Hello everyone, I return! I apologize for the long wait for this chapter but it has been a rough couple of weeks. The friend of mine who was still in the hospital ended up passing away about two weeks ago now and I think a few of us who knew her have spent much of the time since at the bottom of various bottles – myself included, I'm not proud to admit.

But life must go on and she would be pissed if I used her death as an excuse to not update any longer so here we go. This one's for you Liv.

The usual copyright BS. I don't own The Lux Novels and I ain't makin any money off this.

~The Last Ronin~

"Are you ok Kitten?" My dream lover asks, his forehead scrunched with worry.

"I'm fine," I say and reach over to smooth out the wrinkles, as my words do nothing to alleviate his concern.

"Katy…" he presses and pulls me into his lap.

My toes trail in the water of our small lake and I sigh as his lips capture mine.

"Talk to me," he urges once we come up for air…though I suppose we don't really need to, considering this is a dream.

I don't answer immediately. Instead I snuggle closer to him, enjoying the feeling of his strong arms around me. A large part of me doesn't ever want to leave this spot but there's also a growing part of me that wants another, different, set of arms around me too.

"I'm confused," I admit at last, watching the wind blowing through the trees on the far shore. The breeze brushes a few strands of hair across my face, tickling my nose. Before I can move, my lover reaches up to tuck the strands back behind my ear.

"What are you confused about?" he asks quietly, his fingers stroking my cheek absently.

"Everything."

"You're going to have to give me a bit more than that Kitten," he chuckles and gives me a small squeeze.

"Mostly you," I say after a moment, "I know you're important to me but beyond that, nothing. It's like someone cut you out of my life, like there's a big hole where you're supposed to be."

He stiffens behind me, his hand stilling against my skin. A minute passes before I feel his shoulders sag.

"I suppose I deserve that," his breath warms my ear and I sigh, "after what I did…"

His breath hitches and for a second it sounds like he's crying. I twist in his arms to look at him, unable to contemplate the idea of this person shedding tears; something about it just feels wrong. Sure enough, tears shine in his eyes though they haven't started falling just yet.

"I'm so sorry Katy." He whispers, "I promised I would get you out of that place and I never did."

Despite myself I shiver as images from my time spent imprisoned flood my mind: people in lab coats injecting me with various chemicals while others wearing suits fired question after question at me. There had been one question they asked constantly; one they wanted the answer to above all else, but I couldn't answer it. They didn't believe me though. They said there was no way I couldn't know the answer.

Always they asked who mutated me.

But I don't know.

x-x-x-x-x

"When are you going to bring her to us?" Ethan demands, his irritation beginning to seep through his normal calm demeanor.

Around us the Elders murmur their agreement. They too are beginning to lose patience.

"It's too dangerous right now. She's still too unstable," I shoot a sympathetic look at Mrs. Swartz. She cringes at my words and Matthew squeezes her hand in reassurance.

"We'll be the ones to decide that." Ethan interjects, "Your job was to find and deliver her here."

"You don't understand," I persist, growing irritated myself with the stubborn Luxen.

"That's enough!" He snaps, "We need some way to bring Daemon Black to heel. The hybrid he created is that way. Now bring her to us!"

I sigh, a scream beginning to build up inside me at his unwillingness to listen. He has no idea what he's dealing with. Not for the first time I find myself wondering if it was prudent to come to the Luxen for help finding Daemon. Their stubbornness and outright derision when it comes to us hybrids is enough to make me want to just flip them all off and never come back. But we can't, not so long as Katy's mother and Matthew are here; they're family.

Beside me Dawson slips a hand inside my shirt to rub my back. Slowly my anger begins to drain away as I lean into his touch. I hate having to do this but between my husband and I, I'm the one able to maintain some semblance of civility when dealing with the Elders. Dawson would have told Ethan to go fuck himself long ago.

"If we do this," Dawson says quietly, though I can hear the barely restrained anger in his voice, "there are a few rules you need to follow."

Ethan raises an eyebrow in a manner that tells me exactly what he thinks of that idea and I jump in before my husband explodes.

"You cannot, for any reason, touch her." I say, "She is very twitchy about it. Andrew made the mistake of grabbing her arm a couple weeks ago. She hammered him into a wall, nearly killed him, and took out half a city block before Ash managed to convince her that Andrew hadn't been trying to hurt her. So absolutely no physical contact."

