Zoey watched Tech, concern making her eyes gleam. "Rythian, I`m worried about Techy."

Rythian sighed. "I`m worried about him, too, Zoey. I mean, I just lost family, too, but he`s just a kid, and it must`ve been hard on him."

Over the past week, Tech had become zombie-like; unsmiling, dead-eyed, and only attending to his most basic of needs. He was very disinterested and somber at all times, and he had lost a lot of weight.

"I don`t like it, Rythian." Zoey whispered.

"I don`t either." Rythian murmured to her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and bringing her in for a hug.

Zoey sighed and leaned into him. "I just hope nothing happens to him."

Rythian watched Tech over Zoey`s shoulder, frowning. "I have Tee watching him. If he tries anything crazy... Tee will save him."

LINEBREAK

'I know they`re watching me. I can feel their dirty eyes, like vultures they are. Their eyes burn holes into me. Hex doesn`t help at all, attempting to speak with me, tell me how sorry she is. She doesn`t know how much it hurts. She doesn`t know anything. No one around here does.' Tech thought, a sliver of anger breaking his unfeeling facade.

The anger quickly evaporated, leaving him numb and hollow once again. 'It would all be easier if I was dead. I would know no pain. I would feel no hurt. I would be free.' Tech looked up at the cliffs that bordered the castle on one side. His feet were guiding him forward before he even realized he was heading for the cliffs.

ANOTHER LINEBREAK

"Rythian! What`s he doing?" Zoey asked, breaking the tender moment they were sharing to run to the window. "He`s heading for the- Oh god!" Zoey ran downstairs, calling Tech`s name.

Tech glanced at Zoey, but before she could reach him, he floated into the air and flew up to the top of the mountain. He stood on the cliff overhanging a long drop, staring down at the ground thousands of feet below him. Zoey and Rythian landed behind him, and heard him ask, "Do you think it`d hurt? Would I die on impact, or would it just break me, and leave me alive, in a great deal of pain?"

Rythian inched closer, gesturing for Zoey to talk and keep him distracted. "I don`t think it matters, Techy, you just shouldn`t do it."

Tech chuckled humorlessly. "Why not? I have nothing to really live for."

Zoey gaped at his back. "You have so much to live for! You have your entire life ahead of you, Tech! You`ve had a great time, and you can continue to if you stop your craziness!"

Tech whipped around, liquid pain in his eyes. Zoey was shocked by the raw intensity of him. "You don`t know what I`ve gone through!" Tech screamed at her. He stormed towards her, his anger blasting out of him with every heavy step.

Zoey flinched away from his wrath, but then stood up straight, meeting his furious eyes with a question. "What have you been through, Tech?"

Tech froze, and his anger shattered at her concern and care. He seemed to deflate, and instead of a raging cyclone in front of her, Zoey saw a vulnerable child. "I haven`t had a great time." He whispered softly, so quietly that Zoey almost didn`t hear him. Tech turned away from the both of them, a shocked Zoey and a still Rythian, and stared into the setting sun.

"I had everything I could`ve wanted when I was younger." He began shakily. "Loving parents, an amazing sister, money. But everything changed when a monster took control of my life. The monster... was called... I can`t recall what it was called exactly, but it was a very powerful hallucinogen. I took it, and it made me do things... strange things that I`m not proud of. One day, I was compelled to watch the sun rise while under its influence, and it seemed like the sky was on fire.

"People came and took me away, because I had created the drug, and it was extremely harmful, and they wanted to know how to make it and where I was keeping my stock of it. They told me about the things I had done, and that they were going to make me repent for my inflictions. They brought in my family and friends, anyone I was close to, and killed them. They were all innocent, good people, and they all died because of my refusal to say anything. They had their whole lives ahead of them.

"They called in their boss, and he... he-" Tech fought back a sob. "He did things to me. Experimented on me. Left me a warped, twisted, machination of a person. An abomination. I can`t even survive without this stupid, goddamned jacket!" He pulled at the jacket, unzipping it and throwing it to the ground. He stared at the dark mound of fabric, and continued. "I- I just have no reason to live, and can feel him... calling to me. I can feel his hands. His cold, cold hands. He tells me to come to him, that he needs me for something. He`s a monster, and I want his voice t-to stop." Tech gasped, and doubled over, breathing hard. He looked up at Rythian and Zoey, a dark look on his face. "This may... be the end of the... line." He fought to breathe.

