Brandon was sparring with Paladin Kiragin, an old time friend. Kiragin was a pretty tall guy, he had short short hair, almost like a buzz cut. Kiragin's a pretty cool guy, and the scar on his left cheek kind of adds to it. They talked as they practiced their fighting. Kiragin threw a punch as he asked, "So, how are things going in that new world?" Brandon blocked the punch and retaliated with a kick, "Nothing real new. How about this world? How's Patensia been with their emperor missing?" Kirigan was knocked back his kick but still kept talking, "About as well as you'd expect. It's so weird, you're the last person I'd expect to be a prince!" Brandon's kicks and punches became more furious, "Just because I share the same blood with that son of a bitch doesn't mean I'm a prince!" He said, accidentally knocking Kirigan to the ground. Kirigan slowly got up, "Ok. Ok. I'm sorry. Let's stop for now. This is getting way too personal." Brandon hadn't fully realized he injured his friend. What was wrong with him?

Brandon stepped out of the locker room after changing into his regular clothes, and went down the hallway to get to the portal home. Princess Celestia taught him a spell to open the portal when he needed to. Humans can use magic, but only if the Princess unblocks a magical barrier that are born into all humans, that was put their to squash their rebellion during the Queen's reign. The spell only creates portals, not puts him there on the spot, so he had to walk to the portal. On his way, he saw Margaret, Paladin Iver, whispering to her datapad in the hallway, "Listen, something serious is going down here. I think they're doing human experiments, now! I'll meet you at the rendevouz with the datafile." "Who was that, Margaret?" He asked in a threatening tone. That call was suspicious. "Hm?" She tried to act clueless then turned straight into threatening, "I don't know what you're talking about. Mind your own business, Brandon." She shoved him aside and kept walking. Dr. Walker called for Brandon over the intercom, asking to see him in his office.

Recipient: Overseer
Subject: Update on the Sensus Experiment

The experiment is still going as planned, sir. Today I asked him about his nightmares. His girlfriend and little sister appear to be a touchy subject for him. He seems to be very protective of them, and blames himself when they get hurt. If this experiment goes well, then we will have the perfect soldier. But if words gets out we're doing this...then we're going to jail. No doubt about it. We should quit while we're ahead, sir. He has become incredibly aggressive, and has bruised three of Paladin Kiragin's ribs while sparring with him. It was just one kick. There is no telling what he'll do if he finds out about this. There's no way to completely wipe memories, just keep them repressed. He will find out, there's no doubt about that. It could be tomorrow, the next day, four months from now, two years from now. He's a walking time bomb.

-Dr. Orion Walker

The next morning seemed to be one of those that you see in a coffee commercial. The sun peeked in through the windows, waking Fluttershy up. Since she was still laying on top of Brandon, that woke him up, too. Fluttershy got out of bed and put on the necklace Brandon gave her on Hearth's Warming Eve, something she always had on her. They sat at the table, reflecting on the other night's...events. Fluttershy looked lovestruck all over again, "Brandon, last night was amazing..." Brandon took a sip of his coffee, he didn't really like reflecting on things that were THIS personal, but he understood that was all she could think about, "I thought so, too," he looked at her, she was still stirring her coffee, "Shy, I don't think the sugar will dissolve anymore. You can stop stirring." Fluttershy snapped back to the real world, "Oh. Sorry," she gave a chuckle. Fluttershy noticed he said that last statement with a little...seriousness. "Is something wrong?" "No, Shy. Nothing's wrong." Shy didn't buy it, "Did you have another nightmare?" "No. I didn't." "Listen, it was just a bad dream, ok? You can tell me anything-" He talked over her, annoyance in his voice, "It's nothing, ok? I'm fine. I didn't have a nightmare last night. Mind your own damn business." He's never swore at Fluttershy before. She was...shocked, to say the least. Something was wrong. Brandon has never spoken to her like that, even in that annoyed tone. She couldn't help but think, Is he...done with me?
Brandon put down his coffee, "Look, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later." He kissed her on the cheek and ran off.
Fluttershy was still piecing together evidence, he said it so quickly. Usually we take longer to say goodbye. Something's wrong, but I don't know what. Perhaps I could talk to Washington, or Ayala. Maybe they'd know.

Fluttershy walked to her kitchen to wash their coffee mugs, when VI stopped her, "Fluttershy, I have an inquiry." "...a what?" "A question. Perhaps you can answer. Paladin Ashford has been increasingly aggressive and now it shows. Do you have any idea as to why this is happening?" Fluttershy realized VI was just as concerned as she was, "No. I'm sorry." "There is no need to be apologetic. I will consult with the database at the Paladin Project." Fluttershy jumped toward the holo-human, "Paladin Project? Do you think you can contact Ayala there? I really need to talk to her." VI looked confused for a moment, but took notice of the severity in her voice, "Complying. Give me a moment." a few seconds later, VI's holographic interface went from his human-like appearance to Ayala's face on a screen, "Ash? What is...oh, Fluttershy. This is a surprise. What's up?" Fluttershy explained Brandon's strange behavior and asked if anything was wrong on their end. Ayala thought for a moment, obviously a little confused, "Yeah, I've noticed he's been a little hostile, too. The only thing I can think of is this experiment that I was told he volunteered for. I don't know much about it but..." at the end of that, another voice was heard. It was unclear who it was, but it was someone she knew. Ayala talked to the voice for a second, "Really? You're sure about this?...Ok," Fluttershy struggled to hear the other voice, but the static wouldn't allow it. Ayala turned her head back to Fluttershy,
"Look, Fluttershy, we've got something important. I need you to get Brandon and tell him to come over here...
Now..."