Chapter 85: Of Ice and Eldrich Runes

So, before anyone impales me for being four months late with this chapter:

1) My father died;

2) US politics (2016 was a shit year all around);

3) Mourning my father's death and dealing with the aftermath (which I'm still dealing with, to be honest);

4) college

So, yeah, those are the reasons why I haven't updated in forever. No one's fault except truly unfortunate circumstances. BUT I have every intention of finishing this story, so updates should speed up a little. I should have the next chapter up in the next couple weeks, anyway. I wanna try setting up another schedule before things get out of hand again.

Anyway, on with the chapter!

Carter held the metal pole in between two hands, forcing one end into the sand. Standing up straight, she found out that said pole was almost as tall as her, just like how her beloved scythe was. It was too light however, since there was no blade or guards on it. Still she tried out a few moves, slashing up, down, shifting her weight and moving her palms to maintain grip as the staff slid in and out of her grasp. The air made slicing sounds as she quickly moved, the middle section of the pole sliding across the back of her neck as she leaned to the side, twisting her waist and spinning the metal haphazardly around her arm before finishing off the move with one end punching the ground, as if the imaginary blade had just bisected an enemy clean in half.

Ben blinked, his arms crossed, his own practice pole on the ground. "I'm gonna die."

Carter bit back a laugh, instead giving him a kind smile. "No, you won't. Besides, I'm at a disadvantage here. I'm not even in the water."

Ben took a look to his left, where the gray-blue ocean met the beach. The sun was still climbing high into the sky, the dry air quickly warming. Ben could see the ocean slowly turning a pristine turquoise as the waves languidly lapped against the sand, and as he took a breath through his nose he recognized the stinging scent of sea salt in the air.

She was right, Ben figured, knowing that his girlfriend was strongest with a large source of water nearby. Of course, she would have been nigh unstoppable if she were actually inside it, but she was purposely limiting herself for the upcoming exercise. It was a kindness, since Carter could probably kick his ass with or without it. She had been trained to take down enemies quickly and efficiently, so her actually giving him a chance to win was actually something of a gift.

But now that Ben thought about, perhaps it was more of a double-edged sword. After all, they were on a beach, meaning that it would have been normal for the two of them to don swimwear. And they did.

…It figured that the first time Ben would see his girlfriend in a bikini would be at a time where he couldn't actually enjoy it.

Heads up! A familiar voice shouted in his head. Ben looked up in time to see a thin metal staff aimed at him. He barely jumped back in time, the end of the staff instead hitting the sand. A large cloud of dust sprang up, and Ben had to blink quite a few times so he wouldn't get sand grains in his eyes.

There was a shift in the wind next to him, and he barely dodged to the left as Carter sliced down her pole. Another plume of dust billowed up, but Ben merely summoned some wind and swept it to the side, revealing Carter with the pole over one shoulder, a hand on her hip.

"You fighting or what, Tennyson?" she taunted, voice low and dangerous. "I don't have all day."

Keeping himself calm, Ben quickly side stepped and went for the attack, jabbing up, left, down at her hips before attempting a kick at her head. Expression carefully blank, she blocked them all with her weapon before raising a hand to catch his foot. One hand clutched at his ankle, the other holding the pole down by her side as she twisted to the side, the uncovered half of her face twisting slightly with disgust.

"Is that all you got?" she scoffed.

Ben narrowed his eyes, and then smirked.

Throwing his staff to the side, Ben used his free leg to jump into the air. Carter's arm bent involuntarily at the new weight, and she made a sound of confusion right before Ben twisted his waist and sent a kick right into her face.

Carter was sent sprawling backwards as Ben flipped through the air and did a three-point landing. He looked up briefly, an apology already on his lips as he watched his girlfriend quickly pick herself up from the ground. There was a thin trickle of blood coming from her nose, but she quickly wiped it away. Ben slowly stood back up as she tossed her own pole away, and he gulped as he saw how her now too sharp teeth looked behind her Cheshire grin, the pupils of her eyes slashed like snake eyes.

"Better," she purred before she ran at him.

She was so much faster now, that terrible grin invading his personal space as Carter suddenly punched him, throwing hardened fists at his sides, his face, his chest, even his arms as he desperately tried to block every attack. His feet skidded as he was sent backwards and he could feel the promise of bruises on his pale skin.

