Geez, it's only the third chapter, and Sora came close to death and Ven has hemophobia. Things will mellow out a little in this chapter, I hope. Here you see Sora getting treated for his injuries and Roxas caring for all three of our fallen friends. You also find out a few important things here about Ven, which we'll touch upon next chapter.

Sora is under house arrest owing to his need for recovery after he'd stabbed himself in the gut. Ven, having wept to unconsciousness the very day Sora had almost lost his life, still hasn't awoken from his sleep, now in a state of stupor. When Roxas reveals this fact to Xaros, Xaros manages to come up with a possible theory and a cure. The only qualm is whether he was right or not.

Ch. 3: Taboo

"There's nothing as safe as ignorance — or as dangerous."

-Nero Wolfe in The Squirt and the Monkey (1951) by Rex Stout

The following week was very subdued. The atmosphere of the house was eerily still.

It was evening. I lay in my bed, still peppered with bandages. The cuts on my arms and face had been worse than they appeared, so Roxas had patched me up with his personal First Aid kit. He told me that it would be a while before the wounds closed, so I should keep on the bandages for the rest of the week. He also sternly warned me not to remove them myself, since I wouldn't know exactly when to take them off and that I probably would without him knowing since they itched so much. I quailed under his pressuring gaze and fervently agreed to avoid laying a fingernail on my bandages. I didn't know where Roxas had picked up so much about First Aid, but it came in handy, and I didn't question his decisions.

The events of last week were still haunting every corner of my brain, and I couldn't find the energy or the interest to find something to do to get my mind on something else. I wondered if the horror of that night would ever go away. My mind seemed to have set an alarm that went off every five minutes and filled my head with the images of Sora with a bloodied gut and Ven unconscious in my arms. This whole week I've been trying to get those images out of my head, but I should've known that an event that traumatic would never wear from my memory.

I could hear murmuring voices on the other side of my door as if from far away, and I knew it was the nurses come to check up on Sora for the final time.

He had vehemently refused to be admitted to a hospital, insisting that he needed to stay home, no matter what I could say. To my surprise, Roxas sided with him; he said that they could call nurses every once in a while so they could check up on him. Since I had no rebuttal to this idea, and since I couldn't come up with a better one without Sora holding a grudge against me, I agreed.

And it's been working out so far. There had been a tense moment where one of them asked how Sora had lost so much blood when there wasn't a cut to be found, but Roxas had been one step ahead, showing them the cleverly bandaged abdomen that he had procured earlier, making it look like a genuine wound. After that fiasco, they had been arranged to visit every other day this week until his blood level was normal again. Sora had been instructed to refrain from moving too much, to which Sora responded grudgingly. He didn't take very well to the news, but he didn't argue. He didn't leave his room all week. I guess he didn't want to hurt himself or worry us any more than he had already.

At one point one of the nurses tried to take off Sora's gloves to increase circulation, but Roxas wouldn't let them touch either of them. I was puzzled by Roxas's actions, but I knew better than to ask. He'd looked so flustered he probably would have tried to knock out that same nurse if he tried any harder, and I didn't want to be a victim of his outbursts.

There was a sudden bustle of activity and the sound of footsteps retreating down the hall. I heard the front door slam shut, and I knew that the nurses had left. I hoped that meant that Sora was going to be fine.

I swung off my bed and stood in the middle of my room for a few moments, unsure of what I should do now, and decided to talk to Roxas about Ven. I couldn't suppress my curiosity anymore.

Ven had cried himself unconscious the day Sora had nearly been smote by my hand and his blood had covered the ground. He still hadn't woken, which probably meant that the sight of so much blood – especially that of his elder brother – had really damaged him psychologically. Roxas managed to keep the knowledge of Ven's presence in the house from the nurses by keeping the door to their room closed at all times. When he had first told me of his plan I was confused, but he told me that Ven needed to sleep it off more than anything, and the nurses would only make it worse. He didn't elaborate farther than that, but I trusted his judgment. Twins would know each other better than anyone else. But sometimes I got the feeling that Roxas looked anxious when he thought no one would notice.

I found him in the living room, lying on a couch. I deigned to broach the subject to without much disturbance. I didn't really expect him to divulge such a backstory, but he surprised me. He told me that I deserved to know; since I had comforted Ven when'd he'd been paralyzed in fear by the sight of so much carnage, it would be wrong to keep such a story from me.

