The policeman lay sprawled on the floor. He was unconscious from a blow to one of his vital points. Liuxang dragged him to a janitor's closet and put him there. He clapped away the metaphorical dirt on his hands.

"Kay, you can come out now, the mean old guard ain't gonna come out an' get ya no more."

Kay peeked out shyly behind the huge potted plant. She stared out Liuxang trying to remember who he was, and wondered why he looked so familiar. Liuxang flashed his Cheshire cat grin and instantly she remembered.

"Whitey!"

"Kay, it's been a while, how's your mom?"

"She's fine, but daddy's not here yet, he's not here anymore."

Liuxang's eyes widened with horror, he was too late. He had been in Zhengfa, he even chartered a jet to carry him to America, but it wasn't enough. He was still too late. He clenched his fist, in frustration, in anger, and in despair, another one lost his life to stop the ring. It took him a while to feel his own nails buried deep in his hands enough to draw some blood.

"Kay, remember your promise notebook?"

Kay looked at him with grief and sadness. Of course she remembered, she made it with her dad.

"I wouldn't cry in front of strangers."

"I'm not a stranger, Kay."

Kay sniffed and ran to his open arms. She poured her heart out to him, crying. She didn't hear Liuxang curse to himself, she didn't hear Liuxang also crying in his heart in frustration. She didn't hear him mumble about how he read the stars and predicted Byrne's death, nor how he chartered a jet plan to come back to America to try and save Byrne. She didn't hear him, couldn't hear him. All he did was hug her and comfort her, and try to give her hope for a better tomorrow.

"Kay?" Sola asked. She knocked lightly on the door, hoping she heard her.

"Go away." Shuffling sounds were heard, and Kay knew she had gone away.

Except Sola hadn't. She was by the door, along with Luna. They didn't need to talk to communicate, all they did was lip read each other was saying, another talent Liuxang taught them.

"You're serious about this, huh, Sola, or should I say, Ralos?"

"Stop calling me Sola, I still don't know why you want me to be Sola, I'm a guy."

"Who enjoys cross-dressing? Who looks like a gir?"

"Shut up Luna, you made me do this."

"Hee, I suppose you're right, I've always wanted a cute younger sister."

"I'm younger than you by a few minutes only, how could you have decided it?"

"That's what you get for having a family full of girls before ..."

"Before Dad did that ..."

A flash of memory. A man holding a bloody kitchen knife, Ralos and Luna's mom lay on the floor, a look of terror in her eyes before the signs of life faded.

"Ralos, hey, Ralos." Luna nudged him. Ralos shook his head.

"I know, I wonder what happened to Mundo and Stella?"

"Beats me, they loved dad."

"I wonder why."

"What can we say, people's hearts are difficult to fathom." Luna quoted from Liuxang, which annoyed Ralos.

"I hate it whenever you sing praises about Liuxang."

"Ralos, just voice out your opinions. Give Liuxang a chance, remember that time?"

Ralos grudgingly nodded.

"Hey miss and mister, we're playing hide and seek, wanna join us?" a young Luna asked.

Qilin smiled. "Sure!"

The kids disappeared leaving a trace of giggles and laughter.

"You want to play with them?" Huoniao asked, he was also smiling.

"C'mon Huo, let's catch 'em!" Qilin ran looking for the kids. Huoniao followed her.

"C'mon kids, come out, come out where ever you are." Qilin smiled naughtily as she searched for the twins.

"We're not gonna eat you up kids."

"Over here!" Qilin and Huoniao looked for the direction of the voice. Their smiling faces turned to horror-filled grimace when they saw the children in front of a time bomb.

"Kids, don't stay there, it's dangerous." Qilin walked toward them cautiously.

"No, you're just saying that because you can't catch us."

"Get away from that," Huoniao shouted," and come here this instant that's a bomb!"

"No, we won't you haveto come get us."

"Alright then." Qilin dashed and caught the twins. She hugged them tight as she dragged them away from the bomb.

"Let us go, you caught us already," Ralos said, he was uncomfortable with Qilin's vice-like grip.

"Shut up, I'm saving you two, stop squirming."

Qilin gasped at the time bomb, she ran to the twins.

"Qilin, no!" Huoniao ran to her as Qilin hugged the twins and exposed her back to the bomb to protect the little ones.

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. BOOM!

"She protected us," Ralos said.

"She died along with Huoniao," Luna replied.

"Who became Liuxang."

"Qilin? She's dead."

Luna cried. Before her was a horribly burnt body, disfigured and blackened. Ralos felt sick, he held in his urge to vomit. Liuxang stood before the body and felt for the pulse.

"Dead." The news made Luna cry, and left Ralos horrified with what they had done.

"Qilin!" A voice from behind cut Liuxang's thoughts, it was Shi Long, Qilin's husband. Without a word, he carried the two silently.

"Won't he die?" Ralos finally spoke.

"He won't die."

Liuxang escaped the burning building with two children. Yet he still ran, he had let go of them somewhere outside the building, and he ran to the place he and his sibling would play. He ran to the very spot where he fell off a tree, and Lang had caught him just on time, with his twin laughing as Lang lay dazed, with him disoriented.

"No!" Liuxang shouted in grief, in rage. Tears fell, some drop on his burns, but he didn't mind the stinging burns. His clothes were torn as timely rain fell and put out the fire in the library, but Liuxang didn't know that time, all he knew was that he was in grief, he had lost his family now, no one to turn to. Anyone he was close to would be in danger, were they to know he was alive. He pounded the earth in grief until his rage subsided.

A twig snapped and Liuxang turned around.

The two had followed him.

"You're still here?" Liuxang asked them," go back to your family, they'll worry about you."

"They're dead, our mommy's dead, so is father."

Liuxang looked at them, they were kindred spirits. "Do you want a home?"

Ralos and Luna nodded as they cried.

Liuxang reached out his hand, and the two grabbed it.

"Liuxang was always there for us," Luna said.

"He was, but his methods, I don't like them," Ralos said in agreement.

"But who was there for Liuxang?"

"No one, no one was there for him, that was why he called himself Liuxang, because he was a drifter, with no one to rely one, no one to help him."

"It's lonely for him."

"He chose his path."

"That's why we walked it with him."