Tiredness...I've been tired all day, though. (shakes it off)...hmm, to eat popcorn or not to eat popcorn...Well, while I think on that, you read. Enjoy!

Polaris18: Heh, foul-mouthed boys. Of course, I've heard Kanone be not-so-innocent at times, too.

Eyes: Only when he's in the bedroom.

Kanone: The usual rules don't apply there, especially while we're having sex.

Me: (sigh). That's your excuse for everything...thanks for reviewing!

CeTe: Hmm, it must be a conspiracy against you. If only I had known...Heh, Kanone could kill him in a room full of people... Chase is safe no where! This chappy will be fun...I can't wait (celebrates by eating popcorn). It's really all we have, we're going to the store later, lol. Thanks for reviewing!

Answer: The quote was from Kiyotaka to Madoka. The episode was Day of the Defeated.

Points: Polaris18:3 (3 bonus points)

BadluckGoodluck:0 (1 bonus point)

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Eyes and Jack had managed to calm their significant other down, and the four (along with Callia) were sitting in Kanone's living room. Eyes was sitting on Kanone's lap, and he looked to his boyfriend when the older one sighed, "What's wrong?" he asked, softly, as not to draw attention to him.

Kanone leaned his head on Eyes' shoulder and smiled up at him, "It's nothing." he said, very unconvincingly.

"Kanone." Eyes said, letting him know to come clean.

"I'm just worried, that's all." Kanone confessed, "I'm sure it's all over nothing, though." Eyes nodded, but said nothing more, and laid his head on top of Kanone's.

"They're a cute couple, aren't they?" Jack, who was sitting on a couch next to Chase on the opposite side of the living room. He could hear the two whispering, but couldn't make out any words.

Chase smirked slightly, "Yeah, that kid can make even Kanone look good."

Jack elbowed Chase, "Don't be an ass." he told the chuckling one.

"You knew I was an ass long before we got together." Chase said in his defense, "You're stuck with it now."

Jack sighed, "Yeah, it wasn't my smartest move."

Chase was about to ask him what the hell that meant when a knock sounded on Kanone's door. Said boy looked up, and glanced quickly to the others, "Here goes nothing." he commented. Eyes scooted off his lap, standing up, and Kanone mimicked him. Jack, Chase, and Callia, who had been sitting quitely (for once), all joined them in their move to the front door. Kanone hesitated once more before opening it to reveal the same man from earlier, Ted. The aging man smiled at the group of people, "Well, hello, there. Mr. Hilbert, good evening."

Kanone just growled in the back of his throat, "I have a request." he said, finally.

Ted tilted his head to the side, "A request?" he repeated.

Kanone nodded, "I want to go with them."

"Go with them..." Ted sighed, "I'm afraid...I can't allow that."

This time Kanone growled out loud, "Why the hell not?" he demanded, "If it's just for a little while, then what possible harm could my presence bring."

"It's not that you would bring harm, it's just against policy." Ted looked to Eyes, "Now, if you're ready, we'll go."

Eyes leaned back against Kanone, frowning. Kanone wrapped his arms around the smaller boy, "Screw your damn policy, you're not taking my boyfriend without me!"

Jack placed a hand on Kanone's shoulder, "Remember what they told Chase." he said.

Kanone remembered all too well what Chase had said they'd do if he was a problem, but right now he couldn't care less, "I won't..."

"It'll be okay." Eyes interrupted him. Kanone looked down in shock, waiting for the younger one to explain. Eyes smiled faintly and turned around, wrapping his arms around Kanone's neck, "Remember what I told you." he said, "Nothing will tear us apart; not even the gods themselves."

Kanone smiled, "I know, but...I just don't want to risk you getting hurt again. I promised to protect you, and if something happens..." His rantings were cut off by Eyes kissing him.

Eyes moaned softly into the kiss, completely ignoring the other people in the room. When he pulled away he smiled a little wider up at Kanone, "I'll be fine." he promised, "Besides, I'll have my mother there with me, and you know she'll go on a killing-spree if she loses me for even a second."

Callia scoffed at the snickers, "I would not..."

