Ventus swallowed hard but set his face into one of determination. One thing they'd learned quickly was how to recover from strenuous exercise quickly (or at least push through the pain), so despite that fact that his muscles must have been burning from his earlier sparring he stood confident, replaced his helmet, and dropped into his regular stance. Aqua felt a shot of pride run through her – the boy had changed, improved, so much since he'd arrived that distant day, eyes vacant and mind blank. She saw now a boy ready to prove his worth, prepared, despite the difference in skill between him and his friends, to stand beside them now and face the challenge before them. She had no doubt that he'd catch up in time.

And yet, as she looked over at Eraqus, she couldn't help but feel the need to rush in, stand in front of Ven, and protect him. No one truly knew what he was capable of, what powers he had, or even how he stood. Sure, that was part of the exercise – fighting a superior enemy whose capabilities you don't know – but to have Ven (who still reminded her of the agonised, blank child he'd been when he'd first arrived sometimes) fight their own Master, while knowing nothing about how to really fight him?

A part of her couldn't help but feel that it was unnecessarily cruel. She was convinced that Eraqus would go easy on Ventus, being only a young apprentice, but still held deep, deep reservations about it all.

Her Master was still, samurai-styled armour making look more like a statue than a human combatant. He was in no particular stance, nor readying for any form. If she didn't know better, Aqua would have guessed that he wasn't ready to fight or was cocky enough to be unprepared.

Battle was joined when, somewhat predictably, Ventus dashed in, blurring into Eraqus' face and swinging. The attack was met with a forceful parry which dug Wayward Wind into the ground as Eraqus rounded with a fist full of Firaga. The resultant punch to Ventus' back made Aqua wince, as he flew across the clearing, armour steaming as he rolled and came to a stop face down in the dirt.

"Ventus, are you okay?" Eraqus asked, though he remained in a readied posture.

Ven swung a hand up and gave a vague approximation of a thumbs-up. It appeared that, though singed, he was not yet burnt out. He clambered to his feet, called his Keyblade back in a flurry of light and readied himself again, despite his still-smoking armour.


As the three hour mark passed Ventus, battered, bruised, and in no small part bleeding, finally collapsed in a heap at the edge of the mountaintop. Aqua could see that his hands and face, bare thanks to his decision early in the second hour to sacrifice protection for greater mobility and control of his Keyblade, were almost completely scarlet, and Wayward Wind's grip looked rusted from the claret of its owner being rubbed into it time and time again.

It took every ounce of self-control Aqua had to not rush up to him and look over his injuries. All thoughts of her tiredness were out the window. The stress from watching Ventus get beaten down time and time again had her pulling her hair at points, and though her eyes still felt leaden, she couldn't even think about closing them when watching the fight. Instead, she resumed her pacing, looking back and forth between her adoptive brother and her Master. She'd forgone sitting at around the twenty minute mark, unable to stay still.

Yes, the training was going to be difficult, she accepted that, but for Eraqus to go that far on Ventus? A child? He'd crossed a line.

Terra wasn't even here - he'd prowled off the mountaintop at the hour mark, unable to watch as Ventus was beaten decisively again, and again, and again, all eagerness to prove himself to Eraqus fading in the light of the brutal training.

That wasn't to say that she hadn't seen Eraqus pull his swings. She'd seen at least a dozen openings where he could have persecuted Ven's slipping form with extreme prejudice but had chosen not to. She didn't believe that her Master was trying to hurt Ventus. She did, however, believe that he was holding him to their standards, despite the fact that she and Terra been apprentices for far longer than Ventus, were further along in their training, and simply more physically developed than the younger boy. No, Eraqus most definitely didn't want to hurt Ven. The fact remained, however, that he had, and that made her blood boil.

Her earlier belief was wrong. He didn't go easy on Ven. Easier, yes, but not easy. Nowhere near easy.

Eraqus removed his helmet, revealing a genuine smile lined with the smallest amount of sweat. "I'm proud of you, Ventus. Not only did you make it to the three hour mark, but you used tactics I hadn't been expecting." Aqua thought for a moment that he was talking to himself since Ventus was so immobile as to suggest unconsciousness, but at the slow, shaky raise of his hand in the air in an even more loose approximation of a thumbs up than his earlier one, she realised he was awake and he was okay. Eraqus closed the distance between them and cast Curaga, sealing many of the wounds across his face and hands. "Aqua, please take Ventus back to the castle for rest, and tell Terra to come out." She gave a small bow in acquiescence but couldn't help the look of reproach in her eyes, and her hesitation only drew Eraqus' attention to it. "You feel as though I went too far, don't you?" he quietly asked, unaccusatory but not exactly open to her.

