Hunfrid"s cheek. The Lohengarde fell to the ground from the force, yelling from the sharp throbbing left by the hit. The second guard stepped to the fallen Roegadyn and kicked him in the gut. Hunfrid yelled again and groaned, clutching his stomach and curling up. "Stop! I have nothing!" But Hunfrid"s plea was only met with a few more kicks before the Sea Wolves left him, laughing.Hunfrid heaved, coughing up blood as he dragged himself onto the bench. He gingerly patted his side, hoping the mostly closed bite wound hadnt been torn open again. The bandage felt more damp, worrying Hunfrid. He pulled up his shirt enough to inspect the white cloth, and it was a few shades lighter than red. Hunfrid stayed where he was, recouping himself before daring to find a healer. When his bandage got a little darker, he pushed himself to his feet and headed for the Gladiator"s Guild. A healer was almost always on duty, or just a few minutes away, in the event an accident occured.When he told Mylla, she was furious at Hunfrid for not fighting back. She didnt stop yelling and scowling until the healer had ushered her out of his cramped room to let him rest. Hunfrid didnt stir even once until that evening when his stomach growled. Though the healer had healed his bruised cheek and helped his side, Hunfrid would still need time for the hole to mend on its own. Hungry, he left his room. Mylla glared at him when he passed through the main room, but didnt stop him when he left.The Quicksand wasnt very crowded, most of the evening goers had already gone by now. Hunfrid hoped the two bullies had already had their fill and gone while he scanned the room for a table. He almost tripped over a pair of legs, catching himself a half an ilm from them. Hunfrid stepped back, "I-I"m sorry, miss."The Sea Wolf woman rose to her feet and smirked, "S"alrigh", milord. A" should"nay "ave "ad me legs out there like tha"." She rubbed her temple just above her patched left eye.Hunfrid wrinkled his forehead, "Please, I am just "Hunfrid"." He smiled, "I"m no lord." "As ye" wish, milord-... Hinfrid. The name"s Antares." She grinned briefly, and scowled, holding a hand to the linkpearl in her ear. "M"sorry, duty calls." She winked at Hunfrid.With a blush, Hunfrid nodded, "Menphina bless you." Hunfrid couldnt sleep, tossing and turning on his cot. His ribs ached and hurt from the beat down earlier, and the thin blanket under him didnt help. Mind whirling with the day"s happenings, Hunfrid groaned as he pushed himself up. He sat for a moment, closed his eyes and bowed his head, "Menphina, thank you for each night and morning, and for your grace."He slowly opened his eyes, and the mini airship sat off-center of a dull beam of moonlight. Hunfrid blinked and squinted, and the moonlight faded. Did Menphina try to tell him something? As the week passed, Hunfrid spent as much of his free time as he could tinkering with a discarded cait sith doll. It had a metal skeleton still in very good condition, but its cogs, joints and cords were in disrepair. What stumped Hunfrid was a small, round hole that seemed to hold a little ball. He could not figure out what it was for.But the doll needed some form of power to animate, for there was no sign of any wind-up cranks. Did it need a small magitech power core? A little condensed magic would certainly do the trick. Maybe the Thaumaturge"s Guild could help with that. The mages would surely know how, with all the things they could do with the aether. When he finally got a day to himself, Hunfrid packed the doll in his satchel and made his way to the Thaumaturge"s Guild. The building was imposing, looming over the courtyard like a tonberry. With a gulp, Hunfrid entered quietly and hesitantly, not very sure what to expect.A Lalafell garbed in a dark robe approached when Hunfrid had made a couple yalms inside. A tall statue with a curved blade glowered down at a platform of praying disciples. The Lalafell put a finger to his lips, urging silence. He beckoned Hunfrid to follow him, leading the Lohengarde to a side room. "Just talk quietly," the shortling insisted after he pushed the door shut. He hopped onto a chair and gestured for Hunfrid to take another. When the other seat was taken, the Lalafell inquired, "You are obviously not very apt with the aether, so what brings you here?"Hunfrid tugged out the doll and showed the hole for the power core. "Im looking for a magitech power core for this."The mage"s eyes widened, "Magitech? That"s Garlean technology and beyond my understanding." He gazed inquisitively at Hunfrid, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "But... we do have an individual that can help." Hunfrid couldnt believe his luck. The cait sith doll sprang to life on the table at the Quicksand, prancing before him on two legs while its eyes glowed a dim green. It soon calmed down, getting down on all fours and pawing around a circle. With a quiet thump, it laid down and acted like it was sleeping.Hunfrid smiled as he had admired the doll, leaning back in his chair. When it laid down, Hunfrid crossed his arms over his chest, thinking. If he could fix this doll as well as he fixed the airship, could he make a decent living as a tinkerer or toymaker? He had to find out. Working for the Gladiator"s Guild was great, but got boring after the first few months. Hunfrid headed for the market to see what he could bargain for the doll.Pushing through a crowd, Hunfrid aproached one of the advertisement boards that people posted requests to buy, sell or trade. There wasnt much out of the normal clothing or material requests. Before he turned away, a Free Company flyer caught his eye. "Do you seek to gather riches beyond measure? Have a lust for notoriety so strong only the blood of the most dangerous foes will quench it? Perhaps you seek to rectify a life of bad choices with charity and service to those in need?Our company was founded to house a growing band of adventurers eager to stake their place in the world of Hydaelyn. We all have a place on this wide and wandering road. Find yours with us.Visit your local OIC administrator today!~Raandal BennettCompany Leader: Path of Oschon" Adventuring! It sounded far more dangerous than what the Lighthouse had offered, but Hunfrid hadnt heard from that Free Company in a month. He shook his head and turned away, but hesitated.Hunfrid raised a hand to his chest, looking down at the ground. He was perplexed at the odd ache he felt. Looking back at the flyer, Hunfrid stared thoughtfully. He almost jumped out of his skin when the doll stirred in his hand. The cait sith doll wriggled, and when its captor loosened his hold, squirmed to the giant"s shoulder. It pawed the air, as if trying to point. When Hunfrid gave it a peculiar look, the doll patted his cheek with one paw and continued to point with the other.With a gulp, Hunfrid slowly understood, and murmured a short prayer for Menphina"s blessing. "Your name, age and profession, sir," the officer inquired. "We will mail your application to the Free Company leader and you will be contacted by one of their recruitment officers.""Of course," Hunfrid answered all the questions. When the application was finished, he was dismissed. Hunfrid had gone several yalms down the street from the office before he stopped and slowly inhaled. His wound was hurting again. With a sigh, he found an empty bench and sat. With a quiet grunt, Hunfrid tugged his shirt up just enough to examine the bandage. It was light pink and otherwise still very dry.Relieved, Hunfrid smoothed down his shirt and leaned back. To his pleasant surprise, Antares stopped midwalk about a yalm in front of him. Hunfrid returned the smile that soon greeted him with a grin. "Milor-... Ah, well, good seein" ye again! Ye look like ye could use a bit o" company?" Hunfrid nodded, motioning to the rest of the empty bench. Taking a seat next to Hunfrid, Antares gave him a friendly nudge on his arm. He winced when her elbow met the bruise from being kicked, Antares stared at him questioningly."I-it"s nothing," Hunfrid gulped. "How are you?" Antares narrowed her eyes at him, unconvinced. When she folded her arms and scowled, Hunfrid continued nervously, "It was a couple of Sea Wolves in Flames uniforms. They demanded money, and when I didnt give them any..." He gingerly patted his stomach, "They beat me down and kicked me." Antares stared at him in disbelief, "Wha"?!" Hunfrid looked away sheepishly and Antares frowned, "Hunfrid, who were they?"He shook his head, "They didnt say.""Here," Antares grabbed one of Hunfrid"s hands and pressed a linkpearl into his palm. "If they mess with ye again, let me kno". I will teach them th" lesson of their godsdamned lives." She was serious. Hunfrid nodded, swallowing and making a mental note to not ever piss her off. The next several days went by slowly as Hunfrid waited anxiously. He managed to sell the doll for a good price to a pair of expecting Midlanders. With the money, he purchased supplies to start on another mini airship and had enough left to send some things back home. Mylla wasnt very thrilled when Hunfrid told her he was going to try his hand at making toys, but she didnt argue against it so long as he didnt neglect his work at the guild.The week came and went, and the airship was done. Hunfrid posted a flyer at the market for the toy, and when he returned to the guild, found a letter waiting for him in his room. It was from the Free Company, inviting him to an interview all the way in the Black Shroud, far to the north. The date is for late next week, barely enough time to get there by chocobo. Hunfrid huffed a sigh as he stood before the building at Hawthorne. Fearing he was late, he hurried inside and looked around. A handful of Midlanders and Wildwood Elezen went about their business while a few sat patiently on a bench.One Midlander woman looked up at Hunfrid expectantly. Tilting his head, Hunfrid approached her, "I am expected, miss. Are you Daphine?" She nodded and smiled. Daphine had left him with much to consider. The Free Company didnt have much need for a tinkerer, so she offered him to opt for one of the many disciples of war or magic. Healing had taken the greatest interest for Hunfrid, though he paled slightly when he thought of all the blood that could be involved.But with next to no skill with a weapon, Hunfrid considered healing to be the best alternative. Thaumaturgy just seemed too violent for his taste. So healing it was. But even then, there were options. Conjurery drew its power from the elementals and nature while Arcanima used "logic to shape reality", whatever that meant.Having had been in Gridania for a few moons before, Hunfrid concluded that Conjurery would be the way to go. He had fallen in love with the forest, and a part of him wanted to return. It"s not like he had to abandon his small toymaking and tinkering business alltogether, as he could always work that in between what the Conjurer"s Guild had him do or study. Hunfrid didnt realize where he was going, so lost in thought. He didnt notice the pair of Sea Wolves from before until it was too late. They each hooked Hunfrid"s arms and half dragged the reluctant Lohengarde to a bench. Shoving him to sit down, one growled, "Ye had better have some gil on ye this time!"Hunfrid wrinkled his forehead and shook his head. His sinking feeling felt like he hit rock bottom as he tentatively reached for the link pearl in his ear, "An-Antares-?!" The wind was knocked out of his lungs, and almost immediately he was grabbed and thrown against the back of the stone bench. Antares" voice yelled through the link pearl, "Where are ye, lad!" "Th-the founta-" Hunfrid yelled in pain when he was thrown to the floor. With a hard kick to his stomach, Hunfrid coughed out a few drops of blood and curled up. "St-stop!" Hunfrid cried. Another voice, a paniced one, spoke hastily through the pearl, but was soon quieted by Antares."Next time, we"ll take it from your hide," one Sea Wolf sneered before they left Hunfrid. They were gone by the time Antares showed up, and she looked to almost froth with fury. "Where be those godsdamned-" the moment she laid eyes on the Hunfrid curled up, she took two steps to him and knelt, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. "Lad?" Hunfrid winced when she grasped his shoulder, and when he heard her voice, looked up at her.Hunfrid heaved, spitting up more blood as a Lalafell woman approached, "You must be Hunfrid! Sit still, this wont hurt one bit." She conjured healing magics, focusing them all around and through the Lohengarde. With a relieved sigh, Hunfrid leaned heavily against the stone bench when the soothing magic did its work, "Thank you, miss...?" She introduced herself with a reassuring smile. "Thank you, miss Memeli." Hunfrid weakly smiled back and looked up at Antares with a somber sigh, "I"m sorry.""What fer, lad?" "I should learn to defend myself..."Antares scoffed, "Nay, yer jus" no" th" fightin" type." "Oh hi there, Hunfrid!" Memeli"s voice stopped him on his way to the Quicksand. "Feeling better, big guy?"Hunfrid nodded, "Very much so, yes." He smiled gratefully for the shortling. Memeli smiled brightly, walking around the giant and reaching up to pat his butt. Hunfrid lofted an eyebrow at her, tilting his head in curiosity. "Huh. People usually over react."Hunfrid chortled and replied, "People are usually flirting when they do that." He winks, a grin spreading on his face. Memeli inspected him, his reaction and expression, "Yet you have many lightyalms ahead of you to reach me.""It will be just a few steps for me," they laughed at his reply. "I"ll be heading back to Gridania for a little while to study more," Hunfrid explained. He thanked Menphina for the week without event of the bullies as he prepared for the trip.Antares grinned at him, "A" kno" ye"ll do great. Healin" fits ye well." Hunfrid blushed as she downed more of her large bottle of ale. "Ye"ll see, lad." She was about six or seven years older than him, but Hunfrid grew more fond of her company over the last week. She had even told her tale of what was behind her eye patch, to Hunfrid"s intrigue and pleasant surprise. Their conversation lulled and as the other patron"s voices drifted around them, Hunfrid thought about Red Hawk. The last place he saw her was at a lonely bench near Limsa"s port. At one point, Hunfrid was on his side in a fit of laughter as Red leaned over him to tickle him.They had talked for a while, and means to make money had been brought up. Red was more serious when she mentioned "selling yourself" for money. Hunfrid detested the idea, but couldnt think any less of his friend for mentioning it. Antares finished her ale, pounding the empty bottle on the table. The sound startled Hunfrid, snapping him from his revere. "Ye return from yer daydreamin"." Antares chuckled.Hunfrid smirked, "Just thinking about a friend I met." Antares gave him a knowing look and Hunfrid stammered, "She"s just a friend, honest!" His innocent expression told Antares he was telling the truth. When Antares swayed in her seat, Hunfrid gave her a worried look, "You feeling well, miss Antares?" She nodded, wiping the groginess from her eye. Unconvinced, Hunfrid offered, "Let me help you to your room."Antares frowned at him, and obliged with a nod and a grunt. Hunfrid rose to his feet and helped her up, tugging one of her arms over his shoulders when she wobbled. "Yer a sweet lad, lad." "You will be heading to Bentbranch," E-Sumi explained. "There will be a Miqo"te woman with a wounded leg. I suspect you understand what I ask?" Hunfrid nodded, "You want me to heal her." The Padjal smiled back and dismissed him.Easy enough, Hunfrid thought to himself. But he couldnt help but sigh, hoping he wouldnt let down the Guildmaster. At least Bentbranch wasnt too far, about a half day there and a half day to return. Since it was mid-day already, Hunfrid would have to stay the night there and return the next day. The sun was almost gone when he entered the tavern. He peered around, expecting to see any sign of a wounded Miqo"te. A few were there, but all seemed without apparent injuries. As he took a seat at a bench that wrapped around a support beam, a Miqo"te woman hobbled in. Fresh blood stained her pants, making Hunfrid look away and pale.The innkeeper eyed her warily, "You alright, Rhysa?" She just scowled and huffed, "I"m just fine. A room, now." The innkeeper hesitantly added her to his book and turned to look for a key. Hunfrid rose to his feet and approached, "Miss? I"m a healer, and was sent to-""I"m fine," came a firm interruption as Rhysa leaned on the counter. The inn keeper started taking his time looking for that key. Hunfrid shook his head, his nervousness showing in his voice, "At least let me stop the bleeding." Rhysa stared in annoyance at him, but thankfully obliged. She hobbled to the bench where Hunfrid was and almost fell to the floor when she sat.Kneeling before her, Hunfrid inhaled sharply as he channeled the elements to start healing. He couldnt fully shake the sight of blood from his thoughts, but he gratefully found the elements answering his desire to heal the woman. The soothing magics did its work, at least for the most part. The wounds were sealed and the bleeding mostly stopped. She will have a few bruises and feel sore for a while, but bleeding to death was no longer a worry. "Dont forget this," Rhysa opened a ripped part of her pants. Hunfrid gasped and staggered backwards, falling hard to his bottom. A two ilm piece of wood stuck out of her leg, caked and oozing blood. Rhysa scoffed, "Some healer you are!"Hunfrid took a deep breath to steady his nerves, "S-sorry. Hold st-still." He bit the inside of his cheek as he got back to his knees. With a deep breath, Hunfrid grasped the wood and tugged it out, quickly covering the hole with his other hand. It took a little longer to conjure the healing magic this time, but when he finally managed to seal the wound and stop the bleeding, he heaved a sigh. Rhysa shoved his hand off her leg when he finished, "Enough pawing!" Sweat trickled down Hunfrid"s face, and as he clamoured to take a seat next to her, wiped the sweat away. Rhysa folded her arms over her chest, extending her leg out and flexing her ankle. "Barely good enough."Hunfrid chuckled, "I"ll take that as a "thanks". You"re welcome." Rhysa stood and took a few steps. Her gait was not nearly as labored, but she sti limped slightly."Good night," she stated matter-of-factly. Rhysa turned on her heel, picking up the room key on the counter as she left. Hunfrid tossed and turned restlessly. His pillow damped with sweat as he stirred in his dreams.It was pouring so hard, the rain suffocated him. Lightning streaked through the sky as thunder boomed defeaning roars. Hunfrid was soaked to his skin as the rain pounded his skin and clothes. He couldnt see beyond his arm"s reach. When the lightning flashed, he thought he could see a familiar scene distorted by the rainfall. The rain ceased as fast as it began, revealing a soaked crater. Hunfrid instantly recognized it as one from home."M-mother! Father..." Hunfrid cried. He ran hard and fast, aching to see his parents and sister. He skidded to an unceremonious halt at the door to their ash and mud hut. "Mom!" Hunfrid hollered as he rushed inside. She was there, rising to her feet, "Hunfrid?" She was surprised, "I thought you were in Ul"dah?" Hunfrid was at a loss for words, approaching his mother. All he could think of doing was hugging her, and he did."What"s wrong, my baby," she asked, wrapping her arms around him. Hunfrid still couldnt find any words, and a looming sense of dread enveloped his senses. A roar echoed outside, a terrible roar that could only come from one source. "Mom," Hunfrid cried. He feared releasing her from the embrace. "Where"s dad and sis?" The roar boomed louder, and sounded much closer."Your father will take care of sis," she replied, reassuringly. Hunfrid gulped and nodded. The air boiled so suddenly and so hotly, Hunfrid jerked awake. He panted, realising he had only been dreaming the evening that the dreaded Bahamut had flew by them. He was only thirteen then, in his mother"s arms as they waited for the terrible roars to finally stop.He missed them dearly. When Hunfrid looked out the window, the moon"s rays slipped through the tree branches, and into his room. He got up, knelt in the moonlight and prayed.

The tunnel was pitch black and had a cold that seemed to bite at the bones. At least the torches lit the way. Greg took lead, holding his torch out to see before he stepped.They kept going for thirty minutes, growing increasingly impatient. There was nothing down here except one long, boring tunnel. Finally, a soff glow emerged ahead. Excited, the boys hurried. The glow grew, and was very familiar. It was a glowstone piece set in a lamp, showing the way into a large room. Old, partly ruined tables lined one wall, many moldy books, more glowstone lamps, and a caved in entrance to another tunnel. But there was somebody here!Steve and Greg gave each other curious glances and approached the man in steel armour. He leaned over an old book that sat on a mostly repaired and shambly desk.He turned around and looked at the two in complete shock. "Boys! How did you get here?" "The same way as you," Greg replied grumpily. Great, now they would be kicked out!"It is too dangerous for two young men," he continued. "You should leave." Steve turned to Greg, "Well, not like there"s anything interesting down here." Greg sighed. Steve is right, nothing down here but a bunch of ruined furnishings and some old man in steel."Alright, lets go." But before they could turn to the tunnel they came, a hiss and a loud explosion erupted from the other side of the cave-in. The boom shook the room, rocks and dirt cascading from the ceiling. The debris from the cave-in crumbled, one more explosion rocked the room and a Creeper"s head emerged from the rubble. "Run!" the older man yelled. And they fled down the tunnel they came. The hissing followed and crept closer, seemingly much faster than possible. Steve looked over his shoulder and yelled, galvanized into a faster pace. Those horrible red eyes!They finally made it to the elevator as another explosion rocked the tunnel. The Creepers were almost upon them as they dove into the elevator and slammed into the lever that started the pullies. A few feet off the ground, a Creeper leaped at them. Steve locked a stare with the red eyes. Horrified, sad, angry and madening red glare that seemed to make Steve"s heart stop for a split second. The Creeper"s upper half landed in the elevator, its other half flailing over the edge. The old man pushed it off with his boot as Steve fell back against the elevator wall. Greg crouched next to Steve as the Creeper flailed and screamed below their ride.And BOOM, the Creeper exploded, feeling far stronger than any before. The elevator trembled and stalled as the shaft shuddered. "Oh, no...!" the man gave the boys a horrified look, a large rock smashing into the floor near them. "Back into the tunnel!" Not a moment too soon, the whole shaft seemed implode on itself. They coughed and sputtered, leaning against the tunnel walls. The torches were blown out by the blast of debris, but at least the old man had grabbed a lamp on the way out of the large room."We-" the man sputtered, "should find another way out.""But there is no other," Greg protested. "It wont hurt to try, and besides, I wont just sit -here- and die slowly." He made a good point. "The name is Sam, by the way.""I"m Steve, and that"s Greg," Steve nodded. "And you have a good point." Greg looked grouchy about the unanimous decision, but had to agree with the reasoning. Their trek back to the room felt longer after the Creeper rush. Steve could not shake those red eyes from his memory. Their was... fear in them? Every time he thought he saw them in the dark, his heart skipped a beat. He did his best to hide the uneasiness, thankful Greg and Sam were too focused on finding a new exit. Trapped in the darkness. No way out and likely to be buried alive. The tunnel was long and grueling, but at least they didnt come across any forks. Or so they had hoped. The tunnel split in two, both ways looking as bleak as the other. The glowshard lamp proved useless, the glow only lit a few steps ahead."This is... hopeless." Greg heaved a sigh.Steve elbowed him, "Would you rather still be back at the elevator?" Greg shook his head immediately. Sam squinted down each path, trying to decide which way. One path could lead to an exit, the other could end in a deep pit. The threat and thought of more Creepers weighed heavily on Sam"s mind between the paths. "I just cant tell which way," Sam frowned. "But I have an idea." He plucked a strand of hair from his blonde head and held it close to the lamp. There was a draft, as he hoped, and it tugged the hair. Both boys were fascinated as the hair listlessly waved to the tunnel on the right. "We go this way.""How do you know by a draft?" Steve inquired."Drafts lead the way out." Nobody wanted to argue otherwise, exhaustion was wearing them down. Steve wanted to be watching the band perform their other songs, wondering if they were even still there. Nobody had a watch, and nobody could accurately tell if even the sun was still up.The tunnel dragged until they finally entered a room that closely resembled the first room a ways from the elevator. But this one seemed to have been used recently, the few desks were in haph-hazardly decent repair and propped up by stone blocks higher than an average person would have had them. Glowstone lamps illuminated old paintings on the walls, depicting scenes of Endermen and Creepers in epic battles, but one in particular caught Steve"s attention. "Look at this painting," Steve pointed to one that had the most action and stretched almost half the wall. The far left, one Creeper rose above a swarm of smaller green figures, posing in a face off to the other side. The far right depicted an enormous black dragon flying over an army of Endermen, maw agape in a roar as it"s side faced the Creepers on the left."That must be the hero in the middle," Sam pointed. A lone young man that looked no older than sixteen flourished a sword that pointed to the Creepers, body covered in bright blue armour. "And that giant Creeper must be the Green Nightmare."The Green Nightmare caused the most devastation in all Minecraft. It laid eggs by the hundreds. Many of its children would later cause catastrophic cave-ins, find ways to burrow beneath towns and small cities, and collapse them into the ground. It caused the world to tremble and almost every night bring nightmares from the shear amount of fear it instilled. Nobody knew where the Creeper-Children would devastate next. Nobody realized they had been watched until it was an arms length away, towering above the trio like a big black blanket. "You should not be here..." The voice felt disembodied, and as the trio whirled around, Sam instinctively drawing his sword out. He lunged at the towering black figure, but the agile being easily dodged."Have at me, Ender, I will give you a swift death!" The Enderman"s form seemed to fade and dissipate in the low light of the lamps. If he meant harm, he would surely have lashed out by now, especially if he had the element of surprise. "Humansss..." That voice again. Was it the Enderman? "Thisss room was not dug by human pickax. Who are you and why are you here?""Tell us who you are, first!" Sam stood before the two younger, trying to keep track of the figure. "What is this painting and what do you mean not dug by humans!?" Sam waved his steel sword demandingly. All of Minecraft"s non-natural tunnels were dug by the sweat, blood and pickax of humans. No other creature, except the suicidal blast of a Creeper, had the means to dig and tunnel. There was a long hesitation, but the Enderman finally spoke, "I am a hermit, I choose to live here, far from my people. That painting depicts the epic battle long ago. And I carved this little hole not long after your people abandoned the tunnels because it is conveniently located directly under an air shaft that is still in use about a mile strait up.""From the shadows, you! I want to see you in the light." The Enderman was rather agitated with all the demands. He radiated loathing and frustration. "Who are you, so that I may know who I pleasure company with," the Enderman hissed."Fine! I am Sam, greatest warrior known through my village. These boys are Greg and Steve." He nodded his head to each. The Enderman was shocked. Steve? The name rang like a beat gong. "Out from the shadows!" The figure slowly emerged, up and up, the trio craned their necks to see his face. He shrinked, at least enough so the trio didnt need to crane. "Sssteve..." Steve gulped as the Enderman Hermit continued, "You even look so much like him." Hermit stared at him, long and inquisitively."I-I"m no hero, I"m not that Steve." He wasnt a warrior. Steve was as strong as the average 17-year old, he had no real talents and did what most guys did his age. Unless the family was part of the military or the king ordered new, young men for the military, most kids were part of the caravans, farms, blacksmiths, mines, or construction. Since Steve"s father died shortly before his birth, he wouldnt be forced into the caravan business if he chose a career by eighteen, which was fast approaching. "If you are not that Steve, then I think the world could be in grave danger." Sam eyed Hermit suspiciously, and Hermit continued, "I have made a few discoveries deep beneath even this room. The Creepers are returning, and so may be the Green Nightmare." Greg began to protest, but Hermit interrupted, "You cannot deny Creepers have returned after decades. They are the children of the Nightmare, and will keep coming in rising numbers.""The Nightmare is dead along with it"s last clutch of disgusting, sickly eggs." Sam couldnt believe what he was hearing. Greg and Steve exchange disbelieved looks. "You must find the Heart of Minecraft, Steve, and destroy the Nightmare once and for all.""I"m not a warrior.""Nor was he," Hermit nodded his head to the long painting behind the trio. "After a cave-in blocked him from all escapes to the surface," Hermit paused, "He was given an honorable Enderman burial, one reserved for our greatest heroes. The Heart was buried with him, and I can show you the way." "I dont believe any of this..." Sam sighed as they trudged on ever more dark tunnels. Not like there were any other ways to go. The tunnels have been unusually straitforward. At least they wouldnt have to play rock-paper-sizzors or flip a coin to decide on which way they would go."Well, at least that Hermit didnt kill us on sight." Greg groaned back. That could not be denied. Endermen and humans have had little more than very hostile relations. Humans were seen as intruders when a very old pact was violated and humans began to mine deeper into the mountains. The Endermen saw this as an invasion into their deep dwellings and retaliated. When many of the tunnels collapsed, many miners died and the blame went to the Endermen, even though no proof could be obtained from the cause of collapse. There has never been peace since. The tunnel ended with a dirt wall. The trio stared in unified disbelief, jaws dropped and eyes wide. The lamp showed nothing immediately eye catching, it was a dead end made of compacted earth and stone. Soon, Sam roared in frustration and slammed their lamp against the wall, shouting a few obseneties as the shattered remains fell and went dark. It took him a moment to realize what Greg and Steve suddenly stared at.A glow from the impact of the lamp. In a frenzy, they dug at it with their hands. They dug a hole large enough for them to file through, and when they emerged, they all gawked. Their hands bleed some from digging, but towering before them was a monument made of pure diamond. The trio circled around it to see the front. It was a statue of a human, flourishing a sword in his left hand and a smooth fist-sized stone held at his chest in his right. Around the base laid many tributes of precious stones, dried mushrooms, roots, and various delicacies beyond the trio"s knowledge."Must be the hero," Greg said rhetorically. "No doubt we are deep in Ender teritory," Sam frowned. "I dont like this at all.""Maybe I can pass for some Steve incarnate and get us out?" Steve"s idea was outrageous, but if Hermit said he looked a lot like the hero, maybe it would work. "Though, as long as we"re here, I"d wager that "Heart" could make us a lot of money when we get back." "You have a point," Sam agreed. "It could hold power, too.""Let"s get started," Greg said impatiently. They split up in the room, which thankfully wasnt too big. Tall enough to house a fifteen foot high statue. The walls were about twenty-five feet long, glittering with patterns of various figures made of gems. A glowstone at each corner of the statue were carved into Endermen figures, gently illuminating the room. The trio searched for any signs of a grave, but found no clues. Nothing to give away where a body might be buried. "Well, lets try the next room," Sam pointed to a heavy set of lapis lazuli doors. Standing at the doors, they were very ornamental, veins of red arched and swirled as if through an ocean spray."They must love this guy," Greg chuckled. The trio heaved and shoved the doors, but made no progress. They kept trying the doors until they were all too tired from the exertion. Finaly, they sat down to rest, backs leaning against the door. Steve wiped sweat from his forehead, "I"m starving..." He stared at the various delicacies scattered around the statue, "What do you suppose those dishes are made of?""Hard to say," Sam sighed. "There"s a book in Mine City"s library about some of the things Enders grow underground for food. Mushrooms, mostly.""If they just grow mushrooms, the food should be just fine," Greg rose to his knees.Sam grabbed Greg"s forearm, "Some mushrooms are poisonous to us. You"d be dead in a minute, and I wouldnt know which ones are ok." Greg flopped back down, but as his back touched the door, it opened. The trio fell backwards as their support was suddenly gone, and they stared up at a group of five Endermen, each holding various dishes or gems. Everyone was caught off guard, surprised with the other group"s abrupt appearance, Endermen more so."Humans!" "How in the Nether?" "We are too deep underground, arent we?" Sam was the first to his feet, sword drawn. Steve was quickly back to his feet, grabbing Sam"s arm. Greg slowly rose, hesitating. "It means us harm!" "Quiet!" One Enderman yelled. "That one looks like Steve." The Endermen murmured quietly."Uh, yes!" Steve stammered nervously, "I am his incarnate." All the Endermen stared at him in a long silence, then all laughed. "You dont look that much like him," said the Enderman that seemed to be leading the group. "But how did you get here?"Sam sheathed his weapon with a few more insistent arm squeezes as Steve spoke, "An Enderman hermit told us." He must have said it in a funny way because the Endermen chortled amongst themselves. "That crazy old one still obsessed with the hero of old? Ha! But I must say you"re coming here now is no coincidence. The Creepers have returned.""We noticed," Greg retorted."You must also be quite hungry. It"s a very long way from the surface." The dinning room was very long, stretching for what felt like almost fifteen minutes. And it was packed with Endermen. It must have held the entire Ender population, at least the residence under a couple of mountains. The Endermen were noisey with chatter and jovial conversations as they were served various dishes that made the trio"s mouth water. They needed booster seats, the tables and chairs were sized for beings almost three times their height.Almost every dish was mushroom based. Red and white dotted mushrooms, grey-brown mushrooms, green ones and bioluminescent ones. Few dishes were not poisonous to the human visitors, Sam was given a sauteed mushroom and onion dish with a creamy jelly like sauce. Steve was given a steak made of maroon mushrooms sprinkled with a spore based spices. Greg had a soup with an earthly scent and bioluminescent mushrooms that made the cloudy liquid glow. "You guys eat anything other than mushrooms?" Steve asked.After a group of boisterious laughing, one Enderman explained, "Yes, but most everything cant grow without sunlight, so we just make do with what we can grow." Another chimed in, "We do have a species of cow that we get milk and meat from, too." Steve thought back during the trip through the Endermen"s world to the dinning hall. Many were there, the majority of the Endermen were on their way to the same place. Others tended to the soil, laboring away. A few led cattle to tunnels that Steve did not know where went. "The mountains are huge," Sam spoke. "There must be much more space than what we saw coming here."The first Enderman nodded and spoke again, "Yes, this place is quite small compared to the kingdom as a whole. Most that reside here are for the King"s disposal. Cooks and grounds keepers mostly, but more recently, many ocilots." When the Enderman was given an inquisitive look, he continued, "Ocilots seem to be the only creature that Creepers genuinly fear. Why, though, remains a mystery." The grand, gem studed obsidian doors creaked and moaned as they opened. Silence almost immediately seized the room as a tall, husky figure entered, escorted by four Endermen each with a sword and shield. Three ocilots hissed and yowled as they sniffed the air, trailing the company."Hail, King!" The room erupted in the greeting. When the King beat his mug on the table at his big empty chair like a hammer, silence came as quickly as the shouts erupted. "My people," King spoke loudly, "I hear we have guests from the surface." He stared at the trio briefly, eyes then lingered on Steve for a moment. "One of our guests is... The Hero of the Endermen."Everyone murmured, hushed and whispered to their neighboring seats. All eyes were suddenly on Steve as the King continued, "The Hero that will end the Green Nightmare once and for all..." The feast was eventually over. It lasted for hours after the King entered. Sam was asleep in his chair, his steel armour was tugged off shortly after they began eating and it had disapeared with one of the servants. The trio"s bellies were bulging as Greg and Steve leaned back in their chairs. The King watched them talk about the surface world, their dreams and hopes, as the long table soon emptied except for just them."I just dont know what I wanna do for the rest of my life," Steve sighed. Greg was in a construction family, and loved building with a passion. Though having dabbled in most of Mine City"s family careers, Steve could not decide. Caravans travelled a lot, and even with the thrill of going to new places was fascinating, he did not want to be forced away from his mother. They"re all that"s left of their family. King Ender finally spoke, "Steve, I have a proposal... Since the return of the Creepers, my people have been fighting a losing battle, ever more so when we have tunnels collapsing and cutting off supplies. The surface world would be very useful for us to traverse our supplies to cut off settlements, without the fear of human interferance. We are at war with Creepers, trying to keep them contained. We are slowly failing.""You want me to ask my king to allow Enders to travel freely and join the war against Creepers? Nobody will listen. He wont listen, even if I could get enough of his time." King Ender sighed heavily, the rubies and sapphires on his obsidan crown made him look like he had many extra eyes. "Then, maybe he will listen if you show him the Heart of Minecraft."Steve and Greg gawked as King Ender placed a stone on the table. It was not just a stone or gem or metal. It was... supernatural. It was the size of a fist, glowed softly all the colors of gems, and made of no material Steve or Greg knew. "With the Heart, your King -will- listen." Steve leaned over the table, staring at the stone. "It is... far more beautiful than I could have imagined. If he is not convinced by this stone, what then?""Then we are all doomed." They were given warm beds to sleep, but the first thing when they awoke, they would be taken back to the surface. The journey back felt longer than their adventure to get there. It was mostly one long tunnel with fewer and fewer rooms the higher they went. King Ender explained that it was an emergency exit, and the trio would be blindfolded before they got too close to the surface.The blindfolds eventually covered the trio"s eyes. King Ender told them that they would have visitors in a few nights to hear what King Minecraft would say as they exited the tunnel. It was cool, and the absence of the sun"s warm kiss implied it was night. Mine City was in view once their eyes were uncovered, and the Endermen simply vanished into the dark night. Steve believed they could have vanished just as effortlessly under a bright, full moon. The guards gave them strange looks as one of them stopped the trio. "Halt. Who travels this late at night and why?""Sir," Sam faked a smile, "We are just back from questioning a village about the recent Creeper attacks. We are tired, for we had no piggies to ride, and wish to inform the King first thing in the morning."They were given a good look over by the guards, Steve trying not to hold his breath. The moment dragged on and Sam finally spoke impatiently, "Are we not to enter or what?"

While Hunfrid labored over a bench at the guild, static came through over the Lighthouse"s linkshell. Since joining the small Free Company, Hunfrid wondered if he would ever be called to serve, even if he could not fight or cast any spells. He had since discovered his intuition in repairing almost anything, from basic training dummies to miniature windup toys.But at least the airship hull was taking shape, with the help of a book from another local guild. With a few extra compartments, Hunfrid could store nuts and bolts in it while he made repairs. What he could use as propellers, he did not know just yet. "Hunfrid," Mylla interrupted his work, yelling from the other room, "we got more work to do!" Hunfrid knew, when the guildmaster called, you responded quick. Else, her fiery temper would teach you well. With a sigh, Hunfrid set the unfinished toy on his cot and left the cramped room."You"re going to a small town near Limsa," Mylla explained. "Gods know why they couldnt wait for a more local guild to respond, but since they"re paying enough, I wont complain." "What will I be doing?" Hunfrid inquired, perplexed."You"ll be doing what you"re good at. Repairing broken dummies and fitting them for their local guard and military training. Apparently, the Limsa guilds are quite pre-occupied helping bolster the Maelstrom"s forces with recent beastmen activity." Hunfrid was glad to be getting out of Ul"dah for a while. The few days of travel time would give him plenty of time to finish the toy. One other guildmate joined him, a Sea Wolf that went by the name Howling Sword. He boasted about all the women he had bed with, though Hunfrid had learned that though Howl was good with a sword, he was a lot of talk and little else.Howl went on about a fine elezen he had met long ago while Hunfrid carved and whittled wood into miniature masts and propeller blades. When Howl slapped him on the shoulder in a jovial gesture, Hunfrid"s knife slipped and cut his thumb. Howl apologized as Hunfrid wrapped a kerchief around the wound and just shrugged. The boat ride to Limsa was less eventful other than Hunfrid finishing the second mast of the windup toy. The city was just as much the "shining jewel" as Hunfrid had heard. Though he wished to have stayed for a few hours, the two were hurried to the caravan that would take them on their last stretch to the town near Summerford Farms.It was a quiet town, though more outpost than anything. Training dummies littered the inside of the wall as it stretched and curved up a gentle hill. Most were in disrepair and covered in grime. Hunfrid sighed, knowing he had a long day of work ahead. The mid-afternoon sun pleasantly warmed Hunfrid"s bare arms and chest as he finished the second to last dummy. The mini-airship started to labor as it hovered next to him, a few bolts left on the deck. Hunfrid wiped his brow, grasped the almost wound-out airship and took a step back to admire the fixed dummy.A curious young Sea Wolf woman paused nearby. She tilted her head, observing the stranger, speculative. "What are you doing?" Hunfrid looked over his shoulder and smiled, "Just fixing up the training dummies." He stepped back to the dummy and turned the arm on the joint, "Good as new. Almost."The woman approached, rubbing her chin as she watched. "That is good, I suppose." "I wont mind the company if you wish to stay. I only have one left to fix up." Hunfrid smiled and pointed his thumb at the last dummy behind him. She didnt immediately reply, but when she didnt leave, Hunfrid thanked Menphina. At last he finally had someone to talk to, other than a passing greeting.When the woman stepped closer to watch him work, Hunfrid introduced himself. She introduced herself, "I"m Red Hawk, though I also respond to Red." She looked like she never missed a meal, but by no means was she fat. "Why are you fixing these old things?" Hunfrid wiped his brow again, "No need to waste an old dummie if it can be made good as new." He removed a rusted bolt, traded it for a new one from the airship, and tightened it in the socket. The arm moved more fluidly and with far fewer squeaks. "See?" Hunfrid winked at Red.Red eyed the dummie, "It still looks like junk." She looked back to Hunfrid, admiring the mini ship in his hand, "But that looks like new." Hunfrid leaned back on the chair in his inn room. He sighed, exhaling slowly as he thought over what he would write to his family back home. It had been a while since his last letter, though not much had happened. Ul"dah had hardly changed in the few years he had been there.Should he include having met Red Hawk and their conversation that lasted for hours? Hunfrid couldnt help but grin, thinking back on their tease fest.He had said some people were a few arrows short of a full quiver, and when Red thought he was talking about her, she got upset. How that turned into her poking fun at him, Hunfrid could not remember. The next thing he knew, Red was feigning upset over being called dumb and chubby. Poor Hunfrid was all in a knot until Red started laughing at the shocked and upset reaction she had caused. After an expansive yawn, Hunfrid lay the pen next to the inkwell. He crawled into bed and fell asleep before he could draw the covers over himself. Hunfrid woke early the next morning, feeling well rested. When he didnt feel hungry, he just assumed to take a few pieces of fruit to-go, and start for Limsa. Howling Sword would eventually follow suit.He was just out of view of the gate when he stepped on a puk hatchling. It squealed loudly in protest, and as Hunfrid staggered backwards, it reared up with a flutter and sunk its teeth in Hunfrid"s side. Hunfrid howled in agony, falling hard as the puk squeaked and hurried away. He dared not look down for fear of dry heaving his guts out. Hunfrid never had the stomach to stand even an onze of blood. He blindly shoved one hand into his satchel, rummaging for the towel he had wrapped around the airship. With a tug, it unravelled and was hastily pressed against the wound.Panting, Hunfrid heaved himself to his feet and looked around. A nearby boulder would offer a nice perch while he recovered his nerves. The few yalms to it felt much further as Hunfrid grimmaced and gritted his teeth. Finally, he half dragged himself to the top of the boulder, and relaxed somewhat. With a relieved sigh, Hunfrid took a moment to admire his surroundings. The nearby patch of orange trees looked inviting as the distant Limsa offered a comforting sight for sore eyes."Hunfrid?" A familiar voice called from below. With a start, and almost losing his place on the boulder, Hunfrid looked down to see Red Hawk smiling up at him. She clamoured up to him and looked him over. With a gasp at the bloody towel, Red tugged away Hunfrid"s hand to get a better look. "What did you do?" Hunfrid looked away sheepishly, "I stepped on a puk, and it bit me."Red "tsk"ed and frowned, "Let me properly dress that for you." She sat on her knees and rummaged through her pack. "I almost ran by you. I"m glad I didnt miss you." She pulled out a vial, "This will keep out infection, but it will sting." Hunfrid kept his gaze away from his wound, stomach threatening to start heaving. "Just be quick, please," he croaked, paling.Red gave him an odd look, but obliged. She tapped a few drops on her hand and rubbed the liquid over the wound. Hunfrid sucked a breath through his teeth, resisting the urge to protest. It could not end soon enough. "There," Red nodded. "Now to dress it. Can you take your shirt off?" Hunfrid gulped and tugged the tunic over his head. Red blushed lightly, "You have beautiful skin."Hunfrid started to turn a questioning look to Red, but the sudden addition of a bandage over the wound made him clench his jaw and tightly shut his eyes. "Hold still," she insisted. It was over quickly. With an inspecting look over the bandage, Hunfrid smiled at Red, "Thank you." But when Red folded her arms and scowled at him, Hunfrid gulped. "Wh-what?""First, your murderous airship toy, then a puk," she held out a hand. "Hand over the toy." Hunfrid gulped amd tugged the ship from his satchel. Red took it and examined the hull, "How do I open this thi- oh there it is." The hull opened, revealing the cogs, a few tiny rods and a pin. "How do I make this toy less murderous?" Hunfrid sighed, "The pin. Without it, the crank to wind it up will be useless." Red fiddled with the ship and plucked out the pin.Tucking it away in her garment, she smiled at Hunfrid, "There." Hunfrid took back his ship and stared at it in his lap with a frown. Red nudged his shoulder, "What? It wont poke anymore holes in you now." Hunfrid shook his head, "It"s nothing." He looked up, admiring the patches of trees nearby and nods, "But now that I dont have a lethal airship to worry about, I can enjoy the view."Red followed his gaze, "The best oranges come from here." Hunfrid heartily agrees with a chuckled and Red continued, "Are you from Limsa?" Hunfrid shook his head, braids wagging from the back of his head, "Ul"dah. Though, I do so miss Gridania, even if I had only seen so little of it during my brief visit. The forest is a beautiful place." He smiled faintly, gaze shifting over the horizon."Ah, and you are a toymaker there?""Huh?" Hunfrid looked at Red, "Oh, no. I work for the Gladiator"s Guild, moving things and repairs. What would make you say I"m a toy- oh, my airship." He laughed softly, trying not to disturb his wound too much. Red added a heartier laugh and smiles at her new friend. Back in Ul"dah, Hunfrid sat heavily on the stone bench attached to the fountain just down the street from the Quicksand. He rested his head back on the ledge, almost too tall to do so. Closing his eyes, Hunfrid hoped he wasnt finally done growing just yet. Roegadyn usually stopped growing by their twentieth summer, but sometimes didnt stop growing for another few years. Only at eighteen summers, Hunfrid still had at least a couple more years to grow.A pair of large Sea Wolves approached, each grinning or smirking and garbed in Immortal Flames coats. Hunfrid raised his head, looking at them, "May I help you?" He had a bad feeling. "We require a... "fee" of sorts, for the goodwill of the guards," one chuckled and glared. The other nodded, "Goodwill, and fer keepin" th" peace." Hunfrid glanced around for anyone else, heart sinking when he realised they were alone. When Hunfrid gulped, the first growled, "Your money, now.""I dont have anything on me," Hunfrid said, and he was truthful. The second guard punched a hand into the other palm, sneering, "Then we a" beat it from ye"!" The first guard threw a hard punch, landing on Hunfrid"s cheek. The Lohengarde fell to the ground from the force, yelling from the sharp throbbing left by the hit. The second guard stepped to the fallen Roegadyn and kicked him in the gut. Hunfrid yelled again and groaned, clutching his stomach and curling up. "Stop! I have nothing!" But Hunfrid"s plea was only met with a few more kicks before the Sea Wolves left him, laughing.Hunfrid heaved, coughing up blood as he dragged himself onto the bench. He gingerly patted his side, hoping the mostly closed bite wound hadnt been torn open again. The bandage felt more damp, worrying Hunfrid. He pulled up his shirt enough to inspect the white cloth, and it was a few shades lighter than red. Hunfrid stayed where he was, recouping himself before daring to find a healer. When his bandage got a little darker, he pushed himself to his feet and headed for the Gladiator"s Guild. A healer was almost always on duty, or just a few minutes away, in the event an accident occured.When he told Mylla, she was furious at Hunfrid for not fighting back. She didnt stop yelling and scowling until the healer had ushered her out of his cramped room to let him rest. Hunfrid didnt stir even once until that evening when his stomach growled. Though the healer had healed his bruised cheek and helped his side, Hunfrid would still need time for the hole to mend on its own. Hungry, he left his room. Mylla glared at him when he passed through the main room, but didnt stop him when he left.The Quicksand wasnt very crowded, most of the evening goers had already gone by now. Hunfrid hoped the two bullies had already had their fill and gone while he scanned the room for a table. He almost tripped over a pair of legs, catching himself a half an ilm from them. Hunfrid stepped back, "I-I"m sorry, miss."The Sea Wolf woman rose to her feet and smirked, "S"alrigh", milord. A" should"nay "ave "ad me legs out there like tha"." She rubbed her temple just above her patched left eye.Hunfrid wrinkled his forehead, "Please, I am just "Hunfrid"." He smiled, "I"m no lord." "As ye" wish, milord-... Hinfrid. The name"s Antares." She grinned briefly, and scowled, holding a hand to the linkpearl in her ear. "M"sorry, duty calls." She winked at Hunfrid.With a blush, Hunfrid nodded, "Menphina bless you." Hunfrid couldnt sleep, tossing and turning on his cot. His ribs ached and hurt from the beat down earlier, and the thin blanket under him didnt help. Mind whirling with the day"s happenings, Hunfrid groaned as he pushed himself up. He sat for a moment, closed his eyes and bowed his head, "Menphina, thank you for each night and morning, and for your grace."He slowly opened his eyes, and the mini airship sat off-center of a dull beam of moonlight. Hunfrid blinked and squinted, and the moonlight faded. Did Menphina try to tell him something? As the week passed, Hunfrid spent as much of his free time as he could tinkering with a discarded cait sith doll. It had a metal skeleton still in very good condition, but its cogs, joints and cords were in disrepair. What stumped Hunfrid was a small, round hole that seemed to hold a little ball. He could not figure out what it was for.But the doll needed some form of power to animate, for there was no sign of any wind-up cranks. Did it need a small magitech power core? A little condensed magic would certainly do the trick. Maybe the Thaumaturge"s Guild could help with that. The mages would surely know how, with all the things they could do with the aether. When he finally got a day to himself, Hunfrid packed the doll in his satchel and made his way to the Thaumaturge"s Guild. The building was imposing, looming over the courtyard like a tonberry. With a gulp, Hunfrid entered quietly and hesitantly, not very sure what to expect.A Lalafell garbed in a dark robe approached when Hunfrid had made a couple yalms inside. A tall statue with a curved blade glowered down at a platform of praying disciples. The Lalafell put a finger to his lips, urging silence. He beckoned Hunfrid to follow him, leading the Lohengarde to a side room. "Just talk quietly," the shortling insisted after he pushed the door shut. He hopped onto a chair and gestured for Hunfrid to take another. When the other seat was taken, the Lalafell inquired, "You are obviously not very apt with the aether, so what brings you here?"Hunfrid tugged out the doll and showed the hole for the power core. "Im looking for a magitech power core for this."The mage"s eyes widened, "Magitech? That"s Garlean technology and beyond my understanding." He gazed inquisitively at Hunfrid, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "But... we do have an individual that can help." Hunfrid couldnt believe his luck. The cait sith doll sprang to life on the table at the Quicksand, prancing before him on two legs while its eyes glowed a dim green. It soon calmed down, getting down on all fours and pawing around a circle. With a quiet thump, it laid down and acted like it was sleeping.Hunfrid smiled as he had admired the doll, leaning back in his chair. When it laid down, Hunfrid crossed his arms over his chest, thinking. If he could fix this doll as well as he fixed the airship, could he make a decent living as a tinkerer or toymaker? He had to find out. Working for the Gladiator"s Guild was great, but got boring after the first few months. Hunfrid headed for the market to see what he could bargain for the doll.Pushing through a crowd, Hunfrid aproached one of the advertisement boards that people posted requests to buy, sell or trade. There wasnt much out of the normal clothing or material requests. Before he turned away, a Free Company flyer caught his eye. "Do you seek to gather riches beyond measure? Have a lust for notoriety so strong only the blood of the most dangerous foes will quench it? Perhaps you seek to rectify a life of bad choices with charity and service to those in need?Our company was founded to house a growing band of adventurers eager to stake their place in the world of Hydaelyn. We all have a place on this wide and wandering road. Find yours with us.Visit your local OIC administrator today!~Raandal BennettCompany Leader: Path of Oschon" Adventuring! It sounded far more dangerous than what the Lighthouse had offered, but Hunfrid hadnt heard from that Free Company in a month. He shook his head and turned away, but hesitated.Hunfrid raised a hand to his chest, looking down at the ground. He was perplexed at the odd ache he felt. Looking back at the flyer, Hunfrid stared thoughtfully. He almost jumped out of his skin when the doll stirred in his hand. The cait sith doll wriggled, and when its captor loosened his hold, squirmed to the giant"s shoulder. It pawed the air, as if trying to point. When Hunfrid gave it a peculiar look, the doll patted his cheek with one paw and continued to point with the other.With a gulp, Hunfrid slowly understood, and murmured a short prayer for Menphina"s blessing. "Your name, age and profession, sir," the officer inquired. "We will mail your application to the Free Company leader and you will be contacted by one of their recruitment officers.""Of course," Hunfrid answered all the questions. When the application was finished, he was dismissed. Hunfrid had gone several yalms down the street from the office before he stopped and slowly inhaled. His wound was hurting again. With a sigh, he found an empty bench and sat. With a quiet grunt, Hunfrid tugged his shirt up just enough to examine the bandage. It was light pink and otherwise still very dry.Relieved, Hunfrid smoothed down his shirt and leaned back. To his pleasant surprise, Antares stopped midwalk about a yalm in front of him. Hunfrid returned the smile that soon greeted him with a grin. "Milor-... Ah, well, good seein" ye again! Ye look like ye could use a bit o" company?" Hunfrid nodded, motioning to the rest of the empty bench. Taking a seat next to Hunfrid, Antares gave him a friendly nudge on his arm. He winced when her elbow met the bruise from being kicked, Antares stared at him questioningly."I-it"s nothing," Hunfrid gulped. "How are you?" Antares narrowed her eyes at him, unconvinced. When she folded her arms and scowled, Hunfrid continued nervously, "It was a couple of Sea Wolves in Flames uniforms. They demanded money, and when I didnt give them any..." He gingerly patted his stomach, "They beat me down and kicked me." Antares stared at him in disbelief, "Wha"?!" Hunfrid looked away sheepishly and Antares frowned, "Hunfrid, who were they?"He shook his head, "They didnt say.""Here," Antares grabbed one of Hunfrid"s hands and pressed a linkpearl into his palm. "If they mess with ye again, let me kno". I will teach them th" lesson of their godsdamned lives." She was serious. Hunfrid nodded, swallowing and making a mental note to not ever piss her off. The next several days went by slowly as Hunfrid waited anxiously. He managed to sell the doll for a good price to a pair of expecting Midlanders. With the money, he purchased supplies to start on another mini airship and had enough left to send some things back home. Mylla wasnt very thrilled when Hunfrid told her he was going to try his hand at making toys, but she didnt argue against it so long as he didnt neglect his work at the guild.The week came and went, and the airship was done. Hunfrid posted a flyer at the market for the toy, and when he returned to the guild, found a letter waiting for him in his room. It was from the Free Company, inviting him to an interview all the way in the Black Shroud, far to the north. The date is for late next week, barely enough time to get there by chocobo. Hunfrid huffed a sigh as he stood before the building at Hawthorne. Fearing he was late, he hurried inside and looked around. A handful of Midlanders and Wildwood Elezen went about their business while a few sat patiently on a bench.One Midlander woman looked up at Hunfrid expectantly. Tilting his head, Hunfrid approached her, "I am expected, miss. Are you Daphine?" She nodded and smiled. Daphine had left him with much to consider. The Free Company didnt have much need for a tinkerer, so she offered him to opt for one of the many disciples of war or magic. Healing had taken the greatest interest for Hunfrid, though he paled slightly when he thought of all the blood that could be involved.But with next to no skill with a weapon, Hunfrid considered healing to be the best alternative. Thaumaturgy just seemed too violent for his taste. So healing it was. But even then, there were options. Conjurery drew its power from the elementals and nature while Arcanima used "logic to shape reality", whatever that meant.Having had been in Gridania for a few moons before, Hunfrid concluded that Conjurery would be the way to go. He had fallen in love with the forest, and a part of him wanted to return. It"s not like he had to abandon his small toymaking and tinkering business alltogether, as he could always work that in between what the Conjurer"s Guild had him do or study.

"Come on Elle chan don"t leave us hanging" Saito spoke yet immediately wished he hadn"t, having gotten too caught up in the moment he made a mistake that could cost him his life. "Elle chan... just how in the world did you know that he called me like that? Wait, were you two spying on me? Because if you were..." Bingo... Karin had just gotten what she wanted. "So... just who exactly is "he"?" Eléonore had lost, she also gotten too caught in the moment and made a mistake that gave her mother a window of opportunity to get whatever information she wanted out of her. Completely defeated she had to tell them every little detail about her meetings, the only thing she managed to keep to herself were her feelings about the kiss, her mother would have to kill her before she spoke about that in public. "So... you were dating a boy you met in a commoners bar, for some reason you got depressed, he proposed to you, you accepted and then the boy turned to be a prince... and you expect us to believe that story" "Well... it"s the truth" Karin was an expert in getting information out of people, so good she had even received an invitation to work on a royal prison once, so she could see her daughter was not lying, she was still hiding something... but she was not lying. "Well, that would at least explain a few things I found weird, for an example the church of the wedding is the same as your sister"s, so is the date except that yours will be held a few hours before... done on purpose because he knew that Louise marrying first bothered you... how sweet, extremely corny and completely unnecessary, but sweet none the less" "Well... yeah... he"s that kind of person" "Sigh... ok dear I won"t pressure you anymore, you just said that you weren"t completely sober when that proposal happened, so I"ll give you some time to consider it, you have until tomorrow morning, if you accept you will accompany Louise and me and join us in the ritual" "Yes mother" After that everybody went to their respective rooms, leaving Eléonore alone so that she consider the proposal in peace, while she did that, Saito and Louise were talking about today"s revelations. "I can"t believe the boy we saw that day was a prince, I guess miracles really do happen" Louise was surprised about the whole thing and needed to talk about it. "I know... I wonder if we are still in trouble." "Seriously Saito, what were you thinking calling Eléonore neesama like that? you could have gotten us killed" "Sorry, I guess I screwed up, we should apologize to her tomorrow morning... maybe she"ll go easy on us if we do" "I hope, I want to live to see my weeding day you know" "By the way... Louise, you mind if I ask you something? " "What?" "I noticed that before we found out that Eléonore was the chosen one, you were really nervous... are you hiding something from me?" Saito asked mainly teasing, he knew Louise was incapable of such a thing but he was still curious about why she was nervous "No of course not... I just thought that if for some reason I was the chosen one, my parents would cancel our engagement" Louise was entering her "sweet" mode as Saito called it "So what would you do if that happened?" he was just being mean now, he knew what her answer would be, but since getting Louise to confess to him was a near traumatic experience, he now liked to hear her feelings whenever he could. "Saito... do you remember what I told you when we came to ask my parent for their blessing, that I would marry you regardless of what they said... sure in the end all it took to change their opinion about you was that letter of recommendation you got from... her..." Louise got sad for a moment and then continued. "...But what I said back then still stands, you are the only man I want in my life and I won"t let anything get in between us... because... I love you..." Seriously what was he thinking when he told her to wait till marriage, now was such a perfect moment... oh well... their wedding was only a few days for now, so it would be a shame to back down on his promise, and there were still a few things they could do without breaking it... Meanwhile Eléonore was on her room thinking about what she should do when she heard a knock on her door. "Who is it?" "It"s me Cattleya, mind if I come in?" "Not at all, come on in" Cattleya went into the room, closing the door behind her. "Sis, can I ask you a few questions?" "Sure go ahead, ask away" She had already been asked everything in the afternoon, so now there was nothing that would surprise her. "Ok, I"ll go straight to the point... do you love this Alphonse person?" Ok, that did surprised her "I... don"t know... I feel different when I"m with him, I feel like I can be myself but... I just don"t know if that"s love... you know that I was never popular as you were, so I"d never received any attention from a man before, maybe I"m just so desperate for affection that I fell for the first person that gave it to me..." Cattleya wanted to say something but Eléonore kept talking. "You know, don"t tell our mother what I"m about to tell you, but when he kissed me I felt like I could throw it all away and become his woman... " "Mother would kill you if she heard that..." "I know that"s why I tried my hardest for her not to notice... but anyway I refused to believe those feeling were a lie, but that was just me being stubborn... I"m not sure if it"s really love I"m feeling... but... I want to find out... that"s why I decided to accept his proposal" Chapter 6: "...We"re really sorry, please forgive us" Saito and Louise apologized about spying on her... it was not fair, if they did it like that it made it way too hard to get mad at them. Eléonore grabbed their cheeks without any force and pulled them, letting them go before reaching the stretching point. "It"s ok, I know you did it because you were worried about me, so I won"t get mad at you" To be honest they did it because they were curious... but who were them to correct her. "However... don"t EVER do something like that again... Understood" "Yes ma"am." Both Saito and Louise said in unison, apologizing to her was the scariest thing either of them had ever done, but everything worked out in the end so it was all good. They were all having breakfast right now, Eléonore had just informed her parents about her decision and they were both happily discussing the details, meanwhile Saito and Louise were doing their little show, only Cattleya remained silent and Eléonore noticed her smile carried a little sadness (just like Cattleya could read her frowns, Eléonore could read her smiles, it was a sisters thing), she tried to ask her what was wrong but her parents kept hogging her attention, asking questions about the wedding. When breakfast was done, the group prepared to leave, both Saito and Louise"s dad would go on their own to have a little talk, whereas Karin, Eléonore and Louise would go and perform the ritual, only Cattleya remained which made the two other sisters uncomfortable, however she refused their invitation to join them, insisting she"d do it when it was appropriated for her, so both groups went to their destination, leaving her behind who couldn"t help but feeling sad... and maybe a little jealous. After performing the ritual (which consisted on paying tribute to their ancestors by praying on the graveyard and bathing on a nearby spring), Karin was leading her daughters towards an seemingly hidden building inside the Vallière state, from the outside it looked like an abandoned house, on the inside however was... a classroom with nothing on it other than a desk, a few chairs and a blackboard with some chalk, the place was perfectly clean thou, Karin probably asked the maids to prepare it in advance. Both Louise and Eléonore took a seat in front of the blackboard, while Karin seated behind the desk and in front of her daughters. "I"m pretty sure you are curious about why are going to do here, the truth is I"m going to give you girls a little lecture..." "A lecture? What kind of lecture" Both were curious, what could their mother possibly want to teach them. "Don"t interrupt me dear, you see, I know that right now you are both really nervous about your wedding night..." Ah... great... they were going to have "that" lecture. "I also know that although one of you have been doing naughty things with her boyfriend at night, you purity is still intact in the two most important places" Louise blushed so badly it almost looked like she was in pain... seriously how come her mother knew everything. "That"s because I can read minds dear, anyway I"ll be teaching you some tips and techniques that women from our family had been gathering for generations... now don"t worry, you won"t be doing anything practical, we"ll leave that to your respective husbands in your wedding night, so sit back and pay attention as you must memorize everything I say..." Several hours later... "...And remember to never use any of the things you learned today regularly, you can have favorites and least favorites but you must never, ever fall into a routine, if that were to happen it could be disastrous for your relationship" Both sisters were in shock and remained quiet as Karin was erasing the blackboard, they just couldn"t believe what they just witnessed, I mean the whole thing was so surreal... had their parents really done all those things?. "Yes we did dear... even now we still do most of them" Karin said with a little blush on her face. Ok... That was definitely way too much information... Wait, was she not kidding with being a mind reader? "Anyway, I hope you had memorize everything, because once I leave this classroom, I will never talk about this matter ever again, I"ll even deny that this entire lecture took place" "Don"t worry I couldn"t forget anything even if I tried" Both sister said together, the trauma was just too great. "Meh.. Don"t lie, I know one of you can"t wait to put this knowledge into practice, while the other one is wondering if she can bend herself like the most demanding positions require her to do" Ok... Stop the mind reading thing already, seriously both girls would never be able to look at her mother the same way as before. "You"ll both thank me soon enough... another thing, stop worrying about the size of your breasts. Eléonore, you have enough to do everything we just covered without problems, and Louise... look... I know you think they won"t grow anymore, but women from our family had always developed really late, your sisters are just the exception to the rule... you know I used to have even less than you when I was your age... " "I know that... but mother that was you, how about if... I"m different?" Karin sighted. "Ok... I"ll give you a secret technique I used back then, I guarantee he"ll go crazy with it... come here" Louise went near her mother and she whispered something in her ear, for being a secret technique, explanations were over in less than a few minutes. "And remember, don"t use it to suddenly, he may die from the shock if you do" "How come she gets a secret technique?" Eléonore complained. "Dear, if you ever did what I just taught you sister... well that just wouldn"t be right" Eléonore decided it was best to leave it at that and accept her mother explanation, after all she just wanted to leave that place for good. "Oh... and one last thing, don"t be satisfied with just the things I taught you today, experiment a lot and find new knowledge that can be passed on to the new generations... you know your father and I invented a few of the things you just learned" Karin was blushing again...Ok... this whole thing just went from extremely uncomfortable to downright creepy. After that, they left the classroom and as soon as she closed the door, their mother reverted back to her regular self, noticing it was already quite late and that they hadn"t eaten lunch yet, she quickly lead the group back to the main house so that they could eat... when they arrived everyone couldn"t help but noticed just how pale both Louise and Eléonore looked. Chapter 7: A few days after the ritual, there were now only a couple of days left before the weddings, and it was needed for both Eléonore and her parents to travel towards the royal castle, since hers wouldn"t be a regular wedding, some "negotiations" with the Germanian royal family had to be made before the ceremony, for that reason she was extremely nervous, not only would she meet Al"s mother, but also it was her first meeting with him in more than a month. Just as Eléonore and her parents were busy preparing for their trip, Saito approached Louise as he wanted to ask her something. "Aren"t you going to see the princess?" Not so long ago, an incident between Henrietta and Saito had shaken the core of Louise friendship with her and every time they met since then there was an awkward feeling in the air. "I can"t, I have to prepare for the wedding... and I also promised to take chii neesama"s dogs for a walk" After saying that Louise walked away, avoiding him just like she always did when Henrietta was mentioned, he felt guilty about the whole thing and wanted the two girls to be the same way they were before. "You seem troubled Saito san..." Saito turned around surprised to find Cattleya who had witnessed the previous scene. "I could listen to your problems if you don"t mind" "Sure, I could use some advice..." After that, they changed location towards the house backyard, Cattleya had offered her room, but Saito refused, he definitely didn"t want to cause a misunderstanding. "Ok, I doubt anyone will listen to us here, so you can tell me what"s troubling you" Saito doubted for a second, what he was going to say wasn"t easy but he wanted her advice. "You see Cattleya san, a few months before Louise confessed to me I... we were staying in the royal castle, the princess was really sad since her mother wanted her to marry for political reasons, and she came to me seeking for comfort... despite that she had promised Louise that she wouldn"t do anything like that again" Cattleya was curious about that "again", but that would be for another day. "The thing is, she asked me if she should marry a man she didn"t love, and I told her that she shouldn"t... then she confessed her feelings for me... then we kissed... and were ready to do more..." "Do you have feelings for the queen Saito san?" "...No... it was just my lust that made me do that... I"d never considered leaving Louise for Henrietta... Louise is the only one I love... but you see... the thing is... she saw all of it..." Saito looked miserable, Cattleya could see how remembering that incident pained him. "I"ll never forget the look on her face when she saw us kissing... she looked at us like... we had just plunged a knife into her chest... we betrayed her...I mean it was such a clichéd scene... two lovers meeting in secrecy behind her back... then she told us that... it wasn"t her place to be there and ran away..." Tears were forming on Saito"s face as he said those words. "I panicked, I told the princess that we were just friends and ran after Louise as fast as I could, but... because of certain reasons I was unable to catch her... I tried looking for her, I searched everywhere but I couldn"t find her... it was only then that I realized just how important she was to me... that life without her was not worth living... it was nearly a month later that she came back to me and saved my life" Saito took a moment to regain his composure, it seemed that the worst part of the story had passed. "After that I was able to get her to forgive me... eventually she confessed to me and thanks to a letter I managed to convince Henrietta to write, now we"re engaged and will marry in a few days, so everything"s good between us... sure ever since that incident, her eyes lost that special glow that they used to have when she looked at me... but that"s my punishment for hurting her feelings... " Saito took a little pause, now it was time to address the problem. "The problem is that Henrietta and her still haven"t mend their friendship, every time they meet there"s this feeling of hostility, and I feel guilty for that... no, it is my fault, if I had been true to my feelings... if I hadn"t let my lust controlled me like that... they would still be best friends like they used to... so now I"m trying for them to be friends again to atone for the problems my indecisions caused." Cattleya gave a long sigh... it was a complicated problem so she wanted to think things through before giving her advice. "Saito san, the friendship between those two is something only they can fix... or destroy... you cannot force them to forgive and forget because you"re just ignoring the problem and imposing yourself... that doesn"t work... " Saito looked at Cattleya"s eyes and felt like it was his mother talking to him. "Anyway, I recommend you leave them alone and focus on recovering Louise"s trust... I believe that"s the glow that"s missing for her eyes that you mentioned" Saito lowered his head. "But Louise never really trusted me before..." "Not true... it"s correct that she doubted you whenever she found you with another girl, refusing to listen to your explanations and sure her anger usually got the better of her and made her say things she didn"t mean and punish you violently but... didn"t you noticed that in the end she always forgave you regardless of the situation... that"s because deep down she really thought that you loved her and only her... but now she"s not sure about that anymore" Cattleya raised Saito"s head and moved away. "But it"s not too late, you can still get het trust back, if she forgave you for cheating on her, it means that she still hasn"t given up on you... So... just forget about the princess and concentrate on Louise, after all it would be unforgivable if you made your chosen one unhappy" Saito felt relieved, speaking with Cattleya always made him feel better. "Thanks Cattleya san, talking to you gave me good idea of what I should do... you"ll really make a great mother someday" "I can only hope you are right." As they were leaving, Saito found Louise looking for him, her face looked a little angry and she had several dogs who were trying desperately to run away from her grabbed by a leash. "Saito... what were you talking about with chii neesama?" Yep... she was pissed. "You see Louise we were..." Saito wasn"t sure what to say... this wasn"t going to end well. "I asked him about your travels... I figured out that, since you"d been in plenty of adventures with him, he could tell some wonderful stories about them and I was right" Cattleya interrupted Saito, surprising Louise who now looked at her. "...It can"t be... you thought... that I would try to steal him away from you... " Little tears were forming on Cattleya"s eyes as she said that. "No... of course not... chii neesama, I was just curious about it..." Cattleya chuckled, she had already made Louise a favor without her knowing and now she wanted to give her a little advice. "It"s ok Louise I believe you... by the way you should consider letting go more of your leash, they won"t try to run away if you do that..." Then Cattleya moved past Louise and whispered as she did. "...And even if they tried, I"ll only hurt them far more in the end..." Chapter 8: In the royal castle, Eléonore was waiting for the arrival of her fiancé, it had been more than a month since she last saw him so she was a little nervous, to make matters worse his mother was coming with him, she heard that her future mother in law was obsessed with having more grandchildren, so she may have a problem with Al marrying an older woman. "Excuse me... Eléonore san?" Eléonore turned around to find who had called her, and found that it was none other than the queen of Tristain herself who was addressing her. "Your highness..." As she prepared to begin with formalities Henrietta stopped her. "There"s no need for that now, I just want to ask you something..." "What is it you highness? I"ll answer to the best of my knowledge" "Where are Saito san and Louise Françoise? I"ve thought they were coming with you" "Ah... they stayed at home, there were still some preparations for their wedding left" "I see..." Eléonore noticed the queen looked really sad when she said this, however that sadness soon leaved her face, replaced with a fake smile that tried to hide it. After that Eléonore and her parents were guided to the place her future husband and mother in law where waiting, once they arrived she saw Al for the first time in a month, he still looked as handsome as ever but his prince outfit looked to big on him, when Karin saw him, she whispered into her daughter"s ear. "He really is a kid... a pretty good looking kid thou." After all the formal introductions were done, the queen of Germania went to check her son"s future wife, she stared at Eléonore during a while, as you can imagine this made her really nervous. "She does look pretty sturdy, the chest is a little small, but it should be able to breastfeed properly... what about here..." Then she moved her hands all the way through Eléonore"s hips.

Maria: "And if your eyes are getting tired, try adjusting the page settings, like the size, style and spacing of the text or invert the color scheme." Nagi: Got that? Ok done with the reading, now with the title: Nagi and Hayate"s great adventure. Nah, too generic. Nagi"s fanfiction of Awesomeness. That"ll do, anyway... "clears throat" It all started on a regular day in the Sanzenin state; currently my debt ridden butler Ayasaki Hayate was having a conversation with the house"s maid and my favorite person in the whole world Maria about this mansion resident couch potato... hey I"m not a couch potato! "Hayate kun, I"m worried about Nagi, she barely goes out the house anymore and that"s not a good thing for a girl her age." "But Maria san, we"ve tried hundreds of things already with no success... by the way Milady isn"t the dialog on this thing a little weird?" Hayate stop breaking the 4th wall! The story already began! "But Milady..." Just stick to the script ok. "Ok, sorry... " "Who are you talking to Hayate kun?" "Huh? I was talking to Milady of course..." "But Nagi isn"t here with us." "What do you mean? She"s right here... wait, where is she?" Hayate, I"m not in this scene remember; you can read me only because I"m the narrator. "Ah ok... Sorry Maria san please forget what I said, I just had a little mental lapse." "No problem Hayate kun, as I was saying, I think Nagi would be more willing to go outside if you asked her out more often." "What do you mean Maria san? I"ve taken Milady for a few walks through the city and they didn"t seem to work." "Yeah, but when I say "ask her out" I mean it like a date, you know maybe a little romantic even." Hayate was suddenly speechless... not that I can blame him, I mean to have a date with me, what a dream come true. "But Maria san, wouldn"t that make me a criminal?" "Don"t be silly Hayate kun, you"re both minors so it"s ok, plus it"s not like you"re asking her out for real, we only have to make her think that it is until she gets used to being outside." Seriously, what a disappointment... anyway, Hayate gave the idea some thought for a second before nodding. "Ok Maria san, this idea is kind of out of character for you, but I think it"s worth a shot, let"s give it a try." Then Hayate walked to the room where his beautiful master was... wait Hayate, don"t open that door! DON"T OPEN THAT DOOR! "Milady I"ve come to ask you for..." I was currently completely naked because I was changing my pajamas when Hayate came into the room; I tried to hide myself while he just didn"t react at all, just like he always does when this happens... jerk. Kyaaah! Stupid Hayate, why don"t you knock before entering? "Sorry Milady, I didn"t know you were changing and..." Just close the door already! "Yeah..." Hayate quickly closed the door and waited for me to come outside, which I did after I finish changing. Seriously Hayate, couldn"t you read I was warning you to not open the door! "But Milady you told me to follow the script and I did." Yeah I guess you"re right... listen, from now you"re allowed to improvise if I tell you, ok? "But Milady, we should respect the Author"s vision and try to follow the script as close as possible." Ok, ok... if you enjoyed seeing me naked thanks to an extremely clichéd plot device so much, then you can do as you wish... pervert! Hayate sweat dropped after my perfect rebuttal "Anyway... let"s just continue with the story, shall we?" Ok... what do you want Hayate? "I was wondering if you would be interested in going out on a date with me." I blushed like crazy and stuttered to answer him... but Hayate, how bold of you to ask your master out in... a... a... a... date! "Well Milady if you don"t want too then..." No... it"s ok, if you want to go out with me that much then I guess as your master I should reward you for your loyalty. "Wait a minute Milady, that dialog doesn"t sound like you... it"s more like something that pink haired void mage from that other series would say." Yeah I know... but since our voices are really similar, some people mix our characters and write us as if we were exactly alike, the same thing happens with the girl with the blazing hair and the palmtop tiger; I"m not particularly fond of that, but I"ve kind of gotten used to it already. "But that"s no good, it"s true you all share the same character type, but that doesn"t mean there aren"t any differences between you, for an example you"re not violent and..." Just leave it Hayate, some people just can"t look past the stereotype... "Sigh" oh well... where are you planning on taking me? "Well the script says I can choose between an anime convention that"s conveniently taking place right now, a simple walk through the city with a movie and a romantic dinner or a water park...? Wait a minute why would we go to a water park?" Take a guess... "Fan service?" Correct. "But what"s the point of fan service in a fan fiction, it"s not like we can show an image of a girl wearing a bikini." No, but we can give people the mental image of it... especially with three paragraph descriptions of every girl we find like there are on the script, look... "Hinagiku was all sweaty wearing a skin tight micro red bikini that made her look like she was about to... ok, I get the point... If it is like that then I bet there is also a scene where I accidentally enter a room full of changing girls and they chase me out by throwing random stuff at me." Two actually, there"s also one where a sudden wave comes out of nowhere and unties the tops of every girl on the pool and for some reason you"re the only male around to witness it, so we chase you out by throwing random stuff at you, only to be attacked by a giant octopus a few seconds later... and you can probably guess what happens then. "Ok... so that leaves the anime convention or the movie and dinner, which one you prefer Milady?" I"ll take the movie and dinner thank you, you know I don"t like places with too much people and if you change the micro bikinis for semi erotic costumes and the sudden wave for a little earthquake, then the anime convention route it"s pretty much the same as the water park one. "Perfect, let"s go Milady." With pleasure, go get the bike and the cart while I wait for you in front of the house. "But Milady, if we"re going on a date then that means we"re equals, I can"t act like your butler." I guess you"re right; shall I call for a ride then? "No, let"s just walk; it"s sunny today so it"d be a waste to go by car." Ok Hayate, if you say so... and so we begin our horrible ordeal, walking through a long, endless desert for hours without water or food, my body began to... "Milady, could you please stop being so dramatic? We"ve only been walking for five minutes and we"re still in the garden." But I"m tired... I don"t get it what"s the point of having a garden so big? It only makes going out of the house harder and our surveillance and maintenance cost higher since its more terrain to cover. Hayate sweat dropped "I"ve been asking about that for some time myself Milady, anyway shall we continue?" But Hayate, I"m tired... "Well if you don"t want to go outside I suppose we could cancel the date and go back to the house..." No, its ok I"ll walk... "Chuckle" Hey Hayate you"re not going to believe what happens next. "What could it be Milady?" It says here that now Tama appears on scene and talks to you while I"m distracted... can you believe that Hayate? A tiger talking like a real person and walking on two legs... the author of this thing must be crazy. "Yeah... maybe he is..." Anyway, now Tama suddenly got close to Hayate from behind and talked to him while I was distracted for some reason... hey look a butterfly! "How shameful, to think that a butler would trick his master like that, you disappoint me kid." "Tama! Don"t sneak on me like that, plus if you talk so close to Milady like that she"ll notice you." "Nah don"t worry, she"s been conveniently distracted by the plot so we can talk all we want and she"ll only snap out of it when we"re done." Come back here pretty butterfly! "See?" "Ok, if you say so... so what do you want?" "Nothing, I just wanted to appear on this thing... my screen time is pretty limited as it is so I thought I could get a few lines or something before going back to sleep." "I see, well goodnight then." "Ok, good luck to you too." As Tama was leaving, I conveniently snapped out of whatever was distracting me and noticed him. Tama, what are you doing here? I know you must have noticed I was in trouble and came to rescue me, how sweet! "So it seems Milady, I bet he wants you to ride him until the gates of the mansion." Really? "Sure, look how happy he is." To be honest he looks more like he"s trying to run away... but whatever, anyway can we do that? I mean you know since we"re equals and stuff it"s not fair for me to ride Tama and not you. "I think we can overlook that this time, plus it"s only until the gates, once outside we"re on our own." Ok Hayate, I quickly hopped on top of Tama and happily rode him towards the gates; once there we had to leave him behind and I conveniently got distracted again so he could say a few words to Hayate... hey look it"s that butterfly again! "My back, it hurts! You"ll pay for this debt ridden butler." "Yeah Tama, thanks for carrying Milady around, I"m sure she appreciates it... goodbye." "Bye, don"t forget to leave your door open when you sleep..." After that Tama and that beautiful butterfly went away so we got outside the mansion. Well Hayate, we"re outside now, what should we do? "Now we take a bus to get to the theater Milady." A bus? What"s that? "It"s kind of a big car that gives rides to people for a small fee." Ah, so you"re talking about one of those public limos I read about in a manga once. "I guess you could say that... there is one right now, let"s go in Milady." Sure... man talk about a crappy limo; oh well I suppose they had to remove the fridge and all the other cool stuff to let more people in... anyway, me and Hayate boarded the limo and seated in a place near the back... "Milady, it"s going to be kind of a long trip, like about half an hour, so in the mean time you can..." Zzzzzz Zzzzz Zzzzzz "She fell asleep, well I better make sure she"s comfortable, wouldn"t want her to get neck pain in the middle of a date." So then Hayate moved his arm around my back so my head would rest on his shoulder. "Milady, how can you keep narrating if you"re asleep?" That"s a really good question Hayate, it"s kind of complicated so I"ll explain it to you during the time skip, let me just write the sign... About half an hour later. ...And that"s how I can keep narrating even when I"m asleep. "I see, that makes perfect sense Milady, kind of obvious when you think about it." I know, I was surprised too when I first found out. "Ok, but it"s time to wake up, we"ve arrived at our destination." Perfect... "Yawn" Hayate, are we there yet? "Yep, time to get up Milady." Ok... it was then when I noticed just how close my face was to Hayate"s and quickly moved away embarrassed. Stupid Hayate! Taking advantage that I fell asleep just to get close to me. "Sorry, shall we get out of the bus then." Ye... yeah. We got out of the limo and walked near the theater where we were going to watch the movie. "Well, here we"re Milady, the biggest theater in the whole city." Really... it"s smaller than the one back home. "I meant public theater Milady." Oh I see... it"s pretty I guess. But as we were preparing to enter we heard a familiar voice coming from behind. "Hayate sama, Nagi!" Huh? We turned around and found one of my friends. Isumi, what are you doing here? And more importantly why are you wearing beach clothes? "Well I was walking towards the water park so I could make my cameo and then I found you guys here." As she said that Hayate got closer to me so he could whisper. "Milady, Isn"t the water park at the other side of the city?" I whispered back. Yeah, it"s amazing how the only way to make her get somewhere without getting lost is sending her the opposite way. Anyway, sorry Isumi, we"re not doing the water park route but the movie and dinner one. "Eh... really? Man you guys are boring!" Right behind Isumi another one of my friends appeared. Saku... you"re wearing beach clothes too? And what"s with that bag? It"s at least two times bigger than you are. "Or course I am, how was I supposed to know you guys would pick the most boring route of them all? Now what am I going to do with this bag full of random stuff to throw at your butler when he sees me changing?" Not my problem, by the way what happened with your accent? "Don"t know, I"m guessing the author didn"t know how to write it in English... man what an amateur, I mean what"s with this fic with no fourth wall? This thing is so first season of the anime; hasn"t he read the newest manga chapters? Hayate is serious business now! Go write this on the Gintama board you freak!" (Opinions shared by the characters of the HnG cast are not in any way representative of the authors ́ or any other person involved in the creation of this story, so they won ́t be held responsible for any of the views expressed during the writing of this fic... PD: Gintama rules!) What was that? "What was what Milady?" You mean you didn"t sense something weird just now. "Nope, I have no idea of what you"re talking about milady." Eh... nothing, forget I said anything, let"s move on with the story. Yeah, yeah... whatever Saku, anyway, we"re going to the theater right now, care to join us? "But Milady I thought you wouldn"t want somebody else joining us in our date." But Hayate we have to keep it a secret... I"m not entirely sure why because the script doesn"t say so, but we have to ask them to join us so they won"t become suspicious. "Ok as you say so Milady." So anyway, glaring plot hole aside, Saku looked at us suspiciously. "Are you sure... I wouldn"t want to but in your date." I blushed and stuttered when I answered her. "What... What are you talking about Saku, this is not a date, we were just going to..." But fortunately for me I was interrupted by yet another character in a pointless cameo. "You guys what are you doing here?" "Wataru san? And Saki san too? What are you doing here...? I"m guessing by your beach clothes that you thought we took the water park route so you should be going there." "Waka sama thought we should come here to help Isumi san get to the water park." I see how thoughtful of him... "Milady, why does Saki san calls Wataru san by his Japanese title? I mean I"ve been calling you Milady instead of Ojousama since the beginning, so I thought we were using the English ones." Hayate, we"ve been on this story for like 9 MS word pages already; you should know better than to expect consistency from this thing. He sweat dropped. "I guess you"re right Ojou... I mean Milady." Anyway after that Saku got behind Wataru and spoke to him. "Hehe, how nice of you; helping out poor Isumi find her way towards fan service, are you sure it"s not because you wanted to see her in a swimsuit?" Wataru got terribly embarrassed and blushed. "What are you saying? Stupid!" "Wataru san how dirty!" "Ahh! Waka sama is having shameful thoughts!" "No, this is just a mis..." As this clichéd scene was taking place, I felt Hayate touching my shoulder and then he quietly guided me towards the theater. "Anyway Milady, now we can go to the movies without interruptions." Nice Hayate! You must really be eager to go on this date with me... oh who am I kidding I know why you"re doing this... "Cheer up Milady! I know you don"t like knowing the true motives of the story, but the least we can do is enjoy it." I guess you"re right. "Of course! Let"s pick the movie so we can get the tickets then." What do you mean? Don"t we just go into the theater and pop in the Blu-ray we want to see? "Nope, here they have different screening rooms showing several movies and we have to pick the one we want to see before entering." I see, what are they showing then? "Let"s see? They"re showing the movie about the disappearance of..." Nah, have it on Blu-ray and DVD just like everyone should. "Ok, they"re also showing the live action adaptation of..." No! "But I haven"t even told you..." I said NO! "Ok ok Milady, the only other thing is the Disney movie marathon they"re running... I don"t get it, why should we go to the theater to see them if we can own all of them now on Disney DVD and Blu-ray for a super cheap price..." What"s with the shameless plug Hayate? "Nothing Milady, I just thought that if we gave them free publicity they wouldn"t sue us for using their name without permission." That makes sense, well I admit I"m not a big fan of them, but those movies are always entertaining, so why not? "Ok then, the one they"re showing today is "The Emperor"s New Groove", how... oddly appropriate." Why? "You haven"t seen it Milady?" Nope, like I said I"m not a big fan, so I might have missed a movie or two. "Ok then it"s decided, let"s go get the tickets." Meanwhile in the theater"s snack shop, a thieving hamster was buying provisions. "I want some popcorn, a few candy bars, a bag of chips, a pack of nachos with cheese, a hot dog and a diet coke please!" "Right away miss!" "Truly the best thing about the movies is the food!" Smiles and makes a thumps up. Man, Saku"s right, this fanfic is so first season of the anime it hurts. "What"s wrong Milady." Nothing, let"s go into the screening room shall we? "Yeah..." One hour, fifteen minutes and eleven seconds of pure fun later: That was the best movie ever. "So did you like it Milady?" Like it? I loved it! I actually expected the usual with a bunch of misplaced songs and a corny story, but instead it seems that they just scraped all that and tried to make everything as funny as they could... and it was glorious! "Wonderful Milady, glad to see you liked it; shall we head to the restaurant now?" Sure let"s go. And so we took a taxi towards the most exclusive and expensive restaurant in the whole city. "Speaking about that Milady, are you sure it"s ok for us to just go there without reservations?" Don"t worry about that, there shouldn"t be any trouble at all; I mean that place it"s mine anyway. "Oh I see... well here we are." Yeah let"s go in... but as we were entering we were interrupted by... you guessed it more characters in pointless cameos. "Hey! Who"s making a pointless cameo?" "We"re being underestimated." "I think Nagi chan is just mad because we"re going to interrupt her date with Hayata kun." Great, of all the people to make pointless cameos it had to be the student council trio... oh well let"s just get on with this... Who"s on a date with him? We just decided to give Maria a day off and eat out for a change of pace. "Ah I see, no wonder I thought it was weird." And together with the trio was the great, the only and the one that"ll probably end up being my future boss if she isn"t already... Hinagiku! Applause and whistling. "Knock that off, it"s embarrassing!" Not as much as that Naga (from Slayers) costume you"re wearing... actually why are you wearing that? More whistling and camera flashes. She got embarrassed with the cutest of gestures and tried to cover herself. "What do you mean "why"? It"s an anime convention; we were all supposed to cosplay!" What do you mean? We took the movie and dinner route, I thought you guys knew since those three are on their regular clothes. Suddenly the student council trio sweat dropped in unison as a really dark aura began to appear around Hina. "You told me you were cosplaying three characters from a popular anime." "Well Hina it"s true I mean... we"re popular aren"t we?" "You!" "Wait Hina, if you punish us right now you"ll miss the chance to show your costume to Hayata kun, that"s what we came here for remember?" Then just as sudden as it appeared, the dark aura quickly changed to a deep blush all over her face. Applause and some otakus yell "Hinagiku MOE!' in the background. "Ah! What do you... hey wait a minute, where"s Nagi and Hayate kun?" "Huh? What do you mean they were right... here?" "They disappeared." "But how? Nagi chan was talking to us just a few... wait a minute, why weren"t there double quotes around her dialog?" "And why is the narration so poor? You can"t even tell which one of us is supposed to be speaking..." Meanwhile in an unspecified burger joint far away from there. "Hey that"s no fair!" "And after we went through so much trouble to get her to wear that Naga costume!" "Yeah, come back here so we can finish our cameos!" Me and Hayate were finishing our meals and getting ready to go for a walk. "That was kind of dirty Milady, abusing you narrator powers to trick them and leave them behind." He sweat dropped while I just let out a chuckle. No problem Hayate, this is just a fanfic so it"s not like it is canon or anything, just relax and enjoy it. "As you say so Milady, but how did we get to this burger joint so fast? I mean that conversation didn"t even last a minute but we"re already done with the food." Well Hayate... "You got me. By all accounts, it doesn"t make sense.' man I"ve been waiting ever since we left the theater to say that line. "I see you really liked the movie Milady."

But she was interrupted by the sound of the little bell on the front door, she took a long breath and tried as hard as she could to suppress her annoyance at a last minute costumer and replaced it with a beautiful smile before closing her eyes, turning around and bowing. "Welcome to the Charming Faeries Inn!" She stood up again and slowly opened her eyes to see the costumer. "Saito-san! What are you...?" To her surprise, it was none other than the heroic familiar himself, now for a second Jessica was not only happy but for the first time the thought of wanting to do some overtime paraded around her head, yet her joy was quickly interrupted when she noticed someone standing beside him. "...Doing here?" The girl besides the boy startled her to say the least, since his companion wasn"t the person she expected... or rather that it wasn"t anyone she might have expected; her face and body were covered with a hood and a cloak, but judging by her proportions she couldn"t be anyone she knew, the closest match she had was Saito"s mistress, but not only was this girl noticeably.. buxomer, but also a little of her hair could be seen coming out of her clothes and it was pitch black. "Hi Jessica-san... ehm this is a little embarrassing, but do you have rooms available? I need it to discuss a few thing in private." What! Really? Now this was an unexpected turn of events, honestly while the idea did occurred to her, she simply thought it was about a mission or something, not that he actually came here for "that", after all there was simply no way he had the guts to get on with it with this woman; his mistress or heck even her cousin would kill him if they ever find out he was even thinking about it. "Ehm... yeah sure!" But then again his well being wasn"t her problem, and while it was unfair to her cousin she really didn"t have any basis to deny her services; quite frankly the family business could really use any money it could get. "Great!" He pulled a little bag full of gold coins out of his clothes and gave it to her. "I hope you don"t mind if we stay until dawn." "No of course not, but..." She counted the coins in the bag and quickly realized they were way more than needed; as she was going to protest, Saito quickly placed her index finger on her lips and muttered a little "Shhh!' that she quickly understood. "OK, this is your key, is the last one to the right of the hallway on the second floor, don"t make too much noise and remember that you only have until the sun comes out to finish your business and get out." He just nodded and took the key before guiding her companion towards their room, once they were out of sight Jessica could only wonder. "What was that all about?" A little part of her thought about eavesdropping a little, yet not only was that completely forbidden on her line of work; but there was also that urban legend about an eavesdropping courtesan that got too much into it and was later forced to join the couple she had been spying on, eventually surrendering herself to them and becoming their plaything that was such a cliche among her coworkers that she rather not risk it. "Oh well... none of my business." She shrugged her shoulders and went back to work, quickly separating the coins needed to pay for their stay from the ones that were going to pay her silence; to give an idea of much that was let"s just say that a dozen coins like the ones he gave her could rent an entire floor for a whole night complete with company for each and the little bag actually managed to hold several dozens inside... It was unfair but it seemed like her cousin was going to have to find out about this on her own, after all keeping gossips, I mean secrets about important people was part of her job description; there"s no way a business like this can keep it"s costumers otherwise. "Have a nice stay." Yet despite her own convictions she couldn"t help but to think about this strange event, it wasn"t only the mysterious companion (although she couldn"t help but wonder about her identity), but also how serious he was, the usual him would have outright drooled like an idiot at her cleavage, but the him right now didn"t even bat an eyelash at it, even though she was sure she showed it off more than usual just for him. "I better get back to work." Jessica would spend the rest of the night wondering about that strange encounter and actively resisting the urge to pay a little visit to the keyhole on their room"s door. Crumbling Masks. Saito opened the door to their room and quickly let his companion enter as he locked it behind them. "Well we are here... Louise." The girl quickly moved towards the bed before letting her cloak fall to the floor, taking off the oranges she had carefully strapped against her chest and undoing the magic spell that changed her hair color. "I can"t believe you went through so much trouble to disguise yourself." Her mistress snapped at him with anger. "Of course! What do you think people would think if they saw me entering this place so suspiciously like that? My reputation would be ruined!" "But you didn"t need to back when we~" "That was different! It was a mission from the Queen!" The girl stared at him yet he only returned her stare for a second before chuckling. "Whatever... But it seems like it worked, I don"t think Jessica found out who you were." The girl chuckled as well and moved a hand through her hair as she made a confident smile. "It"s only natural, I was the one that made the disguise so it"s obvious no one would recognize me." "But now there are going to be rumors about me being fooling around with unknown girls on cheap hotels." A little angry vein popped out of the girls forehead, yet she still remained unusually calmed. "That"s nothing new, we"ll deal with them appropriately." Saito was surprised at her reaction. "Just that? Last time something like this happened you were worried about me bringing shame to your family name or something like that." Louise blushed and stuttered a little. "Shut up! If I know what happened then it"s OK... Just don"t worry about it!" Saito was about to tease her more, but noticed how her face got terribly serious all of the sudden and could only wait through a small uncomfortable silence before she spoke. "So why did you brought me here Saito?" "I just wanted to talk..." "About what?" His mistress looked at him annoyed, for a second he doubted himself and nearly chickens out, but he remained strong, what he wanted to talk to her was something delicate that needed to be discussed immediately. "About "us"." Louise raised one her eyebrows annoyed, usually just the way it twitched with anger was enough to push him back, enough to make him cower in fear... ""Us"? What do you mean with~" But not this time, this time he had to carry on, and so he slowly got closer to her and interrupted her lips with his own, an action that met no resistance from her part. "That "us"." His mistress blushed with embarrassment but otherwise remained quiet... it was true, a part of her just wanted to explode, to outright deny that the man that just kissed her could be considered her equal, that they belonged to each other... but just like him she also felt it was time to end this, to stop pretending... It was for this reason she accepted he"d take her to this dumpster in the middle of the night. "Louise... I can"t take this anymore!" The girl jumped at his unexpected outburst, he realized what he had done and apologized. "Sorry." He lowered his head in shame as the girl sat on the bed, uncharacteristically instead of getting angry at him, she lowered her head as well and blushed. "It"s okay..." She invited him to sit by her side which he did without hesitation; as they were side by side, there was a small moment of uncomfortable silence until Saito spoke again. "Louise... I... I just don"t want to keep up with this stupid act anymore." "But Saito we"re so close to~" "To what exactly?" The girl took a long breath and lowered her head to look at the floor, trying as hard as she could to hide the sadness on her voice. "Don"t you remember? What we agreed to do? Our plan to achieve happiness." "Louise~" "What! Wasn"t that what you wanted in the first place...? To climb the social ladder to the top from the inside, to prove everyone that status didn"t matter. You"re a hero Saito, the commoners love you, the nobles can"t do a damn thing about you, and... " However he just stared at her completely unmoved. "Just what are you complaining about? We"re almost done, you already got fame, fortune, a huge mansion, a dedicated maid who will serve you for the rest of your life, the favors from not one but two queens that would do anything for you, two void mages at your command who~" "Louise!" "What!" "Don"t dump yourself with the rest!" She felt nothing but indignation at his words. "The rest? How dare you! There is absolutely no difference between us! Those girls love you Saito, they"re all willing to die for you, and don"t deny you feel something for them either..." She lowered her head as tears threatened to be shed. "...I know very well that you do..." He snapped and grabbed by her shoulder so she would face him, then slowly lifting her face so he could looked at her directly. "But Louise... What I feel for them is nothing compared to what I feel for you!" Once he made eye contact he could see how her eyes were full of tears, but she just couldn"t stand the fact that he saw her like this so she immediately threw herself towards him, burying her face on his chest. "Liar~ I know you enjoy it, kissing them, touching them... I know you treasure all those tender moments you"ve had with them." He held her for a while as she cried until she calmed enough so he could raise her face to meet his again. "That"s true, I enjoyed kissing them..." So he kissed her, taking full advantage that she was at her most vulnerable, he kissed with so much passion, so much love that she could do nothing but surrender herself to him. "But I enjoy kissing you a lot more." Then as they separated, he gently pushed her so she would lay on the bed and he could get on top of her. "Saito~" "And yes, I enjoyed touching them as well." His hands began moving through her body, with that warm, tender touch that always knew exactly the right place to make her moan his name in pleasure. "But there"s nothing I adore more than seeing the girl I love in ecstasy." They kissed again, as his hands continued bringing her pleasure and hers were desperately trying to make him feel the same; as they were reaching the point of no return, he stopped to say his final words to her. "Don"t get me wrong, I"m really grateful for all the tender moments they gave me... But right now I only want to be with you and only you, and even though it may sound harsh I think it"s time to let them go, to put an end to this... it"s for the better." And then he retreated, carefully raising his body from her as his doubts and insecurities took over him. "So, I need to know... Tell me Louise... How about you? Do you want to be with me?" As her breathing slowly returned to normal she tried as hard as she could to answer him. "Didn"t... Didn"t I told you on that day back at the fountain, Saito I can"t live without you... I could stand you cheating on me, I could even endure you not loving me... but I can"t even think about a world were you"re not by my side." "Then what"s the problem Louise?" "But... but then you"ll lose~" "I don"t care! Don"t you get it Louise? From the beginning I only cared about you, I became a hero just for you, I became a noble for you, I even agreed to keep up with the charade and gave hope to women I didn"t love so I could gain their favors just for you... all that because I thought... because I thought that stuff would make you proud of me, that it would make you happy." Suddenly sadness crept all over his face as he raised and sat at the side of the bed again. "But all I"ve done is make you miserable." Louise raised as well so she could lean against his back, her head carefully resting on his shoulder. "But Saito..." "I was an idiot you know, I"ve should have know this wouldn"t work~" She placed her index finger above his lips so he"d be quiet. "But Saito, I"m not miserable." Louise whispered to his ear with a sweet, tender voice. "Don"t lie, I"ve done so much and outside of that time in Romalia you barely ever smile to me..." "Saito, listen I know I"m not sweet, I know I"m not cute... I admit I don"t have too much confidence in myself and... and I admit I hate it when you don"t pay attention to me, that I want you just for myself and no one else... but... even when you"re with another girl, even when I"m angry with you... even when I"m crying for you... Saito I... Even if I don"t show it, I"m the happiest I"ve ever been; just being with you makes me like that." Then she hugged him as strong as she could and for a while there was nothing but silence; until nearly a minute later it was broken by Saito"s chuckling. "What"s wrong?" "Nothing Louise I was just thinking... are you happy when you beat me up too?" Yet Louise didn"t get angry but rather just chuckled herself. "Yeah, keep talking as if you didn"t enjoy it." "What the...? I don"t~" "Ha! Don"t kid yourself stupid dog, let"s just look at the facts shall we: at the very least the maid, the princess, that Zerbst, the bookworm and even the busty elf love you; all of them treat you like a king, all but one have huge breasts just like you like them and would require nothing more than a word to get you into their beds~" "But that"s~" "Yet I"m the one that get"s jealous, I"m the one who"s flat as a board, I"m the one that makes things hard for you, I"m the one that "tortures" you they say... and just who did you say you were in love with a few minutes ago?" "Y... You...?" "Yes Saito you"re in love with me, so let"s be blunt shall we? You have at least 5 girls willing to take you for themselves, you could have left me whenever you wanted and never have a cold bed; you"re stronger and faster than me, you could have stopped me from punishing you if you so desired; not to mention that if you hated it so much you would have at least tried to learn how to avoid making me mad, yet it seems like you"re constantly getting better at it." Saito was taken aback, both by her words and her sudden outburst of confidence he had never seen before. "What do you mean?" His mistress snapped, how could this dog be so dense? She licked her lips with delight and anger as she thought that maybe it was time to show him what she meant; in a flash she pushed Saito into the bed as strong as she could and got on top of him. "Stupid dog,! How can I make you understand?" "Hey wait! Louise~ wait!" She ignored his pleas and beat him up, she didn"t had her whip with her so she used her fists for a while, hitting him several times before stopping. "Why did you do that for?" His whines made her even angrier as she punched him again before yelling at his face. "For crying out loud realize it already stupid dog! Can"t you feel it? Because I can, I"m practically sitting on it!" But he didn"t seem to understand her. "You"re hard stupid dog! Ever since I got on top of you I felt it, pressing against me, getting bigger and harder with each blow! Doing this I can get you up way more than any couple of huge tits could ever get you!" ... "And it"s nothing new, it was like this since the beginning! Did you think I wouldn"t notice? All this time you were living the good life weren"t you? Getting off while you were flirting with other girls and then even more when I punished you! Do you realize now my dear? You"re a horny masochist dog!" ... "If you knew that, then why did you keep punishing me like that?" "What?" "I said I"m not the only one getting off with this my mistress; don"t you remember I just said there"s nothing I adore more than seeing the girl I love in ecstasy? There are several ways to achieve that my love and not all of them are pretty." He didn"t wait for her answer, rather he took advantage from his position... and raised her skirt to reveal her panties. "Just look at yourself Louise... you"re wet!" Her panties that were about to be overflowed by her "ecstasy". "But that"s..." "And it"s nothing new in your case either; of course I"ve noticed it from the first day, that intoxicating scent you have whenever you beat me; the wet spots you tried so hard to hide on the soiled panties I used to wash... Sometimes when we"re like this, you get so wet it even gets into my pants, and that drives me crazy Louise!" "But that"s not... I... You..." "I couldn"t get you like this any other way, everything I"ve tried simply fails to turn you on anywhere near as much, not that I"m complaining... Anyway let me spell it out for you my dear love, you"re a lascivious sadistic bitch!" ... They stared at each other for a while until they just couldn"t take it anymore. "Ha...! Hahahaha!" And laughed like the idiots they were for a full minute. "We"re a couple of perverts of the highest class aren"t we?" And when the mistress stated the obvious her servant could do nothing more than to keep laughing. "And I wouldn"t have it any other way." They stared again only for the girl to smile and threw herself into the boy"s arms. "You know, I feel a lot better now, thank you Saito." He hugged her back and then looked directly at her beautiful pink eyes. "Why are you talking as if we were done here Louise? We rented this place until dawn and I"m not someone to waste money like that... So what do you say if we enjoy our time together until the sun comes out? I"m pretty sure I deserve some punishment for something don"t I?" The mistress licked her lips with pleasure and anticipation. "Of course you do! You need to be punished for flipping your mistress"s skirt and looking at her panties! So don"t think you can run away from this... I"m going to take special care of you so prepare yourself!" She got closer to him and kissed him, before taking off his shirt, tossing it into the floor and wondering if hers wouldn"t make a good companion to it; maybe the rest of their clothes should follow as well. "I love you Saito... So I"m going to leave my mark on you." "I can"t wait... Maybe I"ll leave mine on you while you"re at it my beloved mistress." And so they kissed as they indulged on the sick pleasures they could only get from each other. Later at dawn. "Want an orange Saito?" "Sure!" She threw one of the fruits at him which he caught with no troubles and quickly peeled it off so he could eat. "But Louise, aren"t you going to need these for your disguise when we get out?" The girl answered him as she fixed her clothes. "I was planning to use my magic and teleport us outside; even with a disguise we"ll end calling too much attention otherwise... by the way how are your wounds?" He took a second to check the skin she had hurt through the whole night only to heal it with magic when the sun began to appear on the sky. "Great! There"s no pain and there are no scars either, you"re getting better at this." "Of course! If I put my mind to it is a piece of cake, granted they were pretty minor wounds and I don"t think I could handle anything worse... but don"t worry I"ll practice and improve my healing magic! I intend to keep our newfound eh... "kinky" pleasures in private; but I don"t want to have to limit them because of that you see." She looked at him with a gorgeous smile and a pose to display her confidence; such a beautiful sight caused him to come at her from behind and hug her. "Such confidence... It"s amazing what a lascivious sadistic bitch can do with the proper motivation." The girl frowned as she turned to face him, only to stare at him for a little while with such face and then smile. "Yes you"re right, but guess what? I am your lascivious sadistic bitch so you"re going to have to stay by my side and keep me satisfied for the rest of our lives." They kissed. "Yes, and as your loyal horny masochist dog I will follow you everywhere and tend to your every wish, you want it or not... and I"m going to enjoy every minute of it." And again. "As long as you understand it... by the way I was thinking... maybe..." The girl blushed and lowered her head, stuttering the words she wanted to say. "Louise?" "Maybe I could tell my parents the Queen sent us in a secret mission to a far away land.. and everyone else we"re at my parents and... take a little time to enjoy ourselves in a cabin my family is not using right now... like maybe a month or two." The boy smile carried a little lust on it as he answered her. "That would be perfect, I"d love to do something like that... But you surprise me Louise; I didn"t expect you to propose something so bold all of the sudden." The girls just looked away embarrassed, blushing as hard as she could. "It"s nothing... it"s just that I suddenly feel like I can finally be honest with myself." "So do I... You know it was a good idea to do something like this, after all..." So after revealing their deepest secrets, showing themselves as they truly are to one another; this peculiar couple could finally reach one final, obvious conclusion about themselves. We were made for each other.

"But that"s no good, it"s true you all share the same character type, but that doesn"t mean there aren"t any differences between you, for an example you"re not violent and..." Just leave it Hayate, some people just can"t look past the stereotype... "Sigh" oh well... where are you planning on taking me? "Well the script says I can choose between an anime convention that"s conveniently taking place right now, a simple walk through the city with a movie and a romantic dinner or a water park...? Wait a minute why would we go to a water park?" Take a guess... "Fan service?" Correct. "But what"s the point of fan service in a fan fiction, it"s not like we can show an image of a girl wearing a bikini." No, but we can give people the mental image of it... especially with three paragraph descriptions of every girl we find like there are on the script, look... "Hinagiku was all sweaty wearing a skin tight micro red bikini that made her look like she was about to... ok, I get the point... If it is like that then I bet there is also a scene where I accidentally enter a room full of changing girls and they chase me out by throwing random stuff at me." Two actually, there"s also one where a sudden wave comes out of nowhere and unties the tops of every girl on the pool and for some reason you"re the only male around to witness it, so we chase you out by throwing random stuff at you, only to be attacked by a giant octopus a few seconds later... and you can probably guess what happens then. "Ok... so that leaves the anime convention or the movie and dinner, which one you prefer Milady?" I"ll take the movie and dinner thank you, you know I don"t like places with too much people and if you change the micro bikinis for semi erotic costumes and the sudden wave for a little earthquake, then the anime convention route it"s pretty much the same as the water park one. "Perfect, let"s go Milady." With pleasure, go get the bike and the cart while I wait for you in front of the house. "But Milady, if we"re going on a date then that means we"re equals, I can"t act like your butler." I guess you"re right; shall I call for a ride then? "No, let"s just walk; it"s sunny today so it"d be a waste to go by car." Ok Hayate, if you say so... and so we begin our horrible ordeal, walking through a long, endless desert for hours without water or food, my body began to... "Milady, could you please stop being so dramatic? We"ve only been walking for five minutes and we"re still in the garden." But I"m tired... I don"t get it what"s the point of having a garden so big? It only makes going out of the house harder and our surveillance and maintenance cost higher since its more terrain to cover. Hayate sweat dropped "I"ve been asking about that for some time myself Milady, anyway shall we continue?" But Hayate, I"m tired... "Well if you don"t want to go outside I suppose we could cancel the date and go back to the house..." No, its ok I"ll walk... "Chuckle" Hey Hayate you"re not going to believe what happens next. "What could it be Milady?" It says here that now Tama appears on scene and talks to you while I"m distracted... can you believe that Hayate? A tiger talking like a real person and walking on two legs... the author of this thing must be crazy. "Yeah... maybe he is..." Anyway, now Tama suddenly got close to Hayate from behind and talked to him while I was distracted for some reason... hey look a butterfly! "How shameful, to think that a butler would trick his master like that, you disappoint me kid." "Tama! Don"t sneak on me like that, plus if you talk so close to Milady like that she"ll notice you." "Nah don"t worry, she"s been conveniently distracted by the plot so we can talk all we want and she"ll only snap out of it when we"re done." Come back here pretty butterfly! "See?" "Ok, if you say so... so what do you want?" "Nothing, I just wanted to appear on this thing... my screen time is pretty limited as it is so I thought I could get a few lines or something before going back to sleep." "I see, well goodnight then." "Ok, good luck to you too." As Tama was leaving, I conveniently snapped out of whatever was distracting me and noticed him. Tama, what are you doing here? I know you must have noticed I was in trouble and came to rescue me, how sweet! "So it seems Milady, I bet he wants you to ride him until the gates of the mansion." Really? "Sure, look how happy he is." To be honest he looks more like he"s trying to run away... but whatever, anyway can we do that? I mean you know since we"re equals and stuff it"s not fair for me to ride Tama and not you. "I think we can overlook that this time, plus it"s only until the gates, once outside we"re on our own." Ok Hayate, I quickly hopped on top of Tama and happily rode him towards the gates; once there we had to leave him behind and I conveniently got distracted again so he could say a few words to Hayate... hey look it"s that butterfly again! "My back, it hurts! You"ll pay for this debt ridden butler." "Yeah Tama, thanks for carrying Milady around, I"m sure she appreciates it... goodbye." "Bye, don"t forget to leave your door open when you sleep..." After that Tama and that beautiful butterfly went away so we got outside the mansion. Well Hayate, we"re outside now, what should we do? "Now we take a bus to get to the theater Milady." A bus? What"s that? "It"s kind of a big car that gives rides to people for a small fee." Ah, so you"re talking about one of those public limos I read about in a manga once. "I guess you could say that... there is one right now, let"s go in Milady." Sure... man talk about a crappy limo; oh well I suppose they had to remove the fridge and all the other cool stuff to let more people in... anyway, me and Hayate boarded the limo and seated in a place near the back... "Milady, it"s going to be kind of a long trip, like about half an hour, so in the mean time you can..." Zzzzzz Zzzzz Zzzzzz "She fell asleep, well I better make sure she"s comfortable, wouldn"t want her to get neck pain in the middle of a date." So then Hayate moved his arm around my back so my head would rest on his shoulder. "Milady, how can you keep narrating if you"re asleep?" That"s a really good question Hayate, it"s kind of complicated so I"ll explain it to you during the time skip, let me just write the sign... About half an hour later. ...And that"s how I can keep narrating even when I"m asleep. "I see, that makes perfect sense Milady, kind of obvious when you think about it." I know, I was surprised too when I first found out. "Ok, but it"s time to wake up, we"ve arrived at our destination." Perfect... "Yawn" Hayate, are we there yet? "Yep, time to get up Milady." Ok... it was then when I noticed just how close my face was to Hayate"s and quickly moved away embarrassed. Stupid Hayate! Taking advantage that I fell asleep just to get close to me. "Sorry, shall we get out of the bus then." Ye... yeah. We got out of the limo and walked near the theater where we were going to watch the movie. "Well, here we"re Milady, the biggest theater in the whole city." Really... it"s smaller than the one back home. "I meant public theater Milady." Oh I see... it"s pretty I guess. But as we were preparing to enter we heard a familiar voice coming from behind. "Hayate sama, Nagi!" Huh? We turned around and found one of my friends. Isumi, what are you doing here? And more importantly why are you wearing beach clothes? "Well I was walking towards the water park so I could make my cameo and then I found you guys here." As she said that Hayate got closer to me so he could whisper. "Milady, Isn"t the water park at the other side of the city?" I whispered back. Yeah, it"s amazing how the only way to make her get somewhere without getting lost is sending her the opposite way. Anyway, sorry Isumi, we"re not doing the water park route but the movie and dinner one. "Eh... really? Man you guys are boring!" Right behind Isumi another one of my friends appeared. Saku... you"re wearing beach clothes too? And what"s with that bag? It"s at least two times bigger than you are. "Or course I am, how was I supposed to know you guys would pick the most boring route of them all? Now what am I going to do with this bag full of random stuff to throw at your butler when he sees me changing?" Not my problem, by the way what happened with your accent? "Don"t know, I"m guessing the author didn"t know how to write it in English... man what an amateur, I mean what"s with this fic with no fourth wall? This thing is so first season of the anime; hasn"t he read the newest manga chapters? Hayate is serious business now! Go write this on the Gintama board you freak!" (Opinions shared by the characters of the HnG cast are not in any way representative of the authors ́ or any other person involved in the creation of this story, so they won ́t be held responsible for any of the views expressed during the writing of this fic... PD: Gintama rules!) What was that? "What was what Milady?" You mean you didn"t sense something weird just now. "Nope, I have no idea of what you"re talking about milady." Eh... nothing, forget I said anything, let"s move on with the story. Yeah, yeah... whatever Saku, anyway, we"re going to the theater right now, care to join us? "But Milady I thought you wouldn"t want somebody else joining us in our date." But Hayate we have to keep it a secret... I"m not entirely sure why because the script doesn"t say so, but we have to ask them to join us so they won"t become suspicious. "Ok as you say so Milady." So anyway, glaring plot hole aside, Saku looked at us suspiciously. "Are you sure... I wouldn"t want to but in your date." I blushed and stuttered when I answered her. "What... What are you talking about Saku, this is not a date, we were just going to..." But fortunately for me I was interrupted by yet another character in a pointless cameo. "You guys what are you doing here?" "Wataru san? And Saki san too? What are you doing here...? I"m guessing by your beach clothes that you thought we took the water park route so you should be going there." "Waka sama thought we should come here to help Isumi san get to the water park." I see how thoughtful of him... "Milady, why does Saki san calls Wataru san by his Japanese title? I mean I"ve been calling you Milady instead of Ojousama since the beginning, so I thought we were using the English ones." Hayate, we"ve been on this story for like 9 MS word pages already; you should know better than to expect consistency from this thing. He sweat dropped. "I guess you"re right Ojou... I mean Milady." Anyway after that Saku got behind Wataru and spoke to him. "Hehe, how nice of you; helping out poor Isumi find her way towards fan service, are you sure it"s not because you wanted to see her in a swimsuit?" Wataru got terribly embarrassed and blushed. "What are you saying? Stupid!" "Wataru san how dirty!" "Ahh! Waka sama is having shameful thoughts!" "No, this is just a mis..." As this clichéd scene was taking place, I felt Hayate touching my shoulder and then he quietly guided me towards the theater. "Anyway Milady, now we can go to the movies without interruptions." Nice Hayate! You must really be eager to go on this date with me... oh who am I kidding I know why you"re doing this... "Cheer up Milady! I know you don"t like knowing the true motives of the story, but the least we can do is enjoy it." I guess you"re right. "Of course! Let"s pick the movie so we can get the tickets then." What do you mean? Don"t we just go into the theater and pop in the Blu-ray we want to see? "Nope, here they have different screening rooms showing several movies and we have to pick the one we want to see before entering." I see, what are they showing then? "Let"s see? They"re showing the movie about the disappearance of..." Nah, have it on Blu-ray and DVD just like everyone should. "Ok, they"re also showing the live action adaptation of..." No! "But I haven"t even told you..." I said NO! "Ok ok Milady, the only other thing is the Disney movie marathon they"re running... I don"t get it, why should we go to the theater to see them if we can own all of them now on Disney DVD and Blu-ray for a super cheap price..." What"s with the shameless plug Hayate? "Nothing Milady, I just thought that if we gave them free publicity they wouldn"t sue us for using their name without permission." That makes sense, well I admit I"m not a big fan of them, but those movies are always entertaining, so why not? "Ok then, the one they"re showing today is "The Emperor"s New Groove", how... oddly appropriate." Why? "You haven"t seen it Milady?" Nope, like I said I"m not a big fan, so I might have missed a movie or two. "Ok then it"s decided, let"s go get the tickets." Meanwhile in the theater"s snack shop, a thieving hamster was buying provisions. "I want some popcorn, a few candy bars, a bag of chips, a pack of nachos with cheese, a hot dog and a diet coke please!" "Right away miss!" "Truly the best thing about the movies is the food!" Smiles and makes a thumps up. Man, Saku"s right, this fanfic is so first season of the anime it hurts. "What"s wrong Milady." Nothing, let"s go into the screening room shall we? "Yeah..." One hour, fifteen minutes and eleven seconds of pure fun later: That was the best movie ever. "So did you like it Milady?" Like it? I loved it! I actually expected the usual with a bunch of misplaced songs and a corny story, but instead it seems that they just scraped all that and tried to make everything as funny as they could... and it was glorious! "Wonderful Milady, glad to see you liked it; shall we head to the restaurant now?" Sure let"s go. And so we took a taxi towards the most exclusive and expensive restaurant in the whole city. "Speaking about that Milady, are you sure it"s ok for us to just go there without reservations?" Don"t worry about that, there shouldn"t be any trouble at all; I mean that place it"s mine anyway. "Oh I see... well here we are." Yeah let"s go in... but as we were entering we were interrupted by... you guessed it more characters in pointless cameos. "Hey! Who"s making a pointless cameo?" "We"re being underestimated." "I think Nagi chan is just mad because we"re going to interrupt her date with Hayata kun." Great, of all the people to make pointless cameos it had to be the student council trio... oh well let"s just get on with this... Who"s on a date with him? We just decided to give Maria a day off and eat out for a change of pace. "Ah I see, no wonder I thought it was weird." And together with the trio was the great, the only and the one that"ll probably end up being my future boss if she isn"t already... Hinagiku! Applause and whistling. "Knock that off, it"s embarrassing!" Not as much as that Naga (from Slayers) costume you"re wearing... actually why are you wearing that? More whistling and camera flashes. She got embarrassed with the cutest of gestures and tried to cover herself. "What do you mean "why"? It"s an anime convention; we were all supposed to cosplay!" What do you mean? We took the movie and dinner route, I thought you guys knew since those three are on their regular clothes. Suddenly the student council trio sweat dropped in unison as a really dark aura began to appear around Hina. "You told me you were cosplaying three characters from a popular anime." "Well Hina it"s true I mean... we"re popular aren"t we?" "You!" "Wait Hina, if you punish us right now you"ll miss the chance to show your costume to Hayata kun, that"s what we came here for remember?" Then just as sudden as it appeared, the dark aura quickly changed to a deep blush all over her face. Applause and some otakus yell "Hinagiku MOE!' in the background. "Ah! What do you... hey wait a minute, where"s Nagi and Hayate kun?" "Huh? What do you mean they were right... here?" "They disappeared." "But how? Nagi chan was talking to us just a few... wait a minute, why weren"t there double quotes around her dialog?" "And why is the narration so poor? You can"t even tell which one of us is supposed to be speaking..." Meanwhile in an unspecified burger joint far away from there. "Hey that"s no fair!" "And after we went through so much trouble to get her to wear that Naga costume!" "Yeah, come back here so we can finish our cameos!" Me and Hayate were finishing our meals and getting ready to go for a walk. "That was kind of dirty Milady, abusing you narrator powers to trick them and leave them behind." He sweat dropped while I just let out a chuckle. No problem Hayate, this is just a fanfic so it"s not like it is canon or anything, just relax and enjoy it. "As you say so Milady, but how did we get to this burger joint so fast? I mean that conversation didn"t even last a minute but we"re already done with the food." Well Hayate... "You got me. By all accounts, it doesn"t make sense.' man I"ve been waiting ever since we left the theater to say that line. "I see you really liked the movie Milady." Yeah, it was great... well then shall we go Hayate, we still have an event to cover on the script. "Sure!" We got out of the restaurant and began to walk through the city, covered by the sweet moonlight a setting that could only be more romantic if this was a real date. "Milady, could you drop that already? I"m sorry the script forced me to lie to you, but you can"t deny that it has been fun so far." Yeah, well... shall we go home now? "But wasn"t there another event on the script?" "Blush" But Hayate... this... this is a T rated fanfiction. "Blushes even redder.' We can"t do that... "What do you mean Milady?" Look... "Ok let me see... "Then Hayate took Nagi into a love hotel and... he... and then she... "OH MY GOD WHAT IS THIS MILADY?" Hayate "Sobbing" I thought that place was meant for stuff to come out, not to go in. "Milady..." "Crying" and I thought you weren"t supposed to drink that other stuff either. "Ok Milady that"s enough! We don"t follow this script anymore, I mean who wrote this crap?" "Still sobbing" it"s at the top of the page. "Both look at the top of the page and click the profile.' Man, talk about jumping the shark. "Do you know him Milady?" Yeah, I liked his other fics but this one it"s just bad and to think it"s his first one on our section... stop writing this crap and go back to work on your ongoing stories you lazy bum! "Nevermind him Milady, would you be so kind to destroy this horrible thing?" With pleasure... Hayate threw the script into a conveniently located water puddle, then it caught fire for no apparent reason, was hit by several stray meteors that fell in that exact same spot, thorn apart by radioactive ants, got bombarded by gamma rays, got stomped by a bunch of environmental activist that noticed the cover was made of leather and finally the whole thing just stopped existing altogether. "Wow! That almost never happens Milady." Just making sure it was destroyed properly, shall we go home? "As you wish." Don"t mind if I do... then Magical Destroy appeared to take us home after the incredible fight against godzill... Milady... "Sigh" Yeah yeah, we took a taxi and got back home in a few minutes, then we got into the mansion, you reported to Maria that her plan failed and nearly backfires yadda yadda yadda and then we were in my room while I was getting ready to sleep (read as: play Monster Hunter). "You know you didn"t have to rush the story so much Milady." Leave it, I"m tired and nothing interesting was going to happen anyway. "Yeah well Goodnight Milady, don"t stay up too late." Then as Hayate was leaving I grabbed his sleeve and stopped him. "What"s wrong?" Hayate... do you think... that I was a good narrator? "Well it"s true you didn"t have a good script to work with, but I think you did a great job!" But... you"re just saying that because you"re my butler. "No really, I mean look at our readers, they haven"t hit back on their browsers yet, so that means they found this interesting." But... that doesn"t mean they liked it... "Then I guess there"s no way to find out unless they write reviews or add this fic to their favorites..." Hayate, stop breaking the 4th wall to ask for reviews... it make us look desperate! "But Milady, I think you did a good job and you deserve some feedback for it, after all a few minutes of their time can help you raise you self esteem and become a better person for..." Stop it Hayate, I said it"s embarrassing! "Ok Milady... " There was a few seconds of silence before he spoke again. "Well then I shall be going Milady." Yeah, goodnight Hayate. "Good night Milady, I hope you have nice dreams and that this is only a one shot." Hope you"re right. The End. It"s that it? "So it would seem Milady." I don"t know, maybe I"m asking to much from this thing, but I feel like something"s missing. "Something like what exactly?" I don"t know, usually this kind of fics always end with a shocker or a moment of heartwarming or you know... something more than a simple goodnight. "Well... how about this?" Kisses Nagi on the forehead. ́Blush ́ Hayate~! What are you... ́Blushes badly. ́ "Well that was both shocking and heartwarming, so I think it qualifies." Well... yeah... I think... "blushes to the maximum" let"s just end this already! "As you wish Milady... Bye everyone thanks for reading!"

