Chapter 37: Platinum Reunion

What little sense he possessed told Ferrum that he was alive, not exactly eager to move any part of his body, but alive. He did manage to open his eyes, which instantly caused a fair bit of pain in the ol' peepers. The fire elemental squeezed them shut immediately; worried of continuing hurt if he gazed at the world again. After about five minutes of silence, Ferrum figured he was alone and wouldn't disturb anyone if he reacted badly to the condition of not just his eyes but the rest of his body.

Ok Ferrum, just do it, just do it right now, get it over with.

The alchemist suddenly moved every single limb at once, determined to relieve the stiffness of his muscles and joints. His eyes followed soon after to try to blink away the soreness in them. Sadly, the man's bravado of standing up to the universe's hickies was met with a full on assault on every nerve in his skin. He couldn't help letting out a horrifying shout of pain as his tendons twitched from the agony of movement.

A few seconds later, Ferrum's sense of touch vanished, leaving him to numbly lie there, wherever he was. The ceiling was not particularly recognizable, being made of the same volcanic material that composed the majority of the Fire Kingdom. He sighed, waiting for something to happen. Luckily, it was only a few moments later that the sound of approaching footsteps was heard nearby.

Ferrum tried turning his neck, but the instant pain gave him a harsh negative to his action. The alchemist groaned, but was at least happy that his eyes had stopped throbbing thanks to a minute of careful blinking. What transpired next however, made his vision pop out so wide that the hurt came back.

"Oh for Glob's sake! You idiot! If you keep moving your pain will just bite you again!"

The alchemist was startled by the loud voice, unfortunately causing further feelings of stabbing due to the jerking of his body. His sight was also fuzzy from the excessive bulging that had been forced. As he groaned again from the reaction, he saw the blurred figure of a female fire elemental standing next to him. He scoffed a bit as he attempted to reorient himself, again.

"Sorry lady but Glob isn't exactly the most dependable person right now."

Ferrum saw the woman raise her hand and bring it down on his temple, delivering further suffering to the poor guy, who couldn't even risk bringing up his hand to rub the aching spot on his skull. He only managed to whine a little.

"Stop being such a baby. Just lay still while I take care of your messed up insides."

The blurry figure seemed to sit down, as her form lowered a bit closer to the floor. She reached over and took a strange jar from what Ferrum assumed was a table next to the apparent bed he was lying on. The burning humanoid then began lathering whatever substance that was inside the container onto the alchemist's arms, giving the nerves a soothing feeling that nearly made the man let out a relaxed sigh. However, what kept him from doing so was the odd sense of familiarity that was around the fiery lady. He gazed curiously at her as he struggled to readjust his eyes.

The two fire elementals remained in silence for a while until the woman finished applying the weird cream or whatever that was somehow nonflammable. She sat with her arms in her lap, likely staring into Ferrum's blurred eyes, since he could tell which direction her head was positioned in. He let out a breath.

"Ok, sorry for acting like a wuss, I just thought it would be the appropriate response to having every bit of the Fire Kingdom's energy transferred through my body."

The woman tilted her head.

"How do you know that's what's causing the pain?"

Ferrum smirked.

"I'm an alchemist, I know a lot about energy flows."

As he said it, he was sure he'd get another smack for being a bit arrogant while he was the one nearly crippled on a bed. However, instead, the man saw the face of the lady come closer to him.

"Then maybe, this will help…"

As the bedridden fire elemental felt his eyes grow wider, his companion leaned down closer and placed her lips against his. Instantly, Ferrum could feel his flames grow out a few inches, along with a rejuvenation to his internal heat, seemingly fixing the tangled up energy flow that resulted from the extreme amount of power that he had conducted through his body earlier.

As for the kiss, he had not seen it coming in the least. Regardless, his heart rate had increased significantly and his mind was quite occupied with wondering who this girl was. He knew her from somewhere, the feel of her lips was known to him, but from where? Rather than ponder further though, he gently closed his own eyes and returned the action. Time seemed to slip away momentarily as Ferrum suddenly used his heart instead of his brain to figure things out.

He reached out to her, using the recovering flow within him to search out the lady's own heart. There was no resistance from her energy, which seemed to go so far as to guide him to her beating organ. As a link was established between them, Ferrum's eyes nearly flung open. But he didn't dare interrupt; he could hardly believe what was happening and did not in the slightest want to end it.

