Thanks so much to: Colin Creevey, ChakraKitty, Cal, Judal Hiwatari and RandomGerman for reviewing!

Questions:

Does Lily know Ginny is dead?
Yes

Where is Jackone?
Around, they're allied with Gray still but don't stay with them and since they just helped with the Canada evacuation they're basically on break. Varanian's had communication with them while he's been gone off-page, they will be back at some point

Will he (Michael) be kicked out of Gray or placed under an unbreakable vow limiting his ability to talk about Gray-related-stuff to outsiders due to him being a serious risk of information leaking?
No or not right now anyway, he'd have to do worse and be more of a risk for them to consider or take more drastic action like that

Will he (Harry) be placed under an unbreakable vow to follow Alarics/Hermiones/Scorpius/Varanians orders or be completely replaced as Head Auror?
No, Alaric doesn't have anyone better to replace Harry with (or he would've) and they wouldn't use unbreakable vows mostly because its illegal and/or Harry wouldn't agree to it

Albus did not take news of his mother's death very well. In fact he ended up being so distraught that Hogan administered a Sleeping Draught, chastising them that he needed rest not stress. It wasn't like Scorpius could really fault Cassia for telling him though, Abby did though.

"He has a right to know his Mum died! Besides, do you really think we should be keeping things from each other?" Cassia argued defensively before sparing a glance at Scorpius, "Isn't that kind of how Hogwarts fell?"

That put an end to the debate though no one was happy with it, especially not Abby who was so frantic over Albus that Scorpius really couldn't fault Heather for having thought Albus was her fiancé. When she wasn't sitting by his side gazing at him anxiously, she was fluffing his pillows constantly or refilling his water with excessive frequency so it would be fresh for him if he woke up thirsty. Scorpius stayed for a while, not having to worry about Michael as Hogan kicked him out of the hospital room and for a wonder Michael simply abided by it. Scorpius suspected he was either too hungover or too drunk to feel like being of much use there anyway, probably wanted the rest.

Scorpius headed back to Hogan's sooner than the previous day though, feeling like he'd spent enough time there for the day and Albus nor Antonius would wake soon. Besides, seeing Abby doting over Albus and Mrs Koray with her husband made him miss Molly and feel like he should be doing more for her right now. Varanian still hadn't shown up but Scorpius didn't think it had been long enough to panic yet, he was probably more likely to return to Hogan's first anyway. Now Lamb was feeling up to it visiting Brutus was finally an option but he felt like it was too late before he thought about it, tomorrow though he'd get to it first thing.

He'd been starting to get used to seeing Molly out of bed but she managed to surprise him yet again when he returned this time, she wasn't just up she was outside. Leebin was practicing his swordsmanship skills, Maurene cheering him on which was normal – though Scorpius was still not sure how he'd ended up with the sword of Gryffindor or how useful it'd be. What was different was that Molly was actually helping him, conjuring targets for him to hit that even moved. It was the first time he'd seen her outside or using magic since he'd saved her.

"Hey," Scorpius called over to them in greeting as he approached, casting his girlfriend a smile, "How's it going?"

"Just the usual," Molly shrugged it off, apparently not thinking – or at least not acting – like this was a big deal, "How are things?"

"Um… they've been better," Scorpius answered awkwardly, his eyes drifting to Maurene who was very much in earshot so he didn't want to say too much around the young child, "But they've also been worse. Have you seen Varanian by the way?"

"No."

"Why don't we take a break?" Leebin decided a little breathlessly from the exercise, either catching on or thinking he was distracting Molly too much from her task.

"Okay, maybe Mummy finished making the lemonade," Maurene agreed enthusiastically before heading back inside, offering a greeting to Lamb who was also going inside.

"Save me a glass, Flan," Molly added to Leebin as he made to follow his daughter inside, acknowledging her request with a nod and sheathing the sword.

"Why do you call him Flan?" Scorpius wondered curiously, she threw him an odd look.

"Um… people usually call each other by their names? You know it's his name, right?"

"Of course I know it's his name, I just assumed you called him Leebin too," Scorpius offered as the stared meandering towards the house, realizing it was a pretty stupid line of discussion, "I mean it's what I call him."

"Well he's my friend not my therapist like he was to you," Molly pointed out before touching his arm and nodding at the woodland surrounding Hogan's house, "Do you want to go for a walk?"

"Are you allowed?" Scorpius wondered in concern for her health, causing her to scowl a little. He knew she liked the outdoors and thought it would be good for her, long as she was recovered enough to. He didn't want to screw up her recovery.

