"Did you find that strange?" Nicholas whispered under his breath to Kyle.

The other Huntsboy checked over his shoulder, despite the fact that they were locked securely in their quarters. He nodded without hesitating. Of course it was strange. Rose, confident Rose who had chosen to dedicate her life to the greater good, had sounded as though she were questioning one of the policies she had put in place months ago, long before her disappearance. It was one of the first ones that she had made and she hadn't questioned it at all since she had made it.

Not until now, that is.

"Why do you think that she said that?" Kyle asked. "It was one of the first things that she made sure the Clan knew not to do. Don't approach a magical creature on your own – it's going to take decades for them to be comfortable with us at all, let alone approaching a Clan member one on one."

Nicholas nodded. "The original policy made sense. The Clan used to abduct magical creatures to interrogate them and to experiment on them. We want them to trust us now; a single Clan member approaching them would make sense."

"But …" Kyle muttered, thinking of what Rose had just proposed, "Telling us to now approach them doesn't make sense."

Nicholas shook his head. "Rose has built her plan on patience. We're waiting for the magical creatures to trust us; we're waiting on the Dragon Council to help us implement magical liaisons in all of our active countries; we're waiting for the rest of the world to forget what we were. Rose wanted to be very careful to not rush that process – if we rushed, we could lose everything."

"I feel like she's pushing," Kyle admitted. "I mean, proposing that we try to talk to them on our own? That's going to be a step backward. We've had a few meetings with magical creatures due to organization on Lao Shi's part but magical creatures barely tolerate being in the same room as us. If we tried to approach them on the street? Best case scenario, they'd run and hide from us and what little bit of positive reputation we've managed to build in the mind would be destroyed –"

"Or," Nicholas picked up Kyle's train of thought, "worst case scenario; we'd be attacked. And we'd still be the bad guy for being involved in a fight – magical creatures would assume we were going back to our old ways, which we're certainly not."

Kyle sighed. "I'm so confused over it. I don't understand it at all. But, you know, she's just starting to get her feet wet again when it comes to running the Clan. She's probably more than a little confused, with trying to get her memory back and trying to sort through the trauma she experienced."

Nicholas shrugged. "So, what? It's probably best we don't say anything to the other Clan members, right? We'll indulge her in private, but we won't let her do anything publically until we're sure that she's sound again."

After his speech, Nicholas and Kyle glanced at each other, both thinking the exact same thing. Kyle was the one to first burst forth, the words spewing from his lips.

"God," he groaned, shaking his head ferociously and dragging his hands across his face roughly, as though it would help him clear his thoughts. "We're questioning Rose. When the hell did it become okay to question her? No, not even that! When the hell did it become necessary to question her?"

Nicholas was equally broken about it. "Something must have happened to her when she was away; something that messed with her mind?" He suggested hesitantly. "The memory lapse … it didn't account for this. I would like for it to because then there's a good reason that she's issuing orders that could potentially scare the magical community again." His voice dropped to a whisper. "There's a sheet on her desk; she's filling out an order form for new uniforms."

Kyle frowned. "We just got new uniforms, when Rose took over. You know, less scary looking ones without masks. Why would we need new ones?"

"The new order form is requesting uniforms with masks," Nicholas revealed. "Kyle … I think that she's regressing."

Horror crossed Kyle's face. If Rose regressed, well, he had no idea what would happen. All that he could visualize was chaos and death. Rose was smart enough, and manipulative enough, that she would be able to bring most of the Clan back around to her side. She was patient, conniving and brutal. He knew that if what she wanted was to take the Clan back to its previous reputation, she would and that nothing would be able to stop her. The question was: why? Why did she want to take the Clan backward?

She had been so proud when they had started breaking free of their shell. She had been so happy that bringing the Clan to this new place not only meant peace but it meant that she and Jake would be able to live happily together; a magical creature and a Huntsclan member would be able to love one another fully, and without hesitation. If she took the Clan back to the time when they hunted magical creatures, what did that mean for Jake? He wasn't an idiot; he knew that Rose's main motivating factor in changing the Clan was her love for Jake. If she was changing it back, did that mean her feeling had changed?

He looked to Nicholas, who had been having the same terrifying thoughts.

"If this is what she wants," Kyle whispered.

"Everyone is in danger," Nicholas cried.

"We have to see Lao Shi," they said together.

They ran for their door and flung it open but there was someone on the other side of it, standing in between them and freedom.

