CH. 7

It's a long story…

Sami Stirred in her bed and let her mind catch up to her body. She knew she was back at the Saturdays house, safe. She also knew that her necklace was destroyed; this meant she'd have to talk to Doyle. Not the stupidly charming and juvenile Doyle but also the Doyle she'd known since she was fourteen and lived with till she was nineteen. The man who almost married her. The guy she wished she could've had children with. Now a new man took his place and this man was equally loveable and endearing, probably very confused right now, but still a man she'd grown to love. She tried to think of what she'd say once he came looking for answers. How would she express her failure without falling apart. He trusted her with his soul and she let it fall into the hands of some creatures. All these thoughts brought tears to her eyes. She went to burry her head in her pillow until she could pull it together, because lover, leader, or whatever other title she held in a given moment she was foremost a ninja and such conduct was unacceptable. Still though it felt good to wallow in self pity for a moment.

As she sobbed a warm body laid down next to her and patted her back a little. She stopped for a moment to recognize the loving gesture of her once lover. He pressed a hand against her cheek and whipped away her tears. She mouthed an 'I'm sorry' and he just kissed her forehead gently. " You did what I asked, its alright now." She sat up to argue back.

" It's not alright! I promise you that I'd keep it safe forever and I couldn't"

"Exactly. You couldn't and that's the way it went this time." He saw that she remained unconvinced. He pulled her in for a tight hug. She lost her self for a moment, letting herself indulge in the thing she'd missed most. His open affection even in the darkest moments.

"Sami, maybe it was supposed to be this way. Think about it that night at the bar and then you knowing my sister. I really think we are just meant to be together always. Maybe the universe is trying to give use another chance to be happy."

"Be serious Doyle! I'm not sure it's about being happy as much as it's about correcting a mistake on a decision we weren't ready to make. And lets think about what comes next. We fight we win- or lose-and then we try to hide it again and go our separate ways" She pulled back to look him in the eyes. She had been naive before and unwilling to accept reality but she knew that hardening herself now would spare her the agony later. Doyle however had a very different idea, he wanted them to stick together this time. He kissed her and soothed her fears until she felt like there could be some truth in what he'd said.

She went to her own quarters to take a shower and then regroup with everyone to touch base on what had and was continuing to happen. She and Doyle sat close together at one end of the table locking fingers showing support for one another. " Hey where is Cheveyo?" asked Sami. "He just left, said it went against his beliefs to be apart of this" Said Doc. "Something about this totally spooked him." Zak shrugged.

" Oh, alright then I guess will proceed without him, To begin I think I should explain my previous relationship with Doyle" She said blushing a little. Zak sat up and rolled his eyes " We totally know you two were like dating but you don't have to be grouse and explain it to use" Fiskertaine nodded furtively. They laughed uncomfortably for a minute. "No, it's seriously relevant, and I hate to be the one to tell you this mini man but that "puberty thing" eventually turns into this anyway so get used to it" Zak made a face and sat back in his seat. "Alright so if I could have everyone's attention please" Sami said desperately wanting to get passed it. " Doyle and I have actually known one another for the passed seven years or so" Drew shot up outraged. "You knew who he was for that long and you didn't even bother to tell me"

"First off I didn't know he was a Blackwell for a very long time. So while I was working for you I had know idea that you two were related. So calm down please." She tensed the please to show that it wasn't actually a request it was an order. Doc patted Drew's shoulders gently and sat her back down. " Please carry on" said Doc.

" As I was saying Doyle and I knew each other For seven years give or take. In that time we were participating in our own investigative team who studied phenomena's and organic anomalies"

"Basically we were a team of inexperienced kids who'd been trained and designed to hunt down and contain wired things that happened"

"Wait" Said Doc " you were designed"

"Er…yeah" Doyle trough Sami a look to further explain it because when it came to genetics and complex biology he was a lost cause.

" While many people know what your father did Drew, very few people knew what field your mother work in"

"My mother. What does she have to do with this" Drew said tensely.

" She created us. In the beginning she worked with a team of scientist devoted to the evolution of man kind. In an effort to study and create a stronger, healthier, and more developed human being they genetically altered a series of embryos. Once she met your father she began to realize more and more how unethical her work was."

