Longest chapter yet, sorry for the elongated wait. But we're finally back! Sit back and enjoy the ride.


"Get the hell out of my house!" I shouted and approached the young man whose eyes grew large. Serah's shouts of protest were inaudible. The only thing I could hear was my heart beating rapidly. "Serah invited me in, not you." The blonde aimed to defend himself, or maybe to hurt me. If the later was his goal, he accomplished it. "Like I give a fuck!"

Zane's eyes met mine and we stood there glaring, waiting for one of us to make a move. "Later Serah, your brother is fucking insane." The blonde flipped me off and left my house. Screams were the next sound that was heard. I shouted at the top of my lungs and punched the wall next to me. Anger was the only thing fueling me right now.

My vocal temper tantrum was accompanied by Serah yelling at me. "I don't even like you Lucas! Get over yourself!" I turned to face her. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were puffy from the tears running down her face. "Well fuck you too Serah, I'm going to my room." I didn't even bother to hide the emotions surging through my voice.

A mix of anger, sadness, and bitterness were all I felt. I slammed my door behind me and collapsed on my bed. Tears threatened to fall from my face, and I made no effort to stop them from soaking my pillow. I spent the rest of the night avoiding Serah, I couldn't face her. Claire tried to talk to me, but I couldn't find the words to say.

Unable to justify what I did, there was nothing to say. The night came, but I didn't sleep. I laid awake in my bed staring at the ceiling, thoughts of Serah going though my head. A knock came on my door around two in morning. Five hours before school was to start. Getting up, I threw a shirt on and cracked open the door. Serah and Claire were standing outside.

"What do you want?" My voice was void of emotion, much like my expression. Serah's eyes fell to the floor and Claire cleared her throat. "I'm going to force you two to stay in this room together until you solve your problems. You two were so close when you were younger. I hate seeing you guys fighting." I looked Claire in the eye and sighed. She was determined again, nothing would be stopping her from trying. I opened the door all the way and laid back down on my bed.

Neither one of them moved from the doorway. "Well are you coming in or what?" Serah slowly inched her way in and closed the door behind her. I heard something dragging on the floor and If my guess was correct, Claire had blocked the doorway. "Have fun you two." Her voice was quiet and I couldn't place the emotion she put on it.

"Is this really worth it Lucas?" She was the first to speak. Serah's voice was barely audible. "You being nothing but a bitch to me and making me feel like an asshole all the time is pretty undesirable." My words were harsh, but now was the time to say them. "What did I do that was so bad Lucas?" Her voice was raising in volume and anger. "Lying to me and leading me on for weeks. Taking advantage of my feelings for you." She glared at me and hit me across the chest. "I haven't done anything wrong Lucas."

My face turned to one of disgust and I sat up. "FUCK YOU!" I opened the door and knocked down the bookshelf Claire used to block the doorway. I heard my name being shouted as I walked out the front door and down the street. Making sure they weren't following me, I went to the one place that always calmed me, by the sea.

The old wooden pier creaked beneath my feet, adding to the rhythmic sounds of the waves crashing on to the beach. The night was slightly chilly, and being in nothing but mesh shorts and a t-shirt should have been unbearable. For whatever reason, the coldness was the last thing on my mind. "She's terrible to me." I muttered to myself before laying down on the pier.

"I always crawl back to her though." I rolled over on my side and felt the wind blow my hair over my face. "That can't be comfortable." I didn't move to the sound of Snow's voice. "Lightning gave me a call, said I needed to check up on you." I grunted and sat up. The gorilla was wearing black jeans and a white wife beater.

"You look like a redneck and emo mix" He laughed and rubbed his head. "Its Serah isn't it?" His voice got a bit deeper, less cheerful. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Might be. Might be something else." Snow sighed and he walked over to me. He put his hand on my shoulder and sat down. "Lightning told me what happened, I had no idea she did that to you while she was dating me."

I looked at him and gave a sigh of my own. "It didn't stop when you two broke up." He grimaced and slung his arm around me awkwardly. "Kid, you can't win all your battles. Sometimes its best to let one go." It was the first time I seriously considered the one thing that people had been telling me since this whole thing started. "There's something I have to do first." I got up and looked towards the basketball courts. "What's that kid?" I cracked my neck and looked at him.