The alchemist experimentally tried moving his arm. Pleasantly enough, it didn't send needles through his nerves to do so. He went further, wiggling his fingers to try to unstiffen them. He succeeded. Taking the next action, Ferrum slowly lifted his hand up to meet the cheek of the girl settled over him. She didn't reject the contact when he finally felt the soft skin of her face; if nothing it made her lean into him even more. The joined pair held the kiss so long that both lost track of time, not quite sure if it even existed while they continued the act.

Eventually, Ferrum felt a drop of fresh lava fall on his face. A second later came another, then another, until the drops became a thin stream flowing onto his skin from that of the woman. Reactivating his other arm, the man reached up carefully and ever so precisely cleared the line of tears from the girl's gently shut eyes. Feeling that the kiss was coming to an end, Ferrum loosened his lips and allowed the lady to sit back upright.

His vision had fully returned by this point, granting the man a clear view of the fire elemental next to him. She had the same, rare, humanoid form as Flame Princess, with obvious differences including her age, which seemed close to Ferrum's, her braided hair, which was slung over her left side, and a hidden expression upon her face that suggested she was a nurturer, ever ready to help those in need.

While her appearance was proof enough for the alchemist, it was further given by the necklace that was hanging from her neck. The chain itself was nothing that special, a basic design that Ferrum himself had worked with many times, but the real attraction was the heart shaped locket that was suspended from the silver links. Just by sight, he knew what it was made of, and the fact that he made it. The blacksmith never forgot a project or craft, that's just how dedicated he was to quality. Each accomplishment was worth recognizing for all time.

This particular work meant a great deal of significance to him, since the locket's twin never left the security of his neck. He felt like reaching up to make sure it was still there, but that was unnecessary. In all the activity, Ferrum hadn't noticed until now that the platinum heart lying against his chest had warmed up slightly. Contained within the locket were two things: a picture of himself, along with the woman he had fallen in love with and swore to protect, and a tiny object that few people, even fire elementals, would recognize.

It was a tiny fragment of someone's elemental matrix, her elemental matrix; the girl that still gazed down at Ferrum as he continued to lie in bed, since he hadn't had the chance to restore movement to the rest of his body. She reached up with her hand and brought it to her collar, where she took hold of the identical copy of the alchemist's necklace.

The contents of hers were nearly the same: a picture of her and the man she'd fallen in love with, along with a fragment of an elemental matrix, which just so happened to be Ferrum's. Years ago, to symbolize their connection, the alchemist had extracted a tiny piece of both his own and his love's fiery core, exchanging them so as to always have the other within reach.

Since an elemental's matrix was adjacent to their heart, it stood to reason that the link Ferrum had created with the girl moments ago had also linked their cores, which caused the fragments within their lockets to burn brighter and hotter. This was the final evidence that revealed the woman's identity, not that Ferrum was ignorant enough to have not figured it out the moment his heart had forged a bond with hers. He had done it before, which explained why it was so easy the second time.

"Flara…"

The female fire elemental stared back into the man's eyes, peering deeply into his pupils as he struggled to speak past the shock in his mind.

"…why did you…"

The girl took hold of Ferrum's hand in her own, proceeding to gently stroke the back of it with her thumb. Her lips finally managed to form a half-hearted smile, which immediately caused the incapacitated man's heart to beat a little faster.

"To say thank you, for helping to save everyone, including me and my mother."

She hesitated for a moment, deciding what to say next. Ferrum patiently waited, continuing his magnetic hold on the lady's beautiful face.

"And to apologize…for doubting you."

The alchemist lie stunned, disbelieving that such words would be leaving the girl's mouth. The incident all those years ago was a grievous scar on his heart, reminding him of how cautious he had to be when using the full extent of his powers. He had caused great damage to the city, along with the deaths of several fire elementals. Sure they were vicious and vile thugs but their fates were undeserving nonetheless. What was worst of all for Ferrum, was that he had broken a promise he'd made to the woman he loved.

"But…what I did-"

Flara quickly reached up and placed a finger over the man's lips. She lightly shook her head before resuming eye contact with the alchemist.

"Ferrum, no being, mortal or otherwise, is safe from making a mistake. I've made many, and done my best to make up for them. Your friend Finn, the human who would give anything to protect these lands, has more than made up for his. Our ruler, who once rampaged across the outside world and nearly leveled the Goblin Kingdom, has transformed not only her own values but those of the other fire elementals, granting us peace with the rest of Ooo. And you, the one who helped save the kingdom twice now, and was fully forgiven for what happened all that time ago, now stand as its only hope for surviving the coming invasion."