"Wait how is evolving the human race unethical" Said Doc.

" Because evolution is organic and it has to happen on its own terms. That and she disliked that since the army was funding the research they were only creating generations so they could be use as weapons not as a way to better the world" Sami said very matter of fact.

" Think about it from a military point of view. A constant supply of humans superior in many ways and bread for combat. Cultivated for that soul purpose who don't have families or any real ties."

" Cultivated! Wait so my grandma was helping to grow people. Ewww" Zak spouted.

Drew shout him a look and he immediately looked the other way and remained silent.

" She wasn't a bad person Drew. She and her team were good people at heart who in the end decided to do the best thing for us despite the potential personal coast" Sami walked over to hug Drew who was now crying. It wasn't easy knowing the woman she admired the most had done such an awful thing. "Good people don't genetically alter their children" She said bitterly.

" Maybe, but if she hadn't then you and I wouldn't be alive. You were and I were two that she thought to alter because she was a good mother. I bet she wanted use to be healthier and stronger than most children because she knew that our gypsy life style wouldn't be easy on use. Think about it how else would you and I have survived that storm or that terrain for so long until you were found."

"So I'm like you two as well" Said Drew horrified " Would I have passed that on to Zak"

" Yes" Said Sami " I noticed it more and more as Zak grew that he was special. You were minimally altered but when you passed it on to Zak his body took it and naturally evolved"

"cool" Said Zak " I'm like super powered"

"Not exactly. Your mothers genes make you more durable and stronger, well that and good genes." She looked at Doc "Your Kur power is something you were born with. That was created by the opening of the tomb." Zak looked a little disappointed but took it well.

"Doyle and I however are more complex our powers really have nothing to do with Kur "

"Powers… What?" Doc looked confused.

" Cool you have powers Doyle" Zak said perking up

" Yeah. My skills involve telekinesis and speedy healing"

" Why haven't we seen any of this happen before?" Noted Doc

"Because until now he had know idea he had abilities" Sami stated.

" What I thought you said you knew each other for seven years and that you worked together" Said Drew having regained her composure.

" Well to explain that I have to thoroughly explain your mothers involvement in the project. While this is important I'm not going to force you to listen Drew if its to hard for you, you don't have to stay…"

"No it's fine I need to hear this" Drew said firmly.

" In the beginning your mother worked with a small research team that included doctors and researchers from around the world, including my mother and yours. They found a way to genetically enhance our natural state of being. At first the experimented on donated embryos but they could never get there hands on enough of them to really see their progression. While My mother could fund the project to an extent eventually the team had to look for funding else where."

"that's when the army stepped in with there offer" Doyle interjected.

" That if they could create a series of super soldiers they would receive all the funding they needed."

"Needless to say they took the bait" Doyle said as Sami shot him a sideways look.

" So they began to create humans with superior brain function and adaptive skills as well as strength and durability" She continued

"That's basically our powers and stuff"

" Okay…who's telling the story here because I'll sit down if you think you can handle it"

"Sorry babe, the floor is yours"

"Thank you, as I was saying they agreed and began creating soldiers. At first they were clearly different physically and the army classified them as failures and quickly disposed of them. Realizing what they'd done and unable to stand any more senseless murder and heart break the team pushed on till they finally created a successful being. My Oldest brother by blood, Ryuu. He was perfection as far as prototypes were concerned and he was trained in the ways of the ninja as is our family tradition. This also made him a great solider. As the project progressed we became more and more advanced until we'd reached a point that they decided to discontinue their research. They were afraid if they went any further we would no longer be considered human." She paused and reflected on how far from human they already were. " What happened next" said Zak enthralled by her story.

" Well, they decided to complain out right to the man in charge. After they were quickly dismissed they decided amongst themselves that they would find away to end the program and give each of use a proper life where we could be kids not just weapons. They set up new identities for thoughs of use without families. Anyone with a parent on the project was safe. Next they faked a massive accident that destroyed a better part of the base and by doing so they faked our deaths as well as there own."

"So that's it , but I wonder if you were create by the army to destroy then why were you part of a team to contain phenomena's." Asked Doc.

