AN: Hey! I forgot to mention this last chapter, but I wanted to thank you all for getting this story past 150 reviews! Let's see if we can get it up to 200!

Chapter 45 Inspiring Words and Difficult Questions

Roy's head pounded, even with his eyes closed. His muscles stung, almost like he had just done an intense workout except...worse somehow? He didn't really have an accurate way of describing it.

He opened his eyes. The sight of a dirt ceiling was hanging right above him. This confused him; how did he get here? Wasn't he fighting a piranha…

Ohhh. That's why he stung. THAT was why he ached and hurt and felt like his limbs would fall off. Okay. Okay, that made sense. He chuckled inwardly, thankful that he was alive. Really, no guy should be able to survive an explosion to the degree of the one that Roy had experienced. After being on the receiving end of something like that, he should be just fine with the aching. Better to have arms that ached than arms that had been removed, after all.

"You're awake!"

Roy blinked and sat up, grunting as he did so. The smiling, relieved face of Celia met his eyes. He smiled, feeling an extra degree of thankfulness overtake him.

"You...waited for me?"

Celia's face turned scarlet. "Well...yeah. I figured, since you waited for me when I was unconscious in the hospital...it was the least I could do."

Roy's heart melted, his face grew warm. "Aww!" He smiled. "I was just trying to help that one time."

Celia curled a lock of her hair over her left ear. "Well, you were definitely a big help." She smiled despite her reddening complexion. "Very nice."

Roy chuckled. "Nice, huh? I like that; short and simple word to describe someone. In other words, it's perfect for my small mind to comprehend."

Celia shook her head. "You're not stupid. Sure, you have trouble with problem solving, but you are very empathetic and sweet. I think that means you have a lot of...EQ, I believe the term is?" She chuckled in embarrassment. "I ran away from home in fourth grade; I don't exactly have all the terms down pat."

"It's okay; I got the message." Roy put his hand to his heart and smiled. "I'm a sweet person."

"Yeah. I said you would make a great motivational speaker, and I meant it. Your words can really reach people." She smiled. "I know that they reached me."

Roy grinned this time, not just smiled. "Well, I guess that means I'm good for something." He laughed. "But seriously, thank you."

"No, thank you. You have a gift; a talent with compliments and nice words. You help people through difficult times by pointing out their strong points. Sure, you don't sugarcoat things; you also point out the areas that they need to work on. But that just makes your words so much more powerful."

A warm, watery sensation built up in Roy's eyes. He wiped away the tears before they had an opportunity to fall; had to protect his manly self image. "Thank you. You have no idea how much those words mean to me."

Celia smiled, the warmth so strong it was radiating from her face. "You're welcome."

Roy let out a sigh and stood up. "Well, my muscles no longer sting." He looked around; he and Celia were the only ones in the room at this point. "Where's Kamark?"

"I don't know," Celia said with a shake of the head. "I think he's in his quarters."

Roy blinked. "Is he alright?"

"Yeah; just got the wind knocked out of him is all." Celia laughed. "He recovered pretty quickly."

Roy's face grew serious. "Good. That means we can ask him about your dad."

Celia visibly seized up. "We already did, remember?"

"I know. But the best way to get information out of people is to bug them. We need to go to him and DEMAND that he gives us the answers you need. Screw the rules of the Starbite Society; they're stupid. This is your FATHER we're talking about. You shouldn't be left in the dark."

Celia thought about this before sighing and standing up. "Okay."

...

Marcus carried a tray as he went down the hallway to Kamark's room. On the tray was a plate of homemade mac and cheese that Marshall had made. Kamark needed it after the intense battle with the piranha plant.

Honestly, Marcus had been shocked that Roy, Celia, and Kamark had come back alive. The piranha plant that he had seen had been...well, it was huge. Menacing, he supposed a better word would be. He had fully expected his boss to die against that thing, or at the very least come back with severe injuries.

