Silver streams filled one side of the room as a rusty door opened. Flau pulled herself from the cold, stone floor, realizing that her cheek was sticky and wiped the saliva from her dirt-encrusted face. There was only a slight echo in the room as heavy footsteps entered and the door swung closed with a heavy thump. Unsure of the person who entered, she scrambled back and quickly bumped into a rugged wall behind her. Running her hands along the base of the wall, her hand wrapped around a smooth, dusty object. Pulling it up, she heard a clatter of soft rocks behind her as something landed in her lap.

Pulling the object to her face, she strained her eyes in the darkness, feeling the soft, lightweight stone. Realizing what it was, she yelped and threw it to the far side of the room. The footsteps stopped and clothing shuffled in the direction of the torpedo which bounced off the opposing wall and crumbled. What was once a human cranium was now dust on the ground.

Cloth shuffled again and Flau could hear the strain of leather as warmth radiated from the now kneeling figure. "Why are you here?" a man said gruffly. Looking up, Flau noted the glowing radiance of teal eyes with cat-like slits.

Rage filled her once more and she sent a resounding blow to the man's face before scrambling to her feet and stumbling toward where she knew the door would be. As brutally expected, a hand wrapped around her wrist and yanked her back. She didn't consider the difference in their strengths until now. But Eon had somehow become impossibly powerful. She was on her back, staring up in the darkness as a snap was heard and warm light filtered through the room before settling on a table nearby. Flau turned and noted a candle sitting on a dusty table. Beside it was a giant of a man, at least in stature, donned in black armor with white hair streaming over his shoulders and down his back. A black cloth draped above his eyebrows like a sweatband. He had sharp features and cold eyes.

He had his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall. "You're the Hewitt girl."

"Hewitt?" she asked, tilting her head to the side, both enamored by his beauty and confused by the statement. "Surely you've mistaken me."

He shook his head. "You smell like that useless advisor. Also, because you were conceived after the dragon within him awoke, I can feel the same resounding power of darkness within you."

"Darkness?"

"Aphelion… the point farthest from the sun on an orbital scale. Hence, as the sun draws closer, you drift farther away. What drifts away from light? Shadows."

His information startled her. She blinked and shook her head, remembering a question she wanted to ask, but had forgotten upon being called Hewitt. "Who are you? Rather, do you know Eon?"

"Yes." Was all he said.

She narrowed her eyes into a glare.

He continued. "I am Equinox."

"I have never heard of you."

"I work under Nyx specifically. I was sent here to check on the prisoner. I didn't think I'd find a remnant of that old fool here."

"Fool?"

"The Dragon. He toyed with fate and now he's dead. He's a fool. He could have eliminated everyone and stayed alive. Instead, he died to liberate the destructive humans. With that much power, it is easy to call him a fool."

Flau felt a fire burning in her gut and she stood, ran over to him with her fist drawn back and sent it barreling toward his expressionless face. She didn't even get a chance to touch him. A fist was raised against her and she was sent flying back with the mere air he whipped up around her. Hitting the wall with her back first, she let out a sharp cry and crumpled to the ground, sparks clouding her vision as he stepped forward.

The young bandit winced when she tried to move, receiving a sharp pain in her head that lead down through her neck. Her back was immovable, or so it felt. She moved to stand again and realized that her body had somehow forgotten that simple action.

"I apologize, but I sought it necessary to defend myself."

From a tiny girl? Flau rolled her eyes, but the action did not stop as she passed out, her eyes rolling completely back.

Equinox scooped her into his arms and left the room, feeling the change in her spine. He sighed, feeling wetness soil his gloved hand as it seeped through to his flesh through the layers of suede. He entered a small room and set her on a table, rolling her to her side so he could get a better view of the damage.

One of her vertebrae protruded from a deep laceration where blood streamed warmly over her pale flesh. He noted several debris embedded along the wound and carefully picked them out with his fingers. Quick and precise. His eyes searched for any other foreign particle before he held her taught by the shoulder with one hand over the bone. Without anesthetic, this would certainly be painful.

Pulling his hand away from the protruding bone, he placed two fingers on a chakra zone along her neck and drew back an inch to strike deep. At once, her body grew limp and he tested her pain by pinching her side. No reaction.

Drawing in a breath, he gently hammered the vertebrae back in place, being sure not to compress too hard. Paraplegia wasn't impossible to fix, but it was best avoided. He wouldn't know the results until she awoke, but for now, he did his best to stop the bleeding and sterilized the wound with hot water before wrapping it with a sterile bandage. He then checked her front for any obvious signs of internal bruising or bleeding.

It was apparent that he had done this before. Many times. Most of which were quite possibly unsuccessful. Trial and error, just like killing. Practice made this a bit easier and quicker. Not to mention, more painless for the victim.

