"I can't just mope and brood for gods know how long. I gotta do something about this whole situation."

March 3rd, 2119.

"It's a boy!" The technician said happily. Two soon-to-be parents watched in awe as they saw their unborn son on the ultrasound screen.

"I've always wanted a son!" said the father, tears of joy welling up in his eyes.

"Me too, and I think he will have a great man to look up to." said the mother with a smile as she squeezed her fiancée's hand.

"I'm so excited, Serileine! I can't wait until we are a family of three!" said the father with happy tears streaming down his face.

Serileine's eyes welled up as well as she said, "Me neither. I love you so much, Aran!" They kissed.

One month later.

"Wow, that stuff stinks! I don't know if I should be in here while you are doing that!" Serileine said to Aran as he was painting the nursery.

"Oh it'll be fine, sweetie! You worry way too much, and that's worse for the baby than some random water based paint fumes, ya know?" said Aran with a mischievous grin.

Serileine heaved a sigh and said "You men don't worry about anything, do you?"

"It's not that, it's just that 'we men' tend to worry about things much more important than paint fumes!" replied Aran, laughing a little bit.

Serileine rolled her brown eyes, shook her head and sighed, then smiled and said "Oh whatever, Aran. I guess I'm just a little stressed out from everything that's going on. I'm just so tired of Sumestris controlling everything."

"I understand, love! But don't worry, me and the others are planning to overthrow them soon enough! Between me, my family, and the Hunter's Guild, I believe we can pull it off."

"What? Why!?" Serileine's exclaimed with deep concern.

"Why not? Why wouldn't we go after them?"

"It's because...well I just worry about you, ok!?" Seriliene replied with exasperation, placing her hand over her chest.

"I understand, but I'm tired of living like this. Curfews, rations, ridiculous cost of living...something's gotta give. Seiyomari Castle is basically just a glorified mansion, and Cid is king in name only." Aran calmly replied, closing his eyes.

"I suppose you're right. Anyways, can I get you something to drink, dear?"

"Sure, I'll have a beer. I know my 21st birthday is next week, but it's not like I haven't had a drink before, courtesy of the King himself!" said Aran, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well I won't tell anyone if you don't!" said Serileine with a smile as she went to go get the beer. Within minutes, there was a loud explosion in the distance.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?! SERILEINE ARE YOU OK?!" shouted Aran as he threw the paint roller on the floor and darted toward the kitchen.

"I'm okay, Aran! It came from the direction of the castle!" yelled Serileine in a concerned tone.

"Shit! I have to go help the others! Serileine, you get to the basement and stay hidden!"

"Please be careful, Aran!" They embraced and kissed passionately and then Aran put his gloves on and headed for the castle.

"Shit," Aran thought to himself as he sped down the road. There were helicopters and airships flying overhead. "I hope they are ok!" He drove faster, concern welling up within him.

Moments later, he saw a group of people standing in the middle of the road, and quickly slammed on his brakes. He jumped out of the car and shouted, "What the hell are you idiots doing standing in the middle of the godsdamn road!?"

"Hold it right there, boy!" screamed a large agent. There were three other men with him, all pointing guns at Aran. "We can't have any heroes today. That would ruin our plan and make our boss very upset!" said one of the lackeys in a snotty tone.

"Ha, I'm no hero! Just a man on a mission to help his friends!" Aran said loudly as he slowly advanced towards them.

"And what's the godsdamned difference!?" Another lackey shouted in response.

"You have until I count to five to get out of my way! Or I'll SHOW y'all the difference!" Aran glared icily at the agents and stepped forward. "One."

The agents just stared defiantly at Aran, standing their ground.

"Five." Aran growled, and immediately darted for the group, dodging the laser blasts. He socked the largest of the agents square in the face, sending him sailing several feet.

"Huh!? Such speed and strength! What are you!?" One of the lackeys exclaimed in utter shock. From his point of view, Aran said "Five.", then his leader got launched within a second. Whether or not the leader survived was unclear, for he was lying motionless on the ground, face covered in blood.

