"You must understand that you can't run on all cylinders 24/7. It will burn you out, both in body and in mind. What you must do is find something to take your mind off of everything you should be thinking about. Otherwise, you will be unable to even handle all your troubles and worries."

-Geno Roads

Cooling Down

Tressa frowned and kicked the sheets violently. She paused, and then did it again, trying to get out from the heavy quilts and covers that kept her trapped in her bed. "Come on mom…I was only excited!"

Raia shook her head. "You fainted in the middle of the arena. That means you have been working too hard and need to rest."

"MOM!" Tressa said, struggling as Raia put the thermometer under her tongue. "I best bun my burst turn-a-ment!"

Raia frowned. "Don't talk, you will make it so hard to figure out what your fever is."

"I duh-ont have a bether!" Tressa struggled again to get away. "You han't heap me in ere!"

Raia looked at her youngest, and grabbed her by both shoulders, keeping her pinned to the bed. "I am stronger, fast and bigger then you Tressa….I can keep you in this bed forever if I have to!"

"Raia."

The two turned to see Guy leaning in the doorway, his eyes barely opening. The pale glow of blue light bled out of the slits just below the lids as he turned to Raia. "Let her go."

Raia stood up, her eyes going white as she stood nose to nose wth her husband. "She needs her rest!"

"Agreed." Guy calmly. "And you wrestling her to the bed isn't going to get her sleeping."

"Bat's bite!"

"I know bats bite Tressa." Guy said calmly.

"No!" Tressa said. He pulled the thermometer out of her mouth and looked at them. "I said, 'that's right!'"

"Are you sure, it sounded like bat's bite."

Tressa grabbed a pillow and held it to her face, screaming in it. Raia and Guy looked at each other, and finally, Tressa stopped and looked at them, her eyes closed. "It's 3 o'clock rigt now…if I take a nap, get something to eat and don't have a fever, will you let me go to the club with Owen and Lilka?"

Raia frowned. "I don't know."

Guy leaned in. "Raia…she just made out with a pillow in front of us. The girl needs to get out more." Raia gave him a blank stare. "It was a joke…I'm not that stupid."

Raia fought off a smile. "Sometimes I wonder." She turned to Tressa…and nodded. "If you sleep now, and I think your well enough….you can go with your brother and sister to celebrate your first win."

Tressa grinned and jumped into bed. "Thank you!"

Guy nodded and . "Get some rest…you deserve it, what with that score and all."

"Thank mom, thanks dad." Tressa smiled as they stepped out of the room,a dn then layed back. Like I am tired….god, mom can be so…yawn… annoying… yawn..always…zzzzzzzzz

Kiarou bent down, setting his feet in the block. He looked forward and breathed in. "Ready?"

Tristan nodded, getting himself in the blocks as well. Both were in white tank tops and black running shorts. "ON the mark…."

They both took a breath, and then the auto started rang out, and the two were off, racing around the track. Kiarou pushed himself, forcing his legs to dig in deep, to beat his father in this race for once.

Come on…just a little bit farther… He thought, his legs burning. Almost…

Kiarou saw a blur to his left, out of the corner of his eye, and then it was gone, a figure ahead of him. He frowned, trying to catch up, but it was too late. The figure broke the yellow tape at the finish line, and slowed, turning around to smile at Tristan and Kiarou.

"Slow pokes."

Kiarou frowned. "That's no fair mom!"

Serenity grinned and flipped her pony tail off of her shoulder. "Acually, it is more then fair. You two got a head start and proper set up." She grabbed a towel. "Don't be a poor sport."

Kiarou frowned and walked over to a MIB agent who held a water bottle for him, looking around the gym. In order for the Men in Black to stay in top physical condition, they had insulted one of the world's best gyms. He had come her since we was a few months old, playing around the ghosts and other paranormal things. He dumped the bottle over his head.

"You almost won" Kiarou looked over at a man with one eye and shrugged, tossing the bottle back to the Cyclops. When you are the son of two of the top MIB agents, you got use to such…strange things.

"That you did Kiarou. More and more I wonder if it was stupid of me to let you duel and not make you an agent pure."