"Yes Master. I do," she responded strongly. "Not to belittle Ven but he's only a child, and you were using techniques you'd only shown Terra and I last week." The fact that Ven didn't protest Aqua's concern only proved how exhausted he truly was. "Ven did well, I can't deny that. But did you really need to beat him so harshly?" She tried to probe, desperately wanting to grill him harder, but her respect for him as her Master restrained her.

"Hmm. Perhaps. We'll discuss this more back at the castle. For now, however...," he trailed off, gesturing to Ventus. As she turned to pick up Ventus he called, "and Aqua, no Curing or Potions. The same goes for Terra, when he returns to the Castle. I've dealt with the genuinely dangerous or otherwise harmful injuries, but the rest they must learn to live with for the next few days as they heal. It's important to their training, and part of the reason why today will be so harsh. You all must learn to endure the pain." She nodded but didn't turn back to him, attention entirely absorbed by Ventus again.

She carried him bridal-style down the mountainside and back to the castle, during which he fell asleep from exhaustion. She quickly moved to his room to lay him down on his bed while attempting to avoid disturbing him. The Master's Curaga had done wonders and had allayed many of her worries, but hands still lightly shook from exertion, and he still had marks, cuts, bruises and the like that she felt would undoubtedly scar.

He'd be the death of her, she thought fondly.

Quietly leaving, she knocked on Terra's door. The dull thuds of his footsteps told of his approach, and when he opened the door he gave her a discomforted look. His hair had been mussed, and the muscles of his shoulder were bunched. He'd been just as stressed as she had been, she supposed. He'd most likely spent the last two hours running grooves into the floor of his room.

He asked, "My head's off next then, huh?" as he rolled his shoulders.

She nodded, speaking quietly as to avoid disturbing Ven. "Yeah. Best of luck."

He smiled in thanks, then drew his face into an expression of concern and anger. "How is he?"

"Alright. He managed the full three hours, but he's in pieces. He'll be okay, but-"

She was interrupted by Terra's growl. "Never should've fought him. Master's too strong to be going around fighting kids like that."

"He's okay, honestly," she said trying to allay his fears, despite the fact that they were her own as well, "but you're not wrong. Master went too far."

The two were silent, both considering the brutal treatment Ventus had received at the hands of their Master.

"Well," Terra said with a sigh, "remember me, I guess." His face and tone was so insincerely forlorn that Aqua couldn't help but laugh.

"Idiot. I'm right after you." She grinned. Terra had the ability to make light of almost any situation – especially whenever he waxed poetic about his woeful fate. "If you're going to get beat up, I'm probably not that far behind."

He responded to her grin with a warm one of his own. "Well then, remember me as I was, and not the state I'll be in when I return, eh?"

He turned to walk away but she grabbed his arm before he left. He looked down in confusion.

"Take care of yourself. Don't do anything reckless, alright?" she whispered, not meeting his eyes.

His eyes softened and he gave her a gentle smile. "Alright." She let go with reluctance and plastered an encouraging smile across her face.

He gave a mock salute and left the corridor, heading up to the mountains. The moment he disappeared from her sight her face dropped. It tore her up to not be there for him. At least with Ventus she had been there, able to carry him back to the castle. Terra, she had to abandon to the mercy of her apparently un-merciful Master.

She was left alone for the next three hours to wander, check up on Ven, and get some last minute practice in before her doom.

She managed ten minutes of actual practice before giving up and waiting in the Great Hall for Terra's return.

She wasn't counting the clock.

She wasn't.

She was organising her mind, preparing tactics, considering strategies. She was not counting the clock.

But exactly three hours, four minutes and twelve seconds later, Terra collapsed through the front door of the main hall, dragging his unarmoured body into the Great Hall.

Aqua sprang up from her position sitting on the steps to the thrones, dashing over to Terra. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" she asked, Curaga bubbling around her hands.

Terra didn't speak so much as groan, lightly batting away the spell but accepting her offer of support, leaning on her. She stumbled from the sudden weight but recovered quickly enough to avoid taking both of them down to the ground.

