WARNING: mentions of rape, child abuse, emotional abuse, and suicidal thoughts/ attempted suicide.


"You're exactly like Caspian." Wales froze at the cold voice that came from the shadows of his room.

"Who are you?" Wales stepped for the door, but it slammed shut, plunging the room into absolute darkness.

Wales suddenly realized how cold his room was, and he shivered. The frigid temperature was bringing back memories of when he was younger.

"You don't recognize your own mother?" Alyssa McKandless asked.

Wales tried the light. The bulb, upon turning on, shattered. Wales jumped.

"Turning your back on your own brother. Nearly killing him on all emotional levels. Do you have any idea how unstable a vampire can become without emotions?"

"No." Wales whispered, "I don't."

"Because you don't care enough about Lucas to do that type of research." Alyssa said, "You don't care about him, period."

"He told me! I know!" Wales tried to object.

"Not all of it. Did you know your faher sold Luke's body to other men, for their pleasure, while he simply watched on?"

Wales' blood ran cold.

"Or that he constantly whipped him across his back, hard enough to leave scars?"

Wales swallowed, thickly.

"Or locked him in a trunk for hours on end, yelling at him that he was useless and nothing?"

Wales whimpered.

"How about choking him, breaking bones, causing damage to the point Luke almost died?"

Wales covered his ears, but it didn't do much good.

"Or, for the grand finale, Luke has tried to kill himself multiple times-"

"Stop!" Wales screamed, "Just shut up already!"

"But he cares too much how you'll react to his death to not do it?"

Wales stopped yelling, instead letting tears stream down his face.

"How do you know so much that I don't?" Wales choked out, sliding down the wall of his room, to the ground.

"Because I listen. Because I'm there. Because I actually care."

"I never wanted to hurt him. Never." Wales sunk to the floor, sobbing, "He's my brother. I do care for him. I love him. I- I don't want, or wish for harm to ever come to him. I don't want him to be in pain."

"So why have you been ignoring him?"

"Because... I've been selfish." Wales whispered. "I've only been thinking about myself. When I need to think about Luke."

Alyssa's face was lit up in front of Wales' being, startling the warlock. The light red light from her hand flickered across her face.

"Then open your eyes and start seeing things from other people's views."


The cell door creaked open, and with it a set of footsteps over the stone floor. The door creaked back shut, the metal locks clanging as it did so.

"Is the traitor awake?" Jasmine drawled, her fingers lighting up with flames, to illuminate the cold room.

Yami raised his head, "Awake and proud of the compliment you gave me."

"Proud huh?" Jasmine passed under one of Yami's chained up arms, the fire in the palm of her hand licking at his skin, "Strange. Do you like being called a traitor?"

Yami laughed, "Do you?"

"Who said I was? Did you know, Todo O Mal hasn't just replaced you with me as her second in command, but also the head luetinant of her army? Right now, I hold more power than you ever did, Yami." Jasmine circled around back in front of the demon, eyes red and a smirk as malicious as her boss on her face.

"You just tend to believe that. After all, there's more about me than you, Todo' O Mal, and even I don't know." Yami said cryptically.

Jasmine cocked her head, "Oh, I'm sure I could find out." She raised her hand, the purple streak of her hand glowing, "I can get in your mind, find out what I want, maybe mess you up."

Yami smirked, "You mean like I know the real reason why you're acting like me?"

Jasmine paused, eyes narrowing, "I'm not acting like you."

"Corrupted, manipulative, being a psychopath. You are like me." Yami drawled.

"Manipulative, yes. Psychopath, possibly. But I am not corrupted." Jasmine growled.

Yami laughed, "Yes you are!" He leaned his face closed to hers, "I can smell it on you."

Jasmine leaned just as close, their faces millimeters away, and red eyes glowing, "I am not corrupted! No matter what you say to try and convince me otherwise, it's not the truth, you wretch."

Yami's eyes glowed, "It is the truth and you know it. You've been corrupted by Todo O Mal's presence. And I can't wait for you to realize it and the mess you caused." He kissed her.

Jasmine wrenched away, raising her hand and beginning to bring it down-

She stopped herself just before she would've smaked him. Instead, she took a deep breath, gently patted Yami's cheek, and whispered, "Who says I don't already know of the mess I've caused? Who says that it's Todo O Mal corrupting me?"

"Beats me. Like I care if you do or don't. And if it isn't then who?" Yami smirked back.

