Setting off on an extended journey with his brothers was not something Ienzo ever planed to do, but that's where fate took him. To counter act the annoyance he knew he would be subjected to, Ienzo relinquished control of the vestal to his brothers and effectively hid in his room the entire trip.

No one would blame him for it. Between Myde's talented rendition of 99 bottles fully accompanied by the sitar and Lea's many attempts to snuff out the boy's talent, anyone would be driven insane quickly. Even their brother.

The only time he left his room the entire trip was to investigate the little side trip Lea had insisted on making. Upon the red-head's request the party stopped off on a seedy little world. It was the kind of place that respected members of society did not go and that most children didn't even know existed. However, obviously Lea did, not that he could really be called a child any more at twenty-three, but still… this was not a place any decant person visited and Kensal had raised his sons to be decent.

The situation only got worse as the oldest of Kensal's sons lead the rest to the entrance of a shop so provocative that Ienzo felt compiled to cover Myde's eyes. Despite the ex-Melodious Nocturne's age of twenty-one his little brother still felt that he had to protect him. Not that there was much he could do, but Myde just exerted this child-like aura that probably would accompany him well into old age.

Once Lea exited that damnable place, Ienzo made it a point not to ask what was held in the black plastic bag his brother carried. More then likely the younger two would probably rather not know. Some questions were just not worth the answers. Not a very scientific thought, but true none the less.

"Was all this really necessary?" He asked.

"Why else would we come her?" Was the pyro's reply.

"How did you even know that this place was here?" Myde asked. For as long as they had known their brother, he had never been the kind of person to go to places like this although he did seem the type.

"Ask me no questions and I will tell you no lies." He answered with a smirk. Somehow Myde knew that this little adventure wasn't for the obvious reasons. But then again when was anything any of his brothers did for the obvious reasons?

The cliffs of Wales did not seem to Lea to be the best place to build a home. Uneven terrain and the isolation of that particular spot could only be the home of someone with a massive anti-social complex. But, if he remembered right, that was exactly who they were looking for.

Rodger Bacon had been a friend of their father's and although the boys couldn't really remember in which context, they did remember that the shriveled old man was not usually much of a team player. And why should he be? He had survived almost a millennia (although no one was sure of his age, perhaps not even himself) without the aid of anyone. He had become one of the strongest magicians of his world. And the strangest.

One look at the metal monstrosity that vaguely resembled a rocket could tell you that. Lea supposed that it was a given rule that the smarter you were the more eccentric you were allowed to be. Ienzo's domesticity proved that.

As the brothers climbed down the path towards the house they could hear a heated argument boiling. Thinking it unwise to interrupt, at least until it was clear that their help was required, the ex-nobodies simply listened at the door.

"If the issue is money…then it is no issue at all. Name your price." A gruff voice said. Despite his desperate attempt at keeping his voice calm Ienzo could smell the fear all the way outside. What ever the man wanted he was determined to have it; perhaps even to the point of obsession.

"Mr. Garland the issue is not money, in fact I'm doing very well for myself, thank you very much. The fact is that I can't and won't give you the manuscript." Rodger bacon said in a voice as that would remind anyone of a troll, although he did have better articulation.

"Now see here…"

"No you see here! I sympathizes with your plight, I really do. But the Émigré Manuscript is full of dark magic. Magic that could do horrible things. Besides that, the spell you want has never been successfully done. Never. What makes you think you would be the first? Do you realize the kinds of monsters you could release if you even try? Monsters in the bodies of your children?"

There was a crash and Rodger's cry of 'hay!' made it evident that his spew did not please the Garland fellow. Ienzo looked at his brothers and gave a determined nod of his head. Now was the time to intervene.

Busting though the door, the brothers found a hulking man dressed impeccably in business attire, holding the ancient wizard against a far wall of his own home.

"I will have that book!" He screamed as he gave his prisoner a little shake.

"I believe the old man said 'no.' Myde, did you hear it?" Lea asked his voice taking on the sarcastic timber it always did before a fight. Myde nodded, knowing that the question wasn't really directed towards him. Ienzo responded the same way knowing it would give more weight to the vicious threats yet to come.

" Just who do you think you are?" Garland demanded.

"Name's Lea. Got it memorized?" Lea's Brothers just rolled their eyes at his antics as he continued. "I think it's time for you to leave. Unless you want to fight and it has been a while since I've had a fight."

"You might want to take his advice or you may just get your hair burned off." Myde suggested.

"That was one time. One time!" Lea defended.

"But still, it might be better for you if you leave the old man alone or I'll make sure that you can't so much as swat a fly." He continued.

