The Experiment - Writing.Com

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Below The Surface...Lie Dead Men's Bones
learn the chilling fact of life in this poem that was even given an awardicoin

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[Introduction] Two teens have been held by the so call PMREHA Or the Project of Mental Research on the Enhancement of Human Abilities. These two were taken in their young years and subjected to a seemingly infinite amount of Mental and physical agony that left them both scarred both mentally and physically. They're the lucky ones. The rest of the children that were taken with them perished during the tests in varied gruesome and horrible ways. Now they sek revenge, for themselves and the those that died.

Rules-
No killing of other players
I do not limit the players. Initially there will be two invites, but if you want a part message me and I can fit you in as someone sympathetic to their cause.
Cursing IS allowed.
Blah blah blah, no Sex blah.

Enjoy.

{Query: Patient information}
[accepted]
{Query: Active Patients}
[Confirmed:
List of Active patients:
KF-04 (Seer)
KF-72 (Unknown)
End List]
{Query: KF-04-personal information}
[Acknowledged...
Begin Document:

Name: Experiment KF-04 (codename: Seer)
Chosen Name: Tiresias
Age: 19
Gender: M
Ability Readout: Increased perception abilities, highly expressed vestibular sense. Foresight, ability to see into the future, though his predictions are rarely perfect and always changable, though only very rarely does that occur. Telekinesis, Ability to move object with only mental strain, incapable of lifting truly massive object or in abusing the ability. Takes great strain, though he will die before he stops if necessary and it is greatly empowered in times of great stress.
Defunct Facilities: Extreme paranoia. Decreased ability to associate with others. Extremely aggressive against our workers. Mental instability. most interestingly, Patient seems incapable of remembering most past event. Retains knowledge of his own identity but outside of truly traumatic events he cannot remember the past as soon as it passes.
Notes on abduction: Parents volunteered him at age 7 for testing. Hated him with a passion that was uncanny, and he expresses that hatred toward everyone around him a hundred-fold.
Appearance: Height: 5'8" Hair: Black Eyes: Silver

End document]
{Command: Terminate information on KF-04}
[Denied. Advisory, breakout on containment sector. Possiblity of subject escape: 98%.]
{Command: Override emergency procedures. Authorization Alpha-04}
[Acknowleded.]
{Command: Delete information on KF-04}
[Acknowledged. Data on Subject KF-04 deleted}
{Command: Terminate current operations}
[Acknowledged, Good Night Seer.]

{Query: Patient Information}
[accepted]
{Query: Active Patients}
[Confirmed:
List of Active Patients:
KF-04 (Seer)
KF-72 (Umbra)
End List]
{Query: KF-72-personal information}
[Acknowledged...
Begin Document:

Name: Experiment KF-72 (codename: Umbra)
Chosen Name: Shadow
Age: 16
Gender: M
Ability Readout: Can seemingly tap into a dark energy source, that we have decided to call the "nether" force, and use it to his will. Can shoot tendrils of a dark substance that we have yet to reveal its origins, out of his hands. He can also seemingly disappear into the shadows. Can cause an aura of this nether energy around him that makes him nearly untouchable.
Defunct Facilities: Does not talk. We are unsure if he is unable to talk, or just unwilling.
Notes on abduction: Was found at the facilities front door all alone at the age of 5.
Appearance: Height: 5'7" Hair: BlackEyes: Blue| Note on appearance: When he taps into the energy force his eyes turn all black.
Behavioral Tendencies: Is quite docile towards all the workers and doctors. Does what he is told, and takes experiments quietly.

End Document]
{Command: Shut Down}
[Acknowledged]
[Good Night]

OOC: Sorry I have no time this weekend between Nicoles play and My Academic Decathalon meet this saturday. Here's just something for filler...

Where am I…? What is this place?
Teiresias slowly opened his eyes. He saw tube after tube plugged into him, wires attached everywhere. He was caught in a veritable spiders web of technology. He could barely see around him for all the wires that blanketed his face and eyes, EEG wires attached everywhere to his head.
Outside of the technology surrounding him the room was completely austere. Even where he lay was simple and unadorned, simply a bed tilted up with manacles for his hands and feet.
I’m not staying here. Let me out. LET. ME. OUT!
His thoughts projected all over the institute, a roar of primal hatred that went unheard for the most part. The researchers had learned to tune it out and most of the subjects had died long ago. Teiresias glared in irritation at the manacles binding him and expended the smallest of his mental energy. They ripped out of the bed easily. He ripped the wires from his head and started to walk towards the only door. Suddenly halfway there he stopped and concentrated, like he was trying to remember something very important. Finally he sat down.
“What was I doing again?”

LET. ME. OUT!

Shadow heard an all to familiar cry.

One of the other patients. Well, the only other patient.

Teiresias. Seer. Whatever...

Shadow closed his eyes and sat cross-legged on his bed. He was never restrained, because he didn't need to be. He'd never attempted escape.

"Let go. Let go. Let go." He thought to himself. He took in a series of deep breaths. "You can do this. Just. Let. Go."

His eyes opened to reveal no pupils, iris, or anything. Just blackness.

A shadow, that looked just like him, rose from his body and flew into the room three doors down from him.

The young man he found in there looked thoroughly confused, but as soon as he saw Shadow's "soul self", hatred filled his eyes.

Seer lifted a chair with his telekinesis and threw it at Shadow. It passed right through him and shattered to pieces against the wall.

"I mean you no harm." The dark form said. "I am Shadow."

"Teiresias..." The man said, caught off guard.

"Glad we finally had the chance to meet."

"Why are you-?"

"I've just come to introduce myself. Other than you, we are alone."

"Alone? You mean-"

"We are the only two left." His soul self said solemnly.

Teiresias looked sad and shocked at the same time, then confused once more.

Shadow took a step towards him, and he back away defensively. He had obviously forgotten who Shadow was.

"Here." Shadow walked slowly over to him and gently took hold of his hand.

Suddenly a small swirly sign, that looked like black ink, was on Seer's hand, like a tattoo.

Shadow smiled. "Now you won't forget me."

His body alerted him that he must return to his cell as a doctor was heading there to check up on him.

"Goodbye." Shadow said, then flew back to his body.

{Query: Staff Information}
[accepted]
{Query: Active Female Doctors}
[Confirmed:
List of Active Female Doctors:
Doctor #5
Doctor #7
Doctor #11
Continued...
End List]
{Query: Doctor #11}
[Acknowledged...
Begin Document:

Name: Doctor Julia Conners
Age: 20
Gender: F
Appearance: Height: 5'6" Hair: Black, straight and shoulder length. Eyes: Blue. Build: Slender Other: Small tattoo in the shape of a star on back of neck.
Notes: Graduated several years early. Started work with PMREHA at age 17. Tests the results, but refuses to do actual experiments on subjects. Has been great asset. Does regular check-ups and looks into well-being of subjects. Recently put under surveillance. Has been showing signs of attachment and affection for remaining subjects.

End Document]
{Command: Shut Down}
[Acknowledged]

~~~~~~~~~~

Julia knocked on the door once before opening it and walking in. It wasn't that she needed permission to enter the patients' cells, but after being the youngest in a home of seven girls, it was habit. Besides, she believed that they deserved at least a small amount of privacy, and they didn't get much here. That's why she was doing this job, checking in on the patients several times a day. She was the only one who really cared enough for how they lived...the other doctors would probably forget to feed them if it wasn't required to have healthy subjects for the testing.

"Good morning! How are you today?" Julia aimed a brilliant smile at the teenager sitting on the bed. She didn't expect an answer, or a smile in return, and she didn't get either. However, it made her outlook a bit more cheerful, and she hoped that it did the same for the people she looked after. It was similar to the reason why she called them patients instead of what they really were...experiments.

"Well, this morning we're just doing a normal physical exam, just to make sure that you're healthy. I'm going to have to lift up your shirt, sorry if the stethoscope is a bit chilly. I don't know why they can't be made with something other than this cold metal, but I don't make the rules." She continued along in a bubbly manner, going through the same examination that they did every day. The flaw to her cheeful attitude was that whenever she saw one of the more prominent scars left from the experiments yesterday, a look of pain flitted across her face, and she bit her lip. She hid these expressions quickly, returning to the happy smile.

Throughout her poking and prodding, Umbra didn't protest. He sat there patiently, doing whatever she asked with a calm mask on his face. Julia almost wished that he would do something, struggle, like the other boy did. She might be able to deal with it better. His cold gaze sent shivers down her spine, just like the thought of his powers made her slightly nervous.

"Well, that's all for this morning, and I have other things to do. Somebody should be bringing your food soon. I'll make sure that they don't forget again. Remember, if you need anything, feel free to use the button that calls my office. I'm responsible for making sure that you are as healthy as possible and I can be here within thirty seconds if you need me."

Julia sighed, walking to the door, "Thank you, I so enjoy our talks. Since we're so close, you might as well call me by my first name. Its Julia, and I'm sick and tired of being called "Conners"." A smile flitted across her face, catching the sarcastic tone in her voice. She tried to keep it under control around the other doctors, but she felt a certain amount of freedom around the patients. It was nice. She was lonely...

"Goodbye. I'll check in again later."

The door shut and locked behind her, and she didn't hear the whispered response.

"Goodbye Julia."

~~~~~

Julia steeled herself emotionally as she opened the door to Seer's room. She liked the boy overall, but it was hard dealing with him. He was so...wild. Violent and unpredictable. One minute she might have convinced him that she was his friend, and the next minute he forgot and tried to attack her. He really hated her, but she couldn't bring herself to hate him back. It was probably the same feeling that made her want to adopt every abused puppy that shrunk away from her hand and tried to bite her. It wasn't really his fault. Why parents could have hated their own child was beyond her imagining.

"Good morning!" Julia ducked the pieces of chair that were instantly thrown at her, glad that she was agile. Obviously Seer was already awake and busy, and she wasn't surprised at all to see that he was out of bed. He was incredibly strong, and sometimes she had a hard time remembering that he was one year younger than she was.

"I'm only here to make sure that you are healthy. I don't want to do anything to hurt you." The boy snarled at her, as if remembering something that people in similar white coats had done to him.

"Please let me help you. I really don't want to have to sedate you today." She hated using that needle of drugs, and felt like she was betraying him every time she did so. Still, sometimes it was her only option. He had hurt her before, and she didn't put it past him to do so again. She took a step forward, but stopped as the boy's bed grated across the floor towards her. It was bolted to the wall and heavy, so she doubted that he could find the strength to throw it at her, but she also knew that he would hurt himself trying.

Seer seemed to understand that the bed wouldn't work very well as a weapon, and lunged at the young doctor. She flew across the small room, hitting her head hard against the wall. She barely had time to register what was happening before he was standing above her, murderous intentions obvious in his silver eyes.

"I hate you." His voice was full of venom, as well as truth, and she shuddered. Her head and body ached. There would be a lump there later. She shut her eyes, trying to hide the unshed tears that had sprung up.

"Why? Why do you hate me?"

"I-I don't remember." When she opened her eyes again, he was no longer standing threateningly, but was sitting across from her with a look of confusion plain on his features. Julia took advantage of this chance and started her examination, being careful to move with slow motions as not to upset him. Who knew how long his calm would last?

Sorry I'm really tied up in my personnal life and in my own social problems. I can't commit anything right now, but I promise next time it gets around to me I will. I'm sorry.

Not like there was much for me to do anyways...

It was later in the same day when Julia came back into his room to do the evening check up.

She took his temperature, checked his pulse and heart beat, and thoroughly inspected his mouth.

All the while she was chatting happily, but he could sense her uneasiness, and her sadness. She actually cared.

"The weather is wonderfully, really." She said. "Not too hot, not too cold, you could almost call it perfect." She smiled at him. She talked to herself a lot, but than again, he didn't really give her much of a choice.

Every time she saw a scar she would wince, then hide it. But nothing escaped Shadow's keen eyes.

She looked to the left and saw a tray of half eaten food.

"See?" She asked. "I told you I'd remind them. How was your dinner?"

He didn't respond.

"Mine was great actually! Although perhaps they put in a little too much salt."

"Well." She sighed. "I guess I'm done here." She began to rise. "I'll see you in the morning."

Shadow grabbed her sleeve to stop her from leaving and she looked thoroughly shocked.

"Do you have anything that I can read?" He asked.

Julia thought that her heart might stop, or her eyes pop out of their sockets. At least, her jaw dropped lower than she thought it could. It was all she could do to stop herself from squeeling with surprised glee. Her blue eyes sparkled and she smiled again at Shadow, but this time, it wasn't forced or fake in the least.

"Of course! I had no idea you enjoyed reading, otherwise I would have brought you s-" she stopped, a slight frown causing the corners of her mouth to move downward. "I-I don't know if it is allowed..."

Julia glanced over her shoulder at the security camera, making herself appear to only be checking the time on the clock. Most of the time, nobody bothered watching this room...but she couldn't be sure. She lowered her voice so that it was barely a whisper.

"You have no idea how happy I am to know that you can talk...I always thought that you must be able to, but I've never been sure. Now, listen to me, don't let anybody else know. I don't think the camera heard your voice, but if they find out, they will use it against you. I'm sure you know that, and I don't want that to happen. I can't say if I will be able to get it to you by tomorrow morning, but I promise you that I will get you something to read as soon as I can."

She smiled again, unable to hide her happiness. "Goodnight, and..." she bit her lip, "well...goodnight."

Julia took his hand briefly, giving it a squeeze before she left the room. For the rest of the evening, she was distant from her activities, and could only think about what had happened. She didn't know how to feel. One part of her was terrified, another thrilled, and the other unbelievably sad. When she finally got to her room at the end of the day, the first thing she did was go through her bookshelf. Nothing interesting. She knew that that would be the case, but those books weren't her only options. In a trunk under her bed, were the books that she had brought from home. You were forbidden to bring books with you, other than the "practical" type, but Julia hadn't been able to leave these "illegal" books behind. She went through the trunk, pulling out some of her favorites. Of course, she had replaced the covers with the covers of more professional books, carefully piecing them together until you could not tell, but the insides were the same. They were fantasy books, and other types of fiction, full of adventure and magic of all sorts.

"Perfect."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Good morning!" Julia walked into the room with a purpose, a smile on her face. "Here. As an additional part of your examination, I will be doing a mental examination. You will read this book and then I will test you on how much you understand. It sounds like fun, doesn't it?"

Yes, an extra examination. That was the story that she had told her boss. He had loved the idea, especially when she had told him that the experiment would read "The Origin of Species". He was a big fan of Darwin. Actually, it was "The Lord of the Rings," but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. She had even prepared a show for the camera, just for that lucky boss of her's.

The young doctor handed the novel to her patient, whispering the actual title to him. "I hope you enjoy it. I have more...if you want it after you're done this one"
She started with the physical examination, still speaking low enough so that the camera couldn't pick up the words. The tone was light, like her normal one-sided conversations, even though the words were different. "One more thing. I would like to ask you a favor. Do you know anything about the boy that is in the room a few doors away from you? I don't know if you do or not but...I'm having a really hard time with him."

Julia fingered the bruise on her face, which had darkened in the night. "Do you have any idea how I can get through to him?"

OOC: I hate you guys. It comes back to me after a DAy. Well fine then >_<

Seer awoke to White-coated lab technicians surrounding him, implements and tools in hand. As his eyes fluttered open, one of them reached towards him with an odd device with a needle on its end. Seer immediately recognized the tranquilizer and responded accordingly.
“No!No-no-NO!” He screamed as his mind’s telekinetic abilities responded to his will.
The needle shot from the technician’s hands, turned and shot back into his eye, immediately laying the man low. The other researchers backed off, much more weary now. Another one tried a similar tactic. Seer’s eyes rolled back, showing his whites, and the needle flew into the wall and shattered, inundating the men with the sticky fluid inside. Seer’s bonds shattered under his power, and he immediately flung himself at the nearest white-coat. The man wielded his scalpel as a crude knife, cutting down Seer’s arm with it’s keen edge. Seer laughed maniacally and slammed the man’s head back against the wall, where it burst like an overripe melon from his strength. The other white-coats edged backwards, staying as far away from this demon as possible. One of them ran for the door and shouted something indecipherable out of it. Seer stood in the middle of them all, panting at his sudden exertion. Suddenly a man came from the door. He was also dressed in one of the perfect white coats, but he was larger then the others and wore a grim look on a face that looked-.
“What is the meaning of this?” His voice boomed, as loud in seer’s ears as the voice of god himself, which in many ways it was.
This man was the director, the elusive man always behind the scenes of the research going on, but who was never afraid to come forward himself.
“I’m sorry…I…I was angry…They were trying to hurt me again…I-“
“Shh…Come here and let Daddy take it away…”
Seer crawled towards the man pitifully slow, head bowed in shame and exhaustion. Finally he made it to the man’s legs, which he hugged to himself with all the strength of a small child holding his Father. He began to cry softly, squinting out tears that fell to the floor with a dim patter.
“It’s ok son…I’m here…” The Director spoke silent as he reached into a pocket on his coat. From it he withdrew a needle he quickly plunged into Seer’s neck. Almost instantly Seer collapsed into unconsciousness.
“Continue the experiment. Let me know the outcome.”
__
[i]”Mother, Father, where are we going?” The little seer asked the tall and distant people holding both of his hands. Their faces were obscured by the memories time and negligence. They seemed to have black clouds over their faces, clouds that obscured their features. The man’s was slightly clearer then the womens, and something about it tickled a part of seer’s mind.
“Don’t worry Abalon, we’re just going to go to a new place to play.” The woman said.