Carter suddenly grabbed his arm and jumped into the air, twisting around him like a snake and curling her legs over his shoulders so his throat was trapped. He choked as a vice-like grip wrapped around his neck. Hands went up to the legs that were hurting him in a desperate attempt to get them off, but with every motion of Carter's body had him whirling around, the sky blending into the sea and sand as his mind screamed for air-

With a last burst of strength Ben threw himself to the ground, the pressure around his neck gone before his back hit the dirt. He choked again and then sucked in greedy gulps of air, his vision swimming. But then everything sharpened with near perfect clarity, and he almost gave a long shout of pain as he could feel his pupils slimming into slash marks and every tooth suddenly sharpening into wolf-like fangs. Adrenaline was suddenly coursing through him, and he felt the urge to attack, attack, and attack until there was nothing left of his opponent, until his bloodlust was finally sated.

He grinned at the surprised look on Carter's face. "Is that all you got?" he taunted, his voice gravelly and ominous.

And then he flipped over so that he was standing in front of her. In that split second he could see her shock melt into something fierce, a smile as lethal as she was playing on her lips. His hand curled into a fist and he drew it back-

She punched him right in the face, blood spurting everywhere.

Ben staggered back with a laugh, spitting red out onto the sand. And then he dropped to the ground and did a side sweep that Carter saw through instantly, back flipping away before she was caught. Ben just ran after her, using circle like steps to dodge attacks and hit her in her weak points, most of which she blocked.

Side step, haymaker, judo flip, kick to the face: it was a whirlwind of assaults, a horrid game that was played with such practiced ease and speed that Ben could barely keep up. But he was laughing as he ducked, Carter's calculated kick nearly grazing the top of his head. He aimed a jab at behind her knee, but she drew back too quickly, a near hysterical laugh erupting from her mouth.

(Hyenas, he would later think. We sounded not quite human, not quite animal.)

Ben side stepped another fist and grabbed her arm, attempting to flip her over and finally finish all this. But he could feel the lean sinewy muscle working beneath the skin, and suddenly his world was turned upside down and right side up again. His chest collapsed as he was thrown bodily to the ground, eyes closing as he sucked in more lungfuls of precious air, blood from his nose carving a trail down his cheek to his ear.

Something warm dropped beside him, and Ben could smell mint and sweat through the metallic stench stuck in his nose. "Well aren't we a sight for sore eyes," Carter joked weakly, cuts and bruises littering her face and torso.

Ben coughed wetly and asked, "Do you always train like this with Evan and Sam?"

Carter closed her eyes and made a soft 'hum' noise. "Always. We're prepared to fight to the death at any moment. There's nothing gentle or glorious about that."

Ben sighed in resignation and smiled reassuringly at her. "I get it. Still hurts like hell though."

Carter snorted, her usual smirk returning and her gray eyes bright. "Come on, I'll fix you up."

"Fix yourself first," he told her immediately.

She gave a flippant wave of her hand. "It's cool dude, boyfriends get special privileges."

He pouted. "Boyfriends make sure their girlfriends get the help they need."

"Shut up and sit up, Tennyson."

"Ugh, fine," he groaned as he slowly lifted himself off the ground. His body screamed in pain but he clamped his now blunt teeth against his lower lip and pushed through. He drooped once he was upright, his head too heavy to lift itself. He could feel cool glowing hands touch his shoulders, the magic spreading and eating away at the wounds. He made a content little noise in the back of his throat and languidly opened his eyes.

In the post-battle haze he was in, Ben had to marvel at how genuinely weird his life had become. Granted it was always weird (thanks Omnitrix!) but the changes that came with the upgraded version of his watch were strange, even for ten-year-old Ben. He couldn't complain though, not even when his thoughts grew too loud and his nightmares too realistic, when he woke up in a cold sweat with his bottom lip caught between his teeth so he wouldn't let out a scream.

(After all, he always had someone with him to comfort him through the worst. And if that didn't help, he had five wonderful people he could count on. Ten-year-old Ben never would have anticipated that.)

At least any physical changes weren't too strange. Ben had always been a short kid with elbows that stuck out and an overall scrawny physique. He was still unfortunately short but at least he had more muscle. It wasn't noticeable underneath his clothing, but any wiry strength he had before had at least doubled, the results being taut, powerful sinew. It was kind of a shame that no one really noticed. But then again people might start asking questions, especially now that Ben had quit soccer.