"Settle things with Zane." Snow looked confused, I guess Lightning didn't tell him that part. "Do what you gotta do kid." The sun was starting to come up, and I couldn't go back to my house yet. "Snow do you mind if I get ready at your place?" He grinned and nodded. I followed the gorilla to his house and up his stairs and to the door of his bathroom. "Thanks again." was the last thing I said before taking my morning shower.

I washed the sand and filth away from yesterday and got into some clothes Snow let me borrow. They were big on me, but they would do for today. Grey slacks with a black shirt were laid out for me. "Does he own anything with an actual color on it?" I laughed to myself and got changed. Snow was waiting for me when I got downstairs. "Ready to go kid?" I nodded and grabbed his spare helmet.

"I hope this is the last time I have to ride bitch on your bike." Snow laughed and threw on the back. He took off and we were at school in a matter of minutes. I went through the motions of the school day and I avoided everyone who tried to talk to me. The day ended soon enough, and I tracked down Zane. He gave me a blank look as I approached him.

My knuckles cracked against his face as all of my pent up anger found its way into a red mark on Zane's face. "That's for making out with that slut." I held out my hand to help him up and looked him in the eye. "This sentence is the last thing I have to say regarding her. If I were you, I'd get away before she can use you. And I'm sorry for yesterday." I didn't wait for his response.

I turned on my heels quickly and made my way to the gym. There was one last thing to take care of. "Coach?" I poked my head in and saw him watching film of our next opponent. He looked over and waved me in. I sat down and took a deep breath. "What can I do for you son?" His voice was kind and it made me regret what I was about to say.

"After this year, I won't be coming back to the team." He took off his glasses and looked at me carefully. "I'm glad you're finishing the season. Good luck outside of basketball Lucas." I shook his hand and nodded at him. "Thanks for understanding Coach." The first round of the playoffs started tomorrow. I would be playing, but my heart wouldn't be in it.

The playoffs took place in Eden and for the second time in five days, I got on the bus to Eden. The stadium I had been fighting in just a few days ago had turned into a basketball arena with thousands of seats. I saw Josh and Christian warming up across the court from me. I went over to them and shook their hands.

Christian was still bandaged up, but he looked okay. "We made the team once you took Ben out." Josh couldn't hit a shot to save his life, but he looked to be a good defender. Christian was hitting a lot of short shots. "Have fun guys." I went over to my team and started casually throwing shots up. Coach came over to me and pulled me aside.

"You're going to be on the bench for the start of the game, we need more size in the lineup." I nodded and went back to shooting. Truthfully, I was glad. I'm not ready to play a basketball game. The game started off pretty bad for us. Zane kept turning the ball over and no one got into a rhythm. I finally got put in during the second quarter.

We were down 46-27 and the morale of the team was pretty low. I took the ball off a screen and fired up a three. It clanked off the rim and led to a run out for East Eden. I cringed and waited for the ball to come back up the court. I got the ball and threw up a contested two point shot. It banked in, but I wasn't able to get back on defense.

After an easy bucket by Christian, we were down 50-29. I took the ball again and jacked up a long three. It drained much to my own surprise. It was supposed to be nothing but a frustration shot, but it ended up getting everyone rolling. The half ended with a score of 54-44. I was exhausted though. "Coach, I can't get back in there."

He nodded and Zane replaced me for the second half. The gap was too big to close without me though. East Eden ended up beating us 82-75. I bit my lower lip as I saw the disappointment on Snow's face. He went his entire high school career without a championship. Media members rushed towards us after the game. I stayed behind to answer questions while everyone else got back to the locker rooms.

The biggest question is why I wasn't on the court in the second half. My answer? "I got hurt in the first half, didn't want to risk injury." With that, I left the court for the last time.

Its really strange how much things can change in a school year and thirteen days. Without basketball, my life turned into a simple pattern. School, work, gym, eat, sleep. Everyday. No changes. The rest of sophomore year and all of junior year blew right by without me even caring. It was summer of junior year when things started to change.

Serah and Snow had gotten back together. Zane had dropped out of school and enlisted into PSICOM. Lightning was working as a member of Guardian Corps full time. Myself, I was always working out or just working at my dead end job. I was in the best shape of my life, and after my senior year, I would be enlisting in the GC.