My name. That’s my name. I remember that.

They came to a huge building. It was squat and ugly, but the light of the sun reflected brilliantly off the tinted windows that lined the sides. It impressed the small boy who looked upon it, though the woman and the white-coated man seemed impassive over it’s beauty. The inside was boring to the boy, full of white and clean things without extraneous detail. They sat in a lobby for awhile, and Seer occupied himself swinging his feet through the sir in his seat while his parents talked in low voices across from him.

Presently another man in a white coat came and led them away. They went up an elevator and into a hall, as plain as the rest of this building. The hall was lined with locked doors, and Seer’s foreboding rose. Finally they stopped in front of a door marked KF-04. The weird man smiled and opened the door, taking Seer’s hand and leading him in. His parents stood outside, uncaring. The strange man left and closed the door locking Seer in. Only then did he realize that the always uncaring parents had abandoned him. [/i]
___
Seer awoke after the long operation. The long operation. He remembered. He remembered the man, his father, drugging him. He suddenly remembered everything that had happened. He rubbed the back of his head, where they had installed….something.
The door slid open quietly, and in came a woman, that cheerful doctor woman. She slid in softly, hoping to not provoke his anger. She was covered with bruises, and he winced.
[i] I did that…[/i]
She slowly came to him, and he watched her, remembering what he could of her. She was always there, always happy, always trying. He started to cry, and she stood, shocked. She was cautious, slowly approaching him until she was within arms reach. He reached out, and she stiffened back, afraid of his fury.
“You…You cared…Thank you.”

OOC: Wish it was Julia's turn. Oh well. He has memories now. It's a device they implanted.

Shadow was deeply enjoying the book that Julia had brought him.

The "Lord of the Rings". He could sense it had a deeper meaning to it all. Like it had something to do with... God.

He was almost certain. It had something to do with God. God... and the Lord Jesus Christ.

He was in this institute for a reason. He had left his family at the age of five, and found his way here. Because he knew, somehow, that it was his destiny. He didn't know why, but that was why he was here. It was why he took all of the horrible experiments quietly. Because apparently he was supposed to be here. But he could sense something else... like maybe it was time to leave this place.

He pondered all of this at the same time as he was reading the book.

He wanted to be a hero. Like Aragorn, son of Arathorn. Like Legolas Greenleaf. Like Aramir.

Now he actually had the power. Now he could actually do something. Now he could... help.

He hoped that Julia would check in on him soon. He had always enjoyed her company, and felt slightly bad for giving her the "silent treatment". But something inside of him told him it wasn't wise to let the people here know that he could talk.

He always followed his feelings. And why not? Everything had worked out smoothly so far...

He heard the door open, without a knock. "So no Julia yet..." he thought.

He closed the book and looked up into the doctors face, into his eyes. It had always been said that the eyes were the doorway to the soul. And Shadow had found that to be true. The doctor did not see him as a human being. He saw him as an object. Something to be used, and tested.

"Umbra, come." He said.

Shadow got out of his cross-legged position and slowly walked out of the hall with the doctor.

The door he was put into looked like a surgery room. He could see equipment, needles, scalpels, tubes, wires.

He did not protest as they led him to a chair and strapped down his arms. He closed his eyes, silently awaiting the pain.

Julia could feel tears pricking her eyes, and it took a lot of effort to stop herself from crying just as hard as Seer was. She had never seen him like this. She had been told this morning that they had done more tests on him during the night, and had implanted some sort of devise in him. They hadn't told her beforehand, as they had known that she would protest. She had come in the room today expecting Seer to be in one of his rages, angry at what had been done to him. The last thing she had expected was this. He knew her...

Maybe it was a trick. If they had caused him to become more intelligent, it was possible that he was toying with her. The idea floated around in her head, but one look in his eyes caused those worries to disappear. She took the reaching hand in her own, and with the other, brushed a piece of hair back from his face. She could feel his emotions, and to some extent, understood.

Julia had never thought of her patients as experiments or animals, like the other doctors did, but with Seer, sometimes she had wondered. She had always had more of an attachment to Umbra, who at least wasn't violent. Now, she knew for sure that she had been right, that Seer was very human. More so than most of the other people around here.

She couldn't do it anymore. She couldn't stay here and watch these two remaining boys suffer. She would have to find some way to help them.

"I'm sorry..."

Julia put her fingers over his lips, gently stopping the flow of speech.

"No. Don't be sorry. I'm the one who should be sorry...for everything. I should have done something long ago. I didn't. But, I am now..."