He sat down, pressing his back to the wall. The only thing left to do was wait. He examined carefully the room, noting his cot in the corner and a stack of books lining the floor. A vase cradled bulging weapons on one side, most of which belonged to former allies still soaked in their owner's blood. His unhung trophies. Or reminders of past pain. Either way, it was something of a menagerie with each individual sword, stave, or axe.

A light knock on the door caught his attention. Equinox stood and swung the door open. His gaze narrowed. "What is it?"

The visitor spared him one glance before pushing past and entering the room, much to Equinox's irritation. Gloved hands ran over Flau's limp wrist. "What did you do to her?"

"Defense…" Equinox sighed. "She'll be fine."

"Fine? She's out cold. And bandaged."

"Look, Eon, you should be glad I spared her at least, alright. Usually I kill any that make an attempt on my life."

"You're so vain," Eon snapped, turning away and picking up the singular book on Equinox's bed. "What's this?"

"A book. What else?" Equinox rolled his eyes, but kept himself pinned to the wall, watching his little brother with care.

"What kind of book?" Eon turned it over and glanced at the cover. "Tottaus? What kind of junk is this?"

Equinox closed his eyes, crossing his arms stiffly. "Something not for brats, that's for sure."

Eon cast him a sour look. "Come on!"

"I know you didn't come down here to talk to me about my reading of choice. Why don't you just take your little love flower and be off."

Eon glanced over to her. "It doesn't seem that she's in any condition to move or be moved."

"I already fixed her spine. She should be okay," Equinox said with a heavy sigh. "It's not like I snapped her in two… almost…"

"So you say…" Eon grumbled, stepping back over to her.

Equinox watched him curiously. "Why do you like her so much?"

"Hmm?" Eon furrowed his eyebrows. "What's wrong with me liking a girl?"

"Nothing, really. I just wanted to know why. Well… why her, I mean. You had the hots for Lily not too long ago."

"Too much of a rose, really. You want to touch her or get close to her and she catches you in her thorns as a warning. From what I understand, I'm not up to her 'level'," he said, motioning his fingers to quote the word.

"Ah, so she wants an actual fighter and not some animal lover like you, eh?"

Eon closed his eyes. "The one I do like…" he stared at Flau for a moment and pulled himself away, running a hand through his hair as he turned his back on both of them, talking to the cracked wall in front of him. "I've made a lot of mistakes."

Equinox said nothing, silently prompting him to continue.

"I just… I'm pushing too hard. I want her too badly. I want her tender love that she gives that god-awful priest! I want her to hold me like she holds him. I can't feel anything but… angry when I see them together." He looked down. "I want that… so terribly. Too terribly. I even put her friend up for ransom just to both punish Rynka and draw Flau to me. But… the opposite has occurred. I saw Flau take Cody out of Void… and then come back looking for Rynka. I thought she'd be happy that justice would be served on the woman's head. But it only made things worse." He laughed once. "I'll tell you one thing. I'll never understand girls. They fight and bicker and throw their venom… but when it's all done, they'll fight tooth and nail to defend them. I thought the opposite for so long… but maybe with renegades it's different. I just wish that I could… steal Flau away from Kain. I want her to forget about him."

"That's impossible."

Eon flipped around to stare at Equinox. "Why!?" he cried. "Why is that so impossible!? You've brainwashed people before. You've beat them into senselessness. You've altered their state of thinking to the point where they do anything you ask." He bit his lip, wishing his brother would understand what he wanted.

Equinox glanced away. "That, I have done." Pain rode his expression and he shut his eyes, forcing old terrors away. "But you forget that all those things came at a price to the victim. And to me."

"Price?"

"Of course."

"What do you mean?"

"Altering the thinking over others is a very unpleasant process. And if her feelings are strong enough for someone else, it's not an easy task at all. She will always have a faint memory of them."

"Can you at least attempt it!?" Eon gripped the table Flau lay upon.

Equinox's eyes snapped open and he stepped over and slapped him harshly. "You think that she's some toy!? I refuse to alter someone at your whim! Do you not understand a single thing, boy!?"

Eon's eyes were wide from shock and the resounding hit still shook through him as he clenched his teeth to look back at Equinox, still shuddering from pain.

When Eon didn't speak, Equinox pulled him from the room and threw him into the hallway, shutting and locking the door behind him. He muttered incomprehensible words and made gestures in front of the door. Streams of light followed his motions and sealed the door fast against his brother. Equinox returned his attention to Flau and wandered to the cot, scooping up his copy of Tottaus and leafing through it.

Flau awoke only to the sound of a whistling kettle. Her body felt sore and she was laying on her side. A taught bandage was wrapped about her torso. She patted it numbly with her fingertips. Her mouth was dry and it felt like she had been eating cotton. Licking her lips, she attempted to swallow, but was left with a sandpaper feeling in her throat. Instead, she pushed herself up with her arm, feeling heavy as she moved. She spotted a figure in the next room shifting about in front of a stove. She opened her mouth to speak, but a small moan issued instead of words.

