A/N: Darth Thánatos is pretty frightening, isn't he? He should be, he's based off of Darth Vader. Not to mention he's a l'Sith. One thing you must know is that he has a deep dark secret. What is his secret? That's something you'll have to figure out.

Since I didn't put them on my list before, Chloe and Chris (Mentioned) belong to SnowEmbrace as well.

Rosy gasps inhumanly. "They're so beautiful!"

She rushes over to the garden right outside. She kneels down and smells the flower.

"You sure weren't kidding when you said she loves flowers." I say.

Chantal giggles. "She certainly does."

The Garden is a memorial garden for me mother. I always grew her favorite flowers. Roses. Black-eyed susans. Daffodils and Lilac. Chantal is a bit surprise to see my memorial garden. Once I told her in my letters, she didn't believe me. A cold shady guy like me having a soft side of being a home gardener.

But still, Chantal thinks it's very sweet. "Just make sure she doesn't go picking them." I say. The doors open. I turn to see it's Sky who is coming out. "Are the girls ready?"

Sky sighs. He seems a bit disappointed. "Not really."

Oh great. What could it be?

Kayla is in bed, looking pretty sick. She even coughs. Katryx is shacking her away. "Come on, Kayla. Get up. We're late already."

"I...I told you." She says weakly. "I'm...sick."

I just stand next to Katryx, looking down at the little girl. She's obviously faking. There's one thing Chantal told me about little Kayla is that she would do anything to get out of school or work.

Katryx signs and she turns towards me. "I'm sorry about this. She's just being stubborn."

I look down at the 'sickly' Katryx. "Actually...She looks pretty ill to me." Katryx is surprise to hear me say that. She didn't expect me to be the gullible type. "Let the poor kid rest up. She'll start her first day next week."

I turn and walk away. Katryx is a bit confused, then she follows me out of the room. We walk down the hallway then she speaks. "What are you doing? You do know she's faking it, right?"

"Of course she is. I know that. Just watch and learn." I say. We stop on our tracks and I clear my throat as I speak out loud. "What is this? ...What's a baby panda doing in our house?"

Katryx seems a bit confused then comes to realization once she hears an inhuman gasp. "BABY PANDA?!"

Like instantly, Kayla bolts right out. She runs right past us and stops, gasping inhumanly as she looks for the baby panda. But she moans in confusion once she realizes there is no panda around. I cross my arms, looking all smart at Kayla. "My. Looks like you've made a remarkable recovery."

Kayla is now worried. Her little con is blown. "Uh...I mean..." Then she does a fake cough.

"Nice try. Get dressed." I say orderly.

Kayla growls angrily then she stomps back into her room, grumbling. "That's pretty smart. Never would have thought of that."

"It's the easiest trick in my book." I hold out a book I wrote once. "'101 ways to trick your enemies and arrogant jerks.'" Then I hand it to Katryx. "Read it and weep, sister."

After Kayla finally gets dressed, all of us head for ORPHAN Inc. Chantal. Katryx. Sky and Kayla, along with Lightning, Hope and I.

Kayla is going to work off her debt, Katryx is coming cause Hope is close to perfecting the l'Cie serum formula. Chantal and Sky are coming along to support her. Plus, I plan on teaching Chantal how to do archery along with Kayla, and some improvement for Katryx.

After we leave, Sazh goes to the mailbox to check the mail. He looks over the mail once he gets it. "Let's see...Bill, bill, bill, Snow, Serah, Package for Fang." Sazh stops on the last mail letter. "Huh...what's this?" He looks closely at it. "...My. This is...quite a surprise. And for him too?" Sazh looks to see that we are long gone from home. "..Guess I better give this to him when he returns."

"All right, Kayla. You have one month to pay off your debt." I say.

Kayla sighs in depression. She really doesn't want to do this. "Fine. What are your orders?"

I hand Kayla a mob. "You familiar with this?" She nods. "Start by mobbing up the cafeteria floors."

"No way!" Kayla says.

"Or you could clean up the mens room." I suggest.

Kayla is just imagining herself all alone in the mens room. The filthy, disgusting, and noxious smelling mens room. Not to mention she's only a young teenage girl. The very thought horrifies her.

"Cafeteria it is." She says as she takes the mob.