There was a shocked look on Seer's face, but Julia was serious. She was going to free them, regardless of what would happen to her. With luck, she would get out too. But even if she didn't, that didn't matter. Her life had to have some sort of meaning, a reason to live and die. This was the purpose that God had in mind for her...she was pretty sure of it.

~~~~~~~~~~

Julia knocked once on Umbra's door before opening it, and was both surprised and horrified to find that he wasn't there. Where had they taken him? She was glad that she had worn flats as she walked quickly down the hallway. She looked in the windows of all of the rooms, hoping that she would find him before anything happened. If somebody caught her looking, she would just say that she had been afraid that he had escaped. She halted as she caught sight of doctors huddled around a chair in one of the operating rooms. Umbra was there, strapped in.

It didn't look like they had done anything yet. That was good. Julia had to do something. She was still on fire with determination, and she didn't think long before acting. There was a computer terminal for the power nearby. You needed to have the master password to shut off the power, but...you didn't need a password to break it.

Julia quickly grabbed a quarter from her pocket, left over from the last time she had left the facility on a break (she really needed to clean out her pockets more), and unscrewed a section of the computer's covering, ignoring the warning notice that came up on the computer screen. She was glad that every doctor carried around some basics, like scissors. It made it far easier to cut the wires. She wasn't sure which one would shut off the power to the room, so she just cut them all.

Not only did the power in the surgery room go off, but power within the entire wing of the building. That meant lights, the restraints used to keep patients in their beds or in operating chairs, and the locks on the doors stopped fuctioning. Anybody could get loose. It was completely dark though, as there were no windows to the outside. Julia wasn't sure what to do, frozen into place until she felt a hand on her arm. It was Umbra. Obviously he had seen her before the black out, and had escaped the now unlocked operating room in the confusion. Both experiments could see in the dark, something that Julia couldn't do, and which she was extremely thankful for.

"What did you do?"

"I shut off the power. We have to get out of here, but we need to get Seer first!"

"We won't have much time. I hope you have a plan."

"I wish I did..."

The two of them ran down the hall, back towards Seer's room, Julia trying desperately to figure out how to escape the mess she had just made.

OOC: Whew, sorry it took me so long to get myself together guys. Busy, depressed, and angry is NOT a good combination. Anyways, here it is.

Seer floated silently in his room, looking with his sight beyond sight on the events transpiring. Julia, for all her good nature, was a fool. What she planned would get them all killed. Seer focused his mind, calling on the talent of foresight, trying to call up what would happen...
Then suddenly the door slammed open and Umbra and Julia stumbled in, both out of breath.
“What took you so long?” Seer asked sarcastically as he touched back down to the ground.
“You...You knew we were coming?” Umbra asked, confused.
“Umbra...Seer's experiment was to see how the mind reacted to the ability to see the future. His mind is as sharp as his body...He probably knew we were coming before we did.”
“I wish I could say so, but ever sense I got my memories, the future...it...”He shook his head, confusion on his face.”I can't bring it into focus easily anymore. But that's not the point, now we RUN!”
As he finished he grabbed Julia's hand and ran out of the room. Umbra and her started but followed quickly, taken off guard by his sudden action. Almost immediately, Julia stumbled and fell, and Seer cursed, forgetting she had no way to see in the darkness that enveloped them.
“I'm sorry...I didn't see it-” She started to say before she got hushed by a concentrating Seer. He reached into his mind, searching for the center of his consciousness, to the flame of his will and passion, and brought a bit of that flame into reality. The room lit with a soft radiance that came from a ball of light above Julia's head. Seer came back to reality, and grabbed Julia's hand, once again in a hurry.
They rocketed down hall after blank hall, each looking the same as they made a mad dash for the entrance. They met no one on their way and went relatively unmolested. But all that changed as the lights flipped back on and warning klaxons sounded everywhere, the screech of the sirens making Seer cringe with his sensitive hearing.
“Come on, we have no time.” He said as he slammed open one more door.
He stopped dead. The wall here was of glass, showing a large room, filled with scientists in front of computers mostly, but in the center there was an examination table. Clustered around it were scientists in their dreary lab coats. On the table was a dead child, probably one of the last subjects to of died in these cursed halls. The scientists were picking apart his body and making notes on their paper, unconcerned with the humanity of the person they were ripping apart.
The wall between soul and world was blown away before the fires of Seer's rage. His power came unbidden, and he lost control, reverting to his anger. Sparks showered from the lights in the room. Seer's eyes rolled back in his head, his hair flew around him wildly. The scientists were yelling now, wondering what was happening. Everything not bolted down was being lifted into the air as a great vortex formed there. The naked corpse was joined by a flurry of papers and computers. Winds lashed through the room, and one scientist fell and didn't move after getting bashed in the face with a flying monitor. Lightning crackled from nowhere. Seer groaned, and Julia took his hand..
“Seer! Stop please! Don't kill them. I know you hate what they've done to you, but this will make you no better. Show them some mercy” She pleaded.

Why does she plead for the lives of these monsters?, Seer thought. I will destroy them!

Yet he couldn't. The warmth of her hand restored the barrier of his newfound humanity all at once. He collapsed to the ground, broken and beaten. The vortex suddenly stopped, but the lights in the room exploded, dousing the terrified scientists in more sparks and sending them screaming for the exits.
“Thank you...I must..I must be better then them.” Seer said as he rose and headed to the next door. This heavy steel door led to the lobby of the building, and the exit.
Suddenly, Seer collapsed as his talent overwhelmed him with visions of the future. HE saw them all dead, on the ground, slain by a force lying in wait in the lobby. Most importantly, he saw Julia dead, labeled a traitor. He knew for certain they could not escape this way now. But a plan came to him.
“Umbra give me your shirt.”
“My what?” He exclaimed in shock, not comprehending.
“Just do it.” Seer had little patience as he saw his visions fast approaching. Reaching out with his mind he plucked a shard of glass from the floor and brought it to his grasp. Umbra took of the grubby plain shirt and Armed with shirt and make-shift knife, Seer turned to Julia.
“If we go in there like this, We will all die. I'm going to wrap this around your wrists, as though we've taken you prisoner. Follow my lead if you really want to help us.”
“I will, I'll do anything.” She said as she turned around and allowed Seer to bind her wrists. He then wielded the knife at her neck, the point pricking almost painfully into her flesh. She started, but Seer roughly kicked the door down and she, Umbra, and Seer all raced into the room.
Inside were no less then five dozen armed security staff. All rifles trained on them. They would be dead before they could blink, but Seer held the trump card.
“Let us go, or we kill her! I'll do it!” He screamed, loud enough that it echoed from the walls.
The leader of the guards looked confused for a moments and turned behind him. He seemed to be talking to someone behind him for a couple moments, then he moved aside.
From the gap came a man in the white coat of the researchers. He was tall and well-built, with Black hair cut long and bound in a nape behind his neck. He had a slightly scruffy beard surrounding his mouth and chin. His eyes were silver pools of light that were strikingly familiar to everyone there. Over his coat he wore a scabbard that housed a long-thin sword, and he stared at Seer like a man stares at a bug in his soup.
“Lower your weapons.” He said to the guards as he walked into the circle formed by the armed men.
Seer cried out and collapsed immediately, giving Julia a slight cut with the sharp glass as he did. He pushed Julia back to Umbra, and cried. He couldn't stop, the tears just kept coming as memories flooded his mind. In all his dreams, in all the nightmares, in all the torturous experiments, this man was always there. This man was
“FATHER!” He screamed through the tears. The man who always came to him, who hurt him, who always stared with those callous eyes. The same man who abandoned him in this hell.
“Yes, it's I. I see now why I left you here, you stupid child.” As he spoke he started to unsheathe the sword, holding it easily and preparing to strike. “Now I'll correct that. Time for some punishment, son.”
The motion of the sword finally snapped Seer out of his reverie. HE reached out for the closest thing to stop the sword's arc. One of the man's rifles flew through the air, hitting the sword just before it sliced into his back. His father reeled back, startled, and Seer took the initiative in finding himself a weapon. On the far side of the room was a computer. With his mind he crushed it, spilling out all the valuable parts. He brought them all to him, and as they came they were smashed, moved, and reshaped until they formed a blade of their own. He snatched it out of the air as he leapt lightly over his father's next swing, bringing it up to block the completed swing.
They stood facing each other, both trying to power through the other's block. Their swords were locked together. Seer sneered and pulled back first, coming back in with a feint low almost immediately. His father refused to take the bait and stabbed in, piercing through Seer's left shoulder with the thin epee. Seer knew he was overmatched. His raw strength and anger was no match for the skill that his father had. He had never seen a sword in his life, while the deft stabs and parries of his father showed that he had practiced his entire life. Seer played to the defense, barely swatting aside stab after stab, yet still scoring nicks and scratches all over his body.
“You'll never best me!” His father cried as he once again slipped the deft blade past Seer's defenses, though Seer dropped to the ground to dodge it. His father spun, and the blade came lower this time, and the off balance Seer had no way to block it's path. It tore away at his face, making one long gash from the top right of his forehead through the nose and down to his chin. Seer stiffened and bit down on his cry, focusing on getting back up was his main priority, but the practiced duelist swept his feet as he tried to stand and the blood from the gash began to cloud Seer's sight.
“Pathetic. You were never fit to be my son. Julia, come, you're safe now.”
Seer nodded, and Umbra released Julia to go with the scientist.
“Take them away. Let them share a cell. Strengthen Seer's restraints, though this one might walk free.” he said while pointing at Umbra.
“Testing will continue on schedule.” He then turned back towards Seer, who was beginning to lose consciousness.
“Don't ever try this again. Next time you do, blood or no blood, I will kill you.”

And Seer fainted.
__

He awoke to find himself bound in bed once more. He tested the restraints and found them strong, but not strong enough to resist his mind. He struggled against them for a second, then realized he wasn't alone. He looked up and Umbra was there, as was Julia. This room was larger, with bed s for them both, and Julia was bent over Seer, mending the hundreds of small wounds all over his body.
“Ssshhh....” She whispered, rubbing his brow. He felt the darkness racing to overtake him again. Never had he felt so weak.
“Lie back, it's ok. Your safe for now.” She said, and he believed her. Struggling to keep his eyes for a few more moments he looked at her eyes.
“Thank you....” Hem managed to get out, the effort leaving him utterly exhausted. Then he closed his eyes and lay back, letting those soft hands heal him.

Shadow sat in a corner, his eyes staring blankly into space, but aimed at the wall.

It was a close escape. Julia could have been caught as a traitor. And as for Seer's father... Shadow couldn't believe that any man could be so cruel. And to his own son.

Now what? They would tighten security, surely. And they would no longer trust him the way they did before. Oh well...

Julia stood from where she had been working on Seer and walked quietly over to Shadow.

"Are you hurt?" She asked.

He nodded a no.

"Thank goodness." She whispered under breath. "I'm so sorry! I don't know what I was thinking, I just can't bare to see you two-"

Shadow put a finger on her lip. "Its all right."

The door opened and two scientists came in.

They pushed Julia aside and grabbed Shadow and headed for Seer.

"What are you doing? You can't move him right now-" She tried to get them to leave Seer alone.

"They are ordered for punishment." One of them said.

"Punishm-" Julia was so angry she couldn't finish her sentence. She pointed towards Seer. "He can't take anymore!"

The scientist scowled at her. "Its an order, and someone has to take it. You?"

She seemed to be afraid.

Shadow stood. "I'll take it."

The scientists and Julia looked stunned. The scientists at hearing him talk, and Julia at hearing his words.

"I thought he couldn't-" One of them began.

"Either way, boss will want to know. Will tell him after the punishment." The other one stated.

Shadow didn't protest as they took him roughly and pushed him out of the room.

The last thing he saw before the white halls was Julia's pleading eyes.

With all of her heart, Julia wished that she was dead. She wished that she had been killed...or at least that it was her that was injured or being punished. All of it was her fault. She had messed up everything, and now Umbra and Seer were being punished and she was free. It wasn't fair. The worst part was that they didn't blame her at all. They were so good and kind and understanding. Yes, they were right, she had only tried to help, but she wished that they would be angry. She didn't deserve their friendship. For that was what they were. Friends. Not experiments that she wanted to study. Not pathetic victims that she felt she needed to save. They were people that she loved. That was why she needed to help them.

As Umbra claimed Seer's share of the punisment, Julia felt her heart break. No. This couldn't happen. She didn't doubt his strength, but the chances that he would survive double whatever terrible punishment awaited was slim. Wiping away some of the tears that had started to fall, the young doctor rushed out the door of the cell. She hated to leave the unconscious form of Seer, who she felt responsible for, but this was important.

"Wait!"

The scientists looked around at her in a mixture of annoyance and surprise. Umbra too looked at her, clearly wondering what she was doing. The scientists that worked here no longer knew what to think of Julia. Suspicion had instantly fallen off of her when she had been seen as a captive, but when she had volunteered to work with the experiments again...they were curious. Nobody questioned the violent tears shed when she was "saved", as anyone would have cried after such a traumatic experience. What they questioned was why she was still so interested in the well-being of her captors. Now, she simply confused them more.

"You can't do this."

"Yes. We can and we will."

"But not double the punishment. The injured one cannot handle any punishment, and this one cannot take twice as much. Think about it. That much punishment might damage him to the point that he is useless."

Julia forced her voice to remain cool and impersonal. The other scientists thought for a moment and then nodded reluctantly. Despite the fact that this thought came from a questionable source, it was true. They didn't want to be held responsible if the experiment was useless. Still, it was more complicated than that. They were told to follow orders...

"But the boss was extremely specific in the matter, Dr. Conners. To disobey him would be...unwise."

Julia gave a huge sigh, running a hand through her hair. "Look. If the boss is that desperate for violence that he is willing to ruin an experiment, he wouldn't mind if I took the second punishment."

The scientists started, looking shocked. They had threatened it, but they hadn't been serious. Punish another scientist? Was that even allowed? They didn't know. Nobody had ever offered to take the place of an experiment before...

"Why...why the heck would you do that?" They looked at Julia suspiciously.

The woman put her hands on her hips, speaking to them as if they were stupid, "Because I have a job. My job is to make sure that they are fit for testing. When I was hired, I was told to do everything necessary to keep them alive and well. As far as I see it, if getting a punishment is what is required to do my job, I'm obligated to do it. Besides, I'm just as curious as you are to see all of the results of the testing, and as we all know, studying corpses isn't the most helpful. Tell that to the boss. I'm sure he'll see the logic. If he doesn't like it, come back and I'll take the second punishment."

After a few more moments of hesitation, the scientists nodded and continued down the hall to take Umbra to be punished. Julia went back into the cell, sitting on the foot of Seer's bed, silent tears streaming down her face. Her back was to the camera, so nobody would see how strong her emotions were. Umbra would still get punished, but at least she had cut his pain in half. She knew that the scientists would do as she told them. They were too intelligent not to, and understood that she was right. She almost hoped that the boss would be angry and she could take the punishment...it was better than she deserved...

Taking a few deep breaths to calm down, she looked at the boy in the bed. He was so pale and still, covered in bandages. So vulnerable. Not nearly the strong young man that he had been when facing his father. Julia took Seer's hand in her own, holding it tightly as she waited for something more to happen.

“He’s such a boring child. We really could do better Rhys. I don’t know why you insist on keeping him around.” A faceless woman spoke, sitting across the table from a sharp-jawed man that even the dream Seer recognized as his father. Seer was small, only maybe six years of age. He was sitting behind a corner, listening to his parents talk. The child Seer was curious while the older one knew only too well this conversation.

“There’s nothing else we can do with him. It’s not like it’s legal to kill your son. Besides, he might grow into something useful to us.” The man, now identified as Rhys said, pausing to take a drink of some juice on the table before resuming. “I know you don’t like him, but there’s nothing we can do about it. The only way to get rid of him is through adoption, and we’re both far too busy with the testing to handle that. I’m sorry Nadia; we’re just going to have to deal with him for now.”

“Wait, what did you say?” The women said, something dawning in her eyes.
“I said we’re too bust with the…” Rhys’ voice trailed off as he also realized what she meant.

“It’s perfect!” he cried. “We’re in need of more subjects anyway. This’ll do nicely. I can’t believe-“ His voice trailed off as they both heard something. A slight muffled sobbing, coming from around the corner. The dreaming Seer tried to quiet the little one, but knew it was pointless to try.

“Abalon. Go to your room Boy.” Rhys yelled over, his voice strong with the imperiousness of fatherhood.

The sobbing boy ran across the kitchen they were in to the stairs, climbing them and going to his room at the top, where he collapsed, crying. Never again would he naively believe his parents had any love for him, now he knew how they really felt. It was like having a bubble you lived in your whole life popped, and now he felt so empty without that reaffirming wall there.

______

Seer woke, the sobbing of his dreams matching a much more real sobbing. His hand was caught up in Julia’s, who sat by his bed, weeping till he thought she must surely run out of water and die. He didn’t now what to do. Nothing in his life had prepared him for this. As a boy he was kept from other children his age by his parents, and since then he had known nothing but madness and hatred. Yet deep within him he felt an urge to just go down there and hold her, yet he knew not why. The desire flared up strongly, yet he managed to beat it down with icy pragmatism. He knew such an act for it was, and knew she would have no desire to be tied to someone who might die any night. He didn’t want any more rejection in his life.

He reached over and stroked her hair softly, singing softly a song her nanny had sung to him when he was a boy and crying. His bad shoulder felt like fire as he reached across his whole body, yet he endured it. For her. She squeezed his hand softly, and he sank back down, once more prisoner to his dreams.

Shadow was shaking involuntarily in the chair he was tied to. He was shaking because he had taken the punishment, but also because the scientists had alerted Seer's father to the fact that Shadow could talk. He was on his way.

The door opened behind him and he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

The man that now stood before him, was unmistakably Seer's father. And the boss. The one in charge of all this torture. Rhys eyed Shadow with such a cold gaze that Shadow wondered if the man even had a soul. But everyone had a soul. It was hard to believe, seeing this case. But the man did have a soul. It was just tainted with the evil that he had let in.

"When did you learn that he could talk?" Rhys turned to the scientist nearest him.

Even the scientists were afraid of him. At least that was the impression that Shadow got. "He asked to take the punishment for both him and Seer, sir."

"Did he." Rhys looked thoughtful. "And did you give it to him?"

"We only gave him punishment for one, because Julia-"

Rhys glared at the man. "Because Julia? Is she the head of this operation, or am I?"

"Y-you are, sir. She said that he wouldn't survive if we gave him both punishments, and that we need live subjects to test on."

"That may be true, but next time I give an order I expect it to be followed."

"Yes sir."

Rhys turned back to Shadow. "And why haven't you talked before?"

Shadow looked away from the man, finding it hard to look at him.

"He asked you a question!" One of the scientists backhanded him across the face.

Shadow stared Rhys right in the eyes. "There wasn't anything to say."

"Is that so."

"Yes." Shadow growled.

"I am curious, though, as to why you would want to take both punishments?"

