Alright so for the next couple of days I'm dedicating all of my free time to writing this because school starts on Thursday and I want to finish as much of this as I can before then because once I start getting homework it will never end and then I won't be able to update until, like, November/December. But I'm not giving up on this story, so until I change the label thing to say "Complete" this story will continue. Eventually.

Enjoy, friends~

Joey's P.O.V.

I swear if Steph hadn't been hugging him still I would've tackled him and beat the crap out of him like he beats the crap out of Serpentine.

That's when I realized who I was dealing with. I've LITERALLY watched Tyler get so frustrated while trying to successfully complete a fighting tactic we learned that he took a Serpentine by the throat and pounded him until the blood gushing from the poor thing's head had created a lake on the ground. I'm not just dealing with some punk trying to hit on my now-teenage sister - this is Tyler Julian, the insane freak with anger issues and strong fighting skills. Sure, my skills are better than his, but he's far stronger.

After I had yelled at him to get away from Steph, he immediately jumped back liked he'd been burned. He had this confused, innocent look on his face. It was almost pure, considering he always had a malicious sneer on his face when he looked at me.

But then the sneer was back. Tyler tilted his head slightly and a wide-eyed grin covered his face. It was a look far more - I guess you can say murderous - than I've ever seen before, like he had finally snapped, and now just wanted to slaughter everything in sight. His arm slithered around Steph's shoulders and held her a little too snugly against his side. His white knuckled left hand was squeezing her shoulder, and I could see the brief flinch she made, but she made no effort to break free.

"There somethin' you want, Sparky?" he said casually, the sadistic grin growing wider.

Although scared out of my freakin mind, I stood my ground for my sister. "Leave her alone. I'm not gonna let you hurt her."

"Oh!" he responded innocently and sarcastically. "You mean, like this?"

Steph's P.O.V.

I felt Tyler calming down. I felt all his anger leaving his body. I could tell something was really wrong - something under the surface that I couldn't see. Hugging him helped a lot.

But Joey ruined it. The second Tyler pulled away, I felt his mind snap. I guess that's kinda weird, but I felt it. But I also wasn't that afraid.

Just kidding. What do you think this is, one of those lame teen novels where the guy is some monster and the girlfriend is the only one not afraid of him? Of course I was afraid! Wait, am I referring to myself as Tyler's girlfriend?!

Forget it! There are more pressing matters at hand!

Unsuccessfully, I tried to minimize my flinching. Tyler needs friends he can trust, and I want Joey to be one of them, but Joey can't trust a guy who hurts his sister.

I needed to find a way to calm Tyler down again. Obviously he wasn't going to hug in front of Joey - heck, it's a miracle I got him to hug me in the first place. After not coming up with any ideas, I silently begged Tyler with my mind to calm down.

"Oh! You mean, like this?" Tyler said. I watched him form an icicle in his hand and thrust it at my throat. Joey shouted and lunged to stop him. I didn't scream out loud, only in my head. That's when I saw the icicle stop in mid-air. Joey noticed it as well, and stopped mid-stride. It was as if all time had stopped and the three of us just kind of stood there.

Tyler looked at me with a blank awkward stare. At least the sadistic grin from before was gone. "Did you just...?"

"Did I just what?" I asked.

He paused. Joey just looked really confused. "Nothing..." Then he turned. And he sprinted out the door.

"Tyler, wait!" I called, chasing after him. I don't know what just happened, but I wasn't giving up on him. I wasn't going to be like everyone else who had just watched as he slammed the door.

"Steph, there's no way I'm letting you go after him," Joey said sternly, grabbing my arm.

"Get off!" I yelled, pushing him away and freezing his feet to the floor. I didn't bother questioning how I managed to do that, I just took the opportunity to bolt out the door.

But when I looked both ways down the street, he was nowhere in sight. I sighed and walked back in the house to watch Joey melting the ice off his feet. A small - very tiny - smile crossed my face when I remembered how Tyler used the same technique on me.

"What do you have against him?" I asked Joey. "So what, he gets a little grumpy sometimes, that doesn't mean he's a terrible person! He's never hurt any of us, what makes you think he will now? You don't even know him, just give the kid a chance!"

"He's insane, dammit!" Joey shouted. I've only heard him curse one other time before, and that was the night Mom... well, you know. He was so angry he said, "I'm going to exterminate every damn one of those snakes."