…and now that Ben thought about it, was having people not notice actually worth it? Before this beach outing Sam had dragged him swim suit shopping, declaring that he needed something other than the baggy green trunks he normally wore. Ben had protested hotly, which sparked a twenty minute argument that forced Ben's mom to kick them out of the house before Sam threw the nearest flower vase. (And if Sandra started hiding all the fragile things in the house, Ben wasn't going to complain.)

Sam and Ben had ended up in a sports shop of all things, which meant that Ben was currently wearing swim trunks meant for actual Olympic athletes. And…it actually looked good on him, mostly black and clinging to him without showing off too much. Even the thick purple bands climbing up and down the sides of his thighs suited him, despite purple not being his color. Ben shouldn't have doubted a girl who had willingly fought against the DNAliens in stylish red heeled boots.

"Move your head," Carter ordered him, her hands sliding from his shoulders. His body no longer screaming in agony, Ben complied and felt cold, soft hands gently grip his face. A soft glow appeared just underneath his eyes, so Ben closed them, giving a relaxed sigh.

For a second there was the afterimage of Carter, wearing nothing but a black bikini with lime green straps and trimming, well-toned muscle normally hidden underneath layers of black finally fully revealed. The straps were thin, much too thin to last in a fight; in fact, her entire outfit shouldn't have survived the abuse she just took. At yet somehow it was intact, looking like it had just come off the shelf while her skin was bloody and bruised.

And now that Ben really thought about it, the same thing applied to him. What kind of magic were the two of them wielding to not suffer any clothing damage? Did the others have it? That would definitely come in handy when-

"All right, done," Carter announced, letting go of Ben's face. He made a displeased noise but opened his eyes, staring her right in the eyes.

"Now you," he gently ordered her.

She rolled her newly black eyes and smiled. "Fine, fine. But we're swimming later. I need to replenish energy after all this."

"Same," Ben admitted, chuckling lightly. He laid back across the warm sand, a soft breeze tickling at his nose. "Think I can take a nap before the others get here?"

"I think that's doable," Carter admitted, a glowing hand already at her shoulder. "Just relax for now."

Ben breathed in the salty air and heard the waves gently lapping at the beach. The sun was bright, the sand gently baking. His eyes closed, exhaustion rolling though him. A tiny smile wriggled across his face.

His scar hadn't hurt in days.

Later that afternoon

Gwen briefly looked up from her book, turned back to it, and then shot her head up again. "What are you doing?" she groaned.

Kevin and Sam looked innocently at her. "We're definitely not burying Evan from the neck down," Sam said as she poured sand from a bucket onto Evan's spluttering head.

"And we're definitely not going to make a funny video out of it," Kevin told her, phone in hand.

"…why do I hang out with you children?" Gwen muttered before going back to her book.

"Because you looooove us," Evan sang as Sam patted down the sand around his neck.

"Don't deny it Gwen, I can see you smile!" Kevin called out with a smirk. Gwen merely hid behind her book further and tried to stop the grin playing at her lips.

"Carter, what are you doing? People are staring," Sam said with a roll of her eyes. Everyone turned to see Carter holding Ben's ankles around her waist, literally dragging him towards them. Ben was on his back, crossing his arms and pouting as he was dragged across the hot sand, the dust clinging to his damp body.

"I was having a nap," Ben spat out as Carter finally neared them. She dropped his feet and sat down next to Gwen, her upper body in the shade. Ben sat up and shook off some of the sand from his back.

"I told you if you didn't wake up soon I would drag you," she pointed out as she handed Gwen a bottle of water.

"Yeah, after you dumped sea water on my face!"

"Nice!" Evan said. "Kevin, high five yourself, my hands are stuck." Kevin did so with a serious expression.

"Oh dear lord what are they doing now?" Carter muttered exasperatedly.

And then Evan shouted (in a half-decent Irish accent of all things): "I AM THE SAND GUARDIAN, GUARDIAN OF THE SAND!"

"POSEIDON QUIVERS BEFORE HIM!" Sam shouted, throwing herself against him and putting a melodramatic hand to her forehead.

"FUCK OFF!" he yelled at the sea, subsequently startling a flock of seagulls.

