Episode Two

Echoes And Visions

Anna had a good sleep, but when she awakened, she heard a voice in the living room. She almost forgot that since last night, she wasn't alone in the apartment anymore. She wondered who Tyler would be talking to. She got up, and headed out as Tyler kept muttering in that language of his. She considered waking him up, but before she could, Tyler awoke with a shrill, terrified scream as he awakened on his own. Anna took cover behind the kitchen counter, but listened to Tyler's heavy, uneven breathing as she imagined him looking around, trying to remember where he was and how he got here. There was a pause before she heard him speak to her. "It's alright, Anna - you can come out from under the counter." Anna slowly poked her head up, and saw he wasn't facing her. Indeed, he was actually looking out the window. "I'm sorry if I woke you," he croaked in apology.

"You didn't," Anna told him. "I came out here because I heard you talking in your sleep. Must have been having one hell of a nightmare."

Tyler heaved a trembling sigh. "You're not wrong," he affirmed. Anna frowned slightly.

"Are... are you alright?" she asked hesitantly.

There was a long pause before Tyler's head moved up, and he stood tall. "I'll be fine," he said, his tone cold with a touch of malice in it. He turned to face Anna, his expression serious and almost... angry. "What's on the agenda for today?"

It took a moment for Anna to respond. "Well, I left a few things at my lab last night, so I need to visit the Production Facility to get them and check on a few things. After that, I was thinking we hit up a local cafe and have at least some coffee." Tyler's expression didn't change in the slightest as he processed this, then he closed his eyes and breathed a short, sharp sigh.

"Very well. Let me collect my effects and we can be on our way."

Anna was about to tell him, "Good little human," but thought better of it. She just met the man, and given his sudden change in tone and composure compared to what she dealt with last night, she surmised he'd take offense to that. Call it a hunch. She watched as he dematerialized that sleeping bag, then collected the pistol that had been laying under the head rest. As he materialized a black, hooded cloak, she wondered if that pistol had been beneath his pillow the entire night. Was he that paranoid? Anna remembered the traps and noisemakers she found in the alley when she met him - between that and what that pistol was loaded with - armor-piercing ammunition - Anna suspected he was expecting something. A threat only he was aware of. And he expected them to come for him at night, when he was sleeping. But that begged the question - who was he hiding or running from? And why did they want him dead? Only Tyler could answer those questions. And Anna decided it wise not to press for that information just as she had met him. When he was ready, Tyler motioned his arm toward the door. Anna wordlessly acknowledged, heading for the door and allowing him out. Tyler exited Anna's apartment as he drew the hood of his cloak over his head, making him appear akin to the dark wraiths in horror shows and movies. She could see nothing beneath his cloak, save for his face. In an effort to make conversation, Anna asked, "So, Tyler... do you have any... non-military tech in those Transporter Buffers of yours?"

"A lot," Tyler answered in monotone. "Medical, civilian, industrial... take your pick."

The mention of Medical tech got Anna's attention - namely because that's what she'd been working on lately. Could it be that Tyler held the key to what she'd been trying to accomplish? "Medical tech," she said. "What kinds?"

There was a pause before Tyler made his response. "The medical tech I have I developed on my own, with aid from the Force - but the technology itself, I based on Borg Nanoprobes."

"Nanoprobes? So, like Nanotechnology?" Anna asked, incredulous. "You developed that on your own?"

"With aid from the Force, yes," Tyler answered.

"What is the Force?" Anna inquired, rather curious as to the nature of this "Force" Tyler kept referencing.

"The Force is a difficult thing to describe, let alone understand," Tyler explained. "It's often described as a mystical energy field that is made up of all living things. It's energy surrounds us and binds us, but for some, it has... other effects. Take me, for example. Long ago, I learned to create things through the Force."

"You could actually... make things, with the Force?" Anna asked, bewildered at the very idea of it, but at the same time having a hard time figuring out how it was possible. She'd never heard of anything like that before.

"Yes," Tyler responded. "It's been done before - by a machine. The Star Forge. It could create anything by harnessing the Force. The powers - and mysteries - of the Force are limitless, as are the applications. How I harnessed that same power... I can only speculate."