"But the thing is…" he stalled, hesitating. "I can't tell you anything. Not me. I-I'm not allowed to. You'll need to ask Sora when he's awake."

"Why can't you tell me? You're his brother just as much as he is!"

"Look, I know; it's just that…" Roxas looked uncomfortable. "I…I kinda promised to Ven…that I wouldn't say anything about his hemophobia to anyone. But not Sora. He's not bound by any promise. So he can tell you."

"Oh…" I was slightly taken aback. "It…it must be bad, if he made you promise like that…"

"It's just…I can't even say it," he confessed, covering his face with his hands. "Even if I didn't promise…it's not something I like to remember…I'd break down even before I get started…"

The way Roxas looked right now…his face in his hands, sighing deeply, the weight of his brothers' predicaments heavy on his shoulders…he looked much older, and much more tired than usual. I felt bad for even bringing up such a touchy subject.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled. "I didn't know that it was so personal. I won't ask again, I promise."

"No, it's…it's fine," he replied wearily after a few moments. "I knew you would ask sooner or later; it was inevitable. Just wait until tomorrow. He'll be awake by then. He'll tell you everything."

Later that night, I sat in the twins' room next to Ven's bed while Roxas checked up on Sora again. He was still asleep. I was getting worried; would he ever wake up? My mind again flashed back unwillingly to the events of last week:

"Noooooooo!"

"Ven…it's okay, it's alright…I'm here…"

"Blood…the blood…there's so much blood…make it go away…make it stop…"

"Father…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…"

At the end, when he'd finally fallen unconscious, he had uttered that last sentence about his father. Did that have something to do with his fear of blood? Something that involved his father? Come to think of it…Sora never mentioned his parents out of all those times I'd seen him before he had taken me in. Was there something he didn't want to tell me about his mother or father? It didn't seem at all like a touchy subject, but after last week I thought I'd believe anything. Everything seemed so…unreal. It still did, to be honest.

I went back to staring down at Ven's sleeping form. He looked utterly peaceful, sleeping like he had no other care. I wondered what he was dreaming about.

I sat there for thirty more minutes, but still he didn't stir, so I decided to leave him to let him rest. There wasn't any more point sitting by his bed if he wasn't even conscious. I stood, and walked over to the door and closed it quietly. Then I headed to my room.

I needed to rest before anything else happened.

I didn't want to get out of bed. I just wanted to lay here and never get up again, wanted the worries of the past week to dissolve into nothing. I wanted everything to go back the way it was, the way it had been before everything changed because of a stupid mistake I made that almost cost Sora his life and Ven his mental health. The way it should have been.

Not like this.

Not like this where I hadn't even been the one to pay for my blunder. I should be the one bedridden from loss of blood; I should be the one unconscious from the sight of crimson fluids. But of course the world doesn't work the way you want it to. No matter what you ask of it you have no idea what's really going to happen. The world doesn't give a damn about you. It just goes about its business, and if you die, the world doesn't care.

I figured that there was no point in stalling any longer. I had to take things as they came. Like any person, I was just a victim of the world. I couldn't do a damn thing to change that.

I sighed and heaved myself off of the bed. I needed to see Roxas to see if I could get the bandages removed today. I've had them longer than I could stand, and I wasn't feeling sore anymore, anyway. I wasn't going to keep them on longer than I needed to. I was reaching for the doorknob when the door suddenly opened and I was face-to-face with Roxas. We almost knocked into each other in surprise.

"Xaros! You're awake!" Roxas exclaimed, startled. "I was starting to think you'd sleep through the whole day."

"Yeah, well, I didn't want to stay in bed any longer, and I had a few things on my mind. Do you think you can get rid of these bandages now? They're more irritating than you can believe."

"Sure. I guess it's about time we removed them. Come on; let me get those off for you. Sit on the bed."

I obliged, and he methodically removed each of them, folding them up carefully and tossing them in a nearby trash bin. I sat idly, staring out the window that showed the backyard at the sky as he worked.

"Uh, Xaros?" Roxas's voice pulled me out of my abstraction after a few moments.

I looked over at him. "Hmm?"

"I'm all done with the bandages. Try to avoid overexerting yourself for the rest of the day today, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." I raised an eyebrow as I waited for him to go on. "Anything else?"