"…and people are staring again. Wonderful," Gwen said sarcastically. She gave up on her book and put it away.

"People are always staring at us, Gwen," Carter said sweetly. "We're just too beautiful."

Gwen mulled it over for a moment before breaking out into a smug grin. "I'll drink to that," she said before gulping down some water.

Ben just shook his head, lightly chuckling to himself. "You guys are insane."

"And yet you're friends with us," Sam said as she walked over. "Imagine that."

Ben pointedly did not focus on her red bikini with golden flower decal and looked her in the eyes. "I'm a weirdness magnet. It's cool but I would be pretty happy without getting beat up all the time."

Sitting down next to him, Sam gave him a look. "You don't get beat up all the time. The rest of us make sure of that."

"It's true!" Gwen chimed in.

"I would love to sit here and agree with you, but Kev and I need to become Internet famous," Evan suddenly barked at them. "So please shut up, the camera is rolling."

Gwen rolled her eyes and stood up, untangling the white beach towel at her waist and revealing a light blue monokini. "Anyone want to swim with me?"

"I'll come," Carter said, standing up as well. "Another swim can't hurt me."

"I'll stay here," Sam piped up. "Swimming in something as huge as the ocean doesn't exactly fill me with confidence."

"No worries, I'll just drag you out if you get stuck in one," Carter reassured her.

"Still." Sam turned her head to the two dumb boys in front of them. "Someone has to make sure they don't hurt themselves."

"An excellent point, Ms. DuBaer," Gwen said in a snooty English accent. Her voice returning to normal, she added, "We'll see you in a bit then." Carter waved goodbye as they circled around Kevin and Evan and made their way towards the sea.

"You really don't have to worry about the ocean," Ben said quietly once they were out of earshot. "You got enough people to help you if you ever find yourself drowning or lost at sea or anything like that."

Sam gave him a soft smile. "Thanks Tennyson. But I'm not afraid of the ocean. I just worry about it. I'm essentially the Human Torch; I'm kind of useless when wet."

"That's fair," Ben said, shrugging his shoulders.

And then Sam gave him a leer. "You sure you don't want to join your girlfriend right now?"

Ben narrowed his eyes and leaned away from her. "What are you implying?"

"You don't wanna see your girlfriend half naked and wet?" she taunted, poking him in the shoulder. He hurriedly batted her hands away, blushing madly. Except that it only spurred Sam on more, the prodding becoming weak slaps which he fought against. It was childish and humiliating, especially since Sam was winning.

"What are you doing?" Kevin asked, hiding his phone in his black swim trunks. He then grabbed Evan by the bicep and lifted him off the ground, the sand sliding off him like water before snaking around the ground and finally lying flat. He quickly shook out his legs, his green and white swim shorts clinging to his waist and falling gently to his knees.

"Ben needs sex ed!" Sam called out. Ben clapped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late.

"Ooh, Benji's got a thing for Carter!" Evan taunted, slouching over and pointing at him before laughing derisively.

Throwing an arm over Evan's shoulders, Kevin quickly matched his leer and said, "Now Ben, when two people love each other very much-"

"SHUT UP!" Ben screamed, his voice too high pitched. His three friends fell over themselves laughing as Ben put his flaming face in his hands and wished the earth to swallow him whole.

Wiping away tears from her eyes, Sam calmly said, "But seriously, have Cordelia or Isaac give you a run through on sex ed. It's way better than what they have in most schools."

"Yeah, because he should totally ask his girlfriend's grandparents on how sex works," Kevin scoffed.

"He should if they're doctors," she protested.

"Besides, Isaac and Cordelia are thorough when it comes to these things," Evan said. He then averted his eyes. "Very thorough. You'll learn a lot at any rate."

"Just think about it," Sam told Ben, ignoring the embarrassed pout he was sending her way. "Better to be safe than sorry."

"How did we even get on this topic?" Ben groused, the tips of his ears a violent red. "Carter and I aren't anywhere near that point! We started dating a couple months ago, Jesus Christ!" He threw up his hands in defeat.

"Hey man, these things happen," Kevin said blithely. "Better to talk about it and be prepared. Glad you two are taking it slow though."

Evan, however, furrowed his brow. "I'm surprised Carter hasn't brought it up. I'm pretty sure Cordelia has been hounding her about it recently."

"Or Pearl," Sam pointed out. "You remember how close those two were."