Kanone laughed, "She's right; she's not kind enough to kill them. She'd probably just maim them and leave them to bleed to death."

Callia smacked Kanone in the back of the head, "Well, I can see I'm no longer wanted in this house." she said, stepping closer to Ted, "Guess I'm ready to go."

Kanone snickered, but Eyes just frowned, "I'll miss you." he whispered, looking up to Kanone.

The latter looked down, "It won't be for long." he assured the silver-haired boy. One more quick kiss was planted on his lover's perfect lips and then Eyes was out of his grasp and next to his mother. Kanone looked to the older woman, "Take care of him." he told her.

Callia's first response was to raise an eyebrow and ask him who he thought he was talking to, but she just smiled and nodded, seeing that Kanone was truly worried, "I will." she replied, kissing the top of Eyes' head.

"I'll go get the others." Kanone informed everyone.

When he was gone, Ted turned to Chase, "And you, Mr...I'm sorry, what did you say your name was?"

"It's Chase." said man informed the other, a bitter tone in his voice.

"Of course, Mr. Chase." Ted said, smiling, "Shouldn't you be at home, getting your..."

"They know what's going on." Chase informed him, "They'll be fine until I get back. How about you keep your damn nose out of my business?" he suggested.

Ted frowned, "I'm afraid it is my business..."

"Not yet it isn't." Chase growled.

Ted was saved from making another comment and getting his ass kicked by the sound of someone crying. The five looked towards the stairs where Kanone was coming down, a crying Jeremy in his arms, "I don't want to leave!" he objected, clinging to Kanone.

Kanone sighed and just hugged Jeremy closer, "I know, dear, but it won't be for long." he said in an attempt to comfort the boy, evidently it didn't work.

"Why do I have to go at all?" Jeremy asked, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Things change." Kanone told him, "But you're coming back, I promise you that." Kanone smiled in an attempt to brighten Jeremy's mood as he approached Eyes, "Don't worry, Eyes will be by your side the entire time."

Jeremy looked to Eyes as he was handed to the younger one, "You will?"

A faint smile crossed the brit's lips, "Of course." he promised, "I won't leave you alone."

Jeremy sniffed back his next torrent of tears and looked to Kanone, "Okay...I'll miss you, though."

Kanone softly kissed Jeremy's forehead, "I know you will, I'll miss you, too." he mimicked the motion on Eyes, "I know I don't have to tell you to keep an eye on him."

"Of course not." the silver-haired one responded, then turned his attentions to comforting Jeremy.

Kanone turned to the others that had followed him downstaris as well, and frowned as not one of them had a smile on their faces, "Come on, now. You won't be gone for long, and we'll all have a party when you return."

A few grins and smirks at such typical Kanone behavior were seen from a few, but most were simply too depressed about the recent turn of events to smile. A teenage girl finally approached Kanone, eyes nearly watering, "I don't want to go." she confessed in a whisper.

Kanone smiled softly, "I know you don't, Tabitha, but you have to. I'd be in a world of trouble if I refused. You remember everything I taught you, right?" A nod from Tabitha brought a smile to Kanone's lips, "Good. You won't have a problem, then." He pulled her into a hug and she rested her chin on his shoulder. After a few moments, Kanone pulled back to look into her soft, green eyes, "You'll be fine." he assured her, "You're a strong girl, and I have complete faith in you." He turned to the rest, "In fact, I could say the same for all of you." he said, smiling, "As long as you all paid attention to what I taught you."

Everyone nodded their agreement except for one small boy, who looked away, nervously. After a moment, he stepped foward and Kanone recognized him as the newest addition to the household, "Master Kanone?" he asked in a shakey voice.

Kanone smiled a little; Connor wasn't quite as nervous as some had been (not even close to Eyes), but the strangest things scared him. His greatest fear of all was disappointing Kanone, and he had a feeling that was what was about to happen, "What is it Connor?" he asked.

"Umm...I..." Connor trailed off, biting his bottom lip and avoiding eye contact like the plauge.

Kanone chuckled and walked over to him, lifting his face with a couple of fingers, "Yes?" he asked, a friendly smile on his face, "You don't have to be shy, just tell me."

