"My lady," Christopher Simon greeted, his voice obsequious. "It is a pleasure to see you are well. You're as beautiful as ever." Celeste blushed prettily under the praise, then seemed to remember herself and the flush faded. Christopher hid a smirk. Yes he knew how to manipulate this one.

"I believe you are having some problems with someone interfering with your plan?" he asked archly, face quizzical. Celeste nodded once and gestured for him to continue. "I do believe I have an answer for you. He is a master, and you should not feel ashamed to have been best by him." Celeste's face darkened, as he knew it would. She was so transparent, this girl. So trusting.

"His name is Roger Bacon, and he has been alive for an extraordinary length of time. A necromancer, summoner and Seer, he has been keeping an eye on the Hyuga line for some time. Almost fifty years. He has Seen that you will have the Hyuga child in your possession, and he wants it as revenge for what its father did to his colleague. He will take it, if you do not put up protections around it now, and you will lose everything." He bowed deeply. "And now, my lady, I must take my leave. Please excuse my rude departure, but the hour is getting late." He traced a sigil into the air, closed his eyes and disappeared.

"Track him," Celeste demanded. Valentina nodded. "I don't trust him."

*

Roughly shoving a shirt into a leather backpack, Valentina let her mind wander. Her eyelids closed partway and her unfocused stare wandered aimlessly. In her mind's eye she could see dancing lights everywhere, a blinding rainbow of light. She winced and narrowed her focus.

Directly in front of her was a double helix of black and amber, whirling into infinity. She mentally tagged that image as 'Yuri Hyuga' and moved on. A solid purple pillar of light shone brightly at the edge of her vision, and was labelled 'Lady Celeste.' Although those red stains were somewhat concerning. And there was the dark, murky green that could only be the residue of Christopher Simon. She extended a mental finger and touched the green puddle. She shuddered at the slime that coated her fingers, but an image appeared in her head of exactly where Christopher Simon was. This achieved, she continued to pack her bag.

Struck by an impulse, she picked up a novel. Yuri was bound to be bored and if he was reading, he wouldn't be trying to wander around. It was a pity that she didn't look at the cover.

*

"That's a romance novel," Yuri commented in detached horror, staring wide eyed at the cover. "I didn't know you could do that!" Valentina looked at the cover, blushed slightly and flipped it over to the back cover.

"It can't be that bad," she protested. "Look, it says 'Amillia, a strong-minded woman, is sent to the far reaches of the country by her evil brother Roger, who is intent on her inheritance. However she meets a mysterious stranger who walks the moors of a night, masking his face to the world. Curiosity piqued, she endeavours to find the man behind the mask.' See? It's not that bad!" Yuri gave her a skeptical look.

"Alright, I'll read you a passage," Valentina replied, opened the book toward the back and began to scan the page. She started to blush fiercely.

"Oh my," she breathed. "I didn't know that was possible." Yuri looked at her in confusion as the flush spread down her neck. "Come to think on it," she continued unsteadily. "I might keep this."

"No, no," Yuri protested, hands waving in negation. "I don't mind reading it." Valentina closed the book with a snap and raised her eyebrows.

"Are you sure? It is a romance novel," she offered weakly. Yuri nodded eagerly and Valentina tossed the book onto his bed.

"Have fun."

*

"So," Ben drawled from his sprawl on the ground. "What was the deal with you suddenly liking my son after all? He's a nice kid, for sure, but why the attachment? I thought you were a soulless monster." He propped himself up on his elbows and studied Death Emperor, not expecting a response.

"At the beginning of time, I was not a soulless monster. I was a god, and I danced among the stars with my soulmate, Amon," Death Emperor began slowly. "We danced, sang and generally enjoyed all of the fruits of life. And yet, this golden era came to an end, as all do, and we were diminished. Eventually we had no choice but to bind ourselves to a human soul to ensure our survival. My choice was Yuki Hyuga, a peasant boy with a poet's soul and an affinity to darkness. Yuki was the first Hyuga seer, as you know. His daughter Killian was the first Harmonixer and her determination to defy the fate I gave her was an inspiration to me during the dreary days where a Harmonixer would spiral into madness simply because of my presence.