"Hope you"ll have a nice stay and the concert will be as you kids say "cool" " said Vlad. "It will rock!" said Corey and suddenly and a girl appeared out of nowhere, she had long black hair tied up in a pony tail and blue eyes and wore Goth clothes. "Oh, look who came, allow me to introduce my daughter Berta Drac- Uh Manula, it would be great if you make friends with her" said Vlad. "Nice to mean you" said Berta. "You too Berta, the name"s Corey and these are Laney, Kin and Kon, hope you like our concert!" said Corey and shook her hand. Berta looked at Corey with a smile and heart eyes and Corey"s background in her eyes was pink with floating hearts. "Y-yeah..." said Berta looking romantically at Corey and Corey looked confused. "Is there something on my face?" asked Corey rubbing his face. "Uh? Oh! No nothing!" said Berta and released her grip from his hand. "If you want I can personally show you the hotel Corey" sighed Berta romantically. "And the rest of us too" said Laney looked a little mad. "Yeah sure" said Berta without taking off her eyes of Corey and Corey smiled nervously and Laney looked even madder. Kin and Kon looked around and saw a portrait of Vlad. "Nice painting Vlad. I didn"t even know they still make 19th century paintings anymore" said Kin in a suspicious tone at Vlad. "Yeah and I didn"t know that your painter is Leonardo Dicaprio!" said Kon. "Da Vinci" corrected Kin. "Him too!" said Kon. "Gentleman, I took that painting 10 years ago and Leonardo is a common name it"s just a coincidence" said Vlad. "10 years ago huh? You look like-" "Really young!" Kon cut off Kin and Kin hit his head. "I was gonna say like he haven"t aged a bit!" said Kin. "That too!" said Kon and Kin just groaned. "I have a strict diet, now if you don"t mind, I have business to attend to" said Vlad and walked away. "Business huh? Let"s follow him Kon, wanna join in Laney?" asked Kin. "No thanks, I think I"ll keep an eye on daddy"s girl" said Laney in anger. "Right! If the dad"s a vampire then the daughter is a vampire too! Great idea Laney!" said Kon. "Yeah... That..." said Laney and watched the giggling Berta with her arms around Corey"s arm and one of the floating hearts above Berta"s head, floated above Laney and she snatched it and crushed it. In the same area, Trina spotted Nick. "Hi Nick! What do you think of this hotel? Totally lame right-" "Nick Mallory thinks the vampire hotel is cool" said Nick. "Like me too! But also so scared of it because it"s suppose to be hunted by vampires" said Trina and looked around and frowned. "I said it"s supposed to be hunted by vampires!" yelled Trina and Mina ran to her side. "Mina! How tots great to see you! Don"t you have something to say!?" said Trina in anger. "Uh, what exactly?" asked Mina confused. "What I texted you!" said Trina while gritting her teeth and Mina looked at her phone. "Oh! "AHHHH! I think I saw a vampire!' " read Mina. "Oh no! Nick, I"m so scared! I need you to hold my hand so-" said Trina trying to hold Nick"s hand but she held air and saw Nick was gone. She gritted her teeth in anger and looked at Mina. "On the bright side, at least I can sell it next time" said Mina nervously. "You better! Or else you"ll wish that a vampire was here if you don"t!" threatened Trina and she and Mina walked away looking for Nick. *A montage with music* Berta was showing Corey some perfume in the hotel souvenir shop, she spread in the air and Corey sniffed it and seemed to like it and Berta giggled, Laney was watching from the side and saw a skunk that came out of nowhere and smiled, Berta pointed at a perfume and Corey lifted it up and Berta closed her eyes smiling and a green smoke was sprayed on her and the screen shows Laney with a skunk in her hands and Berta screamed and sprayed herself with perfumes to get rid of the stank, Corey chuckled a little of Laney"s prank. Vlad walked across the hall and as he passed by Kin"s head popped out of the left plant pot and Kon"s head popped out of right plant pot watching Vlad with binoculars and Vlad turned around and they hid back, Vlad shrugged and walked away and Kin was in the right pot and Kon was on the left pot when they popped out of the pots. Corey showed Berta how he plays his guitar and she smiled and hearts floated above her head and Corey gave her a try on the guitar, Laney frowned and turned the amp to max and as Berta played a string on the guitar, the screen shown an explosion and Berta, Corey and Laney were covered in smoke dust and Corey laughed and gave a thumbs up to Laney and she gave him back and Berta looked at her in anger. Kin and Kon were under a carpet and crawled after Vlad, Vlad turned around and they hid in a big lump and he shrugged and kept walking and as Kin and Kon were about to follow him, a herd of people came their way and they were stumped all over and when the dust cleared it showed Kin and Kon twitching in pain with their carpet torn and footprints all over them. *End of montage* "I had a lot of fun Corey" said Berta with her arms around Corey"s arm. "Even with the minor set-back" said Berta and darted her eyes at Laney and she returned the glare. "Great to hear, so we"ll see you at the concert?" said Corey as he tried to free himself from Berta"s grip. "Sure! But, can you come over to my room for a sec I want to show you something" said Berta and came in her room and Laney pulled Corey a side. "I don"t trust her, she had a crazy look in her eyes" said Laney. "What? Come on Lanes" said Corey. "I"m serious! She"s been clinging to you and looking at you like as if she was a tiger and you were a burger platter!" said Laney in frustration. "You pushed her out of the hotel balcony and she"s the one who"s crazy?" said Corey. "Hey! She landed safely in the crocodile infested lake" protested Laney. "Okay, whatever you say fella, but cool it with the pranks, remember that her dad owns the place and if she gets mad we might lose our gig" stated Corey and Laney frowned. "Fine" said Laney in defeat. "See ya later" said Corey and came in Berta"s room and Laney walked away sad. "So what did you want to show me Berta?" asked Corey and the door slammed shut on its own and the room got dark as Corey had a mix expression of fright and surprise. "Um, Berta? What"s going on?" asked Corey and he turned around and the screen showed a pair of red eyes and fangs that leaped on to the screen and all went black. Elsewhere, Vlad came into the bathroom and started to floss his teeth and in the stalls Kin came out of the toilet and looked above the stall. "I see him Kon" said Kin and heard gurgle sounds from the toilet and started to plunge the toilet and Kon came out. " *Gasp* thanks bro!" said Kon in relief and Kin pulled him above the stall to see Vlad. "I"m getting bored of spying on him; he had shown no signs of being a vampire! I think we-" "Na-na-na-na" Kon cut him off. "What is it buddy?" asked Kin and Kon pointed shakily at Vlad and Kin looked closer and saw that the floss line was the only seen thing in the mirror! "H-H-He has no reflection!" yelled Kin and Vlad spotted them and the flinched in fear. "AHHHHHHH! Kin and Kon screamed and fled out of the bathroom and screamed like maniacs. "VAMPIRE!" they shouted across the hall. Trina found Nick and ran to him. "Hi Nick! How nice to unexpectedly to bump into you! I was so scared to walk in this vampire hunted hotel alone" said Trina and looked around and looked mad now. "I said this vampire hunted hotel!" yelled Trina and heard screaming and the screen shows Kin and Kon running away in fear. "VAMPIRE!" Kin and Kon shouted and ran across Trina and she spun from their speed as they kept running. "Not what I expected but I"ll take it!" said Trina to herself. "Oh no Nick! There are real vampires in the hotel! I need you to hold my hand to make me feel safe!" said Trina and was holding her hand out. "Nick Mallory goes with the flow. If vampires want to be here, Nick"s okay with that. It must be fun to be an immortal vampire, so much time to spent." said Nick and walked away and Trina"s eyes lit up. "Immortal? As in never age!? If I become a vampire and Nick turns into one too, we will literally be together forever! Squeal!" cheered Trina. "AHHHHH! I think I saw a vampire!" fake screamed Mina as she ran to Trina. "Good timing Mina! That what I would have said if you were hear 5 MINUTES AGO!" yelled Trina. "S-Sorry Trina..." said Mina shakily. "Like whatever! Change of plans! Corey"s wonder hunters just yelled they saw a vampire, so we are going to find him and turn me and Nick into vampires! And we can be together forever!" said Trina. "And if I turn into a vampire too we"ll be BFF"s for reals!" said Mina excited. "Sure whatever" said Trina as she and Mina walked away. Laney walked across the hall and heard screaming. "AHHHHH! VAMPIRE!" yelled Kin and Kon and tackled Laney and all three of them fell. "Kin? Kon? What happened?" asked Laney. "We!" said Kin. "Followed Vlad!" completed Kon. "We were in pots!" "Almost caught!" "We were stepped on!" "Lots of owwies!" "And we saw!" "No reflection!" "AHHHHH!" screamed Kin and Kon and Laney slapped them both back to reality. "Slow down! What are trying to say?!" asked Laney and Kin and Kon looked at each other. "Vlad"s a vampire!" they shouted together. "What?" asked Laney in disbelief. "It"s true! We saw him in the bathroom!" said Kin. "He had no reflection! It was like the time that mirror in the garage and I couldn"t see myself!" said Kon "That was a window" said Laney. "Oh, well that explains why I saw the neighborhood through it" said Kon "Wait, if what you"re saying is true, than Berta is a vampire too!" said Laney in shock. "We need to come up with a plan to stop them! Core ideas!" said Kin and then looked around. "Where"s Corey?" asked Kin. "With Berta" said Laney. "Oh" said Kon and than a clock ticks were heard and then hit them the realization. "COREY!" they yelled together and ran across the hall. "How could you leave him alone with a vampire?!" complained Kin. "First rule in a vampire movie: Never leave someone alone with a suspected person to be a vampire!" said Kon. "Like I knew she was Dracula"s daughter!" protested Laney. "Oh, so that"s what Vlad tried to say!" said Kon. They stopped in front of Berta"s room and Kon tried to open it. "It"s locked!" said Kon. "I have a lock pick, it will take a few minutes-" Kin was cut off from door kick noise that Laney kicked open. "Or you can do that" said Kin and the three of them came in and Laney tore everything apart looking for Corey and Kin and Kon just watched in shock and dodged items and when Laney was done it was barely a room. "No trace of Corey or Berta" said Laney. "Did somebody call me?" said a voice from behind them at the room entrance revealing Corey back and the three screamed. "AHHHHHH!" "What!? Why are screaming!?" said Corey back with his hands in defense, Kon grabbed a mirror and put it in front of Corey"s face. "What am I looking at?" asked Corey holding the mirror. "That"s the point, you can"t look! Because you"re a vampire!" said Kin and the screen shows Corey"s face: pale, fangs and shocked red eyes as Corey realized his situation. "What!? NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" "NO NO NO NO!" yelled Corey walking around panicking. "I can"t be a vampire! I"m too young to be dead! Or undead! So many things I want to do and lots of them in the day light!" yelled Corey and Laney slapped him back to reality. "Core! Calm down! Tell us what happened!" said Laney shaking Corey back and forth. "I don"t know! I remember coming into Berta"s room and the next thing I know I woke up in the room next door" stated Corey and than a figure came out. "I see you"re awake" said the voice and startled the band and the figure revealed to Berta now with red eyes. "I knew there was something odd about you! You turned Corey into a vampire!" yelled Laney. "Well duh! How can I marry Corey if he"s not a vampire?" said Berta. "Marry!?" said the band together in shock. "Ah yes!" said a voice startling the band revealing Vlad. "My daughter finally picked her husband! After we take control of this town we"ll plan out your wedding!" said Vlad excitedly. "Woah! Woah! Wait! I barely know her! Not enough to marry at the very least!" protested Corey. "Oh don"t worry son, when you"ll be the vampire king of this town, it will change your mind!" said Vlad patting Corey"s shoulder. "And what did you mean by control this town?" asked Laney. "We"re vampires! We control people by hypnosis! Duh!" said Berta. "Now that you mention it, me and Kon did see people walking around like zombies with red eyes" said Kin and a flashback flashed of when Kin and Kon were screaming and people with glowing red eyes walked around like zombies. "I thought it was just part of the hotel advertizing" said Kon. "Well because you"re the groom"s friends we"ll keep your minds until the wedding" said Vlad patting Laney"s head who obviously didn"t like it. "Well I"ll see you around, my love" giggled Berta and Corey looked disgusted and she and Vlad walked away. "Enough that I"m a vampire, there"s no way I"m getting married!" complained Corey. "Obviously! Those vampires are going down! Kin! Kon! How do we do it?!" said Laney determent. "Well, vampire"s worst enemy is the sun, so we need to expose them to the sun and it has a bonus effect, if the master is dead, his vampire victims turn back to normal!" said Kin. "Yes!" cheered Corey but then looked confused. "But how will we get sunlight? It"s night out" stated Corey. "True, but we do have-" said Kin and the screen zoomed out a bit. "Grojband"s laser light machine!" said Kin and Kon together showing the machine. "Nice! We can do a killer light show at the concert that will vaporize the Dracula"s" and turn me back to my handsome self!" cheered Corey. "Except we don"t have lyrics" stated Laney. "Agh! How hard is it to find a vampire!?" yelled a noise and the band looked out the door and saw Trina and Mina. "Trina are you sure you want to do this? Once you"re a vampire you can"t turn back" said Mina. "Tots sure! If Nick is going to be a vampire so am I! We are going to be so BFGFFAE!" said Trina excitedly. "What?" asked Mina confused. "Boyfriend and girlfriend forever and ever! Duh!" said Trina and she and Mina walked away. "So Trina wants to be a vampire huh?" smirked Corey and the band came in the room again. "That"s perfect! We"ll make her wish come true and once she"s a vampire and find out I"m a vampire too..." said Corey. "She"ll realize she"ll be stuck forever with you!" said Kin. "She"ll freak out!" said Kon. "To one way ticket to diary town!" said Laney. "Operation turn Trina into a vampire and destroy the Dracula"s" with our killer light show and turn me back to normal and save the town people is a *inhales* go!" announced Corey. *Vampire skull transition!* Corey ran to Berta. "Hey Berta my *gulp* sweetie! Can you do me a favor?" asked Corey. "Yes my love?" smiled Berta with hearts floating above her head and Corey looked disgusted and pushed her a little back. "I want my sister to attend the wedding but because only vampires and mindless slaves can attend so-" "You want me to turn her into a mindless slave?" "I was going for turning her into a vampire" "Okay whatever you want dear" giggled Berta as she lined her finger across Corey"s face much for Corey"s dismay. "Great!" said Corey moving her finger from his face. "See you at the concert!" said Berta and walked away and Corey pulled his phone out. "I convinced Berta, now I need Trina in the concert" said Corey. Trina and Mina walked in the hall and Kin ran in front of them. "Agh! What do you want Corey"s loser friend!?" asked Trina. "Oh I just wanted to tell you that we are going to perform soon" said Kin. "Like I care, why would I want to go to my brother"s lame concert?" said Trina as she walked away. "What if I told you that Nick Mallory was there?" said Kin and Trina stopped and turned around. "Nick Mallory!? EEP! MINA! We are going to my brother"s concert! NOW!" said Trina and pulled Mina and ran. "Trina is on her way to the concert" said Kin. "Now all we need is to wait" said Corey. In the concert the mindless townspeople were there and Vlad was smiling. "Ah! I love the sight of mindless slaves in the night!" said Vlad with satisfaction and saw the band. "Ah Corey! My son! I"m looking forward to your concert!" said Vlad. "Yeah! It will be a killer!" said Corey and winked to the band and they started to put the special sunglasses that Kin made on everyone (expect Vlad and Berta of course). Trina and Berta were looking around and bumped into each other. "Agh! Watch where you"re going!" said Trina. "You watch where you"re- wait are you Trina by any chance?" said Berta. "Why yes I am!" said Trina with a hair flip. "Supers! I"m Berta and I"m a vampire and-" said Berta and Trina lights lit up. "Vampire!? For reals!? Tots! Bite me right now so I can turn Nick to a vampire and be together forever!" said Trina in excitement and Berta shrugged and bit her (in the show it would probably make a screen card with the word "bite") black smoke cleared revealing Trina as a vampire. "YAY! I"m a vampire! Now I can turn Nick to a vampire too!" cheered Trina. "And then all of us will be together!" said a voice revealing Corey and Trina was shocked by his appearance. "Corey!? Why do you like a-" "Vampire? Because I"m one too!" said Corey "WHAT!?" said Trina in shock. "Yup! And now that you"re a vampire, we can stay a family! Forever and ever!" smiled Corey. (Diary mode music starts to kick in) "Corey"s a vampire too? If we"re both vampires, we never age, which means I have to stand Corey FOREVER AND EVER!? NOOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed Trina and entered diary mode. Trina took a pen and her diary and started writing in it with an angry expression. Flames lit as she wrote. Flames burst everywhere in the hotel. The pen"s flames were dying down as Trina finished writing and Corey caught the diary and put on Trina the sunglasses as she landed. Mina walked over to Trina. "Gasp Trina! You"re a vampire! Does that mean we"re going to be BFF"s for reals if you bite me now?" asked Mina. "Not in the mode!" said Trina as she shoved Mina"s face. "So when will you be in a good mode?" asked Mina. "NEVER!" yelled Trina and fell over because she couldn"t see a thing in the sunglasses. "Oh! Almost forgot!" said Corey and threw Mina"s glasses and gave her the sunglasses and Corey came to the stage. "Before we start we have a special light show!" said Corey and put the sunglasses as so did the band. "LIGHT!?" shouted Vlad and Berta. Kin pressed the button and lasers were shot everywhere in the hotel. "HHHHHIIIIISSSSSSSSS!" hissed Vlad and Berta and turned to ash and black smoke appeared on Corey and he turned back to normal and Trina too, much for her happiness, and so did the townspeople. "Yes! Goodbye undead! And hello the living! Are you ready to rock!?" announced Corey and everyone cheered. (The band starts to play with the laser light machine) Corey: Eyy! Lost in the dark it"s midnight! Kin, Kon and Laney: Midnight! Corey: Stuck in between I can"t hide! Kin, Kon and Laney: Can"t hide! Corey: Everywhere I turn they"re out to get me on their side! I"m freaking out in my-my-my-my-my mind! There"s something in the air! Shadows everywhere! Never been so scared beware! Bewar-ar-ar-ar are! I got my scream on! I feel the vibe! Kin, Kon and Laney: Oh yeah! Corey: I"m torn between there and here! I got to choose the side! I"m on before the break of dawn! Kin, Kon and Laney: Yeah! Corey: I got my scream on! Kin, Kon and Laney: Oh yeah! Corey: I feel the vibe! Yeah and I"m torn between there and here! I got to choose the side! I"m on before the break of dawn! Kin, Kon and Laney: Yeah! Corey: I got my scream on! After the concert, Barny came up to the band. "Thanks for saving the town Corey! Who knew there were really vampires in the vampire hotel huh? How about playing here in the new opening of the hotel?" said Barny. "No need to thank us Barny and I don"t think we"re a hotel band" said Corey and a spotlight on him. "We may have rocked the hotel but we did it with a price, two vampires have been turned to ash who knows what their unbeaten hearts were really seeking? Was it that they hated the living because they were different from them? Or was it really that they just wanted someone that they could call a friend?" said Corey and the spotlight was gone. "You know if you leave the vampire part it could be really good lyrics" said Laney. "Yeah, I get it a lot from you" said Corey and water was splashed on him. "Cough! Cough! Kin! Kon!" complained Corey as he saw that Kin and Kon were holding holy water bottles. "Sorry, we wanted to double check you"re not a vampire anymore" smiled Kin and Kon nervously. "Thanks for coming everyone!" said Corey to the screen and pulled down a garage door. And cut! The first part of the episode is done because in one episode there"s two parts and I"m doing like a Halloween special for Grojband! Oh and if you want to hear how the song"s beat is, it"s lyrics from China Anne McClain:"I Got My Scream On!" just imagine Grojband is playing it and Corey singing it. See ya in the next part! Flora216 out! ;)

The high school girl looked to her left and the little girl wasn"t there and to her right she saw the crawled up in the corner whipping. "Hehehehe... hahahaha... HAHAHAHAHA!" laughed the little girl as she repeatedly opened and closed the blood soaked scissors. *snip* *snap* *snip* *snap* "Why...?" asked the high school girl. The little girl lifted the scissors... "Why is it you?!" The little girl grinned wildly and stabbed the girl in the eye. "AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH!" "Gimme" said the little girl. The screen showed the high school girl"s pulled out eye on the scissors as the little girl laughed. "AHHHHHHHHHH!" the audience screamed. "It"s the most disturbing thing I have ever seen..." Beyal said shakily. "Me too..." said Chase and Jinja together shivering. "Ah?" Bren woke up again and saw the scene. "Ugh" and fainted once again. "I don"t think I"ll be able to sleep tonight" said Chase as he and the others exited the theater. "Tonight? I don"t think I"ll be able to sleep again!" cried Bren. "Let us hope that in the rest of the day we"ll forget about this experience" said Beyal calmly. "Oh Beyal, when you say it like that I have already forgotten about it" Jinja sighed romantically. "Come on, at least this movie gave us all the adrenalin we need for the whole day" smiled Dax as everyone glared at him. "Yeah, for the next year" said Chase sarcastically. "You know what"s scarier than the movie?" said Bren. "Dax"s thoughts?" smirked Jinja and everyone laughed. "Ha ha, very funny, at least I can take a scare" said Dax with his hands behind his head. "Please I wasn"t scared" said Jinja and saw Beyal moving his right arm back and forward. "Beyal what are you doing?" "Um... Jinja I think you hold my arm so tight in the movie, I lost all feeling in it" said Beyal with a nervous smile as Jinja blushed. "Hahahaha! Not scared huh? If the movie was a little longer, you would have stopped the blood flow of the monk"s arm" laughed Dax and Chase and Bren were holding their laughs. Jinja glared at them and they gulped. "So B, it"s your turn now right?" said Chase trying to change the subject. "Right! Let"s go!" said Bren as he and Chase walked away quickly from Jinja who quickly paced after them and Beyal and Dax followed. Now it"s Bren"s turn! I wonder what he"ll choose! See ya next time and don"t forget to leave a review! Flora216 out! ;) Hey guys! New update! Enjoy! :) TCT got in front of an arcade. "How am I not surprised?" said Jinja unimpressed of Bren"s choice. "Mock all you want but nothing distracts more than video games!" said Bren proudly. "So was your fainting during the movie so what?" smiled Dax as the others giggled as Bren face plumed. "Alright let"s go but try to cool it with your competitive attitude you two" said Jinja pointing at Chase and Bren. "Come on Jin, we grew out of that, no worries" said Chase as he and the others entered the arcade. The arcade was packed with many different games from pinball game to 3D first shooter game and as soon as they entered: "Shooter game!" yelled Chase and Bren as they ran through the crowd to the game. "I knew it" said Jinja holding her head with her hand. "What"s up with them?" asked Dax. "And what did you mean by "competitive attitude"?" asked Beyal. "Let"s just say, when we were kids, whenever there was a game, they wanted to know who"s the best and nothing can stop them when they want to beat each other at a game" said Jinja with a sigh. "Please, how competitive can they be? Come monkfish I"ll show you how to ride a sports car" said Dax walking to the sports cars game as Beyal followed and as soon as they got on the ride: "Sports cars!" yelled Chase and Bren as knocked off Dax and Beyal of the rides to the ground and they got on. "I so going to beat you in this!" said Chase. "You wish!" said Bren as they started the game. Jinja picked Dax and Beyal up. "That competitive" said Beyal. "I felt like I"ve been hit by a truck" said Dax. "I told you nothing can stop them from playing a game and I said it from personal experience" said Jinja. Some time has passed as TCT played some random games; Chase and Bren played all the games and got into a tie until they faced each other in the final game in the arcade which they haven"t played yet... Ping-Pong. "The best for last!" announced Chase. "To see finally who"s best!" announced Bren. "Oh crag, not that..." said Jinja holding her head with her hand. "What"s wrong princess? I thought you would be happy that those two finally finished all the games here" smiled Dax. "Yeah but the embarrassment begins now" sighed Jinja. "Embarrassment? What do you mean?" asked Beyal confused. "There"s a reason why they chose this game for last..." said Jinja. Before Dax or Beyal could ask more: "And the battle begins!" announced Chase as Beyal and Dax flinched. "My worthy opponent! Are you ready to ping the pong?" said Chase in a Chinese accent. "I am prepared young grasshopper but your pong is no match for my ping!" said Bren also in a Chinese accent. "Do your worst!" said Chase and started to serve. "HYA!" yelled Chase like a Chinese warrior. "YAA!" yelled Bren in the same way and served the ball back. "HYA!" "YAA!" They kept repeatedly yelling and serving the ball back and forth to each other as Dax and Beyal looked highly confused while Jinja tries to hide her face. "So that"s what you meant by "embarrassment" " said Beyal to Jinja trying to hold a laugh now. "You mean comedy gold! I"m so getting a video of this!" said Dax taking out his phone and started recording. "Dax don"t post it on the internet, even though it is Oscar worthy" smirked Jinja. "Please, I have a heart, I"ll use this video only if I need something out of them or just have a good laugh every now and then" smirked Dax. "Some heart... But that video of yours will be cut short because neither of them ever win in this game" said Jinja. "Why is that?" asked Beyal. Before Jinja could answer... "HYA!" yelled Chase as he served the ball to Bren so fast it hit Bren in the nose and fell backwards. "OW!" cried Bren rubbing his nose. "Oh crag! Sorry B!" said Chase. "That"s why" answered Jinja to Beyal. "Epic Fail!" laughed Dax. "Oh you will be sorry! Because the stars show me winning this battle!" yelled Bren in the Chinese accent getting up like nothing happened. Chase smiled, "Oh your words are strong but your skills are weak!" yelled Chase in the same accent. "Oh your foolish words have sealed your fate!" yelled Bren and served the Ball. "HYA!" "YAA!" "New video, who knows what will happen now" laughed Dax. Jinja and Beyal laughed with Dax until: "YAA!" yelled Bren as he was about to serve back the ball but the paddle flew out of his hand. "WOAH!" yelled Chase as he ducked in time but the paddle smashed the glass of the crane machine! All of TCT gasped in shock just as the owner of the arcade came out as saw the smashed machine and he didn"t look too happy... "I think we played enough in the arcade don"t you think?" said Chase nervously. "Yeah" said Jinja nervously. "I think so too" said Dax nervously. "We spent enough time so I think Beyal"s turn now, Beyal?" said Bren nervously turning to Beyal. "Yes, your right Bren, and I have a good place we can go to, so let"s go now" said Beyal nervously. "You kids! Stay right there!" yelled the owner. "RUN!" shouted Chase as he and the others ran out of the arcade in high speed. Beyal"s turn now! Let"s hope he and the rest of his tribe will escape to safety from the owner! See ya at the next update! Flora216 out! ;) Hey guys! New update! Hope you like it! We see TCT somewhere in the street huffing hard. "I... think... we lost him" said Chase huffing. "Man... that guy runs fast" said Dax huffing. "You just had to smash the machine!?" snapped Jinja at Bren. "The paddle slipped out of my hand!" snapped Bren back. "Zip it! We got away from him, end of story! So Beyal, your pick" Chase said to Beyal. "While running I saw a smoothie shop, I think it"s best if we refresh ourselves after all that" said Beyal as the others looked at each other and smiled. "Alright!" said everyone together. They arrived at the smoothie shop and sat in a round table while drinking smoothies. "This place is actually nice" said Jinja. "And the smoothies are good too" said Bren taking a sip from his smoothie. "Nice pick monkfish" said Dax patting Beyal"s shoulder. "Yeah I think we can finally relax, no emotional scars from a super scary movie, no crazy owner chasing us, nothing" smiled Chase until a guy dressed up like a biker from the old movies, kicked the door open and two other guys came in with him dressed the same. "Hey people, did you miss me?" said the guy as the people in the smoothie shop trying not to make eye contact with him. Chase"s smile faded and covered his face with his hand, "I really should stop opening my big mouth..." "Looks like this guy is the boss of this joint" whispered Dax. "Wow... what gave it away? The people who are acting everything"s okay or the manager trembling in fear?" said Jinja pointing at the manager who looks like his about to pee in his pants. The guy came up to them. "I see we got fresh meat" said the guy. "But this is a smoothie shop, I don"t think they sell meat here" said Beyal confused as the others slapped their heads at the end of his sentence. "I see he"s the dumb one of the group" laughed the guy. "You should never judge a book by its cover" said Beyal while shooting a glare at him. "Oh, I"m sorry, let me read you again" smirked the guy. "Bad guy wannabe" pointed at Dax. "No hot shot wonder" pointed at Chase. "A tech stooge" pointed at Bren. "Mystic monkey" pointed at Beyal. "And the princess" pointed at Jinja. "I hope I read you right" said the guy sarcastically. TCT glared at him with pure hate. "No, you didn"t, now if you don"t mind could you leave me and my friends alone" said Beyal with vile in his voice. "Sure, after I take a sip of this smoothie" took the guy his smoothie. "That"s Beyal"s smoothie" said Chase not letting his glare of him fade. "Oh, I"m sorry, here" the guy opened the lid of the drink and poured the smoothie all over Beyal"s shirt, turning it from white to blue. "I don"t like blueberry anyway" smirked the guy as he walked away and gave the other two guys high fives. Beyal stood up from his chair with an angry expression on his face about to go over to the guy but Chase sat him down. "Beyal don"t, it"s not like you and he"s not worth it" said Chase. "Chase, when a person doesn"t listen to the other person"s warning and still does what he does, only physical approach will make him understand, so is okay if I rip his head off his body?" said Beyal with vile in his voice again. "Even though I"d pay to see how you"ll beat him up, he"s not even worth stepping on" said Dax. "And you know better than all people that violence doesn"t solve anything, it"s not right" said Chase. "But-" Beyal was cut off by Jinja. "I"ll handle this, I want a little chat with him" said Jinja as she walked to the guy before any of the guys could stop her. "Hey!" yelled Jinja at the guy and he turned around. "Who do you think you are spilling a drink all over my friend!?" snapped Jinja. "I think I own this place and I think you"re on the floor" said the guy and pushed Jinja to the floor and the guys came to her aid. Beyal looked at the guy who smiled in satisfaction which made him hate him even more. "Beyal" said Chase in anger and Beyal turned to him. "I changed my mind, rip his head off!" said Chase and Beyal looked at the others and they nod in agreement. "With pleasure" said Beyal with a smile and walked a little back. "Rip my head off? I"d like to see him tr-" he was cut off by Beyal. "AHHHHH!" Beyal rushed towards him. "AHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed the guy and Beyal tackled the guy over the round table behind him. The crowd cheered for Beyal and TCT looked shocked and surprised at the same time. "Whoa!" said Bren in excitement. "Is that monkfish?" smiled Dax. "Who knew he had it in him?" said Chase in excitement. "Go get him Beyal!" cheered Jinja. "Show him no one messes with team core-tech!" cheered Chase. The guy got up and tried to punch Beyal but Beyal dodged it and caught his wrist and flipped him on the floor, he got on top of him and the guy tried to get him off him but Beyal pinned him hard. Beyal grabbed the guy"s arm and leg and pressed them against his back as the guy screamed in pain. "I"ll stop your pain if you apologize to me and my friends" said Beyal in a demanding tone. "Ow! Alright! I"m sorry! Ah!" said the guy in pain. "And do not return to this shop again" said Beyal pressing the guy"s arm and leg against his back even harder. "AH! Okay! Okay! I won"t! OW! Uncle! Uncle!" said the guy banging his free arm on the floor. The crowd cheered in victory as Beyal pulled the guy up. "Get out of here!" snapped Beyal as he pushed the guy out of the shop"s door and walked up to the other two guys. "OUT!" yelled Beyal and the two guys fled in fear out of the store. The crowd gave cheers and round of applause to Beyal and TCT came up to him. "Way to go Beyal!" said Jinja as she hugged him. "That was so amazingly cool!" said Bren in excitement. "That was awesome!" cheered Chase. "It was blizzing epic! You have got to teach some of those moves you did back there!" said Dax and patted Beyal"s shoulder for congrats. "I just used the self-defense techniques I learned at the monastery" said Beyal shyly while blushing. "Then those monks taught you good" smiled Chase. "Now Beyal"s a full package of me liking a boy: has good looks, romantic and can snap a bone when he needs to" smiled Jinja and Beyal blushed even more. "R-really? You really think I"m all that?" smiled Beyal shyly as the guys laughed. "Now that"s our monkfish" said Dax. "And if you"re going to ask Jinja out you"ll have to get an approval from me and Chase" Bren smiled slyly as he adjusted his glasses. "Yeah we won"t let our little Jinja date just anyone" Chase also smiled slyly with his arm around Beyal. "Since when did you two become my dad?" smirked Jinja and all of them laughed. "So Jin, where to next?" reminded Chase to Jinja it"s her turn. "Already ahead of you" said Jinja as walked out of the shop and the guys followed. Cheers to Beyal from you too readers! I"ll see next time on Jinja"s turn! Flora216 out! ;) Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait! Here"s the update! "NO!" yelled Bren. "Anything but that Jin!" yelled Chase. "Sorry guys I have to do this" said Jinja. "NO! Anything but a-" the screen zoomed out a revealing, "A CLOTHES SHOP!" yelled Chase and Bren and people started staring at them. "Would you guys shut up! People are staring at you like you lost a few screws in your brains!" yelled Jinja. "Yeah, would you stop? I can"t believe you have screams left in you after the movie" complained Dax. "Yeah I can"t believe it either" said Chase rubbing his throat. "Why Jinja!? Why!? What have we done to deserve this!?" complained Bern. "Quit whining! It"s my turn and I chose this place for Beyal, he needs a change of clothes" said Jinja. "What"s wrong with what he"s wearing now?" asked Dax. "Um hello! If you haven"t noticed he"s covered in blueberry smoothie and before those two idiots started yelling, people looked at him funny" said Jinja. "But Beyal didn"t complain!" said Chase. "Actually I did, you just didn"t listen after Jinja said clothes shop" said Beyal. "Oh come on Beyal! Can"t you bear with it for another-" Chase looked at his watch and frowned "4 hours..." "Sorry Chase I prefer not to walk around and smell like a fruit salad" said Beyal crossing his arms around his chest. "No way am I going in there with Jinja! The last time me and Chase went to a clothes shop with her, we had to suffer 2 hours of looking for girl clothes! It was horrible..." shivered Bren. "Blizzards, you"re not afraid to battle with Charlemagne and her monsuno but you are afraid of clothes shopping?" laughed Dax. "Clothes shopping, no. With Jinja, yes." said Chase. "Oh please! Last time it was a girls clothes shop but this is a boys clothes shop so suck it up and get in!" said Jinja as she walked into the store and Dax and Beyal went in with her. "You think she will break her 2 hour shopping record?" asked Bren and Chase sighed. "If its Jinja, you bet she will break it" said Chase and he and Bren went into the shop. As they came in, clothes flew their direction and caught them in surprise. "Here you go" smiled Jinja. "What is the meaning of this?" asked Bren and saw Dax holding clothes too. "I thought because it"s a boys clothes shop, I can"t shop anything for me, and look a stage like changing booths, so you can entertain me while Beyal will be searching for new clothes" smiled Jinja. "Huh?!" yelled Chase, Bren and Dax. "No way! Not for all the monsuno frequencies in the world!" protested Chase, Jinja frowned and then smirked. "Alright, if you don"t want to, you three can accompany me to the nearest girls clothes shop while Beyal will hang out in here and help me pick some cute clothes" said Jinja and Chase and Bren flinched in fear of the thought. "So you said the changing booths are that way?" said Bren and ran to the booths. "Yeah come on Dax! Let"s not keep Jinja waiting!" said Chase and ran to the booths too and Jinja smiled in satisfaction and Dax frowned. "Now I know why they are scared to go to a clothes shop with princess" said Dax as he walked to the booths. "Okay Beyal, you can look for clothes while those clowns will amuse me, oh and-" Jinja leaned closer and whispered something in his ear and Beyal smiled. "Alright Jinja, I will do that" said Beyal and Jinja gave him thumbs up and winked. *Inserting song: "Fashion is my kryptonite" by Bella Thorne and Zendaya* Jinja, Bren and Dax were sitting in chairs as Chase was the first runner-up. Chase came out dressed like a soccer player with a ball and everything. The guys gave him thumbs up but Jinja smacked them in the heads and signed Chase to change. Bren came out dressed up like a wrestler and Jinja, Chase and Dax covered their eyes and signed him quickly to change and frowned at them. Dax came out dressed like a biker, Bren and Chase were deep in thought what to say and Jinja just shook her head and sighed him to change. Chase came out dressed up like Uncle Sam and the guys and Jinja looked confused. Bren came out and was dressed up like a Scottish man and the three made gagging faces. Dax came out as a hippie and made a peace sign and the three gave him thumbs down. And after a lot of changing... Chase, Bren and Dax came out dressed like spies with sunglasses and posed a fake gun in their hands. *End of song* "Seriously? That"s the best you can do?" said Jinja and the three frowned. "What do you want from us princess? Those are the only clothes left in the store" said Dax. "Yeah, not to mention that we also tried each other"s clothes" said Bren. "And speaking of clothes, where"s Beyal? Hasn"t he picked his outfit yet? I don"t know how much longer I can take this" said Chase. "Here I am" said Beyal and came out with the same outfit only without the blueberry smoothie. "Luckily they had the same clothes as mine, sorry for the 3 hour wait" smiled Beyal and the guys looked shocked. "3 hours?!" yelled the guys and Chase looked at his watch and saw it was true. "It took you 3 blizzing hours to pick out an outfit!?" complained Dax. "Actually it took me half an hour to choose, Jinja asked me to take my time until she gets bored from your performance and I agreed but I"m impressed you entertained her for a whole 3 hours" smiled Beyal and Jinja snickered and the boys stood there with their mouths open "Man, with the two of them together, they are criminal masterminds" said Bren. "Ha, you should thank me, you finally changed your taste in clothes, well except Bren" giggled Jinja. "And for the third time today, hey!" faceplumbed Bren. "Oh relax, I tortured you enough, well we have one hour left, so Chase you earned your turn" smiled Jinja. "Earned? I already earned it when I modeled for you Psy!" complained Chase. "Hehehe, yeah I wish I had a camera, oh wait I do" Jinja showed her cellphone. "But don"t worry I didn"t post it on the internet, unlike when Dax shot you two, it can"t use as evidence in the police station, only the fashion police can charge you on a crime, because these photos of you are a fashion disaster" snickered Jinja. "Hehehe, it was so funny I forgot to laugh" said Dax. "Show Beyal the photos, let"s see what he has to say about it" said Bren. "What has he ever done to me? Seeing you now in those spy suits had given him a taste of what"s in the phone" said Jinja. "That is true, I feel ashamed knowing who you are right now" said Beyal shaking his head in shame and giggled Jinja and the boys rolled their eyes. "Okay, okay, we had our laughs, now can we go to my place of choosing?" asked Chase. "Sure let"s go" said Jinja getting up. "Great, just give us a few minutes, we need to know how to get out of those suits now, and they are tight in places where they should never be tight" said Chase as he and the guys were chafing back to the booths and Jinja and Beyal sighed in embarrassment. It will take awhile until the guys will get out of their suits; let"s just hope they"ll change in time for Chase"s turn. See you next time! Flora216 out! ;)

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?

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. :)

Of course, of course, fucking Hayato has to come right at that moment, right when he"s this close to finish up this calculation. His co-workers brighten at Hayato"s arrival, some even straighten their creased shirt and some start to concentrate on their work -probably to gain faces- but he knows best that Hayato has only one interest. Maybe. Sometimes he doubts that as well seeing as Hayato is friendly toward anyone who greets her -or allows her to call them with their first name. "I told you not to drag your fat ass here," he mutters darkly, though he still accepts the boxed lunch from her hands, "...do you even do your job properly?" "Aw, Yasutomo, don"t be like that!" she replies, a pout forms on her thick lips, "...you forgets your lunch today and beside, the term hasn"t started yet" Most of his co-workers don"t believe that the sweet and kind and caring Hayato is his wife. They constantly ask him if Hayato is free some times later or can we have a lunch with her this weekend. Which he"s pissed at, but doesn"t act upon. Not that he"s afraid of picking a fight with those who dares laid a hand on his Hayato. The lunch in his hands is his own cooking -seeing that Hayato is almost hopeless when it comes to cooking - but Hayato always takes care of preparing them in the lunch box to look exquisitely delicious -she has talents for that. It"s a simple homemade fried chicken and some cabbage salad. Hayato adds some bunny apples though, a signature style she"s proud of. It looks like a kid"s bento, but it is filling and Yasutomo doesn"t complain with his own cooking. After a brief exchange of words, Hayato will eventually leaves, throwing smiles at those who greet her. The moment she"s gone though, people will flock to his desk, asking about Hayato"s free time or how she"s doing and what the fuck does she made for you, you lucky shit. He"ll growl at most of them, snatching the lunch off of their grabby hands and claims that it"s his lunch break now before he breaks free from their consecutive, "Awws" and "Not fair" to eat in secluded place -which is the rooftop, but they don"t know that. Thus, the day in Yasutomo"s office passes by... Good Day Ver. 2 -The Song of Praise- Hayato always loves Yasutomo"s cooking. She doesn"t get that long of a lunch break and she gets hungry easily, too easily that she constantly has power bars or chocolates hanging between her lips. In the kindergarten she"s working in, kids crowd her in hope for a bite of chocolate or some of his sweet flavored power bar. That"s why she always buys more, in hope to satisfy the kids asking her for snacks needs. But Yasutomo always cooks her meal. From curry to fried udon, dessert to salad. She wonders when and how exactly the raven has learnt to cook so many dishes -and who has the stubbornness and dedication to teach the wolf of Hakone the fundamentals of cooking. The lunch he prepares in the morning -but sometimes forget to take it himself- is always tasty and big portioned. It"s adorable that Yasutomo even thinks of her stomach capacity and indulges her. When she opens her lunch that day, knowing how delicious it will be, her phone rings. A glance is enough to make her perks up and picks the call. "Yasutomo~" she coos to her red phone. Her bunny strap jingles as she swivels her chair to the side, throwing a worried look at the group of napping kids. When she finds none has woken up, she smirks to the phone and resumes her coos. You sounded stupid, Hayato. How can they hire a fucker like you to teach their children is beyond me... "But you love me anyway~" she winks, knowing that Yasutomo can totally see that. There"s a groan from the other line and she can picture him rolling his eyes. "Are you on break?" she asks, picking up her chopsticks to poke a tasty looking meatball in her lunch box. There"s a sound of paper rustling and a squeaky, "No" "Aw, are you worried about me?" I"m hanging up "Wait, wait, sorry," she cuts before the line really goes dead. She used to think Yasutomo is joking when he said so, but she finds out that no, Yasutomo and joking are not to be put together in one sentence. "So...how"s your job?" she starts, stirring the sauce with her chopsticks, "...everything"s been good?" she stabs one meatball before dipping it to the sauce and practically threw it to her waiting mouth. They asked if you have free time next Saturday She makes an acknowledging sound between the chew. Works always sucks, perks of being a fucking adults. A pause and more rustles, How"s the kids over there? Annoying little shits as always? Hayato swallows, "Nah, they"ve been good, some even offer me candies" she shoves a handful of rice to her mouth, "...yhor lhunch ish ash ghood hhas ehver" Don"t talk with your mouth full, a scoff, she could picture a nasty scowl on his face as if he smelt a blue cheese, and you called yourself a teacher. She doesn"t reply but chews loudly instead, happily reveling on Yasutomo"s groan and slightly obscured concern of his you"re going to choke yourself and die soon. After the third meatball has been swallowed, Yasutomo hangs up, reasoning that he has too many fucking calculation to solve and so little time, so see you this evening. "See you, Yasutomo~" she would sing, even when her mouth is full of rice and she spits crumbs everywhere. "Was that your dear Yasutomo again?" Hayato gives a grin toward the other teacher before shoveling more rice down her throat. The other teacher, a young looking grey head looked mildly interested, "I wonder how he looks like, this Yasutomo of yours" he crosses his arms, "...he always gives you a call on your break and you always look so happy whenever he does so" "My Yasutomo is the most adorable thing in the whole entire world," Hayato blurts, spitting rice and pieces of meat, "...he cooks like a pro and he looks good in apron" the redhead rambles on, describing that "her Yasutomo" is also shy which makes him cute and so forth. Praises are pouring non stop from the kind teacher lips that the grey head needs to stop her before she could wake up the children -for her tone ascends as she spells her Yasutomo"s greatness. "That makes me want to meet him, he sounds like a great company" "You should meet him, Yu!" Hayato cuts excitedly, closing the lid of her lunchbox. (And if by evening, a delinquent like guy in suit with narrow eyes and long lower eyelashes appears in the kindergarten, scaring kids and asking for Arakita Hayato, Yu knows better than to take Hayato"s description of her Yasutomo literally) (But that"s another story to tell~) ... Umm...yeah, it"s Yu. Well, I don"t know why there"s Yu there, but...I like him too much to remove him. Beside he won"t affect the story further. I don"t actually care, I just want to post this story rather than having it sit around gathering dusts inside my storage. Uh...welp, there"s like...more than one more that are still waiting in line...so... ... Good Night -Simple Night- Sometimes, when he goes home, it will be completely devoid of Hayato. As he enters, however, Kuro and Usakicchi never fail to greet him with any kind of antics or signs of their mischievousness. At times he finds dead bird in the porch -pray tell where does Kuro hunt- courtesy to Kuro. Other time, Usakicchi would graciously tackles him to his butt and hops away like she"s done nothing wrong -Damn rabbit weighs like her master. If Hayato hasn"t come home, he"ll start cooking dinner. He shops out sometimes -or shops with Hayato that will cost him more than when he shops alone- to the market. Finding ingredients for his cooking is hard work since most people misunderstands his face. Once when he approached a stall, the shopkeeper shoved all his money to his hands and begged for him not to harm him. Clearing the misunderstanding by buying things housewives usually buys actually earns him reputation around the marketplace. People started calling him, "Ara-chan" and when he appeared with Hayato in tow, they would add, "...and his lovely Haya" to his nickname -as if it"s not embarrassing already. But tonight, he has ingredients stocked up in the fridge - enough to last them for a week. That is if Hayato can hold her big appetite for one day. He goes through recipes in his head, pondering what would be best before Hayato comes home and demands protein and sugar and fats. He takes the baby blue apron from its rack, snorting at the little bunny sewed on its chest -courtesy to Kinjou. Deciding on light dinner, he opens the fridge to take out ingredients for miso soup and karaage -it"s easy and he"s dead tired. He checks the rice cooker, humming gratefully at the amount of rice left. There"s still three portion of rice; two for Hayato and one for him. He"ll need to cook for tomorrow though. Moving out of habit, he prepares the ingredients for both the soup and the chicken dish, smoothly walks around the kitchen, putting things here and there. When the soup has finished and the karaage is done, sprawling on the plate, only then, he allows himself a breather. He sits on the counter, downing a can of Bepsi. It shouldn"t be too long before Hayato would come barging through the door demanding dinner. He"s about to take off his apron when he hears the front door clicks open, followed by, "I"m home, Yasutomo~" hasty footsteps and in five seconds, a fatass has tackled him into a tight hug. It takes three seconds for Hayato to notice the apron and she dramatically undoes the ribbon, cooing, "Is this when you ask whether I want you or dinner?" Yasutomo smacks her right on the face, sneering when she yelps and mutters, "That"s mean..." under her breath. He takes off the apron, glancing at the still-nursing-the-bruising-spot-on-her-face Hayato before he gestures at the dining table where she should sit. Hayato grumbles, but complies, plopping herself on one of the chairs. The raven picks the bowls, shoveling rices on both of the utensils -Hayato with bigger portion, of course- and sets them on the table, swatting Hayato"s hungry chopsticks attack. He scoops the soup for both of them as well, putting them in front of Hayato who practically whines and drools. Sitting on his own spot, he claps his hands together -grateful that Hayato does the same- and exclaims, "Thanks for the food" before he digs in. His Hayato, of course immediately snatches two karaage and shoves one down her throat. It"s still impressive to see her inhaling her food like there"s no tomorrow and Yasutomo has learnt that it"s best not to interrupt her or she"ll choke -that or she speaks with her mouthful and showers him with rice. "If only you"re not my husband, I"ll make you my wife instead~" somehow, between her chewing and shoveling food, the redhead manages to slip that casually. He lets out a dignified scoff and smacks Hayato"s hand before she can steal his portion. "You"ll be a fat old man in no time" he retorts. "I have no regrets" she instantly replies. Hayato announces that she"ll do the dishes so he could sit back and relax. Nodding in agreement, Yasutomo warns her not to play around with the soap foam like last time that she giggles and winks at. There"s the comfortable silence in their apartment; the only sound that can be heard comes from the water sloshing and dishes clinking. It"s a nice silence and Yasutomo finds himself dozing off to the soothing sounds. He wakes up to a warm, heavy body seated on his lap and immediately knows by heart that Hayato demands attention and won"t move until he assents. With an eased move, he pulls the redhead face down to his -damn, she"s tall- and pecks her lips softly. Knowing Hayato, when he indulges her libido like this, she won"t hesitate to take things further. And, sure enough, she"s the first to break the soft kiss with her tongue pushing insistently at the crack between his lips. He stays firm though, peeking to see blue orbs narrow in concentration and swiftly switch to pleading look as soon as they catch his eyes. Yasutomo gives up when teeth start pulling at his bottom lips. Hayato pushes him to his side, insistent like her tongue that"s currently preoccupied with his own. She doesn"t stop until he plops rather unceremoniously on his back, the couch dips under the full weight of them both combined. When she parts their kiss, he gently shoves both hands on her shoulder, holding her back, "None of us has taken a bath," he snorts when Hayato makes this face, "...get up, you smelly ass, you sweat" he pushes her off of him much to her dismay. "You take too long when you"re taking a bath" she finally says, sitting between his legs. "Well, sorry if I like being clean" he scoffs "Let"s get dirty before that then!" Hayato coos, fingers running up his thigh teasingly. "No shit," he grabs her hands, twines their fingers and squeezes, "...you won"t stop until you have your fill, and fuck that, you have inhuman stamina" he lets go, peels her hand when she refuses and unlatches himself from the redhead. He hears her whimpers, walks as far as the hallway before he mutters lowly, barely audible, "I didn"t say you couldn"t join..." He feels -and hears- her perks up, beaming bright at him, "If you don"t hurry up, I"ll change my fucking mind..." he adds loudly before he trots to the bathroom, not waiting for Hayato to catch up -not that he has to as she already is on his tail, her footsteps thundering across the hallway. Let"s just say the water bill spikes afterward. 5. Good Morning v.2 -Interruption- There"s something wrong with her, she realizes as soon as her eyes open. Her dinner is trying to climb up her throat persistently. She sits up, untangles herself from Yasutomo -which thankfully is easy since he always is the small spoon- and shuffles to their bathroom hastily. Yasutomo hasn"t woken up, good, but it won"t be long before he does judging by the lump of dinner pressing insistently at the back of her throat. She retches, grabbing the porcelain toilet as she falls to her knees. It"s painful, nauseating and the smell is dizzying. There"re rustles from the bedroom, Yasutomo"s groan followed by a confused, "Hayato?". She wants to reply, says that she"s fine, but instead, she heaves to the toilet bowl again and stars floating at the back of her eyelids. Sooner than she thinks, Yasutomo is already by her side, massaging her shoulder blades gently. Truthfully, it almost does nothing to ease her pain, but it"s the thought that counts and she continues to pour all processed foods out of her stomach forcibly. Yasutomo stays until she stops, bitter bile rolls down the corner of her lips. Hayato pulls herself up to stand, but a strong arm has already helped her up, props her steady and moves her out of the bathroom. When she comes to, she"s sitting on the couch, a mug of warm water on her grip albeit loosely, and Yasutomo is barking excuses to the phone before he hangs up and scowls at nothing in particular. She looks at the raven, asking who he"s in phone with. Yasutomo glares at her and grabs the mug from her hand, mumbling something about refilling the content. She closes her eyes, the dizzy spell still knocking against her skull, bashing her head with unnecessary ache. Running a hand over her face, she tries to sleep it off. It usually works for her in any kind of illness. This time, her stomach gurgles, churns and forces her back to her feet, running and vomits into the toilet bowl instead. It hurts too much and tears crawl out from the corner of her eyes as she continues hurling everything that"s left in her stomach. Two minutes later finds her in Yasutomo"s strong hands, running through the street with impeccable speed that she never knows the lanky man has. There"s still something sticky dripping slowly down the corner of her mouth, but she pays that no mind as she turns to bury her face to Yasutomo"s chest, groaning in agony. It seems to rouse him to run faster, swearing profanity at the amount of morning person who has left their house and crowded the street. It took them ten minutes to reach the hospital receptionist. Yasutomo doesn"t care about registering anymore, yells at the nurses to just fucking do something. When he"s told to wait, he shouts that he"s going to bulldoze his way into the doctor office if he has to. Perhaps fearing that he might do just that, the nurse allows him to enter, reassuring the other waiting patients who rise to their feet to complain. The raven doesn"t care though. He walks into the office, nasty scowl sets onto his face in contrast to how gently he puts Hayato down on the bed. "What the fuck is wrong with her?" he gestures wildly with his hands, "...she just starts vomiting all of a sudden and she"s so weak she could barely walk-" "Is she your wife?" the doctor sounds far too calm to ease Yasutomo"s worry. Hayato glances at her Yasutomo who looks nothing less than a beast that wants to bite off the doctor"s head. Nodding fervently, he purses his lips, bites at the bottom lip until it colors in red. The doctor has a smile on his face now as he grabs Yasutomo"s hands and shakes it, "I"m partially sure that your wife is pregnant, so," he gushes, "...congratulation!" "Wha-" "That, or it"s a stomach bug" the doctor turns, slips out of Yasutomo"s loose grip, and finally observes his patient, "...in which I would be ashamed for being too forward" he takes hold of Hayato"s wrist, searching for pulse. Hayato can hear her Yasutomo"s swearing sets of curse words again, before he completely shuts up and lets the doctor does his works. 6. Good Afternoon -Questions- "Well, I"m positive that your wife is pregnant," the doctor says, "...so, once again, congratulation" then he pours thousands of explanations of what to do and what not to do while Hayato is pregnant, what labor is, when you should do check-ups and Hayato-kun, please stop jumping in the bed. Yasutomo loses it on his first sentence where he says congratulation. The rest of his explanation sounds like a buzz of radio and his mind refuses to process any words out of it. Pregnant? There"s a child inside the fatass? Like, a baby? His brain short-circuited and everything goes like a drone. He hears the doctor, listens to his explanation and nods to it. But he barely understands a word. Hayato is pregnant with their child, yeah, and a baby is due in about 9 months forward? A baby inside their small apartment? Hayato grabs his arms after they went out of the examination room. She sounds excited, good. Yasutomo lets her raves on and on about the upcoming child, about everything, really, he couldn"t tell anymore. "Are you alright, Yasutomo?" Hayato suddenly asks. She looks troubled, her blue eyes spurs his mouth to say, "Are you really okay with this?" as he stares at those beautiful azure which has drowned him back when they were still in high school. Hayato stops, a smile still tugs on her lips, "I"m happy, Yasutomo" she murmurrs gently, so unlike her usual boisterous voice. Something tugs at his chest when he hears her speaks softly in wispy whispers, "It"s like there"s a part of you that lives here, inside me" the sunny smile widens a fraction, "...and I"m grateful for that" she takes his hands and squeezes. Bright blush flares on his cheeks as he squeezes back, once, before he pulls away, telling her to walk home by herself because she"s too heavy. Hayato skips to follow him right away, whining that her legs hurt and please carry me home like your newly wed bride, Yasutomo before the raven smacks her forehead and links their arms together as they walk back home. He"s reminded that he hasn"t fixed them breakfast yet and asks whether Hayato wants to stop by somewhere to sate her hunger. Hayato"s eyes sparkle as she pulls him toward one of the convenience store and says with such nonchalant face that her power bars stock had diminished next to nothing. "Hayato..." his tone dips to signify a scold ready at the tip of his tongue. Hayato simply stares pleadingly at him, her doe eyes staring up through her eyelashes and he"s done. A few minutes later, he"s carrying two plastic bags of choco banana power bars and a happy Hayato munching on two at once beside him. If he has to satisfy Hayato"s food demand for the next nine months, he would most definitely run out of money sooner than he thought. He speaks this out loud to the redhead and Hayato claims that she won"t be demanding. He unwillingly nods to this, swinging the plastic bag along with their steps. .... Hmmm...since when did I like gender bender? .....I don"t really remember, but I think it involves Yosuke in thigh highs. And seeing a mannequin in a clothing store wearing female winter attire and thought of how good Arakita would look in those... Yeah...I don"t remember Good Evening -A Rabbit"s Journey- She blinks in disbelief. Usakicchi has left their apartment this morning, trailing behind Kuro"s lithe form. Hayato is certain that Usakicchi couldn"t hop down from their room floor -the third floor isn"t a far height for Kuro, but Usakicchi is a different case altogether. There"s still no sign of her until the sun nearly sets and she"s beckoning the rabbit to come and eat her dinner. Yasutomo hasn"t come home so Hayato could only force herself to stand and search for the bunny by herself.

He finally looked at the esper before him, let out a bitter smile and fell to the back of his mind. .... Maybe it was better this way, he thought. They were walking home together: Ritsu with his hand wrapped around his own and Hanazawa -that esper who is not terrible like him- who walked behind them, careful not to disturb their private bubble yet sometimes boldly threw an opinion at Ritsu"s exclamation. And him, beside Ritsu, hearing the banter from both side, his thought muffled in their conversation to think about anything else. The voice had stopped coming ever since Hanazawa took it upon himself to walk home together with them. Shigeo did not dare to call him as his friend however closer he had started to become, but he trusted the blond boy enough that he would allow his presence beside his protective circle as long as he understood his limit. They fell into the habit of walking home together with him listening to Ritsu"s constant story about his day and Hanazawa"s adept reply and suggestion over problematic occurrence that popped out from the story. It was enough to keep him preoccupied that everything else slid into the back of his mind and quieted down. This was nice, he thought. Squeezing Ritsu"s hand, he let a small smile grace his lips. .... There were times when Shigeo was not available to accompany Ritsu. Those times were the most frustrating moments in his life as he had to entrust Ritsu to Hanazawa"s hand. The blond esper is capable, Shigeo knows that much. And he would never try to hurt Ritsu, another reason that adds to Hanzawa"s good points. Their mother had even met Hanazawa and she actually likes the boy enough to trust him with her sons. She even asked him about where Hanazawa lives and told him to bring him food when he found out he lives all by himself. Shigeo does trust Hanazawa enough, but he still would prefer himself to keep watch on Ritsu rather than someone else. Ritsu himself has told him that he"ll be alright and would tell him if Hanazawa dared to do anything out of context. Hanazawa has vowed that he would never touched Ritsu if it"s not consented -why does that sound so wrong, he wonders- by his younger brother. Why isn"t that enough for him to believe that Ritsu will be fine with Hanazawa today? It was that day when he needed to attend extra class due to his abysmal grade. Nothing was wrong with attending once in a while so he agreed quite easily. Yet after he sat himself on his seat and the teacher began her speech, he felt a slight jolt of pain from his head. Something was definitely wrong. He stood up, bag in his hands, ready to run home or wherever Ritsu was. The teacher gave him a look before she walked to the door and locked it with a twist of her fingers. "You won"t leave this room until I see an improvement, Kageyama" she admonished. As an appropriate response, he growled at her. He skimmed through the supplementary lesson"s material, ignoring the teacher most of the time and filling his head with different scenarios that could happen during his little brother and Hanazawa"s walk home. It irritated him enough that he glared permanently at the teacher with a deadpan look on his face that could probably the cause for said teacher"s sudden stutters. He needed to finish all of this bullshit and quickly find Ritsu before he explodes from worry. When the teacher finally -with a nervous look on her face- declared him clear to go home, he threw everything into his bag in record time and ran out of the class with a loud, "Thank you and bye!" addressed to the teacher. He didn"t care if it"s rude or not, all he cared at this moment was his brother"s whereabouts. He stomped through his way home, his breath heavy with worry and anxiety. Has Ritsu arrived at their home, yet? At the back of his mind, he could feel something gnawing. An instinct, an invisible thread that the world might have woven between him and Ritsu; a link that connects them together. He gritted his teeth together, knowing that he shouldn"t be this anxious, that Hanazawa is walking Ritsu home and he shouldn"t be doubting the blond esper. Still something was happening to his brother, good or bad he couldn"t quite tell. He arrived home in record time and opened the front door hastily, his mind running through scenarios after scenarios that could have happened to his brother. The voice that had been so quite, muffled in the far corner of his mind had started to giggle and his breath hitched. There were no shoes in the porch. ... One of the guest who commented on the companion story of this one had asked "How can Ritsu see them nod or shake their head if he"s blind?' well, umm...I think I wrote that either the one who gestures with their head eventually realized and answered his question verbally -in which Ritsu will wait, patiently- or it"s a rhetorical question and Ritsu could guess what the other"s answer is. I noticed that there"s that one scene when Teru nodded to answer and Ritsu replied him. This one was intended to be rhetorical. But if it really bothers you, I apologized for my carelessness or for anything else that anyone else found incorrect and I didn"t mention it here...feel free to drop anything to me. The world before a pair of unseeing eyes was surprisingly even more complex than to those who could see. Ritsu learnt through the darkness that he could create a world of his own with countless lines of white and black drawn with all his capable senses. ... At first it was hard to suddenly lose all the colors in his life so abruptly. There would be no more bright blue sky or beautiful white moon. No vividly assorted colors of flowers in the field near his home nor striped or spotted candy wrappers inside the jars in confectionary store"s display. All that"s left was just an empty, hollow darkness that stretched out as far as his eyes could see - or not see, he didn"t know. It was devastating to know that he had lost his sight for what might seem to be forever. He clung onto the small hope of regaining it back, though it might be just a reassurance for his brother who seemed to be blaming himself over and over again every single day. Thankfully, losing his sight made his other senses grew sharper than what they were previously able to do: his ears were keener to differentiate individual voices among the sea of crowds, his nose grew better at identifying people around him, and the nerves scattered across the surface of his skin are more sensitive for him to distinguish matters or even human skin. They all helped him shaped the world around him, painting it in images that his mind created base on what his senses had captured. More or less, Ritsu is confident that he would be able to navigate himself around his own house or other closed space without bumping into walls or stumbling with the stairs. He had memorized how many steps he should take if he wants to reach anywhere in the house or even how high each cabinet in his house should he need to retrieve anything from the storage spaces. It was fairly easy for him to do so. Finding his way around his new school was slightly harder. But it was achievable and Ritsu has too much of a pride to let himself be led around like a helpless blind boy. The world around him is a conjured up picture that he draws on the surface of the dark canvas that had engulfed his vision. Sometimes he could remember colors; make it glow so they wouldn"t be swallowed up by the darkness. Though everything seemed duller and looked more like a saturated painting instead of its real, radiant colors. Usually he would make lines, countless lines of white as if chalk or white marker drew them. It was way more efficient and faster than to pour bucket of somber colors on everything that he had imagined. From the contour of individual face, the stiff line from inorganic creatures, and even the unstable, ever-changing outline of the outside world where the cars could come from out of nowhere and people are too busy to look what"s in front of them. His parents faces are scribbled into his mind and he could easily pictured the changes in them as he listened in on their voices and reactions. Shaping his brother"s face is probably the hardest obstacle to overcome. What burnt inside his head was the spectral being in his brother"s body with his brother"s lips twisted into a sickening grin and pure, untapped raw power slipping through the pore of his brother"s skin. It didn"t make him pull away from Shigeo, no, the warmth from guilt and regret that his brotherexudes continuously exceeds every single fear that he had for that inhuman being. Yet the last sight he saw of his brother was the specter who grinned wolfishly and it left such deep impression inside his mind he couldn"t remember how Shigeo"s kind face looks like. It wasn"t frightening, no, it isn"t anymore. Which was why he"s upset of his incapability to forget that image and his lack of memory to remember the real face beneath the phantom that both is and is not his brother. Surprisingly, he doesn"t mind it. Maybe he"s wrapping his arms around the black pliant skin where psychic power in its rawest possible form is slipping out between his fingers, who could exactly tell? He didn"t mind it. It"s still his brother who embraces him in such protectiveness. It"s still his brother who whispers apologies and encouragement as they slept side by side, contented with each other"s presence. The only difference he could spot was the waves of emotions that crashed on him as his brother struggled to keep everything under the lid. He understands that Shigeo is constantly suppressing his power under the confinement of his emotional barrier. Should he show even the slightest emotion, his power could slide through the fissure on the wall and explode in sparks of uncontrollable psychic show. As he felt those emotions during the nights when Shigeo was submerged neck deep in his negative emotions and snuck into his room to sleep by his side, he absorbed them into his own being, changed them into neutral emotions and let them drift back to his brother. His heightened senses made it easier for him to made them his own. Maybe being blind had its perks? Maybe he should be blind to keep his brother"s safe from that shadow? Maybe it was not so. Maybe fate was just playing a cruel joke on them, to make both brothers relied too heavily on one another and ripped them apart once they are so attached to each other? But in that moment, Ritsu was satisfied with Shigeo"s contented face as he slept on. ... Hanazawa Teruki is quite simple to understand. A curious soul is indeed easy to spot in this world full with doubtful individual who prefers to keep to themselves rather than making effort to get to know people better. At first, Ritsu suspected him to be a threat -he"s not wrong, he refused to be called wrong- but as he soaked in his brother"s envy the night after they left the bruised Hanazawa, he could understand what had happened and why had his brother lashed out. It seemed that, no matter how many emotions he drew from Shigeo, there would always be a trigger which could send his effort to soothe his brother back to square one. And Hanazawa was a great reminder of his power - the power that Shigeo had grown to hate with all his might - if he"s able to keep it under his control. Whatever had happened during their confrontation, he could tell that his big brother did not mean to do that. He just couldn"t take it anymore. His protective instinct still kicked in though when Hanazawa started following them home. Once Shigeo told him that it"s fine for the other esper to accompany them during their walk home, Ritsu found himself trying to comprehend Hanazawa Teruki fully. Not as easy as he thought it would be. There were limits that Shigeo put up when he permitted Hanazawa in their small circle: he should never try to use his power and he should never try to touch Ritsu. Two unspoken rules that Hanazawa unknowingly obeyed faithfully. The third week after Hanazawa became a constant existence behind them, Ritsu finally asked his brother about how Hanazawa looks like. Shigeo sounded a bit guilty - like he always does whenever Ritsu asked for visual description of anything - as he described the physical distinction that made up Hanazawa: "He has blond hair which fall to his shoulder in layered cut and a pair of blue eyes. His pink lips are often tugged into a smile," he tried picturing Hanazawa with those sentences drawing lines after lines to sketch him, "...slender body, fair skin, he always wears purple uniform with his school insignia etched on the chest pocket" he added shade of colors to the lines, adding every little tidbits into his picture. When it was finished, he was looking at a handsome boy with a smile that balances the word smug and sincere at the same time. A boy who has bright blond hair and sparkling azure eyes that gleamed in an almost childish curiosity. It stayed for about ten seconds before his mind decided that keeping the color as bright as that would be too much of a hassle and bled it out of its radiance. It"s a start, he thought grimly. "He looked lovely" was what he said to his brother. ... There was something different when Hanazawa spoke that day. A tingle of hesitation, something akin to fear was fluctuating in his otherwise calm state. It was one of those days -when Shigeo couldn"t take him home due to unpredicted situation. Shigeo had to stay for a cultural festival meeting -he"s surprised that his classmates managed to keep him in the class for that- and he was walking home with Hanazawa-san who Shigeo must"ve asked to walk him home. With his brother"s warning to be cautious of the other esper, he went home, his hand clutched on Hanazawa"s. With their hands intertwined, Hanazawa began their conversation, "If I tell you that you might be able to learn how to sense human, will you come with me?" Ritsu snorted, squeezing the fingers laced with his own in a manner that will sure to leave a memorable bruise, "And here I thought advertising is done by door to door or through media," Hanazawa"s hand twitched nervously and he squeezed tighter, "...a sales pitch won"t herd me in your favor, Hanazawa-san" he said firmly, ending the supposedly promotional offer before further elaboration. This is not a lie. He truly hates salesman speech thanks to a persistent salesman who seemed keen on waving his hand in front of Ritsu"s eyes and laughed exaggeratingly when he mentioned -rather rudely - that he could hear his hand slashing the air. "Even if I say that it"s free?" "That would make it even more suspicious than it was!" he snapped, earning himself a sudden spasm from the other esper. What"s with this line of questioning, his defensive mind asked, yet Ritsu chose not to voice it. He furrowed his eyebrows instead, relaying as much irritation as he could from his lightless eyes. Hanazawa was regretful when he finally squeezed back, thumb circling apologetic circles on the back of his palm. "Sorry, sorry," Hanazawa murmured softly, "...that was so stupid of me, huh?" Huffing, Ritsu muttered incomprehensible agreement. Reigen Arataka is a man with bizarre charms. Ritsu might not be able to sense human, but all of his senses captured Reigen perfectly, it surprised him that the lines were starting to form in his mind when he first heard his voice. He doesn"t have a singer voice - which immediately mesmerized you -, but it left enough impression on you to hear further and even anticipated what he would say next. A bell that announces time in the temple; he would likened the voice. Or maybe, the bamboo fountain in the pond. Every time he speaks, his voice asks for your undivided attention so you would not miss every underlying intent he means through the jumble of clever words his silver tongue seems to produce in massive numbers. The smell of tobacco lingers around the man, along with the smell of caffeine and another scent that he couldn"t quite identify. It"s probably the smell of men"s cologne from an unknown store brand that was mixed with sweat. It was not an unpleasant smell; in fact, it reminded him somewhat of a nostalgic smell. Something in the back of his mind knocked softly twice before whatever it was retreated shyly to where it came from. A fleeting memory, he guessed, of a world that is not his to live in. "So..." Hanazawa started. They"ve just gone back from the older man"s apartment after agreeing on a day to meet again and they had been silent for too long, Hanazawa should"ve started talking -cue the awkward start. "He sounded trustful enough" was what he deemed as an appropriate enough answer to the unspoken question. A hum of understanding, followed by a reassuring squeeze. Surprisingly enough, Hanazawa stayed silent afterward, lost in thought, most likely. Ritsu enjoyed the silence though, his thought needed it to reassert itself back to its- He stopped. "Hanazawa-san..." Was he trembling? Was his voice quivering? Did he sound...odd? Why did that prickle of fear from Hanazawa spiked? Did he...tip himself off? "Ritsu...can you stay behind my back?" there"s an unfamiliar protectiveness which came from Hanazawa. Ritsu swallowed -bitter, he noted-, "It"s nii-san...isn"t it?" he spelt the word one by one like he"s pulling out swords from his mouth with each syllable of truth. Hanazawa didn"t say anything, but his grip tightened and instead of replying, he was pulled to press against Hanazawa"s side, a thick barrier sprung around them protectively. If his brother is guilt, regret and protectiveness condensed into one, then Hanazawa is confidence, fear, and -strangely enough- protectiveness all rolled into one. He couldn"t think about it further as the world around him twisted in a way Ritsu couldn"t guess. White lines crumbling, the darkness shifting; his brother"s emotions tore into his world of darkness and shook his very core. Fear tightened his chest and Ritsu gasped when the world he"d built since he was robbed of his sight started to collapse on itself. He needed to find Shigeo, and fast, before his brother did something even more unfixable than toppling the base of his world. Hanazawa did not want to let him go when he expressed his intent, so Ritsu grabbed the older boy"s arms in return, keeping their body pressed against one another and opened his mouth, "Come with me then if you"re that worried!" Fear overwhelmed Hanazawa if only for a flicker of a moment and Ritsu absorbed it into his own fear. It"s much harder than when he had to do it with his brother, blood and his connection to his brother helps a lot to circulate the emotions between them. He noted that, physical contact helped him concentrate and Ritsu gritted his teeth as he felt the immense fear from Hanazawa mingling with his own. This was the first time he ever try this trick to someone else. Receiving the fear as a part of his emotions meant experiencing whatever comes with it. Worry was just a small part of it, what came with it was a list of negative emotions which included self-doubt and anxiety. It rattled his own fear, immensely multiplying it to the point he had to numb himself. The swirl of emotions intended to shake him just like his brother"s emotions were currently doing. Ritsu ignored it, pushed everything to the back seat and instead focusing on sending what"s left of his calmness to quell the turmoil in Hanazawa. He might not be able to see how Hanazawa looked like, but he could picture the surprise he felt when he transferred the soothed emotion back to the esper. "How did you-" the fear had greatly reduced and Ritsu loosened his grip to catch his breath. "Don"t ask, just," he took a gulp of air, "...let"s go to nii-san...I need to fix this..." he heard Hanazawa sighed -much calmer and less anxious. "Alright," the blond finally said, keeping them pressed together, "...let"s go..." ... This was not how Ritsu wanted it to become. He clutched the phone in his hand, knowing that the new number in his phone was just one click away. His other hand gripped at nothingness; Hanazawa had been ripped away from his side the moment Shigeo noticed them. Ritsu grimaced as he felt the waves of protectiveness that came from his brother -was it still his brother?- in curls of thick tendrils wrapping themselves around his form. He was shaking. Was he scared? It was his brother, he shouldn"t be scared...why was he frightened? Ritsu....Ritsu...Ritsu... "I"m here, nii-san..." he replied to -the spectral being? His brother?- the call. Are you hurt? Ritsu, are you okay? His brother was just worried, he tried to convince himself, "I"m alright, I"m fine, I"m okay" he stuttered, the overwhelming presence of his brother engulfed everything, disabling his senses, he couldn"t even feel where Hanazawa had ended up in. I"m sorry...I"m sorry...I"m sorry... The string of apologies started. Ritsu winced at how hurt it had sounded, how agony had rooted itself deep into his brother"s core and changed him into something that he almost couldn"t recognize as Shigeo. As he took deep gulp of air to calm himself; emotions pierced into his body, forced the last bit of calmness he had garnered out of him. It hurt. It was painful. It"s like having hot lead injected directly to his blood flow.

At first, Ritsu suspected him to be a threat -he"s not wrong, he refused to be called wrong- but as he soaked in his brother"s envy the night after they left the bruised Hanazawa, he could understand what had happened and why had his brother lashed out. It seemed that, no matter how many emotions he drew from Shigeo, there would always be a trigger which could send his effort to soothe his brother back to square one. And Hanazawa was a great reminder of his power - the power that Shigeo had grown to hate with all his might - if he"s able to keep it under his control. Whatever had happened during their confrontation, he could tell that his big brother did not mean to do that. He just couldn"t take it anymore. His protective instinct still kicked in though when Hanazawa started following them home. Once Shigeo told him that it"s fine for the other esper to accompany them during their walk home, Ritsu found himself trying to comprehend Hanazawa Teruki fully. Not as easy as he thought it would be. There were limits that Shigeo put up when he permitted Hanazawa in their small circle: he should never try to use his power and he should never try to touch Ritsu. Two unspoken rules that Hanazawa unknowingly obeyed faithfully. The third week after Hanazawa became a constant existence behind them, Ritsu finally asked his brother about how Hanazawa looks like. Shigeo sounded a bit guilty - like he always does whenever Ritsu asked for visual description of anything - as he described the physical distinction that made up Hanazawa: "He has blond hair which fall to his shoulder in layered cut and a pair of blue eyes. His pink lips are often tugged into a smile," he tried picturing Hanazawa with those sentences drawing lines after lines to sketch him, "...slender body, fair skin, he always wears purple uniform with his school insignia etched on the chest pocket" he added shade of colors to the lines, adding every little tidbits into his picture. When it was finished, he was looking at a handsome boy with a smile that balances the word smug and sincere at the same time. A boy who has bright blond hair and sparkling azure eyes that gleamed in an almost childish curiosity. It stayed for about ten seconds before his mind decided that keeping the color as bright as that would be too much of a hassle and bled it out of its radiance. It"s a start, he thought grimly. "He looked lovely" was what he said to his brother. ... There was something different when Hanazawa spoke that day. A tingle of hesitation, something akin to fear was fluctuating in his otherwise calm state. It was one of those days -when Shigeo couldn"t take him home due to unpredicted situation. Shigeo had to stay for a cultural festival meeting -he"s surprised that his classmates managed to keep him in the class for that- and he was walking home with Hanazawa-san who Shigeo must"ve asked to walk him home. With his brother"s warning to be cautious of the other esper, he went home, his hand clutched on Hanazawa"s. With their hands intertwined, Hanazawa began their conversation, "If I tell you that you might be able to learn how to sense human, will you come with me?" Ritsu snorted, squeezing the fingers laced with his own in a manner that will sure to leave a memorable bruise, "And here I thought advertising is done by door to door or through media," Hanazawa"s hand twitched nervously and he squeezed tighter, "...a sales pitch won"t herd me in your favor, Hanazawa-san" he said firmly, ending the supposedly promotional offer before further elaboration. This is not a lie. He truly hates salesman speech thanks to a persistent salesman who seemed keen on waving his hand in front of Ritsu"s eyes and laughed exaggeratingly when he mentioned -rather rudely - that he could hear his hand slashing the air. "Even if I say that it"s free?" "That would make it even more suspicious than it was!" he snapped, earning himself a sudden spasm from the other esper. What"s with this line of questioning, his defensive mind asked, yet Ritsu chose not to voice it. He furrowed his eyebrows instead, relaying as much irritation as he could from his lightless eyes. Hanazawa was regretful when he finally squeezed back, thumb circling apologetic circles on the back of his palm. "Sorry, sorry," Hanazawa murmured softly, "...that was so stupid of me, huh?" Huffing, Ritsu muttered incomprehensible agreement. Reigen Arataka is a man with bizarre charms. Ritsu might not be able to sense human, but all of his senses captured Reigen perfectly, it surprised him that the lines were starting to form in his mind when he first heard his voice. He doesn"t have a singer voice - which immediately mesmerized you -, but it left enough impression on you to hear further and even anticipated what he would say next. A bell that announces time in the temple; he would likened the voice. Or maybe, the bamboo fountain in the pond. Every time he speaks, his voice asks for your undivided attention so you would not miss every underlying intent he means through the jumble of clever words his silver tongue seems to produce in massive numbers. The smell of tobacco lingers around the man, along with the smell of caffeine and another scent that he couldn"t quite identify. It"s probably the smell of men"s cologne from an unknown store brand that was mixed with sweat. It was not an unpleasant smell; in fact, it reminded him somewhat of a nostalgic smell. Something in the back of his mind knocked softly twice before whatever it was retreated shyly to where it came from. A fleeting memory, he guessed, of a world that is not his to live in. "So..." Hanazawa started. They"ve just gone back from the older man"s apartment after agreeing on a day to meet again and they had been silent for too long, Hanazawa should"ve started talking -cue the awkward start. "He sounded trustful enough" was what he deemed as an appropriate enough answer to the unspoken question. A hum of understanding, followed by a reassuring squeeze. Surprisingly enough, Hanazawa stayed silent afterward, lost in thought, most likely. Ritsu enjoyed the silence though, his thought needed it to reassert itself back to its- He stopped. "Hanazawa-san..." Was he trembling? Was his voice quivering? Did he sound...odd? Why did that prickle of fear from Hanazawa spiked? Did he...tip himself off? "Ritsu...can you stay behind my back?" there"s an unfamiliar protectiveness which came from Hanazawa. Ritsu swallowed -bitter, he noted-, "It"s nii-san...isn"t it?" he spelt the word one by one like he"s pulling out swords from his mouth with each syllable of truth. Hanazawa didn"t say anything, but his grip tightened and instead of replying, he was pulled to press against Hanazawa"s side, a thick barrier sprung around them protectively. If his brother is guilt, regret and protectiveness condensed into one, then Hanazawa is confidence, fear, and -strangely enough- protectiveness all rolled into one. He couldn"t think about it further as the world around him twisted in a way Ritsu couldn"t guess. White lines crumbling, the darkness shifting; his brother"s emotions tore into his world of darkness and shook his very core. Fear tightened his chest and Ritsu gasped when the world he"d built since he was robbed of his sight started to collapse on itself. He needed to find Shigeo, and fast, before his brother did something even more unfixable than toppling the base of his world. Hanazawa did not want to let him go when he expressed his intent, so Ritsu grabbed the older boy"s arms in return, keeping their body pressed against one another and opened his mouth, "Come with me then if you"re that worried!" Fear overwhelmed Hanazawa if only for a flicker of a moment and Ritsu absorbed it into his own fear. It"s much harder than when he had to do it with his brother, blood and his connection to his brother helps a lot to circulate the emotions between them. He noted that, physical contact helped him concentrate and Ritsu gritted his teeth as he felt the immense fear from Hanazawa mingling with his own. This was the first time he ever try this trick to someone else. Receiving the fear as a part of his emotions meant experiencing whatever comes with it. Worry was just a small part of it, what came with it was a list of negative emotions which included self-doubt and anxiety. It rattled his own fear, immensely multiplying it to the point he had to numb himself. The swirl of emotions intended to shake him just like his brother"s emotions were currently doing. Ritsu ignored it, pushed everything to the back seat and instead focusing on sending what"s left of his calmness to quell the turmoil in Hanazawa. He might not be able to see how Hanazawa looked like, but he could picture the surprise he felt when he transferred the soothed emotion back to the esper. "How did you-" the fear had greatly reduced and Ritsu loosened his grip to catch his breath. "Don"t ask, just," he took a gulp of air, "...let"s go to nii-san...I need to fix this..." he heard Hanazawa sighed -much calmer and less anxious. "Alright," the blond finally said, keeping them pressed together, "...let"s go..." ... This was not how Ritsu wanted it to become. He clutched the phone in his hand, knowing that the new number in his phone was just one click away. His other hand gripped at nothingness; Hanazawa had been ripped away from his side the moment Shigeo noticed them. Ritsu grimaced as he felt the waves of protectiveness that came from his brother -was it still his brother?- in curls of thick tendrils wrapping themselves around his form. He was shaking. Was he scared? It was his brother, he shouldn"t be scared...why was he frightened? Ritsu....Ritsu...Ritsu... "I"m here, nii-san..." he replied to -the spectral being? His brother?- the call. Are you hurt? Ritsu, are you okay? His brother was just worried, he tried to convince himself, "I"m alright, I"m fine, I"m okay" he stuttered, the overwhelming presence of his brother engulfed everything, disabling his senses, he couldn"t even feel where Hanazawa had ended up in. I"m sorry...I"m sorry...I"m sorry... The string of apologies started. Ritsu winced at how hurt it had sounded, how agony had rooted itself deep into his brother"s core and changed him into something that he almost couldn"t recognize as Shigeo. As he took deep gulp of air to calm himself; emotions pierced into his body, forced the last bit of calmness he had garnered out of him. It hurt. It was painful. It"s like having hot lead injected directly to his blood flow. Ritsu opened his mouth to reply, but his throat was clogged with bitter bile. He sobbed instead. It didn"t stop even as tears flowed down his cheeks, even when he try to reply it with choked acceptance and messy sobs for his brother to stop. The painful flow of emotions didn"t stop, couldn"t stop, wouldn"t stop. He was suffocating. Drowning. Deeper into the sea of his brother"s emotions. Is everything alright, Kageyama-kun? A voice. Whose voice? Hello, is anybody there? Reigen? His mind barely registered the familiar voice. How? Why? Where? As if answering his mind, the voice started again, small vibrations from the tip of his fingers channeled into warmth that was starting to subdue a fragment of Shigeo"s emotions. His phone? Was it his phone? Kageyama-kun? Are you alright? Do you want to meet now? Or should I come over? I mean it"s fine, though you should ask for permission from your parents first or...well, yeah, should I really explain that to you? Ritsu gathered everything into the words in his throat, his breath came out in quickened pace, "Re-" he choked, coughed, wheezing to inhale much needed oxygen to the sudden gripping around his lungs. Shigeo made a sound akin to an irritated growl, the tendrils around him tightened in what supposedly to be a protective embrace -but no, he was being strangled by how much his brother love him. He forced his throat to produce a sound, anything at all to notify the man he had just put half his trust in. "Reigen-san-" he gagged, pulling every bit of self he still had left in his consciousness and finally, let out a shout of desperation, "IT"S NII-SAN!" before the darkness finally pulled him away from his own world. ... There were no more lines. No lines of white. No dull color from watered down paint. No outline made of chalk nor sketchy scribbles of various places. It was only darkness. And Ritsu slept on. ... Look who"s back~ God, I swore this just went waaaayyy out of my freaking draft. My fingers decided to take a stroll on the realm of unknown and...well, screw my brain out. Previously, this was posted as a separated fic, then I realized...oh, what if nobody knows...and I think I"m quite right, so...here you go, I"ll just combine all of these into one multi-chaptered fic... Reigen lived as a normal human. To put it even simpler, he"s just a normal salary man you can find everywhere in the street -though, he assure you, he would not reek of booze and puke. What might differ him was probably the image of someone (who his mind insisted should be here) who flickered occasionally at the corner of his eyes. Or maybe it"s just that spoilt milk he drank this morning... No, the blond esper did not tell him his name. It was rather rude, but Reigen had seen worse manner than this kid. So he welcomed the boy warmly, offering a few selections of beverages -or whatever inside his sparse refrigerator- and asked him to sit down on the worn down sofa. The esper looked wary, though he eventually ended up with a cracked ceramic mug filled with tea while seated on the creaky spring of Reigen"s sofa. The awkward silent started as he watched the boy stared at the steam rising up from the hot drink. "Decided to take me up on my offer?" he took the seat right across the boy. "Decided to put a little bit of trust on you..." was what the boy replied. Reigen chuckled, "Just a little?" Cold and calculating blue eyes shot to meet his dark ones, "The number dwindles with particular choice of words, Reigen-san" the boy muttered before he brought his lips to the rim of the cup and blew softly. Reigen ran a hand through his sleek -slightly dry, he duly noted- hair. This was different than dealing with his co-workers or superior. He didn"t know to what extend the boy"s psychic power could reach, but he was sure he had heard of espers who can read mind. At least that"s what the Psychic and You had written regarding types of psychic powers. A long sip and the boy brought the cup down to put it gently on the coffee table, glancing up toward Reigen, "Why?" he asked, the word behind his voice easily played into Reigen"s head. He inhaled deeply, piecing together an answer that would satisfy the boy, "I would say that I"m intrigued by your power, but that would be a half lie," he ignored how the boy"s glare seemed to intensify, "...have you ever had a vision?" The boy did not answer, but the faint twitch of his lips indicated a rather positive answer, so Reigen continued forth, "Someone from the corner of my sight, a boy that I should"ve met, those kind of things," he dared a glance at the boy, "...I"m having memories from a time not of our own and I hope that being in the presence of esper could yield me an answer" the blond esper turned his head, finally breaking his fixed stare, preferring to stare at his empty -should"ve put up a poster or something there- undecorated wall. He let the boy contemplated on what he had said, let him choose for himself if he should put more trust in Reigen, that he simply wanted to know the truth behind the constant appearance of a boy in his mind. There"s a minute distrust in his voice when the boy finally spoke up, his eyes glinted in suspicion, "You just wish to use us" he said brusquely, crossing his arms. Reigen gave a shrug, "Esper or not, a child needs an adult to talk to," he said as nonchalant as he could, "...I"m offering to be a confidant that you can"t find in your parents, and believe me, I"m a man who knows when to keep his mouth shut" he ended it firmly, meeting the boy"s eyes to show his conviction. No one said anything for a few moments. Reigen decided it"s a good kind of silence, not the awkward one, but the reflective one. The boy took his words and was currently deliberating it inside his mind, though the flat expression was nothing decisive that it really was what the boy was doing. After what seemed to be forever, the boy stood up, briefly glanced at the window behind Reigen, "I"ll come to talk to you again..." he finally said. May I come to talk to you again? Reigen nodded, letting the image for once overlapped to replace the boy before him. ... He came over again. A week after that, a Saturday, that day when he should be having his much needed nap in his precious day off. It"s the day that the blond chose to come over again. Just like last week. He let the boy in though, gave him the same exact cup he"d given the week before, filled with the similar hot tea -more watered down though since he"s running out of tealeaves. They sat at the same spot each of them had seated previously and the blond blew over the tea just as softly. "Do you know a lot about espers?" Reigen blinked, caught off guard by the abruptly straight question. He recovered quickly though, coughing to his fist as if he"s prepared for a grand speech. "I"ve never met one before you, that"s the truth" he placed his hand under his chin, "...but I don"t think they are different than others, espers are just human with psychic power, that"s all" A snort, "How naïve can you be, Reigen-san?" the boy said dryly as he shook the cup, watching the tea swirled. He shrugged, "I don"t think that"s naivety," the esper raised an inquiry eyebrow, "...I would say I"m "aware" rather than naive" he moved his palm on the air as if he could conjure the word out of nowhere. The boy narrowed his eyes, took a deep sip of the tea, and waited. The glare he was given was a demanding one, but Reigen merely rubbed his chin and asked, "How about you? Do you know a lot about espers?" the boy blinked, a flicker of bemusement flashed on his blue eyes before he ducked to his cup again and stopped, his lips parted. Contemplating, Reigen noted, the boy seemed awfully dependent on his own belief and would not open up to any other ideas until he managed to switch that to his favor. After a few moment, the boy looked up, eyes determined. "I don"t" he said. That was unexpected. Reigen twined his fingers together and rested them on his lap, "You don"t?" he repeated. The boy nodded, "All of us, young espers are probably as clueless about who we really are" his fingers were tapping against the cup in a rhythm that he couldn"t hear, "...we have power, yes, we use them, yes, but that"s probably because it is what we have. Strip that power from us and we probably would be an ignorant puppet with no purpose" Reigen saw a wistful wince from the boy and wondered if this was an opening; a vulnerable gap that the boy finally trust him enough to disclose. "I came to that conclusion when I met those brothers..." the boy glanced toward his -uninteresting- wall, his sight distant, "...they pulled me out of my fantasy, remind me how human we all are" there was a meaningful glint in the blond"s eyes. He let those words sank in, let the boy relished the silence he had allowed them to indulge in. Clearly, the boy wanted to talk, not being talked to, and Reigen had offered him a pair of ears to listen. He"s just doing his job right now, hearing what the boy had longed to voice out. When the sun had started to set, the boy put the cup -as gently as he did last week- on the coffee table and stood up. "If you try to harm them physically or mentally," the boy started as he walked toward his door, "...I would make sure your death is as painful and slow as it possibly can..." "Is that going to be my good bye every time we met?" Reigen tried to crack a smile on his face, but he knew it came out wrong and awkward. The smile on the boy"s face was surprisingly warm despite his previous wordings, "We"ll see..." he murmured as the door swung close behind him. ... "IT"S NII-SAN!" Reigen did not waste any time to delay his departure. He had been preparing himself, fixing his button, slipping his feet into his shoes, and grappling for the apartment key as he heard the troubled sounds coming from the other side. Kageyama had called him after two hours and judging by the horrible static that the phone had captured, he expected something had gone very wrong. And when Kageyama had shouted with such finality in his voice, the static spiked and Reigen disconnected before his phone would explode, overflowed by information. He flipped the phone close and slid it down his pants pocket. The device was warm to the touch. Breaking his record time, he flew down the flight of stairs, ignoring people who cluck their tongue at his antics. He didn"t, couldn"t care less. It was easy to find the scene, his legs seemed to walk him to the main stage all by themselves. Hanazawa was the first that he found: slumped near a telephone pole. Unconscious, but miraculously unharmed. He quickly grabbed the boy"s wrist, pressing his thumb firmly on the faint bump. It"s slow, but it"s still beating and Reigen sighed, a part of his tension relieved.

That night, Yasutomo pulls out two guest futons to spread on the living room right beside the newly born bunny"s nest box. And they both watch as the baby rabbit sleeps deeply. While Usakicchi -merely centimeters from it- dozes off, Hayato couldn"t bring herself to sleep. It"s only after Yasutomo pulls her silently to a hug that she allows herself to close her eyes and sleep. Hello~ I am back with more. Like I said, I actually have finished this series, but there"s just so little time to post them...so, yeeeeppp, expect it to be posted again soon enough. Good Afternoon Ver. 2 -Welcome- Summer; the worst season ever created by the gods. The season when using a blanket is stupid but not using one is stupid as well. That season when insects bites are notorious and wind chimes are put out to dangle on windows frame. When electric fan sounds like a stupid idea but promising while he pays someone to repair the air conditioner -because it always...always never fail to broke down in summer. The season when Fuku-chan demands them to visit the inter-high race under the impossible heat just for a reunion. Also the season when Hayato decides to give birth to their very first kid. Running in full speed while lost mostly to adrenaline and anxiety is by far the worst he should do under the scalding summer sun. But he has to, fuck those buses who refuses to go because their engine stopped -why aren"t there any fucking replacement is beyond him. The hospital is in sight and he speeds up upon sighting it. Rushing through people, bumping them here and there, he kicks down the automatic door, scaring the poor old lady in the front. There are commotions soon enough and two securities are approaching him swiftly, probably thinking he"s trying to raid. Ignoring them, he runs to the receptionist, nearly screaming his question of where the fuck is the birthing center in this goddamn hospital. Crude, he might be, but seeing the amount of perspiration he"s gathered along his journey here has the nurse calmed down and directs him to the Eastern Wing. He thanks her roughly before he takes off to the direction, the two securities cease to give chase when the nurse explains to them. Yasutomo disregard the warning comes from one of the patient to stop running in the hallway instead he fastens his steps and asks where Hayato is to the poor nurse in the birthing center. The nurse tries to answer, but his insistence scares the fuck out of her and if only Toudou isn"t there to call his name, she might have had a panic attack. Toudou Jinpachi; all his smugness and foolishness forgotten for a moment -sounds like a saint and Yasutomo literally jumps toward him, bellowing his name. The purple-eyed beauty shushed at his loud voice and grumbles a, "Still stupid as ever I see..." as he takes the bag thrown his way from the raven. "Hayato"s inside, she"s been there for five minutes, asking for you" chides Toudou, "...you"re quite fast when Hayato needs you, Arakita" His boss"s blanched face suddenly pops out in his mind and Yasutomo scoffs bitterly. Half his office has wept manly tears when he shouted that Hayato is going to give birth to their first child as his excuse. With reluctant blessing though, they let him off; completed with dramatic comments from each one of them as he departed through the main entrance in full velocity. It"s still amazing to remember how they parted to give way, like the Red Sea. "Don"t worry, Arakita" comes another familiar voice. A tuft of blonde hair had his mind relaxed even for a bit as he drawls, "Fuku-chan" out of habit. Fukutomi nods at him, determined gaze on his eyes, "Hayato is strong!" which is voiced out louder than it should have. Yet it proves as encouragement and reassurance; as if the exclamation has strength on its own that will support Hayato through the ordeal. And yes indeed, his Hayato is far stronger than anyone else; she proved it back in the past by racing among men without as much as a sliver of fear. Beat them she did, riding far faster than any sprinter he knows. With renewed vigor, he enters the room, ready for anything to be thrown at him- "WHEN WE GET HOME AFTER THIS I"M GOING TO CASTRATE YOU, YASUTOMO!" He visibly flinches back. His feet hesitates, fuck, he"s actually shaking. Upon glancing back, he can see both Fuku-chan and Toudou cringe at how loud the usually calm Hayato has shouted. Toudou mouths him a "Good Luck" and Fukutomi"s face pales a shade lighter. Then the door behind him closes. The sound reverberates as if announcing his doom. The medical team inside the room is eyeing him with unspoken, "What took you so fucking long?" before they return to their task, attending to the temporarily silent Hayato. He swallows audibly at the state Hayato is in; disarrayed, eyes flashes in angry red, -like when she"s in her demon mode, but this is not the thought he should be thinking right now- her fingers grabbed unmistakably tight at the bed sheet until her knuckles turn white. Okay...he"s worried now. He sort of brings his feet to walk toward her, hesitance dancing in his steps. When he arrives to her bedside, one of her hands immediately seeks his and he complies, allowing her to reach his right hand. A mistake. If a crab"s pinch hurts and cuts, Hayato"s grip instantly cuts off all of his blood circulation. The doctor warns him to use left hands if he"s a rightie and trails off when he sends him a glare with his right hand captured between Hayato"s strong fingers. The middle-aged man coughs to his fist to stifle his laugh before he apologizes politely. Then comes the actual delivering process. Which is painful, he understands through Hayato"s moans and the grip on his hand as it grows tighter until his hands turns white and he really loses the sense from his fingertips down to his wrist where Hayato"s fingers coiled around. Through the jumbles of doctors and nurses whispering encouragement, wiping sweats while holding Hayato down -or else she might roll out of the bed. Incorrigible words stream out of Hayato"s mouth in soft chants; which is weird in its own way as he usually is the one with the potty mouth between the two. Sometimes there"s a snappy insults for him from those thick lips, cursing his private parts, his stupid seeds, everything just pours out freely from Hayato"s mouth like water. It doesn"t affect him whatsoever seeing that Hayato is currently experiencing the agonizing pain that would drive any sane man to blame anyone within sight. During the process, he really loses the feel in his hand and has to touch Hayato gently so he could switch hand to grip. Hayato glares at him as if he just accidentally set Usako on fire and loosens her grip enough for him to pry himself free. He hastily replaces it with his left hand that Hayato grabs just as tight and his breath hitches at the pain. A few of his fingers are twisted. He doesn"t need further examination to know from the way some just loll to the side limply. One of the nurses makes the mistake to bring a glass of water -so the patient won"t dehydrate, she reasons- and Hayato asks for it near the end. But exhaustion seems to drain her out of her energy and the glass nearly falls if not for the nurse to catch it and fall exaggeratingly to the floor. He will laugh if his hand isn"t screaming for release. There"re confused whispers when the child finally born. The doctor declares their kid"s gender as male and takes it to his mother who"s in the verge of sleepiness. Yasutomo pries his hand away from Hayato"s loosening grip, groaning as he realizes that it"s twisted as well. "He"s not crying..." "What?" "He should be crying or he couldn"t breathe and-" "Well, fucking do something then! You"re the fucking expert here!" he yelled threateningly, ready to grab the doctor by his collar and throw him to the nearest wall. The baby cries at the prospect of his father hurting someone. Hayato laughs in hoarse voice, her head bobs with her laughter, "He recognizes his father"s voice..." Oh, he"s a father now... That sentence alone brings warmth from his chest to spread even to the tip of his toes. The child is still crying, high-pitched cry that will surely irritate him if it"s not on this moment. The moment when he leaves a stage of his life and takes a nose-dive toward the next one with Hayato on tow. He looks at Hayato"s tired but loving face and the redhead looks up at him as well, smiling gently. They seem to reach a conclusion; a deal between the privacy of their minds. "Arakita Shinobu..." Hayato whispers, "...welcome to your messed up family" Good Morning Ver. 3 -It"s Still Dawn- Waking up to a baby"s crying is not included in the list of favorite music to wake up to. But Shinobu has decided to have his morning routine early it seems and outright cries for attention at 4 a.m. in the morning. Hayato opens her eyes lazily, nudges Yasutomo with her feet in which the raven groans at. "Check on him, Yasutomo..." she says coarsely. She has, after all, takes care of him yesterday from morning to night, so in this godawful hour, she needs her sleep. That means Yasutomo has to deal with their baby. There"s a string of curses that slips out of Yasutomo"s mouth, but he follows her plea and sits up, dragging his sleepy form out from the bed to check on the cradle they set by the big window where Shinobu sleeps in. She watches as Yasutomo croons at the baby gently, rubbing his eyes as he asks whether he"s hungry or need to take a piss or whatever would keep a baby up at night. Shinobu lets out a confused whine when Yasutomo growls in frustration. Well, babies couldn"t talk for their wants, right? Hayato holds off her giggle when Yasutomo snaps his head toward her and clicks his tongue in disdain. From her point of view, she couldn"t quite see what Yasutomo does, but she suspects he"s checking the bed for wet spot and the butt for poo. When nothing of such were found, he puts Shinobu down and shuffles back to bed. A hand shakes her body, "Oi, I think he"s hungry" the raven whispers. She sits up groggily but alert and tries to stand. Yasutomo holds her though, pushes at her gently until she"s comfortable against the headboard sitting up. He strides to the cradle, picking up Shinobu and puts it gently as he would to a fragile glass vase on her arms. "There" he exclaims, "...when you"re finished, just put him between us, I don"t move that much" and with a soft plop he"s back on his side of the bed, pulling at the blanket to cover himself. Mouthing a, "Thanks, Yasutomo", Hayato proceeds to feed her sniffling baby. She keeps watch with droopy eyes as Shinobu suckles on her breast, humming happily as he tastes her milk. Just like Juichi had said about how strong their baby is, Shinobu is indeed, strong, greedily sucks for more milk to satiate his hunger. "Does it feel nice?" Yasutomo"s narrow eyes are watching both of them. Feeling giddy, she nudges him gently, "Aww...is someone jealous?" which he scowls at. Hayato shifts the small baby in her arms slightly, "It doesn"t feel like this when you did it of course," she toothily grins, "...want to take the vacant spot?" she winks teasingly. "I might if you don"t shut the fuck up" "Language, Yasutomo!" "Tch!" It takes Shinobu a few minutes to drink himself to fullness before he releases tiny coughs. Hayato pulls him to rest his chin on her shoulder and taps his back a few times until he lets out a satisfying burp. He wriggles a bit, blinks at his mother and finally falls asleep, contented. Putting the small child on the space between her and Yasutomo, she pats his chest for good measure and glances toward the raven who obviously has been keeping watch instead of sleeping like he should. The dark orbs of his eyes glisten with tender affection that he usually conceals under his razor sharp gaze. "Wanna fuck?" she asks mischievously. The face he makes should"ve been captured in her phone camera -and be used as wallpaper. He splutters about incoherent things before he shakes his head and buries his crimson face on the pillow, muttering, "I fucking hate you..." to the pillow. Hayato laughs heartily, cards her fingers between his black locks and murmurs that he should"ve shut up and accepted her offer. He groans; his visible ear reddens to the point that it resembles a boiled crab shell. After a pregnant pause in which Hayato slides back to her pillow, plops her head to the soft plush, she hears a low, barely audible whisper from Yasutomo. She looks at him and finds his eyes stare straight at her. His lips open, "Okay..." She jumps him the next minute. (And he smacks her on the head because Shinobu cries after that) I"ll be honest, that birthing part is something inspired by a certain Gintama fic from a certain author. I really love how stupid and how amazingly in character everyone in that fic during that event. And, yeah, it"s only a few more until the end, I guess...maybe the next one is the last one *shrugs Anyhow, see you next chapter~ Good Evening Ver. 2 -Death- When the vet announces that Hayato has to put down Usakicchi, she deflates visibly. The rabbit"s been loyal to her for more than 10 years and Usako is still a child. Well, if a 5 year old in rabbit year is-. Nevermind. Yasutomo doesn"t understand how rabbit"s work. Anyway, yes, the vet has declared that Usakicchi apparently has lived enough and she"ll be better off to be put down than to keep living with her illness. Shinobu asks him what put down means and he doesn"t say anything. Usakicchi has been a good companion for their son. Along with Kuro and Usako, they keep Shinobu busy when he"s cooking dinner. They keep watch on him and alert both he and Hayato if any possible danger is near the boy. The dark-haired boy loves them to death. He smothered them with hugs and although he"s quite reserved, he never hesitates to give them a kiss at each top of their heads. Seeing the deep blue of his son"s eyes -too similar to Hayato"s- asking for answer has him giving up. Hayato is still talking with the vet, possibilities pouring out of her lips, anything that could save poor Usakicchi aside from death. And he"s here, responsible to explain the concept of death to their son. He picks up Shinobu so the boy could see the brown rabbit on the examination table, wheezing heavily. "Shi-chan..." he begins, "...to put down Usakicchi is to put her to sleep" "She won"t wake up anymore, right?" He"s surprised that Shinobu knows, "Yes, she won"t...but she"ll be happy" Shinobu"s blue eyes stare up at his own, unblinking, not even the slightest sorrow is there, "Happier than she is now?" he speaks, his small fist playing with the edge of his hair. Yasutomo nods, "Happier than she is now" he confirms. There"s a comfortable silence between them; discussing the value of a living creature has him thinking of far greater power at work. His son"s quick understanding not only bemuses him but also alleviates his worry. He looks at Hayato who has accepted the decision and bows to the vet, asking for his good work to end Usakicchi"s life. How small the rabbit is, yet how big she has become in their life. After letting Shinobu down -and as the boy waddles to his mother"s side asking to be picked up- Yasutomo bows deeply toward the small breathing ball of fur. A simple thank you won"t be enough for the rabbit; for what she has done is worthy of more. She kept Hayato from breaking before he intervened and picked the redhead up. She was Hayato"s redemption for her guilt; her conscience in physical form. They watch in silence as the vet starts the procedure, bringing out all the necessary equipment -which is only a small syringe. Hayato closes her eyes, her lips mutter a soundless pray - one that he doesn"t dare to listen to. Shinobu also closes his eyes, mimicking his mother. But he opens them later, deep blue eyes staring unblinkingly toward the ebbing life. With a quiet, final exhales, Usakicchi sleeps. Good Day Ver. 4 -Admiration- If Hayato could name what emotion"s playing in Shinobu"s face, she"d say admiration and adoration. Her son is staring up the imposing form of her former captain who in return stares back down at him. Shinobu"s looks resemble his father so much saves from the pair of doe eyes he obviously inherits from her. He has thin limbs and legs. Baby fats have left him even when he"s still a child of six years old. Juichi seems amused by his appearance. When the two first met, Shinobu had exclaimed -with a look that borderlines veneration- of how strong Juichi looked. And of course the blonde instantly likes the boy. "He"s Fuku-chan" Yasutomo said when Shinobu asked. And though the nickname should"ve sounded cute, the child had excitedly complimented how powerful it sounded despite the suffix. Yasutomo laughed for three whole minutes after his son said that and Juichi had given him a disapproving look. Juichi tells him stories about their past; stories when they were on each of their bikes, with future and options spread in front of them; wide and bright. When they rode together, trained their body and mind, exceeded their limitations. Tales of when overcoming their fear is a struggle they have to conquer and of formidable enemies they met and defeated. But he also tells the little child of their loses. Their crushing sorrows when their foe won the battle. Juichi tells him of getting back up to their feet and moved forward, despite their misery. "Dad, can I ride a bike just like you and mom?" Shinobu asks timidly when Juichi has gone home. Hayato pauses, smiles, and kisses him in the forehead, replying that sure you can. Yasutomo looks prouder than she thought he would. Perhaps Juichi"s love for bike had rubbed off on him. Or perhaps the stories of their past had ignited the old passion embedded deep within his very soul. He ruffles his son"s head and promises to teach him all about road-racing once he could remove the training wheel off of his bike. Shinobu"s smile is so bright as he pulls both of them to reach home quicker so he can try the bike without his training wheel sooner. The next day comes with the boy racing downhill, shouting babble of nonsense with Yasutomo close behind him on his old teal Bianchi trying to comfort him, Hayato giggles, taking off after them on her own freshly polished Cervello. Good Night Ver. 3 -Stormy Night- Soft footsteps pad through the hallway right in front of their room. One of the dark orbs opens, followed by a slight rustle of cover. Yasutomo sometimes curses his wonderfully beastly hearing for it throws him constantly to sleepless night. He wakes up to even the slightest sound no matter how dead tired he is. Perhaps it"s a gift? Then again, after waking up to Hayato"s loud snoring during one of those days, it"s pretty much far from the definition of a blessing. This night is no different. However soft, however muffled, there"re definitely footsteps right outside their room. Then it stops. He sighs, knowing that it could be burglar or Yuuto trying to stay over when they sort of forget their key inside their apartment and is hesitating to knock on his and Hayato"s bedroom for permission. Their door opens and he"s alert. Yuuto always knocks, they are polite like that -something that Hayato never does. He turns to the door -thankfully, Hayato is the one near the wall so no obstruction- and watches as Shinobu tip-toes inside, carrying Usako in his arms. He looks pale under the small stream of moon ray from their slightly opened window. Something is definitely wrong even though he doesn"t know exactly. Shinobu shuffles toward their bed, flinching when Hayato shifts in her sleep, groaning something about foods. When his son is merely inches from their bed he flips the table lamp, casting warm sepia glow to the room. Shinobu yelps at the sudden light and nearly escapes back the door if it"s not for his strong hands pulling at his pajamas. The boy turns his head away, unwilling to show his face to him. "If you have a fu-nightmare you should"ve said so..." he assumes, Shinobu shakes his head, Usako squeaks softly. "Then, what-" BOOM Shinobu stiffens, a small peep of squeal slipping between his lips. The bunny on his hand also cries in protest from the sudden tighter grip he gets. Yasutomo sighs before he stands and picks up his son before plopping him gently to the middle, right beside the snoring Hayato -who wouldn"t wake up even when a nuclear bomb went off. Shinobu doesn"t say anything, merely stares at him gratefully, loosing Usako from his confinement. The bunny sniffs curiously at his new bed and squeaks in approval as the fluff ball settles himself comfortably in the small space between Hayato and Shinobu. He takes his spot, tapping his son"s chest a few times as if to comfort (who is he kidding, he"s trying to be a good father after all...) him. It takes Shinobu two minutes before he falls asleep, completely contented with having both his parents around him. And another ten minutes before Yasutomo could be comfortable enough to doze off. Okay, yeah, that"s it. Yes, that"s all. I don"t have any snippets anymore. This is the end of the series. I might or might not make more -probably not, since, yeah...- but this is the last one. I"m quite happy with this though so...ahahaha... Well, see you somewhere in a new fic (?) p.s. : it might be in another gender bender story~ probably, maybe, there"s a possibility, most likely. p.s.p.s: It would be a genderbend fic...

Police Station Special agent Ryan Clayton stepped out of his government issued Sedan and took a careful look at his surroundings. New York still seemed strange and foreign to him - even after several months he still couldn"t bring himself to feel comfortable with the size and speed in which things moved in the city. He was a man of medium height, well built, with short brown hair cropped in an army cut and light hazel eyes. He made sure his tie was straight and walked into the large building that housed the police station. He gave his name to the desk officer and took a seat in one of the plastic chairs in the waiting area. He surveyed the scene in front of him as he waited - several officers passed him, leading various noisy suspects in handcuffs. A few detectives in suits came in, handed reports to the desk officer and received new assignments. "Special Agent Clayton, I just finished a call with the police commissioner telling me I should give you all the help you needed" the captain appeared in front of him and cut right to the chase "So tell me - what can I do for you?" They started walking through the station, the captain walking a few steps in front and setting the pace "Well, I"m here about an investigation we"re running down at the FBI." Ryan Clayton started to explain, trying to keep up with the large man who had an enormous step "A man named Robert O"riley or Bobby O"riley. Seems like he owns a large company down at the docks, using it for smuggling, money laundering - a whole lot of illegal activity." "I know O"riley" The captain nodded as they finally reached his office "He"s a local thug, has his gang of bullies and low life criminals - we picked him up a few times but he has deep pockets and strong back. You can pick him up yourself but I"ve got to tell you nothing ever sticks with that guy" "That"s exactly it" Ryan nodded "We don"t want O"riley. He"s small time. We know for a fact he"s answering to someone higher and that"s the man we"re after" "Any idea who that is?" "Sebastian Kane" THE HAVEN Sebastian got out of bed and pulled on his pants, he sat on the edge of the bed for a moment - collecting his thought. "You shouldn"t have told Bobby off like that" Cassandra came up behind him, wrapping her hands around his bare chest "It"s only going to aggravate him more" "His actions are jeopardizing us all. I don"t care if he"s angry" He got up and pulled on his shirt, turning back to look at her as she lay back in the bed. No man could deny how beautiful she was. Her pale skin was almost as white as the sheets she was lying on. The candles and dim lighting around the room seemed to cast dancing shadows on her body as she lay sprawled on the cushions. Her red hair was spread on the pillows, a perfect contrast to the white satin sheets, her body liquid and elegant, her long legs uncovered by the soft fabric. They were in the bedroom of her small apartment above the Haven, it was small but warm and cozy. Red curtains covered the windows, preventing daylight from coming in at daytime. A large Chinese screen separated the bedroom, which consisted of a large four poster bed and nothing more, from the living room where there were two large armchairs and a sofa with red velvet upholstery. The shelves and tables were decorated with various ancient candle sticks and small statues that Cassandra had spent centuries collecting. "All I"m saying is that you need to be careful Sebastian, or you"ll have a clan war on your hands" He nodded absently and went over to the round window overlooking the club, the hour was late and there were only a few people still there. He heard the movement of the sheets behind him and a few seconds later he felt Cassandra"s hands around his waist and her head resting on his shoulder. "You could stay the night you know?" she whispered in his ear, adding a slight nibble on his earlobe that sent shivers down his spine and made him close his eyes for a moment, savoring the sensation. "I have to go back to the mansion" he lied as he entwined their fingers across his chest "Gabriel is waiting for me" She watched as he finished dressing and kissed him lightly, almost modestly if that was even possible for her, by the door. She then stood by the door, ignoring several looks from the customers still enjoying their evening down stairs, and watched as Cross and Max flanked him, escorting him out of the club. Cross made the way up the stairs to his apartment without bothering to turn on the light in the stairs. He could feel the dawn drawing near, the sun was just about to come up and he had just accompanied Sebastian back to his mansion. The Prince was very disturbed and kept Cross for a few hours more in his private study, going over information, dispensing orders - but now, his team was taking care of security at the mansion and all he wanted was to get to his bed and get a few hours of sleep. He was at the door of his apartment when he finally sensed someone behind him. With amazing speed he turned around and grabbed the assailant by the throat pinning him against the opposite wall. Only then did he realize it was a woman. "Who are you?" "You"re Sebastian Kane"s bodyguard - I need to talk to you" he noticed that she didn"t really answer his question He finally let her go, but still didn"t let his guard down one bit. She took a moment to straighten her clothes and he took the opportunity to look her over - trying to figure out who she was, trying to assess if she posed any danger to him. She was petite, brown hair and brown eyes, a couple of pounds overweight. The girl next door type, her appearance seemed a little run down, a little neglected. She was kindred, his kindred senses picked that up easily - but for some reason he couldn"t pinpoint what clan she belonged to. "I came to give you a warning..." She said and his alertness went up a few levels immediately, preparing to defend himself from her threats "There"s going to be an assassination attempt on Sebastian"s life, the hit man is human but highly capable. You need to be alert" "How do you know this? Who are you?" "It"s not important who I am or how I know this. Just be on your toes" she said and turned to leave "Oh, and...don"t tell Sebastian, he"ll behavior will change and the assassin will know that something is wrong" "How do I know you"re telling the truth? How do I know you"re not the one planning to kill Sebastian?" "You don"t!" she smirked back at him "That"s what"s going to make you watch your back!" She vanished down the stairs leaving him standing there alone. The limited view through the window at the end of the hall told him the first rays of sun were already showing - he couldn"t worry about this right now nor could he do anything about it right now, he decided to go consult Dalamar later in the day but for now - he had to get to sleep. Cross looked around as he crossed the empty street and walked up the few stone stairs leading to the large wooden doors of the church, ignoring the large sign that declared the church closed for renovations. The sign had been there for years - longer then Cross could remember. In truth there were no renovations being done on the old church - nothing in the structure had been touched in years - it was merely a way to keep people out and avoid curiosity. For Cross the church had always symbolized the simplicity in which people chose to lead their lives - how they seemed to settle for the simplest explanation, which is why none of the hundreds of people who walked by the church everyday seemed to notice that there were never any construction workers at the site. He knocked loudly and waited for a few moments until a young man in robes opened the door and led him inside. As always, he found the beauty of the church breathtaking - most of the religious figurines had been stripped long ago, but the alter was still present. There was no electricity in the main hall, instead the light came from rows of candle sticks lined around the room and natural light coming through the large painted glass windows depicting various religious stories. He passed the main hall through a small door to the left of the alter and entered the rectory where Dalamar was sitting at his desk. "You know Dalamar I"ve never really figured out why you chose to live in a church" Croaa said by way of a greeting "Are you a religious man Dalamar?" "Once a long time ago, I was. I was studying to become a priest before I was embraced...it was a long time ago" Dalamar"s voice had a hint of longing in it "I never knew that" Cross tried to imagine the man in front of him, the man he had know for years, as a young monk - but failed. "Besides, people tend not to get suspicious about seeing men in robes and cloaks entering a church" Dalamar added with a slight smile "But you didn"t come here to discuss my living arrangements" "There was a woman, she came to my apartment this morning to warn me that someone is about to try and assassinate Sebastian - there was something about her..." Cross moved through the room, picking up books from the shelves and checking them as he talked "I got this vibe, a feeling - I think this time it"s something serious" "You"re emotions, you"re intuition is one of your strongest Gangrel attributes Cross" Dalamar said calmly, his eyes following the young man closely "If you"re senses tell you to trust this woman..." "My senses tell me that there is real danger to Sebastian, as for the woman - I don"t know, I feel that there is more to her, that there is something she isn"t saying..." "We all have our secrets Cross, it"s in us all, it comes from having a long past - sometimes, longer than you care to remember" "Should I tell Sebastian? Should I alert him to the danger?" "If you think there"s a need... I myself don"t see one" Dalamr said calmly and relaxed in his chair "You are aware, and alert. Your job is to keep Sebastian safe against all dangers - and so you will" THE DOCKS Bobby stomped around the office in rage, picking up tings and throwing them against the wall. He achieved a weird sense of satisfaction by the sound of them smashing into little pieces on the floor. The few men around him cringed in fear every time another item found it"s way to the floor and immensely enjoyed the terror he was causing them. "Who does that Kane think he is?" he screamed to no one in particular "Telling me how to run my business?" He smashed another vase and inhaled deeply, finally calming down. His mind started racing as he paced the space behind his desk "This is the last time he tells me what to do...I swear to you... he thinks he can just boss me around like one of him minions, he has no idea who he"s dealing with..." "What are you planning Sire?" one of his trusted Brujahs came closer, a sinister smile on his face as he recognized the look on his Sire"s face - the one suggesting the making of a plan. "I don"t know yet..." Bobby smiled back "But I"m going to find a way to hurt him... something painful, something that will make him take notice..." "And the docks?" another Brujah asked "Close it down, or at least make it look like we have... move all the activity underground" Bobby smiled again "Let him think he won for now, it will make him lower his guard, and then... he won"t know what hit him..." He took off his jacket and threw it on the back of his chair finally figuring out a plan that would satisfy him "Keep a close watch over Kane in the next few days - I want to know every move he takes, every one he meets, everyone he talks to - Tell me everything, no matter how irrelevant it seems. Even a prince has weaknesses - we find those - we know how, and where to hurt him..." The Haven -A week later Sebastian stepped out of his limo and buttoned his jacket. There was a small crowd forming outside the club, people waiting to get in. Cross and Max took their positions beside him and the three of them headed to the door. Cross and Max clearing a path among the crowd. Cross glanced around the crowd, he didn"t like the idea of so many people around. His mind flashed back to the warning he received just days ago and he found himself reaching down and fingering his gun, as if ti make sure it was still there. Suddenly a black wolf emerged from the crowd and leaped at Sebasitan, his large paws catching him square in the chest. He could feel the nails of the beast digging into his skin, drawing blood. The impact knocked him to the ground just as a few gun shots were heard echoing through the air. For a split second - while he lay there, the wolf still on top of him - so close that he could feel the heat resonating from the animal"s body - their eyes met. Big yellowish green eyes meeting ice blue ones. A spark of recognition passed through Sebastian"s eyes, he"d seen these eyes before - but then the moment was over and the wolf got up and ran down the ally. People were screaming around him, running for cover, a young woman who was standing right next to him just a minute ago was lying on the ground holding her leg in obvious pain. Cross and Max drew their guns and moved closer to him, looking for the source of the gunshot. Upstairs, on a nearby roof, way above the chaos of street level, a small built man dressed completely in black, quickly dismantled his rifle and placed the pieces in a shoulder bag. He climbed down the fire escape and into his car. He missed - that was not something that happened to him often - but he wasn"t worried, his contract extended until Sebastian Kane was dead. There will be other times, more opportunities - nobody was safe at all times. He put his keys in the ignition and started the car. Suddenly there was a thump of metal and he raised his head to see a black wolf standing on the hood of his car. He smiled for a minute wondering what was a wolf doing in the middle of New York. His smile quickly vanished when right in front of his eyes the wolf transformed and turned into a young dark haired woman. She smiled mischievously, obviously enjoying the look of utter shock on his face, then she smashed her fist right through the front windshield, shattering the glass with one swift move. She grabbed the man by his neck and pulled him out of the car onto the hood through the shattered window. The last thing he ever saw was green eyes turning yellow as sharp teeth sank into his neck. LATER THAT NIGHT - Kane Mansion "We canvassed the streets... as much as we can with the cops swarming all around the Haven" Cross reported as soon as he came into the large meeting room, taking his designated seat at the council table "Word on the street is - the assassin was human" "A human assassin?" Dalamar was pacing behind them, his hands deep in his pockets "that"s highly unusual..." "Bobby..." Sebastian said in a menacing voice from his place at the head of the table "If I find out you had anything to do with this..." "Sebastian..." The Brujah primogen didn"t bother to hide his smirk "While I do applaud the thought of trying to kill you... I"m not nearly that stupid..." "The police is all over the Haven" Cassandra said with a slight frown "They know you were there Sebastian, they have eye witnesses saying you were the target...this isn"t good for business, it endangers all of us" Sebastian nodded solemnly, listening to them all, he was about to declare his decision when Cross cleared his throat beside him "There is something else, Sebastian..." He said hesitantly "There was a woman, she warned me about this a few days ago... I didn"t think about it much until now..." "A woman?" Sebastian said curiously "Who was she?" "I"ve never seen her before..." Cross began to explain but Sebastian rose from his seat and moved over to the window, deep in thoughts. Suddenly everything fell into place - the puzzle was solved. He knew exactly what to do. "Cross, get your Gangrels together find out anything you can about the shooter... he"s already dead, but find out anyway. Gabriel, I need you to search at the city parameters, there will be a kindred there - named Ashton - bring her to me..." Sebastian left the room without another word, leaving the primogens to do his bidding. Dalamar and Bobby were the first to leave - Bobby with a shrug and a sneer, Dalamar with a sigh of concern. Gabriel gave another nod and went down to the basement, where he lived and from which he had easy access to the web of tunnels that allowed him free movement around the city. When Cassandra and Cross were the only ones left in the room she rose from her seat at the council table and moved over to the window, mirroring Sebastian"s position from before. "This Ashton woman... you don"t want her to be found, do you?" Cross asked hesitantly, watching Cassandra as she gazed through the window, refusing to look at him "Why? Who is she?" OUTSIDE THE HAVEN The street was flooded with blue and red lights from the police cars parked in front of the building. The entrance was taped with yellow police tape and men in uniform were coming in and out of the nightclub. Special Agent Ryan Clayton looked around at the crowd of curious and frightened people gathered around the perimeter - they should get someone to take pictures of the crowd - he thought to himself - maybe they"ll get lucky and the shooter came back to admire his handy work - but he doubted it. He crossed the street quickly and flashed his badge at the cop standing at the entrance. "Agent Clayton!" a detective he recognized called him over as soon as he entered "Detective Brooks - maybe you can tell me why the hell did dispatch call me out here in the middle of the night?" He asked tiredly "It seems like you have this thing covered!" "Your name came up on the computer when we ran a check on the guy who seems to be the target - it said to call you as soon as this guy appears on our radar" "What was the name?" Agent Clayton asked in confusion "Sebastian Kane..." Ryan nodded and took a look around, taking a few steps away from the detective to get a better view of the scene. There was some broken glass on the sidewalk, and a nearby car was slightly smoking from a couple of bullet holes in it"s hood. A woman nearby was recounting the events to a police officer in a hysterical voice. "Special Agent Clayton!" the detective called back his attention "There"s something here you should see!" He followed the detective down the street and into an ally, they were walking further and further away from the club and Ryan noticed that the allies became darker and more narrow as they progressed. Finally they arrived at a corner of two allies where a few policemen were standing and a spotlight was directed at a lone car. "We found this guy on the hood" the detective pointed to a dead body already placed on the coroner"s stretcher "We also found a special issue rifle in the back seat and the bullets seem like they could match the ones we took out of the wall and cars outside the club" "So you think this guy is our shooter?" "looks like it" the detective nodded "the question is - who killed him?" "Didn"t you say that Sebastian Kane was the target?" "Kane was two blocks away surrounded by his bodyguards when this guy was killed. We have two dozen witnesses saying he was at the Haven when the shots were fired and after... he couldn"t have gotten here in time to kill this guy" "No, Sebastian Kane doesn"t get his hands dirty with stuff like this. Someone did this for him..." "He can organize this on such short notice?" the detective sounded skeptical "You"d be surprised what a man like Sebastian Kane can put together on short notice" he leaned closer to the body and tried to examine it up close, noticing there were few if any physical marks on the body "What did this guy die from?" "That"s the really weird part" the medical examiner replied "he died of massive blood lose, only there isn"t a massive wound to go with it. This guy bled out, but for the life of me I can"t figure out where he bled out from. There"s nothing except for these two small puncture wounds on his neck." KANE MANSION "What makes you think I know anything about her, Gangrel?" Cassandra tried to sound contemptuous, but Cross could sense the underlined hint of fear in her voice - which confused him even further. Cassandra was the Toreador primogen, the owner of the Haven, and the Prince"s confidant and lover - there weren"t a lot of things in this world that could frighten her. "When I met her, there was something strange about her, I couldn"t tell which clan she belonged to" She finally detached herself from the window and moved to one of the armchairs in front of the fire, taking a glass of wine and sipping from it slowly. "She"s an Assamite" "That"s ridicules - there are no Assamites in New York, or any where close to New York" "You"re only half wrong. There used to be Assamites in New York, they were fierce worriors, devoted to the Prince, they were his army. Can you imagine the power? A whole clan of enforcers at his fingertips? The other clans were frightened, they knew that if a clan war was ever to come, they wouldn"t have a chance..." "What happened?" He came over to seat beside he by the fire, urging her to keep going.