"Hogan says it's fine as long as I feel up to it, just not to push myself too hard or go too far. Going alone is also not recommended- for anyone, not just me."

"Okay then, a walk sounds nice," Scorpius agreed with more enthusiasm, casting her a smile as they changed direction towards the trees, "It's a lovely day."

"Yeah, who ever heard of a sunny apocalypse," Molly muttered, leaving him unsure whether she was joking. Not that he liked that description anyway, they weren't done yet and they could – and would, they had to – turn this around.

They wandered into the tree line, walking side by side with Molly inspecting the wrinkled oak idly though she looked happier. Instinctively, he reached out and took her hand which had him briefly taken aback. She'd lost fingers as part of her torture which he was well aware of and could clearly see but it was the first time he'd held her hand since then, feeling the absence of her finger and the stump of another curling around his hand where it had once been whole was just a little… different.

"Feels weird, huh?" Molly commented.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Scorpius lied quickly, not wanting her to feel self-conscious or think he had a problem with it.

"Come on, Scor, I'm not stupid. They're my own hands, I know it feels weird because it feels weird to me."

"It doesn't bother me."

"I didn't say it did, I said it feels weird," Molly pointed out insistently what was the truth.

"Okay, it feels a little weird," Scorpius begrudgingly admitted, "But it's not a big deal, I can get used to it."

"I'm sure you can, I felt the same when your hand got burned."

"Then why bring it up?"

"Because I just want you to be honest with me."

"I am!" Scorpius insisted and she gave him an odd look but it was true, least he thought so. There were some things he wasn't telling her but that wasn't the same as lying to her and it wasn't like he didn't have a good reason for omitting certain things, he got the feeling she was keeping things from him too.

"Okay," Molly said, not sounding very much like she believed him as she turned away and it didn't feel right to protest. She fell silent for a while and Scorpius wasn't sure whether to break the silence or not, it was peaceful just taking in the forest together and it felt good to hold her hand again. When she did speak again, it was about something completely different, "You know on days like this when I was a kid, I'd always beg my mother to let me go flying but she'd say no, every single time."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"I used to think it was so unfair, after all my cousins were allowed to," Molly continued as if he hadn't spoken, "When I'd ask why, she'd say because it wasn't fair on Lucy since she was too young to fly. She said I had to be a good sister, that it was my job as the elder sibling to do right by her. I thought it was such a stupid excuse at the time, I didn't see why I couldn't just teach Lucy to fly then she wouldn't be left out."

"There was no way you could've known she was a Squib," Scorpius pointed out and she finally acknowledged him with a glance.

"Does it really matter? She just wanted me to be a better sister, be more considerate of Lucy's feelings but I wasn't."

"You were just a kid."

"I know," Molly sighed and looked away again, removing her hand from his as she did so and instead folding her arms, "I never thought I'd think this but I'm actually glad my parents aren't here to see what we became when we grew up."

"You can't mean that," Scorpius wondered in shock.

"What's not to mean?" Molly countered, bitterness warping the smile she gave him, "Lucy sold her soul to the Shadows a long time ago and I killed her, no parent wants that for their child. And that's not even getting into how screwed up I am."

"You're not screwed up!" Scorpius insisted defensively and this time she laughed, it was a chillingly hollow laugh, "It's not funny."

"You're right it's not," Molly agreed immediately, her sky eyes severe, "The fate of the world is on our shoulders and we dropped it, hundreds of people died including people we cared about, or people of the people we care about."

"You can't seriously blame yourself for any of that."

"Not all of us can ignore our share of the blame like you can."

"You blame me for Hogwarts?" Scorpius wondered, pausing in surprise that she of all people would be mad considering she'd seemed fine this past month. Well, she'd been distant but he'd chalked that up to her going through a lot.

"Of course I blame you!" Molly yelled, turning on him angrily, "I told you, Scorpius, I told you straight up not to leave or Hogwarts would fall then-"

"Well you didn't tell me you'd be captured and held prisoner! It's a pretty big part to leave out and they were all lying to me, they said-"

"I don't care about what they said! I care about what I said, I care about what you promised me," Molly insisted, tears building in the skies of her eyes, "And you wonder why I didn't tell you? My words mean so little to you that the first thing you did was run off-"

"That's not fair, Molly!" Scorpius insisted defensively, not wanting to fight but needing to get his side across, "My first instinct was to run off but you know what? I stopped myself! I remembered what you said and I stayed, even though it killed me inside I stayed. It was only after-"

"How noble of you! I'm sure Rose or August appreciated your moment of hesitation when-"

"Let me finish!"

"Then finish!" Molly yelled, throwing up her arms.