"It was not until recent generations that Harmonixers appeared that had her determination and spirit. Her ability to rebuild herself after all of her illusions had been shattered. I don't want to see that completely gone from the Hyuga line once more." Ben raised an eyebrow at this.

"So, in essence, you like Yuri because he reminds you of Killian," Ben summarised. Death Emperor growled at the back of his throat.

"It's not that simple!" Death Emperor snarled.

"Which leads to the question of why you pushed him so hard when he was a child. Oh wait, I think I have that as well. You were testing him, to see if he could rebuild himself. To see if he was a worthy successor to this Killian. And who gave you the right to test my son?" Ben demanded. Death Emperor bristled.

"I claim the right of paternity. You were not a father to him during the dark years, when all he had was a fusion soul and two dead parents. The only constant in these last eight years was I, and as such I have been the confidant of your son. I tested your son to see if we could rely on him to make the right decision, to see if he was strong willed enough to defy this Judge and decide the future of everyone on this world and connected worlds. I aligned myself to this line millennia ago, and I am ultimately responsible the end of it. It will not end because Yuri was weak!" Ben frowned. "What?" Death Emperor demanded.

"You called him Yuri. You never do that," Ben pointed out. Death Emperor snarled. "Oh stop it! You know that I'm not scared of you. I never was."

"No, but I do know what you are scared of," Death Emperor said sweetly.

"Not anymore," Ben said sadly. "I wish my fears were as simple as that now."

"You're scared of not being able to act. You could never stand inaction," Death Emperor continued. Ben shook his head.

"No, for I am resigned to that now. My fears are both more and less tangible than that."

"Would you two shut up? I'm trying to read here," Yuri commented plaintively.

"I didn't know he could read," Death Emperor commented.

"Of course he can!" Ben retorted, affronted. "I taught him to when he was six."

"There's no need to act like that," Death Emperor replied slyly. "Anyway, what is he reading?"

"Judging by the blushing…." Ben began. Death Emperor gestured for him to continue. "A porn magazine." If Death Emperor could raise an eyebrow, he would have.

"Did you give him the talk?" Death Emperor asked, evil grin on his face. Ben frowned slightly in confusion. "The talk. You know, where babies come from?" Ben's horrified face was answer enough.

"Did you?" Ben retorted quickly. Death Emperor shook his head. "So you mean to tell me that we have an eighteen year old boy who has no idea about sex." Death Emperor nodded again. "So what the hell is he reading?"

"I do know about sex," Yuri protested. "I do listen to other people, you know."

"Alec," Death Emperor replied heavily. "Knew I should have killed him when I had the chance."

"Yuri," Ben asked. "What are you reading?" Yuri became very silent very quickly. Death Emperor frowned for a moment, then snickered.

"It's a romance book," he replied between snickers. "A particularly bad one." Ben's eyes widened.

"Put it down! Now!" he barked.

"Why?" Yuri asked in confusion. "It's getting interesting."

"Because they're addictive. Once you read one, you have to read them all!" Ben replied, voice rising in volume.

"It is strangely absorbing," Yuri mused, still reading.

"Give up," Death Emperor replied. "I've always wanted a homosexual host. Or a bisexual one. Always wondered how they do that."

"Death Emperor! You voyeur!" Ben blurted, eyes wide in horror. "And Yuri's not gay!"

"Like you'd know," Death Emperor replied. "You didn't know about Zhuzhen."

"What?" Ben's voice had jumped an octave. "Zhuzhen wasn't gay!"

"Oh yeah?" Death Emperor challenged. "The guy sat there on the night before you died and watched you. I saw it. He was devouring you with his eyes. He used to stare at you when you weren't looking. He was gay!"