"What happened?" In all the commotion around Jordan Collier"s sudden return he completely forgot about the young girl he met earlier that day. "The FBI took over the case from Boston police, they found out Lexa was here and 5 agents barged into her room and tried to arrest her. She freaked, they had to sedate her again" "Jesus! Who do they think they are?" Tom spat in anger and disbelief "The Doctor kicked them out for now. Jarvis is making some calls, trying to get them to back off. I"m going to swing by the hospital for a while - see if there is anything I can do to help..." He nodded and hung up the phone. When he turned, Shawn was looking at him with a questioning look. "It"s not about Collier" he assured him "it"s just this girl, she"s a 4400, apparently she can enter people"s heads. Not exactly read minds - more like see everything they"re seeing, experience everything the experience, see all their memories..." "Sounds powerful" Tom snorted, remembering the frail image of the girl he saw that afternoon "Right now, she"s seeing into the mind of an extremely vicious serial killer, She"s scared to death, she"s loosing her grip on reality" Tom started heading for the door and Shawn followed, showing him out, as they continued talking "she locked herself up in a mental ward so they can pump her full of drugs - trust me, she"s not feeling very powerful right now" Shawn nodded his understanding and said nothing. He remembered all too well what it"s like to be a 4400 when your power kick in. "Maybe you can help?" Tom suddenly had an idea "Send one of the 4400 you have on staff over to see her? It might help, letting her know she"s not alone!" "Not a problem..." Shawn nodded and opened the door for Tom "Anything I can do to help..." Hello everyone - first of all I"m sorry it took me so long to update, The thing is I"m not getting any reviews on my story and truth be told it"s making me a little nervous. Call it my obsessive need for approval of whatever but when I see that one of my stories isn"t getting any reactions I usually start to rethink the whole thing - I go over it over and over again, I try to rewrite the whole thing, I add scenes and remove them again and so on. So if anyone out there is reading this story PLEASE REVIEW! Even if you don"t have anything good to say - even if all you have is criticism - I"d still like to hear it! The sad truth is that if I see a story isn"t getting any reactions I usually just get tiered of it and leave it unfinished... And now, on with the story... Part 4 "Ok, so this is what I got so far" Nina Jarvis came into Diana and Tom"s office and perched on the corner of Diana"s desk "I was on the phone half the night and most of the morning. A friend of mine at the Boston PD says that they"ve been asking the FBI for help on the Serial killer case for weeks now and all they"ve been getting is excuses - then last week someone mentions that a 4400 is involved and all of the sudden the FBI swoops in and completely takes over the case" "Damnit" Diana cursed and shook her head. "From what I got, it"s more than the serial killer they"re after" Jarvis continued giving them the bad news "Remember that guy? The Baseball player? Well, this girl, she"s hot commodity for the feds - her ability could make their job a lot easier..." "And her life a lot harder..." Tom concluded "I also doubt it"s a coincidence that the FBI is all of the sudden so interested in what we do here - I think it has a lot to do with the rumors about Collier being back. As to the Morgan case - I got them to hold off on taking her in, for the time being, but I had to promise them that we"ll let one of their agents tag along - observe anything to do with this case" "The last time they sent over a guy to "tag along" with us he ended up shooting my son" Tom protested. "There"s more" Jarvis warned, her face grim "The man heading up this investigation, pulling all the strings - I know him. His name is William Parker, he"s a division director for the FBI. He"s ruthless, ambitious and he has his eyes set on Washington - preferably the big white house in the middle of it. Curiously enough, and you"re gonna love this part... he was a good friend of Dennis Rayland" "What?" "You"ve got to be kidding me!" Tom and Diana were on their feet instantly "He was part of Firewall?" Tom asked, referring to the wretched program that nearly cost them the lives of all the 4400. "Not as far as anyone knows" Jarvis shook her head "But I know the guy and I"m willing to bet that even if he wasn"t a part of it he at least knew about it" "Excuse me..." a voice from the doorway startled them and they all turned around to see a young man in an expensive suit standing at the doorway "I"m looking for Director Jarvis, agent Baldwin or agent Skoris?" "And you are?" Tom asked suspiciously, already guessing the answer. "I"m Special agent Stevens, from the FBI, I"ve been assigned to you on the Alexandra Morgan case..." Lilly walked into the apartment still reviewing the file she had in her hands. Another sick person seeking Shawn"s help. Even since word got out on how Shawn cured all the 4400 at the quarantine center the foundation has been especially swamped with requests for Shawn"s help. It seems like people from all around the world were trying to get in to see the guy. She was so engrossed in the file that it took her a moment to register her surroundings but when she finally did she gasped in shock. The usually neat apartment was now a huge mess. There were books and newspapers scattered all over the place, both TV sets were turned on to different channels, the radio was on at full volume. In the middle of it all was Isabelle, sitting there with both TV remotes in her hand, flipping channels at full speed. "Isabelle? What the hell is going on here?" she tried to keep her voice clam and wished once again that Richard was here instead of off traveling, talking to people around the country on behalf of the center. "Oh, hi Lilly" Isabelle said sheepishly, as usual using Lilly"s first name instead of referring to her as Mom, which drove Lilly crazy. "I"m sorry for the mess, I"m just trying to catch up on a few things" "Catch up?" Lilly turned off the radio and started closing books and placing things back in their place "Catching up on what?" "I don"t know... the last 15 years..." Lilly sighed, her anger and frustration draining from her body, and sank into a chair next to her daughter. With all the weirdness of the situation she sometimes forgot to think about what it might be for Isabelle, all of the sudden growing up like that, being 18 but with no memories any normal 18 year old has. She was about to try and talk to Isabelle about it, thinking of what exactly to say to her when the girl simply shrugged and got to her feet, heading for her room. "Oh, by the way, Shawn was here, he left you a note..." She called out just before closing the door to her room. A few seconds later Lilly could here the radio being turned on at full volume inside the girl"s room "Where"s Diana and Tom?" "Marco" Jarvis greeted the guy who just ran into her office and tried to suppress a small smile "You look like you"ve been running!" Marco placed his hands on his knees for a moment, trying to catch his breath and making a mental note that he should really look into signing up for a gym - it was pretty embarrassing panting like this in-front of his boss just because he ran all the way up here from his office downstairs. "I was scanning the police frequencies" he finally managed to say "I cam across something interesting, A black and white on the late night shift broke up a fight in an ally around dawn - some punks beat up a street bum. The police had to call in an ambulance to take the guy to the hospital" "And?" Jarvis said impatiently. "When the officers got back to the station the saw the bulletin we put out about John Doe AKA the newly resurrected Jordan Collier. They claim that this is the guy the sent over to the hospital" Jarvis was on her feet instantly "So Collier is at the hospital? Which one?" "Actually no!" Marco replied "I called. They stitched him up and sent him out, but I"m thinking maybe he"ll go back to that ally again...?" "It"s a long shot, but it"s worth a try" Jarvis nodded "I just don"t understand what this is doing living in the street like that? He"s a multimillionaire for god"s sake! Why doesn"t he just go back to the 4400 center?" Jarvis sighed in frustration, already picking up the phone to call Tom and Diana with the information. "The guy just came back from the dead" Marco shrugged "I think it"s a pretty safe bet he"s more that a little confused..." Hey, everyone. First of all let me say thank you to everyone who reviewed this story so far! You"ve really helped me move this story along... This chapter is a little longer then usual - I thought about cutting it short and putting the final scene in the next chapter but for some reason I just thought these scenes should all be together and couldn"t bring myself to split them apart... My last comment is for "wahinetoa" - thanks for your reviews and don"t worry - I"m having tons of fun writing grown-up Isabelle and even though she"s not really in this chapter she"s going to be in the next one for sure - so just keep reading and sending reviews.... Same for everyone - keep reading and sending reviews... Part 5 Shawn was trying to concentrate on the financial report he was holding in his hand, trying to make sense of the endless lines of numbers that indicated the center"s income and expenses. He rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly and sighed. The problem wasn"t the complexity of the report - the problem was Matthew, sitting in front of him, talking endlessly about something Shawn had lost interest in about half an hours ago. "Shawn? Are you listening to me?" Matthew suddenly asked him, realizing the young man was loosing concentration "Listen, I know this is all very boring..." "No, no, it"s fine...I"m just pretty tiered, had a late night last night..." Shawn apologized and tried focusing back on what Matthew was saying. "I was talking about the center"s image. I think we need to do another round of interviews, try to get you on a few magazine covers" "Why do we need to keep putting ourselves out there for the media? I mean, people already know who we are and what we"re trying to do... What"s more to say?" Shawn sighed in annoyance. He hated interviews, he hated being asked questions about his ability and about the people from the future, he cringed every time he saw his face plastered on the tabloids or on the cover of some magazine. "We had a small grace period after the quarantine incident" Matthew explained and Shawn had to try hard to keep from laughing incident? Is that what you call the murder of 23 people? Is that what you call the thing that almost killed me? "But we have two trials coming up - the trial of the people who designed the firewall program and the trial of the murderer of Jordan Collier. The attention is going to be on us again and I want to make sure that public opinion is on our side" "Shawn?" Lilly appeared in the doorway, knocking softly on the open door "Yes Lilly, come in" Shawn was so glad for the interruption he felt like hugging Lilly for her timing. "I just got your note" she told him "Something about going to visit a 4400 at St. Josephine?" Shawn almost forgot about what he promised his uncle last night. He was trying so hard to push the news of Jordan"s return out of his mind, to not get his hopes up, that he completely forgot about the young woman Tom told him about. "Yeah, you know what?" he suddenly got an idea "Forget about it. I"m going to do it myself" "You"re sure?" she frowned "I don"t mind doing it..." "No, it"s fine. I"ll go there now" Anything to get out of the office and away from Matthew"s constant nagging> he thought to himself. "So this is where the homeless man got jumped?" Diana asked the uniformed cop and looked around her at the ally. The day was sunny and bright, but the ally they were standing in was dank and dirty - there were large dumpsters and carton boxes on the pavement and the whole area seemed dangerous and uninviting. When they first got here they were met by the two police officers who filed the report from last night"s incident, both of them seemed to dislike the fact that they were called in to show the "hot shots" from NTAC their way around. "Some kids thought it would be funny to kick him around a bit" the cop nodded "we got the call and got here, they took off, the guy had to be sent to the hospital. If you don"t mind me asking - why is NTAC so interested in this? This kind of thing happens all the time around here - I"ve never seen you guys step in like this before?" "It involves a case we"re working on" Diana dodged the question and moved away from the cop when she saw Tom heading her way carrying something in his hands. "I found this behind one of the dumpsters" he explained when he saw her questioning look, showing her a torn blue jacket that has seen far better days "looks like someone has been sleeping there for a while" "There"re a lot of homeless people around here - it could belong to anyone" He unfolded the jacket and showed her the label "How many homeless people you know walk around in Max Brothers custom made suites?" he folded the jacket and stuffed it into an evidence bag "Maybe forensic can pick something from it and figure out who is this guy and where he"s been?" "You know, if Collier really is back from the dead" Diana started saying as the two of them headed back to the car "He may not be too happy about everything that happened" "Are you worried about Maia? Because she predicted his death and it came true?" Thinking about his son Kyle. He was so excited about the possibility of Collier being back, about how it could make all of Kyle"s legal problems go away, that he hadn"t considered for a moment that Collier might be looking for revenge on Kyle for shooting him in the first place. "I was actually thinking about Isabelle" Tom snorted dismissively and shrugged his shoulders. ""Look Tom, I know the girl makes you feel uncomfortable" Diana protested "God knows I"m having trouble adjusting to her too but..." "It"s not what I meant" Tom cut her off "Look, The girl has the power of suggestion, telekinesis, precognition, mind control and about a dozen other abilities we don"t even have a name for. All I"m saying is that if Collier is planning some kind of vendetta against her - I"d be more worried about his survival then hers" Shawn hesitated for a moment as he stood in the empty hallway of St. Josephine Mental institute. The hall was deserted and eerily quiet, the walls painted in that shade of puke green that was supposed to be calming. He found himself reaching up and loosening the top button of his dress shirt - feeling suddenly suffocated. Not ling ago he thought he was going to end up in a place exactly like this - locked up, in a straight jacket, stuck in a room with padded walls and no windows where he can"t hurt anyone. He took a deep breath and chased that thought out of his mind. He knocked on the door but no one answered so he simply let himself in. At first the room looked empty, but then he saw a small figure curled up in the corner. She lifted her head from her knees and looked at him and for a moment he was taken back by the sight of those big blue eyes, looking at him through the tangle of long black hair that fell on her face. "Go away" she mumbled "You shouldn"t be here" "Tom and Diana sent me" he decided not to try and hide anything from her "My name is..." "I know who you are Mr. Farrell. I saw you on the news, you"re the miracle worker, the one who can cure everyone" She leaned her head back on the wall, looking straight at him "So, did you come here to cure me? Make these things I see go away?" She was trying to sound challenging and disdainful but he could hear an undertone to her voice that was almost pleading, begging him. Immediately he started feeling bad. Maybe coming here myself wasn"t such a good idea> "It doesn"t work like that, I"m sorry" he came over and sat down on the floor a few feet away from her her, leaning against the same wall but still keeping some space between them, sensing she was not ready for any kind of human proximity right now " The things you"re seeing, they"re part of your ability, your new power - it"s not a disease that I can cure" She nodded sadly and he noticed her biting her lips, trying to fight back a fresh wave of tears. "Look Lexa, I know what it"s like to have this power that you can"t control. When I first started getting my power, I felt like a freak, I thought I was loosing it. I almost killed my own brother by accident! But these powers, they"re part of a bigger plan! Us 4400, we"re here to save humanity..." "Part of a bigger plan?" She snorted in contempt "Next you"re going to tell me that these powers are a gift? A good thing?" She rose to her feet in anger and looked at him harshly "Do you have any secrets Mr. Farrell? Anything you"re ashamed of?" Immediately Shawn"s mind flashed back to images of Danny and the expression on his face when he found out about him and Nikki, to images of Nikki and their afternoon by the lake. "I hope you don"t" Lexa continued "For both our sakes, because in a few seconds I just might find myself taking a tour of your brain and learning all about it! Or maybe I"ll be visiting the other guy again today, the guy who enjoys raping and killing women! You"re really gonna sit there and tell me that this is a good thing?" Shawn sighed and looked at her again, choosing his words carefully "I"m not gonna tell you this is a good thing, Some days, I wish I was never given this ability, that I wouldn"t be able to heal anyone, that I could just go back to being a normal person, But I have to believe that people who gave us these abilities knew what they were doing. They chose us - they chose you! They knew you could handle it! And I refuse to believe that you keeping yourself drugged and locked up in a mental institute for the rest of your life is what they had in mind for you..." Tom and Diana made their way down the hall towards Lexa"s room with Agent Stevens following close behind. Just as they reached the room the door opened and Shawn stepped out, looking sad and tiered. "Special Agent Stevens" Tom quickly jumped to make the introductions before the Agent could start asking any questions "I"d like you to meet Shawn Farrell, head of the 4400 center" he hoped his tome of voice indicated to Shawn that he should watch his words in front of the man. Shawn smiled weakly and shook the Agent"s hand "Nice to meet you" "You too" Stevens smiled back "I didn"t know you were a friend of Miss Morgan" "Miss Morgan is a 4400, I represent the 4400 center. It"s my job to make contact and offer assistance to every 4400 who might need it" Shawn said calmly, keeping his expression innocent and neutral, and Tom almost sighed in relief realizing his young nephew noticed the warning in his tone. "Now if you"ll excuse me, I really must get back to the center" "Hang on Shawn" Tom made a move to follow Shawn down the hall and Agent Stevens quickly made a move to follow him, causing Tom to turn to him - irritation and surprise evident on his face. "I was told I would be included in all discussions involving the case" Stevens explained "Well, Shawn also happens to be my nephew. I wanted to ask him a few things about out Friday family dinner this week! Do you think you need to be part of that discussion too?" Stevens nodded and backed away. From the expression on the man"s face Tom could tell he wasn"t buying the lame excuse he was just given but he didn"t really care as long an the guy left and gave them a chance to talk privately. "You came yourself" Tom started as soon as they were out of the man"s ear shot "I appreciate it!" "I just needed to do something, get out of the office for a while" Shawn shrugged "I"ve been here for a few hours now - we talked quite a lot. I think she might be more willing to help you now" "Shawn, man, that"s great! Thank you!" Tom clapped him on the back "What did you talk about that made her change her mind?" "You know, I think I"d rather keep that between me and her for now" For some reason, he didn"t want to give Tom the details of his conversation with Lexa Morgan. It was so nice to be able to talk to someone, someone who was going through the same things, someone about his age, someone who had nothing to do with the center. He knew the information might help Tom reach Lexa, but for his own selfish reasons he suddenly felt the need to keep it private. "Fair enough" Tom didn"t try to push "Listen, there"s one more thing - do you think you can take her to the center with you? It"s just that I happen to remember you guys being quite good at keeping government agencies out of the premises and I"d like to keep her away from these FBI types as much as I can" "Why uncle Tommy? Are you actually suggesting that we help obstruct a federal investigation?" Shawn smiled at him with amusement in his eyes. He was liking this - working with his uncle for once instead of going up against him all the time - the two of them finally on the same team "I offered it to her - moving to the center - she didn"t want to, and I didn"t want to push"

Lilly walked into the apartment still reviewing the file she had in her hands. Another sick person seeking Shawn"s help. Even since word got out on how Shawn cured all the 4400 at the quarantine center the foundation has been especially swamped with requests for Shawn"s help. It seems like people from all around the world were trying to get in to see the guy. She was so engrossed in the file that it took her a moment to register her surroundings but when she finally did she gasped in shock. The usually neat apartment was now a huge mess. There were books and newspapers scattered all over the place, both TV sets were turned on to different channels, the radio was on at full volume. In the middle of it all was Isabelle, sitting there with both TV remotes in her hand, flipping channels at full speed. "Isabelle? What the hell is going on here?" she tried to keep her voice clam and wished once again that Richard was here instead of off traveling, talking to people around the country on behalf of the center. "Oh, hi Lilly" Isabelle said sheepishly, as usual using Lilly"s first name instead of referring to her as Mom, which drove Lilly crazy. "I"m sorry for the mess, I"m just trying to catch up on a few things" "Catch up?" Lilly turned off the radio and started closing books and placing things back in their place "Catching up on what?" "I don"t know... the last 15 years..." Lilly sighed, her anger and frustration draining from her body, and sank into a chair next to her daughter. With all the weirdness of the situation she sometimes forgot to think about what it might be for Isabelle, all of the sudden growing up like that, being 18 but with no memories any normal 18 year old has. She was about to try and talk to Isabelle about it, thinking of what exactly to say to her when the girl simply shrugged and got to her feet, heading for her room. "Oh, by the way, Shawn was here, he left you a note..." She called out just before closing the door to her room. A few seconds later Lilly could here the radio being turned on at full volume inside the girl"s room "Where"s Diana and Tom?" "Marco" Jarvis greeted the guy who just ran into her office and tried to suppress a small smile "You look like you"ve been running!" Marco placed his hands on his knees for a moment, trying to catch his breath and making a mental note that he should really look into signing up for a gym - it was pretty embarrassing panting like this in-front of his boss just because he ran all the way up here from his office downstairs. "I was scanning the police frequencies" he finally managed to say "I cam across something interesting, A black and white on the late night shift broke up a fight in an ally around dawn - some punks beat up a street bum. The police had to call in an ambulance to take the guy to the hospital" "And?" Jarvis said impatiently. "When the officers got back to the station the saw the bulletin we put out about John Doe AKA the newly resurrected Jordan Collier. They claim that this is the guy the sent over to the hospital" Jarvis was on her feet instantly "So Collier is at the hospital? Which one?" "Actually no!" Marco replied "I called. They stitched him up and sent him out, but I"m thinking maybe he"ll go back to that ally again...?" "It"s a long shot, but it"s worth a try" Jarvis nodded "I just don"t understand what this is doing living in the street like that? He"s a multimillionaire for god"s sake! Why doesn"t he just go back to the 4400 center?" Jarvis sighed in frustration, already picking up the phone to call Tom and Diana with the information. "The guy just came back from the dead" Marco shrugged "I think it"s a pretty safe bet he"s more that a little confused..." Hey, everyone. First of all let me say thank you to everyone who reviewed this story so far! You"ve really helped me move this story along... This chapter is a little longer then usual - I thought about cutting it short and putting the final scene in the next chapter but for some reason I just thought these scenes should all be together and couldn"t bring myself to split them apart... My last comment is for "wahinetoa" - thanks for your reviews and don"t worry - I"m having tons of fun writing grown-up Isabelle and even though she"s not really in this chapter she"s going to be in the next one for sure - so just keep reading and sending reviews.... Same for everyone - keep reading and sending reviews... Part 5 Shawn was trying to concentrate on the financial report he was holding in his hand, trying to make sense of the endless lines of numbers that indicated the center"s income and expenses. He rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly and sighed. The problem wasn"t the complexity of the report - the problem was Matthew, sitting in front of him, talking endlessly about something Shawn had lost interest in about half an hours ago. "Shawn? Are you listening to me?" Matthew suddenly asked him, realizing the young man was loosing concentration "Listen, I know this is all very boring..." "No, no, it"s fine...I"m just pretty tiered, had a late night last night..." Shawn apologized and tried focusing back on what Matthew was saying. "I was talking about the center"s image. I think we need to do another round of interviews, try to get you on a few magazine covers" "Why do we need to keep putting ourselves out there for the media? I mean, people already know who we are and what we"re trying to do... What"s more to say?" Shawn sighed in annoyance. He hated interviews, he hated being asked questions about his ability and about the people from the future, he cringed every time he saw his face plastered on the tabloids or on the cover of some magazine. "We had a small grace period after the quarantine incident" Matthew explained and Shawn had to try hard to keep from laughing incident? Is that what you call the murder of 23 people? Is that what you call the thing that almost killed me? "But we have two trials coming up - the trial of the people who designed the firewall program and the trial of the murderer of Jordan Collier. The attention is going to be on us again and I want to make sure that public opinion is on our side" "Shawn?" Lilly appeared in the doorway, knocking softly on the open door "Yes Lilly, come in" Shawn was so glad for the interruption he felt like hugging Lilly for her timing. "I just got your note" she told him "Something about going to visit a 4400 at St. Josephine?" Shawn almost forgot about what he promised his uncle last night. He was trying so hard to push the news of Jordan"s return out of his mind, to not get his hopes up, that he completely forgot about the young woman Tom told him about. "Yeah, you know what?" he suddenly got an idea "Forget about it. I"m going to do it myself" "You"re sure?" she frowned "I don"t mind doing it..." "No, it"s fine. I"ll go there now" Anything to get out of the office and away from Matthew"s constant nagging> he thought to himself. "So this is where the homeless man got jumped?" Diana asked the uniformed cop and looked around her at the ally. The day was sunny and bright, but the ally they were standing in was dank and dirty - there were large dumpsters and carton boxes on the pavement and the whole area seemed dangerous and uninviting. When they first got here they were met by the two police officers who filed the report from last night"s incident, both of them seemed to dislike the fact that they were called in to show the "hot shots" from NTAC their way around. "Some kids thought it would be funny to kick him around a bit" the cop nodded "we got the call and got here, they took off, the guy had to be sent to the hospital. If you don"t mind me asking - why is NTAC so interested in this? This kind of thing happens all the time around here - I"ve never seen you guys step in like this before?" "It involves a case we"re working on" Diana dodged the question and moved away from the cop when she saw Tom heading her way carrying something in his hands. "I found this behind one of the dumpsters" he explained when he saw her questioning look, showing her a torn blue jacket that has seen far better days "looks like someone has been sleeping there for a while" "There"re a lot of homeless people around here - it could belong to anyone" He unfolded the jacket and showed her the label "How many homeless people you know walk around in Max Brothers custom made suites?" he folded the jacket and stuffed it into an evidence bag "Maybe forensic can pick something from it and figure out who is this guy and where he"s been?" "You know, if Collier really is back from the dead" Diana started saying as the two of them headed back to the car "He may not be too happy about everything that happened" "Are you worried about Maia? Because she predicted his death and it came true?" Thinking about his son Kyle. He was so excited about the possibility of Collier being back, about how it could make all of Kyle"s legal problems go away, that he hadn"t considered for a moment that Collier might be looking for revenge on Kyle for shooting him in the first place. "I was actually thinking about Isabelle" Tom snorted dismissively and shrugged his shoulders. ""Look Tom, I know the girl makes you feel uncomfortable" Diana protested "God knows I"m having trouble adjusting to her too but..." "It"s not what I meant" Tom cut her off "Look, The girl has the power of suggestion, telekinesis, precognition, mind control and about a dozen other abilities we don"t even have a name for. All I"m saying is that if Collier is planning some kind of vendetta against her - I"d be more worried about his survival then hers" Shawn hesitated for a moment as he stood in the empty hallway of St. Josephine Mental institute. The hall was deserted and eerily quiet, the walls painted in that shade of puke green that was supposed to be calming. He found himself reaching up and loosening the top button of his dress shirt - feeling suddenly suffocated. Not ling ago he thought he was going to end up in a place exactly like this - locked up, in a straight jacket, stuck in a room with padded walls and no windows where he can"t hurt anyone. He took a deep breath and chased that thought out of his mind. He knocked on the door but no one answered so he simply let himself in. At first the room looked empty, but then he saw a small figure curled up in the corner. She lifted her head from her knees and looked at him and for a moment he was taken back by the sight of those big blue eyes, looking at him through the tangle of long black hair that fell on her face. "Go away" she mumbled "You shouldn"t be here" "Tom and Diana sent me" he decided not to try and hide anything from her "My name is..." "I know who you are Mr. Farrell. I saw you on the news, you"re the miracle worker, the one who can cure everyone" She leaned her head back on the wall, looking straight at him "So, did you come here to cure me? Make these things I see go away?" She was trying to sound challenging and disdainful but he could hear an undertone to her voice that was almost pleading, begging him. Immediately he started feeling bad. Maybe coming here myself wasn"t such a good idea> "It doesn"t work like that, I"m sorry" he came over and sat down on the floor a few feet away from her her, leaning against the same wall but still keeping some space between them, sensing she was not ready for any kind of human proximity right now " The things you"re seeing, they"re part of your ability, your new power - it"s not a disease that I can cure" She nodded sadly and he noticed her biting her lips, trying to fight back a fresh wave of tears. "Look Lexa, I know what it"s like to have this power that you can"t control. When I first started getting my power, I felt like a freak, I thought I was loosing it. I almost killed my own brother by accident! But these powers, they"re part of a bigger plan! Us 4400, we"re here to save humanity..." "Part of a bigger plan?" She snorted in contempt "Next you"re going to tell me that these powers are a gift? A good thing?" She rose to her feet in anger and looked at him harshly "Do you have any secrets Mr. Farrell? Anything you"re ashamed of?" Immediately Shawn"s mind flashed back to images of Danny and the expression on his face when he found out about him and Nikki, to images of Nikki and their afternoon by the lake. "I hope you don"t" Lexa continued "For both our sakes, because in a few seconds I just might find myself taking a tour of your brain and learning all about it! Or maybe I"ll be visiting the other guy again today, the guy who enjoys raping and killing women! You"re really gonna sit there and tell me that this is a good thing?" Shawn sighed and looked at her again, choosing his words carefully "I"m not gonna tell you this is a good thing, Some days, I wish I was never given this ability, that I wouldn"t be able to heal anyone, that I could just go back to being a normal person, But I have to believe that people who gave us these abilities knew what they were doing. They chose us - they chose you! They knew you could handle it! And I refuse to believe that you keeping yourself drugged and locked up in a mental institute for the rest of your life is what they had in mind for you..." Tom and Diana made their way down the hall towards Lexa"s room with Agent Stevens following close behind. Just as they reached the room the door opened and Shawn stepped out, looking sad and tiered. "Special Agent Stevens" Tom quickly jumped to make the introductions before the Agent could start asking any questions "I"d like you to meet Shawn Farrell, head of the 4400 center" he hoped his tome of voice indicated to Shawn that he should watch his words in front of the man. Shawn smiled weakly and shook the Agent"s hand "Nice to meet you" "You too" Stevens smiled back "I didn"t know you were a friend of Miss Morgan" "Miss Morgan is a 4400, I represent the 4400 center. It"s my job to make contact and offer assistance to every 4400 who might need it" Shawn said calmly, keeping his expression innocent and neutral, and Tom almost sighed in relief realizing his young nephew noticed the warning in his tone. "Now if you"ll excuse me, I really must get back to the center" "Hang on Shawn" Tom made a move to follow Shawn down the hall and Agent Stevens quickly made a move to follow him, causing Tom to turn to him - irritation and surprise evident on his face. "I was told I would be included in all discussions involving the case" Stevens explained "Well, Shawn also happens to be my nephew. I wanted to ask him a few things about out Friday family dinner this week! Do you think you need to be part of that discussion too?" Stevens nodded and backed away. From the expression on the man"s face Tom could tell he wasn"t buying the lame excuse he was just given but he didn"t really care as long an the guy left and gave them a chance to talk privately. "You came yourself" Tom started as soon as they were out of the man"s ear shot "I appreciate it!" "I just needed to do something, get out of the office for a while" Shawn shrugged "I"ve been here for a few hours now - we talked quite a lot. I think she might be more willing to help you now" "Shawn, man, that"s great! Thank you!" Tom clapped him on the back "What did you talk about that made her change her mind?" "You know, I think I"d rather keep that between me and her for now" For some reason, he didn"t want to give Tom the details of his conversation with Lexa Morgan. It was so nice to be able to talk to someone, someone who was going through the same things, someone about his age, someone who had nothing to do with the center. He knew the information might help Tom reach Lexa, but for his own selfish reasons he suddenly felt the need to keep it private. "Fair enough" Tom didn"t try to push "Listen, there"s one more thing - do you think you can take her to the center with you? It"s just that I happen to remember you guys being quite good at keeping government agencies out of the premises and I"d like to keep her away from these FBI types as much as I can" "Why uncle Tommy? Are you actually suggesting that we help obstruct a federal investigation?" Shawn smiled at him with amusement in his eyes. He was liking this - working with his uncle for once instead of going up against him all the time - the two of them finally on the same team "I offered it to her - moving to the center - she didn"t want to, and I didn"t want to push" "It"s ok" Tom shrugged "At least you got her to cooperate" Sorry it took so long to update... I kind of got sidetracked by a burst of fnafic-creativity revolving around Battlestar galactica and didn"t have a chance to post this chapter until now... I hope you like it... As always... reviews a not only welcomed they are necessary! Discalimer: Dont own anyone, don"t even own myself... Part 6 Tom hurried down the hall to Lexa Morgan"s hospital room knowing he was already late. He took a quick glance at his watch half an hour late he thought to himself at least I have a good reason. Hopefully Agent Stevens hadn"t had enough time to do any serious damage yet They have been there almost constantly for the past 4 days, talking to Lexa, getting details on the killer"s memories, trying to put together something that would narrow down the search. Lexa had been extremely cooperative; she answered all their questions over and over again, she allowed them to conduct every medical test they wanted - Cranial CT, MRI, Brainwave monitors, blood tests. It seemed that whatever Shawn said to her that day really did the trick. But after 4 days they were all getting tiered and edgy - especially Lexa, and Agent Stevens making a point out of pushing her and harassing her was not helping at all. Sure enough by the time he walked into the room, Lexa and Agent Stevens were already going head to head. "So let me recap what we have so far" Agent Stevens was circling Lexa like a vulture while she watched him with trepidation "You say his name is John or Jonathan, he"s white and tall - but you can"t tell me exactly what he looks like. He works alone, but you don"t know what he actually does. He lives alone but you don"t know if he"s ever been married. You say he owns a house with a front yard but you can"t give me an address, and he drives a pickup truck that has a dent on the passenger side from a fender-bender about 2 years ago, but you can"t tell me when or where this accident happened... And here is my favorite part: he always wanted to get a dog but never did and his mother made him take piano lessons as a child" he stopped circling and threw his hands up in a mock melodramatic gesture "What am I supposed to do with that? Do you know how many men fit that description?" His tone was accusing and challenging and Tom could see the expression on Lexa"s face change from fear to anger with every word spoken. "You know, this isn"t exactly hard science Agent Stevens!" she glared at him "I"m lost inside some guy"s brain and it"s like a freaking maze in there. Sometimes I"m in there for 10 minutes sometimes I"m there for 3 seconds and half the time the things I"m seeing are not exactly the kind of things you want to pay attention to. What do you want from me? His social security number?" "It wouldn"t hurt!" Agent Stevens" retort came with a slick smile and Tom could sense that Lexa was just about to lung at the man. Luckily, Diana stepped in to referee, sending both Lexa and Agent Stevens back to their corners "Why don"t we all just take a break for a minute" When the scene seemed to quiet down, Tom took the opportunity to give Diana a small signal and the two of them stepped out of the room for a moment. "Where have you been?" she asked him with frustration as soon as the door closed behind them "The guy has been on her case all morning. I wouldn"t be surprised if she tries to take a swing at him pretty soon..." "We got a lead on the Collier case..." He told her and she noticed for the first time how excited he seemed, practically jumping on the balls of his feet "You"re going to love this..." "Well, What is it?" "The lab found trace evidence on the jacket we found in the ally. First of all, they found some hairs with DNA matching the DNA we have on file for Jordan Collier..." "Why do I have the feeling there"s more?" she gave him a small smile "They found traces of soil, sand to be exact, and they managed to trace it back to a specific location. Turns out - at some point, probably recently, Jordan Collier was at the return site" "The return site? You mean the same location where the whole "call of light, 4400 people appearing out of thin air" thing happened?" "That"s the spot!" Shawn woke up slowly and stretched in his bed. The soft morning light poured through the windows of his bedroom indicating a beautiful morning outside. He rolled over and nearly screamed in surprise at seeing Isabelle sitting on the edge of his bed, looking at him intently. "Isabelle what are you doing here?" he pulled the covers up to his chin, covering his bare chest and wishing he wore more then just boxers to bed the previous night "How did you get in here?"

They started walking through the station, the captain walking a few steps in front and setting the pace "Well, I"m here about an investigation we"re running down at the FBI." Ryan Clayton started to explain, trying to keep up with the large man who had an enormous step "A man named Robert O"riley or Bobby O"riley. Seems like he owns a large company down at the docks, using it for smuggling, money laundering - a whole lot of illegal activity." "I know O"riley" The captain nodded as they finally reached his office "He"s a local thug, has his gang of bullies and low life criminals - we picked him up a few times but he has deep pockets and strong back. You can pick him up yourself but I"ve got to tell you nothing ever sticks with that guy" "That"s exactly it" Ryan nodded "We don"t want O"riley. He"s small time. We know for a fact he"s answering to someone higher and that"s the man we"re after" "Any idea who that is?" "Sebastian Kane" THE HAVEN Sebastian got out of bed and pulled on his pants, he sat on the edge of the bed for a moment - collecting his thought. "You shouldn"t have told Bobby off like that" Cassandra came up behind him, wrapping her hands around his bare chest "It"s only going to aggravate him more" "His actions are jeopardizing us all. I don"t care if he"s angry" He got up and pulled on his shirt, turning back to look at her as she lay back in the bed. No man could deny how beautiful she was. Her pale skin was almost as white as the sheets she was lying on. The candles and dim lighting around the room seemed to cast dancing shadows on her body as she lay sprawled on the cushions. Her red hair was spread on the pillows, a perfect contrast to the white satin sheets, her body liquid and elegant, her long legs uncovered by the soft fabric. They were in the bedroom of her small apartment above the Haven, it was small but warm and cozy. Red curtains covered the windows, preventing daylight from coming in at daytime. A large Chinese screen separated the bedroom, which consisted of a large four poster bed and nothing more, from the living room where there were two large armchairs and a sofa with red velvet upholstery. The shelves and tables were decorated with various ancient candle sticks and small statues that Cassandra had spent centuries collecting. "All I"m saying is that you need to be careful Sebastian, or you"ll have a clan war on your hands" He nodded absently and went over to the round window overlooking the club, the hour was late and there were only a few people still there. He heard the movement of the sheets behind him and a few seconds later he felt Cassandra"s hands around his waist and her head resting on his shoulder. "You could stay the night you know?" she whispered in his ear, adding a slight nibble on his earlobe that sent shivers down his spine and made him close his eyes for a moment, savoring the sensation. "I have to go back to the mansion" he lied as he entwined their fingers across his chest "Gabriel is waiting for me" She watched as he finished dressing and kissed him lightly, almost modestly if that was even possible for her, by the door. She then stood by the door, ignoring several looks from the customers still enjoying their evening down stairs, and watched as Cross and Max flanked him, escorting him out of the club. Cross made the way up the stairs to his apartment without bothering to turn on the light in the stairs. He could feel the dawn drawing near, the sun was just about to come up and he had just accompanied Sebastian back to his mansion. The Prince was very disturbed and kept Cross for a few hours more in his private study, going over information, dispensing orders - but now, his team was taking care of security at the mansion and all he wanted was to get to his bed and get a few hours of sleep. He was at the door of his apartment when he finally sensed someone behind him. With amazing speed he turned around and grabbed the assailant by the throat pinning him against the opposite wall. Only then did he realize it was a woman. "Who are you?" "You"re Sebastian Kane"s bodyguard - I need to talk to you" he noticed that she didn"t really answer his question He finally let her go, but still didn"t let his guard down one bit. She took a moment to straighten her clothes and he took the opportunity to look her over - trying to figure out who she was, trying to assess if she posed any danger to him. She was petite, brown hair and brown eyes, a couple of pounds overweight. The girl next door type, her appearance seemed a little run down, a little neglected. She was kindred, his kindred senses picked that up easily - but for some reason he couldn"t pinpoint what clan she belonged to. "I came to give you a warning..." She said and his alertness went up a few levels immediately, preparing to defend himself from her threats "There"s going to be an assassination attempt on Sebastian"s life, the hit man is human but highly capable. You need to be alert" "How do you know this? Who are you?" "It"s not important who I am or how I know this. Just be on your toes" she said and turned to leave "Oh, and...don"t tell Sebastian, he"ll behavior will change and the assassin will know that something is wrong" "How do I know you"re telling the truth? How do I know you"re not the one planning to kill Sebastian?" "You don"t!" she smirked back at him "That"s what"s going to make you watch your back!" She vanished down the stairs leaving him standing there alone. The limited view through the window at the end of the hall told him the first rays of sun were already showing - he couldn"t worry about this right now nor could he do anything about it right now, he decided to go consult Dalamar later in the day but for now - he had to get to sleep. Cross looked around as he crossed the empty street and walked up the few stone stairs leading to the large wooden doors of the church, ignoring the large sign that declared the church closed for renovations. The sign had been there for years - longer then Cross could remember. In truth there were no renovations being done on the old church - nothing in the structure had been touched in years - it was merely a way to keep people out and avoid curiosity. For Cross the church had always symbolized the simplicity in which people chose to lead their lives - how they seemed to settle for the simplest explanation, which is why none of the hundreds of people who walked by the church everyday seemed to notice that there were never any construction workers at the site. He knocked loudly and waited for a few moments until a young man in robes opened the door and led him inside. As always, he found the beauty of the church breathtaking - most of the religious figurines had been stripped long ago, but the alter was still present. There was no electricity in the main hall, instead the light came from rows of candle sticks lined around the room and natural light coming through the large painted glass windows depicting various religious stories. He passed the main hall through a small door to the left of the alter and entered the rectory where Dalamar was sitting at his desk. "You know Dalamar I"ve never really figured out why you chose to live in a church" Croaa said by way of a greeting "Are you a religious man Dalamar?" "Once a long time ago, I was. I was studying to become a priest before I was embraced...it was a long time ago" Dalamar"s voice had a hint of longing in it "I never knew that" Cross tried to imagine the man in front of him, the man he had know for years, as a young monk - but failed. "Besides, people tend not to get suspicious about seeing men in robes and cloaks entering a church" Dalamar added with a slight smile "But you didn"t come here to discuss my living arrangements" "There was a woman, she came to my apartment this morning to warn me that someone is about to try and assassinate Sebastian - there was something about her..." Cross moved through the room, picking up books from the shelves and checking them as he talked "I got this vibe, a feeling - I think this time it"s something serious" "You"re emotions, you"re intuition is one of your strongest Gangrel attributes Cross" Dalamar said calmly, his eyes following the young man closely "If you"re senses tell you to trust this woman..." "My senses tell me that there is real danger to Sebastian, as for the woman - I don"t know, I feel that there is more to her, that there is something she isn"t saying..." "We all have our secrets Cross, it"s in us all, it comes from having a long past - sometimes, longer than you care to remember" "Should I tell Sebastian? Should I alert him to the danger?" "If you think there"s a need... I myself don"t see one" Dalamr said calmly and relaxed in his chair "You are aware, and alert. Your job is to keep Sebastian safe against all dangers - and so you will" THE DOCKS Bobby stomped around the office in rage, picking up tings and throwing them against the wall. He achieved a weird sense of satisfaction by the sound of them smashing into little pieces on the floor. The few men around him cringed in fear every time another item found it"s way to the floor and immensely enjoyed the terror he was causing them. "Who does that Kane think he is?" he screamed to no one in particular "Telling me how to run my business?" He smashed another vase and inhaled deeply, finally calming down. His mind started racing as he paced the space behind his desk "This is the last time he tells me what to do...I swear to you... he thinks he can just boss me around like one of him minions, he has no idea who he"s dealing with..." "What are you planning Sire?" one of his trusted Brujahs came closer, a sinister smile on his face as he recognized the look on his Sire"s face - the one suggesting the making of a plan. "I don"t know yet..." Bobby smiled back "But I"m going to find a way to hurt him... something painful, something that will make him take notice..." "And the docks?" another Brujah asked "Close it down, or at least make it look like we have... move all the activity underground" Bobby smiled again "Let him think he won for now, it will make him lower his guard, and then... he won"t know what hit him..." He took off his jacket and threw it on the back of his chair finally figuring out a plan that would satisfy him "Keep a close watch over Kane in the next few days - I want to know every move he takes, every one he meets, everyone he talks to - Tell me everything, no matter how irrelevant it seems. Even a prince has weaknesses - we find those - we know how, and where to hurt him..." The Haven -A week later Sebastian stepped out of his limo and buttoned his jacket. There was a small crowd forming outside the club, people waiting to get in. Cross and Max took their positions beside him and the three of them headed to the door. Cross and Max clearing a path among the crowd. Cross glanced around the crowd, he didn"t like the idea of so many people around. His mind flashed back to the warning he received just days ago and he found himself reaching down and fingering his gun, as if ti make sure it was still there. Suddenly a black wolf emerged from the crowd and leaped at Sebasitan, his large paws catching him square in the chest. He could feel the nails of the beast digging into his skin, drawing blood. The impact knocked him to the ground just as a few gun shots were heard echoing through the air. For a split second - while he lay there, the wolf still on top of him - so close that he could feel the heat resonating from the animal"s body - their eyes met. Big yellowish green eyes meeting ice blue ones. A spark of recognition passed through Sebastian"s eyes, he"d seen these eyes before - but then the moment was over and the wolf got up and ran down the ally. People were screaming around him, running for cover, a young woman who was standing right next to him just a minute ago was lying on the ground holding her leg in obvious pain. Cross and Max drew their guns and moved closer to him, looking for the source of the gunshot. Upstairs, on a nearby roof, way above the chaos of street level, a small built man dressed completely in black, quickly dismantled his rifle and placed the pieces in a shoulder bag. He climbed down the fire escape and into his car. He missed - that was not something that happened to him often - but he wasn"t worried, his contract extended until Sebastian Kane was dead. There will be other times, more opportunities - nobody was safe at all times. He put his keys in the ignition and started the car. Suddenly there was a thump of metal and he raised his head to see a black wolf standing on the hood of his car. He smiled for a minute wondering what was a wolf doing in the middle of New York. His smile quickly vanished when right in front of his eyes the wolf transformed and turned into a young dark haired woman. She smiled mischievously, obviously enjoying the look of utter shock on his face, then she smashed her fist right through the front windshield, shattering the glass with one swift move. She grabbed the man by his neck and pulled him out of the car onto the hood through the shattered window. The last thing he ever saw was green eyes turning yellow as sharp teeth sank into his neck. LATER THAT NIGHT - Kane Mansion "We canvassed the streets... as much as we can with the cops swarming all around the Haven" Cross reported as soon as he came into the large meeting room, taking his designated seat at the council table "Word on the street is - the assassin was human" "A human assassin?" Dalamar was pacing behind them, his hands deep in his pockets "that"s highly unusual..." "Bobby..." Sebastian said in a menacing voice from his place at the head of the table "If I find out you had anything to do with this..." "Sebastian..." The Brujah primogen didn"t bother to hide his smirk "While I do applaud the thought of trying to kill you... I"m not nearly that stupid..." "The police is all over the Haven" Cassandra said with a slight frown "They know you were there Sebastian, they have eye witnesses saying you were the target...this isn"t good for business, it endangers all of us" Sebastian nodded solemnly, listening to them all, he was about to declare his decision when Cross cleared his throat beside him "There is something else, Sebastian..." He said hesitantly "There was a woman, she warned me about this a few days ago... I didn"t think about it much until now..." "A woman?" Sebastian said curiously "Who was she?" "I"ve never seen her before..." Cross began to explain but Sebastian rose from his seat and moved over to the window, deep in thoughts. Suddenly everything fell into place - the puzzle was solved. He knew exactly what to do. "Cross, get your Gangrels together find out anything you can about the shooter... he"s already dead, but find out anyway. Gabriel, I need you to search at the city parameters, there will be a kindred there - named Ashton - bring her to me..." Sebastian left the room without another word, leaving the primogens to do his bidding. Dalamar and Bobby were the first to leave - Bobby with a shrug and a sneer, Dalamar with a sigh of concern. Gabriel gave another nod and went down to the basement, where he lived and from which he had easy access to the web of tunnels that allowed him free movement around the city. When Cassandra and Cross were the only ones left in the room she rose from her seat at the council table and moved over to the window, mirroring Sebastian"s position from before. "This Ashton woman... you don"t want her to be found, do you?" Cross asked hesitantly, watching Cassandra as she gazed through the window, refusing to look at him "Why? Who is she?" OUTSIDE THE HAVEN The street was flooded with blue and red lights from the police cars parked in front of the building. The entrance was taped with yellow police tape and men in uniform were coming in and out of the nightclub. Special Agent Ryan Clayton looked around at the crowd of curious and frightened people gathered around the perimeter - they should get someone to take pictures of the crowd - he thought to himself - maybe they"ll get lucky and the shooter came back to admire his handy work - but he doubted it. He crossed the street quickly and flashed his badge at the cop standing at the entrance. "Agent Clayton!" a detective he recognized called him over as soon as he entered "Detective Brooks - maybe you can tell me why the hell did dispatch call me out here in the middle of the night?" He asked tiredly "It seems like you have this thing covered!" "Your name came up on the computer when we ran a check on the guy who seems to be the target - it said to call you as soon as this guy appears on our radar" "What was the name?" Agent Clayton asked in confusion "Sebastian Kane..." Ryan nodded and took a look around, taking a few steps away from the detective to get a better view of the scene. There was some broken glass on the sidewalk, and a nearby car was slightly smoking from a couple of bullet holes in it"s hood. A woman nearby was recounting the events to a police officer in a hysterical voice. "Special Agent Clayton!" the detective called back his attention "There"s something here you should see!" He followed the detective down the street and into an ally, they were walking further and further away from the club and Ryan noticed that the allies became darker and more narrow as they progressed. Finally they arrived at a corner of two allies where a few policemen were standing and a spotlight was directed at a lone car. "We found this guy on the hood" the detective pointed to a dead body already placed on the coroner"s stretcher "We also found a special issue rifle in the back seat and the bullets seem like they could match the ones we took out of the wall and cars outside the club" "So you think this guy is our shooter?" "looks like it" the detective nodded "the question is - who killed him?" "Didn"t you say that Sebastian Kane was the target?" "Kane was two blocks away surrounded by his bodyguards when this guy was killed. We have two dozen witnesses saying he was at the Haven when the shots were fired and after... he couldn"t have gotten here in time to kill this guy" "No, Sebastian Kane doesn"t get his hands dirty with stuff like this. Someone did this for him..." "He can organize this on such short notice?" the detective sounded skeptical "You"d be surprised what a man like Sebastian Kane can put together on short notice" he leaned closer to the body and tried to examine it up close, noticing there were few if any physical marks on the body "What did this guy die from?" "That"s the really weird part" the medical examiner replied "he died of massive blood lose, only there isn"t a massive wound to go with it. This guy bled out, but for the life of me I can"t figure out where he bled out from. There"s nothing except for these two small puncture wounds on his neck." KANE MANSION "What makes you think I know anything about her, Gangrel?" Cassandra tried to sound contemptuous, but Cross could sense the underlined hint of fear in her voice - which confused him even further. Cassandra was the Toreador primogen, the owner of the Haven, and the Prince"s confidant and lover - there weren"t a lot of things in this world that could frighten her. "When I met her, there was something strange about her, I couldn"t tell which clan she belonged to" She finally detached herself from the window and moved to one of the armchairs in front of the fire, taking a glass of wine and sipping from it slowly. "She"s an Assamite" "That"s ridicules - there are no Assamites in New York, or any where close to New York" "You"re only half wrong. There used to be Assamites in New York, they were fierce worriors, devoted to the Prince, they were his army. Can you imagine the power? A whole clan of enforcers at his fingertips? The other clans were frightened, they knew that if a clan war was ever to come, they wouldn"t have a chance..." "What happened?" He came over to seat beside he by the fire, urging her to keep going. "A massacre. They came with amazing force and took them by surprise. Victor and Sebastian tried to stop it, but by the time they got there it was already too late. Ashton Fitzgerald was the sole survivor and she was barely alive. Victor took her under his wing, nursed her back to health. She and Sebastian became his enforcers... and lovers." "What happened?" "Ashton broke kindred law, she killed a human without the council"s permission. Victor managed to convince the council not to declare final death but Ashton was banished from the city... Sebastian wanted to leave with her but she simply vanished, left without saying a word. Sebastian looked for her for years... but when an Assamite wishes not to be found...He finally gave up." "If she was banished from the city and returned, the council will have to declare final death..." Cross frowned Cassandra drank the last sip of her wine and stood up sighing deeply "If Ashton is back in the city, something big is about to happen and her final death is about to become the last thing we should worry about..."

"There was a woman, she came to my apartment this morning to warn me that someone is about to try and assassinate Sebastian - there was something about her..." Cross moved through the room, picking up books from the shelves and checking them as he talked "I got this vibe, a feeling - I think this time it"s something serious" "You"re emotions, you"re intuition is one of your strongest Gangrel attributes Cross" Dalamar said calmly, his eyes following the young man closely "If you"re senses tell you to trust this woman..." "My senses tell me that there is real danger to Sebastian, as for the woman - I don"t know, I feel that there is more to her, that there is something she isn"t saying..." "We all have our secrets Cross, it"s in us all, it comes from having a long past - sometimes, longer than you care to remember" "Should I tell Sebastian? Should I alert him to the danger?" "If you think there"s a need... I myself don"t see one" Dalamr said calmly and relaxed in his chair "You are aware, and alert. Your job is to keep Sebastian safe against all dangers - and so you will" THE DOCKS Bobby stomped around the office in rage, picking up tings and throwing them against the wall. He achieved a weird sense of satisfaction by the sound of them smashing into little pieces on the floor. The few men around him cringed in fear every time another item found it"s way to the floor and immensely enjoyed the terror he was causing them. "Who does that Kane think he is?" he screamed to no one in particular "Telling me how to run my business?" He smashed another vase and inhaled deeply, finally calming down. His mind started racing as he paced the space behind his desk "This is the last time he tells me what to do...I swear to you... he thinks he can just boss me around like one of him minions, he has no idea who he"s dealing with..." "What are you planning Sire?" one of his trusted Brujahs came closer, a sinister smile on his face as he recognized the look on his Sire"s face - the one suggesting the making of a plan. "I don"t know yet..." Bobby smiled back "But I"m going to find a way to hurt him... something painful, something that will make him take notice..." "And the docks?" another Brujah asked "Close it down, or at least make it look like we have... move all the activity underground" Bobby smiled again "Let him think he won for now, it will make him lower his guard, and then... he won"t know what hit him..." He took off his jacket and threw it on the back of his chair finally figuring out a plan that would satisfy him "Keep a close watch over Kane in the next few days - I want to know every move he takes, every one he meets, everyone he talks to - Tell me everything, no matter how irrelevant it seems. Even a prince has weaknesses - we find those - we know how, and where to hurt him..." The Haven -A week later Sebastian stepped out of his limo and buttoned his jacket. There was a small crowd forming outside the club, people waiting to get in. Cross and Max took their positions beside him and the three of them headed to the door. Cross and Max clearing a path among the crowd. Cross glanced around the crowd, he didn"t like the idea of so many people around. His mind flashed back to the warning he received just days ago and he found himself reaching down and fingering his gun, as if ti make sure it was still there. Suddenly a black wolf emerged from the crowd and leaped at Sebasitan, his large paws catching him square in the chest. He could feel the nails of the beast digging into his skin, drawing blood. The impact knocked him to the ground just as a few gun shots were heard echoing through the air. For a split second - while he lay there, the wolf still on top of him - so close that he could feel the heat resonating from the animal"s body - their eyes met. Big yellowish green eyes meeting ice blue ones. A spark of recognition passed through Sebastian"s eyes, he"d seen these eyes before - but then the moment was over and the wolf got up and ran down the ally. People were screaming around him, running for cover, a young woman who was standing right next to him just a minute ago was lying on the ground holding her leg in obvious pain. Cross and Max drew their guns and moved closer to him, looking for the source of the gunshot. Upstairs, on a nearby roof, way above the chaos of street level, a small built man dressed completely in black, quickly dismantled his rifle and placed the pieces in a shoulder bag. He climbed down the fire escape and into his car. He missed - that was not something that happened to him often - but he wasn"t worried, his contract extended until Sebastian Kane was dead. There will be other times, more opportunities - nobody was safe at all times. He put his keys in the ignition and started the car. Suddenly there was a thump of metal and he raised his head to see a black wolf standing on the hood of his car. He smiled for a minute wondering what was a wolf doing in the middle of New York. His smile quickly vanished when right in front of his eyes the wolf transformed and turned into a young dark haired woman. She smiled mischievously, obviously enjoying the look of utter shock on his face, then she smashed her fist right through the front windshield, shattering the glass with one swift move. She grabbed the man by his neck and pulled him out of the car onto the hood through the shattered window. The last thing he ever saw was green eyes turning yellow as sharp teeth sank into his neck. LATER THAT NIGHT - Kane Mansion "We canvassed the streets... as much as we can with the cops swarming all around the Haven" Cross reported as soon as he came into the large meeting room, taking his designated seat at the council table "Word on the street is - the assassin was human" "A human assassin?" Dalamar was pacing behind them, his hands deep in his pockets "that"s highly unusual..." "Bobby..." Sebastian said in a menacing voice from his place at the head of the table "If I find out you had anything to do with this..." "Sebastian..." The Brujah primogen didn"t bother to hide his smirk "While I do applaud the thought of trying to kill you... I"m not nearly that stupid..." "The police is all over the Haven" Cassandra said with a slight frown "They know you were there Sebastian, they have eye witnesses saying you were the target...this isn"t good for business, it endangers all of us" Sebastian nodded solemnly, listening to them all, he was about to declare his decision when Cross cleared his throat beside him "There is something else, Sebastian..." He said hesitantly "There was a woman, she warned me about this a few days ago... I didn"t think about it much until now..." "A woman?" Sebastian said curiously "Who was she?" "I"ve never seen her before..." Cross began to explain but Sebastian rose from his seat and moved over to the window, deep in thoughts. Suddenly everything fell into place - the puzzle was solved. He knew exactly what to do. "Cross, get your Gangrels together find out anything you can about the shooter... he"s already dead, but find out anyway. Gabriel, I need you to search at the city parameters, there will be a kindred there - named Ashton - bring her to me..." Sebastian left the room without another word, leaving the primogens to do his bidding. Dalamar and Bobby were the first to leave - Bobby with a shrug and a sneer, Dalamar with a sigh of concern. Gabriel gave another nod and went down to the basement, where he lived and from which he had easy access to the web of tunnels that allowed him free movement around the city. When Cassandra and Cross were the only ones left in the room she rose from her seat at the council table and moved over to the window, mirroring Sebastian"s position from before. "This Ashton woman... you don"t want her to be found, do you?" Cross asked hesitantly, watching Cassandra as she gazed through the window, refusing to look at him "Why? Who is she?" OUTSIDE THE HAVEN The street was flooded with blue and red lights from the police cars parked in front of the building. The entrance was taped with yellow police tape and men in uniform were coming in and out of the nightclub. Special Agent Ryan Clayton looked around at the crowd of curious and frightened people gathered around the perimeter - they should get someone to take pictures of the crowd - he thought to himself - maybe they"ll get lucky and the shooter came back to admire his handy work - but he doubted it. He crossed the street quickly and flashed his badge at the cop standing at the entrance. "Agent Clayton!" a detective he recognized called him over as soon as he entered "Detective Brooks - maybe you can tell me why the hell did dispatch call me out here in the middle of the night?" He asked tiredly "It seems like you have this thing covered!" "Your name came up on the computer when we ran a check on the guy who seems to be the target - it said to call you as soon as this guy appears on our radar" "What was the name?" Agent Clayton asked in confusion "Sebastian Kane..." Ryan nodded and took a look around, taking a few steps away from the detective to get a better view of the scene. There was some broken glass on the sidewalk, and a nearby car was slightly smoking from a couple of bullet holes in it"s hood. A woman nearby was recounting the events to a police officer in a hysterical voice. "Special Agent Clayton!" the detective called back his attention "There"s something here you should see!" He followed the detective down the street and into an ally, they were walking further and further away from the club and Ryan noticed that the allies became darker and more narrow as they progressed. Finally they arrived at a corner of two allies where a few policemen were standing and a spotlight was directed at a lone car. "We found this guy on the hood" the detective pointed to a dead body already placed on the coroner"s stretcher "We also found a special issue rifle in the back seat and the bullets seem like they could match the ones we took out of the wall and cars outside the club" "So you think this guy is our shooter?" "looks like it" the detective nodded "the question is - who killed him?" "Didn"t you say that Sebastian Kane was the target?" "Kane was two blocks away surrounded by his bodyguards when this guy was killed. We have two dozen witnesses saying he was at the Haven when the shots were fired and after... he couldn"t have gotten here in time to kill this guy" "No, Sebastian Kane doesn"t get his hands dirty with stuff like this. Someone did this for him..." "He can organize this on such short notice?" the detective sounded skeptical "You"d be surprised what a man like Sebastian Kane can put together on short notice" he leaned closer to the body and tried to examine it up close, noticing there were few if any physical marks on the body "What did this guy die from?" "That"s the really weird part" the medical examiner replied "he died of massive blood lose, only there isn"t a massive wound to go with it. This guy bled out, but for the life of me I can"t figure out where he bled out from. There"s nothing except for these two small puncture wounds on his neck." KANE MANSION "What makes you think I know anything about her, Gangrel?" Cassandra tried to sound contemptuous, but Cross could sense the underlined hint of fear in her voice - which confused him even further. Cassandra was the Toreador primogen, the owner of the Haven, and the Prince"s confidant and lover - there weren"t a lot of things in this world that could frighten her. "When I met her, there was something strange about her, I couldn"t tell which clan she belonged to" She finally detached herself from the window and moved to one of the armchairs in front of the fire, taking a glass of wine and sipping from it slowly. "She"s an Assamite" "That"s ridicules - there are no Assamites in New York, or any where close to New York" "You"re only half wrong. There used to be Assamites in New York, they were fierce worriors, devoted to the Prince, they were his army. Can you imagine the power? A whole clan of enforcers at his fingertips? The other clans were frightened, they knew that if a clan war was ever to come, they wouldn"t have a chance..." "What happened?" He came over to seat beside he by the fire, urging her to keep going. "A massacre. They came with amazing force and took them by surprise. Victor and Sebastian tried to stop it, but by the time they got there it was already too late. Ashton Fitzgerald was the sole survivor and she was barely alive. Victor took her under his wing, nursed her back to health. She and Sebastian became his enforcers... and lovers." "What happened?" "Ashton broke kindred law, she killed a human without the council"s permission. Victor managed to convince the council not to declare final death but Ashton was banished from the city... Sebastian wanted to leave with her but she simply vanished, left without saying a word. Sebastian looked for her for years... but when an Assamite wishes not to be found...He finally gave up." "If she was banished from the city and returned, the council will have to declare final death..." Cross frowned Cassandra drank the last sip of her wine and stood up sighing deeply "If Ashton is back in the city, something big is about to happen and her final death is about to become the last thing we should worry about..." Bobby strode into his office with a light step and a smug smirk plastered across his face. His men looked at him with concern, since seeing him smiling was not something they saw often, but said nothing. "Is everything ok sire?" One of them finally dared asking "Everything is just perfect guys" he turned to the room with his arms spread in some sort of grand gesture "Christmas came early this year!" They followed him into the office where he sat down behind his desk, still supporting that same smug smirk "Someone just tried to kill Kane, his ex-girlfriend who happens to be a killer is back in town in violation of kindred law...things could not be better!" "I don"t understand Sire, how does that help us?" "because the enemies of my enemies - are my friends!" Bobby leaned back in his chair "We need to find whoever took out that hit on Kane, and we need to do it before he does! Get everyone out on the streets, contact everyone we know - I want names!" Gabriel checked a few hiding spots at the edges of the city until he found what he was looking for. The neighborhood was mostly deserted this time of night except for the occasional thugs and drug dealers who did their best to see nothing and avoid being seen at the same time - a fact that suited him just fine. In this neighborhood most people went to bed early, and made sure to close the blinds and lock their doors. Down the street he could see the only house on the block that did not follow that pattern. Soft light was coming out of the windows and the front door was wide open, several silhouettes could be seen moving around inside the house and on the front porch and even from a distance he could clearly sense that they were all kindred. When he came closer they all eyed him suspiciously but said nothing - not even bothering to greet him hello - but not seeming even slightly surprised to see him. He got the clear sense they had been expecting him for some time now Finally one of them stepped forward and motioned Gabriel to follow him inside. As he walked into the semi-dark house, he could still feel the ones left on the porch staring after him, burning holes in his back. He found it somewhat amusing that they did not enjoy the idea of him being here anymore than he enjoyed it himself. As he walked further into the house he realized the light wasn"t coming from electricity, instead, there were candles lining the floors and staircases, casting shadows on the walls around them. They arrived at a back room where about 15 kindred were sprawled on various sofas and large cushions that were thrown on the floor. A kindred was sitting by an old piano, playing softly, a few females were swaying slowly to the music. The atmosphere was sensual, almost like a Harem At his arrival the conversation stopped and all eyes turned to him, all except one woman, who was sprawled comfortably on a sofa in the middle of the room. She was twirling a strand of blond hair that belonged to the young female kindred who was sitting at her feet around her finger. He knew instantly that this was the woman Sebastian was looking for. Sebastian sat in front of the fire in his private study, deep in thought, he didn"t hear when Dalamar stepped into the room and took a seat beside him, only when he spoke did he finally realize he was not alone. "Do you know some of the Tremere have the magic that allows them to read other kindred"s minds?" his small smile was slightly crooked. "Then what is in my mind?" Sebastian sighed and leaned back "For that my friend - I do not need magic..." Sebastian chuckled slightly, then grew serious again "Why would she come back here? She knows what I will be forced to do!" "Maybe she hopes you will not have the heart to do it" "I don"t" Sebastian sighed "But this decision will be forced on me - and my heart will have nothing to do with it..." Dalamar was about to reply when Cassandra walked into the room "Sebastian, there is someone at the Door - An FBI agent named Ryan Clayton" Dalamar and Sebastian exchanged a meaningful look before Sebastian replied "Wait a minute and then send him in" When she left Dalamar gave him another nod and took his leave as well. Sebastian stood up and took a deep breath to clear his mind. When the door opened again and Agent Clayton was showed in he was already in full control of himself. Ryan looked around at his surroundings before fully entering the room. The house was magnificent, even on the upper west wide scale - Kane apparently bought two houses and remodeled them into one because the place was huge - he thought to himself. He noticed the antique furniture, the fine art on the walls, the dark curtains were drawn back revealing a spectacular view of the park. The beautiful red headed woman who showed him in closed the heavy doors behind him with a thud and he shifted his attention back to the man in front of him. "Specail agent Clayton - what brings you by here at this late hour?" Sebastian said pleasantly "I came to ask you a few questions about the shooting tonight" "I didn"t realize the FBI has an interest in such cases..." "We"ve taken an interest in the case" Clayton replied but didn"t explain any further "What were you doing at the club?" "I own part of the club, along with my business associate Cassandra Morgan whom you"ve just met..." "Yes, I see you own quite a few businesses Mr. Kane" Clayton opened a small notebook and read from it "A shipping yard, a few nightclubs, a television station, a bank, a few buildings..." "I"m a business man Agent Clayton" Sbastian shrugged and took a seat behind his desk "I have a lot of businesses" "What kind of businesses is what I"d like to know Mr. Kane" "You know, Clayton is a very unusual name, I seem to remember knowing someone by that name a while ago.." "Don"t play games with me Kane" Ryan said bitterly "We both know who we are - you used to work with my great uncle - Victor, you knew that the second I walked through the door - just like I knew who you were the moment they told me your name" "Victor was a good man..." Sebastian started quietly "Victor was a crook, he was a mobster - and you - Mr Kane, are just the same..." The two man remained quiet for a few moments - staring each other down. "Will there be anything else Agent Clayton?" Sebastian finally asked "Probably - I wouldn"t leave the city in the next few days Mr Kane" Ryan sneered "Don"t bother getting up - I"ll show myself out" Sebastian and Cassandra sat at their usual booth at the Haven, listening to the slow music playing in the background. To the outside observer it seemed as if nothing had changed - but Gabriel noticed from his place at the shadows of the balcony that the atmosphere around them had somehow changed. They were sitting too far apart, not talking, not even looking at each other. The doors to the Haven opened and a brush of cold air entered the room. Ashton came in followed closely by a male companion. Cassandra rose from her seat and went over to greet them. From his place on the balcony Gabriel couldn"t help but survey the two women. They were both stunningly beautiful, but while Cassandra"s beauty and sex appeal was deliberate, goal driven and calculated - Ashton was a whole different story. Her beauty was much wilder and uninhibited, as if she was aware of it but not bothered by it , she moved like a cat as she walked across the room towards Sebastian"s booth her steps seemed to be in perfect harmony with the music that surrounded her. As she came closer Cross could not believe this was the same woman he met in his stairwell only a few days earlier. She was much taller and slender. Stunning body wrapped and leather pants and black tank top that did little to hide it. Long dark hair that was tied in a pony tale nearly reaching her shoulders, and big green eyes that were bordering on yellow. She gave a small smile as she passed him and then moved on to take a seat at Sebastian"s table.

My last comment is for "wahinetoa" - thanks for your reviews and don"t worry - I"m having tons of fun writing grown-up Isabelle and even though she"s not really in this chapter she"s going to be in the next one for sure - so just keep reading and sending reviews.... Same for everyone - keep reading and sending reviews... Part 5 Shawn was trying to concentrate on the financial report he was holding in his hand, trying to make sense of the endless lines of numbers that indicated the center"s income and expenses. He rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly and sighed. The problem wasn"t the complexity of the report - the problem was Matthew, sitting in front of him, talking endlessly about something Shawn had lost interest in about half an hours ago. "Shawn? Are you listening to me?" Matthew suddenly asked him, realizing the young man was loosing concentration "Listen, I know this is all very boring..." "No, no, it"s fine...I"m just pretty tiered, had a late night last night..." Shawn apologized and tried focusing back on what Matthew was saying. "I was talking about the center"s image. I think we need to do another round of interviews, try to get you on a few magazine covers" "Why do we need to keep putting ourselves out there for the media? I mean, people already know who we are and what we"re trying to do... What"s more to say?" Shawn sighed in annoyance. He hated interviews, he hated being asked questions about his ability and about the people from the future, he cringed every time he saw his face plastered on the tabloids or on the cover of some magazine. "We had a small grace period after the quarantine incident" Matthew explained and Shawn had to try hard to keep from laughing incident? Is that what you call the murder of 23 people? Is that what you call the thing that almost killed me? "But we have two trials coming up - the trial of the people who designed the firewall program and the trial of the murderer of Jordan Collier. The attention is going to be on us again and I want to make sure that public opinion is on our side" "Shawn?" Lilly appeared in the doorway, knocking softly on the open door "Yes Lilly, come in" Shawn was so glad for the interruption he felt like hugging Lilly for her timing. "I just got your note" she told him "Something about going to visit a 4400 at St. Josephine?" Shawn almost forgot about what he promised his uncle last night. He was trying so hard to push the news of Jordan"s return out of his mind, to not get his hopes up, that he completely forgot about the young woman Tom told him about. "Yeah, you know what?" he suddenly got an idea "Forget about it. I"m going to do it myself" "You"re sure?" she frowned "I don"t mind doing it..." "No, it"s fine. I"ll go there now" Anything to get out of the office and away from Matthew"s constant nagging> he thought to himself. "So this is where the homeless man got jumped?" Diana asked the uniformed cop and looked around her at the ally. The day was sunny and bright, but the ally they were standing in was dank and dirty - there were large dumpsters and carton boxes on the pavement and the whole area seemed dangerous and uninviting. When they first got here they were met by the two police officers who filed the report from last night"s incident, both of them seemed to dislike the fact that they were called in to show the "hot shots" from NTAC their way around. "Some kids thought it would be funny to kick him around a bit" the cop nodded "we got the call and got here, they took off, the guy had to be sent to the hospital. If you don"t mind me asking - why is NTAC so interested in this? This kind of thing happens all the time around here - I"ve never seen you guys step in like this before?" "It involves a case we"re working on" Diana dodged the question and moved away from the cop when she saw Tom heading her way carrying something in his hands. "I found this behind one of the dumpsters" he explained when he saw her questioning look, showing her a torn blue jacket that has seen far better days "looks like someone has been sleeping there for a while" "There"re a lot of homeless people around here - it could belong to anyone" He unfolded the jacket and showed her the label "How many homeless people you know walk around in Max Brothers custom made suites?" he folded the jacket and stuffed it into an evidence bag "Maybe forensic can pick something from it and figure out who is this guy and where he"s been?" "You know, if Collier really is back from the dead" Diana started saying as the two of them headed back to the car "He may not be too happy about everything that happened" "Are you worried about Maia? Because she predicted his death and it came true?" Thinking about his son Kyle. He was so excited about the possibility of Collier being back, about how it could make all of Kyle"s legal problems go away, that he hadn"t considered for a moment that Collier might be looking for revenge on Kyle for shooting him in the first place. "I was actually thinking about Isabelle" Tom snorted dismissively and shrugged his shoulders. ""Look Tom, I know the girl makes you feel uncomfortable" Diana protested "God knows I"m having trouble adjusting to her too but..." "It"s not what I meant" Tom cut her off "Look, The girl has the power of suggestion, telekinesis, precognition, mind control and about a dozen other abilities we don"t even have a name for. All I"m saying is that if Collier is planning some kind of vendetta against her - I"d be more worried about his survival then hers" Shawn hesitated for a moment as he stood in the empty hallway of St. Josephine Mental institute. The hall was deserted and eerily quiet, the walls painted in that shade of puke green that was supposed to be calming. He found himself reaching up and loosening the top button of his dress shirt - feeling suddenly suffocated. Not ling ago he thought he was going to end up in a place exactly like this - locked up, in a straight jacket, stuck in a room with padded walls and no windows where he can"t hurt anyone. He took a deep breath and chased that thought out of his mind. He knocked on the door but no one answered so he simply let himself in. At first the room looked empty, but then he saw a small figure curled up in the corner. She lifted her head from her knees and looked at him and for a moment he was taken back by the sight of those big blue eyes, looking at him through the tangle of long black hair that fell on her face. "Go away" she mumbled "You shouldn"t be here" "Tom and Diana sent me" he decided not to try and hide anything from her "My name is..." "I know who you are Mr. Farrell. I saw you on the news, you"re the miracle worker, the one who can cure everyone" She leaned her head back on the wall, looking straight at him "So, did you come here to cure me? Make these things I see go away?" She was trying to sound challenging and disdainful but he could hear an undertone to her voice that was almost pleading, begging him. Immediately he started feeling bad. Maybe coming here myself wasn"t such a good idea> "It doesn"t work like that, I"m sorry" he came over and sat down on the floor a few feet away from her her, leaning against the same wall but still keeping some space between them, sensing she was not ready for any kind of human proximity right now " The things you"re seeing, they"re part of your ability, your new power - it"s not a disease that I can cure" She nodded sadly and he noticed her biting her lips, trying to fight back a fresh wave of tears. "Look Lexa, I know what it"s like to have this power that you can"t control. When I first started getting my power, I felt like a freak, I thought I was loosing it. I almost killed my own brother by accident! But these powers, they"re part of a bigger plan! Us 4400, we"re here to save humanity..." "Part of a bigger plan?" She snorted in contempt "Next you"re going to tell me that these powers are a gift? A good thing?" She rose to her feet in anger and looked at him harshly "Do you have any secrets Mr. Farrell? Anything you"re ashamed of?" Immediately Shawn"s mind flashed back to images of Danny and the expression on his face when he found out about him and Nikki, to images of Nikki and their afternoon by the lake. "I hope you don"t" Lexa continued "For both our sakes, because in a few seconds I just might find myself taking a tour of your brain and learning all about it! Or maybe I"ll be visiting the other guy again today, the guy who enjoys raping and killing women! You"re really gonna sit there and tell me that this is a good thing?" Shawn sighed and looked at her again, choosing his words carefully "I"m not gonna tell you this is a good thing, Some days, I wish I was never given this ability, that I wouldn"t be able to heal anyone, that I could just go back to being a normal person, But I have to believe that people who gave us these abilities knew what they were doing. They chose us - they chose you! They knew you could handle it! And I refuse to believe that you keeping yourself drugged and locked up in a mental institute for the rest of your life is what they had in mind for you..." Tom and Diana made their way down the hall towards Lexa"s room with Agent Stevens following close behind. Just as they reached the room the door opened and Shawn stepped out, looking sad and tiered. "Special Agent Stevens" Tom quickly jumped to make the introductions before the Agent could start asking any questions "I"d like you to meet Shawn Farrell, head of the 4400 center" he hoped his tome of voice indicated to Shawn that he should watch his words in front of the man. Shawn smiled weakly and shook the Agent"s hand "Nice to meet you" "You too" Stevens smiled back "I didn"t know you were a friend of Miss Morgan" "Miss Morgan is a 4400, I represent the 4400 center. It"s my job to make contact and offer assistance to every 4400 who might need it" Shawn said calmly, keeping his expression innocent and neutral, and Tom almost sighed in relief realizing his young nephew noticed the warning in his tone. "Now if you"ll excuse me, I really must get back to the center" "Hang on Shawn" Tom made a move to follow Shawn down the hall and Agent Stevens quickly made a move to follow him, causing Tom to turn to him - irritation and surprise evident on his face. "I was told I would be included in all discussions involving the case" Stevens explained "Well, Shawn also happens to be my nephew. I wanted to ask him a few things about out Friday family dinner this week! Do you think you need to be part of that discussion too?" Stevens nodded and backed away. From the expression on the man"s face Tom could tell he wasn"t buying the lame excuse he was just given but he didn"t really care as long an the guy left and gave them a chance to talk privately. "You came yourself" Tom started as soon as they were out of the man"s ear shot "I appreciate it!" "I just needed to do something, get out of the office for a while" Shawn shrugged "I"ve been here for a few hours now - we talked quite a lot. I think she might be more willing to help you now" "Shawn, man, that"s great! Thank you!" Tom clapped him on the back "What did you talk about that made her change her mind?" "You know, I think I"d rather keep that between me and her for now" For some reason, he didn"t want to give Tom the details of his conversation with Lexa Morgan. It was so nice to be able to talk to someone, someone who was going through the same things, someone about his age, someone who had nothing to do with the center. He knew the information might help Tom reach Lexa, but for his own selfish reasons he suddenly felt the need to keep it private. "Fair enough" Tom didn"t try to push "Listen, there"s one more thing - do you think you can take her to the center with you? It"s just that I happen to remember you guys being quite good at keeping government agencies out of the premises and I"d like to keep her away from these FBI types as much as I can" "Why uncle Tommy? Are you actually suggesting that we help obstruct a federal investigation?" Shawn smiled at him with amusement in his eyes. He was liking this - working with his uncle for once instead of going up against him all the time - the two of them finally on the same team "I offered it to her - moving to the center - she didn"t want to, and I didn"t want to push" "It"s ok" Tom shrugged "At least you got her to cooperate" Sorry it took so long to update... I kind of got sidetracked by a burst of fnafic-creativity revolving around Battlestar galactica and didn"t have a chance to post this chapter until now... I hope you like it... As always... reviews a not only welcomed they are necessary! Discalimer: Dont own anyone, don"t even own myself... Part 6 Tom hurried down the hall to Lexa Morgan"s hospital room knowing he was already late. He took a quick glance at his watch half an hour late he thought to himself at least I have a good reason. Hopefully Agent Stevens hadn"t had enough time to do any serious damage yet They have been there almost constantly for the past 4 days, talking to Lexa, getting details on the killer"s memories, trying to put together something that would narrow down the search. Lexa had been extremely cooperative; she answered all their questions over and over again, she allowed them to conduct every medical test they wanted - Cranial CT, MRI, Brainwave monitors, blood tests. It seemed that whatever Shawn said to her that day really did the trick. But after 4 days they were all getting tiered and edgy - especially Lexa, and Agent Stevens making a point out of pushing her and harassing her was not helping at all. Sure enough by the time he walked into the room, Lexa and Agent Stevens were already going head to head. "So let me recap what we have so far" Agent Stevens was circling Lexa like a vulture while she watched him with trepidation "You say his name is John or Jonathan, he"s white and tall - but you can"t tell me exactly what he looks like. He works alone, but you don"t know what he actually does. He lives alone but you don"t know if he"s ever been married. You say he owns a house with a front yard but you can"t give me an address, and he drives a pickup truck that has a dent on the passenger side from a fender-bender about 2 years ago, but you can"t tell me when or where this accident happened... And here is my favorite part: he always wanted to get a dog but never did and his mother made him take piano lessons as a child" he stopped circling and threw his hands up in a mock melodramatic gesture "What am I supposed to do with that? Do you know how many men fit that description?" His tone was accusing and challenging and Tom could see the expression on Lexa"s face change from fear to anger with every word spoken. "You know, this isn"t exactly hard science Agent Stevens!" she glared at him "I"m lost inside some guy"s brain and it"s like a freaking maze in there. Sometimes I"m in there for 10 minutes sometimes I"m there for 3 seconds and half the time the things I"m seeing are not exactly the kind of things you want to pay attention to. What do you want from me? His social security number?" "It wouldn"t hurt!" Agent Stevens" retort came with a slick smile and Tom could sense that Lexa was just about to lung at the man. Luckily, Diana stepped in to referee, sending both Lexa and Agent Stevens back to their corners "Why don"t we all just take a break for a minute" When the scene seemed to quiet down, Tom took the opportunity to give Diana a small signal and the two of them stepped out of the room for a moment. "Where have you been?" she asked him with frustration as soon as the door closed behind them "The guy has been on her case all morning. I wouldn"t be surprised if she tries to take a swing at him pretty soon..." "We got a lead on the Collier case..." He told her and she noticed for the first time how excited he seemed, practically jumping on the balls of his feet "You"re going to love this..." "Well, What is it?" "The lab found trace evidence on the jacket we found in the ally. First of all, they found some hairs with DNA matching the DNA we have on file for Jordan Collier..." "Why do I have the feeling there"s more?" she gave him a small smile "They found traces of soil, sand to be exact, and they managed to trace it back to a specific location. Turns out - at some point, probably recently, Jordan Collier was at the return site" "The return site? You mean the same location where the whole "call of light, 4400 people appearing out of thin air" thing happened?" "That"s the spot!" Shawn woke up slowly and stretched in his bed. The soft morning light poured through the windows of his bedroom indicating a beautiful morning outside. He rolled over and nearly screamed in surprise at seeing Isabelle sitting on the edge of his bed, looking at him intently. "Isabelle what are you doing here?" he pulled the covers up to his chin, covering his bare chest and wishing he wore more then just boxers to bed the previous night "How did you get in here?" "I came in through the front door" she frowned at him as if not understanding the question. "I"m pretty sure I locked the front door Isabelle!" he tried to admonish her, knowing even as he was doing so the it would not do any good "How long have you been here?" "Not long" she shrugged "I needed you - it"s about Dr. Burkhoff" "What about him?" Shawn felt a desperate need to put some clothes on but just couldn"t do anything while Isabelle was there - watching him. "He"s acting really weird" "You mean more weird the usual?" Shawn said tiredly, Wondering if Isabelle was just making up some excuse so she could creep into his bedroom and catch him off guard. But Isabelle nodded and smiled "Way weirder then usual! You better come see for yourself!" She looked at him for a long moment, as if expecting him to move. Finally he just had to come out and say it "Isabelle, if you want me to go anywhere, you"re going to have to wait outside while I get dressed!" 15 minutes later Shawn was riding the elevator down with Isabelle by his side. He still felt unbelievably uncomfortable about the whole exchange that took place in his bedroom merely moments before - but Isabelle didn"t even seem to notice. "I came to see Dr. Burkhoff this morning for my check-up - you know, he"s been running all these tests on me ever since I grew up..." Shawn almost laughed out loud at the simplicity of that description as they stepped off the elevator and headed for the lab "And his lab is a mess - and you know what a neat freak he is! And he"s standing there" just talking all this gibberish, acting really weird...here, you see for yourself" She opened the door to the lab and the two of them walked in. Shawn took one look around the lab and realized immediately what Isabelle was talking about. The usually neat space looked like a Tornado had gone through it. There were dozen of books and computer printouts all around the floor. Dozens of half empty food cartons were lying around on every available surface. Test tubes and syringes were discarded everywhere, some of them of them spilling their content on pages and pages of D. Burkhoff"s precious research. The man himself was at the other end of the room, mumbling to himself, mixing some ingredients over a buton heater, flipping through pages over fresh computer printout at a frantic pace. "Dr. Burkoff?" Shawn asked gently, fearing the man had finally gone over the deep end. "Can"t talk! Can"t talk now Mr. Farrell!" The doctor called back over his shoulder, his voice still carrying that jittery quality it always has "Have a lot to do! A lot to do! Can"t talk!" Shawn glanced at Isabelle for help but she simply shrugged, giving him a helpless and somewhat amused smile. He took a few steps, careful not to step on anything important, and closed the distance between his and the doctor asking him again if everything was alright. "Yes, yes. I"m fine! In fact I"ve never been better!" The doctor replied, finally glancing up from his work. Shawn frowned, still not convinced, but then Isabelle stepped in and placed a hand on his shoulder "He took the promysen Shawn... he injested it to himself..." Shawn stared at the doctor with a look of utter shock "You did what?" "I had too, I had to test it on myself. I had to examine to effects it has on normal human beings in order to fully comprehend the process the 4400 underwent..." "He has his ability now Shawn" Isabelle continued calmly "Don"t you doctor? You can see things, calculations, answers to mathematical problems... you see them in your head..." "It"s amazing!" the doctor said excitedly "I"ve never felt more alive before in my entire life..." A/N: I"m having tons of fun writing old Isabelle in this story... I know there"s a lot of theories on her being good or evil, haven"t really decided which way I"m going to take yet... but for now I"m kind of writing Isabelle the way I think any kid would be if he would suddenly age 15 years - totally oblivious to right or wrong or common manners and politeness... you know? like she doesn"t mean to make people uncomfortable but she just doesn"t have all the social bounderies normal people have...

"From what I got, it"s more than the serial killer they"re after" Jarvis continued giving them the bad news "Remember that guy? The Baseball player? Well, this girl, she"s hot commodity for the feds - her ability could make their job a lot easier..." "And her life a lot harder..." Tom concluded "I also doubt it"s a coincidence that the FBI is all of the sudden so interested in what we do here - I think it has a lot to do with the rumors about Collier being back. As to the Morgan case - I got them to hold off on taking her in, for the time being, but I had to promise them that we"ll let one of their agents tag along - observe anything to do with this case" "The last time they sent over a guy to "tag along" with us he ended up shooting my son" Tom protested. "There"s more" Jarvis warned, her face grim "The man heading up this investigation, pulling all the strings - I know him. His name is William Parker, he"s a division director for the FBI. He"s ruthless, ambitious and he has his eyes set on Washington - preferably the big white house in the middle of it. Curiously enough, and you"re gonna love this part... he was a good friend of Dennis Rayland" "What?" "You"ve got to be kidding me!" Tom and Diana were on their feet instantly "He was part of Firewall?" Tom asked, referring to the wretched program that nearly cost them the lives of all the 4400. "Not as far as anyone knows" Jarvis shook her head "But I know the guy and I"m willing to bet that even if he wasn"t a part of it he at least knew about it" "Excuse me..." a voice from the doorway startled them and they all turned around to see a young man in an expensive suit standing at the doorway "I"m looking for Director Jarvis, agent Baldwin or agent Skoris?" "And you are?" Tom asked suspiciously, already guessing the answer. "I"m Special agent Stevens, from the FBI, I"ve been assigned to you on the Alexandra Morgan case..." Lilly walked into the apartment still reviewing the file she had in her hands. Another sick person seeking Shawn"s help. Even since word got out on how Shawn cured all the 4400 at the quarantine center the foundation has been especially swamped with requests for Shawn"s help. It seems like people from all around the world were trying to get in to see the guy. She was so engrossed in the file that it took her a moment to register her surroundings but when she finally did she gasped in shock. The usually neat apartment was now a huge mess. There were books and newspapers scattered all over the place, both TV sets were turned on to different channels, the radio was on at full volume. In the middle of it all was Isabelle, sitting there with both TV remotes in her hand, flipping channels at full speed. "Isabelle? What the hell is going on here?" she tried to keep her voice clam and wished once again that Richard was here instead of off traveling, talking to people around the country on behalf of the center. "Oh, hi Lilly" Isabelle said sheepishly, as usual using Lilly"s first name instead of referring to her as Mom, which drove Lilly crazy. "I"m sorry for the mess, I"m just trying to catch up on a few things" "Catch up?" Lilly turned off the radio and started closing books and placing things back in their place "Catching up on what?" "I don"t know... the last 15 years..." Lilly sighed, her anger and frustration draining from her body, and sank into a chair next to her daughter. With all the weirdness of the situation she sometimes forgot to think about what it might be for Isabelle, all of the sudden growing up like that, being 18 but with no memories any normal 18 year old has. She was about to try and talk to Isabelle about it, thinking of what exactly to say to her when the girl simply shrugged and got to her feet, heading for her room. "Oh, by the way, Shawn was here, he left you a note..." She called out just before closing the door to her room. A few seconds later Lilly could here the radio being turned on at full volume inside the girl"s room "Where"s Diana and Tom?" "Marco" Jarvis greeted the guy who just ran into her office and tried to suppress a small smile "You look like you"ve been running!" Marco placed his hands on his knees for a moment, trying to catch his breath and making a mental note that he should really look into signing up for a gym - it was pretty embarrassing panting like this in-front of his boss just because he ran all the way up here from his office downstairs. "I was scanning the police frequencies" he finally managed to say "I cam across something interesting, A black and white on the late night shift broke up a fight in an ally around dawn - some punks beat up a street bum. The police had to call in an ambulance to take the guy to the hospital" "And?" Jarvis said impatiently. "When the officers got back to the station the saw the bulletin we put out about John Doe AKA the newly resurrected Jordan Collier. They claim that this is the guy the sent over to the hospital" Jarvis was on her feet instantly "So Collier is at the hospital? Which one?" "Actually no!" Marco replied "I called. They stitched him up and sent him out, but I"m thinking maybe he"ll go back to that ally again...?" "It"s a long shot, but it"s worth a try" Jarvis nodded "I just don"t understand what this is doing living in the street like that? He"s a multimillionaire for god"s sake! Why doesn"t he just go back to the 4400 center?" Jarvis sighed in frustration, already picking up the phone to call Tom and Diana with the information. "The guy just came back from the dead" Marco shrugged "I think it"s a pretty safe bet he"s more that a little confused..." Hey, everyone. First of all let me say thank you to everyone who reviewed this story so far! You"ve really helped me move this story along... This chapter is a little longer then usual - I thought about cutting it short and putting the final scene in the next chapter but for some reason I just thought these scenes should all be together and couldn"t bring myself to split them apart... My last comment is for "wahinetoa" - thanks for your reviews and don"t worry - I"m having tons of fun writing grown-up Isabelle and even though she"s not really in this chapter she"s going to be in the next one for sure - so just keep reading and sending reviews.... Same for everyone - keep reading and sending reviews... Part 5 Shawn was trying to concentrate on the financial report he was holding in his hand, trying to make sense of the endless lines of numbers that indicated the center"s income and expenses. He rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly and sighed. The problem wasn"t the complexity of the report - the problem was Matthew, sitting in front of him, talking endlessly about something Shawn had lost interest in about half an hours ago. "Shawn? Are you listening to me?" Matthew suddenly asked him, realizing the young man was loosing concentration "Listen, I know this is all very boring..." "No, no, it"s fine...I"m just pretty tiered, had a late night last night..." Shawn apologized and tried focusing back on what Matthew was saying. "I was talking about the center"s image. I think we need to do another round of interviews, try to get you on a few magazine covers" "Why do we need to keep putting ourselves out there for the media? I mean, people already know who we are and what we"re trying to do... What"s more to say?" Shawn sighed in annoyance. He hated interviews, he hated being asked questions about his ability and about the people from the future, he cringed every time he saw his face plastered on the tabloids or on the cover of some magazine. "We had a small grace period after the quarantine incident" Matthew explained and Shawn had to try hard to keep from laughing incident? Is that what you call the murder of 23 people? Is that what you call the thing that almost killed me? "But we have two trials coming up - the trial of the people who designed the firewall program and the trial of the murderer of Jordan Collier. The attention is going to be on us again and I want to make sure that public opinion is on our side" "Shawn?" Lilly appeared in the doorway, knocking softly on the open door "Yes Lilly, come in" Shawn was so glad for the interruption he felt like hugging Lilly for her timing. "I just got your note" she told him "Something about going to visit a 4400 at St. Josephine?" Shawn almost forgot about what he promised his uncle last night. He was trying so hard to push the news of Jordan"s return out of his mind, to not get his hopes up, that he completely forgot about the young woman Tom told him about. "Yeah, you know what?" he suddenly got an idea "Forget about it. I"m going to do it myself" "You"re sure?" she frowned "I don"t mind doing it..." "No, it"s fine. I"ll go there now" Anything to get out of the office and away from Matthew"s constant nagging> he thought to himself. "So this is where the homeless man got jumped?" Diana asked the uniformed cop and looked around her at the ally. The day was sunny and bright, but the ally they were standing in was dank and dirty - there were large dumpsters and carton boxes on the pavement and the whole area seemed dangerous and uninviting. When they first got here they were met by the two police officers who filed the report from last night"s incident, both of them seemed to dislike the fact that they were called in to show the "hot shots" from NTAC their way around. "Some kids thought it would be funny to kick him around a bit" the cop nodded "we got the call and got here, they took off, the guy had to be sent to the hospital. If you don"t mind me asking - why is NTAC so interested in this? This kind of thing happens all the time around here - I"ve never seen you guys step in like this before?" "It involves a case we"re working on" Diana dodged the question and moved away from the cop when she saw Tom heading her way carrying something in his hands. "I found this behind one of the dumpsters" he explained when he saw her questioning look, showing her a torn blue jacket that has seen far better days "looks like someone has been sleeping there for a while" "There"re a lot of homeless people around here - it could belong to anyone" He unfolded the jacket and showed her the label "How many homeless people you know walk around in Max Brothers custom made suites?" he folded the jacket and stuffed it into an evidence bag "Maybe forensic can pick something from it and figure out who is this guy and where he"s been?" "You know, if Collier really is back from the dead" Diana started saying as the two of them headed back to the car "He may not be too happy about everything that happened" "Are you worried about Maia? Because she predicted his death and it came true?" Thinking about his son Kyle. He was so excited about the possibility of Collier being back, about how it could make all of Kyle"s legal problems go away, that he hadn"t considered for a moment that Collier might be looking for revenge on Kyle for shooting him in the first place. "I was actually thinking about Isabelle" Tom snorted dismissively and shrugged his shoulders. ""Look Tom, I know the girl makes you feel uncomfortable" Diana protested "God knows I"m having trouble adjusting to her too but..." "It"s not what I meant" Tom cut her off "Look, The girl has the power of suggestion, telekinesis, precognition, mind control and about a dozen other abilities we don"t even have a name for. All I"m saying is that if Collier is planning some kind of vendetta against her - I"d be more worried about his survival then hers" Shawn hesitated for a moment as he stood in the empty hallway of St. Josephine Mental institute. The hall was deserted and eerily quiet, the walls painted in that shade of puke green that was supposed to be calming. He found himself reaching up and loosening the top button of his dress shirt - feeling suddenly suffocated. Not ling ago he thought he was going to end up in a place exactly like this - locked up, in a straight jacket, stuck in a room with padded walls and no windows where he can"t hurt anyone. He took a deep breath and chased that thought out of his mind. He knocked on the door but no one answered so he simply let himself in. At first the room looked empty, but then he saw a small figure curled up in the corner. She lifted her head from her knees and looked at him and for a moment he was taken back by the sight of those big blue eyes, looking at him through the tangle of long black hair that fell on her face. "Go away" she mumbled "You shouldn"t be here" "Tom and Diana sent me" he decided not to try and hide anything from her "My name is..." "I know who you are Mr. Farrell. I saw you on the news, you"re the miracle worker, the one who can cure everyone" She leaned her head back on the wall, looking straight at him "So, did you come here to cure me? Make these things I see go away?" She was trying to sound challenging and disdainful but he could hear an undertone to her voice that was almost pleading, begging him. Immediately he started feeling bad. Maybe coming here myself wasn"t such a good idea> "It doesn"t work like that, I"m sorry" he came over and sat down on the floor a few feet away from her her, leaning against the same wall but still keeping some space between them, sensing she was not ready for any kind of human proximity right now " The things you"re seeing, they"re part of your ability, your new power - it"s not a disease that I can cure" She nodded sadly and he noticed her biting her lips, trying to fight back a fresh wave of tears. "Look Lexa, I know what it"s like to have this power that you can"t control. When I first started getting my power, I felt like a freak, I thought I was loosing it. I almost killed my own brother by accident! But these powers, they"re part of a bigger plan! Us 4400, we"re here to save humanity..." "Part of a bigger plan?" She snorted in contempt "Next you"re going to tell me that these powers are a gift? A good thing?" She rose to her feet in anger and looked at him harshly "Do you have any secrets Mr. Farrell? Anything you"re ashamed of?" Immediately Shawn"s mind flashed back to images of Danny and the expression on his face when he found out about him and Nikki, to images of Nikki and their afternoon by the lake. "I hope you don"t" Lexa continued "For both our sakes, because in a few seconds I just might find myself taking a tour of your brain and learning all about it! Or maybe I"ll be visiting the other guy again today, the guy who enjoys raping and killing women! You"re really gonna sit there and tell me that this is a good thing?" Shawn sighed and looked at her again, choosing his words carefully "I"m not gonna tell you this is a good thing, Some days, I wish I was never given this ability, that I wouldn"t be able to heal anyone, that I could just go back to being a normal person, But I have to believe that people who gave us these abilities knew what they were doing. They chose us - they chose you! They knew you could handle it! And I refuse to believe that you keeping yourself drugged and locked up in a mental institute for the rest of your life is what they had in mind for you..." Tom and Diana made their way down the hall towards Lexa"s room with Agent Stevens following close behind. Just as they reached the room the door opened and Shawn stepped out, looking sad and tiered. "Special Agent Stevens" Tom quickly jumped to make the introductions before the Agent could start asking any questions "I"d like you to meet Shawn Farrell, head of the 4400 center" he hoped his tome of voice indicated to Shawn that he should watch his words in front of the man. Shawn smiled weakly and shook the Agent"s hand "Nice to meet you" "You too" Stevens smiled back "I didn"t know you were a friend of Miss Morgan" "Miss Morgan is a 4400, I represent the 4400 center. It"s my job to make contact and offer assistance to every 4400 who might need it" Shawn said calmly, keeping his expression innocent and neutral, and Tom almost sighed in relief realizing his young nephew noticed the warning in his tone. "Now if you"ll excuse me, I really must get back to the center" "Hang on Shawn" Tom made a move to follow Shawn down the hall and Agent Stevens quickly made a move to follow him, causing Tom to turn to him - irritation and surprise evident on his face. "I was told I would be included in all discussions involving the case" Stevens explained "Well, Shawn also happens to be my nephew. I wanted to ask him a few things about out Friday family dinner this week! Do you think you need to be part of that discussion too?" Stevens nodded and backed away. From the expression on the man"s face Tom could tell he wasn"t buying the lame excuse he was just given but he didn"t really care as long an the guy left and gave them a chance to talk privately. "You came yourself" Tom started as soon as they were out of the man"s ear shot "I appreciate it!" "I just needed to do something, get out of the office for a while" Shawn shrugged "I"ve been here for a few hours now - we talked quite a lot. I think she might be more willing to help you now" "Shawn, man, that"s great! Thank you!" Tom clapped him on the back "What did you talk about that made her change her mind?" "You know, I think I"d rather keep that between me and her for now" For some reason, he didn"t want to give Tom the details of his conversation with Lexa Morgan. It was so nice to be able to talk to someone, someone who was going through the same things, someone about his age, someone who had nothing to do with the center. He knew the information might help Tom reach Lexa, but for his own selfish reasons he suddenly felt the need to keep it private. "Fair enough" Tom didn"t try to push "Listen, there"s one more thing - do you think you can take her to the center with you? It"s just that I happen to remember you guys being quite good at keeping government agencies out of the premises and I"d like to keep her away from these FBI types as much as I can" "Why uncle Tommy? Are you actually suggesting that we help obstruct a federal investigation?" Shawn smiled at him with amusement in his eyes. He was liking this - working with his uncle for once instead of going up against him all the time - the two of them finally on the same team "I offered it to her - moving to the center - she didn"t want to, and I didn"t want to push" "It"s ok" Tom shrugged "At least you got her to cooperate" Sorry it took so long to update... I kind of got sidetracked by a burst of fnafic-creativity revolving around Battlestar galactica and didn"t have a chance to post this chapter until now... I hope you like it... As always... reviews a not only welcomed they are necessary! Discalimer: Dont own anyone, don"t even own myself... Part 6 Tom hurried down the hall to Lexa Morgan"s hospital room knowing he was already late. He took a quick glance at his watch half an hour late he thought to himself at least I have a good reason. Hopefully Agent Stevens hadn"t had enough time to do any serious damage yet They have been there almost constantly for the past 4 days, talking to Lexa, getting details on the killer"s memories, trying to put together something that would narrow down the search. Lexa had been extremely cooperative; she answered all their questions over and over again, she allowed them to conduct every medical test they wanted - Cranial CT, MRI, Brainwave monitors, blood tests. It seemed that whatever Shawn said to her that day really did the trick. But after 4 days they were all getting tiered and edgy - especially Lexa, and Agent Stevens making a point out of pushing her and harassing her was not helping at all. Sure enough by the time he walked into the room, Lexa and Agent Stevens were already going head to head. "So let me recap what we have so far" Agent Stevens was circling Lexa like a vulture while she watched him with trepidation "You say his name is John or Jonathan, he"s white and tall - but you can"t tell me exactly what he looks like. He works alone, but you don"t know what he actually does. He lives alone but you don"t know if he"s ever been married. You say he owns a house with a front yard but you can"t give me an address, and he drives a pickup truck that has a dent on the passenger side from a fender-bender about 2 years ago, but you can"t tell me when or where this accident happened... And here is my favorite part: he always wanted to get a dog but never did and his mother made him take piano lessons as a child" he stopped circling and threw his hands up in a mock melodramatic gesture "What am I supposed to do with that? Do you know how many men fit that description?" His tone was accusing and challenging and Tom could see the expression on Lexa"s face change from fear to anger with every word spoken. "You know, this isn"t exactly hard science Agent Stevens!" she glared at him "I"m lost inside some guy"s brain and it"s like a freaking maze in there. Sometimes I"m in there for 10 minutes sometimes I"m there for 3 seconds and half the time the things I"m seeing are not exactly the kind of things you want to pay attention to. What do you want from me? His social security number?"

"We found this guy on the hood" the detective pointed to a dead body already placed on the coroner"s stretcher "We also found a special issue rifle in the back seat and the bullets seem like they could match the ones we took out of the wall and cars outside the club" "So you think this guy is our shooter?" "looks like it" the detective nodded "the question is - who killed him?" "Didn"t you say that Sebastian Kane was the target?" "Kane was two blocks away surrounded by his bodyguards when this guy was killed. We have two dozen witnesses saying he was at the Haven when the shots were fired and after... he couldn"t have gotten here in time to kill this guy" "No, Sebastian Kane doesn"t get his hands dirty with stuff like this. Someone did this for him..." "He can organize this on such short notice?" the detective sounded skeptical "You"d be surprised what a man like Sebastian Kane can put together on short notice" he leaned closer to the body and tried to examine it up close, noticing there were few if any physical marks on the body "What did this guy die from?" "That"s the really weird part" the medical examiner replied "he died of massive blood lose, only there isn"t a massive wound to go with it. This guy bled out, but for the life of me I can"t figure out where he bled out from. There"s nothing except for these two small puncture wounds on his neck." KANE MANSION "What makes you think I know anything about her, Gangrel?" Cassandra tried to sound contemptuous, but Cross could sense the underlined hint of fear in her voice - which confused him even further. Cassandra was the Toreador primogen, the owner of the Haven, and the Prince"s confidant and lover - there weren"t a lot of things in this world that could frighten her. "When I met her, there was something strange about her, I couldn"t tell which clan she belonged to" She finally detached herself from the window and moved to one of the armchairs in front of the fire, taking a glass of wine and sipping from it slowly. "She"s an Assamite" "That"s ridicules - there are no Assamites in New York, or any where close to New York" "You"re only half wrong. There used to be Assamites in New York, they were fierce worriors, devoted to the Prince, they were his army. Can you imagine the power? A whole clan of enforcers at his fingertips? The other clans were frightened, they knew that if a clan war was ever to come, they wouldn"t have a chance..." "What happened?" He came over to seat beside he by the fire, urging her to keep going. "A massacre. They came with amazing force and took them by surprise. Victor and Sebastian tried to stop it, but by the time they got there it was already too late. Ashton Fitzgerald was the sole survivor and she was barely alive. Victor took her under his wing, nursed her back to health. She and Sebastian became his enforcers... and lovers." "What happened?" "Ashton broke kindred law, she killed a human without the council"s permission. Victor managed to convince the council not to declare final death but Ashton was banished from the city... Sebastian wanted to leave with her but she simply vanished, left without saying a word. Sebastian looked for her for years... but when an Assamite wishes not to be found...He finally gave up." "If she was banished from the city and returned, the council will have to declare final death..." Cross frowned Cassandra drank the last sip of her wine and stood up sighing deeply "If Ashton is back in the city, something big is about to happen and her final death is about to become the last thing we should worry about..." Bobby strode into his office with a light step and a smug smirk plastered across his face. His men looked at him with concern, since seeing him smiling was not something they saw often, but said nothing. "Is everything ok sire?" One of them finally dared asking "Everything is just perfect guys" he turned to the room with his arms spread in some sort of grand gesture "Christmas came early this year!" They followed him into the office where he sat down behind his desk, still supporting that same smug smirk "Someone just tried to kill Kane, his ex-girlfriend who happens to be a killer is back in town in violation of kindred law...things could not be better!" "I don"t understand Sire, how does that help us?" "because the enemies of my enemies - are my friends!" Bobby leaned back in his chair "We need to find whoever took out that hit on Kane, and we need to do it before he does! Get everyone out on the streets, contact everyone we know - I want names!" Gabriel checked a few hiding spots at the edges of the city until he found what he was looking for. The neighborhood was mostly deserted this time of night except for the occasional thugs and drug dealers who did their best to see nothing and avoid being seen at the same time - a fact that suited him just fine. In this neighborhood most people went to bed early, and made sure to close the blinds and lock their doors. Down the street he could see the only house on the block that did not follow that pattern. Soft light was coming out of the windows and the front door was wide open, several silhouettes could be seen moving around inside the house and on the front porch and even from a distance he could clearly sense that they were all kindred. When he came closer they all eyed him suspiciously but said nothing - not even bothering to greet him hello - but not seeming even slightly surprised to see him. He got the clear sense they had been expecting him for some time now Finally one of them stepped forward and motioned Gabriel to follow him inside. As he walked into the semi-dark house, he could still feel the ones left on the porch staring after him, burning holes in his back. He found it somewhat amusing that they did not enjoy the idea of him being here anymore than he enjoyed it himself. As he walked further into the house he realized the light wasn"t coming from electricity, instead, there were candles lining the floors and staircases, casting shadows on the walls around them. They arrived at a back room where about 15 kindred were sprawled on various sofas and large cushions that were thrown on the floor. A kindred was sitting by an old piano, playing softly, a few females were swaying slowly to the music. The atmosphere was sensual, almost like a Harem At his arrival the conversation stopped and all eyes turned to him, all except one woman, who was sprawled comfortably on a sofa in the middle of the room. She was twirling a strand of blond hair that belonged to the young female kindred who was sitting at her feet around her finger. He knew instantly that this was the woman Sebastian was looking for. Sebastian sat in front of the fire in his private study, deep in thought, he didn"t hear when Dalamar stepped into the room and took a seat beside him, only when he spoke did he finally realize he was not alone. "Do you know some of the Tremere have the magic that allows them to read other kindred"s minds?" his small smile was slightly crooked. "Then what is in my mind?" Sebastian sighed and leaned back "For that my friend - I do not need magic..." Sebastian chuckled slightly, then grew serious again "Why would she come back here? She knows what I will be forced to do!" "Maybe she hopes you will not have the heart to do it" "I don"t" Sebastian sighed "But this decision will be forced on me - and my heart will have nothing to do with it..." Dalamar was about to reply when Cassandra walked into the room "Sebastian, there is someone at the Door - An FBI agent named Ryan Clayton" Dalamar and Sebastian exchanged a meaningful look before Sebastian replied "Wait a minute and then send him in" When she left Dalamar gave him another nod and took his leave as well. Sebastian stood up and took a deep breath to clear his mind. When the door opened again and Agent Clayton was showed in he was already in full control of himself. Ryan looked around at his surroundings before fully entering the room. The house was magnificent, even on the upper west wide scale - Kane apparently bought two houses and remodeled them into one because the place was huge - he thought to himself. He noticed the antique furniture, the fine art on the walls, the dark curtains were drawn back revealing a spectacular view of the park. The beautiful red headed woman who showed him in closed the heavy doors behind him with a thud and he shifted his attention back to the man in front of him. "Specail agent Clayton - what brings you by here at this late hour?" Sebastian said pleasantly "I came to ask you a few questions about the shooting tonight" "I didn"t realize the FBI has an interest in such cases..." "We"ve taken an interest in the case" Clayton replied but didn"t explain any further "What were you doing at the club?" "I own part of the club, along with my business associate Cassandra Morgan whom you"ve just met..." "Yes, I see you own quite a few businesses Mr. Kane" Clayton opened a small notebook and read from it "A shipping yard, a few nightclubs, a television station, a bank, a few buildings..." "I"m a business man Agent Clayton" Sbastian shrugged and took a seat behind his desk "I have a lot of businesses" "What kind of businesses is what I"d like to know Mr. Kane" "You know, Clayton is a very unusual name, I seem to remember knowing someone by that name a while ago.." "Don"t play games with me Kane" Ryan said bitterly "We both know who we are - you used to work with my great uncle - Victor, you knew that the second I walked through the door - just like I knew who you were the moment they told me your name" "Victor was a good man..." Sebastian started quietly "Victor was a crook, he was a mobster - and you - Mr Kane, are just the same..." The two man remained quiet for a few moments - staring each other down. "Will there be anything else Agent Clayton?" Sebastian finally asked "Probably - I wouldn"t leave the city in the next few days Mr Kane" Ryan sneered "Don"t bother getting up - I"ll show myself out" Sebastian and Cassandra sat at their usual booth at the Haven, listening to the slow music playing in the background. To the outside observer it seemed as if nothing had changed - but Gabriel noticed from his place at the shadows of the balcony that the atmosphere around them had somehow changed. They were sitting too far apart, not talking, not even looking at each other. The doors to the Haven opened and a brush of cold air entered the room. Ashton came in followed closely by a male companion. Cassandra rose from her seat and went over to greet them. From his place on the balcony Gabriel couldn"t help but survey the two women. They were both stunningly beautiful, but while Cassandra"s beauty and sex appeal was deliberate, goal driven and calculated - Ashton was a whole different story. Her beauty was much wilder and uninhibited, as if she was aware of it but not bothered by it , she moved like a cat as she walked across the room towards Sebastian"s booth her steps seemed to be in perfect harmony with the music that surrounded her. As she came closer Cross could not believe this was the same woman he met in his stairwell only a few days earlier. She was much taller and slender. Stunning body wrapped and leather pants and black tank top that did little to hide it. Long dark hair that was tied in a pony tale nearly reaching her shoulders, and big green eyes that were bordering on yellow. She gave a small smile as she passed him and then moved on to take a seat at Sebastian"s table. "Ashton, it"s been a while..." Sebastian started slowly, his eyes were intent on the wine he was swirling in his glass, taking his time before finally glancing up and looking at the woman sitting opposite him. "You were banished from this city. You know what the punishment is for breaking that rule..." "Well technically I wasn"t inside the city..." She replied casually "I came because you called for me" "You were inside the city when you saved my life..." "I don"t know what you"re talking about" He made a small gesture with his hand and four Gangrels came and took their position around the booth. Ashton made a motion to move but he grabbed her hand on the table "Did you really think I wouldn"t recognize you Ashton? I"d always recognize you - no matter what form you take..." He got up slowly and buttoned his jacket "You have broken kindred law. You will be taken before the council who will decide your fate. Come quietly Ashton - don"t make matters worst then they are..." With that - he left, Cassandra following quickly at his toe. Ashton seemed to be considering for a moment before getting up quietly. "Your weapons..." Cross stepped forward between his men Ashton produced a gun from a holster under her arm and a knife from her boot, smiling sweetly at him the whole time as if the whole situation was amusing her immensely. She didn"t resist when Cross and the 4 men with him formed a circle around her and escorted her out of the club. None of them noticed Ryan sitting at a side table, watching them intently. Sebastian sat in his seat at the head of the table. Dalamar to his right, Cassandra to his left. Gabriel and Cross were in their seats further down the table. Bobby was sitting at the other end. "The facts are simple Sebastian" Bobby said with a fair amount of satisfaction "She broke the law and she must pay with her life" "She saved the prince"s life" Cross retorted "So breaking kindred laws is allowed when the kindred breaking them used to share a bed with the prince?" Bobby spat "Is that the way you rule this city Sebastian?" "What ever we may decide" Dalamar suddenly spoke, his voice clear and precise, earning immediate silence from his fellow primogens "I believe we must first hear what Miss Fitzgerald has to say..." Everyone at the table remained quiet for a moment, waiting for Sebastian to say something. Finally he nodded his head slightly towards Cross who rose to his feet and went outside - returning a moment later with Ashton. She stood proudly in front of them, the small smile still on her lips. Bobby looked at her without any shame - surveying her body and slightly licking his lips. Cassandra kept her gaze fixed, not showing any emotion. Sebastian refused to meet Ashton"s eyes. Dalamar rose from his seat and approached her - circling around her. "Hello Ashton..." "Dalamar..." she bowed her head slightly, and Cross noted that it was the first sign of respect she showed anyone in the room. "It"s good to see you again..." "Yes..." Dalamar said thoughtfully, still circling Ashton "The last time I saw you Ashton was in this very room - almost a century ago... when the council declared you banished from the city. Why have you returned? Knowing the punishment you will face if you were caught - what made you come back?" Bobby, from his place closest to the two, noticed Ashton"s eyes have become somewhat glazed - like they"ve lost their focus, he realized Dalamar must have cast a spell on Ashton - he"d seen him do it before "When I left New York I went to search for my clan, I searched for a long time - years...eventually I found a clan of Assamite outside Rome - their primogen was a kindred named Alexander and I became his lover. 6 month ago he was approached by members of the Sabath - they wanted him to join forces with them... when he refused - they killed him." The primogens around the table exchanged a look as Ashton continued her story "Alexander"s dying wish was that I take his place and become primogen - but the Sabath already had hold of our clan - one kindred, named Corey, tried to kill me and then took control of the clan. I ran along with a number of my people - those who still wish to see Alexander"s wishes come true..." "Why have you come to New York?" Dalamr pressed "I came to warn Sebastian... The Sabath are planning a blood war - they want to regain control, and their first attack will be here... New York is the strongest hold of the Caramilla - the rest of the cities are nothing... LA is already theirs, In San Francisco Julian Luna is so tied up in his own clan wars he will not realize what is happening until it is too late... Sebastian is the only prince they truly fear..." Dalamar waved his hand in front of Ashton"s face and she shook her head, regaining her focus "Next time you want me to tell you something, just ask me..." she said pleasantly "Save your magics, you"ll need them soon enough..." But Dalamar simply smiled his crooked smile and took his seat around the table, motioning for Cross to escort Ashton back outside. "Sebastian, if her words have any truth to them, I believe it will be wise to postpone our decision concerning her final death for the time being" Dalamar said quietly "What does it matter?" Bobby tried again - he had nothing against the woman, in fact, under any other circumstances he would have applauded anyone who broke Sebastian"s stupid laws - but he knew that the decision to declare final death on her would bring great pain to the prince - and that was something he immensely enjoyed "She endangered the Masquerade...she must die" "If the Sabath has Assamites among them it would be wise for us to align ourselves with a few of our own" Dalamar advised, looking at the Brujah primogen impatiently. "The Assamite"s can"t be trusted" Gabriel spat "That is why they align themselves with the Sabath to begin with. They are nothing but mercenaries for hire, renting themselves to the highest bidder..." Finally, Sebastian rose to his feet "This decision must be made carefully" he uttered his first words of the evening "We must all take our time to make our decision. Tomorrow we will meet again." Later that night Sebastian couldn"t sleep. He lay awake in his bed, listening to Cassandra"s even breath as she lay beside him. He looked over and moved a strand of hair from her face - she was still beautiful - as beautiful as the day he met her almost a hundred years ago - yet his thoughts kept wondering to someone else. With a sigh he got up and pulled on some clothes, careful not to wake Cassandra. He left the bedroom and went down the stairs to the basement, passing an empty hall and opening a large metal door that led to the dungeons. She was there, sitting with her back against the wall, her eyes closed. For a moment he simply stood there and looked at her. "You plan on staring at me all night?" her voice was clear and alert, telling him she wasn"t asleep "because I bet I"ll start finding it annoying in about five seconds" "I"m sorry about this..." was all he could offer She smiled sadly at him and rose to her feet, coming closer to the metal bars "You did what you had to do Sebastian, what I expected you to do...you"re a prince now! I knew it would come to this when I came here..." "Then why did you come?" He was suddenly angry "Knowing the position you were putting me in? you could have sent a letter! Found another way to warn me!..." "Would you have believed me if I sent you a note from halfway around the world? After all this time? Would you have taken my word for it?" Ashton asked softly, placing a hand over his through the bars "Don"t be angry with me Sebastian, I couldn"t bare it...I had to come...Besides, I had no where else to go..." The simple touch of her hand brought back so many memories. He leaned his head against the bars and closed his eyes, savoring the sensation "I looked for you everywhere... I tried to find you for such a long time Ash..." "I know you did, but you and me - we were doomed from the start. You know that as well as I do Sebastian. It was a long time ago - a life time ago. You have Cassandra by your side now - a worthy companion for a prince. You"ve come a long way..." "I can"t save you tomorrow Ash, whatever the conclave decides - I would have to agree - even if it means declaring your final death..." She left the bars and headed back to the opposite wall, leaning against it again "I know, but I do want to ask you for something Sebastian...My clan, even if I"m gone, they will need a place to live - a place where they can be safe. There"s a kindred named Dante among them - he"ll take my place after I"m gone - go see him, he can promise you their loyalty..." "Will he still promise me his loyalty after I kill you?" Sebastian said viciously, spitting the words out of his mouth. He was so angry - at her for coming and disrupting his life, for the position he was in, for her total lack of concern for herself - and most of all - for her leaving in the first place. His anger ran so deep he couldn"t help it. "He knows what he must do and he"ll do it" Ashton"s tone was cold and harsh. For the first time he realized the change in her, saw the primogen she had become. He sighed and nodded, turning away from the bars. He suddenly heard someone moving upstairs and heard Cassandra calling him softly from upstairs. "You should go... go back to her..." He gave her one more look and then headed back upstairs where Cassandra was waiting for him in the bedroom. He didn"t say anything, and she didn"t ask any questions as he climbed into bed next to her.