"It ate away at me, okay? It's easy to tell someone to ignore it when you're not the one being torn up knowing someone you love is out there in pain, that every second you're in class is a second more that they're suffering, that you could lose them forever and there's nothing you can do," Scorpius told her, feeling himself tearing up and swallowed, "Until I thought of something, I realized there was something I could do. I couldn't just do nothing when I realized I could save you, I couldn't live with myself then if I did nothing so it was only after that that I left."

"But you didn't have to leave! You're part of a group, you could've just told them-"

"I tried to tell Varanian but he was busy with the evacuation! And you think I could trust any of them to help you after they all lied to me?!" Scorpius interjected, pausing to wipe at his own eyes and realizing unfortunately he couldn't mention his meeting with Brutus as proof it had been possible for him to leave without Hogwarts falling, "I couldn't wait any longer and I… I really did think if I could get back in time it would be fine."

"Well it wasn't!" Molly cried.

"I know and if you want to be mad at me then be mad at me," Scorpius offered sincerely, holding out his hands, "I wanted to give my side and I have, I'm not going to apologize for saving your life. For better or worse, it's done and if you want to be mad and hate and break up with me then that's fine, I knew it was possible and I'd rather you be alive to hate me then be gone forever. I love you, Molly, I love you even more then I love being with you. I made my choice and I'll respect yours."

He finished saying what he had to say and fell into anxious silence, he meant what he said but that didn't mean he wanted her to hate him. She didn't immediately say anything though, just folded her arms and gazed at him with an unreadable expression. Gray meeting blue as their eyes caught, the silence stretched out between them somehow drowning out even the howl of wind. He dared not break the silence though, or move or even look away.

"If you knew then what you know now, would you still have left Hogwarts?" Molly asked him after so long that Scorpius had almost forgotten they weren't statues, her tone one of the utmost serious.

Scorpius blinked, trying to process what he would do if he knew what would happen and finding himself unsure. Knowing what would happen also included knowing Molly caved on the base's location, meaning if he hadn't left she might not have been alive long enough for Varanian to be able to go after her especially with the base fallout to deal with. He didn't like options A or B, his first instinct would really be to still save her just without destroying Hogwarts, using the information about how it went for a better outcome, he didn't want to lose either thing. He still wasn't sure exactly what he'd do though, nor did he think it was the answer she was looking for. He sighed.

"Honestly?" Scorpius spoke up finally, "I don't know what I'd do."

"Okay," Molly said, her expression still unreadable as she unfolded her arms, "I think I want to head back now."

"Where does that leave us?"

"Honestly?" Molly wondered before shrugging and throwing out her arms again, "I don't know where we stand, Scor, I don't know how to feel."

"Okay," Scorpius said, he knew she had a lot on her mind and uncertainty was preferable to outright hatred. At any rate, her health and recovery were more important, "Let's head back then."

They headed back in silence, hands firmly shoved into pockets. Not for the first time – and probably not the last – Scorpius wished he knew what to say to comfort her, like Michael probably would when he wasn't being a drunk prat. He picked his eyes up off his shoes to glance at her, seeing she was actually looking up and to her left. He opened his mouth to speak-

"Scor?" a familiar voice spoke and Scorpius' head swiveled back, noticing two things. One, they were back at Hogan's and two, Varanian was also approaching the door though had stopped presumably upon seeing them. He was still looking like a wreck, his scruffy tawny hair seemed to have more gray whenever he saw him. Scorpius let out a relieved breath though, least he knew Varanian was okay, "Hey Molly, good to see you on your feet."

"Thanks," Molly offered, giving Varanian a half-hearted smile before returning inside. Scorpius wished he could make her smile again.

"So how are you doing?" Scorpius asked of Varanian, "I was worried."

"Was anyone hurt?" Varanian asked and swallowed instead of answering.

"No."

"Well good, that's what matters," Varanian said with a nod and his eyes drifted off, seeming losing himself in thought.

"Hermione wanted me to tell you the alliance meeting is set for tomorrow afternoon," Scorpius pointed out, snapping Varanian's piercing gaze back to him.

"Okay, be ready for that then."

"What do you mean by that?" Scorpius questioned in confusion as Varanian started towards the door, Scorpius following.

"Well you're coming too, its two from each side and Hermione as mediator since she's both. Obviously that means you and I, the Minister and probably Potter," Varanian explained, his expression souring at the final name as he opened the door, "So feel free to think of anything you want from them as an alliance condition, not that matters as we're agreeing anyway."

"We are?"

