An: Ever wondered what happened to Helios if Endymion turned evil? Hope this answers it. (Once again drawing on Manga in which the two are very much linked together.)

It wasn't unusual that from the front lines the king's entourage came back to them. Actually, the only reason why Helios would dread such a thing was due to mostly the king's obvious favorite child, Quinzite.

He doesn't understand or get why she seems to be so fascinated by him. Everywhere he was, there she was not too far from him. It was starting to become a serious annoyance as the girl grew older. Helios was nauseated by the way the king dotes on her and a few of the others. Actually, it's her mostly.

Helios understood why the king doted on her. As heir to a very powerful crystal, she was valuable to keep on a leash of sorts. It made it easier that she was unaware of that leash, much like her mother who still lived in her delusions.

Sighing, the vassal moves around his study going over some paperwork and news. So far most of the rebellion had dwindled a little. It was now just this one fraction that kept harassing them. He glances over at the blurry and clear photos that he had received from his informant. He didn't understand why they continued to do this when it was obvious that Earth was becoming more prosperous with each conquered world that the king accumulated.

"Lord Helios?"

The white haired priest glances up with his molten golden eyes towards the young boy by the door. His clothing was simple- a blue short sleeved shirt with a white vest and matching pants- and his black hair wild. If Helios didn't know any better he would've said that the child was just some servant's boy. However, this boy was in actuality the king's youngest son Starlite. Or rather Arli as the boy insisted on being called.

"Yes, my prince?" Helios sets everything down and walks over to the boy with his red boots clicking on the floor. "Is there something you need?"

Arli shook his head, "No, it's just..um..uh.." The six year old glances around trying to think of something before he finally said, "Is it true that you're going to marry Quin?"

Helios disguised his surprise and smiles at the boy, "Maybe." He wasn't about to divulge that the boy was absolutely right and that he and the king had planned it long ago after the girl had been born.

No need for the child to know that.

"What brought this on?" He raises a brow curious to know. If there was a leak in their group than it must be taken care of.

"Quin." Arli said, "She says she's engaged to you and keeps talking about it. "

"I see." He would have to take her a side. Then again she would probably misinterpret it. Foolish girl. "Well it's nothing to concern yourself over, Prince. "

"Oh." Arli lingers a bit for a moment before finally saying again, "Lord Helios, will you..um..would you play with me? The others...they're all busy and I'm not allowed to see Mommy without someone there." Which was followed by another question, "Why can't we see our mommies when we want to?"

A headache was forming in the back of the vassal's head but he knew he would get back to that work later. Instead he takes the little boy's hand and closes the door which locked behind him.

"I'll play with you until it's time for your tutor." He says keeping a somewhat slow pace with the child, "As for your mothers...well it's a safety measure. They're ill."

"Ill?" The boy frowns a bit, "How can they be sick? How come we can be around them and not be sick too? "

"Well," Helios glances around before heading to the play room level. "It's because it's an illness in the mind. They think this is a bad place when it's not. Not to mention, they want to take you and your brothers and sisters away from here." He gives the child a look, "It's very dangerous out there. There are very bad people that don't like your father and they'll try to hurt your mommies and all of you just to get to him."

"Oh." Arli's eyes were wide as he tried to digest all of what Helios was saying. "How do we make them better?"

Helios smiles, children really were the simplest of creatures. So trusting and innocent with the naivety of any. Made it so easy to manipulate them. "Well we have to be patient with them and not listen to any of their nonsense of running away."

"Oh..Ok!" The boy nods before rushing into the play room. "Play with me! I wanna play this video game!"

"Very well Prince."

A sly ruby red smile graced the porcelain face of one pink haired girl as she observed the man dressed in black. My my, she thought watching Helios leave her baby brother. This should be the right time.

Trying to be appealing to the white haired male, she saunters towards him. She had made sure she would look perfect to him. At the 'ripe' age of thirteen years old, she considered herself fit to date now. At least that's what she thought. But in reality her body was still trying to mature and her steps weren't as graceful as she thought them to be.

However one thing Quinzite didn't do was giving up. Unless it was her father. Then she knows better to push him and to try another avenue that would get her what she wanted later.