At once, Equinox appeared in the doorway, armor stripped from his body and wearing a pair of slacks and a gray tunic. "Are you thirsty?" was all he asked.

Without really thinking over taking beverage from a stranger, the dazed girl nodded. He disappeared again and reappeared with a tankard of steaming liquid. It had a faint smell of mint to it which she gratefully took and dampened her mouth and throat as quick as possible without an attempt to choke. Once she was certain she had enough energy to speak, she opened her mouth and asked, "What happened?"

"You passed out."

"Why?"

"Well, like an idiot, you decided to attempt to hit me. I am trained to dodge and counterattack anything. Children smaller than you have almost killed me in the past. I am not a fan of death, so I laid you out before you ended me."

"Oh…" she stated, staring at him absently. He moved back into the kitchen, her gaze following him. When he reappeared and looked to her, she snapped her gaze away and her mouth fell back to the tankard.

He quirked an eyebrow, setting his mug down at a desk and ruffling through a stack of wanted posters. "I paid the ransom for your friend."

Flau choked on the drink, pulling it away and trying to dispel the liquid sliding down her trachea. "You… what?" she asked between coughs.

"Nyx informed me that you were against Rynka's capture. He had me do some research as to why she was put on the wanted list. Seems that it had to do with you. Eon pushed for her capture. After I found that out, I had her ransom removed. She's back home now. She's a bit banged up. But she's safe. A member of Vancoor arrived looking for her. They had a long discussion, but he left a few hours ago. As far as I'm concerned, things are back to normal."

Are they? Flau wondered. "You… you said you knew Eon… how?"

Equinox paused on a wanted poster of Elwen. "He's my baby brother."

"Baby brother?" Flau tried to dismount the table, but her legs protested. She waited and then decided against it. "You're related?"

"In a way. We're from the same tribe. After he was found, I adopted him. But at the time I refused to take him on as my son. Instead I agreed to be his elder guardian. He called me brother. Though through some research, I discovered we are actually distant cousins."

Flau turned to get a better look at him. The resemblance was uncanny. "You sure it's just cousins?" Equinox looked like a mature Eon. A while ago, that would have excited her. She felt empty at the thought.

"Yes. Fairly certain." He didn't disclose anything else. Flau noted that the tone of his voice suggested that he wanted to be done with the subject. Respectfully, Flau left it alone and instead finished the tankard.

"May I be excused? I have someone I need to look for."

He turned to look at her and smirked. "Only if you can stand."

Strange request. Nonetheless, Flau pushed herself off the table and fell to her feet. She lasted for a good seven seconds before her knees gave out. "Ow!" She fell to her butt.

"That's what I thought." He held out a scarred hand to help her up. Flau took it, noting the many callouses against her soft flesh. He pulled her to her feet and helped her to the table again. "Rest for a bit. Your mind is overactive and pushes your body past logical limitations."

"But I don't have much time."

He glared at her. "What's more important than your help."

"I have to find someone."

He shook his head irritably. "Who?"

"Genius Weisheit."

"Why him? Is he going to nurse you back to health?"

"If I told you why, all of Void would try to really incarcerate me."

He clenched his teeth, watching her and letting out a growl, his gaze unwavering. "Why would they? Do you really think yourself that important that everyone wants you dead? Are you really the McGuffin that will catalyze a human change? I think those are called Dragons."

"Dragons?"

"Yeah. Like your father, stupid," he taunted.

"So… do you know where the Dragon Lair Cave is?"

"Of course!"

"Can you take me there?"

"No! Never! You'd die instantly! That place is chock full of monstrosities!"

"Oh, c'mon!"

"No. Why would you want to go there anyway?"

"Um… vacation?" she grinned.

"Answer is no," he said firmly, taking her empty tankard and rinsing it in the sink. "I guarantee that going there will only merit you death. No hatred."

"That's what you think," she mumbled. He heard her, but opted to ignore her. He'd sent enough silly knights on death trips. He wasn't about to send a child, not to mention a woman, to her doom.

He said little else and she was led to the outside by a small passage that he walked her through. The walk was awkward in its silence. She didn't dare strike up a conversation. Once in the free air of Void Community, he vanished and so did the passageway which led out into an alleyway.

Upset and discouraged, Flau set out toward Vareth and paused, seeing some old faces start toward Faucon Gate. Unmistakably, Jack Russell and Ridley Silverlake were on their way out. Gathering some hope, Flau ran over and was only able to see in the dark of the evening that the two were heading toward Fort Helencia. She bit her lip slightly and then walked forward. She knew Jack would know about this Dragon Lair Cave. Surely, the nonhumans had discussed the matter with him.

Flau ventured into the wild, not even considering that she was unarmed as she went.