(-.-)

Rose felt her anklet contracts against her leg. It wasn't a painful sensation; rather it was designed to get her attention. When she had first felt the anklet move, she had worried that she was about to be hurt; she was worried that she had unintentionally done something wrong and that Master was going to punish her. Instead, he was telling her that he needed to communicate with her – immediately.

Satisfied that she was alone in her office, and would not be disturbed, Rose picked up her cell phone and called Master.

"Hello, Master," she said brightly into the phone. "How is everything?"

It had been so long since she had heard his voice that, when he first started speaking, she relaxed into her chair. His voice was so soothing. He was her mentor; her guard. His voice made her feel safe and protected. She had missed hearing it every day. She knew that she was capable on her own, she knew that she would be able to fulfill the mission that he had set before her, but that didn't mean she didn't like having his guidance. Master had always been by her side; he had forgiven her even when she had forsaken him. She knew that she owed her life to this man, and was grateful to have him next to her.

"I have been having some concerns," Master revealed slowly.

"Concerns about what?" Rose asked, her apprehension levels rising. If Master was concerned about something, then she should be very worried indeed.

"Well, I know that you have been trying very hard to be the same as you were before you came to your senses," Master said, "but I can't help but fear that some people, especially those close to you, may be seeing through the façade. We cannot afford for people to realize what is happening before it has already been done."

"I understand that," Rose whispered. "But who's going to be concerned? Jake, perhaps, but I have him under control. If I have him under control, I have everyone close to him under control. I can't think of anyone else who would be questioning it."

"The Dragon Council has been troubling me," Theron admitted grudgingly, hating that something was troubling him, "but my immediate concern is your Huntsboys, 88 and 89."

"Nicholas and Kyle?" Rose shrieked, slipping back into their new identifiers, and wincing at her mistake. Clan members did not have names; soon enough, they would be going back to their proper numerical system. "I mean, why would you concern yourself over 88 and 89? They are simply sidekicks; they are too stupid to cause any real harm."

"Sidekicks, yes. Stupid, though I would like to, and once did, believe otherwise, no – they are not stupid. If they were stupid, they would not have made it so far with you, but they have. They have picked up a thing or two along the way, especially how you operate. And, as the old saying goes, two heads are better than one. Exposed to the new you individually, they would concern me. Where they are both exposed to the new you, I am worried. They are likely to notice the changes and we can't let that happen."

"No," Rose agreed, a dark feeling rising in the pit of her stomach. "We can't let them notice anything."

"I'm glad we're on the same page," Master said, sounding more relaxed now that the conversation was going his way, though he hadn't any doubts that it would. Though she had been hostile in the beginning, Rose was completely his now. She would do whatever he said. "Because I have a plan."

Rose swallowed. "What is your plan, Master?"

And he told her.

As he talked, Rose began to feel more and more ill, though she couldn't begin to explain why. There was some part of her, some buried part of her that she couldn't even come close to understanding, didn't want to have to do what he was suggesting. She knew that it was for the greater good, and she knew that she would do as he was saying, but it was disturbing to her that there was some part of her that wanted to disobey Master. There was a part of her that wanted to cling to Nicholas and Kyle and not let this happen. But she ignored that part. That part of her couldn't be real. That part was too loving; too forgiving; that part of her was not what a Huntsgirl should be.

So, when Master finished speaking, she said that she would do exactly as he had suggested.

"Does it seem hard to do?" Theron asked, making sure that there was no part of her that was wavering. He wanted to be sure that he still had an iron grip on her.

"No, of course not," Rose assured him, squashing the sliver of herself that wanted to say 'yes, this will be difficult'. "It's what must be done, I understand that. And I don't know why it should trouble me. If they are an opposing force, they must be treated like one. And that means doing what is necessary."

"I'm glad you possess such a good view of the situation, Huntsgirl. Now, I suggest you put the plan into action as soon as possible, as to minimize the damage that they may do."

"Yes, that is wise," Rose agreed woodenly, her mind running at a hundred miles an hour.

"Call me when you are through, Huntsgirl. I would like details on how it went."

"Of course, Master," Rose replied. "Whatever you wish. I'm going to go do it now."

"Good girl," Theron praised and hung up the phone.

Rose stood from her desk and walked to the elevator. She pushed the button that would take her down to the floor where 88 and 89 resided. They were still living in the same rooms that they had when the three had lived in the same quarters, though she had moved when she had become Huntsmistress.

She stood outside of the door, debating on whether she should knock or just simply enter, when the door came flying open.

I own nothing recognizable.

~TLL~