Zoey, still in horror about what all had happened to him, didn`t understand until he collapsed, coughing and gasping for breath, and she grabbed his jacket and put it back on him, waiting fo rit to heal him.

A voice spoke from behind them. "That won`t work, Zoey."

Rythian looked at the speaker and narrowed his eyebrows. "Hex?"

"He`s as good as gone." Her voice wasn`t the same. It was raspy and harsh.

Rythian stepped toward her, anger and suspicion flaring in his eyes. "How do you know?"

Hex laughed, but it was more of a cackle. "I`m actually surprised he lasted this long. We poisoned him a week ago."

Zoey gasped. "Poison? Wait... we?"

Hex grinned evilly, and nodded. A girl stepped out from behind her, and Tech gasped in recognition.

"Tabitha?" He choked, coughing out blood.

Tabitha smiled, looking as innocent as ever, but malice soon flooded her eyes. "I am real, and alive. I poisoned you in the cave, and now you will die, for killing Mom and Dad." Her eyes had hardened, until they were chips of amber steel.

Tech coughed up more blood, and spit out at her, "I didn`t mean to!" His body was racked with spastic fits of coughing and retching.

Hex watched with interest, while Zoey looked on in mute, frozen horror.

Rythian snapped out of his daze and, pulling out his katar sent it flying towards Hex. The weapon buried itself in her chest, and she only had time to gasp in shock before she fell over, clutching the weeping wound and screaming.

"I promised that I wouldn`t fail Master!" She screeched, panic lighting in her golden eyes. "Master!" She hissed. "I`m sorry!" Then her twitching ended, and her eyes glazed over, until she was staring ahead blankly, dead.

Tabitha wailed at her fallen comrade. "No! Hex!" Then she whirled to Rythian, her anger boiling over. "You did this!" She flew at him, raking him with her long fingernails and pulling out a dagger that had been hidden until that moment.

Zoey was knocked out of her horror-stricken stance when she saw the dagger bite into Rythian`s flesh. The wound was a punch to the gut, and she raced forward, taking her dark matter pickaxe and bringing it down onto Tabitha`s head.

A sickening sound filled the air, along with a pained scream from Tabitha, before she died.

Tech was worse, he had lost too much blood to possibly survive, and he was almost dead. But the spasms stopped suddenly, and he was laying on the ground, still except for the almost-imperceptible rise and fall of his chest.

Zoey fell to her knees beside him, holding his head in her hands. Tears rained down on Tech, but he smiled serenely, and slowly raised a hand to cup her cheek, leaving bloody red marks on her face.

"It`s okay, Zoey." He whispered to her. "I don`t feel any more pain." But his liquid pain trailed from the corners of his eyes." I didn`t finish my story." He murmured. "Then I met a dinosaur named Teep, and he took me to two people who I came to love and care about, even though I had only just met them." He coughed lightly, once. "One of them is holding me right now, and they`re worried, but it`ll all be okay. The other is stoic and strong, but he has to keep himself together, to protect those he loves." Tech gently pulled her head down to his, and kissed her forehead. Blood leaked from his mouth and nose, but she didn`t care.

Zoey held him close to her, crying harder than she ever had.

Tech pushed her back gently, and laid back, staring up at the moon, which was now high in the sky. "Zoey." He murmured.

"Yes, Techy?" She managed to sob.

"I don`t have long left, and so I ask one more thing of you." Tech`s eyes slid closed as he was talking.

Zoey squeezed his hand. "Anything." She promised.

Tech`s eyes opened very slightly, and he smiled, before mumbling. "Take care of him. He`ll need you." His eyes closed again, and he sighed heavily, a peaceful smile on his face.

His chest stopped rising and falling, and his grip slackened, leaving Zoey`s hand empty.

Zoey knew he was gone, and knew that she had cried a fair amount already, but that didn`t stop her from shedding more of her pain. Strong arms encircled her, rocking her back and forth, and murmuring to her that everything would be okay. But she felt as though it wouldn`t.

Tech was still and silent, his serene face bathed in moonlight, blood, and tears.