" Well thats when things got sticky for us. After we were out of the program I was still a ninja by birth and that wouldn't change for me but the others did try. They went off to try and live normal lives but that fighting instinct and our advanced brain power made it hared on us to fit in with the rest of society. No matter how hard any of us tried we were undeniably different."

" Yeah I always thought it was weird that you were working in our lab when you were sixteen, I guess I just thought you were a child portage or something like that" Drew said.

"Hey, and no one noticed my expertise when it comes to technology! Dude I've never been to college." Said Doyle.

"Yeah I just thought you were lucky" said Doc quick to discredit him.

" Well…we then decided to start living normal lives during the day time but then in the evenings we'd go and be extraordinary. But even then there were some of use who felt off. So the older ones went out looking for a way to release there inner fighter. Mostly in mercenary work. It wasn't until they found out about the work of Van Rook, Finster, and Dr. Blackwell that they discovered a way to work out our differences without drawing to much unwanted attention." Said Sami in conclusion.

Now it was Doyle's turn to relate this to the flying creatures. " We've come to believe that someone is trying to resurrect the program. Although it's unclear why they went straight for Sami first, it is clear that they wanted to find us. They maybe hunting us down around the world. I don't know. The only reasons we recognize them is because we face up to creatures like them a few years ago. And in an effort to protect the knowledge of that experience the team was disbanded and I had Sami erase any memories of our kind along with that experience three years ago."

" You know you talk about the dawn of the program like you were there but if we count back three years you two would only have been nineteen or twenty. And Sami, you were only sixteen when you came to work for us. So how would any of you have known about the program? It all happened before you were really born and I doubt any of the records survived till now." Said Doc

" My mother made sure to save her own chronicles of the events and pass them down to us. I always assumed the older kids knew about each other because they were there but the younger generations had to seek each other out. I found Doyle by mistake" Said Sami.

Taking a moment to soak up the massive onslaught of information Zak let his head slam on the table while Fiskerton just left. Drew and Doc went to make some tea leaving Doyle and Sami alone. " Doyle I need to ask you a favor, just for while we're working on this case" Sami asked with her eyes wide open. "yeah sure what ever you need." Doyle said to eagerly. " Don't get involved with me alright?"

"Ha. Why?"

" Because until you adjust to who you are now and who you were then I just don't feel comfortable with you an I getting to close." Sami fought to look at him without showing any apologies." WHAT?! What are you talking about?! Even when I couldn't remember you I still dreamed about you. I always felt close to you, we've survived so much and now you're saying you don't want to be involved." " The dream thing was partly my fault, I was so distraught that while I successfully erased the actual memories I didn't take the time to remove the emotions." She made her eyes form ice daggers in his soul. Eventually he broke down " Fine, but once they are all back it's on" he said and then grumbled something about her stupid logic. She smiled at him appreciatively as the Saturdays entered.

"So what's the plan now you two" Said Doc.

"We'd like to start rounding up the others and maybe using your house/lab/whatever as a base" Said Doyle.

"Um…honey?" Doc asked quizzical.

"Sure, just help us reset some of the security for them when they are there" Said Drew.

" Alright! Dude super people are coming to stay in our house" Zak said jubilantly.

They all huffed because Zak was the only one who didn't understand how much trouble that was going to be. "I'll have the list for you tomorrow. For now I'll start e-mailing, a few of them still owe me a favor or two" Said Sami exhausted. " Yeah I'll do the phone calls. Explanations are so much fun " Said Doyle exasperated. " In the mean time I suggest we get to work on something else to take our minds of this" said Doc. "yeah I'm with you honey "Said Drew placing a kiss on his cheek.

Ch.8

It's all fun and games till someone gets a broken heart

Sami toiled over her list of connections. She was lucky a few that had decided to settle in urban areas around the world, some had even started families. The others though proved to be a challenge. Many of them had decided to continue working in the underground and migrating around. They changed their identities and there numbers frequently but they all managed to stay available to anyone who knew how to look for them. Of course she wasn't completely alone, her siblings were willing to help.

