Prequel or to Misty Humanity and I suppose Mist of Truth. I own none of the characters only the idea.

Short and sweet, yeah, also Giotto might be a bit ooc in the beginning but whatever.

"Are you the one who called to me?"

Sei opens his eyes... seeing nothing but the white expanse that is his inner mind, the only place where he is safe, the only place where it no longer hurt after the countless experiments preformed on him but even that was little comfort anymore.

And yet there was something, a voice coming from no where and yet everywhere. A gentle soothing voice.

"Who are you?"

A man is standing there, just outside the reach of his vision, his outline too blurry to be real. A man with strange hair of golden blond and golden eyes. Imposing and powerful looking.

A man with flames embracing his hands and forehead. Dressed in a pinstripe suit, over it he wore a long black cloak with metals and clasps all around. His eyes gazing at him gently, with an almost curious expression for his figure.

"Who are you?" He asks again, coming closer vanishing all thoughts from his mind that he was just an mirage he had cast to life in his loneliness that he knows is only matched by Desire's own.

His voice is gentle and kind, unlike anything Sei had ever heard before in his life, not from the twins nor from Toue.

So he answered him.

"Sei, my name is Sei."

The figure smiled and steps forward, holding a hand out to him flames fading away.

"Sei... you have been calling to me for a while now..." he smiles at him through clear ocean blue eyes.

Giotto his name is Giotto. He listens with interest to his words. The first boss of the Vongola family he tells him. He asks him small questions, curious and wondering about how a man like this can possible by the boss of a mafia. He tells him about his heir, a young child cast out and who was now being raised by his mist guardian, a guardian that the others still have not quite forgiven for past grievances.

Not that he can blame them if their closest friend betrayed them like that.

But on the other hand he has ever had the feeling to experience it but he knows the pain they must have felt.

He's felt it all his life...

Sometimes he sees the people that are his guardians and closest friends. Standing there beside their boss.

They talk to him as well. Lampo and Ugetsu most avidly, the two of them have taken to him quite a lot and he can't help but smile.

They tell him about the rings and the power they give to people, particularly ones that are called the Rings of the Heavens. He shudders when Lampo tells him about them, feeling sorry for any of the poor souls that are chosen by them, Giotto's heir most of all.

He tells him about himself as well. What he is, what's happening to him, why's he is like this.

They are disgusted, they are angry, they are furious and worried for him when he tells them all about the experiment, about Toue's plans.

So after that they are always there when he sleeps, something he humorlessly looks forward to.

But It feels so good to talk to somebody kind, without fake smiles, without hidden motivations behind their actions.

Until the day he slips and tells Giotto what he truly wants.

"You want your own brother to destroy you..."

Slowly Sei looked up at them. Giotto is gazing at him his eyes hard to read, G just looks away, Knuckle is frowning, Lampo gazes at him through one eye and Ugetsu closes his eyes, Alaude is as silent as ever, standing in the shadows away from the group, but a faint frown cresses his eyebrow.

Why he is still even here is a mystery to all.

He takes a breath to steady himself before speaking, soft and clearly.

"I want him to put me out of my misery, to stop Toue... What else can I do?"

Giotto is silent for a second and he fears that he will leave him. The others say nothing, but Knuckle's eyes have lightened slightly.

Giotto breaths a heavy sigh.

". . .I have no right to tell you to keep on living. I have no clue how much you have suffered, and If that is what you feel you must do then we will not stop you."

He is so thankful that he understands, that they all understand, so happy he can still talk to them.

So happy to know that true warmth of humans not the fake touches of Toue's, cold and calculating, manipulative and uncertain.

But all too soon the day comes when Aoba has come to the tower. He waits, that's all he can do at this point. Wait for Aoba to come and destroy him, set him free.

He waits, watching the hours tick by.

Until he knows something isn't right.

That something has happened.

Aoba has disappeared, gone from the tower without a trace. His friends escape safely.

He knows something isn't right, no. Something is terrible wrong.

So he searches, letting the tower stand as he searches for his brother, too worried to do much else.

It took months to find him, taping into the connection they were born with Sei has finally found Aoba.

And felt a thick bile rise in his throat at what he is seeing before his eyes.

It takes all he has not to scream in horror when he sees them coming into his room, smiling at him as if nothing is going on.

As if they have done nothing wrong.

As if they are still human.

As if they had always been human.

As if they have not been keeping his beloved brother captive for months, torturing and humiliating him.

He wanted to tear his hair out.

He can't tell Toue... He battles with himself night and day, knowing what he would do to him if he did, it makes him feel sick but he knows he can't.

He doesn't know what to do.

But then he hears Giotto and his guardians voices again, they sound surprised that he is still alive and an idea flashes in his mind. There's nothing else he can do, nothing else he can think of. On pure impulse only he pulls them towards him, pulling a bit of life into them, their bodies coming into focus in his mind Red, yellow, electric green, blue and purple flames form around them before their bodies form in the air as real as the days when they had been alive.

They are all standing there, all six of them, eyes wide in shock at what had happened. Giotto standing in front of the group eyes on him, on nothing but him as he slumps forward. He has used too much of his power to bring them here, to make them like this half alive, half dead.

But he knows he can't rest now.

Unable to walk any further he falls to the white unseeable ground, hearing Giotto rush forward to catch him instantly his fingers quickly reach out and wrap themselves tightly on the fabric of the others clothing. At the same time Giotto wraps his arms around him holding him up, warm hands on his back the flames embracing his hands warm and gentle against his flesh, hands careful touching his long sensitive white hair, hands moving to his thin shacking shoulders as if to sooth them.

"Sei... Why have you..."

"Please.. save my brother, my brother Aoba..."

"Sei... What are..."

Between the gap of Giotto's arms Sei looks to see Alaude, G, Lampo, Knuckle and Ugetsu turn towards what he is looking at, and watched as each and every one of them stiffen at the sight of what they are seeing.

"Good god..."

"Ah..."

"W... what is..."

"Oi. . . Primo..."

Alaude is silent as he tares his eyes away from the sight, but his eyes are wide in shock, his fingers balling into fists, his body shacking, teeth gritted together.

Slowly he feels the golden chains and metals connected around Giotto's collar brush against his cheek, cold yet unfeeling as Giotto turns his eyes to see what the others are looking at. A soft, horrified gasp is what Sei soon hears and he feels Giotto's body stiffen agasint him, his hands griping his shoulder blades nearly painfully, flames becoming almost too hot against him.

But he is too numb to even care.

Giotto swallows hard, his body shacking with rage and fury against his thin body. He doesn't have to look up at his face to know what he had made him see. . . has shaken this just man to his very core.

He felt a pang of guilt deep within himself for this, but selfishly ignores it as he feels Giotto's eyes fall on him.

"Sei. . ."

"My brother..." he grips the collar Giotto's cape until his knuckles grow even more colorless and looks up at him tears in his eyes, Giotto's own fiery eyes unable to be seen through his blurring vision.

"Please... help me save him."

He knows that Aoba will grow stronger, one of the heaven rings will undoubtedly choose him.

They have to choose him.

In this other parallel world Giotto is from, Aoba will survive.