I hope everyone has been well in these really strange and scary times. Even though we are quarantined inside, that doesn't mean we are cut off from the world. We can be there for each other even from afar! I have been talking to my elderly relatives over the phone, and having my writing and editing meetings over the internet. It's possible to stay connected despite social distancing. That's what's great about the time we live in. There are so many different ways to be with those we care about even despite the circumstances. Take this time to be kind to people, and yourself. Think of what you can do to make happiness in the world, even if it's something small. Write or read a story, paint a picture, or tell someone you love them. I'll start by saying how much I love everyone here. Thanks for dealing with my way to long breaks and the wonderful comments you leave! I wish everyone health and safety. We'll see the end of these dark times together. Just keep striving for the light.


He had been here before.

Cyrus willed his petrified legs to thaw. He stood and took in the white place that surrounded him. 'Is this the, Portal?' he thought.

A massive stone doorway closed. Left before the doors was a girl, her hair bloodstained, and her dress tattered. Cyrus watched her in silence. She pressed both hands to the stone slabs. "It has to be this way," she whispered. "It's going to be ok. My people will survive."

Cyrus approached her. "Lyda?" he guessed. He recognized her words, though they were faint in his memory. What he was witnessing now, was what happened right after Lyda revived Bounty, Lorelei and himself.

The Doors opened once more, and this time black arms wrapped around her. On the other side of the door Cyrus saw the real world. Cretan military trucks awaited her.

He stepped forward and grabbed for her torn sleeve. Cyrus' hands fazed though her and the doors closed between them. This was just a memory. He couldn't save her.

He was left alone, his heart a pit of emptiness. His chest still burned, but he ignored it as best he could to face the white being seated on the floor with a scowl.

"Why didn't you save her?" Cyrus growled at the creature.

The blank faced figure stared. It didn't even have the decency to answer his question.

"Say something!" Cyrus snapped at it. "You have the power to. Get off your ass and fix this!"

At last, the creature smiled with straight white teeth. "You're asking for mercy, not for yourself, but for that girl?" It asked him.

"I don't agree with her bringing me back, but I know why she did it…" Cyrus huffed. His shoulders slumped. Lyda was protecting her people and her family. This was a concept he would never have understood before his life as Cyrus. But now he didn't blame her.

"Your Father begged for his life when he was drug back here." It said with a grin. "I would think you would be more scared to be back before the Truth. What if your pulled back into oblivion?"

Cyrus glared. "I'm not him."

"You must know this is a trick," it pointed out. "The White Stone you have has been activated from affair. That's why your remembering this place."

"I figured," Cyrus said. The Cretan's had one of the four White Stones. They were trying to use the one they had to find him and the others, or maybe even draw them together. That's why he was here. They were trying to find him and his siblings. Then a realization hit him, and he looked up at the door.

"I'm apart of this place, right?" he said. The entity didn't respond. "The Cretan's are trying to find me using my Stone. I can use this place to find them in turn."

The creature snickered. "Wow, you figured that out quick…You really aren't like your 'Father'."

Cyrus caught his breath, his eyes adjusting to the unnatural light of the military base. Alphonse was over him, repeating his name to rouse him.

Trovius was there as well and breathed a sigh of relief when Cyrus sat up. "Bounty, and Lorelei," Cyrus began to ask.

"They fainted, same as you." Alphonse said.

Cyrus looked over at his siblings, who were being helped off the floor. Cyrus caught eyes with them. Both Bounty and Lorelei had the same knowing look. They had seen the same thing. They had come to the same conclusion.

Cyrus held a hand to his chest, the quiet pulse of the White Stone was no longer painful, but still present. He could feel the pull of his sibling's own Stones a few feet away. And he felt one much farther.

"I'm going," Bounty proclaimed as he helped himself off the floor.

Alphonse turned on him. "Ling is helping the General. You need to stay here!"

"Sorry kid," Bounty said with an overdramatic stretch. "The problem isn't the Cretans, or even that Arbus girl, Lyda. I don't like debts hanging over my head. These people have a pull over my life. I'm going to fix that."

"Don't be absurd!" Trovius snapped. He left Cyrus' side to point a finger in Bounty's chest. This is no time for some high-risk plan when it isn't needed."

"He's right," Alphonse insisted, "We don't know what's out there."

"Lyda is," Cyrus said. He was aware Trovius and the others were looking at him, but he was focused on the door to the outside. "This pull that we're feeling… Only someone who knows the White Stones can do that. No matter where we hide, they'll use this connection to find us. We need to put an end to it."

"My thoughts exactly," Lorelei agreed. "I don't need those people tracking me to my family."

Bounty let out a snorting laugh. "Such noble intentions from you two. I'm just itching to kick some ass. Plus, Ling can't do anything without me. It's a miracle he hasn't burned his own country to the ground over the past few years I've been gone."

Bounty and Lorelei left towards the door without another word. Cyrus took a deep breath and followed. The alchemic wall grew in front of him, cutting the three homunculi off from the doors. Cyrus wasn't surprised by the obstacle. He turned to face the creator of the wall. Trovius huffed from his place over the hastily drawn array.

"Trovius," Cyrus sighed.

"Hey," Bounty said to Cyrus. "when you're done here catch up."

Cyrus nodded to him. Despite Alphonse barking at them to stop Bounty and Lorelei jumped over the new wall with ease.

"I won't allow it," Trovius huffed as he snatched Cyrus by the trench coat sleeve. Cyrus didn't pull away. He observed the older man stair pleadingly into his gaze. "I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you, Cyrus."

Cyrus glanced down the hall. The Gypsies were still preoccupied. He spotted Florica with the youngest among them, faking a smile for their sake. Roger was speaking to Shelta and another military man. They were none the wiser to his plans, except for Trovius. This old man who had been through hell and back for an ungrateful, brattish, homunculus he found in the woods. Cyrus almost laughed at the thought, but instead he wrapped his arms around Trovius. "I'm sorry dad. I'll be back, I promise."

He shapeshifted out of his trench coat, leaving Troivus holding it tight. Cyrus jumped over the wall and pushed past the two startled guards at the door without looking back.