I came inside my house that summer to find Claire sitting on the couch in her uniform. Her birthday was soon, and I needed to get her a present still. She looked at me and handed me a letter. I eyed her for an explanation. She gave none, she only shrugged at me. Sighing, I tore my eyes away from her. With her working for the GC, she was always stressed and exhausted.

Putting my focus on the letter, I opened it up to find a bunch of legal jargon I didn't understand. Checking the sender, I read that it was from the Bodhum law firm. I went up to my room re-reading the thing. The letter was going over some information. I was 17 now, meaning I was able to access whatever my parents had left for me in their will.

Clicking my tongue on the roof of my mouth, I went through it for a third time. The letter said to be at the Bodhum legal firm tomorrow at noon. Cracking my neck, I went through my closet to make sure my suit still fit me. After trying it on and finding myself satisfied with the way it fit, I laid down on my bed for an early night.

The next morning, I woke up and quickly got ready for whatever it is I would be getting from my parents will. I rushed myself through the habitual morning routine and threw the suit on. One gorged breakfast of toast later, I left for the firm.

The building was quite unassuming. Very bland considering the tropical environment Bodhum is. Inside was just as bland. Modern furniture and even worse modern art decorated the walls. Attempts at plant life stuck out against the gray walls of the firm. I checked in with the receptionist and waited for my name to be called.

She looked about the same age as me, blonde haired thrown up in a bun and a woman's suit screamed professional. Soon enough my last name was called from the blonde girl. I followed the receptionist to an office where a young lawyer sat at a cluttered desk. Thanking the receptionist, I shook her hand and sat down across from the young lawyer.

"My name is Roy Finch and you are here about receiving the contents of your parents will correct?" He cut right to the chase. Feeling a bit rushed, I nodded and waited for him to pull out a few pieces of paper. He pulled out an envelope and handed it to me. "You should be the one to open this Mr. Keep." I nodded and quickly tore the letter open.

All that was inside was a key and a note that said "BCB Box 311." I was puzzled, I had no idea what this was supposed to be. "Ah a bank key. Probably money then. Just head down to Bodhum city bank and they should take care of you" His attention was starting to head back to the paperwork that was piling up. Knowing it was time to go, I thanked him for his time.

Standing up, I shook Mr Finch's hand again and left. The receptionist gave me a slip of paper on my way out along with a wink. I opened it up and it read "Claire 246-580-9897" The girl had the same name as the only person I really trusted to have my back. Putting the thoughts aside, I threw the paper away and set off. It was just a short walk to the bank.

The place was equally as dull as the law firm. "Bodhum needs new interior designers, god damn." I sighed and walked up to the teller. "Hello may I help you?" The lady working smiled at me. She looked absolutely ancient. I forced a polite smile and pulled out the key I received just a few minutes ago. "Yes, I have a key for box 311."

She took the key and left. A few minutes later she returned with a decent sized cardboard box. It had BCB plastered across it in black letters, outside of that it looked fairly plain. "The contents of the box are in here. Have a good day sir." I thank her and returned home. No one was in the living room when I arrived.

Heading up to my room, I placed the box on my bed and stared at it for a while. Eventually, I decided it was time to open the thing. "Christina!" I called for my little sister, and soon she joined me in my room. I ruffled her hair and nodded towards the box "This was our parents stuff." Being the awesome big brother I am, I let her open it.

The first thing she pulled out was a black box with gold designs etched into it as well as my name. She crooked her head at it before carefully handing it to me. It was relatively heavy for its size. Putting it aside, I peered inside the box. Gil was what my eyes saw first. 200,000 of it to be exact! My mind was finally put to ease, I could put Christina through college.

A smile creeped onto my face. The last thing inside were two letters. One for each of us. Christina took hers and darted out of the room. I shook my head at her before opening the third letter in two days. It was from my father. It read, "Dear Lucas, Inside the box is something that has been in our family for generations. I trust you with it. I love you son."

The letter was short, but it still brought tears to my eyes. I wiped them away and grabbed the box. The letter fell to the floor forgotten for the moment. The top of the box came off to reveal a katana. "Makes sense, we are ninja after all." I paused before correcting myself, "They were ninja, I never learned anything"

I pulled it out of its sheath to find the most surprising thing possible. The blade before my eyes was tinted red and it was perfectly balanced for me. "Masamune." The word came out hushed, barely audible at all. "This has been in our family for how long?' I looked at the blade with amazement. It was quite literally the katana of my dreams.