The girl scooted closer in her chair.

"Outside of this infirmary, the people are waiting for you to get back up, to fight for our home. We all need you to stand up and help us face the coming threat."

Flara reached her arms over to grasp Ferrum's back and chest, beginning to help him sit up in bed. It took some effort, but the man managed to become upright. Following this, the female elemental stretched her arms further and embraced him. For a while, he was still too astonished to move, then gradually placed his hands around her back to return the affection.

"What happened on the dam wasn't your fault. You were concerned for my safety and momentarily weren't yourself. I can't hold that against you, no matter what I think of people with your level of power."

Flara separated from the hug and held Ferrum at arm's length.

"You've used your might more responsibly that most beings in this land; to protect and serve those who you care about and the very ground you call home. It was one of my mistakes to judge your actions so long ago."

The girl frowned deeply and slowly lowered her head, signaling that some unpleasant memories had been brought up. Without hesitation, Ferrum raised his arms and pulled the young woman to his chest, where she seemed to snuggle into him for comfort. The alchemist rested his cheek on the top of her head and finally responded.

"You never told me, where your distaste of power came from. You always asked that I not talk about it. But now, I'd like to try again."

Flara sniffled a bit and placed her arms gently around the man's waist.

"My father. He was a proud soldier serving under the former Flame King, a noble and fierce defender of the kingdom. However, around the time I turned ten, he was given a promotion that brought him close to the king. As the months dragged on, his personality became more cruel and violent, to the point where one day I saw him strike my mom. Every day, I was scared that he would come visit from the military, bringing with him only abuse and sour emotions."

Flara tightened her grip around Ferrum.

"He took advantage of his position constantly. One day, I snuck into his documents and found evidence that he was responsible for helping the king extinguish his brother. He had brutally incapacitated the man's guards, allowing the tyrant to end his sibling's life."

The woman sniffled again.

"My father caught me in the act, burning up the evidence before giving a harsh punishment."

She took an arm and laid it on the left side of her abdomen.

"The scar still hurts sometimes."

Ferrum increased his hold on the girl, wanting to do whatever he could to comfort her and push away the bad memories. She resumed.

"I never believed that power brought any good, it only gave a pass for individuals to take advantage, get past the important restraints of the law and carry out their own sick schemes. It stayed that way for me…until you came along."

Flara tilted her head up to look Ferrum in the eyes. Hers were leaking lava again.

"You showed me how one can use their influence to redeem themselves, the determination to fix any slip in action that would cause discord. Ever since the dam incident, you worked hard to regain the community's trust, and you did. Now here you are, permitted, with great honor, to resume using alchemy to your best judgment and praised for saving the Fire Kingdom and its citizens."

The girl gazed in silence for a moment into Ferrum's caring eyes.

"Can you accept your mistakes? Can you realize, like I did, that they are a natural part of life?"

The male fire elemental pondered carefully as Flara awaited a response. The man recalled his faults; the loss of his temperament, the blind anger that caused him to break the rules of alchemy, the destruction that raged across much of the city because of it. Then he switched over, thinking what had been accomplished.

He had never again slipped up while performing a Catalyst reaction. He had never again lost his temper, even when the situation would definitely trigger it. He had learned firsthand what responsibilities lay within the powerful art of transmutation. He had learned discipline and control in the army, values that he could never disregard. Mistakes. Were they really mistakes, or were they lessons that spread beyond the teacher or a room filled with other learners?

Trial and error, loss and gain, success and failure. All of these were imbued into the very fabric of life, challenges that individuals and groups must overcome to advance the understanding of life and its treasures. Ferrum himself had experienced all of them, sometimes with triumph, sometimes with failure. His own father had once told him: 'Each step you take on the journey to your future is only overcome when you learn something.'

The alchemist slowly craned his neck until his forehead was resting against Flara's. He closed his eyes.

"I can. But you don't have to apologize. I should have realized it myself long ago."

The woman brought up her hand to separate their temples, only to gaze once more into Ferrum's dark yet welcoming eyes.

"I have one more question to ask, if you're willing to answer."

The man reached up and placed his own hand on the one covering part of his jaw, feeling Flara's smooth skin.

"Of course."

The female elemental took great concentration in keeping her eyes locked on his. She clearly barely had the mental strength to look him in the eyes while asking her final question.

"Do you…still have any love for me?"