"Yeah. After giving it some thought, there's really no reason not to," Varanian told him as they went into the house, "Whatever my issues with them, removing Shadows from their posts within the Ministry is beneficial to everyone. We know who many of them are and they have the power to take care of them, it's pretty much what we always wanted. Win-Win for everyone but the Shadows, we've always been on the same side against them even if we're not."

"Right… And you're sure I'm the most qualified person to be with you at the meeting?"

"Of course, I don't even know who else I'd take."

"Great," Scorpius sighed, he supposed Brutus would have to wait yet another day.

Sly slumped down into his seat opposite Milton, rubbing at the ache starting to build in his head. Stupid migraines, trying to ruin the otherwise perfectly productive day he'd been having. He ripped off a large chunk of his bread and dipped it into the blood bath that was tomato stew before taking a bite, the bread was nice and fresh he noticed.

"So how long does it usually take to choose a favorite color?" Milton asked him and Sly face-palmed, his headache did not appreciate that particularly much.

"I swear to the god I don't believe in, how many times do I have to tell you to drop the whole color thing?!" Sly complained at him irritably, Milton continued to stare at him blankly, "It's like watching a dressed up monkey that thinks he's people, if I have to explain it to you then you're missing the entire point of the exercise. You're just not people, Milton, that's why actual people – like myself – find you frustratingly intolerable. Stop trying to be people, just go back to picking your own fleas and eating them like a good little brainless animal."

"What? I don't have fleas…"

"Okay, Milton, I think I've had enough of you for now and I'm going to go sit somewhere else," Sly decided and went to stand, "I'll find some other losers to sit with."

"Wait!"

"Aw what's the matter?" Sly smirked though his tone was mockingly sincere, "Is it too much for your small barbarian brain to handle that you don't stop existing when a real human stops gracing you with their presence?"

"No, it's just that you should be careful," Milton pointed out and Sly rolled his eyes with a sigh, maybe one of this days he'd figure out to offend these freaks, "I know you don't like me much-"

"Holy fucking ghosts, did you actually notice something?"

"Yes, I did," Milton confirmed though didn't seem fazed by it, Sly supposed that would expecting too much and dipped his bread again, "But that's why it might be better to sit with me, they pay attention to who you sit with and…"

"And… I should care about this why?" Sly prompted impatiently, rolling his hand to gesture for the idiot to continue.

"And who they notice you sit with is who you'll be pitted against in the Test, where you prove your worth as an Elite by surviving on a dangerous island and escaping through this tower. The tests to get to the top require two people, once you make it… well, you have to fight to the death because only one person can past the Test at a time," Milton explained and actually looked saddened while Sly idly continued eating, "I- I always used to sit with Christina, she was great with potions so you might actually have liked her. We made it all the way to the end together and realized what we had to do…"

"And then you murdered her?" Sly wondered interestedly, smirking as Milton's sorrow filled eyes drifted towards the floor.

"We agreed no hard feelings, it was a fair fight and I… I won, I murdered her," Milton admitted, stumbling over his words as guilt creeped into his otherwise boring voice, "It's part of the Test, Soul Eaters only want the best of the best for their Elite soldiers and that means not only being the most skilled but also being able to put the wishes of the Soul Eaters above our own selfish desires because we live to serve, we're their soldiers."

"What has this got to do with your original point again?"

"If you don't want to kill people you care about be careful who you sit with," Milton offered and Sly couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry, you think I actually care about those degenerates?" Sly wondered, smirking in amusement at such a ludicrous suggestion while Milton looked at him blankly because he was just an idiot, "Everyone here – aside from staff members, of course but they're irrelevant to this topic – are either brain dead zombies, like yourself, or losers, like those people, and maybe a couple of psychos. I'd rather be around people then non-people and unfortunately the only ones who class as people are those losers, its fun to get a rise out of them but I obviously think little of them. I don't care about them, I certainly don't care if any of them bites the dust. Good riddance."

"Okay," Milton said, shrugging slightly and going back to eating with a still blank look, "Thought I'd warn you just in case."

"Why?" Sly questioned, still grinning at the thought of him liking such wastes of oxygen and dipping the last chunk of his bread. After all, Milton said he knew he disliked him so if anything he should want Sly to kill people he cared to make him suffer.

"Because it's hard to have to kill someone you care about, even if it's deemed necessary by the Soul Eaters. I… I still get bad dreams about it," Milton admitted, looking guilty again and Sly wasn't sure if was from killing his dumb girlfriend – how stupid would you have to be to lose a duel to Milton of all people? – or from feeling bad about following orders because original thought was clearly too frightful for what was left of the rotted remnants of his mind. Damn, he should have said that aloud, "I'm trying to be a good mentor, it's what we're supposed to do and advising you to avoid going through that seems like the right thing to do."