"Get out of my way or you're next." Aran firmly warned the remaining agents.

"Never! Our higher-ups would kill us if we turn tail and run! Better to die with dignity!" Another lackey shouted, sounding a bit frightened. This one sounded a bit on the young side.

Aran approached that particular agent, snatched him by his arm and jerked his helmet off, revealing what appeared to be a frightened teenage boy. "What the...how old are you!?" Aran asked, shouting in the boy's face.

"I-I'm seventeen! It's my duty to carry out my mission at all costs...we were ordered to terminate you and anyone associated or die trying!"

"No. Fuck that shit." Aran grumbled as he knocked the boy unconscious and called for an ambulance. "Send five of them." he said just before hanging up. He aggressively cracked his knuckles and beat down the remaining agents with standard combat moves. "Maybe I don't think of myself as a hero, but these boys deserve better..."

After a few minutes, cops and ambulances began arriving at the scene. One of the cops questioned Aran.

"Officer, these boys were forced into carrying out this mission. It was a suicide mission from Sumestris. Their leader though, he's another story." Aran explained, somewhat sympathetically.

"Very well. This is bad, Aran. They've stormed the castle!" The officer replied, with extreme worry.

"I know, I was on my way before I was stopped here. I need to get there and help the others! Please, be careful!" Aran heartily shook the cop's hand and bid him farewell.

Aran soon arrived at his destination and discovered that the explosion came from Markas firing a missile at the attackers and destroying the castle wall. It would seem that they were able to defend themselves quickly. Aran heaved a sigh of relief and ran toward his companions.

"Aran! You made it!" squealed Saraiah Raynes as she whacked an agent with her nunchucks.

"Bout time, Aran! Tha hell took ya so long!?" yelled Markas Weston as he fired a round of bullets, taking down six agents.

"Pipe down will ya!? I came as soon as I heard the explosion! And I had to deal with a few idiots standing in the middle of the road!" yelled Aran as he jumped into battle with his friends. "Is the king safe?" asked Aran as he kicked another agent in the abdomen.

"Yes, he and Uncle Alex are escorting the townspeople to the castle shelter right now!" replied Saraiah as she flung two kunai knives at two agents, killing them both. "Amber is with them as well!" she continued, referring to her childhood best friend.

"Damn it, we're outnumbered! We need backup, yo!" shouted Markas as he fired another missile.

"Got ya covered! Ya better stay close to me!" yelled Aran as he raised his fist in the air, took a deep breath, and let out a loud ki-yap as he pounded the ground, completely shattering the large stone courtyard and knocking out and burying most of the agents.

"Thanks, man." said Markas, heaving a sigh of relief. "Ain't enough ammo in the world to get rid of all of 'em!"

"No problem, buddy!" said Aran, breathing heavily. "Man, that sure took it outta me though! Phew! Y'all are gonna have to get by without me for a bit!"

Saraiah excitedly exclaimed, "Nice one, Aran! That was so cool!" Then, they heard another explosion, this time it was definitely not from Markas.

"DAMN IT! They're heading towards my house! Serileine is a sitting duck!" shouted Aran. "Oh my Gods, the emergency response workers were over that way! We need to get there, FAST!"

To which Saraiah yelled, "Alright, let's go then!" The three of them quickly boarded Aran's sleek green convertible, and with haste Aran sped towards his house.

After several minutes, they came upon a horrific sight. It was where Aran had left the cops to deal with the unconscious agents. A large crater was blown in the road and the houses facing that street were destroyed. There appeared to be no survivors. The cops, the EMTs, even the Sumestris agents that Aran had previously spared, including the teenage boy. "No..." Aran said quietly as he felt his chest aching.

Saraiah climbed out of the car and gasped in horror, then covered her face and began crying. "H-how horrible! All those innocent people!"

"What tha hell man!? Who done this? Show yaself!" Markas shouted as he aimed his assault rifle.

The three of them walked around the large hole in the ground, and looked, with some shred of hope, for possible survivors.