"If they were so close, why hasn't she ever mentioned her?" Ben snapped.

"Because when Pearl left, she literally went off the grid," Evan snapped back. "It was almost like breaking up their friendship for good. It hurt her. A lot," he insisted, narrowing his eyes at Ben.

"Hurt us all, to be honest," Sam admitted, smiling sadly. "We couldn't contact her, she refused to contact us… none of us knew if she was alive all this time, and no one was willing to tell us anything. We understand why she did it now, but when we were younger…"

"What was she even doing?" Kevin asked, raising an eyebrow. "If she had to break all your hearts like that, Pearl better have a damn good reason."

"She did," Evan admitted. "She was-!"

Screaming could be heard down the beach, quickly followed by people running for their lives. Closer inspection showed that it was a sort of rock golem, over eight feet tall and covered head to toe in glowing purple eldritch runes. Sam couldn't make out what they were, however: some of them were merely thick lines running up and down the golem's arms and legs, leading to a circular symbol on the forehead or shoulder or somewhere else entirely, while some runes that looked vaguely like spiders with six legs dotted the torso. All were mapped out on limbs the size of tree trunks.

And then it let out a fearsome roar, hands clenched as if prepared for battle.

The four of them stood up and stared. Kevin and Ben had their mouths open in shock. Evan looked vaguely offended. And Sam just glared and spat, "I hate everything right now!"

The rock monster roared again and marched onto the beach, stomping on a sandcastle and generally acting menacing. It worked on the beachgoers, who were all running away screaming. For the four kids in the golem's sight, however…

"How do we fight this thing without it hurting any innocent people?!" Kevin exclaimed.

Suddenly a large square of pink energy stood in front of the golem, blocking its path. "You let Gwen handle it," Sam pointed out, a bit more relaxed now.

The golem walked right through the shield, the mana breaking into glass-like pieces. The monster didn't show any sign of discomfort or slow down, it only continued its march towards the good guys.

"…or not," Sam said, eyes wide.

Suddenly the sea moved, waves stretching out past the beach and forming gigantic hands that surged over the sand. They wrapped around the golem from head to foot and formed an orb, completely cutting it off. The monster prepared to step out of it but then the orb froze, the water sealing it within two feet of pure ice.

The others cheered, with Evan shouted, "Aw yeah, I didn't have to do anything!"

Gwen suddenly ran up to them, shouting, "It's gonna break out soon!"

"…really?" Ben asked as they all heard the calamitous sound of ice breaking apart and explosively shattering, the shards flying out in a destructive wave. Gwen whipped up a shield right before a couple of them struck the five down, the ice shattering once more with a deafening sound. Icicles the size of tree trunks littered the beach, some of which crunched under the footfalls of the golem.

"None of this is working," Carter said tersely as she suddenly appeared behind the mana shield.

Ben held up his Omnitrix. "I can turn into something! Maybe Humungousaur, or Goop can melt him-"

"Nah dude, we got this," Evan told him. He then turned to Carter. "You know how the roads in Michigan are utter shit?"

She rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it. It's especially bad in spring because of the winters there."

"Think the same thing will apply to Rocky over there?"

Carter grinned. "Took the words right out of my mouth." And with that the two leaped over the shield with practiced ease, landing on the sand and taking off running. Evan then jumped and kicked the golem in the leg, its knee cracking and forcing it to stumble. Some of the nearby ice shards liquefied and covered the knee, freezing and then melting and then freezing again within seconds, the cracks growing bigger and the knee becoming weaker.

Kevin grinned nastily and crowed, "Oh, I like where this is going! Yo, wait for me!" He ran past the shield and up towards the golem, grabbing its oversized arm and absorbing the material. Now covered in armor (sans runes, thankfully) he punched at the monster's side, cracking it. Water was instantly upon it, freezing and then melting and rapidly repeating the process.

"You know, this might just work," Gwen said, smiling. She dropped her shield and she and Sam ran up to help. Sam slammed her heel into the face of the monster, cracking it nearly in half. As the hole was filled with freezing water, Gwen sent another wave of mana at the creature, only for the energy to shatter against the rock.

"That's…new," Gwen said as the others continued their onslaught.