"Only idiots try to help people they know hate them," Sly pointed out as he made to leave again, "You're too stupid to bother conversing with, have fun reminiscing about killing your worthless girlfriend, you psychotic freak- like seriously, who does that? Freak, you're a terrible person."

On that note after a pointless warning, Sly ditched him to go find the others. Like he cared if those losers died, they probably wouldn't live long enough for this test thing anyway with how anti-Shadow they were. He spotted Rocio's fiery flare of hair fairly easily but the only other person at the table was the world's ugliest toddler, Damien, which was odd since the others – besides her little brother who was sitting with his mentor, it wasn't uncommon – weren't actually in the room. Maybe they'd died even sooner then he'd thought?

"Hello losers," Sly offered in greeting, sliding into the seat beside Damien and offered Rocio who immediately scowled at him.

"Hi," Damien said, waving stupidly as he was sitting right beside him but of course he was too dumb to realize this.

"Damien, don't answer to someone calling you a loser," Rocio complained at him, "And go annoy someone else, Sly, these seats are reserved."

"I would love to go annoy someone else but we're living in a tower full of zombies who don't react to that kind of thing."

"Yes, people are strange here- they don't know about Quidditch!" Damien exclaimed, his ugly face twisting into an even worse shape at this apparently astounding revelation. Sly realized this struck him as odd, usually he was too busy crying about Blood Quills pain to contribute to any conversation, "Can you believe that?"

"And why are you in such a good mood today?" Sly questioned of him as Damien shoveled a spoonful of his stew back into his mouth, dropping some onto himself like a disgusting animal, "Someone as ugly as you who could be mistaken for the runt of a troll litter has no right to be so cheerful."

"Huh?" Damien wondered, blinking at him in confusion and Sly resisted the urge to face palm only because he recalled it hadn't been pleasant earlier. Why was he forever cursed to be surrounded by idiots too stupid to comprehend what he was saying?

"Master Ludwig realized he has a skin condition so he doesn't have to use a Blood Quill, he's been happier since then," Rocio explained for him and Damien grinned enthusiastically, showing off an ugly mess of missing teeth… Sly was dreading the process of losing his own deciduous teeth, he was glad to be late to that party. It was just… well it was just gross, he remembered Whit teasing him about that actually… he still missed his sister.

"Yeah! I got all healed, it was great."

"Hmm," Sly had to muse as he'd been momentarily distracted by his thoughts and took a spoonful of his stew to make it look more deliberate, "So where's the rest of the peanut gallery?"

"What?" Damien wondered, his smile blanking in confusion again.

"Even I don't know what that one means," Rocio pointed out, typical dumb idiots… though he thought that might be a muggle expression to be fair, "But I guess you want to know where my brothers and friends are? Even though Xerxes is right over there."

"Were the others killed for their insolence?" Sly questioned, smirking at the look of panic it brought to Damien's ugly mug.

"No, just being punished. Probably anyway, I know Emerald is for doing bad on a test and it happens all the time with Cyrus, Davin waits for him since he's blind. So if you came to try scaring Damien with death, you failed. Please go to hell and don't come back tomorrow."

"Well that was rude."

"You are going to criticize me for being rude?" Rocio wondered so incredulously she almost seemed amused, "I thought you had a condition that you'd die if you weren't rude every other minute."

Sly laughed, that was actually a good one. Surprising, shreds of intelligence were pretty rare amongst the Training Tower kids or any kids really, or even amongst adults actually. Damn, were people stupid. He opened his mouth to make a comeback but was interrupted by the return of her older brother and the blind brat, he found himself scowling in annoyance at the interruption. Cyrus was trembling a little in a way Sly had come to learn recently was a result of being cruciated, Davin was guiding him. Sly rubbed at his head again, feeling the pain starting to press against the insides of his skull. When he was done eating he really just needed to go lie down, least it had happened during classes.

"Okay, they're here," Rocio stated, "Go away now, Sly, vamonos."

"Vama- what?" Sly questioned in confusion, pretty sure that hadn't been English and he was only starting to learn Latin. Rocio smirked.

"¿Qué pasa? ¿No hablas Español, Sly?"

"Don't talk at me in languages I don't understand!" Sly snapped irritably as the other two reached them, Cyrus slumping down beside Rocio. Damien halted in stuffing his face to smile and wave… whoever tested against him would have a cake walk, an inanimate rock could probably best anyone stupid enough to wave at the blind.