"Who's Zhuzhen?' Yuri asked plaintively.

"Never you mind," Death Emperor and Ben replied in unison.

"Could you please shut up then?" Yuri asked. "I want to read this without you reminiscing about the era before the wheel."

"I'll have you know that I was born significantly after the wheel was invented," Ben retorted hotly.

"Same here," Death Emperor chimed in.

"What are you doing? You stupid boy!" a girl's voice hissed.

"Celeste?" Yuri replied quickly. "What are you doing?"

"Shut up!" she snapped. Death Emperor's jaw dropped as he felt Yuri's eyes widen. He turned to Ben, who wore a grim expression on his face.

"She's back," he replied cryptically. "Keep an eye for Yuri for me. I've got to disappear before she finds me." He closed his eyes and vanished back to the prison.

A young girl appeared, long dark hair tumbling over her shoulders and cascading down her back. She stared at Death Emperor with implacable brown eyes.

"Hello Death Emperor," she replied calmly. "I have an offer for you." Death Emperor looked at her in bewilderment. "If you give me the key to the fusion souls' realm, then I will allow your freedom."

"What?" Death Emperor heard himself say. "I don't have that key. Never have."

"No?" the girl replied. "Your host does though. Buried inside his mind. You can get it, I know you can."

"But what about Yuri?" Death Emperor protested. His voice seemed under water.

"This isn't about Yuri," the girl replied softly. "It has always been about you." She smiled, a smile devoid of all happy emotions. It was a smile from the darkness inside a human soul. "Although I am willing to hurt him to….convince you."

"You can't!" Death Emperor blurted. "I'll kill him first."

"Existence itself is a struggle, from womb to grave." the girl replied cryptically. "He will fight you." She paused for a moment. "I take it you are not going to co-operate?" Death Emperor glared. She sighed.

"Remember, you brought this upon him." She disappeared.

*

"Now, little Hyuga," Celeste crooned in his ear. "What shall I do with you?" Yuri stared at her wide-eyed. She had done something to his mind, he wasn't sure what exactly, and now he couldn't move.

"You are a pretty thing," she continued. "All angles and planes." She reached a hand out to play with his hair.

"Do you want to know what I can do when I want to?" she whispered in his mind. Yuri shook his head fervently, the only movement available to him.

"I don't care. I'll show you anyway," she replied softly and began.

Authors Note: Sorry about the late update. The Shadow Hearts Muse left my house early last week and I haven't found her again. That explains the chapter quality.

It may seem like a shock about Celeste, but if you read everything she's said, it's all there. I promise! And CLUE!!!! (jumps up and down pointing at story) It's there! And thanks go to Aegis for Celeste's little quote. And you thought Death Emperor would say it?

Greyfriars: Stuff is perfectly technical. I've seen it in technical reports so it must be okay. And I have been banned from drawing for the rest of my natural life. So if chibi Death Emperor's what you want, you'll have to find an artist.

Nat: C is the nemesis of my life. And unfortunately I'm stuck with it. It's terse, difficult to read and a monster to debug. And thank you for the luck. My finals went very well.

Gutterfiend: Celeste will get slapped around, I promise. Just…not yet. Glad you liked the theory. I have hundreds of them tucked away in my room somewhere

Aegis: Hope this chapter answers some questions. Yuri does not have the sight. Have explanation as to why, if anyone wants to read it. Spectral sight….I'm not finished with that yet. And Fox-Face vs Ben? I wonder……

JadedKatrina: Alec was meant to die. In fact I created him for that express purpose. Glad to know that people still like poor little Alec. I'm not entirely finished with him either. There's a scene left to go in the Alec saga.

Noodles: Yes I did know that Koudelka was a prequel. Sadly I can't get hold of it. Stupid imports!

And if anyone's curious, I have a little Alec ficlet. Feel free to email me if you want to read it.