"Well, you've defiantly gotten yourself into quite a mess little sister." Michi said in her reprehensive tone. Something she'd conditioned over the years into an art. She was the second oldest and so she held an unspoken authority over them. "yes, I agree Michi; that boy has been trouble for you since we discovered him Sami, he might have been quite a talent but he became quite the nuisance" said Ryuu. " Now that's enough you two!" Daiki roared, like his name suggest he was the strong grounded one that never let things get to nasty . He was the third oldest but defiantly the strongest one physically of them. " Yeah, their relationship has very little to do with the situation" Kazuki chimed, his voice was always soft and pleasant, hiding his inner madness. Because he was a year older than Sami he was defiantly the one that connected best with her "Thank you Kazuki! Really our relationship doesn't exist right now anyway. So please lets not fight about it" Sami said returning to work. "Yeah watching all of you fight over your video links is so shameful." said Ren " Dudes there's no one around and I'm still embarrassed". Ever since he'd begun living on his own his fifteen year old mouth had grown out of control, he'd grown incredibly obnoxious." Hush you! You're not even supposed to be involved in this. You're lucky to be apart of things so sit down and shut up." Michi said putting him back in his place. He huffed a little and got back to work.

"Hey Sami" Kaziuki said reproachfully " I know things are tough right now but are you still going to have Aiko for the summer to train?" " Oh no I totally forgot! Oh jeez I don't know…" Sami trailed off indecisively. " Sasami don't you dare cancel on her, she's been looking forward to this for months now!" Ryuu made certain she knew that this was a demand not a request. "Fine." Sami said submissively. " Guys are you certain that's a good idea I mean the circumstances say that it would be to dangerous" Ren said in his loving brother voice. " Circumstances say it's going to get to dangerous any where she goes" said Daiki. " Besides it'll be a good experience for her. The Saturdays have a son the same age as her, correct" said Michi. "yes" replied Sami. "Perfect then she'll have a friend to train with" said Kazuki cheerfully. " Oh but explaining this to the Saturdays will be a nightmare. I'm already asking them to allow there property to be over run by freaks." Sami stated. "well that just proves they are very hospitable really one more addition won't hurt" Kazuki said slyly. " Really you're the only one who has the nurturing skills to properly condition her psychic abilities" Daiki affirmed. " There's no escaping this so just submit already" Ren cooed. "Alright I submit now can we please get back to work I've got to have this list ready by tomorrow." Sami said assertively. "Fine miss bossy" Ren said and they all snickered a little.

Meanwhile Doyle had finished his phone calls to everyone else. He'd saved Joel for last though because they needed to have a long talk. He dialed his number for the second time till finally there was an answer. " Hello?" answered Joel. "Hey Joel I'm back." Doyle said

"You're back in town great cuz I could defiantly use a little help with…"

"No I'm not back in town" Doyle interrupted "I mean I got my memories back"

"oh" Joel let his voice dip down into a hush

"Yeah so when were you going to let me in on my life? Thank god we were attacked or else I'd probably lived my life without even realizing that something was missing. "

"Whoa what are you talking about?! You were attacked…by what? And to have your memories back you'd have to come back in contact with Sami. OH THAT WHOAR! I can't believe she would be so stupid"

"Whoa dude calm down. Do you seriously think Sami would have broken the rules out of selfishness. Unlikely. And yeah we were attacked by some resurrected abomination" Doyle tried to talk some sense back into him.

"Hmm do you need me to come to you?" Joel said suddenly serious.

"Yes. Anyway there is something I need to ask you. It's kind of personal"

"Shoot" Joel may have hid something's but he was still a good guy and Doyle's best friend.

"How come everyone else was asked to refrain from contacting me but not you?"

"Oh. Yeah. After we whipped your mind we decided amongst ourselves that you needed some to watch over you. Of course it couldn't have been Sami but I volunteered"

"That makes sense I guess." Doyle sat on his bed silently until Joel broke in.

"So how's Sami anyway I haven't heard from her in…oh jezz…two or three years"

"she's alright but as far as the us factor she'd prefer it if we weren't together until I get used to the idea of having two very wired lives" Doyle said huffily.

"Bummer, you know that's something I never understood about her"

"what?" Sami was always an interesting topic for Doyle

"How she could stay so soft and squishy on the inside and still be a ninja"

"I guess she's just good at adapting to any situation, well almost" Doyle heard someone calling for Joel in the background.

" That's my cue man I'll talk to you when I get there"

"Are you sure you're allowed" Doyle baited

"Oh shut up!" And Joel hung up the phone.