"A-anyone, Aran?" Saraiah asked, pretty much already knowing the answer.

Aran simply closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Godsdammit! I've found none either..." Markas said, hanging his head.

"We need to find Serileine. Let's go! There's nothing we can do here until Dad and Alex are done." Aran said, determined to save his beloved and their unborn son.

The three shuffled off towards Aran's house, where they were soon stopped by more agents. One of them, a fairly large man, had Serileine. His beam pistol was aimed point blank at her head.

"Aran!" Serileine shouted when she took sight of her lover and his companions. The large man jerked her backwards when she tried to pull away.

"Serileine! It's alright!" Aran yelled in reply, before glaring menacingly at her captor. "It's best you let her go right now." he demanded with a low growl.

"I'm afraid I cannot comply with your request, boy! We were asked to bring her in! Whether it's dead or alive is up to you!"

"We're taking her alive, right now!" Saraiah shouted as she snapped her fingers, casting a time-freezing spell. "Wait...what's going on!?" she exclaimed with frustration when the spell quickly wore off.

"Young lady, your magic has no effect on us! You could say we've done our homework before we attacked!" The large agent replied, before he snatched Serileine by the hair and tossed her to the ground. He then kicked her in the side, barely missing her belly. Serileine yelped in pain.

Within seconds the large agent found himself pinned on his back by his throat, Aran's wolfish crimson gaze bearing down on him. "Wha...what are you..."

Saraiah and Markas both engaged the other four agents. Saraiah strategically flailed her nunchucks, while most of her attacks landed, they didn't seem to do much damage. Markas was dealing with a similar situation. "Shit! Markas, this isn't looking good!" Saraiah shouted in frustration.

"Agents! End this now! Get this demon boy off of me!" The large agent had yelled after managing to get slightly free of Aran's grip.

"Yes sir!" One agent yelled as he pulled a large gun off of his back, charged it up, and blasted Aran with it, sending him flying several feet.

"Aran, NO!" Serileine shouted in horror, for it appeared Aran was severely injured at best.

"Aran! Markas, I'll go to him, you get Serileine out of here, now!" Saraiah loudly commanded as she made haste to where Aran was lying motionless.

Saraiah and Markas were soon interrupted by a huge explosion which had sent them both sailing. Everything went black.

Three years later.

"So Saraiah, are we going to go see Aran in the hospital again?" A young woman with golden hair said to the young red-headed princess as the two of them brushed their hair.

"Of course we are, Amber! They expect him to wake up any day now!" said Saraiah, with a hopeful smile. "I can't believe it's been three years. Everything was turned upside down since that day." She closed her eyes for a moment and placed her hairbrush on her vanity.

"I bet you're quite excited! It would explain why you're getting so prettied up!" said Amber with a giggle as she passed a tube of pink lip gloss to Saraiah.

"For Aran? Don't be silly! He's like my brother! We broke up a long time ago!" Saraiah scoffed as she applied the gloss.

"Your crimson face tells me otherwise, hunny!" said Amber as she folded her arms across her chest and laughed. "But, he is pretty damn attractive."

"Why don't you ask him out then, Amby?" Saraiah suggested, somewhat jokingly. "Well…he'll need to take time to grieve Serileine and their son." Her expression turned somber.

"That's right…he hasn't been awake since the explosion! Oh dear, poor guy."

"Yeah…and why did Sumestris do something like that? We still haven't figured out why they targeted Serileine of all people. She was completely harmless!" Saraiah said as her eyebrows furrowed. "And also, Aran took the full brunt of the blast, and still survived. He even looks completely normal. I wonder how that's even possible."

"She really was. And you're right about Aran. There's something about him. Something we aren't being told. That whole thing seems really suspicious to me, like it was staged, almost."

"Amber, that's nonsense! Who would stage that?" Saraiah exclaimed, eyes widened with shock.

"Right, I'm probably looking way too far into that." Amber shrugged before standing up from the vanity stool. "Shall we get going?

