Null found himself staring at the strange box from which his father removed a container of noodles. It was cold on the inside, despite it being significantly warmer outside the box. He tilted his head and walked up to it, looking at the sides and then peering at the back to try and figure it out.

"What… is this?" Null asked eventually.

Teneris stared at him with his mouth slightly agape for a moment, then grimaced and shook his head. "Sorry. I forgot that the village didn't have…. anything. It's a refrigerator. It keeps food cold so that it doesn't spoil as quickly. It's pretty much the only use I have for the cooling system the moles have built into the foundation of Warfang. I don't like it cold, so I got them to funnel it all into the refrigerator. Saves on ice magic crystals."

"Huh…" Null looked at the bottom of the refrigerator and, sure enough, there was a pipe connecting it to the floor. He looked over at Teneris as he put the container of noodles into another metal box and pushed a few buttons. A low hum emanated from the box. "And what's that?"

"Reheater. It's powered by a fire crystal set into the roof of the device. Also invented by moles."

"Seems like the moles invented a lot of luxury items," Null muttered.

"And war machines. And measuring devices. And lighting systems that don't need fire. They're clever fellows." The reheater beeped, and Teneris extracted the noodles. He hissed at the heat as he quickly ferried it over to a bowl and dumped it all in. He set the bowl aside, then returned to the refrigerator to grab another container, this one with soup in it. "It turns out, not having easy access to magic tends to lead to a more innovative outlook. What initially looks like a weakness turns out to be a strength. No dragon could ever - well, that's not right. Guardian Volteer has been messing with machinery for at least the last ten years, and I'm pretty sure he's managed to make some rather incomprehensible devices that do things you could only dream of. But as a whole, dragons don't invent things. We have no real reason to."

"More innovative because they don't have magic, huh?" Null asked drily, "Could that have changed your outlook on other matters?"

Teneris winced, but nodded. He put the soup in the reheater before he said anything else. "I have many regrets, Null. If I could go back in time… but I can't." He sighed, staring at the gentle red glow of the reheater for a little bit before he spoke again. "So… magic negation, huh? Is that new?"

"Probably not. I've done it for years, just didn't realize it." Null looked down at one paw and flexed it. His claws were getting exceptionally sharp. Probably sharpened by his more frequent use of them. Unless these were the replacements for the ones that got stuck in that treant, those weeks ago. He didn't remember. "Every spirit gem I've touched has stopped working. The magic within just… ceases to be. Ferrus always said it was because they were trying to repair something that was broken, but it probably wasn't. Nobody ever used magic directly on me, so we never realized."

"Hmm." Teneris took the soup out of the reheater, dumping it into another bowl before waving his paws to try and cool them off. "You said you had theories earlier. Would you mind sharing?"

"Nature abhors a vacuum. Take something away and something fills its place. It works like that with air, water, heat, and probably some other things as well. Magic works the same way. Since I don't have any, and I guess can't have any magic, it just… stops existing," Null explained, "Magic that acts on objects gets siphoned out of the object, magic that acts directly on me doesn't have a proper target, etcetera. It doesn't explain everything; items with magical effects don't suddenly stop working forever, and I think I can stop magical effects on other people as well, but it's better than nothing."

"I see…" Teneris stopped what he was doing, pausing in the middle of opening a drawer to furrow his brow in thought. "And… just how extensive has your, uh, experimentation been?"

"Well…" Null rolled his eyes upwards as he gave it thought. "Spirit gems, dark gems - those were inside of the elementals I've killed, one touch was enough to drain those. A boread freezing beam, uh, there was some kind of anti-magic zone that made Apex tired but had no effect on me, mind magic, the hydra's magic acid, the gorgon's petrifying gaze, more mind magic from a paralyzing dart, a cursed scroll that incapacitated anyone who looked at it, a mana bomb that ignited all magic in the blast radius - although that one did knock me out - the fear magic scream of the revenant. Oh, uh, Cynder's wind tunnel. I think that's… everything? There might be other things I never noticed. Is there a reason you aren't using your magic to carry those bowls, rather than just burning yourself?"

"Yes - ow! A perfectly reasonable explanation." Teneris carried the bowls to a short table, setting them down before he dropped a spoon in with the soup and a fork with the noodles. "A perfectly rational explanation that happens to be that I have not used my magic for anything other than night vision in a very long time. I am extremely out of practice, and would probably just spill everything all over the floor. Soup or noodles?"

"What's in each?"

"Well, it's a beef broth soup with diced carrots and peas, along with small bits of cooked dough to round out the meal. Oh, and boiled beef. The noodles are a spicy dish I got from a restaurant that was founded by a dragon who'd been across the ocean. There's chicken in there, if I remember the original order correctly."

"I'll take the soup, I think."

"Okay." Teneris took the noodles to one side of the table, inviting Null to take the bowl of soup to sit opposite. The shadow dragon stared down at his meal for a little bit, then looked at Null with concern in his face. "The gorgon's gaze, the hydra's acid, and a mana bomb, huh?"

"It's not like I did any of those intentionally," Null mumbled, absentmindedly stirring the soup. It smelled better than anything he'd eaten on the trip, at least. Raw meat was fine, but not very flavorful. The Skavengers had just had dried rations, which had been bland, and occasionally some citrus, which had been better. And while the beetles had been the best hosts throughout the trip, Null shuddered at the thought of the mushroom stew. "Except the mana bomb. And the cursed scroll. I subjected myself to those after I figured out I was immune to magic. And, to be fair, it was the only way to escape the pirates."