Instead of using a verbal response, Ferrum reached down and took hold of his locket, bringing it up to show the young woman. She replied by holding up her own charm in her palm. Both fiery beings joined their hands, interlacing fingers as their respective trinkets grew hotter from the proximity to each other. It was this very trait that brought Ferrum to implement the same function to Finn and FP's rings.

While the two hearts pulsed vibrantly between the two fire elementals' palms, the alchemist gave a warm smile to his companion.

"It never faded or rusted, always staying as pure as platinum."

Flara's eyes watered (so to speak) as she felt the words drift into her ears. In a flash, she fired her lips back into Ferrum's, catching him in a kiss to demonstrate just how happy she was that her own misjudgment had been put aside without a second thought from the man she loved. Naturally, he returned the gesture and wrapped his arms back around the woman, overjoyed to be reunited with her and to finally right the final wrong in his life.

Eventually, they separated and stared once more into each other's eyes, attempting to catch up simply by gazing into their souls. Both gave a smile, then one last hug before Flara got to her feet and took Ferrum's hands in hers.

"Ready?"

The alchemist nodded, preparing to stand up. With a little pull from the young lady, he used his own strength to shift himself over and place his legs to the ground. Next, he braced his hips and forced his thigh muscles to lift him up from the bed. As he stood there, he was surprised and delighted to not have his lower body screaming in pain from the sudden movements.

He chuckled lightly, earning a giggle from Flara. The two continued to smile at each other until they couldn't help it anymore and brought themselves in for another hug. The contact grew out both their flames, which seemed to almost swirl together in an embrace of their own. Shifting their faces over, the pair shared yet another kiss, feeling like it was an act long overdue.

As the contact between their lips grew in length, Ferrum suddenly felt a different presence in the room. The behavior of his energy flow determined that it was a familiar form, new to him, but still known. He allowed his curiosity to separate him from Flara's face. At first, she assumed he was just ending the kiss out of lack of breathing, but then noticed the questioning look on his face.

"What is it Ferrum?"

The alchemist frowned a bit as he continued to sense the strong energy around them. He turned his neck slightly to look around the infirmary. There seemed to be no one else there besides himself and Flara. Then he looked at the ground, causing an instant gasp from the man. The young woman followed the path of his sight and gazed at the floor, also letting out an expression of shock.

An average mass of low flames were surrounding them, colored a light shade of pink. While this characteristic itself was odd, what caught the most attention was the shape that the fires were burning in. After a moment of study, the two fire elementals determined that the vibrant combustion had taken the form of a distinct double-ended arrow, which of course, only Ferrum recognized.

His eyes went wide as he stared in astonishment at the event. The flames remained in their position for another minute or so before beginning to retreat, snaking along the floor to the bed behind Flara. Both elementals shifted and turned to watch the fire's exodus, which progressively called for it to crawl up the frame and onto the mattress it held. Finally, the sentient trials of combustion phased into their source, an unconscious Solara, resting peacefully on the covers.

Ferrum regained the rest of his senses as he laid eyes upon his dear friend.

"Solara!"

He rushed over to her side, placing a hand on her arm and looking with concern at the angelic woman's motionless face. Flara joined the man and gazed sadly at the Ancestral Flame's form. Ferrum suddenly remembered a question he thought of earlier and swung his head to face the elemental next to him.

"How long was I out for?"

Flara sighed with a bit of discomfort and looked back to Solara.

"About 42 hours."

This news definitely struck hard. In the current crisis, nearly two days could mean absolute conquest. Flara seemed to read the man's expression and took his free hand in hers.

"Don't worry, the Martians haven't found us. The dark-zone that you and Solara created made us practically invisible. Although, they have set up some sort of station across the lake. We think they're using it to drain energy from the lava beyond the city's borders."

Ferrum was reasonably distraught at the last part but was thankful that the kingdom had gone unnoticed. That however, could be subject to change. The man processed all this as he gazed back at the precursor. Although the white entity now held the collective thermal energy of several square miles, her features seemed calm and peaceful, stating that there was no struggle to contain the monstrous power.

He smiled, thankful that his friend, and distant mother for that matter, was safe. Flara noticed his mood and smiled as well.

"She'll be fine, probably just exhausted from holding in all that energy."

Ferrum nodded and stroked Solara's arm for a moment, then backed away from the bed and let out a breath.

"I guess she'll have to stay like that until we deal with the Martians."

The young woman beside him nodded sadly. The alchemist turned to her, intent on finding out more information.