After some time, I but the masamune away. The katana from children's stories was real. And it was under my bed! The was the last normal day before the madness started. The thirteen days before the purge were to start after I laid down for bed that night.

Thirteen days before everything went wrong.


Day One

The morning was normal enough. Everything was in routine, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen. Nevertheless, I went to the beach and ran like I did every day. The clouds were dark that day, an ominous sign of what was to come. Not even my sense of paranoia could predict what had really happened that day.

I returned home after my workout to find Serah waiting for me. She opened her mouth as soon as I acknowledged her presence. "Lucas, everyone is going to the beach tomorrow. Do you want to come?" I looked her over. After I blew up on her all those nights ago, she had avoided me. "I suppose." And with that I left her.

Night was filled with a dream. A dream of my death. There was ice everywhere and I couldn't defend myself. To be honest, the dreams stopped bothering me long ago. However, this was the first time in a while I had dreamed it. Letting my insomnia take over, I stayed awake through the rest of the night and watched the skyline bleed into the next morning.


Day Two

I sat up and turned off my alarm when it went off at eight in the morning. I performed my morning routine and walked down the stairs to see all three girls waiting to go to the beach. My black trunks with neon green design looked stylish, and with only a tight white shirt to cover my chest the girls would be attracted.

That's what I hoped anyway. Making the object of my torture jealous was a very fun thing to do. "Nice muscle Lucas, I remember when you were scrawny." Claire smirked at me before turning around to lead us to the beach. I ignored her and followed everyone, making sure to stay in the back. Walking in the back of the group gave me time to observe and reflect.

I could tell something was amiss. It turns out Serah had a surprise for us when we made it to the beach. Snow was waiting for us. I nodded at him, having appreciated him helping me out back in the day. Lightning however, was not too pleased. "What is he doing here?" I took it that she never found out that they had started going out again.

"Serah invited me?" Snow looked confused, he wasn't able to figure out that she didn't know. "Why would she do that?" Lightning's voice was filled with venom. I cleared my throat and grabbed her arm. It did nothing to stop her rage.

"Because I'm dating her?' I cringed as soon as the words left his mouth. Lightning shook me off of her arm and stormed towards the gorilla. I shut my eyes and seconds later a loud smack rang through the air. I turned away from them and started walking back towards the house. I didn't need to be around this any longer.

The last words to hit my ears were from Claire, "Stay away from my sister!"


Day Three

The fallout from yesterday wasn't as bad as I expected. Claire was still to busy fuming to yell at Serah and start another argument. I sat down next Serah on the couch and started causally flipping through the channels on TV.

"I'm going to the vestige today." I turned and gave her a questioning face. Before saying something about how childish and stupid that was, I shut my mouth and shook my head. My attention turned back toward the TV.

Minutes later, Serah got up and left the house. "That girl is crazy." I had taken two weeks off of work to relax and today was the perfect day to go skateboarding. If only it wasn't so unbearably hot outside. Putting on some light clothing, I grabbed my board and a water bottle.

Skating around the city had lost its charm over the years. I knew every dip in the road and every spot to practice tricks. The sun set on me pretty quickly, forcing me home. I saw Serah on the sidewalk on my way there.

"How was the vestige?" She was spaced out and it was like she didn't even hear me. Sighing, I shook my head and skated by her to the house. She avoided all of us that night. Something happened at the vestige, something bad.


Day Five

The past day was uneventful, just Serah continuing to avoid us. I eventually forced her out of my mind, and turned my attention towards the upcoming fireworks show. "Just a few more days now Christina." The little girl always loved the fireworks.

"What are you gonna wish for Lucas?" I chuckled and brought her into a hug. "I can't tell you that." She ran down the stairs towards Claire, and I soon followed her.

Claire was glued to the TV. "Whats going on?" She quickly hushed me and I turned my attention towards the screen. "-accident at the Euride gorge energy plant. Details are not yet in-" I shut off the TV and pointed with my eyes towards Christina.

"Claire lets talk about this in private." Grabbing her hand, I dragged her out of the room. "What kind of accident was it?" Claire bit her bottom lip, and I saw a legitimate look of fear in her eyes. "Rumors are that it was Pulse l'cie." The kitchen grew silent as I took in her words.