Ethan snorts and several chuckles drift from the other Elders.

"You have an active imagination hybrid," he practically spits the word, "but you must think us fools if you wish us to believe a mere hybrid could injure a Luxen in such a way."

Dawson snarls and I grasp his hand tightly before he can attack the older Luxen.

"Very well Ethan," my husband says quietly, calming slightly as he turns us to leave, "ignore my wife and we'll see who the real fool is."

x-x-x-x-x

Voices from downstairs wake me from my sleep and I crack my eyes open. Where in the…downstairs?

The Arum!

I bolt upright, instantly awake as I scan the small room – my room, I realize. Daylight filters in through the window though, and I don't feel the chill in the air that I associate with Arum being close by. What happened? I remember them surrounding us and then…nothing until my dream. Did I get hurt?

Carefully I slide from my bed and begin taking inventory. Two eyes, two ears, one nose, two arms, two legs, ten fingers and toes. Everything seems to be here and in working order, though someone stripped me down to my underwear while I slept. I wonder if it was…my cheeks heat at that thought and I quickly squash it.

With a shake of my head I throw open my closet and begin looking around for something to wear before heading into my bathroom to wash up the best I can. I really need to look into getting a generator hooked up so I can take a hot shower again.

The voices don't quiet as I descend the stairs and a delicious smell reaches my nose. Bacon? My mouth begins to water in response and my stomach grumbles hungrily. I can't remember the last time I had bacon.

"I can't believe that you don't like blueberry pancakes," Dee's voice radiates disbelief, "they're like, the best thing ever besides bacon and ice cream."

A dramatic sigh fills the air as Dee mentions her favorite food. I can't say I blame her either. I could really go for a few pints myself. Maybe we should look into finding a way to make some? I add that to my growing 'To Do' list.

"I didn't say I don't like blueberry pancakes," Ash answers, "I just said that I prefer chocolate chip."

A smile tugs at my lips as I step into the kitchen. Ash turns as I enter, a couple of plates piled high with pancakes floating besides her, a huge smile on her face.

"I'm with Ash on this one," I grin back at her, "blueberry are good but there's just something about having chocolate for breakfast that's so…"

"Naughty?" The blonde woman suggests and then laughs in triumph as one of the plates drifts over to me.

Dee's face scrunches up in disgust and she scowls, "Breakfast is supposed to be healthy."

"Dark chocolate is healthy," Ash points out as she offers me a fork and a bottle of maple syrup.

I could kiss her.

For a second I weigh the pros and cons of that idea but in the end I just decide to dig in. Maybe later, and certainly not in front of Dee and Andrew. Definitely not while I'm distracted by food either.

"You made these?" I ask Ash around my fourth or fifth mouthful, my resolve to not kiss her weakening with every delicious bite.

She nods as she licks bacon grease off her fingers. Dee snorts in response and Andrew laughs, tossing a balled up napkin at his sister.

"What?" She scowls at them, her face turning red.

"Liar," her brother laughs and nearly starts choking on what looks to be an entire pancake, "if Dee hadn't intervened we'd all be eating hot garbage right now."

"Andrew!" She growls, her eyes going white, "My cooking is not that bad!"

"Ash," he snorts, "I'm a better cook than you…and that's saying something."

"He's terrible," Dee mouths silently to me, her eyes wide in mock horror.

If possible, my friend's face turns even redder and her form begins to blur a bit. Crap I need to stop this. Before she explodes, and my house gets half destroyed for the dozenth or so time, I reach over and grab her hand.

Silence descends on the room as Ash's human guise slams back into place and three sets of eyes shift towards me.

"What?" I ask, relieved that the imminent destruction of my home has been averted – for now at least. I should post a sign or something: 'No Alien brawls inside.'

Slowly Andrew reaches towards my hand and I narrow my eyes at him as they start to glow

"Andrew, don't" Ash glares at her little brother and pulls our joined hands away from him.

"Oh now that's just not fair," he grumbles, "I barely touch her and she goes psycho on me. You sit there fucking her with your eyes and she doesn't bat an eyelash."