She looked over his body as she half-carried, half-dragged him to his room It seemed that Eraqus had healed him, the same as he'd healed Ventus, from the tell-tale signs of magic lingering on his skin. Despite that, his hands shook fiercely, much more than Ventus' had, and the muscles of his back spasmed. His eyes were sunken, and every pore of his body was lined in sweat. If she'd not been so worried about him, she might've been somewhat grossed-out by that, but as it was she carried him without a thought.

Reaching his room proved another challenge – how was she going to open the door? Both of her hands were full trying to support Terra. She planted her feet strongly and hoped that she wouldn't wake or disturb Ven as she booted the door with all the might she had. The door, with the groan and squeal of an abused housecat, swung open. She tried to gently lower him on his bed, but it ended up looking much more like a fly-tipping. She would have tried to drop him with more grace, but he was taller than her, heavier than her, and really not being that helpful.

He really was in a state. She'd never seen him like this before – not even when Eraqus had them both carrying boulders up and down the mountainside as punishment for a whole day. That had been an actual punishment, administered because they'd done wrong. This? This felt more and more like unneeded cruelty. Terra'd even been forced to walk back down the mountain on his own!

"That bad, huh," she stated, rather than asked. Terra was silent this time, simply wincing at her and shaking his head.

Terra was the physically strongest person she knew. If he was this bad, she had no idea what Eraqus had done to him to exhaust and pain him to such a degree. It put her back up instantly. She and Eraqus were going to have words after they were done today. This abuse to Terra and Ven was just not right.

"Well," she sighed in reluctance, "I guess he's waiting for me."

She turned to leave but was stopped when he grabbed hold of her arm. She looked down at him in concern but a small, tired smile played on his lips. "I'll remember you," he croaked through chapped lips.

It took her a second before she realised what he meant, but when she did she playfully cuffed him on the back of the head. "Thanks for the vote of confidence." His smile didn't dim, it only grew brighter. He'd every confidence in her. They both knew that.

She shut the door behind her gently and waited. Within five minutes, she could hear him snoring and mumbling. Pushing the door open slowly, she crept into the room with a Curaga spell fluttering about in her hands. Carefully, as to not awaken him, she let the spell flow gently over his body. It wouldn't clear all of his aches and pains, but it would help.

Eraqus' command could be damned. Terra and Ven were in pain, unnecessary pain, and she was in a position where she could help them. If she didn't, what kind of a person would she be?

She quickly did the same to Ventus before leaving for the mountain clearing.

The journey was a quiet one. One she spent trying to corral her thoughts into not thinking about her impending trial. Though she didn't really feel the tiredness anymore, she knew that she would be suffering soon enough. Eraqus was right – she had been off all day. She'd improved as the day had gone on, but she hadn't quite been as sharp as she would have liked. She only hoped that the inevitable crash would be staved off by the adrenaline of the fight.

Terra's state had shocked her, though. She'd been there watching Ventus, seen the mistakes he'd made and understood how to avoid them. That Terra, a person undeniably her superior in mêlée Keybladeship, had come back beaten so thoroughly not only made her anxious but also angry. What had he done to Terra for him to be so exhausted? How could their Master be so far ahead of them? Had he not taught them everything? He'd been a Master for years, yes, but they were a month from becoming Masters themselves. She expected that they would at least have been capable of holding their own, and not taken on and thrashed one after another in the same day.

She reached the clearing to find her Master sat in lotus, Master Defender across his lap. Face obscured by his helm, he once again appeared to be a statue rather than a living being.

She cleared her throat as she approached and noticed the slight movement of his head. "Ah," he called, "you've finally decided to grace me with your presence, hm?" His voice held a note of humour, but it also invited an answer. Considering what had held her up - the terrible state of Terra that he'd been the cause of - his tone instantly got her back up.

"Yes Master, apologies for keeping you waiting. I was simply making sure Terra made it to his bed."

"No Curing or potions, I hope?"

"No Master," she said with no hint of deceit whatsoever. She closed the distance between them, stopping at twenty paces from him.

He didn't respond, simply rose from the ground and adopted a neutral standing position, Keyblade loose in his right hand. "Are you ready to begin?"

She took a deep breath, hand moving to the activator on her arm.

Her legs were swept out from under her. She landed on the ground in a rough heap.

"Master!" she cried, scandalized, glaring at him with eyes blazing in indignation.

"You must always be prepared. Our enemy will not wait for you to be ready before it attacks. Get up, quickly."