"And this is taking too long," Ben said as he ran past her. Slamming down on the dial, green light washed over him and turning his form gelatinous. "Everyone get back!" Goop shouted as he swirled around the monster, hovering around the head before slamming his liquid body onto rocky shoulders. Instantly the slime spread, smoke wafting above the monster as the acid rapidly began to eat at its skin.

Limbs began to fall off the golem, the runes slowly beginning to fritz. The golem roared in pain, stepping back and waving its lone arm in a last ditch effort to get rid of the acid. The little UFO that controlled Goop suddenly pulled up, creating a head for the alien to speak. "Gwen! Check it out! Acid rock!"

"Ben, get clear! NOW!" Gwen shouted as something pink glowed behind the golem.

"What? Why? Does he have friends?" Goop asked as a vortex appeared behind him, the wind pulling him and the golem towards it. Goop's eyes widened as he looked back. "Oh, that's why." He then slid off the golem and slithered across the sand as fast as he could.

The wind pulled the golem in, the remains of its body seeping into the vortex. The monster let out one last horrific roar before its head disappeared inside the portal. And then the mana disappeared completely, leaving behind a deafening silence.

Goop settled on the sand and quickly turned back into Ben. The boy smiled at his cousin and said, "Magic vortex? Nice work Gwen!"

"It wasn't me," Gwen protested.

"Who else could it have been?" Kevin asked as he and the others walked towards them.

"How many other people do you know use mana?" Sam wondered. "Cause as far as I know, the three of us haven't dealt with anyone like that." Carter and Evan nodded in agreement.

"Well, the only other people I know of are Hex and Charmcaster," Gwen muttered as she thought to herself. "But why would they attack now of all times?"

"We don't know what their motives are," Evan told her seriously, "but we do know who to watch out for. Should we start a search for them?"

"If it is Hex and Charmcaster, then they'll come after us when they're good and ready," Ben said. He nodded towards Gwen. "A lot of the bad guys we've faced in the past did the same thing. I say we just prepare for the inevitable."

"Either way, it's not like we can stay on the beach," Carter pointed out. "We're the last ones here, people will naturally blame us."

"The thanks we get for saving the day," Kevin said, shaking his head.

Meanwhile

The man in gray crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side. "Was that everything you were hoping for and more?" he asked dryly.

Charmcaster gave him a scathing look and went back to her golem, clucking her tongue irritably. "This is a waste of my time," she told the creature. "Good thing you can't feel pain," she added as her eyes glowed pink. She stretched out her hand and snapped her fingers. The golem let out another roar as the eldritch ruins shone hotly, searing at its skin and creating even more cracks in its broken body. Within seconds the creature imploded, its remaining limbs crumbling to dust, its head cracking apart once it hit the floor.

"Couldn't you have just fixed it instead?" Chase said, shaking his head. "What a waste."

Charmcaster turned up her nose. "With that amount of damage, it's just easier to make a new one. Besides, it's not like it has feelings."

Chase eyed the remaining two golems near him. "Uh-huh."

Charmcaster ignored him, instead focusing on the circular portal in front of her. Surrounded by mana, the window showed the six teens gathering their things, shaking off sand and laughing with each other. It was a sweet, idyllic scene, Chase thought idly. A shame Charmcaster had them within her sights.

"Perhaps merely destroying Gwen Tennyson was too simple a revenge," Chase suggested. "While I admit it's the easy way out, I doubt that'll work here."

The witch held her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm, you may have a point there. She did steal my spell book, after all. The least I can do is steal something important to her."

He tilted his head thoughtfully. "It didn't look like she had a boyfriend in that little clique of hers. You know how teenagers get when they fall in love."

Charmcaster made another clicking sound with her tongue. "Damn, that would have made things easier for me. Maybe I should try splitting her little friends up. Have my creatures distract them while I take on Gwen myself."

Chase made an approving noise. "An excellent idea, and much more likely to succeed."

The young witch glared at him sourly. "Don't patronize me, old man. You're getting something out of this too, you know."

"I am," he agreed. "I get to see how mana gets used by two different sorceresses with completely different mindsets. It's a learning experience."

Charmcaster rolled her eyes. "Whatever makes you happy."

Chase almost sounded smug. "Oh it does. It certainly does."

If there's two things Chase is consistent on, it's how much he likes to learn and how much he likes to see people learn from their mistakes. He's an evil dude, but he's a teacher at heart. XP

So, thoughts anyone?