Again the room goes silent and now my face is as red as Ash's had been and – I hazard a glance at her – is again. She has not been…

Dee's eyes dart back and forth between us, her face scrunching up in confusion. The wheels are clearly turning in her head and there's almost an audible click as her gaze settles on my hand entwined with Ash's. Her eyes widen as her mouth pops open and Ash and I quickly pull away from each other.

x-x-x-x-x

Tension hangs over the room like smog as Dawson and I walk in. On one side of the counter stand Katy and Ash, glaring at Andrew and Dee on the other. Oh God, what happened now?

"Beth, was I supposed to get a babysitter for the kids?" My husband wonders aloud and the four 'kids' jump. Whatever was going on must really be something if they hadn't noticed us come in.

Some of the tension dissipates as Dee jumps up to hug Dawson and I, though the other two women's eyes remain riveted on Andrew. What in the world did he do this time?

"Andrew, outside please," Dawson strides over and hauls the other boy towards the door, "I need help with something."

Katy relaxes a couple dozen degrees as the guys vanish outside, though there are eight small indentations on the counter from where her fingers were digging into it.

"Do I even want to know?"

"It was nothing," Katy says, a bit too quickly.

The look on Dee's face as she turns back to the other two confirms that it wasn't 'nothing' but I'm not going to ask. I don't really have to honestly; I can guess easily enough. Oh well, we'll deal with it later. Ethan won't be happy but he can go to Hell for all I care.

"So…how was the meeting?" Ash asks, her voice tight as her eyes quickly dart over to Katy before returning to me.

"Same as always," I groan as Dee pulls me towards the counter and passes me a plate of pancakes – ooo blueberry, "Ethan's running out of patience and he's being a dick about it."

"Remind me again why we're listening to Ethan," Ash grumbles, pushing her food around her plate, "he's been nothing but a thorn in our asses since we came to this planet."

I don't answer, the question was rhetorical.

Although my own experiences with the Elder Luxen have been blessedly limited, I've come to agree with Ash's assessment. Thankfully I never met him until after I was freed from Daedalus but my first instinct had been to blast him in the face and run. Why didn't I listen to that instinct?

For several minutes we eat in silence as I wait for the question I know is coming; I can see it in Katy's eyes.

"What was the meeting about?" she finally asks.

Ash glares at me in warning and Dee scowls but I ignore them both. It's not like we can keep this from her forever; eventually she'll find out and it will be better if it comes from us.

"The meeting was about bringing you to the colony." I start, "Ethan has been trying to get us to take you there since he discovered that we found you."

Katy just looks at me, confusion on her face for a moment before it clears. Wait…does she even know who Ethan is?"

"Why?" she asks slowly.

"Because of what Daemon did," I shrug, "or supposedly did. I'm still not convinced about all that. Either way, Ethan wants a way to bring Daemon to heel and he thinks he can use you to do it."

My sister smirks as I say that and her eyes brighten with silent laughter. It would seem that she's about as intimidated by Ethan as Ash, Dawson and I are. I guess that means that she has met the Elder Luxen before.

"We have no intention of turning you over to him," Ash adds quickly as she reaches over to give Katy's hand a brief squeeze.

"Of course not!" Adds Dee, sounding like that would be the most absurd idea ever – it's not, but it's definitely way up there.

Katy laughs. Dee and Ash fall silent as we all stare at my sister. Tears roll down her face, her whole body shaking and she turns to lean on Ash's shoulder before she falls over.

The blonde Luxen trembles as Katy continues to laugh and panic fills her eyes.

"Katy?" She asks softly.

"Sorry, sorry," my sister straightens up, scrubbing the tears from her face with her hands, "that was just too funny. Ethan. Wants to use me!"

And she's laughing again.

As suddenly as she started, her laughter stops.

"What makes him think he can use me?" She asks and there's no mistaking the malice in her voice, or the dark look in her glowing eyes.

"He's holding both Matthew and your mother hostage," Dee says after no one else does.

"Oh really," Katy says and heads towards the door, "then let's go get them."

"Wait! Time out Katy!" I put myself in front of the other girl, "Ethan isn't going to just let you stroll in there and take them."

She laughs again, a short, harsh sounding bark that sends goosebumps down my arms and legs as she brushes by me.

"He's welcome to try and stop me."

x-x-x-x-x

This is a bad idea. I mean, we've done some stupid stuff before but this is a really bad idea. Someone is going to get hurt.

"We have to stop her!" I whisper quietly to Andrew as we trail behind the others, ""She's not thinking clearly."