"What are you talking about? That's everything." He didn't look me in the eyes as he stood.

"Don't hide it from me, Roxas; I know you've got something else to tell me. Just go ahead."

He looked stunned. "What? B-but how –"

I shrugged. "Just guessing."

Roxas was silent.

"If you don't want to say it just now, then that's fine with me," I assured him. "I just wondered if you had something to say, that's all."

With a sigh, Roxas fell back on the bed, rumpling the covers underneath him. "Might as well tell you now, since you saw through me that quick. Guess there's no hiding it from you, Xaros. You're right. I did have something to say to you. Actually, two things."

"And they are?"

Roxas sat up and elaborated, "Sora was up long before you were, and I took the liberty of talking to him about the conversation we had yesterday. I had a hard time convincing him, but he eventually caved. I told him that you'd figure out sooner or later, what with you living with us and everything, so there was no reason to keep it from you. And besides, we owed you that much at least, since you helped Ven calm down even though you had no idea what was happening."

"You didn't need to go and say that," I muttered, embarrassed. "So…I'm going to get the backstory today?"

"Well, more or less," he allowed. "He's waiting for you now. Especially after I told him…" Roxas paused, unwilling to go on, and I got the sense that the conversation was about to take a turn for the worse.

"Told him what?"

Roxas leaned forward and rested his arms on his thighs, looking down. Then he revealed, "The second thing I was going to tell you. Ven…he's awake."

I was instantly alert. "You for real?" I gasped. It sounded too good to be true. "That's great!"

"Well…not really," he admitted, and bit his lip. "There's…something is wrong with him."

That didn't sound good. I had had a feeling that there had been a double meaning in his words. "What is? What's wrong?"

"He's become like a vegetable. He's not responding to any outside influence. I've tried everything I could think of, but nothing's working," he said, close to tears. "Nothing like this has happened before. I mean, we all knew that he was afraid of blood and we've seen what happens when he sees it, but he's never reacted like this. Never."

I was horrified. Ven was close to being a human vegetable? How could just fear of blood cause something so awful?

"And…how does he normally deal with his hemophobia?" I asked uneasily.

"Normally, he would just freeze up and hyperventilate until we took him away from the blood or wiped it away. Then he'd act like nothing happened." He shifted in position. "Sometimes, once in a blue moon, when he sees a large amount of blood all at once, he'd lose his head and fall unconscious for a day or two. Then he'd wake up not remembering what he saw."

"But…shouldn't that have been what happened last week?"

"Yeah, that's what I figured at first. But he'd been asleep for so long I was starting to get anxious. I didn't want to worry you, Xaros, after everything you did for him, and I didn't want to stress Sora either since he needed to focus on recovering. That's why I didn't tell you the truth," Roxas finished, looking guilty.

"How – how long has he been like this?" I asked him, still rattled.

"This is the third day…Xaros, I – I don't know what to do…" Roxas sighed, covering his face with his hands again. "I don't know what I should do…what if he stays like that for the rest of his life because I didn't know how to help him? It'll all be my fault."

I didn't know what to say. Why would last week's fainting episode differ from any other he had experienced before? Unless…

Then a thought occurred to me.

"Roxas." He lifted his head from his hands, his expression one of torment. "Roxas, listen, I need to ask you something. Do you think you can compose yourself enough to answer me coherently?"

After several tense moments, he nodded, and stared at the wooden floor again, waiting for me to speak.

"I'm just wondering…each time Ven saw blood…" He lifted his head again to face me, listening to my words, wondering what I was trying to say. "Was the blood…did it ever come from you or Sora?"

His eyes widened slightly; my question had apparently caught him off-guard. Then he knit his eyebrows, contemplating. After a few moments, he shook his head as he answered, "No…not that I remember. It was always someone else's blood."

"There, maybe that's the reason why."

"Wh-what are you getting at?" Roxas was shocked.

"From what you're telling me," I began, choosing my words carefully. "He's never seen you or Sora bleed, because you two know about his hemophobia and you're extra careful around him. Maybe since you guys are so close, seeing all that blood from Sora might have had a much worse effect on him than if someone else, let's say, I got stabbed instead. Then he probably would've had the normal reaction of passing out for a short number of days."