"What the-wha wha huh? Where am I?" exclaimed Aran as he abruptly awoke. "I'm alive. How the hell…?" He looked around the hospital room and first, his gaze fell on a calendar on the wall. "April 6th-! 2122?! Three years have passed?!"

The table in front of him caught his attention. It had several cards and bouquets of flowers. "Saraiah…she must be ok. Thank goodness." The cards included three birthday cards, and a sympathy card.

He looked at the sympathy card and had a flashback of events leading up to his hospitalization. "No. No. It can't be..." He felt his heart drop and his body began shaking. He began shouting in anguish, eyes hot with tears as he quickly figured out that his fiancée and unborn son were dead. He cursed and screamed, then he said to himself through gritted teeth, "I swear each and every one of those bastards will die a slow and painful death if it's the last fucking thing I do!"

He then heard footsteps, and quickly laid back down, faking unconsciousness. He listened as a familiar and unfriendly voice began speaking to him. "Looks like you are still alive. How lucky and unfortunate. And yet not surprising, considering what you are. Look how pathetic you are, lying here completely defenseless. HA!" It was the leader of the agents who killed Serileine. He prepared a syringe with a deadly poison. "What a shame, such a strong warrior reduced to a useless vegetable, unable to defend himself from someone about to inject a deadly poison into his I.V. Hahaha! What the-!" he turned towards Aran who was laying there, his red eyes wide open and full of fury.

"Yeah, I don't think so, you dickless sack of shit!" he yelled as he lurched forward and grabbed his intruder by the collar. He slammed his fist into the agent's nose twice, then he snatched the syringe and stabbed the agent in the neck, injecting the poison into him. Aran whispered into his ear in a demented tone, "Now who is pathetic and defenseless? Looks like I get the last laugh after all. Think, just think, as you slowly and painfully die."

The agent squeaked and whimpered in pain.

"Think about all of the lives you have ended. Think of all the lives you have RUINED. Think about my beloved Serileine and our unborn child, how you mercilessly killed them even though they did NOTHING TO YOU!"

The agent weakly reached up slowly in an attempt to grab Aran by the throat, but was grabbed by the throat instead. "Don't even try to fight. It's useless."

"Please…" squeaked the agent, "have mercy…"

"MERCY! You want me to have MERCY!? What about Serileine? What about our son? Where the hell was YOUR mercy?!" snapped Aran as tears began streaming down his face. "You have some nerve begging me for mercy." Aran tightened his grip around the agent's neck. "Heh, I'd tell you to say hi to Serileine and our son for me, but I know you won't see them where you are going."

"You foolish demon boy, she-" the agent couldn't finish his sentence as he succumbed to the poison.

Aran heaved a sigh, and said "You're the one who is foolish." He slowly stood back up, and sat on his bed.

Just then, Saraiah burst into the room. "Oh my gods, Aran! You're ok! You're AWAKE! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" she squealed as she ran over and threw her arms around him. Amber soon walked in after her.

"Ow ow, ok! Take it easy, I'm still recovering!" said Aran as he gently pushed her away.

"Oh, sorry. I'm just so happy! I've missed you so much!" said Saraiah, as she wiped a tear from her eye.

"Just try again without tackling me, ok?" said Aran with a smile.

Saraiah gave him a gentle hug. "Better?"

"Much. Hello, Amber!" he had turned and smiled at the tall blonde.

"Welcome back, Aran!" Amber replied as she gently hugged him.

Saraiah turned her attention to the corpse on the ground. "Dang, what the hell happened here?" she gasped. "Oh my Gods! That's the guy from-"

"Yeah. Poor sonuvabitch didn't see it coming. Hehe. One less piece of shit in this galaxy…"

"Wow, not bad for having been under for so long!" Amber exclaimed, looking impressed.

"Well, I'm glad to see you haven't changed! Ruthless and cold blooded as always." Saraiah paused and shrugged. "Yet you still have a heart of gold. How do you pull it off?"

"I guess it's a guy thing." Aran also shrugged.

"I guess so! That's one thing I like about you."