"Then learn the languages, it's not hard!" Cyrus complained at him even more irritably, giving a groan of frustration and burying his face in his illegible Blood Quill scarred hands.

"I'll get our food, back in a minute," Davin said and left.

"Having a bad day, Cyrus?" Sly smirked at the blind boy, "Maybe things would go better if you learned to see, it's not hard."

"Oh, shut up!" Cyrus barked, lifting his head to glare in the vaguely correct direction, "You think you're so smart and so clever-"

"They're the same thing, dumbass."

"The point is that it doesn't matter how smart you think you are! They'll still hurt you any chance they get just because they're evil, you think you can handle the pain but give it a few more years of never-stopping pain and suffering and you'll be just as desperate to get out as the rest of us!" Cyrus yelled and Sly's grin only widened, someone was touchy today and he apparently knew it as he visibly looked like he was trying to reign in his anger, "Too bad you'll have missed your chance to escape by then."

"You're planning to escape?" Sly wondered and actually laughed at the absurdity of this young blind child escaping from a place protected by the most powerful magical group the world had ever known, Damien seemingly had competition for the stupidest idiot award, "Tell me, did the torture knock a few screws loose or were you always delusional?"

"My mom is going to save me," Cyrus told him, sounding so very much like he believed it that Sly would've laughed again except he'd miss what the lunatic was saying, "She escaped from them when I was captured and she'll have been planning to rescue me, I know it, it's only a matter of time before she finds a way."

"You really think Mummy is going to save you?" Sly taunted, his words oozing as much mockery as he could squeeze into his tone to emphasize how stupid Cyrus' belief was, "After all this time, it should be pretty obvious even to the blind that she clearly doesn't care about you, any parent would be happy to be rid of a sickly burden of a child."

"Sly!" Rocio exclaimed in shock, Damien continued stuffing his face unconcerned though.

"Not my mom, she loves me and she will save me," Cyrus reiterated, his misaligned glare intensifying and his body tensing with pent up rage, "I know it. She's not like you British people who think it's okay to abandon their children, she'd never leave me on purpose like Roman did."

"If she loves you so much then where is she?" Sly questioned, leaning back comfortably – or as comfortably as one could be on unyielding wooden benches – and continued to smirk triumphantly, "If she truly gave even half a damn then where is she? Why hasn't she saved you already? Five years is a long time."

"Its four years and the Shadows are very powerful, obviously it takes time to figure out where I am and what to do and everything."

"I don't think so-"

"I don't care what you think! I know my mom, I know she'd never stop until we're together again! I know it! I think I know my own mother better then you do."

"Well the thing is I follow the news, I'd have heard if some crazy woman was trying to rally people to her lost cause of saving her child from the Shadows," Sly pointed out, smirking cruelly at the effect his words were having and knowing just what to say next. Cyrus opened his mouth again but Sly continued first, holding up a hand for emphasis since Rocio was still watching with murderous eyes even though Cyrus was blind, "But if you are so insistent that she must have done such a thing, I can only come to one logical conclusion on the matter."

"What?" Cyrus asked grumpily, Rocio scowling.

"She died trying."

"NO!" Cyrus raged, actually jumping to his feet and Sly allowed his smile to show teeth, "She's not dead!"

"But it's the only reasonable explanation," Sly insisted, delighted at the outcome, "Mummy's dead. Her corpse's probably long butchered and is now just another decaying sack of bones serving as an Inferius for the very people she sought to defeat."

"NO! NO! MY MOM'S NOT DEAD!" Cyrus screamed, drawing his wand and Sly laughed. He couldn't even cast a spell yet but he'd be a fool to be afraid of someone blind trying to threaten him, Cyrus was still shaking even. He couldn't hit a truck if it was parked an inch from his nose, "YOU TAKE THAT BACK, SLY, YOU TAKE THAT BACK RIGHT NOW!"

"You can't take back the truth," Sly smirked, putting his hands behind his head and noticing the exchange had drawn the attention of those closest, "She's dead and you know it, if not you wouldn't be upset. Poor baby blind boy is all alone, my heart bleeds for you-"

"What bile does a black heart such as yours bleed?" Rocio demanded, momentarily knocking the smirk from his face as he hadn't expected her to speak up, "I hadn't even realized you had one."

"Hearts are overrated," Sly pointed out, his smirk returning as he got over his surprise at her speaking and was unfazed by the attempt to insult him, "They're a weak spot, fatal flaw in the human design. You're better off without them, look at Cyrus' dead mother..."