This gave Anna an idea. "And you used this power to create Nanoprobes," she said. "Could these Nanoprobes be used to tackle tough diseases?"

Tyler remained silent for a while, and several times, Anna thought he'd left her side as they walked. But every time she looked behind her, he was still there, his face staring her down, but portraying deep thought. Finally, he made a response. "I'm beginning to sense the Force wanted us to meet for a reason."

"How so?" Anna asked.

"Given the questions you've been asking, I feel you're involved in research most others would be hesitant to approach," Tyler explained. "And I imagine you've hit a wall with something. So, I suspect we met for a reason: You need something for your research that will help you solve the problem you face. And I happen to have it. It'll take time to confirm it as working, but it seems we can help each other out."

Anna stopped and faced Tyler. Was he actually offering to help? "You still haven't answered my question," she told him.

Tyler's head moved slightly to the side, but his eyes never left hers. "Theoretically, yes. But we must be extraordinarily careful - this kind of tech can be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands. I derived the Nanoprobes from Borg Nanoprobes - the Borg were well-known for ravaging any race that attracted their attention, and even tampering with technology derived from theirs presents great risk. I don't know if this world is in a 'verse that has any Borg living in it, so until I do know, we must be cautious."

"What do you propose?" Anna asked, already liking where this was going.

"I'll need to set up some subspace inhibitors in your lab - that should keep our work from attracting the Collective's attention. Once that's done, I will replicate Nanoprobes for you to study - so long as I know what they're being used for. I already escaped one corrupt faction that would have done anything to get their hands on my tech, I don't need to escape from another," Tyler said.

Anna shrugged. This seemed fair. But for reasons she didn't understand, she threw in a bonus: "You'll need a place to stay," she told him.

"I have no money, hence why I was sleeping in the street," Tyler stated.

"I didn't ask for any, did I?" Anna countered. Tyler looked taken aback, but it barely showed on his face. But, by all indications, he understood what Anna implied.

"You sure about that?" he asked. "Working with someone is one thing; living with them is still quite another."

"If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't have made the offer," Anna said. Tyler paused, nodding his head slightly as he considered this.

"Very well," he said. "I will coordinate my efforts with yours. But we should get moving - we have a lot to do." Anna and Tyler started walking again, and before long, got to the production facility where Anna worked. Anna waved her status as the facility manager around to the personnel at the front entrance, and was able to get Tyler through the door. It was as they were about to round one corner that Anna's coworker - Damion - left from an adjacent room. He looked over, spotted Anna and Tyler, and a frown appeared on his face.

"Another experiment, Anna?" he asked with evident hostility.

"Leave him alone, Damion," Anna told him. "I gave you what you wanted, so we're even."

"We're a long way from even, Anna," Damion sneered. He looked to Tyler. "Where did this 'human' come from, anyway?"

"That's none of your concern," Anna responded. She and Tyler pushed past Damion, and he made another comment:

"Wouldn't surprise me if this thing had a disease or something - I'd get myself checked, if I were you." Anna kept walking, but when she looked back at Tyler, she discovered he wasn't close behind - he stopped at Damion's comment. "Oh, what's wrong, human? Did I touch a-" Damion began, but was cut off suddenly by a dull rumble. Anna looked to Tyler and saw he was visibly angry - and that his right hand was twisted in what looked to be a three-fingered pinching gesture. Curiously enough, Damion seemed unable to finish his sentence - in fact, it looked as though he were choking. His hands grasped at his throat for whatever it was that was strangling him, but he was unable to dislodge whatever it was that was there. Anna immediately made the connection. The Force could be both a tool... and a weapon. Tyler turned slowly toward Damion, making his gesture clearly visible, and spoke in a deep, menacing voice that was not his,

"I'm normally a very kind and understanding person, but one thing I will not tolerate, is insolence!" He tightened that gesture, putting more pressure on Damion. "Insult me again, and you will learn in the worst of ways that you are farfrom the most dangerous creature in this 'verse! And if you don't believe me..." he again tightened this gesture, bringing Damion to his knees, making Anna glad they were the only ones here. "... try me." Tyler then turned away, dropping his hand and releasing the gesture, and walked toward Anna briskly, and Anna saw and heard Damion gasp in air. She considered adding her own comment, but decided not to, and walked after Tyler.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that," Anna apologized as she and Tyler got to her lab. "Damion's always been an asshole, but I didn't think he'd openly insult a random stranger."