Aran gave a sheepish grin and shrugged again. "Anyways, just explain to me what happened after…you know…" he hung his head and his expression grew somber.

Saraiah's amused expression faded as well and she grew serious. "After you were blasted with the plasma gun, an explosion occurred that knocked me and Markas unconscious. Daddy, Uncle Alex, Amber, and a few others found all of us. Meaning just the three of us. Aran..."

"I already know, Saraiah...that sympathy card told me everything."

"I'm so sorry, I should have waited until you woke up to give you the news..."

Aran remained silent, eyes closed and tears cascading down his face. After a few moments, he finally said, with a broken voice, "But how? How am I alive?"

"I don't know, Aran. I was told it was classified."

"Classified? Why the hell is it classified?" said Aran.

"Aran, it's because such information being kept under wraps is best for the kingdom." said Amber, with a serious expression.

Aran furrowed his eyebrows, and heaved a defeated sigh. The room grew silent once more.

After a minute or two, Saraiah began to speak again. "Anyways, they tried and tried to wake you up, but you were so stubborn!"

Aran rolled his eyes. "Not like I had a choice…"

"The good news was that you were slowly but surely improving! They were eventually able to remove your ventilator! Just this morning they removed your feeding tube and gave you a new I.V. to keep you hydrated! They had high hopes that you would be waking up sometime in the next few days!"

"Wow, sorry I freaked you all out. I promise I didn't do it on purpose…" said Aran sarcastically.

"Oh hush, we know that! We were still worried! No need to apologize!"

"Sorry…"

"Aran!"

"Ok ok! Alright! Anyways…how do you know for sure that they...?" Aran's expression grew somber yet again as he asked the dreaded question.

Saraiah closed her eyes and shook her head. "I'm afraid that Daddy saw no sign of them. The explosion must have…vaporized them." Tears streamed down her cheeks as she said that. "All he found were these."

She pulled Serileine's stun pistol and engagement ring out of her bag and gave them to Aran. He took the singed, melted pistol and ring from her and stared at them for a few moments, reminiscing the day he asked her to marry him, then cried bitterly. Saraiah embraced her brother as he sobbed and shook violently in her arms. She cried with him and stroked his hair as she said softly, "I'm so sorry, Aran."

"It's just not fair! Why did it have to be them? They never did anything wrong!" said Aran through tears.

"I…I don't know." said Saraiah softly as she released her embrace, looked at Aran, touched his face with both hands, and touched her forehead to his. Aran took her hands and they both closed their eyes and sat in silence for a few minutes. Amber quietly sat down in one of the guest chairs, with a distraught expression. She didn't quite know what to say.

Their silence was broken when a tall, pretty, dark haired, bespectacled female doctor of about fifty entered the room. "Oh! Mr. Aran, you're awake! Glad to see you are doing well!" she said happily. "Hello, Saraiah and Amber!"

"Yes, thank you so much, Dr. Frank! He was awake when I came in fifteen minutes ago! Aran, this is Dr. Samantha Frankewicz. We call her Dr. Frank for short." said Saraiah.

"A pleasure to meet you, ma'am." said Aran, extending his hand and forcing a smile after his recent breakdown. "Thank you for all you have done."

Dr. Frank shook his hand and smiled warmly, then the corpse on the floor caught her eye. "Oh my, what on earth happened!?" she exclaimed.

"Oh that…" said Aran, sheepishly. "That's the guy who killed my fiancée and unborn son. He tried to kill me. It didn't go over too well for him. Perhaps I overdid it…" Aran grabbed his right shoulder and began rotating it slowly while wincing and letting out a big sigh.

Dr. Frank shook her head and sighed, then said "Well, I guess it's safe to assume you've recovered rather well, but you need to take it easy for one more day! You overexerted yourself, but I guess I can understand why! He was wanted dead or alive for quite some time now, and he was foolish enough to come here." She walked over to his I.V. drip and injected pain medication into the tubes. "That should take the edge off for a bit."

"Thank you, Dr. Frank."