Doyle tried to sleep but it wasn't happening so he went to help Sami. She might not want to be romantically involved right now but he needed her. He wasn't about to just let things go without a fight! Maybe she had something for him to do that would allow them to be in the same room at least. He stalked up to the door and knocked and with less resistance than he imagined she unlocked the door and let him in. She just smiled sleepily and let him in. " I'm busy so I'm going to get straight to the point. I don't really need help but a coffee would be great and the company would be nice" He smiled at her gently the kind of smile he saved just for her. " I'm on it boss" He winked and left the room returning moments later. "Thank you so much! I really needed this" she grabbed one of the mugs. "The coffee or my company?" Doyle asked. He half expected her to scoff and simply say it's the coffee but like always she surprised him. "Both, I missed you" she looked him right in the eyes " and working on a way to convince the others to come out of hiding has been a nightmare" when Doyle sat on the bed she sighed a little and fell back on him. She quickly got off of him after realizing that her body language was probably confusing. He didn't make things easier when her wrapped his arms around her pulling her into the comfort of his chest. " Doyle I'm sorry but we just can't do this! I need you to be concerned with yourself right now not our relationship. Please don't make this harder than it has to be" Sami pushed herself out of his arms and returned to her work. "hn. What about a compromise" Sami let her shoulders drop and tried to object but Doyle cut her off " Hear me out! I think you and I could work out as friends with benefits until I 'adjusted' what do you think?" Samis' closed her eyes and clenched her fists. " I think you should get out, now" She pointed to the door. When Doyle didn't move that's when she lost it "I can't believe you think so little of me that you would even suggest that. I miss more than just our sex life you know. I miss the way I could always count on you and maybe you aren't the most mature person but you were the one with the most conviction. I hoped that even though we weren't together that you would keep some of the lessons you learned with you. Even when I read your file to see what you had been up to I held out hope that maybe you were still a good guy at heart…" She bit down on her lip to stop herself from crying. He didn't deserve to see her heart so open anymore. "I guess you were wrong to hold out hope" Doyle said as he walked out of the room then he mumbled-mostly to himself- "It's all fun and games till some one gets their heart broken."

While he was done with the confrontation Sami was not. The next day she handed the list over to Drew and continued to converse with the others, she even started repairing her board. She only spoke monosyllables to Doyle and made it clear that she was ignoring him. Finally he had enough "What is your problem today hu!?" Sami continued to repair her board. not even granting him a look she replied "I'm busy so I'm just going to say this straight. We are over " Doyle furrowed his brow " What! Why, is it because of last night! Sami listen…" She looked at him as she cut him off confirming the finality of the situation "No you listen. I'm done playing this game. I know it was hard for you after you were on your own but it was hard for me too! In the last three years I've only dated five people! It suck that I live my life pinning over you! You don't even care anymore! I can't live like this if I'm going to move on I have to leave you behind. I'm sorry but I can't be in a relationship with you anymore" Doyle stood breathless for a moment then he started changing colors, going through various shades of red. " Fine then leave me behind again I don't care" at that Sami was outraged " Now wait one freaking second Doyle Jonas* Blackwell . I did not leave you behind you left me behind, me and all the others on our team so don't you dare try to make me the bad guy here!" turning another shade of red Doyle stomped off. Not only did he lose the argument he lost the girl and what was worst was that she was right.

Ch.9

The end of a life time

Then next step in there plan was going to be the worst part of the process. Even after all her begging only a handful from any of the generations wanted to get involved. For security purposes and to clear out the negative energy Drew requested that Sami and Doyle retrieve them all in person." Are you insane Drew that will take at least a week and a half we may not have that much time!?" "Even more importantly why do I have to go with her?" Doyle chimed impatiently. " Listen Sami while Zak and Fisk may be the only ones who are truly extraordinary we still have our own skills and contacts" Drew said placing a loving hand on each of Sami's shoulders. " And having you with her will verify the severity of the situation" Doc added turning to Doyle. "Plus clearly you two have some stuff to work out so work it out and stop being so grouchy!" Drew and Doc threw him a glare for telling their secret. "That true to but the other reasons are the most important" Doc said saving them from any objections. "Fine" Doyle said stomping off "But we ain't flying American" "yes I'm with him on this one. I think if your forcing us to spend time together then we're taking your jet" She twirled the keys around her finger as she left. "What…but how did she?" Doc uttered indignantly. "Well she is a ninja honey, and you can't say she's being unfair" Doc accepted Drew's words but not without grumbling some concerns about Doyle flying it.