"Your... coworker... needs to learn to better control himself, and what he says," Tyler said as he finished putting one device in a ceiling corner of her lab. "Where I'm from, bullshit like that can get you fired... and often killed."

"I'm sure," Anna said. Tyler finished with one corner, activated the device, and then moved on to another. Anna looked to the doorway as she continued, "So how did you-" She stopped midsentence when she saw Maverick standing in the doorway. Since he'd married Anna's half-sister, he'd lightened up considerably - thanks to Shea's influence - but he still got that disapproving look when Anna did something he felt was reckless. However, she didn't see this look on her brother-in-law's face - rather, he seemed... curious. Or was it amused? She couldn't tell. But then, she realized it wasn't her he was looking at...

{{{{{ }}}}}

Tyler was busy installing the second subspace inhibitor in the second corner when he heard Anna's comment - or rather, how she cut herself off. The reason was explained when a slight tremor in the Force alerted him to the presence of another. Tyler was immediately defensive. The dragon in the doorway was too close for his pistol; he'd be on top of him before he could even draw it. So, he called up one of his lightsabers beneath the cover of his cloak, prayed the dragon's hide wasn't energy-resistant, and craned his head to look back at the light-scaled dragon.

"You really put some fear into my sister-in-law's coworker," the dragon said, his tone having a masculine quality to it. "He's so terrified of you, he refuses to press charges and openly admits he provoked it. Anna did tell him to leave you alone, and even if he did press charges, he knows he has no proof. I don't know how you strangled him like that without putting so much as a finger on him, but it's my opinion that arrogant, over-ambitious prick deserved it." The dragon smiled. "You have my thanks, for putting him in his place for Anna's sake." He paused, then offered a hand. "I'm Maverick. Chief Bryce and Minister Emera both asked me to protect you for a while." Tyler slowly turned to face Maverick, hesitating for a moment before that vicious, malicious visage on his face vanished as he adopted a more diplomatic look. He clipped the lightsaber to his belt and took Maverick's hand in his own for a handshake.

"I suppose you already know who I am," he told him.

"Getting there," Maverick responded. He cast a glance down and Tyler assumed he noticed his lightsaber. "Nifty little tool you got there."

Tyler smiled and brushed a hand on his weapon. "Quite," he agreed. "Even when inactive, it can diffuse a potentially-volatile situation."

"That sounds like firsthand experience talking," Maverick commented. Tyler couldn't help but chuckle.

"It is..." he said as he took two steps back. He unclipped the weapon from his belt and activated it. Instantly, an imperial crimson blade sprang from the hilt with a snap-hiss! "... because where I'm from, most people know what kind of weapon this is and how dangerous the warrior wielding it can be." Contrary to being frightened, Maverick seemed intrigued - as did Anna. It was Maverick who spoke first.

"Then you are fortunate to have such a weapon, let alone that you know how to use it." He cast a glance at the subspace inhibitor at the corner, then looked to Anna. "New experiment?"

"Same experiment, different approach. Those are merely... security precautions," Anna responded, seeming somewhat evasive. Tyler suspected there was something about this research she didn't want known even to her own family. But Tyler refused to pry; not now. She doubtlessly had her reasons.

"Security precautions against what?" Maverick asked.

"Against attracting the attention of a threat none of you would be able to face," Tyler said before Anna could. "Until I know if they even exist in this 'verse..." he nodded to the subspace inhibitor. "Those will keep us from attracting their attention."

"And who are 'they', if I may ask?" Maverick asked.

"Cyborgs from elsewhere in the universe," Tyler answered. "I can say no more than that, other than any kind of advanced technology tends to... attract them. Like carrion birds to fresh meat."

Maverick raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you're taking such precautions at all, Anna, let alone going to these lengths," he said, his tone impressed.

"Is this the part where you rat me out to the council?" Anna asked irritatedly.

"Rat you out?" Maverick repeated. "Hell no! I can't do that when you're taking these lengths to be safe! Even the council would appreciate that!"

