A/N: As always, a big thank you to all my reviewers. I really am overwhelmed by the responses I'm getting. I would also like to take this opportunity to especially thank Pascy for their wonderfully touching review. It made my day, it really did. Seriously, I was blushing at your praise. This one's for you.

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"Dark Ace, I've been fairly lenient so far in your punishments, but you are very close to receiving much worse. I send you on a simple recon, and you come back without a report and then proceed to sulk around the palace like a mourner! What happened on that mission?"

He was in bad shape. Cuts, bruises and burns showed everywhere that his now tattered uniform didn't cover. He laughed, even though his abrasions stung with dirt and every nerve screamed in pain. The unsettling thing was that he knew that Cyclonis was being lenient; he was lucky he still had all his limbs and digits attached, and that no bones were broken.

She blasted him again, his limbs twitching erratically, like a puppet with tangled strings. Laughter still echoed through his screams. Unnerved, Cyclonis cut off the flow of crystal energy. The Dark Ace slumped in relief, still giggling quietly in sporadic bursts. She wondered if he had gone insane from the torture - it would be a shame if he had. Not only would he be useless for information, she had thought that he would be stronger than that.

The Dark Ace coughed, feebly pushing himself up against the wall. His mouth twisted into a grotesque parody of his usual snarky grin. "That... Sky Knight boy was there..."

She lunged at him, grabbing the ragged remains of his shirt and shaking him. "What did he do?" she hissed.

He smiled placidly at her, coughing a few times more. "He didn't do anything. I almost killed him, actually. I had him cornered, and then," his mouth twisted in parody again, "I dropped my blade and told him everything."

Numbly, she released her grip on his shirt. Had her most trusted commander... betrayed her? "Which everything?" The words seemed to stick in her throat on the way out.

"How I came to be Cyclonian. Why I killed my teammates." He slowly returned to himself. "Stupid brat has probably told all his friends. I'll be the laughing stock of Atmos." Cyclonis was slightly bemused that he still worried about his pride at a time like this, but also felt a different kind of betrayal. How could he tell his worst enemy the reason he had left for Cyclonia, but every time that she asked, he would clam up? She would bet her place as Master that he would not tell her now if she asked again.

He cleared his throat, standing shakily. His eyes had lost the edge of madness, and he seemed more like himself than he had since the mission. Putting his fist over his heart and bowing, he bid his Master a formal farewell. "Thank you, Master, for blasting some sense back into me. I will go get my wounds attended to, and get some rest. And after that, I will hunt down the boy." He bowed again, limping slightly as he headed to his quarters, leaving Cyclonis standing alone in the blackened corner of the throne room.