It was a long and silent flight to New York. It wasn't till they touched down that they bothered to say anything to each other. "So where are we going?" " First we have to find Joel then we can go see Yuri" "Cool " Doyle responded " Joel said he'd already be waiting for us in the park" "yeah he always liked that place. Though I guess an ice queen like you wouldn't care" Sami huffed but ignored his comment.

Under the Alice in Wonderland statue Joel was waiting for them as promised with a duffel bag. He greeted Sami with a kiss on the cheek and hoisted her up into a hug. "Oh it's so good to see you girly" he said in a sing song voice. " Its really great to see you to Joel I can't believe its been three years! I can't believe you've taken on the boho style. You used to be the boy next door now you're the boy in the magazine. I thought we all agreed on quiet lived" She laughed a little at the profession he'd chosen. "Oh, well the subject of style. Look at you still rock'n the edgy sexy look. I guess when you stay in such good shape its acceptable to show a little tummy" He took her hand and gave her a little twirl. "Hey if you two are done we have a schedule to keep" Doyle said walking away. "Hey what is his problem?" Joel asked. Sami smiled and filled him in on all the gritty details.

"Haha…they thought you needed retraining" Joel openly mocked. "Yeah well better to suffer that then have to get permission from my girlfriend to breath" Doyle bitterly retorted. "Dude I'm only joking anyway I don't need her permission for anything" Joel said " Anyway…we kinda had a falling out and then she kinda kicked me out." "Aw honey, why what went wrong" Sami asked. Even though she didn't know the girl she knew Joel well enough to give him a shoulder to cry on. "Oh…I told her about us, you know, how bizarre we are and she freaked and told me that while she wouldn't tell anyone she couldn't be affiliated with me. You know I almost thought she was the one?" Doyle pause to pat his shoulder. " I'll be honest I didn't think you two belonged together since day one" Joel smiled because he recognized the was his way of comforting him. " So girly Where to next" Sami let her lips part in a smile, the kind that comes from an overjoyed heart. " To Yuri's tattoo shop." Joel nodded and Doyle looked lost " What's so great about a tattoo shop" Joel pause but Sami kept walking. "Dude I can't believe you don't remember that place you and Sami lived there for a long time. Yuri took her in when she came to the states and he trained you. Showed you how to shoot a gun…any of this ringing a bell" Joel shrugged hopeful that he may recall some of it. "No"

As they rounded the corner they saw a tall thin man standing outside smoking a cigarette. He had Dusty brown hair and eyes to match He looked like he could have been in his thirty's. Sami broke out into a full on sprint and glomped the man. "Ugh…What the...SAMI!!!! Oh my baby is home!" she hopped down and smiled up at him as he patted her head. "You know I'm not much of a baby any more Yuri." "Yes I know, and no thanks to that Blackwell boy you've been a woman for a long time" Sami blushed at his remark about Doyle making her woman. She blushed because he was wrong , Doyle wasn't the first. He was also right Doyle had changed her over the years they spent together. "I'll never forget the day you found him outside of that bar" Yuri announced nostalgically. As he looked around he saw Doyle an Joel coming up "well speak of the devil and I see you brought your number one accomplice with you" Joel flung his arm around his head " Guilty as charged". Doyle just looked down, he would never say it out loud but he felt guilty for not having a memory of Yuri. Something sprung forward when Doyle shook his hand. Some of the memories came returning first the little; first hellos and stuff but then more important things like lessons and holidays till finally he remembered the day he moved into the apartment above the tattoo shop. His eyes roll back a little because of the sudden burst of information then just when it feels like he'll faint Yuri did something with his hands that forced blood to rush faster to his brain. Resulting in a nose bleed but at least he was fully conscious. "Thanks Yuri " Doyle smiled at his new found recognition.