But no. That hadn't happened. According to Kamark, Roy and Celia had been more than competent fighters against the plant monster. Sure, Roy had gotten knocked unconscious in the end, but he had put up a hell of a fight. And despite Celia being inexperienced with the power up, she had freed Kamark from the plant's grasp. That was definitely worth something, at least in Marcus' eyes.

He sighed in relief as he passed by the Monty mole nursery, where a bunch of Society members were busy attending to the babies. It was because of Roy and Celia's efforts that nobody had died. Which...meant that Kamark probably should lay off on them a little. Realizing this, Marcus picked up the pace. He needed to convince Kamark to spill the beans about Singe. Sure, Kamark would probably take his hide and use it a covering for a couch if he attempted to ask but...he needed to. It was the right thing to do.

He finally got to Kamark's room. He knocked on the door and cleared his throat. "Kamark?" No answer. Marcus knocked harder. "Kamark, are you in there?" When he didn't answer right away, Marcus decided to do something that was not allowed and opened the door. He entered and saw Kamark sitting on his bed with his legs crossed. Right in front of him was a shiny glass orb, one that was glowing red. Kamark had his hand on the orb, and his eyes were glowing the same color.

Marcus blinked. Was this...was Kamark using a memory sphere? He hadn't done that in forever; years, as a matter of fact. Marcus had honestly forgotten that he had it, which in hindsight was a stupid thing to forget. Ever since the...incident with Singe, Kamark had been doing nothing but use the memory sphere. Somedays, he didn't even come up from his room; he just stayed lost in the world of the past.

Marcus waited with bated breath as his leader sat with his magical artifact. The room was silent for a good five minutes. Marcus was just starting to wonder how much longer Kamark had to experience the memory when the light of the orb faded away. Kamark gasped, as if just coming up for air after a long and intense swim. The red light in his eyes faded, and he turned toward Marcus. His brow scrunched up.

"You aren't supposed to…"

"Yes, I know, okay?"

Kamark crossed his arms. "You aren't supposed to interrupt me either."

Marcus sighed. "I'm sorry, sir." He approached with the tray of mac and cheese. "Marshall made this especially for you."

Kamark's eyes actually lit up and when he saw the meal. He picked up the fork and took a bite of the cheesy dish. He smiled at Marcus. "Thank you."

"Anytime." He gave Kamark some more time to eat before clearing his throat. "What memory did you see?"

Kamark swallowed. "One with Singe. It was before Kam was put on death row." He sighed. "Singe gave up so much," he said wistfully.

"Yeah," Marcus said with a nod. "That he did."

Kamark shook his head. "I knew that it was a longshot. But I just…" he sighed. "Singe was special, Marcus. He was everything I could have ever asked for."

Marcus nodded. "Yeah. You tend to think that about a person you have a crush on."

"It wasn't just a crush; it was much deeper than that! Or at least, it was on my end." He bit his lip. "Is it really appropriate for me to be bitter about this? I mean, it was twelve years ago."

Marcus sniffed. "Do you want me to tell you the truth, or do you want me to tell you what you want to hear?"

Kamark paused. A silence hung in the air, one wrought with potential and discomfort. He grunted and buried his head in his hands, pouting like a puppy. "I don't know!"

Marcus nodded. "Understandable." He got a little closer. "I bet that you never imagined that you would meet his daughter."

"No. No, I did not." Kamark straightened his posture. "And on some level, I feel like I'm not doing the right thing with her. I feel like I am depriving her of important information; information that she deserves to have in her possession."

Marcus's spirits lifted; this was exactly what he wanted to discuss. "Well, he is her father…"

Kamark nodded. "Yes, and this is what tears me up. Who am I to keep information of someone's father away from a person?" He sighed. "Especially a person who saved my life less than half an hour ago."

Marcus nodded. "Personally, I believe you should tell them."

Kamark stayed still, not daring to move his lips or any other part of him. He was silent for a few seconds as his eyes travelled down to the memory sphere in front of him.

"I think I can do more than tell them." He looked over at Marcus. "Go fetch Roy and Celia for me."

Marcus spirits soared right through the roof as he grinned. "Yes sir!" he said enthusiastically. With that, he left.