Kiarou looked over and smiled as Dr. Veronica Noga walked over. Veronica was head of the MIB, practically a second mother to him, as she had taught him all sorts of things that is mom and dad had no idea about.

"I'll always be a better duelist then agent Veronica."

She smiled and nodded. "Of course. I am kidding." She laughed lightly and glanced over at Tristan. "Maybe you should work out more..he almost beat you."

Tristan waved his ahnd at his boss and friend. "Almost is not 'did'" He replied. "Besides, he isn't going to beat me, ever."

"Of course….Serenity will just beat you both." The two woman laughed while Tristan frowned.

"Shouldn't you be over some cauldron, convincing Englishmen they are going to die by c-section babies?"

Veronica rolled her eyes. "You know, I really hate Shakespeare. He has given us witches such a bad name." She paused, looking around. "Why did I come down here in the first place?"

"To annoy me?" Tristan said, wiping his face with a towel. He was joking with her, of course. Tristan and Serenity got along great with their boss. Sure, in the beginning she had demanded Dr. Kevin erase their minds and make sure they never remembered the MIB, but after a few months, she had warmed up to them and now considered them her number 2 and 3 agent.

Number one would always be…

"Kevin!" Veronica said, snapping her fingers. "That's why I came down here, to find Kevin. Have you seen my fiancée?"

Tristan pointed over to one of the empty dojo rooms. The MIB headquarters had about 100 of these dojo rooms for agents to practice any fighting they wanted, from martial arts to weapons work.

They also made great places to fool around, as Tristan and Serenity had learned one night when they had first arrived and been all by themselves. He smiled as he remember that night….

"Tristan!"

Tristan looked around, and noticed he was by himself. "Hey!" he ran after Serenity as they headed to the dojo. "wait up!"

Joey cracked his neck, and then closed his eyes. "god, I know you are busy, watching the girls in the playboy mansion and eating some of Bubba's sweet sweet shrimp…"

Mai sighed. "how many times od I have to tell you Joey? He-is-a-fictional-character!"

Joey looked at her, his teeth gritting together. "You're throwing off my game here!"

"And I would like to finish the game, if you don't mind?"

Yami glanced over at the two of them and sighed. "You know, I have been through a lot of hard times. Pegasus, Malik, losing Yugi to Doma, dealing wth Kaos as my father-in-law….but this…this has to be one of the most painful moments in my life." He took a drink and sighed. "ever."

Gala rubbed her husbands back. "it's ok Yami." She turned to Joey. "Just roll, would you?"

"Sure." Joey said, shaking the die. "Just right after I finish my prayer….ahem….Oh God…"

"I was pharaoh, king of games…now I am playing Yatteeze with the Wheelers." Yami closed his eyes. "I should have let Kaos kill me."

"YES!" Joey jumped up and bobbed his head. "3 5s. Read it and weep everyone. I am the godfather of games, godfather of dice."

Lysandra run her fingers through her hair, the streaks of silver in her mane flashing in the light. "I think Duke Devlin would have contest that."

"Duke Devlin…what has he done lately?"

"He has managed to run a multimillion dollar company that rivals that European guy's company…"

"Sieg" Yami said to Gala.

She nodded. "Sieg. He also won another dungeon dice monsters tournament."

Joey frowned and thought for a moment. "but can he roll 3 5s?" Everyone looked at him, stunned silent. "I didn't think so." He grabbed the dice. "Oh God, let this second roll work. I know I have asked for much. Money, power, the ability to shoot laser beams out of my eyes…."

Mai shook her head. "Why don't we just have Kaos come in ehre, and he can talk to the almight of almights for ya."

"Think he would?"

Mai sighed. It was something very few realized about the hierarchy of heaven, that Kaos wasn't the top being. He was king, sure. And he did rule over heaven and earth. But there was a bigger god out there, The One as Kaos called him, that was so powerful that if all the gods combined power, they wouldn't ven match The One. The being watched over all the universe, and made sure that if you screwed up a bit too much, like Destiny had, that you got your comeuppance.

Granted, Destiny's had been to be debrainwashed and allowed to retire to some sunny little island with Isis and Kaos' grandparents, all 4 who had come out of hiding, but what the hey.