A soldier escorts Kayla to the 5th floor Cafeteria.

With that taken care of, I head for Hope's lab. The girls and Sky are already there, watching as Hope and the Academia scientists are experimenting. Chantal seems pretty impressed by all the equipment. It's like an advanced college lab.

I walk right into the lab. "All right, the kid's taken care of. How's it going with the formula?" I ask.

Hope fills a syringe of bright blue liquid, looks kind of icy like frost. "It's...just about finished."

"Are you sure it'll work?" Sky says.

"Well, we don't know for sure. We had to make a few changes with the formula for the temporary l'Cie serum. There's only one way to find out." Hope approaches to Katryx, whose just sitting on a stool in a wide open area. "Okay. You ready?"

Katryx nods. "Yeah." She moves her ponytail aside and expose her left neck, for Hope to make the injection.

"Okay. Remember, this is a new formula." Hope wipes the side of her neck with antiseptic. "So just stay calm. Focused and uh..." Hope positions to inject. "Don't freak out if you probably grow a second head."

Hope says it mildly and quick. Katryx barely caught it, but she still hear enough to make her worry. "Wait. What?!"

It's too late. Hope injects the serum into Katryx. Katryx groans in pain, from the needle and the ice serum is so cold, it burns. Hope steps back, only a few feet just to give Katryx some space. Katryx moans as she puts a head on her forehead. Major headache.

"How are you feeling?" Hope asks.

Katryx moans sickly. "I'm...not sure...I feel a little..." She bends forward, two hands on her head, as she painfully groans. Chantal and Sky both worry. Sky was even about to rush in and help her, but I hold an arm out, stopping him.

Katryx goes through some pain. As she does, her right shoulder glows and starts tracing, multiplying as it forms into a Pulse l'Cie brand. The brand glows through her jacket. Katryx stops moaning, then she looks forward, with an angered expression as her eyes glow icy blue.

All of us are surprised by the sight of this. One her brand and eyes stop glowing, her energy suddenly drains and she collapses. I let Sky run towards her, and he catches her just in time.

"Katryx!" Katryx moans weakly as she starts to wake up. "Are you okay?"

Hope stands close to Katryx. He removes an arm from her jacket and tapes an electrode on her arm. "Oh...I think so." She says in a daze.

Hope connects the wire to the device to analyze her l'Cle powers. "...The serum has granted you the powers of...Ravager. Shaman. Sentinel and...Synergist. That's a bit unexpected. I thought we put Commando Blood in the serum." Hope looks at Katryx. "Try to cast a spell."

Katryx gives a small nod. She holds a hand out. She summons as much energy she can feel in the veins. Small magic gathers and slowly takes form, making a small snowflake. Sky and Katryx are impressed, excited even. As well as Chantal and everyone else. For me, I only show my excitement by opening my eyes wide open.

Just when things are going well, it shortly goes haywire. In a blast of speed, the Snowflake shoots up and blasts the ceiling, creating a large radius of ice. But that's not the only target. Katryx's powers go crazy as she uncontrollably shoots ice everywhere.

Everybody panics and takes cover. Most of the ORPHAN soldiers dive in to contain the ice queen, but her magic is too powerful. She ends up shooting them.

"Get the l'Cie collar on her!" I ordered, then I got shoot with the ice. It blasts me across the room.

Lightning grabs the collar and dodges the incoming icicles of the Blizzard spells. The second she reaches Katryx, she plants the collar on her neck and quickly activates and locks. The second it's on, Katryx's power calms down, eventually disappearing.

One the situation is handled, everybody calms down. Sky gets up. "Wh...What in the world happened?"

Katryx looks at her hands. She did not believe that much power would shot right out of her. "I-I don't understand." Hope looks over the charts. "There's no way the serum would have caused that much power."

Alyssa looks over the charts with Hope. It's certainly a mystery for them. Katryx grabs the collar and turns it uncomfortably. "What is this thing?"

"It's a l'Cie collar." Lightning explains. "We designed it to nullify l'Cie powers, for any prisoners that hold that kind of power." Katryx seems nervous hearing that. That makes it sound like she's becoming a prisoner. "Don't worry. You're only gonna wear it until you learn how to control your powers."