"Relax Dee," he wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me closer and out of the way of a low hanging branch, "what's the worst that could happen? It's not like she's gonna do something with so many people there."

He doesn't get it; which is really odd seeing as Katy nearly killed him several weeks ago. But that had just been an accident and he didn't see what happened with the Arum the other night. That hadn't been an accident. Katy had…well I'm not really sure what she did to those Arum and I'm certain that I don't want to know what she's going to do to Ethan.

We have to stop this.

"Beth!" I pull away from Andrew and hurry to catch up with my other sister.

x-x-x-x-x

I try to ignore the nagging urge to run screaming from this place as we descend deeper into the earth. This is the first time I've ever been to the Luxen colony and I'd always pictured it as being some village hidden in the woods. There is a village but it's more of a decoy to explain away any Luxen who choose to go wandering around outside than an actual place to live. No, the real colony is underground and my desire to visit is starting to feel like a very bad idea.

Couldn't they have made these tunnels any wider? I rub my arms, trying to keep my skin from crawling off my body but the feeling of being trapped won't go away.

"You don't have to do this you know," Ash whispers in my ear, her hand resting lightly on my arm for a moment before falling away.

I really just want to grab that hand and hold it but I don't want to give Andrew any more fodder for jokes; that last one he made was just plain low. My friend's irritation with her little brother is still pouring off of her in waves from that comment and I'm just waiting for her to deck him.

"Yes I do," I give her a small smile as the tunnel begins to widen slightly. If my mother is being held prisoner because of me then I need to do everything in my power to get her out of here. I know all too well how horrible it is to be held captive. I can't leave my mother alone.

Light begins to fill the tunnel, illuminating the previously dark passageway. One of the benefits of being a Luxen – or a hybrid – is that we come with our own flashlights built in so darkness is never a problem. As my eyes adjust to the increased illumination a cavern, much larger than I expected, begins to take shape.

I've never actually been to a football stadium before but I'm fairly certain that we could play three or four games down here simultaneously and in relative comfort. This place is just massive but it actually looks, well, homey too.

The ceiling far overhead is transparent and although it's clearly there I can also see the sun against a cloudy blue sky. Countless small cottage like homes dot the grass and tree covered hills that circle an enormous field of flowers surrounding an equally large lake. Hundreds of Luxen mill about, engaged in every activity imaginable though most seem to be simply relaxing and having fun.

My jaw pops open as somehow a breeze weaves through the cavern and brings with it the scents of dozens of different blossoms. It's the most amazing fragrance and I could spend hours just trying to decipher each component without ever finishing.

"How can you not want to live here?" I look at Ash to find her mouth drawn in a tight line.

"It is beautiful here," she admits, "but no matter how the Elders may try to dress it up, it's still a prison.

"My brothers and I, along with the Blacks were lucky. Many of those you see here were born within these walls. This is all they know and the Elders teach them that the outside world is dangerous and evil. Once that may have been true but Daedalus is gone now and the Arum are not so big a threat that we can't live above ground. The Elders just refuse to let go of the power they wield so long as our people live here."

I stare back at her for a few minutes, trying to reconcile this woman with the girl whom years ago I'd been certain despised everything about the outside world – including me. Of course, we hadn't really been friends before either, though I think we had begun to tolerate one another in the weeks before my capture. Now though, now we're clearly friends. I wonder what happened to change all that?

Before I can ask her, however, a group of Luxen make their way towards us and my heart leaps as I see both my mother and Matthew in their midst. For a moment doubt grips me as my mother's eyes find mine. Its been years and I'm no longer the girl she knew. What if she knows what…what if she hates me?

More Luxen drift over, curiosity radiating from them. I shouldn't be surprised. I doubt that they get many visitors here and I know that I would want to see what was going on if I were in their shoes.

One of the Luxen in the first group that approached us steps forward, his human guise sliding into place to reveal Ethan. He hasn't changed in the years since I last saw him; not that I'd expected him to. He still exudes the calm authority of a person who expects to be obeyed without question.

He's in for a big surprise if he tries to pull that shit with me.

"Ethan," I nod slightly at him as he offers his hand – which I ignore – and the Source crackles to life within me.

"Katy, it has been a long time," he smiles, his hand dropping, "you look well."

"And you look the same," I respond, already bored with his pretense of civility.

"So," he claps his hands, making several Luxen jump, "what brings you here?"