"Pulse hasn't attacked in like a hundred years or some shit! No way they're l'cie." She nodded and crossed her arms over her chest. "The fal'cie made a Cocoon l'cie, some little boy too."

My head was spinning, the only reason a Cocoon l'cie would've been made was to protect Cocoon from Pulse. "Don't tell Christina anything, I don't want to scare her yet." She nodded and left me standing in the kitchen alone.

I slammed my fist down on the counter and exhaled deeply.


Day Nine

The next couple of days passed by with high tension. Everyone who saw the news heard the rumors of a Pulse attack. Keeping Christina unaware may have been a mistake, but I had to take that chance. My life wouldn't be ruined by a Pulse threat, I continued my routine as normal.

Sunset was already approaching as I finished up my daily run on the beach. Feeling the heat start to get to me, I took my sweat stained shirt off. Steadying my breathing, I saw a familiar shade of pink on the beach. Serah was sitting next to some red headed girl I'd never seen before. Casually, I made my way over to them, making sure to flex my developing muscles.

Getting this girl's attention from Serah would do enough to satisfy me for the day. "Howdy Serah, Who's your friend?" Both girls jumped out of surprise and I gave out a slight laugh. "Hope I'm not interrupting a romantic moment, looking at the sun." I flashed my cheesy grin at the red head and sat down the two girls.

"My name's Vanille. Serah was helping me after I fell down." She giggled a bit and looked at me. I stood up and paced around them. "Not used to the sand eh?" I let myself fall down on it right in front of them, causing sand to fly up around me." Vanille shook her head and tilted her head at me.

"Lucas! You got sand in my boots!" She stood up and kicked me playfully. "Well that sounds like your problem Serah." I winked at her and stood up. "Well I need to shower, I'm all gross and stuff. I'll catch you at the fireworks show right Vanille?" She nodded at me and waved goodbye as I set off.

Giving one last grin towards the red head, I started jogging towards my home. "Mission accomplished." I muttered to myself after dodging a pedestrian.


Day Ten

"What are you getting Lightning?" I turned around to face my shopping companions and received shrugs as my answer. "Well, I'm going to look at that part of the mall, meet up in twenty?" I pointed to the opposite end of the store and cocked my head.

Snow nodded, slipping off in another direction. I spun on my heels, leaving Serah to fend for herself. Entering a department store, I browsed around with no real idea. "What to get? What to get?" I sighed and looked over some jewelery under a glass counter. "Can I help you sir?" A worker had shown up to save me from the nightmare.

"Yes please, its my sister's birthday and I have no idea what to get her." She gave me a knowing smile and leaned over the counter to look with me. "Well what's she like?" I made a 'hmm' sound as I thought about how to answer that question. What was Claire like? "I would say she's a practical girl. Not really one for gaudy accessories."

The lady helping me made a 'hmm' sound of her own. "How about these?" She held up a pair of bracelets with various charms on them. One of which was a lightning bolt. They looked like they wouldn't be loose enough to get in the way of anything. "Those are about as perfect as it could get. Thanks miss."

She nodded and walked to a register to ring them up. "3000 gil please." I pulled the required fund out of my wallet and got them gift wrapped. 3000 gil was a hefty price, but why shouldn't I spoil her every now and again. She was the one person who always had my back.

Taking my bag, I headed off to meet with Serah and Snow.


Day Eleven

"Fireworks tonight!" Christina was running around the house with anticipation. She acts like a little kid all the time. Myself, I sat on the couch next to Claire. Her present was hidden away in my bass guitar case, which no one dared to touch. "You're really working tonight?" I asked incredulously.

She nodded slowly, a look of disappointment on her face. Unnoticeable to anyone but myself and Serah. Sighing, she got up and left for her shift. "That uniform's skirt looks great on you Claire-bear!" I called out to her just as she closed the door. I could tell by swearing on the other side of the door that she heard me.

I snickered to myself and propped my feet up on the coffee table. "Well you two ready to go?" Serah had come down the stairs dressed in a skirt of her own. "What is it with you Farrons and skirts?" I got confused looks, but I brushed them off. "Lets bounce ladies." I took Christina's hand and led her down beach.