"Still, it doesn't feel good to know that my son has been exposed to some of the deadliest things in the realms." Teneris sighed.

"I've been hurt more by myself than by any of those," Null muttered, leaning down to take a sip of the soup. It was… fine. Probably would have been better if it was fresh, but he wasn't complaining. Still better than mushroom stew. He looked up to see Teneris wearing a worried expression. "What?"

"Null," Teneris said softly, "Have you… have you been hurting yourself on purpose?"

Null looked away. "Not recently."

"Null." Teneris' voice was serious. "Did you attempt to kill yourself?"

Null didn't answer.

"I'm… so sorry." Teneris took a deep, shuddering breath. "Null, I'm sorry. I… I've failed you so badly if you felt like taking your own life was your only option. I stayed because I always thought you were doing well with Jaya, that I only made things worse, but clearly I was terribly wrong. I wish I had been there to help you."

Null wasn't sure what he was feeling. His emotions were all over the place, roiling in his chest, in his gut. Did he hate Teneris? Really? He thought he did, until right now. Did he hate himself? No… maybe. He wasn't sure. Did he even have enough energy to hate? Probably not. Did he want Teneris to take the role of his father again, to fill that hole in his life? …Null didn't know. But he did know he was hurting inside. That much he was certain of. His soul ached and he didn't really know why.

He was dimly aware of a larger form coming closer, and he shied away. Teneris hesitated, then let his outstretched paws drop.

"I keep getting other people hurt," Null said quietly, "Mom died because I didn't run fast enough. Apex has been sliced apart and enslaved because I didn't think quickly enough. And then he took the fall for me again when I knocked myself out with a mana bomb. Literally. I got out of it with scrapes and a headache and he got torn to shreds."

"It's not your fault, Null."

Null stared listlessly at the ground. He just… broke everything. Maybe he really shouldn't exist. Maybe that was the problem. He was a hole in the world, and it just caused problems.

"Listen to me, Null." A paw was placed on his shoulder, and he looked up to meet Teneris' dark eyes. "You are not the cause of these problems. You are not a burden. It doesn't matter what you can or can't do, or what happens to you and those around you. You have value. Because you are a person, if nothing else. But you are important to me because you are my son. Because you were brave enough to leave home, tenacious enough to make your way here through the Ancient Grove, and clever enough to outwit the pirates."

Null took a deep breath, trying to keep himself from crying. He was failing.

"Sounds like you've rehearsed that one." He tried to be snarky, but he couldn't back it with any effort.

"I've thought a lot about what I'd say to you and Jaya when I returned to the village," Teneris said, "I just… thought I'd be able to tell both of you."

"I miss her." Null's voice was hoarse. "I miss her so much."

"I know. I miss her too."

Null leaned forward just a little bit, and Teneris moved closer to embrace him.

"You've been so strong," Teneris said softly, "So brave. But you're safe now. You can grieve."

Null wept freely.

O-O-O

He wasn't sure just how long he'd been there, or when he finally pulled away from his father, but he knew he was starving when it did happen.

They ate in silence, but it wasn't tense or uncomfortable. Null was glad he'd picked the soup. His throat was sore.

He did feel like a weight had lifted off of him, though. Now that he'd taken some time to actually talk about it. Apex had comforted him before, but they hadn't talked about it. He didn't blame Apex for that. It just wasn't something the wind dragon was emotionally equipped to do. It wasn't something Null had been ready for, hadn't had time to deal with. He had been too preoccupied with actually making it to Warfang to process everything.

And now…

He missed Mom. Missed her soft voice and her loving embrace and her warmth. He'd still give almost anything to see her again. But he would be able to survive on his own.

No, not on his own. He had Apex. And now he had Teneris.

He didn't know if he'd ever really forgive Teneris. He certainly wouldn't forget what his father had done. But maybe he could move past it. Maybe he could learn to forgive.

Someone knocked on the door not too long after they were done eating.

Teneris didn't move at first, and Null quickly realized that it was because his shadow was slowly inching across the floor. After a moment it destabilized and dissolved, and Teneris shrugged before making his way to the front door. "Oh, you're back!"

Null poked his head out of the kitchen/dining room to see Spyro, Cynder, Sparx, and Apex entering the house. Apex immediately bounded over to Null, concern in his eyes.

"Are you okay? You look like you've been crying," Apex said.

"I'm fine. Just letting out some frustrations and pain." Null gave him a slight smile. "Nothing to worry about."

"...Okay. If you're sure." Apex shot a glance at Teneris, then settled down.

"How did it go?" Null asked, changing the subject.

"As expected," Spyro answered, looking at Null and Apex, "We've confirmed that it is the same revenant that killed Granite's squad. And… we need to talk about a few things."

"What… kind of things?" Null tilted his head.

"The two of you have exhibited some exceptionally rare abilities, with limits that we haven't really been able to find out yet," Cynder explained, "Abilities that could be exceptionally dangerous to yourselves and to those around you."

"That's not to say that you would do anything to hurt someone. To clear up that thought right now. We're both experienced with abilities that can get out of hand, and our goal is to prevent it from happening to anyone else," Spyro added.

"Which is why we want to offer the two of you the opportunity to practice in a controlled environment. To master your abilities with the best assistance we can offer," Cynder finished.

Teneris gasped, but Null barely heard it. He stared, dumbfounded, as his brain processed what he and Apex had just been offered.

"Congratulations kids!" Sparx announced with a cheeky grin, "You're being offered an apprenticeship!"