Mylene: Don't tempt me to leave the room.

Dream: It's okay. I'm not trying to embarrass you.

Yumeí: All you do is sleep in this scene.

Lync: *Sweatdrop* That's bad enough.

Shadow: *laughing manically* We're all stalkers!

Dream: Someone get him his medicine.

Volt quietly walked through the halls until he came to the guest room. He opened the door, poked his head in, and at the figure sleeping on the floor mattress.

Mylene was peacefully resting, her breathing slow and even. She looked so different than she did in the daytime. There was no suspicion or scowling.

Volt closed the door and walked back down the hall. A runaway. He felt somewhat amused at the idea. A stranger sleeping in a stranger's house. Mylene didn't act like a runaway should; she had a commanding presence rather than a desperate one. Irony laced the entire situation.

Volt stood outside an ornate door. He calmly knelt before it and waited. True to his expectations, the door opened and his father was looking down at him.

"Come in."

Volt obeyed, entering his father's quarters for what felt like the hundredth time. It probably was. His father paced, appearing to be deep in thought. Then he spoke.

"What are you doing? Letting a stranger into our home?"

"I was following the code," Volt insisted. " 'Deny none who seek sanctuary.' "

"Stop making excuses," his father snapped. "Why? Do you intend for your mentor to punish you?"

"My mentor," Volt said, emphasis on the last word, "is not the one punishing me. It is you who are doing so. It is you who has always done so."

"Ridiculous."

"Then why has my uncle never laid a hand on me?" he challenged. "Verbally, I have taken much abuse from him. Physically, he has never had the chance. You interfere every time I make a mistake."

"You are my son. You are my responsibility."

Volt resisted the temptation to roll his eyes. If he was a "responsibility", then why were his brothers not so carefully looked after? Because he was the youngest? In all contests, he'd been proven one of the strongest fighters in the family. Among cousins his age and adults. He did not need to be looked after.

His father seemed to sense the unfulfilled eye-roll. He stopped pacing and stared at him, trying to appear intimidating. It didn't scare Volt in the slightest. His father sighed.

"What am I going to do with you?"

"You might as well leave me alone," Volt snapped. "According to you, I'm unfit to be you're little spy any more. Apparently, I can't do anything right."

"There is no one else who believes that your Uncle desires my place as head of this family. And you have reported no suspicious activity from him yet."

There it was. The paranoia again. Volt was beginning to wonder if his fathers obsession with being betrayed, and overthrown had caused him to lose all reason. He was acting nuttier than the slum kids he sometimes saw doing stupid things. At this rate, he would become unfit to be in charge.

"My uncle has not done anything suspicious."

Aside from hating me with a passion, he added in his mind. The strange dislike had confused him from day one, and persisted through the years. None of his cousins could explain it to him, and he was at a loss for figuring it out himself.

His father sighed again, covering his face with one hand. Volt could understand why he was exasperated, but he, personally, saw no logic within it. He took advantage of the silence.

"Father, I think it would be best if, perhaps, you laid your fears aside. For the time being. There has been no cause to worry about your brother, and you can rest assured that I will inform you at once if there is any problem."

His father lowered his hand, looking at him quietly.

"You seem awfully prepared about this," he commented. Volt crossed his arms and looked away.

"Maybe because we keep having this conversation," he replied, with a touch of bitterness. "After I broke code the first time, when I had my growth spurt, every time I lost my temper, and now, when I obey the code. In all honesty, I'm starting to lose track of how often this has been repeated."

The silence persisted so long, Volt felt the need to leave or say something. At length, he diceided to do both.

As he turned to leave, he said clearly, "Don't forget, I am your son. I will always be loyal to you."

Volt returned to his room, unaware that behind him, his father, the head of the Luster clan, was crying.

Yumeí: Don't let me cry!

Lync: I gotcha covered!

Dream: I'm hungry. When's the pizza guy coming?

*Doorbell rings*

Yumeí: *Flees room to answer door*

Mylene: Do you think Volt swallowed his pride and came back?

Shadow: I say pizza guy.

Dream: Depends if the fans want him back.