Roxas looked disbelieving. "You think that's it?" he asked me slowly. "You really think that it has something to do with the three of us being so close? Do you suppose that maybe…" He choked up for a moment before going on, "…it's because that he was terrified of seeing Sora almost bleed to death because he thought he would lose him, on top of his hemophobia? Is that what you're saying?"

"That's just what I'm guessing. It would explain a whole lot of things, right? Think about it. Most of the blood on me and on the ground was Sora's, not mine. But he didn't know that. He was looking for comfort and to deny that his brother was the one bleeding so badly. He didn't want to see it so much that he clung to me, even though I was covered in blood too."

Roxas's eyes burned with hope, and I could see that he was longing to believe my claim. "If – if that's true, then – then what can I do to make him aware of us again?" he asked desperately. "Can we do anything?"

"Well, maybe…since Sora should be fine enough to walk around on his own now, you can tell him that he should go see Ven later today. He was the one losing blood so profusely, after all. Maybe having Sora there will bring him back to us. It would relieve him more than you know to see that Sora's still alive."

Relief – profound relief –etched into Roxas's face as I spoke these words. The worry lifted away, his haggard appearance from all the stress that he had to endure the past week dissolved. He looked like a different person – the way he always looked when concern wasn't wearing him down. Then Roxas did something that was completely out of character for him.

He locked me into a tight hug.

I was startled. "Roxas –" I began, but I didn't get the chance to finish.

"Thanks, Xaros," he said thickly, and his voice cracked, his arms still around me. "If you weren't here I don't know what I would've done. I would have completely given up…I'm so glad Sora found you and brought you to us…or else I'd be all alone now, and I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I-I'll do anything to make it up to you – anything. I'm just…I'm just so glad he's going to be okay…Thank you…"

"Hey…Roxas…" I put my hands on his shoulders, and he finally pulled away, his eyes glistening with tears. "Roxas, you don't need to do anything…it's only natural to try and help family, right? So don't worry about it, okay? It…it was the least I could do." I looked down, not wanting him to see the red flush on my face.

Roxas suddenly shook underneath my hands, and I turned back to him. He was crying.

"Roxas…"

"Thank God you're here…" he tremored. "Thank God…"

"Hey, it's…it's okay. Stop crying, Roxas…everything's going to be fine…" I pulled him close to me this time, and his sobbing intensified. I patted him on the back reassuringly.

"I'm so glad you're here…just so glad…" His tears wouldn't slow.

I smiled, suddenly understanding. I let him cry. He was crying out of pure joy, pure relief that his twin was going to be okay. I couldn't stop something like that. Of all the things I caused, I was glad I had caused the tears of happiness that now leaked from his eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Sora demanded.

"Sora, I'm sorry, things…happened kinda fast."

"Roxas, once Ven is fully conscious you are so dead. I can't believe you kept this all from me!"

Later after Roxas had run dry and calmed down enough, we went to go visit Sora in his room and tell him of my revelation. But it also meant that the secret behind Ven's stupor had to be revealed as well. This didn't sit well with Sora at all. He kept griping about how he felt betrayed by Roxas until I got fed up with his complaining and cut him off.

"Sora, look, we know you're upset, but stop yelling at Roxas because it's not his fault," I said severely in Roxas's defense. "He didn't tell me either, I just sort of figured it out on my own. Then he spilled everything about how he didn't want to worry either of us because of Ven's condition. Don't you realize it? That Roxas held all this in since he didn't want us to stress over something else while we were recovering? He kept it all to himself because he didn't want us to waste energy worrying when we could be getting our strength back. He was the only one not maimed or otherwise, so he was breaking his back taking care of all three of us! He's been suffering more than any of us right now. You could show some understanding for all he went through to help us."

Sora fell silent at my tirade. I started feeling bad, thinking maybe I'd gone too far. But then he smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah…you're right, Xaros. I guess I wasn't really grateful for everything he did." He then turned to face Roxas, who had been standing a little ways behind me. "Roxas…I'm sorry. I guess I got a little carried away."

"It's…it's alright."

Sora beckoned him over. "Come here."

Roxas nervously made his way over to Sora, and sat next to him on his bed. Sora slung an arm around Roxas's shoulders. "So let me see if I got all this straight. Ven is in a stupor right now because he saw me almost bleed to death, so you think me seeing him will snap him awake completely?"