"Oh, just call me Sam, no need for formalities anymore!"

"Ok, Sam."

Dr. Frank smiled, then said, "I will share the news of your awakening with your father and your friend Markas. I will have my assistant write up your discharge papers. But!" she paused and looked sternly at Aran, "BUT! You need to relax for at least 24 hours! I know it'll be difficult, but it's VITAL in your recovery! You hear? I better not see you again for a while! I know you have uncanny innate healing, but you still need to rest!"

"Yes ma'am, Dr. Frank, I mean, Sam. I'll try." said Aran, shrugging his shoulders.

"You better. Saraiah, you make sure of it!"

"Will do, Sam!" said Saraiah, playfully pointing a kunai knife at Aran. Aran rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh.

"Anyways, I'm going to get those papers for you, I'll return shortly. Amber, would you please come with me?" Dr. Frank turned to leave, and Amber nodded and followed suit.

"Crud. I don't like sitting around doing nothing! This blows." grumbled Aran, folding his arms across his chest.

"I understand Aran, but you don't want to end up back here, do ya?" said Saraiah, holding out her arms and facing her palms upward.

"Nah, three years is freaking long enough." said Aran.

Saraiah's cell phone started ringing. "It's Daddy! Just a sec. Hey Daddy! Yes! It's true he's awake! Yes, I'm so happy too…" Saraiah continued her telephone conversation as Aran began to reminisce about how he became a part of the Raynes family.

Saraiah isn't his sister by blood. He had remembered how he and his cousin Ryuden Lenore were rescued by the good King Cid and Queen Sarah after his village was attacked and his parents were killed. The attack was led by Cid's deranged older sister, Margine. She had targeted Ellanore Village due to a serious vendetta against Lucius Lenore, the village patriarch. "My grandfather. I don't remember much about him. It's been said that he did something awful to Margine a long time ago, and she was driven to insanity. How true that is, however, remains to be seen."

Aran then started wondering if his relation to Lucius could be part of why the information he seeks is classified. Some have said that Lucius was a demon. Some have called him a dragon. A Dragonsoul. "Am I a Dragonsoul too?"

Aran's thoughts were interrupted when Dr. Frank returned with the discharge papers, along with Amber. "Ok Aran, you are free to go as soon as your father and Markas show up. Remember what I said earlier!"

"Of course." came the reply.

Dr. Frank removed his I.V. then had him sign some of the papers. "Here's a prescription for your pain medication. My son invented this one, it's really effective."

"Well tell him I said 'Thank you!'."

"Well hopefully soon you can thank him yourself! I would love for him to formally meet you two, especially you!" She looked at Saraiah and winked. "She's such a good woman, and so pretty, Aran."

Saraiah blushed and giggled. "Thanks, Sam."

Aran laughed and said "Of course she is, but she has a boyfriend already, ya know?"

"Yeah…about that." said Saraiah, folding her arms as an annoyed expression spread across her face.

"What happened with Adam?" asked Aran.

"That big jerk is dead to me! While you were sleeping, instead of comforting and supporting me in my time of need, he started getting all jealous and mean and started accusing me of liking you, you know, liking you."

"Yeah, it's true! He was SO jealous!" Amber said, laughing.

"I wish…" Aran thought to himself, referring to what Saraiah had said.

"I mean, gross! You are all cute and handsome and buff and all, and we aren't really brother and sister but you and I were raised together almost our whole life! I know we had a relationship and stuff felt good and it seemed right for a bit but NO! I can't do it. I just can't! I don't know what got into Renaiya and Ryuden's head…awkward! Anyways, he even tried to hit me once and I kicked his ass all over the castle and then dumped his sorry ass! Just a week later he got a new girlfriend, and she's just so trashy and not even that pretty! I'm guessing that she is rather generous if you know what I mean…"

"Yeah, I hate girls like that. Takes the intrigue out of it. That's one thing I loved about her. Kept me waiting for four months and when it happened…wow." Aran turned beet red and crossed his legs, then frowned again. "I miss her so much."