In any case, she saunters up to the priest and smiles a 'sexy' smile that made her look more like she was grimacing than not.

"Lord Helios." She said with a purr. "Fancy that we meet here of all places."

Helios looked less than impressed by the girl's attempts. "Well, it is your home while you're here, princess. I doubt there's a way to see less of you and the others."

To her that meant an undercurrent of want on Helios's part.

"True, shall we walk?" Quin asked before turning slightly, hoping he could see how well the dress looked on her. It was tight enough to show her body outline and flares at her legs. It was black with a sheer red sleeves that flared at the end.

Helios thought it made her look pasty and the dress was more fit for someone with a better body than her undeveloped one. He sighs inwardly. The only thing that kept him from running was the fact that she had to be in love with him for him to marry her later on and use her to keep the crystal under the Earth's control.

With both the Golden Crystal and the Silver, it should be easy to repel any outside forces-or inside- that sought to usurp their control.

Which meant he had to tolerate her failing attempts at seduction.

"Of course, Princess." Helios told her and walks with her while she chatted about her day and the things she had seen in the galaxy or how Rutile and Topaz annoyed her.

Keeping himself from rolling his eyes at this, he focused on what to do next. The king's party was here for the holidays. Perhaps it would be easier to make himself seem more interested in Quinzite?

"Endura?" Helios blinks a bit seeing the girl huddled on a window sill in the Great Library staring out at the snow covered landscape. "What are you doing there?"

"I'm thinking." the girl says promptly before turning her odd colored eyes towards him, "Lord Helios, you're one of the few that calls me by name. Why is that?"

Helios caught himself thinking about it. Had he been calling this girl by her name yet use titles for the others? He frowns a bit as he thought about it. It hadn't been intentional that is for sure.
"I do not know."

She shrugs simply and looks out the window again. Today she wore a golden cream color dress with thick straps holding it up, that made her somewhat dark skin look even darker in contrast. The skirt of the dress pooled around her feet and off the ledge. Her dark green hair had grown longer as she aged. It was now mid-back length with the bangs held back by golden hair clips.

"You did not answer my question." Helios said and found it disturbing that he was comfortable around this girl. She was only about fifteen now wasn't she? Uncomfortably, Helios had noticed she filled out nicely in her dress but focus his attention on what she was saying.

"Yes I did." She glances at him with an amused expression, "I'm thinking. Mostly about the future."

"What about the future?" Helios tilts his head pondering what to do with this one. She was the daughter of the time guardian. Yet another person to keep close and pay mind to. He couldn't have her ruining their plans.

"What will become of me in the future." She answers before turning, her chocolate brown feet met with the carpeted floors. It was only than that Helios had noticed where her shoes were. "Mother tells me that when I get old enough I will go to this Time Gate thing and guard it."

"It's a possibility." Helios says waiting as she slipped on her shoes.

"That it is." She agrees before sighing, "I'm not sure what to think of it. I don't want to go, yet to leave something like that alone ...it's dangerous."

"Don't you fear begin alone?" Helios watches as she walks with more grace then her younger sister towards the shelf where she stops and studies the books. "That's frequently said of it."

"No. I won't be." Endura glances at him with a secretive smile, "You'll visit me, I think."

"So sure of yourself?" He couldn't help but challenge that, "After all, it's widely known that I may be engaged to your sister and to be quite busy."

"I wager that you'll make time, Lord Helios." Her smile was wider but she turns, "I'll see you at dinner."

Helios still couldn't get what it was this girl was doing. Knowing he should have paid more attention to her intent, he let it go. After all, it was fine for her to entertain the thoughts of him visiting her in such a dreary place.

His observations came to a point with Geneva, the oldest of the girls. He contends that this girl wasn't so much of a pain was more likely that she was worried about her self.

"Come on Paz, you have to eat the greens." She reprimands her young brother. The garnet haired girl had a displeased look on her face.

"But I hate them!" The thirteen year old boy whines.

"I eat mine." Rutile smirks, "Because it's what makes you grow."

The sandy-blonde haired boy shook his head, "I hate it! They're nasty!"

"How can you hate something without tasting it?" Geneva asks with a huff, "Look at Arli, Quin and Endy. They're all eating theirs."