"Well…that was the general idea, since he'll know you're alive." Roxas shifted uncomfortably. "Do you think that maybe…?"

"Of course I'll do it. It's worth a shot, isn't it?"

"Not only that, but do you think you'll be able to stand? You didn't leave the bed all week, so your legs might be a little weak…"

Sora's lips parted as he flashed his trademark grin. "What have I got you two for, then? I don't keep you around just to fill the extra spaces in my house. Come on, take me to him. I'm not going to stand having a human vegetable as my brother."

I was confused for a moment, then I realized what Sora had meant. I smiled too. "You got it."

The minute we got to the twins' door, Sora made us stop and put him down. We were reluctant, but he insisted, "If you want the best results out of this little test, then it's better if he saw me walking on my own. Let me down. You don't need to be my crutches anymore."

When we consented, he staggered and his legs almost buckled beneath him, but he still wouldn't let us help him. Bracing himself against the wall, he grasped the doorknob, turned it, and pushed the door open. Then taking a deep breath, he slowly walked over to where Ven lay on the bed, eyes half-open and glazed over, staring at the ceiling without seeing it. Roxas hadn't been lying – he didn't react to the noises we made, and gave no indication that he knew we were here.

Sora knelt next to where Ven's head was, doing all in his power to avoid jostling the bed (his legs were still weak from lack of use) and put his hand on his right arm, his eyes never leaving Ven's face. He put his lips next to Ven's ear.

"Ven," he breathed. "It's Sora. I'm here, I'm still alive. Wake up."

We waited with bated breath. Would my theory actually prove correct? Would he really come to?

The three of us gasped in unison as Ven twitched and blinked several times, his eyes still glazed over. He turned his head to face us, and blinked one more time, as if to make sure we were actually there, and faced Sora, whose face was lit up in joy at seeing his brother properly conscious.

"…Sora? Is that really you?" he croaked.

"Oh, God; Ven, you're awake!" Sora caught him up in a hug. "Oh, thank God. We didn't think – I can't believe – It actually worked –"

Ven was startled awake by now thanks to Sora's brutish hug. "What are you talking about? I – I thought you were –"

Sora was too overcome with emotion to answer him, and Roxas joined in on the hug, tears brimming in his eyes again. Ven looked beyond confused, and looked over at me, the only one who hadn't joined the hug, questioningly.

I smiled at him. "You've been out for over a week. They're just glad to see that you're awake." I didn't tell him any more than that. He didn't need any nightmares.

"A week…? Why was I…" Ven shook his head as much as he could with two people clinging onto him. "Man, everything's so fuzzy…what the hell happened…"

"That's not important right now," I insisted. "Your brothers are clinging onto you because this is the first time you've been conscious after you cried yourself to a week-long coma when you saw Sora's blood. If I were in your place, I'd appreciate the gesture more."

A dozen emotions flitted across Ven's face before finally settling on being flushed bright red. "You…you know about that?"

"Believe me, it wasn't hard to figure out. I almost wish I hadn't found out the way I did."

"Promise that you won't tell anyone," he insisted. "Swear it."

I held up my hands in surrender. "Okay, I swear. I have no one to tell, anyway."

His face relaxed somewhat, then put his hands on his brothers' shoulders and said gruffly, "Guys, get off me. I can't breathe."

The two finally let him go, and Ven faced away from them for a moment before turning back to Sora.

"Sora…you're really okay?" He sounded unsure.

"This is the best I've ever felt in my life. Don't worry about me," Sora said breathlessly, obviously still excited that Ven was fully awake. "I'm just glad you're awake again."

"Ven…do you remember anything from last week? Anything at all?" Roxas asked now, cautious.

"Well…" Ven wrinkled the blanket beneath his palm. "All I remember is seeing all that blood. …Sora's blood." He shuddered. "I – I don't remember anything after that. Everything else is blank."

The room was quiet for several minutes.

"Ven…maybe you should rest for now. You went through enough stress as it is." Roxas was still clearly worrying over his brother's welfare.

"What for? I'm okay, honest."

"That's for your caretaker to decide, Ven," Sora said sternly, becoming the older brother again. "If Roxas says you need more rest, then that's what you're gonna get. No arguments."

"But –"

"Ven, come on. You're not going to win this one," I told him. "Just do as Roxas says. I'm sure you'll be perfectly fine by tomorrow."

