Disclaimer: Ditto: see previous chapters

Jake gave me an intreaged look, "Alright then. Let's take care of that while we don't have anyone to interrupt."

"Speaking of interruptors, where's Ka?"

"I believe he went after, nice chick," Jake pointed toward the direction Damien had went.

"You speak bird?"

"No, I read minds. Animals are hard for me but, for some reason, I can read him like a book. I can't even talk with Nica or Hunter, Ka must be special," he glanced at me and headed into a room on the ground floor. "Honey, I'm home." It was dark, except for a wall of monitors, "Not again," he leaned over a large computer chair. "We have guests."

I glanced through the data on the monitors, binary, and knew what it said. "Did we just enter the Matrix?" I laughed at Crow's question.

"No, they're records; birthdays, medical and family history, properties, bank accounts, pass ports,registrations," the chair swung around, revieling Rach, smirking at me.

"I'm impressed."

"I'm... stunned," Jake blinked at me, "That's the first time I've ever seen he snap out of it, at least that didn't involve physically dragging her out of the room."

I shook my head, "Humans. You had better be careful, they'll ba a hickup in the data when you enter it."

Rach blinked at me and looked at Jake, "I like her. Can we keep her?"

"Sure, hone," he patted her shoulder. "Just as soon as you can get a collar on her." He shook his head, "And mom was worried about a dog."

"Sorry guys," Crow held his arm out to me as my cloak swirled around me, revirting to a fabric choker, "I saw her first."

"Don't you mean him?" He cocked his head at me and laughed.

"I forgot, you were a guy then. The look on that elf's face was priceless!" He continued to laugh.

"Well, I'm lost. How 'bout you?" I smirked at Jake's words, Rach shrugged her shoulders.

"Why not? After all, Damien's taken Kage's image before. It's not that unheard of."

I shook my head as they looked at each other and let mey form shift to male, "Can we get this over with?" Their eyes flew toward me at the change in my voice. "I would like to hunt before the children return. That is, unless someone wishes to donate." They both blinked at me and headed out of the room.

"Skittish, aren't they?" Crow laughed and I followed them. "Hey, wait! You've seen The Matrix?" He had a stunned look on his face.

I gave an innoscent froun and blinked down at him, "It was a movie? Hm,... nope." I smirked and quickened my pace as Rach and Jake started up the stairs.

"Knives!" Crow rushed after me. I just laughed and slid into Michael's room, nearly colliding with Jake.

"Alright kiddies, no running in the house," Jake chuckled.

"Pot callin' the kettle black," Michael had his nose down a microscope and glanced over at me. "A new one?" He looked me straight in the eye and smirked, "No, old. Glad you're feeling well Knives."

"Wouldn't be the first rough night I've had and won't be the last." 'Even if I live to be a million.'

Jake gave a laughing cough, "She's,...uh... here to give a sample for you to test."

"There are a few rules to this," I took the glass tube that Michael held out to me. "Please, keep it out of the sun and contained. As I said before," I ran a nail down my arm, taking a few chunks of skin, "You can have it, if it doesn't crawl back to me."

I stared at Michael as he started working with the sample and my mind wandered back to a time before I knew how to shift or thought travel.

I had taken shelter from a kind man who had lived in a great castle. While I was in my death/sleep a neighborring kingdom had attacked with a great weapon that most had thought to be God's wrath. The castle no longer stood after the one sided battle. I was forced to put myself back together before I could heal and by the time I had, it was nightfall. I blinked and the memory was gone.

"What happened?" Jake looked like a child that was being told a story. "Please,.. What happened?"

"I... avenged him as payment for his kindness. The attackers never returned to their lands, they were... never heared from again," a sadistic smile curled my lips. "And I was well fed that year."

"Ever feel like you've missed something big?" Michael asked, even as he was fussing with a machine.

"All the time," Rach shook her head and went to nudge Michael aside. "Like this."

I shook my head and, my tack complete, left the room. "Wait up," Jake rushed after me, I didn't stop or slow down. "That... vision, was from... it had to be nearly a thousand years ago."

"Hm, is that all it was? Some centuries seem longer than others."

"Please, tell me, how old are you? You can just think it, or the earliest thing you can remember. That's all it would take."

"My earliest memory?" He winced as I remembered the snap of the whip father had once been so fond of. "Would drive you insane."

"Maybe that's what Damien saw. He's been around the insane long enough to know when someone's at the braking point," he gave me a nervous smile and blinked. "Kids? They're early," he rushed past me down the stairs.

I was waiting at the front of the house when he walked through the door. "I see no children."

He shook his head, "I said nothing about seeing." He smirked as a machanical wine started to become louder. "I just ment they were on their way."