Yuki looked thoughtfully across the commons, eyes unfocused until they locked on Matt. I wonder… She got up, smoothing her Happy Bunny Shirt (which said, Hi Dorkwad!, it being one of her favorite Happy Bunny sayings) and walking over to him. Could he be… He was deeply immersed in a book, and she read the title 'The War Against Galbadia: Galbadia Taking Over', which only seemed to further the confirmation of her theory… The little boy? He looked up, his deep blue-gray eyes boring into her.

"Hi, Yuki." He scooted over, making room for her to sit on the couch he had been spread out on.

"Yo, Matt."

"What's up?"

"… A lot more than you might think."

"What's that supposed to mean? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I just kinda wanted to ask you a few questions."

"Okay. Go ahead."

"…Um…" she hesitated, "Are you adopted…?"

"Yeah. Why?" Matt seemed slightly troubled, and a little bitter.  

"What was your original last name?"

"Mom… er…Raven told me it was Kantalli or something once." When I was stupid enough to ask.

Her stomach dropped fast and hard. So he was the boy whose eyes she had seen through. How could this be? He had such a terrible past. And she had doubted Matthew Kantalli was still even alive…! He was sitting next to her.

"… Why were you adopted…?" She had to have one last tidbit of information before she accepted it as true.

"My mother was killed, my father dumped me." He said sourly.

It is him.

"On a more pleasant note… I wrote a new song last night." He added, ready to change the subject.

"Really? Can I see the lyrics or music?" she asked, a little preoccupied.

"Yeah." He handed her a sheet of paper. Scrawled across the top in messy hand, written in black gel-pen, was 'Crystal Locket'. It was a piano piece. 

"It's really cool."

"I was wondering if you'd like to play the piano piece. I have vocals and pan-flute music written out, too. I was thinking maybe I could do vocals, and you could do piano, and Kal could play pan-flute."

"Yeah, I'd like that…What did you write this about? I mean, what inspired you?"

"… My mom. My adopted mom. Raven Leonheart. She…" Should I tell her about mom's GFs?  ... What could it hurt?

"She…?"

"She has a pendant, and inside of it are GFs. They were her only friends until she met Xeno. They meant the world to her, and they're still her best friends. She had thought her favorite GF, Odin, had died… but he came back as a human. That's Xeno. They fell in love, and she almost lost him again. The song's about Odin being trapped inside the pendant, even though her loved her…"

"That's unique. It sounds great… I can't wait to hear it played…"

"What's up? You seem… distant."

"… Nothing…" Should I tell him? Maybe he doesn't want anyone knowing about his past, so he might get mad at me if I tell him I know… Or maybe he wants to talk about it. I'll pass this question… um…let's see… the note. Should I talk to him about the note? I don't want to trouble or worry him, but it might be safer than keeping it a secret.

"Whatever. I'll see ya." Matt got up, stretched, and walked off.

He looked back for a second, shook his head, and grabbed his cell phone. He dialed the familiar number, and it rang. Nobody picked up, so he tried the cell phone number instead. Matt suddenly got worried. Raven carried her cell-phone everywhere with her. Where was she…? Well, it was Friday and he didn't have anything to do, so he might as well go and visit her to see if anything was wrong. Matt hurried to the parking lot, jumped on his motorcycle, and began the drive home.

Yuki noticed that Matt had left his book. She picked it up. 'Many houses were raided, some of the most famous being the Taorine and Kantalli families. Taorine was a soldier and the second in command.  She was forced to make the decision whether to attack the town her husband and children lived in or not. She wouldn't and got killed for rebelling against the rest of the soldiers. Kantalli was also a soldier, the only one with authority and rank among the group of soldiers attacking cities. His best friend Kaida shot his wife and he just barely spared Kantalli's son.' That meant… someone in my family… probably my dad… killed Matt's mom…? Matt must hate me… I'm the offspring of the man who killed his mother. This just keeps getting worse and worse…doesn't it?

Matt knocked on the door.

"Mom? Xeno? Kei?"

No answer. He took out his key and opened the door. The feeling inside gave him the creeps as he stepped through the threshold to the kitchen. There was total silence that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

"Mom…?"

Matt walked over the hardwood floor. Keiko's toys lay on the floor, abandoned. The silence seemed offended by the sound of his sneakers against the floor. He jumped as the wind howled, causing a tree branch to bang against the window. He laughed nervously at himself. This was bothering him more and more… He walked into the living room. The cd player was on pause, and the tv was on mute. It seemed to be waiting for the family to come back and pick up right where they left off.

Matt felt dread growing inside him. He dashed up the stairs and into Raven's bedroom. Her crystal pendant lay on the bed discarded. Raven never left without it. He ran into Keiko's room and his knees buckled. Blood smeared the floor, and Keiko's favorite doll lay next to the crimson puddle. The window was open, curtains blowing slightly in the wind. The trail of blood led to the closet. He reluctantly followed it.

His hand gripped the doorknob. His heart leapt, fearing what he'd find. He opened it, breath catching in his throat. Matt sank down on the floor, tears filling his eyes, grief gripping him. He struggled to his feet, grabbing his cell-phone and calling the police. He fought against the anger and angst raging in his heart. He hoped he had the strength to handle it.