Nita stood looking at Daniel. They were in Nita's backyard, along with Kit. It was a relaxed scene, each of them leaning against a tree, in a circle, discussing various topics. What had made her look up at Daniel was that she had felt, rather than heard, a sharp intake of breath coming from His direction. She peered at him curiously.

"What is it?" She asked. "Have you heard of Him?" Kit was describing Dairine's ordeal, after a detailed explanation of what exactly an ordeal was. He had just reached the part when Peach had reappeared as the Winged Defender.

Daniel nodded slowly.

"I have." Nita started. His voice was low and his eyes were black. Pitch black, so black you could see no pupil whatsoever.

"Daniel…" She said, trailing off. His eyes widened as if realizing something.

"I have to go." He said, looking at his watch. "I was supposed to be home ten minutes ago. I'll see you in class tomorrow." With that abrupt excuse he all but fled to the side gate and down the street. Kit looked in bewilderment at Nita.

"What on earth was that?"

"Kit… his eyes were pitch black. They changed when you mentioned Peach." Kit frowned.

"That's weird. I wonder what's wrong." Nita just shook her head in bewilderment.

Nita awoke confused. It was a few seconds before she remembered what she was confused about. It was Daniel. There was going on with him, and try as she and Kit might, the answer eluded them. She had fallen asleep pondering the mystery.

She got up and dressed, thinking all the while. It wasn't until she was rinsing the soggy cornflakes out of her cereal bowl when it hit her.

Ronan.

Ronan! Yes! It all made perfect sense all of the sudden. Daniel's eyes, his agitation when the Winged Defender was brought up…. it all fit. Nita was certain.

Kit!

Aaa! Not so loud! What?

Peach! Ronan! Daniel! She was so excited that she couldn't form a sentence, so she showed him her realization in her head. Daniel had the Defender in his head just like Ronan did.

Nita! You're a genius!

I know! It all fits, doesn't it?

Wait, how do we know for sure?

That stumped Nita. Ronan hadn't realized who was in him until Nita had realized it and told him. And she found out because… She blocked Kit out of her head. She wasn't even sure why, actually, it was just a reflex.

I know how to find out for sure. She made sure to only let that single sentence out of the walls around her current train of thought.

How?

Umm…

She felt him peeking at what she was trying to block out.

Oh.

See you at lunch.

Nita cut the connection. Great. Now she felt guilty about Kit, who Carmela said liked her and she possibly liked back, and on top of all that she now had to deal with Daniel hosting the Defender. Peachy.

In homeroom she looked at Daniel with a mix of excitement and apprehension.

"Hey, Daniel?" He looked at her, his eyes barely meeting hers. She realized he was worried about the previous day.

"Yeah?" He said.

"Oh, um…" She hadn't thought about what do say. 'Hey, I think you've got a super powerful immortal spirit trapped in your head'? He'd think she was crazy, and she didn't even know for sure yet. It was probably better not to say anything until she did.

"I was just wondering if you want to do something after school? Go to central park again?" Good, that was a good plan.

"Ok." He smiled shyly at her.

She told Kit at lunch where they were going, and, when Daniel had gone to get a napkin, that she would tell him any news about the Defender afterwards.

After school Nita and Daniel walked to central park for the second dime. Nita had a strong sense of déjà vu.

"How about here?" Daniel asked, pointing to a bench. Nita looked; a couple was sitting on another a few feet away. Too public.

"Nah. Let's keep walking a little." They stopped after a few more minutes and sat on a bench that was shaded by trees, with no one around. They sat down and Daniel looked at Nita strangely.

"You look a little nervous. Are you ok? What's going on?"

This was very true. How would Daniel react, if the One's Champion really was there? Ronan hadn't coped very well, and he was a wizard. How would a non-wizard react? And then there was the very likely possibility that Daniel was just Daniel, and didn't have the Champion inside him, despite all the evidence. That would be a little awkward. She took a deep breath and looked at Daniel.

He stared back, his face open, and again Nita saw that shadow pass over his eyes. Right. She had to know.

"Daniel?"

"Yeah?"

"I need to do something."

"Go for it." He looked at her expectantly. She took another deep breath, steeled herself, leaned forward, and kissed him.

She vaguely felt his shock, but most of her attention was focused on his mind. She dived into it hurriedly, searching. She looked for the telltale flash of feathers, anything that resembled Peach. She saw nothing. Nothing that resembled Peach, anyway. But there was definitely something else. And that something was definitely not what she had been expecting.

While Daniel's mind was lacking in the red feathers department, it was certainly not lacking in pitch darkness. It was in shock that Nita processed the fact that Daniel's mind was completely, utterly, heart-breakingly pitch black. And not only black, but malevolent. True, the malevolence was not the prominent feeling, but Nita could sense it. And she knew it was not Peach who inhabited the body before her.

Nita jumped back, staring in shock and horror at Daniel. Then her expression morphed into terrified panic, and she turned and sprinted away. Faster and faster, she pounded across the pavement of the path and ducked into the cover of a grove of trees. She heard Daniel running and calling behind her.

"Nita, wait!" His voice sounded desperate, but Nita took no notice.

Unhooking a transit spell from her emergency charm bracelet, she flung it to the ground. She stepped into it, and appeared in Kit's room. He was leaning on the wall reading a book with a picture of the moon on it. She stared at him in shock, then curled up on his bed and closed her eyes. She felt Kit staring at her, but said nothing.

She just couldn't believe this about Daniel. The three of them had grown close in the two short weeks, the two of them especially, Daniel and Nita. They were close friends already, and she enjoyed the time spent with him. And now this… An image of her former friend Prayela flashed into her mind, and she forced it out.

The strangest thing, though, was not the darkness she had seen. It was the light that she had felt inside the darkness. A feeling radiating from the center, directed immediately towards her own invading mind. It had been a blinding sense of… love?