She flipped up, left hand roughly hitting her activator and right engulfed in Light. A moment later she stood, clad in bluish armour, right hand gripping Rainfall, left hand in front of her body tingling with magic.

For that, she resolved to do her best to actually beat her Master. She would prove to him that she was able, she was strong enough to be a Master in her own right. She wouldn't simply endure the battle as Ventus, and presumably Terra had. She'd analyse him, find his weakest spots, and when the time came, she'd force him to surrender.

She observed Eraqus. The two began circling one another slowly. Her Master refused to commit to any particular stance, shifting between aggressively leaning forward and defensively bracing himself. It made it practically impossible for Aqua to guess what he was about to do – she could only react when she saw him begin to attack.

He blurred into the space between them, already swinging into her flank. She cartwheeled out of the way, using the momentum of the dodge to kick her Master's Keyblade out of the way as her left hand frosted over. She got to her feet, span, and released the Blizzard spell she'd stored in her hand at her Master's face as he recovered. The ice flew across the space between them, right on target, until Eraqus batted the spell away in the downswing of the recovery of his Keyblade. He remained silent, slipping back into the neutral from, giving nothing away.

She was a little insulted, truth be told, that he thought he could down her in such a quick, simple, and underhanded move. Did he think her stupid? Did he think she'd learned nothing?

She sharpened her focus. She'd knock him down and prove her worth if it bloody well killed her.

The next hour or so she spent trying to understand her Master's attack pattern. He never stuck to one form, sliding between aggressive and defensive with the changing of the breeze, and with the same fluidity. Where Ventus was quick and Terra was strong, Eraqus flowed. Each movement had purpose, every step was either to confuse Aqua or strengthen Eraqus. Every swing either tested or misled, until he would act in complete union with his body, striking hard.

She thought she finally had the general gist of his attacks though – if pressed, he would usually parry three times, reflect on the fourth attack, roll out the way and close in on the flank while Aqua was still reeling from the reflection, which would usually result in either her Master winning the resultant exchange of blows, or the two disengaging to circle one another, searching for an opening. If he took the offensive he became much harder to predict, and much harder to defend against. He would either open up with a Light spell or a couple of swift strikes to the head and legs, then swap hands.

She'd never known he was ambidextrous until he'd swapped a half hour ago and smacked her head. It pissed her off that he was effectively fighting with one hand behind his back – even if she was too, due to her style.

He'd then beat relentlessly at her weaker flank, mixing spells into long combos that were nigh on impossible to break through.

The two were circling. She could either take the initiative and start the fight or hang back, keep probing, and hope to find a weakness in his ambidextrous technique.

His feet were grounding: the only sure-fire way of telling he was preparing to strike.

She decided on the offensive, pre-emptively casting a Reflaga and preparing to flit close to her Master. She'd never been the best in the mêlée – that title belonged to Terra for raw strength, or Ven for brutal speed – but she'd always a purpose in every single action. Where Terra would beat through defences, and Ven would slowly chip away at them, Aqua had always fought to circumvent them, to make them entirely ineffectual or even actively turning them against their defendant.

So, when Eraqus' reflexive parry bounced off of her Reflaga, throwing him for a loop, she pressed her advantage with a couple of short attacks to his lower body.

She swung at his gut. He barely deflected.

She swung at his leg. He barely dodged.

She swung at his head. He barely blocked.

His other hand was finally on the blade.

She hadn't the time to feel any joy in that, instead coating the edge of her Keyblade in a weak Blizzard spell.

Usually Eraqus would easily circumvent such a weak spell, but the pressure from Aqua's sudden, uncomfortably placed offensive absorbed the whole of his attention, and as such thought nothing of meeting her incoming Keyblade with his own.

Master Defender clashed with Rainfall in a peal of metal and a crack of ice, promptly freezing to it. Eraqus' head rose, presumably in surprise, and Aqua grinned behind her helm. She pressed in close, used the bond between the blades to pull Eraqus out of stance, cast a weak Fire spell down her Keyblade to melt the bond between them, and swung hard into Eraqus' side.

It connected.

He flew away, bouncing roughly and skidding on ground. A point to her. Sure, he had maybe fifteen points at this point, but it was a start.

A shot of pride ran through her. That was for Ventus. That was for Terra.

He righted himself quickly enough, recalling Master Defender to him, but his movements were far more cautious, his subsequent attacks less aggressive and far more probing. He no longer trusted that every opening he saw was Aqua's mistake, that they couldn't be a trap. She'd not exactly put him on the back foot, but it was clear to both of them that she wasn't either.