Soon she ran off towards her friends and Serah had migrated to Snow. Leaving me all alone. I walked to the waters edge and plopped down. Tons of tourists had come to town for the firework show. These wishing fireworks had been going off every year since before I was born. Soon enough the display started and I closed my eyes and made my wish.

"Aren't you too old to be wishing?" I opened my eyes and saw a silver haired kid. He looked kind of familiar. "It has nothing to do with age kid." I heard him huff, probably about me calling him a kid. "Go off towards your parents kid, you should spend all the time you can with them." He didn't move, just slowly looked up at me.

"Actually I was going to ask where Christina was." I opened my mouth a bit about to ask how he knew her, when suddenly I remembered this kid. "Easter right?" He grumbled and shook his head. "Estheim. Hope Estheim." I shrugged and started thinking about that trip to Palumpolum. "She ran off that way kid." I jerked my thumb off the side and watched him leave.

"Who names their kid Hope?" I shook my head and turned my attention back towards the fireworks. Soon Lightning made her way toward me and sat down. "Amodar gave me the night off." She looked up at the sky and took in the display with a blank face. "He's always looking out for us." I nodded at her comment and grabbed her hand.

"Come on birthday girl, lets get you home for the night." Right on cue Christina came over to us all alone. I guess Hope didn't meet up with her. "What about Serah?" I shrugged and started dragging Lightning home. "She's a big girl."

The night was still young, but tomorrow was a real celebration best to save it for Claire's big day.


Day Twelve

Serah, Christina, Snow, Lightning, and myself sat down in the living room. Gifts were set up on the coffee table, still unopened. The room was kind of tense. It was obvious Lightning didn't want Snow there. Soon enough beeps rang out from the kitchen.

"Cake should be good to go, I'll go take care of that. You four play nice now." Closing the kitchen door behind me, I opened the oven door to pull out a perfectly baked cake. White icing was soon being spread all over it. Grabbing the candles and placing them into the cake a shout carried its way to me. "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

I cringed at the sound of Lightning's voice. Pretending like I didn't hear anything, I carried the cake out to the birthday girl. "Hey girly, got your cake." She didn't look at me, her eyes were glued to the ground.

I set it down on the coffee table and sat down next to her. It was only just now that I realized we were the only two people in the room. Before I could attempt to comfort her, The TV sprung to life flashing alerts. "-Pulse threat has been discovered in Bodhum.-" I shut the TV off. "Serah." The word cut the silence, and I started to piece things together.

"What exactly did I miss?" She didn't say anything, only grabbed her issued gunblade. "Slow down, open your gifts, and then we'll figure everything out." I walked up behind her and grabbed her shoulders. "Calm down Claire, we'll figure this out." Fifteen minutes later, I was brought up to speed on everything. "Snow may be an idiot, but his hearts in the right place."

I was bitter about Serah becoming engaged, but there were more important things right now. "Come on lets sleep this night away and get things done tomorrow."

Christina had ran off after Serah, leaving Claire and I the only occupants for the night.


Day Thirteen

"They're purging us to Pulse." Claire's words didn't affect me at all. I looked up at her, she was standing by the door to the house in her GC uniform. "Well that's gonna come back to bite them in the ass."

I gave my trademark smirk and gripped masamune. Wordlessly, we embarked towards the purge trains. "Take care of this Light, I'll get us a spot in line." We made our separate ways after confirming our plan. The end of the line was occupied by a older black man with an afro. "Howdy stranger. Ready to be purged?"

I let the sarcasm show and followed it up with a cocky grin. He looked at me carefully. I glanced down at my own attire, black cargo shorts with a blue shirt. I smirked and zipped up my black jacket, hoping to conceal masamune. "How old are you kid?"

Deciding not to answer, I saw Lightning approaching. "You two don't look ready to go quiet into the night." We turned to look at the old fellow. A chocobo decided to fly out of his hair. "You want quiet, better take the next train." Lightning's voice came out bitter and harsh. So I decided to make a more casual approach. "Chill out old man, me and Princess over there will take care of everything."

I gave one last cocky grin before turning to the face the front of the line.


This chapter had a bit of everything I thought. Well time to get into the meat of the game. This has easily been the longest chapter I've ever written.

Please give me some feedback. Updates may slow, as I will be playing the game while writing the rest of the story. Just to make sure I get everything right.