I get up, shivering like I'm living in the cold. "I hate the c-c-c-c-cold. Why am I always targeted by it?"

Katryx has spent some time with Hope in the simulation room. The kid is trying to help her control her powers. Being with Katryx makes Hope feel a little awkward. He's spending him with a friend of the girl of his dreams. Katryx is just as beautiful as Chantal, and to him, it'll make it seem he'll end up with Katryx and make Chantal jealous.

He's clearly in over his head.

"Bring in the kid." I say in the communicator.

"Copy that." Right now, I'm in the training room with Chantal.

"A-are you really sure you can teach me archery?" Chantal asks. "Cause you know...well, my eyes don't work as well as yours." Hearing that, I look at Chantal with an expression that shows a hint of disagreement. "I'm wearing lens but I'm still having some trouble with distance objects."

"Don't underestimate me, Chanty." I say. "Believe it or not, I use to be a lot like you." Chantal looks surprised. Then again, when we first became Pen Pals, she did knew I was pretty nerdy. I look over the photo album on my phone and show her a picture. "Check me out."

Chantal looks at a picture. It's me at the age of fourteen. In glasses, jeans, a sweater vest. In my hands are stacks of books, and my expression is just plain like mine, only not as cold.

Chantal giggles. "You look like a nerd. You look so cute!"

I roll my eyes. "If I had 25 Gil for everytime I hear that." I whisper, then I clear my throat as I put my phone away. "The point is I was once in the same situation as you are. But look at me now." Chantal finds that hard to believe. A young nerd who was once in her shoes can shoot enemies and bull-eyes from hundreds of feet away. Over 500 at best.

"You...really think you can teach me?" Chantal asks.

I nod. "You say you see better with glasses? Well, put them on." Chantal hesitates to put her glasses on. I must admit, she looks cute in them.

Just in time, Kayla walks right in with the ORPHAN soldier. To my surprise, she's wearing rubber gloves and an apron. "What do you want? I was in the middle of washing dishes like you ordered."

Now I'm surprised. "I never orderd you to clean the dishes...Wait. Was it the cafeteria lady?" Kayla nods. I growl and then take out my phone to text. I growl. "Cunningham. That women is being lazy again...I'll deal with her later. Right now, grab a bow and a quiver you two."

Kayla is excited to start learning Archery. Chantal on the other hand is a bit nervous. She's not really a fan of sports.

I now stand in front of my two students. "All right. Archery may seem simple just by shooting an arrow at the target. But it's much more then that. It's all about Form. Accuracy. Aero-dimanics. Calculation."

Kayla groans loudly. "Borrrring!"

I glare directly at Kayla. I march towards her and stomp my foot hard. She's startled by the sound of force. To her, I speak in a loud, strict voice like a soldier. "Did I give you permission to speak!? Or would you prefer cleaning Velocycles and cleaning up after Chocobos for a week!?"

"S-s-sorry! P-Patrick!" Kayla says.

"That's Sir! This is the army, soldier! Show some respect!" I bark.

Instantly, Kayla stands straight and salutes. "Y-y-yes Sir!"

Chantal is shocked to see me like this, towards a little girl. "Was that really necessary?" She whispers.

I lean close and whisper to her. "I've dealt with many soldiers who are like her. Trust me, I know what I'm doing." I step back facing my students. "As I was saying, the first step into archery is a proper form." As I take, I make my form. "Body facing right. Legs apart. Twist wrist. Bow hand straight. Bend elbow when drawing the arrow back. Concentrate...Focus...Focus."

I let the arrow fly and it hits the bulls-eye on the target. Chantal and Kayla are pretty speechless. "Now, you two try."

Chantal and Kayla both copy my form method. From the star, I see them messing up. For Kayla, mostly ignoring and doing things her own way. That girl is such a rebel in everyway. I help Chantal work her form. the whole time, she blushes and is flattered, me getting close to her, touching even, just to guide her Archery Form. For Kayla, I use some force.

In the end, they shoot the targets. Some arrows missed, few only hit the outter rings of the target. Chantal has already given up, meanwhile Kayla is frustrated.

"I don't think I'm cut out for Archery." Chantal says.