"Because your son wouldn't survive."

Rhys eyes became fiery. "He is not my son."

"Biologically, yes. Any other way, no. I'm sorry that he has to deal with the fact that you are his father. But then again a son can't choose his father, can he?"

Rhys grabbed Shadow's face and leaned over so he was close to him. "Just as a father can't choose his son."

He released his grip on Shadow and stood with his back towards him.

"Wrong." Shadow said.

Rhys turned to face him. All of the scientists looked like they could wet their pants. No one ever talked back to Rhys.

"You could have chosen to be a good father. But you let the evil take over instead."

"I am not evil. I am a man of science." He said airily.

"You are a murderer."

This time it was Rhys who backhanded him, and it hurt a lot more than the other one had.

Then he pulled the sword from its sheath, grabbed Shadow's hair and pulled his head back, the sword at Shadow's throat.

"Your not going to beg?"

"No one begs to an insect." Shadow growled. He had not intended to let all of this out. But he spoke only the truth.

Rhys gave him a cut that went from his ear, down his jaw and to his chin.

Then sheathed his sword. "No one talks to an insect. And that is just what you are. Take him back to the room."

The scientists released Shadow's bonds and pushed him to his feet.

They handled him roughly, all the way back to the room. The quiet, docile Umbra was no more.

When they pushed him through the door Julia rushed to meet him.

She looked at the cut and whispered. "Oh, what have they done to you."

Shadow moved away from her before she could finish cleaning the wound. He turned his head slightly.

"You have to be careful. Their on to you." He whispered behind him.

Then he sat on his bed, back in a cross-legged position. His heart told him that the time to escape was near. They couldn't take any chances.

Julia went sadly back to Seer's side and Shadow knew that he had hurt her. But he was only trying to help. He didn't want her to be hurt by them. So he had had to hurt her, so that she would not receive the punishment she would get if they knew she was a traitor.

All of these years, he'd listened to his heart. It was what had led him here, and it was what would deliver him. That was why he had taken the experiments quietly. But for the first time in all of those years, he felt... alone.

Julia bit her lip, trying to push Umbra's reaction from her mind. What had she done to get that sort of response from him? There was a pain in her heart, as if he had punched her. It was worse than physical pain. Still, even that wasn't enough to help her ignore the confused feelings that had started filling her. They were slightly unwelcome, and strange. She had never been in a serious relationship. She hadn't even had a boyfriend since her freshman year of high school. She had always been frightened to have another one, and had lost all faith in romantic love when her boyfriend had slipped something into her drink and...well, she didn't think about that anymore.

But now, here she was. There was this boy...this "experiment". This broken and tormented young man that was called Seer, who had lost so much and was just hanging on to his life. This boy that had tried to comfort her and dry her tears as she sat there and cried, even though he had far more to cry about. She had seen in his eyes the pain that the small action of touching her hair had caused him. Yet, he had still done it. What she had felt at that moment was something that she had never felt before. But it was stupid to feel this way. She didn't know when it had started, but it had to stop. What could she offer to him...to anyone? Nothing. Seer had suffered enough, been through enough pain. If she felt anything for him, then the kindest thing she could do for him would be to leave him alone. Save him from her.

Julia's tears had dried, and she forced back the new ones that threatened. It would hurt both of the boys if the other scientists were truly suspicious of her. What they would do if they found out, she didn't know. She knew that it wouldn't be pretty. It wasn't the thought of the pain, but the thought of not being here to help Seer and Umbra that scared her.

Despite the hurt that still lingered, Julia couldn't just let her friendship with Umbra disappear. She wouldn't let him push her away. Brushing back a strand of hair from Seer's forehead, she stood up again and walked over to boy who was sitting on the other bed, uncharacteristically defiant. Taking a wet piece of cloth, she started once again to wipe the blood from the cut on his face. He pulled back at first, but he was still slightly weak from his punishment, and Julia was able to stop him with a gentle pressure from her hand. Soon, he stopped struggling.

"They are already suspicious of you. You shouldn't be doing this. Its not a bad cut. I'm fine."

"Look here. I made a choice. I don't care what happens to me. All that matters is that both of you escape from this place. What happens to me is only important if it aids in your freedom. Whatever my punishment is, it is worth it, because I care about you."

"You mean, you care about him." Umbra nodded toward the still figure across the room. His implied meaning was clear to Julia, though what had made him guess was a mystery to her. For a moment, the young doctor looked like she didn't know what to say, but then she regained her composure, her voice carefully kept calm.

"I meant what I said. I care about both of you, and I want both of you to escape. Not just one or the other." Her words were truthful. Yes, she liked Seer...differently than Umbra, but she didn't care about Umbra any less.

He gave her a strange look, and she finished cleaning his wound in silence, stopping the bleeding. It was too awkward a spot for a bandage, but it was only a shallow cut. Once that was done, Julia cleared her throat. She wasn't going to let things get weird between them. That would hurt their efforts.

"Speaking of escape, we need a plan. Something that won't end in trouble." Her light footsteps were silent as she moved back to Seer. Sitting beside him yet again, she touched his face gently, her voice a soft whisper.

"Wake up. Wake up..."

His eyes fluttered open and she smiled at him, trying to rid her face of any sadness. She offered him a glass of water.

"Do you want a drink? We're going to plan a little bit, if you're up to it. If not, we can plan alone and you can rest more."

Flames. Everywhere. Seer was surrounded by stinging, burning, consuming flames. The whole world was just heat and pain, pain and heat. He screamed and he felt the inside of his lungs burn from the heat that was everywhere around him. He shriveled on the ground, His body as burnt as the soul within. Just as he was sure that it was the end, that he was fi9ish a voice called out to him.

“Wake up. Wake up...”

Seer's eyes fluttered open lazily, as if reluctant to trade one hellscape for another. Julia was holding him up and was offering him a glass of water.

"Do you want a drink? We're going to plan a little bit, if you're up to it. If not, we can plan alone and you can rest more."

He stared at the water, almost uncomprehending for a moment. His brain felt like it was a machine that had just had syrup poured into the cogs. Nothing seemed to move quite as quickly as it could. Finally he took the water, draining the contents of the glass in one gulp. It helped. His head cleared back up, and he could once more think clearly. He shook his head to clear out the last of the mental cobwebs. He yawned, and Julia smiled at him. Such a sweet smile he allowed himself to think as his thoughts turned to other topics.

“You're right. We do need to plan. We need a plan. More importantly, we need information, and I can only give a little bit of it myself. First off, I'll go over what exactly we need.”

Seer thought for a second, and his gaze drifted off, coming to rest at some invisible point on the far wall (I do this a lot xD). He stared. And stared. And kept staring. Julia rustled nervously, while Umbra started to also space out. Seer kept staring. Julia got up and started to pace, but as soon as her arm stopped support Seer, he immediately fell back onto his bed with an audible smack. Everyone froze. Seer just groaned, intense pain washing all through him.

“Please don't do that again..”He gasped.
“I'm sorry...I thought you could sit on your own...I didn't realize-”
“Just don't do it again, that's all. It's ok.”

Julia came back over and propped Seer up again, this time turning him so his back rested on the wall and then sat beside him.

“So. First, what I need from you two, then what I know. Umbra, I need to know exactly what you are and what you can do. I assume your abilities are not the same as mine, since you seem to have a fine memory and no future sight. I need to know how we can use you, and most importantly if any of your abilities have any more...martial use. Next, Julia. I need to know what you can do and the layout of this building. Tell me everything, because something as small as a ventilation shaft can mean life or death. I need to know where the scientists congregate and how many guards there are where. I need you to spy out everything, but don't get caught. If you get caught They'll try to kill you, though I think for both of us when I say we won't let that happen.”
“But how will you get out of here?” She asked, suddenly slightly unsure.
“You think that door can hold me in? I could blast it off it's hinges now if I wasn't so injured. It would be a walk in the if I had to rescue you. But that's not what we're talking about. I can give you information about myself, that which I have, and about...My father. First him. AS you've both already seen, he is a cruel, callous, abusive, and arrogant, but don't let this fool you. He's also brilliant with a lot of vision and the motivation to make that vision reality. He is cunning beyond belief, or so say some of the people I overheard when I was younger. And as you both saw, he's also a master duelist. I remember him training quite frequently when I was a boy. He always said that if you attain speed in your body that quickness of mind would follow. Finally, he's slightly clairvoyant, naturally. I inherited it and that's how they did...this to me. By enhancing a gift that I already had. WE must avoid direct confrontation with him if possible. None of us alone can hope to best him, and I'm not even sure if all of us could, knowing little about your abilities to fight.
Now to me. I'm sure Julia here already knows all about what I can do. She's seen the psych readouts and she's felt the force of my strength...personally.”

Seer couldn't help but glance at her arm, where his rage had left a sizable bruise only a couple of days earlier.

“Until just what I assume was yesterday, I had lost all my memories, and I'm still not sure why I have it back, so you both need to be ready for me to lose it at any time. If I become too erratic, leave me. If I attack you, kill me. Simple. Get out of here. Next, my abilities are twofold, both stemming from the mind. I can occasionally see the future, like I did before we met my father, though it is an inconsistent gift. I can't really call on it, and I usually only get visions before some kind of impending peril, but sometimes I get them when it's nothing at all. It can't be relied on. The other gift, and probably the more useful, is what I suppose would be telekineses, though it reaches far beyond just moving things around. We'll just leave it at that for now, but I can effect reality itself down to it's basest components, like what I did in the scientists'. I actually created a vacuum near the ceiling, but that's going to far. Finally, but definitely least importantly, I have perfect recall abilities now, which is strange considering my former inability to remember anything. But now I remember EVERYTHING.”
“How do you know all this?” Umbra asked “the physics behind your powers, how did you learn this in our cells?”
“Don't you wonder why I lost my memory capacity? The first experiment they ran when I came here was to see how much information the human mind could remember. They fried it all then, but now I can remember it all. Textbooks, treatises, novels. I was hooked up to continuous data flow for months on end. I know more then any man should I think. But now it's your turns to share, first,you Umbra.”

Seer shifted his focus from the wall to Umbra, fixing his quicksilver eyes on him.

“Who ARE you?”

Shadow's eyes widened involuntarily. He hadn't expected to be put on the spotlight.

"I don't remember my real name. I've chosen Shadow... and as for my powers-" He paused. "-well I don't really know how to explain it. I can tap into some sort of energy source, bend it to my will. And yes-" He looked at Seer. "-it can be used as an offensive weapon."

Seer seemed to be thinking hard about something. "Thats good." Was all he said.

Shadow caused what looked like black fire to appear in his open palm. Julia shuddered and he made it stop, looking away.

She was afraid of him. Afraid of his powers. That struck a cord in his heart that had so far been unused.

"Do you remember how you got here?" Seer asked.

Shadow looked him straight in the eyes. "I came here, when I was five."

"You came-?" Julia looked confused.

He gave her a look that he hadn't meant to when he answered. Emotion was still left over. "Yes. I was called here."

"By what?" Seer asked.

"God, I think..." Umbra went back to his bed. He sat cross-legged and closed his eyes. "Thats it, I guess."

"Don't you want to help plan-" Julia began.

"I am." He snapped.

He could see the hurt on her face, so he closed his eyes again. "You two can plan by yourselves, I can hear you from here."

A stubborn look crossed Julia's face, "Seer, we don't care what happens. You don't get left behind or killed, even if you lose your memory again. Besides, do you seriously think that I would be capable of killing you?"

Julia sighed deeply as Umbra retreated into himself and stopped talking. Well, this was certainly turning out well. She couldn't help the sarcastic thought as it crossed her mind...Umbra was acting like a moody teenager. Yes, he was a teenager, but somehow she had expected him to be a bit more mature when it came to such important situations.

"Alright, I guess its my turn." Julia brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them as she sat on the bed beside Seer, aware in case he should fall over again. She still felt bad about it having happened once, and she wouldn't let it happen again. She was silent for a moment, gathering her thoughts, and then began.

"Compared to you guys, I have lived a fairly normal life, which really isn't that important. The only really special thing is that I'm the youngest of the scientists here. I'm certainly not a genius or anything, but I graduated early."

Hopefully, the others didn't know much about becoming a doctor, so wouldn't be able to figure out how early she had graduated. Truthfully, she was extremely brilliant, but she wasn't going to talk about that. Nobody had known about her intelligence until she was in high school, as she had hidden it well up until then. It wasn't until after her struggles in her freshman year of high school that she had wanted to get away from all of the people around her age. Then, she had flown through medical school, tormented because of being an abnormally young female, and had landed the job with PMREHA. She had never really fit in, never had close friends, as her coworkers were all older than her, and people her age made her feel uncomfortable. This was the closest she had ever been to people.

"Anyway, I know this building pretty well, as on my days off I don't have much better to do than to explore. The members of my family that I still talk to are too far away for me to visit them. So, here's the basic floor plan...

Julia proceeded to fill them in on every part of building that she could remember. "As for guards, there never used to be many, but ever since the attempted escape, there are guards placed through every hallway, and we are in a room that is close to large groups of people. We are probably in the least isolated section of the building. However, I've been thinking..."

She swallowed hard, not looking at either one of them, "I've been thinking that you two should escape without me. We'll find a way to get you out, wait until Seer is healed, and then you can go. You guys are strong. Seer, as you said, if you weren't injured, you wouldn't be hindered by doors or anything like that. Umbra, I know that it would be easy enough for you to escape as well. The way I see it, the only thing that holds you back is me."

Umbra shook his head, as did Seer, "No way are we leaving you!"

Julia couldn't help the smile that curved her lips slightly. She had known that they would say that, but it was still pleasant to hear it. "Its the only way that I can see. I will be a distraction, make sure that the boss isn't aware of what is happening. I can also make sure that escape is as easy as possible...get rid of some of the guards and such."

Seer looked like he had eaten something bitter, obviously not liking the idea very much, "And how do you plan on distracting my father? I can't think of much that would make him oblivious to the escape of his last experiments."

Biting her lip, the young woman ran her fingers through her hair, "Ever since I got here, the boss has had a certain...attraction...to me. I'm sure that I can keep his attention for a while...through whatever means necessary"

"Are you serious?" Julia couldn't tell if Seer was angry or disgusted by the tone of his voice, but she still didn't look at the boy that sat beside her, not wanting to know.

"Well, if you have a better idea, I'd be glad to hear it!" She didn't really mean the sharpness that filled her voice, but she was frustrated, desperate. She didn't know what the heck to do. She was only a mortal, she could only do so much. If she could blast through walls or turn invisible, she would, but she was just a stupid, worthless, ordinary girl, barely old enough to lose the title of "teenager".

As Seer was about to open his mouth to say something, Umbra still planning silently, a beeping broke the silence. Julia's hand went to the pocket of her lab coat, pulling out a pager. Her face became extremely pale as she looked at who was calling her, all of the color disappearing from her fair features. Taking a deep breath and trying to hide the trembling of her hand as she put her pager back in her pocket, Julia stood up. She smoothed out her clothing, her face still paler than her white coat.

"What?! Who was it? Where are you going?"

"I have been summoned...Rhys wants me in his office...now." She put a hand against the wall for support, looking like it was the only thing keeping her on her feet. What was she to do? Why did he want her? She was afraid to find out...

He's going to take her. He really will take her from me. I'll be alone again, and what can I do about it?

Seer felt terrible. Rhys was calling for Julia NOW? What did he want her for? Was she found out? Was he going to kill her or hurt her? Would he change her? Would he lose her, lose this warmth he had never before felt?

Or was it to be worse? Was he going to take her for his own? Julia had mentioned that he had found her attractive, and Seer had no trouble imagining why. His own experiences were limited, but he had trouble imagining someone more beautiful then Julia, especially when his own mother was rather plain. He could imagine him taking her down with him. Down, down, to that cursed place that lovers share, that bed of evils. He felt disgusted as he imaged him taking advantage of her. He shut the thought out of his mind, blushing as he imagined things he had no right to.

Julia was still standing, and tears were starting to flow again. She was scared, even if Seer didn't have his special senses he could of told it. Even Umbra was loosening up, but Seer acted first. He shakily stood up, realizing as he did so that his wounds were not as bad as he had supposed. Years of self-inflicted abuse had turned Seer's body lean and hard and granted him exceptional resilience to physical damage.

Seer took a few faltering steps, until he was right before Julia, and this time he did what seemed natural. HE hugged her, something he had only seen, only heard of, never done. It felt...wonderful to him, and she clung to him, crying, looking for support anywhere and finding it in the barely standing Seer. He winced as her hand brushed against a deep bruise, but did not move. He sensed that she needed this moment more then he could imagine. And he obliged her, doing nothing, just giving her comfort with his strength. He could just imagine how it must look to Umbra, wondered briefly if he would brew jealousy with such an action, then discounted the though as Julia sobbed again.

He can go to hell for all I care. This is most important.

Eventually, after what seemed like hours to the now confused Seer, Julia pulled away and stifled her tears. He helped her wipe away the smudges as he furiously thought of a plan. He could only come up with one, but it was drastic and would require nearly all of his energy now. Yet if it gave her a better chance of coming out unharmed, it was worth it.

Seer went to his cot and reached beneath the small, hard mattress. Feeling underneath for a moment, his hands located a familiar hole. From that hole he pulled forth a small necklace. It was a pendant, that was made to be broken in half, each half with a chain attached. The image was that of a spider with an eye engraved on it's back, and was eerily carved such that the eye was constantly following anyone who looked upon it. Seer split the halves, and put one around his own neck, then turned to Julia to help her put on the other half. He attached the clasp, and then turned her back around to face him. He looked down at the pendant and knew that now would be the hard part. He summoned power from within himself, threading it around the pendents, curling it around, covering the small keepsake with it. Finally, the pendents glowed warmly and then faded as he finished.

“This was given to me by my nanny before I was taken. She said it was the image of her God, and that he would always be watching me. Nanny had a lot of funny gods. Father always said it was dumb. But it was funny, they always seemed to help her. I always wished I had a God too. Anyways, this was the symbol of her God of knowledge, and she said that I was going to split it with someone someday. What I've done is produced a two fold power in these. They are imbued with a kind of clairaudience. Anything you or he says we can hear here, from the necklace, and likewise we can speak to you, though only you will hear us, or should I say me. Umbra will have to talk through me, I haven;t the time to complete the process. The second part is where the true difficulty comes into play. It is also a Gate. If he does ANYTHING to you” Seer looked straight into her eyes, and she understood he meant more then just him trying to harm her. “You just hold it and will us there, and I will bring us there. Be warned, it requires a tremendous amount of energy to bend reality this way and I've never actually done it before, so I will be almost certainly drained when we come, and it's possible that we might both be rather disoriented. But we will come. I speak for both of us when I say we won't let that monster touch you. In any way.”

