As I hold Dominic weakly in my arms, I think of how this all would have ended if he survived. Would we have lost? Would someone else have been killed? I don't think I could go on if Tommy were the one who died. I squeeze my eyes shut, cutting the image from my mind.

My eyes are no doubt red and puffy, my face pale from emotions. My verbal words are lost and jumbled in my mind, my thoughts becoming incoherent. I feel a hand touching my shoulder and startling me.

"What the hell?!" I shout, flinching harshly and looking behind me. I'm surprised I managed to say those three words in order.

"It's alright," a soft voice says. A female. I relax.

"Why?" I ask. She sighs, taking my hand in hers. She pulls me away from Dominic, but I force myself to fall back down, taking Dominic's hand instead.

"You need to come with me Adam…"

"I'm not leaving Nicky!" I shout. Everyone around me watches warily, wondering what I'll do next.

"Trust me, Adam. I have information you'll want to hear." The woman snaps her fingers, and four extremely muscular men appear form the shadows. They're holding up a sort of bed with handles for carrying something. They carefully lift Dominic's lifeless body from the floor and place him on the bed, covering his pale white face with a thin sheet.

"Where are you taking him?" I ask. The woman reaches for my hand again, pulling me back up on my feet.

"To a protective chamber. Do not worry, my dear. Your son will be safewith them. They are called the League. Come with me."

"But I want to be with him…"

"You will be soon, but for now, please come with me." I follow her warily, looking at the ground as she directs me through multiple hallways.

We finally arrive to some small office-like room, a very long way from the battle sight.

"You all were fighting a long time, she says calmly.

"How? It felt like minutes."

"Oh, no, it was much longer. It's been several hours."

"Geez… Who are you?"

"My name is Vitromna, but you may call me Tori. I'm the guardian of Mercury."

"So… you're basically like in the same position as Taomalia?"

"More or less, but he protects his planet by way of war when necessary. If our planet plans for war, I overlook the situation, but I do not fight. I appoint our fighters like recruiting an army, but I only watch. If our side loses, I tend to the fallen. Our side won this battle, but your side has the fallen one who the whole battle was focused around, so we are tending to his business first."

"I see…" Tori smiles.

"I must ask something of you, Adam," Tori says calmly. I raise a brow as she continues. "I noticed how protective one of your boys was over Dominic."

"Casey? He's not my son. His fathers are dead, so we took him in as family, but he isn't biologically ours."

"He seems to care very much for Dominic."

"They're practically brothers."

"I respect your statement, Adam, but I think there's much more to their situation than that…"

"Oh, no, I don't think so. Dominic was a bit of a homophobic, and Casey's already told me he doesn't like Nicky like that."

"Oh, Adam… have you ever considered that maybe both of them are lying to you?" Tori asks. I ponder her words momentarily before responding.

"But Dominic is supposed to like girls," I question myself. Tori smiles, putting her hand gently over mine.

"Adam… your son is special. He's different than the others. The others had the ability to give a female a child, but the child would have killed her in birth. That factor is what makes the Protector's child so lethally angry. Dominic likes males, not females. His anger springs from his knowledge of his true purpose.

"His thinking is that he likes males, but he thinks he isn't supposed to, and that's what makes him mad. If he and Casey actually were to have a child, neither of them truly gives live birth, so neither of them will be killed."

"What are you saying…?" I ask hesitantly, thinking slowly, my heart filling with liquid hope.

"Dominic should have lived," Tori says, smiling gently. I watch her eyes sparkle, hope rising in her own heart. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, continuing her words.

"I want him to live again for you," she says, pausing. I smile hopefully, my actions becoming fidgety. "But I can't…" My head hangs low. I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself. "Unless a sacrifice is given." My ears perk up.

"Sacrifice?"

"Of pure love."

"What must I do, Tori?"

"Many things, dear. Many things. Come forth," she says, directing me again through a series of hallways.

We arrive in a dark, damp room, like a basement. She closes the door, leaving me alone and lightly frightened. The four large men from earlier file into the room, presenting Dominic. I run up to them, but some sort of magic wall pushes me away. Tears streak down my face, burning with salt.

"Don't touch him," one of the men says, his voice hauntingly low.

"He's my son!" I shout. The man looks at me with soft eyes.

"Yes, but we have bigger plans for you and him. In due time, Adam, your luck will reverse. Karma takes its toll when needed the most."

"Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while," another man says. A quote from The Princess Bride. A third man speaks.

"Quiet the mind, and the soul will speak."

"A man who won't die for something is not fit to live," the fourth man says quietly, his face looking straightforward, expressionless. His quote sinks in the most in my mind.

"Dominic died for me…" I whisper. They all nod in unison. I smile slightly, realizing Dominic's love for me was just hidden deep down, but it was there, along with his somewhat amount of respect. "What are these sacrifices that I have to make, and what will happen when they're completed?"

"You mean if they are completed," one of the men says. I sigh and look down. Another one speaks.

"Your reward will be of your body and spirit, your love and your admiration." I raise a brow.

"Will I have another child?" I ask, confused as to what the large man professed. They all shake their heads.

"In a way, yes. In a way, no," they say in unison. I take a long, deep sigh, deciding to give up on deciphering their cryptic messages. Their faces remain blankly expressionless, their tones all exactly the same, monotonous. I watch them curiously, seeing if their faces change any whatsoever, but they remain motionless, like statues, or British guards.

I look at Dominic guiltily.

'Why did you die for me, Nicky…?'