"My mom isn't dead!" Cyrus snapped angrily, his wand still in Sly's direction and still shaking. He was pathetic, "She's alive! You'll see! She's going to come back and save me, she's going to save all of us!"

"I'm sorry, what?" Sly laughed as Davin returned with two bowls, just when he thought the delusional dial wouldn't turn any higher.

"Calm down, Cyrus," Davin urged his friend, looking extremely concerned and sparing a fearful glance for – presumably - signs of an adult, "I got the food."

"I don't want their food!" Cyrus yelled, flinging out his arm and striking the bowls with the back of his hand to send them crashing to the ground and splattering crimson ooze everywhere. Sly jolted in surprise but his mouth remained ajar in a glee, in contrast he saw Cyrus was choking up and his crackling voice condemning him as being close to tears, "I don't want anything to do with them! I want to go home, I want my mom…"

"What is the meaning of this disruption?!" a familiar voice snapped and Sly saw one of the staff approaching, "Stirring up trouble again, Cyrus?"

It was Master Ludwig, whose pinpoint eyes darted over the scene menacingly- though Sly had come to realize menacing was just his normal facial expression so it was hard to tell whether it was of much concern. Emerald was with him and slipped in silently beside Rocio with an unreadable expression, reminding him forcefully of her brother – Amadeus, not the ugly idiot or the baby – who similarly was good at blending in with the background and being unreadable… Sly hoped he was alright.

"No, it was me," Davin lied and it would've been somewhat convincing if Sly wasn't sure that Ludwig had heard Cyrus, what an idiot, "I tripped and dropped-"

"Liar!" Master Ludwig barked and slapped Davin across the face with the back of his hand, served him right for being an idiot. Davin didn't flinch or look afraid, didn't even turn his head back to face him, "You disgrace your half-brother's blood, you despicable wretch. If you're going to lie then make your scenario believable, I already heard Cyrus and just wanted more information on the cause."

"The cause was you!" Cyrus countered stupidly and angrily though sounding increasingly close to tears, kicking at the bowls and jabbing his arm in Master Ludwig's direction, "You and this whole Shadow army of psychos! I don't want to eat your damn food, screw your food! I hate you, I hate you all! You're evil!"

"Well someone's feeling masochistic today," Master Ludwig commented, withdrawing his wand and Cyrus lowered his arm, his body now trembling again except this time from tears. Or maybe fear, or still from the Cruciatus Curse, what did Sly know? "Some time in the dungeon should serve you well."

"Is that really necessary?" Davin pleaded, looking back now and very concerned for his friend.

"I don't think it is, why don't y'all just take a breath?" a newcomer interjected in a thick Southern American accent and Sly's expression became a scowl as he watched the crimson crawl back into the bowls which levitated themselves onto the table neatly, "It's an easy fix, see Master? Nothing worth getting all worked up over."

"Shut up, Serrick," Master Ludwig commanded, barely acknowledging the spell work as he raised his wand to Cyrus, "In-"

Sly jolted in surprise as spell was silenced as a streak of red struck him from behind, sending his body crumpling to the ground and revealing Mo Serrick standing behind him. The bag of bones was only around Milton's age but was so scrawny he looked younger, somehow he still managed to have a commanding presence though and held his wand like he'd been born with it crafted already inside his bony hand. He supposed stunning a member of staff would do that, the dead eyed blank slates all around the room all gave gasps of shock. Show-off, Sly grumbled bitterly to himself and folded his arms, in contrast he saw Emerald smirk.

"You attacked a Master!" someone from the crowd cried accusingly as Mo lowered his wand, putting his hand on his hip in a way Sly was sure would look stupid if he tried emulated.

"I told him to take a breath," Mo pointed out unconcerned, brushing it off with a dismissive wave of his hand, "Ain't no point punishing someone already tortured just for having a differing opinion, though really Cyrus? You know better than to rile these people up, they go nuts."

"Says the guy who just attacked a teacher," Sly scoffed while Cyrus wiped shakily at his eyes, Davin squeezed his arm comfortingly.

"You shut up, you little hellion, ain't nobody talking to you," Mo offered without so much as a glance in his direction much to Sly's offense, he instead approached Cyrus with a sympathetic expression, "I know you don't like it here but you got to try to make the best out of it, y'know? I was thinking-"

"Hillbillies can think?!"

"-of any way to make things easier for you with you being blind and all," Mo continued, not only completely ignoring him but speaking with increasing enthusiasm. He was so rude, "I had an idea for making up a spell to use echo-location to make up for it. It's like seeing with the sounds, works for the dolphins and the bats- it works, I've seen it on the Discovery Channel."

