Fuel had stayed at the inn for what felt like forever. He was glad to see that his father was safe and well, but he was restless that no one had seen his best friends or Hinawa since they've left. It was also raining, hard enough to make a strong enough noise to be heard through a closed window. He was also bothered by the fact that he couldn't help search for them and was told to stay inside.

"I guess…catching a cold is better than a dangerous burning forest and weird animals attacking them…" Fuel quietly spoke to himself as he traced circles in the dust on the window seal. He sighed, "I really wish I could help… Seeing Flint look so nervous is so chilling."

"Fuel, go to bed and rest a bit," Lighter advised groggily from his bed.

"But, Daaaad, I'm worried…" Fuel whined and knocked on the cold and closed window.

"Just relax, I'm sure they're fine. God protects us, it's raining to take out that fire after all."

"I…guess so…" Fuel replied. When he moved from the window to get to bed, he mumbled, "I hope so…" to himself in slight doubt and got into bed. He stared at the wall in his sleepless state, he couldn't bare to stare up at another ceiling for awhile even though he preferred to lay on his back. He turned over when he heard that his father was getting up and heading for the door. He got up himself and asked, "Dad, where are you going?"

"I'm restless too," he grunted and headed out of the door.

Fuel got up from the bed and followed after his father. Despite his father seemingly having a twisted leg earlier, the old and tall man was walking just fine except for his sleepiness. Fuel questioned, "What about your rest, dad?"

"When it stops raining, you can help us if they're not found, alright?" he responded and headed out the door.

Fuel was close enough to the door for the rain that blew in to get on his clothes a bit. He wondered if his father gave him a play on words instead of an honest answer. Whether he did or not, there was nothing he could do about it but go back to his 'new room' and rest.

"Lucas, help me out here!" Claus pleaded. It was like Lucas had given up on life with how heavy and limp his body was. "Lucas, don't give up on me, please!" Claus continued to plead when the slope he was trying to march through pushed more mud down his way.

It took Claus breaking his voice by yelling for his help for Lucas to get the will to work his legs. He had given up on life, but Claus obviously hadn't and he didn't want to take him down with him to drown in mud caused by the rough wind and rain. His knees buckled as he supported Claus's back and helped pushed him up the slope. As much as he wanted to let his legs give out once they've reached the top, he knew Claus wouldn't have allowed it.

The two of them held onto the other as they shivered and struggled through the darkness, hard rain and wind that was piercing their worn out ears and bodies. The forest was so dark, not even Claus could find his way around. Eventually, he collapsed onto his hide at the biggest tree he could find and held Lucas close to him. The size of the tree and its leaves that managed to survive the fire shielded a lot of rain from falling on them. Even when they held each other this close, they were still afraid, lost, and cold. Neither of them had the voice to call for help, and at the same time, they didn't want to, fearing that something else would pop out of the dark their young eyes could barely see in.

After awhile, the rain began to slow to a stop. Even though one thing began to settle down, their hearts did not.

"Claus? Lucas?" a female villager called out.

Lucas clung to Claus with a shivering and paler than usual cold hand as he stared up at him with his tired eyes.

Claus gulped and tried to give his voice box a go, giving that his legs were too tired and cold to do anything at this point.

"O-over h-here!"

"Oh! Where?"

"T-the biggest t-tree…" he answered lowly. No matter how much he tried at this point, his body couldn't do anything, not even his voice was much use. He was glad that his arms still worked enough to hold onto Lucas.

It took a few moments until they were found, and when they were, it was the first sense of relief they have felt since this whole ordeal.

Since the twins were rather deep in the forest soaked to an utter mess; Tessie, Bessie, and several other village women cleaned and cared for them the best that they could. The rain thankfully had stopped and they wrapped them up in a large brown blanket that the both of them shared as their damaged clothes hung up to dry. As warm and soothing as the bonfire before them was, it was incredibly unpleasant to look at or even hear for the twins. Lucas was more buried under the blanket than Claus was. He was shielded under him, even if he was a little taller than his older brother.