"Just here to pick up my mother." I force a smile onto my face, "Thanks ever so much for looking after her while I was…away."

"Ah, but she doesn't want to leave, ask her yourself," Ethan motions towards my mom, "and of course you're welcome to stay here with her."

Next to me the others tense but I wave them off as my mother steps forward. I won't stay here but if she wants to then I won't stop her either. If that's what she wants. I swallow heavily.

"Hi Mom," I say quietly as she watches me. She looks exactly as I remember. The only thing missing is a set of scrubs.

"Katy?" She asks, giving me a funny look, "You look different."

I cringe. I knew it! She knows, of course she knows! And knowing what happened there's no way she could possibly still…

My thoughts are interrupted as she takes a step forward and hugs me. Wait…what? How can she be…why is she…I mean, she knows so…?

"Katy! Get back!" Ash snaps, her hand landing on my shoulder, "She's not your…"

A familiar sensation sends a tingling up my arms before my ears even register the clicks of two locks sliding into place. It's not an unpleasant sensation – not anymore at least though once it would have put me on the ground in agony. Still, it's almost as irritating a feeling as the sense of being cut off from the Source that accompanies it.

My mother steps back, a smirk on her face that quickly fades to reveal the Luxen who had been masquerading as her.

"Finally!" Ethan exclaims, "We've been looking for you for a very long time. Now at last we can deal with that infuriating boy!"
My eyes drop to my wrists and I tug at them experimentally. I can't move them far though as they remain locked together by a pair of black handcuffs. Handcuffs clearly made of onyx.

Images of my time imprisoned by Daedalus flash before my eyes; varied and numerous beyond belief. Constantly though they return to one particular memory: myself, strapped naked to an onyx table while Arum file in around me.

No.

No!

Never again!

Something inside me snaps.

x-x-x-x-x

"Oh crap," I whisper as Katy's eyes go completely black.

"Get down!" Dawson roars, tugging me away from our sister as the onyx handcuffs explode off her wrists.

I wince as shards of the superheated rock slice through my skin and I shield by eyes but the fragments don't do any real damage. After a second to be sure that the barrage is finished, I look up. My eyes find Katy again in time to see her become cloaked in an oily darkness that seems to claw at the light around us. What in the Hell?

"You brought an Arum here?!" Ethan shrieks, stumbling backwards.

"She's not an Arum!" I shout back but at the moment I'm not really sure myself.

"What do we do?" Dee appears at my side, dragging Andrew behind her. All around us Luxen are fleeing every which way.

Before I can even start to contemplate that question a shiny black blade forms on one of Katy's hands. She darts forward, crashing through the Luxen who impersonated her mother. The female's light vanishes before her body hits the ground and dozens of Luxen freeze. In the middle of the mess Katy floats in the air, momentarily forgotten as the reality of the danger begins to sink into the colony residents.

Blades of darkness begin to sprout all over my sister's body until she looks like a demented porcupine from Hell. Oh no, no, no, no! She isn't!

"Katy stop!" Dee shrieks as Andrew tackles her to the ground, shielding her from the coming attack.

"Beth!" Dawson yanks me backwards, my legs unwilling to work.

Time seems to slow as the blades explode out of my sister. They crawl through the air, the ground, the Luxen like they aren't even there. All around us I see the lights of many Luxen fade before my vision is obscured by my husband.

Time returns to normal as pain lances through my back, forcing the air from my lungs. Dawson shifts on top of me, grimacing and my hands fly over him, probing for injuries. Long, shallow cuts line his back and my fingers come away sticky with blood but they don't seem to be life threatening. Still, I need to see them.

"Dawson!" I try to push him off of me but he's too heavy and I can't get any leverage from this position.

"I'm fine," he groans unconvincingly, "promise. They're just flesh wounds."

Despite myself I giggle and then lean up to kiss him before he stands and pulls me to my feet. All around us lay the bodies of dead and injured Luxen and I hear Dee gasp in horror. What in the Hell did Daedalus do to our sister?

"Everyone ok?" Dawson asks quietly, his eyes and hands examining me for injuries of my own.

I'm fine though and considering Katy is gone again, I don't think we're in any danger of another attack.

"We're good," Andrew whispers, his face pale as he surveys the damage, "but where's my sister?"

Correction. Both Katy and Ash are gone.