Observing the boys, Garland quickly realized that fighting them was not an option. They were obviously strong and Garland himself had always had the money to pay others to do the fighting for him. He swiftly walked out the door loosing none of his dignity and silently swearing that he would get that book if it was the last thing he ever did.

Once he was gone Lea turned to Rodger. It was clear to Ienzo at least that the old man didn't recognize the boys. Not that anyone could really blame him. They hadn't seen each other since Ienzo was what, Ten?

"Just who was he and what did he want?" Lea demanded of the old man.

"It really isn't any of your business. Just who do you think you are?" He snapped back.

"Well sorry for saving your wrinkly ass. I won't make the same mistake again."

"I believe you knew our father, Kensal." Ienzo interrupted. It would do them no good to get on his bad side already. As far as they knew he was the only one with so much as and idea of where to find the manuscript and they had to hurry. Apparently they weren't the only ones looking for it.

Bacon just stared at the boys for a few moments before responding.

"My I'm getting old." Myde thought it best not to mention the fact that they were older then they looked and that Bacon himself probably hadn't been anything close to young since the dark ages.

"So who was he?" Lea asked again causing Bacon to take a deep breath.

"His Name is Graham Garland. According to his story he lost both his children in a car accident several years ago and as been looking for a way to bring them back to life ever since. It's a pitiful situation but I can't help him." With the old man's words Ienzo caught his brother's eye and gave the red-head a look that clearly told him to do nothing; that Ienzo had a plain.

"Is it even possible, bringing people back from the dead, I mean?" He asked. Ienzo was sure to make his voice as innocent as feasible. Of course it was possible, he had just witnessed it not three days ago.

"It's dark magic. Dark magic indeed, but possible." Rodger muttered.

"But why would Garland think you would know how, and what was that Émigré Manuscript he kept asking about?" Myde could be surprisingly perceptive sometimes. He must have caught the look shared between his 'smarter' brothers and decided to play the game as well. Ienzo could have kissed him for it. Having the potentially more damaging questions come from the more innocent of the brothers made Bacon more likely to answer.

"Oh…Well…" it was clear that he wasn't comfortable discussing the issue but these were his friend's sons so it couldn't do that much damage.

"The Émigré Manuscript is a spell book full of dark magic. There is a spell in there to bring the dead back to life but no one has ever gotten it to work."

"Oh? What other kind of spells are there?" Myde continued to the amazement of his brothers. He played naive so well that for a second they were forced to wonder it he had been playing them. Did he secretly find it easer to play stupid?

"I can't say. Nope. I won't." Bacon insisted, finally pushing Lea's patience to the edge of its already too small rope.

"Listen, that's why we came. It wasn't some social visit. We need to know about that book." Lea's voice raised just the slightest bit but it was more then enough to tell Ienzo that now was the time to interrupt.

"We're not interested in actually doing any of the spells, we just need to know what spells are in the book." Ienzo explained before he went on to tell details of Thanroe and what the brothers were trying to accomplish.

"I'm sorry. I can't help you. That book was buried for a reason." The only good thing about his response was that he actually took a moment to answer which meant the had at least considered it. It was also a good thing that Lea came prepared. He may not have remembered much about his late father's friend but he did remember the one thing Kensal had mentioned as the old man's weakness.

"I'm sorry too. We weren't expecting you to help us for free; we're not idiots." Lea said, for once not casting a glance at his brother or making any snide remarks at the last phrase. He had always found it funny that his brother was known as the Schemer when most who really knew the brothers would clam Lea to be the more slippery of the family.

Lea brought out the big black bag he had stopped especially for. This kind of stuff wasn't his thing; like any sane person he preferred to see the real stuff, but whatever got the old raisin's flag flying.

As he pulled the stack of dirty magazines out of the bag and set them on the table he was sure to drop a few just so they spilled open to the centerfolds. Bacon's eyes popped like those of a stress doll.

"But since you won't share… then there is no reason for us to." He finished as he shoved the magazines back into the cursed opaque bag that hid the magazines from view. Bacon's face dropped instantly. He knew he was being tricked. Being baited. But he didn't care.

"Fine I'll tell you if you promise not to use any of the spells." Lea smiled. It was just too easy. They were finally going to get the information they needed. But the only thing was, they weren't the only ones listing.

Six hours later Lea was thanking whatever higher power their was for his brother's brains. Although the hiding spot itself was not more then a hundred feet from Bacon's house, it was littered with puzzles and monsters. The beast were easy enough to handle, in fact, Lea rather enjoyed that part, however, The puzzles fried his brain.