"Even so, there is no need for them to know at present," Tyler stated.

"Oh, I see," Maverick chuckled. "Don't want to give false hope."

"That and I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea, let alone see... other uses," Tyler agreed. He then remembered he had his lightsaber active, and switched it off, then clipped it to his belt.

"So these... cyborgs. Who or what are they?" Maverick asked.

"Officially, they're nothing. They don't exist until proven otherwise, and the council doesn't need to know anything about them. That said, off the record..." Tyler paused, weighing if this was necessary, but decided it best if they knew what he knew. "... they're known as the Borg Collective. Ruthless collection of cyborgs driven by the desire to consume technology in their relentless pursuit of perfection. They've ravaged countless races and worlds, and I do not wish this world to be added to that list. So until I have definitive proof they are not here, in this 'verse, that's what the subspace inhibitors are for; they will keep our experiments from being detected by them."

"Wait... is that what you came here fleeing?" Maverick asked with a concerned frown. "From these... Borg?"

Immediately after being hit by that question, Tyler remembered the nightmare from the night before - the night terror that had haunted his sleep ever since that night it all happened. The flashes. The explosions. The ground quaking beneath him. The ash in the skies. And the screams... He shuddered visibly before he shook his head. "... no," he said softly. "I was fleeing from a cataclysm caused by a threat much closer to home than the Borg ever could have been." He then returned to work on the inhibitors, trying to shake the memories from his head...

{{{{{ }}}}}

Maverick was both impressed and concerned. Yes, this man was intelligent - just as intelligent as Anna, and with double the sense of safety, but he clearly had history. Something he held back, a burden that weighed him down. Something had happened to this guy. Maverick knew what that was like. And it made Maverick want to know what it was. He looked to Anna, who subtly shook her head. Don't. Maverick approached Anna and whispered, "I know where you found him, but is there anything he's not saying?"

"No," Anna whispered back. "At least, nothing he's told me. I'm convinced something happened to him before he came here; and whatever it is, it gives him nightmares."

"Given the look on his face when I asked him about what he was running from, I figured that much," Maverick admitted. "But what could it be?"

"I think that this cataclysm he keeps referencing is something he saw firsthand, and he knows who did it," Anna murmured. "But don't talk to him about it. I only just-" When Tyler spoke again, it was in a language Maverick thought he'd never hear from a human:

"One does not witness the death of a world and emerge from the experience... unscathed..." Maverick was stunned. How did he know that language? He leaned to whisper in Anna's ear.

"I think you're right," was all he said.

It was then that Tyler cried out, fell to the floor, dropping his tools, and clutched his head. His skin turned ten shades of white and he shook violently. Maverick and Anna both rushed to his side, and noticed his eyes moved so rapidly, looking for something they couldn't discern, and his face looked absolutely terrified. He managed to get on his hands and knees, and just before this strange occurrence ended, he vomited on the floor. After coughing and heaving a trembling sigh, he produced a towel from somewhere in his cloak and wiped up his mess with shaking hands. Before he did, however, Anna noted the color - it was a phosphoric green, and it seemed to glow. Tyler was silent for several moments longer, before resuming work on the inhibitors. Anna and Maverick both noted his deathly silence, staring at him with confusion and worry. Just what was it that just happened? Was he sick?

"I'm not sick," he finally said, as though summoned by this mental speculation. "Extreme visions sometimes do that to me."

"Extreme visions?" Anna asked. "What did you see?"

"I'm not sure - but both of you were there, and there was an explosion," Tyler answered. Anna and Maverick exchanged worried looks. An explosion? How? Did they survive?

"Bad?" Maverick asked.

"I don't know," Tyler admitted. "I only got a brief glimpse. And just for a split second..." he stopped for no clear reason.

"What?" Maverick queried. Tyler paused, then shook his head.

"Never mind. Don't worry about it - just flashes of fear from a man who saw more than his fair share of death."

Maverick was again looking to Anna, who shook her head. He will tell us when he's ready. She turned and resumed what she was doing earlier, and when Tyler finished installing the subspace inhibitors and had them active, he produced a series of vials and offered them to Anna. "These are what we will use as the base Nanoprobes - we will program them to our specifications, then turn them on what we see fit and go from there."