And as Seer finished speaking, he fell heavily into Julia's arms, now completely worn out from the exertion of making such an object.

OOC: Sam, Do something. Please xD. I feel guilty in thinking that it would be easier if me and Julia were next to each other in order. I told Erulastiel that I want all of us to have fleshed out characters, Not just Seer, so participate xD.

Although this really is a moment for her not you >_>. Damn inconveniences.

OOC: Dude. Saying that my character, whom I love as all my other characters, could "burn in hell" for all you care, isn't much incentive for me to cooperate, is it?
-------

Shadow sat on his bed, extremely agitated. Julia shouldn't be in this mess. He was mad at Seer, and Julia, because he knew they didn't care. He was mad at himself, for the fact that he cared what they thought. And he was mad that even though he knew that they didn't care, he cared about them. Why should he care? But he did. He did, and he would do anything to help them.

The anger burned up inside him again and he closed his eyes, trying to control himself. Seer, and Julia. Julia, and Seer. No Shadow. He wasn't in the equation. They would leave him behind, if they had to. And once they got out? Whose to say that they wouldn't just run off together and leave him alone?

"No, no, no, no... no!" Tears threatened to fall from his eyes. Shadow had always followed his heart. Always! Why was it betraying him now? No, he didn't have a family. No, he didn't have friends. But he had a heart! And he wanted to be loved. He wanted- he wanted to be loved. Was that too much to ask? Was their anyone out their who would ever care about him?

"No, no, no." Shadow grabbed his face with his hands and shook it. He couldn't be left alone. Not all alone.

"No!" He cried out loud, causing Seer to jump.

Shadow felt himself letting loose his powers. His emotions were out of control.

His eyes were black as he started to rise from his bed.

"What are you-" Seer asked.

"We're getting out of here. Now."

"No you cant do this! If we get caught that will be it. The end!"

"We're not going to risk this. I won't let you." Seer rose, and Shadow could see him using his powers.

Shadow let out a hallow laugh. "You can try, but I'm on your side. Even if you aren't on mine."

"What do you mean I'm not on your-"

"I'm not stupid." Shadow growled. "And I don't need telepathy to see through you, Seer."

Shadow used his powers to rip open the door. Seer jumped at him but he shot him back against the wall.

He was going to find Julia, then come back for Seer.

They wouldn't do the same for him. But he couldn't leave them. He couldn't.

He absorbed two of the guards into a black hole and continued down the hall. Pictures were flying off of the walls, paper swirling around.

Every time someone would appear he would take them out, the black aura around him making him untouchable. He was not going to stop. Not now. Not ever.

Julia held Seer in her arms, feeling the warmth of his body. She supported him just as he had supported her moments ago. She was overwhelmed by what had just happened, the display of emotion and the feelings that had rushed through her body. Unfamiliar, but not completely unwelcome. They made her feel like...a woman. Not just a girl, but a woman. Her face flushed suddenly in self-conscious discomfort and she moved the tired Seer to his bed, sitting him down. She cleared her throat, she was ready now.

"Thank you. I need to go now." She hesitated, wondering if she should give in to the urge to kiss Seer on the cheek, but then turned away hastily, leaving the room. Her progress down the hallway was obvious with the soft thumping of her feet against the floor. She passed by several guards, but they ignored her. Their job had nothing to do with her.

What would she say to the boss? She felt a bit safer now that she had the magical object, but what she was doing was still extremely risky. What good would the boys coming to her aid do if they were weakened and disoriented from the trip? She would have to deal with it mostly on her own. She would stick mostly to her original plans, even though the thought of it was becoming more and more unpleasant. The image of Rhys' arms around her made her feel sick. She was glad that the charm around her neck didn't allow Seer to watch anything that went on. Julia didn't need him worrying if she had to do something desperate. Even with his warnings, she was willing to do anything to set them free.

Julia wiped a sweaty palm on her jacket before she turned the knob to Rhys' room. As she had expected, it was unlocked, as it's occupant was waiting for her. Seer's father sat in a chair across from the door, looking passively over at her with his sharp eyes.

"Hello there." He rose to greet her, a smile on his lips, though it looked painted on. "How are you on this fine day?"

"I am just wonderful, Sir, and you?" She returned his smile, equally as sincere.

"Well, I must say that I am slightly worried about you."

"Sir, you shouldn't waste your time on such trivial people as myself."

"Yes, but I do. Being kidnapped and held hostage must have been a great strain."

"Yes Sir, it was. However, I am getting over it. You have been so kind to me."

"Maybe too kind," for the first time, he looked dangerous, a slight bit of anger crossing his features. "I hear that you told my men to directly disobey my orders. That isn't acceptable behavior."

"I understand Sir. Please, forgive me, it will not happen again. I thought it was my duty."

"Ah yes...you're duty. I guess I can forgive that. The love of duty is a great thing. But there are some sorts of love that are even greater."

He walked smoothly toward her, one hand reaching out to touch her shoulder. Julia fought hard not to shrink back from his touch. This was happening quicker than she had expected. There wasn't much time for her to do anything. She prayed silently that Seer would not come charging in. That would ruin everything. His father was far too careful for that sort of thing to work...he had to be caught completely unaware.

Instead of backing away like she wanted to, Julia moved closer, closing the gap until she was pressed against his body. "You are very right, Sir. Though I must say that I am greatly lacking in experience."

Rhys looked surprised for a moment, and then smirked. He moved Julia until her back was against the wall, one hand on either side of her. His lips brushed past her ear. "I can change that quite easily."

Julia shivered, hoping that it seemed like a shiver of delight. She could just imagine Seer's reaction to hearing such things over the necklace. She knew what her reaction was: disgust. His breath, though made sweet from mint, was sickly and damp against her neck. Julia closed her eyes tightly. That was when she heard the conversation going on back in the prisoners' room.

Unable to help the startled reaction, Julia's eyes snapped open in shock. Rhys noticed instantly, always aware of what was going on. After studying the young woman's face for a second, he smirked again. Laughing harshly, he roughly fastened his arm around her slender waist, "Do you think I'm that stupid?" He pulled out his sword, pressing it against the bare flesh of the young doctor's neck.

Julia struggled against him, knowing that it was too late to argue her innocence, but it was pretty useless. What she wouldn't give to have the strength of Umbra or Seer...

"So, my pretty, which one is coming to rescue you? Not my worthless son, is it?"

"Your son is not useless! In fact, he is far greater than you'll ever be!"

A small trickle of blood ran down Julia's neck and left a stain on her jacket. Rhys growled at her as he pushed the point a little harder, enjoying how the girl winced. "Its too bad that you're going to have to die. I like my women fiery!"

Just then, the door blasted open. Umbra stood in the doorway, shadows gathered about him, looking much like an avenging angel. Seer wasn't far behind him. Julia could see them both. They stopped in mid-attack though, as they saw the blade that was so fatally close to the girl's skin. It might be possible for them to get rid of Rhys without Julia getting harmed, but it would be risky. The boss, on the other hand, had other plans and didn't give them a chance. Without further ceremony, the blade moved from her neck and imbedded itself in Julia's chest. It moved in and out swiftly and without effort, such was the sharpness of the blade. He let go of the girl and let her fall to the floor, limp as a ragdoll, barely conscious. A pool of fresh blood already surrounded her.

"Sorry Dr.Conners, but I'm afraid I have to fire you."

Grinning darkly, he turned to the other two, prepared to deal with them.

Julia could feel herself losing consciousness. She fought to stay awake, but the pain that overwhelmed her senses made it hard to focus on that impossible task. She had to do it though...she had to. She couldn't die yet. She had to tell Umbra...had to tell him that she was on his side. She couldn't die letting him think otherwise...

Seer stopped dead. Everything else disappeared from his vision except her. Her. HER. Taken from him. By that monster. Pain seared through seer's body, and his mind burned with reawakened memories.

His parents were in his room, staring down their long noses with their faceless faces. They had come to take him away. He knew, but he didn't know how. They looked grim and the young Seer shuffled back towards his bed, away from the glaring eyes, the disappointed looks. Always the same those faces, those faces that had lost their clarity over time.

“Son, It's time to go.” His father said, and he was dimly aware of hearing it.

His world was disconnected. His parents spoke to him for a few minutes but he heard nothing. He was suddenly aware of the sun burning through his window. A stifling heat swallowed him whole, and beads of sweat formed all around his face. Then something caught his attention. There was someone standing in front of him, protecting him from the glaring eyes and the oppressive sun. His nanny.

“Leave the boy, he's done no harm to you.”
“Stand aside, we have no more need of your services now. You can leave.”
“No. I will not. His whole life you;ve hated this boy for no reason whatsoever. You;re so caught up in your work, in your experiments that you've forgotten how to live! I will show this boy the love you never did. I will not let you take him. I will stand here until-”

Her voiced stopped with a muffled yelp. Seer saw the blade through her heart like it was fake. It couldn't be. This little old lady who'd held him and hugged him and cared for him. She couldn't be gone. She collapsed, pools of blood forming around her, yet she didn't give up. She shakingly reached her hand towards the young Seer and tried to pull him close, but halfway through the motion her eyes dimmed out, the life that they had always held in them faded away to a black color that scared the small Seer more then the crimson blood that was now pooling around him.

Seer cried as his parents took him away from the Old Woman.

Seer broke down. He was on his knees, holding his head in his hands as it felt like his head was being torn apart. Maybe he was dying with her. Maybe he was so tied to her that he would share her fate. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. She was going to be gone from him, and that man was once more the cause. He would pay. He would pay in blood.

Seer lost control.

Somewhere he felt like a gate was opening in his mind, just as another shut out his rationale. His mind felt utterly disconnected from the world, from everything, from itself. IT was a great emptiness that had to be filled, an emptiness that scared Seer to look upon. And then the emptiness was filled by a power such as Seer had never dreamed. And the body of Seer used it, while his mind sat back and watched, unable to act.

A wave rippled through the room, passing through everything and distorting it. Lines blended into each other as the wave of false reality went through the world. Everyone stared at the source of the wave. The shuddering figure of Seer, huddling into himself on the floor. Umbra and Rhys stopped instants from fighting each other and stared. The air was charged with anticipation of more, of something.

And more came. Noiselessly Seer screamed, and contorted into a pose of pure agony. His back bent at an odd shape, his eyes staring ahead, his mouth open in a cry of pain that was never voiced. An cacophony of lights poured from his eyes and mouth, rainbow lights that were painful to look at. They bent the mind as that central center tried to process the logic of something totally illogical. Tried to add that bit of unreality into reality. And then the wave broke. The world exploded outward from the form of Seer. Umbra and Rhys were flung against the walls of the room, both overcome by the sheer power behind the blast that shook the foundation of reality itself. Julia moved not at all as a crystal light covered her, protecting her from Seer's fury.

Seer's eyes retained an unnatural glow in the maelstrom that couldn't exist, didn't exist, but was no less real for that fact. His body regained a natural shape, and his mouth slowly curved into a more acceptable pose. He did not walk, but floated. He floated over to Rhys, who was straining against the continuing blast, an explosion with no end, with no logical beginning. Seer's eyes looked tired, but he had energy for one last act as the unnatural strength that had filled him began to fade. He focused the last remnants of his power and focused it at the end of his arm, making a invisible blade of pure mental power.

“An eye for an eye.” The Seer who was not Seer said. And so saying thrust the blade that no eye could see into the gut of Rhys. He bled grievously, but the wound was far from mortal. The wound was meant to harm, not kill.

The power fled from Seer and he knew that soon just standing would be an impossibility. The glow from his eyes faded as his mind reconnected itself again. He stumbled as though drunk, and the bombardment that had assailed the room. Only one thing remained in his sight. Julia. Her eyes were still bright, their light not yet gone. He fell to his knees, unable to stand any longer, by Julia's prone body. He found one last bit of strength and picked her up in his arms.

I can't lie anymore. I won't fight it anymore. We've only just met but I already know that-

“I love you.” He got out as his eyes started rolling up in his head.

He fell forward, asleep soundly.

OOC: It's up to you Samantha. Get us the heck out of here xD. Or leave us in. You're choice.

One day, I'll end with a post that does NOT leave me unconscious ok?

Shadow sucked Rhys into a black hole, and all the other guards that came running towards them.

He felt... empowered. It was as if each life force he sucked in, he got stronger.

The black hole was getting bigger every moment, and furniture was starting to get sucked in as well.

Shadow knelt by Julia and used the dark energy to heal her, then he did the same to Seer. As he took away their pain, he felt it as if it had been his. A black tear sliding down his face was the only sign of it.

They both looked confused and frightened.

"Come on, lets go." Shadow's voice was different.

He blasted a hole in the side of the building and they ran out. Every time they encountered someone, Shadow would suck them into a black hole, or send them flying.
Suddenly they were surrounded by people with guns. Even a helicopter flew overhead.

"Hold on." He said.

Then the three were covered completely in what looked like black flames.

The next moment they were somewhere in the mountains.

He felt someone touch his shoulder and he turned swiftly, raising his hand to use his powers on them.

"Its okay. Every things okay now." It was Julia. "Every things okay."

Shadow felt himself returning to normal again. His eyes were no longer black, and his voice was back to normal.

"You saved us." She said.

Shadow turned away and crossed his arms. Sure, he'd saved them. But he'd also let out a part of himself that he didn't even known he'd had. A darker side. He was stronger now, because of the black hole's work. And he felt strong. Felt... good. And that was wrong. No matter what those people had done, they didn't deserve to be sucked into the blackness. He didn't know where things went when he sent them there. All he knew was that they never came back.

And he was responsible for all of their lives. He grasped his head, feeling a sudden pain.

"Alright son, now catch the ball." A man threw a baseball to a six year old child. The child missed. "Its alright." The man patted him on the head. "Lets try it again.

"M-marry, you?" The woman was tearing as she sat at the table, and blushing people were staring at them. "I do." She smiled.

Flashes of the peoples lives he had taken were flying through his head. He felt dizzy.

A man cried softly as he held his mothers hand in the hospital. Cried as she said she loved him, then slipped away.

He could see dead children. Hundreds of dead children. "Failed experiments, sir." A scientist said. "Dispose of them." Rhys said coldly

Images of torture, cruelty, and death filled his head as Rhys thoughts entered his own. Shadow let out a cry and fell to his knees, still clutching his head, and deaf to the worried voices of the others.

Rhys stabbed Julia. "I'm afraid that I'm going to have to fire you."

"No!" Shadow cried, his arms wrapped around him, tears streaming down his face.

"Umbra! What's wrong!?" Julia and Seer were in front of him now.

He sniffed as he looked up into their eyes.

"I'm a monster."

Julia shivered slightly, the blood on her shirt was still wet and the mountain air was crisp. Or maybe she was shivering from the shock and memories of pain from the events of the past few moments. Whatever it was, it eased as she felt Seer's arm wrap around her shoulders, holding her close to comfort her. Still, her mind fumbled as she tried to go over what had happened. She could remember the overwhelming sensation of pain, the knowledge that she was going to die. Then, Seer had screamed, a sound that chilled her blood as his sorrow turned to madness. She had shut her eyes for a while then, not wanting to see what was going on. Then, through her pain, the gentle touch of arms lifting her and seeing Seer's distraught eyes looking into her own. Then, those words...those sweet words that had still rung in her ears as she had died. Yes, Dr. Julia Conners had died, her soul leaving her body just as she felt Seer collapse, unconsious, beside her.

Julia wasn't sure what had happened next, either in the real world or to her soul, but the next thing she remembered was breathing once again and being helped to her feet. She had run instictively then, chaos exploding around her, confused and unsure of what was happening. Now, here she was, on a mountain...where the heck was this mountain at? Was it even in the same country?

As Umbra fell to his knees, Julia pulled away from Seer in worry. She knelt in the snow in front of him, ignoring the cold wetness that seeped through her clothing. He looked into her eyes, and she could see the tears and the hurt in them. She took both of his hands in her own.

"No. Never say that. You are not a monster. Monsters hurt or kill innocent people for no good reason. That was what Rhys was. A monster. You, however, did the best you could to help us. I know how hard killing them must have been for you, but that in itself proves your humanity. You care. You don't believe that killing is right, and you wish that you hadn't done so. Usually, it is the people who call themselves monsters that are the farthest from it."

He looked at her with mixed emotions, as if he wanted to believe her, but wasn't sure if he could.

"I thank you Umbra, we both owe you our lives." With that, Julia kissed him gently on the cheek and stood up, helping him to do the same. "Come, I think that we are all exhaused, and I know that I am cold. Let's find some shelter."

Julia set off with the others following, struggling slightly in the snow with her shoes. She wished that she had boots, or a warm coat. Umbra was obviously in no state to take them elsewhere, so they would have to find a place to rest. Her dark hair hung loose about her face, slightly gross with dried blood and falling snow. She forced herself not to look at the rest of her. She knew that she would only see more blood. She had died a messy death, lying in blood, and though she was healed now, the mess had remained.

"Look, I think that there is a cave or something over there." Those were the first words that anybody had spoken for about an hour, and they made Julia jump. She looked to where Seer was pointing and nodded, her teeth chattering. It looked good to her.

The three of them piled into the damp crevise in the mountain. The entrance was small, but inside was roomy. It was actually a lot warmer there, as neither the wind or the snow could get to the farther reaches of the cave. They decided that this was where they would shelter for a while.

They were too tired to talk, and all three were soon on the cave floor, huddled together for warmth. They could explore more later...now all they wanted was sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

Pale light filtered into the cave, and Julia opened her eyes, refreshed. She was no longer cold, as the bodyheat from her companions all night had done its job. Julia untangled her slender form from the others and walked over and sat near the entrance, looking outside. It was snowing. She had never seen much snow, living where she had. Most times, she would be almost childish with excitement and want to play. Last night she had wanted nothing to do with it, but now it was starting to regain its appeal. Maybe playing in the snow would get rid of the itching she felt from dried blood. She sat for a while, watching the snowflakes falling softly to the ground, disappearing in a carpet of white.

Julia heard somebody approach and sit beside her. For a moment, she didn't look. She knew who it was, and she was trying ot figure out what to say. She knew that she felt the same way that Seer did. She loved him...or at least she thought that she did. That was where it became difficult. Julia wasn't sure if she believed in love, which made it complicated. Could people actually care about each other in a way that was completely unselfish and endless? Was it in their nature? She went over what she knew about her relationship with Seer. She knew that she would do anything for him...but she would also do that for Umbra, or most of her family members. Then again, the feeling of his arms around her made her heart want to burst out of her chest with a strange joy. And there was the way that she had felt when he had said those three simple words. Was that love?

Once, long ago, Julia had thought that she was in love. The boy had said that he loved her too. It turned out that that had just been a way to get her to trust him. Was Seer like that? Was he the sort that would hurt her like the one before? Was that all he wanted, to fulfill his own desires at her expense? Every part of her heart and soul cried out that he wasn't, and that he was different. Still, her brain kept confusing her, giving her a headache. She wished that she could ignore what he had said before and pretend that nothing had changed, but she couldn't. Those three words still repeated themselves over and over. Every time she looked at him, she could see the look in his eyes as he had said it and hear the truth in his voice.