"But..." Topaz seemed miserable.

"Go on." Geneva raises a brow.

Helios watched the exchange with some vague amusement. However the interactions gave him a glimpse at their personalities and how they've developed. Geneva had turned into quite the mother hen. He wonders if it was to compensate with the fact that she feared the attacks that may be made on her siblings? After the ones on her and her older brother's life...

He couldn't begrudge her of that. Idly the thought she would make a good mother or nursemaid with how she was going about it.

"How's the food?" Geneva glances at Helios, "I tried my best but..."

"It's delicious." Helios says almost automatically. In reality, the meat was a bit dry but everything else was good enough.

"Oh good." She smiles brightly before looking over at Arlie and Rutile to try and stop them from throwing food at each other.

Or maybe, Helios thought to himself, she should be a commanding officer. What with her way of barking out orders like that.

Rutile and Topaz seemed to always be together, except when Rutile wanted to be alone. Helios was trying to puzzle the boy out. While Topaz was quite simple. He wanted to have fun and from what the King told Helios of Topaz's mother, it was that the boy was much like her when she was younger. Energetic and bound to do things most normal boys would do.

Rutile on the other hand...

Helios found him as pitiful as some of the others. Unlike them who's mothers were either dead or who eventually accepted them as their child, Rutile's parent-Diamond- adamantly refused the boy. One could pity the child who seemed to be the unfavorite of everyone in the group.

Though it was obvious Rutile and Topaz were the best of friends, most of them dismiss Rutile as a whiny cry-baby due to the fact that whenever Quinzite did something to the boy he would inevitably burst into tears. At ten years old, Rutile should've been able to handle what his sister does to him.

Apparently not.

Helios contemplated this child in particular. There was a high likelihood that this one may turn on them if they didn't stop mistreating him. He understood the king's habits now regarding the boy. It was slightly sneaky way of reassuring the child was important but not enough to tip off to anyone how important he was.

The Dark horse so to speak.

Helios made the mental note to keep tabs and to try and initiate a relationship with the child more to ensure his loyalty. He didn't believe it would be hard to get Rutile-someone that always wants to prove himself- or Topaz- someone who's happy to be acknowledged and do things for others.

They would be no problem to manage when he, himself, becomes king.

Biron was a difficult boy. This Helios realized while working with him on a project that would start in a few years. Biron was unreadable to Helios which was alarming in itself as Helios considered himself a good reader of people. The oldest child of the entire clan kept much to himself and silent. It was obvious he cared for his siblings- especially Geneva who was only a half a year younger than he was. At nineteen, Biron was showing skills that normally boys his age wouldn't gain until their mid-twenties.

It didn't help that he adopted his father's looks. The way the king would look at a person a certain way that would guarantee a confession or at least make this person seriously reconsider their options.

Helios was quite unsure how to handle this boy. He was both like the king and not like him at the same time. Helios had only known a little bit of the boy's mother and what she had been like through the king himself. And annoying woman with ridiculous expectations and as bright as a broken light bulb.

He eyed the boy a bit watching his brows knit together and his lips purse in thought over the minor things of the plan.

How could he manipulate this boy? What was his interests and needs or even wants? He knew this boy had no shortage of people that would kill to bed him- so there was nothing to hold there- but that he had showed a little interest in certain books.

Without a doubt, Helios knew he must figure out how this boy ticked if he had any hope of retaining the power he was accumulating. Otherwise this child could possibly be his down fall.

Once again, Helios was alone in his study after having spoken with the king and communing with the Earth to check in on the status of it and of the maidens at the Shrine. Things were going well-so far.
He glanced at the folder on his desk pondering about the images that laid within. The king was cautious about the rebels. He didn't want to encourage people to try and kill them but he didn't want to encourage the rebels that people were willing to join them- there's hardly any that would except for the whining ones of some peace organization. Fools.

He pulls out the seven images and frowns. Some of them were quite young. Especially the leader of the group.

In a way, Helios had mused, it was almost as if he had met them before. He picks up the photo of a white haired male with startlingly green eyes before glancing at the others.

They needed to be careful of these people. Helios resolved to wait until they made a mistake.

"Then," He said to himself putting them away, "our power will be absolute."