"I don't know what that even means," Cyrus wondered in confusion and Mo opened his mouth to continue but they were interrupted by another Master.

"What is going on in here?!" Master Farkas called out as he came in, peering over his thick round spectacles in confusion. He was elderly and a bit round around with the middle, half-hunched over from age with a wisp of white hair remaining. Still, he had his wand in his hand quickly when he saw his comrade down and flicked it in a motion that Sly was sure was a non-verbal spell, "Why is Master Ludwig unconscious?"

"We just came to a bit of an impasse, nothing to worry about," Mo brushed it aside, gesturing dismissively with his hand as he did so and it cheered Sly up a bit to think Mo would be in trouble now, Master Farkas must've been more rational then Master Ludwig though as he gave the yank a wary look before reviving his friend.

"He stunned him!" several of the regular zombies called out, pointing to Mo as the younger man got to his feet, Master Ludwig turned on Mo angrily while over in opposite land Master Farkas beamed.

"You cast a successful Stunning Spell?!" Master Farkas wondered and Mo grinned sheepishly in response, he had a lopsided grin at that and uneven teeth, "And on an adult male to boot? I am very impressed with you! That is some excellent spell work right there, you never cease to amaze me."

"Excellent?! The little bastard hit me while my back was turned!" Master Ludwig raged furiously, a vein on his forehead bulging.

"Then don't turn your back on him, it's not my fault you were foolish enough to be bested by an eleven year old who hasn't even been here that long," Master Farkas stated dismissively, causing the younger man's face to turn the same color as the tomato stew but the older had already turned back to Mo and clapped him on the back proudly, "Amazing stuff, Mo, you're going to go far one day within the ranks of the Soul Eaters."

"I'll do my best, Sir," Mo promised, looking pleased by the praise.

"Not when he does poorly in the other areas besides spell work, he won't," Master Ludwig grumbled sulkily and Sly was inclined to agree.

"Oh I'm sure he'll learn," Master Farkas brushed it off with a wave of his liver-spotted hand, his attention shifting to Cyrus and Davin, "And what are you two standing around for? Sit and eat already, designated meal time doesn't last forever."

"They need to be punished, I was just about to take Cyrus to the dungeons for-"

"Well you should have done that instead of letting yourself be stunned like weakling then, too late now," Master Farkas cut him off and Master Ludwig's face became fueled by indignant rage.

"You don't even know what they did!"

"I just got done torturing Cyrus for doing poorly at target practice, whatever he did probably isn't worth further punishment and he's going to be off translating for General Stephan soon anyway. Get over yourself, Lucas, and if you don't want to be overruled don't let yourself be stunned," Master Farkas decided with a tone of finality and Master Ludwig stormed off seething so much it looked about to ooze out of him. Sly sighed, he'd wanted them to get in trouble, "And I already told you boys to return to your meal, be grateful I'm feeling merciful."

"Yes, Master Farkas," Davin said quickly, grabbing one of the bowls and guiding Cyrus off to another table. Seemingly satisfied, Master Farkas turned back to Mo as he walked off in the opposite direction, engaging him in enthusiastic conversation about his use of a stunning spell that Sly quickly zoned out of as he noticed the others at his table were moving after Davin.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Sly complained.

"Anywhere you're not," Rocio scoffed as the group ditched him.

Sly sighed indignantly and rubbed at his head again, though he supposed it was perfectly justified it was still inconvenient for him. Well, least it had been fun while it lasted. He picked his bowl back up and went to rejoin Milton, who he realized had not bothered to intervene when Cyrus had drawn his wand on him even though he supposedly wanted to be a good mentor.

"And what the hell was that?!" Sly demanded of Milton as he slammed the bowl down across from him, causing the older boy to jump, "Good mentor my ass."

"What? We're not supposed to intervene in disputes," Milton pointed out as if it was obvious though his monotonous tone was polite as ever, "That's the Masters' jobs, we're to alert them and stay out of it. Getting involved means getting in trouble too, that's what good soldiers do… you should maybe try remember that instead of um… bothering people? It's not what we're supposed to do."

"Milton, Master Farkas just praised someone for interfering," Sly offered with a tired sigh, "Doesn't that tell you something?"

"Um… N-"

"It tells you initiative is good," Sly informed him as he picked up a spoonful of stew, "If all Soul Eaters were braindead zombies they wouldn't succeed at anything, you need people with brains to lead them, you should have interfered."

"But I might've gotten in trouble…" Milton muttered unhappily.

"That's why someday people like me will be in power and you'll still be standing around trying to figure out what color you like as you're mowed down by the enemy, you're worthless Milton."