"You can't perfect anything from the start." I say. "This is where everything else comes in handy. Aero-dimanics is based out of where the arrow shoots, based upon distance and the strength of the bow. Accuracy is where you aim. Where you point your arrow at the target can cause a chain reaction with the Aero-dimanics, usually based upon the distance between the shooter and the target. Calculation is where you make a combination of all, in the right amount: Figure out the strength of the bow, where you aim, your height, the distance between you and the target. If any of them is off, it'll ruin your chance at hit."

I grab Chantal bow. I pull on the string to figure out it's strength. Then I hand it back to her. Once she has an arrow loaded, I stand over my shoulder, getting a view of her height and distance to the target. Then I guide her hands and make her aim on the bottom second ring, right underneath the target.

"Try shooting there." I say. Chantal nods. She looks directly at the target. "Concentrate. Keep a calm mind...Stay focused. And when you're ready..."

Chantal lets the arrow fly and it hits...the line between the second and inner ring on the upper right of the target. Chantal gasps seeing that. "Hey, not bad. That's actually pretty good." I say.

Chantal smiles. "Y-you really think so?"

I nod with a small smile, then I turn to Kayla. "All right, Kayla. You're next."

It was a long day at ORPHAN. Kayla and Chantal were find students in the Archery Training. But Kayla was not enjoying all the labor work I was giving her. She's just lucky I didn't give her the worst stuff I mentioned as the alternative.

Katryx has it tougher. She cannot control her magic without freezing everything. Hope was hardly much of help.

Now we're all having dinner at the table. There are several conversations going on. But Yeul is mostly quiet, just sitting there and eating elegantly.

"The Simulation was huge. How can you freeze everything?" Snow asks.

"I don't know. It just happened." Katryx says.

"We need to find a better way of controlling your powers." Hope says.

Noel has an idea. "What about Yeul? She's very wise and patient. She might be able to help out."

"Really?" Katryx looks at Yeul. "You can really help?"

Yeul sets down her fork before speaking. "Indeed. I know forms of mental therapy that will indeed help one with control of their powers. We will start first thing in the morning."

Katryx will defiantly appreciate it. "Well, I'm glad mum has something to look forward to." Kayla puts an elbow on the table, her hand on the hand. "Meanwhile I'll have tons of work to do at that work place."

Sky just looks down with a disappointing look and speaks quietly. "Maybe it'll teach her not to act against the law again."

"So, Patrick actually taught you how to shoot?" Serah asks.

Chantal nods. "He really did. When he offered to teach me, I never actually believe I would be able to hit the target."

Serah smiles. "He's a really amazing teacher. He even taught me, and because of that I can protect myself and my friends."

The rest of dinner went quiet, but also pretty fun. That is, until Sazh remembers something. "Oh wait...Something came in the mail today."

"What is it?" Lightning asks.

Sazh reaches into his pocket and takes out an envelope. "It's a letter...It's for Patrick...From 7th Heaven Care."

Everyone goes silent, some gasp, and then all eyes train on me. "7th...Heaven?" Serah says.

"I'm...confused. What is that?" Noel asks.

"It's a hospital." Snow answers. "One of the most intense care hospitals ever made. It's made for those in critical conditions."

"Why would a hospital like that send a letter to Patrick?" Lightning asks.

"You got me. But it does say it's urgent." Sazh says. "You were a patient there once? Or maybe someone you know is there?"

I'm a bit in shock by all this, but I keep it contained. I clear my fork after putting my fork down. "I was never a patient and as for anyone there I know...None that I can think of."

"Sounds like it could just be a mistake." Fang says.

"Uh, I don't know...What do you think, Patrick?" Sazh asks.

For a while, I am silent. The whole dinning room is silent. Then I give an answer. "I'll read it."

I take the letter and then open it. I carefully read the letter, and everyone just watches me. They just sit there and watch closely, like on the edge of the sits. As I read the letter, my expression grows horrified. I'm even losing the will to keep it contained. "Oh no." I whisper. This is bad.

"Is something wrong?" Chantal asks, concerned.

Hearing her, I jumped a little. I forgot I am surrounded by people. My close friends and family. "Uh..." I fold up the letter and pocket it. "It's nothing. It's really for someone else. They must have gotten the wrong address."

"Well...That I'll believe. People have been getting addresses wrong ever since Cocoon's fall." Hope says.