The second hour drew to a close as the sun touched the horizon, painting the mountaintop in shades of rust and blood. Aqua's shadow drew long, smothering Eraqus, her back to the warmth.

She was becoming exhausted. Eraqus was slowing too, she noted with no small degree of pride, but nowhere near as much as her.

Although he'd never recovered his position of dominance over the fight that he'd had before she'd crushed his side, he was pressing her hard and she was getting knocked around far too much for her liking. The bruises she felt rising on her arms and legs were really beginning to ache, and her hands were trembling, much like Ven's and Terra's, from the constant barrage of strikes she had to parry.

If she was to have any hope of actually beating Eraqus and not just weathering the storm, she gave herself another half hour at best. She'd been pulling on her Light for the last few rounds of combat, and now even her heart began to ache and protest at the abuse. She tried to ground herself once again in Eraqus' teachings, but her annoyance at his treatment of Ventus soured each rendition of 'Inner Strength,' and 'Ground oneself in the Light.' It didn't help that the person who'd taught her those mantras was actively trying to knock her out.

A cynical part of her began to wonder if he'd really prepared them, if his teachings were even enough to fight against opponents like him. If he'd deliberately left them weak.

He was half-way through a complex system of strikes when suddenly-

They're going to die, and it's because of your weakness. They relied on you, and you have failed them.

Whispers from the very recesses of her mind sprung up, sapping at her strength. She shook her head, trying to clear them but they clung like cobwebs, slowing her mind, dragging her down. She didn't understand what they even meant – who were going to die? Terra and Ven? But why? How could she have failed them? What could she have done so terribly wrong that it killed them? And why did it sound like her own Master was condemning her?

She sluggishly parried twice, prepared to launch her counterattack, and- wait, didn't he usually attack three times before a spell?

Master Defender struck her in the throat.

Her armour took the worst of the blow, but a considerable amount of force had made its way to her flesh. Gagging and gasping as she flew backwards, before rolling and tumbling into a painful stop, she blindly tore her helmet off, trying to get as much air around her and down her throat as she could.

That would have killed her. That blow would have killed her, if not for her armour. And the old man was just standing there, in that fucking neutral style again.

You have already proven yourself a failure.

He was grating her, belittling her, mocking her. Eraqus would never have spoken to her like that, or so she once believed. After today, these whispers were sounding more and more believable, more and more real.

Their condemnations and insults were burrowing down through her skin, reaching deep, stoking a flame fuelled by her own fears of inadequacy, her terror at the thought of losing Ven and Terra, her resentment at her teaching for making her feel like she couldn't protect them. And all in the voice of the one she'd trusted, before today.

I'm sorry Aqua. But this is all your fault.

Within her, the deepest, most desperate rage she'd ever felt ignited. The whispers were confirming what she already knew, that she truly was too weak to protect what she loved, and oh how she hated them for that. She felt that hatred connect with Eraqus – he'd made her feel this way, proven to her that she wasn't capable, wasn't ready, wasn't strong enough.

She had to beat him. She had to. There wasn't any better way to prove herself strong enough to become a Keyblade Master than beat her own in fair combat, was there? She needed to be strong. She had, just had to be able to protect her home, to protect Terra and Ven, to prove those leering whispers that took her Master's voice and twisted it to tear into her wrong, to prove her Master himself wrong about her, with his insults to her skills and his undermining of her achievements.

And with that desperation she found a new strength deep inside her heart; chillingly warm, inviting, and wrong. It clung to her at contact, as though begging to be used, but she reflexively recoiled from it. To knowingly and willingly tap such a deep, antediluvian power seemed almost unholy.

Then she reconsidered. If this man, a man who considered himself their Master, a man who'd been like a father to them, had done so much to hurt them today, and could do so much more in future, why should she hold back? Why shouldn't she tap every single last reserve of power she had? After all, he'd told them to consider this a battle of life and death, as they'd be facing out in the world.

So, she would.

So, she had to beat him. No matter the cost.

She dredged that power up from the depths of her heart, let its vicious cold warmth fill her, let its profane might restore her, and turned to Eraqus teeth bared.

Her eyes blazed a sulfuric gold.

He staggered in shock, and she rushed in, Rainfall already swinging tightly.