"Anyways, good luck with your quest! The vault holding the gem is the most secure one!" He said, before heading to the "Rehabilitation for Amputees" Building. "Well gentlemen...and ladies. We are going to rob a bank." AU: I Think the delays will last. So maybe once a week until summer break comes, then I can write to my heart"s content. See ya! "One does not simply rob a bank, Kevin." Jake said "But nothing is impossible, right?" Kevin replied. "Besides, we have a thief right here." Kevin added, gesturing at Zach. "I don"t know. I"ve robbed plenty of stuff, but a bank as large as this? It"s pretty risky." Zach said. "Besides, the gem would never be in the building. It would be deep underground, hidden from sight. It"s only logical." He explained. "Man, wouldn"t it be nice to have Norm right now." Jake sighed. "Alex, aren"t you a mercenary? Surely you must know something that can help us." He asked Alex. She seemed to be in thought. "The only way I could have helped is with my teleportation amulet, but as I said back in Equestria, Heer drained my magic reservoir." "But we have the elemental gems! Couldn"t we like, use the power of the gems to recharge the amulet?" Zach asked. Kate gasped. "You"re right! How did you think of that?!" She asked Zach, who looked hurt. "Hey, I"ll have you know, I took some magic lessons from Laurent! How I remembered it, that"s a mystery." Alex took a look at her amulet. "I"m no magic expert, but the amulet is in frail shape. The lack of magic must have degraded it. I can"t tell how much teleports this thing will pull off." She assessed. "We"ll just have to risk it." Kevin said. "Let"s first try charging the amulet with the energy. Kevin took out the fire gem, and Zach took out the water gem. They tapped the gems to the amulet, and the amulet began to glow for a short time, than faded. Alex separated the gems from the amulet. "It"ll do." She announced. "But we need clear idea of our target. We at least have to know what kind of gem it is." "Well than, We"ll have to take clues from the city to figure out the type of gem." Kate said. "We"ll have to choose wisely. If we choose the wrong gem ,there"s no telling if we can teleport back." Alex warned. "Alright, let"s see here....Since all the gold is here, and the gem is most likely underground," Jake thought out loud. "It should be the-" "Darkness gem!" Zach yelled. "What the hell?" Jake looked puzzled. "how is that related to Fortess?" "It"s not! Except that Fortess should be brighter right now, seeing as there are a ton of torches!" Kevin thought about it. It was strange that Fortess"s atmosphere was pretty dark, although there was a torch every few blocks. Could it be?... "It must be the power of the gem." Kevin concluded. Just like the fire gem, and how it powered the flame." Jake winced. "We"re in a bad situation then." "Why?" Kevin asked, although he had a pretty good idea why. "The darkness is the element of Herobrine. If we take the gem from it"s hiding place, he might be alerted of it. Just like how Nether did." Jake said, using the battle Kevin had with the god of flames as an example. "I wasn"t there, but he sounded pretty damn powerful!" "We"ll just have to risk it." Kevin said. "But if Herobrine does come..." He shuddered. "Let"s hope it doesn"t come to that." "Alright, when you teleport in there, grab the gem, and teleport back." Alex said. "You"ll need Zach for whatever trap lies there." Kevin nodded. It seemed like a simple enough plan. "What if it doesn"t work? The amulet I mean." Zach asked. Alex grimaced. "We"ll have to fight. Let"s hope it doesn"t come to that." "If you don"t teleport back to us in two minutes, we"ll break you out from the outside! I hope." Jake said. AU:I wanted to make this longer but time! I wont be writing for 10 days cause me going to Hawaii! Bie! Forgot to say this last time, I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING!(although I kinda wish I do) Kevin followed Jake down a long, winding path. Although Jake said it won"t be long until they will arrive, Kevin felt like it was taking forever. "So, what is this place anyways?" asked Kevin. "Are you serious? This is Minecraftia!" exclaimed Jake, who looked quite surprised. "I mean, its only the world"s greatest empire!" "Oookaay" Kevin said, although he never heard of such place. Of course, he didn"t remember anything at all. "So why is everything made of blocks? I mean aren"t there circles or curves or anything else?" Kevin asked again, curious to find out more about this fascinating, yet strange place. Jake froze in his tracks, causing Kevin to bump into him. "What? What did I say?" said Kevin. "You"re saying weird things, serkels, and carbs and such, You sure your head is strapped on right?" Jake asked, staring at Kevin. "Yeah, I guess so" replied Kevin, although Kevin was confused. He had this feeling that the world wasn"t supposed to be like this. Not blocks and squares, but with many different shapes. But he couldn"t just say that out loud, because from what Kevin gathered from this conversation, People would think he was a lunatic. "Uh, so what was the name of the village again?" Kevin asked, anxious to change the subject. "The village is called Alpha. It"s one of the first villages created" Jake answered. "But enough about that, I have questions for you as well. First of all, how did you summon that blade from thin air?" "I honestly don"t know." Kevin replied. The sword in question had disappeared when it was knocked out of his hands when the Enderman hit him. "Can"t you guys do it?" "Well, do you see me fashioning a sword out of air?" Jake replied with a smirk on his face. "No, I guess not." Kevin said. "Second of all, why were you in that field?" "I don"t know, I just woke up without any memories" Kevin said. "So you"re saying you had amnesia?" said Jake. "Seems like it." Then Kevin saw it, a village, far in the distance, gleaming in the sun. "Here we are" Jake said. "Alpha village." As they came near, Kevin couldn"t help but notice how odd the village looked. The buildings looked like it was quite old, ranging from cottages, to forts. However, the village had strange looking contraptions everywhere. It looked like the village came from two different centuries. Jake must have noticed Kevin"s expression, and said "Yes, the village is a bit strange, isn"t it? Whilst this village is the oldest, it is also one of the most advanced village." Before Kevin could say anything, a loud voice cried "ZOMBIE HORDE!" "Alright. here we go!" Kevin exclaimed as he concentrated on the darkness gem." Suddenly, Kevin felt like he was being ripped to a billion pieces. Then, he felt like he was being painfully stitched back together. He stumbled in pain and dropped to the ground. "Aughhh." He managed to choke out. "Where.....are we?" Zach asked. He let out a groan. "I can"t see anything." "Hold on." Kevin said, and lit up a small fire on his finger. But it did nothing. "It must be the Gem.' Kevin thought, and concentrated all of his energy on the small fire. Even then, did the fire barely illuminate the room. They were in a small room, with no lighting inside. In the center of the room, was a gem that looked similar to it"s brethren, but was pitch black. "Alright Zach, you"re up." Zach nodded and took out a iron ball. "This should replace the weight of the gem in case of traps..." He stopped to see Kevin"s face. "Hey, you never know when you"ll need one of these. My father told me I should always steal safe." Zach carefully, switched the gem with the iron ball. As soon as Zach pocketed it, Kevin"s fire lighted up like a firework show on his finger. Kevin was instantly blinded. "Turn the light down!" Kevin heard Zach say, and lowered the fire"s intensity. An alarm rang. "It must have been light sensitive." He heard Zach said. "They must have knew the light had to be really bright for them to be able to see. And when the gem was removed.... "The room lights up." Kevin realized. "Quickly, grab on to me!" He focused on the amulet, commanding it to teleport them to his friends, but all that the amulet did was spark and fizzle. "Great." Zach said. "Now what?" Kevin began to panic. "This is irrational.' One side of him thought. "You"ve defeated Nether! Escaping a bank can"t be that hard!' "But fighting hordes were never our thing! What about the zombies in Alpha?" The other side of his mind argued. The latter argument seemed more reasonable. Kevin had limits. But limits were to be broken. And Kevin literally used limit breakers before. Without him noticing, Infurnace appeared in Kevin"s hand. "Perhaps you are worthy to wield Infurnace." Nether had said to him. "Now, We break out." Kevin Launched a column of fire that was stronger than usual. It burned down the room"s door. He ran forwards, and stabbed a guard that was charging towards him. Kevin immediately felt sick. Kevin killed before, but never directly. He never was directly responsible for a man"s death. But Kevin managed to quell the feeling of guilt. He would review the morality of killing another time. Zach drew his sword back-hand, and performed a move that he saw William use before. Lethality, He recalled. But only now did it occur to Kevin that William could have been the one to teach Zach. "Zach, come on! The stairs are over here!" Kevin yelled. He sliced the air, launching a blade of fire. Guards scrambled to dodge the attack, and Kevin took the opportunity to run past them. Kevin thought they were having trouble. Boy, was he wrong. The main floor of the bank of absolute mayhem. Guards were pushing a line, but were being tooken down by Kevin"s friends. Alex was gunning guards down, Pausing for a moment to reload. Kate was focused on not letting any of the enemy"s projectiles hit them. every time an arrow came near, it was deflected by the wind. Jake was shooting arrows himself, but it wasn"t doing much to the armoured guards. Kevin realized too late taking in all the chaos, that there were guards behind him. Sharp pain coursed through his leg, as an arrow lodged itself in Kevin"s flesh. He retaliated, by whipping around and shooting a fireball that easily melted through his armor. Then, Kevin was shot again in the chest, and the pain was too much for him. He felt himself stumble, then everything faded into nothingness. During this time of unconsciousness, possibly death, Kevin had a vision/dream. He was in a battlefield. A port?" where red armoured soldiers fought a small group of warriors. These warriors obviously had no dress code, as they had varying outfits, including one shirtless axe-man he was next to. Kevin held his hand back hand, and they jumped at a dragon-thingie with a soldier riding on it. The axe-man struck the creature, while Kevin slashed backhanded and knocked off the rider. Whoever Kevin was, he fought a lot like Zach.... "William?' Kevin thought in his mind. Then, he saw a young boy with a spear and oddly enough, a pot on his head, being cornered by a general. He could tell by the fancier and better looking armour. Kevin rushed to try to protect him, but it was too late. Kevin was now a invisible spectator in the sky. He saw William, Cut down ships with a single strike. He seemed to be on a killing rampage, as he slew even his own soldiers. He almost cut down a blue-haired ally, when a White-haired man in a coat cast some sort of spell on him, causing William to crumple. "Hey! You dead yet?" "That isn"t part of the dream..." "Well, well, well. Look who gave us a scare." Author"s note. That was the longest chapter I"ve done on this story. Expect chapters of this length on a faster pace because SUMMER VACATION BABAY! YEAH! "Look, Look! We"re wanted!' Zach said, holding up a wanted poster of himself. "I never thought I would go for so much!" "It"s not a good thing! There"s a huge bounty on our head!" Kate said, that"s hardly a good thing! Of course, nothing goes our way." She sighed. "Well, we kinda did steal their most guarded treasure. I would be angry after that. " Alex pointed out. "This is a problem. Now how are we supposed to find the gems when we are being tracked down ourselves? Our faces aren"t very generic." Kevin wanted to talk, but his entire body felt like it had been shot in a hundred different places, then steamrolled. When he managed to talk, all he could get out of a weak groan. "Oh, you better now push yourself! You took a lot of injuries from that heist!" Kate said. "5 arrow wounds, a stab in the thigh, a ton of bruises, and a burn wound. " Jake listed. I thought you were Immune to fire, Kevin." "I am. I guess I cant resist large amounts of it. I"m not invincible you know." He looked around. They were in a some kind of cave. "How did we make it out of there?" "Because of me." Kevin looked over at the entrance of the cave to see.....William. He had gotten a major makeover though. He had metallic think armor mixed with shadow-like fabric. He also had a tattered cape. His shirt turned into more of a trench coat. But what changed most was the sword. His shadow sword had turned into a purple and white, ornamental blade. But it seemed to flicker between forms. Somethimes it looked like he was holding a dagger and a pike, sometimes a dual scabberds with rapiers in them, or a ginormous sword that was an long as William, and was wider than him. "Good to see you"re alive." William said. His voice became less cruel then before. More sympathetic. Despite his wounds, Kevin managed to talk. "I thought.." "I was dead?" William finished the sentence. "Truthfully, I did die. But as a highlander, I regenerate. I used this opportunity to return to earth. Enjoy my life a bit. Then I took a visit to Ylisse, to tell my friends that I and Zach are alive. Then I took the equipment I left behind there, and I dimension-jumped here." William took a look at Kevin. "I would have healed you, but I needed you to be conscious. He mimed him grabbing something. When he raised his hand, Kevin screamed in pain. All of his pain seemed to have focused on his belly button, causing his body to twitch uncontrollably. William raised his hand higher, and Kevin suddenly sighed in relief. All the pain suddenly dissipated. "What...happened?" Kevin asked. "I literally pulled the pain away from you. It"s relative magic." He said. "You never really told me how we escaped." Kevin asked him. "Well, when I teleported here, I used Zach as a reference point. Since I knew him, I could teleport to him. Then I ran into a giant heaping mess you were in, and I quickly drew a teleportation tri-area, and teleported us outside Fortess." "Anything you forgot to mention?" Kevin said, a twinge of envy in his voice. "You seem jealous of me. But let me ask you a question. What are you willing to lose?" The pain in his voice seemed too genuine, Kevin"s anger at him practically abandoned. "My journey to becoming a highlander broke me, Kevin. I reformed who I was. The fact that I knew what was going to happen, but I had to let my friends risk death, or even die!" William"s voice seemed to have something it used to lack. Emotion. Kevin realized. "I suffered much for something I didn"t want. So let me ask you, what are you willing to sacrifice?" Kevin was at a loss for words. Would he? "Anyways, we should rest for now. I"ll scout ahead." AU:I"m going to be calm about this. ROBIN AND LUCINA ARE IN SUPER SMASH BROS GEMATSU WAS WRONG, IM GOING TO MAIN ALL THE FIRE EMBLEM CJARSDA HKWJDHU AIWG! Im glad we had this talk. AN: I started watching Attack on Titan. Now I"m hooked. And ErenxMikasa is my number 2 pairing. Godammit. Srry for the short chapter. "So. William is alive, huh?" Kevin said after William teleported away. "Yeah. Zach passed out from excitement." Kate said. "Yeah. William"s like an uncle for me" Zach said. Kevin frowned, seeing that Zach wasn"t much younger than William, but he decided to let it slide. "So, we have the gem?" Kevin asked. In response, Jake pulled the midnight black gem from a pouch. "Thanks to this, we"re outcasts." He sighed. "Hey, it"s for freeing Notch." He reminded. "But what will we do when this is over?" Jake asked. That was an interesting question for Kevin. What would he do when this madness was over? And what of the others? William and Zach ,made it clear they would return to whatever world they came from. Kevin most likely do so as well, but then he was dooming the others to a life of crime. They would be fugitives, hunted down by authorities. Did Kevin really wanted that for his friends? "Hey, I know where we need to go next." Kate said. "What?" I"ve been doing some research from the books in The Saint"s Inn. "Right. The Saint." Jake sighed. "Right. So according to his old legend books, the air gem were entrusted to the Aether!" "That means..." "Right. We have to head into the Aether." AN: sorry for the short chapter once again. Just didn"t want to leave you hanging. "Ugh." Kevin said as he regained consciousness. "How did I get here?" He was tied up in chains, and he seemed to be in a dungeon. 24 hours ago... "So how exactly are we going to infiltrate Budderville"s city hall and gain access to the Aether?" Jake asked. "Well, Getting in is not a problem. Now that I have my sword, I can teleport us there." William said. "What happens in the Aether is beyond me." He admitted. "Well, We have absolutely no idea what goes on in the Aether. All information about that is restricted." "We can assume an intelligent species is there." Kevin said. "First and foremost, we need disguises." Since William didn"t directly help with the heist, he might not be wanted. Maybe you could get us each a hood or something. " William nodded and walked out of the cave. Jake sighed. "If we get caught, we need to prepare a backup plan." Alex blinked. "The plan is to kill everyone. Simple." "Well, What if we get outnumbered? We would have been killed if William didn"t save us at the last second." "Relax. Killing the few around us wouldn"t cause such a ruckus!" She argued back. "Then we re-disguise ourselves, and poof! We"re on our way! Kate frowned. "Does it have to be a kill? We aren"t going to be there for long. We just need to knock them unconscious." She pointed out. "And when they wake up, they"ll blab about how they saw us heading towards the portal. And if the portal in Budderville is our only way out, we"re going to be in trouble." "We"ll knock them out if we can. Kevin decided. "We"ll be wearing hoods, so they won"t recognize us, and we"ll keep changing routes to throw people off." Alex pouted at this, but nodded. "If we get surrounded, we can use the elemental gems as a distraction." He held out the 3 gems. "It seems like the gems power up each other. With 3 gems, the darkness gem should provide a decent smoke bomb. " "Back." William said, tossing 3 jackets with hoods attached at them. "Alex already had one, so only needed to buy 3. Should provide you with enough coverage.Now, rest up. We"ll need our energy. 16 hours later Kevin teleported on a very unfortunate guard. "What the-who are you!" Kevin quickly punched him in the face, knocking him out. "Which way?" "What do you mean which way? I thought you knew?!" Alex said. "Well, sorry for not picking up a map!" Kevin retorted back. "Um... This way!" Kevin picked a random direction. They ran forwards, knocking down a stray guard mid-way. They ran into a room, that turned out to be a broom closet. "So much for your sense of direction." Jake said before being smacked upside by Kevin. "Hey, you want to try guessing? Because be my guest." "Maybe I will!" Jake yelled. "This way!" He pointed at a corridor, and the group ran down the hallways, knocking out a member of the city hall. "Great." Kate said. "Not only are we wanted for theft, We"re now wanted for assault." "Look on the bright side!" Kevin said, as they ran into another dead end, giving Jake a smug smile. "If we save the world, all charges will be hopefully cleared!' "Emphasis on hopeful." Alex muttered. "It"s my turn to choose." She decided. "This way!" "What?" But that"s the-" "Furnace room. I don"t think these people are that dumb to leave the portal in the open." Jake shook his head as he followed Alex through the cables littering the floor. "This is so pointless! Why would they.." Jake guffawed at the blue sand swirling through a glowstone frame. Cables were attached to the Glowstone, and undistinguishable sounds were coming out of the portal. "They"re using the portal to power the city hall." Kevin said. "No. The city hall wouldn"t require such a large energy source. This place would be much larger if they were using it for the city hall. No, whatever they"re using it for, it"s big." Alex scoffed. "So this thing probably powers a death laser. Who cares? We just hop in the Aether, try to find the gem, and die in the process!" "Let"s take out the dying in the process bit out." Zach said. "So, Who"s going In first?" silence ensued. "I guess me and Zach will. We"re the only ones who had experience dimension jumping." Zach flinched at the mention of his name. "But the portals we used were gates! Not swirling sand thingies!" William smiled at his statement. "Why are you smilIIINNNNGGGG!" William shoved him into the portal, making him pass through to whatever was beyond. William walked through after him.

"DON"T PRESS DOWN!" "PUFFBALL!" "POYO?!" "GUMBALL!" "SPONGEBOB!"...Wait waht?" AND NOW. "Great, Now he has my orb staff." Pit complained. "Hey, at least you"re not in his stomach!" "...But he has my powers!" For a puffball who just acquired the orb staff, Kirby was quite handy with the weapon....maybe he was given the angel"s skills as well. "Please, the angel hardly has any skill." "Viridi, not cool." The gunfight(is it called a staff fight? Cause that gives me a mental image of two old man smacking each other with canes.) went along the line like this. While Pit dodged the blasts by side-stepping, Kirby simply ate Pit"s own fire. "You gotta hand it to him, the little guy has a pretty good defense system." Viridi admitted. "Yeah, I wonder if it gets any tummy-aches." Pit wondered. He landed a hit on Kirby, only to be whacked in the face by a staff. While Pit was stunned, Kirby noticed the author watching over the battle. "HIII!" Kirby waved at the author.....wait, Kirby was breaking the fourth wall all this time! I need to reiterate some things. BRB! Pit"s POV. Well, I"m glad that guy"s gone. His constant narrations were just like Pyrrhon! I needed to catch my breath, so I set up a reflect barrier while I considered my options in a calm and orderly fashion. "WHATDOIDOWHATDOIDOWHATDOIDOOOOO!" "Pit, calm down! Fighting Kirby is just like fighting Pittoo! You may have the same skills, but you have varying arsenals! Use your powers!" "You"re right, Lady Palutena!" I fired a mega laser, Only to be- HEY! MY STORY!...Dumbo. Anyways, Pit fired the giant red lazar. Kirby dodged most of it(Don"t know how, since Kirby is SLOOOWWWWWWW), but he was still hit on the right side of his puffy body, sending him crashing onto the ground. "POYO!" He yelled, before shooting at Pit, knocking him backwards. Both realized that gun fighting was pointless, so Kirby switched into his hammer, and leapt forwards. Pit used this opportunity to activate his weak-point reticle, and targeted Kirby in the face, away from his mouth. "Eat this!" Pit cried as he fired a charged shot, hitting Kirby dead-on, sending him flying into space. "Whew!" Pit sighed in relief. "What was this battle even about?" "I think I had to do something with food." Palutena giggled before recalling Pit back up. I made Pit win for one reason. Pit has those over-powered powers, Kirby doesn"t. PLEASE Don"t annoy me in the reviews about how Kirby should have won. This is MY story dammit! Next up, We are finally fighting someone that is not from Nintendo. IM ALIVEEEEEEEE! Here"s a teaser of what"s to come! The final product will be around a 1000-1500! ACTION! THINGS! EXCITEMENT! Cue scenes of Pit flying into the darkness, being illuminated only by his cannon fires, dodging grappling hooks and a very familiar shaped projectile. "Pit, watch out! This man beat someone that cannot be beat!" "You have a lot of nerve coming to Gotham and tearing the place up." "...I"m sorry?" Kid Icarus meets... BATMAN. Ok, so this was meant to be one long chapter but since my writing has been delayed due to a vacation, I"ll leave the first half up first. Also I am writing an original fic which will be a combination of my OC ideas from my fire emblem and minecraft fic since I felt like they felt out of place. So make sure to keep an eye out for that. I do not own Kid Icarus or Batman. Keep in mind this work is not edited much, rather just a dump of wherever my ideas take me. I hope you enjoy! It was a silent night for Gotham, which was unusual for the bustling city. No criminals were in sight, nor was the dark knight. ...Well, there was the flaming chicken falling from the sky. "AAAAHHHHH!" Pit screamed as he crashed into the ground, making a crater in the pavement road. "Ow, that really hurted...." Pit said as the charred pegasus wings fell off him. "Oh man, there goes my unlimited flight." Pit complained out loud. "That wouldn"t be my biggest concern at the moment." A deep voice responded from the shadows "AHHH! I mean, who"s there!" Pit asked, brandishing his twinbellows cannon. "You have a lot of nerve coming to Gotham and tearing the place up." The man stepped out of the shadows, revealing a black mask with pointy ears, armour like suit with a cape and a bat symbol in the middle. Pit heard Palutena gasp. "Pit, that"s Bruce Wayne, better known as the Batman. He"s one of the most feared superheroes of all time!" "Oh yeah? Batman, huh? I"ll make sure to roast you....Um...Like a chicken! Yeah!" "Speak for yourself." Viridi"s voice mocked him. Batman went into his fighting stance. "I"ll make this quick." "Um....I"m sorry about the crater?" The dark knight threw his signature batarang at Pit, who jumped back and used his autoreticle to dispatch it. "That all you got- Hey, where did he go?" "Pit! Behind you!" The angel turned around only to get sucker punched in the face and sent sprawling away. "I"m taking you to the sky!" Pit"s wings lit up as he flew up to avoid the barrage of punches the bat was about to deliver. "Think you can fly away, huh?" Batman whipped out his grappling hook and grabbed onto a nearby building, throwing flash-bang grenades on his way up. "OwowowowowOWOWOW!" Pit was sent back from the blinding explosions, unable to see Batman glide towards him. "For a human, he"s a great fighter. Although he looks like some random guy in a rubber suit." Viridi remarked. "You"re coming with me." Batman slowly walked towards Pit, only to have him use his invisibility power to sneak away and score a direct hit on him. "His biggest strength is his ability to prepare for specific enemies. He knows nothing about you so use that to your advantage!" "Right!" Pit shot a mega laser at him, but Batman dodged it with ease. "I can"t land a hit on this guy!" Pit was hit by another flashbang grenade, causing him to fall to the ground. "Alright, let"s get you out of there Pit!" Palutena used her godly powers to transport Pit to the other side of Gotham, where he catched his breath on the roof of a building. Pit mournfully looked at his twinbellows cannon, which was completely wrecked from all the grenades. "How am I supposed to fight him now?" "You could always try a baseball bat." Dammit Viridi, That pun is a million years old. "Lucky for you Pit, I have a new toy for you." As soon as Palutena said that, a giant atlas club flew in and whacked Pit in the head. "Look at that. A bat." Before we get started, I want to address some reviews! Mustachio: Pit is technically the strongest nintendo character as stated by Hades (But not really lol). These links were weakened as they only had their base weapon and their Master Sword was not the true one since they were memories. Not only that, but he had dark pit along with him, and the two has taken on very formidable foes, Including Hades who is officially the third strongest Nintendo villain, next to Giygas and Ganondorf (but that"s only because Ganondorf can be killed only by the Master Sword.) Besides, who takes smash bros canon seriously, amiright amiright Martyn: I love Popple from Mario and Luigi, but he"s just not a big enough character to be a good fight. I will however have Pit fight Fawful in the near future. If you see any grammatical errors feel free to point it out via review or pm and I will have it fixed. Without any ado, Let us get started! Meanwhile, in the Batcave..... "Alfred, I need data on that angel. Is he a Thanagarian?" Batman asked as he analyzed the pictures he took through his mask (which had a camera installed) "His wings seem too small to be proportional with that of the Thanagarians." Alfred pointed out. "It also seems to be glowing at times. Perhaps some sort of magic?" "I"m more interested in his weapon. That cannon emitted energy like no other." Batman zoomed in on the image of the twinbellows cannon to analyze it. "He also seemed to be talking to someone. Try to track down any active comms line to see if we can find out what his next move will be." "And what will be you be doing until then, Master Wayne?" Alfred asked. He turned to see that Batman was already gone. "Typical of you, Master Wayne." Alfred muttered before he got to work tracking down the comm lines. "What is a bat supposed to do me any good?" Pit asked his all-knowing goddess. Viridi sighed at him. "Don"t you remember what clubs do? You can hit all his fancy gadgets back at him!" "Not only that, but unlike the Twinbellows cannon, you"ll be able to combat with both energy and physical attacks with ease." "Alright! So what strategy should I use against Batman?" Pit asked. "Batman is able to think up of strategies just to take down a specific foe with ease." Viridi said. "There"s no real counter strategy." "I"ll try to peer inside his hideout to see what he"s cooking up." Palutena suggested. "That"s a great idea, Lady Palutena! We"ll see who"s the roasted bird soon, Batman!" "...Um, bats are mammals." "WHAT?!" While Pit was busy being flabbergasted, Palutena used her X-ray specs to track down Batman. "Um, Pit? He"s coming to your position awfully fast. You might want to prepare for-" Before Palutena could finish, Batman leaped on top of the building, more heavily armoured than before. Viridi whistled. "Did he hit the gym or what?" "It"s time for you to go down, Batman! You may be a reptile-" "MAMMAL!" "-Mammal, I"ll still roast you like swiss chalet!" Batman merely got into his fighting stance. Pit started off by unleashing the charge shot he was holding at Batman, resulting in a small explosion. "How about that?!" Pit fist-bumped his atlas club before the smoke cleared, revealing that Batman was unharmed. Pit let out a yelp of surprise mixed with possible fear before launching another one. "I"m not scared!...I hope." Uh huh. "He seems to be using some sort of energy field! Go in for the melee attacks!" "Awh, Lady Palutena, you know smash bros melee is a sore subject for me!" Pit complained before he got punched by Batman. "I can"t take you to the air for a while Pit, so you"ll have to tough it out on the ground!" Pit dodged a batarang, while using his club"s sheer range to keep him at bay." "He"s swinging that thing effortlessly! He"s keeping me from getting near him with it. I need to think of a way to get past him.' Batman thought before he jumped off the roof. "Huh?" Pit walked over and peered over the ledge only to see that he was nowhere in sight. "Where"d he go?" "Here." Pit was hit with a fully charged electrical punch from his gauntlets, sending him sprawling off the roof. The Dark Knight turned off his gauntlets, before accessing his comms. "Alfred, have you found the line yet?" "He doesn"t seem to be using one. Perhaps he is using another form of communications." Batman scowled at the answer . "How am I supposed to figure that out?" "Perhaps you could politely ask, instead of punching your adversaries in the face all the time, Master Wayne." Alfred suggested. "Where"s the fun in that." Batman asked before jumping off the roof, gliding to chase the angel. (Linebreak) Pit crashed into the pavement, his body glowing red. "Owie....At this rate, I"ll be finished in no time!" "Pit"s right. Maybe we should call him back-" Batman landed in front of Pit, his wings folding back into a cape. "I hope you"re ready to explain some things." "Not until you"re defeated!" Pit weakly got up and raised his atlas club once more. Batman easily sidestepped his swing and punched Pit in the face, causing him to fall over and disappear with the message "I"m finished!" "PIT!" Both Palutena and Viridi screamed. "That"s that." Batman turned around only to be whacked with the atlas club. "Lady Palutena! Get me out of here while he"s stunned!" "R-right!" Rays of heavenly light surrounded Pit, and he rose up to the heavens. "How did you live?!" Viridi asked in disbelief. Pit merely smiled and pulled out his "play dead" power piece. This counts as Pit"s first loss. While he did tie with Batman in round 2, he lost to the dark knight in round 1. Next up, A prompt I"ve been excited to write, Kid Icarus meets Darkstalkers! It"s been a while folks! I had to go on a huge hiatus due to school, but I wanted to show you guys an original story I will be posting on fanfiction. The next kid icarus meets chapter will be up soon! This story will be released TOMORROW on fictionpress with the name The Members of the Jury, so check it out and follow it if you like this sneak peak! "Everyone has a destiny," A golden haired girl with pale blue eyes said to the boy next to her. "What do you think ours is, William?" The boy sighed at the mention of his name, his messy, ebony hair ruffling in the breeze. "Isn"t that up to us? Our lives should be ours to decide." "But there has to be a reason," The girl insisted, "Some explanation why everything is the way it is." "That"s ridiculous." "It"s really not when you consider what our jobs are," The girl was met with silence. She smiled, knowing she won their little verbal spar. "What do you think it would feel like? Being a Tyrant, I mean." "I wouldn"t want to do it. Why should they get to decide who lives and who dies? Tyrant or Highlander, they"re all the same." "I just hope destiny has something great in store for us." The alarm bells rang throughout the barracks, signifying that it was time for them to head back to their quarters. "Well, good night, William!" "Good night....Cygna." (page break here) "Hya!" William sliced through a dummy clean with a training sword before knocking it aside with his shield. If he were to impress the higher-ups, his swordsmanship needed to be near, nay, absolutely perfect. This universe, classified as the AN3 universe by the Members of the Jury, also known as the angelic universe, was one of the only to successfully repel a Tyrant, who specialized in destroying worlds for their own gain. Because of this outstanding achievement, the AN3 universe was a very prideful one, and boasted a well trained army. Three variations of Angels resided in AN3; the Archangels, the Angels and the Sub-Angels. Angels had small wings compared to their body and could only fly up to 30 minutes depending on their stamina. Archangels had proportional wings to their body and could fly as much as they wanted, and the Sub-Angels, who possessed no wings and was at the bottom of the social chain. William and Cygna were the latter of the three. "That was great, Will!" Cygna clapped enthusiastically, grinning at her childhood friend. Unlike the others in their platoon, she was the only one he trusted enough to watch him train. The other members would only insult him, be intimidated, or just kick his arse. "I just hope it"ll be enough to compensate for my lacking athletic abilities." He said, panting heavily and cursing his perceived weakness. Despite being very fit, the other sub-angels were simply better than him in every physical way possible due to their biology -if one could even call it that. It felt like he was simply born weaker than the others. "Strength isn"t everything, you know." Will took another swing. "It is when you"re in an army." "Maybe you could be a strategist." Cygna countered back immediately. In honesty, Cygna never understood why William wanted to be a footsoldier in the army so badly. He had a brilliant mind for military maneuvers, politics, and could even have taken a role as a scholar. Will shook his head. "For that to happen I need to be accepted into a regiment." Due to their low rank, to be considered for any other position other than a mere soldier, he needed to be a respected member of a regiment. Cygna considered this for a moment, and then nodded., "That makes sense. Well, you have to start at the bottom before you reach the top. That"s what my dad always said anyway." "How cliché of him." "Even so, he was right. You know that too." Will stabbed his sword into the centre of the dummy and twisted it. "That doesn"t change the fact that to get into a regiment, physical strength is an important factor." "Like I said, strength isn"t everything," Cygna took one of the training swords and slowly circled around him, "you have to keep your opponent guessing, and that takes brains rather than brawn." Will knocked her sword away with a simple strike. "...You"re right. But it doesn"t change the fact that the odds of me getting into the anti-tyrant regiment are slim." "That"s true," she admitted playfully, reaching for the training sword he had knocked out of her hand, "but you can definitely do it. Heck, I bet you"ll even be the best, but first..." Taking him by surprise, Cygna swung the sword behind his heels, knocking him over, "...you have to start at the bottom." William looked at her for a short moment in surprise before sighing heavily. "Sometimes I wonder why I even bother." He muttered as he sat up, rubbing his back. His blonde companion, however, just smiled down at him pridefully. "Will, you"ve known me for how long? I"m surprised you haven"t learned by now." Will groaned and got to his feet, picking up his sword and shield. "I think that"s enough training for me.... I need some coffee." The dark brew was well known through the worlds that were connected and had taken their universe by storm. Cygna helped him put his equipment away in the shed near the training fields. "I don"t know how you stand the stuff. It"s so bitter." Cygna said disdainfully. "It keeps my mind sharp. Besides, unlike some people, I happen to have good taste." In response, Cygna punched his right shoulder, making him chuckle as he closed the shed door. "C"mon. I"ll get you a glass of water, free of charge." William offered. "Hmph. Cheapskate." (line break) As they walked into the coffee shop, Will caught a glimpse of a color mimicking red dust. He looked and saw something that make him sneer. "Dammit, Mitch is here." The large, brute-like sub-angel was laid back in a chair, taking a sip out of a cup. Despite his appearance, he was very crafty and has gained a reputation not to mess with. Then again, he was also known for being a likable guy, which Will didn"t get at all. "Maybe he"ll ignore us." Cygna hoped out loud. Just as she said that, Mitch called out to them from afar, "Hey, Will!" "...Ok, maybe not." Mitch walked up to the smaller soldier. "Shouldn"t you be in the corner, practising your sword skills? If you can call that twig of yours a sword." "Knock it off, Mitch!" Cygna yelled at him, but instead of having him back off, the brute shot her an icy glare (or maybe a glance, it"s hard to tell), causing her to yelp and hide behind Will. "Oh? And what is a girl like Cygna doing with you, Will?" "I can hang out with whoever I want, Mitch. Better than a jerk like you." Cygna"s muffled voice was heard from behind Will. Mitch whistled as an amused smirk appeared on his face. "Feisty as usual, Cygna. That"s something you and I have in common." Will felt his friend"s hands tighten on his shoulders, and decided to take action. "Back off Mitch. You"re just coming off as creepy." Mitch"s eyes twitched for a split second. "And what are you gonna do about it?" He was answered by a swift punch to the face. Every pair of eyes went straight to the two. Time froze for what seemed to be forever when it could have really been a split second. In that time, Mitch took it to recover and hit back, sending him sprawling across the shop, crashing into the tables. Fortunately, before Mitch could do any more damage, Cygna stepped in front of Will and shoved Mitch away from him. "Don"t you dare!" Despite the girl being much smaller, Mitch backed off from Cygna. He can"t bring himself to hurt her. He instead sneered at Will. "I"ll make sure to take special care of you in the tryouts." "You just HAD to punch him, didn"t you?" Cygna asked while she dabbed some medicine on Will"s black eye, making him wince." "What was I supposed to do? Let him flirt with you?" Cygna sighed at the statement. "No, but now his platoon is going to target us during the tryouts." The tryouts was the determining point for the future of the soldiers. They were to prove their worth by taking paralyzing weapons and fighting each other, until only one person is not incapacitated. The top ten fighters are the first allowed to choose their regiment: the anti-tyrant regiment, Patrol, Archangel Guard, Army, or Relief Force. It"s a difficult test to pass, but one soldiers had to place good on, especially since spots are finite in each regiment, allowing only sixty of the hundred soldiers to make it in. "Why are you looking forward to the tryouts anyway? Even if you make it to the Anti-Tyrant regiment, nothing happens there. It"s basically for slackers." "That"s true. But at least there"s a chance I could explore what"s beyond this universe. Everyone here is all about their so called destiny, but I want to see, I want to understand what the world is truly like. And I hope the Anti-Tyrant regiment can give me the answers I need. Cygna sighed. "Well, if you say so." The bell rang signifying it was time for the tryouts. "C"mon, we should go get ready." "Right." HIGHLANDERS: MEMBERS OF THE JURY IS UP! CHECK MY PROFILE FOR LINK! GOGOGO!*This announcement will be deleted in a few days*

"Are you hurt?" Susan asked, praying that this was nothing serious. She had noticed that Bree was clutching her right arm, but she couldn"t see any obvious signs of injury. She sighed, beginning to lose her patience. "Look at me." Susan knelt down next to Bree, gently brushing a few loose strands of hair away from her eyes. When the redhead finally did look at her, she could see the hurt and pain lingering inside. It was clear that something had happened to Bree, and the feelings of discomfort Susan had been experiencing earlier had transformed into genuine concern. "What is it?" She sat down and delicately placed a hand on Bree"s knee. "You can tell me." "I can"t." The other woman finally managed to speak. Her voice was hoarse and barely above a whisper. "I can"t." She repeated, shaking her head. "Is it Orson?" Susan pried. "Andrew? Danielle?" "I deserve my punishment." Bree replied dryly. "Punishment for what?" Susan had no idea what Bree was referring to. She waited for an answer, but was met only with a blank stare. "Honey, please. If you don"t talk to me I can"t help you."The redhead slowly unfurled the arm that she had been clutching tightly to her chest. The burns were still fresh, her skin an angry shade of red. She watched as the look on her neighbor"s face changed from concern to shock. Taking a deep and shaky breath, she looked away...ashamed. Embarrassed. Hurt. "What...what happened?" Susan"s mind raced. "Were you cooking something? What...how..." She tried to process what she was seeing. "You didn"t...Bree, you- you didn"t do this to yourself." She stated, suddenly felt a wave of dizziness and nausea coming over her. "It was an accident." The redhead"s voice cracked. "Oh." Susan breathed a sigh of relief. "An accident. Of course it was." "The first time." Bree clarified. "Oh." The brunette repeated, clearly disappointed. "But then I...then it...something came over me. It comforted me and I...I did it again and I...I- I was just trying to clean the toaster, I didn"t mean to- I didn"t want to do this." She stretched out her arm again, looking down at it with disgust. "I can"t believe it. You, of all people." Susan shook her head, frustrated. "I"m so unhappy, Susan. I miss Karl and how my life used to be." She stopped to catch her breath. "I didn"t know what else to do." Bree lost control. "Please don"t be angry with me." She cried now, feeling her dignity being torn away with each word. "I"m so sorry." "Oh, sweetie." Susan wrapped her arms around her friend and neighbor. She held her close, and despite Bree"s obvious resistance, refused to let go. "I"m not mad at you." She hesitated. "I"m mad at me for not seeing how unhappy you were." Bree whimpered, trying to break free from Susan"s grasp. All she wanted now was to go upstairs and sleep. Surely she would feel better after a nap. Unfortunately try as she may, Susan would not loosen her grip. She sobbed now, unable to control her tears. She hated herself for doing this. After all, she was supposed to be perfect, and a perfect woman would not break down like this. "Shh, it"s okay to cry." The brunette could sense Bree"s uneasiness as she gently rocked her. "I love you so much." "I want to be alone." Bree muttered through her sobs. Even in her state of anguish, she was already thinking of punishments for revealing so much of herself to Susan. "No you don"t." The brunette clutched her friend. "That"s what got you here." She felt Bree reach for her now, giving in to the love and comfort that she so desperately needed. "Good girl." Susan praised, realizing that she sounded like she was speaking to a small child. As Susan sat on the floor, quite literally holding her seemingly perfect friend together, she realized that she couldn"t do this alone. It was too much for one person to handle. She thought of those closest to Bree, and the two obvious women who came to mind were Lynette and Gabrielle. While Lynette was ultimately her first choice, the last thing that she wanted was to add more stress to her life. With a baby on the way and a marriage on the rocks, it didn"t seem fair. She wriggled her cell phone out of her pocket, and dialed Gaby"s cell phone. While she was sure that Bree would not approve of another person seeing her so vulnerable, Susan simply could not manage on her own. "Hey Susan." Gaby answered casually. "Hey, you busy?" Susan asked, though she hardly cared. "I need you to come to Bree"s." "Now? I was just about to run a few errands before the girls come home from school...what is it?" She asked, sensing the fear in Susan"s tone. "Please just come over." She paused. "Please." "Okay, I"ll be there in five minutes. What"s wrong?" "Eh, kinda hard to explain." She leaned over, lightly kissing the top of Bree"s head. "Oh, and bring over a few wash-cloths and maybe an ice pack if you have?" "Um, okay? This better be good." And with that, Gaby hung up the phone and headed over to her neighbor"s house. Thanks so much for the comments! I really appreciate them!! I"m not sure if this will be the end or not...still kind of up in the air at this point. But anyway, I really hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it. CHAPTER 3 "Helloooo." Gaby announced her presence, still unsure of why she was needed. She carried two small towels and an ice pack as Susan had requested. "In the kitchen." Susan replied. Bree had calmed down considerably, but was still trembling, burying her head so that all Susan could see was her vibrant red hair, which remained, somehow, perfectly styled. "Hi." Gaby stood awkwardly in the doorway of the kitchen, looking down at her two friends. "What"s um..." She struggled to find the right words. "Did something happen? Okay, stupid question. Obviously something happened. I just um..." She shook her head, realizing that she was babbling. "Susan, help me out here, will you?" "Okay." Susan took one arm off of Bree"s body, and felt the redhead"s grasp tighten around her waist. "Relax, I"m not going anywhere." She soothed, speaking calmly and quietly. She looked back up at Gaby, who honestly looked more confused than concerned at this point. "Take one of the towels you brought and run it under cold water." She instructed, watching as Gaby obeyed her orders. "Alright." She sighed. "Have a seat." Once Gaby was sitting down on the other side of Bree, Susan delicately reached for the redhead"s arm, which was pressed tightly against her body. Bree resisted, struggling to keep her burns hidden from Gabrielle. She was already so ashamed, why make it even worse? "Come on." Susan coaxed, gently pressing Bree"s right arm. "We need to cool you down." She was referring to the burns, of course, but did not want to divulge too much information just yet. She would rather wait for Bree to show Gabrielle what happened on her own. Forcing it would undoubtedly cause more harm than good. "Bree, please." She looked desperately over to Gaby, "Talk to her." She mouthed. Gabrielle dropped the damp towel on the floor, sliding over until she was kneeling in front of her two friends. She studied them for a moment. Susan, who was trying to be so strong for her friend, but nearing her breaking point. And Bree, tucked so tightly into Susan"s small frame that if not for her red hair, she would never know who this woman was. "Bree." Gaby placed a hand on her shoulder, feeling the woman shudder beneath her touch. She couldn"t understand how she could be so open and vulnerable with Susan, yet so rigid with her. "Sweetie, why won"t you look at me?" She waited for a response that never came. "Okay, you don"t have to look at me. That"s fine. But please just listen." She took a moment to collect her thoughts. "I guess I"m surprised to see you like this. I mean, I saw you this morning and you seemed fine. But then again, you"re always fine. Always pretending everything"s perfect." She paused. "You"re not fooling anyone, you know." "Uh, Gaby...?" Susan interjected, hoping that calling her over hadn"t been a mistake. The brunette ignored Susan"s remark and continued. "Your husband is in a wheelchair. You"re not expected to be okay. It"s hard. It"s really hard to take care of someone who used to be so capable and independent." She took a breath, noticing Bree beginning to shift. She could see the corner of her eye and knew that she was listening. "I"m lucky. Carlos got his sight back. But for those five years, it was hell. No, he wasn"t paralyzed, but he needed me. He needed me for everything. And he was angry...and so was I. I didn"t understand why this was happening to me...to us. What did we do to deserve something so terrible?" "But sometimes things just happen. Things we can"t control." She sighed. "And sometimes, when you least expect it, you get a miracle." She watched as Bree slowly untangled herself from Susan"s embrace, still clutching her right arm. "But I know how hard it is to wait for a miracle. To wait for something that may never come. I do. And I want to help you." Gabrielle cracked a small smile, looking her friend straight in the eye. "But you have to let me...to let us." She clarified, referring to herself, Susan and Lynette. Bree stared back at her friend, deeply touched by her words. "I don"t know what to say." She whispered. "Oh." Gaby interrupted. "I also know that you miss Karl." She smirked as Bree"s eyes widened. "Oh, come on. I practically knew about the affair before you did. I mean, I didn"t know it was Karl until later on. But you were such a joy to be around, obviously because of all the sex you were having. Good sex...which clearly wasn"t happening with Orson." "Gaby!" Bree scolded. Susan rested her head against the dishwasher and sighed. "You were doing so well, too." Gaby smiled, pressing Bree"s shoulder. "Had to make sure you were still listening." "While I"m a bit disturbed that you judge my personality based on my sex life, I do I appreciate everything you said." She ran a few fingers through her hair. "But my situation...it"s different." She took a shaky breath. "I don"t...I don"t love Orson. I tolerate him because I have no choice. And I...I hate him for it. But how can I hate someone I"ve hurt so terribly?" She paused. "It"s easier to hate myself." She carefully let go of the arm she had been clutching so tightly, revealing the burn marks she had made. "To hurt...myself." Gaby didn"t react as Bree and Susan had expected. She didn"t shrink back in horror or show a display of emotions. In fact, she didn"t say a word. Instead, she simply picked up the towel she had dropped earlier and rinsed it off, cooling it back down. "This might sting a little." She spoke softly, placing the towel around the burns. She took Bree"s hand as she grimaced, "I know it hurts, but it"s just for a minute, okay?" Bree leaned back into Susan as Gaby held the damp towel around her arm. "Please don"t let me do this again." A single tear rolled down her cheek. She felt defeated, finally giving in and asking for help. "Please." She whimpered. "Never again." Susan kissed her cheek lightly. "I promise you. And I don"t break my promises." Gaby fought back her own tears. "Oh, honey I won"t let you burn anything. If I see as much as burnt toast in those house we"re gonna have problems." She couldn"t help but let out a small chuckle, seeing that she had caused Bree to smile. Never letting go of her friends" hand, Gaby shifted, resting her head on the redhead"s shoulder. "But seriously. I love you too much to let you hurt yourself. Way too much." Thanks so much for the responses 3 I"ve decided to take this story a bit further. CHAPTER 4 Once the morning drama had passed, the rest of the day went by without much activity. Bree had taken some time to clear her head, and ultimately decided that she would simply pretend the morning had never happened. After all, it was just a one-time situation. Never again would she be tempted to hurt herself. Never again would she bring up all that she shared with Gaby and Susan. She had a moment of weakness, that"s all. She was weak and confused and had said things she didn"t mean. That woman who allowed herself to be held and rocked like a child would never return. She simply wouldn"t allow it. As the day turned to night, Bree actually began to feel a bit of resentment toward her friends. What gave Susan the right to enter her home uninvited? And why hadn"t she listened when Bree asked her to leave? Furthermore, why would she call Gaby? Did she really need to turn her grief into some kind of public spectacle? If they hadn"t shown up, she could have covered up this mess beautifully. No one would ever have known. Deep down, Bree knew that of course she did not believe any of these thoughts. She was grateful for the love and support of her friends, and knew that she much preferred being in the arms of a friend than alone on the floor. But she wouldn"t let herself think this way. Her pride had to come first. It was her most important asset. Around 8 o"clock, Bree heard a knock at the door. She was sitting on the couch reading a book, Orson in his chair alongside of her. Even though the two of them hardly spoke, she remained by his side. "Aren"t you going to get that?" Orson asked. "It"s late for company, wouldn"t you agree?" Bree tried to sound convincing, but her voice wavered. She didn"t want to see one of her neighbors right now. She couldn"t risk Orson finding out what she had done. "Bree, it"s 8 o"clock." He checked his watch. "Answer the door." "Well, alright." She hesitated for a moment before walking to the front door. "But whoever it is really shouldn"t stay too long." She slowly opened the door. "Lynette." She forced a smile. "Hello." "Can I talk to you?" Lynette walked past Bree, making her way inside. "Hey Orson." She smiled. "How are you feeling?" "It"s what I"m not feeling that"s the problem." He muttered. "Right." She bit her lip, turning back toward her friend. "Anyway. I need to talk to you." "I was actually just in the middle of something, maybe we could do lunch tomorrow." The redhead smiled sweetly, leading Lynette toward the door. "Now, Bree." Lynette"s tone became firm. "It"s important." "Of course." She forced a smile, glancing over at her husband. "Let"s talk outside." Bree followed her friend out, taking a seat next to her on the porch. She tugged at the sleeves of her sweater not only to keep herself warm, but also to ensure that Lynette would not be able to see the burn marks on her arm. "Let me see." Lynette stated bluntly. "See what?" "Bree, please." She rolled her eyes. "Susan told me what happened." Bree lowered her head, massaging her temples. "I specifically asked her not to tell you." "Why?" The redhead motioned towards Lynette"s stomach. "You have enough on your plate." She sighed. "I didn"t want to involve you in this." "Did you honestly think I would be okay with that?" Lynette raised her voice slightly. "Lynette, I"m certainly not trying to offend you." She clarified. "But this is a private matter which I didn"t intend on sharing with Susan, nor did I ask for Gaby"s help. In fact, I wish they hadn"t come at all." "You burned yourself, Bree." Lynette let out a small chuckle out of pure frustration. "Self-harm is a serious problem." "It was just one time, you don"t need to be so dramatic." Bree mumbled, twisting her bracelets around to busy her hands. "Oh, so I"m dramatic?" The blonde shook her head. "When I have a problem, I talk to someone about it. I talk to Tom, or to you, or Susan or Gaby. I don"t just shove my arms in the toaster and expect things to get better." "This conversation is over, Lynette. You have no right to judge me." The redhead refused to make eye-contact. "You know, when Susan called me today she was crying. I thought something had happened to MJ, but no. It was because she was so worried about you. Because she had spent her entire morning holding you together and making sure you didn"t need to go to a hospital." "She could have left at any time." Bree spoke softly, embarrassed by her own words. "And to be honest, none of this is any of your business. I was...out of sorts, to say the least, with Susan and Gaby earlier. And I"m sorry that I worried them, but it wasn"t my intention." "Sometimes I don"t think you deserve such good friends." Lynette muttered, her voice bitter and harsh. "We would do anything for you. I would do anything for you. You"re my best friend, Bree. Even as you sit here in front of me saying you don"t need anyone...it"s so painfully obvious that you do." She rested her head in her hands. "If you had called me today, I would have stopped you from hurting yourself. I would have been there for you." She sighed. "But you"re so damn stubborn." "I"m perfectly capable of handling my own life, Lynette." "Of course you are." Lynette shook her head. "You"re perfect." She slowly stood up. "But you know, being so perfect can get really lonely." And with that, she rose from her seat, leaving Bree to think about all that she had said. Alone. Thanks for the reviews 3 CHAPTER 5 Over a week had passed since her breakdown, and Bree felt like she was becoming stronger and growing more resilient each day. She distanced herself from the pitiful woman who had taken desperate measures to get attention, and was convinced that it was an error in judgment for her to have sought out comfort in her friends. As she worked to set herself apart from this weak and vulnerable woman, she started to separate herself from her friends. Bree had not spoken to Lynette since the night of the confrontation, and had no desire to make amends. Susan and Gaby, on the other hand, were a bit more difficult to avoid. The two of them checked up on her whether she liked it or not. She felt like a child when they demanded to see her arms to make sure that she hadnt hurt herself again, and looked at them with disgust as they encouraged her to open up about her problems. She never agreed to talk, and though obviously unsatisfied, they would eventually leave her be. The situation with Orson had not improved, and Bree couldnt see it getting any better in the future. He was angry and depressed, making him nearly impossible to live with, yet she continued to do her best to please him. By focusing so much of her time and energy on appeasing Orson, she rarely had a free moment to think about Karl and to remember what it felt like to be loved and appreciated. However, she could not control her subconscious mind, and would often dream of the endless thoughts and feelings that she had worked so hard to suppress during the day. On this particular night, Bree was experiencing her most vivid dream yet. It started out pleasurable: she was in bed with Karl, the two of them passionately making love... Mmm, that was fantastic. Bree grinned, rolling onto her back. Let me know when youre ready for round two. Karl teased, propping himself up and looking down at the redhead. Youre never satisfied, are you? Bree rolled her eyes. Lighten up, I was joking. We dont even have to do it again. I can cuddle, you know. Bree laughed, reaching out and kissing him softly. Oh, really? Sure. He smiled, laying back down and wrapping his arms around her. See? Impressive. The redhead curled into him, closing her eyes. Can I ask you something? Mhm. Do youdo you love me? She blushed. Absolutely not. Karl laughed. Im obviously just using you for sex. Dont patronize me, Karl. Bree playfully hit his chest. Im serious. Bree, you know I love you. He gently stroked her hair. I know you say it, butdo you mean it? I justI dont want to play games. I dont want to get hurt. I would never hurt you. Karl replied, his tone serious yet sincere. I love everything about you. Even the things you hate about yourself, I love. I wouldnt change a thing. Youre perfect. He smiled, planting a kiss on her forehead. and with that, Bree woke up. Alone. She slowly crept out of bed, walking into the bathroom and staring at her reflection. You thought I was perfect. She whispered, a single tear rolling down her cheek. She gazed into the mirror for a while, unaware of the time that had passed. It wasnt until she heard Orson call out her name that she snapped back into reality. Coming, Orson! She yelled back, making her way to his bedroom. I called for you three times! Orson whined, staring up at his wife. What were you doing up there? Bree shook her head, forcing a smile. Just overslept, I guess. Here, let me help you out of bed. She sat down, ready to help Orson into his wheelchair. Actually she hesitated. I have a question first. What is it. He replied, dryly. Well. I was just wondering, do you she hesitated. Love me? Interesting question, coming from the unfaithful wife who begged for a divorce. He snapped. Please just answer my question, Orson. She looked away, ashamed. Do you love me at all?Orson took a moment to gather his thoughts. I dont know, Bree. He finally answered. I dont know if I can love you. The redhead nodded sadly. Thank you for your honesty. She cleared her throat, choking back the tears that were threatening to fall. Now, lets get you some breakfast. Would you like waffles?

She trusted these people. They were her friends. No, they were her family. Seaside Wellness meant everything to Amelia. Well, it used to anyway. Right now she didn"t care about being a doctor. Hell, she would let a patient die right in front of her if it meant she could score some more oxy. All she wanted was to be high and to be with Ryan. She didn"t need anyone or anything else. As long as she had him, she had everything. "Honestly Pete, all I have been able to think since I saved your pathetic life is, "was it worth it?' because you"re kind of a tool." Amelia listened to the awful things she was saying to her colleagues and it gave her a great sense of satisfaction. She would not go down without a fight. Her eyes darted around the room, and she could see everyone was watching her like some kind of zoo animal. What trick will Amelia do next? Well, they want a show? That"s what they"ll get. "That"s her thing, raping her personal experiences for attention." She could tell she was hurting them. Their eyes were filled with a sadness that was no longer just pity. Good, she thought. I want them to hate me. I want them to hate me so they"ll stop caring...so I can go home and get high. "...Oops, did I say rape? Sorry Charlotte." The tension in the room was thick. "Touchy subject?" "Amelia..." Violet started. "What, can"t handle it? Too soon?" She leaned back in her seat. "God forbid anyone acknowledge that Charlotte King is damaged." Amelia muttered. "Amelia!" Cooper protested. Charlotte raised her hand in protest. "It"s alright, Coop." She said quietly. "Let her finish." "You are damaged, you know that." Amelia locked eyes with Charlotte. Her anger toward the blonde was growing stronger with each passing second. "Okay, good. Wanted to make sure we"re all on the same page here." Charlotte was supposed to be her friend...her confidant...the only person who could truly understand her. But instead she betrayed her, and Amelia refused to accept betrayal. "You walk around here all high and mighty, like you"re an image of perfection...but I"ve seen it, Charlotte. I"ve seen those moments...those fleeting moments...where you stop for a second and I know you"re re-living it. I can see it on your face, and I can see it in your eyes." Her words were cold and sharp. "...and I know you"re back there, in that office, fighting for your life." Amelia leaned forward. "You lost that fight, by the way." She shrugged. "You lost. He won." Charlotte had so many things she wanted to say to the young doctor. She wanted to get up and throw that little girl on the ground. I am fine, she wanted to say. But no matter how hard she tried to speak, she couldn"t seem to form the words. "Oh, and does he know?" Amelia now focused her attention on Cooper. "Does he know that every time you close your eyes you still see his face? Still see him on top of you...?" "Please." Charlotte could feel the color drain from her face. "Oh, I"m sorry. Was that supposed to be a secret between friends? Because I kinda forgot about the whole friendship thing when you threatened to take my medical license away." "Stop it, Amelia." Cooper warned. "Or what?" She laughed. "What are you gonna do, Cooper? Why stand up for her now? I mean honestly, you kissed me while your wife was recovering from being brutally attacked. Real class act, Coop. Well done." She smiled wickedly. "Should have just slept with you, but I guess I didn"t realize how much of a bitch Charlotte was at that point." "Excuse me?" Charlotte glared. "You didn"t get the memo?" Amelia looked around. "Oh, I"m sorry. Well, here it is. You"re a bitch." She nodded. "A total and complete bitch, and you deserved everything that happened to you." Silence. "Amelia Shepherd, you listen to me and you listen to me good because I"m only sayin" this once." She put her hand on her hip. "I want you to get help. I want you to get clean, I do. But once you"re sober, God as my witness, I never...ever...want to see your face again." And with that, Charlotte rose from the couch, using the little dignity she had left to make a graceful exit. Sorry for a bit of the delay in updating, but with the holidays and everything it all got a bit slowed down! Speaking of, Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans :) Hope you all had a wonderful day. Also, thank you SO much for the reviews. I really really appreciate them. Anyway, onto Chapter 2. Enjoy! -K Chapter 2 Charlotte King needs to feel in control. Whether at work or home, she is the decision maker. She calls the shots. Of course she would have a lot more friends if she could loosen up even the slightest bit, but she values respect more than friendship. Lee McHenry was an average man at best. Average height, average weight, average looking...there was nothing particularly special about him. Maybe if he was just a little bit tougher looking...a little bit more threatening...maybe then she wouldn"t have felt so pathetic for not having the strength to fight him. Why couldn"t I fight him off? She asks herself for what must be the thousandth time. She replays the scene over and over again in her head, trying to figure out how she could have stopped him before he pinned her down. Could she have screamed louder, or fought harder? In her heart she knows that she did all she could, but somehow has a hard time believing it. "Char, I gotta tell you. I am so glad I didn"t know you when you were on drugs because it is brutal out there!" Cooper walks into his wife"s office, interrupting her train of thought. "Real nice, Coop." She replies dryly, a bit agitated that he came after her. Cooper knows that she likes to be alone when she"s upset. "Sorry, that was rude, wasn"t it?" He held up his hand, stopping her before she could get a chance to speak. "Don"t even answer that. It was, I know. I"m sorry." He sighs, "But really, I don"t care what kind of drugs Amelia"s on, that was way out of line." He paced back and forth. "I know we"re supposed to be supportive and caring, but honestly, I"m kinda pissed off!" He stopped for a moment, looking over at his wife. "I mean, why would she say things like that?" "Not a drug in the world that"s powerful enough to force you to say something you don"t want to say." Charlotte"s tone lacked any touch of emotion. "Just because she"d never say those things sober doesn"t mean she"s never thought about it." Cooper sighed, defeated. "This sucks." "She"ll be alright." She shrugged. "Get her the help she needs, she"ll be apologizing for all of this before you know it. She"s got a good support system, that"s key." "You make it seem so easy." She cocked her eyebrow, looking over at him. Staying off pills has continued to be one of the greatest battles of her life. She fight each and everyday to resist the temptation to start up again. "Yeah, well, I make a lot of things seem easy." She sighed. "Fool a lot of people." "Char..." Cooper finally started to realize that his wife was upset. "You okay?" He asked delicately, knowing how much she hated that particular question. "Fine." Her tone was flat and unconvincing. Cooper smiled sadly. "Okay." He had learned that pushing Charlotte to talk if she wasn"t ready would get him nowhere. "Well, I should probably go back out there. See what other surprises our resident addict has in store for us." "Enjoy yourself." She rolled her eyes, studying her computer screen. He nodded. "Okay, then..." He took a few steps closer to the door, but stopped before he could even reach the handle. "I can"t do this." Charlotte looked up at her husband, un-amused. "Need me to walk you back?" She asked sarcastically. "How can I go out there...how can I give all my love and support to Amelia while you"re sitting in here, obviously upset?" He sighed. "You"re my priority, Charlotte. You"re my number one, not her." "Coop..." Charlotte began. "Please just let me help you. Please, just - " "Coop." Charlotte interrupted. "Yeah?" She tried to compose her thoughts. "It was right there." She stared at the spot Cooper was standing. "Right where you"re standin"." Cooper looked down at his feet. "I"m sorry?" "I know the spot because I was looking up at the ceiling," She looked up. "Right where that little crack is up there, you see it? Once I realized I couldn"t fight anymore, I had to focus on something...other than him." "Charlotte..." He understood now what she was referring to. "I tried so hard to fight him, Coop. I gave it all I had, but I was so tired..." She trailed off. "It had just been such a long day and maybe if I...if I had all my strength I could"ve taken him." Cooper moved closer to his wife, kneeling beside her, resting his hand on her knee. "I play it over and over again in my head and I just think maybe if I wasn"t so tired..." She repeated. "Hey." He took her hand. "Look at me." No response. "Charlotte, look at me." He could see the tears welling in her eyes. "You couldn"t have fought any harder than you did. I mean, look at you, 90 pounds soaking wet...I didn"t know you had that kind of fight in you." He saw her crack a small smile, and it made him smile too. "You could take me down for sure." "Damn right I could." She held onto his hand. "It"s just...It"s too much. It"s too damn much." Charlotte shook her head. "I may hate her right now, but I"m still worried sick about Amelia. She"s got a real long road ahead of her." She paused. "...and I just didn"t want think about this right now...not with everything else going on." Her voice cracked. "It"s too much, Cooper." "I know." He whispered, taking her into his arms. "I know it is." She leaned into him, allowing a few stray tears to fall. "But I"m here, okay? I"m right here." He soothed. "You don"t always have to be the strong one. I know you like it. I know it makes you feel safe, and so I"m okay with it...I let you do it. But you can let people help you sometimes." He held her close. "Its nothing to be ashamed of." She clung to him now, overwrought with emotion. She realized that at some point he had moved onto her chair and was now holding her in his lap. "I"m trying. I swear to you I"m trying." "I know." He kissed the top of her head. "You"ll get there." "Promise me you"ll be patient." "Promise me you"ll stop blaming yourself for what happened to you." He retorted. She pulled away, looking at him. "You know that ain"t fair, I asked you first." She waited for him to smile, or say anything for that matter. "Alright, fine. I promise." "I need you to say it." She looked at him for a while. "It wasn"t my fault." She finally spoke. ""Course it wasn"t my fault. I save lives. I help people. I"m a good person, I mean...I"m a little rough around the edges, I know, but I"m not so bad." She paused. "I care about people, I do. And I didn"t deserve to be...well, I didn"t deserve what happened to me. No one does." Cooper smiled. "That"s my girl." He kissed her. "And I promise I"ll be patient. I"m good at that." "Thank you." She leaned into him again, feeling herself relax. "So...do you think I"m damaged?" She asked nonchalantly. "Who the hell isn"t?" "Fair enough." She nodded. "Think I"m a bitch?" "I think we"ve had enough questions for today." He grinned. And we"re back with the next installment. A little bit short, but just gearing up for the next one which I expect to be a bit lengthier. I was very sad with no reviews on the previous chapter, so please please, take a moment to review if you could! I so appreciate it! -K Chapter 3 The tone of the intervention had changed considerably. After what could only be described as a screaming match, Addison caved in and supplied Amelia with a small amount of oxycodon to keep her quiet. She had hoped this would allow the intervention to run smoothly, but instead it had turned Amelia into an unresponsive figure propped up on the couch. "Amelia?" Sam pushed her to speak. "Are you hearing us at all?" "I hear you." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Okay, good. This is good." Addison added. "Do you want some water? Or food, maybe? I can bring you food." "Where"s Charlotte?" She asked, unaware of how pitiful she sounded. "Uh..." Cooper, who had recently rejoined the group, hesitated for a moment, "She"s...working." The brunette nodded, looking down at her feet. "Could you...could you please get her?" Her voice was weak. "Could you get her?" She repeated. "I need...I need her here." "Amelia, I"m not sure it"s a good idea." Cooper knew that no matter how angry his wife may have been, she would have come running if she saw the state that Amelia was in. But he couldn"t help trying to protect her from all of this. She was already emotional and vulnerable, and he just wanted to keep her safe. "I"ll get her." Addison interjected, rising from her seat, making a quick escape toward Charlotte"s office. "Addison, wait." Cooper followed. "Are you kidding me, Cooper?" She spun around to face him as soon as they were out of view. Her eyes were filled with rage. "Please tell me you have a good reason for what you just said, because I swear..." She trailed off. "Amelia really hurt her, okay? And it scares me that she has the ability to do that, because there are very few people out there who can actually get to Charlotte." He avoided eye contact with the redhead. "People have said a lot of awful things to her, and she brushes it off. It"s amazing, really. But she"s hurting right now...really hurting...and I have to protect her." "We"re all hurting!" Addison shouted. "What, you think this is easy for me? This is one of the worst days of my life, Cooper, but I"m not backing down and I"m not running away because this isn"t about me!" She took a moment to compose her thoughts. "Look, I know you"re just trying to be a good husband, and it"s all very noble and chivalrous, but now is not the time, Cooper. Today isn"t about Charlotte." She looked him straight in the eye. "Charlotte won"t die if she doesn"t get to rehab today." Addison could feel tears forming in her eyes, but fought them back. "So lay off, Cooper." "She told me I was barren." Addison stormed into Charlotte"s office. "I"m sorry?" Charlotte looked up, taken aback by her colleague. "Amelia. She told me I was barren...among other things...many other, very hurtful things..." Addison clarified. "And I"m not going to forget what she said...I can"t forget it. And at some point down the line, we"ll talk about it like two adults. But right now, she"s not an adult. She"s not even a child...I don"t...I don"t know what she is." Charlotte pursed her lips, "She"s an addict." Addison sighed, taking a seat. "Yes. And she needs our help or she will die." She paused, "She needs all of our help...including yours." The blonde shook her head. "I"m going to be honest with you, Addison...but don"t you tell anyone what I"m saying in here, alright?" "Okay..." "This...is very hard for me." Addison threw her hands up in the air, clearly frustrated. "Well, sound the alarms! Charlotte King has feelings." "I don"t appreciate your sarcasm." The blonde"s voice was stern. "This all hits very close to home, and I"m not goin" to be able to get to a meeting until tonight..." She paused. "And I need...I need a break." "I"m sorry." Addison"s tone softened. "I know this is hard for you. I know it"s different for you as a former addict, and I know you"ve got your own issues to deal with." She sighed, "But we"re talking about Amelia, here. Amelia. And I know you care about her...I know you do. You don"t smile at anyone, Charlotte, but you smile at her." She sees Charlotte about to interrupt, and holds up her hand to silence her. "Don"t even deny it. Won"t do you any good. I"m very perceptive, you know." "Fine." Charlotte rolls her eyes. "I care. Happy now?" "I"ll be happy when you prove that you actually give a damn and act like a real friend." She sighs. "I"m sorry...I didn"t mean that. I"m just...I"m under a lot of pressure right now." She takes a shaky breath. Charlotte leans back in her chair. "It"s alright." "So...I"m gonna go now." The redhead nods, seeing herself out. "But while you sit here feeling sorry for yourself, just know that she"s asking for you. She needs you." Hi all, thanks again for reading. I hope you enjoy this next mega-angsty chapter! As always, reviews mean the world to me. Enjoy. -K *** Oh, and quick note - to the anonymous someone who left a lovely comment about how I keep addressing Charlotte as "the older woman" and Amelia as "younger"...I do realize they are not extremely far apart in age, but its just a way to differentiate between the two. No need to get all worked up.*** Chapter 4 Addison returned to the group, slumping down in her seat. Cooper raised an eyebrow, but the redhead just shrugged, unable to give much information at this point. "She hates me." Amelia, who was beginning to sweat again, spoke in a hushed tone. "No she doesn"t." Cooper replied. "She"s just...being Charlotte." "Then why are you all here, and she isn"t?" She asked, avoiding eye contact. She could feel them all looking at her, and would give everything for just a few moments of alone time. "I don"t hate you and I am here." Charlotte waltzed into the room, casually taking a seat next to Amelia. "You"re sweating again." She pointed out. "Starting to shake too." "Charlotte." The brunette looked up at the older woman, tears in her eyes. "I"m sorry for...for what I said to you." "It"s nothing." Charlotte dismissed the thought. "I"m sorry too, for over-reacting like I did. You"re going through hell right now, don"t really mean what you say." She shifted in her seat. "No need to apologize now anyway, plenty of time for that once you"re sober...but you know that already." Charlotte was speaking to Amelia as if she were a patient, rather than a friend. She knew that her tone was coming off a bit icy, but worried that if she acted any other way she may seem weak to her colleagues and friends. Charlotte leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms. "So, what"d I miss?" She glanced around the room. "Obviously someone gave this girl some oxy or she"d be tearin" her hair out by now." "We did...I did." Addison clarified. "Fifty milligrams...she wouldn"t have stayed without it. It was the only way we could get her to listen to us." "And are you listenin", Amelia?" The blonde focused her attention on the young doctor again. "Or are you just biding your time until everyone gets tired of talking?" "I don"t know." Amelia pulled her knees up to her chest. "Don"t give me that, of course you know. You"ve got it all figured out. Eventually everyone"s got to get home, right? Can"t sit out here talking to you forever." She nodded. "Once they tire out and let you go home, you"ll do all the drugs you can get your pretty little hands on." "I don"t have anything figured out." Charlotte laughed, "I think you do." "Stop it, Charlotte." Amelia fired back, her tone finally above a whisper for the first time in what seemed like hours. "Your mind isn"t your own, and you"re taking all of us for fools. Thinking we"ll just let you go so easy." "You can"t just keep me here. I want to go home." The brunette stammered. "To sleep. I just need to sleep." "Bullshit." "Charlotte!" Violet intervened. "What, Violet? Think you can do better? Think your shrink talk will do her any good?" She snapped. "I know what Amelia"s going through, and I also know that she is being controlled entirely by her addiction. She"ll pull any trick in the book to get more drugs, and I will be damned if I let that happen!" "Look at me." She propped herself up in front of Amelia. "Look..." She cupped her face, forcing the younger woman to look back at her. "...at me." She could see that she had her attention and focus. "Good. Now listen...I care about you, okay? I confide in you. I trust you." "And she doesn"t trust anyone." Cooper interrupted. "Now I"m not going to sit here tellin" you how brilliant and beautiful you are, or how you"ll wind up dead if you don"t stop what you"re doing. What I will tell you is that you are strong." She firmly took her hands. "You are so much stronger than you even care to admit, and you can kick this, Amelia. You can get sober." Amelia felt the tears she had been holding back since the morning, and knew it was useless to try and stop them. "I can"t." She whimpered. "Yes you can." Charlotte"s tone softened. "I"ll help you...we"ll all help you." She clarified. "I...." The brunette gasped to catch her breath. "...am so scared." She cries intensified, and she began to shake even more. "I"m so scared, Charlotte." "I know. I know you are." Her grasp on the younger woman"s hands tightened. Amelia was now sobbing. It was as if all of her pent-up emotion from the past few months decided to come crashing down at this exact moment. For a moment, Charlotte was left dumbfounded. Emotion was not her strongest suit, and she was unsure how to handle Amelia. She felt a light squeeze on her shoulder, and looked up to see Sheldon. "I can take it from here." He gave a sad smile, allowing Charlotte to move away as he took Amelia into his arms. "You did good, Char." He then turned his attention towared Amelia, soothing and rocking her gently. Charlotte took a breath, getting up and rounding the corner. She leaned back against the wall, taking slow, deep breaths to keep herself in control. You did good, she told herself. You did good.

As soon as Mitzi took her place next to Wick, Viktor was surprised to see Asa stand and make for the bar - alone - with a calm swagger. He looked at Viktor, who glared down at the man. Viktor did not Asa. At all. He was almost certain that the sliznatý bastardo had something to do with Atlas"s death. "So Viktor, you must be excited to see the little bearcat again, huh?" Asa asked casually as he took the drink the Viktor made - reluctantly - for him, swishing it around lazily in his hand. Viktor offered the man no reply, continuing to glare at him, bearing his fangs slightly. Asa seemed unfazed - though Viktor did note that his body did stiffen slightly under his gaze - and continued on. "I mean Atlas"s goddaughter was practically your little shadow if I recall right. Was always following you around. You know a source tell me that she even got you to let her paint your claws!" He laughed, to which Viktor snapped his gaze at Mordecai, the two locking eyes briefly across the space between them, a silent threat being given. Asa, seeming to have not noticed the exchange between the two former partners, took a sip of his drink before looking at the stage as the lights dimmed slightly. "Well looks like the shows about to start, hmm?" he mused as Viktor took to polishing a cup to keep from throwing the man away from him. "It was nice chatting with ya Viktor, we really should more often," Asa laughed as he made to leave. "You enjoy the show now." And with that Asa was gone and Viktor was mad. Asa never chatted. He always had a reason for doing things. Viktor could not figure why he would want to chat around with him, but knew it wasn"t good. He wasn"t able to put more thought into Asa"s plan as the lights dimmed more and a stage light was fixed at the curtains. Mitzi gracefully walked on stage and gave a smile as she pushed her hair out of her face. "Thank-you all for coming. It means a lot to see you all come out and support an old friend of ours - a friend who is like my own daughter - who was the goddaughter of my late husband. I"m sure he"d be very proud as well," she gave a sad smile as some people threw up Amen Atlas, before continuing, "and because I"m so proud I can, with pleasure, say welcome home to, a now young woman, Ivy Pepper." Mitzi looked back at the curtain as it started to rise. She gave a small curtsy of sort before leaving the stage. "I"ve got it bad" The band started up, the lights were bright, and Viktor felt his mouth go dry at the sight on stage. "What do I do with this ache that I have? Just let it be... Or should I use all the tricks up my sleeve?" It was Ivy - his diet"a who was now a žena - and she wassplayed out on top of a piano. She was slim, older, and dressed in a tiny and form fitting dress and heels that made her legs - decorated with a floral garter - look longer. Make-up was applied perfectly on her face, lips painted a startling light red, as she sang in a sad and mature and almost dangerous voice. Viktor"s eye was drawn to her like glue and he could feel his chest bursting with a feeling - a something - that he couldn"t place. A something so fierce he had to look away. His eye instead traced the room. Many had stopped what they were doing to listen and watch. Rocky and Freckle"s eyes were wide and mouths agape - Rocky more so than Freckle - as some of the band members watched her as they played. In her booth, Mitzi was watching with a fond smile as Wick watched with wide surprised eyes. And from their spot just far away from everyone, Viktor"s eye landed on Asa and Mordecai. Mordecai had a brow cocked at Ivy and looked, to Viktor, uncomfortable. For Mordecai, to those that knew him, this would not be so shocking - even with his screw loose nature. Like Viktor, the symmetrical obsessed male had almost helped raise the now young woman when she was a child and had first appeared in St. Louis. He only saw that same child - the one who would always run off with his cufflinks for fun - singing and moving dangerously seductive on the stage... And Viktor felt appalled and had to look away from his former partner. He instead focused on other things. On the way many males - single or taken - were practically panting and sizing her up like meat. At how some of the other women gave her unimpressed or jealous looks. He focused on how he felt an urge to throttle anyone - any male - who looked at her. Any male that wasn"t him. And that brought a sickening blow to him. Where had this desire and rage - rage for all the men near what his mind was screaming his woman - come from? His mind and his urges and sense were in such a war with each other, that he did not hear the loud applause as she finished. Did not notice as she bowed and smiled that same sunshine rivaling bright smile. Did not notice as she turned to thank the piano player and made her way off the stage. He did, however, snap to attention as she was swarmed by men. He was alert as she shooed them all off - polite but firmly - and walked over to hug Mitzi. How she pulled Freckles and Rocky into warm hugs and play punched Zib as he said something to her. And he was fully alert and stiff when Asa stood as Ivy made her way past his table and stopped her to take her hand and congratulate her. He growled deep from his chest as the Cajun and Asa looked her over with appreciation. And he approved of Mordecai"s polite nod and as he coaxed Asa"s eyes away from her. He did not, however, loosen up as she finally made it to the bar and propelled herself up - she was still so much smaller than him - and wrap her arms around his neck and bury her face in his neck and smile. He did not loosen up as he instinctively caught and held her close and actually enjoy how she felt pressed against him. It took all his will to not push her roughly away at this feeling. When she did finally release him, she dropped to her feet and grinned up at him. "You big lug! I saw you from the stage! Why didn"t you come closer?" she asked. Her voice sounded older - matured and womanly - and her eyes were not as innocent as when she was younger. But they still held enough innocence to make him almost smile. Instead he crossed his arms in his usual style and gave a shrug. "Could see fine from here," he stated simply, and he felt his lip twitch as she rolled her eyes like she use to. A feeling of familiarity wrapped around him as she began to chatter animatedly to him about what had been going on since she left them five years ago. And for once he listened to every rambling word. He served drinks. She chattered on. She would dance with others but constantly return to him and to tell him more. And Viktor"s rage and possessiveness from earlier agreed with this. Because while she was around him, he could scare away the other males who would dare approach - save for Rocky, who was dumb enough to approach Viktor no matter his mood or expression - and he was OK with this. Everything felt right again. He hadn"t realized how wrong things had felt until she was back. And Viktor was, for Viktor, happy. R & R Plz Hey! I may do more of these. This was fun. HARD. But fun. Sigh. I adore this couple no matter what people say! It"s just cute! Authoress Note: This one has nothing to do with the iPod challenge. It was just this very fun/cute/amusing idea that kept messing with me. And when I get set on something enough - like a random idea - I find I have to write it out or I"ll go nuts! - Once Before - She doesn"t know this because she was too young. And he doesn"t remember it because a lot has happen to him since then, and it takes a few nudges at his memory to recall. But what both don"t remember is that they had met before. Years before she was placed in-front of him by Atlas and he entrusted the one-eyed tom to watch the small slip of a girl. No no that wasn"t the first time they met. No they met years ago in 1910 at her home in her backyard in summer. Atlas had been wanting to go down and see his old friends and his godchild for some time before him and Mitzi finally decided to make the long journey from St. Louis to Kansas City while dragging along the newly employed Mordecai Heller and their old friend and guard Viktor Vasko. A trip that neither of the later mentioned were looking forward to, really. But they had made the trip either way and now the two stood beside the car as Atlas and Mitzi chit-chat with their old friends. They hugged, caught up, and decided on a small lunch outside under their large gazebo. They even offered Mordecai and Viktor to join them - the Peppers fully familiar with who they were by now - but they had declined. They never ate with Atlas on his trips. Drink, yes. But not dine. Not unless it was with everyone from the Lackadaisy. So thus the two stood by the car. Mordecai messed with his cufflinks as him and Viktor argued - as usual - over this and that. Viktor most of the time would tune out the shorter male and said male would become even more aggravated. This went on for quit some time before out of the back door and down the stairs of the porch and down the walkway to the gazebo a plainly dressed woman made her way towards the table with a wiggling object. Their arguing stopped as Mitzi let out a loud "aw" of sort and Atlas gave a cheerful laugh. From where they were, the two bodyguards and bootleggers could not fully make out what was going on but oth had a pretty good guess. Atlas"s goddaughter was paying them a visit. Mordecai gave a scoff. "All this fuss over something so small. I never understood it," he scowled as Viktor, as always, remained quiet and watched the fuss go on. Not long after, the woman from before - Viktor would guess she was a nursemaid - layed out a nice soft blanket on the grass as Mrs. Pepper scooped the child up from Mr. Pepper and Atlas - who were cooing more of the child than the women were; it was almost embarassing - and walked down the few stairs of the gazebo before crouching down and setting the small child down on the blanket. "Now you stay out of trouble sweetie," Ruby cooed to her daughter before standing tall and walkjing back to the adults. Viktor and Mordecai were finally given a full view of the new visitor. She was a small thing - small for even a child - and was dressed in a diaper and a small light green sundress. She had a lot of dark hair for someone so little and her fur was an exotic sort of brown. But what stuck out the most on the small child, was her eyes. Her eyes were large - doll like infact - and a bright golden color; like sunshine captured in glass. Viktor was actually startled by her eyes. Especially when they looked from her mother as she sat down, to gaze around the yard until they landed on him and Mordecai. Mordecai raised a slender brow as the child continued to stare at them, her mouth in an "o" shape and her head slightly tilted. "Hmph. Someone should teach her it"s rude to stare," he sniffed impatiently. Viktor cast his good eye on him and grunted. "She is small child. Can not help it," he gruffly explained in his deep growl of a voice. Mordecai hummed slightly before replaying," that doesn"t mean she can"t be taught." Viktor scowled at the dark furred cat before his good eye caught movement. He turned his head and his body straightened just slightly, his head tilting. Mordecai, who had taken his glasses off to clean them, propped his glasses back on and almost repeated the gesture and look that Viktor had. Crawling towards a large flower not far from where the men stood was the child. She had a large smile on her face as she moved as quickly as her little limbs would allow her, reaching out for the flower - a daisy - determined to get her little paws on it. Mordecai opened his mouth to scare the child off as he spotted a bee flying around the flower. But he was too late as the girls land grasped at the flower, startling the bee to stab into her hand. It"s stinger broke off and was left in her little paw. Just as soon as the stinger made contact, the little girls eyes watered and her mouth opened and out came a large and pained and scared wail! Mordecai"s ears flattened back and he winced as Viktor"s brow over his good eye raised. The girl had a strong set of lungs for someone so little. And she used them well as she wailed and wailed, large tears streaming down her cheeks. "Ugh! Would someone make her stop! She"s disturbing the peace and giving me a headache!" Mordecai exclaimed over the child"s wailing. The girls nursemaide ran towards her and scooped her up, dotting and cooing at her, asking her what was wrong. But the little girl continued to wail and scream her little lungs out, shaking and crying. Mordecai"s hand was twitching to use the gun! Of course he wouldn"t kill the girl - that would look bad for him and Atlas - but he wouldn"t mind using it to scare the nursemaid away with the child. However his thoughts were stopped as Viktor charged suddenly towards the two. The nursemaids eyes widened as Viktor stepped infront of her. She babbled apologies for the girl and tried to step back and leave, only to squeak as the small girl was plucked by the scruff of her neck from the woman"s arms. Modecai watched as Viktor sat the little girl on his arm and held out her paw and easily plucked the thorn like stinger from her hand. "There, see, diet"a," he growled out, his deeper and almost loud voice causing the childs tears and wail to stop as instantly as they came. "no more crying. Small pain is nothing to cry over. Be strong, ya?" The small child looked up at him with wide eyes as the nursemaids jaw dropped. Viktor held the girl up by the scruff of her neck once more so that she was eye level with him, his single green eye peering into hers. Mordecai waited for the child to start wailing in fear at such a scruffy and unappealing character as Viktor peering back at her with his scary mug. He was almost floored when instead the girl suddenly let out a squealing giggle and reached her paws out to pat at his nose. Viktor"s mouth twitched in almost a smile, before he lowered the girl back into the nursemaids arms. The woman"s mouth snapped shut and she thanked him quickly before turning to leave with the child. "Who"d have thought you were good with kids, Viktor," Mitzi called out. The two men looked over as Mitzi waved at them. They were all standing and chatting under a tree now, having seen the whole thing. Viktor scowled and sent a sharp and immobilizing glare to them before turning around to once again stand by Mordecai. Mordecai had composed himself from shock by the time Viktor had returned to his spot. He looked over and up at the large tom before commenting "you wont get your reputation back just by glaring and growling this time, Viktor." The orange and scruffy male growled something in Slovak at him, but otherwise said nothing, allowing silence to add to what Mordecai had assumed been a threat. He scoffed and turned back to adjusting his cufflinks. D"aww, look. I made Viktor almost cute hehe ;P Authoress Note: This semi has to do with the iPod challenge. I"ve been idea dead and then I was listening to Spotify when this song I really like - Nightcall by Kavinsky - came on and I was sparked with a slight idea to write something. Funny enough only one part of the song sparked this thing. So the song isn"t technically the inspiration, but the line that sparked it. - There"s something inside you. It"s hard to explain. They"re talking about you boy. But you still the same - People Talk - She was almost twenty. She was a college student. She had a job and was said to be a great dance partner and even teacher - she taught Rocky how to swing so she must be good! - and she was said to be a nice ray of sunshine. But she wasn"t a ray of sunshine now. She was furious! She had been seeing red and the palm of her hand stung as the residence - nice business tonight - of Lackadaisy froze. Many stopped and stared. Some gaped and others whispered. The band had halted and Ivy didn"t care one bit. Standing across from her, looking flabbergasted and floored as she held her reddening cheek where Ivy"s hand had just made contact with along with her claws slightly, young Darla DeVara sputtered in horror. Darla was a spoiled gal from a wealthy family - her father was even here tonight with Wick - and was a pure white color with big green eyes, her hair cut short and her claws manicured nicely. She always had the most expensive outfits she could get her daddy to buy her and he didn"t mind spoiling her. All in all she was a stuck up snooty-cat. And Ivy Pepper had just slapped her. Had slapped her loud and hard. Why? Because Darla Devara had a bad habit of opening her mouth and saying horrible things. She"d hurt anyone to make herself feel better. The two girls that usually could be found at her side - The Hallow sisters, Eva and Gloria - had been cackling along with her like good little pets to their master. Both had horrified expressions as they fanned Darla and glared daggers at Ivy. But Ivy still didn"t care. She could see Mitzi standing and almost tsking. If Mitzi had heard what Ivy had just heard, she"d have done worse than what Ivy had just done. "How... DARE YOU!" Darla screeched out finally, her marred face contorting in pure rage as she straightened up. The Lackadaisy watched with held breath. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Viktor. Viktor had just stepped back into the bar from the back and was watching the scene. Her eyes snapped to Darla in time to recoil back as her manicured claws and the palm of her paw made hard contact with the side of her face. It hadn"t hurt as much as she thought, and she blamed that on the adrenaline she now had. Ivy was never one for cat fights and she"d never had to draw her claws on anyone before, but now she could care less. She did the most unladylike thing and curled up her paw and smashed it into her face the same way she had seen Viktor do it to multiple people in her life. And just before she could lay another one as Darla stumbled back and to the ground, Viktor - seemingly out of nowhere! - had her. His large paws were on her shoulder, preventing her from moving as he pressed down, keeping her rooted to the spot as Ivy visibly shook from rage. Darla screeched incoherently as her father - Damien DeVara - apologized to Mitzi and ordered his right hand man - Checkers a large tabby with a scar over his nose and chest - to gather Darla up. Checkers did so - though with some difficulty from Darla thrashing to get at Ivy - and carried her out the Lackadaisy. Viktor - upon a motion from Mitzi - lead Ivy out through the crowd. Nobody said anything. People looked away and Ivy suspected that a glare from Viktor did that. Ivy shrugged Viktor off - which he relented simply, not having been holding her that hard - and Ivy stormed into the back where the liquor was sighing in deep frustration as she crashed down onto a crate of labeled beer and kicked off her heels and held her head in her hands, still ragging. She didn"t look up when she heard the door open or close, but she knew it was Viktor and she knew he was staring down at her. But right now she didn"t care. Viktor didn"t say anything, though. She"d expected some kind of reaction. But all she was getting was silence and the feel of him staring at her. Not but five minutes went by before Ivy cracked. She wasn"t as good as Viktor and the others at the quiet treatment so she put her hands on her knees and sighed in anger. "Do I have a bruise on my face?" she asked him, looking up. Viktor furrowed his brows and lowered himself - with difficulty - to one knee and took her chin and turned her stinging cheek towards himself before releasing her and shaking as he got to his feet. Ivy shot up and pulled out a crate - with difficulty and made him sit down. "Small bruise," he coughed as he clinch his knee and Ivy felt bad. She hadn"t meant for him to hurt himself to check on her... But that was Viktor. He was a grizzly, mean tempered, dangerous man but Ivy had seen his soft and good sign enough times to know that if for her - like Atlas had asked him long ago - he would do whatever he could for her... Which brought Ivy back to Darla"s snide words. "That guy at the bar, you know? I heard he"s probably involved in Atlas"s death. He"s such a creep anyway. Should be put to sleep!" Ivy felt her anger flare and she clinched her small fist and huffed. Viktor would never hurt Atlas. He would have never done something like that! He respected her godfather. Atlas had helped Viktor get a new life and Viktro had been loyal - is still loyal - to him to the end and on. Hearing Darla say something so... So wrong had just set her off. Ivy"s cheeks puffed and she winced. "Ow... Ugh Bruises don"t go with any of my dresses," she whined and Viktor just hummed quietly as he rubbed his knees. Ivy watched Viktor and smiled just slightly as she stood up. "Can you take me home?" she asked, causing Viktor to frown and look up at her. "I kinda don"t feel like going back out to dance with this," she pointed to her cheek and Viktor hurmphed and forced himself to his feet. "Have work. Rocky take you home," he said and Ivy deflated. She wanted Viktor to take her home... "Oh. Well... If you"re busy I"ll just go upstairs and wait in the café," she stated cheerfully, causing him to stop and raise a brow at her. Ivy just smiled and Viktor sighed. "Drahý Bože," he muttered and Ivy could see the relent. She smiled before heading to a secret door that would take her upstairs, watching Viktor head back to work the bar. R & R Plz

stopped right in front of an old large crypt with a strange symbol on it. "I need you to help me push this open." Kia gave her a look of disbelief, before shrugging. "Trust me. It is a secret entrance," Esmerelda said with a smile. Together they pushed away the large cover stone, and stepped into a large and steep stairwell. " Be sure to stay close to me Kia" Esmerelda said with a serious tone. Kia nodded and watched as Esmeralda grabbed a small torch at the bottom of the steps. Kia did not once stray to the left or the right. Of course who could blame her, especially with skulls and bones everywhere. They had not walked far before a sound of bones clinking together made her heart jump up into her throat. Esmeralda smiled at Kia and spoke calmly, "It"s just me guys." Kia nearly screamed when two gypsy men dressed in skeleton costumes stepped out of the shadows. A taller one, obviously the one in charge, spoke and gestured to her. "Who is this with you Esmerelda? You know the rules. No outsiders allowed," he said in a sharp that tone made Kia think of the soldiers who always messed with the gypsys in the street. "This is Kia Hawkins, Daughter of Galatea Lovett. She wishes to join us and so I need to speak to Clopin about her" Esmerelda said coldly, "Now please tell me Where he is" Esmeralda said as she crossed her arms over her chest, giving the men dirty looks. The man was taken aback. He obviously hadn"t expected the tone Esmerelda gave him. "He"s in his tent as we speak. Sorry for the misunderstanding Esmerelda." One of the small men said with a smile. Esmeralda gave the smaller man a soft smile. "Thank you Jean Claude" She said as she grabbed Kia"s hand and quickly pulled her away from the upset leader. Kia gave Jean Claude a thank-you smile before Esmerelda yanked her forward. After they were out of ear shot Kia comments, "Well they seem like a nice bunch." Esmerelda smiled. "I don"t blame him for being a bit cautious. It IS against the rules to bring outsiders to the court of miracles." Kia nodded to show that she understood. Esmeralda lead Kia around another turn before they finally came to a door flap. Esmeralda pushed it aside and nonchalantly stepped in, and pulled Kia into a large room. Kia let out a surprised gasp as her eyes lit up with excitement. Esmeralda laughed. She just loved the look that the new comers would make when they first saw "The Court of Miracles". They were completely priceless. "It"s so beautiful! Even better than I expected it to be" Kia thought in awe. There were colorful draperies all around, and tents and gypsy booths graced the sides of the sidewalks. It was magnificent. "Come on." Esmeralda said with a smile as she tugged on Kia"s hand, pulling her out of her daze. They passed many colorful and interesting tents, but Esmeralda eventually stopped in front of a plain looking one. Kia looked at it with curiosity. It looked just like all the others. She had expected it to be a bit more "special" than the others. Especially since this was the "King of Gypsy"s.' Esmeralda smiled, and as if she were reading Kia"s mind, said, "the king believes he should be treated the same as his subjects. No more, no less" she said as she lifted the flap of the tent and motioned for her to follow. The first thing Kia noticed was that it was divided into two separate quarters. Kia looked around, admiring some of the interesting crafts and junk all around. Kia scanned around the room a bit, before she spotted a small bunch of juggler balls next to a bunch of puppet parts. Kia lightly walked over to the balls and picked them up. There were only three of them. Perfect. Kia slowly began to juggle the balls with ease. Esmerelda smiled and clapped her hands. "Not bad for a Halfa." "Not bad indeed." Kia jumped at the unfamiliar voice, sending the balls flying behind her. Kia turned around just in time to watch the stranger catch the ball at about an inch from his face. "Didn"t know we had a fellow juggler in Paris." Kia"s eyes grew wide as she stared at none other than the puppeteer from a week ago. "We meet again," he said with a bow before standing straight up and placing the ball next to a little puppet head. "Have you met before?" Esmeralda asked surprised. Kia gave a wry smile "Well we didn"t really "meet". I just watched his performance before I saved a little girls who had almost got hit by a carriage." Esmeralda nodded with a smile a secret smile before turning to the door. "I"ll leave you two alone to discuss things then." She gave Kia a soft smile of reassurance before exiting. Kia stood their awkwardly for a while, before she started to take a quick assessment of the. He had black hair, dark eyes, and dark skin like most gypsies. He had one small gold hoop in one ear, and he was wearing a common gypsy style striped pants, shirt and hat in purple and gold. He was standing with his hands across his chest, and in his hand was a purplish-pinkish mask. He stood like this for quiet a while. Perhaps he was assessing her as well. Kia, who didn"t like complete silence, decided to say something to break the silence. "I"m sorry about almost hitting you. I hope you"re not mad." A laugh escaped from the man. "Its quiet alright. It was an accident after all. No harm done." He said with a warm smile. Kia smiled. She was glade he was so understanding and kind, and not like she had thought he would be. Cold and cruel. "By the way, Miss Hawkins, I would like to thank you for saving Bells life last week. That was very selfless of you." Her eyes widened. She didn"t know he had seen her save Belle. "Well I couldn"t let the sweet girl be hurt why"ll I was around! I would never forgive myself," Kia said with a soft smile, "Even if I had gotten hurt, I wouldn"t have cared. Just as long as Belle was safe." The king gave her a soft smile. He knew she was kind and good from the moment he saw her. Kia looks at the gypsy king, as a wave of unknowing fills eyes "Esmeralda said that the gypsies would accept me. My father"s people look down on me because of who my mother was. I know Esmerelda wouldn"t, but would you do the same because my father is Cain Hawkins?" Kia asked with a quiet and unsteady voice. She didn"t want to be sent away. She couldn"t be sent away, she just couldn"t. "Mademoiselle, we gypsies must stay together if we are to survive. If the life of a gypsy is what you truly want, then you are always welcomed here." A happy and exited smile spread across Kia"s face. She couldn"t believe what she was hearing. She was going to be a gypsy. A part of her mother"s people. She was finally going to have a place to call her home. "Thank, Mon ceri"" Kia said with tears of happiness growing in her eyes. "Please," he said with a smile, "call me Clopin." YES! Another chapter complete! Wooohooo! Hope you all enjoyed this. She FINALLY met Clopin! YAY! As soon as Kia and Clopin stepped out of his tent, she was surprised to find a large crowd gathered around the tent. It seems that word had spread quickly through the court of miracles of the new girl, also known as the daughter of Galatea Lovett, joining them. Many of them came to welcome her, why"ll a few just give her dirty looks before walking away. "I knew you were a gypsy, I just new it." Kia"s heart lit up when she spotted none other than little Belle running through the crowd toward her. Kia bent down and picked her up. She was happy to see that the ribbon she had given her, was still tied in her hair. "Mama, Mama, this is the girl that saved me." Kia smiled as a woman, obviously Belles mother, came toward her with a smile. "Thank-you so much. When our highness and Belle told me of how you rescued her, I felt so bad that I might never get the chance to thank you." Kia gave the women a kind smile as she handed Belle back to her. "It was no trouble ma"am. I"m just glad she is safe, and that no one was harmed." The woman smiled at Kia before setting Belle down, so she could go play. "My name is Rose Claude, by the way. I hope you will come by and visit us." Rose gave Kia one more smile before taking Belle"s hand and leading her away Kia watched them exit the crowd, before she turned back to greeting all the other interested onlookers. One particularly interested viewer was on the outside of the crowd. Clopin watched the half gypsy with precision. As king of the gypsies, it was his job to make sure she was adjusting well. But it was also his job to see if she was a hindrance, and to find another way to help her. He had been the only king to never banish someone form the Court of Miracles, and he didn"t want to start now. As the crowd finally dissipated, Kia let out sighed of relief and happiness. The gypsies had been very welcoming to her, more than she had expected. Meeting all of them hadn"t been as stressful as she had thought it would be. Esmeralda, who had witnessed everything, smiled at Kia"s good reception towards all the curious people. She walked over to Kia and placed her hand on her shoulder, ushering her towards her tent. Esmeralda gestured to one of two seats in front of her. Esmeralda felt bad for making her go through all that, but she was glade she made it through it all. "Kia? Do you have any ideas on what you are going to do for a living?" Kia smiled to show that she understood, before she reached down for her bag and laid the contents out on the table. Esmeralda stared at Kia"s stuff, before she reached over and lifted the bag of coins from Kia"s bag. She tested the weight of the bag, when her eyes widened in surprise. "With this much money, you wont need to do anything for a while." Kia gave a soft smile. "That may be, but I want to do something to earn my keep." Esmeralda couldn"t help but smiled at her ambition. "Well, is there anything you want to do?" Kia gave Esmerelda a big smile. She knew exactly what she wanted to do. "I would like to dance, and maybe sing." Esmeralda gave Kia a soft and knowing smile. She knew that it was what Kia wanted, but she also knew that it wouldn"t be as easy as she hopped. "If you want I could teach you." Kia laughed, "Oh thank-you Esmerelda. I know some gypsy dances, but not enough for street dancing alone," Kia said with a small smile. Esmerelda gave her a surprised look. "You already know some moves?" Kia shook her head. "Well lets see them," Esmerelda says as she pulls out her tambourine. "Well, Ok?" Kia said, a bit surprised at Esmereldas forceful bluntness. "Do you want me to sing or dance first?" Kia asked unsurely. "Lets hear you sing first, shall we?" Esmerelda says as Kia sets up in her seat and clears her voice. "I don"t know any gypsy song, but here you go." She said with a smile. I don"t know if You can hear meOr if You"re even thereI don"t know if You would listenTo a gypsy"s prayerYes, I know I"m just an outcastI shouldn"t speak to youStill I see Your face and wonderWere You once an outcast too? God help the outcastsHungry from birthshow them the mercythey don"t find on earththe lost and forgottenthey look to you stillGod help the outcastsOr nobody will I ask for nothingI can get byBut I know so manyLess lucky than IGod help the outcastsThe poor and downtrodI thought we all wereThe children of God I don"t know if there"s a reasonWhy some are blessed, some notWhy the few You seem to favorThey fear us Flee usTry not to see us God help the outcastsThe tattered, the tornSeeking an answerTo why they were bornWinds of misfortuneHave blown them aboutYou made the outcastsDon"t cast them outThe poor and unluckyThe weak and the oddI thought they all wereThe children of God As Kia finished, a look of disbelief crossed over Esmerelda"s face. "That...was beautiful Kia." An embarrassed blush formed on Kia"s face. "Thank-you Esmerelda." Kia said with a smile. "Well we defiantly know you can sing, but lets see how you dance." Esmerelda began to play a soft tone on her instrument. Kia listened to the beat of the song, before gracefully flowing into the steps of the dance she knows. As Kia finished, a look of awe and approval was seen in Esmerelda"s eyes. "Not bad, not bad! I"m very impressed," Esmerelda said with smile. "With a little adjustment in your move, you"d make an out standing street performer!" Kia"s smile broadened. "That would be wonderful. Thank-you. I"m a very fast learner, so you wont have to worry." Esmerelda laughed as she made up an extra pallet for Kia. Kia adjusted to her new bed, before she soon was fast asleep. Esmerelda smiled at the girl with pride. She smiled to herself for bringing Kia to the Court of Miracles before she also fell asleep. All right! Another chapter! I know its not much, but I"m half way done with the next chapter, so maybe ill post more soon ok ppl . In the morning, at least she thought it was morning, Kia blinked her icy blue eyes open. This was all very strange for her. Kia was use to Anita or Anglia waking her up. Down underground, however, there was only the torchlight"s and the sound of shuffling feet. "Oh Kia! I"m so sorry. Did I wake you up?" Kia propped herself on her elbows, before turning to looked up at a very ready and wide awake Esmeralda. "What time is it?" Kia said, stifling a yawn, and rubbing her eyes. Esmerelda smiled. "I believe it"s around seven, but a very few of us have clocks. So I am not to sure." Kia smiled to show that she understood. "So what happens to me now?" Kia asked with a curious twinkle in her eye. Esmerelda laughed. She loved how Kia was always trying to figure everything out. "Well, I thought you might want to see a little more of the Court." A wide and happy smile spread across Kia"s face. "Oh that would be wonderful! Let me get ready real quick." Kia jumped up from her bed, and skipped over to her satchel. She decided to wear a shirt similar to the one she wore yesterday. She then slipped on a light purple skirt, with a light purple sash, trimmed with a gold trimming. She slipped on her ankle and wrist bracelets, before straightening her hair and putting it in a low ponytail. "Are you going to show me around?" Kia asked as she put her satchel next to her bed and sat on a stool nearest her. "I would, but I have to meet with Phoebus, you remember him, don"t you?" She nodded. She had liked him. He was very kind. He was also the best judge ever in the history of Paris. "Well, guess what. We are getting married," Esmeralda said with a huge smile, showing her obvious excitement. "I did, however, arranged for some one else to take you. They are waiting out-" The tent flap swung open, only to reveal Jean Claude. "Are you ready yet, Madam?" Jean Claude had gladly accepted the task of showing Kia around when Esmerelda had asked him. He took her ALL over the underground city with pride. He kindly introduced her to many gypsies. Both young and old. After walking all day, her feet were starting to hurt terribly badly. Thankfully, Belle, and a few of her friends, had asked her to join them in a game of ring-around the rosy. Jean Claude stood by and watched her for a while, before leaving to go home. As she played with them, the children quickly began to be enamored by her. Even their parents in turn began to love her. While they had been playing a small little boy of three, named Alex, had scraped his knee while playing tag with some of the littler children. As the boy began to cry, Kia scooped him up into her arms and began to hum a soft tune. The boy stopped his tears momentarily to hear her soft humming. As Kia finished, she sat the boy down and tore a piece of her shirtsleeve, and tied it around the boys cut. "Does that feel better little one?" she asked with a smile. A large smile appeared on his face, "OUI ma"am! It does." He said happily. "Well that"s good to hear!" came a high-pitched voice from a little puppet that popped up beside her. "Right you are. That is good to hear," followed the kind low voice of Clopin. Kia smiled as she stood and watched the gypsy king entranced Alex with a magic trick. Once the he went back to the game, Clopin turned to her. "I see the children are already taken with you." Kia"s smile broadened from his praise. "Well I have always gotten along with children, Monsieur." "So I can tell," the gypsy said, giving her a somewhat lopsided smile. "Esmeralda has informed me that you want to dance and sing for your living." Kia nodded, a little worried that he"d disapprove. "That is a good idea, but it will take you time to learn." Kia smiled at his concern. "Do not worry, Mr. Clopin, I have already proven to Esmerelda that I am a fast learner." Clopin gave her a surprised look. Kia couldn"t help but laugh at his confusion. "What I mean, is that since I already know the basic steps of gypsy dance style, I just need to learn how to move with better ease and style," Kia said as she tightened her ponytail. "You know how to dance already?" Clopin asked, a bit taken back by this. She nodded. "Every time I would go to the market, I would watch the gypsy dance. I would memorize their steps, then practice and copy them at home for hours." Kia said with a shrug. Clopin was surprised. He hadn"t suspected that she could learn so fast. They stood like that in silence for what seemed like hours, before Belle ran up and yanked on Kia"s skirt. "Are you ever going to be finished?" she pouted. Kia smiled as she ruffled Belles hair. "Well I see you have other more pressing matters to deal with. So I will talk to you later." He made a slight bow before he walked back towards the main court atrium. She watched him walk away until Belle pulled her into the game of tag. While playing she couldn"t stop thinking about him. He was so unlike anyone she had ever known. He was a respected authority, and yet he lived in poverty just as much, even more, as everyone else. It was inspiring. To Kia he seemed almost like one of the characters from the fairytales her mama use to tell her. Noble, heroic, kind, and selfless. Kia thought that people like that were only made for fairytales. Now her eyes and mind were being opened to many new things. I told you I"d be making another chapter soon . ! Hope you enjoy this one! A week had past since Kia"s arrival to the Court of Miracles. She had adjusted quit well to the gypsy life style. Her dancing had also progressed, thanks to Esmerelda, and she was more ready than ever, to start her street dancing. Even though Kia knew she was doing well, she couldn"t help but feel she was missing something. Esmeralda had told her not to get discouraged, but she was still not satisfied with the feeling of incompleteness. Kia had begun to spend more time with Clopin. She had truly come to enjoy his presence during her time off from practice. "How has your dancing lessons been going, Kia?" He asked her one-day, while she was humming and sewing up a doll that had belonged to Belle. She turned and gave him a soft smile, "Its been going great, thank-you Clopin," she said as she went back to humming her song and sewing. Clopin listened closely to her humming. "Kia? Could you sing the song your humming to me?" Kia gave Clopin a surprised look. She hadn"t expected him to ask her to sing. "Oh well, sure, Clopin, ill sing it to you," She said as she set the doll and needle down. Whatever you imagineCan one day come to be.There are dreams to awaken,Roads to be taken.Follow them and they will set you free.Whatever you imagineIs where your heart can go.There are worlds filled with treasure,Time without measureTo learn whatever you may need to know.Imagine,If you and I could fly past the sun.And leave all,Our doubts and fears behind us.You see, that"s just what can happenIf you look inside your mind.There"s no limit to the wonders you can find.Whatever you imagineCan make your life brand new.There are miracles waiting,So keep concentrating.And I promise you that if you do,Whatever you imagine can come true(Whatever you imagine)(Whatever you imagine)Whatever you imagine(Can make your life brand new)Can make your life brand new.There are miracles waiting,So keep concentrating.And I promise you that if you do,Whatever you imagine will come...true. Clopin never once took his eyes off Kia, as she finished her song. "That was beautiful Kia!" A blush appeared on Kia"s face as she went back to sewing up the doll. "Th-thank-you C-Clopin," Kia stuttered, not daring to turn around, in fear he would see her blush. "You should sing and dance tonight at the Gypsy Ball. You would do wonderful!" Clopin said as jumped up from his spot next to her. A smile appeared on Kia"s face. "Oh Clopin! I would love to! Would that be ok with the others?" Kia asked, as a look of excitement twinkled in her eyes. A large smile appeared on Clopin"s face. "Of course they"d be fine with it. After all, I AM the king," he said with a grin. Kia smiled and lunged at him, and pulled him into a hug. "Thank-you Clopin," Kia whispered to him. Clopin, still shocked from her hug, nodded numbly as she pulled away. "I"m going to go get dressed then, Ok?" Kia said as she gathered up her sewing equipment, and ran off to her tent. "No problem," Clopin whispered as he watched her run into her tent. "She hugged me! She hugged me and I just stood there like an idiot! She must think I"m a total madman!' Clopin thought as he sulked back to his tent. SORRY! I"m SOOO sorry that I haven"t updated in forever! I"ve been grounded yays to me but now I"m free and ready to continue! Plz R&R

Just what...? It was suddenly silent, save for the gentle breeze which drifted through the courtyard, and Sasuke glanced over to Date Masamune who had suddenly stopped the upward sweeping motion of his katana. After a few seconds of holding that pose, Masamune soon lowered his blade and after a short pause... "Tch." He clicked his tongue and forcefully sheathed his sword. Sensing his cue, Sasuke had wisely chose that moment to disappear before the young lord could see him as he stormed across the courtyard with an indiscernible look upon his face. A/N: And I shall stop there for now. Do drop in a review, it"d be most appreciated, well loved and treated like gold as the next update will be just around the corner! That is, if I enough musou/energy/magicpowder to rev me up and get me going. ^^;; A/N: Part two is now up. Although part three has already been completed, I won"t release it once I finish writing part four - which will hopefully be the final segment to wrap up the supposed "one-shot". In this segment, I"ve decided to be daring with the interaction between Kojuro and Yukimura. Upon writing this segment, I was so close to teetering off and spinning this story into a KojuYuki. Why? I just find Kojuro and Yukimura so sexy together. I don"t know what the possibilities are or the mechanics that needed to create the dynamism between them but damn, I just find them so good-looking together. Like seriously. Okay. Enough ramble. DateSana is the pair here. Focus. Oh yes, I"m not sure if you realised this but I really liked the way SB was dubbed. So that explains why there no "Oyaaaakataa-samaaa", "Danna", "(insert name)-dono" etc. Forgive me if it sounds strange or if it"s not to your liking, I just like JYB"s dub work for Yukimura. He is just smex to my ears. Especially the way he rolls Yukimura"s name around with his tongue. It is just UNF. (/) Summary: [AU] Really, if Yukimura hadn"t looked at that time, he wouldn"t be experiencing this strange burning in his chest. He wouldn"t have found his eyes straying a little too much. And he certainly wouldn"t find himself in this surreal situation where his nails were digging into Date Masamune"s back. [DateSana] A d o l e s c e n c e a DatexSana story By su I k a"s w I n d o f t h e c e l e s t I a l "Master...Katakura?" Yukimura was surprised to find the One-Eyed Dragon"s retainer standing alone by the gates of the Takeda residence with his horse, a displeased look was upon his face. Setting his spears to the side, he hopped off the veranda and quickly rushed over towards the older man whose eyes, in spite of the frown that had adorned his face, softened a little. "Master Katakura! Forgive me sir, but may I implore to ask you of what purpose does my Master serve to make you travel all the way to Kai without prior notice? My Lord is in Echigo at the moment and I have been left to keep house. Had I been informed of your visit, I would have my men make haste to conduct the necessary preparations to humbly welcome you, sir. Please, allow me to get your horse and-" "Worry not Sanada, I won"t be staying very long." "B-But sir! I cannot accept that! You have travelled a great distance from Oshu! Surely you must come in and have a rest-!" "I"ve come to relay a message from Lord Masamune." Yukimura, upon hearing the name of the man he had been trying his hardest to avoid for the past month - including the likeliness of an encounter on the battlefield (where he had stubbornly decided to go and attack the enemy from a route which did not cross paths with the One-Eyed Dragon, much to the surprise of his beloved Lord) - came to a halt, his hands which had been reaching for the Kojuro"s horse paused in mid-air. "This message is for you, Sanada. Lord Masamune has asked me to personally deliver this message to you." Yukimura swallowed back the unpleasant burn of bile in his throat and his hands dropped to his sides. Again. There was that exasperating, suffocating, alien pressure building up from within his chest as, almost instantaneously, the same images of flickered through his mind. Yukimura just had to fight back the urge to slam his fist against his chest, as if such an act would be able to dislodge that something which had been making his breathing a very difficult task to do whenever the name Date Masamune was involved. "From...Lord Masamune...?" he managed to choke out as he strained his ears in favour of listening to the words of Date"s Right Eye instead of the irritating and ridiculously loud pounding of his heart. "What...what is it?" If Kojuro noticed the dramatic change in Yukimura"s behavior, he simply paid it no heed to it. "My lord invites you to Oshu-" "I refuse." "My lord insists that you come." "It is an invitation, Master Katakura, not an obligation. And although I am but a humble soldier who is deeply honoured for being regarded with such esteem by your lord, I"m afraid I have to turn down his generous offer." Another image flickered through his mind and Yukimura was beginning to find it increasingly difficult to breathe normally. Again. The enactments of the episode which started it all - - was playing ever so vividly in his memory, like those erotic picture books he had often seen his men quietly fuss around. Kojuro pinched his brows together, taken aback by Yukimura"s unfamiliar dismissive manner. So it"s true. In spite of this, he remained faithful to his lord"s orders and decided to push on. "Lord Masamune will not entertain with this childishness of yours, Sanada. And as his Right Eye, neither shall I." Yukimura glared. "Childishness? Master Katakura, I beseech to you to take back the wickedness of such words for I bear no ill-intent which heavily leans to such a tasteless character! On what grounds do you charge me on such bold accusations!" "Speaking upon the behalf of my lord, your recent cowardly antics have proved to be unbefitting of the warrior that was once known as Shingen"s Young Cub! Such conduct displeases Lord Masamune!" "C-Cowardly! H-How dare you!" That did it. Katakura Kojuro may be a man by which Yukimura holds a large degree of admiration to because of his intelligence, his strength as well as the fact that the man himself was kind enough to look after him and point out the faults that the young man was unable to see in order to correct them, however to taint the name of Kai as well as his pride as a warrior who has been taken under the wing of his great teacher, Lord Takeda Shingen with such saucy words... Yukimura seized his spears and fell into his signature battle stance, his eyes blazing with anger at Date Masamune"s retainer who simply looked on, unruffled. It was unforgiveable. "Master Katakura! I do not wish to strike arms with you. But due to the audacious nature of the insult which you have struck upon me, I beseech to you good sir, to make haste and leave the vicinity at once before I strike you down!" There was stubborn frown on Kojuro"s face as he took a few steps forward and poised his left hand over the blades which hung by his side. Yukimura, on the other hand, tightened his grip around the grip of his spears and gritted his teeth. Against the glowing rays of the setting sun, Kojuro quietly took up his battle stance and pinned him with a determined look. Yukimura"s eyes widened in shock and the strength behind his spears faltered a little. That look. That piercing look. It was just like his. Once again, his throat was being constricted. Those invisible fingers pressing down ever so harshly around his neck. It was getting harder to breathe. And his heart...it can"t stop pounding. It just can"t stop pounding faster and faster and faster... "Master Katakura!" Yukimura had managed to croak out, almost desperately. "I beg you, please leave!" There was a telltale clink of metal and soon a katana was slowly drawn from the safe confines of its sheath. "The words of my Lord are absolute and I, bound by the binding duty which has been bestowed upon the one who serves as his Right Eye, shall not leave Kai until you have agreed to take up my Lord"s invitation! And if I am to die to fulfill this duty, then so be it!" Kojuro exclaimed. -whitehotsearingpleasuregasppainecstasysigh- Yukimura slammed his spears together and after releasing a fierce battle cry which had dispersed up into the dusky sky, he charged forward. Kojuro took up his sword, the blade gleaming dangerously in the dim light. Tightening his grip, Yukimura blindly swung his spears at the other man, each dangerous sweep of the blades becoming more erratic and reckless than the last. Upon noticing this, Kojuro scowled. Although he knew that he had no right to meddle into his lord"s private affairs, he could not find himself to be idle and simply turn a blind eye upon this particular situation. Especially since Yukimura"s abrupt alienation was beginning to affect Masamune, even at the slightest. Forgive me, Boss Masamune. Upon blocking Yukimura"s hasty and careless onslaught of spears, he locked the blades and forcefully brought them to the ground. Yukimura panicked at this and began to fiercely struggle against the dead weight by which Kojuro had forced on his weapons. "Sanada." Yukimura didn"t respond. He didn"t look up to acknowledge him. Instead he was busying himself with trying his hardest to pull out of Kojuro"s unyielding grip. He jerked and yanked the spears with force, cursing under his breath. Kojuro, unsatisfied with this, applied even more pressure and leaned a little closer to the young general. "Sanada," he tried again in hopes of drawing the young man"s attention. Still, Yukimura did not listen and he seemed even more desperate in his attempt of freeing his spears. "Tch," Irked, Kojuro reached over with his free hand and seized Yukimura"s collar, forcing their gazes to meet. "SANADA! LOOK AT ME!" -gaspstopstopstop- Kojuro"s eyes widened in surprise and Yukimura, upon registering the look, tore away from his clasp. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" In a sudden burst of newfound energy, he viciously yanked his weapons from where it had been wedged under Kojuro"s sword and stumbled back a few paces, placing a good distance between them. Raising his spears once again, he bared his teeth at the man before he fell back into his initial stance and paused, breathing raggedly. There was a wild look about his eyes, a stormy array of emotions which fell between confusion and so much, so much pent up frustration. Kojuro took up his blade once again, his eyebrows pinched together in bewilderment. "What is with that crazed look upon your face, Sanada? Forgive me for my boldness for prying into such undisclosed affairs, but this matter between you and Lord Masamune has to-!" Yukimura snapped. Without warning, he suddenly lunged forward with his spears held up with such precision, the blades aiming straight for Kojuro"s unguarded throat without restraint. Kojuro, startled by Yukimura"s speed, was only able to raise his blade to thwart the path of one deadly stab and he waited in bated breath for the sharp piercing of skin which he had long been accustomed to as well as the all too familiar stench of blood. Well now. It really was a mistake to take Shingen"s Young Cub lightly. Perhaps Lord Masamune was right, he really was becoming soft... "Hold it!" There was a surprised look. A clang of metal against metal. Sarutobi Sasuke, in all his enigmatic glory, had suddenly appeared between the men and with that outstanding inhuman strength which was hidden in his lithe body, held Yukimura"s attack back with his own short sword. "Takeda"s ninja?" "Sasuke! Wh-what-!" "Sorry for dropping in so suddenly but the battle"s over. Master, please withdraw your weapons, my arm is going to break." "This has nothing to do with you, Sasuke! Stand down or I shall-!" "I bring word from Echigo. Lord Takeda has assigned a duty for you, Master." Upon hearing the name of his lord, Yukimura falters and almost drops his weapons, his ears perking up in interest. "His Lordship?" Sasuke nods and slowly directs the young general to lower his spears with a dexterous flick of his wrist. Kojuro almost sighed with relief and he looked on to the ninja with newfound respect, lowering his own blade. However... Kojuro narrowed his eyes. Sarutobi Sasuke"s shoulders, though neatly concealed by his attire, were unmistakably tense. Could he have... "Master, Lord Takeda asks if you are capable to carry out his request tonight." Yukimura looked aghast by the imposition of such a question and he straightened his back. There was a determined look set upon his face. "Of course! By his word, I, Sanada Genjiro Yukimura, with all the fire in my heart and the will of my undying spirit shall dutifully carry out whatever my lord wishes me to do! Be it at the crack of dawn or even in the darkness of the night, time is not an inconvenience for me as my lord"s word is forever absolute! What task has His Lordship assigned for me to do?" "Judging for the amount of work you"ve been doing so far Master, His Lordship has made the benevolent and wise decision of annulling you of your current duties." There was sputter of incoherent words on Yukimura"s part but Sasuke merely carried on. "He advises you to you go to Oshu, to take a short break there in this rare moment of peace. After all, Oshu is known for the beauty of its greenery. Lord Takeda suggests that a change of scenery is needed because...well, you really need to cool down, Master." Yukimura had paled considerably. "B-But Sasuke! Surely-there must be-! I do not need-!" "Orders are absolute, Master. You said so yourself. Now, I suggest you to get ready and not keep Date"s Right Eye waiting. It"s best that you leave together as going alone at night will only make you an easy target for prowling enemies. I don"t think the commander will be happy if news of your recklessness reaches him." Yukimura looked torn. He wanted to protest but seeing the graveness on Sasuke"s face and the inconceivable thought of disobeying his lord"s orders made him think otherwise. After a moment of deep thinking, he finally gave in to the wise words of his trusted ninja with a reluctant nod. Casting an apologetic bow to Kojuro, ears burning red with shame for his misconduct, he quickly picked up his spears and made haste to prepare for the trip to Oshu. Once the young general was out of sight, Kojuro turned to Sasuke who had reached up to scratch his cheek after releasing a long weary sigh. "How much have you listened, ninja?" he quietly demanded as he sheathed his sword. There was a small upturn of lips. "More than enough. I see you"ve got problems on your side as well." "Hmph. I presume you know the root of it." The ninja simply grinned. "It"s the spring that you sour old men can"t ever experience again." Kojuro could not help but smirk. "A spring that most of you wayward youths can"t stop to appreciate." "Huh. You got that right." A/N: The next part is where we really get down to business. Now, what shall become of the long-awaited meeting between Yukimura and Masamune? A/N: At last, we"ve reached the long awaited part three (and possibly the whole point of this story anyway) - the smut. I apologise beforehand if it sucks, this is after all my first R18 fic so please don"t expect too much. And because the central theme of this story is about all about adolescence or at least the sexual maturity and transition into adulthood of both Masamune and Yukimura (hence the title), please do not expect them to throw themselves at one another. Men don"t give their entire selves up to each other let alone be mushy with one another at first sight. ^^ Funny thing is, when writing this segment, the boyfriend seemed to be well aware that I was struggling with this part (seeing how, like many fujoshis, we reeeally don"t know how the male body actually works) and with a bright smile, he offered to help me. I was horrified. Well, perhaps a little astonished that this guy seemed so keen to help me out. I turned down his offer. Nevertheless, he decided to press on and told me a thing or two, in spite of my protesting. He really is strange and precious. Summary: [AU] Really, if Yukimura hadn"t looked at that time, he wouldn"t be experiencing this strange burning in his chest. He wouldn"t have found his eyes straying a little too much. And he certainly wouldn"t find himself in this surreal situation where his nails were digging into Date Masamune"s back. [DateSana] A d o l e s c e n c e a DatexSana story By su I k a"s w I n d o f t h e c e l e s t I a l Date Masamune was not happy. No, scratch that. He was downright pissed. The young lord of Oshu had been delighted when news of Kojuro"s arrival with Sanada Yukimura had reached him. He had thrown aside his training garments and pulled on a neatly pressed yukata which had been laid out by the maids with much vigour before quickly making his way through the house to greet his guests and enjoy the first party that was being held in his house since the arrival of Spring. Yet... Above all the music and the contagious liveliness that circulated around, Sanada Yukimura had decided to avoid him all throughout the night and after devoting himself to different remote areas of the house whenever Masamune tried to invade his personal space... "Shit!" They were now in the private chambers. After patiently putting up with the ceaseless, irritating, exasperating burning feeling which had been embedded within his chest for the entire night ever since he had set his eyes upon the familiar form of Takeda"s Cub, Masamune slammed his fist against the space beside Yukimura"s head (which had been strangely missing its customary hachimaki since the young man had been strongly persuaded to change out of his battle gear and into a more comfortable yukata by his servants) and with his other hand clutched the other"s throat in a tight grip as he forced the young general to face him. Yukimura on the other hand simply glared, his eyes glowing dangerously in the dark as his own hands had thrust forward and grabbed at the material of Masamune"s yukata in order to hold the One Eyed Dragon back the moment he had lunged at him. "Cut the crap Yukimura!" Masamune hissed, "What the hell is wrong with you!" "Forgive me Lord Masamune but I know not the intent by which you have placed behind your words! There is nothing - ugh! " Masamune"s gripped tightened around Yukimura"s throat, causing the other to release a small gasp of pain which caused the young lord to suddenly freeze. Masamune furrowed his brows and his jaw tightened. Shit. Again. That peculiar shudder. That exhilarating, spine-tingling shudder which made his movements falter, his thoughts to teeter and come to a crashing halt and made his body feel just so bloody alien. Again. That blood-rushing, adrenalin-pumping, mind-fucking shudder went down his spine again. "Tch! Don"t fuck with me! You...what have you done!" "Wh-what..." "SHUT UP!" Yukimura"s eyes widened when Masamune suddenly stepped in and closed the already scarce proximity between them. Seeing the flash of panic that flickered behind the other"s defiant display, Masamune had decided to seize this opportunity to move his hand from the wall and thrust it against that one spot on Yukimura"s chest where his heart was - pounding so loudly - and bunched the yukata in his grip. He leaned in closer, eye glaring down into those glowing ones and as he opened his mouth to speak, it suddenly struck. Just like it had that first time when he first realised it. Just like it had during the last impromptu training session a month ago. Just like it always had whenever they were close to each other. Just like now. That smell. "L-Lord Masamu-!" "Just what are you playing at Sanada Yukimura?" the young lord spat bitterly, "Did that ninja set you up with something to take me out? Has Old Man Takeda finally realized the power of the Date? Eh? You guys opting to settle for it all for a last party by only sending you? Ha! How-!" Masamune stopped, blinking in bewilderment when Yukimura had suddenly seized his wrist when it had unintentionally shifted to the side and accidentally pulled the garment along with it. Again, he moved his hand a little and like before, Yukimura"s fingers had firmly clasped around his wrist and stopped his movement. Automatically, his gaze dropped down to the stretch of exposed skin there, to the sun-kissed hue of that lean yet uncannily delicious-looking collarbone that hid behind his six-coins... Beneath his hand, Yukimura"s heart was beating faster than before. Masamune looked up. And Yukimura narrowed his eyes. The further tightening of his grip around Masamune"s wrist was all that the One Eyed Dragon needed to know. Throwing Yukimura"s arm out of the way and shoving his palm against the base of Yukimura"s jaw in order to force his head to the side, Masamune then pried the collar of his yukata open and dived in to press his face against the smooth expanse of the other"s throat. Yukimura cried out in surprise and his body suddenly exploded into a violent fit as he tried to fight the man off him but Masamune gave no mind to this. In fact, he had decided not pay heed to anything else apart from the blatant fact that the smell was there. Right there, along the smooth column of Yukimura"s neck, the smell was there. That smell - that alluring trace of cool muskiness which had been driving him crazy, making his blood pump faster, his heart to pound so loudly in his ears, causing that course of excitement to run down his body - it was fucking there.

