A/N: NOTE TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWS!!! I'm having some trouble here. if I were to choose from Exile Squadron only, who should I put w/ Jade: Corrin or Achilles? PLEASE TELL ME WHO YOU THINK!

Vee017: why does everyone blame the poor Dragan? oh well, we'll find out next chapter! Beros Prime: thanks tons! I no tell who tragedy is because I evil mean fanfic writer! :P

eris: s'ok, I got it anyhow.

Jamieson Z: oh, keep wirting reviews like that! I love it! wow, you're the only one to get the smart person hint! :gives Jamieson Z a hug: YAY! you'll never believe this: when I was originally writing up Exile Squadron (which originally had a full 24-member squadron) I just picked a random name for Xena's pride. then I'm reading Dest. of Illusions, and I find out that there actually IS an Ursa Pride, and I'm like: wow. thatw as just a weird coincidence, and Venus is just the call-sign that my buddy Maglenan Princess wanted as hers, so it all works out! if I knew about the whole Ursa/Roman thing, I would have switched around the call signs, but anyhow, what was the oops on pg 193?

Mo Cat: :hits cd player: play music! :hits cd player again: damn, the dramatic music thing won't work! :P well, I guess this will happen next! :P

Maglenan Princess: took you long enough, Sam!

prin69: ok, you just confused the hell out of me, but that's ok!

L.C. Brotherton: well, I kept up the work, and now proudly present:

Chapter 28

Trance woke in the middle of the night, not entirely sure why. She slid out of bed, hearing Gaheris roll over and mumble something like: "More nova bombs". Then she heard it again, a soft sniffling.

"Veghn?" she asked, walking over to see the child curled into a ball on his bed. "Veghn, baby, what's wrong?"

Veghn looked up with a tear-streaked face. "It's my fault," he whispered, pulling his tail closer around him.

Trance sat down next to him. "Nothing is you're fault, honey," she told him, gently laying his head on her lap and stroking his hair.

"The bad men are going to hurt you because of me," Veghn sobbed. "I heard them."

"What do you mean?" Trance asked softly.

Veghn swallowed hard a few times as fresh tears fell from his eyes. "I can hear them," he whispered. "They accuse me. They're going to hurt you because of me!"

Trance rocked him back and forth. "Shhh," she murmured. "It's not your fault." She paused. "What do you hear?"

"The man," Veghn sobbed. "The gold man. He's in my head. He hurts me, Momma."

Trance's eyes narrowed in barely suppressed anger. "Are you sure it wasn't a dream?"

Veghn nodded tearfully. "I can still hear him, and he hurts," he said softly. He touched his forehead. "Here."

"He has no right to do that," Trance whispered angrily. "Gaheris," she said as calmly as she could.

"Mmm?"

"Get up," she ordered firmly.

"Mmmmm," he groaned halfheartedly.

"Now."

Gaheris was immediately wide-awake after hearing the urgency in her voice. "What's wrong?" he demanded, crossing the distance from his bed to Veghn's in three long strides.

The child had broken out in a cold sweat and was trembling uncontrollably.

"Stay with him," Trance ordered Gaheris, snagging a gold satin bathrobe by the bed. "Apollo!" she yelled. "Get some clothes on, now!"

"Why?" the green male groaned, waving his hand halfheartedly in the air.

"They've started with Veghn," Trance announced grimly, tossing a pair of baggy white pants and a shirt at him.

-------------

Apollo half-walked, half-ran to keep up with Trance as she strode angrily toward the Chambers of the Suns and Moons. "Trance, wait," he called as they neared.

Trance ignored him, shoving the doors open with more force than was necessary, causing them to bang hollowly off the walls. Trance's eyes roved the chamber like a predator searching for its prey. Finally, she saw the four Meeting members sitting in a circle together.

"You bastards!" she screamed, running at them. "How dare you come after him, you arrogant, heartless, emotionless sons-of-bitches!"