This was incredible! She felt every shudder of his Keyblade as it gave way to hers, heard every squeal of metal as his armour took more and more abuse. She felt revitalised, every drop of exhaustion purged from her in a frozen, furious blaze.

Her magic seemed to jump at her, willing, begging to be used, and so she did. Infusing the spells with the power she'd discovered, she released a barrage of magic, weaved it into her techniques, attacked him in ways Eraqus couldn't even conceive of. She almost shattered him with Blizzaga, almost melted him with Firaga, almost destroyed him in a Thundaga that stank of ozone and malice.

A gap in his defences allowed her to strike his face with all the fury of a hurricane, shattering a part of his helmet. Eraqus stumbled, his feet slipped out from under him. Aqua loomed over him as Eraqus' revealed eyes filled with fear looking up at her. The sight almost made her shiver as a harsh smirk slid across her lips.

This was how she should feel. Powerful, capable, ready to strike down all that dared to threaten her supremacy and her family. Not too long ago, she'd have considered Eraqus part of that family as well, but he'd hurt what she'd held dearest, he'd mocked her ability and strength, and the whispers in her mind used Eraqus' voice, and oh, how she hated those whispers. Staring down at him, heart roiling in bitter satisfaction and burning fury, she didn't hesitate.

He'd never hurt Ventus like that, never bring Terra so low again, she thought as she brought her blade down on his, driving him further down.

He'd never consider her weak again, never demean and belittle her ability again, she thought as she drove her blade down on his chestplate, planting him on his back, helplessly looking up at her.

He'd never-

"Aqua, stop!"

His cry stopped her in her tracks.

Her mind came back to her in a silent, still moment.

Half of her was screaming at her to finish it, to take what was rightfully hers and dominate.

The other half was shuddering in terror at the thought.

Her mind wasn't her own.

Her mind wasn't her own.

She dropped her Keyblade, hands flying to her heart and head as she slumped to the floor. Her mind and spirit were battlegrounds and she was forcefully imposing her order on them, beating the terrible, awful desires back down.

They resisted, oh, how they resisted. She screamed through gritted teeth as the whispers became roars in her ears, pushing her to hurt, to take, to steal, to control, but it wasn't her, and so she fought with every fibre of her being to push the voices back down, to chain them up, to hide them away. Her Light, abused, smothered, flickering, and almost exhausted, was drawn upon as she tried to bring her back into her conscious self. Between the rage of her cruellest desires and the weakness of her Light, she felt herself slipping back under that dark haze again.

That would not stand. With sheer force of will, she dragged her mind back under her control, and with a cry that made her vocal chords bleed, she caged the pure militant malevolence that had overtaken her.

And for a brief, crystal clear second, she was herself again.

She looked up in relief, saw Eraqus' concerned, scared eyes, and collapsed as black overtook her vision.


Dun dun duuun! Shock and horror! Aqua's fallen to and is using the Darkness! And only in the third Chapter!

Don't worry, she hasn't succumbed. There will be severe consequences for her little soiree with the Darkness however, and she will be feeling the effects of this for quite some time.

This is what one could describe as the instigating incident in this little downward spiral we're journeying on. The nightmare helped push her over the edge, but it is this incident that marks our first true instance of Aqua's anger and over-protectiveness getting the better of her.

Please tell me what you think of my characterisation so far. I do worry that I'm moving slightly OOC, but my intention is to have all characters act in character, and have their in character traits simply used against them - i.e Aqua's protectiveness leading to, well, this entire chapter.

Also, I forgot to put in an AN in the last chapter. I'm a very intelligent writer, can't you tell? Regardless, I wanted to thank Patrick the Observer and an unknown Guest for Reviewing. It means the world to me, as do the follows this story has recieved. The fact that some people are genuinely interested in this little thought exercise warms the cockles of my heart, if you'll pardon the colloquialism. Patrick sir, I hope I'm keeping that interest.

This chapter has come quite soon after the last, and as such I wouldn't go around expecting another update for a while - I need to catch up with, you know, writing and editing the story before putting it up here. I merely wanted to put this scene up ASAP, as I felt the last chapter was somewhat lacklustre on it's own and needed it's natural continuation - this.

Every single view this Fic gets makes my day brighter. If you're enjoying it, please share it to others who may be interested, and Follow/Favourite/Review. I appreciate every single one of you, because trust me, I know what reading bad FF is like. The fact that some of you have decided to ride the boat for this one really makes my day.