A small choke and the lowering of a porcelain mug. "W-What?" It was a small slip of composure, but it was more than enough to trigger a small bark of laughter upon the brunet"s part as soon as he saw unadulterated disbelief slowly etching upon his dearest friend"s face. Smirking, Gackt then reached over and began to absentmindedly wipe away the few droplets of coffee clinging upon the bottom lip of the startled blond with his thumb. "Hn. Thought so. But I"m serious, You. I really did got hit with a broom - by a goddamn fucking midget." A violent sneeze. And a spark of determination ignited within dark brown eyes in newfound vigour as a grip tightened around the telephone receiver. A brusque sniffle. "I"m telling the truth! And - no, I"m not sick - that"s what happened!" The frown soon faltered and disappeared, all to make way for a fervent nod. "I"m telling you Mama, this neighbour of mine is a horny freak. And what"s more? He"s interested with the anatomy of men. Yes, men! Can you believe it? He- what?" A pause to listen, all soon before a haughty lop-sided smirk danced its way up to pliant lips, triggering a glint of callous glee within dark eyes. "Yeah, you bet I did. I took care of him, really, really took good care of him. I"ll have to thank you for lending me your broom, Ma, think I understand why Dad hates it so much and- Ha? What was that? Ah! A job? You"re asking about my job?" A sheepish laugh, a slight cringe. Behold the symptoms of guilt which will undoubtedly lead to... "Yeah, yeah and about that... I...uh, I"m still searching. Yeah, still looking for it, alright! You- yeah, really I am! Really, really! Honestly! You see, I did apply for a job at this other place last time but I didn"t get any response for it so-so I"m looking for another one and... yeah, yeah, that"s what"s happened." Liar, Liar. Pants on fire. Oh yes. Aside from his terribly apathetic nature of not doing anything productive from time to time, Hyde was also one sneaky little fibber. Well, that is, if the situation was of his parents inquiring about his progress in the big city. Why, it was most obvious that the young man clearly had no intention of dragging that sorry little ass of his out of his little alcove and into the real world. Really, the dark-haired male thought it seemed unnecessary for he had direct access to the family"s rather large savings. Why do work when money was steadily piling up in his family bank account and just begging to be used? So yes, he certainly thought getting a job was downright unnecessary at that moment despite his parents" preaching. Tch, the goddamn lazy spoilt brat. Hyde got off his bed and walked over to his desk, pushing the piles of paper to the side. A few crumples of paper dropped off the table and joined a small heap that had gradually grown over the past week. The dark-haired man plopped himself into the worn chair and leant back, gazing at the ceiling. A small, fond smile had touched those plaint lips as he contently listened to the melodic quality of his mother"s soothing voice softly flowing into his ear. A blink as a query was asked. "Curry...? How"s the curry rice here?" he repeated, puzzled and frowned in thought. "Well, it"s..." In an instant, Hyde suddenly felt a fire of indignation flare up within his chest as he recalled back to the incidents of the night before. How his curry rice had miraculously disappeared, how he had almost went out of his room to actually do something... and how he had finally became acquainted with that horny voyeur-bastard next door. Dark eyes flitted towards the insubstantial partition beside his haphazardly cluttered bed, up towards the miraculous gap above it. ...a small glimpse of a stunning copper sheen of brown hair and the swish of a long dark coat. A faint scent of cool musk was left in its wake. A tightening of grip around the slim body of the telephone. A narrowing of eyes. ...a gradual, cautious emergence of deep blue eyes... A gritting of teeth. An act of utmost dislike. "...Absolutely disgusting." The knitting of refined brows was accentuated with the downturn of displeased full lips. "You, really..." The blond flashed a friendly smile. "Hey, it"s no problem. It saves time and energy, no?" "I don"t want to trouble you," Gackt stated firmly, gripping his car keys tightly whilst resisting the huge urge to rub the bothersome plaster upon the curvature of his slender nose, "Today"s Saturday, so it"s most likely that I would finish work very late. I"ve already troubled you enough with crashing at your place and my lethargy at the studio this morning." "Lethargy?" You sniggered with amusement as he acknowledged the brunet idly reaching into his coat and drawing out a packet of cigarettes. "It was more like tetchiness, if you ask me. I should apologise for that, actually." Gackt raised an eyebrow questioningly, extracting a stick and lighting it. "Why?" "Woke you up." "Ah." A glint of understanding within blue eyes, closely followed with the exhalation of tobacco smoke. It was apparently well known for a fact that dearest Gackt was one heck of grouch if he happened to be woken up by someone other than himself. True, true. If You could remember correctly, he had learned this fact the hard way. And it was indeed an unpleasant experience, back during their high school days. Upon one occasion where Gackt had fallen asleep on the floor of his room one time (apparently, the brunet had become intrigued with a senior playing the drums and thus was driven with competitiveness to master the instrument until he had overexert himself with lack of sleep and food) and poor innocent You was in for a wonderful treat when he reached over and gently shook the younger boy awake, unexpectedly dropping himself into his ill-fated doom. Overwhelmed with unbelievable crankiness upon being woken up "at such an ungodly hour", Gackt had practically hurled the older boy"s boom box - it was apparently the nearest thing in reach, You realised later - squarely into the blond"s face (You was sure he still had a scar from that incident) and downright refused to speak for the rest of evening, only shooting deathly glares and snarling in a beastly manner at practically anyone who was in range with him. Or anything that moved for that matter. Pushing aside the unpleasant memory, You watched as the grey wisps of smoke lazily drifted up into the cold autumn air, his gentle brown eyes following the idle swirls fashioned and dispersed by the slight breeze. A frown touched his lips and a slight narrowing of eyes occurred. Adding to that, it was also a well known fact that the brunet harboured a bad habit of smoking. You had still yet wondered and pondered upon who and what influenced him to do so during their high school days. To be honest, the blond didn"t quite approve this unhealthy deed, despite the fact that he himself has his small share of cancer sticks. Telling the brunet so, however, would only prove to be quite a waste of breath for it was also a well known fact that his beloved Gackt bore the hard-boiled stubbornness of a rebellious donkey. You came over and leaned against the door of the brunet"s car, his side gently pressed against the younger man"s side. A small torrent of warmth passed between the two bodies. Quietly chuckling, the blond then raised a hand to other"s hair. The fond ruffling onto soft russet tresses was accompanied with an affectionate smile. "Chill out. Don"t let it get to you, eh?" A nonchalant grunt was all he received from the brunet"s behalf, although You could have sworn he saw the ghost of a smile flit across the younger man"s full lips. Though he wouldn"t admit it aloud, but Gackt was indeed extremely grateful for the presence of the amiable blond beside him at that moment then. It was a funny thought, really. Upon musing about it, the brunet had then realised that You could easily see whether he was in trouble or not, despite the impassive mask that he carefully crafted and put on as his façade. It was like the blond had a woman"s intuition, and the charm of one, perhaps (seeing upon how the blond was able to easily breach through his emotional defences). Hell, if it weren"t for the fact that You had a dick and a height that extremely surpasses the average women"s, he would have looked at the blond as an older sister. Or a mother. Deep blue eyes flicked over and carefully regarded the other as full lips encircled around the end of a smouldered cigarette. The end of the stick emitted an amber glow. And the affectionate smile merely intensified. Exhaling another puff of smoke, Gackt lowered the half-smoked cigarette before he leant over and pressed his full lips against the blond"s smiling ones. The faint sounds of cars rumbling down the main road could be heard and the fleeting echoes of chattering and laughter from Gackt"s dwelling reached the young ears of both youths. The cigarette twitched a little, balancing between long nimble fingers. Speckles of amber-grey ash fell away and disbanded into the air, each miniscule fleck plummeting down to the asphalt pavement in one swift motion. Black loafers added more pressure upon the ground as the younger of the two moved a little closer. Thank you. After a brief pause, a strong hand soon reached up and grasped an arm, holding it quietly, promisingly. Assurance. It"s okay. "Sure you don"t want a ride?" You asked soon after the younger man pulled away and dropped his cigarette, squashing it with the sole of his shoe. "I"m on the way to Rhoji"s anyway." Unsurprisingly, Gackt refused the offer. "It"s alright. I have to meet with someone first." "Ah, is that so?" A knowing little smirk was playfully delivered. "Well, drive safely, yeah? And slow down, will you? I don"t want you crashing your car again." "Hn," the brunet uttered negligently and climbed into his car, inserting the key into the ignition without another thought. Rhoji"s. Gackt frowned in thought as he started up the car, glancing at the rear view mirror to see his dearest friend climb into his own car and send him a mock salute as a parting gift before driving off. The young man"s refined brows furrowed sharply in conjunction to the dubious purse of his lips. Since when did the blond start eating...? Gackt blinked. ...a pair of jet-black wings... Angels" wings, to be precise. Almost instantaneously, those deep blue eyes narrowed dangerously as an all-too-very-familiar voice literally hollered in the back of his mind in all of its reverberating richness. "I"M STARVING! ARGH, GOD DAMMIT! I WANT MY CURRY RICE!" The gash on his nose throbbed unpleasantly. Long nimble fingers tightly gripped the wheel. And an angry little scowl touched those full pink lips. "Fucking little shit." "Ah...Ah-choo!" A slight stagger of feet and the dark-haired youth had just managed to catch himself, regaining balance upon the soles of his nimble feet as cool hands unexpectedly aid to steady him. A sniffle was made in conjunction to the involuntary twitch of a slender nose. Good gracious. That was absolutely uncalled for. Hyde resisted the huge urge to pull a face of utter incredulity, sweeping away the obscuring dark long bangs away from his frowning yet slowly reddening face with deft fingers. How unpleasant it was indeed. "Ah, is that my Hachan?" A bewildered look had fleetingly crossed the young man"s face and Hyde quickly pulled away from those frail hands. Dark eyes widened with disbelief as he stared into the amiable face of the elderly landlady. A gentle upturn of aged lips. A twitch of a tautened jaw. Oh God. No. Not today. Please God, save me. Not now. Anything but to-! "My, Hachan! Well, well. I haven"t seen you in ages! Good heavens, dearest me! It"s been a long time since we have settled down for a lovely chat. Come, come child! Come in and have some tea, it"s just been freshly brewed," the woman beckoned to him, grasping his hand in order to usher him into her humble little abode. Damn. Hyde gave her a weak smile, feet shuffling back in the slightest of steps in hopes of making a jolt for it. "Oh no, it"s alright, I was just passing by and I -" "Nonsense!" she interjected boisterously as she tugged the man"s hand with insistence and drew him into the cosy vicinity, sliding the door shut behind her firmly. "Come, come! Why, we have plenty to catch up with! Now, tell me, how is your dear mother doing?" "Mama? Oh, she"s fine," Despite how displeased he was with the situation he had unwittingly fallen into, a small fond smile had unconsciously surfaced - a subtle upturn of usually frowning lips, "She"s very well, if you-ah...ah-choo!" Another brusque sniffle and the swift sweep of fingers across slender nostrils, cleaning up any - if any - unpleasant mess. Another little twitch of a slender nose. Dammit. Involuntarily pursing his lips, Hyde began to wonder if he was developing some sort of allergy (seeing that he seemed to be sneezing at many odd moments for no apparent cause, as he observed). How uncanny it was. "Sorry Kyokosan," he murmured with discomfit upon noticing the elderly woman looking on to him with a surprised look. "That was...uncalled for. So sorry." A small look of concern was etched upon those kindly features as those withered fingers reached out and touched the youth"s arm gently. Her touch that of maternal warmth. "Oh my! Heavens dear, are you alright? Are you sick? You poor, poor girl. Oh, we must find you some medicine before that terrible cold gets worse! Goodness me, even your voice has become deeper! Do you have a sore throat? Oh, poor girl, you"re starting to sound like a boy!" Oh hell no. The young man bristled, peeved as sinewy shoulders stiffened and cheeks were puffed out in incredulity. Not again. Pursing his lips with utter discontentment, Hyde soon parted them in order to notify the elderly woman that she had, indeed, made a terrible, terrible mistake. "Kyokosan, I"m not a-!" A feeble hand was raised in interjection. "Now, now Hachan. You mustn"t be stubborn! Why, how would your mother feel if she knows that her precious daughter is, as of this moment, coughing and sneezing away to her very death? Heavens, the dear woman would be devastated! Oh, you poor child, I suppose you"ve come down here in search for medicine, no?" Good gracious. She did it. Again. Pride wounded, Hyde could not help but feel the nudging urge to simply slam the door open and storm out of the room with grumbles of incoherent vulgarism under his breath. That would be delightful. But a twitch of a sharp eyebrow was only all he had managed to muster then as the young man delicately thread his composure together. "No I didn"t, Kyokosan. And I"m not a gi-" was all he managed to grit out before- A tsk. "I accept no objections and - dear me, Hachan. Is it just me or is your hair getting a bit longer? Are you sure you can see with your hair in the way? I can barely see your face." In a moment, all thoughts of telling the woman off for her definite mistake had dispersed to naught and dearly beloved Hachan was left blinking perplexedly upon her recent inquiry. "My hair...?" Hyde absentmindedly touched a strand of his dark bangs. "Yes dearest, it"s getting a bit long. Now, I know that long fringes are one of the trends among you youngsters nowadays but I certainly see it unnecessary for you to cover that pretty face of yours. Really!" A spirited smile had stretched across Kyoko"s lips as she bid the young man to sit down beside her at a low table, folding her legs neatly beneath her as she settled down to pour two cups of freshly brewed tea for the both of them. However, upon the moment when Hyde settled down opposite her and naturally crossed his legs, a fleeting frown had touched her lips and she suddenly eyed him acutely. Very closely - a scrutinising appraisal in fact, all before she finally added in a soft tone that concealed her astonishment, "Heavens child, you"re quite a late bloomer, aren"t you?" Ha? The young man blinked, at a loss. Kyoko frowned a little in thought, eyes strangely fixed upon the youth"s chest before they eventually lit up with understanding and sympathy. "Ah, I see. No wonder you don"t leave your room and go out to looking for a boyfriend. Oh you poor unfortunate girl, I"m sure they"ll grow soon." GROW? Hyde choked. Dark eyes widened drastically in the matter of mere seconds. The deliciously warm teacup that was carefully cradled within the supple palms of his hands had almost dropped. What. The. Hell. Now that was absolutely uncalled for. The young man could not help but sputter with disbelief, a splash of scarlet slowly crept up his neck and cheeks in response to this newly acquired (and certainly unnecessary) piece of information. "K-K-Kyokosan! That-that-!" Thoughts of constructing proper sentences was abruptly dismissed as the scandalised youth clamped his mouth shut and trust himself to speak no more. Good gracious. He could not believe what he was hearing. Hyde felt the tips of his ear burn in discomfiture as he fidgeted on the spot with uneasiness. Pray tell, was this really how women naturally converse with one another on a daily basis? It was unbelievable! Sipping her tea daintily, the elderly woman smiled at the youth genteelly. "Oh come, come. There"s no need to be ashamed, dear! Why, just give it about a few months time, I"m sure they"ll grow beautifully. And - oh goodness! I"m straying away, aren"t I? Good heavens, dear me! Oh do forgive me, Hachan. Old women like me tend to think back to our youth when we see growing young ladies like you. Why, I was once quite the late bloomer, see? But I was quite a beauty, I assure you! Why, you and I are very much alike, Hachan!" She laughed, a gentle youthful one whilst Hyde, on the other hand, was utterly chagrined upon being wrongfully accredited yet once again. Blissfully oblivious to the youth"s displeasure (ignorance more likely, Hyde had thought darkly), Kyoko merely carried on. "Let"s put that aside, shall we? Now, what medicine were you looking for, child?" Hyde pursed his lips into a taut line, the corner of his mouth twitched with utmost displeasure. "I"m not sick, Kyokosan. There"s no need for you to worry. I think I must have inhaled some dust on my way here, that"s all." "Dust?" "Yeah. I suppose it"s probably because my..." A twitch of tensed fingers occurred before those deft digits stringently clenched the small rough folds of dark jeans, "...neighbour hasn"t cleaned his room lately." Like a distasteful bittersweet candy rolling on his tongue, the dark-haired youth fought the sweet urge to retch in revulsion upon recalling the obnoxious jerk who resided in the dark room beside his. A gritting of teeth. A tightening clench. Stupid perverted freak. "Ah yes, that young lad," the landlady smiled distantly and touched the side of her ageing face, a mist of admiration clouding her eyes as she sighed, "Oh, such a lovely man, he is. Very polite and indisputably beautiful, indeed! Why, he"s a walking god with the beauty that could definitely rival Narcissus, I tell you! Heavens, I"m jealous that you get to live right next to him, Hachan! Perhaps I should move him to Mr. Hiraishi"s room after all!" The woman giggled girlishly. A bitter smirk, a minute quirk of quick eyebrows. Go ahead. Take him if you want, the bastard"s all yours. Before lips could part to speak, Hyde was startled when the older woman had suddenly leant towards him and squinted with intense scrutiny, a mischievous smile dancing upon her aged lips. "So, what do you think about him, eh? You"ve lived next to him for about a week or so...anything juicy?" Hyde could have sworn his jaw had just dislodged itself and fell crashing onto the hard wooden floor. "J...Juicy?" "Yes, yes, come now, girl. Speak, speak! Now I"m sure you"ve come to good old Kyoko to share some. I heard that you and him have start to hit it off (oh, young love!) last night, so as the other patrons say - they complained that you two were pretty raucous, but they don"t understand the true meaning of young love well as you and I do. Now, tell me, how was he?" Now the woman was literally nose-to-nose with the poor disturbed youth, her beady eyes keenly attempting to gouge out any scrap of "juice" regarding the impudent prick. Hyde backed away a little, deeply disturbed. "Well...he"s..." An absolutely sick horny prick! One that should damn well be put under lock and key for all eternity! He definitely should not be left prowling about the streets, for all we know he could be somewhere seeking out innocent young boys at this moment! The shameless, disgusting-! "...He"s...nice." Goddammit. Kyoko looked deflated, disappointed at this painfully scarce piece of information. "Oh. That"s it?" "And..." "And?" she pressed on eagerly, fingers clutching her teacup with uncontained earnestness. "He"s...uh, tall." Despite her dissatisfaction of not being able to gouge out the latest "scoop" upon her beloved Hachan and the beautiful man who lived upstairs, the elderly woman gently smiled nonetheless and touched the youth"s arm with an air of compassion - if that was it. "Ah, so it"s still in the works, eh? Well, I"m sure sparks will fly in time. Why, with a pretty girl like you, I"m sure he"s bound to like you."

And Masamune simply sighed in frustration. Unable to hold back the anxiety which was gnawing him, Kojuro inclined his head. "Lord Masamune, please forgive me for this shameless display of inexcusable effrontery as I very well am fully aware that it is not in my place to question you and that-" "Is it okay?" Kojuro paused, slowly taking in the strange words that his young lord had spoken to him. No, not spoken. Masamune had asked something. He had enquired him for an opinion on something. He was actually seeking some form of consultation. Now that wasn"t right. Surely something was amiss here. Getting a good hold of himself before he could accidentally blurt out something offensive, Kojuro decided to wisely tread into the matter with precaution. "Sir?" Masamune kept watching Yukimura, his eye wholly transfixed on his face, tracing the features as if to really engrave them into his mind. "Is it okay Kojuro?" Again, he said it in that strange tone. Although the repetition didn"t seem to reveal much as it had with the first one, Kojuro after piecing it all together with the expertise of the outstanding strategist that he simply was and by tolerating all those hellish years of raising this troublesome young man, finally understood. Youth these days. A small smile surfaced. "It really is up to you, Masamune." Masamune, who was relieved by the dropping of honorifics, seemed to take this into serious consideration as he furrowed his brows together. A long sigh was released and Masamune, after staring at Yukimura"s face for another good minute, cursed quietly as he finally reached over and pulled the man"s yukata together to hide their indecency. Not that it mattered anymore but Kojuro greatly appreciated it nevertheless. "Up to me huh. I guess that sort of makes sense." Kojuro arched a brow in amusement as he watched the look of doubt which flitted across Masamune"s face as he raked his hand through his disheveled hair, once again submerged into deep thought. After another lengthy pause, Masamune finally clicked his tongue and cast an irritated look at his retainer. "Shit. This is weird." "It is simply the course of life." "Why him?" "Perhaps a woman-" "No, it has to be him." "Give it time." "What"s going on Kojuro?" Kojuro quirked his lips into a small smirk. "Your spring has finally started to bloom. Congratulations." "Fuck off, old man." Suddenly, Yukimura stirred in his sleep. Masamune was alarmed for a moment but soon relaxed when the young general finally stilled against his side and softly snored. Once again, Masamune was back to watching the other with a great degree of intensiveness and...is that intrigue? Kojuro wondered if he was even aware that he was doing it. "Sanada Yukimura..." Masamune rolled the name around his tongue. "Tch! The little bastard ain"t even much of a looker." "He"s growing." "What? You saying I ain"t?" "The Takeda clan is known to look after their soldiers well with generous well-balanced meals. I can only speculate that the regular intake of food that Sanada eats parallels to that of a developing tiger. He has grown a little since we"ve last seen him, hasn"t he?" Masamune narrowed his eye. "What the...tch, fine. I"ll eat more." He frowned at Kojuro who, behind the stern mask he customarily wore, looked positively delighted at this. "Not cool." Yukimura stirred for the second time that night and muttered something incoherent in his sleep which made Masamune glance back down at him and snort. "He sleeps like a kid," he shook his head in disbelief. "Ha! So not cool." A comfortable silence soon fell between them. As Masamune stared down at Yukimura"s face, Kojuro cast a quick glance around the room. Everything seemed to be in order, which he took to be a good sign that Masamune"s reconciliation with Sanada had gone a lot smoother than expected. Kojuro had feared that Shingen"s Cub was going to blow the walls apart, what with his voraciousness and his uncanny ability of wreaking havoc wherever he went. It didn"t help that Masamune was attracted to that irrepressible burst of immense power which Sanada had acquired from Takeda Shingen. The oil lamp flickered in the corner of the room. It wouldn"t be long until the flame died out. "Kojuro." "What is it?" Masamune kept his eye trained down on the other. "Yukimura...he"s my enemy. He"s still my enemy and he"ll always be, wouldn"t he?" Before Kojuro could read the expression on Masamune"s face, the dwindling light from the oil lamp finally diminished and the room was plunged into darkness. Masamune chuckled. "This is fucked up. This is...fuck, this is just crazy. I mean, I could kill him right now. We take pretty boy general out, and that"ll be a big blow to Old Man Takeda. Crushing him and seizing Kai...ha! It"d be a piece of cake!" Kojuro nodded solemnly in agreement. "Removing Sanada will make your route of conquest far easier. With him out of the way, the Takeda army will be thrown into disorder. And with the Tiger of Kai"s upcoming battle with Echigo"s War God looming near, our plan of ambushing both armies in one go will run even smoothly. And with Kai and Echigo soon out of the way, it wouldn"t be long until the rest of Japan is yours, sir." Delighted by the sudden stroke of luck that was presented to him, Masamune barked with laughter. There was a rustle of fabric and Kojuro was able to make out the obscure shape of Masamune as he hovered over Yukimura"s body. "I could break his neck right now. That"s quick, isn"t it? The poor bastard probably wouldn"t even know what got him." Kojuro was at a loss, his body frozen in place as he looked on in astonishment. Was he seriously going to-? The One Eyed Dragon slowly leaned forward, his hands tentatively groping through the dark as he tried to grapple the sleeping man"s neck. A soft grunt of discomfort was emitted from Yukimura. "Gotcha." And then, nothing happened. It was eerily silent, save for the soft snoring of Yukimura and the laboured breathing of Masamune. After a tense moment, the young lord suddenly got off the sleeping man and rolled over onto his back, releasing a long and terribly weary sigh as he laid beside the man he had almost killed. "...Boss Masamune?" "Shit! Goddamn shit shit shit-!" came the vehement hisses. Kojuro was stunned by the sudden outburst. "Just...just....!" A frustrated sigh. "Dammit Kojuro, what the fuck am I supposed to do?" It wasn"t noticeable but there was an alarming tinge of desperateness in his voice. It was painful. And although Kojuro was compelled to give his young liege an answer, any answer just to ease that anxiety away... "Forgive me, but that decision...it only rests with you, my Lord." Really, he shouldn"t be making such a big deal of it. He shouldn"t even be thinking about it. There was no need to. Yet, although it truly was none of his concern, Sasuke couldn"t help but feel terribly agitated ever since his master had left Kai. Something had been grating on his nerves during the short hours since Yukimura had safely set off on an impromptu journey to Oshu with Date"s Right Eye and he had been pacing around the perimeter of the Takeda residence, disrupting the peace with his ceaseless incoherent mumbling. His mind had been concocting too many strange conclusions of just what was going to happen that night, making it- Sasuke frowned. What was he saying, he already knew what was going to happen. He just couldn"t believe it. It was just- "-too damn fast." Yes it was too fast. Too fast for Yukimura. Way too brash for that Date boy. And just too much for the ninja to digest. A weary sigh was released. Speaking of which, he still couldn"t believe that he had actually left Kai to pursue after his master out of blind rashness. It was a snap decision he was now beginning to regret. "Brilliant. Just brilliant." He had been perched on a tree for some time now, his eyes fixed onto that one room where he had seen Yukimura and Date Masamune gracelessly stumble into. The party had long died down, the soldiers already stumbling back to their quarters as the maids rushed back and forth to quickly clear the mess before the sun began to rise. After stretching his legs out before him, Sasuke reclined against the sturdy trunk and pursed his lips in thought, his fingers listlessly toying with one of the many small shurikens he had stashed along. Occasionally he"d glance around to spot any guards who might be patrolling the area in order to hide, but for a good majority of the time he had spent quietly perched on the branch, the ninja had solely fixed his gaze upon that one particular room and just waited. For what though? Sasuke wasn"t sure. He just remained where was he was, expecting yet not expecting for something or anything to occur. Say if he really did follow his heart, he would have left the province long ago and head over to Echigo where he would likely be thwarted and attacked by an irritable Kasuga. And as always, he would pester her, just to see that beautiful dust of pink across her cheeks. He would try to get close to her, just to catch a small whiff of her perfume. He would admire the way her body dances in the moonlight, mesmerised by her admirable prowess as a fellow ninja. Yes, that was what he would really feel like doing right now. Yet... There were now two shurikens being twirled around his fingers. He was still here, just lying around mindlessly and patiently waiting for two awkward young men to finish sorting themselves out. It was wrong, just so wrong (for goodness sake, who in the right mind would actually wait around for two men who were "locked in" a room with each other in the first place?). Clearly there must be something messing with his head then. Sasuke twirled the shurikens faster around his fingers, the projecting blades glinting in the gold-pink rays of the sun. Sunlight? He glanced up to gaze at the horizon where the sun had begun its ascent, its golden rays reaching out and bathing the distant hills. So he"s been hanging around in this tree for the entire night...smashing. "What am I doing here?" he groaned as he lifted the shurikens and dangled them before his face. "That"s something I"d like to know as well." "Shit." He caught the shurikens before they dropped and quickly tucked them away into his clothes. Seeing that there was no point of fleeing since he had already been clearly spotted (What a blow to his ninja pride. How could he have been so absent-minded?), Sasuke peered over the edge of the branch he was seated upon and was not surprised to see Katakura Kojuro glaring up at him with suspicion. Ah, the ever watchful loyal underling. He smiled good-naturedly. "Hey there, Right-Eye." "Takeda"s ninja." Kojuro acknowledged, his stance hawkish. Sasuke quickly noted that there was no weapon on his person and that there was no trace of sleep upon his weary face. That was odd. Party too lively for you geezers? Amused, he decided to shrug it off and play along. "Well! You"re up early. Are you conducting some sort of physical training under the morning sun? Oh, beautiful sunrise by the way. Oshu certainly is blessed with such exquisiteness-" "Cut the crap, ninja. Have you decided to finally strike Oshu? Quite a bold move you"ve made there." The accusation clearly rang in the man"s voice. Oh dear. Sasuke scratched his cheek sheepishly. "H-hey, take it easy, Master Katakura. I didn"t come here to wage war, okay? It"s...uh, how do I say this...it"s a little complicated to explain." "Out with it." "How do I put this? I think you"d understand my position if you had realised that you had unwittingly sent your own lord off to meet another man. And it"s not just some man." Kojuro seemed to think on this. It was not long until he finally straightened his back and glanced over to the room where his lord and Yukimura were currently dwelling in. "I see." Sasuke followed his gaze. "I take it that all went well, sir?" "Yes...you could say that Sanada had managed to not destroy the compound. Their reconciliation slipped by quite peacefully actually. Thank god for that. " "And the One Eyed Dragon?" "...he"s growing." The pause which Kojuro had taken to grope his mind for the right words was suspicious. "Huh. I expect he knows what he"s doing. And the responsibility he should take." Sasuke dared to say offhandedly as he flashed Date"s retainer with another smile when he pinned him with a look. "I should say the same for your master." Sasuke"s eyes lightened in amusement. "And what would that be?" Kojuro"s lips twitched. "He very well should-" The door suddenly slid open to reveal both Yukimura and Masamune, neatly wrapped in their respective crinkled yukatas as they took a small, almost cautious step out into the corridor. For a fleeting moment, they turned their eyes to each other, their gazes lingered in that one split second gap before they eventually turned away and walked off in different directions, eerily calm. The atmosphere had suddenly become uncomfortable. Now that can"t be good. Sasuke wisely observed that it was best to leave. "Please excuse me." Sasuke muttered before he deftly pounced from the tree and left Kojuro behind to entertain his own musings, in order to quickly catch up to the disappearing back of his master. He frowned. So, what now, Yukimura? A/N: At first this started off as a simple account of Masamune and Yuki"s first sexual encounter and discovering the true extent of their attraction to one another. Now, after typing and reaching this point, this little story is now beginning to spiral off to something bigger. Now readers, what do you think is going to happen to these two? But more importantly, are you interested in having me extend this piece of writing or not? Do tell. A/N: Firstly, THANK YOU all for the encouraging reviews. It"s really nice and helpful to get feedback because I really like reading on your thoughts! They give me the push to try to make the story as enjoyable as possible! I hope my writing caters to you all! Secondly, I apologise for the wait! I have this terrible habit of taking a good (long) period of time editing and writing because I want to produce something that makes me happy. I really like the English language so I try to utilise it in the best way that I am capable of. Please forgive me my writing sounds a bit strange - English isn"t my mother tongue, sadly. Nor is Japanese (though it"s starting to creep up to be so very soon - lol!) Anyway, it is now part five. We have seen exchanges between all the characters I have introduced so far: Yukimura with Masamune, Yukimura with Sasuke, Yukimura with Kojuro, Kojuro and Masamune and then finally, Sasuke with Kojuro. And now, I have decided to usher in our beloved Shingen-Papa! Similar to Masamune"s case, Yukimura literally swears by the guidance that Shingen has laid out for him and he would likely be wandering like an abandoned puppy if Shingen wasn"t around. Whilst Kojuro treats Masamune like one of his prized vegetables, Shingen is just downright strange. Although I find Shingen and Yukimura"s relationship amusing and just awesome in the anime/game, I actually found it disturbing whilst writing this segment because I was really bent on portraying characters in a different light. I felt extremely conflicted. I wonder if people will hate me for writing like this. Summary: [AU] Really, if Yukimura hadn"t looked at that time, he wouldn"t be experiencing this strange burning in his chest. He wouldn"t have found his eyes straying a little too much. And he certainly wouldn"t find himself in this surreal situation where his nails were digging into Date Masamune"s back. [DateSana] A d o l e s c e n c e a DatexSana story By su I k a"s w I n d o f t h e c e l e s t I a l "That is enough!" Yukimura, who was surprised to catch the degree annoyance which rang in that voice, looked up in a daze. "What?" A giant fist smashed into his face. He was used to the pain, having trained with his great teacher for a great deal of his life yet for some reason, at that moment, the numbing soreness felt terrifying real as soon as the sparks of pain and the scorching heat exploded across his cheek. The momentum which powered the punch had driven him back and off his feet so suddenly that he soon found his body crashing into the stone wall of the Takeda compound, the sheer force knocking the wind out of him. He gasped and winced at the prickling pain which rattled his shocked body. In spite of this, he forced his eyes opened in order to meet the powerful gaze of his beloved lord as he stood in the middle of the courtyard beside an equally shocked Sasuke whose short sword had dropped to the ground. That was strange. Since when had his lord returned unannounced? And why was he looking so disapprovingly at him? Yukimura slowly pried himself from the wall, flinching at the pain which shot down his back, before he settled before the two men on his knees and bowed his head deeply. "Please forgive this incapable soldier, Your Lordship! I deeply apologise for causing grave offence to you, My Lord! Please punish me as you see fit for I am not worthy of-!" "YOU FOOL!" The fist pummelled into the crown of his head and Yukimura gasped when his face smashed against the ground. Blood burst from his nose and his mind reeled from the impact. It hurt. It really did. He could hear Sasuke stutter something rather nervously to his lord which was strange because Sasuke rarely did stutter, and if he did it was because something was terribly wrong. There was nothing wrong. This was normal was it not? Yet how was this normal then? At that moment, Yukimura wondered just how harsh had his training been all this time. How had he become immune to this inhuman amount of immeasurable pain? This wasn"t normal was it? Lord Masamune didn"t think so. So did Master Katakura, the first time he had witnessed his great lord hurling his body into an enemy"s horse. But his lord saw it as normal, the Takeda army saw it normal so he supposed it must be normal...isn"t it? Coughing and snorting the blood out of his nose, he slowly lifted his body. "Y-Your Lordship?" Takeda Shingen was observing him with a grim expression. "One simple miscalculation will cost you your life, Yukimura! Do not treat it so recklessly, even whilst training with Sasuke!" And then after a small pause, his eyes hardened before he said, ever so quietly, "Have you forgotten your resolve?" Yukimura"s eyes widened in disbelief. He wanted to shoot down such a thought by retorting with all his heart"s content that it was inconceivable, that he would never go back on his word, that he had and always will live for Takeda Shingen because nothing will ever deter him from that fact. Yet... "I do not know." He couldn"t. Sasuke looked astonished at this. "Master..." He just couldn"t. The words just died on his mouth before he could even form the vowels with his tongue. He stared at his lord, feeling the wave of insecurity come crashing over him and sink into his skin, his lips quivering to speak - what? What was he going to say? Was there anything to say? - as he felt his throat clog up. It was becoming blurry for some reason. What is he thinking about? Yukimura felt exhausted. He was worn to a frazzle. But that didn"t make sense. What is he getting worked up on? "Forgive me Your Lordship, but I cannot serve you. Not like..." Not like what? What exactly was he going on about? Yukimura swallowed back the unpleasant bile in his throat. "This humble man cannot..." he trailed off and his mind suddenly went blank when he felt a shaky hand touch his shoulder. He looked up to find Sasuke peering at him with concern as he down crouched before him. There was a strained smile upon his face. "The commander left." Yukimura was at a loss. His eyes darted from the ninja to the empty spot where his lord had been standing just moments ago. "Without a word? I don"t..." Sasuke looked flabbergasted. "Didn"t you hear? He said he didn"t want to deal with you. At least, not at the moment, I hope." He knew Sasuke added that last bit on to make the situation seem a bit lighter. It did to an extent but Yukimura knew better. It was unfortunate that Sasuke had forgotten how he was able to read through his lies, just as the way the ninja could with him. "I see," he quietly murmured, wiping the blood from his nose as he slowly clambered to his feet. "Master-" "I"m fine Sasuke." Perhaps he might have said too firmly because Sasuke seemed somewhat distraught when he brushed past him to make his way to the house. He would have apologised but then it was likely that Sasuke had already disappeared off to his next mission which had been set up by their lord. Missions which do not involve him or stopping the avaricious One-Eyed Dragon. Date Masamune. Once again, the vivid images and sensations of that night had filtered through his mind in a disturbing flicker. He could still feel lingering touches of those calloused hands on his skin, the intensity of that one eye, the shuddering gasp against his throat when those rough fingers milked out the warm stickiness from their sexes... Yukimura squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head to will away the sudden uncomfortable prickling of his skin which had erupted all over his body. Those images...they were nothing but a memory now. What happened that night was simply nothing but the desperate release of tension from their bodies. He had seen the concerned looks Sasuke had discreetly thrown at him ever since that day. He had seen the way the ninja"s fingers twitch every once again, just waiting to eagerly snap something. But he needn"t worry. Whatever that had occurred that night, it wasn"t going to happen again. He would make sure of it. But first-

Thump. "...want...food..." Thump. "Ugh...so hungry...." A brutal SLAM! "Argh! I want my curry rice!" Hyde rolled his head to the side and rubbed his cheek against his paper, pliant lips parting slightly as he stared at the door dumbly. Moaning and groaning like the agonised dying man he thought he was, the pencil between his fingers soon began their impatient rhythmic thumping against the table as he continued with his woeful griping. "...curry...rice..." Pitiful. By now, any sane person would have stood up, pull on some warm clothes (seeing that it was autumn), grab an umbrella and go out to get something to eat or some ingredients to cook in the kitchen downstairs. Hyde, however... Thump. "...food..." Oh yes. Hyde was, in actual fact, quite the lazy ass. The foolish, imprudent man. "God dammit..." he groaned, thumping his jaw against the table, "First, the bed was flat and hard and now the curry service is slow? Ugh, I need to file in a complaint..." Upon saying that, heavy footsteps slowly thudded up the stairs, the wooden steps squeaking in protest as the weight of the individual strained them. Hyde ceased all actions and perked up in his seat, suddenly looking very alive. His dark eyes brightened with expectancy. Is it...!? The footsteps advanced closer. Nimble fingers grasped the edge of the table in anticipation. Could it...!? Closer and closer. A pause and the sound of a doorknob being slowly turned. Alas, hell broke loose. "Yes! My curry!" Hyde made a mad dash to his door and flung it open with a burst of energy, grinning broadly from ear to ear. Why, a crazed look like that was bound to give one heck of a heart attack to the poor, unfortunate individual who stood on the other side. Only, that there wasn"t. "Eh?" Hyde blinked, grin faltering a tad bit. Dark eyes stared at the empty space before him, one that should have been occupied by the vital person who was deemed responsible for delivering his dearly beloved curry rice. He frowned at the vacant spot. Where were they? Were they running late or something? Caught up in traffic? Can"t be. They were just down the street. Or perhaps they were conceivably devouring the dish at this very moment, soon to approach him at a later time with a feign apology, stating that there had been an accident on the road and the dish was ruined? Hyde gave the matter a thought, looking at the different possibilities that had sprung in his mind. Perhaps he should call them and holler down the phone, complaining about their sluggish service? Or maybe he should... For some unknown reason, those dark eyes unexpectedly glanced over to the side. All in time to catch a small glimpse of a stunning copper sheen of brown hair and the swish of a long dark coat. All before the dark-haired man was soon greeted by the sound of a gentle click the white-washed door made upon being closed. A faint scent of cool musk was left in its wake. Hyde blinked yet once again, this time, genuinely surprised. So that"s him...? He had heard, of course, that there was a new tenant (he heard they were a male so therefore presumed they must be male) lodging into the house but he had expected the individual to move into the recently vacant room on the ground floor downstairs. He was quite surprised that the newcomer had decided to move into the refurbished room beside his, one of the only two rooms on the floor (besides the bathroom and closet that is - other than that it was only the stairs and a large window (beside his new neighbour"s room) that would light the landing during daytime). Originally there was only one master bedroom before he himself moved in about a month ago, but the landlady had decided to turn it into two rooms. Well, if he recalled correctly, he remembered her mentioning that the room beside him was meant to be a store room, not to be rented by anyone due to the room having no lights at all and that it must be far too small for anyone"s liking. A dark eyebrow was raised. Yet she allowed the person to take the lightless room nonetheless. Even though it was deemed far too gloomy for any sane living being to stay within it. A look of awe. How on earth did he manage to survive in there for the past week? Without an utterance of any sort even? Interest piqued, Hyde stepped out of his room and approached the other"s door tentatively, contemplating whether he should knock and greet the other man. There was a pursing of pliant lips. Perhaps he should. Besides, it was a neighbourly thing to do, right? Wetting his dry lips in apprehension, he then reached over and slowly raised his knuckles when - A loud grumble of protest emerged from his stomach Hyde stopped in mid-step, his face immediately screwing up into a comical expression that was notably rather amusing to point and laugh at. The corner of his mouth twitched in unison with the slight tweak of a dark refined eyebrow. There was a slight gritting of teeth, though the supposed angry face looked entirely out of place upon his laughable awkward expression. Patience, will you!? Just let me say hello and -! An angry growl of insistent demand In an instant he withdrew. Clutching his unhappy and protesting stomach, he quickly scuttled back into his room and slammed the door behind him with unbelievable formidable force. SLAM "What the fu-!" Pale fingers loosened impulsively and the recently relieved dark coat slithered to the floor in a rumpled heap. Gackt jumped slightly, startled by the sudden thunderous sound that came from the next room. Deep blue eyes diverted their attention towards the wall beside him, wide with franticness and incredulity as he rested his palm across his chest to steady the intense pounding of his heartbeat. "Slamming the door so hard..." he murmured reproachfully. After staring at the wall for a moment and a curt shake of a head, he then made his way further into his room, running a pale hand through his russet tresses. Fishing out a lighter from his pocket, he set to light all the candles that he had prudently placed around his room. Upon reaching the last candle though, Gackt was soon in for another surprise. As that delicate hand that firmly grasped the slim body of the lighter reached over to the thin flimsy wick, a raucous cry had suddenly erupted from beyond the wall thus startling the poor brunet into a small stumble which he luckily managed to catch himself. Incredulous, the young man slowly turned to stare at the wall in disbelief. "What the hell...?" Thump. Gackt blinked, surprised. Thump. A muffled woeful moan. Another blink. Once. Twice. Make that three. Thump. Groan. Thump. A prolonged stare of involuntary awe. Thump. Whinge. Thump. Thump. And then... SLAM! "I"M STARVING! ARGH, GOD DAMMIT! I WANT MY CURRY RICE!" Gackt recoiled a feet away from his bed and gaped at the wall before him, blue eyes shamelessly wide for the young man was downright alarmed. And when the thumping resumed yet once again, those blue orbs just seem to widen even more. Good gracious. Just what on earth was this person doing next door? Was he... A derisive sound was made and there was a terse shake of head. Clearly, the other mustn"t be some sort of...masochist, no? Why, he couldn"t possibly be brutally beating himself senseless (how the person did it, he did not know. Or want to know for that matter) now, could he? And all because he was hungry and craving for some...what was it? Curry rice? Gackt couldn"t hold back that bark of wry laughter. Why, an act such as that is clearly a dim-witted one. A foolish one, indeed. Really, who would be that idiotic to not go out and get himself some food to ease off his hunger, eh? Heaven forbid, but a person like that is clearly nothing but a futile, imperceptive, senseless moron. ((In the room next door, Hyde sneezed.)) Oh yes, a person like that is nothing but a minuscule little slug. ((Again, Hyde sneezed.)) Gackt nodded to himself in agreement. Yep, definitely a god forsaken low class slug. A loud, violent sneeze wafted through the wall. "Bless you," Gackt said absentmindedly, stepping forward once again in order to light up the lone candle that had been momentarily forgotten, innocently perched upon the surface of his small desk. A flourish of a lighter. A flick of a switch. Deep blue eyes scrutinised the small flame, watching the wick ignite with a gradual spark of promising vivacity. It swayed a little as a feeble draft had managed to skulk its way into the room through the small slit between the loose windows. It swept past him, invisible fingers tantalisingly trailing nonexistent patterns upon his warm skin. He shuddered a little at the ghostly sensations. Darting his gaze to the window, Gackt glanced outside abstractedly, fleetingly taking note of a man who stood at the opposite of the road, his hands running over the wheel of his bicycle as he examined it closely. Blue eyes, lacklustre, watched in silence as a small shower had decided to fall, the small raindrops pattering lightly against the glass of his window. He pitied the man out there, standing in the rain, figuring out a way to try to get the wheel to spin. The chain must be jammed. A pensive look. Perhaps he should shut the windows tightly, in case the rain starts to intensify. Upon taking one step forward though, a droplet of wetness flourished from out of the blue and carelessly plopped onto his slender nose. Surprised, Gackt reached up intuitively and touched the moist curvature of the bridge of his nose. Water...? He stared at the drop of water upon his finger in wonder. Where...? The brunet looked up, only to frown upon seeing a small wet patch that lingered against the plaster discreetly, in hopes of being able to hide within the shadows creeping along the pale surface. Dampening with every passing second. Blue eyes wandered across the white-washed ceiling, finding yet another one hovering closely to his bed. Equally dripping. Drip. Drip. Drip. Gackt glared. That does it. Hyde stood up abruptly, a fire of indignation burning behind those dark eyes. Glancing at the digital clock on his desk, he cleared away his pencils and tucked them away into his drawer before turning around to pull out warmer clothes from his closet. Well now. It seems that the curry people were taking their own delightfully sweet time to reach here. It was taking far too long. Ridiculously long, in fact. And Hyde was angry about it. No, not angry. He was downright outraged! It didn"t take an hour or so for a simple dish of curry rice to get here. Why, it certainly did not take that long the last time he ordered it (which was yesterday) and or even the day before that. Good gracious, this was absolutely absurd! And so, Hyde was about to do something unconditionally drastic. An act that was simply unthinkable and disbelieving to anyone who was associated with the unbelievably idle dark-haired male. A pair of jeans were hastily wrenched away from pale slender legs before a clean pair of dark ones were tugged on rashly, a lean body staggering clumsily as socked nimble feet struggled to maintain balance upon the wooden floorboards. Oh yes. Pale nimble fingers began to clumsily work on the buttons of his black polo t-shirt. He was going out to complain. There was a sodden patch on his ceiling. And Gackt was far from being happy about his discovery. He glared at the small patch, pliant lips firmly pursed into a taut line. He cursed softly and stepped forward, examining the faintly browning plaster closely. It didn"t look very threatening though, which was a good sign. But still. It could burst any day from now if more rainwater accumulates there. And the brunet was certainly not looking forward to sleeping in room where he would wake up to see a god forsaken hole staring down at him. Especially one that would allow the rain to freely fall through. He wasn"t particularly keen on having a personal waterfall in his room, thank you very much. He glared at it once again, for good measure. He needed to do something about it. Perhaps he should inform the landlady tomorrow. Yes, that seems rational and less troubling for her, and that he was certainly not in the mood to be dealing with another session of her harassing him about the lights again. Once again, those blue eyes speculated the wet patch, soon to wander aimlessly along the white-washed plaster in search for more. That is, before his gaze come in contact with... Gackt blinked. Is that... A step forward. And a look of bewilderment. ...a gap between the wall and the ceiling? Meanwhile, the man outside grasped the pedal of his bicycle tightly and started to turn it, struggling though ignorant of the rain pattering against his body. Gackt stared for a moment longer, allowing the sight he was currently witnessing to assimilate into his surprisingly demurring brain. No shit. There really was a gap above the wall. The brunet regarded the wall before him, startled with his recent unanticipated sighting. A gap above the wall. What an uncanny sight it was, indeed! He took another step forward, examining it closely with developing interest. What on earth was it doing there? Upon closer speculations, the young man finally came to realise that the wall was actually short and that it was unable to reach the ceiling. A partition between rooms, it was called, to be exact. A partition by which the gap had involuntarily acted like a window into the room next door, thus unintentionally intruding into one"s privacy... A look of realisation. It was no wonder he could easily hear the activities of the person in the room next door. Which was exactly what was happening at the moment then. There was a staggering of unstable feet. A hushed rustling of cloth. And an occasional curse or two. Blue eyes lit with compelling curiosity. Ah. Perhaps...he should take a small peek over the ledge. Just a small one. You know, just to see how the room on the other side looks like. Or even this neighbour of his for that matter. Yes, he was definitely curious to know how this person looked like. Tempted, in fact. Now that wasn"t a wrongful act, is it? Why, it wasn"t like he was peeping or acting as some perverse voyeur of any sort (why the person next door was not a female, that was for sure - despite what the landlady claims it as - he had heard the person speak on the telephone occasionally (he was able to bring the phone upstairs?), so he was definitely male). Come now, it was just a quick look. A small look couldn"t hurt right? A curt nod of heartening determination. Of course not. And so, unable to restrain such gripping temptation, Gackt climbed onto his bed and (thanking those above silently for the benefits of being around 5"11) stood on his tiptoes, his long pale fingers enclosing around the brim of the partition. Pulling himself up slightly, those blue eyes soon cautiously peered over the rim. The room was small, just like his, identical in fact. Only that this room had lights. And a bookshelf that was overflowing with horror and paranormal (Mystical Shamanism!? Was this person some sort of wannabe witchdoctor?) books as well as a huge disarrayed stack of manga comic books ushered into a corner. Beside it, a small television set had been shoved against the wall, perched upon a small table with a video game console attached to it. The console itself was tilted on its side dangerously as a shambled heap of various video games and music CDs were piled up beside the device messily. A trampled cushion had been carelessly kicked aside and under a small desk which was currently strewn haphazardly with sheets of paper, all bearing various indistinguishable pencil-drawn sketches. Pencils were scattered here and then, some rolling towards the edge precariously as a few books (the shamanic ones?) were left opened, all bearing pages that were imprinted with various tribal patterns. In another corner, just behind the door, was a small closet, its door ajar as it retched out a rumpled pile of clothes, a glimmer of a large mirror behind the closet door could be seen. Aside that, the wooden floor was cluttered with a few discarded garments and scrunched up pieces of pale paper, an empty packet of crisps discarded recklessly and forgotten beside the wastepaper basket that currently overflowed with even more pieces of crumpled paper. The brunet grimaced slightly. Really, the room was in such a bedraggled state. It was astounding that a person could live in such a mess. The room was a far cry from his dark, bleak and immaculate sanctuary. Though in the middle of all the clutter, however... There was a lightening of deep blue eyes; a small yet evident spark of beguilement was detected within those subliminal hues. A parting of lips occurred. And a hushed inhalation of awe. Oh wow... There, standing the middle of the room, with his back turned towards him, was a lean young man (who was currently struggling to tug a dark shirt over and off his head) whose back was tattooed with a pair of jet-black wings embedded upon his back. Angels" wings, to be precise. Gackt couldn"t help but stare with captivation. The delicate intricacy, the complex twists and turns, the sharp lines and swift refined curves of sheer black ink upon the smooth expanse of skin. A slight twitch of pale fingers was made on the brunet"s behalf. Goodness. The tattoo was simply breathtaking. However, speculations of such divine art was not one to last long as suddenly, unexpectedly, a little globule of water had decided to come out to play. Quickly creeping through the supposed decrepit plaster ceiling, it soon located its target and dripped down onto a currently enthralled Gackt"s nose with a tiny, destructive explosion. PLOP! Surprised by the sudden contact of cool wetness, Gackt staggered back a little in surprise, stumbling upon the entanglement of sheets around his feet. Pale fingers gripped the brim ever so relentlessly as he struggled to maintain balance, his hip bumping with against the wall with a muffled yet audibly pronounced thud. Why, poor Gackt was way too preoccupied to spare a small glance at the window to watch the cyclist outside who pursed his lips in defiance and once again tugged on the pedal with all his might in attempt to free the stubborn chain. Hyde cursed as one of buttons snagged on his hair, threatening to pull those poor ebony locks from their roots. Growling at the wincing pain, he uttered another incoherent curse as he struggled to free himself, fingers hastily untangling those locks whilst pulling the garment off. However, upon finally managing to free his head... Thud. Hyde froze, the shirt slipping off his arms entirely and soon slumped to the ground, landing in a disarrayed heap that joined its counterpart, the recently discarded jeans. His body became rigid, arms strangely poised in mid-air as his ears perked at the noticeably muffled sound. What... A look of trepidation had managed to slip its way upon the man"s features. Slowly, Hyde looked over his shoulder with overwhelming dread before he abruptly stiffened, body tensing in the matter of mere seconds. For there, perched upon the brim of the partition were ten delicate long fingers, curled and gripping the sturdy edge in a somewhat tentative manner. Hyde stared. Utterly shocked. What. The. Hell. For a moment, there was no movement or sound of any sort. Not even the wisps of rushing air being inhaled and exhaled by both parties were heard. The dark-haired male remained where he was, immobile like a stiff effigy. A pregnant pause. All was still until- The fingers twitched suddenly, maintaining a better grip on the brim of the stunted wall. Hyde choked, enraged as a realisation soon came charging into the confines of his mind, gesticulating irately towards the affronting outrageousness of the situation he had managed to interpret as. Good heavens. There was a goddamn pervert living in the room next door! Hyde bristled with indignation, clearly offended. "Great! First the bed, then the curry rice and now this!?" he hissed vehemently through gritted teeth. How unbelievable! It was no wonder the man next door was so silent for the past week. Why, he had been trying not to raise any suspicions. Well now, it seems that all of that was merely an act and that he had been waiting all along for the right moment to strike! Ooh, the nerve of him! Peeping at innocent people whilst they were getting changed! Heavens, the other must have really desperate to even peek at men for goodness sake! "Why that- god-damn..." he hissed, snatching a new shirt from the foot of his bed and hastily pulling it on before reaching for the nearest object within his reach. Gripping it tightly, the dark-haired male faced the wall promptly and waited in bated breath, dark eyes flaring as teeth were gritted in righteous anger. "You ... I"ll show you...!" Wetting his lips in silent apprehension, Hyde watched those pale fingers tightened firmly and strained as the strong hands that came with it aided a body to pull itself up from the other side. A tightening of grasp around hard wood. A flourish of russet tresses, a gentle sheen of gold and copper came into the light. An intake of breath.

Gackt jumped slightly, startled by the sudden thunderous sound that came from the next room. Deep blue eyes diverted their attention towards the wall beside him, wide with franticness and incredulity as he rested his palm across his chest to steady the intense pounding of his heartbeat. "Slamming the door so hard..." he murmured reproachfully. After staring at the wall for a moment and a curt shake of a head, he then made his way further into his room, running a pale hand through his russet tresses. Fishing out a lighter from his pocket, he set to light all the candles that he had prudently placed around his room. Upon reaching the last candle though, Gackt was soon in for another surprise. As that delicate hand that firmly grasped the slim body of the lighter reached over to the thin flimsy wick, a raucous cry had suddenly erupted from beyond the wall thus startling the poor brunet into a small stumble which he luckily managed to catch himself. Incredulous, the young man slowly turned to stare at the wall in disbelief. "What the hell...?" Thump. Gackt blinked, surprised. Thump. A muffled woeful moan. Another blink. Once. Twice. Make that three. Thump. Groan. Thump. A prolonged stare of involuntary awe. Thump. Whinge. Thump. Thump. And then... SLAM! "I"M STARVING! ARGH, GOD DAMMIT! I WANT MY CURRY RICE!" Gackt recoiled a feet away from his bed and gaped at the wall before him, blue eyes shamelessly wide for the young man was downright alarmed. And when the thumping resumed yet once again, those blue orbs just seem to widen even more. Good gracious. Just what on earth was this person doing next door? Was he... A derisive sound was made and there was a terse shake of head. Clearly, the other mustn"t be some sort of...masochist, no? Why, he couldn"t possibly be brutally beating himself senseless (how the person did it, he did not know. Or want to know for that matter) now, could he? And all because he was hungry and craving for some...what was it? Curry rice? Gackt couldn"t hold back that bark of wry laughter. Why, an act such as that is clearly a dim-witted one. A foolish one, indeed. Really, who would be that idiotic to not go out and get himself some food to ease off his hunger, eh? Heaven forbid, but a person like that is clearly nothing but a futile, imperceptive, senseless moron. ((In the room next door, Hyde sneezed.)) Oh yes, a person like that is nothing but a minuscule little slug. ((Again, Hyde sneezed.)) Gackt nodded to himself in agreement. Yep, definitely a god forsaken low class slug. A loud, violent sneeze wafted through the wall. "Bless you," Gackt said absentmindedly, stepping forward once again in order to light up the lone candle that had been momentarily forgotten, innocently perched upon the surface of his small desk. A flourish of a lighter. A flick of a switch. Deep blue eyes scrutinised the small flame, watching the wick ignite with a gradual spark of promising vivacity. It swayed a little as a feeble draft had managed to skulk its way into the room through the small slit between the loose windows. It swept past him, invisible fingers tantalisingly trailing nonexistent patterns upon his warm skin. He shuddered a little at the ghostly sensations. Darting his gaze to the window, Gackt glanced outside abstractedly, fleetingly taking note of a man who stood at the opposite of the road, his hands running over the wheel of his bicycle as he examined it closely. Blue eyes, lacklustre, watched in silence as a small shower had decided to fall, the small raindrops pattering lightly against the glass of his window. He pitied the man out there, standing in the rain, figuring out a way to try to get the wheel to spin. The chain must be jammed. A pensive look. Perhaps he should shut the windows tightly, in case the rain starts to intensify. Upon taking one step forward though, a droplet of wetness flourished from out of the blue and carelessly plopped onto his slender nose. Surprised, Gackt reached up intuitively and touched the moist curvature of the bridge of his nose. Water...? He stared at the drop of water upon his finger in wonder. Where...? The brunet looked up, only to frown upon seeing a small wet patch that lingered against the plaster discreetly, in hopes of being able to hide within the shadows creeping along the pale surface. Dampening with every passing second. Blue eyes wandered across the white-washed ceiling, finding yet another one hovering closely to his bed. Equally dripping. Drip. Drip. Drip. Gackt glared. That does it. Hyde stood up abruptly, a fire of indignation burning behind those dark eyes. Glancing at the digital clock on his desk, he cleared away his pencils and tucked them away into his drawer before turning around to pull out warmer clothes from his closet. Well now. It seems that the curry people were taking their own delightfully sweet time to reach here. It was taking far too long. Ridiculously long, in fact. And Hyde was angry about it. No, not angry. He was downright outraged! It didn"t take an hour or so for a simple dish of curry rice to get here. Why, it certainly did not take that long the last time he ordered it (which was yesterday) and or even the day before that. Good gracious, this was absolutely absurd! And so, Hyde was about to do something unconditionally drastic. An act that was simply unthinkable and disbelieving to anyone who was associated with the unbelievably idle dark-haired male. A pair of jeans were hastily wrenched away from pale slender legs before a clean pair of dark ones were tugged on rashly, a lean body staggering clumsily as socked nimble feet struggled to maintain balance upon the wooden floorboards. Oh yes. Pale nimble fingers began to clumsily work on the buttons of his black polo t-shirt. He was going out to complain. There was a sodden patch on his ceiling. And Gackt was far from being happy about his discovery. He glared at the small patch, pliant lips firmly pursed into a taut line. He cursed softly and stepped forward, examining the faintly browning plaster closely. It didn"t look very threatening though, which was a good sign. But still. It could burst any day from now if more rainwater accumulates there. And the brunet was certainly not looking forward to sleeping in room where he would wake up to see a god forsaken hole staring down at him. Especially one that would allow the rain to freely fall through. He wasn"t particularly keen on having a personal waterfall in his room, thank you very much. He glared at it once again, for good measure. He needed to do something about it. Perhaps he should inform the landlady tomorrow. Yes, that seems rational and less troubling for her, and that he was certainly not in the mood to be dealing with another session of her harassing him about the lights again. Once again, those blue eyes speculated the wet patch, soon to wander aimlessly along the white-washed plaster in search for more. That is, before his gaze come in contact with... Gackt blinked. Is that... A step forward. And a look of bewilderment. ...a gap between the wall and the ceiling? Meanwhile, the man outside grasped the pedal of his bicycle tightly and started to turn it, struggling though ignorant of the rain pattering against his body. Gackt stared for a moment longer, allowing the sight he was currently witnessing to assimilate into his surprisingly demurring brain. No shit. There really was a gap above the wall. The brunet regarded the wall before him, startled with his recent unanticipated sighting. A gap above the wall. What an uncanny sight it was, indeed! He took another step forward, examining it closely with developing interest. What on earth was it doing there? Upon closer speculations, the young man finally came to realise that the wall was actually short and that it was unable to reach the ceiling. A partition between rooms, it was called, to be exact. A partition by which the gap had involuntarily acted like a window into the room next door, thus unintentionally intruding into one"s privacy... A look of realisation. It was no wonder he could easily hear the activities of the person in the room next door. Which was exactly what was happening at the moment then. There was a staggering of unstable feet. A hushed rustling of cloth. And an occasional curse or two. Blue eyes lit with compelling curiosity. Ah. Perhaps...he should take a small peek over the ledge. Just a small one. You know, just to see how the room on the other side looks like. Or even this neighbour of his for that matter. Yes, he was definitely curious to know how this person looked like. Tempted, in fact. Now that wasn"t a wrongful act, is it? Why, it wasn"t like he was peeping or acting as some perverse voyeur of any sort (why the person next door was not a female, that was for sure - despite what the landlady claims it as - he had heard the person speak on the telephone occasionally (he was able to bring the phone upstairs?), so he was definitely male). Come now, it was just a quick look. A small look couldn"t hurt right? A curt nod of heartening determination. Of course not. And so, unable to restrain such gripping temptation, Gackt climbed onto his bed and (thanking those above silently for the benefits of being around 5"11) stood on his tiptoes, his long pale fingers enclosing around the brim of the partition. Pulling himself up slightly, those blue eyes soon cautiously peered over the rim. The room was small, just like his, identical in fact. Only that this room had lights. And a bookshelf that was overflowing with horror and paranormal (Mystical Shamanism!? Was this person some sort of wannabe witchdoctor?) books as well as a huge disarrayed stack of manga comic books ushered into a corner. Beside it, a small television set had been shoved against the wall, perched upon a small table with a video game console attached to it. The console itself was tilted on its side dangerously as a shambled heap of various video games and music CDs were piled up beside the device messily. A trampled cushion had been carelessly kicked aside and under a small desk which was currently strewn haphazardly with sheets of paper, all bearing various indistinguishable pencil-drawn sketches. Pencils were scattered here and then, some rolling towards the edge precariously as a few books (the shamanic ones?) were left opened, all bearing pages that were imprinted with various tribal patterns. In another corner, just behind the door, was a small closet, its door ajar as it retched out a rumpled pile of clothes, a glimmer of a large mirror behind the closet door could be seen. Aside that, the wooden floor was cluttered with a few discarded garments and scrunched up pieces of pale paper, an empty packet of crisps discarded recklessly and forgotten beside the wastepaper basket that currently overflowed with even more pieces of crumpled paper. The brunet grimaced slightly. Really, the room was in such a bedraggled state. It was astounding that a person could live in such a mess. The room was a far cry from his dark, bleak and immaculate sanctuary. Though in the middle of all the clutter, however... There was a lightening of deep blue eyes; a small yet evident spark of beguilement was detected within those subliminal hues. A parting of lips occurred. And a hushed inhalation of awe. Oh wow... There, standing the middle of the room, with his back turned towards him, was a lean young man (who was currently struggling to tug a dark shirt over and off his head) whose back was tattooed with a pair of jet-black wings embedded upon his back. Angels" wings, to be precise. Gackt couldn"t help but stare with captivation. The delicate intricacy, the complex twists and turns, the sharp lines and swift refined curves of sheer black ink upon the smooth expanse of skin. A slight twitch of pale fingers was made on the brunet"s behalf. Goodness. The tattoo was simply breathtaking. However, speculations of such divine art was not one to last long as suddenly, unexpectedly, a little globule of water had decided to come out to play. Quickly creeping through the supposed decrepit plaster ceiling, it soon located its target and dripped down onto a currently enthralled Gackt"s nose with a tiny, destructive explosion. PLOP! Surprised by the sudden contact of cool wetness, Gackt staggered back a little in surprise, stumbling upon the entanglement of sheets around his feet. Pale fingers gripped the brim ever so relentlessly as he struggled to maintain balance, his hip bumping with against the wall with a muffled yet audibly pronounced thud. Why, poor Gackt was way too preoccupied to spare a small glance at the window to watch the cyclist outside who pursed his lips in defiance and once again tugged on the pedal with all his might in attempt to free the stubborn chain. Hyde cursed as one of buttons snagged on his hair, threatening to pull those poor ebony locks from their roots. Growling at the wincing pain, he uttered another incoherent curse as he struggled to free himself, fingers hastily untangling those locks whilst pulling the garment off. However, upon finally managing to free his head... Thud. Hyde froze, the shirt slipping off his arms entirely and soon slumped to the ground, landing in a disarrayed heap that joined its counterpart, the recently discarded jeans. His body became rigid, arms strangely poised in mid-air as his ears perked at the noticeably muffled sound. What... A look of trepidation had managed to slip its way upon the man"s features. Slowly, Hyde looked over his shoulder with overwhelming dread before he abruptly stiffened, body tensing in the matter of mere seconds. For there, perched upon the brim of the partition were ten delicate long fingers, curled and gripping the sturdy edge in a somewhat tentative manner. Hyde stared. Utterly shocked. What. The. Hell. For a moment, there was no movement or sound of any sort. Not even the wisps of rushing air being inhaled and exhaled by both parties were heard. The dark-haired male remained where he was, immobile like a stiff effigy. A pregnant pause. All was still until- The fingers twitched suddenly, maintaining a better grip on the brim of the stunted wall. Hyde choked, enraged as a realisation soon came charging into the confines of his mind, gesticulating irately towards the affronting outrageousness of the situation he had managed to interpret as. Good heavens. There was a goddamn pervert living in the room next door! Hyde bristled with indignation, clearly offended. "Great! First the bed, then the curry rice and now this!?" he hissed vehemently through gritted teeth. How unbelievable! It was no wonder the man next door was so silent for the past week. Why, he had been trying not to raise any suspicions. Well now, it seems that all of that was merely an act and that he had been waiting all along for the right moment to strike! Ooh, the nerve of him! Peeping at innocent people whilst they were getting changed! Heavens, the other must have really desperate to even peek at men for goodness sake! "Why that- god-damn..." he hissed, snatching a new shirt from the foot of his bed and hastily pulling it on before reaching for the nearest object within his reach. Gripping it tightly, the dark-haired male faced the wall promptly and waited in bated breath, dark eyes flaring as teeth were gritted in righteous anger. "You ... I"ll show you...!" Wetting his lips in silent apprehension, Hyde watched those pale fingers tightened firmly and strained as the strong hands that came with it aided a body to pull itself up from the other side. A tightening of grasp around hard wood. A flourish of russet tresses, a gentle sheen of gold and copper came into the light. An intake of breath. There was a gradual, cautious emergence of deep blue eyes when- "EAT THIS, PERVERT!" A broom was brandished into the air, the tawny bristles gleaming menacingly in the light, before swiftly swinging down in an acute swoop and slamming straight into the intruder"s face. The formidable impact startled the other man, causing the sudden release of fingers and a graceless stumble upon the other"s behalf. A loud crash was heard beyond the wall as the man"s body toppled over and collided mightily onto the wooden floorboards, the impact of the sudden descent could be well felt in the form of little tremors beneath Hyde"s socked feet. Alas, flourish the fall of the Peeping Tom. Upon that notion, the dark-haired man lifted his chin up haughtily and held the broom steadily by his side, smirking with compelling triumph. Gackt stared, wide-eyed at the gap above the wall, utterly stunned and rendered absolutely speechless. A look of sheer surprise was etched upon his face, a comical expression that seemed to compliment those photogenic features nonetheless. Yes, upon being clumsily sprawled on his rear with his hands planted firmly by his sides as he supported his lithe body, the scene by which the newly recruited card dealer being laid out oh so alluringly simply looked far too enticing to let it go unnoticed. Oh yes, the brunet should be applauded for such skill to deftly land in such a pose that will clearly be attractive and suitable enough for the front covers of renowned fashion magazines. However, Gackt wasn"t much a narcissist so he didn"t particularly spared a small thought on how lovely he might have (read: definitely) looked at that moment. No, in fact, he was downright outraged by the fact that he had been suddenly whacked in the face by a broom. Yes, a broom. Out of all the things in the world. A goddamn, fucking broom. Spectacular. Gackt frowned, a pale hand reaching up to gingerly massage his currently throbbing and quickly warming nose. He flinched, however, as soon as he touched it. His frown deepened, mildly puzzled before allowing those pale fingers to curtly sweep across his nostrils, blue eyes soon glancing down at those long digits. Only to... Gackt gawked, astonished. Why, the contrast of vivid crimson blood against creamy porcelain skin was a definitely striking one. It was an astonishing sight, and the brunet was unable to help but stare in utter grotesque. He blinked. A moment of reminiscence. A flourish of tawny bristles... And an agonizing blow to the nose... A ginger touch upon the bridge of a slender nose. A slight hiss and a flinch. A small glance. Blood. Another sweep of fingers across sensual lips was made, resulting to the most expected staining of red blood upon tips of nimble fingers. A clenching of a fist. A narrowing of blue eyes. And the gritting of teeth, an act of absolute fury. Why that... Gackt"s eyes blazed with unreserved infuriation as he glared up at the gap once more, only to scowl darkly when the distinguishable wicked glint of vile tawny bristles could be seen. The sheen of those bristles were taunting him, provoking him with a scornful air. He scowled even more. A pulsation of a small gash upon the curvature of a nose. A dribble of crimson over surly lips. A dripping of blood off a refined chin, spattering across wooden floorboards. There was a silent gnashing of teeth, in conjunction to the violent tug against the stubborn chain of the bicycle across the road. Two twitches occurred in one fell swoop. ...little...! Suddenly the young man stood on his feet with newfound vigour and glared up at the god forsaken gap above the wall, soon parting those lips and- Of course, being the overly sceptical person as well as the oppressed scapegoat he resolutely thought he was, Gackt simply did what any persons of his sort would do in a maddening situation such as this. He simply... "THE HELL!? OY! JACKASS! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR!?" ...yelled like there was no tomorrow. Or, even more precise, at such an ungodly hour of the night where many tired souls would very well be inclined to replenish their energy for the following day. Yep, Gackt was not in the right mind to acknowledge those poor tenants downstairs at that moment then. Good gracious, all he cared at this moment was to- "SCREW YOU, PERVERT! THAT"S WHAT YOU GET FOR PEEKING!" came the equally raucous cry of outrage from the other side, the broom brandished even more vigorously as could be seen from the gap. Gackt bristled with indignation. "PERVERT!? WHO ARE YOU CALLING PERVERT, YOU LITTLE SHIT!? I WASN"T EVEN LOOK-!" A bark of scathing laughter. "SAVE YOUR BREATH! DON"T YOU TRY TO EVEN THINK ABOUT TALKING YOUR WAY OUT OF THIS! I SAW YOU! I SWEAR TO GOD I SAW YOU PEEKING AT ME WHEN I WAS GETTING CHANGED-!" The brunet clamped his mouth shut, restraining himself from lashing back at the other man with snappish retaliation as he would have done without a second thought due to his mulish and competitive nature since birth. What did the other just say...? With huge effort to keep himself composed, he then mused upon the situation as being stated by his neighbour, looking at the entire picture at a whole different angle. Bloodied lips pursed, frowning in thought. Peeping? He saw...? Blue eyes lightened with realisation as a sleeve absentmindedly wiped the blood that currently ran down his nose in steady flows. Ah. It clicked. And everything fell into place.

"That"s something I"d like to know as well." "Shit." He caught the shurikens before they dropped and quickly tucked them away into his clothes. Seeing that there was no point of fleeing since he had already been clearly spotted (What a blow to his ninja pride. How could he have been so absent-minded?), Sasuke peered over the edge of the branch he was seated upon and was not surprised to see Katakura Kojuro glaring up at him with suspicion. Ah, the ever watchful loyal underling. He smiled good-naturedly. "Hey there, Right-Eye." "Takeda"s ninja." Kojuro acknowledged, his stance hawkish. Sasuke quickly noted that there was no weapon on his person and that there was no trace of sleep upon his weary face. That was odd. Party too lively for you geezers? Amused, he decided to shrug it off and play along. "Well! You"re up early. Are you conducting some sort of physical training under the morning sun? Oh, beautiful sunrise by the way. Oshu certainly is blessed with such exquisiteness-" "Cut the crap, ninja. Have you decided to finally strike Oshu? Quite a bold move you"ve made there." The accusation clearly rang in the man"s voice. Oh dear. Sasuke scratched his cheek sheepishly. "H-hey, take it easy, Master Katakura. I didn"t come here to wage war, okay? It"s...uh, how do I say this...it"s a little complicated to explain." "Out with it." "How do I put this? I think you"d understand my position if you had realised that you had unwittingly sent your own lord off to meet another man. And it"s not just some man." Kojuro seemed to think on this. It was not long until he finally straightened his back and glanced over to the room where his lord and Yukimura were currently dwelling in. "I see." Sasuke followed his gaze. "I take it that all went well, sir?" "Yes...you could say that Sanada had managed to not destroy the compound. Their reconciliation slipped by quite peacefully actually. Thank god for that. " "And the One Eyed Dragon?" "...he"s growing." The pause which Kojuro had taken to grope his mind for the right words was suspicious. "Huh. I expect he knows what he"s doing. And the responsibility he should take." Sasuke dared to say offhandedly as he flashed Date"s retainer with another smile when he pinned him with a look. "I should say the same for your master." Sasuke"s eyes lightened in amusement. "And what would that be?" Kojuro"s lips twitched. "He very well should-" The door suddenly slid open to reveal both Yukimura and Masamune, neatly wrapped in their respective crinkled yukatas as they took a small, almost cautious step out into the corridor. For a fleeting moment, they turned their eyes to each other, their gazes lingered in that one split second gap before they eventually turned away and walked off in different directions, eerily calm. The atmosphere had suddenly become uncomfortable. Now that can"t be good. Sasuke wisely observed that it was best to leave. "Please excuse me." Sasuke muttered before he deftly pounced from the tree and left Kojuro behind to entertain his own musings, in order to quickly catch up to the disappearing back of his master. He frowned. So, what now, Yukimura? A/N: At first this started off as a simple account of Masamune and Yuki"s first sexual encounter and discovering the true extent of their attraction to one another. Now, after typing and reaching this point, this little story is now beginning to spiral off to something bigger. Now readers, what do you think is going to happen to these two? But more importantly, are you interested in having me extend this piece of writing or not? Do tell. A/N: Firstly, THANK YOU all for the encouraging reviews. It"s really nice and helpful to get feedback because I really like reading on your thoughts! They give me the push to try to make the story as enjoyable as possible! I hope my writing caters to you all! Secondly, I apologise for the wait! I have this terrible habit of taking a good (long) period of time editing and writing because I want to produce something that makes me happy. I really like the English language so I try to utilise it in the best way that I am capable of. Please forgive me my writing sounds a bit strange - English isn"t my mother tongue, sadly. Nor is Japanese (though it"s starting to creep up to be so very soon - lol!) Anyway, it is now part five. We have seen exchanges between all the characters I have introduced so far: Yukimura with Masamune, Yukimura with Sasuke, Yukimura with Kojuro, Kojuro and Masamune and then finally, Sasuke with Kojuro. And now, I have decided to usher in our beloved Shingen-Papa! Similar to Masamune"s case, Yukimura literally swears by the guidance that Shingen has laid out for him and he would likely be wandering like an abandoned puppy if Shingen wasn"t around. Whilst Kojuro treats Masamune like one of his prized vegetables, Shingen is just downright strange. Although I find Shingen and Yukimura"s relationship amusing and just awesome in the anime/game, I actually found it disturbing whilst writing this segment because I was really bent on portraying characters in a different light. I felt extremely conflicted. I wonder if people will hate me for writing like this. Summary: [AU] Really, if Yukimura hadn"t looked at that time, he wouldn"t be experiencing this strange burning in his chest. He wouldn"t have found his eyes straying a little too much. And he certainly wouldn"t find himself in this surreal situation where his nails were digging into Date Masamune"s back. [DateSana] A d o l e s c e n c e a DatexSana story By su I k a"s w I n d o f t h e c e l e s t I a l "That is enough!" Yukimura, who was surprised to catch the degree annoyance which rang in that voice, looked up in a daze. "What?" A giant fist smashed into his face. He was used to the pain, having trained with his great teacher for a great deal of his life yet for some reason, at that moment, the numbing soreness felt terrifying real as soon as the sparks of pain and the scorching heat exploded across his cheek. The momentum which powered the punch had driven him back and off his feet so suddenly that he soon found his body crashing into the stone wall of the Takeda compound, the sheer force knocking the wind out of him. He gasped and winced at the prickling pain which rattled his shocked body. In spite of this, he forced his eyes opened in order to meet the powerful gaze of his beloved lord as he stood in the middle of the courtyard beside an equally shocked Sasuke whose short sword had dropped to the ground. That was strange. Since when had his lord returned unannounced? And why was he looking so disapprovingly at him? Yukimura slowly pried himself from the wall, flinching at the pain which shot down his back, before he settled before the two men on his knees and bowed his head deeply. "Please forgive this incapable soldier, Your Lordship! I deeply apologise for causing grave offence to you, My Lord! Please punish me as you see fit for I am not worthy of-!" "YOU FOOL!" The fist pummelled into the crown of his head and Yukimura gasped when his face smashed against the ground. Blood burst from his nose and his mind reeled from the impact. It hurt. It really did. He could hear Sasuke stutter something rather nervously to his lord which was strange because Sasuke rarely did stutter, and if he did it was because something was terribly wrong. There was nothing wrong. This was normal was it not? Yet how was this normal then? At that moment, Yukimura wondered just how harsh had his training been all this time. How had he become immune to this inhuman amount of immeasurable pain? This wasn"t normal was it? Lord Masamune didn"t think so. So did Master Katakura, the first time he had witnessed his great lord hurling his body into an enemy"s horse. But his lord saw it as normal, the Takeda army saw it normal so he supposed it must be normal...isn"t it? Coughing and snorting the blood out of his nose, he slowly lifted his body. "Y-Your Lordship?" Takeda Shingen was observing him with a grim expression. "One simple miscalculation will cost you your life, Yukimura! Do not treat it so recklessly, even whilst training with Sasuke!" And then after a small pause, his eyes hardened before he said, ever so quietly, "Have you forgotten your resolve?" Yukimura"s eyes widened in disbelief. He wanted to shoot down such a thought by retorting with all his heart"s content that it was inconceivable, that he would never go back on his word, that he had and always will live for Takeda Shingen because nothing will ever deter him from that fact. Yet... "I do not know." He couldn"t. Sasuke looked astonished at this. "Master..." He just couldn"t. The words just died on his mouth before he could even form the vowels with his tongue. He stared at his lord, feeling the wave of insecurity come crashing over him and sink into his skin, his lips quivering to speak - what? What was he going to say? Was there anything to say? - as he felt his throat clog up. It was becoming blurry for some reason. What is he thinking about? Yukimura felt exhausted. He was worn to a frazzle. But that didn"t make sense. What is he getting worked up on? "Forgive me Your Lordship, but I cannot serve you. Not like..." Not like what? What exactly was he going on about? Yukimura swallowed back the unpleasant bile in his throat. "This humble man cannot..." he trailed off and his mind suddenly went blank when he felt a shaky hand touch his shoulder. He looked up to find Sasuke peering at him with concern as he down crouched before him. There was a strained smile upon his face. "The commander left." Yukimura was at a loss. His eyes darted from the ninja to the empty spot where his lord had been standing just moments ago. "Without a word? I don"t..." Sasuke looked flabbergasted. "Didn"t you hear? He said he didn"t want to deal with you. At least, not at the moment, I hope." He knew Sasuke added that last bit on to make the situation seem a bit lighter. It did to an extent but Yukimura knew better. It was unfortunate that Sasuke had forgotten how he was able to read through his lies, just as the way the ninja could with him. "I see," he quietly murmured, wiping the blood from his nose as he slowly clambered to his feet. "Master-" "I"m fine Sasuke." Perhaps he might have said too firmly because Sasuke seemed somewhat distraught when he brushed past him to make his way to the house. He would have apologised but then it was likely that Sasuke had already disappeared off to his next mission which had been set up by their lord. Missions which do not involve him or stopping the avaricious One-Eyed Dragon. Date Masamune. Once again, the vivid images and sensations of that night had filtered through his mind in a disturbing flicker. He could still feel lingering touches of those calloused hands on his skin, the intensity of that one eye, the shuddering gasp against his throat when those rough fingers milked out the warm stickiness from their sexes... Yukimura squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head to will away the sudden uncomfortable prickling of his skin which had erupted all over his body. Those images...they were nothing but a memory now. What happened that night was simply nothing but the desperate release of tension from their bodies. He had seen the concerned looks Sasuke had discreetly thrown at him ever since that day. He had seen the way the ninja"s fingers twitch every once again, just waiting to eagerly snap something. But he needn"t worry. Whatever that had occurred that night, it wasn"t going to happen again. He would make sure of it. But first- Yukimura stopped before the thick rice paper door, a pensive look upon his face as he stared at the small notch to pull the doors open. He needed to clear his mind. He needed to speak with his lord. Somehow. Taking a deep breath, he slid the door open and quietly stepped in. Takeda Shingen was leaning over the small work table, diligently reading a secret document which Sasuke had passed to him earlier that day under candlelight. He frowned, sighing with frustration every now and then as he glanced at the map he had laid out under his numerous leaves of paper, his eyes strewing over the red markings he had jotted across it. He furrowed his eyebrows in concentration. Occasionally, he reached up to scratch at his moustache as he sighed in frustration. Whilst Shingen was certain that the strategy which he had laid out was flawless, he couldn"t help but revise it over and over again. It wasn"t because he was nervous. No, it was merely because he was facing off Uesugi Kenshin once again and this time, he wanted the battle to finish off with a clean, exceptional victory - one which will go down in history in his army"s name. It was time for the War God of Echigo to go back and devote his life to being the devoted monk of Bishamonten he once was. As he skimmed over Sasuke"s obscure handwriting once again, the door of the hall slid open and in came the familiar light, pensive steps. Shingen relaxed. It was Yukimura. He carried on reading. "Um. Please forgive me for interrupting you, Your Lordship but there is...it is something that...truthfully, sir, I-" Shingen frowned and circled a particular set of hills on the map. So this is where Kenshin would station his third battalion. He couldn"t help but smirk. A wise move. He glanced up to see Yukimura sitting rather primly a few feet before him, his head lowered in respect as he mumbled away with incoherency. "What is it Yukimura? Out with it, boy," His eyebrows were pinched together in deep thought. "I hope you are smart enough to notice how busy I am right now." Yukimura stiffened at this and he inclined his head sharply, a string of apologies came spewing forth (most of which Shingen had ignored in favour of reading) before he finally managed to dig for the right words. "Forgive me Your Lordship, I mean no intention to bore you with small talk but there is an important matter which I humbly seek for your guidance upon!" "Hm." Shingen placed Sasuke"s letter down before he picked up another report in order to skim over it. "Is that so?" he murmured, partially interested. His eyes brightened a little. Ah. He glanced down to the map and he circled the nearby marsh with a pleased look. Rounding Kenshin"s soldiers to this area would handicap them. His archers could easily take them out here. Excellent. "-that is to say - well - because -!" Shingen frowned. Yukimura hadn"t finished yet? He looked up and deepened his frown at his general. "Yukimura, get a hold of yourself, you blabbering fool! Enough of this impertinent talk and get on with it! What is this urgent business that you wish to address to me? Speak!" "O-Of course! Please forgive me Your Lordship but I deem myself as incapable to participate in this battle! So I beseech to you, Your Lordhsip, to please grant me resignation from this esteemed battle until I am deemed fit and worthy!" Yukimura pressed his forehead against the floor with much force. Shingen"s eyes widened at this. He was stunned to silence. What did he just say? Clearly he had heard correctly...what was this nonsense that was coming out of Yukimura"s mouth? Resignation? Incapability at this important turn point that was going to be made in history? He wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Surely Yukimura must be anxious of what was to be the outcome of this grand battle. Yet... He took in the way Yukimura had set his posture, his arms and shoulders stiff, his fingers quaking, the way he presses his forehead forcefully against the ground. Shingen scowled. Yukimura was serious. The fool! In a fit of blind rage, he stood and kicked aside the work table, paying no heed to the fact that his documents were flying off in different directions as he stormed over to his general. Yukimura had glanced up with a pitiful look upon his face and he opened his mouth to speak but Shingen would hear none of it. He grabbed the young man by the collar and hauled him up to his feet by brute force. "YOU BUFFOON! HOW DARE YOU BECOME SO SELFISH! YOU DARE BRING DOWN THE NAME OF THE TAKEDA CLAN! HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN YOUR PLACE?" he thundered into his face. Yukimura looked torn, his eyes were filled with remorse, but he dared not let his gaze waver. Shingen felt him tremble in his presence as he did his best to appear composed. "Please forgive this inadequate soldier, Your Lordship, but rather than risk the possibility of an unsuccessful outcome, I humbly wish to withdraw from this battle," he glanced away, "as I see myself as unworthy of facing Lord Masamune and-!" "SILENCE!" Yukimura was now embedded against the wall at the other end of the hall, gasping as he collapsed in pain after Shingen had thrown him to release his frustration. He glared at him as he approached the whimpering man. "A request for withdrawal out of cowardice...I shall never accept such absurdity! You will fight this battle, Yukimura!" "B-But sir!" he staggers up to a stand to press on with a stubbornness which was uncharacteristic of him, gritting his teeth to fight back the pain. "I beg you to please consider, Your Lordship! I-I simply cannot- with Lord Masamune-he-!" A punch was thrown and Shingen felt the sick twist of pleasure upon seeing the spray of blood which had burst past his general"s lips when his fist pummelled into his gut and effectively silenced him. "Your duty is to stop the One-Eyed Dragon! That is that! You will do as you have been assigned to do! Banish those elusive qualms and finish him!" "I-I-!" The torn look in Yukimura"s eyes was back once again and Shingen couldn"t help but punch him in frustration. If sense needed to be pounded into him, then so be it. "YUKIMURA!" A gasp of pain and Yukimura went stumbling across the floor. "S-Sir-!" Shingen came charging and his fist crashed into his stomach. Blood dripped from the boy"s chin. "YUKIMURA!" "Y-Your Lordship!" the young general had managed to sputter through gritted teeth as he collapsed to his knees, clutching his abdomen. "I beg you! Please resign me of my duty! I cannot face Lord Masamune in this state! We cannot meet at this moment because -urk!" Shingen"s nostrils flared and he seized Yukimura by his hair, pulling his gaze to meet his own. "Yukimura, that is enough." The boy looked like he was about to protest yet once again but then he faltered and eventually, he closed his eyes and his shoulders finally sagged in defeat. "...I understand, Your Lordship." Sasuke stretched his limbs out and let out a long sigh, a pleased smile upon his lips when he felt his joints pop. He had just returned from his mission that night, the soles of his feet were still tingling from the sensation of flitting through the woods whilst dodging past the dangerous shurikens that were thrown his way by Kasuga, who in spite of looking absolutely stunning tonight (she had painted her lips to a sheer cherry blossom colour instead of the usual pastel rose red, which also looked gorgeous on her, mind you) was not in the best of moods. He sighed, his hand reaching up to rub the dull ache at the small of his back where he had collided against a branch with a wry smile. "Really, she should give up on courting after Echigo"s War God. That man has no one but the commander in his interests," he couldn"t help but sigh as he raked his fingers through his windblown hair, frowning a little. He crossed the courtyard, eyes glancing towards the hall where the warm glow of the small oil lamps which had cast their vividness onto the thick rice paper screens, a shadow looming amongst it. Sasuke quirked his brow, but he wasn"t at all surprised. It had been a common sight nowadays to see the Tiger of Kai bent over his desk and engrossed with his papers. Often, a faraway look could be found upon his face as enactments of the upcoming battle played in his mind and his eyes would trace his map, ink drawing out his strategies upon the sheet with meticulous care. Takeda Shingen had never looked as focused than this before. Sasuke smiled wryly. Perhaps it was already time to bring down the curtain on their rivalry? He hopped onto the veranda and he began to make his way towards his private chambers. Perhaps so. It was probably about time Yukimura flourishes his spears to imprint his own mark in history and pave the way for a bright and promising future through this bleak era. Although, he actually wondered if Yukimura would actually be capable of executing such conduct with grace. He couldn"t help but snort in amusement at such a thought. The only thing Yukimura appeared to be graceful at was when he was soaring through the air after receiving one of the commander"s falcon punches. Speaking of which. He stopped in mid-step and looked up, unperturbed by the sudden explosion of splinters and rice paper a few paces before him as a figure in red flew by, stumbling across the courtyard in an awkward tangle of arms and legs. Sasuke glanced to the side, peering through the hole in the wall which revealed the audience hall. Perhaps he should consult the woodcutter to begin construction for a new wall... Peeking through the dust, he was able to make out the large form of Takeda Shigen in the glow of the oil lamps as he gathered up his documents and prepared to leave. Sasuke"s eyebrows furrowed in disbelief.

Jensen enabled his weapons. "Vtols incoming!" Helen warned him he flew into the battle firing his cannons at a enemy fighter it moved in a spiral motion dodging his cannon rounds. "Come you son of a bitch!" He adjusted his crosshairs in front of the fighter firing his cannons hitting the Vtol in the under belly. "Good shot Ken!" In a matter of no time the ship became Equivalent to a missle slamming into the remains of a space station. "We got him good boss." Helen"s celebration was cut short by ballistic fire scraping their ship. "We"re being locked onto sir!" Missiles were shot from the enemy fighter and missile followed closely behind them. "Helen deploy flares!" Flares through the missiles off course as well as the fighter. "Enemy frigate 300 ft!" Jensen dodged the plasma rounds from the frigate as he dodged another frigate jumped close to him. "Ken!" "I know!" Jensen went down getting closer to the first frigate. "Ken what are you doing?" He noticed an enemy fighter trailing behind him it fired plasma rounds. "Helen take care of that fighter." Helen flicked several switches then pressed a button sending out several orbs toward the fighter the orbs began to open up revealing mechanical like bugs. The bugs latched onto the enemy fighter tearing though the belly and destroying the ship"s systems. "Good job Helen!" They got out from in between the two frigates and right into the kill box filled with space crafts and Titans a like. Jensen switched to hover mode to survey the large battle zone but then all fire ceased on both sides. A large battleship had appeared it"s name in bold red letters the Cleansing flame. "Is that it?" The battleship opened fire in every direction even destroying friendly frigates in it"s blind rampage. "Ken!" He switched into flight mode and nose dived towards Arcadia he saw the hud displaying he"s been locked. "Ken we"ve been locked onto." Missiles trailed behind them Jensen switched into hover mode and swung the ship around lining his crosshairs up with the missiles. "Switching to scatter lasers." He fired multiple times taking out most missiles the remaining missiles went off in different directions. "This is Gold lead does anyone read?!" "Gold lead this is Red-2!" "Thank fuck you"re alive we"re being slaughtered out here." "The bombers are they-" "I don"t know teams Red, Blue, and Green aren"t responding." The Cleansing flame released a wave shutting down all frigates, Titans, and fighters in it"s way. "Ken!" Their fighter spiraled out of control knocking into a frigate then his controls began to spark. The ship had one final crash into the frigate forcing Jensen"s head into his controls knocking him out cold. The last thing he heard were the cries of his wingman their fighter drifted aimlessly in space. Arcadia David woke up feeling a pain his leg and side after struggling to get up he leaned onto a wall for support. David looked up and saw trails in the sky he looked higher and then saw bright orange lights in the night sky. "Are those Titans?" It was best if he didn"t stick around to find out so he ran into an alley and needed to find a place to rest. Agent. Maya Kassdin- Arcadia Residential area- 4:00 A.M. A goblin flew above the city streets the hatch was opened allowing her to peak onto the streets. "Ms. Maya are you ready for our mission ma"am?" Maya was accompanied by a spectre it"s voice was a posh British accent with a slightly robotic tone. "Yes, if I may ask what is your designation?" "V.R.G.L.-286." "That"s a mouth full." "I am not allowed to change designation." "Can I call you something different?" "As a matter a fact yes. It"s encouraged that you do so that we establish a better state of companionship." "V.R.G.L., V.R.G.L., V.R.G.L...Vrrrgl, Virrrrggl. Virgil! How do you like the sound of that?" "Magnificent ma"am!" "You"re aware of our mission Virgil?" "Yes, we are to sneak behind enemy lines and find HVTs." Virgil grabbed a gauntlet from a small crate handing it to Maya. "What"s this?" "IMC"s new grappling hook device." "Insertion in 15 seconds." The pilot informed. "Well let"s get to work." Maya stated jokingly. "Agreed." The dropship parked in mid air the two jumped out the ship and landed into the dark street. Sgt. Mike Walsh- Downtown Arcadia- 12:00 P.M. Mike pushed himself off the ground he looked up to see pilots of both sides entering into a large brawl using fist, knifes, debris, their empty guns, or any other weapon there is. Kim helped him up onto his feet then handed him a helmet he noticed the blood trailing from her head wound she was saying something to him but he couldn"t hear it. There was a terrible ringing noise in his ear Mike set his eyes on the battlefield in front of him an IMC trooper was tackled by a rebel and repeatedly stabbed. His face was forced into the dirt which muffled his screams the knife which was more of a dull screwdriver ripped in and out of his stomach. Mike ran off into the chaos tackling the rebel before he could raise a fist a sharp pain coursed through his shoulder however the adrenaline out weighed the pain. He punched the rebel putting more and more power as they went on eventually the rebel was out cold he turned to see another rebel run up to him. Mike grabbed the shiv and charged the rebel he thrusted forward right up into the helmet piercing their throat his hearing began to return the sound of carnage was all that was audible. Mike searched the rebel finding a wingman with two shots left in it"s chamber in the distance Kim straddled a rebel beating them with a large iron bar behind her a rebel started to choke her. The wingman"s sight was lined up with the head of the rebel then he squeezed tightly sending a think round into the attacker"s skull. He aimed once again this time for another rebel attacking a fellow trooper but before he could fire in the blink of an eye he was eye level with boots. He"d been whacked by a club giving him a splitting pain and blurring his vision the person who hit him entered into a small fight with Kim which didn"t last long. Mike tried to get himself off the ground but the pain in his head was too much and he could even feel the blood trailing down his forehead. The wingman was just within reach no matter how hard he tried to grab it he couldn"t the ringing in his ears returned. Mike felt himself turn over and a rebel mount him a knife was positioned directly above his Adam"s apple the knife began to sink towards his throat. A trooper collapsed onto the ground letting go of his spiked club Mike grabbed the club and cracked the rebel across the skull he mounted the rebel and began to beat them mercilessly. The rebel raised his hands before Mike could give the final blow a loud screeching noise broke through the skies ships of all sizes dropped from the sky causing the troops to scatter. A boot slammed against his head knocking him onto the ground he was knocked unconscious as the ships began to crash on top of the brawl. The ground shook Kim lifted Mike up and used herself to support him giant fireballs descended from the skies every soldier stopped in their tracks and accepted fate. Lt. Kenneth Jensen- Skies above Arcadia- 1:00 The battle that irrupted in space had descended into the skies of Arcadia most of the action surrounded the large destroyer Cleansing Flame. The IMC was now aware of it"s super weapon a large radius EMP blast Kenneth"s fighter was knocked out for a while but it only took a while for him to regain control. Him and the remnants of the attack team continued their assault on the Cleansing Flame it had a blue overshield which was presumably was it charging up the weapon. "Prepare for clear skies everyone!" Ken yelled through the radio. "What"s the plan Ken?" Blue-3 asked. "Everyone get as close as you can to the Cleansing Flame!" He ordered. The fighters weaved in and out of ballistic and energy fire a large cylindrical projectile ripped through one of the fighters. The Pilots were shocked at the death of one of their friends but this only angered them further another fighter was hit this time from behind. Militia fighters were right in their tails the "shield" became more unstable looking then it let out a fierce blue wave ready to knock anything in it"s path out the sky. "Alright Pilots! Go! Go! Go!" They ejected from their ships. The remaining Pilots used their jump packs to steer themselves toward the ship the gun fire ceased after the EMP probably a bi-product of from said attack. "Everyone aim for the bridge!" They flew towards the bridge like Ken ordered. They landed on top of the bridge only armed with side arms, C4, and a few gravity stars the only thing possible is to make due. A four Pilots with planted the C4 any remaining Pilot readied a gravity star everyone hung off the side of the structure then blew it. The ceiling dropped onto the crew inside the crew tried to scatter and enemy Pilots readied their weapons but they were all pulled together onto a singular point. The team dropped in and rained fire onto the unsuspecting lumps of crew till not a single one moved they began to seize the controls of the ship. "Where"s the self destruct?" Blue-3 asked pressing every button. "Fecking ell Blue don -" Green-5 wasn"t quick enough and the gravity disappeared whilst this happened the ship shook from orbital bombardment. "Oops." That was all 3 had to say. "We got company!" Helen shouted. "Everyone stock up!" Ken pulled a R-97 floating in mid-air he set his sights on the doorway as it was being cut open from the other side. "Slam this thing into the ground!" Blue-3 and Green-3 happily obliged. The door was nearly finished with being cut through and right when the cutter reached the color the team opened fire emptying a full clip till all noise ceased. The ship began to plummet towards the ground sending all Pilots not holding onto something towards the door. Ken hit the door slamming it into a grunt smashing him in between himself and the wall enemy pilots came around the corner Ken opened fire onto them as well he only hit one. "Ken come on let"s go!" Helen grabbed his hand and flung him upward. They all floated towards the hole in the ceiling once they climbed through they approached Arcadian skyline. "We need to jump." Blue-3 stated. "No shit B3!" Green-3 snapped back. Right when the situation seemed bleak a goblin dropship appeared next to them. "Pilots get the hell on!" An IMC grunt commanded. The pilots jumped over into the dropship watching the Cleansing flame plummet into the ground. "Helluva show you all put on!" A grunt complimented. Agent. Maya Kassdin- Arcadia Residential area- 9:00 PM There had been little to no Militia activity even though they were in the enemy"s neck of the woods Maya had been absorbed in thought. Virgil"s "eye" flickered a bit he"d taken notice of Maya"s recent behavior he was a highly specialized spectre and could do things most couldn"t Human or Machine. But figuring out the exact thing wrong with someone is one of his short comings he was capable of it the very thing was in his programming but he just couldn"t do it. Humans were such complex creatures each one different than the other yet a machine is exactly the same as the other no differences nor personality he was just like his mechanical brothers and sisters. "Ma"am it"s come to my attention something has been troubling you would you like to speak about it?" Virgil asked politely. "I"m just worried about a friend he was sent out not too far from here and it"s right where we"re heading." "I assure you we will find him!" Virgil said in a cheery voice. "As much as I want to believe you the central city has been leveled." Maya almost started to break. "I"m detecting you"re feeling such emotions as sadness, loneliness, and-" "Why are you reading my emotions?" Maya asked. "I was programed with multiple directives one of them is making sure that my companion is emotionally stable." " I"m emotionally stable! And I don"t need some clank to tell me so." That sudden out burst from her only proved his point. "You just gave me a reason to stay." "Whatever. I don"t need you to read my feelings and shit it"s none of your fu-" "Hostile approaching." Virgil readied his rifle. It was a Militia Pilot he looked like any other pilot but something seemed different about him. Virgil instinctively activated a thermal scan the only parts that light up was the torso and half the head as well he was no regular pilot which made him twice as dangerous. "Tell me something Virgil." "He"s no regular Pilot only certain parts of his body show up on the thermal scan." "Long time no see." His voice was deep, cold, and mechanical. "Oh shit!" She instantly remembered who this person was. "Oh shit is right." He unsheathed two knives. The two opened fire on the Pilot he used his jump kit to evade the on coming fire simultaneously cloaking. "This"ll reveal his location!" Virgil chucked a knife sticking it to a destroyed car once it pulsed the Pilot was revealed he was inches away from Maya swinging the knife at her throat. Virgil"s lightning like reflexes spun around slamming his mechanical heel into the Pilot"s arm blocking the knife arm the Pilot was quick with his off hand attempting to thrust right into his eye Virgil used a hand to grab the arm. Virgil put all the power in this attack he kicked the Pilot at least 40 feet into a broken down semi truck the Pilot"s helmet flew off once he made contact with the trailer. It was a while before he rose from the ground revealing his face and what they saw horrified them. He wasn"t human he was more than human. The first Human-Titan hybrid. Lieutenant. Kenneth Jensen- Arcadia command- 7:00 AM (Two days after Gone Home) Arcadia had been hammered by rain for the past day or so most fighting had ceased besides from the occasional skirmish. Both IMC and Militia had taken this temporary cease fire to send search parties out for lost comrades and if they had to identify deceased ones. Kenneth had been in the flight deck just waiting for what exactly he didn"t know what exactly he was expecting perhaps it was something or perhaps someone he was expecting. "Kenneth Jensen report to the testing pad." He exited the facility seeing a group of engineers and scientist surrounding a single titan he couldn"t see it clearly image of the Titan. As he got closer they began to part revealing a slim and small stryder based chassis with a round shaped torso from the looks of it on the back of the Titan has thrusters of some sort. It was kneeling and rested it"s large rifle with a electricity coursing through the barrel. "Those boys at Hammond hooked us up with another new toy I"m surprise. Especially since the Militia stole the last one." Presumably the head scientist informed. "The Militia stole one of these?" Ken asked. "That"s not important what is it this lovely lady right here. Her designation number is CT-5515 CT or Fives for short. Since you enjoy flying we thought this Titan would be right up your alley." He continued. The Titan opened it"s core Ken climbed inside and took control. "Welcome Pilot, my designation is CT-5515 I"m eager to work with you." The Titan was female it"s voice was oddly soothing perhaps it was the warm welcome. "Uhhh hey." Ken was lost for words this Titan seemed so different to him. "Ok get a feel for her movement." The Titan moved around as if she were on wheels her speed was something he"d have to get used to she was faster than a Stryder surprisingly. "Now try lifting off." CT lifts off into the air floating over the scientist. "Now complete the flight course." Several more thrusted popped out of CT"s back she then rockets off into the distance. Agent. Maya Kassdin- Arcadia Residential area- 12:00 AM The two had been on the run from the Militia assassin they were heavily wounded the best course of action was to run. They"ve been on the run for quite some time their mission had been put on hold due to this Assassin"s intervention Maya was on edge every waking moment. Her rifle was always readied and she was ready to plant a thick sniper round into the skull of this asshat stalking them but knowing the ending of their previous encounter he"s bound to return. If blowing off half his face didn"t kill him what in the star system can? Virgil had been quiet which was a surprise he rarely shuts up it seems that the robotic companion was on edge as well. A loud snap echoed through the air like if someone snapped a large branch Maya turned and jolted back as something struck her side she looked down to see blood staining her side. Virgil caught her in his arms he threw her over his shoulder and ran down the street. Sniper fire struck close narrowly missing him several times Virgil activated his STIM rushing down the street as if he were a bullet he didn"t have enough time to react when a fist collided into his head. The Assassin mounted the spectre and planted a knife right into it"s chest the knife locked up his joints the Pilot withdrew another knife and slashed at his chest ripping through the armor plating and circuitry. The Pilot got off him and picked up rifle of some sort it was visible the Pilot was aiming right in his eye. A sudden rumbling and a bright light illuminating the Pilot turned towards the light and right when he did the Pilot was hit with the full force of an armored car knocking him back and skidding across the asphalt. A door opened and two Pilots rushed them inside once of the Pilots got into the driver seat stomping the gas. The Assassin just got up and had no time to move the car hit him face first the force pushed in his spine folding his body like an accordion he twitched slightly before the car crushed him entirely. The car sped down the dark street one of the passenger Pilot walked back checking in with the two new passengers. "Sorry for the introduction back there." This Pilot was female and her armor was a dark green her armor was also heavily scarred. "It"s fine...does anyone happen to have a medkit?" Maya asked. "Actually Robin is a field medic." The female Pilot stated. "How many times do I have to tell you? I just passed the course." Robin snapped back. "Yeah yeah just patch her up I"ll take the wheel." The Pilots switched spots Robin wore the traditional IMC Pilot armor except with a long red stripe starting from the head to waist. He pulled a kit retrieving the necessary tools for the operation. "Sorry this is going to sting a bit." He pour a small bit of alcohol onto a fabric. "Can"t you just give her the med-gel?" The driver asked. "The gel is faster but less effective compared to a traditional procedure I find this way better." Robin began to treat the wound. "Robin, where we heading?" The driver asked. "Not Arcadia command is littered with Militia. Where were you folks heading?" The question caused Maya to freeze up for a moment Virgil"s optic lit up. "We were heading to the Militia headquarters in the northern part of the city. We got derailed when we were attacked by the enemy Pilot." Virgil informed. "Sounds like quite the mission." Robin commented. "Correct." Virgil"s optics flashed red and he shouted. "Picking up enemy vehicle six o"clock!" Headlights appeared behind them and machine gun fire rattled the back door of the armored transport. The enemy truck picked up it"s speed then began to ram them on impact Robin and Virgil were thrown on their back. Robin pushed himself up and made his way to the turret firing back onto the truck pursuing them the truck rumbled as it crashed through multiple cars. A sedan flipped in mid-air and landed mere inches of the other vehicle they opened fire once again however their prey evaded and turned right down another street. Doing this they slammed into another car sending it barreling into a small shop then exploding they were still pursued they began to serpentine swerving through the cars. The pursuer crashed through the cars raining a hail of bullets over head a light was casted over them a Militia dropship followed them. They turned onto and interstate and the battle took place on the highway the pursuer fired a rocket hitting close to them. The back door flew off the dropship fired a large plasma round in front of them lifting both trucks into the air Virgil and Maya flew out the back. Maya tumbled onto the asphalt she looked up seeing the large armored car flying towards them Virgil hopped in front of them and caught it he threw the car down the highway. The interstate began to give out from under them eventually dropped consuming them amongst the rubble. David Samos- Arcadia Redzone- 11:00 PM David had been following the girl for days on end every time he got close she slipped away from him. He was deep within enemy territory he had little to nothing left to defend himself he"d have to make due with the last few clips of his pistol a side from that was his knife. David looked into the skies above seeing a dropship fly overhead this ushered in a sudden thunder storm. He looked up towards the sky if he looked hard enough he could see the remains of the Gameron. Resting right in front of the Arcadia"s moon it lied the sight gave him an oddly comforting feeling he watched debris of the Gameron float. David turned around he continued on his path to no where he came across a flatline rifle the night sky lit up with stars instead of fires for once. A large skyscraper was in the distance shining brighter than any star in the sky before he could further observe it he saw her again and she ran off. He gave chase following her down the empty street she turned down an alleyway he turned down it and stopped instantly. The girl led him right into the enemy the alley was filled with multiple grunts, a Pilot, and a Titan they were caught off guard giving David the chance to empty rounds into the grunts. The Pilot charge in with a knife David grabbed their hand and collided an elbow to their face knocking them on their back another grunt came up to him from behind. David spun around striking him in the chest with a heavy punch to the gut he pulled a pistol from his holster and planted a round in his skull. The Titan snapped awake and began firing it"s chaingun David dodged the chaingun rounds getting closer to the Titan it shoved it"s weapon into he ground in an attempt to squash him. David traveled up the machine gun and onto the Titan"s shoulder he held onto the rocket launcher as it began to thrash back and forth even colliding into the building next to them. David ripped out a missile and made his way to it"s battery he ripped it out causing the Titan to stagger and spark then he dropped the missile inside. He planted a grenade inside before he was thrown off the Titan"s top half was blown off entirely David pushed himself off the ground looking at the destruction he caused. He heard the girl once again and ran down the alley in hopes of finding the girl.

AN: Things are getting pretty spicy if you ask me. I didn"t have them fight the Rotten because I wanted to have the team interact with each other. If the coversation between Drake and Zullie was too much fluff I apologize. Romance isn"t my forfeit but I"m trying. The Rotten battle is the next chapter I"m so hyped for the Drangleic castle section because things will get crazy after that point. With time travel, timelines, alternate realities and made up terminology. I plan on including the DLCs but I"m not sure if it should be in this story or be a side thing Tell me what to do. (also if you want me to do certain things with certain characters. Like umm I dunno fucking kill them! Just PM me or something a little more tame like ship them off PM me.) I"m done have a nice day. P.S. Starting next chapter Drake and his team were covered in poison and other substances inches away from death as they hit the bonfire. "Let"s rest up before we fight him." Drake suggested. "Two steps ahea..." Sev collapsed mid sentence Drake drifted off to sleep. Flashback- Ash Lake "Father, is it true you were the Chosen Undead?" Drake asked looking up from his fishing rod. "I didn"t plan on telling you at such a young age but yes." Drake"s eyes lit up from under his helm this whole time he thought Terri was lying. He had so many questions for his father but one question that he always wanted to ask. "What happened to grandfather?" He heard his father grunt as if he were in pain. "Um your grandfather I don"t exactly-" "What about grandma? I heard she was blind and you-" He broke his rod causing Drake to stop talking after a few deep breaths he answered. "I only knew about your grandfather through what I was told I never saw him. As for your grandmother she sent me away for my own good." Drake slid closer to his father. "Last question I swear! I read in a book about you and it said you burned yourself alive inhibiting you from coming back. But you"re here." Drake was talking about linking the fire a unsettling topic for him. "I did link the fire...but something happened and I was able to sustain it without me. I"ll tell you when you"re older." "But dad!" He turned his head to his son even though his face was hidden by a helmet Drake felt the intensity of his glare. "No buts you"re a 7 year old child and already know too much!" Drake lowered his head in shame as he reeled in the hook. "How are my boys doing?" It was Drake"s mother carrying a small bag. "Quelaag just in time I was starting to wonder when you"d bring it." She got closer noticing something there were two of them. "Fredrick where"s Terri?" She asked raising a brow as her husband nonchalantly laid back on the sandy shore. "He"s in Anor Londo Gwynevere"s watching him no big deal." She sighed and went over to digging in her bag. "Drake I have a surprise for you." He jolted up in anticipation he heard that he"d be getting a gift. "What is it! What is it!" She pulled out a pyromancy flame and handed it to him. "It"s no toy me and your father will be giving you lessons on pyromancy for now on. You still have combat training with Ms. Darkling still so head there at the scheduled time." He groaned while slipping on the flame which he controlled just fine. "You"re in tune with the flame most people can"t get it on." Fredrick chuckled. "Royal blood strong with the flame don"t you know?" Quelaag punched his arm and the three errupted into a laugh until lightning flashed. "Quelaag." She nodded quickly moving Drake behind a tree. "Stay here honey. Me and daddy have something to handle." He peeked from the tree seeing to figures approach them barely hearing coversation. The screams was all he heard when he peeked back out he saw his mother"s bottom half transformed into a spider. Everyhing went quiet and when he came out he saw his mother"s top half covered in blood. He shook her increasing the speed when she wouldn"t move. "Mom! Mom! Mom!" Fredrick grabbed Drake from behind as he kicked and screamed in an attempt to soothe him as he laid his head to his chest. "It"s okay everything"s fine." Present Drake jolted up feeling drenched in sweat his team was outside near the fog gate. "They cleared the way while I was asleep." He regrouped outside the fog wall nodding to them on the way in. They weren"t ready for what was in front of them a grotesque being made of corpses. "Sweet mother of all things unholy." The creature turned to them knocking over several statues into the fire pool. It pulled a cleaver from the ground causing the team to get in their stances. "Alright team diamond formation!" They rushed forward attack all at once Alphonse blocked the cleaver allowing Evi thrust into it"s stomach releasing an acidic bile. "What rotten bastard made you?!" It hit her hard with the back of his hand sending her flying towards the edge of a fire pool. Zullie fired a soul spear which was swatted away it went to grab Evi but Alphonse brought his blade ontop the creature"s hand. "Get away from her!" It struck Alphonse with a wide swing of the cleaver cutting through his armor. "Alph!" Drake launched a great fireball that the creature absorbed it struck Zullie with a fierce punch. "Over here you rotten prick face me!" The creature moved towards Drake slowly until it was pierced by Alphonse"s blade. "Leave him alone!" It grabbed Alphonse and squeezed him hard applying more and more pressure slowly. "Let him go!" Evi stabbed at it continuously the creature grabbed then slammed her into the ground. Drake charged him but was struck with it"s fist knocking him out cold. It dropped Alphonse then slammed him in the chest with his fist multiple times took Drake and moved towards the large door covered by fog. "Drake..." It entered the fog as Alphonse passed out. Unknown Drake awoke in a room he saw the monster and reached for his blade but it wasn"t there. "Don"t worry I just want to talk." It sounded like nothing he imagined it had a soothing regal voice. "I know what you came to do and you"ll get my soul. But all I ask in return is for you to listen to a dead man"s words. If you will give me as much as that you can pierce my heart with your blade." Drake looked next to him seeing his blade he grabbed it contemplating whether to listen to it or kill it. However it showed no harm it out him in no danger. "Have a seat next to me." It patted next to him and Drake oblidged he sat next to it right in front of a shrine. "I knew you"d make the right decision." "What makes you so sure of that? I was thinking of putting my blade through your skull." "Well it"s fate that led you here and it"s my fate to tell you this. Either way you"ll hear it from me." "What are we talking about?" "Fate you know what it is?" "Yeah like destiny and stuff." "Well when you put it that way yes. I"m telling you about this because of it"s importance it was fate that got you this far. You and your friends have changed fate multiple times." "We have?" "Yes I knew I"d be talking to you but I didn"t think I be talking to you. This specific version of you." "I changed fate so what"s the point of this coversation?" "That history repeats itself. Many Monarchs rise and fall, kingdoms come and go, heroes die. Sons bear the sins of their father." "What"re you getting at?" "My father was a king just as I was. He conquered many in kingdoms in his time but was rather gluttonous he wanted power even when he knew he couldn"t have it. He entered a war even when his most loyal of supporters told him he"d lose. Then when his enemy marched into his kingdom and burned it to the ground he was slain. Knowing he thrown everything he built away. Then I built Shulva from the ground up on my own and sought souls at all cost. Even if that meant crowning a shard of Manus as my queen which back fired later. I even stole a dragon egg which was ironically named Sinh it rejected me. I never knew why I"d shower the dragon in gifts feed it the finest meats do everything for the dragon to accept me. I harmed my own soldiers conducting vile expirements and changing them forever. I took over many kingdoms in my reign even planning on conquering the Aerie. Then i realized I was becoming like him so I made a deal to cheat fate. But I had paid the ultimate price with a curse put on me. I thought I"d die and I came to terms with myself realizing I was a sinful being. I accepted my self then Sinh finally accepted me and I was reborn here as this monster." "So you did what your father did all those years ago." "Indeed history does repeat itself and fate isn"t to be changed." "What do you mean?" "Fate will always get what it wants I knew my father was a bad person. I tried hard not to be like him but eventually I did. You may thing you"ve changed fate but you didn"t you only pushed it away. Fate is not meant to be cheated it holds great consequences to cheat fate. Which is a sin of it"s own if you truely want to change fate then come to turns with it." "Come to terms with it?" "Accepting your fate is accepting yourself. Coming to terms with yourself is the one true way." "What is my fate or destiny." "Fate is a predetermined outcome it will happen regardless. But destiny is so much more it"s what you will do, who you"ll become, the hidden factor that influences everything." So everything happens for a reason because destiny influences it?" "Well if that is what you believe." "So you"re telling me to let things happen the way their meant to be?" "Not necessarily somethings have to be changed." "I never thought about it." "About what?" "How me and my father were so alike. Until he was gone that is." "We"ll ancestors pass down more than their blood. They pass down their transgressions as well." "If you put it that aren"t we all sinners?" "Yes the first sin was life itself the moment we"re born we carry the sins of our ancestors." "Well in that case how do you get rid of it?" "Certainly not by praying it away and all that ilk. But by accepting you"re sinful by nature." "Can we be born without sin?" "Purity doesn"t exist there is no pure evil if there is no pure good. Sin is a force of nature everyone has it and will do it." "Okay." "I"d like for you to do me a favor." "What is it?" "That you complete your quest at all cost. Become Monarch and link the fire even if it means sacrificing yourself in the process." "Yes I"ll do it." "Good." "You never told me your name." "Why would it matter?" "I"d like to remember you by something. I"d rather it not be clump of corpses." "I once went by Adel, King of Shulva long ago now I"m Rotten." "Well thank you Adel. You"ll be remembered." "Now please end my suffering the pain is unbearable." Drake pierced the Rotten"s heart with his blade spewing the acidic bile inside it. As he faded into dust he absorbed the many souls and in the Palm of his hand laid his great soul. "You"ll be remembered." He turned seeing that the fog gate was gone letting his team inside. "Drake you"re alive !" Alphonse ran in giving him the biggest bear hug. "Yes I am Alphonse I"m very alive." AN: Hope that coversation wasn"t that weird. I wanted to try something different I also want to dive into deeper themes. Originally Drake would have this conversation with Vendrick but I changed the topic to something else. Then I changed it to Freja but decided no because of obvious reasons. What"s the a boss they probably won"t see Drake talking to the Rotten. Anyways that"s it see later I"m half asleep so I"ll go through later and look for mistakes. So Dark souls 3 comes out next week and I"m really excited for me and my friends to jump on the final game in the trilogy. It"s probably the biggest game out of them all and sadly I spoiled myself because I have absolute shit patience. Anyways that"s not the point of this update the point is that with the release of Dark souls 3 people, will be getting out Dark souls 3 fanfics. I intended on finishing this story before it"s release but there were problems that kept me from that. Mainly writers block I couldn"t come up with ideas and I flip flopped on plot points. That note at the end off that one chapter asking for request pretty much was me asking for help. But the main problem I"m facing is people reading it I"m sure everyone is looking forward to Dark souls 3 fanfics. I want to finish this but I don"t feel like people will read this and Dark souls 3 stories will possibly flood the site. If you don"t care if I spoil the story right? Right? Okay so I"m not sure if this would technically be a spoiler but this story would tie directly into my Dark souls 3 one. But before I did that story I"d work on a small story a prequel to this one. I"d be about Drake"s father and how much he contributes to the bigger story. And what I mean by a bigger story I mean the blood line of cursed shit. But I don"t see that happening anyways I rambled too long comment if I should continue or not and jump to the Dark souls 3 story. I need to sleep. AN: It"s back after some time thinking I"ve decided that Drake"s story needs to end. Would anyone be interested in DLC chapters? It was quite the night they had before hand. Drake and Zullie were the only ones in the mansion the other three had left without a trace speaking of Zullie she was passed out on the ground. Drake removed his helmet wiping beads of sweat from his forehead before he could but on his helmet Zullie had awoken. "Why do you insist on keeping that damned thing on?" "I"d like to keep myself anonymous." He placed the helmet on Zullie moved her way onto the bed with him pulling a bottle from seemingly nowhere. "Still got some left." Zullie began drinking downing half the bottle. "Why are you so keen on being around me?" Zullie almost choked on the alcohol. "Well I"m supposed to protect you and I made a promised you that." "That"s a promise you intend on keeping?" "Of course it was your promise." Drake couldn"t help but smile he began feeling something he"d never really felt before. Butterflies were flew around in his stomach casuing a sickly feeling inside him. "Zullie how did you met me?" He seemed to strike a nerve in Zullie her face bore a shocked expression. "I don"t wish to dwell on those memories." "Oh...well okay." "I"m still a little tired so I"m going to get some shut eye." "Yeah me too." Root Timeline- Past Zullie found shelter in a small stone opening protecting herself from the cold and the rain. She was young, alone, and afraid barely able to protect herself. "Why am I here? Where is this person?" Zullie spent most her life searching for the person she was meant to protect. Zullie thought she found this person in Alva how wrong she was that only resulted in her getting into this current predicament. "I can"t go on by my own." Zullie grabbed the small dagger questioning if this is the right choice she was ready to plunge the knife into her chest but then. "You"re not going to do what I think you are? Right?" Standing outside her little hole was a towering Knight armor stained with the hollowed blood of his enemies and a greatsword slung over his shoulder. "Why...why do you care?" The Knight scratched the back of his neck. "Well I care about everyone." Him saying that seemed to set Zullie off she completely snapped. "Well that"s a childish way of thinking in this world caring for others gets you hurt. I know from experience I"ve been hurt by people I care about. That"s why I"m here because I cared for people and got fucked over." The Knight got down on a knee then removing his helmet. "I promise I won"t hurt you just let me help." "Why do you want to help me?" "Because I was once like you angry, alone, and afraid I see myself in you." "Bullshit! How do I know you won"t take advantage of me?" "Here." The Knight pulled black steeled estoc emitting dark energy along it"s blade and handed it to Zullie. "I"ve learnt in my travels that the dark arts are powerful against me which is what I infused this sword with. Take this blade and at any moment where I show the slightest moment of ill intention peirce my heart and kill me." She thought it over wanting to make sure it wasn"t a set up and was surprised when he was serious. The light drizzle that took place during their conversation was replace by a heavy thunderstorm the Knight threw on his helmet. "So is it possible to let me in?" Zullie was very tempted to kill him right then and there but an odd feeling overwhelmed her. "Fine but don"t get any funny ideas don"t forget you gave me this sword." He nodded heading inside the hole. "So...how long you been here?" "Does it matter?" "Just making conversation." "Got here not too long ago." "Oh...you must be cold." "What makes you think that?" "I"m wearing steel plated armor along with three top layers and I"m cold you"re just wearing a dress." "Just a little." "Okay I got a blanket and I can make a fire for us." "You mean blankets." "Nope I only have one." "You only have ONE?" "I"m a wanderer I usually stick to myself." He fished through his satchel pulling out a blanket and a pyromancy flame. "You"re a pyromancer?" He nodded. "You have any branches?" Zullie pointed outside the Kinght went outside and gathered sticks in a minutes time he returned. Where they resided was large enough for a fire and for them to rest. Resting the sticks on the ground he proceeded light the wood ablaze and set down his helmet. "So I have one blanket and it"s not as big as I thought...we have to share." Zullie became red in the face she was very cautious of this man. "Fine but don"t try snuggling up on me or I"ll send a dark orb through your chest." He let Zullie inside the blanket she turned away from him. "Hey what"s your name?" "Zullie." "That"s a beautiful name." "W-well what"s yours then?" "Name"s Drake." "Well that"s a nice name." A long silence came. "Are you from anywhere in Drangleic?" "I...don"t know." "Same here ever since I"ve been here for as long as I can remember." "I"ve been dying for some shut eye all day we"ll continue this coversation in the morning." "Yeah alright." This Drake stranger made Zullie feel something deep within that restored her will to go on. It was as if meeting him gave her a purpose almost as if this quest she was given by herself wasn"t for nothing. Though she didn"t trust him and is very cautious she got the overwhelming feeling that he was the key. Zullie was ready to peirce his heart once she was given the blade but she couldn"t something told he not to she really wanted to but couldn"t. Would Zullie kill him maybe...maybe not only time would tell. "Rise and shine." The sunlight beamed down furiously onto Drakeas he held out a hand. "Whattya say me and you become partners I help you find this mystery man and you help me." Zullie jumped at his proposal how did he know about her quest. "How do you know about it?" She clutched both the estoc and staff tighthly. "You tak in your sleep mentioning your quest. I"m going to leave out the other stuff though." Her face lit up once again unsure if it was over him finding out that she sleeptalked or the lewd dreams. "Guess I could use the extra muscle sure." Zulie grabbed his hand allowing him to pull her from the hole. "Alright let"s go." The duo walked off it wasn"t long till Zullie began screaming his ear off this was the start of a beautiful friendship. Many years later They were right at the very end of their journey and it had to be at this specific moment. "Come on don"t leave me now!" Drake was struck in the chest by a dark spell powerful enough to permanently kill him she tried healing him but it didn"t work. "Zullie I"m sorry but I can"t go on anymore." Zullie slid a hand down to his gaping wound he winced at first but then felt the warmth of her hand. "Maybe I can die happy now that I"m not alone." Zullie slid a hand under Drake"s head and rested him onto her thigh. "We were so close...I got reckless and N-Nashandra got me." Blood began to trail from the side of his mouth he grunted as a rush of pain flowed through him. "It"s all my agghh...f-fault if I was more careful this wouldn"t have happened." Zullie appeared calm and collected but on the inside was afraid she truely loved him Drake was the only person she"d ever love. He was the first person to truely care about her and was there when she needed him most. "Perhaps there"s a spell that can-" "Zullie...there"s nothing more you can do." He gripped her wrist lightly right eye shut as blood from his forehead trailed over it. "S-she got me badly...with her scythe then g-got me in the chest." The dreadful thought came to Zullie she"d never see Drake again. "I know I"m not making it out-" "Don"t you dare say that!" His grip on her arm became tighter and tighter his eyes dilated Zullie"s hand slip up Drake"s chest feeling his fast heart beat. "Drake...please don"t go!" Present She woke up from her nightmare Drake reminded her too much of his original counter part. It"s impossible to forget a person like him especially when she was willing to give up so many years of her life for him. All she ever wanted was to furfill his last wish and she"d be willing to die over and over if that means getting him an inch closer to the throne. AN: A long ass chapter to make up for my long ass abscene I really hope you guys missed me because I sure as hell didn"t. Anyways I"m going to expand on the Root (aka the original) timeline which"ll go into detail onto Drake and Zullie"s relationship. Speaking of relationship I"m planning a smutty surprise that"ll be fantastically terrible just for you Drullie shipper. Yes Drullie is the name of the ship so everyone spam it on the interwebsI gotta go so...uh be cool.