Yuri invited them all in and closed the shop early so they could chat a little. "I know how you've been Sami and I see you all over the place Joel but what about you Doyle, how have you been?" Doyle didn't look down but he wanted to. "I was working in a mercenary job a while back and then I found my sister and her family."

" That's good, so who is your sister hmm?"

"She's one of the secret scientist, Drew Saturday."

"Ah yes, I never would have thought you two were connected Drew never really brought up her pass to anyone so I just assumed she had no other family. How' her baby anyway?"

"Oh Zak is fine he's not much of a baby anymore, he's eleven and getting closer to twelve."

Just then Doyle heard someone coming down the stairs. Sami decided now was a good time to wrap things up. "Yuri I hate to rush this but we can catch up on the jet so please say your goodbye's to your wife and lets go please." Joel was the first person to notice it was a little girl. " wow Yuri she's gotten so big!" Yuri went to pick up his daughter. "Yes, she has Joel good to see your observational skills are still in tact, and my wife passed away earlier this month" he said somberly. "Yuri why didn't you tell me I would have come to stay with you until things got better. You could have at lest invited me to the funeral!" Sami said tears welling in her eyes. Yuri's wife Sasha was like an aunt to Sami, She loved her for all her imperfections. "I'm sorry but I didn't want to risk anyone's safety by having us all together in one spot." Yuri returned his attention to his daughter. "What's wrong, My little Ani baby" he cooed. " I saw a monster in my room" She began to sob a little.

"Yuri, you know we can't take her with us" Joel said seriously.

"But who else dose she have to take care of her. Our hands are tied Joel" Sami said disgruntled, she was uncomfortable with the idea of a child that was so young being brought into this mess.

" Well then, while I go check for monsters perhaps you can help me pack up a few things" Yuri made a come hither gesture with his fingers at Doyle.

Doyle followed him up the stairs obediently. As he walked up he saw photos hung along the walls. He was in most of them along with others that he recognized but couldn't put names to the faces. "That was very clever Yuri" He said with a crooked smile. " I don't know what your talking about Doyle?" Doyle laughed " Oh sure wait until the last minute to tell them you have to take your kid along so that we couldn't say no." Yuri Smiled and kept walking but when he got to the door he paused. He made a signal to Doyle to freeze he placed in his arms. Doyle was never great with young children so he stiffened a little but accepted the child. Yuri signaled for him to take her back down stairs. Doyle marched down stairs quietly. After they were safely down stairs Yuri kicked open the door.

Ani wasn't just imagining things there truly were monsters in her room. Horrid abominable creatures; one looked like a giant toad with some human qualities and there was another. The other could have passed for human accept that it had eyes as yellow as a cats. "What the hell are you two doing in my daughters room" Yuri said threateningly. He took his stance and waited for them to come at him.

Meanwhile down stairs Doyle told the others what had happened. "Here you take the girl and get back to the jet. Joel come with me he'll need our help" Sami opened her mouth to potation her role in his plan but he cut her off as he handed Ani to her. "I'm probably wasting time saying this but don't worry about us we can handle it." Sami nodded but as she went to leave Yuri came crashing through the ceiling onto the carpet. He quickly sprang up and shouted for her to run. So they were out the door in a matter of seconds. Ani reached out desperately crying for her father she was too young to understand that they could be hazard if they went back. Logic means very little to a six year old but love means more than anything. She had already lost one love and she was afraid of losing another.

"So are you two involved with the other two creatures?" Doyle asked very directly.

"Maybe…" The nearly human one cooed. "Answer me" Doyle gritted through his teeth. "Oh! And what happens if we won't?" the toad replied in a gravelly voice. "This!" Doyle said leaping up to kick him in the face. The toad flicked out his tongue and wrapped it around his ankle, sending him down to the floor. The other extended his finger nails in a menacing way then looked at the other one. "Disgusting creature" then with a wave of his hand he sliced to toad in half. "Hey he was your partner right, why would you kill him!?" Joel said as he started to gather up energy for an attack. "I really hated him, that's all. He was far too disgusting to work with me I mean did you see that tongue! Awful just awful, don't worry he won't be missed."

Yuri had enough of this thing "What do you want, who are you working for?"