"I'm not quite sure...that I've caught on entirely...to the lessons, I mean." Connor confessed.

Kanone frowned, this could be a problem. Connor had only been there a little more than a month, and Kanone dedicated all the time he could to teaching him, but most of the time he was wither busy or couldn't find the boy. He didn't know what to do about this particular situation, but didn't want to scare or upset Connor, "I know." Kanone told him, "I'll take care of it."

"Thank you." Connor whispered, allowing a small blip of a smile to show.

With that promise made, Kanone turned his attention back to Ted, "I'll allow Connor to leave on one condition."

"Do you really think you're in the position to do that?" Ted asked him.

Kanone glared at the older man, "If you value your life I am."

"Was that a threat?" Ted demanded.

"Yes, as matter of fact, it was." Kanone told him, "Now that we've established that, back to the topic."

"You can't threaten me." Ted growled, "I can have your ass thrown in jail for that."

"You'll be dead before you do." Kanone told him, "You're already on my bad side, don't make it worse."

Ted was about to object when he saw the glint in Kanone's eye telling him that messing with him was not a good idea, "What's the condition?"

Kanone smiled, "You see, Connor has only been with us for a short while, and I haven't had the time to teach him everything everyone else knows. However, I won't allow him to be the only one left behind. Regardless of his performance on these tests, I want him returned with the others."

"Not possible. If he doesn't pass the tests, he's not allowed to leave." Ted informed him, "I can't make exceptions."

Kanone glared at him, "You can, and you will. If I find that he's not among the group when they return, I'll hold you responsible. I don't care what strings you have to pull, just make sure it gets done."

Ted saw that it was a foolish thing to disagree, so he simply nodded, "Alright." he finally agreed.

Kanone smiled, "Well, then, now that that's settled..." he turned to the mass of people behind him, "I'll miss you all, but don't worry. Besides, if they do anything to you, I'll hunt them down myself." A couple chuckles errupted at this comment, but Ted just shifted uncomfortably, knowing Kanone probably wasn't joking.

"If you're ready, let's go." he told everyone, then turned and walked out the door, everyone following behind. Callia was the second to last out and Eyes brought up the rear, Jeremy still in his arms.

The silver-haired boy gave Kanone one last, lingering kiss, "I'll be back soon." he promised.

Kanone smiled and nodded, "I love you."

"I love you, too." Eyes said before he disappeared out the door.

Kanone sighed as the door shut, and turned to the two remaining men, "Well, that's it, I suppose." he said, frowning. He knew it would hurt to see them all go, but this was almost unbearable. He didn't know how long he would last without them all, "Callia, Jeremy...Eyes...Please return soon." he thought.

Jack noticed his friend's state, and went to him, pulling him into a hug, "It'll be alright." he assured Kanone, "They'll be back before you know it."

"I know." Kanone whispered, "I'm kind of tired, though, I think I'm just going to go to bed."

Jack nodded, a little worriedly, "Okay, we'll call you tomorrow." Kanone nodded in agreement, though he hadn't really heard Jack's words, and headed upstairs after muttering a 'goodnight' to both the men.

Chase glanced down at his watch, "We should get back. They'll probably be there soon."

"I'm worried about Kanone. I don't think he's handling this very well. Especially being all alone like he is..." Jack looked to Chase for his opinion.

"He did seem unusually depressed, but that's to be expected. I'm sure he'll get over it in a few days."

"This isn't something you just get over." Jack argued, "I know it's not permanent, but it's going to go really slowly for him until they get back."

Chase nodded, "That's true. Did you have an idea?"

Jack grinned, "Actually, I just thought of the perfect idea."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Aw, so sad...everyone's gone. They'll be back soon, though...right? Hmm, maybe not. Let's hope nothing happens! And what's Jack's idea? How could he possibly cheer Kanone up? I don't know...heh, oh, wait, yes I do. Review!

"I just have a way with the really cute ones."

a)The Lamenting Angel

b)The Man in the High Castle

c)The Happiness of Those Who Believe

d)Like A Swan

Good luck!