"Trance!" Apollo grabbed in vain for her arms, attempting to restrain her.

"What did he do to you?" Trance continued hysterically. "He's a child! Not even a full-grown avatar, a child! How could you do this to my son? He-"

"Trance!" Apollo snagged her arms, holding them firmly against her back. "Calm down. Think," he muttered in her ear.

Trance's breathing slowed, and she pulled herself free of Apollo's grip. "Why are you doing this to him?" she demanded through clenched teeth.

"It is the beginning of Trial," the gold leader announced, looking up from the other three.

"What? My, my Trial is in one month!" Trance clenched her fist.

Yavie looked at Trance. "The Trial starts with the child. That's how it has always been."

"You are going to do this to him for a month?" Trance said, tears in her eyes.

"Unless you want the Trial sooner," Altariel said. "Yes."

"Then make it sooner," Trance pleaded. "Don't make him suffer!"

The four avatars looked at her impassively.

-----------------

Gaheris heard the door slam shut as Trance and Apollo left. "Veghn," he said softly. "Veghn-child, look at me."

Two brown eyes peeked over the tail. Veghn was a quivering ball of silver with his tail wrapped tight around him. "It's cold," he whispered.

Gaheris leaned over and pulled a blanket over the shivering for. He put a hand on Veghn's forehead, feeling the heat of a slight fever. "I'll be right back," he told the child, getting up.

Veghn's tail snapped forward, wrapping itself around Gaheris's hand. "Don't leave me," he whimpered.

"I just want to get some water for you," Gaheris said, smiling. "I'll be right back," he added at seeing the child's look of alarm.

"Promise?"

Gaheris smiled. "I promise." He gently unwrapped Veghn's tail from his hand and walked toward the bathroom. He reached into the cabinet over the sink for a washcloth, accidentally knocking over a bottle of something. "Oops," he muttered sheepishly, quickly picking it back up and pretending nothing had happened. Gaheris dampened the washcloth with cool water and walked back over. He rested the washcloth on Veghn's forehead.

"When will Mom be back?" Veghn asked. "And Apollo?"

"Soon," Gaheris told him, sitting on the bed next to the child, whose shivering had lessened somewhat. "Can you describe to me what's happening?"

Veghn shook his head. "I don't wanna."

"Okay," Gaheris put his arm around the young child. "I understand."

"Can you make it stop?" Veghn pleaded tearfully, throwing his arms around his father.

Gaheris hugged him back. "I wish I could," he whispered harshly. "But your mother can make them stop."

"Why are they doing this to me?"

Gaheris paused. "I'm not sure," he admitted.

Suddenly, Veghn's shakes ceased. "They've stopped," he said wonderingly, uncurling from his balled position.

Not long after, Trance and Apollo came through the door. Trance immediately rushed over to her son. "Are you okay?" she asked frantically, scooping Veghn up from his bed and hugging him tight.

"I'm fine, Mommy," Veghn whispered, entangling his tiny hands in Trance's red hair.

Later, after Veghn had fallen back into a calm sleep and Apollo had left to his room, Gaheris turned to Trance as the two lay together. "What did you do to make them stop torturing Veghn?" he asked bluntly.

Trance's body tensed up next to his. "My Trial will be tomorrow," she said softly.

Gaheris hugged her. "Tomorrow?"

Trance nodded. Gaheris couldn't see her face because she was facing the wall, but he heard a ragged intake of breath. Trance was crying. "You know if I... die, yours and Veghn's fate will be sealed as well?"

"Yes, I know," Gaheris replied, kissing her cheek. "I have faith in you. It'll turn out all right; you've made it through worse than this."

"Not like this," Trance said softly. "Oh, Gaheris, not like this."

A/N: Would anyone be interested in reading a fic where we (Maglenan Princess and I) take the first episode and completely rewrite it so Dylan puts the corridors on lock-down, and Gaheris never makes it to the Command Deck, and therefore survives? Just wondering, 'cause we're gonna do it anyway.