"I work for my queen, what I want isn't important, however what she wants is for you to die mister Yuri." Yuri gritted his teeth "Then why come in through my daughters window!" With incredible speed the creature came up close to Yuri. "Well.. She might want you dead but she's always had a soft spot for children. I thought it would be a nice present." it thrust its claws through Yuri's stomach. "NO!" Joel screamed and prematurely released the energy he had gathered in his scream. Sound flooded the shop Doyle had to place his hands over his ears and all the glass windows broke. The creature seemed hyper sensitive to sound and fell to the floor holding its bleeding ears. "Stop him! Stop him please!" it begged. "Tell me what I need to know." Joel said springing on the creatures body and pining it down. " Doyle go see if you can heal Yuri" went over to Yuri's body he was hoping that his instincts would guide him. He place a hand over the wound and wished for Yuri's survival. He felt his hands grow warm and he could see the skin repairing its self. Yuri was pail from the blood loss but he was alive and well.

" Where is your base of operation?" Joel slammed its head against the floor.

The creature refused to speak, "Fine. Tell us the name of your queen."

It's words were jumbled at first but then it spoke clearly. " I don't know much about her accept that she once belonged to a noble Japanese family and that she has may siblings that she's asked us not to kill, she wants them to hurt though. She told us to break their hearts by destroying the people closet to them. There was one she wanted to hurt most; the one that shares her face. She wants to be the one to kill her but she wants us to break her heart first. that's all I know, now kill me please."

Joel sprang up "Kill you!" the creature began to cry " I have dishonored my queen, she will not love me any more, so please kill me." Yuri looked at Joel and gave him the okay "As you wish" Joel said snapping its neck. " I'll burn the body but first let me go get a few Ani's things." Doyle walked up beside him. "Yeah we'll help. I'm sorry about your shop" Joel apologized. " Yeah me to kid. I'm torching the whole place, get rid of any evidence of my being here. Joel help me pack up all the photos from the shop and the apartment. I can manage getting Ani's favorite things and packing up my tattoo. Doyle if you could just go through my room and find all my personal possessions photos and things." the two younger men nodded and went tot work.

In an hour they had all of his very most important things in duffel bags. When they were safely out of range Yuri used his pyrokinesis to burn the building to a cinder. They made their way back to the jet in perfect silence. " Where have you all been I was worried out of my mind! Doyle I thought you were…and Joel what's with all the scratches around your face, Yuri why are you covered in blood? Please tell me that it doesn't belong to you, what's with all the luggage guys?" Yuri walked up to Sami and gave her a hug. The kind he would give her whenever her nerves were to high. "It's alright Sami, where is Ani?" Sami took a breath and guided him though the jet to the med room where Ani was sleeping. Doyle and Joel got the jet off the ground and headed to the next location, Ireland.

Yuri sat down on the bed with Ani. "What happened why did you guys take so long?" Sami asked him more gently then before. "We were attacked by the creatures you warned me about. We managed to get some information out of one. Sami I think your sister is back and she wants you dead. The creature also said something about her wanting us to suffer broken hearts." He gave her a moment to let it sink in before relaying the rest of the story. "Why would she do this?" Sami said as if she had already been killed. Yuri held he like he held her when she was young and feeling lost. "I don't know baby, but we will find a way to get through to her." He rocked her a little and let her cry. "Sami I know that this is the last kind of news you would like to hear right now but I had to burn the shop" Sami looked at him apologetically. "It' s alright I have all my supplies and all my nostalgic items it's all going to be just fine." Yuri said patting her head. "But where are you two going to go now? At least make me feel good and stay at the families summer home in Ocean Side for a while." Yuri nodded "California sounds nice… let me sleep on it for now okay?" "yeah I'll see you two in the morning."

Later that night after Joel decided to retire to the medical bay as well, Leaving Doyle and Sami alone. " Hey I've got this if you want to go get some sleep?" Sami said. " Hey now that you're speaking to me again, What was up with that?"

"With what?" Sami knew what he was talking about but preferred to forget it.

" You know what I'm talking about. You were worried about me"

"Of course I was worried! I'm still a little frustrated but I still care about you I don't want any thing bad to happen okay?!" Doyle snickered a little " Yeah, okay ,and by the way I still care about you too" after that the long standing negative energy between them seemed to disappeared like mist.