Ridge, in true Ridge style, had thrown an enormous and elaborate party in honor of Xephos' release. The entire dining area to his mansion was decorated with streamers and ribbons and bunting and banners galore, covering every square inch of the room with some form of party decoration. Music boomed loudly around the room, and torches lit up the area with a warm yellow glow, illuminating the masses of food piled up high on silver platters on the grand dark oak table. Unusually though, while normally Ridge himself would be getting stuck into the food, boogying with everyone else, today he found himself leaning against the fireplace, with a single cocktail in his hand, and none of it in his belly. He swilled the liquid around in his glass, regretting how this party was being held not out of genuine happiness, merely just to blot out and overshadow Rythian's departure.

Nevertheless, the others had taken the excuse to have a good time. Sips, Sjin and Ravs were suitably hammered, blabbering to themselves about dirt and beer and more dirt and even more beer, glugging down pint after pint all the while; Nilesy was chatting to Xephos himself, most likely boring him to death about pools and pool accessories (and maybe hinting at the best place to buy them) but Xephos seemed interested enough. Lomadia and Kim were comforting Zoeya, who seemed a little shaken up by Rythian's exit, but it seemed she thought it wasn't entirely unexpected.

Lalna swaggered up to Ridge, a little tipsy, but nothing more, mug of beer in his hand, frothing over the ridge. "So…Ridge…what's brought all this about, then?"

"Are you suggesting it's out of character for me to hold an event such as this?" Ridge asked, over the chatter in the room.

"No…well…I don't know…" Lalna said, drinking deep from his glass. "…I'd give a different answer now to if you asked me a couple of weeks ago."

Ridge shrugged, swirling his drink again. "All of this business has just been playing on my mind recently; stressing me out, y'know?"

"I get you." Lalna said, nodding, growing increasingly groggy.

"I'm over it now. Just needed to tie up a few loose ends. No need to get bogged down with stress."

"No use crying over spilt milk." Lalna agreed.

"Exactly." Ridge said, watching as the scientist began to wobble over to where Lomadia, Kim and Zoeya were chatting, making them giggle. He turned to look at the others stuffing their faces with food, when he felt a soft tap on his shoulder. He looked to his right, and saw none other than his own brother standing there.

"Hi, Xephos."

"Uh…hello, Ridgedog."

"Call me Ridge."

"Oh, okay."

There was a small awkward pause.

"Did you want to ask me something?"

"Oh! Yes – yes I did. I wanted to ask why you let me out."

"We're friends now, Xephos. It didn't seem right to keep you in that tank."

"Hmmm. Okay."

"You're not satisfied with that answer?"

"I think I asked the wrong question. Why did you let me out now? Was it because Rythian left?"

Ridge took a swig of his drink before answering. "Well…yes and no. You saw what happened earlier."

"Rythian…he…he was going to kill me, wasn't he?"

Ridge nodded forlornly. "Yes, most likely. That's because he has some degree of xenophobia."

"Xenophobia?"

"It's when you feel afraid or threatened by something that is 'foreign'. That's not Rythian's fault, you have to understand. He's had a difficult life. He hates himself."

"Why?"

"He blames himself for something terrible that happened a long time ago."

"Oh."

"You have to understand something, Xephos. The creatures that walk the earth at night – they come from different worlds."

"Like me?"

"In some ways. You are much more intelligent than anything we've seen before. But since creatures that wander around during the night are hostile, being much more intelligent could also make you much more dangerous – you understand?"

"Is that why I had to stay in the tank?"

"Yes. But we knew quite early on that you weren't a threat. We just had to make sure that no one here would be a threat to you. And you know how Rythian was talking earlier about how you…about how you were a demon?"

"Yes."

"Well, he himself is a demon. Only in part, though. He is an Enderborn, a hybrid between a human and an Enderman. And that is the part of him he hates – the demon part. And he hates it more because a demon was responsible for the death of his family. I think what happened is that Rythian assumed that because you came from another world, you were also a demon, and you had come to finish the job by killing him. He was just afraid. People don't think straight when they're afraid."

"And they get mad."

"Sometimes. But you can't blame people for it, and you can't blame Rythian for it either. He's a good guy. Some people might not always agree, but he has been my friend for a long time and I know it's just the fear that's driving him to this. He doesn't hate you. You're a good guy too."

"I guess."

"Don't be upset, Xephos. He'll be back, and then you can make friends with him. But while he's not here, you're free to go wherever you want in the complex."

"Just in the complex?"

"Well, before you can go outside on your own, you have to learn to defend yourself. There are monsters out there – it's dangerous."

"Rythian said that, before we dueled each other."

"Yes, and you floored him. I heard."

"I don't know how I did that, though."

"Well, we don't need to recreate the exact circumstances…"