"Me too Aran. She was such a lady. I really looked up to her. I hope I can find a man who would appreciate the fact that I'm not easy and want more than just to take me to bed."

"Well hun, I was that guy for you but ya know…"

"Aran, I'm really sorry. I just can't see you as a boyfriend. I want to find someone else, one of these days."

"Well, I'm sure you will. Sucks that Adam was such a douchebag."

"It's ok, he was a dud after all, he really wasn't that hot…like you…" Saraiah said sheepishly as she touched her index fingertips together.

Aran sighed with slight frustration and glanced over at Dr. Frank, who shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh Aran, I'm so sorry about what happened between us, I really hope you understand and aren't mad at me! Ohhhhhh this is so frustrating! Ohhhhhhhhhh!" Saraiah said in a panicked tone as she grabbed the sides of her head and spun around in circles. "I just can't suppress my sisterly feelings and you deserve better!"

"Just chill, Saraiah. I did find that girl, but she's gone. Don't beat yourself up. I think I'm done with women for a while. Time for me to fly solo until I find the right girl, whenever and whoever that may be. I know Serileine would want me to move on and be happy. I can't just mope and brood for gods know how long. I gotta do something about this whole situation."

"I think she would want that too, Aran, and so do I! You deserve it." said Saraiah as she gave Aran a hug. "And I agree. We gotta be proactive!"

"That's a wonderful idea." said Sam, as she finished up entering information into the computer in the room. "Well anyways, I've got to get going. Amber, Saraiah, Aran, I think you all would love my son, Dylan. I hope to introduce him soon. He's just so busy lately! You three take care!"

"See ya Dr. Frank, and tell everyone who helped save my life that I said thank you and will see to it that you all receive a great gift!" said Aran with a genuine smile.

"See you later, Sam! Thanks so much for saving him! We will send you a gift!" said Saraiah excitedly.

"Yes, take care Sam! We all appreciate what you've done!" Amber said with a warm smile.

"You guys are very sweet. We are all very happy that you survived, Aran!" said Dr. Frank as she left the room.

"What a nice lady. She's really competent! She and her husband Dr. Charlie Frank did a great job saving you! Their son is a few years older than us. He was in Renaiya's grade in school. He has been taking many classes and traveling all over the universe, doing research, helping people, and delivering medicine and other medical supplies! Also, he's really handsome and is really nice from what I've heard!" said Saraiah excitedly. Amber nodded in agreement.

"Dylan? Yeah, I've seen him around, he seems cool. He did have a lot of girlfriends, though! But I'm sure he would be better than that dick Adam!" said Aran, punching his palm.

Then came a knock at the door, and it soon opened. Two tall, handsome men entered the room. One was in his mid-fifties and aged gracefully, with stunning blue eyes and thick, chin length, dirty blond hair, along with a fit, muscular frame, and the other was a black man in his early thirties, who looked barely older than Aran, with deep brown eyes and a well-manicured, close shaven beard. He was also muscular.

"Daddy! Markas! See! He's ok! He's been cleared for release!" exclaimed Saraiah as King Cid Raynes VII and Markas Weston entered the room.

Cid approached Aran's bed and gave him a hug as he said, "Good to have you back, son! You look great!"

"Dad, thank you. I wish I felt great, though! Markas! It's good to see you." said Aran as he hugged Cid back.

"Welcome back, buddy!" said Markas as he went to Aran's bed, shook his hand and gave him a hearty thump on the back. "I'm sorry about Serileine, that's gotta blow, man." said Markas sympathetically.

"Yes, I'm terribly sorry, son." said King Cid, empathetically. "I know just how you feel."

"I guess so, Dad." said Aran, somberly. He continued, in a more hopeful tone, "But Serileine wouldn't want me to mope and mourn for the rest of my life. She would want me to move on, and hopefully one day, save Ryuden and Renaiya. Maybe even him."