"Julia...are you alright?" A gentle hand rested on her arm, but the voice that spoke was even softer than that touch, as if the speaker was afraid of the answer.

Finally, the young woman turned to Seer, blinking back tears. She was far too emotional for her own good. "Yes, I'm find. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes...what about you?"

Julia looked into his eyes and then looked quickly away, her gaze shifting to the floor. She could see the question in his eyes. She knew what he wanted to hear, and knew what she wanted to say. She just...she wasn't sure if she could. She wasn't sure if it was possible.

"I...slept very well, thank you." She trailed off, an awkward silence filling the air between them.

"Seer. I..." She couldn't do it. She just couldn't. Julia felt her hand being covered by a slightly larger one, and she pulled it back as if it burned her. She knew that if he touched her for any longer, he would feel how much she trembled and know exactly how she felt. She couldn't do that. He loved her, and she loved him, so she couldn't let him be hurt by her screwed up emotions. It would do more harm than good, no matter how pleasant it sounded. It was better to cause him this short-term pain than to give in to her heart and make him suffer more in the end. For suffer he would if they became too close...if their relationship continued on this path. She couldn't let that happen. Julia shifted so that there was more space between the two of them, keeping her eyes on the floor so that he couldn't read them.

What did I do wrong? Seer asked himself as Julia pushed away from him. He didn't know how to do this, he didn't know what to say, what to do. This was all new to him, but he knew one thing. She meant everything, and right now she was drifting away from him far faster then he'd like.

He stared at his hand, wishing she had accepted it, wishing that it could be the way he'd dreamed that night, something so precious and beautiful that all the world envied it. Yet here they were. Seer doubted himself. Maybe she was really coldhearted, nothing like the Julia he had loved. Maybe that was just a mask that had been stripped free. Maybe that love would fade to memories. Maybe all of it was for nothing. He knew with certainty that he'd rather die in the black labs then lose her now. He would do anything, anything. Then he heard the first sobs. She hook, both from cold and from the tears that were flowing into the pristine snow. Seer stared out into the field of whiteness for a moment, thinking.

Think. That's all I ever do is think. Umbra acted to get us out, he did all of this. All I ever do is sit around and think, now it's time for me to act!

Seer got up to his knees and moved over next to Julia. She kept crying, and he didn't have to use his talent to see the turmoil in her.

She's hurt too. She's confused, distraught. I can help her.

“Julia...I can't protect you from everything we might face out here. One day we might both be gone, taken by those that would like to see me dead and want to pay you back for helping me. Maybe that will happen someday, and when that day comes I won't be able to do a thing to save us. But you know what? As long as we're together, I don't fear that day. Together we'll go to our next life, wherever it might be. But that is not today. Today you suffer from doubts and fears”

He skimmed through her surface thoughts as he spoke, picking out exactly what was wrong, trying to find out what hurt her so. Finally he got the just of it and just in time to continue smoothly.

“You fear I'm like some other men. You think I want to use you, yet you also fear that you'll do nothing but hurt me. You care for me so much that you'd rather forsake me, for my own good. Yet I don't fear what trials are ahead, as long as your hands is there in mine. Together we'll get through this, or we won't. And we'll do it together. Because that's the only thing that's important to me anymore.”

She kept crying, her sobs actually increasing in intensity, but this time she held onto Seer. He wrapped his arms around her back as she relaxed on to his chest and cried. He rested his chin on the top of her head and spoke soothing words to her as her tears gathered on the ground. Finally, he pushed her back and turned her around, making her face him. Her eyes were wet with tears, but they now met his. Her black hair was plastered to her face, yet still Seer found her beautiful as he looked her over. Her eyes were bloodshot, her lips still in a slight frown from her weeping. He ran his hand through her hair, sftly disentangling the hair from her face, letting it blow free again.

“Together?” She asked, her voice cracking. “You want to be together with me? I can't help you, I'll just get you killed. You'd be better without me.” Her head dropped and she stared at the ground again, tears forming in her eyes again.

Seer smiled sadly and lifted her chin, once more making her face him.
“I already said I'd rather die with you then live without you. I mean it. Julia..I love you, and I'd like to think that one day we might be able to live together like normal people do, but even if we have to live huddled in a cave for the rest of our lives, it won't matter to me. It'll be enough. Any future with you in it is enough for me.” He whispered to her.

She started crying again, this time it was different. He wiped away each tear as it came, and kept running his hand through her hair.

“I think...I think I might like that...” She said, her voice still uneven.

“So would I...”He replied.

They sat there, staring at each other for a moment. Seer didn't know what to do. This was way out of his expertise. So he did what they always did in the few movies he remembered from his childhood. As he ran his hand through her hair he leaned forward and, glancing askance from her glittering eyes where he saw no defiance, he softly kissed her. IT was just like all the heroes in all the children's movies did. Granted he had no idea how it was done, and he feared that it might be lackluster for someone with experience like her, but he did the best he could. After an eternal, shining, glorious moment he pulled back. Her eyes cleared and she smiled and buried herself in his arms once more.

OOC: This is true. I have NO IDEA how kissing works. It thwarts me. A friend once asked why I agreed that I wouldn't kiss Nicole until she did me. Well this is why. Because I have no idea how the hell to do it and I'm scared to death that it'd suck.

Not that that particular example is relevant anymore.

BTW Samantha, I'm actually deliberately trying to sow discontent with Umbra so you know. It would make it so much more interesting with him not trusting either of us :D.

And I was pissed that you killed our last moment.

OOC: His name is Shadow. :P And you already got my email about Rhys, so... yea I'll just leave it at that

-----

Shadow saw the whole scene unfold before him. They thought that he'd been sleeping. But he had caught all of it. And with his companions away from him he felt cold once more, and in more than one way. They loved each other. He could see it, even though they couldn't fully see it yet. And where did that place him?

"Shadow." He thought about his namesake. The thing that saw what everyone did, and pretended that it is doing it as well, but never really does anything. The thing that is quickly forgotten. The thing that is forever alone. Oh, it thinks its alright, being attached to a living thing or an object, but in reality it is nothing. A mere reflection of the real thing.

But he wasn't really that. No. He couldn't be! He had a purpose. He did! He was sure of it.

"And what is that purpose-?" He asked himself. "-murderer."

The word echoed down his body and to his heart. He shivered as before him played the memory of when he met Rhys for the first time.

"I am a man of science." Rhys had said.

And Shadow had told the man that he was no man of science, but a murderer.

That word that held so much meaning to Shadow now.

He had never in a million years wanted this. But he had been forced to... right?

Shadow stood and stretched.

"Umbra! Good morning." Julia smiled at him. He could still see her tears, wetting her face. The light, that now shone bright in her eyes.

"I wouldn't exactly call it good." He said.

"Why not? All of us are here, and together." She said.

"Because being together matters." He muttered.

"What?" She seemed shocked.

"Nothing." He said, turning to look out into the snow.

Murderer.

The word would not leave his head.

He flinched as he saw another memory. How long was this going to last?

"Thank you, for getting us out of there." Seer said, stepping forward. "I have to ask you something though, when I blacked out-" He paused. "What happened to my father?"

Shadow continued to look out into the woods. "He-" Shadow could feel Seer's eyes on him and it was making him nervous. "I don't know where he is." He said quickly. Seer looked disappointed, but also sort of relieved. Could he really still love that awful man?

What he had said was the truth. Shadow didn't know where Seer's father was. He just didn't add the fact that he was probably dead. Was that enough for it to be a lie? Was he now a lier, and a murderer?

"Alright, close together now. I'm going to teleport us again."

Before anyone had time to ask where they were going a black shroud covered them. And when it cleared they were in a suburban neighborhood.

"What-?" Julia asked.

"This is what you want, isn't it?" He asked.

"Well, yes but-"

"Hang on a sec." Shadow said, then teleported again, but only himself this time. He'd had teleported himself into the vault of a bank. After crushing the camera with his powers he stole enough money to buy them a house and a car, then teleported back to them.

"Here." Shadow held out his shirt, which he had sort of used as a bag.

"How did you get all of this?"

"I stole it." He said. Well, he was already a liar and a murderer, so what more damage could one title bring?

"You stole-"

"Look. Just take it. Live a normal, happy life." He pleaded.

"What about my father and his men?" Seer asked, concerned with Julia's safety.

Shadow didn't make eye contact with him. "They won't bother you anymore." He said quietly.

"Oh, Umbra! You've done everything for us!" Julia hugged him.

He pulled away from her. "Have a good life." He said.

Then he started to walk in another direction.

"Where are you going?" Julia asked.

"Not sure. But I don't belong here."

"And why would you say something like that?"

"Because... you two-" He couldn't finish the sentence.

"You saw that?" She asked.

He nodded.

"It doesn't mean that we want to get rid of you!"

"Then what are you going to do?" He asked.

"Well-" She bit her lip. "I was thinking, maybe... adoption."

Shadow's eyes bulged. "What!?"

Julia ran her fingers through her hair, "Forget I said that. I just...I don't want to lose you so quickly. Even if its not forever, could you stay with us for at least a short time? After all that we've been through, its not right to just go our own way and never see each other again. Please Shadow?"

The teenager thought for a moment and then nodded, only slightly reluctant. "Alright. For a short time."

The girl smiled brightly at him, "Great. Now, let's figure out where we are."

Taking Seer's hand, she started walking down the street, putting her opposite hand on Shadow's shoulder, propelling him along and making sure that he didn't disappear. Everything was quiet, nobody around. She tried to figure out what day it was...a Friday? It was at least in the late morning, and everyone was at work. That was probably a good thing, as she wasn't sure if they would appreciate seeing three people covered in blood walking down the street. Seer and Shadow hadn't seen much sun during their lifetimes either, so their skin was extremely pale in comparison with the average person.

Suddenly, Julia stopped in her tracks, looking at a street sign.

"What is it?" Seer asked worriedly.

"I know this street...I think..."

After a moment of silent contemplation, Julia started running down the street, the two boys following her and calling her name. They could hear her muttering a house number under her breath, looking on both sides of the street for an elusive house. Eventually, she stopped running and approached a house. It was on the smaller side, but looked like it was taken care of. No car was in the driveway, but that didn't seem to bother Julia, who went to the front door and pushed the bell. Seer and Shadow looked at eachother, and then at the young doctor in confusion.

"What is it? Who lives here?"

"My brother!"

"You have a brother?"

Smiling, Julia nodded, "Yes. He's the only boy in my family. He was always my favorite sibling. The last time I saw him was Christmas two years ago, but we've kept in touch."

"Do you think he'll mind...well...us?" Julia, biting her lip as was her nervous habit, was looking slightly unsure, but before she could answer, the door opened.

In the doorway stood a young man who looked to be in his late twentys. Although his eyes were green instead of blue, it was obvious that he and Julia were brother and sister. His black hair was cropped just above his shoulders, and his chin was covered in a light stubble. He had a handsome face, which looked exceptionally good natured, and you could tell that he loved to smile and did so often. However, his most striking feature was the fact that he was covered in paint. His clothing, his face, his hair, and the paintbrush tucked behind his ear were completely covered in more paint than most art stores could brag of. As he looked out the door, he at first didn't realize what he was seeing, looking dazed, as if he just woke from a nap. Then, as he gazed at the three people looking at him, his expression turned to one of shock.

"Julie? What the h-?" He moved as if to pull her into a hug, but then noticed the amount of dried liquid that was obviously blood. "Jul! You're covered in blood? Are you hurt? What happened? What are you doing here? Who are these guys?"

Julia stopped her brother before he could ramble on, "Don't worry, I'm fine. Charlie, these are my friends, Seer and Shadow. Can we come inside?"

Charlie looked confused, but motioned them in, closing the door behind them, "Sure. So, that's not your blood?"

"Well...it kinda is..."

"But you said that you weren't hurt! That's an awful lot of blood for somebody who's not hurt!"

She rested a hand on the older Conners' shoulder, "Really Char, I'm fine. Its a really long story. Can it wait? I promise that I'll explain things the best I can later."

Sighing, Charlie nodded, "Alright. But I expect you to tell me everything." His eyes shifted back and forth between Seer and Shadow and his little sister.

"Thanks. You're the best." She moved up onto tiptoe to kiss her brother's cheek, as he stood around six feet. "Do you think Beth would mind if I borrow some of her clothing? I could really use a shower, and so could the other two. Seer and Shadow don't mind if your clothing is a bit big."

Charlie looked over Julia's shoulder at her companions, who had been silent all this time, looking uncomfortable. "Of course. Seer....and....Shadow....can use the restroom attached to the guestroom. Julia, you can use the main one. I'll bring all three of you something to wear. What do you want done with the ones that you are wearing now? I don't know if it will work, but I can certainly try to clean them."

Julia looked down at her once white lab coat, and then at the shapeless outfits that Seer and Shadow had been forced to wear as experiments. The three of them looked at eachother and then at Charlie.

"Burn them!" Julia, Seer, and Shadow spoke at the same time, with equal intensity. Even if it was possible to clean their clothing, which Julia highly doubted, they brought back too many memories that they didn't want to dwell on.

"Alright then...you boys can head on down the hall, the guest room is on the right. Jul, you know where the other bathroom is. I'll bring you guys some clothes that might fit."

As Julia started going up the stairs that lead to the second floor, Charlie stopped her, "And remember, after you're done, I want to talk to you."

Giving him an innocent smile, Julia agreed.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Julia stepped out of the shower, her skin still tingling after the hot needles of water. It felt so good to be clean, and the hot water had loosened her tight muscles. She toweled herself dry and slipped into the clothing that Charlie had left for her. Charlie's wife, Beth, was similar in size to Julia, or at least had been before she became pregnant, and the clothing fit well. Looking in the mirror, Julia was able to smile at the reflection. She looked prettier than she had for a while, despite the dark smudges under her eyes from many restless nights. Her black hair hung wet around her face, making the shoulders of her borrowed shirt slightly damp.

As she decended the staircase, Julia caught sight of her brother tossing the old clothes into a garbage bag. He turned and saw her, giving her a look that she couldn't quite figure out. He was worried about her for sure...but what older brother wouldn't be? She had to explain at least part of this to him. He deserved it.

"Come on and sit down. Your friends are still busy cleaning up."

Julia followed him into the living room, which had been converted into an art studio. One wall was completely covered by a large piece of canvas. It was obviouslly still a work in progress, but even when it was finished, most people would be confused by it. It wasn't of any recognisable creature or object, but it made you feel happy just the same. Maybe it was the colors, or maybe the freedom of the strange shapes, but it gave the room a very cheerful feeling. To somebody that knew him, the painting summed up Charlie's personality exactly. Charlie moved a tarp from the couch and sat down, Julia doing the same at the other end.

"So, where's Beth? I thought that she would be home, being eight months pregnant and everything."

"Nah, she refuses to take time off work until she has to. That's the problem with being married to a lawyer, she almost always gets her way. She beats me in an argument as easily as she breathes. But no changing the subject young lady. What the heck is going on? I thought you were working at your top-secret job on the other side of the country, and all of a sudden you show up at my door with two strangers and covered in blood! And don't think I didn't see how you and that Seer fellow looked at each other! I mean, you've never even mentioned him before! And what sort of names are Seer and Shadow? They sound like they're right out of a sci fi book! I mean, you always did weird things and got yourself into strange situations, but this beats them all!"

"I wish I could tell you everything...but I can't. Its too dangerous."

"For who?"

"Everyone."

Charlie sighed, "Then what can you tell me?"

"That I need your help. I'm sort of in trouble."

"No way..." Charlie's voice was sarcastic, and Julia laughed. They were very similar, and as Charlie smiled, that was even more obvious.

"Ok, I'll tell you as much as I can. You see, there was some major trouble at work, and the three of us were caught up in it. We had to leave as quickly as possible. The circumstances that brought us here, I can't explain, but I knew that I could trust you to help us. We need to lay very low for a while."

"So you want to move into my house?"

"No. I couldn't do that to you. We just need a place to stay until we can get ourselves settled. We'd like to find a house nearby and hide away until things cool down. I can get a job at a hospital or something. Do you mind if we live in your guest room for a few days? I promise that we won't be much trouble. Seer and Shadow really are great guys, even if they are a bit different."

"It will be slightly crowded, but you are as welcome for as long as you need to stay. If you say that they are great, I trust you. I won't ask any more questions...except for one. I know how you get when you are determined not to say anything. I just hope that you will tell me the whole story someday."

"Thank you!" Julia threw herself at her brother, hugging him tightly. He hugged her back, then held her at arms length, studying her. He didn't need to say anything, the look in his eyes told her exactly how happy he was to see her. They had always been close.

"Its no problem. What else are brothers for? And to fulfill my other brotherly duty, here comes my next question. What is it between you and...Seer?" Charlie still fumbled over the strange name. He might be accepting, but when it came to his sister, he was protective. He had been the one that had comforted her through all of her hard times, and he wasn't about to allow some strange kid hurt her.

Julia blushed a bright red, her eyes shining, "Seer and I..."

Charlie laughed at the expression on her face as she struggled to find something to say, "You don't have to say anything else. Your face speaks louder than any words. But as long as you are under my roof, you sleep in different rooms."

Grinning as his sister turned an even brighter shade, Charlie stood up and moved into the kitchen. "You guys must be starved. Now that I have somebody to remind me to buy food when I get wrapped up in my work, I am actually a pretty good cook. I'll make something. If you need me, I'll be preparing something delicious."

"Alright, you do that. Thanks again!" Julia called to his retreating back. She stretched out on the couch, letting her head hang over the arm. Her eyes were shut, she just lay there and enjoyed the softness of the cushions. After a few moments, she could feel somebody staring at her. She hadn't heard any footsteps, but the thick carpeting was probably to blame, as well as the silence with which Seer walked. She kept her eyes closed and was pleasantly surprised as she felt warm breath on her face and then soft lips pressed against her forehead. Her blue eyes opened to look back at the silver ones.
"Give my brother a chance. He's not a bad guy, no matter how many glares he gives you or how many threats he utters. He's just a bit protective. He'll warm up to you eventually."

Seer was confounded. The arcane device before him puzzled him greatly. It had a small basin with a drain on it and a head on the top. Shadow and him stood there, staring at this thing that Julia had so casually called a “shower”. Neither of them had any idea how it was used.

“You go first.” They both said at once, though Shadow was a bit the quicker. Seer caught that and cursed softly beneath his breath. He stared again at the thing, not understanding it's function, yet unwilling to ask for help. Shadow gave him a sympathetic pat on the back then left the room. Seer locked the door behind the other boy, and then turned once more to the contraption. There was a knob, and it being the only obvious way to operate the machine, Seer turned it. Water spewed from the head on top, warm and refreshing. Now seer understood it's purpose. It was a form of bath, just coming from above. He stripped his clothes and went in, exulting in it's warmth.