"Now, Leanna. Be good and come with me." He said finally, and grabbed Leanna by the shirt. She struggled against him and Sapphire ran forwards with Liam, but she didn"t really know what to do. "Dad, let go! Get it in your stupid head, while your a fucking drunk I ain"t going home! Let me go!" She yelled, the courage finally getting to her. "Don"t you know, I"ve not had nothing to eat for three days? You"re mum"s relying on her stupid mates to feed her. I tried to provide for us Leanna, but you"ve made things TEN TIMES WORSE." He spat at her, his piercing blue eyes had a deathly look in them. "And thats my fault? You spend all your money on drink. I was the one who got the food! You"re useless! I did it all! You fucking drank all day! I hate you!" She yelled back, tears beginning to run down her flushed face. "Fuck you." Was all her dad said, before lifting her off the ground effortlessly. The force of the door hitting her head was enough to knock her straight out, and the last things she heard before everything shut off was screaming and someone crying, holding her close... A/N: What did you think? Sorry it"s been so long. Review please, its just a few clicks :p 1 hour later and a bottle of Liamade finished, the boys sat back and counted their money so far. "We"ve got about 20 quid here!" Liam said, impressed. Frank grinned, and poured out more cups. Luckily nobody had suspected anything, and they hadn"t found themselves being chased by angry police officers either. "Not bad," Leanna commented, shaking her jar of money. "I ain"t doing too well today... you guys are stealing all my customers!" Liam and Frank chuckled, and poured her a glass of Liamade. "Here, its on the house." Liam told her, while handing her the plastic cup. Leanna stared at the bubbly pink liquid for a moment, her eyebrows furrowing as she looked at the drink. "...Is it supposed to be pink?" She asked. "At the moment, yes." Frank replied, and downed his cup of Liamade in one gulp. Leanna shrugged and chugged it aswell. "Ugh this is mank!" She spat, her face screwing up in disgust.. Liam and Frank watched, grinning. "As i"ve said before, it takes a little getting used to." Liam laughed. Leanna giggled, wiping her mouth. "I can"t believe you"ve sold that many cups of it when it tastes so bad!" "You must "ave heard our sob story, along with our amaaazing buisness skills." Liam said. Leanna nodded, remembering earlier, when a woman of about 50 came up to the boys. "Would you like to buy a drink? its only £3 a cup, and for a good cause!" Liam asked. The woman wrinkled her nose as she stared down at the bottle. "It looks dangerous." She commented. The boys exchanged a glance before Frank sat up and smiled at her. "Its all safe, don"t worry." He said, and her face instantly softened, realising he had a condition, but she still eyed the drink warily. "We made it ourselves!" "Along with supervision, of course." Liam added. The woman nodded. "And... do your parents know you"re here?" She asked. Perfect, that was exactly the question the boys wanted her to ask. Liam"s expression became downcast. "Well...you see, we don"t have parents. We live at the local orphanage." He sighed and slumped a little, just to add more effect. The woman"s eyes widened and she fumbled in her Gucci bag for her purse. "We"re just trying to earn some money to help out." "Very well then, boys. I"ll take two, one for my son." She then handed them £6 and smiled at Frank, before walking away, her nose in the air. "So do you actually live in the care home?" Leanna asked. Liam and Frank nodded, but they didnt look sad or sorry for themselves. Leanna had seen the carehome before. She often walked past it and looked up at the massive house. There was always the sound of laughter floating out of the front door or from the back garden. She wondered what it was like to live there- cant be that good, right? There would probably be loads of rules. Leanna turned back to her drawing, she was almost done. It was of the market, and in one corner she had drawn Frank and Liam, one bending down and pouring a cup of Liamade, while the other counted the money. As she sketched the stall selling fruit, she overheard the boys talking in hushed tones. "I"m surprised it went this long without exploding..." Liam whispered. "Yeah I know. Maybe we"ve found the right ingredients." Frank said, standing up to stretch his legs. Leanna put her drawing down and turned around again. "exploding?" She asked, her eyes widening. Liam cringed, and laughed nervously. "Well sometimes...-" They were interrupted by the rumbling of a bottle. All eyes turned to the bottle, Leanna watching with confusion, while the boys started backing away. "Speak of the devil..." Liam muttered. WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! One after the other the liquid shot out of the bottles into the air, and Leanna jumped out of her seat, watching in surprise as all four of the bottles exploded all over the area. "OI!" Liam"s head snapped round to the voice coming from the distance. "Err guys... I think we better run!" He hissed. Jogging down the road was a policeman, on his usual walk around the town. The three turned on their heel and ran in the opposite direction, Liam jumping back into the fountains of Liamade to save his jar of money and then running after Leanna and Frank. The three collapsed onto the grass, breathless from running and laughing at the same time. They had made it to the park, luckily outrunning the policeman. Leanna giggled, rolling away as Liam pulled some grass from the ground and threw it at her and Frank. "You guys, have, got to be, the coolest people, I"ve ever met!" She told them, still out of breath. Frank and Liam grinned. Leanna smiled to herself, as the three lay there, just talking about life. She had only met these people a few hours ago, but she hoped this friendship would last- unlike the others. They were different, they didnt judge her, and they were honest. Was that what being in a care home did to you? maybe it was a good thing. But even though it hadn"t been long, she wouldn"t let ANYBODY ruin this friendship. No way. "Oooh the ice cream van is here!" Frank yelled, jumping up when the familiar jingle came closer. The three ran over to the colourful van, and the ice cream man came around the back. "Y"know what? You guys chose whatever you want, we"ve got tons of cash here." Liam smiled, shaking the money pot. Frank grinned, it had been a while since Liam had been happy when one of his plans had failed. Well this one hadn"t exactly failed- it just didn"t work out. But still, he was in a very good mood and that was all that mattered. Leanna chose bubble gum ice cream, and stood eating it as the other two chose theirs. She looked around at the old park, it was looking a bit dull now. She remembered when she was little, about 4 or so. her Dad would take her down here and she would play on the bright red swings, and climb the wooden climbing frames and her Dad would help her do the monkey bars. The play equipment was still there, but it didn"t look as big and exciting as it did when she was small. Wow, she thought. She hadnt been to this park in years. "So, tomorrow, should we all meet up again?" Frank asked, once he had finished eating his sundae. Liam and Leanna nodded. "Definitely. Here, at like 12?" Leanna confirmed, and smiled when Frank and Liam nodded again. "Right, I"ve gotta" go now. S"ya tomorrow!" Liam and Frank waved, watching as the girl in cream coloured high wasted shorts and a white floaty top quickly walked in the direction of the gate. "I think we should be heading off too," Liam told Frank, and stood up, stretching. They both followed in the same direction as Leanna, discussing how they were going to hide the jar of money. And the whole time, none of them noticed the dark figure of a man standing in a bunch of trees, watching them. A/N: So sorry, its been ages! Busy month, haha. Hope this chappies alright, so review please! Thanks to everyone who reviewed before. ~Chapter 20 - Try To Remember~ There was no one there when she woke up. The room she was in had boring white walls, and no windows. There was only a bed and a few drips and medical things, but nothing else. It was kind of like a prison. Upon opening her eyes, Leanna tried to move, but the blanket was tucked in so tight she was stuck on her back, staring up at the ceiling. She had dreamed of a pretty road, with a cobble stone path and lovely little shops on either side. She had been walking down that road, two boys with her. She had seen a bakery, a pretty one. It had ribbons decorating the windows and food displayed, with icing and colourful sprinkles. She was hungry, and she wanted to buy something. She had wanted the cupcake, it was covered in vanilla icing and had chocolate chips decorating it in a swirly pattern. The two boys who she was with ran into the shop straight away, and proceeded to buy what they wanted and sat at a table to eat. Checking she had her purse, Leanna opened the door and the little bell rang. She stepped inside, but something stopped her and she was pushed back. So she tried again, but the same thing happened. It was as if there was a forcefield in front of the door, and it was stopping her from entering. So she gave up and went to the greasy store opposite, which sold food- but the food wasn"t nice. She could buy something there easily, but after eating she still felt hungry so decided to go back to the pretty bakery. But this time, she got in. So she bought the cupcake and was about to take her first bite when it was snatched away from her. She tried to take it back, but whatever had taken it wasn"t willing to give up without a fight. She found herself being strangled, and the air was being squeezed out of her lungs. As she gasped for air, she was dragged out of the shop where everyone else was- everyone who was happy. Suddenly the door clicked open, and a lady wearing a baby pink dress with an apron hurried in. She began disinfecting the medical equipment but stopped when she noticed Leanna"s eyes were open. "Oh! Hello deary, I wasn"t expecting you to be awake!" She grinned cheerfully, walking over to the side of the bed. She had fluffy brown hair which was pulled back tightly into a bun, and little wrinkles by the sides of her eyes and mouth. "I"d better go call the doctor." Leanna just watched her leave, and stared at the door until a man came in, who looked very confident. He marched over to the bed, checked the drips and then gave a massive smile to Leanna. She blinked up at him, confused. "It"s been a day and a half Leanna!" He announced, checking his watch. "I"ll bet you"ll be wanting to see everyone, am I right? I just need to call Mike to tell him the good news, then we"ll give you one last check and they can come in and visit." he told her in a hurry, and then left again. Leanna stared blankly after him, her dark eyes clouded with confusion. "Leanna!" Mike grinned, and burst into the room, his arms wide open. He went to hug her, but she flinched and moved away, a terrified look on her face. Mike stepped back awkwardly, and scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry Leanna...how"re you feeling?" He asked, glancing at Gina worriedly. Gina shrugged and looked at the girl sympathetically. "I want the nurse." Leanna said simply, pulling the covers over her shoulders. Mike nodded quickly, and Gina left the room to get the woman who was there earlier. "Ah Mike, I need to talk to you about Leanna." The doctor came around the corner, and peered into the room. Mike nodded again and left with the doctor, where they talked in hushed tones in the waiting area. It was silent again, but not for long. "Leanna!" the door burst open once more. A tallish boy with spiky brown hair lumbered in, a big grin plastered over his face. His nose and cheeks were lightly dusted with freckles, and he wore a black polo shirt with a purple hoodie. The boy came over to the bed and plonked himself down onto the chair next to it. What was with all these strangers coming in? The boy held a football under one arm, and he started to throw it up into the air and catch it repeatidly, making Leanna dizzy. So she turned away from him and closed her eyes, wishing for all these strange people to go away. "Leanna?" The boy repeated. "We"ve missed you loads, y"know. It"s only been like a couple of days but Tee was telling me how she wished you"d come back." He said quietly, his Essex accent standing out. "What do you want?" Leanna asked, turning over again and staring up at the boy, her eyebrows furrowed. Liam"s eyes widened in shock, and he frowned for a second. "Err... I came to visit you Leanna... but y"know if you dont want me here then.." He trailed off, lost for words for once. Leanna stared at his face for a moment, thinking hard. He was very good looking, even when he was staring at her in that "what"s up with you" look. But as hard as she tried she just didn"t recognise him, but he sure seemed to know her. "I"m... I"m sorry... whoever you are... but I dont know what you"re talking about... or who this Tee is..." She finally said, attempting to sit up, but collapsing back onto the pillow when a sharp pain shot through the back of her head. "What? Are you havin" me on? Tee, as in Johnny Taylor"s sister. C"mon Leanna, what are you going on about. We"re best mates!" He said, sitting up in the chair, the ball rolling off of his lap and rolling into the corner of the room. His brown eyes bore into her, little lines forming at the edges of his eyes. "Johnny? don"t... I don"t know what... don"t speak so loud! I dont even know you!" She suddenly yelled, sitting up again, but the covers kept her down and she fell back, her head landing on the pillow. She closed her eyes, clenching her teeth as the pain shot up her neck and through her head again. The boy was shaking his head, and he stood up suddenly. He gave her one last look before grabbing the ball and leaving the room, whilst running a hand through his hair in frustration. "Liam! What were you doing in there! I told you, you can see her later!" Mike scolded, coming around the corner. Liam just scowled and started pacing the waiting room. "What"s wrong with her, Mike? Is she just playing a joke on me or something?" He asked finally, coming to a stop and sitting down on one of the plastic chairs. Mike gave him a concerned look and sat down next to him, resting his elbows on his knees. "She claims she doesn"t know who I am... or who Tee is.. or Johnny... it"s as if shes forgotten us. Or she"s trying to be funny." "Look Liam... I was just talking to the doctor. The reason I didn"t want you in there was because I knew it would affect you.." Mike trailed off, and he sighed deeply. "What would affect me? Mike, whats goin" on?" Liam demanded, turning to face the older man. Mike sat up straight, and glanced towards the door where Leanna"s room was. "Doctor Fearn just told me that the impact of her head hitting the door has caused her to lose her memory. But... it"s only temporary. He thinks she"ll be alright to go home in a few days, and her memory will slowly come back." Mike finished, waiting for Liam"s reaction. The boy just nodded, seemingly unaffected by it now. "Okay." He said simply. "Right, this is Elm Tree House." Gina told Leanna, leading the girl out of the mini van. Leanna stared up at the large house, squinting from the sunlight that poured down through the trees. "You live here, yeah?" She continued, and ushered her through the door. Almost immediately a crowd of children gathered, their voices loud and concerned. "Hey!" Gina screamed, silencing them all. Tracy hurried around the corner, and pushed her way through the children. "Oh my Gosh Leanna, its so great that you"re back!" She cried, embracing the girl. Leanna stood there rigidly, not knowing who this strange woman was. "Oh, sorry." Tracy laughed, realising. "Leanna, that"s Tracy. Remember her?" She asked gently, but Leanna just shook her head quickly and stood there, not knowing what to do. "Move out of the way, all of you! Leanna babe, I"ll take you to your room, okay?" She took the confused girl up the stairs and to the room that was hers for now. all her belongings were still there, but for now they meant nothing to her. She sat down on the purple mattress and Gina left, after lingering at the doorway for a moment with a sad smile on her face. She was in peace for a while, lying on the bed, staring at the contents of the room. Her mind was a jumble, she didn"t know what to think. "I thought this might help you remember." Suddenly a voice interupted her from her peacefullness, and she looked over to the door to see the same boy from before standing there, holding a photo. He showed it to her, whilst studying her face. "Thats me- Liam. Theres you, and thats Frank. On that day, you came over for a barbeque. Lily and Carmen insisted on giving you a makeover, it weren"t exactly what you thought it was gonna" be though." He said, smiling as he remembered the memory. Leanna just stared blankly at the photo, wishing this strange boy would go away again. "Okay." She said, and turned over. Liam sighed, and sat down on the end of the bed. "Y"know, when your dad threw you against the door I thought you died." He said quietly, resting his head in his hands. "As soon as he did that... he started crying. Its as if seeing his little girl hurt almost killed him. The police had to get him away from you. He wouldn"t let go of you, he was so guilty. And all i could do is stand there init. I was a proper idiot." He told her, looking at the floor. Leanna turned around slowly, and watched him sit there. "My Dad wouldn"t hurt me." She replied. "He loves me loads. Just the other day y"know, he took me to the park to get an ice cream. Then me, him and Josh had a water fight. You"re mad, you are." She told him, her eyes wandering to the drawing that was framed on the wall. It was her brother, Josh. "Who drew that? It"s my brother!" She gasped, covering her mouth. Liam couldn"t help but chuckle at that, although he felt so fustrated at the fact that she was so stuck in the past. "No... that must have been years ago Leanna. Look, me and Frank right? We"re your best mates, and you live in this care home with us. I know it will take a while, but you will remember Leanna, I ain"t taking no for an answer." He said. "You"re probably not gonna remember half the stuff I tell you when your memory comes back. so... I just want you to know, whatever I say, I don"t ever stop caring for you, not ever. I really like you Leanna, but I guess that doesn"t matter. Cya later..." He sighed, got up and left the room. Frank stood by the door, a wave of sympathy going over him. He hated seeing his two best friends like this- one not remembering anything from the present, and the other not being himself. If only there was something he could do... but for now, he just had to hope. Leanna pulled the covers up around her and closed her eyes, trying to make sense of what the boy just said. She was sure she didnt know him... but did she? Those sparkling brown eyes... his light brunette hair... his smile, his clothes, his accent, his jokes, something at the back of her brain was telling her that he was in her life, and he meant a lot to her. Liam... Liam O"Donovan. Yes, she did know him. The fog in her brain cleared a little, and she could remember slightly the days they spent together, laughing, joking, talking. Yes, she did remember him. "It does matter, I like you a lot too Liam..." She whispered to herself. A/N: So annoyed, I still haven"t seen the last episode of TBR! Aaah D: Sorry if Liam seemed a bit OOC, he"ll go back to normal soon. Yay 20 chapters! btw this is set in the beginning of series 2 - after Burnywood. What do you think of this one? drop a review please :D ~Chapter 21 - Elektra~ "Right kids, we"ve got a new girl coming to live here!" Mike announced, a cheery grin plastered over his face. Carmen immediately grinned at the excitement of someone new, whilst Sapphire groaned and rolled her eyes, and Johnny grimaced. "She"ll be here soon, so you all need to be super friendly and make her feel at home." He said, before leaving the living room. "Oh, and one more thing guys, she"s 15, so she"s a little younger than Sapphire. Be nice!" Tee clapped her hands excitedly and looked at Carmen, who was already chatting about what she might look like. Leanna sat on the sofa with Sapphire, both of their eyes firmly fixed on the Mizz magazines in front of them. Liam sauntered into the room, an extremely bored look on his face. He walked over to the pool table and took a shot, and Frank followed quickly after. Something was definitely up with Liam, he hadn"t been the same for a few days. Leanna flipped the page and scanned over it, her mind elsewhere. It had been two weeks since the whole accident, and now her memory was mostly fully recovered. She had some trouble with remembering things around the time of the accident and a little bit after, but apart from that she felt completely normal. The past two weeks had been pretty average, but Liam had seemed off. Frank noticed too- Leanna often saw Frank giving him worried glances, but he didn"t really know what to say. Their friendship had seemed different, it was as if Liam had something to say but whenever he paused as if he had something important on his mind, he shook it off and went all weird.

"Robin, I expect you are going to take our princess here to the... place she shall work from now on?" Coeur asked. Robin nodded quickly, and left the room with his group of friends and Adela. "Where are we going?" She asked him, slightly nervous. She had to work? Robin ignored her again, his grip tight on her arm. It was his friend who answered her question. "To the servants" quarters." He said. Adela looked at him, she remembered him from the forest. His black, floppy hair and tanned skin... he was quite good looking, she had to admit. He smiled at her slightly, his blue eyes sparkling. That was something she had never seen before. A person with blue eyes and black hair. To be honest, it looked nice on him. "I"m Isaac by the way." "Shut up and stop flirting, Isaac." Robin grumbled. Adela giggled quietly."He was just being friendly. Nothing wrong with that! It"s much nicer for me than you lot being right idiots about everything." Adela stated, and Robin rolled his eyes and pushed her on. Isaac had been the only one other than Robin to speak to her. The others looked at her like dirt, just like Robin did. It was nice for a change, to find someone who wasn"t an arrogant bastard. As they carried on throughout the castle, Adela noticed how that even at dawn, when it was bright and the sun shone, it was still dark. How could anyone live like this? And how did Robin find his way through the castle anyway. It seemed like a maze to her, just like the forest. They passed people, all whom spat at her or yelled insults. Stupid De Noirs. Adela kept her head held high and yelled abuse back, but each time getting a pinch from Robin to shut her up. "You"ll get yourself killed, if you carry on like this!" He hissed at her. Finally they arrived in a different part of the castle. It seemed even gloomier here. There were no paintings or decorations, just plain walls. There weren"t any rugs or soft armchairs, as she had seen before in the castle. "Right. You"ll be working here, 4 hours a day. When you aren"t, you shall stay in your cell except for meal times." Robin informed her. Adela looked at him, horrified. "I shall have you know, I am no servant!" Adela gasped. Robin ignored her again. "Rose!" he called. A middle aged woman scurried out into the dim hallway. Her light brown hair was tied in a messy brown bun and she wore similar clothes to the little girl Adela had seen earlier. "Everything alright, master Robin?" She asked. She seemed pretty confident, even thought she was speaking to the arrogant De Noir boy. "Here is Adela for you. She will be working here, for hours a day. Get her some clothes and explain to her what she will be doing." He explained. Rose came forward and took Adela by the hand, smiling gently. Her hands were rough and worn, and Adela prayed the same thing wouldn"t happen to her. She was proud of her flawless skin. They were lead into a little room, where Rose began to rummage through a wardrobe. She pulled out the same dress as her, but a few sizes smaller. "Here me" darling. This should fit ya"." Rose handed her the dress. "Now, "ow bout we get tew werk! Master Coeur won"t be "appy at all if we don"t get on wivvit!" Adela narrowed her eyes, trying her best to understand the very unsophisticated accent that the cheerful woman had. But she noticed how a fearful look passed over her face as Rose mentioned Coeur. "...What"ll happen if we don"t get enough work done?" Adela asked, her voice trembling slightly. She had to admit, even though she managed to seem confident when speaking to him, she was terrified of the man. "He"ll get out his whip." Isaac answered for Rose. "The old man is tough when it comes to punishments so work hard." Rose nodded nervously; not wanting to speak of her master unless is was highly. Adela bit her lip worriedly. She had spotted the bruises that covered Rose"s arm, before the woman moved away so she couldn"t see. "Come on then lil" un. We"ll start with washin" the floors." Rose gently took Adela to another cupboard, and brought out a bucket and cloth. The boys left, sniggering to each other. "Oh don"t mind them, me" love. Mister Robin seems like a nasty piece of werk but he"s a real ole softeh deep down." Rose assured, noticing the self conscious look on Adela"s face. But it wasn"t how the boys made fun of her that worried Adela. It was the fact that they would be so harsh with the servants. She knew they were below her... well they were in London. Now she was basically one of them. But the mistresses and masters were never so cruel. Oh how she hated those De Noirs. A/N: sorry about the terrible grammar when Rose is speaking! Any reviews appreciated! A/N: Please R&R, thanks :D ~Chapter 8 - Disruption during Dinner~ Adela lay back and closed her eyes, exhausted. It had been a long four hours of scrubbing, washing and cleaning. "You"ve done well fur yer ferst day." Rose commented, patting Adela on her head. "Ah thought yew wouldn"t do anything... since this is against yer will." Adela opened her eyes and smiled weakly. "Well there"s nothing I can do to get out of this... so I might as well get on with it I guess," Adela murmured. Then she sat up properly and stretched. "Master Robin shall be comin" to get yew soon, so I"ll see yew tomorrah, sweetpea." At that moment, they heard the tapping of footsteps coming down the hallway towards the room they were in. The door clicked open and Robin entered, wearing his usual black leather jacket and dark trousers. "Ah, and here he is!" Rose helped Adela up, and she wearily made her way towards him. "What"s up Princess, not trying to run away anymore?" Robin smirked, watching as Adela stood in front of him, looking exhausted. "I figured right now there"s no point. I"m just not gonna" risk the disappointment anymore." She replied, her voice flat and unemotional. She had really had enough. If she tried to run away, they would capture her and bring her back and she would feel terrible. She didn"t want to anger Coeur either... she didn"t really fancy dying. Robin stared at her, lost for words. He shook his head in disbelief and took her arm. He was expecting some sort of insult or something, but he got nothing. (Robin"s POV) "... You"ve got a couple of hours to rest before dinner. I"ve left a big bucket of water in your room, clean yourself up." He told her as they walked. "Well you can hardly call it a room." Ah, that was more like it. He felt odd when she didn"t argue back, just plain answering. She did look really tired; he wondered what she had to do. But she probably got tired easier, she was from the city after all. They probably didn"t do anything there except for sit and drink tea in their posh houses. That"s probably what she did... but she seemed to have more spirit than most others. He liked that. Wait...what am I saying? I don"t like anything about her. Robin scolded himself mentally. Isaac sure liked her. He had mentioned quite a few times how he had thought of the princess as very pretty... he had also said some other things that Robin quickly banished from his mind. Adela thought he treated women badly... she didn"t know Isaac. Of course Robin cared for Isaac, even though he constantly put him down. Isaac had been his friend for many, many years. He would listen to Robin when he needed to talk about things, and he was overall a great friend. To be honest, Robin preferred Paul. He was more sensitive and often stuck up for Robin when his father went mad... which got him into trouble too. Paul was the shortest out of the lot, and the youngest. He was fourteen, the same age as the Moon Princess. He was also shorter than her! But Paul was the funniest, he always cracked jokes randomly, and most of the De Noir girls adored him because he was "cute", with his twinkling blue eyes, spiky brown hair and freckles that dusted his whole face. He was almost like an elf. They soon arrived at the dungeon, and Robin unlocked the door and pushed Adela inside. "Don"t take too long princess, like I said. Dinner is in one hour." He told her, and left. "She"s too tired to cause any trouble today," He chuckled as he passed the guard, who also laughed. That was when he realised he didn"t even know her real name. (Adela"s POV) Adela stood there, in the middle of the cell. She stared at the large bucket, not moving. Finally, she sighed and walked up to it, and sat down. She splashed the cool water on her poor tired face, feeling more awake - but it didn"t get rid of the saddening feeling in her stomach. She washed herself, and then changed back into her old dress. She was exhausted. Adela had never worked a day in her life when she was in London. Everything had been done for her and she could just sit back and relax. She didn"t even have to cook, which she had done today. They had servants who would beetle around the house dusting and washing, never stopping. Though she supposed she was a servant now. Before long she felt her eyes slowly closing so she quickly washed her face again, desperate to stay awake. She couldn"t miss dinner, she was starving. She didn"t even know what the De Noirs wanted her for. And why did they keep calling her Princess? These people were crazy. She felt sorry for Rose. She was lovely, but she had to stay here. With the De Noirs" as her masters. How depressing that would be! The dining hall was busy, as usual. The tables were laid with so much food, steak, turkey, cottage pie. Coeur was cutting himself a large portion of the pie, his dark eyes gleaming hungrily. Adela shivered as she felt Robin"s cold hands move her to her seat, near the head of the table, by Coeur. They treated her like a criminal, as if she would run away or cause trouble at any moment. Well. They were right to suspect her. "Ah, our very own little princess. How was our day, do anything special?" Coeur mocked, as Adela sat down. She stayed silent, settling with giving him a cold glare. He chuckled at her, and naturally the whole clan joined in. She felt her face heat up; she was for sure blushing, so she hid her face with her chocolate hair. She took herself a part of the turkey, and ate it in silence, waiting. "AAAAAGH!" That was exactly what she had planned. An evil glint appeared in her green eyes as the clan erupted in horrified squeals and half of them spat out their food, disgusted looks on their faces. "What is this nonsense?" Coeur yelled, his face growing red with anger. "Who did this? Own up now!" Adela sniggered to herself, finishing the turkey she was chewing. Whilst helping in the kitchens, she had poured tons of the spices, peppers and salt into all of the foods that were being made, except for the turkey, so she would have something to eat. She was quite proud of her devilish plan, and sat there with a smug face while the people around her pushed away their plates, disgusted. Beside her, Robin was looking at her, suspicious. Not that she cared if she got caught. "You. It was you, wasn"t it." Coeur growled, his beady eyes burning into Adela. It was more of a statement than a question. She bit her lip to stop herself from giggling. "It was! You cheeky little witch! What kind of black magic is this?" "I believe it is not black magic sir, just some spices from the cupboards." Her retort was answered with a hard whack across the face, so sharp that she was knocked of her seat! She sat on the floor, her burning cheek in her hand. She could feel the tears stinging in her eyes but she wouldn"t cry, this was what she wanted, wasn"t it? Perhaps to annoy them so much they would let her go? After all, they had no reason to keep her here. Or so she thought. Adela grunted as she felt Coeur"s hands grab her neck, bringing her up close to his face. She grimaced; she could see every wrinkle and hair from his beard, and the anger flashing in his eyes. "Now listen here, Princess. You"ll be eating the leftovers from now on, in your cell. And don"t even think that now we are going to treat you with any respect." Coeur hissed at her, then let her go, sending her crashing to the ground. The whole dining hall was silent. Robin jumped out of his seat, roughly pulling her to her feet and started heading to the door. Adela limped in front of him, not struggling. She was satisfied at least, although she had got herself a bruised cheek and probably some other cuts or bruises from where Coeur had pushed her to the ground. "Oh, and Robin," Robin turned to face his father. "You"ll be bringing her food... and eating with her." "What?" Adela felt his grip tighten, and she rolled her eyes. If she was to eat alone, couldn"t she at least eat in peace? "You heard me, boy. You were looking after her and look what she caused!" "You could hardly call it looking after-" Adela cut in, but Robin yanked her arm and she shut up. "Father, Rose was supposed to be looking after her." He said calmly, knowing that the only way to get what he wanted was to reason with his father and not get angry. "She is your responsibility, Robin! Go!" Coeur snapped, banging his fists on the table. Robin seemed to get the message, and with an angry growl he shoved Adela out of the room, and they walked back to the cell in silence. A/N: Sorry its taken so long, hope you like this chapter and please review :) ~Chapter 9 - Rose~ It had been two days since the dining hall incident, and meals in the cell with Robin were very awkward. He would sit at the opposite corner to Adela, every now and then glaring at her. She found his hatred for her amusing. Adela pushed her tray away, only half full. Lunch had been soup with a roll, but the soup was watery and the dry bread just made her gag."You shouldn"t waste food, Princess; I thought you would know that." Robin stated, gobbling his meal like a pig. Adela cringed, watching him. "You shouldn"t eat like that Robin; I thought you would know that." For a moment, she could have sworn that he looked amused. But the dull look returned as soon as it left. Once he had finished, he stood up and handed her his tray. She rolled her eyes, automatically knowing what she had to do. It was time for work with Rose, as it was every day for 4 hours. She followed him to the kitchens, and got straight to work on washing up, as she had already changed before lunch. As she scrubbed at the bowl, she felt as if she was being watched. Adela turned around self consciously, and she jumped slightly when she saw Robin leaning against the doorway, watching her with his dark, mysterious eyes. He smirked, realizing he had scared her. "What"s the matter Princess, can"t work under pressure?" "No, I just didn"t expect you to waste your time over here. Thought you"d be out catching fairies for your beloved father." She replied, turning back to dry the bowl. He chuckled under his breath, both insulted and amused. "Anyway, why are you here?" Robin was silent for a while before answering. "I just find you so strange.... You"re different." It sounded slightly insulting, but his tone was soft and genuine with only a hint of dislike, and she stopped for a moment, not sure how to reply. She didn"t have to. "Mornin" Robin, Mornin" Princess!" Rose sang cheerfully as she bustled into the room, her hand stacked with plates. Robin nodded at her curtly, before turning to leave. "You should make her wash all the dishes - she didn"t half waste her food today. Moon Princesses- they"re all the same." He said to Rose, smirking to himself. Well then. Just when she thought there was a nicer side to Robin, he goes and does that. Rose shook her head, laughing and patted Robin on the back as he turned to leave. "He"s olways" been a cheeky little so n" so." She chortled, placing the plates on the counter. The two worked quietly for a while, enjoying each others company. Adela quite liked spending time with Rose, the old woman was wise and motherly, something Adela needed. But one thing niggled in the back of her mind. Finally she decided to break the silence. "Rose... how come you"re so...close to Robin? He, along with his father treats the other servants like dirt...but with you..." rose chuckled at this, and her kind face warmed and she smiled as if she was remembering something. "I owe me" life to Master Coeur, lil" un." She said, taking a wooden stool and sitting down by the fire place. Adela brought some dishes to dry with the tea towel and sat at her feet on the rug, waiting for the woman to continue. "It were winter, 14 years ago...." Flashback The cold wind harshly whipped against the woman, and she huddled into her blanket to keep warm. "We"ll be alright," She whispered to the new born baby who lay in her arms. His wispy hair ruffled slightly with the wind and his soft cheeks were flushed with the cold. He blinked his blue eyes at her and squeaked a little. She had to find shelter. But it was almost impossible. The trees were blackened and some were reduced to cinders, which stained the foot deep snow brown. Ugly shadowy shapes floated across the land, twirling around and sucking the life out of everything they came across. The houses were burnt down and the once pretty village of Moonacre was now nothing. She could hear them. They hissed and whispered every time they flew past, tormenting her, waiting for her to go completely mad before they took her and her baby"s life. The shadows. That"s what they were called. They took her mother. And her darling daughter and husband. How she missed him, her beloved Paul. He was everything to her, her true love. His dark hair, shining eyes and handsome face. He was gone now. She was alone, and she was going to die, along with her little baby. Her life had been perfect, a lovely little family. She helped Paul on his Doctors rounds, they managed just fine. Couldn"t someone help her? Couldn"t have Sir Benjamin done something? No. He had been moping in his manor for the past few years. Sir De Noir wouldn"t help anyone. He wanted the valley to go to ruins and die with the curse...then it would all be his. In the distance she could hear the soft trotting of horses" hooves. Whoever it was, they were coming closer. She decided to stay put; it could be the shadows playing tricks on her. Soon a gorgeous black stallion came into view, followed by three others. A large man dismounted the horse and took off his cape, revealing black hair. It was Coeur. He surveyed the area for a while, his men doing the same. "Such a shame, really." He grumbled, not much sympathy in his voice at all. "We shall help rebuild the town- so send out some men to go and find the villagers." After a few more minutes he turned to get back onto his horse again, and that was when he noticed a tartan blanket wrapped around a shivering shape. He squinted, trying to make out who it was but to no avail. "Show yourself!" He ordered.She gulped quietly and uncovered her face, nervously awaiting the man"s reaction. Coeur frowned and strode over to the woman. She was huddled by a blackened tree, and seemed to be cradling something under the blanket. Her face was ever so slightly blue from the cold, and she looked half dead. He felt pangs in his chest. She looked like Lady De Noir on her death bed. He couldn"t stand it. So he did something he never had ever imagined doing. He offered a home in his castle. "What is your name, girl?" He asked, offering a hand to help her up. She didn"t take it and stayed cradling something. "Rose." She whispered. "Well Rose, if you don"t take this offer then you"ll surely die out here. Are you coming or not?" He was getting slightly frustrated. Rose nodded weakly, and attempted to stand up. The blanket fell off to reveal a week old baby in her arms. Coeur"s eyes widened and he stood there speechless. "Why didn"t you mention you had a child?" He barked, taking her arm and dragging her to the horses. Rose shrunk away. She would have taken up the offer to live in his castle if it meant she would live, but she knew it would mean she would be a servant...and her son would be too. He didn"t deserve a life like that. Reluctantly she followed him and rode with him back to the castle, tears running down her cheeks. Her poor little boy. Adela cradled her knees to her chest, listening intently. "You had a son?" She cut in, curious. Rose smiled sadly, and nodded. "Yes, I do." Adela frowned; she hadn"t seen any boys in the servant quarters. "Here, I"ll explain." Rose said. The castle was gloomier than ever, everything that had once represented happiness had been taken down. Life at the De Noir castle had almost grinded to a halt since the death of Lady De Noir. Coeur sat her down by the fire place and handed her a bowl of hot soup. Rose sipped it gratefully, but the whole time her eyes were on her baby who was in the arms of one of the servants. "Now, Rose. Here is the deal. You work for us," Coeur gestured towards the little group of servants, who awaited his next order. "And we look after you. And when your boy gets old enough- he will join you." A little sob escaped from Rose"s mouth, and she told herself not to cry. "I am very grateful for this Sir, but my son... please." But there was nothing she could do, and she watched helplessly as her son was taken away to be cared for but the nurse maids with Coeur"s 2 year old son, Robin.

"Adela! Adela dear, I"m over here." Adela shot round at the sound of Miss Heliotropes voice, and saw the middle aged lady stumbling out of the bakers. "Sorry dear, I just wanted to say a quick farewell to the baker, because well, it has been years we have known him," She rambled on, ushering Adela over to a black carriage with a beautiful white horse at the front. A slightly plump man, whose hairline had disappeared far over his head, stepped out of the carriage and took Adela"s hand to kiss. "I am Digweed, Madam. You must be Adela Merryweather, niece of Benjamin." He greeted, and helped her into the carriage. Adela sighed, and slouched back on her seat. She knew the journey to her Uncles house would be long and tiring. She didn"t even want to go there in the first place, and she wouldn"t have to, but her father"s gambling problems had got in the way once again. Adela fought back tears furiously as she thought of him. The man who had gambled away everything and then died. And left her with nothing except a book. A stupid book. Although, Adela did like reading. She would sit for hours by her window, pouring over pages of stories. She liked the idea of adventure, suspense and action. Her father used to read to her every night as a child. But he was gone now, nothing to do about that. Adela thought back to the funeral, the day before. It had been a grey day, the sun was hidden behind blackened clouds and the trees cast spooky shadows across the graveyard. Adela had worn a completely black dress, decorated with lace on the front of the skirts. She stood at her father"s coffin, tying her hair into a fish tail plait. The funeral was coming to a close and she had just placed a single red rose on the coffin, and then one on her mother"s grave. To be honest, she hadn"t been particularly sad, she was never that close to her father and he was always away. It was quite a pretty graveyard, with little flowers dotting the grass and a white gazebo not too far from where she was. Adela felt like she was being watched. Her eyes shifted to the lovely gazebo and she almost jumped in surprise. There was a boy, not more than 16, with a mass of curly brown hair and a bowler hat on top of his head. He wore a strip of black fabric across his nose and his clothes were also all black, the only colour was a red scarf tied around his neck. He stood there, casually leaning against a column, staring. She felt a shiver along her spine and looked away. But when she glanced back he was gone. "Adela! What on earth have you done to your dress?" Miss Heliotrope gasped in horror, picking at leaves and mud that were plastered to her purple dress. She cringed, remembering her visit to the park. Adela had been heartbroken to have to leave behind her best friend, Madeline. They had cried together- and Adela had agreed to meet her at the park one last time before she left for Moonacre. But of course, disaster struck. Madeline had brought a long her little brown poodle, who was known for his extreme mischievousness! The dog and his owner were the perfect match. Benny the poodle was small with white curly hair and a cute face with big eyes, and Madeline was a short girl with blonde curly hair and large brown eyes. ~flashback~ The two girls had sat on the bench under a willow tree, admiring the fish in the glimmering pond. They were in the park near Adela"s old house. It was large with lush green grass and a pretty pond, and there were always people there enjoying the summer sun while it lasted. "Moonacre will be terrible without you." Adela sighed, slumping over and resting her head in her palms."Adela! That"s incredibly un-lady like!" Madeline giggled, her eyes darting to the group of young men who stood nearby, talking. Adela rolled her eyes. Madeline had always been interested in boys, even though Adela thought it not right to court at only 14. She sat up right and left the bench, to walk back down the pathway. "Adela come back, I"m sorry, I get distracted sometimes!" Madeline called, scurrying after her. "I"ll miss you so," Adela stopped, quickly wiping tears away from her green eyes. "I"m sorry too, I just really don"t want to leave London! I"m going to the country side, can you believe that?" She sobbed, and Madeline held out her arms for a hug. "I"m sure it will all be ok," She said comfortingly, softly patting Adela on the back. Then she pulled away from her, her brown eyes wide with horror. "Benny!" She yelled angrily, and tore off after the small poodle, which was bounding away in delight. Adela giggled and also gave chase, following her annoyed best friend. They had run after Benny through the whole park. It was Adela who caught Benny first- well nearly. The little dog just leapt out of reach as Adela dived for him, and she ended up landing flat on her face, her dress ruffled, dirty and ripped. Benny skidded to a halt, realising fun and games were over. "Oh Adela, look at your dress!" Madeline gasped, helping her friend up. Adela laughed cheerfully. "Oh never mind my dress, that was so much fun!" She squealed, ruffling the dog between his ears. The men who were once glancing over at the girls before now looked disgusted at their un-lady like behaviour and were stalking away, shaking their heads disapprovingly. Madeline sighed, watching them leave with a saddened face. "Madeline it does not matter what they think." Adela scolded, but her eyes were sparkling and there was a rosy glow to her cheeks. But then her face fell when she noticed the time on the clock tower. "Oh Gosh I have to go, I have to meet Miss Heliotrope in 5 minutes!" She gasped. Madeline looked crest fallen and gave her best friend one last goodbye hug. She watched her go and called out good luck. ~end flashback~ Miss Heliotrope carried on tutting and brushing at her skirts as Adela sat there, trying not to think about all the people she would leave behind. As London slowly disappeared behind the carriage, Adela gazed out of the window, wondering what to expect. Even though she had never been to the countryside, Adela despised it. And she would tell that to anyone who asked her. Miss Heliotrope gave her a sad glance, her eyes dull behind her spectacles. Well at least she had Miss Heliotrope. She had been there since Adela had been born and had looked after her for her whole life. "Miss Heliotrope why did you come with me? I know you would have much preferred staying in London." Adela asked, braiding her long wavy hair in a fishtail plait and tying it with a red ribbon. Miss Heliotrope looked shocked for a moment before replying."Adela I made a promise to your mother before she died that I would look after you. I am not going to leave you!" She said firmly and squeezed her hand. Adela gave a small smile, reassured. Perhaps it wouldn"t be so bad with her scatty but lovely governess. A/N: sorry if this chapter is a bit boring! Thank you for the kind comment I did my best to make this more descriptive and I meant for the chapters to be longer than the prologue but thanks for the help! J I need some tips on how to describe a dress...any tips appreciated! :D ~Chapter 20 - Removing the Curses~ "You have terrorized the valley for far too long!" Adela said quietly, her grip on the moon pearls tightening as the cold winds seemed to rise from the grounds and shoot up into the air, fiercely ruffling the half bare trees. The shadows were trying to frighten her, and in all honestly it was working. Robin looked unnerved but he stood his ground. "You have killed! You have destroyed! And this valley shall suffer under your wrath no longer!" With that, the Shadows seemed to take the threat seriously. Dark shapes began to form around the pair, appearing and disappearing, swarming like a hive of angry bees. The wind picked up again, howling and crying out as if it was in pain. "I, Adela Merriweather am the Pure and I stand by Robin De Noir, the misunderstood!" At this declaration the Shadows" fury increased. Robin"s eyes were wide in contrast to his face which was void of emotion. He had no idea what was going on, but Adela understood. She was the pure- the pure heart that would save Moonacre, the Moon Princess. Robin was the misunderstood, a boy born into a clan where hatred ruled, a boy who did not know where his loyalties lay. The Shadows knew this too. They knew that the hatred they feasted on for hundreds of years would vanish if the Moon Princess were to fulfill her potential. The moon pearls were glowing, a painful experience for the Shadows as it was a soft light of hope. They were strong however. The wind was at its strongest now, encircling the two in its grasp. Ghostly faces formed and dissolved around them, hands reaching inwards. Their cries were barely audible but Robin could hear them, and he had gone stark white. It was as if something had dove into him and thrown out the caring and protective boy she had begun to know. He was nothing but a shell and it was scaring her. "With the power of the Moon Pearls I hereby banish you forever!" Adela cried out finally, and suddenly it all stopped. The wind grew silent and everything was still. Adela dropped to the floor from the sudden halt and sat there, out of breath. Robin however still had the haunted look and his eyes darted around for a split second as he muttered to himself, shaking his head. "Robin?" Adela whispered, watching him. It was as if he couldn"t see her, and in a split second he had vanished, the sound of his footfalls as he ran through the undergrowth the last signs of him. Adela sat, unable to comprehend what had just happened. The Shadows were gone, but so was Robin. He"d disappeared, run away, and abandoned her. Why? He had been so loyal, he had rescued her from his own family, gone against their values to help her save the valley. With a sickening blow Adela realised he had come to his senses and gone back to his family. She"d have to do this alone, without the comfort of the curly haired bird boy protecting her. She had Wrolf, or so she thought. The shaggy dog was nowhere to be seen either. Fighting back tears of betrayal and disappointment, Adela got to her feet and brushed away the leaves and dirt from her dress. The moon pearls still glowed faintly in her hands, representing the glimmer of hope she still held in her heart. She had to find the theatre to return the pearls to the ocean before the moon rose, and dusk was beginning to fall. Her stomach began to turn as she realised she had no idea where she was. But her little white horse would help her surely! And so he did, appearing from behind the tree in which they had climbed out of, his white skin glistening despite the darkening sky. The horse tossed his head and neighed, before trotting ahead of Adela and stopping to look back. A smile grew on Adela"s face as she noticed what was happening. A small flower began glowing a pure white colour, and then another flower lit up as the horse passed it. Her horse was leaving a trail of flowers for her to follow. It was not any flower though, it was the Astrid flower that Rose had told her about. The spark of hope Adela held in her heart ignited, and with her head held high she followed the trail of flowers that lead to where it all would end. His head was so muddled that he couldn"t make sense of what had just happened. Robin came to a halt abruptly at the edge of the forest, where the grass merged into rolling hills not too far from the village. Leaning against the tree he threw his hat to the ground and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to erase whatever had just happened from his mind. Even though his eyes were closed he could still see the shapes forming, the people reaching out at him, that one person in particular... Robin had never met his mother. She had died giving birth to him and was never spoken of again, though her memory lived on in the castle. There was an empty seat by the head of the table where no one sat, there was the unused library and the gardens, and lastly there was the large painting of the Coeur and Mrs De Noir outside the dining hall. She had high cheekbones much like Loveday, and bright eyes that looked as though they held a lot of love in them. Her hair tumbled down in curls as did Robin"s, and they shared the same dark eyes. And he had seen her. Her face had materialised within the other ghosts. She was saying his name, but all he could hear was screams. It was almost as if he had watched her die in front of him. It was his fault, and now it hit him full force. All those years of his father telling him he wasn"t worthy, all those years without a mother. He couldn"t take it. He screamed out, letting a few betraying tears escape, trying to find relief from his mind. This is not what she would want. The realisation hit him, and Robin stood up straight. However much of a De Noir she was, he knew inside of him that she would not want him to let everything be destroyed by the curse. Whether it meant going against his family, Robin had to help Adela. She needed him, and he had run. Picking up his bowler hat, Robin worked out where he was. If he ran as fast as he had before, he could make it to the cliff theater in twenty minutes. Then he turned around, only to be shoved against a tree with a knife held against his neck. ""Ight there, Robin? Been "avin fun with your Moon Princess eh?" A scratchy voice greeted him, and Robin found himself glaring straight into the eyes of one of his father"s best advisers. He struggled to get out of his grip but the sharp blade of the knife was cold on his skin, and he knew this man would waste no time in killing him. The sound of hooves met his ears and his eyes darted up to see Coeur galloping down the hill on his black stallion, the anger evident in his face. "Traitor." Was the first thing he hissed as he climbed off of the horse and marched over to his son. "Does this family mean nothing to you?!" He shoved the adviser out of the way, this time threatening the boy with his own knife. "Look at the moon, father!" Robin cried, wrenching himself out of his father"s grip, his hand instinctively reaching for his belt. "Can"t you see?! We"re all going to die!" "Liar!" Coeur roared, storming towards Robin again only to be held back by Robin"s dagger, which was pointed at Coeur"s chest. "You mean nothing to me, boy." Was the last thing he said before Wrolf came bounding through the trees, sending the other men scattering as they advanced to protect their leader. Inwardly thanking the demon dog, Robin raced off into the forest with Wrolf close behind him. It was only a couple of seconds later when he heard the gunshot and the whimper of pain that escaped the Wrolf as he collapsed. Adela climbed down the stone stairs into the circular clearing, stopping to catch her breath. It was quiet, almost too quiet. Her head raised to meet a pair of cold, unforgiving eyes. "I knew you would come here." Coeur said confidently, striding towards her. "This is where it all ends!" His dark hair hung in plaits and his black leather coat only made him look even bigger, even more intimidating. Adela however couldn"t draw her eyes away from the ginormous looming moon that hung over the crashing sea, slowly coming nearer. "Get away from her, Coeur De Noir!" The second voice startled Adela and she turned to see Benjamin hurtling down the stairs, his face a picture of fury. "Ah, Merriweather." Was the sarcastically overjoyed response from Coeur, and he stopped where he was. "Your niece has failed as you can see." He gestured behind him to the moon, and chuckled when Benjamin"s mouth dropped open. "Now give me the pearls!" Adela gasped and stumbled backwards, holding the pearls behind her back. "It"s those damned pearls that have caused us all this heartache and grief!" Benjamin announced. "No, it"s the greed in our hearts that brings us this misery!" Adela cut in, close to tears. How could she have ever thought she could stop the curse? Just by seeing the two rivaling families together Adela knew it would take a lot to stop this. Loveday then came rushing down the stairs with Digweed and Marmaduke following close behind, and Adela found herself feeling slightly disappointed amongst the other emotions that were coursing through her veins. Where was Robin? "Father!" Loveday cried, "Why is there so much hatred in your heart? Don"t you want to be free of this darkness imprisoning you?!" "Oh my daughter." Coeur sighed, catching sight of the grown daughter he had once banished. He seemed to visibly break down, his eyes saddening. "It is he." He said quietly at first, and then yelled it again, turning to face Benjamin. "Father!" Loveday scolded, grabbing his hand, and then Benjamin"s. Adela could see what she was doing and joined their hands with the pearls. "Look at the moon! You both know it, the curse is coming true! Please, just sacrifice your pride to save our families!" Adela almost begged, her eyes darting from the pained expression of Benjamin to the anger in Coeur"s eyes. Here stood the man that his daughter fell in love with, the man who ruined their family. "You first." Was Benjamin"s response, as he held a steady gaze with Coeur. "No, no, after you." Taking a deep breath, Adela threw their hands down in frustration. "I must do this myself." She whispered, her eyes rising to meet the gentle glow of the moon, the moon which would kill them all. Swallowing hard she walked towards the cliff"s edge and looked down to the crashing waves below. "Adela!" Everyone in the theater turned to see Robin and Miss Heliotrope atop the stairs. Robin seemed to unfreeze and stumbled down the stairs, only to stop still when Loveday caught his arm and pulled him into a loving embrace. Adela turned back, holding the pearls up to the moon. "At the 500th moon, I, Adela Merriweather the Moon Princess of Moonacre, do remove the curse that darkens this valley. Take back what is yours!" Adela cried out, and forcefully threw the string of pearls into the ocean, feeling a wave of relief as they fell. Suddenly they paused in mid-air, before swooping back up into her hands. Everyone was silent behind her as Adela tried to work out what to do. Then she pulled the necklace apart and scattered the pearls into the air. They flew only meters from her before doing the same thing again, but this time they attached to her deep red dress. Now she felt sick, and she could hear Miss Heliotrope whimpering behind her. The ocean needed the pearls back and there was only one thing she could do. Adela turned around, her eyes stopping on each person who stood in the theater. Loveday seemed to work out what was happening and stifled a gasp with her hands. Robin stared straight back at her, his eyes searching for some sort of answer. And then he found it, in the fear she was trying so hard to conceal. "It"s just falling that scares me." Those words rang over and over in his head but before he could run forwards she had stepped over the edge and then she was gone. Adela could just hear the yells from everyone as she dropped over the side, Miss Heliotrope"s scream, Benjamin and Coeur yelling, Robin calling her name. She couldn"t see how Robin was pulled back by Coeur as he tried to go after her, how Loveday fell into Benjamin"s arms in grief, how Marmaduke and Digweed stood stock still and Miss Heliotrope almost crumpled in shock. The darkness seemed to engulf her as she fell and her skirts billowed out around her until she hit the water with a splash, the coldness bringing her back to reality. Adela had never learnt to swim. The current carried her this way and that, though gently. She found herself sinking, little bubbles escaping her mouth as the oxygen in her lungs disappeared. The pearls on her dress fell and hit the sandy floor, letting off beams of light as they did so. It almost seemed peaceful, Adela thought as her eyes unwillingly began to close. It was over, she had done it. A/N: Please leave a review :) Thanks for the kind comments for the last few chapters. I"m getting quite into this story again so hopefully I shouldn"t be too long with updating :S Hope you like it! A/N: Hi guys, (if any of you are still following this) Well, this is not an update but I recently read through this story. I started it two or three years ago and looking back there is A LOT i need to improve on. For that reason I am going to start it again and re post it as a new story as I will be changing a few things. Thanks :) A/N: Thank you for the reviews I will get round to editing chapter 2 when I have time! I really appreciate all your tips and encouragement as I do like writing and I want to improve. I"m planning to make robin manlier now though, haha! :D -Just edited Robins part - he was OOC. Probably because im not used to writing with other peoples characters haha :3- ~Chapter 3 - The countryside~ (Robin"s POV) Knock knock. Robin jumped, woken from his daydream, and then immediately relaxed. He looked up to the door and smiled when the servant girl entered with a glass of water on a tray. "Your drink, Sir Robin." She said quietly, resting the tray on the table. "I do hope you"re feeling better, sir." She then began to leave the room, but turned and stood at the door.

"Harry Potter? I thought you"ve already read this one?" I laugh quietly, he was right. I had already read the whole series but them being so good I just couldn"t help myself, and had re-read them all. I remember sitting in Rick"s room, curled up on his desk chair reading the book while he strummed away on his guitar, playing the chords of "Miss You" by Ed Sheeran for me. "I have. But they"re so good, it"s not my fault!" I protest, taking it from him and trying to find the page I was at. He chuckles. "So, have you heard from Vivian?" He asks, his trainers scuffing against the grass. I shake my head, Vivian hadn"t contacted me in almost a year. "Well you"re better off here than with her." He then tells me, looking up at the gloomy building that was Burnywood. "Haha, maybe Burnywood is a messed up version of Hogwarts. " I joke, staring at the dark windows, noticing that there was no colour at all. "Perhaps Vivian is aunt Petunia, and she"s jealous of my mum"s abilities! Then that would make me Harry Potter... now I just have to wait for Hagrid to come and tell me I"m a wizard..." I smile, the Harry Potter book still is still clamped firmly in my hand. Rick stares at me, an amused expression on his face. "Well then I"m Ron and... Tyler and Leo are the Weasly twins." He continues, smiling a little. "No no... you"re more of a Hermione." I risk teasing him, and relax fully when he laughs at this. Perhaps things were going back to normal. "And Charlotte could be Bellatrix... and the triplets are... whats her name? That evil lady who always wears pink?" "Dolores Umbridge! Yeah, they are... who could be Dumbledore?" Rick asks, and we both go silent, thinking through all of the Burnywood residents to find someone who was as legendary enough to be Dumbledore. "No.. there"s nobody." He decides, all the present and past residents of Burnywood had something about them that was the reason for them being there, whether it was anger issues, violent personalities, ect. None of them were good enough to be Dumbledore. "Okay... who could be Snape?" i murmur, and just at that moment the Dennis stomps into the garden, glares at us and then rummages through the smashed window of the Wendy House and emerges with a hammer. "I"m fitting the locks back on the doors." He grumbles, swinging the hammer in his hand. I feel Rick stiffen beside me, and I realise why. Kitty is coming back from her weekly councellor sessions soon. She would hate it if her door had a lock, as Rick usually went to Kitty to support her and comfort her, but Dennis could restrict him from doing that now. Dennis left as quickly as he came, and luckily Rick relaxes. "I think we just found our Snape..." He tells me quietly. "No way! Snape is the good guy all along!" I say, crossing my arms. "I think Dennis is more like..." I pause, running through all the bad characters. It"s a hard choice, there are so many bad characters to chose from. "Voldemort." I finally decide. Rick looks at me and then bursts out laughing. I grin at his reaction, life is always good when you have Rick on your side. "Imagine if he had no nose..." He murmurs, and at that image in our heads we laugh uncontrollably again. We are having such a laugh that we don"t hear the car park on the drive, or the front door slam. It"s only when we heard a yell of "Kitty!' that we are jolted back to reality, where Dennis has hair and a nose. "Kitty"s back! See you later Kia!" Rick gasps, and then runs from the bench. He"s gone, but I smile widely at myself, finally pleased about something. A/N: I finally updated! Thanks to TBR LOVER, you reminded me about this story, I had really bad writers block and kind of gave up :S Thankyou for the reviews, and keep them coming please :) A/N: Sorry about the shortness of this chapter :S Realisation When Aunt Vivian comes to visit, I"m practicing plies using the back of the sofa for support. Now I hadn"t been in care as long as some people (like Imogen), but I sure knew that if family was going to visit, you got the choice whether you wanted them to come or not, and when. It was plainly not fair to let the kids suffer if their violent step Dad just turns up at one point, or if they have to sit through even just a five minute conversation with a Mum who doesn"t actually give a shit whether you exist or not. Vivian struts into the living room, a hand on her hip as she surveyed the mess. I didn"t notice her at first, I"m too busy stretching but when Rick coughed loudly I looked up, my whole body going cold as I meet her eyes. You see Vivian was one of the most horrible people I"ve ever had the misfortune of meeting. I had to live with her from when I was four and my mum died, up until I was put into care at seven. Back when I had no voice and no say in anything. Well, I do now. "What are you doing here?" I grumbled, and she gives me a snobby stare before lightly pushing Tyler off the couch and sitting in his place. After a whole minute she still didn"t reply, and I was finding it hard to stay calm. She knew she was testing my patience, and she knew she had to wait only a little longer for me to lose it. "I never said you could come. You can"t just turn up!" My voice grew louder as I spoke, and Tyler shared a look with Rick before taking little Joseph out of the living room. "Can I not just come and see how you"re coping?" Vivian asks, a thin eyebrow arched. Even Vivian"s appearance annoyed me. Her skin was stretched across her cheeks tightly like a drum, with no hint of wrinkles. She wore too much blusher and her eyes were small and when she stared at you it was as if you were turning to stone. This time her blonde hair was tied in a complicated bun, and her eyes analyzed me scornfully. "You need to cut your hair Kia, it"s far too long." My dark brown hair reached halfway down my midriff, and I was exceptionally proud of the length. I stared her down, refusing to let her manipulate me. "I like it long." I snapped, before stalking out of the room. When Rick found me, I had already torn half of the dying bush up. Ripped up leaves were scattered around me, as if a hurricane had passed through. "She says she"s leaving soon." He told me quietly, sitting down and taking the leaves from my hands. I sigh, finally letting go of the tension that had been building up inside me, just waiting to blow up. "Don"t let her get to you, she"s not worth it Kia. You"re better than her and you know that, so don"t listen to her when she tries to put you down." He then said, pulling me in for a hug when he noticed my wet eyes. I always tried my best not to cry. The kids in Burnywood could smell weakness from a mile. Only Joseph could get away with it really, and that was only because Charlotte was always there to beat up anyone who had anything to say about it. I rubbed at my cheeks, wiping away all evidence of tears, feeling stupid. There was no way I could let something as small as Vivian turning up get to me, Rick had been right. So I straightened myself up and we walked back to the house together, and I was determined to be brave. "Finished with your little tantrum?" Vivian asked, as soon as I stepped into the living room. I fought hard to keep my mouth shut and walked straight past her, my eyes trained on the TV. "You need better discipline who wants a girl around who can"t control herself?" She spat, gathering her things. "You"re just like your mum, you are. Always have to get your way..." I saw red. Leaping up from the sofa i stormed up to her, any intention of staying calm gone. "You just don"t know when you"re not wanted do you?" I found myself yelling, and Vivian looked taken back. "I never want to see you in this place ever again, and don"t even think about mentioning Mum anymore." "Sort yourself out, Kia." Vivian hissed, before turning and storming out of the room, not even notifying Dennis that she was leaving. "Don"t even come back!" I shouted after her, only realising that a crowd had gathered when I felt Rick"s hand on my back as he guided me out of the room. Once again I found myself fighting back the tears as the comments that were being said reached my ears. "She"s mental." "Is it too hard to just keep control of yourself?" "C"mon guys don"t be so harsh, you"ve all got shit family." Even with Leo sticking up for me, I still didn"t feel any better. I sat in Rick"s bedroom for the rest of the afternoon, listening to him play his guitar, not really thinking about anything. They were right, I was mental. My life before care hadn"t been half as bad as some of the others, so why did I get so angry? Jem had a shit life last year before he was chucked into care, and I"ve never seen him screaming when his Dad came to visit. Rick put his guitar down and stared at me, his brown eyes boring into my back as I swung around on his desk chair. "Kia, you alright?" I was silent for a while, watching as Charlotte left the house from the window. "I"m going to sort things out." I told him, and the expression on his face told me he thought I was mad. "I"m going to sort everything out." I repeated, and I was determined to do this. A/N: Not so sure about this chapter but I haven"t thought about this story for ages, I"ve got no ideas! Any reviews are appreciated :) A/N: Hi guys, finally done another chapter! Hope you like it, and please leave a review! :) Trips are Trouble "Kia I"m no therapist." Rick sighs, pulling off his headphones so they landed around his neck. Even from where I"m standing I can hear the sound of his music. "Yeah, but you can help me! You helped Kitty right?" I reason, folding my arms. Rick is staring at me stubbornly, his feet propped up on his desk and an old record in his lap. He fiddles with the hem of his checked tshirt and finally gives me an answer. "Kitty is different, you know that. You"re not mad... just a bit..." He trails off and his expression changes from stubborn to sheepish. "Just a bit what?" I hiss with mock anger, and lean against the door frame. "Umm... over-dramatic." He mumbles, avoiding my gaze. He"s not joking, but a smile is creeping up on his face when he realises that I"m offended. "Calm it Kia, don"t prove my point." He smirks, and spins on his chair. "Go talk to Leo, he"s always smiling. Well, most of the time." I stick my tongue out at him and leave his room, heading in the direction of the lounge where I know Leo will be. Rick is right, Leo always does smile. He"s Tyler"s older brother and is always running away, though he gets caught every time. If I"m honest I think Leo running away is the reason Tyler got so mad, he even went as far as to nick a girl called Carmen"s stuff. Tyler doesn"t usually steal, only in desperate cases.However before I reach the stairs, Dennis" bellowing voice caught my attention. He was calling all of the residents into the kitchen for a meeting. Burnywood meetings only meant trouble, punishment, or more trouble. Rick caught up with me and gives me a reassuring look as we step into the kitchen, apparently the last to arrive. Dennis glares at us, unimpressed. "Thankyou for making time to join us." He growls sarcastically, and waits until everyone has taken a seat around the wooden table before he begins. "The council have decided to fund a two day camping trip for this care home." He announces, and immediately the noise started. "Shut up!" He yells, folding his arms. "We"ll be leaving tomorrow, so I suggest you pack your things now. And I"m warning you, no funny business or there will be severe punishments." Half the kids in Burnywood have never been out of the area, let alone on a trip. I hear Joseph whispering excitedly to Charlotte, and Jem looks proper pleased. His brown eyes twinkle and he fights to hide the grin, though I"m pretty sure that soon enough most of us will be begging Dennis to cancel it. Like I said, Burnywood meetings only meant trouble. And a trip can only mean trouble too... because trips mean a lot less control. The last time this care home went on a trip was two years ago, when I was new. We were going to the seaside, but nobody had been excited. It had been a windy day in March, so none of us were keen to swim. We had piled onto the bus, grim expressions on every face. Being only eleven, Rick and I had been pushed to the front of the bus and had sat whispering to each other as the older kids behind us mucked around. They didn"t intimidate Rick, even though he had only went into care just a few months before he turned eleven. I had been in care since i was seven, and although I could stand up for myself, they were still quite scary. There had been a very little kid called Noah, he had brown hair which almost reached his shoulders, and an adorable face. He"d been sitting in the middle, staring out of the window in wonder, when Alfie had leaned over the seat and poured a whole bottle of water over him. Now Noah was cute, but although he was five he was not to be messed with. His eyes glowered with rage, and pulling off his seat belt, he leapt out of his seat and launched himself at Alfie, who was almost nine years older than him. Dennis had to stop the bus, and he was furious. We were all grounded, and the living room was now closed for an extra hour. When we arrived, it was still pretty chilly. I had asked for cotton candy, but Dennis had refused, deciding that we all had to be punished. Noah had walked around in soaked clothes, and I had been pretty sure he would catch his death- Rick said I was worrying too much. Now the next disaster happened when we were taken to the beach. It was half sand and half pebbles, and the sea was grey and dull, and not to mention freezing. Before Charlotte (Joseph"s protector) arrived, there had been a girl called Emmy. She was slightly overweight and had arm muscles that could put any body builder to shame. Now we all feared her, she"d crush you if you were even in her way. Well our opinion changed on that trip. Alfie, being the idiot he is, grabbed her round the waist and pulled her into the freezing sea, not taking no for an answer. (Rick and I suspected that they were secretly dating, which kept us in fits of laughter for days) Well what none of us knew was that Emmy was terrified of water. Her screams could be heard from a mile away, and she sprinted out and up to the road, crying hysterically. Alfie stared at her, gobsmacked, and the rest of us children pretended we had not seen that. Emmy was moved on afterwards, apparently it was her therapist"s suggestion. Now that wasn"t all. The worst thing happened before we left, when we were eating fish and chips in this gross cafe. Rick and I had a bet to drown all our chips in vinegar and eat them all- I won. Noah was allergic to milk, we had all been told that. He was fine as long as he didn"t digest it, and we all knew that. It happened when we had finished our tea and Dennis, deciding to be kind for once, said he"d buy us ice creams. Alfie, who had a bruised eye and scratches down his arms, had ordered the largest cone he could get. We didn"t see it coming, none of us did. The next thing we knew, Alfie had shoved the entire ice cream in Noah"s face. The young boy staggered backwards, wiping it off, but it was everywhere. Dennis sprung into action, bellowing for tissues from the ice cream man, and yelling for Rick to find Noah"s epi-pen. He wiped at the boys face, but the ice cream was everywhere, in his mouth, nose and gluing his eyes closed. A few younger kids laughed, not knowing what was happening. I knew. Aunt Vivian was allergic to nuts. Rick"s hands were shaking as he pulled out the contents of Dennis" bag, shaking it and holding it upside down, emptying it until there was nothing. "It"s not here!" He cried, and I could see Dennis start to sweat. Nothing was happening yet, but we knew that if we didn"t find the epi-pen, the consequences later could be disastrous. Dennis turned to Mel, the deputy head care-worker at Burnywood. She had the medical kit with her, and was standing shell-shocked. "Look in the bloody bag!" He bellowed, his eyes bulging. Mel gasped and unfroze, and tipped out the contents of the medical bag. It wasn"t there. Noah was crying now, little tears escaping from his eyes as he rubbed them from itchiness. None of us thought to call an ambulance when he began wheezing, his breath coming in short gasps. It was Dennis who did everything. "Rick, grab my mobile and call an ambulance." He ordered, and Rick fumbled for the phone and began calling, his eyes searching for a road sign. Noah had collapsed now, his hands grabbing at his swelling neck. Dennis was keeping calm, though by his reddening face I could see things were getting serious. He rolled Noah into the recovery position and ran his hand through his hair. I started crying, fat tears rolling down my cheeks as I realised there was nothing we could do but wait for an ambulance. We got home late that night. Mel was fired the next day, and Dennis stayed over night with Noah at the nearest hospital- twenty minutes away from the beach. The next morning we sat at the breakfast table, nobody spoke. Alfie hadn"t come down, and we knew he was horrified at what he had done. That event was probably what turned Alfie fully sour. He acted like he didn"t care but we knew he did. We avoided him for weeks, terrified he"d do something. Rick became withdrawn those few days, and the kids didn"t play at all. That"s why I know we"ll be begging to cancel this trip, it can only mean disaster. Dennis came home two days later, looking exhausted. Noah had survived, but only just. He wouldn"t be coming back, that day was the last we ever saw him. However I found I had a new respect for Dennis. If it wasn"t for his quick thinking, Noah would be dead. Then what would we do? Burnywood is Cursed The next morning is quiet, scarily quiet. This was the day we would leave for our camping trip. For the kids who had been in this care home for a while like me and Rick, it was a haunting reminder of what happened with Noah two years back. Shaking off the bad memories I grab my case and leave my room, making sure I"m one of the last to go down, because knowing some of the other kids they"d use this as a chance to get in our rooms and nick some stuff last "s already downstairs getting a piggy back from Leo, he"s obviously excited. For a lot of us this was the only time we"d leave this town, except to move care homes. Rick is sitting on his trolley case and waves at me sleepily as i climb down the stairs. I could tell that he is slightly nervous too, but I decide that it will all be okay as long as I stick with him. Rick is mature, unlike Tyler or Alfie. Speaking of Alfie, he is standing moodily in the corner, glaring at everyone who looks at him. Perhaps he"s learnt his lesson, or perhaps not. He is Alfie after all. "Right you lot, get in the van." Dennis grumbles, unlocking the front door and watching us all as we leave, the suspicion clear in his eyes. I don"t blame him to be honest. As we pile our small cases into the back, I notice how two of them seem to be bulging as if they are carrying the contents of the whole house. Shaking my head I link it to Lizanne, who probably has brought her whole closet with her including her hair straighteners. We settle for sitting in the middle, far enough away from the triplets who have "dibs" on the back seats and don"t stop talking, and far enough away from Dennis who would just give us hell. The only downside is Alfie is sitting opposite us with Charlotte, but the two don"t say a word and just listen to music whilst texting. "Hey Kia, Rick. You guys excited?" Jem turns around in his seat and grins at us like he"s being fostered or something. Rick just raises an eyebrow and looks out of the window with a bored expression. "Kind of!" I reply as enthusiastically as I can, although I still sound pretty depressed. Jem hasn"t seemed to notice that the only excited person on this bus is Joseph, a six year old boy. He grins at me again and turns back around, and I can"t find it within myself to find his excitement annoying. Jem"s usually a pleasant person and doesn"t do anyone any wrong, plus he can get away with it... he"s pretty cute. "Looks like Jeremy"s having fun." Rick says sourly, pulling his phone out of his pocket and flicking through the songs. We listen to music for most of the journey, just watching the world go by as we drive deeper into the countryside. Vivian despises the countryside. She says it"s a waste of space and should be used to make bigger and better towns and cities, whats the need of a bit of grass anyway? I once told her that the cows needed it and that we needed cows, and I got a nice slap for that. I wasn"t deliberately being cheeky, I was only giving her what I thought was a good answer. Apparently not. When we arrive at our campsite an overly friendly man jogs over to greet us, wearing a badge that tells us his name is Gary. There are six tents set up, two for the boys, two for the girls and one for each of the care workers. We don"t even get a chance to decide which tent we want to be in as Dennis pulls out a list he"s already created. "You"ve got to be careful who they are put with, they"re all troublemakers." I hear him hiss to the guide as he divides us.

"And what was that?" "I stole Sam"s cards and then sold them to him. It should have worked, why didn"t it work? It worked for Eric when he tried it on his little brother and he used new cards." I led my brother/son to the front porch and sat down on the bench. "Tom you know how your brother is in a class with a lot of kids older than him?" "Yea so he"s smart what does that have to do with the baseball cards?" "Tom your little brother is special." Katie started crying in the background and I heard my younger self run up the stairs. Okay now I"m on my own no memory to guide me. What would dad have said? "Your brother has a very good memory. You know how when you take a picture you can go back and look at the picture whenever you want to." I tried, Tom just nodded, "Well Sam can take a picture without a camera, he keeps it in his brain and can look at it when ever he wants to." "His brain takes pictures? "Not exactly but that"s how the doctor that was here a couple years ago explained it to your mother and I." "The doctor that said Sam could skip grades?" "Uh huh, the doctor called it a photographic memory. If you ask me we didn"t need some psychiatrist to tell us your brother was a genius but the school insisted." "So you"re saying that Sam took a picture of his baseball cards in his brain two years ago and remembered it." "That"s exactly what I"m saying." "So I can"t trick him." "Oh I"m sure you"ll find away you"re his big brother after all. He had to get that genius from somewhere and it certainly wasn"t me." I had heard my dad say a version of that to my mother on more than one occasion. "Now go run along, and be nice to your brother and sister. You have to look out for them after all." "That was very nice." Al showed up next to me, "Your dad is very entertaining. He didn"t believe me at first when I told him he was in the future. But when I said it was your experiment he didn"t question it for a second. I tld him in the future his son invented a time travel experiment and now he is traveling through time putting right what once went wrong. He smiled and said "that"s my boy"" Al reported, I could only sit there and smile. As far as my dad was concerned I was seven, and yet he didn"t doubt that I would create time travel. "You"re a lucky kid you know that Sam." "Yeah. But why am I here Al what went wrong here. I don"t remember anything bad happening." "We don"t know yet but I wanted to come make sure you were okay." "Okay? Al I"m home. Well I"m my dad but I"m home. I thought the last time I leapt out of here was the last time." I grinned looking in the window and seeing my dads face starring back at me. "I never thought I"d see him again Al." "Well I don"t know if this counts as seeing him. I mean in the literal sense if you look in the mirror you see him..." "Don"t ruin this for me Al. I mean growing up I wanted to be just like my dad, and now..." "You are him." Al smirked, "I don"t think that"s what you had in mind as a kid is it Sam." "Dad did you say my name?" Little me stuck his head out the door, and looked from me to Al. "Umm no well yes I was just bragging about you to my friend Al." I covered, Al had said my name, he heard Al, he saw Al. I mean of course he did he"s me. He has my brainwaves. Why could he see Al but not me, well I guess I couldn"t see me so why should younger me see me. While I was bumbling through my own thoughts I hadn"t noticed that mini me was reaching out to shake Al"s hand. "Oh umm Al doesn"t shake hands he doesn"t like germs." I made up. "That"s not very rational you can get germs whether you touch people or not. There are germs all around us." "Sam apologize to him just because you don"t think its rational does not make it wrong." I scolded. "Sorry Al." Mini me frowned. "Now run along and find your mom." "Dad, mom"s at grandma"s this week. Grandma fell remember." "Right of course. Sorry I was distracted." "Dad you aren"t okay do you need to tell me something." "No I"m fine Sam, run along Al and I have some business to take care of." "Do you owe him money or something?" Little me frowned. "What?!" Al and I both exclaimed. "In movies when two adults say they have business it"s about money." "Sam, I"m here to help your dad fix some things." Al supplied. "Is the equipment broken?" "It"s nothing we can"t fix." I supplied. "I can help." "Oh I know you can." Al grinned. "If we need you we will call. Until then why don"t you run along." I instructed younger Sam. We waited for him to run up the stairs inside. "Let"s go to the barn." "Sweet kid." Al teased. "Don"t start, I... he apologized didn"t he." "What movies were you watching?" "When ever mom was away dad let Tom and I stay up and watch his "grown-up" movies." I shrugged, "But what am I doing here Al?" "I told you I don"t know, I just came to check on you." "How am I supposed to be my own father?" "You seem to be doing a pretty good job so far." Al returned, "But little you saw me, how?" "He"s me Al, he has the same brainwaves as I do. I may have changed but the brain pattern stays the same." "Okay well I"m going to go have a talk with Ziggy. You watch yourself." "Very funny." I rolled my eyes. First things first go check on Katie she was crying. No I remember why she was crying I went and checked on her when I was seven. She was hungry. I ran down to tell dad and then...this was weird I actually remembered both versions of what happened. Originally I had told my dad and dad feed her. So I went back in grabbed her lunch and headed to her playpen in the living room. She was three years old. "How"d you know she was hungry?" Sam asked me. "I didn"t get a chance to tell you." "I figured it was about lunch time and your little sisters just more vocal about remindin me than you boys." I tried to sound like my father. "Where"s Al? He didn"t stay for lunch?" "He had to go." "To the future." Mini me questioned and all I could do was stutter a response where had he come up with that. "The future? Where did you get that idea from?" "His clothes." Sam shrugged, and I couldn"t help but laugh. "I"ve never seen anyone dress so ridiculous." "You"ll get used to it." I smiled. "Will he be coming back?" "Yea he"ll be back." I nodded. "So you didn"t fix what you needed to fix?" Mini me frowned. "Not yet, Al went to get a little bit more information for me." "What is so broken that you can"t fix it?" He questioned me. "Absolutely nothing. Your old man can fix anything with enough time, and so can you kid. Now go find your brother I"ll have your lunch ready in a minute." I instructed lifting Katie out of her pen to eat with us in the kitchen. She started eating while I finished putting together sandwiches for the boys. "You look like daddy." Katie announced out of the blue. "I am daddy silly girl." "No you"re not. Your not old enough to be daddy." Katie frowned, of course she could see me she"s three years old. You can"t lie to a three year old. "Oh boy." This leap probably couldn"t get any more complicated. "You"re right I"m your uncle Sam, but we are going to pretend I"m daddy for a while. He went to help your momma take care of your grandma okay." "Sam is my brothers name." Katie informed. "Yes it is, and you and I are going to play a joke on both your brothers. We are going to pretend I"m your daddy and see how long it takes them to figure out I"m not okay." "Okay." Katie nodded. "We aren"t going to tell anyone right." "Right." Katie nodded again as her brothers ran in for lunch. She gave both boys and I know something you don"t" grin and went back to eating her lunch. "Looks like we"ve been left with an empty kitchen so once I"m done with the outside work we"ll have to pile into the truck and run to the store for some dinner." "Can I help with the work?" Sam questioned between bites. "You know kid there will come a day when you don"t want to help your old man with the work." I couldn"t help but grin at mini me. "Not likely." Sam assured, "Except maybe the early morning work that interrupts my sleep." "He can do all my chores if he really wants to." Tom offered. "If you"re not going to help me out you can take your sister out to the yard and play with. I bet she"s pretty bored penned up in the house all day aren"t you girly." "Yep can I play with the doggies?" Katie asked. "Of course you and Tommy can play with the dogs." I nodded, "Sam and I do the dishes and get some work done." The afternoon was coming to an end, and it felt like it had years ago working on the farm with my dad the only problem was now I was both me and my dad. Little Sam and I were finishing up milk the cows when we were interrupted. "How many geniuses does it take to milk cows?" Al laughed he was standing just inside the barn door. "You are having way to much fun with this." I rolled my eyes. "It"s a trick question because even though there are two of you, you"re still the same person." "You are so funny." I looked over to where other me was before continuing. "So why am I here?" "Ziggy is saying you"re here to save a life sometime in the next twenty-four hours." "How am I supposed to save someone? I"m trying to keep today as close to what actually happened here as possible. This is kind of a delicate situation being as I"m on the other side of the barn right now." "I don"t know what to tell you Sam, that"s all Ziggy has right now." "She"s being unusually vague." I pointed out. "You think I"m not telling you something." Al acted offended. "What stories is he telling you?" "Oh come on your only seven how many stories can there be." "Hi Al." Sam came over. "You"re back really soon." "Well I couldn"t leave your dad here on his own could I?" Al replied. "You finish up your part of the chores?" I asked him. "Yep, everything is done and put away. Are you and Al going to fix the thing now." Little Sam wondered. "After we go to the store." I put my hand on little me"s shoulder. "We need to eat more than that problem needs to be fixed." "Oh good idea, leave the farm because obviously no ones life is in danger here you have remembered it." Al spoke up. "Some ones life is in danger?" Mini me frowned. "Oops." Al frowned, "I"m just going to go. I"ll see you soon Sam." "Al!" I called, but he had already left the barn. At least he waited until he was out of mini me"s sight to open the chamber door. "What did Al mean when he said you would remember if some ones life was endangered here?" Little me frowned. "Well Al isn"t very comfortable on farms. You know how I"m always telling you some of the equipment around here is dangerous. He"s really worried one of us will get hurt here." I made up. "He sounds paranoid." "Sometimes he is." I nodded, "Go find your brother and sister and tell them to get ready to go to town." I"m really lucky I was raised to trust my parents because that was a horrible story I told him. "Are you gone?" Al poked his head back through the imaging chamber door. "Yes he"s gone." I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for that by the way." "Sorry, I"m not used to some one else hearing me when I talk to you." "Well you better be careful while we"re here, cause Katie can see me which means she can see you to." I warned him. "Great why don"t we just tell Tom and avoid all of this hiding out to begin with." Al ranted. "You know we can"t do that." I sighed, "Katie thinks I"m her uncle while dad went to help my mom and grandma and Sam is already taken care of." "Well let"s just do this and get the hell out of here." "I don"t want to rush out of here Al." "Sam you can"t be your own dad. What happens to your real dad in the waiting room?" "Your right. Of course, how"s he doing Al?" "He"s loving it, we had to let him out of the waiting room he wanted to meet all your friends." "Dad are we going or what?" Tom yelled from outside. "Go find out what life I"m supposed to save Al. Quickly." "You got it Sam." With that Al left and I hurried to the truck where all three kids were already waiting in the car. "Lets go get some thing to make for dinner." I backed the old truck up. I had learned to drive in this truck a long time ago or a couple years in the future depending on how you looked at it. We made it through the store with out any life or death situations, but that didn"t surprise me because I didn"t remember anything happening. I gave in and took the kids to the general store across the street to let them look around while I waited for Al. "Dad look at this telescope." Sam called me over. "That"s pretty nice looking kid, but you know we don"t have that type of money." "But dad look at it." "I a looking at it and Sam I think you can build one that works better than this for a lot cheaper." "I can?" Sam looked at the telescope in front of him. "Yea you can I"ll get you some piping and some glasses lense and see if you can"t put something together." "Like Galileo!" Little me grinned, "Cool!" "Very cool." I agreed. "There you are." Al came around the corner. "Can I talk to you for a minute." "Sam go find your brother and sister and tell them to pick out one thing and meet me at the check out." "Okay, hi Al." "Hey kid." Al smiled we watched little me run off before talking in the empty aisle. "Okay so the only death reported in Elk Ridge in the next twenty-four hours is a woman in a car crash on Crest road tonight." "Crest road we have to take that home." I frowned I didn"t remember an accident. "Her car went off the road into a tree she bleed to death Sam." "But I don"t remember an accident." I repeated. "No wait a car in a ditch about a mile from our driveway. Dad drove past it. That next day he was real quiet all day he never told us why." "He must have read in the paper that she died and thought he could have saved her." Al reasoned. "He lived with that guilt his whole life, but it wasn"t his fault, he didn"t know." I continued Al"s train of thought. "But I can stop it, go to her Al I"ll be there as fast as I can." "You"re the boss." Al agreed, "Gushie center me on our victim." With that he was gone. I grabbed some gauze and bandages and met the kids at the front of the store. "What are those for?" Tom frowned at what was in my hands. "Just in case." I answered, "come on quickly lets check out." Rushing three children is not wasy but once we got every one in the car we were home free. But wait a minute I couldn"t let three kids see some woman bleeding to death. They could wait in the car, but how would we call the police. Tom and I walked to and from school everyday, we could make it the distance to the house. Have Tom carry Katie, they can call for help from the house. Okay that could work. I could see the car up ahead but no sign of Al. Whatever that wasn"t important right now. "Tom, Sam take Katie homa and call the police right away okay." I instructed. "Why?" Tom questioned. "I"m going to see if who ever is in this car needs help. You"re going to call the police and tell them their was an accident. Okay." I repeated, "Don"t ask questions, get home as fast as you can and call the police." "I can help you dad." Same volunteered. "No, go with your brother and sister." "But if they"re hurt in the car I can help. I read about putting bandages in serious wounds." "And when did you do that?" Tom laughed. "At the library, I wanted to help people." Sam got defensive. "Of course he does, some things never change." Al smirked, "Umm John you need to hurry up here." "Alright fine, Tom take Katie back to the house and call for help. Sam grab that bag." I pointed to the bandages. "And where have you been?" I hissed under my breath. "Well I just walked up." Al followed me toward the car while little me got the bags. "You walked up?" I questioned. "No but he just saw me at the store so it would be hard for me to beat you here." "Al she doesn"t look good." I frowned. "All you have to do is slow down the bleeding. Ziggy says her odds went up just by you being here. Then they went up even higher when you sent Tom and Katie to call for help." "Sam hurry with that bag." I called to my seven year old self running down the ditch. "Hi Al." Little me grinned, "What are you doing here?" "Sam bandages." I interrupted that conversation before it began. "I need you to help me son. Can you help me move her from the car to the blanket?" Sam nodded and ran forward, only then did he see the woman"s beat up body. "Oh boy." He breathed, Al just looked at me and smirked. "Son you got to help your old man out here. You and I are going to save this woman"s life." I explained, "Can you do that?" "Yea, I think so." "Hey kid you know what I think this is going to be the first of many lives that you are going to save." Al encouraged, "Go help your dad there." "Okay." "Thanks Al." I nodded, "Okay Sam get me that water bottle. I"m going to clean these and then you are going to help me wrap okay. As soon as I say it"s clean I want you to put the gauze down and apply pressure. While I wrap it okay." We worked fast and soon Al was letting us know that the ambulance was approaching. Sam and I gave our statements to the police and waited until the ambulance drove off before I loaded little me into the truck where Al was waiting for us in the back seat. "Why didn"t you give a statement Al?" Mini me questioned. "Because I saw even less than you and your dad did. I was walking to your house to help fix that problem your dad and I had been having when I saw your truck and the car in the ditch." Al made up. "You"re going to fix my dad"s equipment dressed like that?" "What"s wrong with my clothes?' Al frowned. "For one it"s bright orange." Little me grinned. "Al is more of an advisor when it comes to fixing things. He just tells me what to do so he can wear silly clothes." "There is nothing silly about my suit." "Yes there is." I laughed. "No you"re not allowed to contribute, you"re already part of the argument." Al argued. "Sorry buddy, it"s pretty silly." I shook my head. "This is pointless of course you"re going to side with yourself." Al pouted. "Of course I"m going to side with my son." I covered for Al. "Dad, is Al your best friend?" Sam spoke up as the truck came to a stop in front of the house. "Yeah, why?" "Because I want a best friend like him." Little Sam looked from me to Al. "You know what, I bet you"re going to have the best friend in the world someday. He"s going to go along with your genius ideas even when no one else will, and he will always be there for you. Just like Al." "Funny clothes and all?" Sam grinned. "Funny clothes and all." I nodded, "Now run inside and put those clothes in the sink. See if we can"t get that blood out before your mother gets home." "Okay, bye Al." Little me ran off toward the house. "That was very nice Sam. I appreciate it. Now you need to meet me in the barn one more time before you can leap." Al grinned. "Why are you smiling?" I frowned. "Just meet me in the barn Sam." With that Al was gone. I looked around once and went ahead and did what I was told. "Dad?' Just inside my father was standing right in front of me. "My little Sam all grown up." He grinned, "And your friend here has been telling me about this project of yours. Time travel, did my boy invent time travel." "Dad." I repeated, I didn"t know what else to say. This was actually him talking to me, not some past me or some kid from around town. He was talking to me. "You invent time travel but can only say one word now I"m really impressed." "That"s what Al"s here for he does the talking." I smiled, "I missed you so much." "Look at you all grown up. Last time I saw you you were seven." "Actually last time I saw me I was seven too." I grinned, "But what are you doing here. What about the rules?" I turned to Al. "They"re your rules, and we"ve broken them before. Besides I didn"t think you"d mind if we broke them this time." "Al was telling me about this project of yours. You fix things that went wrong. What went wrong in our lives? That you had to fix." "It was nothing, it wasn"t even in our lives you were just one of the closest people to help out." I shrugged, I didn"t know if I should tell him if it caused guilt when it actually happened what would it still cause guilt if the woman never died. "Well tell me all about it." He pulled up a chair that hadn"t been there until he touched it. "This woman"s car was in a ditch, I just had to stop the bleeding so she didn"t pass away before the ambulance got there." I summarized. "You saved a woman"s life and said it was nothing." My dad smiled, "This must be some life you"re leading." "You wouldn"t believe half of it." I answered. "I don"t know about that. I always said you could do anything you put your mind to. And you got a good man here helping you out, even if his clothes are a little bit out there." "You Beckett"s and my clothes." Al threw his arms up. "But you should know sir I would do anything for your son." "I know Admiral." My dad nodded, "But Sam is it true that you are stuck, you can"t go home?" "I"ll figure it out someday." "That wife of yours is something else. You know she"d wait for you forever. Us Beckett men some how always manage to find women so far out of our league." "Wife?" I repeated, I was married. "Al said you didn"t have all your memories I didn"t realize... I thought.. I"m sorry son."

"Every one of them." Jo nodded. "When I woke up I experienced a few more deaths before finding my way to Bangkok and getting a flight home. I stayed in D.C. for a bit where I met Sean, he found out my secret and then we got married. He died about a year ago. That"s when I moved to New York told them my husband died and needed a change. It"s true, he died of a heart attack on a treadmill, not as tragic in an eighty year old as it is in a thirty five year old like they all think though." "Age doesn"t make it any less tragic, Abigail was in her sixties when she left me. Nearly forty years together and she was gone." Henry sighed. "Age doesn"t make death less tragic." Jo found herself reaching for Henry"s hand for strength, neither one of them had told the truth in so long. "I keep an old picture of us in my desk, I"d prefer a more recent one but them people would ask questions and make speculations." Jo added. "The picture I have of Abigail at work is from just after World War two." Henry admitted. "World War two?" Jo turned to face him. "Exactly how old are you Henry?" "You were thirty two when you died?" Henry questioned and Jo nodded, "That makes you a little over ten years older than my son." "Your son?" Jo raised her eye brows. "Yes Abigail and I adopted him after World War two." Henry avoided Jo"s question all together. "Does that mean you died in World War two?" Jo tried again. "I"m afraid not." Henry just shook his head. "World War one?" Jo guessed. "Older still." Henry kept her going. "Civil War?" "Closer." "Revolutionary War?" Jo eyes just kept getting wider. "To far back." Henry laughed, "I was born in London three years after the Declaration of Independence was signed. I was shot trying to save a slave on a ship over to America in 1814." Henry summarized. "But that would make you over two hundred years old." Jo frowned. "Two hundred and thirty-five as of September." Henry nodded, "And you thought you were old." "Okay so maybe you can out history me." Jo smiled thinking back to his lecture on ABC village and how sure he was that he could go back further than she could. To be fair she thought her eighty odd years couldn"t compete with who she thought to be a thirty-five year old English men. "So did you save the slave?" "I doubt I saved that particular slave but I may have helped the 300 or so others that were on the ship." Henry answered. "Compared to you I"m still just a kid aren"t I?" Jo sighed, "I was hoping that you know I"d get to an good old age and that death would be it." "That may be the case but if it is, then I haven"t reached old age yet, and if my stalker is to be believed which I think he is we may have a couple thousand years to go." Henry confessed. "Thousands?" Jo stopped in her tracks. "I"m afraid so, Adam my stalker, not the man I killed in the shop, claims he died trying to protect Caesar and despite being a psychopath he has no reason to lie." "Okay now I might need a drink, dying I"ve gotten used to but then you throw finding out your best friend is 235 years old and being stalked by a 2000 year psychopath on top of it. I am definitely in a drinking mood." Jo couldn"t help but laugh. "I"m sure Abe had some good aged Scotch back at the shop." Henry offered. "I think I"ll take you up on that Doctor Morgan." Jo smiled. So here is chapter three I have no idea when I"ll post chapter four but it has been started, so as always I own nothing, enjoy. "There you are I was about to get worried." Abe looked up when he saw the shop doors chime. "Oh Jo, that"s a pleasant surprise. He hasn"t been boring you to much I hope." "No, but I"m hoping for a couple stories with dinner." Jo returned. "Jo was the one telling stories tonight, that"s why I"m a little later than usual." Henry added. "Well dinners in the oven it should only be a couple minutes longer, I"ll poor some wine." Abe locked the shop and started for the stairs. "Something stronger might be preferred Abraham it"s been an interesting day." Henry stopped. "I can do stronger no problem." Abe nodded, knowing he"d probably hear the whole story at dinner. He hoped. "So how was your day?" Abe served dinner and scotch. "It was rather interesting, I"m afraid I dodged a bullet at work got Jo rather irritated with me." Henry stated casually. "He means a literal bullet by the way." Jo went straight for the scotch. "But here you are both alive and well." Abe baited them for information. "It"s funny how things work out like that." Jo shrugged. "Please tell me you told her." Abe cut straight to the chase. "Yes, yes I told her." Henry assured, but didn"t exaggerate. "Come on Pops you gotta give me something." Abe threw his hands up. "Pops?" Jo put her silverware down. "I told you I had a son." Henry reminded. "I should have known." Jo laughed, "Of course it would have been Abe." "You seem surprisingly calm detective." Abe was very confused. "Jo and I have had a little bit of time to talk about it. I think my age was the most shocking, she always accused me of a lack of self preservation." Henry wasn"t going to make Jo share if she didn"t want to he knew how hard it was to tell a secret like that. He trusted Abe but Jo had only known Abe for a couple months. "Well to be fair your age is the only thing we talked about regarding you." Jo pointed out. "I think it"s your turn to share your story." "I don"t know if you"re prepared to sit here all night detective." Henry smiled. "I told you mine, you owe me." Jo argued. "Fair enough." Henry sighed, "Where to begin?" "Try the beginning." Abe rolled his eyes. "You can skip the it was a humid night in early September when after hours of..." Jo agreed. "I get it start with death then." Henry chuckled, "How well do you remember the case regarding the Empress of Africa?" "The slave ship?" Jo frowned. "My fathers slave ship." Henry confirmed. " I was on board as a doctor with an ulterior motive of spiting my father for his involvement in such an obvious disgrace of human life." "He"s very passionate about this." Abe cut in. "I get it." Jo understood. "I was going to give one of the slaves a key so that they could free themselves and rebel but before I could get him the key I was called to attend to a sick slave, the captain didn"t want to ruin his "stock" and wanted him thrown over board it was just a fever from malnutrition he didn"t need to be killed and I argued with the captain. Who then had me shot and as they were throwing me over board the key slipped from my hand as I passed the slaves I had hoped to free." "Isaacs ancestors." Jo remembered. "Precisely." Henry nodded. "From there I woke up naked in the water, I drowned a few more times before a ship found me and brought me back to England. Where I spent far more time drinking than any man ever should have so I would have the courage to kill myself each night. I didn"t know what was going on I didn"t know how it was possible, which frankly I still don"t know how any of it"s possible. Eventually I made it back to my wife with the foolhardy thought that I had been saved for her." Henry stopped there he didn"t know how much to tell Jo, she surely knew the risks of telling people about their condition but it hadn"t appeared that she had been so jaded by past experience, he didn"t want his past to affect her. "I thought you said you married Abigail after world war two?" Jo wanted to know everything, here was a man just like her with so much more experience, there were things she could learn. "He did, he married mom after we moved to New York, Nora was his first wife." Abe supplied for Henry, Abe saw his old man flinch at the name, but he associated it with the trauma she had inflicted on him. "What happened with Nora, what aren"t you telling me?" Jo wasn"t blind to the flinching and panicking taking place. "At first nothing, we lived happily for several months before she pressured me to tell her about my scar. So I did, by that time the next day I was admitted into Bedlam." Henry finished by finishing off his glass of scotch. Jo immediately regretted asking, she didn"t know how to respond, what could she say to make that type of betrayal better. Henry continued with his story and eventually Abe turned in for the night. As the story continued Henry and Jo moved from the kitchen to the living room and then from the living room to the bedroom. Once in the bedroom Jo was quickly frustrated by the layers that Henry seemed set on wearing, Henry only chuckled and moved one hand to undue his own shirt while the other continued to remove what was left of Jo"s clothes. Making Jo think that maybe Henry wasn"t such the gentlemen he seemed to be, or maybe bra"s were just that much easier than the corset from Henry"s younger days. Neither were the type to throw themselves at someone else, but neither had ever had this type of honest connection before. They had shared their secrets with the ones they loved, but never had they had this unquestioning understanding of what the other must have experienced. It was easy for them to commit to each other completely in that moment. Alright here is chapter four, I don"t know when chapter five will be posted but it has been started. As usual I own nothing. Henry woke to found his hand resting on Jo"s stomach and her arm sprawled across his heart. "Good morning." Jo gave a sleepy smile before realizing exactly where her hand was resting. She began tracing the scar over his chest. "It doesn"t change over time, heal any more?" "I"m afraid not." Henry found that his hand was resting on a large scar across her stomach. "For better or worse my physical appearance hasn"t changed in two hundred years." "I kinda figured." Jo sighed, letting Henry trace the scar on her stomach. "A piece of the helicopter impaled me there." Jo admitted, "It didn"t go all the way through, and I bled out, but I was unconscious so it didn"t really matter." "I"m so sorry Jo." Henry whispered. "Why are you sorry?" Jo couldn"t help but laugh. "Death by impalement is a terrible way to go." Henry sighed. "I was unconscious, I don"t really remember a lot of the pain." Jo answered, "I take it you"ve been impaled." "The case that brought us together actually." Henry nodded. "The subway?" Jo frowned. "I"m afraid I left my watch behind, which led to you suspecting me of mass murder." "You were on the first subway car. There were so many signs, I should have seen it the day we met." Jo let her head fall back on the pillow. "Or at least after you got caught naked in the river." "It"s not something you really look for when meeting new people. No matter how weird, or creepy they are." Henry returned. "I apologized for that." Jo smirked. "I know I"m sorry." Henry chuckled. "And I"d prefer we not go back to that first case, that was quite an ordeal" "You did go over the side of the building didn"t you?" Jo was really mad at herself for not putting the pieces together sooner. "And you said you"d experimented with Aconite." "Yes on both accounts I"m afraid." Henry confessed. "I get the feeling you"re a little more used to dying than I am." Jo couldn"t help but laugh. "I assure you it"s very rarely by choice." Henry couldn"t help but smile lying there watching her laugh. "Unless you"re experimenting with dangerous poisons." Jo retorted. "I was going through a very dark phase." Henry tried to brush it off, and Jo just shook her head. "Henry Morgan you are impossible." She grinned. "I"ll agree with that." He returned the grin, "But then what does that make you my dear?" "Alright well then we can be impossible together." Jo decided. "But not at work." "Impossible together in private." Henry repeated, "I think I can handle that, for now." "So this means you"re going to stop jumping in front of bullets and cars and any other deadly thing that comes my way." Jo took on a serious tone. "No promises." Was all Henry could say. "But it"s not going to cause me any harm, not in the long run anyway." Jo argued. "That doesn"t mean I like to see you hurt." Henry returned. "Aren"t you the charmer?" Jo rolled her eyes. "I"ve got to get home and change before work." "Stay for breakfast we still have some time." Henry watched Jo crawl from the bed. "Abe is an excellent cook." "He learn that from his dad?" Jo slid into her pants from where they had been dropped the night before. "His mother was always the better cook, not saying that I"m useless in the kitchen of course." Henry pulled himself out of bed. "One hundred and fifty years of practice must make you a pretty good cook." Jo returned. "Unfortunately my skills in the kitchen are somewhat lacking. I grew up in the TV dinner era with just me and my father." "Well all you need is a good teacher." Henry pointed out. "Are you offering Doctor Morgan?" "Only if you"re interested Detective Martinez." Henry smiled in return. "I think I could stand learning a thing or two from you." Jo used her fingers as a brush before throwing it into a ponytail that would have to work until she could get home and shower. She hadn"t even noticed until just now that her hair still smelled of river water. Which reminded Jo of something, "Henry throw some clothes in the trunk of my car, just in case." "Yes ma"am." Henry chuckled. "Hey no more indecent exposure charges." Jo scolded. "Would you like to throw clothes into Abrahams car?" Henry offered, "Just in case." "We"ll see." Jo sighed, to do that she would have to tell Abe the truth and she knew he was trustworthy but she had just heard Henry"s story about Nora and that was enough to make anyone nervous. So here you go it took me a little while to put this chapter together, but here it is. As usual I own nothing, enjoy. "Well looky who spent the night." Abe teased while serving up three plates. "The young lady teach you a few thing Pops." "I appreciate the compliment, but I don"t think I"m what one called young anymore." Jo smiled, "Well to Henry of course but certainly not to you Abraham." "Excuse me." Abe frowned. "Turns out you aren"t the only Vietnam veteran in the house right now." Henry went straight for a cup of tea. "I never actually served though, I don"t think reporters count as veterans." Jo brought up. "Especially reporters who didn"t actually set foot in the country before they were killed." "No kidding." Abe set his silverware down. "The helicopter I was being brought in on caught some gun fire and crashed." Jo explained. "She managed to save everyone else on the helicopter." Henry bragged. "Yea before waking up in a rice paddy." Jo rolled her eyes. "So serving in Vietnam doesn"t make you older than me." Abe argued. "I"ve got at least ten years on you Abe." Jo stated. "So a reporter in Nam huh?" Abe finally started eating again, and Jo just nodded, "I slept with a couple reporters on leave in Bangkok." "I slept with a couple of soldiers in Bangkok." Jo returned. "I was really hoping you weren"t going to say that." Abe shook his head, "I have very few rules in my life but sleeping with the same woman as my old man is one of them." "Relax Abe I had a few other things on my mind than sex at the time. I was just messing with you." Jo laughed. "I think your rule is still unbroken." There was silence for a couple minutes until Abe spoke up again. "Does this mean I have to stop calling you kid?" Abe frowned, "Cause I mean I can it"s not that hard of a habit to break considering I had to stop calling him dad in public when I was twenty." "If you want to call me kid in public I"m not going to stop you." Jo laughed. "I won"t stop you. However I do need to get home and shower before work, river water is not the most attractive smell." "I hadn"t even noticed." Henry assured. "You"ve probably gone nose blind to the smell after so many deaths in New York." Jo teased, "You want a ride to work?" "I would love one." Henry pushed his seat out and took both of their dishes to the sink. "Give me just one moment to clean up." "Take all the time you need." Jo assured. "I"ll keep the lovely lady company." Abe added, waiting for his father to leave the room, "You"re going to take care of him aren"t you?" "Excuse me." Jo frowned. "Henry is...well Henry is Henry. He needs someone around otherwise he will lock himself off to the world. You weren"t here when mom died, that destroyed him for nearly a decade. I want to know that you"ll take care of him when I"m gone." Abe explained. "I"m not saying you have to be with him in a relationship sense, but he needs a friend." "I lost my husband of nearly forty years I may not have all of Henry"s life experience but I do know what he went through and I like to think I am his friend. Jo assured, "And what if I want to be with him in a relationship sense?" She smirked. "Well then more power to ya because he is a handful." Abe smiled. "I could say the same thing about you." Henry returned, "Are you ready to go." "One quick stop at my house for a shower and a change of clothes and then work." Jo nodded. "See you later Abraham." "You two old folks go out and have some fun, just don"t break any hips." Abe called after them. "What was it like?" Jo turned to Henry, "To raise Abe?" "Abe was a model child," Henry chuckled, "To smart for his own good and full of energy. He hit a rebellious phase after he got back from Vietnam, that he may not have grown out of." This earned a laugh from Jo. "Did you and Sean ever?" "No we thought about it for a period of time but after a number of failed attempts we decided we just weren"t meant to have kids." Jo shrugged, "Did you and Abigail?" Jo parked the car and led the way to her home. "No, we talked about it for a while but ultimately Abe was enough." Henry sighed. "Go ahead and make yourself comfortable it should only take a couple minutes for me to clean up." Jo called over her shoulder. Henry wandered into the living room and took a seat on the couch. After a couple minutes he decided to take a better look at his surroundings. He had only ever been to Jo house once and never further than the doorstep. He moved from her movie collection to the bookshelf and that was where he was to be found when Jo came back down the stairs. "See anything you like." "You have a very nice collection." Henry smiled. "You know detective I was thinking you lied to me. You told me you had never been outside of the country." "And you told me you didn"t have any children." Jo returned. "Fair enough." Henry chuckled. "Though Abraham is adopted so in a manner of speaking he"s not actually my child." "That"s crap and you know it." Jo rolled her eyes, "Come one we"re going to be late for work." "Lead the way." Henry nodded. So I"m terribly sorry that it"s been so long, if you"ve been reading my other story you know that I"ve been pretty busy. So I will try to update again soonish this story will not be as long as the other one, but as usual O own nothing. "You two carpooling now?" Hanson was getting off the elevator when Jo and Henry went to get on. "I was in the neighborhood this morning and thought I"d offer him a lift." Jo shrugged. "Well turn around we got a body to look at." Hanson didn"t comment any further on their carpooling. Even if he didn"t necessarily believe that Jo just happened to be in the area. There had been tension building between the two for a while now. "What do we have?" Jo turned on her heels to follow her partner letting Henry follow behind. "Don"t know a body surfaced on the banks of the river." Hanson started, causing Jo and Henry to exchange a glance without even realizing it. "Don"t worry Doc it"s in the Hudson your skinny dipping escapades are no more unsanitary than usual." Hanson joked. "What a relief." Henry offered a smile. "Wouldn"t want you skinny dipping where the dead bodies were." Hanson smirked. "I"m sure the river has seen weirder things." Henry responded looking out the window, earning a choked laugh from Jo. "Did our victim drown?" Jo covered her laugh. "That"s up to the Doc to tell us." Hanson parked the car, before flashing his badge earning all three of them entrance to their crime scene. "There is bruising on the back of the head, possibly a blunt object. I"ll be able to tell you more when I get him on the table." Henry explained while continuing to look over the body. "So he didn"t drown." Hanson clarified. "No he drowned." Henry stood up and removed his gloves. "However he may have been unconscious when he was thrown in the water. Again I"ll be able to tell you more once I get him on the table." "Do we have an ID?" Jo turned to her partner. "Jared Grant." Hanson looked at the information handed to him by the officers on the scene. "He owns a small restaurant with his brother." "We can run the name when we get back to the station." Jo nodded. "Anything else you can tell us Henry?" "Afraid not, he"s been in the water for approximately seven hours, I"d put his time a death around that same time. However this is guesswork I"ll get a more accurate number for you in the lab." Henry removed his gloves. "We"ll go talk to the brother, you go do what you need to do." Jo decided. "That works for me." Hanson agreed, "See you later Doc." "Good luck detectives." Henry knew that he had been subconsciously gravitating towards Jo all morning and he knew he had promised her to keep any development any their relationship secret but it was going to be a bit harder than he expected.

Nacey managed a smile and stated, "You always know how to make me feel better, mom." She paused and asked, "Didn"t you say that "skiing" vacation was on some mountain on an island west coast of Australia?" Stacy perked up at that and answered, "Yes but why?" Nacey stated, "Because it is real. That"s where I left Nina 16 years ago. And I think it"s time she met me." As she kissed her mother on the cheek, happier than she felt in years, she left the retirement home. She knew what she had to do. It was time to face the past. And that meant one thing...returning to N. Sanity Isle. Back in outer space, John and Pete had tagged team on the racing track against Geary and won. The two brothers were dancing happily as Crash, Cortex, and Nina were watching and laughing. Nina asked, sarcastically, "Think they are happy?" Crash answered, smiling, "Oh yeah." "Crash?" Crash spun around and saw Coco, Thunder, N. Gin, Crunch, and Crystal. He gushed, "Sis!" With that, he ran over and hugged her tight. Coco laughed as she returned it, more than happy to see her brother. Cortex sighed a bit, remembering his own sister, as N. Gin approached him rather nervously. Cortex was a bit surprised. What was he doing? N. Gin commented, "Uh...Neo... We heard what happened with Krunk." Cortex asked, "You did? How?" N. Gin answered, "Nash told me when I raced him." Cortex coldly stated, "Well, glad to know it caught your attention." N. Gin looked sad as he replied, "I know, I deserved that... We all do after the way we"ve been treating you. But from our perspective, it didn"t look good. I hope you can forgive us." Cortex smiled now and responded, "I can forgive you all, Nicholas, so long as you all forgive me." N. Gin was the one to smile now. That"s what he admired about Neo. He had a big heart. As Geary was cleaning all around them, they all heard Velo"s voice. "GEARY! You. Have. Failed. Me. Again!" Geary stammered, "My lord, I am so sorry..." Cortex whispered, "That sounds familiar..." Velo heard this as he went over to Cortex, holding his scepter in his hand. Cortex, at this point, looked nervous but saw that everyone was standing at the ready to fight. "Have they really all changed their minds about me,' he thought, still in a little bit of doubt. Velo stated, "If you have something to say, say it on the track." Cortex breathed, "Wait what?" Velo replied, "Yes. I choose YOU as my racing competition." Cortex blurted out, "No!" Crash put his hand on Cortex"s shoulder and stated, "You have to." Cortex stated, scared, "I can"t." Crash replied, "You must. It"s not in my hands this time around. It"s in yours." Cortex looked at his best friend and those around him who all smiled at him. Feeling better than he did in years, he nodded as he turned to Velo. He responded, "I accept your challenge. I, Dr. Neo Periwinkle Cortex, shall be the one to race you, Emperor Velo the 27th." As the crowd erupted into a large uproar and applause for the race of the century; Cortex looked at Crash and thought, "I hope you know what you are doing.' AK1028: Well, this story might be a bit shorter than "Uprising Phoenix" but that doesn"t mean the madness will end here... Please read and review! And always think outside of the box! Velo tapped his scepter on the ground, opening the ground. As it opened, everyone saw a track. John looked down to where the track was and asked, "What is that?" Crash explained, "Hyper Spaceway. Racers start out in a room underneath Velo"s Citadel, then they go through a warp hole and end up at a different angle underneath the Citadel. They then go through another blue warp hole, twist around the track, and past speed bursts which are guarded by fire breathing statues. Then they fall down "steps", over lasers, through another blue warp hole, and through a figure eight onto a clear tube in space with electric barriers. Velo"s Citadel can be seen in the distance. The outside of the Citadel is Velo"s head and then the racers go through another warp hole, back underneath the citadel, and towards the finish line." Pete scratched his head and stated, "Sounds complicated." Coco replied, shivering, "Believe us, it is." As the team went down onto the track and into the pit area near the starting line; Crunch pulled up Cortex"s cart as he was getting on his helmet. Thunder was checking the tires with Violet and Crystal. Coco decided to help Cortex with his helmet, seeing how scared he was. Cortex said, shaking, "T-thanks Coco." Coco asked, "Why are you nervous?" Cortex answered, "First time that the world"s fate is on my shoulders." Crash decided to help his sister and stated, "You"ll be fine Cortex. Pete will be riding shotgun with you and your helmet has a built in walkie-talkie, in case you need to go to the pits. Plus, it will convert into a space helmet when and if you need it." Cortex forced a nervous smile and replied, "So used to you doing this." Crash snickered as he responded, "Yeah well, I can"t take all of the glory." Cortex was the one to chuckle on as John helped his baby brother with his Pichu sized helmet. John asked him, "You feeling alright, bro?" Pete answered, "Feeling great! I get to ride shotgun with Cortex!" John chuckled at his energy as he stated, "Well, your helmet works the same as Cortex"s. So if there"s any trouble, Crash and I will be able to hear it." Pete replied, "Great!" Cortex grabbed Crash and commented, "Listen to me, Crash. Whatever happens I want you to know and do something for me." Crash looked at Cortex like he was crazy and stated, "Why? You"ll do fine." Cortex replied, "I wanna make sure. So please if I can"t do it...I want you to take Nina to London to meet her mother." Crash"s eyes widened as he looked at Nina, who was helping N. Gin with the fuel. He turned to Cortex and questioned, "What is it that you want me to know?" Cortex answered, "That you, Crash Bandicoot, are the best creation I ever created. You became a better man than the man who was a monster." Crash looked touched by that and just as he was about to say something, a voice caught their attention. "Racers, to the starting line please!" Cortex perked up as he went to his cart, leaving a stunned Crash behind. He couldn"t believe what Cortex had just told him. Cortex got into his cart as did Pete. The two of them strapped in as Crunch and N. Gin pushed them to the starting line. N. Gin gave Cortex a thumbs up as he returned back to the sidelines. Cortex returned it and then put both hands on the steering wheel, his right foot pressing on the gas pedal lightly. His cart gave out a vroom sound as everyone looked ready to watch the race. Pete yelled to Cortex, "You ready?" Cortex yelled, "Not really! But I have no other choice!" The same voice from before roared, "This race between Emperor Velo the 27th versus Dr. Neo Periwinkle Cortex and Peter Jonah Pichu is about to begin. Gentlemen, on your mark." Both Velo and Cortex"s carts were on the mark for the start of the race. The voice added, "Get set." The carts engines roared to life more as both racers stepped on the gas lightly. He stated, booming, "GO!" With that, Velo took off first with Cortex not too far behind. Everyone in the pit areas cheered as they knew that Velo always got a head start, no matter what anyone did to prevent that. Cortex turned with good powering, he was in the intermediate class after all. Velo smirked as he got out a few TNT crates and threw them. Pete yelled, "Incoming!" Cortex commanded, "Quick, use Shock Wave!" Pete gathered up must electricity as he could as he fired the Shock Wave, destorying the TNT crates instantly. As the explosion was above their heads, Velo laughed at the display and got a little bit ahead of them. John looked on Coc"s laptop, which had a camera feed of the race taking place. John stated, "That was a dirty trick!" Crash replied, "Sadly, anything goes in this race. There"s not much Cortex or Pete can do." Aku-Aku offered, "Perhaps I sholuld give them a fighting chance." Coco responded, "Only if needed, we need protection here as well." Rika-Rika told Aku-Aku, "She"s right, we need to help them stay alive here." Aku-Aku only nodded, knowing that they were right. As Cortex was starting to catch up to Velo, the alien emperor brought out a bomb and rolled it towards them. Cortex commanded, reacting quickly, "Pete, Iron Tail!" Pete stated, "Right!" With that, the youngest Pichu unbuckled his seat belt as he jumped out of the cart and used the Steel type move on the bomb. It didn"t destroy it but it rolled it off course and down the space below the track, exploding safely. Everyone in the pits breathed a short sigh of relief. This track was bad enough as it was, they didn"t need Cortex being knocked off of the track. Pete got back into the cart, buckling himself back in. Cortex commented, "Nice work!" Pete replied, "Good call!" Cortex smiled as he started to floor it, a little behind Velo, who was still in first place. Cortex knew that he had to do something if he was ever going to take first place. Crash yelled through the walkie-talkie, "Cortex, hard right! Hard right!" Baffled by what was happening, Cortex started to do a hard right, forcing the car into a beautiful skid. Pete was shouting as a huge boulder was in the way of the path. Luckily, Cortex served just in time to miss it and get on the left path. As he did, everyone in the pits was stunned. John blurted out, "Where"d that rock come from?!" Coco answered, "The track is either unstable or...that was an asteroid!" Cortex asked, "Crash, what do I do?" Crash thought for a minute and answered, "You have to finish the race. There"s no other option. Velo has to be defeated here and now." Cortex started to protest, "But..." Crash interrupted, "No butts! You have to do this. It"s on you, Cortex...Neo... I"m counting on you to take us to victory..." AK1028: And there we go guys. An exciting start to the race! Who will take home the victory? There"s only one way of finding out! You stayed tuned! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box! Velo went across the start/finish line, entering his second lap. Cortex and Pete did the same, after a quick pit stop. "Then it is up to us to stop Velo," Cortex remembered telling everyone while they were in the pits. Cortex had mostly caught up to Velo, now behind him again. Pete, being his co-pilot, was ready for anything to happen. Velo snarled as he brought out a missile and threw it at them. Cortex and Pete both screamed. Cortex quickly brought out his plasma blaster, shooting the missile with it as Pete took the wheel. Cortex aimed a few shots at Velo, none of them hitting. Pete stated, "He"s too fast, we need a boost!" Cortex replied, "Yes, I know and I have an idea." Pete questioned, "What is it?" Cortex answered, "Aim your Discharge at the back of our cart." Pete nodded as he sparked his cheeks, firing the Discharge at the back of the cart. The cart took off like a shot, accelerating a lot faster. The two of them even past Velo. Velo hissed, "No!" Cortex cheered as he took the hard right, getting by the asteroid. Pete cheered, all hyper but Velo was right behind them. Pete stated, "He"s gaining! We can"t risk the pits!" Suddenly, Velo got another misslie and aimed it at their back tire. Cortex and Pete both yelped as the tire instantly went flat. Cortex replied, "I fear we have no choice but I"ve got an idea. Use Spark on Velo or his cart. Slow him down!" Pete nodded as he unbuckled himself yet again, standing on Cortex"s spoiler. He sparked his cheeks as he launched Spark. Velo screamed as the Electric type move short circuit his cart, stopping him. Cortex pulled into the pits as Coco instantly fixed the tires and the flat. Velo struggled along, paralyzed. Cortex quickly pulled out of the pits, going into his final lap. Velo snapped out of being paralyzed as he snarled and went after the duo. Crash stated in the radio, "Velo"s not giving up, Cortex. He"s right behind you. You have to do another Shock Wave." Cortex replied, "No, I"m not risking Pete to do that again. Besides, I want us to do this. Just Pete and me. I"m following my gut." Crash responded, "Yeah but not your brain!" Cortex told him, "That"s what got us into trouble in the first place. That brain of mine. If I hadn"t expressed an interest in science to my dying evil grandfather...we would have never met... We would have never been..." That"s when Crash heard Pete yelling, "Cortex, look out!" Cortex screamed as the radio and the camera feed went dead. Crash blurted out, "Coco, what happened?! We lost them!" Coco typed furiously on her laptop as she stated, "I don"t know. Something happened. Something bad..." John instantly got worried and replied, "Crash, we got to get out there! My brother needs me!" Crash was hesitant. On the one hand, he wanted to get on the track to see what happened to Cortex and Pete. And on the other... "Crash...? John...?" Crash perked up, recognizing Pete"s voice. He asked, "Yeah, Pete, we"re here. What happened? Where are you and Cortex?" Pete answered, "We just got past the asteroid. Velo tried to choke Cortex!" John blurted out, "What?! How"d he get that close?!" Crash added, "And is Cortex okay?" As static came in again, Crash"s heart pounded in his chest. Was Cortex alright? "Crash..." That"s when Crash let out a breath that he didn"t know that he was holding. That was Cortex. Crash replied, smiling, "Yeah, I"m here..." Cortex responded, "Man, he got really close to my neck! If it wasn"t for Pete, it would have been bad." John stated, "That"s a relief..." Pete told him, "Yeah, you ain"t kidding!" Crash asked, "What place are you in? Coco lost the feed." Cortex answered, "Barely in 1st." John stated, "Come on, get away from him!" Pete replied, "We"re trying!" And this was the truth. On the track, Velo was getting closer to the cart again. "Not this time,' Cortex thought. He ordered, "Pete, Thunderbolt!" Pete nodded as he sparked his cheeks and fired Thunderbolt straight at Velo. Velo felt that, being forced back from them. Cortex managed to cross the finish line first with Velo right behind. Everyone in the pits celebrated as the track and the planet started to collapse. Thunder asked, "What"s happening?" Crystal answered, "I d-don"t know." Violet whimpered, "I scawed!" Rika-Rika questioned, "Coco?" Coco was already on her laptop as she told the mask, "Working on it!" Velo saw this and snarled. -Flashback- Velo was still sitting with the master of time and space, sitting at some tea of some sorts. Velo had just agreed to help Uka-Uka with the Crash Bandicoot problem. He commented, "There is ONE problem." N. Tropy looked up as Velo added, "If Hyper Spaceway is at all used, it will be the end of Kobold." N. Tropy seemed to have smiled as he stated, "Relax, friend. I will make sure that Kobold will not fall." Velo only nodded, going back to his tea. -End of Flashback- Velo pulled into the pits as he got his scepter and ran towards his people. Everyone saw this and started to follow, puzzled. Velo got to his people, some of which were trying to escape the decaying planet. Velo waved his scepter, creating a rainbow energy and teleporting his subjects away from Kobold. Velo turned and saw Crash and his team behind him. Velo quickly waved his scepter again, this time it produced a strong red light. Thunder asked, covering his eyes, "What"s happening?" Crystal answered, "I don"t know!" Violet yelled, "Big bwo... Big sis... I scawed!" Rika-Rika stated, "Hold on!" Cortex tried to hang on as much as he could, his eyes covered. After awhile, he blacked out. AK1028: Well that"s not good. Not good at all. What will happen to our heroes? There"s only one way to find out. You stay tuned! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box! "Neo. Neo... Neo!" The short yellow little bald man groaned, slowly opening his eyes. When his vision cleared, in front of him was Nacey herself. Cortex bolted up in surprise. "Nance," he asked, stunned. "Neo, thank God you"re okay," Nacey answered, hugging her younger brother. Cortex was so stunned since he hadn"t had a hug from his sister in the longest time. He relaxed and hugged her back. But that"s when he felt something a bit...odd. He pulled back and looked at his hands. He wasn"t wearing his gloves. All he saw was the yellow skin he had. He looked down at himself as he was wearing an old fashion brown suit, a white undershirt, a brown tie, and brown loafers. He looked in the mirror and saw that the "N" on his forehead was gone. Like it never existed. He looked at himself and asked, "What happened to my clothes? Why am I here? Where is everyone?" Nacey grabbed him by the shoulders gently and answered, "Neo. I"m just as confused as you are. You and Nina just appeared in my home just as I was about to leave for the island." Cortex perked up as he questioned, "Wait, Nina"s here?" Just then, the two siblings heard a scream, alerting the both of them. Nacey cringed a bit and stated, "Oh dear, I don"t think that was a good sign..." The two siblings rushed to where Nina was and there, before their eyes was a girl standing in front of a full length mirror. She had yellow skin like Cortex, long brown hair, brown eyes, wearing a short sleeved pink dress, white caprice, pink and white slippers. Cortex asked, "Who is that, Nance?" Nacey started to answer, "I think that"s..." The girl answered, "Uncle Neo, it"s me, Nina!" Cortex looked stunned, looking at his niece as he breathed, "Nina?" Nacey stated, "Nina..." Nina nodded as she asked, "Uncle Neo, what happened to me? What happened to you?!" Cortex couldn"t answer. He was too busy looking at his beautiful niece and was absolutely stunned. She was completely back to normal, just like him. What happened to them? That was a good question. All he could remember was Velo surrounding him and the others with a red light of some sort. That"s when he realized something. "Oh my gosh, Crash," he shouted. "He wasn"t with you," Nacey stated. "No but he was with us before we ended up here," Nina replied. Cortex wiped out his cell phone and frantically checked his contacts. N. Gin was there, Nina was there, Nacey was there, Jasmine was there... Where was Crash? Scrolling back up to the "C" section, Cortex saw one entry. The one he needed: Crash Bandicoot. Cortex slid the green key into place as the phone started to ring. And ring. But there was no answer. "Damn it," Cortex cursed, putting his phone away. "Aren"t you going to try John and Pete," Nina offered. "Who in the world are they," Nacey asked. "Long story," Cortex answered, now looking for Pete"s entry. When he finally found it, he slid the green key into place, hoping that he would at least get Pete. "Cortex?" That was Pete and Cortex felt relieved to hear a familiar voice. He asked, "Pete, where are you?" Pete answered, "Would you believe John and I are back home?" Cortex stated, "Yes cause Nina and I are home too..." Pete started to say, "You mean..." Cortex replied, "Yes, we"re in London..." As he talked to Pete, he saw how happy Nina and Nacey were to be back together. "Who am I to tear that apart,' he thought, finally deciding. He hung up on Pete, powering down his cell phone - gaining both the girls attention. Nacey asked, "Neo?" Nina added, "I thought you were worried about the others." Cortex stated, "You know what...I"m not that worried anymore." With that, he headed out the door, leaving them puzzling. A few minutes later, Cortex had gone to the retirement home where Stacy was. As he entered, he saw his mother in bed. He cleared his throat and Stacy looked up. She gasped in surprise, wondering if this was her youngest son finally coming home after all of these years. Stacy stammered, "N-Neo?" Cortex stated, "Hello, mom..." With that, he went over to her and hugged her gently, trying not to cry. Stacy returned it, also trying not to cry. Her little boy was finally home. The two of them just held each other and cried until there were no tears left. Stacy had pulled Cortex onto her lap, holding him like she used to. Stacy asked, "When did you come home?" Cortex questioned, sniffling, "When did you get sick?" Stacy answered, "Not really sick, my dear. Though your sister Jasmine thinks otherwise." Cortex stated, smiling a bit, "No need to tell me that twice." Stacy smiled a bit herself as she replied, "You didn"t answer my question yet." Cortex responded, "Oh mom...I have been home for hours and I don"t know how or why. All I know is...I"m back and no one is going to split up this family again." Stacy coughed away from him as she told him, "I wouldn"t be too sure." Cortex perked up at this and asked, "Mom, are you okay?" Stacy answered, "Oh yes. Just a tickle in my throat." Cortex frowned as he stated, "Mom. I"m a scientist, a doctor, and most importantly - your son. I think I have a right to know." Stacy smiled a tad and replied, "Sweetie...I have lung cancer." Cortex"s eyes widen as he blurted out, "I thought you said that you weren"t sick!" Stacy replied, "I didn"t want you to worry." He whined, "Oh mom..." Cortex started to cry, hugging his mom as he felt awful. And all Stacy did was comfort her son. AK1028: Just when you thought it wasn"t going to get sad... Please read and review. And always think outside of the box.