Everyone in the room grew silent. The "him" that Aran was referring to was Cid's estranged son, Saroku. He is now 25 years old and he grew up being jealous of Aran. Cid would appropriately discipline Saroku when he bullied or picked on Aran, and Saroku took it very personally. Things got worse and he eventually left to go work for Margine, seven years ago. To make matters worse, he aided in the kidnapping of his sister Renaiya. It is unknown what Margine's motives were. "I just pray that they are all ok, somehow. Hmmm." said Aran as he folded his arms across his chest once again.

"Phew, what's that smell? Aran! Man, I think you could use a shower!" said Markas, fanning his face.

Aran smelled his armpits and said, "Yeah, I guess I got a little stagnant after being asleep for three years! But, that disgusting smell ain't me!" He looked over the other side of his bed to the corpse on the ground. "Oh…here's our culprit. He probably shit himself." he said, covering his nose with his hospital gown and pointing to the floor next to his bed. King Cid and Markas walked around to the other side of the hospital bed.

"What the- it's Rufus Martine! He's the Sumestris agent who led the assault on Seiyomari!" exclaimed Cid. "What happened to him!?"

Aran casually put his hand up and said, "I did. Guess I caught him by surprise. He went down rather easily. What a pussy." He recapped the details of what happened to Cid and Markas. They nodded, and then Markas said, "Well, we gotta dispose of his body. How should we do it?"

"I'd say throw him in an acid pool, I think I'd enjoy that." said Aran, with an amused expression.

"So would I." said King Cid, with a vengeful look on his face. "Anyway, I think we should bag him up and throw him into the crematorium at the funeral home." Aran, Saraiah, Amber, and Markas all nodded in agreement.

"I'll go ask the coroners for a bag." said Markas, then he left the room.

"Martine…that's Adam's last name, isn't it!?" shouted Aran. "Oh my gods, don't tell me…!" Aran threw his blankets off and jumped out of the bed, then yelped in pain and immediately collapsed to the floor.

"Aran!" exclaimed Saraiah as she went to help him up.

"I'm ok, but my legs hurt so damn much! Shit." said Aran, taking a deep breath.

"That's probably a result of atrophy, plus all the special medication that was used while you were under." said King Cid, as he unfolded the wheelchair that Dr. Frank had left in the room. "It's going to take a while for you to be 100%."

"Damn it." said Aran as Saraiah helped him back onto the bed. "Special medication? Is that related to the 'classified information' about me?"

Cid simply closed his eyes and nodded.

"It's true, Aran. Rufus is Adam's father." said Saraiah with a concerned expression. "It's almost guaranteed that Adam will try to come after us when he finds out."

"Son of a bitch…" said Aran, gruffly.

"Well, I do have a few Elixirs that I can give you to speed up your recovery, Aran." said King Cid, handing him a bag. "There's one in there, along with a change of clothes. Drink the elixir then shower and get dressed so we can go home."

"Alright." Aran drank the potion, then said, "Holy shit, this stuff is awesome! I feel great! It's kinda sweet." He climbed off the bed, and took the bag into the bathroom to shower and change.

"I'm back, let's bag this guy and get the hell outta here!" said Markas, holding up the body bag. The three of them walked over to Rufus's corpse, then put him in the body bag and zipped it up.

A few minutes later, Aran came out of the bathroom and said, "All right! Let's scram from this place! I'm getting serious cabin fever here!"

"Wow, looking good, Aran!" said Saraiah with a smile as she gave the cliché "hottie alert whistle". She still couldn't help but find him attractive. Amber's expression definitely showed that she felt the same way.

Aran smiled and said, "Thanks, Saraiah. Let's go home."

"Right. Let's get rid of this dead dirt bag and get our long sleeping friend a good meal!" said Markas as he threw the body bag over his shoulder and left the room.

"Sounds great, I'm famished!" said Aran as he followed Markas out the door.

Cid and Saraiah left as well, then Saraiah said to Cid, "Daddy, we should have a feast in celebration of Aran's homecoming! What do you think?"

"I think that's a great idea. I will have the kitchen staff get on it as soon as we arrive home!" said Cid as he placed his arm around his daughter's shoulders.