Seer took his time, shampooing his hair as he remembered doing as a child. His long and tangled hair eventually straightened out after the third time, and it reached down beneath his shoulders, almost down to the middle of his back. Finally Seer found some sweet-smelling soap and rubbed it all over himself, this being his first bath in almost a decade. At least that he remembered. Eventually the water started growing cold (this always happens to me >_<) and Seer turned it off. He grabbed a towel from the rack, and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked changed now, his face clean and Julia's blood wiped away. The change in his hair made him look much different, and he resolved to ask Julia what she'd like him to do with it. He toweled himself down then, wrapping the towel around himself for his own decency, he left the room. He jerked his thumb towards the door to the waiting Shadow, who took his cue and went in.

Seer took one of the two sets of clothes that were lying neatly on the rooms bed. The pants fit well, but the shirt was large and baggy, giving him a slightly comical look. It was a change, but he didn't mind. In the bathroom, the water still wasn't running and Seer briefly wondered how long it would take Shadow to turn on the shower. Dressed and clean, Seer left the room and went back to the front room. He walked softly, realizing for the first time that he was barefoot. He hadn't worn shoes ever since he was 6. He decided he would get some at the first opportunity.

In the front room, spread over a couch, was Julia. Seer stared, then moved in, slowly. The soft carpet muffled his already soft footsteps. Julia was lying on the couch with her head hanging over the edge, apparently asleep. He stood, just watching her breath softly. He knew he would stand there the rest of his life if he could.

Everything else that happened till now. All the pain, all the hatred, all the suffering, this love pays for it all.

Seer noticed something. A brief flicker of an eye beneath closed lids, a slight irregularity in her breath. She wasn't asleep. Well two could play that game. He bent down quietly, and soft as a butterfly kissed her forehead. She opened her eyes immediately, her shining blue eyes staring into the mirrors that served that purpose for him.

"Give my brother a chance. He's not a bad guy, no matter how many glares he gives you or how many threats he utters. He's just a bit protective. He'll warm up to you eventually." she whispered, seemingly afraid to break the moment.
He smiled and lifted her up, putting her into a sitting position. He sat beside her, staring still into her eyes all the while. Then he kissed her again, not on the forehead. It was longer then the last time, though neither of them had any idea what they were doing. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close then, breaking off the kiss, whispered into her ear
“I fought a madman, broke out of a home for the insane, and endured a decade of mental and physical torture, and you think I'm afraid of an overprotective brother? I think you underestimate me.”
He felt her smile. They sat just like that for a while, each wanting nothing else, taking nothing else. He took comfort from her closeness, her warmth, her love. What else could he want? He needed nothing else, that he knew. Finally she disentangled herself from him and lay down, her head in his lap, her eyes looking up into his.
“What are we going to do?” She asked him. He stared into those blue eyes, not sure what to tell her.
“I don't know...This is your world, not mine. I will protect us as best as I can, but I don't know what they can do. I'm out of my element. But I know that we shouldn't worry. As long as we don't do anything to reveal ourselves, we should be totally fine, ok. I'm not going to let them hurt you.”
“I know.” She said back, her voice showing not the least bit of hesitance. He could tell that she trusted him with that much at least.

Julia stretched a bit, rolled to her side, and closed her eyes. Seer felt like he should move, but was afraid to do so without waking her. He settled for stroking her hair softly, untangling all the wet curls. She smiled sweetly.

If this was all I had for the rest of my life, would I ever need another thing again? He though to himself. He almost started to doze himself, so peaceful was it. In the other room he heard the water finally start. It had taken Shadow a good ten minutes to figure it out. Seer smiled to himself. He kept stroking Julia's hair and watched her sleep, her breath even. He watched her chest rise and fall in time with her breath. He found it in his heart to bless whatever god was looking out for him that the woman he loved was as beautiful on the outside as on the inside.

Eventually Charlie came back out of the kitchen, still covered with paint, but now with the smell of spaghetti about him. Seer had never had such a meal. Julia stirred, and Seer shook her softly and whispered her name a couple of times.

“Hey you lovebirds, the food is ready. Come and get it. I made my secret spaghetti. Drives my wife crazy it's so good.” He chuckled to himself and went away again, this time to his own bedroom. Seer helped Julia up and to the table, where they sat next to each other. Before them were set huge helpings of the best smelling food Seer had ever smelt in his life. He dug in immediately. The food put up a valiant fight, but eventually it fell, slaughtered by the hunger only a man Seer's age could feel. Julia was still picking at her food while Seer's was wiped dry, when he suddenly thought of a very important question that he was angry he didn't know the answer to.

“Julia...What do people like us DO when they...when they love each other? I mean... Is it just like it always was or does something change? I don't know. I just thought that something was..different.”

Shadow shivered, even though the water was steaming.

Flashes of peoples lives kept invading his thoughts.

He had waited to turn on the shower, so that they wouldn't be suspicious. But in truth he had known what to do with it the whole time. Oh yes, he'd known how to work the shower, even though he'd never used one. And he knew so much more than that. It seemed that with their memories he also got their abilities. Their knacks, and knowledge.

Shadow turned off the shower, giving up on the hope that it would make him warm. He hadn't felt warm ever since they had escaped. He pulled on the clothes, not really caring much how they fit, and walked into the other room.

Seer, Julia and Charlie were already eating.

Spaghetti. Shadow realized instantly. He'd never eaten that before either, but he know seemed to know exactly what it was.

"Julia-" He heard as he stood just outside the kitchen. "-what do people like us do when they love each other? I mean... is it like it always was or does something change? I don't know. I just thought that something was... different."

The word love stabbed at his heart, and he turned away from the kitchen, even though he was hungry.

They loved each other. And even though it was a different way, he thought he loved them too. And when Julia had mentioned adoption, his heart had skyrocketed. He thought for that moment, that he would finally have a family. But no. She had changed her mind.

"Forget that I said that." She had said.

But he would not forget. Ever.

He would never forget that at that moment, he was the happiest ever in his life. And that it was taken away, just as it was an absent thought. Something blurted out, without thinking. And that after more thinking, Julia had decided that he should "forget that she said that". She had decided that she didn't love him. She probably only said that to keep him around for a while because she felt guilty. He'd given them freedom, and enough money to start a new life. All he got was a thank you. He should have gotten more.

"No!" He thought. "What the heck am I thinking? I gave this to them so that they could be happy. I don't care if they give me more than a thanks. Its not like I deserve it, anyway."

But did he deserve... this? A life without love? It wasn't fair! It wasn't-

Shadow touched his cheek and looked at the black liquid that was on his finger as he pulled it away.

His tears were black. Black as his heart?

"No." He decided. "If my heart were black I wouldn't care about them at all."

Maybe that was the problem.

He sighed and went back into the bathroom, to wipe off his tears. He had to scrub hard as it was like he had been wearing mascara or something, and it would smudge all over his face.

Suddenly he saw Rhys in the reflection of the mirror and he used his powers without thinking. The mirror was now cracked, but his reflection was back to normal. Except now it was a billion pieces. Just like his heart.

Julia giggled, a girly sound that she hadn't made in a long time. What did people do when they loved each other? Of course, people would have different answers to that question. She knew what her answer was, what she had been dreaming about ever since she was a little girl, reading the fairy tales that ended with a kiss and happily ever after, but not everybody believed in that sort of thing. She smiled at Seer, "Well, of course everything is going to be a bit different. As for what we do...that's a hard question. We're not exactly an ordinary couple, so not all of the rules are going to apply to us, but some will...I guess what I'm trying to say is-"

"What she's trying to say is that eventually, she's going to want you to propose to her and to get married. That is her end result." Grinning like a madman, Charlie walked into the kitchen and sat in one of the chairs. He had changed into something that was slightly less stained.

Julia stuck her tongue out at him, blushing, "Let me speak my own mind, Char." She turned to Seer, "I guess he's right though. Other than that, I don't really know. Love is...a slighty foreign concept."

"It usually is, until you experience it."

"That's true. But Seer, Charlie is a master of it now, being a married man and all. If you have...questions...he's probably the one to answer you." She picked at her food, but found that she wasn't as hungry as she had thought. Something just didn't really feel right, despite being here with her brother and Seer, two of the people that she loved most in this world.

As Julia stood up, both men looked at her questioningly, "Would you two excuse me for a minute? I have something I need to see to. You can get to know each other better, you know, do some male bonding, and maybe Charlie will show you some of his work. He's even more talented as an artist than as a cook. I'll be back." As she left the room, she planted a kiss on the top of Seer's head, breathing in his scent and that of shampoo. "I like your hair long, it suits you." With that, she left the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~

A slender hand reached out and tapped the door to the guestroom, "Shadow? Can I come in?"

When there was no answer, Julia cautiously opened the door and entered. Shadow was standing in the attached bathroom, staring at his reflection in the mirror, which was now broken into a hundred pieces.

"Sweetie? Are you ok?" The petname just slipped out of her mouth, but it didn't seem weird. He looked miserable, and Julia felt her heart go out to him. She shut the door behind her and took Shadow's hand, pulling him gently into a sitting position on the bed. She sat across from him, noticing how he wouldn't look her in the eye. Julia bit her lip, wondering whether this was her fault. She always seemed to screw things up, especially the things that mattered the most.

"I'm sorry that I didn't ask before taking everyone here. If you don't like it staying here with Charlie, we can find a motel or something. I don't mind, and I'm sure that Seer will go along with it."

"As long as the two of you are happy, its fine. Besides, I don't mind your brother." There was a touch of bitterness in the boy's voice, which hurt.

"No," Julia said firmly, "It's not just about me and Seer. Your happiness matters too. Its about time that we had a talk."

She waited for a response, but there was nothing from the brooding teenager. "I may not be a superhuman and able to read minds, but I am able to sense that there is something wrong. I don't know what it is, but I just wanted to let you know that just because Seer and I are...together...doesn't mean that we want to get rid of you. I love you, Shadow, but just in a different way. I can love more than one person...most people can. I mentioned adoption before, but even if that isn't the way that it works out, I want you to stay with us. I'm young, not much older than you really, and I would probably be a horrible mother for you...but I can be a friend, or a sister, if you like. If you left, a huge piece of my heart would die. I care about you, powers, faults, and all. I'm not going to force you to do anything, as you are now free to make your own choices, but I just thought that you should know how I feel. I don't want my relationship with Seer to hurt the relationship I have with you."

Julia paused to take a breath and then gave Shadow a small hug, very aware of his continued silence, "If you ever want to talk about...anything, just let me know. You don't have to carry your burdens alone. You have a family now." She stood up and started towards the door again, "There's a plate of pasta for you; you must be hungry, and Charlie is a really good cook. Come out whenever you feel like it...we'd be happy to have your company."

She turned one more time on her way out the door, giving Shadow a slightly impish smile, "By the way, you clean up good, kid. Smile, and you'll be quite a heartbreaker."

With that, she left the room and wandered down the hall, gazing at pictures on the wall. The pictures were of Charlie and Beth, looking beautiful and happy as they sat on the beach during their honeymoon. Julia sighed, wondering what on earth her future had in store for her. Right now, she didn't know what to think. One part of her was ready to burst with happiness, hope, and boundless love, another part was slightly sad over something she couldn't explain, and at the back of her mind was a nagging feeling of worry...that something, or somebody, would try to take away all that she had gained and leave her more broken than when she started...

IT was fairly obvious rather quickly that Charlie and Seer weren't compatible personalities. Charlie was way too happy of a person for Seer, and he wondered glumly if there was anything that phased this guy.

They talked for a while about nothing in particular. Seer wasn't a good conversationalist and there wasn't really much he could talk about without revealing where they had come from and putting Charlie at even greater risk. They mostly talked about Julia, and Seer realized that Charlie really had a strong bond with her, some thing foreign to Seer.

“Well what're you gonna do? Marry her?” Charlie asked grinning that infuriating smile.

Seer thought for a moment, not quite sure what his answer was going to be. He hadn't really thought about it before, but to him it seemed right. “yeah...I think that I will someday. It just seems right I suppose.”

Charlie grinned even wider, so much so that Seer was afraid his face would fall off. Still smiling, Charlie excused himself and claimed he had to go out. Seer heard the front door slam as he sat and tried to decide what to do next. At least Charlie seemed to like him. That was a relief, he didn't want to have to deal with other relations very much. He just wanted Julia, other people were still beyond his capacity to trust.

Seer go up and started wandering, and eventually came to some pictures of Charlie's family. There were quite a few people he didn't recognize, but here or there he saw a picture of a young Charlie or Julia, smiling to himself as he noticed that she had always been beautiful. Yet inside him a small longing was stirring. He wanted a family too.

As he was thinking, he turned the corner and came to the same pictures Julia was looking at, the wall dedicated to Charlie and Beth. He silently stood by Julia's side and gripped her hand in his own, feeling her warmth through the touch. Together they looked at the wall that symbolized the love that they shared. On every picture they looked happy, but more importantly to seer, in every picture they were together. Seer felt a tear start to form in his eye as he turned to Julia..

“Do you think...Do you think we could share that?” He asked as his voice started to get choked by rising tears.
“What?” she asked, surprised.

There was a long moment of silence as Seer tried to grip the right words. He'd never been good at this, and he didn't know what to do. Then he look into her eyes and knew that he didn't need words. She knew. He pulled her to himself and kissed her there, leaving the promise in the air, and letting the question go unanswered. It wasn't important now. They'd figure it out. They would be together, forever.

As they kissed Seer suddenly had horrible ringing in his head, like someone had just set off an alarm in his skull. It tore his brain apart, and he nearly screamed from the pain. Julia wasn't effected, but then again, that didn't really surprise him. After just a moment he knew where it came from, the taint of blackness was all over it and only one person had the power to send out such a wave of energy.

Seer stumbled into Shadow's room, still holding Julia's hand. The teen was still sitting on the bed, crying black tears onto the floor. Black tears. Black tears. Then Seer knew where all those people had gone, and knew what was tearing Shadow apart. It explained his moodiness, everything.

With his head still ringing from the mental overload, Seer started to concentrate. He sharpened his consciousness into a needle, a fine needle. He checked and rechecked it, this would have to be perfect. Finally satisfied, he shot the needle of himself into Shadow's mind.
--
Seer found himself on a plain totally devoid of color. He looked around and was immediately surprised to find Julia next to him.

“Where are we...?” She asked, clearly confused.
“We're in Shadow's mind, in it's darkest depths that he won't even acknowledge the existence of. Everyone has a place like this, I just forcibly entered his.” Seer explained.
“Then why am I here?” She asked
“Well...When two people are connected so close that their souls become entwined, they tend to experience weird things like sharing dreams, deja vus, finishing each others' sentences. This is the same. I think I pulled your consciousness along with me because they're....In sync I guess is the best word. It's hard to explain how this works. Anyways, we shouldn't be here long, I know what we're looking for.”

Seer willed himself and julia to move, and they did effortlessly. He scanned the barren plain, seeing whispers fo persona here and there, where Shadow's darkest secrets and urges were hidden. Most of there he didn't even know he had, and Seer wasn't particularly surprised to see a few things regarding Julia that made her blanch. Seer just laughed and explained

“This is his unconscious. He's not thinking these things up, they just kind of are. Like his repressed urges. All of his unacceptable desires go here, so it'll be natural for him to have some...less savory things here about you, and I'm sure more then one of these is devoted to my head ending up on a stick. You'd have some interesting things in your head too, let me tell you. But that's not what we're here for.”

Before them loomed a great black light. IT was like a light that wasn't a light. It's existence defied reality and warped the brain. Seer was used to such things, but Julia was visibly sickened by it.
“Don't worry, we won't be here long.”

they reached the light, and saw that it was really a huge congregation of solid souls. Hundreds of men and women were stored here, hiding and tearing away at Shadow's conscious mind. Seer knew exactly which one to look for.

>RHYS<

It was a command, that echoed through the place, filled with power. The souls all started to swirl around each other in excitement, and one in particular came forward. ITR was the perfect image of Seer's father.

“Get out. Now.” Seer commanded

“No. your friend didn't know what he was doing when he absorbed us, so now he pays the price. Losing his sanity one teardrop at a time.”

Seer had expected this, and was more then ready. He brought back the image of the needle, firmly embedded in Shadow's brain. Slowly he widened the needle until it became a wedge, splitting open Shadow's soul to the core. Above them the sky broke, and light flooded in. A tear in the dreary landscape. Then Seer withdrew himself from the mind, taking Julia with him, but he kept the break open. Then with all of his power he pulled what was in out. He was immediately snapped back into his own mind, suffering extreme disorientation as he got there, but he was well enough to see the sight of his life.

Shadow was now holding his head in his hands, taking a fetal position on the bed. A glowing spot of light was on his head, above his right ear. As Seer watched the spot grew larger and larger until it took up a third of Shadow's head. And then it exploded outwards. Souls flooded out of it, all going back to seek the place where their body lay. The torrent of souls lasted a full minute until they had almost all gone out. Only one remained. Rhys held on to the side of the hole, trying to force himself back in despite the enormous force Seer was exerting. Finally with a snarled curse he let go and flew away.

Seer relaxed, his work done. The glowing light faded away and Shadow went from delirium to peaceful sleep. Seer tucked him into the bed, then carried the also sleeping Julia out of the room, realizing for the first time that it was dark outside already. But as he picked her up she started to stir. Seer hushed her, holding her to his chest comfortingly. He took her to another bedroom and tucked her in as well. Her hand reflexively went for his, and he let her take his hand. Soon she was softly asleep in the bed, Seer kneeling next to her, feeling a great weariness overcome him. Afraid to wake her by disengaging his hand, he instead slumped over the side of the bed and fell asleep in that pose.

Shadow awoke slowly. He was on his bed, just as he had been before. The voices and memories were gone. But he felt sort of empty, as if Seer had taken something else that wasn't meant to be taken. He shivered as he remembered the pain. His very soul being torn apart. And Julia and Seer in his head... or heart or soul or whatever. Seer had let Rhys loose, but he'd also released Shadow from his own prison of personal pain. But he didn't have to bring Julia in there. It was where he couldn't control his thoughts. His entire soul had been laid bare, naked. They could know everything about him now. Why did he bring Julia!? Now Shadow would feel weird around everyone.

"Hey." Julia said, biting her lip as Shadow walked in the room.

Both Seer and Julia had messed up hair, and looked like they had been sleeping too.

"Hi." Shadow said flatly. Urgh. Everything was all awkward now.

"I've decided to take you two shopping. You need some clothes that you can call your own."

Shadow agreed, looking at the baggy clothes and his bare feet.

"Alright, lets go then." She said cheerily.