Luigi smiled as he stated, "That means that you should get scared more so I can get you in my arms." Violet blushed but Luigi turned beat red when he realized what he said. He started to wave his arms around nervously. He added, "I mean, so I can protect you." Violet blushed and replied, "I get it, Weegie. But let"s focus on the mission." Luigi nodded as she took out the Game Boy Horror. She looked at it and saw where the key went. She pointed at the back door in the Foyer. Luigi nodded as Violet put in the key and turned the knob. She unlocked the door as they walked through the door. They entered the Anteroom. There were two chandeliers and three vases on three small tables. Instantly, ghosts were all over the two of them. Following their strategy, they continued capturing ghosts. Besides the usual gold ghosts; they ran into Purple Punchers, Garbage Can ghosts, and Speedy Spirits. They were in the Wardrobe Room: had three dressers and several pieces of clothing hanging up. While they were there, they picked up the next key to the next room. Violet took out the Game Boy Horror and checked the map. Luigi was blushing badly as he knew that Violet was still scared. He was too but he was being brave...for her. Luigi asked, "Where do we need to go?" Violet answered, "Follow me!" Luigi nodded as Violet took the lead, taking his hand in the process. The green clad ghost hunter laced their fingers, blushing as they investigated the balcony. That"s when they saw another Toad, Barry. Like Andrew, he came to find Mario but had no idea where he was. Luigi looked Violet, worried. Luigi questioned, "Do you think that we"ll find Malleo?" Violet shrugged and answered, "I honestly can"t say, Weegie." The green clad ghost hunter pulled her into a hug. Violet returned it, smiling. How she wished that she could Luigi how she felt. Luigi felt the same as they went back into the mansion, holding hands. That"s when the Game Boy Horror rang. Luigi stated, "Sounds like Elvin is calling in." Violet pulled it out and asked Elvin, "What"s up Professor?" Elvin answered, "Plenty, Violet. I detect spirits stronger than we"ve yet seen lurking ahead. I think...it must be some of those escaped gallery ghosts!" Violet questioned, "Anything we need to know?" Elvin explained, "You should know that they"re really different from the other ghosts you"ve seen so far. They don"t show their hearts very easily. Nope, not at all." Luigi asked, "So what do we do?" Elvin answered, "When you find one, use the Game Boy Horror to examine their heart and find their weakness!" Violet shivered as she looked at Luigi. He looked just as scared as she did. Elvin hung up to let this new information sink in. He whispered, placing his hand on her right cheek, "I need you, Vi." She blushed as she replied, "I"ll try, Weegie." Luigi kissed her left cheek, still not feeling her scar. Violet blushed as Luigi"s closeness. "Damn it, I wish I wasn"t such a freaking coward,' Violet thought, scolding herself. With that, Violet unlocked the passageway to the hallway from the Foyer. Luigi tried the first door and that led into the Study. There were three bookcases, a fireplace, and a rocking chair. Violet smiled at the sight of the Study. She loved to read. Luigi had to admit that he loved her smile. He whispered, "You"re smiling." She whispered, "First time in this god damned place." Luigi stroked her hair and whispered, "Hey, I"m scared too. Hell, I"m ALWAYS scared. But you have the Game Boy Horror. You are better with technology than I am." Violet blushed as Luigi"s hand played with her hair. Gloved or not, it meant a lot to Violet. Luigi was blushing just like Violet and that"s when they heard some creaking. Violet shivered out of the blue as she took a look. Her eyes widened in horror. She stammered, "W-Weegie, behind you..." Luigi spun around as the two of them saw a ghost in the rocking chair. He had short orange hair, no pupils, an orange mustache, and a blue ghost body. He was wearing a dark blue nightshirt with a book in his left hand. Violet, while she was shaking in fear, took out the Game Boy Horror and pointed it at the ghost. It identified the ghost as Neville, the owner of the mansion. "When he yawns, capture him.' Luigi smiled at the information and when Neville yawned, he flashed his flashlight and started to suck Neville into the Poltergust 3000. During the capture process, Neville went over to where Violet was standing. She screamed, totally scared as he managed to push her into the bookcase. Books fell on her, knocking her out. Luigi gasped in horror. He yelled, "Damn you!" As he yelled that, he managed to catch Neville. As soon as Neville was caught, he ran over to the fallen books and started to dig. Luigi begged in his mind, "Please, please be okay.' Luigi uncovered Violet and saw her eyes were closed. Ignoring the treasure box that had appeared in the room after defeating Neville, Luigi checked over the purple clad woman. Nothing was bleeding, which was a good thing. Violet groaned as her eyes opened. She saw Luigi in front of her and said, throwing her arms around him, "Luigi!" Luigi returned the hug as he asked, "Are you okay...?" Violet nodded and answered, "Yes but now you know why I hate ghosts." As Luigi pulled away, he gave her a puzzling look. Violet noticed this and picked up a black pen. She used it to trace the small scar on her left cheek. Luigi gasped as he managed to trace the scar, getting the cleanable ink on his white glove. Violet trembled at Luigi"s touch. He questioned, "Mind telling me how the hell that happened once we get out of this area?" Violet nodded as Luigi helped her get onto her feet. One portrait ghost down, more than a dozen to go... AK1028: I have to admit, this chapter was pretty good. If you are wondering if Luigi will still get the ice powers that he is supposed to later in the game, I can"t tell you now. Otherwise it will spoil the story! Other than that, please read and review! And always think outside of the box! Luigi and Violet held hands as they walked down the hallway. Both of them were scared stiff but knew that they had to keep moving. Luigi"s heart was pounding in his chest from both fear...and love. Violet skirt twirled as she walked, showing off her beautiful legs. Luigi blushed as he thought, "How come I just noticed that? Damn, I"ve been crushing on her for awhile but I never noticed that!' Unknown to Luigi, Violet"s heart was also pounding her chest. She was also afraid...and in love. Luigi"s hat bounced on the top of his head, showing off his soft brown hair. Violet blushed as she thought, "Wow, his hair looks so soft... How the hell could I not noticed that?' Luigi pulled Violet over to his body, making both of them blush. Luigi rubbed her right arm up and down. Violet smiled as he softly kissed her forehead. The green clad ghost hunter noticed that her body wasn"t cold as what it usually was. Luigi asked, "You okay, Vi?" Violet nodded and answered, "I will be, Weegie." He smiled as the two of them got to the end of the hall and used the key from Neville"s room to open it. The door creaked open and the two of them entered the Master Bedroom. There was a huge bed, two windows, a dresser, and a mirror. There was also a closet as well. That"s when Luigi and Violet saw a woman ghost sitting by the mirror. She had blonde hair, yellow eyes with no pupils, a light purple aura, and wearing a red nightgown. Luigi whispered, "Who is that?" Violet pulled out the Game Boy Horror and saw that her name was Claudia, the wife to Neville. "Push away the curtains, let in the draft.' She whispered, "Can you manage that?" The green clad ghost plumber nodded as he pushed away the curtains, capturing Claudia"s attention. She was startled by it and Luigi sucked her into the Poltergust 3000. Once the lights were on yet again, another treasure chest appeared. Violet opened it and another key popped out. Luigi commented, "Seems like that this mansion has many keys to many locked doors." Violet stated, "As long as we keep moving forward, that"s fine and dandy." Luigi nodded in agreement as they left the Master Bedroom, hand-in-hand. That"s when they heard some crying from down the hall. He questioned, "A baby...in a ghost mansion...?" She asked, "Is that at all possible?" Violet unlocked the door as the two of them entered the Nursery. It was indeed decorated like a baby"s room and floating in the crib was a ghost baby. He had a blue ghost body, yellow pupils, and wearing a yellow baby suit, with a blue and yellow pacifier in his mouth, and a red bib. Violet shivered as she pointed the Game Boy Horror at the baby. That"s when they found out that the baby"s name was Chauncey. "Make sure that you play ball with him.' Luigi puzzled at this as he picked up a ball and threw it at Chauncey, making it hit him. Luigi commented, scratching the side of his head, "Whoops..." Violet joked, "Child abuse on Chauncey much?" Chauncey stated, "Ow! You gave me an owie! I just wanted to play with you... I HATE grown-ups! ...why do you have to be bigger than me? I"ve had enough!" Luigi looked at Violet and said, "I think we"re in trouble." Violet hissed, "You think?!" Chauncey chanted, "Small! Now grow smaller! Small! Itsy! Tiny! Little! Wee! Ga ga goo goo GA!" Suddenly, a flash of light blinded Luigi and Violet as they hung onto the other. When Violet opened her eyes, she saw Luigi knocked out next to her. Their fingers were interlaced somehow as the purple clad woman saw that they were smaller than usual. Chauncey hovered over them, larger than when they saw him last. Violet"s eyes widen in fear as she screamed, making Luigi wake up instantly. He saw the situation they were in and threw himself over Violet. Violet"s eyes widen in horror as Chauncey attacked Luigi with his floating and flying horses. Luigi was thrown back by the blow, making Violet rush to his side. She breathed, terrified, "Weegie, no!" Luigi"s forehead was bleeding pretty badly as he was out cold. Violet managed to stop the bleeding, petrified. Chauncey cried and Violet swore that it was the most horrifying sound in the world. She turned around as Chauncey had several balls in the crib. Eyeing those and the Poltergust 3000, she knew what she had to do. She grabbed the vacuum off of Luigi"s back and with some knowledge, she picked up a ball and hit Chauncey with it. Chauncey screeched, "Ow!" Violet started to suck up the ghost baby, as Luigi came to. When he saw Violet facing her fears and sucking up Chauncey, he blushed. She was facing her fears...to protect him. Finally, Violet sucked Chauncey into the Poltergust 3000 and the spell was broken. Violet"s eyes opened from passing out as she looked around for Luigi. She saw the golden chest in the right hand corner and she assumed that they were another key in it. A voice shouted, "Vi!" Violet looked up and saw Luigi next to her, safe and sound. He was still hurt but he was wearing a smile a mile wide. Luigi took out the pink key in the gold chest and placed it in his pocket. Luigi then hugged Violet, even though she was still in shock that she had defeated Chauncey. The realization finally sank in as she looked at Luigi, stunned. She questioned, "I did it?" Luigi nodded and answered, "You did it! You defeated Chauncey!" Violet started to celebrate, jumping up and down in joy. Luigi spun them around, picking up Violet without a problem. Both of them laughed as Luigi placed her down but held Violet close. Luigi stroked her cheek as Violet trembled at his touch, realizing that she was in love. Luigi realized it too as their noses touched. Luigi was about to finally kiss Violet but the Game Boy Horror ringing broke them apart. Violet brought it out, a bit disappointed. She asked, "What"s up, Elvin?" Elvin questioned, "Violet & Luigi, can you hear me?" Luigi answered, "You bet we can!" Elvin stated, "Oh thank goodness you are both okay! I lost contact with you both all of the sudden. I was a tad worried." Violet replied, "We"re okay, professor!" Luigi wrapped an arm around Violet"s shoulders and added, "Vi here defeated Chauncey when he knocked me out!" Violet blushed feverishly as she thought, "Anything for you, Weegie.' Elvin commented, "Well, that is a surprise! But congrats! You both seem rather tired, why don"t you come on back to the lab?" Violet stated, "Sounds good to me." Luigi nodded in agreement as he replied, "We"ll be there soon." With that, Violet hung up on Elvin as Luigi brought Violet to his body. Violet blushed feverishly again as their noses touched yet again. Violet giggled, loving being close to him. She asked, "What are you doing?" He answered, "Something I should"ve done a long time ago." As he said that, Luigi started to lean in and kissed her gently. Violet returned it, in shock. But eventually, the shock subsided as she wrapped her arms around Luigi"s neck. Luigi wrapped his arms around Violet"s waist and held her close. It was a gentle and soft kiss, perfect for a couple just starting out. Luigi broke the kiss as Violet smiled at him. Luigi did the same as they took each other"s hand and headed out the door. She questioned, "So does this mean that we"re a couple now?" He answered, with a wide smile on his face, "Defiantly." Elvin decided to take the Poltergust 3000 and turned the ghosts back into paintings while Luigi & Violet rested. But he explained the process that he used of how to make ghosts first (which defiantly made Luigi and Violet sleepy). It involved his machine called the Ghost Portrificationizer. The machine lets them turn the ghosts into paintings and vice versa. The process is short, though. (Even though Elvin"s explanation was long.) Luigi held Violet in his arms as they laid on the couch together. Luigi kissed her head. Violet smiled at him and realized that she owed him an explanation about her fear of ghosts. She looked up at Luigi. She asked, "I owe you a story don"t I?" He answered, "You don"t have to tell me if you don"t want to but I am interested." Violet nodded as she stated, "Well, it all started when I was a little girl in Chicago. I was about 6 or 7 at the time and I was visiting my grandma. She told me that once in a full moon, grandpa visited her from beyond the grave. I didn"t believe her but when the full moon came, my grandpa"s ghost came into my room. He was displeased that I didn"t believe grandma and marked my cheek with this scar." Luigi questioned, holding her closer, "Why did he do that?" Violet answered, "To teach me a lesson that ghosts do exist. However, I"ve been petrified of ghosts ever since." Luigi took off his glove, much to Violet"s surprise. He traced her left cheek and the scar. Violet trembled as she looked at Luigi. He stated, "I understand. You are afraid that a ghost will do that again. And I"m guessing Neville didn"t help much..." Violet shook her head as Luigi leaned in and kissed her gently. Violet returned it as she placed her hands on Luigi"s chest. Luigi wrapped his arms around Violet"s waist as he held her close to his body. Violet felt like she was in heaven. Luigi felt the same way, in total heaven. He deepened the kiss as the two of them made out on the couch. Luigi thought, "This is amazing. Making out with her...' Violet thought, "Making out with him is truly amazing.' Luigi and Violet broke out of their kiss. Violet smiled at him as Luigi kissed her forehead, yawning. She asked, "Tired?" He nodded and answered, "Yeah, let"s get some sleep before we go back into the mansion." Violet closed her eyes, laying her head on Luigi"s chest. Luigi smiled as he held her there. Violet was asleep instantly, feeling protected and loved. Luigi closed his eyes and breathed calmly. He couldn"t believe that he was sleeping with a girlfriend in his arms. And it wasn"t just any girlfriend...it was HIS girlfriend. Luigi instantly went to sleep, still a little worried about his brother but happy that Violet was his girlfriend. AK1028: Yes, it finally happened! Luigi and Violet are finally together! I rather liked this chapter, it was pretty good since Violet faced her fear of ghosts. Please read and review! And always think outside of the box! Luigi groaned as he started to open his eyes. Violet was still next to him, sound asleep in his arms. Luigi kissed her head and an instant, she was up. Luigi didn"t even notice but got a little carried away when he started to kiss her neck. Violet tried not to moan but Luigi"s lips on her neck felt so good to her at the current moment. The purple clad moaned softly as Luigi realized that she was indeed awake. He smiled and decided to kiss her neck more. Violet moaned more, shivering at the softness of Luigi"s lips. She held him close but after a bit, Luigi pulled away from Violet with the biggest smile on his face. She smiled as she gave him a gentle yet firm kiss. The green clad ghost hunter returned it, holding Violet close. Their kiss transformed into a French kiss and before it could get any farther, Luigi pulled away from Violet and smiled. Violet smiled right back. Luigi asked, "Are you up for some breakfast?" Violet nodded and answered, "You bet I am!" Her boyfriend smiled as he took the kitchen over, since Elvin was still asleep. Elvin was waken up to blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon. Elvin commented, "Luigi, I didn"t know you cooked!" Luigi nodded and explained, "I cook for Malleo and me all of the time!" As soon as he said that, Luigi looked sad as he dropped an egg. Violet managed to grab it before it hit the ground. Her ice powers managed to freeze it. She looked at Luigi, worried. Violet asked, "Weegie, are you alright?" The green clad ghost hunter sniffled and answered, "Not really, Vi. I"m worried about Malleo." Elvin stated, "I"m sure your brother is fine." Luigi replied, in Italian, "Io non sono così sicuro di questo, professore." Elvin looked confused as he question, "What language is that?" Violet explained, "Italian." Luigi replied, "It means, "I"m not so sure about that, professor"." Elvin simply nodded as Violet hugged Luigi"s shoulders. Luigi smiled as he held Violet close to him. The ghost researcher saw this and saw that Luigi was holding Violet close to him, certainly like a boyfriend would. Elvin put two-and-two together and knew that Luigi was now dating Violet. Unsure of how this happened, Elvin decided to head off to leave the two of them alone since they were going into the mansion soon. Later on that day, Luigi and Violet went into the mansion. Violet opened the back door in the Foyer as the two of them went through, not knowing what awaited them in this new area. This time, they found themselves in a rather large hallway. Violet looked around and then looked at Luigi. Violet commented, "Quite the long hallway." Luigi nodded in agreement as he stated, "Yep so we better get started." Violet followed Luigi and took his hand. Luigi smiled as he laced their fingers. They went down the hall, up another, and left into the next hallway. They went up again and entered the second last door on the left hand side. Violet saw on her Game Boy Horror that was the only door unlocked. Violet trembled as she opened the door. They saw that it was the Bathroom. With a running shower, a mirror, and a sink. In an instant, Grabbing Ghosts appeared. Violet froze as an icy mist surrounded her and Luigi. Luigi used the mist once again to his advantage, taking out the two ghosts. Violet covered her eyes with her hands while he did. She asked, "Are they gone?" He chuckled and answered, "They"re gone." Violet uncovered her eyes and saw a key on a shelf above Luigi"s head. She pointed up as Luigi got the key. Checking the Game Boy Horror, the key took them to the next room back down the long hallway: the Ball Room. A whole bunch of Shy Guy Ghosts, Bowling Bomb Ghosts, and Yellow Ghosts appeared. And in the ball room besides those mini ghosts was a couple. The man had a reddish ghostly aura with short orange hair and yellow pupils. He was wearing a red suit. The woman had a bluish ghostly aura with long blonde hair and yellow pupils. She was wearing a green dress. Violet pointed the Game Boy Horror at them, revealing them to be the dancing couple. "When they bow to the other, take your shot.' Violet whispered, "Sounds easy enough." Luigi whispered, "Then allow me." With that, Luigi shone the flashlight on them after they bowed and sucked up the dancing couple. Once the lights went back on, a treasure chest appeared. Violet opened it and out popped another key. She checked the Game Boy Horror and saw that the key opened the door in the back of the Ball Room. She stated, "Let"s get moving." He nodded as he allowed her to unlock the door. Violet did just that and the room was revealed to be: the Storage Room. After getting rid of the ghosts, the lights went on but no treasure chest appeared. Luigi and Violet both puzzled but that"s when Luigi saw a button on the wall. Luigi questioned, "What"s this?" The green clad ghost hunter pressed the button and the wall moved back. Violet commented, "The plot thickens." The two of them went further into the Storage Room. Luigi saw a trap door on the floor and a poster on the wall. Violet saw this and had a bad feeling. Luigi saw this too and felt a button behind it. However, the green clad ghost hunter pushed the button and the trap door opened. That"s when all of the Boos came out at once. Violet screamed in total horror as Luigi came over to her and held her protectively.

It was something like Coco had never seen before. She was monitoring the battle on her laptop. N. Gin, Tiny, and toddler Nina were near-by also watching. Nina was at least four years old, short black hair, brown eyes, wearing a white shirt, black skirt, and black shoes. Coco saw the girl and asked, "Uh, who IS this girl?"N. Gin answered, without blinking, "That"s Nina Cortex, Neo"s niece." Coco studied her and saw how good she was. She couldn"t understand it. She wondered, "How did this girl get mixed up in this?' Coco went back to the feed and saw that magic portholes opened up everywhere as the earth shook. Dingodile came over as he picked up the toddler and stated, "Let"s get Nina out of here!" Tiny added, "Tiny says, the faster, the better!"With that; Dingodile, Tiny, and Coco started running for shelter. N. Gin, however, went the other way. "Hey, rocket head," Coco yelled, "Where are you going?" No answer from him because N. Gin kept running towards the stadium Crash and Cortex was. Coco waved it off and started to run. Meanwhile, N. Gin got to the battlegrounds and saw the trouble unfolding. Crash got Cortex up and the two of them ran towards the two masks, trying to get them to stop. However, the power from the two masks sent both of them back. N. Gin also felt the blast but continued to pursue and enter the fray. He knew that he had to save his master. The blast finally stopped as N. Gin saw Crash going down along with Cortex. Both of their hands started to glow a strange light. N. Gin ran over to Cortex and tried to wake him up. "My master," said N. Gin, worried, "You"ve got to wake up!" Cortex opened his eyes and saw N. Gin and asked, weakened, "Nicholas?" Uka-Uka saw this and was disgusted by this display. Aku-Aku asked, "Nicholas?" Uka-Uka answered, "It does NOT matter. What does matter is that I stop anyone that dares challenges me." Uka-Uka activated the magical portholes again as N. Gin was thrown away from Cortex, like a rag doll. Cortex yelled, "No! Nicholas!" He knew that he had to do something and fast. That"s when he went over to his best friend, Crash. He shook the bandicoot in total fear and pleaded, "Crash, wake up! There is danger!" Crash didn"t stir but Cortex brushed his hand up against Crash"s hand. That"s when something unexpected appeared. Some sort of light appeared, coming straight from the heavens above, blinding everyone. It was a sight to behold. It seemed like it was pure island magic and it was a pure energy source, the kind the two masks had never felt before. This light disappeared as the magical portholes stopped instantly. Crash and Cortex got knocked out from this, however. Aku-Aku asked, freaked, "What was that?"Uka-Uka answered, "I"m not sure." He thought, fearfully, "But I think that"s what the ancients once predicted...' -End of Flashback- AK1028: And that people, ends chapter 2! Let me know what you think! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box! Crash, Coco, Crunch, Thunder, Crystal, Violet, John, Pete, Aku-Aku, Rika-Rika, Von Clutch, Pasadena, Cortex, N. Gin, and Nina were all in Mystery Island as the ashes kept falling from the sky. John asked, "What is going on?" Coco got her laptop and started to type as she answered, "Not sure. I"ve never seen anything like this before." Pete stated, "This is bad." Aku-Aku replied, "More than you all realize. I fear my brother is behind this." Crunch groaned, "Figured..." Crystal asked, "But what is he trying to do?" Aku-Aku answered, "I fear he is trying to cover the earth with ash. I don"t know why this elaborate way of doing it." Coco finally analyzed the ash as she stated, "Seems like this ash is completely one hundred percent alien." Nina asked, "Alien?" N. Gin answered, "That"s what she said..." Cortex stated, "But the only aliens we know of is Nitrous Oxide and Velo. They don"t have the technology to do something like this. ...do they?" Violet replied, "I don"t know, Mistew Phoenix." Cortex flinched. Even though he knew Violet didn"t know any better, he still couldn"t believe that he was being that cruel to the people he worked with and were friends with. "I hope God has mercy on my soul,' he thought. Crash looked at his best friend and instantly felt bad. He knew that the ex evil scientist had amnesia but no one outside of John, Pete, and Thunder really believed him. N. Gin barely talked to Cortex as did Nina. Coco made him bad every time she saw an opportunity. Speaking of which, the blonde bandicoot looked at Cortex coldly. Coco responded, "We also have another alien that isn"t exactly green and has a racing problem." Cortex barely looked at Coco after that, looking down at the ground. Granted, Crunch didn"t like what Coco was doing to Cortex but he was still wary of the little yellow bald man. It seemed like the only ones that kept their mouths shut or talked about Phoenix whenever Cortex wasn"t around were Von Clutch, Crystal, and Pasadena. Aku-Aku decided to be the voice of reason and stated, "Alright, that"s enough. We need to figure this out reasonably." Rika-Rika replied, "Yes, we do." Thunder asked, "But how do we figure out what this ash is?" Crystal commented, "That is a good question." Coco stated, "Well, according to scans, this ash is coming from Kobold." Crunch questioned, "Kobold? That"s Velo"s planet." Von Clutch gaped and said, "Ah! That"s a scary planet!" N. Gin asked, "But how are we going to get there?" Nina answered, "Didn"t you tell me that you were transported there..." Violet questioned, "Twanpowted?" Cortex responded, "It means that Velo was the one that sent us there." Rika-Rika replied, "I think we could transport ourselves there." She paused as she asked, "Pasadena, VC, can you watch Violet for us?" Pasadena responded, "Sure, it"ll be fun!" Von Clutch added, "And we can play a lot of mini games!" Violet cheered as she ran over to the mutant possum. Pasadena picked up the three year old girl, smiling. Crash smiled at them as Rika-Rika transported them to Kobold. -Flashback: "Crash Nitro Kart"- On Earth, Crash Bandicoot is asleep while Coco and Crunch work on Crash"s car (although Crunch was working out while Aku-Aku was watching). Crunch commented, "That diet is a joke." Aku-Aku stated, "Well, I have heard that you can loose a lot of weight on it." Crunch replied, "But you can"t keep it off. Just eat less and exercise more." Just then, a white light came through the window. The three of them saw this. Aku-Aku told them, "Something"s wrong. That"s not sunlight." Upstairs, the light shined on Crash. Crash shielded his eyes until he got out his sunglasses and put them on. That"s when the house was brought up to space. Meanwhile, Cortex, paces across his laboratory floor with Tiny playing checkers. Cortex grumbled, "Oh, how am I going to defeat those wretched Bandicoots...?" He paused and added, "And conquer the world, of course!" Tiny yelled, throwing his checker board, "Bandicoots! I can squash Bandicoots." Cortex sighed, "Yes, I know Tiny but you failed so many, many, many times..." He paused as he stated, "Tiny, go see if N. Gin requires assistance." Tiny stood up, saluted Cortex, and ran into another part of the castle. There was N. Gin and Dingodile, working on a cart. N. Gin told Dingodile, "Dingodile, throw the switch!" Dingodile nodded and was about to do that until Tiny busted in, flattening Dingodile with the door. That"s when the same white light started to come in. N. Gin instantly got annoyed. He yelled at Tiny, "Hey! What did you break now?!" Cortex saw the light and gasped as the tower was brought up into space. Crash took off his sunglasses when he heard something outside. He went to go investigate but the door broke as he did. That"s when he heard the roar of the crowd. "What the,' he thought, "A stadium?' That"s when he looked up and saw stars. He wondered why it was night time but saw Coco and Crunch behind him. Crash waved but then saw Coco pale as she pointed behind him. Crash spun around and saw Cortex and his team. Tiny snorted as Crash waved awkwardly. Cortex started to say, "What have you done..." That"s when he was interrupted by a hologram of an alien head. He stated, "I am Emperor Velo XXVII, ruler of this galaxy!" As he said that, the crowd roared with applause and cheers. He added, "My subjects hunger for entertainment..." The crowd started to chant his name as he commented, "...and word of your racing prowess has reached my glorious empire." That"s when they saw Nitrous Oxide, Zim, Zam, N. Trance, Pura, and Dingodile. He threatened, "And I hope you put on a good show, especially since winning the circuit will win your freedom. And if, for some reason, you refuse to race, your Earth will be... destroyed." Everyone gapped at this as Velo finished, "But... I don"t think it will come to that. Do you accept my challenge?" -End of Flashback- Within seconds, our heroes arrived at Kobold. Velo came out of the shadows almost instantly. Velo commented, "I see that you finally decided to come." Crash hissed, "What are you doing with those ashes? What are you planning?" Cortex advised, "Easy, Crash." Coco added, coldly, "Yeah, you don"t want to turn into a Phoenix." Cortex shot her a look as Velo stated, "I am not going to tell you anything, Crash Bandicoot. But I will tell you once you defeat my circuit." Crash replied, hissing, "We already did that." Velo smirked evilly as he waved his scepter, which started to glow a rainbow light. Crash shielded his eyes and as soon as he reopened them, he saw that his team had changed. With him were: Cortex, John, Pete, and Nina. Thunder was with Crystal, Coco, Crunch, and N. Gin. That"s when they saw an improved Kronk, Nash, Norm, and Geary. Kronk was skinnier, Nash was muscular, Norm was a bit taller, and Geary was bigger in his gears. Velo stated, "Yes but not like this before." AK1028: Velo is back babies! Now I wanna play this game again! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box! "Is he freaking serious?!" Nina hissed, looking at her racing team. "I"m stuck with the squad that believes my uncle had nothing to do with the Phoenix thing?! Can I freaking change teams?!" Crash rolled his eyes, ignoring Nina"s rant. He wasn"t too thrilled having her along for the ride either but the Twin Sanity team was back. More or less. John stated, "Hey, would you take a chill pill? We aren"t exactly thrilled having you around either." Pete sighed as he looked at Cortex, who looked really sad. Sure the youngest Pichu was thrilled about racing with his best friends but it didn"t mean much if they weren"t having fun or working together like they always did as the Twin Sanity team. Nothing seemed quite right. Pete softly stated to Crash, "I just want things back to normal. Is that bad?" Crash gave the youngest Pichu brother a small smile as he stroked his fur and replied, "We all do, buddy. We all do." He looked out to where Cortex was sitting and asked, "Cortex?" Cortex didn"t bother to answer as the five of them were on Terra. N. Gin, Coco, Crunch, Thunder, and Crystal were on Barin. The short little yellow bald man was sitting thinking, wallowing in his own self pity. He whispered to the moon, "Nance...if you can hear me somehow...tell me what to do... Tell me what to do..." That"s when he started to cry, capturing the team"s attention. Nina asked, out of curiosity, "What does that supposed to mean? Is this "Nance" that he talks about?" Crash answered, not looking at her, "His sister and your mother." With that, he got up and went over to Cortex - ignoring the surprised Nina behind him as he told Cortex, "You know she can"t hear you." Everywhere I turn, I hurt someoneBut there"s nothing I can sayTo change the things I"ve doneI"d do anything within my power Cortex sniffled, "Liked to think she can. She was always good at that stuff. Always knew right and wrong..." Crash sat next to him and stated, "But you don"t." I"d give everything I"ve gotBut the path I seek is hiddenFrom me nowBrother Bear, I let you down Cortex wiped his eyes as he replied, "Let"s be honest here, Crash. It"s gonna be a cold day in hell before anyone believes me that I had no intention of killing or hurting anyone. Granted the Pokemon forgave me but..." Crash interrupted, "Yeah, I know. You want Nina to forgive you too." You trusted me, believed in meAnd I let you downOf all the things I hid from youI cannot hide the shame Cortex responded, "She is my only family right now..." Crash told him, with a smile, "No, she isn"t." Cortex returned the smile, though his was smaller than Crash"s. He finally sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. He finally stated, "Crash, I"m planning to go home." And I pray someone, something willCome, to take away the painThere"s no way out of this dark placeNo hope, no future Crash started to say, a bit puzzled, "Yeah, well, we all plan to go home after we win the..." Cortex interrupted, "I meant home. My home of London." There was a slight pause of silence between them as they looked at each other, the breeze lightly picking up. He added, "I was meaning to tell you this afternoon but this all happened." I know I can"t be freeBut I can"t see another wayI can"t face another day Crash breathed, "I can"t believe it..." Cortex replied, "I owe it to my sister. I owe it to my good family to repay the things I"ve done..." Without hesitation, Crash hugged Cortex. The bald little yellow man wasn"t expecting a hug but accepted nonetheless, mesmerizing the softness of Crash"s fur. Crash confessed, "I"ll miss you..." Cortex breathed, "I"ll miss you too. And Crash?" Crash looked at Cortex and asked, "Yes?" Cortex answered, "Beat Velo. You are the only one that can..." Crash"s heart fell at that. Never before had he seen his best friend so sad. But then again, with what had been happening, he couldn"t blame Cortex. He finally stated, "I shall do my best." Cortex smiled a bit as the two of them went over to their team and started the Terra races. The first track was Inferno Island with a tropical beach with a volcanic cave in the middle of the track...or it used to be. There instead was mostly volcano and practically no beach. John stated, "Well...this doesn"t look good..." Pete asked, "How are we supposed to win the circuit?" Nina answered, "With trickery, what else." Cortex scolded, "No. You are good now as is N. Gin. No tricks." Crash added, "Besides, it shouldn"t be that bad so long as one of us wins." The four teammates nodded as they knew that had to work together, much to Nina"s dismay. After getting all 3 trophies, (although they had some difficulty), they finally got to Krunk. Nina stepped up to face him. John asked, "You sure about this, Nin?" Nina answered, "Positive." Pete stated, "Then kick his butt!" Nina gave them a thumb up, ignoring her uncle as she drove out on the track. Midway through the race, Nina hit one of Krunk"s electro balls as he took the lead. Crash whispered, "Nina"s gonna lose if she doesn"t do something...but she"s flying blind out there!" Cortex grabbed the radio and said, "Nina, listen to me. I know you are mad and you have every right to be. But us stopping Velo and figuring out what Uka-Uka is up to is in your hands right now. Fight the shock and floor the gas." Nina managed to fight the shock and floored the gas, quickly getting herself out of danger. However, she was still behind Krunk. He added, "Alright, this is where it gets tricky. Fun but tricky. Extend your grappling arm towards the power up box." John asked Crash, "Can she do that?" Crash answered, "Hasn"t been against the rules yet." Nina did as she was told and got a rocket. Pete stated, "She got a rocket." Cortex commanded, "Keep it steady. Aim carefully and then fire." Nina nodded as she did just that, knocking Krunk off the track and Nina into first place...and the victory. While the team celebrated, Nina"s voice came over the radio. "Not bad...uncle," she stated. Just hearing that, Cortex"s heart skipped a beat. Was he earning back Nina"s trust...? "No Way Out" by Phil Collins AK1028: A rather long chapter but it needed to be done. Let me know guys! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box! After the race, our five heroes saw that they were on Tenkee. John looked around as did Pete. John stated, "Well, this place looks rather scary." Pete added, "In more ways than one." Nina looked at her uncle and asked, "So you had amnesia after all?" Cortex answered, "Yeah, which is why I didn"t recognize anyone." Crash stated, "But you knew how to battle us perfectly." Cortex replied, "That"s the one thing I never understood." John offered, "Perhaps Uka-Uka was controlling those features." Pete asked, "But why is he doing all of this?" Crash answered, "I don"t know but one thing is for sure, we will find out." Nina looked at her uncle and asked, "Can I talk to you?" Cortex answered, "Sure." He took her aside and asked, "What is it, Nin?" Nina questioned, "Crash said something that really made me feel awful. That "Nance" was your sister and my mom..." Cortex answered, with a question of his own, "What about it?" Nina sighed as she asked the question that had been burning on her tongue for the longest time, "Is my mother still alive?" Cortex smiled and answered, "Yes, your mother is still alive. She writes me every week, telling me how much she misses us." Nina"s heart pounded in her chest. There was so many questions she had about her mother and about her father. Why did her mother leave her here? What happened? Did she...love her? Finally, Cortex waved his hand in front of her face and asked, "Nina?" Nina answered, snapping out of her trance, "Sorry. I just...I have so many questions." Cortex stated, "And I know the woman that has the answers. That"s why I want you to come with me. Back home to London." Nina was shocked by this. Go to London? But this island was her home for as long as she could remember. She was a little nervous but she wasn"t going to let her uncle know that. No freaking way. She asked, "Wait, what? After what I did to you?" Cortex answered, "Nina, you only did what you thought in your heart was right. Much like I"ve been doing all of these years by working with Uka-Uka. I had to do what I thought was right. There"s not a moment that goes by that I regret my actions. I have to face my past in ordinary to make a future." Nina questioned, "What about N. Gin?" Cortex stated, "Nicholas can do what he wants. I know it"ll be a VERY long time before we"re friends again. I accept that." He paused as he looked at his nervous niece and said, "Something tells me that this has to do more with you than with Nicholas. You"re nervous aren"t you?" Nina asked, "Wouldn"t you be?" Cortex answered, "Petrified. But Nance is a good woman. She is, after all, my sister." Nina hugged Cortex, surprising him. He returned the hug, a bit awkwardly at first but relaxed into it. Crash watched this from afar and smiled at the sight. At least some good was coming out of this. -Flashback- A young Neo was outside in the changing leaves. The boy had recently turned 6 years old and right next to him was his 8 year old sister, Nacey, and their oldest sister, Jasmine, who was 12. The youngest Cortex sibling stepped jumped into a pile of leaves. He had the biggest smile on his face. He had messy black hair, brown eyes, wearing a long sleeved blue jacket, a white undershirt, black pants, and black shoes. Nacey looked at her younger sibling as she joined him, laughing. She had short brown hair, brown eyes, wearing a long sleeved pink jacket, a rose undershirt, lavender pants, and white shoes. Jasmine rolled her eyes. Being the oldest, she was quite tired of her older siblings being so energetic. She had long brown-blackish hair, brown eyes, wearing a long sleeved yellow jacket, a white undershirt, blue jeans, and yellow shoes. Their mother, Stacy Cortex, smiled at her two youngest children. "If only they could stay that way forever,' Stacy thought. Stacy was about 40 years old, with brown-blackish hair, brown eyes, wearing a long sleeved red jacket, a light red undershirt, dark red pants, and white shoes. Stacy commented, "Neo! Nacey! We have to get going to your grandfather"s place. Your father is there wait for us." Nacey and Neo pouted as the protested, "But mom..." Jasmine stated, "You two heard mom. We have to get going." With a pout, the two of them got out of leaves and rejoin their older sister. Stacy was relieved that Jasmine was so responsible with both Neo and Nacey, especially how hyper Neo got from time to time. Stacy said, "Thank you, Jasmine." Jasmine joked, "You can thank me by raising my allowance?" Stacy laughed. Somehow, she knew that was coming and she wouldn"t change any thing. Sure she lost her oldest son in Edgar so long ago but these three filled her life. She loved them. She loved her life. And she wouldn"t trade it for anything else. -End of Flashback- Back on Earth, in London, a woman reflected on those events from so long ago. "That seemed like it was so long ago," said a female voice, with a strong English accent. She put down her tea cup that she had been sipping on and put it down on the table in front of her. Her name was Nacey Rose Cortex, the youngest daughter of the Cortex family. She was currently living in a small house that was a two story. On the first floor was the kitchen, living and dining rooms, and the closet. One the second floor were the bedrooms and the bathrooms. She got up from her chair, looking around her house. She had lived her for numerous years, right after leaving college. She entered the living room and looked at the pictures had collected over the years.

Violet quipped, "Looks like a job for a plumber." Luigi commented, shooting her a look, "Oh ha ha." The green clad plumber did some tinkering and instantly got a key out of the toilet. Violet grimaced, "Ew..." Luigi stated, "Sometimes plumbing is more gross than Koopas." The purple clad woman giggled as she turned to the blubbering Toad. She kneeled down to his eye level. She asked, "Are you okay?" The Toad sniffled as he looked at Violet and answered, "I, uh, dropped a REALLY important thing into the toilet. I didn"t mean to!" Violet questioned, "What"s your name?" The Toad whined, "C-Cameron..." Violet smiled and answered, "Well, don"t fret about it, Cameron." Cameron stopped crying and stated, "Hey... You"re right! No point in crying over spilt milk! I suppose I"ll just flush that old worry away. Yup, I"ll just let it swirl on down to the depths and let happiness refill my life!" Luigi laughed at Violet"s face as the two of them headed down the hall again. Violet was holding Luigi"s hand as they got to the room to where the key went to. Luigi gave Violet a smile as she unlocked the door, giving them access to the Fortune-teller"s Room. Violet shivered as the two of them saw a ghost appear in the room behind the crystal ball. Luigi held Violet close. He promised, "I won"t let anything bad happen to you, I promise." Violet blushed as the two of them approached the ghost. She had a sky blue ghost aura, a scarf on her head and around her mouth, and a red dress. The ghost questioned, "What...do you seek of me?" Violet stammered, "W-who are you?" She explained, "I am Madame Clairvoya, seer of dropped items. Possessions of other people awaken vibrations in my spirit... If you happen to find someone"s dropped items, you should bring them to me. I will show you the extent of my vision..." Luigi questioned, "Guess we gotta look around, eh, Vi?" Violet nodded and answered, "Right, Weegie." The green clad plumber opened the door on the right side of the room and entered the Mirror Room. Violet shivered when they heard ghosts cackling. Luigi got ready to protect Violet but the Grabbing Ghosts grabbed her first. Violet screamed in horror. Luigi gasped in horror as the Grabbing Ghosts lifted Violet into the air. Luigi stated, "Hold on!" Before Luigi could react, the Grabbing Ghosts disappeared, making Violet drop the Game Boy Horror and her hat as she screamed in total horror. Luigi picked up the Game Boy Horror as he traced the hat, as if he was caressing Violet"s cheek. Luigi studied it and went back to the Fortune-teller"s Room. Madame Clairvoya saw him and asked, "What seems to be the problem?" Luigi gave her Violet"s hat and answered, "Those damned ghosts took my girlfriend. I want to save her, she"s afraid of ghosts!" Madame Clairvoya took the hat as she stated, "I sense the story behind this hat..." It was a typical day in the Mushroom Kingdom and Luigi Manfredi was asleep at his and Mario"s house, with nothing to do. It had been day 3 in Mario"s adventure to rescue Peach (again). Luigi had to stay behind, much to his own dismay. Eventually, Luigi finally woke up and decided to go for a little walk. He wanted to prove that he was also a hero just like Mario. That"s when he heard something. "Help," someone yelled. Luigi quickly sprang into action, running towards the sound. That"s when he came across a scared 19 year old girl, with shoulder length brown hair, green eyes, wearing a purple short sleeved shirt, a purple skirt, and purple shoes. She was gripping onto a railing, dangling over the river. Luigi ran over and grabbed her wrist. Luigi was surprised that she was pure human...except for her whiter skin. She wasn"t a toad, that much he knew. So who was she? "Hold on, miss," he stated, in his strong Italian accent. He pulled her up and she was instantly out of danger. Luigi panted as the girl went over to him. She asked, "Are you okay?" He answered, panting, "Y-yes..." She smiled as Luigi thought she had a great smile. As soon as he thought that, he started to blush. He quickly shook his head as he looked at her and asked, "Who are you?" "My name is Violet Jasmine Calico," she answered, looking at him with her green eyes. He smiled at the innocence. Violet looked around in puzzlement and asked, "Where are we? Is this Earth?" "No, this is Mushroom Kingdom," Luigi answered. Violet was in shock as she breathed, "B-but, I was in Chicago a few minutes ago!" Luigi took her hands into his and replied, "The same happened to Mario and me when we first came. But we came heroes of the kingdom." "Who are you," Violet asked. "Luigi James Manfredi," Luigi answered, "And I will train you, just in case." The next few days, Luigi and Violet started to train together. Luigi was a bit timid to train with Violet, since she was a girl. But that quickly faded when they started their combat with poles. Violet was fast and strong. Luigi was impressed with Violet"s movements, she moved pretty well. Violet felt the same about Luigi, they were pretty evenly matched. She explained to him how she had a black belt in karate and in several other martial arts. She also told him that she came from a broken home. Her parents were divorced and her half sister wasn"t always there for her. So she had to learn things on her own. She had no friends or much of anything back home. Luigi felt bad for her because he was the same. He hadn"t much of a family either. All - of course - except his older twin brother, Mario. However, Violet had no one to turn to unlike the green clad man. "I am blessed,' Luigi thought. Anyways, Luigi summoned his green thunder, which threw Violet off. Luigi face palmed as she cringed from the thunder strike. It wasn"t gonna be very easy to train... They worked on speed, they worked on strength, they worked on endurance. Violet, even though she was tired, wasn"t giving up. Luigi was surprised by this but kept going with his training, keeping his head in the game. He knew what he had to do if she didn"t start improving soon... Luigi shot a bow into a wooden pole and asked Violet to retrieve it with two weights on her wrists. Every time she tried to do that, she would wind up falling off or down. She groaned, this wasn"t going to be easy at all. But that"s the way she wanted it. She wanted to be treated like an equal. They fished together, practice dodging targets and fireballs, everything that Luigi could think of to help Violet figure out if she had powers. So far, nothing was happening. She rolled her eyes, annoyed but she wasn"t giving up. One time during training, Violet had passed out on Luigi and he had to carry on without her. She lowered her head in same, knowing that she would probably have to leave for home soon. But there was one more thing she had to try. She grabbed the weights and climbed the pole. By the time Luigi got up in the morning, the arrow was dropped down to his feet as he saw Violet on top of the pole. He smiled. She did it. Ever since then, the training went a lot smoother as Violet kept improving. That"s when she discovered her powers instantly, acting like Luigi"s green thunder and Mario"s red fire. However, her element was purple (really violet) ice. Luigi helped her control her powers, much like he did with his. At the end of the training session, Violet was so badly beaten and bruised, Luigi allowed her to stay at the house a bit longer. Luigi knew that she needed a friend right now as much as he did. He took Violet to his room and let her rest there as he took the couch. He let total exhaustion take over his body, having forgotten all about Mario and his rescue mission to save Peach. A few weeks later, Luigi bought Violet a hat with a snowflake on it which was similar to his and Mario"s. He also got her a mask and presented them to her that day. Violet smiled as she asked, "Why did you get this? It wasn"t apart of the deal." "I don"t care about the deal, I care about you," Luigi answered. Violet blushed as she stated, "Thank you, Weegie." Luigi was about to say something but teased her instead and replied, while blushing, "Welcome, Vi." And that"s when the nickname stuck as well the name Violet Ice. Madame Clairvoya returned the hat back to Luigi and cryptically said, "She"ll be okay but focus on your mission to save your brother. His life is on the line, Violet"s is not...yet. You are Luigi James Manfredi and soon one day the world will know your name. For you will one day be the man in green and the hero of the sacred violet ice." AK1028: Violet"s gone, Luigi is all alone in a house filled with ghosts, Mario"s life is on the line... Can this get anymore challenging? I better not give myself any ideas! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box! Violet groaned as her eyes twitched, her head pounding like crazy. She sat up and saw a bunch of yawn in front of her. Violet looked up and saw a ghost there, knitting. Violet screamed in horror as she stumbled away from the ghost. The ghost was an old woman and she had pale blue ghostly aura, gray hair, wearing a purple dress, and a red sweater. The ghost looked at her and seemed surprised. The ghost questioned, "Well, what do we have here?" Violet stammered, "W-who are you?" She answered, "My name is Nana, deary. Those Grabbing Ghosts brought you here to Area 3 to keep me company...how sweet." Violet stumbled to her feet and swore, "Damn it, I"m in Area 3?!" Nana scolded, "Don"t start swearing, young lady. A pretty thing like you shouldn"t swear." Violet looked at Nana and got a good look at the older lady ghost. Even though she was truly terrified of ghosts, Nana seemed to be different. She had not yet attacked Violet and Nana reminded her of her grandmother back in Chicago. Violet looked up at Nana, curiously. She asked, "Nana, what happened to all of you ghosts here in the mansion?" Nana perked up and answered, "Oh my, that is a first to have a human to ask me such a question." Violet stated, "I don"t want to go further in Area 3 without my boyfriend. Luigi will get here sooner or later so I would like to know..." Nana got out a scarf, started to knit, and replied, "Well, deary. I was the first to go, being so old and such. But the others have darker tales to tell..." Meanwhile, back in Area 2, Luigi was thinking over what Madame Clairvoya had told him. Granted, he never thought he would be separated from Violet or for his brother"s life to be on the line but that was the situation thus far. He took in a scared and nervous breath, clutching Violet"s hat in his hand. Luigi knew what he had to do...capture the portrait ghosts, get the Boos, find Violet, and save Mario. With the new fire medal on him, Luigi went on his way. He caught the Boo in the Mirror Room: Kung Boo, lit some candles, got the next key, and went out into the long hallway yet again. Luigi lit the floating candelabra and the butler, Shivers, appeared. Upon seeing the fire, he started to flee towards his room with Luigi following. Shivers had a sky blue ghostly aura, dark blue hair, green pupils, and wearing a blue and white tux with a red bowtie on it. After capturing Shivers, Luigi got the key in the treasure chest. He also caught the Boo: PeekaBoo in the same room and then he found a Hidden Room with a whole bunch of treasure plus the Boo: GumBoo. Luigi went into the Laundry Room and found Mario"s hat. He gasped as this was the first item that belonged to his brother. He had also caught the Boo: Boogie in the same room. Luigi down the long hallway again, hating the fact that he was all alone with no one to talk to. Luigi was really worried about Violet and Mario... In the Fortune-teller"s Room, Luigi gave Madame Clairvoya Mario"s hat. The fortune-teller ghost examined the hat and told Luigi that Mario was still alive but that"s all she could sense. The green clad ghost hunter groaned as Madame Clairvoya looked at Luigi. She reassured, "Violet is alright. Mario is still alive. You still have time." Luigi stated, "Boy, I hope so..." Madame Clairvoya replied, "I know so." The green clad ghost hunter went back to the Ballroom, dreaming and practicing to dance with Violet as he caught Boo La La. Luigi went into the long hallway and entered the Conservatory. The Conservatory was filled with musical instruments and a giant piano. As he looked around, he played a melody on the harp, trying to help him with his breaking heart. He started to cry as he started to sing: Heart beats fastColors and promisesHow to be brave?How can I love when I"m afraid to fallBut watching you stand alone?All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow One step closer Luigi"s tears entered his eyes more as he continued to sing, not noticing that the other musical instruments started to play too. The green clad ghost hunter was scared and worried about Violet, his heart breaking. This described his relationship with Violet perfectly as he continued to sing: [Chorus:]I have died everyday waiting for youDarling don"t be afraid I have loved youFor a thousand yearsI"ll love you for a thousand more Suddenly, the piano started to play mysteriously as Luigi saw a female ghost sitting there. She had blue ghost aura, long blonde hair, silver pupils, and wearing a red-pinkish dress. Luigi didn"t dare to check her with his Game Boy Horror as he knew that she was friendly. So, he sang: Time stands stillBeauty in all she isI will be braveI will not let anything take awayWhat"s standing in front of meEvery breathEvery hour has come to this One step closer The female ghost smiled at Luigi, continuing to play the piano and allowing him to continue with his solo. Luigi smiled at her sadly as he thought, "Whoever she is, she"s sensing my heartbreak and my worry about Violet. I"m more worried about her than Malleo. Damn, I"m in love.' Luigi continued to sing: [Chorus:]I have died everyday waiting for youDarling don"t be afraid I have loved youFor a thousand yearsI"ll love you for a thousand more Luigi took out the Game Boy Horror as he checked over the female ghost. He saw that he name was Melody, the spectral beauty of music. Luigi smiled at her as he strummed more on the harp, making it sing. Melody smiled as she thought, "This Luigi really is in love...' Luigi continued to sing even more: And all along I believed I would find youTime has brought your heart to meI have loved you for a thousand yearsI"ll love you for a thousand more One step closerOne step closer Luigi"s voice was trembling with sadness as he struggled to finish the song. Melody encouraged him by waving him on. Luigi smiled at her and whispered a silent thank you to her. Melody smiled at him and whispered a silent your welcome to him. Luigi finished the song: [Chorus:]I have died everyday waiting for youDarling don"t be afraid I have loved youFor a thousand yearsI"ll love you for a thousand more And all along I believed I would find youTime has brought your heart to meI have loved you for a thousand yearsI"ll love you for a thousand more Melody finished the piano melody as she smiled. Luigi looked at her and she looked at him. She nodded, as if she accepted her fate. Luigi shook his head as he "hugged" Melody. Melody perked up as she "returned" the hug. Luigi whispered, "Melody, thank you for helping me." Melody whispered, "You"re welcome, Luigi." Luigi perked up as he asked, "How the hell did you know my name?" Melody answered, "The mansion walls aren"t that thick." Luigi smiled and stated, "You better get ready then. It"s time." Melody nodded as she backed away from Luigi and allowed herself to be caught by the green clad ghost hunter. Luigi was grateful to Melody for listening to his worrying and breaking heart. Melody was also grateful for singing with him so her music could have closer. -Song: "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri- AK1028: Aw, that was sweet. I love the way the song tied into Luigi and Violet"s relationship. I do like the Luigi/Melody friendship pieces but that"s about it. Please read and review! And always think outside of the box! Violet was still listening to Nana spin her tales about the ghosts in the mansion. Nana had told her that she was the mother to Neville and after she had passed on, due to old age, she watched over the family although she never finished her scarf. Nana stated, "After I had passed, everything started to crash in around poor Neville. It was like he was cursed." Violet questioned, "Just wondering here, was anyone named Boolossus involved with you guys?" Nana explained, "Only in our escape from the Gallery, my dear. He was never involved with our human lives." Violet asked, "Then what happened?" Nana answered, "Well, let me say that it was all because of love and a will. It all started with my son, Neville. He was 42 years old when he passed away and the poor thing assumed that Lydia was having an affair with Vincent Van Gore. But that wasn"t true, Lydia hated Vincent. Neville went to have his revenge, killing Vincent at the age of 59. Lydia was furious that Neville assumed such a thing and she eventually killed him. Things went downhill after that." Violet questioned, her eyes wide, "What do you mean, Nana?" Nana explained, "Lydia became the master of the mansion and had control. There were a few accidental deaths. Sir Weston who loved the cold in the Ice Room, never wanting to leave. He eventually got frozen over at the age of 30... Then there was Jarvis, the jar collector. He was Lydia"s crazy brother and he managed to die in his jars, at the age of 35. The poor thing was very delusional. Then Sue Pea was a sick 7 year old girl who died in her sleep." Violet"s eyes were still wide as she stated, "Well, that explains Neville and Vincent plus some of the others." Nana nodded as she replied, "Yes and there is more tragedy. Once, there was a toy maker that lived here and when he passed away, his spirit seemed to inhabit three clockwork soldiers. Even the sneaky butler Shivers, who was looking for Lydia"s will, passed away in a fire when he was trying to save Melody. Shiver was 72 while Melody was 26. Mr. Luggs, who was Melody"s uncle, got so depressed that he ate himself to death." Violet"s heart broke upon hearing that and whispered, "How awful..." Nana added, "Bogmire, the groundskeeper, died from all of the depression that he sensed in the mansion. Even Spooky had to be put down, being four years old in human years. The Floating Whirlindas, Rhonda specifically, was having heart problems. Ron gave her his heart but something went terribly wrong and both of them died. Miss Petunia was the runner up for the "Miss Ghost" title, since her skin was so ghostly. She died taking a shower, heart attack." Violet was in shock as she stammered, "A-and what happened after that?" Nana explained, rocking in her chair, "Biff Atlas, who was depressed over Melody"s death, worked out so much that he eventually passed away at the age of 29. Slim Backshot was playing pool constantly - so much so that he eventually passed away from playing the game. He was only 29. Uncle Grimmly, died of always being alone at the age of 45. And that left five people in the mansion: Lydia, Henry, Orville, Chauncey, and Madame Clairvoya." Violet asked, "What happened to them?" Nana answered, "After Lydia made out her will, Madame Clairvoya had a vision from 49 days in the future. She warned Lydia that if she did not change the will to where everyone got something, terrible things would happen to the children. On that day, Madame Clairvoya passed away. 49 days later, not heading her vision, Lydia discovered that Henry and Orville died playing a game of hide and seek, leaving her and Chauncey." Violet rolled her eyes and stated, "Yeah, I met Chauncey. He was a spoiled brat." Nana replied, "Well, you are about to find out why. Before Henry and Orville were discovered to be dead, Lydia did change the will to where Chauncey would get everything. When she discovered Henry and Orville, she killed herself from all of her guilt. Chauncey was left alone in the mansion, crying, until Madame Clairvoya"s vision of something happening to all of the children hit him too. He died crying, quieting the mansion forever." Violet gulped, shaking in fear from the story. Nana was rocking away in her rocking chair, knitting away. She asked, "Is the will still around here?" Nana perked up as she answered, "It might be somewhere in the mansion, I"m not sure. What on earth for?" Violet thought over Nana"s story and stated, "If your story is correct then the will would be in the Nursery! If the will was burned, would it give you all peace?" Nana replied, "Good heavens, it would! The curse would be broken and we would stay as portrait ghosts with no need of finding that damned will." Violet responded, "Allow me to go to Area 1 to find it." Nana thought this over and commented, "Alright but once you find it, bring it to me." Violet nodded as she stated, "You can count on me." Nana snapped her fingers as the Grabbing Ghosts took Violet back into Area 1. Violet told the Grabbing Ghosts to hide in the shadows so they wouldn"t have to worry about the light. The ghosts agreed as Violet entered the room she hated the most...the nursery.

Stacy laughed. Somehow, she knew that was coming and she wouldn"t change any thing. Sure she lost her oldest son in Edgar so long ago but these three filled her life. She loved them. She loved her life. And she wouldn"t trade it for anything else. -End of Flashback- Back on Earth, in London, a woman reflected on those events from so long ago. "That seemed like it was so long ago," said a female voice, with a strong English accent. She put down her tea cup that she had been sipping on and put it down on the table in front of her. Her name was Nacey Rose Cortex, the youngest daughter of the Cortex family. She was currently living in a small house that was a two story. On the first floor was the kitchen, living and dining rooms, and the closet. One the second floor were the bedrooms and the bathrooms. She got up from her chair, looking around her house. She had lived her for numerous years, right after leaving college. She entered the living room and looked at the pictures had collected over the years. One picture was of her (age 10), Neo (age 8), Jasmine (age 14), Stacy, and their father (Robert) after their grandfather"s passing. Robert looked a lot like the way Neo did currently, though Robert wasn"t bald. Grandfather Cortex had been a rather interesting sort, being the one that had enrolled Neo into the Academy of Evil when he was seven. The other picture was of her and boyfriend, Ivan Mcnite. Ivan and Nacey had been dating for about a year. That was until one night, the two had too much to drink and had sex (which resulted in Nacey having Nina). Though her and Ivan had tried to tie the knot, it didn"t happen because Ivan wasn"t ready to be a father and a husband. Nacey was a bit heartbroken about this and that"s when she took Nina to the island. Nacey would admit that it was a mistake leaving Nina with Neo (in fear that Ivan would come back someday). But she knew that Neo was being "evil" to protect himself and the little girl that they both loved. "I have to see her," Nacey finally said, choking at the baby picture of Nina, "I have to see my baby girl..." AK1028: That"s where we leave it for today folks. Hope this chapter made a bit of sense. Please read and review. And always think outside of the box. Resolved in seeing her little girl yet again, Nacey started to head for where her mother spent her days. In a retirement home. After going on a "skiing" vacation after their father died, Stacy Cortex was checked in. Despite her protests to Jasmine (who had to fly out from Chicago where she lived with her husband Anthony and daughter Darla), she had insisted that she saw Neo with an evolved bandicoot and two Pichu brothers. Nacey was the only one that believed her mother but sadly, she was not her mother"s power of attorney. Jasmine was. "You can"t do this," Nacey remembered saying. "I have no other choice," Jasmine replied, "She has lost her mind and is seeing things." "I knew I should"ve told her,' Nacey thought, regretting her past decisions. She finally arrived at the retirement home, going into the room of her mother. Stacy was there, looking quite unwell. "Mom," Nacey said, in a soft voice. Stacy had gray hair and wrinkles but she opened her brown eyes anyways. There, she saw Nacey. Her youngest daughter had grown quite a lot since the days of her youth. Granted, she had made a lot of mistakes like her siblings but that didn"t mean that she wasn"t trying to make up for them. Stacy greeted, "Nacey. Glad you came. You hadn"t changed." Nacey forced a smile as she pointed out, "Mom, I"ve always been the same." Stacy stated, "Even with that old outfit." Nacey looked down at herself, seeing her pink shirt, purple jeans, white shoes, pink hat, and a pink scarf. She looked over on the table and saw a picture of Jasmine, Anthony, and Darla. Jasmine still had her brown-blackish hair (although she did have some gray in her hair), brown eyes, wearing a yellow dress and yellow shoes. Anthony had brown hair, green eyes, wearing a blue suit, and blue shoes. Darla (who was about Nina"s current age) had short brown hair, brown eyes, wearing pink three piece suit, and purple shoes. She replied, "Sometimes the past is better than the present." Stacy smiled at this as she responded, "You are still the wise one." Nacey looked at her mom in disbelief as she started to tear up and confessed, "I was never the wise one, mom. Jasmine was always the wise one, being the oldest." Stacy sat up a bit in her hospital bed as she stated, "My dear, Jasmine is nowhere near as wise either." Nacey replied, "But that doesn"t mean I"m wise. I"ve done so much to hurt my family..." Stacy frowned and responded, "We have all done things to hurt our families. Neo decided to pursue your grandfather"s silly dream to take over the world. Now that didn"t happen, someone named Phoenix took over." Nacey pointed out, "For only a short time." Stacy ignored that, "Still, we all make mistakes. That"s why the old saying says: we"re only human." Nacey managed a smile and stated, "You always know how to make me feel better, mom." She paused and asked, "Didn"t you say that "skiing" vacation was on some mountain on an island west coast of Australia?" Stacy perked up at that and answered, "Yes but why?" Nacey stated, "Because it is real. That"s where I left Nina 16 years ago. And I think it"s time she met me." As she kissed her mother on the cheek, happier than she felt in years, she left the retirement home. She knew what she had to do. It was time to face the past. And that meant one thing...returning to N. Sanity Isle. Back in outer space, John and Pete had tagged team on the racing track against Geary and won. The two brothers were dancing happily as Crash, Cortex, and Nina were watching and laughing. Nina asked, sarcastically, "Think they are happy?" Crash answered, smiling, "Oh yeah." "Crash?" Crash spun around and saw Coco, Thunder, N. Gin, Crunch, and Crystal. He gushed, "Sis!" With that, he ran over and hugged her tight. Coco laughed as she returned it, more than happy to see her brother. Cortex sighed a bit, remembering his own sister, as N. Gin approached him rather nervously. Cortex was a bit surprised. What was he doing? N. Gin commented, "Uh...Neo... We heard what happened with Krunk." Cortex asked, "You did? How?" N. Gin answered, "Nash told me when I raced him." Cortex coldly stated, "Well, glad to know it caught your attention." N. Gin looked sad as he replied, "I know, I deserved that... We all do after the way we"ve been treating you. But from our perspective, it didn"t look good. I hope you can forgive us." Cortex smiled now and responded, "I can forgive you all, Nicholas, so long as you all forgive me." N. Gin was the one to smile now. That"s what he admired about Neo. He had a big heart. As Geary was cleaning all around them, they all heard Velo"s voice. "GEARY! You. Have. Failed. Me. Again!" Geary stammered, "My lord, I am so sorry..." Cortex whispered, "That sounds familiar..." Velo heard this as he went over to Cortex, holding his scepter in his hand. Cortex, at this point, looked nervous but saw that everyone was standing at the ready to fight. "Have they really all changed their minds about me,' he thought, still in a little bit of doubt. Velo stated, "If you have something to say, say it on the track." Cortex breathed, "Wait what?" Velo replied, "Yes. I choose YOU as my racing competition." Cortex blurted out, "No!" Crash put his hand on Cortex"s shoulder and stated, "You have to." Cortex stated, scared, "I can"t." Crash replied, "You must. It"s not in my hands this time around. It"s in yours." Cortex looked at his best friend and those around him who all smiled at him. Feeling better than he did in years, he nodded as he turned to Velo. He responded, "I accept your challenge. I, Dr. Neo Periwinkle Cortex, shall be the one to race you, Emperor Velo the 27th." As the crowd erupted into a large uproar and applause for the race of the century; Cortex looked at Crash and thought, "I hope you know what you are doing.' AK1028: Well, this story might be a bit shorter than "Uprising Phoenix" but that doesn"t mean the madness will end here... Please read and review! And always think outside of the box! Velo tapped his scepter on the ground, opening the ground. As it opened, everyone saw a track. John looked down to where the track was and asked, "What is that?" Crash explained, "Hyper Spaceway. Racers start out in a room underneath Velo"s Citadel, then they go through a warp hole and end up at a different angle underneath the Citadel. They then go through another blue warp hole, twist around the track, and past speed bursts which are guarded by fire breathing statues. Then they fall down "steps", over lasers, through another blue warp hole, and through a figure eight onto a clear tube in space with electric barriers. Velo"s Citadel can be seen in the distance. The outside of the Citadel is Velo"s head and then the racers go through another warp hole, back underneath the citadel, and towards the finish line." Pete scratched his head and stated, "Sounds complicated." Coco replied, shivering, "Believe us, it is." As the team went down onto the track and into the pit area near the starting line; Crunch pulled up Cortex"s cart as he was getting on his helmet. Thunder was checking the tires with Violet and Crystal. Coco decided to help Cortex with his helmet, seeing how scared he was. Cortex said, shaking, "T-thanks Coco." Coco asked, "Why are you nervous?" Cortex answered, "First time that the world"s fate is on my shoulders." Crash decided to help his sister and stated, "You"ll be fine Cortex. Pete will be riding shotgun with you and your helmet has a built in walkie-talkie, in case you need to go to the pits. Plus, it will convert into a space helmet when and if you need it." Cortex forced a nervous smile and replied, "So used to you doing this." Crash snickered as he responded, "Yeah well, I can"t take all of the glory." Cortex was the one to chuckle on as John helped his baby brother with his Pichu sized helmet. John asked him, "You feeling alright, bro?" Pete answered, "Feeling great! I get to ride shotgun with Cortex!" John chuckled at his energy as he stated, "Well, your helmet works the same as Cortex"s. So if there"s any trouble, Crash and I will be able to hear it." Pete replied, "Great!" Cortex grabbed Crash and commented, "Listen to me, Crash. Whatever happens I want you to know and do something for me." Crash looked at Cortex like he was crazy and stated, "Why? You"ll do fine." Cortex replied, "I wanna make sure. So please if I can"t do it...I want you to take Nina to London to meet her mother." Crash"s eyes widened as he looked at Nina, who was helping N. Gin with the fuel. He turned to Cortex and questioned, "What is it that you want me to know?" Cortex answered, "That you, Crash Bandicoot, are the best creation I ever created. You became a better man than the man who was a monster." Crash looked touched by that and just as he was about to say something, a voice caught their attention. "Racers, to the starting line please!" Cortex perked up as he went to his cart, leaving a stunned Crash behind. He couldn"t believe what Cortex had just told him. Cortex got into his cart as did Pete. The two of them strapped in as Crunch and N. Gin pushed them to the starting line. N. Gin gave Cortex a thumbs up as he returned back to the sidelines. Cortex returned it and then put both hands on the steering wheel, his right foot pressing on the gas pedal lightly. His cart gave out a vroom sound as everyone looked ready to watch the race. Pete yelled to Cortex, "You ready?" Cortex yelled, "Not really! But I have no other choice!" The same voice from before roared, "This race between Emperor Velo the 27th versus Dr. Neo Periwinkle Cortex and Peter Jonah Pichu is about to begin. Gentlemen, on your mark." Both Velo and Cortex"s carts were on the mark for the start of the race. The voice added, "Get set." The carts engines roared to life more as both racers stepped on the gas lightly. He stated, booming, "GO!" With that, Velo took off first with Cortex not too far behind. Everyone in the pit areas cheered as they knew that Velo always got a head start, no matter what anyone did to prevent that. Cortex turned with good powering, he was in the intermediate class after all. Velo smirked as he got out a few TNT crates and threw them. Pete yelled, "Incoming!" Cortex commanded, "Quick, use Shock Wave!" Pete gathered up must electricity as he could as he fired the Shock Wave, destorying the TNT crates instantly. As the explosion was above their heads, Velo laughed at the display and got a little bit ahead of them. John looked on Coc"s laptop, which had a camera feed of the race taking place. John stated, "That was a dirty trick!" Crash replied, "Sadly, anything goes in this race. There"s not much Cortex or Pete can do." Aku-Aku offered, "Perhaps I sholuld give them a fighting chance." Coco responded, "Only if needed, we need protection here as well." Rika-Rika told Aku-Aku, "She"s right, we need to help them stay alive here." Aku-Aku only nodded, knowing that they were right. As Cortex was starting to catch up to Velo, the alien emperor brought out a bomb and rolled it towards them. Cortex commanded, reacting quickly, "Pete, Iron Tail!" Pete stated, "Right!" With that, the youngest Pichu unbuckled his seat belt as he jumped out of the cart and used the Steel type move on the bomb. It didn"t destroy it but it rolled it off course and down the space below the track, exploding safely. Everyone in the pits breathed a short sigh of relief. This track was bad enough as it was, they didn"t need Cortex being knocked off of the track. Pete got back into the cart, buckling himself back in. Cortex commented, "Nice work!" Pete replied, "Good call!" Cortex smiled as he started to floor it, a little behind Velo, who was still in first place. Cortex knew that he had to do something if he was ever going to take first place. Crash yelled through the walkie-talkie, "Cortex, hard right! Hard right!" Baffled by what was happening, Cortex started to do a hard right, forcing the car into a beautiful skid. Pete was shouting as a huge boulder was in the way of the path. Luckily, Cortex served just in time to miss it and get on the left path. As he did, everyone in the pits was stunned. John blurted out, "Where"d that rock come from?!" Coco answered, "The track is either unstable or...that was an asteroid!" Cortex asked, "Crash, what do I do?" Crash thought for a minute and answered, "You have to finish the race. There"s no other option. Velo has to be defeated here and now." Cortex started to protest, "But..." Crash interrupted, "No butts! You have to do this. It"s on you, Cortex...Neo... I"m counting on you to take us to victory..." AK1028: And there we go guys. An exciting start to the race! Who will take home the victory? There"s only one way of finding out! You stayed tuned! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box! Velo went across the start/finish line, entering his second lap. Cortex and Pete did the same, after a quick pit stop. "Then it is up to us to stop Velo," Cortex remembered telling everyone while they were in the pits. Cortex had mostly caught up to Velo, now behind him again. Pete, being his co-pilot, was ready for anything to happen. Velo snarled as he brought out a missile and threw it at them. Cortex and Pete both screamed. Cortex quickly brought out his plasma blaster, shooting the missile with it as Pete took the wheel. Cortex aimed a few shots at Velo, none of them hitting. Pete stated, "He"s too fast, we need a boost!" Cortex replied, "Yes, I know and I have an idea." Pete questioned, "What is it?" Cortex answered, "Aim your Discharge at the back of our cart." Pete nodded as he sparked his cheeks, firing the Discharge at the back of the cart. The cart took off like a shot, accelerating a lot faster. The two of them even past Velo. Velo hissed, "No!" Cortex cheered as he took the hard right, getting by the asteroid. Pete cheered, all hyper but Velo was right behind them. Pete stated, "He"s gaining! We can"t risk the pits!" Suddenly, Velo got another misslie and aimed it at their back tire. Cortex and Pete both yelped as the tire instantly went flat. Cortex replied, "I fear we have no choice but I"ve got an idea. Use Spark on Velo or his cart. Slow him down!" Pete nodded as he unbuckled himself yet again, standing on Cortex"s spoiler. He sparked his cheeks as he launched Spark. Velo screamed as the Electric type move short circuit his cart, stopping him. Cortex pulled into the pits as Coco instantly fixed the tires and the flat. Velo struggled along, paralyzed. Cortex quickly pulled out of the pits, going into his final lap. Velo snapped out of being paralyzed as he snarled and went after the duo. Crash stated in the radio, "Velo"s not giving up, Cortex. He"s right behind you. You have to do another Shock Wave." Cortex replied, "No, I"m not risking Pete to do that again. Besides, I want us to do this. Just Pete and me. I"m following my gut." Crash responded, "Yeah but not your brain!" Cortex told him, "That"s what got us into trouble in the first place. That brain of mine. If I hadn"t expressed an interest in science to my dying evil grandfather...we would have never met... We would have never been..." That"s when Crash heard Pete yelling, "Cortex, look out!" Cortex screamed as the radio and the camera feed went dead. Crash blurted out, "Coco, what happened?! We lost them!" Coco typed furiously on her laptop as she stated, "I don"t know. Something happened. Something bad..." John instantly got worried and replied, "Crash, we got to get out there! My brother needs me!" Crash was hesitant. On the one hand, he wanted to get on the track to see what happened to Cortex and Pete. And on the other... "Crash...? John...?" Crash perked up, recognizing Pete"s voice. He asked, "Yeah, Pete, we"re here. What happened? Where are you and Cortex?" Pete answered, "We just got past the asteroid. Velo tried to choke Cortex!" John blurted out, "What?! How"d he get that close?!" Crash added, "And is Cortex okay?" As static came in again, Crash"s heart pounded in his chest. Was Cortex alright? "Crash..." That"s when Crash let out a breath that he didn"t know that he was holding. That was Cortex. Crash replied, smiling, "Yeah, I"m here..." Cortex responded, "Man, he got really close to my neck! If it wasn"t for Pete, it would have been bad." John stated, "That"s a relief..." Pete told him, "Yeah, you ain"t kidding!" Crash asked, "What place are you in? Coco lost the feed." Cortex answered, "Barely in 1st." John stated, "Come on, get away from him!" Pete replied, "We"re trying!" And this was the truth. On the track, Velo was getting closer to the cart again. "Not this time,' Cortex thought. He ordered, "Pete, Thunderbolt!" Pete nodded as he sparked his cheeks and fired Thunderbolt straight at Velo. Velo felt that, being forced back from them. Cortex managed to cross the finish line first with Velo right behind. Everyone in the pits celebrated as the track and the planet started to collapse. Thunder asked, "What"s happening?" Crystal answered, "I d-don"t know." Violet whimpered, "I scawed!" Rika-Rika questioned, "Coco?" Coco was already on her laptop as she told the mask, "Working on it!" Velo saw this and snarled. -Flashback- Velo was still sitting with the master of time and space, sitting at some tea of some sorts. Velo had just agreed to help Uka-Uka with the Crash Bandicoot problem. He commented, "There is ONE problem." N. Tropy looked up as Velo added, "If Hyper Spaceway is at all used, it will be the end of Kobold." N. Tropy seemed to have smiled as he stated, "Relax, friend. I will make sure that Kobold will not fall." Velo only nodded, going back to his tea. -End of Flashback- Velo pulled into the pits as he got his scepter and ran towards his people. Everyone saw this and started to follow, puzzled. Velo got to his people, some of which were trying to escape the decaying planet. Velo waved his scepter, creating a rainbow energy and teleporting his subjects away from Kobold. Velo turned and saw Crash and his team behind him. Velo quickly waved his scepter again, this time it produced a strong red light. Thunder asked, covering his eyes, "What"s happening?" Crystal answered, "I don"t know!" Violet yelled, "Big bwo... Big sis... I scawed!" Rika-Rika stated, "Hold on!" Cortex tried to hang on as much as he could, his eyes covered. After awhile, he blacked out. AK1028: Well that"s not good. Not good at all. What will happen to our heroes? There"s only one way to find out. You stay tuned! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box! "Neo. Neo... Neo!" The short yellow little bald man groaned, slowly opening his eyes. When his vision cleared, in front of him was Nacey herself. Cortex bolted up in surprise. "Nance," he asked, stunned. "Neo, thank God you"re okay," Nacey answered, hugging her younger brother. Cortex was so stunned since he hadn"t had a hug from his sister in the longest time. He relaxed and hugged her back. But that"s when he felt something a bit...odd. He pulled back and looked at his hands. He wasn"t wearing his gloves. All he saw was the yellow skin he had. He looked down at himself as he was wearing an old fashion brown suit, a white undershirt, a brown tie, and brown loafers. He looked in the mirror and saw that the "N" on his forehead was gone. Like it never existed.

Luigi nodded as King Boo came floating out, dazed. Using his method when dealing with all the other Boos, Luigi began to drain King Boo"s energy with the Poltergust 3000. As was expected, King Boo had a lot of energy but Luigi gritted his teeth with determination and kept the ghostly monarch within the vacuuming path. Just then, Bowser"s glaring head floated upwards and began shooting balls of ice at him. Violet threw up an ice shield to protect him but one chunk of ice hit Luigi sending an almost paralyzing wave of coldness through his body. Clearly, King Boo had thought this one through. As a result, Luigi could not drain all of King Boo"s energy in one fell swoop and the ghostly monarch retreated back into the safety of the machine"s body. King Boo hissed with the mega"s voice, "Don"t think you two can best me just like that! Remember, I am a King amongst Boos! A lord of ghosts! As a ghost, I am more powerful than a mere mortal like yourselves. And ghosts... don"t... DIE!" AK1028: Things are getting scary, that"s for sure! Can Violet and Luigi stop finally King Boo? Will they save Mario in time? Find out in the next chapter! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box! Violet panted as did Luigi, they were scared by King Boo"s threat. But Luigi was not letting up, not for a second. Violet gave him a look of confidence, as they nodded to each other. They were not going to let Mario down, not after all of this. They both came too far to give up now. They both vowed, "We"ll see about that!" With that, Luigi and Violet avoided Bowser"s attempt of crushing them. Luigi picked up another one of the iron balls that King Boo obviously hoped to injure or even kill them with. If it was able to do so, Mecha Bowser"s eyes would have widened as Luigi launched his next attack, straight into its open mouth, forcing King Boo back into the open. Violet smirked as she created another ice shield around her boyfriend from the ice blasts. King Boo howled, "No! It shall not end this way! It won"t end this way!" Mecha Bowser"s head wasn"t doing enough to protect him he thought since the green clad ghost hunter seemed to have worked out its attack patterns by now. The drain on his energy was startlingly fast. It was humiliating, succumbing to the power of a house-cleaning device wielded by none other than a lowly plumber and an ice wielding woman! Had all his Boos felt this way, defeated by a being obviously lesser than themselves? King Boo tore himself from Luigi"s grasp once again and fled into Mecha Bowser"s innards. Violet cursed under her breath as did Luigi. Mecha Bowser had put its head on backwards and began charging in all random directions, crushing all in its path. Its tail swung at Luigi and Violet from nowhere, slamming into him body and flinging them onto the hard surface. Violet got up from the cold surface and discovered she was bleeding pretty badly. Luigi picked himself up unsteadily and pressed a hand against where blood started seeping through his overalls again. He realized that one of Bowser"s spikes must have dug into him and he was lucky for it not to have penetrated any further. Violet ran over to him, worried. She asked, "Weegie, are you okay?" He nodded as he answered, "I"m fine, Vi. But I"m not going to be defeated now. No way! No chance! This ends here, King Boo!" King Boo snapped, "It only ends when I say! And this shall end when I place you two on the wall! You all shall have the honor of residing on my mansion walls for all eternity as the true meaning of your failure. You all will be forgotten. Your very names shall be reviled by every person living. You"ll know of all the evil and darkness out there and you"ll know that there is nothing, absolutely nothing that you can do about it. I shall make sure of that." Luigi said softly, "No." Violet added, even as the fires left behind by Mecha Bowser blazed behind them, "You"re wrong, King Boo. You"re wrong." King Boo screamed, or rather, Mecha Bowser let off a ferocious roar that nearly deafened Luigi and Violet. It stormed forwards, claws outstretched, threatening to rip into its long-time foe. Luigi pushed Violet out of the way and hissed when one claw found its mark, slicing into his shoulder. In the back of his mind, he could hear Mario"s cry of concern (because of their twin telepathy) and he could hear Violet screaming out in total horror. Mecha Bowser had his claws outstretched again as the another claw found its mark, slicing into Violet"s shoulder. She screamed in pain and as Luigi was trying to ignore his pain, Luigi never felt so guilty. Violet was hurt because of him. Luigi pulled up his Poltergust 3000 with a fire lite in his spirit as he grimaced in pain. The green clad ghost hunter kept the nozzle at a steady level. He just needed one more chance to finish King Boo off for good. All of the pillars had crumbled now. Luigi grabbed Violet and quickly increased the distance between themselves and Mecha Bowser as it threw another barrage of red-hot iron balls. Realizing what Luigi was about to do and cursing himself for his atrocious error; King Boo forced Mecha Bowser into a forwards charge. Luigi stood his ground, keeping Violet hidden and waited for the right moment. Luigi"s eyes narrowed with determination. King Boo suddenly realized that his momentum in his lumbering Bowser suit meant that he couldn"t suddenly turn to the side to avoid the iron ball retaliation. He yelled as Mecha Bowser"s head was blasted off and was immediately caught in the Poltergust 3000"s powerful suction. He struggled wildly against it but Luigi struggled even harder if that was possible. The look that King Boo gave Luigi was one of pure hatred. Violet saw this and shivered. Before any of them knew what was happening, King Boo was sucked down into the bowels of the machine without even the opportunity to curse Luigi for his actions. His crown clinked heavily as it fell to the ground. Luigi sank to his knees and panted for breath. Both Mecha Bowser"s head and body collapsed onto the ground with a resounding thud. Luigi noticed the shining crown beside him and picked it up, staring into its depths. Luigi whispered, bleeding, "See, King Boo? Did you think I was just going to give up? Did you think our other wins were just luck? Maybe they were but we somehow got through them. I was scared to death but so was Violet. But we still carried on. No matter how terrified we were, we still carried on because we wanted to save Mario. Mario would do the same for me. And there was no chance that I was going to give up on my brother, King Boo. Never..." Luigi winced as he stood up and held his throbbing head. He ran over to Violet as she looked at him with pure love and admiration. She was bleeding pretty badly but she was always there for Luigi. He kissed her softly as a flash of bright light surrounded them. When the light was gone, the couple broke out of their kiss and were surprised to find themselves back in the Secret Altar. And there, on the wall, was Mario"s painting. Violet was in awe. She breathed, "Mario..." Suddenly, the Game Boy Horror rang, making the couple flinchost or when something had happened to forestall Luigi such as when the lighting went out. He saw Elvin jumping about excitedly as he answered his handheld device. Elvin laughed jovially and commented, "Luigi! Violet! You two did it! Truly remarkable! I supplied the Poltergust 3000 but you ran with it all the way to the top, sonny! You made me so..." Elvin sniffed and finished, "Proud!" Luigi and Violet could not help but grin as Elvin told himself to get a grip. Violet informed the good professor about their battle with King Boo and how they jumped into a painting of Bowser. Luigi hoped that the real Bowser would forestall his usual kidnapping of Peach for a good while yet and at least give him and his girlfriend some time to recover from the whole event. Violet commented, "Doubt he will..." Elvin remarked, "In all my years of ghost research, I"ve never heard such a fantastical tale. And let me tell you two, that career has expanded an awfully long time. Why, I was still recall starting out as a young whelp who trembled at the mere thought of a ghost, TREMBLED I say!" Both Luigi and Violet yawned as Elvin began recollecting some old tale about ghosts or whatever and turned his attention to Mario who seemed to have fallen asleep. "He must have kept trying to escape,' Luigi thought, seeing signs that this was most certainly the case. Luigi breathed, "Vi, we did it..." Violet responded, "That we did, Weegie..." Elvin finished, "And that is why you should never approach a Slimer at its front. Oh, here I go again, an old man waffling on about things from years ago. Anyhoo, grab your brother"s painting and bring him to the lab!" Elvin then chuckled on seeing Mario asleep and added, "He must have collapsed with relief and exhaustion when he saw you two arrive. Anyway, I"ll get the machine set up and ready. I"ll be expecting you both!" Elvin then cut the connection leaving Luigi and Violet on their own. Feeling a huge sense of relief and somewhat unusually, pride, Luigi gently lifted Mario"s painting off the wall and tucked in under his spare arm. Violet grabbed his shoulder and pointed the Game Boy Horror at the mirror in the Secret Altar so they could simply transport themselves back to the Foyer. Luigi looked down at the painting, hugging it almost, wishing that it was Mario that he was hugging. Luigi mumbled, "We did it... See, bro? I got you. You"re safe now. We"re all safe now." Violet smiled at Luigi and whispered, "And Mario will be so proud of you. I know I am." The green clad plumber gave his girlfriend a smile before she pressed the button on the Game Boy Horror that allowed them to warp through the mirror and leave the Secret Altar behind for good. When the two of them got outside, Violet stopped Luigi. Luigi looked back at her. He questioned, "Gonna burn the will?" She nodded as she answered, "I did promise, after all and since Mario is now safe, I can." Luigi stated, "Do it." Violet took a torch from Danny and held up the will. The will instantly caught on fire and the words on it seemed to have wailed with a ghostly aura. Luigi shivered as Violet threw the will at the haunted mansion. The haunted mansion started to burn with the will and the Boo headquarters started to burn as well. Violet commented, "Let these spirits have the peace they so rightfully deserve, forever in their paintings." Luigi smiled at her as the two of them (along with the Toads), headed back to the Lab, letting the haunted mansion burn to the ground with the evil will and the cursed Boo headquarters. Somewhere in their paintings, Madame Clairvoya smiled as did Nana. It was finally over. AK1028: Yay, it is finally over! But there is still more to come! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box! Finally returning to Elvin"s lab, the ghost researcher quickly got to work. Elvin did not want to risk the chance of the ghosts somehow escaping, especially with King Boo in there. Luigi and Violet watched King Boo and his Mecha Bowser"s head get turned into a beautiful, striking canvas without expression. All they wanted to do was put this whole escapade behind them now. What they also wanted to do was rest their weary bodies to their heart"s content. Elvin mentioned as the machine was doing what it needed, "It"s quite amazing that you managed to do all of this in a single night. Even though you burned down the mansion with the will and headquarters, that treasure seems to be real. I"ve no interest in those baubles so you might as well keep it, use it however you like!" Violet responded, rubbing her eyes, "Sounds good to us." Luigi simply nodded in agreement since he didn"t have much interest in those baubles either so he decided to do what he and his brother normally did when they went on a long adventure together and accumulated a lot of cash and that was give most of it away. He was just glad to have his brother back more than anything. The Toads had a new respect for the couple when Luigi suddenly turned up clutching Mario"s painting in one arm and Violet was next to him. They would have pestered the two with all sorts of questions had the couple given them the chance; Violet had burned the will and let the mansion burn with it and the headquarters. Luigi presumed that they all went off to tell Peach the good news once they saw Mario with their own eyes. At least they now knew that he was capable of doing such things as rescuing his brother, as Mario would have done for him. Violet knew that he had in him the whole time. By now, Elvin had reversed the controls on his Ghost Portrificationizer and placed Mario"s frame at its very end. Luigi winced at his brother"s every yelp and cry as he was put through all sorts to turn him back to normal. Violet cringed, feeling bad for Luigi and for Mario. Elvin remarked, "It would have been worse being turned into a painting in the first place. Why, this is like a gentle scrubbing in a bathtub compared to that." Still protesting, Mario was suddenly taken up the pipe connecting the washing tank to the compartment that Luigi normally connected the Poltergust 3000 with and landed with a heavy thump. Violet came over to Luigi, who was by the machine. Violet called out, "Er...Mario?" Luigi called out, "Malleo?" Suddenly, the couple got their answer by way of Mario suddenly bursting out and crash-landing into Luigi and Violet with the machine"s frame hanging around his neck. Mario murmured, "Mamma mia..." The red clad hero was understandably disorientated by his ordeal. He tried to stand up and promptly fell backwards again. Luigi couldn"t help it, he started to laugh. He laughed with relief, he laughed at seeing Mario on the floor looking as if he had touched several Fuzzies, he laughed at seeing his big brother look so ridiculous with that frame around his head. Violet joined Luigi, all for the same reasons. She was relieved that it was over. Luigi and Violet also cried with relief at knowing Mario was safe and knowing, in the dark part of their minds, what the alternative would have been if Luigi and Violet had not managed to save him. Finally, Mario managed to pull himself together and got to his feet. Luigi then found himself being grabbed by Mario into a tight hug and winced at the sudden flash of pain that coursed through him. Mario whispered, "Luigi... I don"t know what to say other than...thank you. Thank you for coming to get me, little bro." Luigi murmured, "Heh...you would have done the same for me, Mario." The green clad plumber felt somewhat embarrassed considering that Elvin could hear them talking and was only pretending to be suddenly interested in the paintings that he had restored with the Portrificationizer. Violet was over by Elvin, letting Luigi have a few minutes alone with Mario. Mario grabbed her hand, gaining her attention. Mario pulled Violet into a tight hug as Violet tried not to hiss in pain. Mario quietly said to her, "Thank you for helping my brother, Violet. I appreciate that he has a good friend in you." Luigi was about to correct him but Violet shook her head, as she returned Mario"s hug. Violet softly stated, "Mario, I do anything for Luigi. He"s my boyfriend now and I will always be there for him." Mario softly smiled as Luigi watched them with a smile on his face. "Damn, I love her,' Luigi thought as Mario pulled him into his hug with Violet. Elvin smiled at the sight. The red clad plumber told them, "Luigi and Violet, what you did for me doesn"t make it any less significant. And I"ll admit it to you both...I was scared. I was scared about what would happen to you...what was happening to myself. That King Boo...I wouldn"t want to go through that again for the whole world. And I just thought about you and wished that...we went on more adventures together." Luigi replied, trying not to cry, "Well, bro. The next time you get a call for adventure, I"m coming too. And even if you forget, I"ll follow you. I"ll always be there for you. Just remember... We"re all here for you, bro. Always." Mario said, softly, "I"ll remember..." Violet smiled as she joked, "And if you ever do leave my boyfriend behind, I will personally kick your butt!" The threesome laughed as they all held each other, glad to be safe. Elvin announced whether they would like to stay for tea and rest before heading back home or to Princess Peach"s castle as was the likely option. Luigi couldn"t agree more to having some rest as did Violet. They did have to go through slapping on the bandages and plasters wherever they needed to go yet again but they didn"t dare tell Mario what happened while in the mansion. Luigi collapsed with sheer exhaustion and Violet did the same, landing right into her boyfriend"s arms. Mario recognized that something had changed in Luigi; he was stronger perhaps and more courageous than ever before. "He was being brave for me...and for Violet. I guess something"s changed with me too,' Mario thought as he tousled his brother"s hair. Mario sensed that there was some change in Violet too, even though he barely knew her. Mario glanced at King Boo"s painting which E. Gadd hadn"t had chance to put away yet and shivered. He wasn"t convinced that King Boo would be kept like that for as long as Mario, Luigi, and Violet lived. There was no doubt that King Boo was a powerful ghost and he could already be plotting on how to escape his painting prison and take revenge on the brothers, especially Luigi (and Violet), seeing how the two of them had humiliated him so. But...there was little point in worrying about that now. Luigi and Violet had been through hell to save him he gathered and King Boo was not about to terrorize them so soon, even if he freed himself the next day. Mario knew with more powerful certainty than before that he could count on his brother even if others were slow to come to the same conclusion. They counted on each other because their lives depended on it. And more than just that, they were family. Elvin came over to Mario and said, "They went through a lot to save you, you know." Mario turned around to him and stated, "I know. I never thought that Weegie had it in him. Violet I barely know but Luigi..." Elvin replied, "About Violet... She"s just like you and Luigi, sent here from Chicago." Mario"s eyes widen in surprise as he responded, "Wait, what? Seriously? Luigi never told me that!" Elvin commented, "Well, he didn"t want anyone to take Violet away so he kept her a secret, giving her the secret identity of Violet Ice." Mario repeated, "Violet Ice..." Elvin explained, "Her name is Violet Jasmine Calico and she was Luigi"s best friend coming into this. Allow me to tell you the story of what happened..." A few hours later, Violet groaned as she woke up. She saw that she was on the couch and Luigi was next to her, still asleep. The green clad plumber was bandaged up like she was yet he still held her in his arms. Violet smiled as she kissed her boyfriend"s forehead and slipped out of his arms. She went into the Gallery and saw Mario there. Violet was surprised. "Surely he would get some kind of sleep,' she thought. Violet went over to Mario. She asked, "Mario?" He turned around and saw Violet standing there. Mario greeted, "Hi, Violet." Violet questioned, "What are you doing here?" That"s when she saw that he was looking at King Boo"s portrait. She shivered as she added, "Course, you HAD to be near the creepy portrait." Mario whispered, "He did everything imaginable to torture me... He even created an illusion to make me think that the Boos severally hurt him...even to the point of death." Violet gasped as tears came to her eyes and spun around. She started to cry thinking that. Mario perked up as he hugged Violet from behind. Violet spun around to Mario as she sniffled. She stated, "I apologize, Mario." He replied, "It"s fine, Violet. He is your boyfriend and best friend. It"s reasonable." Violet responded, "Luigi was amazing in the mansion but that"s all I can tell you without him saying that I should tell you more." Mario sighed as he commented, "Elvin told me." Violet"s eyes widened as she questioned, "And?" Mario explained, "That brother of mine just blew me out of the water. Did all that really happen?" Violet nodded as she stated, "Yes, it did. He was amazing, your brother. Everyone underestimates his power but he is the man in green that will be forever in your shadow...even after all of this..." Mario breathed, "No, not Weegie..." Violet took Mario"s hands into hers and replied, "I will always be here for you two, just let me know." Mario smiled as he hugged Violet. Violet returned it, smiling. She loved Luigi and was glad that she was slowly getting to know Mario. "Perhaps there is a reason I"m here,' she thought. AK1028: Mario is safe but the story isn"t over yet! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box! A few days later, Mario started to head home to Mushroom Kingdom with Luigi right behind him. Luigi felt rather weird returning home - especially without Violet. But the princess requested the presence of the Manfredi brothers. Violet stayed with Elvin in Boo Woods and Luigi couldn"t help missing her. Mario turned to his baby brother, as Luigi was still badly hurt, and saw Luigi"s sad face. Mario smiled, he knew that Luigi was missing Violet.

He stated, "Agreed..." With that, the two of them tried the door on the right and entered the Observatory. Violet looked around and saw a telescope. Violet gushed, "I love looking at the beautiful stars!" Luigi blushed as he flirted, "They are not as beautiful as you." Hearing that, Violet blushed as she saw something shinny near the moon. When she looked through it, the roof and the telescope disappeared as comets fall near them. Luigi perked up at this as he vacuumed up the comet and filled it at the moon. The comet hit the moon, destroying it. Violet"s eyes widen. She joked, "I will never understand this universe"s logic..." Luigi laughed as he replied, "Neither will I." Violet and Luigi headed on the stardust path, where they grabbed Mario"s Star. Luigi hung onto each of his brother"s items, worried sick. Violet placed her hand on his shoulder and held him. Luigi gave her a small smile as they headed back to Madame Clairvoya. Luigi showed her the star as she started to chant. The house rumbled as Violet grabbed onto Luigi. Luigi held her close as Madame Clairvoya looked at the couple. Madame Clairvoya told them, "Ah, the spirits return to me! I see! I see! I see you dear Mario! This scene appears before me... Wh-what is this!? Bowser?!" Luigi and Violet both blurted out, "Bowser?!" Violet looked at Luigi and asked, "Didn"t you tell me that he was dead?!" Luigi nodded as he answered, "He"s supposed to be dead anyhow..." Madame Clairvoya stated, "How can this be?! I see the hideous form of Bowser! Is Bowser somewhere in this mansion? I cannot believe it... And yet I see it... I thought Mario had soundly defeated Bowser!" Violet replied, "You ain"t the only one!" Luigi was pacing around with this revelation, scared out of his mind. Was this really happening? Was he supposed to battle Bowser and King Boo?! Alone?! Granted, he had Violet to help him but he wasn"t letting her near Bowser if this was true. "I lost her once, I"m not losing her again,' Luigi thought. Madame Clairvoya added, "Has King Boo somehow revived Bowser? This could be horrible! Well, for you... ... Ugh, the powers leave me! The spirits depart! This is all I can show you. That was the last of my power. But I have given words to what the spirits have shown. So I can return to my painting satisfied. Send me there now, you vacuum-wielding rogue!" Luigi was still pacing around, completely ignoring Madame Clairvoya. He was still in shock. He blurted out, "Bowser is here! Bowser is freaking here! What the hell is this? Sarcasm? I hate this damned idea that Bowser is alive and well! At first I thought I was just going to face King Boo alone! I might be petrified of ghosts but I do anything for Malleo. But battling that demon! You have to be freaking kidding!" Violet went over to Luigi and hugged him tightly. Luigi slowly returned it as her ice powers made him shiver. However, Violet"s ice powers did calm Luigi down. She whispered, "It"ll be alright, as long we stick together." Luigi blushed as he turned to Madame Clairvoya and said, "Then get ready to be captured!" Madame Clairvoya commented, "Ah! Finally, I can return in peace to my painting... Sweet happiness in oils... I thank you... I thank you both..." With that, Luigi captured Madame Clairvoya easily as a treasure chest appeared in the room. Violet looked around in the room for the Boo with the Game Boy Horror and found it. Luigi quickly captured Booigi. Violet busted up laughing. Luigi shot her a look but she kept laughing. Luigi came over to Violet while she was still laughing. Luigi pressed his lips to hers and kissed Violet hard. Violet was about to return the kiss but Luigi broke it first. Luigi smiled and stated, "You had that coming." Violet giggled as she replied, "Guess so." The purple clad woman then opened the treasure chest, finding a key inside. Finding out that the new key went up to the third floor, Luigi and Violet headed upstairs, hand-in-hand. Violet unlocked the door as the two of them entered the Safari Room. After defeating the Water Elemental Ghosts and the Garbage Can Ghosts, they got another key and another Boo: Boolet. This time, Luigi was laughing up a storm while Violet stopped him with a kiss. After breaking the kiss; Luigi teased, "Was that payback?" Violet smirked as she answered, "Oh big time!" Luigi and Violet headed out of the Safari Room, towards the end of the hall. Violet unlocked the door as they entered the Balcony. That"s when the two of them saw the Boo radar going nuts. The green clad ghost hunter commented, "That can"t be good." The purple clad woman responded, "You think...?" As the two of them investigated the Balcony, they saw a circle of Boos. Luigi and Violet both shivered with fear as they approached the circle. One of the Boos said, "That scaredy-cat Luigi and Violet have made it this far..." Another Boo said, "Oh, we are so frightened!" A third Boo said, "I guess it"s our turn, then..." The forth Boo said, "Alright, Boos, let"s assume our real form... But first, let"s give them a little scare!" The circle Boos disappeared for a second and then went around the two of them. Both Luigi and Violet screamed in fear as the Boos flew up into the air. Luigi yelled, "Mamma mia!" Violet yelled, "You got to be kidding me!" It was rather dark on the Balcony where Luigi and Violet were. The Boos that was in the circle had joined together to form one extraordinarily large Boo, Boolossus, in fact, and it was speeding down towards him. Luigi and Violet were frozen in place and only managed to move at the last minute, narrowly avoiding the crushing weight of the Giant Boo that was now madly laughing at them. Boolosus laughed mockingly and stated, "Think you two can deal with us?! Puny, cowardly humans like you? Ha! You two are not fit to polish King Boo"s crown! You two are not even fit to hang on the wall next to Luigi"s brother! King Boo didn"t tell us if we were to bring you two back alive or not! Won"t it be nice to be reunited with Luigi"s brother again? It"s a shame you two won"t be alive to witness it!" Luigi snarled and yelled, "Threaten me all you want! You might be trying to scare me now but there"s no way I"m going to let you kill my girlfriend and me! And there"s no way I"m going to let Mario be imprisoned any longer!" Violet was impressed by Luigi"s bravery but Boolossus snickered. Hearing that snicker made Violet"s blood boil. She hissed, "You are such a bastard! First you curse this mansion and the people inside it! Then you go after our friend, Elvin! And now you are trying to kill us! You aren"t going to kill my boyfriend and me over revenge and a stupid will that we will destroy! Count on it!" Boolossus just screamed evilly and lunged forward with the intention of crushing Luigi and Violet"s very bones into the cold stone beneath. The green clad ghost hunter then caught the giant ghost in the Poltergust 3000"s suction. Luigi yelled, "Gotcha!" Violet yelled, "You can"t suck him up in that! It"s too dangerous! Use the statue and see if we can break him apart!" Luigi took Violet"s advice as he directed Boolossus to the frozen horn of the statue upon which Boolossus suddenly popped and split into all fifteen Boos. He saw that these Boos were somehow different to the ones he had encountered earlier so that the best method available to dispatch these ghosts was to make use of that Ice Medal as well as Violet"s powers to freeze those cackling spirits with. One of the Boos howled, "Why are you giving us such a cold reception?" Violet froze its nearest companion with a well-aimed ice shard before Luigi vacuumed up its chilled body. Luigi and Violet did not answer the Boo. Instead, they focussed all of their attention on taking out the Boos one by one. Violet was panting but she wasn"t going to give up, she had something to prove. Luigi also had something to prove as he gasped and panted for breath as well. Luigi muttered to himself, "I fight ghosts... I fight ghosts..." Violet gasped and yelled, "Weegie, look out!" The green clad ghost hunter spun around and saw that the Boos assembled themselves again with Boolossus showing off its extraordinarily large teeth. Luigi tried not to think about those crunching into his body and attempted to ignore those large, glowing devilish eyes. Violet was just as terrified, she was still afraid of ghosts. Luigi looked over at her as he clutched the Poltergust 3000. He mumbled, "I fight ghosts... Ghosts don"t scare me..." That was blatant lie of course but if he could convince himself of it for a short while, then perhaps they would win this battle almost completely unscathed, almost being the operative word for several of the Boos, when split up, had already launched their full-bodied assaults on them. The Boos attack them from every angle, making the two of them literally fight for their lives. Violet was bleeding pretty badly from the blows to her. Luigi was the same way as lightning continued to streak across the black sky and it now began to rain torrentially. Luigi and Violet were soon soaked to the skin although the Boos didn"t pay any attention to the tumultuous weather. Rather, they revelled in it and flitted to and from the two humans as if this was all rather a fun game. They wouldn"t have minded playing games like this more often since the look of terror on their faces was just so satisfying. A couple more of their companions were sucked up when they had been split up again but there were still plenty of Boos to deliver punishment unto the humans that had so foolishly wandered into their midst. One of them even sank its overly-large fangs into Luigi causing the hero to yelp in pain and slip into one of the puddles, causing another jolt of pain to run through him. Violet yelled, "Luigi!" She ran over to her boyfriend, getting hurt by the Boos along the way as they laughed gleefully at this spectacle and resumed their gigantic form. Both Luigi and Violet were down on the ground, badly hurt and bleeding. Boolossus laughed mockingly, even though he was a few Boos down. He yelled, "You two believe that you can defeat us?! Both of you are the most cowardly mortals we"ve ever seen! Don"t think that you two can escape. We"ll make sure that you two will suffer. Because even if you two do survive, Luigi"s brother certainly won"t. You"ll only ever see him again in your darkest, most terrifying dreams, and you"ll be begging for our mercy. And we don"t have mercy..." Luigi look over at Violet as she was bleeding pretty badly. She was really hurt, there was no way she could continue. Luigi let out a full-throated scream, greatly startling Boolossus, but less so than the piercing glare he gave it now. He ran forwards faster than it anticipated and it backed into the frozen unicorn statue only to be split into individual Boos again. The ferocity with which he tackled them now was astounding. Many of them were too afraid to tackle him and the ones that still had their courage had no way of landing their blows; the green clad ghost hunter simply dodged each one of them. Many of them did not even have time to squeal before Luigi deftly froze them and sent them packing to the Poltergust being utterly drenched, Luigi did not look washed-out and pathetic; rather, he looked even more ferocious because of it. Soon, Luigi had whittled down the group to just one remaining Boo. It looked just as tired as Luigi felt but that didn"t mean it was going to stop there and accept defeat. In fact, it managed to land several blows on Luigi, being quicker on its own than it was when in a large group. The Boo stated, "You can be quite strong when you want to be, can"t you? I bet His Majesty won"t be displeased in having a strong opponent. Haha! Even stronger than Mario, I guess! He went down so easily it wasn"t even funny. Well, maybe it was a little. Oh, alright, it was hilarious. You should have seen the look on his face. Scared to death practically and that was before we took him to that portrait machine. He almost looked...cowardly. Just like you." Violet was stunned by these words. Mario, thee Super Mario, was...scared...? She thought, "That"s impossible... Mario is NEVER scared, Luigi said so!' Speaking of Luigi, he had lunged forwards with the Poltergust 3000, unable to listen to anymore. He launched an ice ball and struck the Boo freezing its expression into that of a mocking grin. He vacuumed the last one up and wiped excess raindrops from his eyes. The green clad ghost hunter said, quietly, "Nobody messes with my bro or my girl and nobody messes with me either." He slung the nozzle of the Poltergust 3000 onto his back and look over at Violet. She was in shock from what had just happened. Luigi had just taken out Boolossus without blinking an eye. Both of them were bleeding pretty badly as they were soaked to the skin. Luigi ran over to her, worried. He kneeled down to her, looking into her emerald eyes. Violet stroked Luigi"s left cheek, seeing that there was a cut there from the ghosts. She breathed, "Weegie..." Luigi held Violet"s face in his gloved hands as he kissed her gently. Violet returned the kiss as the two of them made out softly in the rain. Luigi was the one to break the kiss as Violet retrieved the blue key that they needed to open the next door. Luigi felt faint but took Violet into his arms. She smiled at him. Luigi stated, "I might be hurt badly but we should keep moving, we lost too much time." Violet nodded in agreement as she replied, "Sounds good." However, the Game Boy Horror going off stopped them from going any further... AK1028: Wow, this battle scene was pretty awesome and I did use several ideas from "Brother, Where Are You?" by Star-Gamer. That fanfiction was awesome! And this helps the story along too! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box! Elvin"s face appeared on the Game Boy Horror and he - not only saw that Violet was indeed safe and sound - but that they two were severally hurt. The ghost researcher instantly got worried about them. He stated, "Violet, Luigi! Are you two okay?! You both look terrible!" Luigi reassured, smiling at Elvin, "Yeah, we"re fine! Just soaked to the skin!" Violet added, feeling her wet clothes tightening on her skin, "Quite literally!" Elvin commented, "Well, that white mist made me lose your signal for a bit! Come on back to the lab and I"ll make us some dinner!" Luigi and Violet were about to protest (since they agreed to go look for Mario more) but the rumble in their stomachs made them think otherwise. Violet blushed out of embarrassment as did Luigi. "Guess I was hungry after all,' Luigi thought, rubbing his stomach. Violet thought, worried, "Luigi looks like he hasn"t eaten since we got separated.' The green clad ghost hunter stated, "That sounds good, professor." The purple clad ice wielder replied, "Yeah but allow me to cook this time." With that, the two of them headed back to the lab, holding hands. As Elvin emptied out the Poltergust 3000, Luigi was covering up his injuries as Violet was cooking in the kitchen, finished covering her injuries. She was making a Chicago style pizza. Smelling the Italian dish from the bathroom made Luigi"s mouth water. Luigi stated, in Italian, "Oh, che odore così buono!" [1] Violet perked up as she recognized what Luigi was saying. She blushed modestly as she continued to cook. Finally, the pizza was finished as everyone sat down and started to eat. Elvin was the first to gasp with satisfaction. Elvin commented, "This pizza is really good!" Violet asked, "You think so?" Luigi nodded and answered, "Sì, Violet. Makes me think of Brooklyn and of Sicily." Violet got confused as she questioned, "I thought you were born and raised in Brooklyn?" Elvin looked confused as well and asked, "Wait, weren"t you and Mario born here?" Luigi chuckled as he answered, "Nope, we got sent here like Violet did. We were living in Brooklyn and ever summer, we go and visit our family in Sicily." Violet stated, "So that"s how you know your Italian so well!" Luigi replied, "Yes, Mario and I still speak it from time to time." Elvin looked at Violet and asked, "And you know Italian?" Violet shook her head as she answered, "Not a lot of it." Luigi smiled and stated, "Well, if you want, I could teach you after we save Malleo." Violet was the one to smile now as she replied, "I"d love that." After eating their pizza and getting some decent rest, Luigi and Violet went back into the mansion with the Area 4 key. The two of them went up to the Balcony and unlocked the door on the left hand side. But suddenly, lightning struck the mansion, making the lights go out. The Game Boy Horror went off as Violet answered it and there was Elvin. Elvin commented, "Criminy! What a calamity! The electricity has gone out! That lightning strike just now must"ve caused a blackout. I can"t see anything in this blasted darkness... The ghosts will have the run of the place in the dark! Be careful, you two!" With that, Elvin hung up. Violet looked over at Luigi. She asked, "Isn"t their a circuit breaker in the basement?" Luigi answered, "Yeah, why?" Before Violet could answer, ghosts started to appear. Luigi and Violet both started to run for the basement but Violet was lagging behind to use her icy wind, in a hope that it would freeze the ghosts following them. The green clad ghost hunter saw this and almost stopped for her. Violet shook her head. Violet commented, "Run, Luigi! Run!" Luigi was about to protest but knowing that Violet was right, he continued for the Wardrobe Room and caught Uncle Grimmly. Uncle Grimmly had the key to the basement to activate the circuit breakers, which Luigi managed to pick up. Luigi turned the power back on as another treasure chest appeared. The green clad ghost hunter opened it and there was a key. After capturing the Boo: Boo B. Hatch, Luigi heard some creaking on the stairs outside of the door. Luigi whispered, "Yikes!" With that, the green clad ghost hunter hid under the table. The door creaked open and standing there was Violet. She saw Luigi shivering under the table. Violet smiled. She commented, "You know, for a guy that just took Boolossus down on his own, you sure do get scared quickly." Luigi looked up and saw her, hitting his head on the table. He said, "Ouch!" Violet busted up laughing as Luigi approached her, rubbing his head. Luigi eventually pressed his lips up against Violet"s a bit roughly and pinned her to the doorway. Violet"s eyes widened with surprise as Luigi started French kissing her. Violet slowly returned it as she calmed down a good bit, letting Luigi come closer to her. Luigi enjoyed having a bit of dominance over her, even though he was just trying to get her to stop laughing. Eventually; after being like that for a bit, (they didn"t want to go overboard just yet), they broke the kiss and looked at each other - love struck. Violet was the first to speak. She stammered, "G-guess I had that coming..." He stammered, "Y-you did..." Luigi allowed Violet to get off of the doorway as the two of them unlocked the next door and headed into the Cellar. It was a typical room: dealing with the Purple Punchers, getting the key, and grabbing the Boo: Booripedes. They went back upstairs and into the attic, going into the Telephone Room. After dealing with the ghosts in there, the two of them were rewarded with treasure and grabbing the Boo: Boomerang. The purple clad woman unlocked the door connecting to the Telephone Room: the Clockwork Room with Luigi following behind her and holding her hand. It was there that they saw the clockwork soldiers. Violet cursed under her breath, "Damn it, Nana mentioned these!" Luigi yelled, "Time to use your ice powers, I need some help!" As Luigi was saying that, he was trying to suck up the pink solider, having a rough time of it. Violet quickly focused her powers, causing an icy wind to blow in, freezing the soldiers over. However, she froze Luigi a bit in the process. Violet blushed out of embarrassment. She apologized, "Sorry, Weegie..." Luigi managed to shake off the snow and sucked up the soldiers. Luigi turned to her and smiled. He stated, "It"s alright, Vi." Violet, with the Game Boy Horror in hand, pointed out the Boo: Booscaster. She groaned at the pun as did Luigi but he managed to capture it anyhow. With that, the two of them entered the elevator that was in the model house and went up to the roof. Italian Translate: [1]: Oh, that smells so good! AK1028: And with that, we end chapter 13! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box! Luigi and Violet finally made it to the roof of the haunter mansion as the cold night air got to them both. Luigi hugged Violet"s shoulders, making her blush. After taking out the Shy Guy Ghosts and the Ice Elemental Ghosts, the two sat at the fire for a bit. They had gotten the key from the treasure chest on the left chimney. The two of them were going to investigate the right chimney next. The green clad ghost hunter mumbled, "The man in green..." The purple clad woman replied, "Pardon?" Luigi looked at her and stated, "That"s what Madame Clairvoya called me once while you were in Area 3 with Nana. She called me the man in green."