"Right. I'm guessing the doctors from the hospital got it wrong as well. I'll clear it up with them in the morning." I clear my throat and put on a normal expression. "Now that's done, let's continue eating."

It's past midnight and everyone is already asleep. Even Yeul and she usually spends her nights meditating. However, not everyone is asleep.

I wake up, and looking at Sky. He looks deeply asleep, but I remain quiet.

I get dressed up in the dark, then I quietly leave my room and move down the hallway. the second I hear something, I panic, then I jump high and brace myself against the support beams of the house.

Lightning walks down the hallway, moaning tiresome with a glass of water, in nothing but a bathrobe. "Oh...No more fried pickled Behemoth before bed."

Lightning walks past me, not even looking up to notice me. Once she's in he room, I jump down. "I thought she quit that habit." I whisper, then I move on.

I leave the house, even slowly, quietly close the door.

I wonder in the darkness, on the streets of New Bodhum I approach at the auto workshop, where I met the daughter of the owner, Chloe. She's just about to close up shop. Until I met her.

"What are you doing here? It's already closing time." She says with a yawn.

"You and Chris said you both fixed up the Velocycle, right?" When I became a l'Cie, I hijacked Fang's Velocycle when she tried to turn Snow and I in after we conquered Snow's Eidolon, Shiva. Once I made my getaway, I crashed and pretty much totaled it. After the fall, I hand it over to the best mechanic I know to get it fixed up.

"Yeah. We did. I thought you say you were picking it up in the morning." Chloe says.

"Time's changed." I say.

Chloe sighs. "You got the money?"

I hold out a briefcase. "Of course I did. I'm no rookie, Glass Eyeball." Chole softly growls. She hates being reminded of her glass eye.

I open the case and it reveals 100,000 Gil. Chloe smiles and accepts the case. "Thank you for your cooperation."

Chloe drives the Velocycle out of the shop, then she closes up and makes her leave. I check on the Velocycle, making sure it's in good condition. As I do, I hear something. I look to see who or what it is, but there is nothing. I then return my attention to the Velocycle, then I hear it again.

I know someone's there, watching me. I know it's not Chloe since she's already gone. I keep my suspicions up as I turn to face the Velocycle. In my hands, mostly hidden by the slaves of my trench coat, are throwing stars. The second I hear it again, I throw my stars, in different directions. They deflect off benches, lamp posts, buildings and they aim for right behind the boulder where I heard the person.

After throwing over a dozen, I leap back to behind the boulder, with one of my bowblades out. I land, holding the stalker in place with a blade at its throat. Suddenly, my combat attitude turns into shocked. "What the?"

Chantal smiles and chuckles nervously, mostly out of fear when I attacked her. "Hello..."

I sheathe the blade away, then remove the Throwing Stars that hold Chantal in place. She's lucky I didn't actually make them aim at her flesh. "What are you doing here?"

Chantal stands up and wipes the dirt off her skirt. "I'm worried about you. Why are you sneaking out at night?"

"It's none of your business." I say coldly. "Now go home."

I walk away, but Chantal doesn't stop. "It's about that letter isn't it?" I say nothing, but keep walking. "Patrick! Wait!"

"Go home!" I say.

"Why won't you tell me what's going on?" Chantal shouts. I stop at the Velocycle and get it start up. "Please!" Chantal grabs hold of my arm. I look at her with a cold expression. "We're not just Pen Pals. We're friends. I told you everything about me and you always help me everytime you can. I know how much you have suffered in your past and I am willing to do anything to help you. I'll always be there to support you in anyway I can. So please..."

I say nothing, just look at Chantal. We do tel each other everything. In my case, anything I can. Because she doesn't know my darkest secrets, one of them killing my own father when he turned Cie'th.

I look forward, down and sigh. "...Well, I guess I can't keep it a secret for long."

Chantal seems a little confused with me saying that. I get on the Velocycle and start it up, then I pat on the backseat. Chantal realizes it meaning to get on, and she does. "Chantal..." The Velocycle turns on, floats from the surface. I look at her over my shoulder. "Do you remember the Purge my mother and I were dragged into?"

Chantal doesn't say anything, then the Velocycle takes off, heading towards the Crystal Pillar of Cocoon.