Claus regained a little of his strength, and thus had a tighter hold on Lucas and rested his chin in his hair. He hated the sight of the fire as much as Lucas did, but he was able to stare at it without much grief.

"Boys, you got separated from Hinawa..?" Tessie asked as she sat down in front of them. Neither of the boys responded to her question, but she did see that Claus's eyes gave off some sort of answer she couldn't grasp. She was ready to try another question until she heard that someone else was running their way over to the camp. When she turned around, she saw that it was Fuel and she greeted him with a hello.

"Claus, Lucas! You're okay!" Fuel exclaimed and ran over to his friends. When the two of them looked up at him, Claus's expression gave off a hint of vulnerability and Lucas looked the most terrified Fuel had ever seen him. When Fuel's eyes looked around a bit, without totally turning his attention away from his friends, he realized Hinawa was not here. He was afraid to ask, but he was going to sit down next to them until he was dragged off by an adult far away from them.

Fuel was annoyed by this, but he could understand why he was moved away from them. He just sat to himself, content with just seeing that they were okay, but he couldn't help but have an ill feeling about Hinawa that made his stomach hurt a little bit. He saw Flint run his way over to his kids and smiled with a little more relief that some things were beginning to turn out right.

Claus and Lucas immediately rose up from the blanket cocoon they conceived and ran into their father's open arms. They were glad to be in his large arms because they finally felt completely safe and at home. The hug lasted longer than any hug the either of them gotten from Flint, and once done, he urged for them to sit back down and wrap back up in their blankets.

The twins watched their father go around conversing and questioning everyone that was there. They felt extreme guilt that they knew the answer, but they couldn't tell him; and they used their worn out voices as an excuse as to not tell him legitimately. Heavy and frantic foot steps caught the attention of everyone, especially the highly alert and timid twins. It was Bronson, and he looked horrified; this struck a heavy pang in both of their stomach and hearts, because he was holding a large bloodied fang.

"Flint, I have some good news and bad news!" Bronson began as he caught his breath. Once he had a proper posture and his voice wasn't as hoarse, he continued, "The good news is, I found a drago fang! There is nothing else like those when it comes to useful tools!" When he saw Flint's unamused expression, he gulped and decided to just spit out the bad news. "The bad news is…where I found it. I…found it in your wife's heart."

The twins hid their faces from the other adults. They felt much guilt and fear because they knew she was dead all along but had said nothing. They felt even worse that they couldn't even tell their father, let alone build up the will to. While the twins were hiding their faces, they heard a terrifyingly vicious noise of wood slamming down on the fire that once kept them warm. When they opened their eyes, they saw that their father hit Ollie with a charred piece of large wood.

Lucas winced and returned his position under Claus's chest. But hearing the frantic yells of the adults caused him to peek an eye at the chaos. The very chaos that crawled down to the pit of his sensitive stomach.

"Flint! Flint! Your kids are watching! Your kids are watching!" Bronson yelled in desperation as he tried to wrestle the the large piece of wood from the raging reckless man.

The very man that Claus used to admire like no other and felt so safe around now terrified him. His snarls, the way his blows made people fly yards away from where they once stood, and simply his lack of sense was scary. He felt that if hearing the news from Bronson could rile such a hellish wrath out of Flint, he could only imagine what he could possibly do them for not telling him first. The mere thought caused his heart to ache as he desperately held his quaking brother as close to him as he could, as if he was trying to pull him into his heart.

Fuel was just as scared as the twins were. As much as he wanted to go over to them and huddle into a the hug with them, he feared that he would get smashed on the way there. As always when he panicked, he wished for his father to be here and take care of things as he used to. But today, he seemed to be letting him down until he saw his father rush in sight. Fuel felt his hope start to be restored until he saw his father smash his own large piece of wood into the back of Flint's head, shattering the hope of things being fixed.