The floor was an odd color coded series of blocks with large gaps in between sections. The only way to get across was to hit the right switch for the right block. Sounds simple right? Well it wasn't. Every time one block would move it would move another one as well so that they were often stuck right by the switch.

Once they were safely back in Bacon's house Ienzo skimmed through the book as Bacon skimmed through his. Within seconds Ienzo had found something interesting enough to share aloud as Bacon kept his loot greedily to himself (not that any of them were interested).

"Human memories are a form of matter, just as the physical manifestations of the light and darkness are, and as such can not be created or destroyed only transferred. They can be copied, manipulated, and even erased from ones mind but never completely destroyed.

"Some memories are lost naturally. What purpose would be served by one remembering what one ate on a certain day when they were two? These needless memories are used to maintain natural magic such as the barriers between worlds. Other magic calls for fresh memories. Ones that have been plucked from the mind especially for this purpose…"

"Here's another." Ienzo said as he continued quoting.

"Taking the metaphorical heart out of one's body and separating the components is a relatively easy task resulting in both pieces being exponentially stronger then the completed specimen…"

"What does this mean for us?" Myde asked, worriedly.

"It means that Thanroe is a lot sicker then we initially gave him credit for if he actually tried some of these. And I have little doubt that he did." The hard set of Ienzo's face told his brothers that this was serious. Although he was never really one for jokes, the sharp angry set of his eyes told just how bad the situation was.

"How do we know which ones he tried?" Myde asked.

"We don't. All we can do is-" But he stopped himself. With several tentative sniffs, Ienzo's expression changed from anger to the closest thing to panic he could muster.

"Poison." He muttered as he hit the floor with a thump and begin coughing so hard that he could not even manage the words to tell his Myde and Lea to run. It would have done little good. There would not have been the time for them to save themselves anyway. Bacon and his brothers soon followed him into unconsciousness, without having so much as a minuet to worried on whether or not the poison was lethal or not.

One month ago….

The boy that would later be dubbed Sunny sat high above the rest of Twilight Town. No one would notice him on the clock tower, not this late at night. He came here to think. It was a quite place where no one bothered him. It was the kind of place you could never find in the daylight.

He was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he did not notice the darkness pool and shape a human form. The form said nothing as it sat down and handed him a sea salt ice-cream. He looked at his visitor and although she still had her hood up, he could tell just who it was.

"Xion, why does she hate me?" Sunny knew his voice was smaller then it should be, a trait that may just allow people to see through all the spells, but he didn't have to worry. Xion already knew all his secrets.

"Morose hates everybody. Even Thanroe." Xion would not lie to him. He was a good kid and disserved only the truth, no matter how unkind it was.

"What about him? Do you think he would ever be proud of me?" He asked. Sunny knew what the answer would be. He was young but not stupid, but was that an excuse for his naivety? For his secret desire for the truth to be to the contrary.

"Thanroe is not someone who you want to be like. If I were you, every time he shows disappointment see it as a compliment." She muttered, not taking the ice-cream bar out of her mouth.

"So what do I do? It's not like I can run away. Where would I go?" It broke her heart to see the young boy's pain. He had been like a younger brother since Thanroe had dragged her into this little organization a few years ago.

No child as young as he should have to give up hope, and it should never be easy in the few cases that it's necessary. But for Sunny it seemed to almost be nothing.

"You do the same thing I did. You smile and pretend and when their back is turned, you do the right thing. That's all there ever is to do: the right thing."

Sunny pulled the hood of his dark, standard issue organization cloak down and let his bleach blond hair fall into his blue eyes. He sighed as he made a choice that unbeknownst to him, would shape his entire destiny.

"From now on, it's just me and you, Xi. We're all the family we'll ever need. F…forget them. I'll go back to pretending and you will too. When they're not looking well show them. We're not nobodies. We have a conscience and we know how to do the right thing." It almost sounded as if he were trying to convince himself of the truth.

"You're a good kid. You disserve better." She said and there was no need to elaborate on the matter. Sunny wasn't old enough to really understand what she meant but he did know who she was talking about.

"Maybe. But I do have better. I have you."

Sorry it took so long, it's just that seeing as I'm still under the age of eighteen I am subjective to the whims of a higher power that calls its slef an adult. In lame man's terms: I was grounded from the computer. I most likely won't get my quota done but hay I tried.

On a different note I want to thank my friend who prefers to only be known in cyberspace as Theo. He has volunteered to Bata all the chapters of this story during the summer. All I have to do is let him proof read my essays for the summer reading list. I'll get a grammatically correct essay and he'll get quality work he can copy. That's an AP class for you.

By the way for those of you who have played the Shadow Hearts games this takes place between two and three.