Right. Like she hadn't just taken a trip through his freaking soul.

Julia and Seer sat in the front, and he caught them holding hands.

He was in the back, looking out into the dreary weather. It had started to rain.

Half an hour later, they arrived at the Mall.

Shadow knew what it was instantly as some of the basic knowledge from his captives still remained.

They got a few weird looks from people because they were barefoot, so the first place they went to shop at was a shoe store.

Shadow got some converse.

Then they picked out a couple outfits, and changed into one of them after they bought it.

Shadow was now wearing jeans, converse, and a black zip-up hoodie with a black tee underneath.

As Julia was buying the clothes and doing a little shopping of her own, Shadow pulled Seer out of the department store they were currently in.

"What are you-" Seer began, but Shadow cut him off.

"Just follow me." He sighed, then led Seer through the mall until they reached their destination.

A jewelry store.

Shadow grabbed Seer's sleeve and dragged him over to one of the display cases.

"If your going to get married, you need to get engaged." Shadow said. "And if your going to get engaged, then you need a ring." He pointed to the gorgeous diamond rings.

"A ring?"

Shadow almost rolled his eyes but then remembered that his friend didn't have the same knowledge of these things as he did.

"Yes. You give her one of these rings, and ask her to marry you. Then your engaged. Then eventually you get married and you both exchange rings. But, um, different ones... anyway you don't need to think about that now. Just pick out one for the engagement."

"Their all very beautiful." Seer commented.

"Just like Julia." The thought went through Shadow's head and his eyes bulged. That wasn't his thought!

"This ones nice..." Seer said, pointing at a very ornate diamond ring.

"I like that one too... But I don't know what Julia would like."

Holy crap! Shadow was hearing Seer's thoughts. It was as if the contact the Seer made with Shadow's soul had triggered something unexpected. Could Seer hear his thoughts too?

"Seer you are ugly." Shadow thought, then flinched. He didn't mean it of course, but if Seer could hear his thought than surely that would make him turn.

"What do you think, Shadow?"

"Huh?" Shadow asked, caught off guard.

"This one or that one?" Seer asked, pointing between two rings.

Apparently it was a one way deal.

"Um... I think that one would be good. Its simple, but beautiful at the same time." Shadow said.

"Alright. That one it is." Seer said turning toward the cash register. Then after a moment he turned to Shadow.

"You don't happen to have any money, do you?"

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Actually, I do. I took some from the stash earlier so that we could come here."

Shadow took care of buying the ring since Seer didn't know how the money system worked yet.

"Here you go." Shadow said, setting the tiny velvet box into Seer's open palm.

Seer's eyes were sparkling. "Thank you."

"Your welcome." Shadow said, smiling. "Now we better get back to Julia before she gets worried about us."

Julia searched through the store, not really wanting to buy anything, but trying to do anything to distract her from her thoughts. Being in Shadow's mind had been...mind blowing. She winced at her own pun. But it was true, she still felt strange, as if it had done something to mess up her own mind, although it had healed Shadow's. She was positive that entering somebody else's wasn't something that was healthy for ordinary people to do. Seer must do it often, but she couldn't imagine wanting to ever experience that again. It had been interesting to some degree, especially since she was a doctor, but it wasn't worth it. It wasn't like it was Shadow's fault that some of his thoughts had been disturbing; she was sure that she had plenty of thoughts that were disturbing too...maybe more so, as she had lived a different life. But Seer had obviously seen her thoughts too...imagining such an invasion of privacy made her uncomfortable. She had no secrets...and could never have any. Even simple things like Christmas presents would be laid bare before him. It had never bothered her before, but maybe that was because she hadn't fully understood what it meant. She was happy that Shadow was free, but wasn't so happy about having been there when it happened. Ignorance sometimes really was bliss.

Julia looked at a skimpy nightgown on a rack...though she wasn't sure if such a small piece of fabric could be called that. She wondered what Seer would think of her if she wore such a thing. Not that she would...she could never buy anything so stupid and impractical. Her thoughts were inturrupted by a blinding headache that nearly caused her to fall to her knees. It cleared up as quickly as it had appeared, but it had happened. A worried look on her face, she forced herself to continue shopping. Where were those boys? They had disappeared a little while ago, and she was slightly worried. Did they know enough about real life to manage in a crowded mall? Just as she was about to start a search, the two of them appeared, Seer looking quite pleased with himself. Julia smiled at them, once again thinking about how good they looked in their new clothing. It was almost hard to tell that they hadn't been living like normal people for their entire lives.

"Where did you guys go? Should I be worried and be on the lookout for security guards?" she teased them.

"Don't bother, we took care of them." Shadow laughed. She knew that he was feeling awkward about what she had seen...just as awkward as she felt, but he was managing to hide it. She hoped that, in time, it would be forgotten.

Julia bit her lip hard as another headache filled her mind, and her vision became slightly fuzzy. Seer was instantly at her side, Shadow close by her as well, looking at her worriedly. She smiled reassuredly at them, gently loosening Seer's grip on her arm.

"Don't smother me, you silly protective men. I'm fine. Really."

Of course, Seer would know that she was lying. Why did she even bother? He would know, and he would worry, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. Julia was surprised by the bitterness that she felt about that fact. She still loved him, she knew that and felt that with all of her heart and soul, but for the first time, she felt resentment for the power that he possessed. Julia decided to set a wall between her mind and the mind of anybody else. Her hidden thoughts and feeling belonged to her and her alone. Nobody had the right to see them without her permission, even the man that she loved more than life itself. If she had any control over it at all, he would not have such free access to her mind.

"Hey guys, do you want to get some ice cream? There's a good place to get some just a few stores away. I think I'm done buying clothes. Three bags of it is certainly enough." She laughed as Seer insisted on carrying her bags, but in the end she gave him two of them, claiming his other hand for herself. She grinned brightly at Shadow, so that he would feel included, because she knew that she wanted him to be. They could be a good family, even if it did take a bit of work.

If he had thought it possible, Seer would of thought that he was even more conspicuous now then when he had treaded through Suburbia covered in blood. His black hair matched the long coat he had selected for himself, and both contrasted his overly pale skin. He wore black slacks which could barely be seen beneath the coat. His feet were protected by a pair of more casual boots, also black. He drew more then a few stares from women as he passed through the mall on his way to the Ice Cream shop, but not nearly as many as did Julia, though his were filled with admiration and hers with spite.

The small box in his pocket weighed heavily on him as he walked, his hands still dominated by Julia's. Shadow had talked about proposing so calmly, as if it was an everyday occurrence. Seer could barely fathom the concept, much less bring himself to do it. When was the right time, the right place? What should he wear, what should he say? These questions flew around in his mind, always coupled with an image of her face and the certainty that this was something that he wanted to do.

They arrived at the Ice Cream store after some time. Seer vaguely remembered the taste of the delectable treat his parents had forbidden but his Nana had sneaked to him from time to time. All three of them stared at the small menu for a while, wondering exactly what they wanted.
“Do you want to split a sundae?” Julia asked him.
Seer instantly agreed, completely overwhelmed by the sight of the mall food court and the daunting menu that offered him hundred of variations of a substance he hadn't eaten in years. Julia and Shadow ordered their food as Seer excused himself and retreated to a table, where he sat alone, waiting for the others to come.

I shouldn't of taken her with me in there, but how could I of stood up to Rhys without her beside me? It would have been better for me had she never known what I could do, yet had I not Shadow would be worse for it. I made the right choice.

Shadow and Julia eventually joined him, Julia sitting beside him, Shadow across. Seer stared in awe at the wondrous treat spread before him. It had chocolate, fruit, ice cream, nuts, everything. Julia handed him a spoon and he ate it with abandon, though not so fast as to not allow Julia her fair share. No one spoke over the small respite, none of them wanting to speak of their own trepidations and fears. Finally they finished and went home, after a mad dash to the car through the now storming rain which ended with Seer falling into a muddy puddle.

“It's amazing. You can deflect bullets, yet you still fall into a puddle like anyone else.” julia laughed as they pulled into Charlie's house. Seer was doused in mud and he immediately retreated to the shower, completely ignoring Charlie's jests and taunts. He threw his clothes on the bed and hurried into the blessed warmth of the shower.
--
Julia wandered around the house a bit by herself, as Seer had gone to shower and Shadow had excused himself to take a nap, not unusual at his age. Charlie was painting in his studio, and he stopped to watch him for a bit. His hand moved gracefully over the canvas, and the brush seemed more an extension of him then any man-made thing. Finally Julia found herself in the bedroom attached to the guest restroom. Seer was still showering and Julia found herself bored and decided that she might as well wash his muddied clothes as well. She carefully gathered up the coat and the nice long-sleeved shirt he had chosen with her help to wear with it. Finally she picked up his slacks, and as she turned to leave, she felt something fall out of the bundle of clothes she held. Looking beneath her feet she saw a small velvety box. Her curiosity piqued, she dropped the clothes and bent down to grab the box.

This must be what those guys were doing..

She didn't hear the water shut off in the other room as she examined the soft box carefully. She felt a moment of anxiety as she opened it, already knowing within herself what she would see. Inside was a ring. It was golden and obviously a masterwork. IT featured in it's careful and beautiful whorls a single diamond fractured into two parts and broken apart. She could almost see the two halves meeting together, becoming one again. She started to cry softly to herself, understanding what she had done finally. She never heard the bathroom door open. She never saw Seer, clad in a towel come into the room. She did hear his gasp of surprise, and she looked up.

Seer's heart broke seeing her tears, and he was confused. Was it not what she wanted? Was it wrong, should he of refused Shadow's demands? Maybe it was never meant to be and their love was born simply of circumstances. But now he had the strength to face all of his fears. He slowly walked up to Julia, then caught her face and carefully wiped away tears.

“This isn't when I planned this, and I had hoped to be dressed in more then a towel when this happened, but it seems fate was against me. Julia...I'm told this is what I should do...I guess what I'm trying to say Julia is...Will you marry me?”

OOC: Sooo. Sorry Samantha but you just got the executive overruling for rather obvious reasons. Just this time I'll have you after Eru, because...well...It should be obvious. We'll go back to normal right after.

Will you marry me?...Will you marry me?...Julia, will you marry me?...

A thousand images flocked through her mind. Images she had seen in movies, in real life, and in her imagination. Images of people, falling in love and getting married. Every once in a while, she could see an image of herself, always standing alone, a wall around her heart, not letting anyone in. The last image made her want to smile: Seer...that strange man that didn't have to break down the walls like anybody else, but just jumped over them with ridiculous ease. That man that brought the stares of other women, that made them want her to disappear so they could move in. That superman who could sweep her off her feet with a single glance. That man that could be....her husband...

For her, it was a dream come true. To have found that incredibly perfect and loving man...the one that she had been sure didn't exist. But now that she found him...could she actually marry him? It wasn't a matter of love or whether she wanted him. It was a matter of whether he would be happy being married to her. She was so...well, human So unfantastic. Didn't Seer deserve better? A beautiful and brilliant woman, who would be the perfect wife and mother. Julia couldn't offer him that. She was full of terrible little faults and flaws. Any argument that happened between them would be her fault, as it always was...anything broken would be her fault, as she couldn't imagine Seer being clumsy. But what else did she have to offer? Herself. That was it. So little to give.

"Seer..."

"Yes?"

"If we get married, it won't be easy."

"Is marriage supposed to be easy?"

"No...but it could be harder than usual for us. And...and we'll fight."

"But so do all people. We can make up."

"I'm not good enough for you. I'm not beautiful or well-bred or superpowerful or anything like that..."

Seer shook his head, taking her hands, "Julia. I've told you more than once. You are the most beautiful woman that I can imagine, and I cannot believe that any woman could be more right for me."

Julia bit her lip and squeezed his hand tightly. For a moment, there was only silence, but after a few minutes, Seer couldn't handle it any longer.

"Julia..." his voice broke, and he cleared his throat so that he could continue, "Julia. Please, stop torturing me! I cannot offer you a warm home, a secure living, or nice clothing. I have no job, no true education, no family, nothing to offer you that other men can. Despite this, broken as I am, I love you more than life itself. I give you my entire heart and soul, and nothing would make me happier than spending the rest of my life with you. Can you...will you marry me?"

Both of them were crying now. Silently, Julia shut the box and slipped it into her pocket. The ring was already on her finger, and she planned to keep it there. Laughing slightly at the sight of her left hand, which she never expected to be wearing such a ring, she threw herself into Seer's arms. She kissed him hard on the mouth, drunk on the feeling of being so close to him, by being held and embraced by him. Their kiss slowly softened, and Seer pulled back slightly, looking her in the eyes.

"So...this means yes...right?" His eyes were laughing. He obviously knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it for himself.

Julia laughed out loud, a sound of pure joy, "Yes. I think it does." She rested her head on his shoulder, her voice lowered to a whisper. "It definitely means yes."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Seer."

"I love you." Seer's voice was heard from his room.

"I love you too, Seer."

Shadow smiled to himself as he leaned against the wall by Seer's door. This was a good thing, and he was happy that he'd been a part of it.

Something still vexed him though. Rhys was now free... and no doubt they would be hearing from him some time in the future. But they could handle it. As a... family.

He could here them walking towards the door so he ran out into the living room and hopped onto the couch, startling Charlie.

Julia and Seer walked in together, holding hands, and tears were still evident on Julia's face.

"Shadow, Charlie... we have an announcement to make." Julia said, her face stuck in a smile.

She held out her hand and displayed the beautiful ring.

"Sis!" Charlie jumped up immediately and grabbed her hands. "You mean, you, and Seer, and, and... wow! And the ring is absolutely gorgeous!"

"I know! Seer, how did you pick it out?" Julia asked.

"I, uh, had a little help." Seer winked at Shadow.

Julia gasped. "You mean you knew!?" She shook Shadows face and kissed him on the head. "Oh, I couldn't ask for anything better than this."

Julia, Seer, and Charlie headed into the kitchen, as apparently Charlie had some champagne left over from something and they were going to celebrate.

Shadow hesitated a moment, standing outside the kitchen. At one point he had wondered if everything was going to work out. If he would ever have a family. And now... now everything was... ok. In the first time since they escaped, Shadow felt certain that everything was going to be fine.

And what a wonderful feeling it was.

OOC: Ok. Wow. I'm so sorry. I didn't even end up making anything. I'm horrible, I just really didn't know what to do. So I ran with Seer's Naivete. It never fails when you have dubious material for a post :D. Anyways, here, and Eru, I'll try to get something for Chromatia up tomorrow. No promises as I'm going to sell blood to a research lab tomorrow and might be kinda out of it xD.

Worht it for 30 bucks though. Or whatever you call it in Canada. Huh...That makes me wonder xD. Do you call it bucks too or is it just dolalrs...

Well anyways, here.

----End of Super special awesome out of character-----

The fifth glass of champagne lay empty by Seer left hand, his other was still being held captive Julia. His mind started to spin wildly, and he had no idea why.

“Umm...Charlie? I think there might be something in this uh...champogle..Or whhhhaever yuh calle' it....” He stammered, his words starting to slur together as his brain was dampened by the flood of intoxication.

Julia and Charlie looked at each other, then back at Seer, who smiled sheepishly back at them, even as his eye began rolling back into his head. Everyone at the table laughed as the mighty seer was laid low by the most humble of foes, alcohol. Seer just snored contentedly, out cold.

“I'll get him.” Julia said as she picked up the comatose Seer, marveling at how little he weighed. She cringed as she realized she shouldn't be surprised at all, seeing as he had never been well-fed, and had barely even eaten what he was given. She slowly carried him through the house, being careful to not wake him, admiring the lines of his sleeping face as she did so. This was going to be hers, she realized, as if for the first time. He was her. Forever. Her smile grew even broader as this drilled home, that she wouldn't have to worry about losing him to anything anymore. She felt sure he would protect himself and her against anything that might come their way.

Finally they reached the guest bedroom Seer was theoretically occupying, though he had been in Julia's room every night since their arrival. The bed was still made perfectly, the comforter a soothing floral design done in rosy reds and greens. The whole room was very tastefully decorated, right down to the tan walls and lamp shades. Julia allowed her to dream of their own home in the future. Their room would look just like this, she decided as she tucked Seer in. She stared at his face once more, then brushed a stray hair out of it. He stirred noiselessly.

She turned to leave, suddenly tired herself, and overcome by the bit of champagne she had imbibed. As she reached to turn off the lights in the room Seer woke up and called her. She turned back in an instant and was by his side.

“What is it?” She asked worriedly, fearing he was ill.

“Thank you...” He whispered so softly she had to move her head closer to understand.

“Thank you? What do you mean? Whatever for?” She asked, obviously confused.

“For saying yes.” He said as he reached up and ruffled her hair playfully. She retaliated by taking his hand captive again. They shared a smile and a kiss, and then they just remained there, content, though both exhausted. Neither had any desire to sleep, afraid they would just break this fragile dream in two.

“So how do we actually get married? Is there some kind of process?” Seer finally asked, breaking what seemed like an hour long silence, though they're hearts had been screaming at each other.

She laughed again,a sound that brought a smile to Seer's lips. How he wished he could hear that sound every moment, every day. What more could he want?

“I forgot, you don't know. Well now...Now we're engaged. I'm not your wife yet, I'm what's called a fiancé. It means we're going to be married. Now we stay like that while we plan our wedding. It's a big party with decorations and lights and people and oh..it's marvelous. ON that day, before a priest and God, we say our vows and THEN we get married. After that, we're supposed to go on a honeymoon to wherever we'd like to go, but somehow I think that might be...difficult.” She laughed again softly, realizing how difficult all of this was going to be.

“So you're telling me I have to wait a few months before I can brag to all my friends that I have the most beautiful and most perfect wife in all of creation?” He asked, putting on a paly of sounding disappointed. She smiled and squeezed his hand.

“We'll make it quick. It's not like many people are coming. This is really all of my family here, you're family wants to kill you, and then there's Shadow. It should be pretty quck and easy. I wonder what I'll wear...”

“Wear? What do you mean? You don't have a nice dress or something like that?”

“Well...no, actually I don't...But even so, for a wedding you need something special. A wedding dress is something you keep for your whole life, it's really important to women.”

“So you buy a special dress...Which you wear once...and you pay HOW much for it?”

She thought for a second, then opened her mouth to say something, then shut it again. Finally she kissed him and started laughing.

“OH how I love you. Everything sounds so different when you say it. Yes, now that you mention it, it does sound kind of ridiculous doesn't it?”

“Do I have to wear something special?”

“You wear a tuxedo. That you rent. For about fifty dollars.”

“Huh. Seems good to me. But enough of this. I can't plan this kind of thing...Maybe Beth could help us? Or you. Or whatever. But right now, I'm exhausted.”

But he was talking to no one. She had fallen asleep on the side of his bed.

“Well I'm sure not carrying YOU now...” he muttered as he took the comforter off his own bed and wrapped her up in it. He lay back down, used to sleeping with nothing on his bed and glad for the thin sheet he wrapped himself in.