Jasmine was quiet, backing away from Yami. Finally, In a voice so low at it was barely audible, she answered.

"For all you know... It's not my own mind."

Yami's eyes widened, "Another personality?"

Jasmine laughed, bitterly, "Not one. Not two. Not even three."

"How many?" Yami asked.

Jasmine stared at him for a long moment, before answering, truthfully, "Right now? Thirteen."

"Thirteen?! No one can have that many personalities and stay sane!" Yami said, being surprised for the first time in centuries.

"I'm not sane." Jasmine hissed, "Have you not figured that out?!"

She rubbed a temple, "And unlike Dark Heart does for you-" She inhaled shakily, "I CAN keep them under control. One of them formed when my parents died. The others have come within the last few months." Her red eyes dimmed, just a little, "I told both you, several weeks ago, I promised, that I could help you both with your... Unbalance, to put it lightly."

Jasmine fell silent, before muttering, "But that was before the world went to hell."

Yami raised an eyebrow, "Oh, the world is going to hell. No- it's going to be a new hell."

"Stop. Stop, with the cryptic messages." Jasmine snapped.

"Oh, are you getting scared?" Ysmi laughed.

"No, I'm not scared, I'm-" Jasmine cut off. Her posture straightened and she cocked her head.

"What other riddles have you got for me?" She asked.

"I got nothing else for you to hear. After all, I'd be giving away too much." Yami smirked.

"Shame," Jasmine sighed, "Oh well. Toodles!" Her eyes blazed suddenly as she finished her earlier sentence, "-trying to warn you!"

Jasmine shook her head, massaging her temples while growling under her breath.

"Warn me about what?" Yami asked.

Jasmine blinked, before growling, "I'm done here. But know this, Yami, when the time comes, you'll be on your knees, begging for my help."

Then, Jasmine turned, throwing open the cell door and slamming back. Within seconds, she disappeared into the darkness of the hallways.

Yami chuckled softly, "We'll see who's begging who for help."


"Okay, there's no way we're getting by that missile launcher." Masamune came leaping over the metal wall, just as something hard collided against it, and an explosion rocketed the ground.

"Oh, wonderful. I could've told you that!" Frieda snapped at him.

"Well... It's activated by a motion sensor." Ninel spoke up, "How about a distraction, while one or two of us make a break for the flag?"

"How do we do that?" Da Xiang asked.

Ninel's wing's glamour fell away, "I can fly up and distract it."

"Hold it, hold it, hold it, before we decide on anything." Masamune caught the group's attention, "Let's make a solid plan."

"Ninel distracting the missile, is a solid plan." Frieda said.

"Not enough of one." Masamune said, "Listen, here's my idea: Ninel you fly up and distract the missile. Get close, because it'll be harder for it to get a clean hit. Da Xiang and I will stay behind her, wait for the right moment, before we hit it with our own fire power and destroy it."

"And me?" Frieda asked.

"You circle around and get the flag." Masamune said, "Da Xiang or I will catch up and guard your back."

"Sounds good to me." Da Xiang said.

"Same here." Ninel said, standing up, "I'm ready."

"So am I." Frieda agreed.

Fire and sparkles lit up Da Xiang's right hand, "Same here."

"In that case," Swirls of electric green and blue energy wrapped around Masamune's arm and hand, "Let's do this."

Frieda whirled as an explosion sent heat up her back. She watched as the missile- thankfully a mini one- launcher went up in flames. A second later, whistling cut through the air. She turned her head, yelping as a steel cannon ball came at her head.

She ducked, right as green and blue ball of energy slammed into it, sending it off course.

"Come on, we're almost there." Masamune flashed Frieda grin, reaching a hand out towards her. Frieda grinned and took it, letting him pull her to her feet.

"You got my back?" She asked.

"I got your back." Masamune confirmed, "Now let's end today's training session and get back to the school."

"I couldn't agree more."


"You... actually... completed... Level 3 training? In one go?!" Ryder exclaimed.

"How is that a problem?" Ninel asked.

"It took me weeks to complete it!" Ryder said.

"Well, you were always by yourself, right?" Da Xiang asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"We worked together to get it done." Frieda said.

Ryder let his head fall to the table with an audible groan, "Why am I not surprised?"

Yasmina patted his back, "At least it wasn't level 4. I'd think you'd have a heart attack if they got through that!"

Ryder nodded, "Yeah, I would."


Ta- da! There you go!