"So they require programming," Anna surmised. "How are we going to do that?"

Tyler materialized a strange computer terminal and set it on a free space on the counter. "This terminal should streamline the effort. First thing, we need a sample of whatever we are hoping to cure."

Anna hesitated fractionally before responding, "I can get them. It'll take a bit, but I'll get them." Tyler nodded, then looked around the room.

"Well, that's all that needs doing at present - subspace inhibitors are active, and the computer terminal we'll boot up when we're ready," he said. He touched a hand to his head and closed his eyes. His breathing was heavy and distinctly draconic, which made Maverick frown. Bryce was right. Dragon eyes, now dragon breathing - something definitely was beneath the visage of a human in the man now before him. Now Maverick was convinced he wasn't entirely human.

"Well, I don't know about either of you, but I didn't eat breakfast this morning - mind a bite to eat?" Maverick asked.

"Yeah, I kinda rushed here before grabbing any coffee. What about you, Tyler? Mind some break... fast..." Anna's speech slowed, and Maverick noticed what she did. Moisture, creeping out from beneath his eyelid. Was he... crying?

"Are you alright?" Maverick asked.

Tyler's face suddenly contorted into an expression of anger. But his voice was slightly trembling but still even when he spoke. "I'll be fine. Just a headache." When he opened those yellow eyes, there was a small line of moisture at the bottom, and he walked past Anna and Maverick before they could really see anything else. He stopped just shy of the doorway. "I spotted a cafe not far from here on the way over - if they're open, we could go there, but I have no money to speak of."

"Not yet, at any rate," came the rumbling, deep voice of Bryce. This evidently startled Tyler, as in a flash, he leapt from the doorway to the other end of the room, brought out his weapon, and it flared to life with that iconic hiss. He held his weapon combat ready, and looked like he was about to lunge when he stopped at Bryce's voice. "Hey, hey! Hey! It's okay! It's me! We met last night!" Tyler evidently then recognized Bryce, and nearly slumped over as he relaxed. His weapon deactivated, and he stood up straight.

"Please, don't do that again," Tyler requested. He steadied himself on a nearby counter as he clipped his weapon to his belt. Again, he held his hand on his head, keeping his eyes closed. And this time, Maverick saw tears drop from his face. Maverick went to approach him, but Anna and Bryce were faster. Anna gently put hands on his shoulders, and Bryce spoke.

"Hey... I didn't mean to startle you like that," he said. "Had I known-"

"It's not you!" Tyler almost shouted. After a heavy, trembling breath, he added in a substantially softer tone, "It wasn't you... was never you... never them..." His voice dropped almost to a whisper. "It was always me... always me... me..."

"Easy, son," Bryce tried to console him. He looked to Bryce and Anna. "Did someone else attack him on the way here?" he asked. Anna shook her head.

"Not physically," Maverick said. "But Anna's coworker, Damion, hurled unwarranted insults at him, but that's already been dealt with."

"Then what has him on edge?" Bryce asked.

"Live as long as I have, see the things I've seen, then tell me you're not so jumpy you'd decapitate someone that reached out to hug you!" Tyler snapped. He was standing up at this point, his hands wide and held back in a stance that reflected rage, his eyes filled with a malevolent anger.

"Easy, sir - I know you've been through hell. And I fully realize that might be an understatement to you - but we are trying to help you. Just calm down," Bryce told him. His fists tightened, and his face started to twitch.

"Earlier, you mentioned a cafe you spotted?" Anna inquired. This gave Tyler pause, and his hands slowly returned to his side. His face stopped twitching, and he breathed a deep breath, again with that draconic rumble.

"Yes," he finally said. "I... I'm sorry. It's just..."

"It's okay - the fault is mine; I startled you," Bryce apologized. "And I fully realize that a cataclysm would be a terrifying thing to see."

Tyler sighed, and again started for the door. "It's far worse than you realize," Maverick heard him say in that language. Bryce frowned, evidently not recognizing this language. He donned the hood of his cloak and walked out the door.

Bryce looked to Maverick and Anna and asked, "What did he say?"

"He said that it's far worse than you realize," Maverick responded. This time, Anna frowned.