Claus's grip on Lucas was an unbreakable constriction now. His eyes were so wide with horror he could swear they could pop out of their sockets; something he wouldn't mind happening at the moment. No matter how much Lucas desperately asked him 'what happened', he refused to tell him or let him see.

The next morning was incredibly solemn for the entire population of Tazmilly. Despite all that had happened yesterday, Claus and Lucas woke up from their sleep over and over, having the exact same dream as if their minds were connected; dreams of her screams, forest flames, and murky dark water that engulfed them. Claus wasn't in the most formal of funeral attire, he was in black shorts with a white shirt that was accompanied with a tie. While Lucas reluctantly got dressed, he left the inn, feeling his heart squeeze and bleed at hearing Lucas's tantrum.

"Where is he going?" Bessie asked concerned and alarmed.

Lucas sniffled, "To get Fuel…"

Fuel was over at where his house used to be. It was almost a hard task to do because of all the open space and charred paths. He almost lost his way, but his heart managed to guide him to the rubble that the sun shined on. His favorite old stump somehow managed to survive the blaze and he sat on it as he stared at his house. For whatever reason, as much as he stared, he couldn't cry, even as much as he wanted to. He watched little clots of ash roll around and make weird noises. He hadn't a clue on what they were, but he had an urge to kick them in frustration.

If only he could get up from his stump he would

"Fuel," Claus called for Fuel in his now weak voice.

Fuel turned around and frowned at the sight of Claus's stoic expression. He replied, "Hey, Claus…"

"You're…not coming?" he asked, still trying to keep his emotions in check. He felt that if he managed to keep his emotions and tears inside, Lucas could possibly feel better and not scream or dry his eyes out anymore. He also figured that since Lucas favored Fuel so much in the past, that him being there would put him at ease as well. This wasn't his only reason he came to pick up their friend, he genuinely wanted Fuel there himself, because he was family to them, even if he had no desire to admit it.

Fuel sighed and got up from his slightly burnt stump. After giving his rubble home one last look, he turned to Claus and locked his amber eyes with Claus's emerald ones and said, "I'm sorry."

Claus looked at him confused and quietly asked, "Why?" As often as he and Fuel went at each other's hair in rivalry in just about everything, he was honestly confused and surprised to hear Fuel say such words and so solemnly.

Fuel brushed his fingers through his auburn hair and answered, "Because I am being sad over a lost house…while you and Lucas lost your mom and…Flint being hurt and…and…" Fuel could barely explain himself without starting his water works.

Claus frowned and gave him a close hug; the closest he had ever given Fuel. He rested his chin on his jerking shoulders and patted him on the back. "Lets go, Fuel," he said and grabbed his hand. He did not walk as he was waiting for confirmation if he wanted to go or not. When Fuel tightened his grip on his hand, he pressed forward.

At the arrival of the funeral, Lucas was on his knees crying loudly as he clung onto their mother's grave stone. At the sight of this, Claus immediately released his hold on Fuel's hand and hurried to Lucas. He got on his own knees and gripped his little brother's shoulders tightly, unsure of what to say or do, especially with the feeling his heart was giving him; it was like it so broken it could no longer beat, but it struggled to regardless.

"Lucas…" he murmured to him and brushed his blonde hair.

Lucas was simply devastated, even with Claus petting through his hair.

Claus gulped when he saw more people cover their mouths and turn their heads away in utter pity. So much, that it made their hearts sink at the sight of broken down children at the grave holding onto each other. They even started to leave, muttering 'poor things', as they left. Claus didn't understand this, he wanted to know why they were all leaving, leaving him behind with his twin he had no idea on how to help. The only one who hadn't left was Fuel; if their grandfather were here, he hoped he wouldn't have left them too.

The minute Fuel joined in on the hug he wanted to be in since last night, Claus finally cried and clung to the both of them.