Heather grabbed the dice from the table, ignoring her father as he banged his head aginst the wall. "Daddy…..your totally messing my concentration up!" She giggled and shook the dice.

"Sorry Heather." Joey said, sitting back down. "3 5s….that's all?" he looked up "I could have used 5, you stingy…."

"Yatteeze."

Everyone turned and looked down at the table, where each dice read "6". They all slowly turned to Heather, who giggled. "I guess I am real lucky."

Lysandra sighed. "this is why you don't play Yatteeze with the girl nicknamed 'Lady Luck'"

"And don't you forget it" Heather said, her normally high and bubbly voice dropped down an octave.

Yami turned and looked Joey's daughter over quickly. It was amazing how she was a mix of Mai and Joey. She had Mai stunning looks, not that Yami looked that hard. She also had Joey's heart and will enver to give up. She also tended to be a flirt like her mother and flighty like her father.

But when it came to a game….she was a hell cat in disguise.

Both Mai and Joey were tough fighters, and this had transferred into Heather. She was skilled in all sorts of games of chance, as well as a great bluffer and hussler. She could play poker without batting an eyelash and slots without losing a cent. It was no wonder she was rapidly being banned for some casinos while others were courting her, thinking they could break her streak.

She always broke them.

"Your turn Lys."

Lysandra held out her hand, and the dice floated to her. She smiled, and rolled, and grinned as they bounced.

"SQUEEEEEEE!"

Kaos sputtered and summoned a shield, water bouncing off it's clear surface and riaing down at his feet. He sighed, and summoned a rag to wipe it up, keeping the shield up to prevent his shift from being soaked…well, more soaked.

He was right now standing barefoot in his kitchen, in a pair of blue jeans rolled up past his ankles and a wet, tight fighting t-shirt. His snow white hair was pushed back, wet from the splashing, his war paint faded away to nothing to make him atleast appear normal.

If you were in the mood to called a 7 foot tall man with white hair and glowing eyes 'normal'.

Next to him, in the sink of his Michigan mansion, was his infant son, nude like a cherub and gumming a rubbed duck. He looked at his father and giggled, then splashed the water again.

"Come on Siris, can we make it that daddy doesn't have a bath tonight?" he paused. "Unless the bath is one where you are no where around and mommy is lathering me down."

"Sque?" Siris said, tilting his head.

"Nevermind." Kaos said, removing the shield and putting the no tears shampoo on his head, lathing his soft baby hair up as he cooed and played with the duckie. Kaos summoned a pitcher, and after a final wash down, lifted Siris out of the tub and wrapped him in a soft yellow towel. "how do ya feel buddy?"

Siris nuzzles her cheek and yawned, closing his eyes, his little hands clinging to his father's t-shirt. Kaos smiled softly and kissed him on the top of his head, carrying him to his crib in his and Neph's room.

"There you go Siris." He stroked his side, and Siris let out a mummer before drifting to sleep. Kaos' eyes flashed, and Siris was instantly dressed in the softly baby pajamas he could think of, decorated with puppies and kittens playing. He set his teddy bear in the crib. There was no need for a baby monitor. With all his children, be they blood or the Chitoshis, he could always snese when they needed him, and would come at the moment they needed.

Which explains why I felt that tug at my heart back when Gala was a baby, yet I didn't even know she was alive. Kaos sighed at that thought. The same held true for Kaikou. His first two children had not even meet him till they were adults. A normal man would have been depressed about this. Maybe even dwell on the past. Kaos wasn't a normal man. No, he just sucked it up and dealt with it. He didn't sit by and let it hurt him.

He just performed a spell that turned each one into a baby and let them live a life with him for one full day, allowing them to be togethering duing first words, steps, learning to fly…everything.

Yes, Geno "Kaos" Roads wasn't a normal man.

He walked out and faded to the living room, right next to Neph, who smiled. She put down her magazine and patted her lap. "Lay down."

Kaos smiled,a nd rested his legs in her lap, looking up at her happily. She strokes his head and he let out a purr.

"Long day."

"Very long" Neph said.

Kaos sighed and closed his eyes. "Glad you agree."