"Wait, you can understand that language?" she asked.

"Yes - I remembered it because Miles and I took classes of it early on. It's an ancient Dragon dialect that hasn't been spoken in centuries. We were lucky to get the class, too - the language stopped being taught the year after we graduated that grade. Miles and I used it to communicate in secret, before... you know," Maverick explained.

"So... before that vision of his, what did he say then?" Anna asked.

"He said that 'one does not witness the death of a world and emerge from the experience unscathed.' Something tells me this guy has been through more than the wringer," Maverick responded.

"Indeed, it seems that, whatever happened to the world he came from, he was there to witness it firsthand," Bryce surmised. He looked to the doorway, then added, "We better catch up with him; I came here to tell him the council set up his starting resources, but the money will take a bit to clear the bank." The three dragons headed out of the hall in time to see Tyler's cloak disappear around the corner at the other end of the hall. Maverick paused fractionally before following him with Anna and Bryce. Was he listening to the conversation, or was he lost in memories?

{{{{{ }}}}}

The more Anna spoke with Tyler, the more was revealed to her. More than ever, she believed that whatever happened to him haunts him, and now, she had reason to believe he was tormented, night after night, day after day. Tormented by memories of what he had and how it was all taken from him. It jerked at heart strings she didn't realize she had. And she now knew she had something of an influence on him. She mattered to him, though to what extent was not clear. This made her feel what Tyler felt - that they met for a reason. More than a chance to coordinate with each other. The reason drove much deeper than that. But Anna wondered just what the future had for them. When she, Bryce and Maverick finally caught up with Tyler, he'd just exited the production facility. Not a word was said as he moved to the cafe he spoke of before. Once inside, he sat down at a table, and Anna felt Maverick bump her.

"Maybe we should give him some space," he suggested. Anna nodded, and she, Bryce and Maverick sat at an adjacent table. A yellow-scaled flier approached him, and thankfully, he didn't react the way he did with Bryce. The flier stayed with him for a a couple minutes, going so far as to put her claws on his shoulder in a friendly gesture of what Anna took as sympathy. She eventually nodded, and then looked to Bryce, Maverick and Anna. She approached them, and then asked, "Did you guys tell him you were covering his tab?"

"Yes," Bryce spoke. "What did he order?"

"Just a large steak and coffee," the flier responded. "Anyway, my name's Adine. What can I get you all?"

"I'll have a steak and a soda," Bryce requested.

"Meat snacks for me - and a soda," Maverick added. Anna, who'd never taken her eyes off Tyler, hesitated before making her order: "Scrambled eggs and bacon with some coffee." Adine nodded, looked between Tyler and Anna, then asked,

"Is he alright? He seems sad."

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you," Anna told her.

"Namely because we only have a few scraps of information," Maverick added. "But from what we do know... he's had a rough time of it." Adine nodded slowly, then headed off to take care of the orders. Anna couldn't keep her eyes off Tyler. He was hunched over, leaning on the table, head in one hand, the other resting across the table. She may have only known him for a matter of hours, but Anna couldn't take it. She had to do something.

"We need to help him," she whispered to the others.

"We are," Bryce said.

"He needs some space, Anna," Maverick stated. "I was the same way when Miles died."

"He may seem like that, but context clues say different," Anna stated.

"What context clues?" Bryce asked.

"Things he said," Anna responded. "'Live as long as I have, see the things I've seen,' he said. He may seem like he wants to be alone, but something tells me he's been alone too long; needs the company - he needs people around him."

Bryce frowned. "Since when did you have a heart?"

"Since a total stranger saved my life from a half-dozen blue-light bandits and listened to me when he wouldn't to anyone else," Anna stated quietly, but sharply. "You saw it, Bryce. He trusts me. Let us show him I'm not the only one he can trust." Maverick hesitated, but nodded in agreement, then motioned Tyler's direction. Bryce smiled, then flashed a thumbs-up, before they all got up and approached Tyler. "Care for some company?" Anna asked him softly.

Tyler didn't even look at her, eyes still closed. "I'm surprised you'd even approach me, given my earlier display."

"You were startled," Anna said. "Happens to all of us."