"So what else has gone on since I was out?"

Flara motioned for the man to follow her out of the room, giving one last look at the coma-like state of Solara. As the pair walked down the next corridor, Ferrum finally noticed other fire elementals scurrying through the building. Most of them gave friendly smiles and a wave as they went on their way. Flara led him through the various hallways until they came to the entrance, which seemed quite packed with fire soldiers.

"What's going on?" the alchemist asked his companion as they made their way through the crowd of military personnel.

"Prince Torcho handed over his substitution rule to the queen's brother, as per the protocol of a potential conflict. Currently, the kingdom's entire force is patrolling the outer limits, making sure that no Martians discover that we're out here."

Outside, the land was quite dark, lit only by the occasional fire elemental walking by. Other than that, the streets were cloaked in near perfect darkness. It was a strange sight for a place such as the Fire Kingdom but then again, circumstances didn't exactly call for normality.

"Travel throughout the kingdom has been heavily restricted; of course, no one's going to stop you, since we'd all be done for if you and Solara hadn't stepped in."

Ferrum grunted an agreement and stared along the horizon, barely sighting platoons of soldiers making their rounds to secure the borders. After a bit more walking, they duo made it to the palace, which had its windows covered up by recently hardened lava.

"They can't risk painting the palace as a target; all light is prohibited near it. Since it's serving as the command center though, the military had to cover up any access to the outside due to the number of fire elementals inside."

The alchemist understood that logic. The last thing they needed was a giant nightlight to tell the Martian cruisers exactly where to shoot. He and Flara proceeded toward the entrance, where four guards were manning the gate. As the pair approached, they gave a salute to Ferrum and stepped aside, instantly letting them pass into the castle. Confused, they went on in with a questioning look.

The throne room had undergone quite the change since Ferrum had last seen it. The space in front of the ruler's seat was occupied by a large circular table, which depicted a map of Ooo along most of its area. What little space was left uncovered by the cartography was filled in by stacks of papers, presumably reports and other bits of information. Lining the perimeter of the table was every high ranking military leader in the kingdom, including all the generals and a few colonels. At the head of the table, seated in the throne itself, was Flame Princess's brother, listening carefully as one of the generals read out a recent movement along the northern borders.

The man noticed as Ferrum and Flara approached and held up a hand to quiet the speaker. Everyone else turned to observe the arriving pair and watched as they reached the lip of the table and took a small bow. The alchemist then added in a salute.

"Good to see you again, sir."

FP's brother nodded with a grin.

"Likewise…lieutenant."

Ferrum's reaction revealed the obvious surprise at the man's statement. The prince just smirked.

"Yeah that's right, you've been reinstated, whether you like it or not."

The alchemist took a step forward, still confused.

"Sir, I have no problem serving the cause but, I never reached the rank of-"

"Tough luck buddy, after much debate, and by that I mean about five seconds of us proposing it and nodding our heads in agreement, you've been promoted. Congratulations."

Flara wrapped herself around her man's arm and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"That's math Ferrum! I'm so happy for you."

The alchemist remained stunned for a few moments before finally shaking it off and giving a humble smile to the girl, then turning back to the gathered leadership. He gave another firm salute, which was answered back by every other militant in the room, including the prince himself. With that, FP's brother motioned for Ferrum to join them at the table.

The decorated leader cleared his throat as attention was called back to the issues at hand.

"General Carbo, if you would continue from where you left off?"

The man who had been speaking before nodded and used a pointer stick to circle a section of the Fire Kingdom on the map.

"Their parties have reached the cliffs here, followed up by several patrols of mechs here, here, and here."

The fire elemental carefully indicated each spot with his tool as the report continued.

"From what we can tell, their strange aircraft use pure atomic heat to drive their engines. We suspect the lava is being concentrated and pressurized to meet the demand for energy, since their home world is too far away to be sending supplies."

The prince rubbed his chin in deep thought, and then turned to Ferrum.

"Do you have any input on the situation, lieutenant?"

The alchemist studied the map intently as the board of generals patiently waited. He noted several volcanoes in the area and raised an eyebrow at their exact locations. The man took a pointer and used it to move several markers over to the spots the destructive mountains represented.

"With some well-placed detonations, eruptions could be triggered at these epicenters, which would result in a massive lava flow that would be carried down the valley here."

He indicated with his pointer.