Ven opened his mouth to make a rebuttal, but then he shut it again and gave up. "Okay, you win. I'll stay here. But there's just one thing I want right now more than anything."

"What's that?"

"I'm starving. I haven't eaten for a week, and I'm so famished I'm surprised I woke up at all. Can one of you guys bring me some food to eat in bed? Then I'll stay in bed, no questions asked. Promise."

The three of us laughed, and the atmosphere immediately lightened.

"I'll do it," Roxas volunteered. "Sora's still not feeling well enough to cook. You'll have to do with toast and cereal."

Roxas then glanced at me and winked, saying, "Sora is a much better chef than I am, but since Sora's legs aren't working for him at the moment, I'll have to take the keys to the banquet hall until his legs get stronger."

"Aw, man, I have to eat your cooking?" Ven complained. "I'd rather starve."

"Hey! If it weren't for me you wouldn't even be talking to me right now!"

"But still, your culinary skills leave something to be desired. I'd rather eat something Xaros made than eat any of your food."

"Hey, don't drag me into the middle of this," I warned. "I'm not involved. And Ven, I'm not sure whether that's a compliment or an insult."

"Could be a bit of both. You never know."

"Thanks a lot, Ven. Now go back to sleep so I don't have to hear you talk. It was so much quieter without your voice."

"Hey, you can't mean that!"

We continued to rib each other until Sora forced Roxas to go make Ven some food. Then he made me act as his crutch again so he could return to his room. When I let Sora down on his bed again, instead of releasing his hold on me, he pulled me down on the bed next to him.

"What was that for?" I asked, miffed.

"Gotta make good on a promise I made." He leaned back on his hands. "Roxas told me that you deserved to know how Ven got his hemophobia and told me to tell you because he's under obligation not to breathe a word about it to anyone. So I'm going to tell you why Ven is so afraid of blood. You wanted to know, right?" He gave me a furtive glance.

"Er, uh…yeah, I did." I was mildly shocked at the method with which he was approaching this topic. "But before you do, I have one question."

"Oh? What do you want to know?"

"I'm just wondering, but…even though you're the older brother, why hasn't he made you promise to keep this secret if he made Roxas swear secrecy?"

Sora didn't reply for several minutes, debating whether or not it'd be safe to reveal such information. Eventually he turned to me and said, "Well…he's more ashamed, than anything."

"Ashamed?" I picked out the word in surprise. "What would he be ashamed of? If it were something stupid, like not wanting to be seen in a dress or something, then I'd get it, but…why would he be ashamed of a phobia? It's not really that it's his fault he's afraid of blood…right?"

Sora sighed. "See, that's where it gets dicey. The thing is, it is partially his fault, or so he believes."

"How –"

Sora held up a hand, and I closed my mouth, though my curiosity hadn't abated.

"Anyway, the reason he made Roxas promise to keep it a secret and not me is because he trusts me more to keep quiet about it. Roxas…I know he wouldn't breathe a word of it to anyone, since it's the last thing any of us want to remember, but Ven isn't taking any chances with him. You understand."

"Y…yeah."

"Is that it? Any more questions?"

"No…that's all…" I said, and I thought to myself, For now, anyway.

Sora leaned forward again and rested his arms on his thighs. He seemed reluctant to go on, and I almost wanted to tell him that I didn't want to hear such a personal story anymore.

He didn't raise his head when he spoke again. "Okay, from what I'm about to tell you, you're about to find out some things about our family. Some parts might be a little…disturbing. Our family history isn't something we like to share with other people, so I'll apologize ahead of time if I start acting possessive; it's just not something we're used to."

I nodded, apprehensive now. "Um…okay."

Only after hearing his next words did I realize that I had no idea what I'd gotten myself into.

"Ven…he killed our father."

Ooh, lots of hugging in this one! And yay, the third chapter is finished! Wow, I feel as if I dragged this one on longer than I had to, but I just had so much fun with this chapter! *shields self from Ventus fans*

Anyway, I had planned on revealing some of the three brothers' background in this chapter, but it turned out that there were more things I needed to lay on the table than I thought. So, I've decided to push it back to next chapter and leave you with this totally awesome and confusing cliff hanger! :D And sorry for the short length. This was one of those fabrication chapters where I had to come up with things from scratch.