"You can't tell him I told you, because I was eavesdropping on Dad and Zane, and apparently it's a secret, but he's insane. And it's getting worse. And he has anger problems. I don't know what insane people are like, and I just don't want you to get hurt."

Oh. Well that explains a lot. Except now I'm even more worried about Tyler...

Tyler's P.O.V.

I don't know why the hell her voice was in my head but I don't like it. I heard her voice begging me to relax, and that her brother was just overreacting. Then I heard her scream. Her lips didn't move, yet she screamed. In my head. It's just better that I stay away from her. For now at least. She did manage to cancel out the other voices, though...

I just need girls. Girls keep me sane and happy, even if it's just for the night. Yea, that's what I need. Let's see if the twins are available again.

Kai's P.O.V.

Why didn't I think of this earlier? I thought. I just want to make sure she's ok. Julia's a strong girl, I know that. But I don't know how well she can fight off the Serpentine while pregnant - even if she was the strongest of all of us (yes, even stronger than Cole in his youth).

I turned to Lloyd. "Hey Lloyd. You can talk to Jules with your mind, right?"

His face went pale. I kinda feel bad for him. Ever since we decided to train the kids, he's been under so much pressure. I think I've even seen some gray hairs on his head.

"I was hoping you wouldn't ask..."

I felt my heart drop. "Why not?" I asked. Except I didn't want to know.

"It's like... when my dad died. Suddenly it's like all communication was cut off. Sometimes I feel like she's still there, but I also felt that when Dad passed. I can't tell if I'm just wishing she were there, or if she's not. I'm sorry, Kai."

Well crap. My hopes were just flushed down the toilet.

Steph's P.O.V.

Joey and I stood there awkwardly for a bit. Now I understand why he was so worried about Tyler hurting me, but I'm still going to help him. With caution. EXTREME caution.

"Joey, I understand you're my brother, and you're just trying to protect me because I OBVIOUSLY can't defend myself - " I paused, remembering training today, and cringed a little, " - and I love you for that. Thank you. But being a ninja is about teamwork; Tyler is our teammate. Which means he's also our friend, but no one treats him that way. I think that it's time we start doing so."

"It's not like he's nice to any of us, though," Joey grumbled.

"That's because he's used to being rejected by everyone. He doesn't know how to act, I think."

"You think?"

"Well I only talked to him for like five minutes, give me a break, kid." I felt the tension from a moment ago start to disappear. "But I could tell how he was feeling, and these are the conclusions I've come to. We need to be his friend. If you don't want to, that's your loss, but I'm going to befriend him no matter what you say."

Joey stared at his shoes, absorbing what I said. Finally he looked up and smiled a little. "Remember when you were 8 and not serious about anything, and just wanted to do whatever I wanted to do? You followed me around like a lost puppy... And now, you have your own opinions and everything..."

"Joey - "

"And I respect your opinions. You're my sister, and you're just as smart as me. Just kidding, I'm smarter." He grinned, and I rolled my eyes. "So I'll help you. But if he hurts you I swear you won't see him again with a head attached to his shoulders."

"Ha, ok," I responding, hugging him. He then turned to go back to the basement to train, and I decided to go with him. Maybe I'll do better this time. Just kidding, I suck.

Before we reached the basement door, the front door suddenly burst open and a guy in a lab coat came in, slamming the door closed behind him. His eyes looked around frantically, then widened in excitement as they landed on Joey.

"SON!" he exclaimed, rushing over to give him an exaggerated hug.

"Son?" Joey and I said in unison.

Ok I'm sorry can we just take a moment to appreciate this line: "What do you think this is, one of those lame teen novels where the guy is some monster and the girlfriend is the only one not afraid of him? Of course I'm afraid!" I just thought that was beautiful when I wrote it because EVERY teen novel that uses a supernatural creature is EXACTLY like that.

That got kind of deep towards the end...

So who's this stranger, and why the hell is he calling Joey his son? Kai is Joey's father... right? Or is he? *insert dramatic gasping*

Stay tuned for more! I should update at LEAST twice within the next couple days, preferably more, but as I said in the beginning A/N, school's starting Thursday *cries* Bye-bye, internet, I'll miss you ;~;

Anyway, I hope y'all have a great day/night :)