"Not that," Tyler sighed. "Me. Getting emotional."

"Being emotional isn't a crime," Bryce stated. "And given what you've been through, we figured you'd like some company."

Tyler heaved a long sigh. "You have no idea how true that is," he spouted in that draconic tongue.

"If that is true, why do you speak of it like you wish to hide it? Are you so afraid of letting others close to you?" came Maverick's response in that same language. This elicited a more noticeable response from Tyler, who opened his eyes and lifted his head to look at Maverick. But this was followed by a soft huff, and his head sank back into his hand.

"Of course you speak Dragon. Why wouldn't you?" he murmured.

"Honestly, it's almost a forgotten language here," Maverick told him. "But if you so long for company, why push us away? Why distance yourself from us?"

"I wasn't the one who left me alone at this table," Tyler growled.

"You still could've come sit with us," Bryce commented.

"And you could have done the same for me," Tyler countered. "So who's to say who's really at fault here? It's a two way street. Besides... you aren't the first to make the mistake of thinking I want to be alone. You aren't the first to try and distance yourselves from me. And you sure as hell won't be the last."

Anna slowly sat down next to Tyler. "And that's what we're trying to correct. Don't shut us out. Don't push us away." She paused, letting her words sink in. "We know you've been through hell. We know it's given you nightmares. We don't expect you to tell us all about it when we just met you. But we're here for you."

"Kind words. I've heard them before," Tyler hissed, albeit not as severely as Anna might have expected. "And every time, it was a ploy to lure me into a trap."

"Yet here you are, being offered the same thing, and you see yourself this is no trap," Anna countered.

"Exactly," Tyler said. "And that scares the shit out of me. When something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. I've only known you a matter of hours. Yet you so willingly and compulsively offer me a home, a job..." He paused to wipe away tears. "... here I am, surrounded by the creatures I adore the most... surrounded by Dragons... and I'm so scared, I feel like a Romulan in a room full of angry Klingons."

Anna placed a hand on his. "I know what that's like - not knowing who you can trust. I know it's not easy to believe, but I've been where you are. And I know how deep it hurts. Whatever happened, we're here for you."

"Listen to her, pal," Bryce supported her. "We're on your side. Council's already approved your starting resources, just gotta give it a bit to clear the bank."

Tyler looked up at everyone with those tear-filled eyes. "Why?" he asked. "Why are you helping me?"

"Because here on our world, everyone matters - even a human from another world," Maverick told him as he took an adjacent seat. Bryce followed suit.

"We don't expect you to immediately open up to us... but when you're ready, we're here for you," Bryce assured him. Tyler hesitated, looking over the everyone present. Even at Adine, standing there with plates in hand filled with steaming food. His gaze settled on Bryce.

"Can you tell me something... off the record?" he asked quietly as Adine slowly served the food.

"I can't promise anything, but I can try. What do you want to know?" Bryce answered. In response, Tyler reached into his cloak and retrieved a small, rectangular metal plate and slid it to Bryce. What immediately struck Anna was that the metal bore a familiar logo of a red-colored XII. Anna realized she'd seen that before - one of the blue-light bandits had that tattooed on his neck.

Tyler tapped a finger to that piece and asked, "Have you ever come across that symbol before?"

Bryce picked it up and examined the piece, then looked up at Tyler. "Can't say that I have. Why?"

Tyler breathed a trembling sigh that Anna recognized as relief. "I... would prefer not to discuss who they are. All I will say... is that they... caused..."

Anna immediately made the connection, and was the first to voice it. "They were the ones that caused the cataclysm." Tyler nodded in affirmation.

"If that's the case, do you mind if I keep this in evidence? It'll be proof you have a valid reason for fleeing here," Bryce said.

Tyler hesitated for a moment, then softly replied, "Take it. If they are not here, then I have no further use for that." And began digging into his meal. Anna quickly scribbled a note on a piece of paper while Tyler was fixated on his food, then passed it to Maverick and motioned her head to Bryce. Maverick passed the note to Bryce, who read it, then looked to Anna and gave a subtle nod. With that, the group moved on to trying to help Tyler cheer up a little, or at the very least, get his mind off his troubles for a bit, all while wondering about this human with dragon eyes...