"They may be more advanced, but the Martians' eyes and ears are limited without direct presence. Their mechanical infantry and tanks won't be able to retreat very quickly out of this crevice, and since their siphoning is taking place here…"

More pointing.

"…then that would likely put their launch stations for the aircraft on the other side of this ridge."

The militants watched closely as Ferrum moved more markers over the geographic map.

"If they're smart, they'll have already realized that Ooo's geography and varied environments makes it difficult for an all-terrain attack, air support is their greatest resource. If that can be eliminated then we've got a shot at outflanking the ground units with the aid of our home-field advantage."

Ferrum put down the pointer and gazed about the room. The leaders were quietly debating his look on the matter. They nodded, whispered some, acted out some movements with their hands, and then finally turned back to the prince. The queen's brother gestured for his board to present their opinions.

"We agree on the idea, explosives are readily available."

"Scouts can confirm the positioning of the 'airfield' within the hour."

"A group can be put together in no time."

"But…"

All heads turned to General Carbo.

"While I believe it is a sound strategy, we unfortunately can't provide any defensive units or equipment for the operation. You're likely to be taking heavy fire from the infantry and tanks while triggering the eruptions. We just don't have enough spare personnel to cover the task."

The room sighed with frustration as everyone stared with a frown at the map. Ferrum cursed under his breath, having not taken into account the lack of resources. Suddenly though, a small voice broke through the room, gathering all attention.

"I might be able to help with that."

The head of each fire elemental turned to the front of the room, where a tiny flambit was standing with a confident grin on his face. Ferrum's eyes went wide with both shock and relief.

"Flambo! Am I glad to see you."

The flame sprite chuckled a bit.

"Heh, you too brotha."

The flambit sprang across the floor on all fours and hopped onto the table. FP's brother furrowed his brow and looked to his lieutenant.

"I'm assuming you vouch for this little guy?"

The alchemist nodded, prompting the prince to give Flambo a gesture to proceed.

"When those crazy ships shows up I went ahead and figured we'd need some backup see? So I gathered a few guys who might be able to helps us out with our odds."

The little flame creature turned around and motioned towards the front of the room where he had been standing. The group now noticed a small assortment of beings lurking in the shadows of the corridor heading out of the palace. While Flambo held up his tiny hand as if to present them, the assembled stepped forward.

One of them was a short fellow wearing what appeared to be half a banana peel as his clothes. He gave a friendly wave. Next came a rather curious individual wearing a purple robe, who had a flower sprouting from the top of his head. He also waved, with his long finger-nailed hands, and gave a smile. On his shoulder sat a most peculiar creature, one that Ferrum thought looked vaguely similar to Finn's bear hat. It shared its companion's friendly grin.

Beside the odd pair were two very familiar faces. A duo of robotic beings were both looking directly at Ferrum. A green game console sat on top of the microwave section of a fellow robot's body. The tread-equipped machine gave a wave with his one arm and a determined grin that was held by his companion as well.

The group walked up to the ring of leaders and stood at attention to properly present themselves. FP's brother stood up and placed his arms behind his back, carefully studying the ragtag gang. He turned to Flambo and the alchemist.

"You really think they can help?"

The two fiery beings at the other end of the table nodded before looking back at their allies. Banana Man, the Maji of Life Giving with Little Dude, Beemo, and NEPTR all looked eager to contribute their part to saving their home. Ferrum knew the robots, and had at least heard of the others at one point or another thanks to stories from Finn, and was well aware of each of their abilities. The man crossed his arms and gave a determined grin of his own.

The prince nodded and gave a salute to the group. They all returned the gesture.

"Alright then, let's get to work."

Actually a lot to say this time...

1.) Here's the 'new deal' (pardon my Roosevelt), I will continue to write COT chapters every other night, but then I'll use the following morning to proofread it, since I've gotten pretty tired of handing you guys stuff packed full of grammar errors. Basically, update time has been sprung about 6 hours forward, more or less.

2.) Due to overwhelming support, I will be continuing my new fic 'Yin-Yang.' I'll fit in a chapter on it whenever I can, which are luckily shorter than these.

3.) Sorry for the extra EXTRA delay on this chapter.

4.) With a request from a fellow reader/author (Xerion) I will now be responding to any reviews that contain a question or something that's respond-able. I've thought about it before but never got around to it, but since I like filling requests, there you have it. This is in effect as of NOW for all future fics that are not one-shots (obviously).

Hope you enjoyed and thank you for any comments/reviews!

next:Chapter 38: Unconventional Counseling