Von Clutch gaped and said, "Ah! That"s a scary planet!" N. Gin asked, "But how are we going to get there?" Nina answered, "Didn"t you tell me that you were transported there..." Violet questioned, "Twanpowted?" Cortex responded, "It means that Velo was the one that sent us there." Rika-Rika replied, "I think we could transport ourselves there." She paused as she asked, "Pasadena, VC, can you watch Violet for us?" Pasadena responded, "Sure, it"ll be fun!" Von Clutch added, "And we can play a lot of mini games!" Violet cheered as she ran over to the mutant possum. Pasadena picked up the three year old girl, smiling. Crash smiled at them as Rika-Rika transported them to Kobold. -Flashback: "Crash Nitro Kart"- On Earth, Crash Bandicoot is asleep while Coco and Crunch work on Crash"s car (although Crunch was working out while Aku-Aku was watching). Crunch commented, "That diet is a joke." Aku-Aku stated, "Well, I have heard that you can loose a lot of weight on it." Crunch replied, "But you can"t keep it off. Just eat less and exercise more." Just then, a white light came through the window. The three of them saw this. Aku-Aku told them, "Something"s wrong. That"s not sunlight." Upstairs, the light shined on Crash. Crash shielded his eyes until he got out his sunglasses and put them on. That"s when the house was brought up to space. Meanwhile, Cortex, paces across his laboratory floor with Tiny playing checkers. Cortex grumbled, "Oh, how am I going to defeat those wretched Bandicoots...?" He paused and added, "And conquer the world, of course!" Tiny yelled, throwing his checker board, "Bandicoots! I can squash Bandicoots." Cortex sighed, "Yes, I know Tiny but you failed so many, many, many times..." He paused as he stated, "Tiny, go see if N. Gin requires assistance." Tiny stood up, saluted Cortex, and ran into another part of the castle. There was N. Gin and Dingodile, working on a cart. N. Gin told Dingodile, "Dingodile, throw the switch!" Dingodile nodded and was about to do that until Tiny busted in, flattening Dingodile with the door. That"s when the same white light started to come in. N. Gin instantly got annoyed. He yelled at Tiny, "Hey! What did you break now?!" Cortex saw the light and gasped as the tower was brought up into space. Crash took off his sunglasses when he heard something outside. He went to go investigate but the door broke as he did. That"s when he heard the roar of the crowd. "What the,' he thought, "A stadium?' That"s when he looked up and saw stars. He wondered why it was night time but saw Coco and Crunch behind him. Crash waved but then saw Coco pale as she pointed behind him. Crash spun around and saw Cortex and his team. Tiny snorted as Crash waved awkwardly. Cortex started to say, "What have you done..." That"s when he was interrupted by a hologram of an alien head. He stated, "I am Emperor Velo XXVII, ruler of this galaxy!" As he said that, the crowd roared with applause and cheers. He added, "My subjects hunger for entertainment..." The crowd started to chant his name as he commented, "...and word of your racing prowess has reached my glorious empire." That"s when they saw Nitrous Oxide, Zim, Zam, N. Trance, Pura, and Dingodile. He threatened, "And I hope you put on a good show, especially since winning the circuit will win your freedom. And if, for some reason, you refuse to race, your Earth will be... destroyed." Everyone gapped at this as Velo finished, "But... I don"t think it will come to that. Do you accept my challenge?" -End of Flashback- Within seconds, our heroes arrived at Kobold. Velo came out of the shadows almost instantly. Velo commented, "I see that you finally decided to come." Crash hissed, "What are you doing with those ashes? What are you planning?" Cortex advised, "Easy, Crash." Coco added, coldly, "Yeah, you don"t want to turn into a Phoenix." Cortex shot her a look as Velo stated, "I am not going to tell you anything, Crash Bandicoot. But I will tell you once you defeat my circuit." Crash replied, hissing, "We already did that." Velo smirked evilly as he waved his scepter, which started to glow a rainbow light. Crash shielded his eyes and as soon as he reopened them, he saw that his team had changed. With him were: Cortex, John, Pete, and Nina. Thunder was with Crystal, Coco, Crunch, and N. Gin. That"s when they saw an improved Kronk, Nash, Norm, and Geary. Kronk was skinnier, Nash was muscular, Norm was a bit taller, and Geary was bigger in his gears. Velo stated, "Yes but not like this before." AK1028: Velo is back babies! Now I wanna play this game again! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box! "Is he freaking serious?!" Nina hissed, looking at her racing team. "I"m stuck with the squad that believes my uncle had nothing to do with the Phoenix thing?! Can I freaking change teams?!" Crash rolled his eyes, ignoring Nina"s rant. He wasn"t too thrilled having her along for the ride either but the Twin Sanity team was back. More or less. John stated, "Hey, would you take a chill pill? We aren"t exactly thrilled having you around either." Pete sighed as he looked at Cortex, who looked really sad. Sure the youngest Pichu was thrilled about racing with his best friends but it didn"t mean much if they weren"t having fun or working together like they always did as the Twin Sanity team. Nothing seemed quite right. Pete softly stated to Crash, "I just want things back to normal. Is that bad?" Crash gave the youngest Pichu brother a small smile as he stroked his fur and replied, "We all do, buddy. We all do." He looked out to where Cortex was sitting and asked, "Cortex?" Cortex didn"t bother to answer as the five of them were on Terra. N. Gin, Coco, Crunch, Thunder, and Crystal were on Barin. The short little yellow bald man was sitting thinking, wallowing in his own self pity. He whispered to the moon, "Nance...if you can hear me somehow...tell me what to do... Tell me what to do..." That"s when he started to cry, capturing the team"s attention. Nina asked, out of curiosity, "What does that supposed to mean? Is this "Nance" that he talks about?" Crash answered, not looking at her, "His sister and your mother." With that, he got up and went over to Cortex - ignoring the surprised Nina behind him as he told Cortex, "You know she can"t hear you." Everywhere I turn, I hurt someoneBut there"s nothing I can sayTo change the things I"ve doneI"d do anything within my power Cortex sniffled, "Liked to think she can. She was always good at that stuff. Always knew right and wrong..." Crash sat next to him and stated, "But you don"t." I"d give everything I"ve gotBut the path I seek is hiddenFrom me nowBrother Bear, I let you down Cortex wiped his eyes as he replied, "Let"s be honest here, Crash. It"s gonna be a cold day in hell before anyone believes me that I had no intention of killing or hurting anyone. Granted the Pokemon forgave me but..." Crash interrupted, "Yeah, I know. You want Nina to forgive you too." You trusted me, believed in meAnd I let you downOf all the things I hid from youI cannot hide the shame Cortex responded, "She is my only family right now..." Crash told him, with a smile, "No, she isn"t." Cortex returned the smile, though his was smaller than Crash"s. He finally sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. He finally stated, "Crash, I"m planning to go home." And I pray someone, something willCome, to take away the painThere"s no way out of this dark placeNo hope, no future Crash started to say, a bit puzzled, "Yeah, well, we all plan to go home after we win the..." Cortex interrupted, "I meant home. My home of London." There was a slight pause of silence between them as they looked at each other, the breeze lightly picking up. He added, "I was meaning to tell you this afternoon but this all happened." I know I can"t be freeBut I can"t see another wayI can"t face another day Crash breathed, "I can"t believe it..." Cortex replied, "I owe it to my sister. I owe it to my good family to repay the things I"ve done..." Without hesitation, Crash hugged Cortex. The bald little yellow man wasn"t expecting a hug but accepted nonetheless, mesmerizing the softness of Crash"s fur. Crash confessed, "I"ll miss you..." Cortex breathed, "I"ll miss you too. And Crash?" Crash looked at Cortex and asked, "Yes?" Cortex answered, "Beat Velo. You are the only one that can..." Crash"s heart fell at that. Never before had he seen his best friend so sad. But then again, with what had been happening, he couldn"t blame Cortex. He finally stated, "I shall do my best." Cortex smiled a bit as the two of them went over to their team and started the Terra races. The first track was Inferno Island with a tropical beach with a volcanic cave in the middle of the track...or it used to be. There instead was mostly volcano and practically no beach. John stated, "Well...this doesn"t look good..." Pete asked, "How are we supposed to win the circuit?" Nina answered, "With trickery, what else." Cortex scolded, "No. You are good now as is N. Gin. No tricks." Crash added, "Besides, it shouldn"t be that bad so long as one of us wins." The four teammates nodded as they knew that had to work together, much to Nina"s dismay. After getting all 3 trophies, (although they had some difficulty), they finally got to Krunk. Nina stepped up to face him. John asked, "You sure about this, Nin?" Nina answered, "Positive." Pete stated, "Then kick his butt!" Nina gave them a thumb up, ignoring her uncle as she drove out on the track. Midway through the race, Nina hit one of Krunk"s electro balls as he took the lead. Crash whispered, "Nina"s gonna lose if she doesn"t do something...but she"s flying blind out there!" Cortex grabbed the radio and said, "Nina, listen to me. I know you are mad and you have every right to be. But us stopping Velo and figuring out what Uka-Uka is up to is in your hands right now. Fight the shock and floor the gas." Nina managed to fight the shock and floored the gas, quickly getting herself out of danger. However, she was still behind Krunk. He added, "Alright, this is where it gets tricky. Fun but tricky. Extend your grappling arm towards the power up box." John asked Crash, "Can she do that?" Crash answered, "Hasn"t been against the rules yet." Nina did as she was told and got a rocket. Pete stated, "She got a rocket." Cortex commanded, "Keep it steady. Aim carefully and then fire." Nina nodded as she did just that, knocking Krunk off the track and Nina into first place...and the victory. While the team celebrated, Nina"s voice came over the radio. "Not bad...uncle," she stated. Just hearing that, Cortex"s heart skipped a beat. Was he earning back Nina"s trust...? "No Way Out" by Phil Collins AK1028: A rather long chapter but it needed to be done. Let me know guys! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box! After the race, our five heroes saw that they were on Tenkee. John looked around as did Pete. John stated, "Well, this place looks rather scary." Pete added, "In more ways than one." Nina looked at her uncle and asked, "So you had amnesia after all?" Cortex answered, "Yeah, which is why I didn"t recognize anyone." Crash stated, "But you knew how to battle us perfectly." Cortex replied, "That"s the one thing I never understood." John offered, "Perhaps Uka-Uka was controlling those features." Pete asked, "But why is he doing all of this?" Crash answered, "I don"t know but one thing is for sure, we will find out." Nina looked at her uncle and asked, "Can I talk to you?" Cortex answered, "Sure." He took her aside and asked, "What is it, Nin?" Nina questioned, "Crash said something that really made me feel awful. That "Nance" was your sister and my mom..." Cortex answered, with a question of his own, "What about it?" Nina sighed as she asked the question that had been burning on her tongue for the longest time, "Is my mother still alive?" Cortex smiled and answered, "Yes, your mother is still alive. She writes me every week, telling me how much she misses us." Nina"s heart pounded in her chest. There was so many questions she had about her mother and about her father. Why did her mother leave her here? What happened? Did she...love her? Finally, Cortex waved his hand in front of her face and asked, "Nina?" Nina answered, snapping out of her trance, "Sorry. I just...I have so many questions." Cortex stated, "And I know the woman that has the answers. That"s why I want you to come with me. Back home to London." Nina was shocked by this. Go to London? But this island was her home for as long as she could remember. She was a little nervous but she wasn"t going to let her uncle know that. No freaking way. She asked, "Wait, what? After what I did to you?" Cortex answered, "Nina, you only did what you thought in your heart was right. Much like I"ve been doing all of these years by working with Uka-Uka. I had to do what I thought was right. There"s not a moment that goes by that I regret my actions. I have to face my past in ordinary to make a future." Nina questioned, "What about N. Gin?" Cortex stated, "Nicholas can do what he wants. I know it"ll be a VERY long time before we"re friends again. I accept that." He paused as he looked at his nervous niece and said, "Something tells me that this has to do more with you than with Nicholas. You"re nervous aren"t you?" Nina asked, "Wouldn"t you be?" Cortex answered, "Petrified. But Nance is a good woman. She is, after all, my sister." Nina hugged Cortex, surprising him. He returned the hug, a bit awkwardly at first but relaxed into it. Crash watched this from afar and smiled at the sight. At least some good was coming out of this. -Flashback- A young Neo was outside in the changing leaves. The boy had recently turned 6 years old and right next to him was his 8 year old sister, Nacey, and their oldest sister, Jasmine, who was 12. The youngest Cortex sibling stepped jumped into a pile of leaves. He had the biggest smile on his face. He had messy black hair, brown eyes, wearing a long sleeved blue jacket, a white undershirt, black pants, and black shoes. Nacey looked at her younger sibling as she joined him, laughing. She had short brown hair, brown eyes, wearing a long sleeved pink jacket, a rose undershirt, lavender pants, and white shoes. Jasmine rolled her eyes. Being the oldest, she was quite tired of her older siblings being so energetic. She had long brown-blackish hair, brown eyes, wearing a long sleeved yellow jacket, a white undershirt, blue jeans, and yellow shoes. Their mother, Stacy Cortex, smiled at her two youngest children. "If only they could stay that way forever,' Stacy thought. Stacy was about 40 years old, with brown-blackish hair, brown eyes, wearing a long sleeved red jacket, a light red undershirt, dark red pants, and white shoes. Stacy commented, "Neo! Nacey! We have to get going to your grandfather"s place. Your father is there wait for us." Nacey and Neo pouted as the protested, "But mom..." Jasmine stated, "You two heard mom. We have to get going." With a pout, the two of them got out of leaves and rejoin their older sister. Stacy was relieved that Jasmine was so responsible with both Neo and Nacey, especially how hyper Neo got from time to time. Stacy said, "Thank you, Jasmine." Jasmine joked, "You can thank me by raising my allowance?" Stacy laughed. Somehow, she knew that was coming and she wouldn"t change any thing. Sure she lost her oldest son in Edgar so long ago but these three filled her life. She loved them. She loved her life. And she wouldn"t trade it for anything else. -End of Flashback- Back on Earth, in London, a woman reflected on those events from so long ago. "That seemed like it was so long ago," said a female voice, with a strong English accent. She put down her tea cup that she had been sipping on and put it down on the table in front of her. Her name was Nacey Rose Cortex, the youngest daughter of the Cortex family. She was currently living in a small house that was a two story. On the first floor was the kitchen, living and dining rooms, and the closet. One the second floor were the bedrooms and the bathrooms. She got up from her chair, looking around her house. She had lived her for numerous years, right after leaving college. She entered the living room and looked at the pictures had collected over the years. One picture was of her (age 10), Neo (age 8), Jasmine (age 14), Stacy, and their father (Robert) after their grandfather"s passing. Robert looked a lot like the way Neo did currently, though Robert wasn"t bald. Grandfather Cortex had been a rather interesting sort, being the one that had enrolled Neo into the Academy of Evil when he was seven. The other picture was of her and boyfriend, Ivan Mcnite. Ivan and Nacey had been dating for about a year. That was until one night, the two had too much to drink and had sex (which resulted in Nacey having Nina). Though her and Ivan had tried to tie the knot, it didn"t happen because Ivan wasn"t ready to be a father and a husband. Nacey was a bit heartbroken about this and that"s when she took Nina to the island. Nacey would admit that it was a mistake leaving Nina with Neo (in fear that Ivan would come back someday). But she knew that Neo was being "evil" to protect himself and the little girl that they both loved. "I have to see her," Nacey finally said, choking at the baby picture of Nina, "I have to see my baby girl..." AK1028: That"s where we leave it for today folks. Hope this chapter made a bit of sense. Please read and review. And always think outside of the box. Resolved in seeing her little girl yet again, Nacey started to head for where her mother spent her days. In a retirement home. After going on a "skiing" vacation after their father died, Stacy Cortex was checked in. Despite her protests to Jasmine (who had to fly out from Chicago where she lived with her husband Anthony and daughter Darla), she had insisted that she saw Neo with an evolved bandicoot and two Pichu brothers. Nacey was the only one that believed her mother but sadly, she was not her mother"s power of attorney. Jasmine was. "You can"t do this," Nacey remembered saying. "I have no other choice," Jasmine replied, "She has lost her mind and is seeing things." "I knew I should"ve told her,' Nacey thought, regretting her past decisions. She finally arrived at the retirement home, going into the room of her mother. Stacy was there, looking quite unwell. "Mom," Nacey said, in a soft voice. Stacy had gray hair and wrinkles but she opened her brown eyes anyways. There, she saw Nacey. Her youngest daughter had grown quite a lot since the days of her youth. Granted, she had made a lot of mistakes like her siblings but that didn"t mean that she wasn"t trying to make up for them. Stacy greeted, "Nacey. Glad you came. You hadn"t changed." Nacey forced a smile as she pointed out, "Mom, I"ve always been the same." Stacy stated, "Even with that old outfit." Nacey looked down at herself, seeing her pink shirt, purple jeans, white shoes, pink hat, and a pink scarf. She looked over on the table and saw a picture of Jasmine, Anthony, and Darla. Jasmine still had her brown-blackish hair (although she did have some gray in her hair), brown eyes, wearing a yellow dress and yellow shoes. Anthony had brown hair, green eyes, wearing a blue suit, and blue shoes. Darla (who was about Nina"s current age) had short brown hair, brown eyes, wearing pink three piece suit, and purple shoes. She replied, "Sometimes the past is better than the present." Stacy smiled at this as she responded, "You are still the wise one." Nacey looked at her mom in disbelief as she started to tear up and confessed, "I was never the wise one, mom. Jasmine was always the wise one, being the oldest." Stacy sat up a bit in her hospital bed as she stated, "My dear, Jasmine is nowhere near as wise either." Nacey replied, "But that doesn"t mean I"m wise. I"ve done so much to hurt my family..." Stacy frowned and responded, "We have all done things to hurt our families. Neo decided to pursue your grandfather"s silly dream to take over the world. Now that didn"t happen, someone named Phoenix took over." Nacey pointed out, "For only a short time." Stacy ignored that, "Still, we all make mistakes. That"s why the old saying says: we"re only human." Nacey managed a smile and stated, "You always know how to make me feel better, mom." She paused and asked, "Didn"t you say that "skiing" vacation was on some mountain on an island west coast of Australia?" Stacy perked up at that and answered, "Yes but why?" Nacey stated, "Because it is real. That"s where I left Nina 16 years ago. And I think it"s time she met me." As she kissed her mother on the cheek, happier than she felt in years, she left the retirement home. She knew what she had to do. It was time to face the past. And that meant one thing...returning to N. Sanity Isle. Back in outer space, John and Pete had tagged team on the racing track against Geary and won. The two brothers were dancing happily as Crash, Cortex, and Nina were watching and laughing. Nina asked, sarcastically, "Think they are happy?" Crash answered, smiling, "Oh yeah."

"I suppose you don"t have another one of those tricks?" The man questions Deucalion. "Unless you want this whole city block to erupt in flames, I only have one other idea!" Skidding to a stop he turns to the man he rescued, "Cover your ears!" A foul scream resounds far and wide, dazing their pursuers long enough for them to slip into the drain. The smell of piss and shit smells much better, to them, than the smell of blood and sweat at this point. "I owe you my life, Sir..." "Ah, my name is Deucalion Phenex, but since we"re partners in crime, you can just call me Cal or Calion... whichever you prefer really." "I see," The man bows deeply to Calion, "my name is Shoui, and I was formerly an officer in the Imperial Army. However, circumstances and corruption caused me to be sentenced to death. And as such..." "I see, you want me to rescue your wife. Alright." Shoui plants his arms into the muck and filth, "Please, I beg of you! Since I have successfully-eh?" "Well, I mean I don"t quite understand what"s going on. But I do know that this place is practically a watering hole for the corrupt and the wicked. So count me in! I can"t leave innocent people to suffer like this." "Yes, I know that we"ll be able to save her! I never expected my savior to bear such a powerful and unique Imperial Arm." "A... what? I think Shoui might be misunderstanding something here." "Shoui! We know you have to out there somewhere!" A man clad head to toe in armor yells out, holding his blade up against the neck of a woman, "Surrender peacefully, and your wife will simply be a gift for the Minister! Resist and I suppose she won"t be all that beautiful after me and my boys are-!" He cut himself off as he noticed smoke clouding the entire area. The sounds of screaming, gunfire, and death could be heard all around. As suddenly as it appeared, the choking veil lifts itself, and in the midst of the corpses of his men stands a cloaked figure that smells of sewage. "Hey, I don"t know who the hell you are, but you better back off. I have a hostage, see!" The "guard" presses his blade against the woman"s neck even harder, drawing blood. Without warning, the figure launches itself forward, grabbing the man"s sword arm with one hand, allowing the captive to go free. The other hand is planted on his face. "Don"t expect mercy from a wildfire." The figure whispers just as flames erupt from both hands. "An ending well-suited for an idiot. Well, shall we get going, you two?" "Sir Phenex, I... I cannot thank you enough for-" Shoui attempts to give form to his gratitude, even if they are merely words. Speaking, however, proves difficult when one is so overcome with emotion. "Hey, I"m just doing what I think is right. No need to thank me." Deucalion placates the sobbing couple. "But, are you two sure you"re going to be alright? I mean, you"re a wanted man and all." "I had planned on joining the Revolutionary Army down in the south; you"re quite welcome to join me." "So this country is so troubled that revolution is the only option, eh?" Cal arises from the sewage drain... into a forest. In his opinion forests are better than that city. "I"m not quite sure why I didn"t accept Shoui"s offer. Maybe I"m meant for something more?" "Hey Boss," Lubbock speaks up just before everyone was about to dig in to Akame"s and Tatsumi"s cooking, "My barrier just picked up something." "Why can"t I burn it?! Please for the love of-just burn, damn it!" The heir to House Phenex futilely struggles against threads. Never in a million years, did he ever believe that he would find himself bound by something as inane as thread. "Well, at least you"re a guy so I won"t have to feel bad about killing ya." A cocky, amiable voice resounds from up ahead. Cal notices someone. A youth, he has to be in his late teens at the most, with vibrant green hair and matching eyes. His attention, however, is drawn to the red gloves the boy was wearing. Rather, the strings that came from the gloves. "Who the hell sets this crap up in the middle of a forest?!" Cal shouts indignantly. "Are you some sort of soldier too? A serial killer? Damn it, I just have crap luck today!" "Eh?" "And another thing! If you aren"t any of the above, then what the hell do you get from detaining and killing me?! This is harassment! Release me at once, you smelly little-!" "I"ll show you smelly, punk!" And for the first time in a while, Deucalion Phenex found himself unconscious. "So..." Najenda, the Boss of Night Raid, says before puffing on a cigarette, "You say that you assisted in helping a former officer in the Imperial Army rescue his wife and leave the country," a nod, "and after that found yourself not far from this location," another nod, "where you got caught in Lubbock"s barrier and got into a verbal altercation with him. At which point, he knocked you out." Three nods. "Heh. I find it rather hard to believe but... you really have never heard of Night Raid?" "Um... no. I kind of just found myself in this situation today. I don"t even know the current situation all that well." Hearing this, Najenda takes one last puff on her cigarette before discarding it, "So you"re amnesiac?" She notices the slightest sign of hesitation before the young man nods, "Well then, allow me to get you up to speed." "You see, the current Emperor is a child and..." "I see," Deucalion pinches the bridge of his nose. It was a lot of information to swallow. "So essentially, the Prime Minister is exploiting the naiveté of his young Emperor, allowing for all sorts of political corruption that stems from the Minister himself. And you guys, Night Raid, are the ones who have taken up the job of stamping out all of the corruption while providing intelligence and cover for the Revolutionaries." "Did you have to reiterate all of it, how slow are you?" The girl with pink pigtails criticizes him. "People like you would barely last here." Cal turns his heads towards her, only to quickly look to the other side. "Chihuahua." He mutters. "Hahaha!" The blonde woman falls to the ground laughing, "I can see it! I totally see Mine as a Chihuahua now." "Good job!" A brown-haired youth silently mouths as he gives Cal a thumbs-up. "I"ll kill him myself." She declares as she readies her rifle. "Calm down Mine," Najenda speaks up as she begins to slowly walk towards the young man, "I have no doubt that you have your own reasons for concealing who you truly are," She whispers into his ear, "But if what you say is true, then how about it? Would you care to walk the path of carnage along with us?" "I was planning on doing this anyway, so if I have some comrades it should be better. Alright, where do I sign up?" "Heh, consider that your signup! Now if you would please introduce yourself." "My name is Deucalion Phenex. You guys can just call me Cal or Calion. I look forward to working with all of you." "You know Boss, since we"ve recruited two new members in such a short time. How about we throw a party!" The blonde, Leone, suggested. "Ah, that"s a good idea. I"ll prepare the meat. All of the meat." The girl who was silent throughout the entire exchange, Akame, spoke up. "I hope you get along well with everybody, Cal. As you can see, we"re all family here. No need for formalities or anything." Najenda states lightheartedly as everyone scrambles to decorate and cook. "Yeah, thanks Boss!" Same rule applies, tell me what you think in the review section below, I know I have to be able to improve somewhere right? Aaaand it"s back up! Blech. As you will most probably see, I left most of the chapter intact, only changing the... ahem, delicate bits. I"m really sorry about that one guys! Cal now knew, whenever Akame says that she will prepare all of the meat, she means every last edible scrap of flesh. And then some! Even an inferno would be unable to consume as much meat as what has been shoveled into his mouth. Not to mention the ceaseless flowing of alcohol into his bowls. Any normal human would have probably died from the sheer amount. Thankfully, Cal thought, he is neither normal nor human. However, the world was starting to spin. After having a drink too many with Bulat, the tall warrior with a heart-shaped pompadour, and Leone, Cal shambles towards Mine in an attempt to placate her after his Chihuahua comment. Rather than forming words, the young Phenex unloads a hefty helping of vomit... all over Mine. Sheele, a young woman with long purple hair, Leone, and Bulat all rush to stop the murderous pinkette. Akame and Tatsumi promptly escort a delirious Cal to the nearest restroom. For the rest of the night, wailing, sobbing, and some blubbering about the evils of pink haired girls with pigtail could be heard all throughout the hideout. "I feel like hell." Cal states as he sips some tea that he graciously accepted from Tatsumi. "Hate to break it to you, but you also look like hell." Tatsumi, in the midst of helping Akame peel potatoes, replies. "Tatsumi, Deucalion... work." Akame states, noticing how the duo seem to be chatting more than cooking. "Yes ma"am!" The two reply in sync as Cal quickly takes one more sip of his tea. "Heh, so it"s not only the dinners that are lively here." Cal silently notes as he downs another glass of Tatsumi"s tea. "They"re good enough people and they all have talent. My King would be ecstatic to meet them. He"d probably try to sign them all on as his personal guard or something." That would definitely show those old goats on the council! Humans defending the Great Demon King of Gehenna; well, it"s not like stranger things haven"t happened. Still though, seeing their slack-jawed expressions would be a truly wonderful sight. Shaking his head out of his reverie, Cal notes that the remainder of his food has all but vanished. Someone swiped his breakfast from him while he was still at the table. A grave mistake. "There will be blood. Fess up, whoever stole the food that Tatsumi, Akame, and I all put our hearts and souls into! I"ll make sure that nothing but ash remains of you!" Cal shouts as he jumps up from his seat. "Eh?" Everyone, but a certain red-eyed culprit, collectively replied. "There"s a slight drop here." "Thanks for the warning, Akame." Apparently joining Night Raid did not mean that you just killed people day in and day out, as Cal had rather expected, actually. It kind of ruined the moment when The Boss announced that he would begin training under Akame; apparently she had expected it to rile him up a bit. He didn"t even blink when she told him. Although, training under Akame is rather tough, it seems. Not because she was too demanding or anything like that. In fact, so far everything has been going very smoothly. But the girl is so quiet! It"s slowly been driving Cal insane throughout the entire trip. "We"re jumping down here." "Got it." Cal ground out slowly before following Akame down into the cavern. "I can"t take it! I mean, how a girl as cute as her can be so damn silent is beyond me!" The demon lord took several deep breaths as he landed. He really needs to remember that he is not in his Astral Form any longer; a mortal"s body means a mortal"s limitations. Not that he has many of those. "So what"re we coming here for anyways?" He asks his instructor innocently. Pausing, Akame looks around before gifting him with a response. "They"re coming to us." "For Cocytus" sake, I... honestly thought I... was gonna be a goner there. Next time, Akame, please give... me more details. Proper communication... can mean the difference between life and... death." "You handled the Earth Dragons well enough without my warning." He receives in reply. Before he can launch a retort of his own, Akame turns her back to him and slips her arms through the straps on her backpack. "We"ve gathered more than enough, return to base." "Is there a reason you"re so cold, or am I just used to heat?" "So, Deucalion, I heard that Akame gave you quite the scare. Heh, I remember my first encounter with an Earth Dragon." Najenda chuckles as extinguishes another cigarette. "Well, have you decided to share your true identity?" Cal looks to the side, biting his lower lip. "They"re not bad people. I know they aren"t! So...why? Am I afraid that they won"t believe me? Maybe. Or...could it be?" "You shouldn"t smoke so much, Boss. Death by cigarette is a pretty pathetic end for a leader of assassins." "Dodge the question. I"ve gotten really good at that." "Cal, I told you last night. We"re all family here." The Boss looks at him with concern as she places her single non-mechanical arm on his shoulder, "If there"s something weighing on your mind then, please, don"t hesitate to let us help y-" Brushing her hand off of his shoulder, Deucalion Phenex briskly walks out of the hall and up the stairs. Moonlight shone through the window to his room. He always preferred the gentleness of Luna"s radiance, over the cruel, scorching rays of Sol. Ironic for the Lord of Flame and Song. He had furnished the room exactly as he always did when he had to exist in the Mortal Realm for extended periods of time. A simple red tapestry depicting the legendary bird whose blood courses through his veins hangs above his bed. An old alarm clock sits on top of the dresser, placed away from his bed in order to give him incentive to get out of the comfort of stagnancy. And next to the pathetic excuse for a clock, sits a beautiful picture frame. Within it, a photograph of three smiling faces rests. Standing in front of the picture, Cal feels his grip tighten on his elbows. "Family, huh?" The slicing winds had stopped at the same time as the freezing rain. All it required was him plunging his blade into the heart of the woman he cared about. The solution had been so simple, so perfect. So... why? Why was he crying? Her long azure hair was matted with blood. The once molten gold eyes returned to their emerald splendor. A weak smile formed on her lips as blood spilled out of it. "Thank you, Cal. Please... live on." "Damn it." Cal bites out those hateful words as he relives her final moments once again. "Damn it, damn it... God damn it!" For the first time in years, Deucalion Phenex, the sole heir to the Great House of Phenex, cried bitter tears. Darkness envelops him. He could feel gentle breathing to both his right and left, the only thing that confirms that Tatsumi and Akame are still with him. Apparently, a high-ranking military officer by the name of Alvert was oppressing some of the more outlying villages from the cozy comfort of the Capital. That alone was enough to consign him to the Cocytus" freezing shackles. The fact that he enjoyed abducting women and having his way with them before tossing them aside to his personal guard was the icing on the cake for Deucalion. This would prove to be incredibly therapeutic for him. The trio was currently observing Alvert from the shadows. Stalking him, as he sipped on his expensive wine, they prowled. Constantly waiting for the moment to strike. With a shout of, "Intruders," the assassins sprang into action. The others would lure out the guards as Akame, Deucalion, and Tatsumi handled Alvert and any other obstacles. Crashing through the window, Cal gently dusts himself as he ascertains where he had landed. "I need to regroup with Akame and Tatsumi before anything else." Deucalion notes to himself as he sprints down the hallway. "Yet somehow, I"ve got a really bad feeling." Deucalion had made sure to bring some weapons to this encounter. While he definitely is competent with martial arts, he prefers gripping cold steel. It made things quicker for everyone involved; less really is more! "Where is Alvert?!" He shouts into the ear of a quivering guard. "I... I won"t give in to a mere assassin!" The man screams in agony as the Phenex jams a dagger into his kneecap while pressing another against his throat. "Wrong answer," the "assassin" growls, "I won"t ask again." "Go to He-" the guard is cut off as Deucalion slowly drags the dagger across his throat. "Have fun gurgling until you die." Cal coldly remarks as he stands up. "Damn, when you get serious, you"re pretty scary," He hears Tatsumi remark from down the hall, and sure enough, the green eyed boy"s eyes are not filled with horror, simply dull surprise, "You know that?" "Heh, you haven"t seen scary yet, Tatsumi." "And I hope you never have to." The duo had reunited with Akame on the way to Alvert"s location. Never the type for subtlety, Deucalion tries to kick down the door. Only to receive a swollen foot. Enraged, he conjures forth flames around his hands and smashes them against the metal door. After burning a sufficiently sized hole in it, Cal sticks his arm through the hold and fumbles for the handle. Successfully finding them, he holds open the door for Akame and Tatsumi before walking into the large study himself. "You could have just knocked." The cruel, yet regal, looking man states. His reddish blonde hair flows like a mane. Empty blue eyes regard the trio as less than insects. "After all, it is in my blood never to refuse a challenge. No matter how insignificant." "You... are Alvert?" Tatsumi questions rhetorically. After all, who else could this man be? "Yes, though I suppose you already knew that." He states calmly as he rises from his seat, a massive claymore manifesting into his right hand. "However, it is not as simple as that. You may call me..." His eyes drift to Deucalion, an evil smirk tugging at his rugged lips, "Marchosias." The redhead springs into action immediately. Realization and fury writing themselves upon his face. Spinning through the air with daggers in hand, he would be a whirlwind of death for common men. Akame and Tatsumi both draw weapons, moving into to assist. However, a Cambion, one born of mortal and Demon, is no common man. With a sharp clang, twin knives meet claymore. Closing the gap instantaneously, Akame and Tatsumi strike with their own blades. Only for their steel to be halted by an invisible barrier. "Is this all you have? Pathetic." Throwing everyone backwards with a single swing of his sword, Alvert stares in blank disappointment. Deucalion is the first to recover, rushing towards the monster of a man once again; blinded to everything else by his rage. "You... you do not deserve that name!" He roars, "The House of Marchosias would never sire a monster like you!" "Do you consider yourself a monster for every ant you crush underfoot?" The man coldly remarks as he casually dodges all of Deucalion"s attacks. "You bastard!" "Deucalion, wait!" Akame shouts as she charges again. "You can"t handle him alone." Faster than he could have reacted, pain explodes from the redhead"s abdomen. Like a puppet without strings, Cal collapses instantly. He panicked, blood rushing forth from the gash in his stomach. "You may be a pureblood, but you lack experience. More importantly, however," The man strides towards Cal, his sword raised high above his head. "You. Are. Weak!" Before he can bring the blade crashing down, chains constructed of flames erupt from the ground wrapping themselves around the giant of a man"s body. No one, after all, wants to die. And they will do anything and everything possible to even delay the embrace of oblivion. It does not take long, however, for him to rip away from the chains. "More petty tricks? What can these paltry shackles hope to accompli-" Alvert is cut off as he finds the blade of the One-Cut Killer: Murasame implanted into his chest, the poison already searing his veins. "They can buy time." Akame states stoically. "Deucalion..." Akame glares at him, her arms folded. "That was a foolish thing you did." "Sorry." He mutters weakly, face shadowed by his matted down hair. "You charged in without a plan, you disobeyed my order, and," The red-eyed girl gestures to the entire group, "you could have gotten all of us killed." "I said I"m sorry, damn it!" The youth shouts, angry tears streaming down his cheeks. "What the Hell more do you want from me?!" "Answers." She says blankly. "No helping it then. I guess I owe you that much, huh?" He smirks sardonically, "You did kind of save my ass back there, after all." "So, you"ve finally decided to come out with the truth?" Najenda puffs on her cigarette as she always does. "You know, I was being serious about the cigarette thing Boss!" Cal chastises her before turning to face the rest of Night Raid. "But yes. I am not an amnesiac, big surprise there... right? I am, however, new to this world. Now before you collectively exclaim something cliché like, "that"s impossible!' or something, just here me out." And so he told them. He told them about Earth, about God and His Angels, about the Demons, and about the war between all three. He told them of the peace that was brokered when the Seven Archdemons were slain by their subordinates. He told them of his lineage, of how he is a descendant of the very first Phoenix, and what that entails. He then told them of how he came into this world. "So you see what the funny thing about prayers are, right? Sometimes an Angel isn"t the one to answer them." Wheee! On to Chapter Three; around a quarter or so done with it. Be patient, please!

"My Runic Name is Guiche the Bronze; as such let us see how you fair against my Bronze Valkyrie." Aaron did not respond, instead he was priming his own power. Or attempting to, at least. Whenever he tried to utilize any of his greater spells, he was assailed with nausea and pain. The golem took advantage of his inaction, driving it"s fist into the side of Aaron"s face. Time slowed down, while his body still retained some of the power it had due to his bloodline, that blow hurt more than it should have. He was barely able to dodge the second punch by rolling to the left. He was caught off guard as he stood up and the construct forced the butt of its spear his abdomen. Why, damn it? Why won"t you work? Don"t tell me...the runes... The beating continued. He felt a solid blow to his left arm fracture the bone. He also had a broken rib or three. Every time he stood up, he was met with pain both from his own aching body and the golem"s attacks. He didn"t know when Louise had shown up. She threw herself over him, perhaps in an attempt to stop the Valkyrie"s assault. There was something hot falling on his face. Hot and wet and salty. She was crying? "Why?" He had a hard time speaking; it hurt to even breathe right now. "Please, Guiche...stop. And you too, you Stupid Familiar!" "Lou...ise..." "No, I"m not going to listen to you! I"ll cut your meals for a week for this; do hear me?" Her head sunk even lower than it was, and her tears began to stain his shirt, "You"re right, you are the first success I"ve ever had...so you can"t just go and get yourself beaten up whenever you want!" Aaron smiled. It seems that his Master has an even softer heart than she herself suspects. For her sake, maybe he could... "Louise...can you get...off me...please? I"m kind...of sore." "You"re still going to fight? How stupid are you? You act like you"re some sort of soldier...like you"re used to this." "I suppose...you could...call me that," as she continued to berate him after saying that he put all of his concentration into using it. If high-level spellcraft won"t work, then we just need to go lower! He began to feel his soreness and pain begin to subside and the tiny cuts on his body knitted themselves together, slowly. For now, he could stand and move without a great deal of pain. "But seriously though," He grinned at Louise, "I"m fine, really. So please, stand back and watch." "Ready for more?" Guiche asked. Aaron said nothing, preferring to slowly move towards Guiche. The Valkyrie charged straight at him, its spear lowered at his chest. Stepping to the side, he launched his fist at the construct. What happened next shocked everyone. Just before his fist made contact, the Valkyrie was blown into several pieces. On his hands were rotating blue pentagrams. Guiche, in a panic, created three more Valkyries. They didn"t even have time to react as the one closest to Aaron had already received a small fireball to the face. Aaron bent down and lifted the fallen Valkyrie"s sword. Aaron laughed; he lived for moments like this! To beat and be beaten, combat was in his blood. Not that he"d ever admit that. The runes began to pulse and shine as he tightened his grip on the sword. What soreness remained from his spell instantly dissipated, his body felt lighter, and he knew. He knew the best way to use the sword in his current condition. The second golem came charging in, its morning star raised high above its head. Quickly, quicker than even he should be capable of, Aaron cut the Valkyrie in half at the torso. He turned just in time to avoid a slash from the third Valkyrie"s claymore. Stepping out of the way, Aaron then cut off the construct"s legs. Right before cleaving its head into two. Taking advantage of Guiche"s shock, Aaron discarded the sword and rushed at him. Guiche attempted to defend himself by constructing a sword, also of bronze make. He figured Aaron would come straight at him. With only one arm to either attack or defend with, Guiche just had to be faster than his opponent. As Guiche brought the sword down, Aaron punched at Guiche"s right arm, causing him to drop the blade. "I...I surrender!" Guiche"s declaration signaled Aaron"s victory. "Man, that was fun. I haven"t had to use those techniques in a while. And these runes! How awesome!" Aaron looked at Guiche, who was simply sitting on the ground now, "Oi, I didn"t knock you out. I might"ve broken your arm but that"s neither here nor there." Aaron extended his right hand to Guiche, who numbly took it. "Hehehe, you know, those weren"t some half bad Golems. Maybe you should keep working on your magic though, they didn"t have a whole lot of substance to them; you know? Oh and no hard feelings, that really was great, though I might need some-OW!" Louise ground her foot into Aaron"s, "You idiot! What are you getting all excited for?! You need to get some healing!" "Master, I was about to say...nrk!" Aaron fell to the ground with a grimace, "Sorry, spell wore off...help please?" Louise sighed but still carefully got Aaron up to his feet. After lending him her shoulder, the pair made their way back to their room. "Ah, but Master, you can just take me to the nurse or..." "No. You"re my Familiar; it"s my job to take care of you. Got it? You"re going to get plenty of rest, you hear me? No stupid research, no picking fights, and no more unauthorized meals if you can"t behave yourself." Uuu...I can"t even argue with her this time. He "awoke" in the confines of the castle again. This world is the embodiment of his desire and his obsession. But it was only a fake...a pale imitation of what it is supposed to be. "Hello, boy. How"s your life here treating you so far?" The Elf asked him. "I"ve experienced worse," he was having trouble getting used to sharing a soul. "I see. Yes, you do have the look of someone who has lived through hell," The Elf remarked before shrugging, "Or more accurately in Hell itself." "Hehe, so you"ve noticed." "It would take an idiot not to. Even so, I"m sure we both have questions of our own. Would you mind if I began with mine?" "Not at all, you"re the amnesiac here, after all." She then sat up straight. Aaron couldn"t help but find her attractive...in the mysterious Elf girl kind of attractive. No he didn"t have any better way of describing it. "Very well then, what are your intentions for this world?" Aaron laughed and looked to the side, "I didn"t even know about this world until I was dragged into it. I"ll probably try to fulfill my ambition while I"m here, but I"ll do my best to keep casualties to a minimum." "And just what is this ambition of yours?" Aaron closed his eyes and took a deep breath; no one not even that person asked him such a question, "My dream...is Avalon...a world free of want and hate...a world where people like me aren"t convicted and slaughtered like animals. I want a world...where people can find their own happiness without hurting others." The Elf smiled wryly at him. "Such a dream...is rather childish. Especially for someone like you," Aaron smiled an earnest and innocent smile. "Yes, but isn"t a dream supposed to be something rather childish. Something we can"t obtain no matter how hard we struggle. I admit, if I can just get a glimpse of Avalon...then I"ll be happy," Aaron then turned back to The Elf, "So what about you? Have you remembered anything?" "As a matter of fact, I have. I"ve remembered my name and a few other things. I am Sasha, and at some point in time...I was exactly like you...Gandalfr. Surely you"ve felt its power course through you?" "When I lifted that sword, I became powerful and I could actually use the sword...as in I knew what to do, how to do it, and when best time for it would be..." "Yes, a fascinating power is it not? Use it to protect your Master. She will come to accept you in due time..." And with her statement made...Aaron opened his eyes once more. (AN: And there it is. Chapter Three. It"s still following canon so far...but eh, what can you do? Don"t worry it"ll start diverging soon, I promise! Next chapter...is going to be kind of fillerish. I"ll probably focus less on Aaron and more on Louise and Siesta, at least for most of the chapter. But anyways, if you like this story then favorite/follow. Regardless on whether or not you like it, shoot a review my way...tell me what I"m doing well as well as what I"m doing wrong. All the same, thank you everyone that likes this story and I hope you continue to enjoy Cambion of Zero.) (AN: Hello and welcome, my friends! This chapter came out pretty quickly didn"t it? Though for its length, it probably should"ve been released earlier. There is a perfectly justified reason for this delay. God. Freaking. Eater. Burst. I bought the game a couple days ago on the PSN Store and I have one thing to say: It. Is. Glorious! No seriously, while the game does lack enviroments and most of the monsters are just copy-paste fests the game has something that keeps me coming back for more. Which is odd because Monster Hunter has never held my attention in such a way. Strange... But anyways, here"s is this chapter! I hope you enjoy!) In the shining moonlight, Louise traced her fingers across the title of one of Aaron"s research materials, "Mysterious Void, huh? Why would he look at fairy tales?" She looked back at her sleeping Familiar, who had been surprisingly obedient so far, "You really are a Stupid Familiar." But, a voice in the back of her head replied, maybe that isn"t so bad? "You better hurry up and get well soon, Idiot," Louise sat back in her chair thinking that if she stared at Aaron long enough, he"d recover faster, "Please..." "Take care Siesta, and be sure to make breakfast for "Our Sword"," the head-chef, Marteau, called after the young maid. "I will; thank you!" Siesta said as she made her way to the Servants" Quarters. Ever since Mister Aaron had defeated Lord Guiche, he had become a sensation among the servants. Marteau, especially, held a great deal of respect for the Familiar of Miss Valliere. Siesta smiled, Mister Aaron was someone able to fight a noble on even terms! Not to mention he had a certain charm to him...although he was a little...odd. No normal person would laugh about being seriously injured. Nor would they take pleasure in the act of fighting...would they? "Uwaaaah! Please get out of the way!" Before she could react or even find the source of the voice, Siesta suddenly became a human landing pad. She was vaguely aware that a girl had just landed on her. "Uuuu. I"m so sorry Miss, it"s just...I"ve never done this teleporting business before and well...especially to another world! Oh my goodness, those moons are so pretty! Back home, we don"t have a moon...oh but the world we go to on business does, it"s a very nice white color." That"s great...Siesta thought, taken aback by the ridiculousness of the situation, But please, for The Founder"s sake, get off of me... "Oh my goodness, I completely forgot! You"re just a human and I"m sitting on you! Not to mention I just completely blabbed, oh Father will be so displeased with me," The girl got off of the young maid, allowing Siesta to take in the appearance of her...assailant. It was a girl, perhaps a year or two younger than she was, with brown hair tied into long pigtails. Her outfit seemed to almost completely match Siesta"s except for a few differences. Her uniform was smaller and tighter, for one. Also, her uniform lacked...sleeves? She could see it lacking other things...but why the sleeves? "How odd," Siesta absentmindedly replied as she stared at the girl"s arms. "Ehehe," the "maid" laughed nervously laughed as she scratched the back of her head, "You like it? I made it myself," she puffed what little chest she had out in pride, "Oh my goodness, I"m forgetting my manners! I am Lysette of the Ronove clan and it is my pleasure to make your acquaintance, but I really must be off! I have to find someone here, you see and I"d terribly hate to be late." As the girl ran across the campus, Siesta simply stood there, absolutely dumbstruck. "Wh-what just happened?" Louise was aware that she was sweating. She was also aware that the buildings around her were engulfed in flames. But none of that mattered. She was running. Running from the smell of burning flesh. Running from the sight of bloodstained and mutilated corpses. People were gasping for breath in the streets before having their silent prayers for mercy silenced by cold steel. She was terrified. Eventually she came upon a group of people who seemed to ignore her. Some were crying. Others angry. And even still...some simply stared at the raging inferno with empty eyes. But it was clear to Louise, that the burning village was home to these people. The thought sickened her. These people...what horrendous thing could they have possibly done? Louise doubted that they had truly done anything other than live. Her ideas were still in the land of fairy tales, where war is fought only among the soldiers and nobility. As she continued through the crowd of people, Louise stumbled across the boy from the previous dream. Now older, his reddish-brown hair now tied into a short ponytail and the beginnings of muscle tone were apparent in his arms and legs. His body was covered in wounds, both small and large, some still bleeding. His appearance reminded her of a certain idiot sleeping in her bed. Beside him was a beautiful girl, Louise figured that she was only a year or two older than the girl. Her blonde hair was tied into two tight braids. Her blue eyes appeared calm at first glance, but Louise could feel a burning sadness behind them. "Jeanne, you said that you received a vision to reclaim France, correct?" The boy turned around, his face in a deep scowl as he green eyes smoldered in hatred and rage. "Aaron..." The girl, Jeanne, cautioned him, "You"re still..." "I don"t care what I am!" He shrieked as the tears he was hardening began to fall, "I...I can"t sit by anymore and pretend that this isn"t happening," Aaron slumped against a tree as he lost the will to stand, "Please sis...it doesn"t have to be right away. But please let me come with you!" Jeanne smiled and offered her younger brother a hand, "If we go to war...we go together. I promise not to leave you behind," she declared as she pulled him into a tender hug, tears of her own forming, "For now, cry. Cry for those who have lost the will to cry for themselves. And cry for what we ourselves have lost." As Louise watched the siblings, the world began to crack again. And soon she was drawn into the abyss known as wakefulness. Siesta was on her way to the kitchens to fix up Mister Aaron some breakfast. A simple thing that anyone could do really. And yet Siesta volunteered herself for it, much to the chagrin of most of the other maids. "Oh Miss, there you are!" Siesta"s face paled as the strange girl from last night came bounding up to her, "I, um, I never really stopped to get your name last night and that was really rude of me, especially to one of so high of standing, so...please forgive me!" She shouted as she bowed low. Siesta was confused, high standing? But I"m just a maid. "I"m...Siesta and really, I"m just a maid." The other girl tapped her foot with a smug, knowing look, "Yes they usually are found in humble professions. Why our current Great King was both a farmer and militia man before becoming a soldier, no less. And to hold his current position even though he is only a half-breed is unprecedented! Amazing even!" "I-is that so?" Siesta nervously went along with this girl"s strange statements. "Oh but nevertheless," Lysette then knelt down on one knee, as one might do towards royalty, "Lady Siesta, I truly, desperately require your assistance. I have not found our King at all and yet I can feel his presence. Could you perhaps lend me some aid?" "Ah, well, you see...I"m getting ready to make breakfast for someone..." "That"s fine! I can help you!" She flexed her arms, "I"m really good at this kind of stuff." Louise awoke to see Aaron scowling. His expression immediately changed upon noticing that she was awake however. "Ah, good morning, Master. This is the first time that we"ve been awake at the same time, no?" Aaron smiled at Louise. Probably to dodge each and every single question directed at him. "Yes, it has," Louise dully remarked as she got up to comb her hair. They continued awkwardly, in silence, until a knock on the door alerted them to the presence of a face that was becoming a regular sight for the dormitory. Siesta had come with breakfast. "Come in," Louise said as she pulled buttoned her blouse. When Siesta opened the door, Aaron stiffened in shock. Louise had no idea why he was so... Who is that? And why does she look so different?! The girl was surprised herself. Although her silence only lasted for a moment. "My Lord? It...really is you...right?" Aaron nodded dumbly, "You...Idiooot!" She yelled as she all but threw herself at him. "Gua! It huuuurts! Save me! Master, Siesta, I"ll even take that Guiche"s help right now!" Aaron shrieked in pain as the girl tightened her grip on him and began to shake him back and forth. "You had everyone so worried! And do you know who was blamed for your gallivanting?!" Aaron weakly pointed at Lysette, "Yes that is absolutely correct, so I don"t care if it hurts! When we get back to the castle, you"re going to get a stern talking to from Lady Gaap and Sir Eligor." Aaron simply whimpered as the power of speech failed him. Louise, while interested in this new information, decided to leave her Familiar to his current scolding. And it seemed that Siesta was too dumbstruck to be of any assistance. "Make sure to teach him the virtues about not picking needless fights as well, whoever you are," Louise remarked as she strode out the door. "Uuu...Master..." Louise was fuming. Why didn"t he tell her that he was a Noble? Did he not trust her? Sure she could be a little rough around the edges, but she wasn"t outright malicious. He could"ve totally trusted her! She would"ve even helped him find a way home. Home...oh dear, as Louise thought about her own home, she thought about the repercussions this might have. Certainly her mother, Karin the Heavy Wind, would be rather displeased with her and that is reason enough to dread her actions, I"m so dead... Louise jumped as a hand grabbed her shoulder from behind. "Oh! I"m sorry, Miss Valliere. I had no intentions of scaring you," Professor Colbert nervously replied, "is something the matter?" "Oh, no it"s nothing Professor." "Ah, well the Headmaster would like to see you," Louise turned around and began to make her way to his office, "Oh no, once classes are over Miss Valliere, it concerns your Familiar." Louise narrowed her eyes, of course it would; seriously, he"s brought me nothing but worry and trouble! Louise wordlessly entered the Headmaster"s office. The Headmaster was an eccentric but fair-minded man that everyone just called Old Osmond. This was partially justified in the belief that he was close to one hundred years old. "Ah you"re here Miss Valliere," Osmond stated as he moved from the window to his chair, "I will be brief; you have an injured Familiar to care for after all. Your Familiar...has he displayed any unique abilities?" "Er, well Headmaster, surely you"re aware that there was a duel between my Familiar and Guiche?" Louise tested the waters as Osmond nodded, "Well he...he used magic." "I see, I see," Osmond nodded sagely, "Is there anything else?" "W-well I"m not quite sure," Louise replied tilting her head, "He seemed stronger and faster than a normal human, but couldn"t that just be another spell of his?" "Hm, I see. Very well then," Osmond stood up, "You may return to your dormitory." As Louise left, Professor Colbert entered the office. "So neither of them know?" Colbert asked. "That Familiar is strange; I heard he"s taken an interest in magic. I wouldn"t doubt that he has an inkling of what she is." "Even so..." Colbert started. "Relax Jamie, I"m sure he won"t let her come to harm." "I-it"s Jean, sir." "So let me get this straight..." Lysette began, "You answered a summoning and became a Familiar?" Aaron nodded as he bit into a sandwich. He was so relieved that she had calmed down. Lysette could get very hard to deal with when she"s angered. He still remember the pasta incident. They were still repairing the banquet hall! "And you didn"t bother to...tell anyone?" She hissed. "U-um! I have more tea ready!" Siesta nervously declared, attempting to keep Lysette from beating Aaron senseless. "Ah, thank you! Tea is wonderful for relaxation, did you know that?" Lysette stated as she gingerly lifted her own cup. That"s kind of why I gave you some...Siesta smiled as small beads of sweat rolled down her neck. "Aaah...so much better," The youngest member of the group sighed, "You make some very good tea, Lady Siesta." "Pl-please, just call me Siesta." "Oh my goodness, that wouldn"t do! No, not at all. A daughter of-mmph!" "Sh-she"s just overly polite to people she doesn"t know!" Aaron declared as he clamped her mouth shut. Siesta suspected that he was hiding something from her, but he"d tell her soon enough. It was an odd feeling that she had, "Please don"t mind-yeow!"

Koneko heard what her older sister said. "My older sister wants to mate with my Ise? I won"t let her, I wanna be the first of us siblings before her! I must do it tonight before she makes the first move!' the nekomata said in her thoughts, feeling determined to do it. Like the rest of the girls, Koneko has known that Rias, Akeno and lately Asia has had their way on making love to Issei in these nights. She feels intense jealousy of her peers that had made love him, and feels the urge to also do the same as she refuses to be lagged behind on getting to be with Issei. What"s more she feels this intense desire to be with him, almost like she felt when she"s in mating season with him that one time. "Hey Koneko, what"s up? What are you thinking there?" Koneko was snapped out of her thoughts when she hears Ravel calling to her. She sees Ravel looking at her rather curiously. "Oh, nothing, forget it. Just stay out of my matter, bird princess!" Koneko said mildly harsh at her, hiding her intent from her. "Well excuse me for having a little conern for you, kitty girl!" Ravel retorts. Koneko would love to shot back at her, but she feels there are bigger matters at the moment. She knows that in order to spend a night with Issei, she has to request permission from Rias, and telling her to keep the girls away so to not ruin this moment she wants to do, especially to Kuroka. Koneko can only hope Rias can see her way and grants her to be with him tonight. This is her chance to at last express her love for him despite what she can do to him, and fulfill her inner desire. They arrive at the Hyodou residence, the rest of his girls waiting. They had rested, had dinner and then everyone prepares for the night. Koneko now has to make her move before anyone could get the chance. Koneko goes to Rias. "What is it Koneko?" Rias asks kindly to her. "I...I have a favor, President," Koneko began and psyches up her courage to go say it, "I want to sleep with Ise tonight. So if you allow me, please give me a chance and also don"t let the other girls get a chance on this night, especially my older sister. I want to show him how I feel." Rias can feel the seriousness in her intent. She also figures she probably do this before Kuroka would have her way with Issei. "Such a competition between the sisters, just like how it is in Ise"s harem...' Rias thought, feeling a little bummed and reluctant since she wants to have Issei for herself, but this is something that she had to deal with since this is a harem, where girls compete a lot for Issei"s affections, attention or who get to sleep with him. Rias gives a little thought about it, then says "Alright." "Thank you, President!" Koneko feels relieved that she approves. After Koneko leaves, Rias wonders when she can have her time with her Issei. "A lot of girls really want to be with him, but as his lead girl, I gotta have chances with him too. I"ll definitely gonna plan on when I can have sex with my beloved Ise,' she wonders in her thoughts. Some time later on, everyone prepares for the night, Rias tells the rest of letting Koneko sleep with Issei tonight. It has almost or slightly become routine for this to do, the girls deciding on who can spend with Issei on some nights. At Issei"s room, he wonders on who"s the next girl gonna come to his door and sleep with him because Rias tipped him that another girl will sleep with him, but let it be as a surprise for him. He can sense that there is a little reluctance in her tone because she really wants to spend another night with him or more since she"s madly in-love with him. A little later, in comes Koneko in a white dress for the night. "Hey Ise, might if I spend the night with you? And I got something for you," Koneko says to him as she walks closer. "Yeah, what?" Issei questions, though he pretends he does not know so to not offend her with his perversion, something that he has known and done before with Rias, Akeno and Asia. Koneko feels her innermost desire and mating condition can"t be contained much longer. This is finally her chance to make love to Issei whom she loves for a long time and deeply as much as the others had. This will be the night where she will seize it. Koneko moves closer to Issei, with him feeling a bit anxious on what she"ll be doing to him next. She then straddles his lap, sitting on it just as she said that she"ll sit nowhere but his lap. "Koneko?" Issei asks, wondering what her next move will be. "Ise..." Koneko breathed out and she suddenly brings herself forward to take his lips. Issei feels surprised on this sudden and first move Koneko made. It is a simple contact on his lips, but that doesn"t satisfy her. She makes the kiss deeper, her hands are behind his neck to pull them and pushing her tongue in. Issei loves this feeling and doesn"t back out; he kisses her back. Koneko then pushes Issei down to his bed, kissing him slowly and passionately, the heat building up in her. She takes off her dress and reveals to him about her white underwear consisting of brown cat paws around it. It"s not as sexy compared to what Rias and Akeno has, but this is something that just befits her. Issei takes a moment to look at her, even though it doesn"t have that desired attractive trait that his often sexy girls have, but this is one of the characteristics that makes Koneko cute. "Ise, I want you so bad!" Koneko says in a cutely pleading tone and proceeds to remove his shirt. Koneko looks at his fine built chest made up from his training and battles. She can"t help but to lick her lips in a hungry desire for him. She goes down to kiss him deep kiss with Issei letting her do what she pleases, and wanting to see what she can do to please him. After a short while, she goes down to kiss and lick his neck down to his chest where she kisses and licks it all over like the cat being she is. "Oooh, Koneko," Issei groans from what she"s doing. With desire clouding her mind because of her heat, Koneko then takes off her bra and threw it aside like it"s useless. The bra hits the wall and just falls to the floor, laid forgotten for the night. Issei looks at her small breasts and notices her nipples are erect, knowing she"s definitely in arousal. Koneko then plays with her small breasts, groping, fondling and pinching her nipples in front of Issei, moaning in a feline way as she does this to herself. "Ise, I know they"re not as big as the others...but still I want you to look at them! I still want you to enjoy them!" Koneko then takes Issei"s hands to her breasts. Issei sees into her eyes saying to do whatever he likes with them. His hands gropes, fondles, massages and gyrates her petite breasts, doing as he pleases and administrating his actions just as he did with others such as Rias, Akeno and Asia, though he knows he will do this to other girls of his harem. Koneko moans happily in a cat"s manner, enjoying what Issei is doing. "Oh Koneko, you really are cute! I like to hear more of your cat moans!' his thoughts say and to please her more, his lewd hands continues to fondle them. "Oh Ise!" Koneko moans loudly, her hands place to his hands to encourage him and to fondle them harder. Later Koneko goes down and take Issei"s lips in ecstatic abandon. She does with all her might to press her exposed upper body into Issei"s exposed chest. Issei can feel her small breasts squeezed in his chest, knowing Koneko is doing she can to press them hard into him. Feeling that Issei isn"t satisfied much from her breasts, Koneko rubs her chest against his. Both groan in the kiss, and Issei can feel her nipples scraping. As she rubs her chest against his, Koneko fights his tongue, making their kiss hot, intense, wild and passionate altogether. Both are spilling their saliva into one another, with either of theirs spilt into outside their mouths. Koneko then parts as they both need air back. Both look at each other; Issei notices her eyes are full of desire and instead of where she looks at him fiercely, she looks at him with tender, cute and lustful eyes. "This is a sudden change of Koneko, but I kinda like her like this,' he thought. Koneko removes the last article of clothing she has, pulls down her panties and again throws it aside without a care. While she"s straddling Issei, Koneko then reveals her white cat ears and tail, her now going into her cat mode or being. Issei sees her tail wagging constantly. Looking into her eyes, he sees an intense love and lust for him evidenced in her orbs. Koneko is breathing heavily and raggedly, looking down at him with lust and desire. Koneko goes down and suddenly flips Issei over, allowing him to be on top. "Ise, do what you want with me. Ravage me if you want, I don"t care..." Koneko pleads to him both cutely and lustfully, herself being driven by desire for sex. "Koneko..." Issei wonders if this is a dream because this is something he hasn"t seen in Koneko before. But he knows this side of hers is only shown when they"re alone. "But since Koneko is asking and begging for it, as it"s been clearly heard from, then I"ll give her what she wants.' Also giving to his lustful desire, Issei begins kissing Koneko heatedly and hungrily yet passionately altogether. He shoves his tongue in her and goes to have a duel with her tongue. Koneko willingly lets his tongue probe around her mouth, puts her hands at his neck to further deepen the kiss. Their tongues put up a nice duel, and for the time being Koneko allows his tongue to win over her; in her frame of mind clouded by desire, she"s becoming rather submissive to him for now. When low on air, Issei breaks from the kiss and both are panting. Issei rests on her chest, which is still a nice feeling despite not being busty. Koneko cradles him and pushes her chest up to further contact her chest unto his face. Issei decides to have a little fun with her breasts to give at least a little satisfaction to the cat being. He licks and tastes her right and gives the left a groping with his right hand. "Nyaa, Ise!" Koneko moans in a cute feline manner. Koneko shivers in pleasure, all the while making those sweet adorable noises as Issei continues fondling with her little breasts. Issei ceases his actions and give her a breather. Koneko breathes heavily and insist to her love to keep going. He again goes to take her right breast into his mouth and gropes the left. "Nyah! Ise!" his sucking, licking and groping grew a bit forceful at her hardened nipples. Koneko can only hold her lover as she threw her head back into the pillows and continually moan into the romantic air while cradling his head. A little while later, Issei"s left hand goes down to her thighs, caress it for a few seconds, then goes into her vagina and feels its incredible wet from her arousal. Koneko moans loud from his touch in her area. Issei presses more into her womanhood and he could then hear her breath quickening and her gasps. He shifts himself to her left side to maintain a proper place for his next move, then goes back to kiss her, still rubbing her delicate area. Her arms try to pull Issei closer to her upper body, to deepen the kiss and open her legs slightly wider for his hand. Koneko moan over and over within his kiss, feeling pleasure from his action to her. Issei"s fingers attempt to enter her folds, making Koneko moan loudly into his mouth. Issei opens her two-folds, giving intense sensations on Koneko. His thumb stimulates her clitoris while his index and middle finger slides inside her hole. Koneko moaned very loud at his skillful actions. "Nyaaah! Issei! Oooh..." she moans louder, pleasurably afflicted by his moves. Running out of air, Issei then breaks the kiss and stops his playing of her folds. Koneko feels her womanhood now desperate, wanting more of him. When Issei brings his face up, Koneko used her strength to flip Issei around, allowing her to be on top of him. "Nya Ise, I want you so badly!" Koneko told him in a cutely lustful tone. Koneko..." he mutters at the sight of her in such state. She then goes down to kiss Issei deeply and hungrily, pressing her naked body unto his half naked body. Koneko then rubs and presses her body against his, with Issei groaning ecstatically into her kiss. She breaks the kiss for both of them to regain air, however Koneko continually rubs and presses her body against his. "Oh Ise..." Koneko moans sweetly to him. Koneko"s hands now clasp at his boxers and pull them down. She throws it down at the floor, right beside his bed. She takes this moment to see her beloved"s body; his skin glows from the moon"s light that shines forth from the windows. Koneko takes her sights on his manhood and stares at it longingly and with want, leaving Issei a bit embarrassed under her gaze. "Umm, Koneko..." "Shirone." "Huh?" "I have a real name...Shirone. Koneko is a name Rias gave me. So Ise, would you call me by my real name, only when it"s just the two of us?" This is a bit surprising that Issei heard. She had a real name, the name he has known from her has been a name Rias bestows to her after her rescue. "Alright, Shirone." "Remember, only just the two of us. I don"t want Ravel to find out. Only you I can trust with it, ok?" "You got it." Issei then turns around so he can be on top this time. Shirone lies down with her arms by her sides, looking up into Issei and smiles with confidence; her love for him glistens in her eyes. The moon"s light that reflects on her skin made her glow with radiance. "Shirone, you look cute," Issei can"t help but be captivated by her. "Oh Ise...I want to be yours forever...because I love you deeply," she proclaims. Shirone then pulls Issei down by his neck and give him another deep kiss. Their hot tongues lash and dance around either mouths while their naked bodies presses onto one another. Issei can"t help but to embrace her more, letting their skin make contact to one another. Both break the kiss when nearing air depletion. Shirone feels a very heavy sensation within her; her intense sexual arousal becomes too much for her to contain and she feels it won"t wait much longer, as it has had enough of the foreplays. She feels that it"s demanding for Issei to make love to her and ravage her until it"s satisfied. "Ise, I don"t want to wait much longer. Get inside me, make love to me and ravage me all you want," Shirone pleads to him cutely yet with such tremendous desire and love for him driving her. "Alright, Kone...err, Shirone. But since it"s your first time, you know how it"ll be," Issei warns to her as he knows well of breaking and taking a girl"s virginity as he had done this with Rias, Akeno and Asia, and he"s bound to take more of his girls" virginities. "I am Ise. I am a strong girl, I can handle this," Shirone answers resolutely. Issei parts her legs, revealing fully her vagina for Issei to see. Shirone feels very embarrasssed of Issei gazing into her private area and would kick him down for this, but she decides to remain submissive to him. Her cat mode made her to be like this and she doesn"t want to ruin this romantic moment and her mating. Issei positions himself at her entrance and moves in slowly, his tip splits the nether lips apart, causing her to moan at the sensation. His past experiences with Rias, Akeno and Asia made it him understand to tread with ease and care for a girl"s first time. Issei slowly let his tip enter her tight interior. He goes a bit further and reaches her hymen. Shirone nods at him, permitting him to do it. Issei pushes onward, breaching her hymen. Another virginity is taken and belongs to him. "Nyaaaaa!" Shirone let out a scream as she felt the sharp painful sensation, but she will withstand it for him. Issei stays still to let her adjust to his intrusion. "Ise..." Shirone started to move against him as the pain becomes pleasure, and its blissful sensation continues to mount. His movements slowly pick up speed, her moans increasing in volume. The pain is completely gone, with a great feeling taking over. Instinct now drives both of them on as his thrusts became as intense and Shirone thrusting back, them moving in a rhythm. Shirone"s moans became loud, Issei"s grunts go in duet with hers. The friction he feels on his hard erection is great, as he pumps into her, reaching her g-spot. Shirone seizes his hands and placed them on her breasts, wanting to double the pleasure. She wraps her legs tighter on his hips, trying to make him go deeper and leave no room for escape. Issei"s thrusts intensify to the point it became as intense as a jackhammer. Issei"s hand kneads her breast while the other hand twitches the solid nipples on the other. Shirone"s moans became loud, Issei"s grunts go in duet with hers. The friction he feels on his hard erection is great, as he pumps into her, reaching her g-spot. Issei then stops fondling her breasts and puts his hands on her shoulders to concentrate on the thrusts, with him to be near her neck level. Shirone moans more and more until it"s up to the point it echoes throughout his room. She places her hands on his head and neck, clinging on to him dearly as she revels in feeling her skin against his. As they move into one another, the lovers looked at each other eye to eye. Both can see of love and lust mixed in them. "Oh Ise, you"re such a pervert and a great lover. This is such a great feeling you"re giving me, and you"re making me be more perverted. Whatever it may be, even if you"ll be Rias" husband and Kuroka will make you her lover, you"ll be my soul mate, and I"ll be yours forever.' Shirone then pulls him in for a deep kiss, their tongues dancing and duels each other while trading each other"s spit. Both moan in the kiss as the two tastes each other"s saliva, and Shirone takes a liking to the taste of Issei. Her hands that holds his head and neck tightens as she clutches on him as Issei thrusts gets harder and faster, constantly touching her g-spot and further intensifies the pleasure just as he did with Rias, Akeno and Asia so far. Shirone then rubs her body up and down on him and moving her hips to sync with his pumping and enjoy letting him go into her most intimate areas. He holds her tight with his arms around her, his hands going anywhere they want; Issei now enjoys the immense ecstasy Shirone is giving him. Shirone is pleased at this, seeing him enjoying this she"s giving to her love. Shirone keeps up the pace, the intensity builds up and she reaches her first orgasm of her life. "I...I can feel it...Shirone..." Issei warns her of the coming release. "Ise...I want it, nya!" Shirone thrusts harder into Issei, wanting to experience the blissful release that other girls had before her, wanting this release to be done only by the one she loves deeply. She thrust herself with sheer fervent and Issei pumps up into her clit until their low regions exploded from the ecstasy. Issei ejaculates in her and Shirone cums on him. Her pleasurable feline screams reverberate throughout Issei"s room, their juices had come to soak their hips. At the moment of their climax, both of them hold each other very tight from the spasms of their incredible release. As their spasms die down, they take moment to catch their breath. Issei falls on top of her, catching his breath back. He can hear her heart beating in a rapid rate. "Nya...Ise," Shirone embraces him tight, not wanting to let him go and wanting to feel his warmth all over her. They had enjoyed the love making they were doing and both wanted more. "Shirone, would you like to go on for more?" Issei asked. "Yeah, I do. You made me want more," Shirone answered, blushing mad and giving a perverted tone as she said it. "Ise, your love making and my heat made me into a pervert,' she says to herself about her feeling perverted herself because of her desire. She turns so that she"ll be on top of him, giving her a shot at doing this. "I now show you my concealed feelings Ise," Shirone told him as she goes down to kiss him again. Issei wraps his arms around her as she also embraces him tight like before; Shirone also rubs her body up and down on him. Shirone moves her hips into him, going in for the second try of the night. She then goes to his neck, breathing in his masculine scent. Shirone goes up and down which picks up speed in a short time. She goes up to Issei and holds wraps her arms behind him and moving onward into him, with Issei moving to meet her thrusts. He holds her tight with his arms around her, his hands going anywhere they want. Issei now enjoys the immense ecstasy Shirone is giving him; now its Issei turn to moan. Shirone is pleased to hear him like this and likes to hear more, adding more with her feline pleasurable moans. Shirone keeps up the pace, not wanting to disappoint her love and giving him nothing short of pleasure. Once more the intensity builds up and they orgasm again. "Oh yes, here it comes Shirone!" Issei grunts deeply. "Do it Ise! Give it to me, nya!" Shirone cried out. Shirone makes another hard thrust into Issei, wanting to give both of them another blissful release. In that moment, Issei pulls Shirone down and suppresses their screams by a deep, hungry kiss. Shirone gladly responds by locking her lips to him. Their juices had come to soak their hips while Shirone feels once more the warmth of his semen coming into her. They soon break off for air.

Nagisa starts to move closer to Tomoya. He puts her hands to tenderly touch his cheeks. "There"s something I could"ve said long ago. Tomoya I love you. I"ve been in-love with you for a long time." Nagisa admitted to him, leaving Tomoya a bit shocked as he would expect her to say this one day. After a long while, she finally said it. His embrace tightens around her just slightly. "Well Nagisa, I love you too. Over the course of time, I guess I"d fallen for you as well." Tomoya told to his girlfriend. Nagisa gave him a bright smile to him. "Thank you Tomoya. I"m glad to have met you." she said sweetly and puts a hand on his cheek. Tomoya then sensed what is happening as romance is filling the atmosphere, knowing this feeling arising earlier. he then slowly brings his face closer to hers, their lips about to close the gap. "Tomoya..." Nagisa feels cornered and helpless to his, but lets him have his way. Seconds later that felt like minutes, their lips met in passionate linking, though this is not their first time. Nagisa started to wrap her arms around his neck and Tomoya wrapped his safeguarding arms around her back, deepening the kiss. Tomoya slips his tongue into her wet caverns and tastes all what she is. Both execute a very passionate kiss, much more than even what they want to be. A little later Tomoya decides to battle her tongue and both danced their tongues inside their mouths. Nagisa shifted in her position from his side and onto him; Nagisa moved her left leg to be at his right side, enabling her to sit on Tomoya"s lap, her legs around him, instinct driving her at the moment. In his room where the lights were off, the moon"s radiance is their only source of light that lights it up. Nagisa has been kissing Tomoya for some time they don"t realize they were running out of breath. They pull out, panting a bit heavily. They stare each other in the eye, noticing desire in their orbs, both can feel their arousal rising. "Tomoya, please let me feel your love." Nagisa sounds like she"s pleading as she reaches out to cup his cheeks. Tomoya interprets this she wants to make love. "Are you sure? You want to do this? I don"t want to trouble you." Tomoya is worried for her sake; once they do there was no turning back. "Don"t worry. Please let"s just do this." Nagisa reassures and insists to him, sounding almost determined. That was all Tomoya needed to push all doubts out of his mind. He trailed his kisses down her neck and felt himself aroused, hearing Nagisa"s soft moaning. His hands trailed down to Nagisa"s thighs, slowly making their way up, pulling along with them, her silky nightdress. Tomoya stopped his adventure and lifted Nagisa gently, letting them sit up at him, taking off her night clothes and throwing it away, not caring where it went on the room. Now for the first time, Tomoya can see Nagisa almost naked in full explicit view, her white panties being her only remaining garment. Tomoya took in a breath and his eyes widen as he marvels at her whole body, seeing how beautiful and even cute she can be. Tomoya can only stare at her naked body, her skin shining beautifully from the light of the moon. Nagisa is blushing deep shaded red with Tomoya gazing at her exposed body and nearly gives in at the urge to cover her breasts to him. Her breasts were quite a bit above average; still she has good mounds. "So...how is it?" Nagisa asked shyly after a couple of minutes of her boyfriend just staring at her like its some scenery. "You look astonishing. You"re beautiful." His words simply describe the angelic features that makes up Nagisa. He then brought her to him and kissed her again, making Nagisa moan in the kiss by his warmth. Later she lets go of the kiss and gently lift off his shirt; Tomoya pulled up his arms to help her along. She notices his average chest and caresses it; he may not be strong, but it"s all acceptable for Nagisa. "Tomoya..." Nagisa muttered as she puts her hands behind his head and gives him more deep kisses. Tomoya lays to his side and fell to his bed. He turns slightly to let him be above her, placing her in the pillows and kissed her for all it"s worth. Tomoya can feel her breasts pressing against his chest; Nagisa unknowingly pressing her chest against his. Tomoya begins to rub his chest against hers in return to let her breasts scrape against his while both are still kissing each other deeply. Nagisa moaned inside his mouth and puts her arms on his back to hug on to him more. He kisses her until both are out of breaths. While Nagisa is catching back her air, Tomoya takes this moment to take off her panties, pulling them down and threw it aside. Nagisa felt embarrassed but did not resist it; she felt defenseless under the man she loves deeply. He takes this moment to see his beloved angel"s body, leaving Nagisa more flushed under his gaze; her skin glows from the moon"s light that shines forth from the window. His right hand made its way to her left breast and gently squeezed it, careful not be too hard. She moaned from the sensation never before felt in her life. Tomoya squeezed in more, making her moan over and over. "How"re you feeling?" he asked in concern, probably not wanting to take an unfair advantage despite his old delinquent status. "Yes...it feels good..." Nagisa softly replied, her tone gives a sign she wants it. Complying to her silent message, Tomoya decided to kick it up a slowly becomes bolder in his moves as he massages both of her mounds softly in circular rotations, causing her to moans louder. "Oh Tomoya..." she moans into the air, being pleasured by his treatment. His thumbs instinctively play with her nipples until they were erect and rock-solid. After a while Tomoya lowers his face, kissing her breasts gently, then goes to suck and lick her left breast and while stimulating the right. Some minutes later, Tomoya switched places and applies the same actions. Nagisa moans sexily and encourages her beloved to keep on going as she"s helpless under his touch. Tomoya grows ever bolder as he puts his face in between her breasts, licking and kissing its valley, enjoying the sounds Nagisa sings out. Nagisa indeed sing out her pleasurable moans and sighs and of his name. Afterwards, Tomoya once again brings Nagisa closer and captures her lips, their naked upper bodies pressing onto one another, him still holding at her right breast. Nagisa can"t help but to embrace him more, letting their skin make contact to one another. Tomoya then ends his kissing and treatment to give her a break, not willing to take too much advantage, despite her letting him have his way; he"s unwilling to do that kind to his future wife. Nagisa puts her arms by her sides, looking up into her beloved"s eyes; her love for him sparkles in her eyes. Tomoya again glances down at her seemingly beautiful and angelic body. "Are fine with what I do?" he asked."Yes.""Should I on? Even go lower?""Yes." Tomoya can tell she wants more but doesn"t feel doing too much to her frail form; he"ll be careful in his actions and not push her too much. The way she acts is that she enjoys it while not feeling horny; Nagisa wants this to be more of a romantic night. He then goes to her neck, kissing them while slowly going down, to her collar bone, chest, and then back up to her face, his other hand travel down her lower hips. He opened her two-folds slowly, still careful in her delicate area, giving intense sensations coursing through Nagisa. His thumb is stimulating her clitoris while his index and middle finger carefully slides inside her hole, making Nagisa moaned very loud at his moves. Tomoya works on her but not going fast or hard; he wanted to let her get used to this new sensation she receives. "Uhh! Tomoya! Oh Tomoya!" she calls in between her loud moans, being pleasured by the movement of his fingers. Tomoya continued his little torture as he decides to insert 3 of his fingers in. His fingers stimulate her insides; though it barely reached her g-spot, it"s enough to make her moan and the pressure building. Perhaps he can toy with her a bit, wanting to get further into the mood. He suddenly removes his fingers from her, licking his hand to taste her. "She tastes sweet.' Tomoya thought to himself. He goes up to face her then felt her hands touch his cheek and let her future husband look directly at her yellow brown orbs. Her right hand reaches up to gently caress from his cheek, looks at him lovingly at his eyes. "Tomoya I love you a lot. I want to be yours forever." Nagisa said sweetly, her tone states for the real fact that she"s very much in-love with him. "Nagisa..." Tomoya is a bit speechless of what he heard. "You know I love you deeply Nagisa. You"re a special girl to me." Tomoya spoke with sincerity. Nagisa"s sweet smile only broadens; even in the dark her smile is bright for him to see. Tomoya felt he could not feel her in his low regions; he still wears his pants. He then unbuttons and unzips it, then pulls it down along with his cotton boxers as it"s been in the way too long. Now free of its confides, Nagisa notices the shape of his manhood and is blushing hard. After shaking useless embarrassing thoughts away, she focuses back at the task at the moment; nothing will spoil their romantic night. Tomoya lowers his face to hers and kisses her again, with Nagisa gladly kisses back. Tomoya"s kiss were a slightly hungry and a bit aggressive while Nagisa"s were gentle and passionate. She could not catch up to Tomoya"s level as she herself isn"t that strong at this. His wanting kiss and tongue simply overpowers her and can only submit under his power. Their tongues collide with one another, them exchanging saliva. Nagisa embraced him as she tries to catch up his kissing, moaning over and over into his wanting mouth. They can feel the contact of each other"s bare skin, a satisfying sensation. He can feel her low regions pressing up against his manhood, making him more aroused and the need of her touch. Nagisa lifted her hips to meet him, pressing it altogether. Afterwards they pull apart to breathe, all the while gaze each other in the eye lovingly for some time; their eyes show their deep love for one another. After all the time of the basic love making, they feel ready to take the final and important step. "Tomoya, come take me." Nagisa told him. "Are you sure? I could...umm it"s too early." Tomoya warned her with care. "I"ll be alright. I took one early one, recommended by Kyou." "Nagisa are you very sure? I can"t turn back on this." "Yes. Let"s at least have a first hand experience on this as a couple. So please, let me become yours." Tomoya never figured she"d be this wanting. He looks in her eyes and sees this is her final answer; her orbs glimmer with much affections. He spread her legs a little, giving him room to enter. "I"ll be gentle" he reassures to his girlfriend. He positions himself at her entrance, his tip grazing the delicate flesh, which made Nagisa let out short and sharp breaths. The tip of his penis split the lips apart, making Nagisa moan. He pushed himself slowly and further till he reached her hymen. Tomoya looks at her eyes, looking for any sign of what she feels. Nagisa nods up to him, Tomoya took it as the decision is made. Once their positions were proper, together the couple took a breath and Tomoya enters her. The hymen broke, her virginity forever his and both knew it. Nagisa let out a scream as she felt sharp jolts inside her like numerous spikes were poking at her delicate insides as she winced hard from the pain. "You ok Nagisa?" he asked in concern. "Y...yes...just stay still for a while." Nagisa answered, her tone a bit ragged from the pain. For once, Nagisa tries to pull off through this. Tomoya didn"t move for some minutes, letting her get used to his size and the pain settled down. He kissed her around the neck to comfort her more and Nagisa can only hold on to him. Minutes have passed, the awful pain dies down and Nagisa starts to relax. "Tomoya, I"m ok now." Nagisa said to him, telling him that it"s alright to go. Tomoya thrust gently at first, until Nagisa feels the ecstasy rising and he gradually picks up speed. "Oh Tomoya..." instinctively she started to move against him as the pleasure continues to rise. His movements begins to pick up speed, her moans are increasing in volume. She begins to wrap her legs tighter on his hips, attempting to make him go deeper. Tomoya can feel the ecstasy rising as her walls sort of massages his manhood as he goes in and out. Wanting the ecstasy, his thrusts picks up a little amounts of momentum. This delightful bliss continues to rise; Nagisa moans more and louder until its audible enough to sound throughout his room. She had placed her hands on his back and neck, holding on to him dearly. Tomoya drives harder yet not too forceful into her as her moans encourages him. The friction they"re feeling is delicious and ecstatic, their bodies feel each other"s warmth and sensation. Tomoya held her tight as he thrust in and out continuously. With the pleasure mounting, Nagisa"s moans became louder soon and Tomoya continued on to hear her moans that are now like music to his ears. "She"s enjoying this. Since we both want this, might as well go on.' he thought to himself. Tomoya now focuses on their business and pleasure engulfs both of them, Tomoya couldn"t think of anything else. Nagisa feels hot pleasure coursing through, a feeling she never before felt, and she likes it. "Feels like heaven...I"m happy I do this with Tomoya...' Her moans increases volume as Tomoya becomes a little bolder and going deeper, hitting her g-spot every time. Nagisa is enjoying this, feeling and understanding the meaning of pleasure, and she is happy doing it with Tomoya. Nagisa"s head sunk back into the pillow, she wraps her around his neck and his back, her legs pulling him in and also pushing herself up to meet him. She bucks harder, trying to meet his thrusts every time, but Tomoya kept picking up speed and soon Nagisa is unable to keep up. She decides to let Tomoya ride her all the way, being new to this. Nagisa then pulls him down for another deep kiss, their tongues dancing each other and trading each other"s spit. She wrapped her legs tighter, needing him to go deeper. Both moaned in the kiss as the two tastes each other"s saliva, and Nagisa loves the flavor of Tomoya as always in this situation. Her hands that are on his head and neck holds him tight as she hangs on him as Tomoya thrusts gets harder and faster, though Tomoya is still working on his love-making skills. Since his manhood is soaked with her fluids, it enabled him go smoother from the lubrication and him becoming skillful. Tomoya then parts from the kiss to focus more on the thrusting, he hears more of Nagisa"s cries of pleasure. "Ahhh! Tomoya!" Nagisa cried when they broke their kiss; Tomoya thrust into her steadily. His speed and pace steadily increases to high levels, already sending the two of them to this Nirvana feeling. Tomoya"s hard grunts and Nagisa"s sweet moans fills the room with this ecstatic duet from each thrust Tomoya makes. Both held each other tight, going in for this amazing ride. Nagisa"s own average breasts were squashed by his chest, her nipples against it. Tomoya and Nagisa were lost in this love making they were doing. When both sense nearing their release, his thrusts is at a crazy level; her thrusts doing deep penetrations; Tomoya"s doing good in his first time love-making. "AHH! Tomoya!" Nagisa cried as she holds him tighter. "Uh! Nagisa! It"s getting close...I"m going to!" Tomoya could not hold out from the coming release as the pressure builds and he can"t contain anymore. What"s more, he could not pull out as Nagisa got him trapped. The strain they feel can no longer be contained. "Nagisa!" he grunted deeply as he reaches his peak. "Tomoya!" Nagisa cried in the moment of the pleasurable release. Their honeys spilled to one another. At the moment of their climax, both of them hold each other very tight from the spasms of their wonderful release. As their spasms calms down, Tomoya fell to her side, taking the moment to catch their breath and energy. Nagisa still holds him tight by her arms and legs, not wanting to go soon. She again brings him down for another kiss, their tongues dance in their love game. They pull out once they"re out of breath again. They enjoy the love making they were doing, and both wanted more. "Nagisa is it alright for a last round?" Tomoya asked like a gentleman. It won"t be that bad for a last one for the love birds. "Yes my love, I don"t mind." Nagisa answered lovingly. Tomoya smiles at this, and positions himself again on top; knowing her, she"d probably not be on the top type. Nagisa looks up at him lovingly, seeing the moon"s light that made him look enchantingly handsome. Nagisa and Tomoya looked at each other directly, looking at one another with deep love shining in their eyes. "Tomoya..." Nagisa pulls down on his neck to kiss him again. Typical move of lovers, but they don"t mind. Again Nagisa wraps her arms around him and holds onto him tight, letting him ride on her. As Tomoya moves on her, he can feel her breasts and its nipples rubbing against his hard chest. Nagisa broke their tongue dancing and goes to his neck, inhaling the masculine scent of his being as well as the scent of his hair. His left hand goes to hold her right hand, the young lovers clasping it together. Tomoya feels happy at seeing her enjoying this feeling and Nagisa too feels the same, seeing him satisfied as well. As Tomoya does again of him pumping in her, Nagisa writhes and moans in pleasure beneath him. His free right hand goes around her body to touch her and feeling her curves. Nagisa puts her left hand on his neck and her legs wrapped around his waist, holding them tight like before. Tomoya"s free hand now goes to her left breast, giving Nagisa more pleasure. Her moans and cries of pleasure resonate through his room and into the night they share, like a new kind of an owl"s passionate hymn. He then goes to her neck to kiss it before going up to kiss her. Their tongues dance again while once more trading their spit. Tomoya pumps in deeper and harder while his free right hand squeezes her left breast, making Nagisa moan loud within his mouth. Minutes later he parted his lips from her, now going focus on pumping in her, hitting her g-spot with precision. "OH TOMOYA!" Nagisa screamed out, the pleasure is so intense. Tomoya likes the view of his future wife under him; her face flustered in pleasure and her writhing underneath him. Tomoya presses and squeezes her breast softly, then ceases it and let it hold her shoulder. He then focuses on doing precise and able thrusts, hitting her g-spot every time. Nagisa holds him more, her legs wrapped tight on his waist to help him. Nagisa keeps on moaning while Tomoya grunts with every stroke he makes. They felt nothing but heavenly bliss; both of them were lost in the love they are making. "Oh Tomoya! I love you...so much!" Nagisa called out in between moans. "I too love you Nagisa!" Tomoya grunted also in between his grunts. At this moment the pleasure reached surmountable heights, Tomoya"s thrusts and pumping increases speed. Nagisa presses and rubs her body on him, though only with little effort; she finds herself unable to keep up but doesn"t mind and let Tomoya be in control. Several minutes have passed in their love making. Both were lost in their love, and they enjoy every moment of it. They can feel the pressure reaching critical; her vaginal muscles now squeezes tightly on his manhood in a vice-like grip. With a last thrust and accurately hitting her g-spot, they reach the last climax. They not need to tell what they"ll feel next. "NAGISA!" "TOMOYAAAA!" Tomoya shoots up his seed into her womb and groaned deeply from the ecstatic release. Nagisa screamed like never in her life in incredible pleasure. Their hips are soaking wet from their honey, juices mixing together as one. They hold each other very tight to recover as their bodies tense from their release. Tomoya starts to get worn out and he slumps to her side panting. Nagisa cradles Tomoya like a precious treasure, seeing him tired and weary from this great experience. "Nagisa..." Tomoya muttered breathless. "Tomoya...Oh Tomoya..." Nagisa said softly. After regaining their air, Tomoya goes up to her to kiss her lips once more. Nagisa happily responds to his kiss. Their lips locked, tongues dancing once more and exchanging saliva. After deprived of air minutes later, Tomoya breaks the passionate kiss and once more looked at Nagisa"s lovely being. The moon"s light glistens on her naked form from the sweat, making her look stunningly enchanting like she"s an angel maiden. "She looks so beautiful under the moonlight...' Tomoya thought to himself. Tomoya attempted to get out of her but Nagisa"s legs won"t release him. "Tomoya, don"t. Let"s sleep like this." she pleaded. "Ok Nagisa." he complies to her, not wanting to argue against this. He then lay down to her side, pulling Nagisa up to him, letting her rest on top of him. Nagisa raises her right hand and gently caress his cheek.

She gets both of hands and both hold and clench their hands together. "Issei, let me come for you! Feel me!" Ravel tells to him with desire in her voice. "Yeah..." Issei can only say to her. Ravel thrusts more into him fervently, hips thrusting into him intensely and erotically. Few minutes later her walls then clench firmly around his length and Ravel lets out a cry of pleasure as she unloads her juices into him and raising her head up high, reaching that peak. Both clench their hands tight during this moment. Both had released their loads into one another for the third time. Their climax sends their bodies" muscles into a little spasm, which made them hold to each other very tight. Ravel falls to his chest, panting in utter exhaustion, satisfied of the sex they had. "Ravel, that was so good," Issei compliments to her breathless. "Issei...yeah, it was so good. You"re so good," Ravel also compliments, softly to him as she is spent but satisfied. After regaining their air, Ravel goes up to kiss him once more, Issei obviously responding to her. Their lips lock, tongues dancing again and exchanging drool while they press their bodies into each other. Ravel pushes her breasts more to him, knowing how much he loves it. When they"re deprived of air again and exhaustion now taken hold of them, they break their kiss and Issei lays Ravel down to his side. Ravel spoons him as he relaxes. "That was awesome Issei. You"re great as what they say you are," she compliments. "Yeah, thanks," Issei replies to her. Issei lay to her side with Ravel looking at him, still having her body pressed to him as close as possible. They enjoy one another"s company for a while until their eyelids become heavy. Issei yawns and places his arms around her. Ravel puts the blankets over them and places him in her embrace as she prepares to sleep with the one she loves. "I"m looking forward to make love to you again. I know you like it, I enjoyed it, I want to be pleasured by you again," Ravel says to him. "Sure, no problem. But is it ok if we go at it with other girls?" Issei asks to her, knowing the group sex he tends to be in. "Oh well, knowing you, I guess I can go along with it, as long as I get to be with you," Ravel says to her. She then goes forward to kiss him on the lips for just a couple of seconds. "Good night, Ravel. I love you, glad to have you in my harem," Issei says. "Sweet dreams, Issei. I love you too, and likewise. Remember, I"ll come to pleasure you again," Ravel responds to him and he winks at her. They then fall to slumber easily, them sleeping in each other"s loving embrace. Morning came and they woke up without a hitch. Ravel had woken up before Issei, looking at how cute and handsome he is when sleeping. After a nice breakfast, they check out and head back to the Hyoudou Residence. "Welcome back, Issei, Ravel," Akeno was the first to greet them followed by Asia, Xenovia and Irina. Rias then comes to them. "I take it you both had a great time together," Rias says to them. "Yes, we have. Thanks for this one, Rias," Ravel says to her. It was then that Koneko decides to come forth to them. Koneko had a bit of a stare at Issei. "So Issei, how was it with her?" Koneko asks with a firm but careful tone to not sound demanding. "Well, to be honest, it was nice," Issei can only say to her, but Koneko gets the picture. "I see," the cat girl can only say. And then Koneko clings to his left arm. "Next time, I"d get to pleasure you too again, to show I can please you," Koneko says to him. "Hey wait, I can still please him as well!" Ravel shot back at her, now holding on to his right arm. "Now girls, don"t fight, let"s just keep things fair, ok? You could go share me if you have to," Issei tries to calm them down. "That"s a good idea," Koneko and Ravel said it together, then they look at each other as if wanting to outdo on who gets to please Issei the most. "Oh my, Ise gets to make love to multiple girls, I like it!" Akeno comments from the sidelines. Rias can only sigh, knowing that her Issei is like this. "That"s what my Ise is for you. I know there"ll be more from here," Rias remarks to her, looking at Issei with the girls around him. END This may not be my best, but at least here"s my own take of Ravel for you guys. For those that want to see Ravel, here it is. Now do note that I don"t do requests, but I am planning to do other girls here like what I"ve mentioned above. Of course I"ll be doing also my Omamori Himari fic along with it, so look forward for that as well if you wish to see it. As for the next girl I"ll do following this, I reckon you"d be very much looking forward to this: Raynare. This can get a little tricky as I want to make her be part of his harem without changing much of had transpired, so what I thought is that they get to fight an evil twin of hers instead. Sounds strange, but that is my take for this one if I were to get Raynare be part of Issei"s harem. I like to make her do erotic stuff for him so he can be at ease with her. You"ll understand once I got my fic of it posted. Perhaps this can get you to look forward to my next chapter, but please be patient with this. As usual, I hope you still get to enjoy this and see you soon. Have a good day. Chapter 11 For this chapter here, this is going to be unique take on how I make a lemon fic here, and there"s gonna be a story to be made in here. I did mention about personally say that Omamori Himari, Trinity Seven and Heaven"s Lost Property crossover well into DxD because they"re all harem, now that will be evident right here for this girl. If you happen to know them, then you"ll know the characters from there that I"ll input here as one part of one story here you"re familiar with. This may look strange to you, but this is what I decided on because I feel they fit well with this. You"d likely have other choices to crossover in this, but this just me personally doing this as I like them and I go with my personal choices with how I want it to go in this crossover idea of mine. Hope you still like it though, even if it does appear different and strange to you. Please don"t flame me for making this story of mine. I will do Raynare in what I made for it; I saw some other authors about having Raynare getting to be with Issei, I say they did a good job at it on their own and in their style, however this is my own personal take on it. I thought up on having an identical twin of her to which they"ll confront, and I do this because I want a way for DxD to still go the way it is as it was before while a way for Raynare to join Issei and be part of his harem. We can"t deny how hot Raynare is, thus we"ve been making our own story about her being with Issei, but as I said, this is my take on it. Plus it could be interesting to her voice actresses, especially Felecia Angelle, to voice both of them as if she"s fighting against herself. For this evil twin they"ll face, I decided to go for the misspelled name of her back before: Reynalle. It may be odd and maybe uncreative to you, but this first villain is one that"s doomed to fall. We know how villainous she is, so let this one that"ll the take the fall take it. For this, I am going to write in Raynare"s perspective, so it"s gonna be a POV fic. I"ll make this fic according to what I know and feel like making this to be to make it fitting and giving her some backstory. Please no flames, don"t be harsh and I hope you"ll enjoy this one, like the story I made for her as this is my creativity. As I write this, I discovered that this is kind of long to put it all in one chapter, so I decided to split it in two parts: this one a backstory so you could understand and get the gist of it, and the next one will be the lemon part. I got these from the dub of DxD, which I made some alterations to befit this crossover, though the main focus is on Raynare. Pairing: Issei x Raynare Chapter Short Summary: A backstory of Raynare on how she came to defect and side with Issei. I bore the name Raynare. Born from the heavens, unfortunately I have left it and became a fallen due to me having lustful intent and desires. My identical twin, Reynalle, was also banished due to a different kind of offense she has done. Together we were casted out, and came down onto Earth and resided into this place, a country called Japan. We joined a band of fallen angels there, with its leader, Azazel, in power. For some time living and adjusting there, we"ve been getting used to live in there. I made a little living for myself as I took work at some strip club there, which is something I like to do. Have that sort of desire in me, somehow I find doing stripteases enjoyable and like being watched by this. Before I know it, I became the popular girl there due to my attractive body and feeling cheerful there. Despite me liking it and able to gain some money, I still feel something"s missing: a guy who I can be with. When I"m not at the strip club, I usually help around in Reynalle"s lair. In there, I helped a girl named Asia Argento and we bonded together, with me being the only one seems to be nice for her. Still it feels more of being a caretaker more than a friend. I had no idea what Reynalle intends to do to her as of yet. Things seem to be normal until me and Reynalle were given a task by Azazel to look at a guy named Issei Hyoudou, to spy on him because it is believed he possesses the Sacred Gear residing in him. My first impressions on him are that he"s just a normal but somewhat good-looking guy with perverted tendencies, someone who may be no different from me as I"m kind of a lustful girl myself. For some time, we were spying on him and I get to know him a little, to which I inexplicably started to develop a crush on him. A lot of girls in his school are obviously and very much turned off by him and his two pals" perverted antics, yet I find a bit alluring. One day, Reynalle has a plan and told me to go under the guise and alias of "Yuuma Amano" and ask him to go on a date. "Why I do that?" I asked my twin. "Well, err, you go ask him out then I"ll go for it. This me confessing to him, I find it rather a...chore for me to do. Think you can do it? I"m asking you for this favor, dear sister," she replied to me. I find it baffling why I do it not her, but I interpret it as she likes to date him as well. Perhaps we could get a share and Issei may not figure out the difference in terms of appearance since we appear so much alike. It might be hilarious to see Issei"s reaction on each of us dating him, we could switch places and he wouldn"t notice; the personality might shift, which will be subtle hint of us switching places, and he still thinks it"s one person. This will be interesting. "Very well then. If you"re gonna date him, let me have a shot at it too," I replied to her, to which she just nods. I feel happy, thinking that things could turn into something new and interesting in our lives. One afternoon, I came upon Issei who appears to be heading home. I was wearing this school uniform unknown to all, thinking it"s a uniform from another school, to which never exists at all as this is something Reynalle made. I then approach Issei upon a bridge. "Excuse me," I began, "you"re Issei Hyoudou from Kuoh Academy, right? Or am I wrong?" Issei looks to his left to face me. "Um, yeah?" he acknowledges quizzically, looking at me with curiosity. "Hi, I, ah," I stutter, feeling rather shy under his apparent inquisitive gaze. Normally I wouldn"t feel like this, but here I am before the person I develop a crush on. "Um, hey is there anything I can help you with?" he asks, turning to me. "Sort of," I replied as a wind blew up my miniskirt, to which I pay no heed to. I still press on. "I just wanted to ask a quick question: are you seeing anyone right now?" "Now? No," he answered. "That"s wonderful!" I exclaimed softly, still feeling shy. "It is?" he questions, more puzzled than ever. "Ah, in that case, since you"re single, do you think you"d like to go out with me?" I asked that one thing I wanted to ask, but I manage to pull it through. I notice Issei was startled at this, something he never expected to a girl asking him out. I can tell this is his first time and so is mine. "Go out with you? Um, I..." he tries to gather the words to reply back to me. "I"ve been watching, you pass by here a lot and you seem so...I don"t know...gentle, and very handsome, and I...see, the thing is..." I now summon all my courage and efforts in this. I can"t afford to blow this up. "I"d like for you to be my boyfriend!" I said it straight and true. Issei was definitely surprised at this. For a moment that seems like a lifetime, there"s an awkward silence between us and I can feel my heart racing by. "Go out?" he asked, getting closer to me. "Yeah. Next Sunday afternoon. Can you do it?" "Sure. That sounds great. I can do it anytime you want," Issei says to me. "It"s a date then," I happily proclaim. I lean a bit close to him, saying, "night!" "Yeah, you too," he says to me likewise. I then turn and jog in the opposite direction. For a moment, I feel such elation. Then I stop and turn to him once more. "I really am happy you"re my boyfriend!" I said to him and then continue to jog on. I can just see it now: Issei also happy and wanting to jump around. The feeling is mutual; I feel a sense of sweet victory in this. I feel relieved I let it out, with Reynalle apparently pushing me to go for this. I arrived at the abandoned church where we make our hideout just as the sun slips down over the horizon and the night slowly engulfs the skies. We have our own group of fallen in there. Reynalle was waiting for me at the entrance. "How"d it go?" she asked to me, eager for the outcome. "He accepted!" I happily told her. "Ah, yes. Good work, sister!" she complimented. "Right. Remember, we can switch out, right?" "Yes. We will get things in motion now." From what she said, I thought it is something else, so I don"t suspect much. Maybe she wanted to share Issei as well. However I still have a task to do: I myself still need to do work at the strip club there somewhere. Now that I found Issei, I could just leave the club and do something really special for him. He"ll surely be shocked that I"m a soon-to-be used to be a stripper at a club here, he could be twice as shocked that he"s been dating identical twins switching places, although it"ll be an utmost nuclear shock that I"ll reveal to him that I am or we"re both fallen angels. But perhaps I feel I could do a little more work here until I"ll eventually leave, which will be soon. I was happy during work, but I feel I"ll be twice as happy and thrilled to do this for Issei. A day came when I meet Issei and introduce me to his friends Matsuda and Motohama, I greeted them normally and showing not much interest in them. I can tell how much they"re envious of Issei that he got a girl asking him out...a hot girl no less. We then go out on the date on Sunday as we had planned. And also what me and Reynalle planned, we switched on that particular day. "Have fun!" I told Reynalle. "Yeah sure," she replied to me rather stoically. I saw her going to Issei and greeting him, then going out with him. I giggled, laughing inwardly about how he cannot tell the difference. I then went on going on my day. I would have no idea of what Reynalle would intend to do to Issei, a way I never expected, an event that will change things forever, going into a point to where nothing will be reversed, no going back from. I returned to the abandoned church that night, still wearing that unknown school uniform. I"m looking forward to my actual date with Issei this time once she tells me what"s going to be the next schedule she has given to him. I wait for a little while when Reynalle returns. I see her in her fallen angel form, something that we both share, but with a little difference. I find it puzzling. "Hey sis, why are you in that form? How"s the date with Issei? Did something happen?" I ask to her. "Well, the date"s just a waste of my time. And Issei"s dead, slain by my hand," she coldly states. I feel my heart"s been pierced by a light spear and crushed by a mountain into dust. I was just so shocked at how things went, how she"d do that, how she went to defy orders given to us by Azazel. "What!? Why, why"d you do that?! I never got the chance to go with him, and we were told simply to observe and spy on him! Reynalle, what were you thinking?!" I question her, despair starting to overcome me. "That human poses grave a threat to us and I found out he"s not really worth your time. You"d rather thank me later for saving you the trouble of going out with that waste of a man. Besides it saves us a lot of trouble," Reynalle heartlessly told me. I just couldn"t believe what I"m hearing. I was at a loss for words, my heart sank into a void, I look down. "Don"t be concerned about him any longer. We got tasks to do. And one thing: don"t tell lord Azazel about this," she said to me, walking pass me back into the abandoned church. I just stand there, in utter silence, disbelief and in despair. Why"d she do this? I never got the chance. She also disobeyed an order from Azazel to spy on him. This is sure to put us in an uncomfortable position. Feeling bereft of anything, I begin walking away from our hideout, heading out to the city with no sense of direction or destination. I wandered around mindlessly, also heading to places where I talked to Issei, the place where I last saw him alive. My mind began thinking: if we didn"t switch out and I went out with him instead, perhaps he"ll still be alive? Would it make any difference if I dated him and the next date will be Reynalle"s turn? My thoughts turn to my twin sister: how could she deceive me like this? Still wondering mindlessly and just go in my thoughts, I head to this place, a fountain (a place where I did not know Issei will be murdered by Reynalle and his body was nowhere to be found) where I sit down. My mind just thinks about Issei a lot, a pervert that I actually have a crush on. I thought about what we could do on dates, something that"s relatively unknown to me, to which I think he could show me. Then I think about what it would"ve been if I just go at it and not Reynalle. I thought about her again; maybe she could be right about him? Still, she deceived me. My sister, whom we"ve been through a lot together, now I feel strained and distant. For a few days, I felt depressed and gloomy, with me refusing to see my sister. I still have to go to the strip club, to which I tried my best, but it was not to be. I can tell some begin to notice me feeling kind of bummed, out of place and not all enthusiastic as what other fellow strippers pointed out to me later. I tried to cover it up, but it"s a hopeless fight. I can only just endure with it to the night, still not wanting to disappoint anyone there. When it"s time for me to go, I felt a bit relieved. I feel I just lost the edge here, not when my sister deceived me. I"m still devastated over me not able to get on a date with Issei and at least getting to know him. I could just report this to Azazel, but this will further strain us. I"m still completely unsure. Ooh, this is just so messed up! It was just another day going by for me, with me still feeling lost and depressed. On this particular day, I was just walking around when I gaze upon something that has a familiar face walking around the streets with Asia. When he gazes to the side and my heart skipped a beat. I recognize that face, it"s Issei! It can"t be, Reynalle told me he"s been dead by her hands! How is this ever possible that he"s still alive to be walking around going out with Asia? I followed them silently from a distance, with me not believing its Issei. I began to feel my hopes getting up, that Issei"s still alive. Did he survive or was Reynalle just bluffing towards me? I intend to find for myself. I found them sitting at the park, just them hanging out with one another, appearing to have a great time. Nothing much, until Reynalle shows up. Issei then shows he has this Sacred Gear with him but is beaten by her and took Asia away back to our main lair. I then knew of Reynalle"s intentions and that"s when I just seem to snap. This is something I cannot abide by. I then discovered there as to how Issei came back: he"s been reincarnated into a devil. This is quite a shocker, but I don"t care about it. I decided to help Issei, but first I need to do something. That"s when I got contacted by Reynalle, ordering me to get back to the abandoned church. I went along and got there, with her and other of the fallen angels: Dohnaseek, Kalawarner and Mittelt taking in Asia. "Reynalle, what is going on?" I asked. "It appears your little man Issei is still alive. He"s coming after us, after Asia for sure. I need you to help me out on things," she said to me. She told me about her plans and her intention to steal Asia"s Twilight Healing. "Wait, what? Doing this will kill her! Worse, we"re going against what lord Azazel wants us to do! We"re doing this behind his back!" I implore to them. "I know, but if we do this, we can please him and be able to do our kind a favor from this," Reynalle states. "Ok, but I still feel us going this behind his back is not worthwhile. I say we got to stop this radical move before it gets any worse for us," I protest to them.

I"ve come to like it some weeks ago and became a fan. I saw another Saito x Louise lemon and it gave me an inspiration and I feel like making this. I wanna make a fic about them in my take, the way how I can do it, so no ripping from it, k? I don"t know how good or bad my writings or my story style here, I might"ve repeated a few lines and I might"ve made some errors or may have overlooked something, but I"ve done what I can do here since I want to detail everything and fixed a few errors. I hope you"ll have a good time reading this. Enjoy this one! Hope it"s good! The night falls in as the sun retires for the day as darkness occupies the heavens. The mage Louise and her heroic familiar Saito, return to Louise"s quarters after their date in the nearby town. They"ve now been together for 2 years and have been through many, and at the same time growing closer to one another; their feelings grow deeper as they evidently further fell in-love. It is nighttime and they"re preparing for the night, waiting for what the next day will bring. Saito prepares his little bed on the floor, like the way normal Japanese people would. "Saito..." Louise suddenly calls to Saito as she"s sitting on her bed. "Yes?" he responds. "Umm...you can sleep here...with me...if you like." Louise shyly tells him. Inwardly, she wants Saito to be with her. Saito can only nod and comply, though he too is shy. He hesitantly sat at the bed on her left. Saito has his shirt on and jeans for the sleep while Louise is in her white shirt portion of her usual uniform. There was a short period of silence between them as neither makes a move or sound a word. Slowly, Louise moves her hand and holds his hand next to her. Saito is shaking inwardly and hesitates to do anything. Their hearts begin a race as it pounds rapidly in their chests. "Saito...do you really love me?" Louise asked. Saito has his hand holds hers now and held her right hand tight. "Yes Louise, I love you very much. What I said on the boat is true." Saito stated to her. Louise looked into his azure eyes, seeing nothing but honesty in his orbs as he said it. Louise stares deeply into his eyes, his charming and smoldering gaze made her weak at the knees. Her feelings for him that grows over time, and she feels she can no longer hide it. Louise thinks this is finally the time to express it for him. After all the crazy things she"s done to Saito, she would at least make up for all she"s done. She was shy before, now is her chance, her moment for this. Saito moves his free left hand and caress her cheek with the back of his hand. "Louise, do you also love me?" he asked. Louise couldn"t hide how she feels about him anymore. "Yes, I do love you!" Louise proclaimed and suddenly moved forward and kissed his lips passionately. Saito is caught a bit off-guard, usually it was him to kiss her first. He then relaxed into it, closes his eyes and kissed her in return. They kiss each other with passion; their kiss romantic and filled with want as it lasted several minutes. Their arms secure each other, wanting the warmth of one another. Romance fills the atmosphere of Louise"s room, the heat rising. Their kiss intensifies and soon Saito"s tongue licks her lips asking her permission to come in. Louise happily accepts, and their tongues dance happily inside their mouths and their lips pressed lovingly and move around as they exchange saliva and taste one another. Eventually both lovers had to break off as they need air. Her white shirt fell slightly from her shoulders as they"ve kissed. "Saito, I want to...um..." Louise stuttered. "What is it?" "I...I want to...consummate our love. So please, let us do this." Louise said to him. Saito blushed, caught off-guard about they would eventually come to this. "You sure?" he asked to her, a bit uncertain. She nodded her head. "Besides, that day before you go to battle, in my mind, I guess we"re married on that day, so it"s alright." Louise reminded him as they remember that time. "Alright then..." Saito agrees and then gently seizes her pink lips, Louise closed her eyes and surrenders to his touch. Both were lost in the kissing frenzy. Louise enjoys kissing Saito, but figures it"s time for something new, to take their relationship to another level and she knows it. Louise just drowns herself into his essence and Saito did the same. His hands travel down and strokes her hip, Louise gasped a little in the kiss as he does this. Her arms secures him to her as she submits to his warmth. Like before, their tongues do physical movements with one another, which is more passionate this time; their saliva go into their mouths as they make a trade them. Louise can think of nothing but Saito; she wants his touch, his love for her. As they"re kissing, Louise knew something in her mind: Saito had done a lot for her while she would ill-treat him whenever she had a hasty conclusion about him being with other girls. Louise now thinks it"s time for a new pace in their relationship. "You"ve always done a lot for me...I"ll be good to you from now on...It"s time for a new pace for the better...' Louise declared in her thoughts. As they"re nearing the loss of air in them, they had to break their kiss. Louise looks into eyes, grayish-blue color that glints brightly in the dark like the moon; Louise can see the growing desire in his eyes, and the strong fire that burns within him. Louise shifted in her position from his side and onto him; she moved her left leg to be at his right side, enabling her to sit on Saito"s lap, her legs around him. In her room where the lights were off, the moon"s radiance were their only source of light. And from the moon"s light that Saito can see the intense desire and love in Louise"s pink eyes. "Saito, you can...do whatever you want to me. I really want to...make love to you..." Louise said, looking into him, her voice filled with longing. "Then will you allow me?" Saito asked gently. "Yes..." Louise said, with a little tone of finality; inwardly she had wanted this for a long time. While on him, Louise slithers her hands inside his shirt and caress his chest, making Saito gasp. Louise"s lips now inch towards his and Saito couldn"t move like she put a charm on him. Saito carefully puts his hand on her hips and that"s when Louise dove in for a kiss, her hands at the back of his head. She presses her chest against him, desperate for contact; perhaps desperate because other girls have bigger breasts than hers and feels she refuses to be outdone by them, although her breasts now have grown slightly. Louise presses herself harder but figured the clothes were in the way. She let go of the kiss and gently takes off his shirt; Saito pulled up his arms to help her along. She notices his fine chest decorated with a few scars from all their adventures and the battles he faced along with a few inflicted by none other than herself. Louise caresses them as if trying to make them go away. Louise then takes his hands and to the helm of her white buttoned shirt. She gave him a reassuring look and permits him to take it off. Saito understood what she meant and complies to her and begins to unbutton them one by one. Her white shirt already fell on her shoulders, now Saito helps by bringing it down. Louise shakes it off to let it fall off her and tossed it somewhere. Louise is now left in her white panties and Saito can"t help but to stare at her fine angelic body. Saito can feel his hard on growing as he feels a little tightness in his pants. Her breasts have grown slightly bigger, though nowhere big as the other girls such as Siesta, Tiffania, Henrietta and Kirche but still Louise"s breasts are quite alright for him. Saito also takes a moment to look at her body, her skin radiating beautifully from the moon"s light. Louise greatly blushes deep shades of red as a response from his reaction. "I"m sorry if they"re not big as you hope it to be. It"s something I have no control over." Louise apologized to Saito, referring to her body lacking figure. "It doesn"t matter. You"re fine by me." Saito reassures to her, which makes Louise feel relieved. She then places her hand on his crotch, making Saito groan from the ecstasy she"s giving him. Later Louise puts her hands behind his head and gives him more deep and fierce kisses. She pulls him down to the bed, placing herself in the pillows while Saito kisses her for all it"s worth. Saito can feel her breasts pressing against his chest; Louise fervently presses her chest against his, silently telling him she is somehow better than the other girls. As they kiss, Louise turns around to now be on top of him. Louise begins to rub her body against his while both are still kissing each other deeply. Saito moaned inside her mouth and Louise presses herself harder on him. She kisses him until both need air. She takes this moment to take off his pants, Saito helping her along. He unzips it and Louise pulls them down and threw it aside, leaving him in his boxers. Louise doesn"t know the kinds of things guys wear underneath them, especially if it comes from the world Saito came from. Saito"s hands find themselves at her hips, his fingers hooked around her panties. "May I?" Saito asked gently and cautiously. "Yes you may." Louise answered, reassuring her lover. With permission given, Saito slowly tugs down her panties, inch by inch until it"s around her thighs. Louise helped him take down and once at her ankles she kicked it aside. Louise then goes down to the bed and purposely let Saito be on top of her. Saito revels at looking at her beautiful naked body. "You"re beautiful Louise." Saito said again sincerely, making Louise blush bloody red. "Oh Saito..." she too is at a loss for words, his smoldering azures looking down at her made her feel helpless under him. Her hands reach to caress his chest once more, Saito slightly gasped from her warm touch, a thing he never experiences from her that often. Saito goes down to kiss her again and both were locked in another round of tongues dueling. His hands reaches down to her hips and caress them, her hands hold themselves in random places of him. His chest pressed against her breasts, this somehow makes Louise smile inwardly. Once again Louise switch their places and she"s on top of him. Louise breaks the kiss and looks down at his fine body. Later she helps him sit up and stares at his eyes again while her hands caress his strong body. The light of the moon, their only source of light, illuminate their eyes with radiance. Louise"s hands now clasp at his boxers and want to pull them down. Saito helps her and threw them somewhere, not caring where they"ll land. She unexpectedly pushes him down and takes this moment to see her beloved familiar"s body; his skin glows from the moon"s light that shines forth from the windows. Louise takes her sights on his manhood and stares at it longingly, leaving Saito a bit embarrassed under her gaze. "Your body seems much chiseled, my man." Louise teasingly said while giving him a cute wink; Saito flushed from her. Looking down at his manhood, though Louise instinctively knows, she has limited knowledge when it comes to topics of sex. Seeing its size, she feels slightly nervous, but she has to put that concern aside; nothing will stop her from getting her chance with Saito. Suddenly she brings herself down to Saito with a deep, hot and hungry kiss, letting their naked bodies press onto one another. Both gasped in their kiss from their touch now they are nude, the contact of their skins delivering an ecstatic bliss. The euphoric touch of one another made them want each other more, feeling more aroused. One of her hands went down to touch his shaft, curious about a part that only the male species can have. Saito gasped from her touch and moaned out. "Could I go on?" she asked, concerned if she might hurt him. Saito nodded at her, then her hands toy his shaft. Saito writhes and moans in pleasure from her ministration on him; this is something new for her to do something on him. Louise continues to play with his manhood, enjoying sounds of his moans and wanting to know more about this certain part. Traces of his cum pour from the tip and Louise"s fingers get them and put the little pint in her mouth. "Tastes sweet...' she thought. After a while Louise embraces him as she wants more of him. Both can"t help but to hold each other more, letting their bodies make contact. This is their first time experiencing this kind of touch, and they like the pleasures it provides. Louise loves the sensation of his skin against hers; she finds herself enjoying his touch which she never knew she would. "So this is love...' Louise ponders in her mind, a bit curious to know what making love is. Both lovers continue to kiss and pressing their bodies to one another for some minutes, enjoying one another. Saito pressed his right hand on the back of his neck to deepen the kiss while the left hand caresses her thigh and her buttocks, giving Louise an intense sensation from below her. Louise"s hand then grabs his right hand and guides it to her left breast. Saito gently squeezed it, making Louise gasp in pleasure in the kiss. He then broke their loving kiss as his air is nearing depletion, still underneath her. Saito becomes bolder in his moves as he lets his left hand move from her neck to her right breast. Louise moaned in the air as she feels the touch of his hands on her average breasts. He massages them softly in circular rotations, causing her to moans go to the next volume level. "Oh Saito..." she holds her head up high and moan in pleasure, being pleasured by what he administers. His thumbs play with her nipples until they were erect and rock-solid. Saito pushed her up so that they"ll be in a sitting position, then he sucks and licks her right breast and while stimulating the left. Some minutes later, Saito switches breasts and applies the same actions. The pink-haired angel moans sexily and encourages her familiar love to keep going. He continues to suck and lick her nipples, making her moan continuously. Saito then puts his face in between her breasts, licking and kissing its valley, not caring how small or average they are. Louise can only sing out her pleasurable moans and sighs and of his name, her arousal getting high like never before. Saito then turns their positions around so he can be on top this time. Louise lies down with her arms by her sides, looking up into her lover"s eyes and smiles; her love for him sparkles in her eyes. Saito smiles back while looking at her seemingly beautiful body. From there Saito again goes down to take and taste her lips, which Louise happily kisses back. Then he goes to her neck, kissing it while slowly going down, to her collar bone, chest, her belly and then down to her clit. They now leave their actions say all of their love as words are not needed at the moment. Saito opened her tight two-folds, giving intense sensations on Louise. His thumb stimulates her clitoris while his index and middle finger slides inside her hole, Louise moaned very loud at his treatment. He works on her but not yet going fast or hard; he wanted to hear her moans and seeing his little pink angel writhe in scorching delicious pleasure. "Uuhhh! Saito! Saito!!" she moans louder, pleasurably tortured by his moves. Saito continued his treatment until he inserts 3 of his fingers in. His fingers stimulate her canal it"s enough to make her moan and the pressure building. "Saito! More! Please..." she begged to him and Saito easily complies. Louise moaned very loud and her hands pull in his hand deeper. Saito then inserts his tongue inside her clitoris, Louise can only moan his name louder and feel this heated ecstasy. Saito stimulates her on until the pressure builds; Louise screamed in pleasure as her juices were released and goes into Saito"s waiting hand. Saito licks all her sweet liquids on his hand, retrieving all that had spilled so to not let it get wasted. "Tastes sweet...' Saito thought to himself. He goes up to face her then felt her hands touch his cheek and let Saito look directly at her pink orbs. "Saito...allow me to please you." Louise cooed and her familiar knight can only nod. Louise now flips Saito over with a little force as he lands with a little "oof". Her right hand goes down from his cheek, to his chest and down all the way to his manhood. Louise rubs his rod and testicles gently, making Saito writhe and moan in pleasure under her. Louise kisses him deeply, then goes to his neck. She goes down to his chest, nuzzling her face into it to bathe in his masculinity. She goes then goes to his chest and licks all that made a man. Louise then go up to face his handsome face. She caresses his cheek, looks at him lovingly at his eyes. "Saito...I"m yours forever..." Louise cooed, her tone states for the fact that she"s very much in-love with him. "Louise..." Saito is a bit speechless of what he heard. "Louise, you know I love you deeply and greatly, even though you can be hard to handle." Saito spoke with sincerity. Louise giggled from his remark and her smile broadens; even in the dark her smile is bright for him to see. She let them swap positions again and Saito prepares himself for entry. Louise spreads her legs, signaling him for the love they will soon make. "You sure you"re ready?" Saito asked in a caring tone. "Yes..." her tone indicates her choice is final. With that granted Louise readies herself for entry. Once their positions were proper, Saito slowly let his tip enter her tight interior. He goes a bit further and reaches her hymen. Louise nods at him, permitting him to do it. Saito pushes onward, breaching her hymen, her virginity now belong to him forever. Louise grits her teeth as she felt sharp jolts inside her like a dozen or so needles were poking at her delicate part, but Louise let this pain be some sort of purgatory for all the crazy misfits she done onto him. Knowing she"s in pain, Saito stays still for some minutes, letting her adjust. "Saito..." Louise started to move against him as the pain becomes pleasure, and its blissful sensation continues to rise. His movements slowly pick up speed, her moans increasing in volume. The pain is completely gone, with a great feeling taking over. Instinct now drives Saito on as his thrusts became as intense, them moving in a rhythm. Louise"s moans became loud, Saito"s grunts go in duet with hers. The friction he feels on his hard erection is great, as he pumps into her, reaching her g-spot. Louise then flips him around, wanting a taste of pleasure done into her. His right hand holds her left hand while his free hand goes around her body to touch her and feeling her perfect curves. Louise puts her right hand on his neck and her legs wrapped around his waist, holding them securely. Saito"s free hand goes to her right breast, giving her additional pleasure. Later Saito wraps his arms around her as she embraces him tight like before. Louise then rubs her body up and down on him; Louise moves her hips into him as she repeatedly impales herself on it, thrusting herself for his manhood to go in further. Louise then goes to his neck, inhaling the masculine and hard scent of his being as well as the scent of his hair. The nipples of her breasts scrape along his chest, as she somehow likes to do it on him. Louise goes up and down which picks up speed in a short time. She goes up to Saito and wraps her arms behind him and moving into him, with Saito moving to meet her thrusts that intensifies by each passing minute. He holds her tight with his arms around her, his hands going anywhere they want; Saito now enjoys the immense ecstasy his love"s giving him. Louise is pleased at this, seeing him enjoying this she"s giving to her love. Louise keeps up the pace, the intensity builds up and they reach their first orgasm of their lives. "Louise!!!" "Oh Saito!!!" "I...I can feel it...I"m..." "Saito...I want it!!" Louise thrusts harder into Saito, wanting to give both of them the first blissful release they had in their lives. She thrust herself with sheer fervent and Saito pumps up into her clit until their low regions exploded from the ecstasy. Saito ejaculates in her and Louise cummed on him. Their pleasurable screams echo throughout Louise"s room, their juices had come to soak their hips. Louise fell and lied down on Saito, taking a momentary rest after their first ever experience of an orgasm. Her left hand holds Louise"s right hand while her right gently caresses his chest and then his cheek. Louise looks at him lovingly, seeing the moon"s light that made him look enchantingly handsome even from his messy and tired looks and sweat glistening on his skin. They rested for some minutes, regaining energy for their tired bodies. Louise and Saito looked at each other directly, looking at one another with deep love shining in their eyes. "Hey Saito, do something for me..." Louise suddenly requested. "What?" Saito got the answer when Louise reluctantly pulls herself away from his dick and let them stand up. There she moves backwards, pulling Saito with her until she"s backed up against the wall, just beside her bed. "You know what to do." Louise said and he understood.