When Rocket was called to his uncle's office he didn't think much of it. Perhaps some discussions about the upcoming matches, strategies, or how to set up the field with the team they had. Empathy wasn't exactly something that ran in their family, he didn't expect the discussion to be an emotional one about what was happening but a more technical one about how to move forward and work with what they have. He knew his uncle was hurt and upset, but he also knew he wasn't going to show it either.

However, life takes unexpected turns all the time. That's what he told himself when he entered the office and saw his uncle sitting at his desk with Clamp by his side and Sonny Blackbones present in the room as well. "Have a seat, Rocket." Clamp told him, welcoming him. Rocket studied the atmosphere and he didn't know what to think of it. He did not have any information about D'Jok and Micro-Ice's whereabouts more than anyone else did.

"Did you find out anything about D'Jok or Micro-Ice?" He had asked hoping in vain that this was a celebration meeting and the two would pop out throwing confetti. The grim faces of the adults told him the otherwise. "I'm sorry, but I don't know anything either. We haven't heard from them since they left." And with that lovely announcement made in the middle of the match yesterday, they probably weren't going to hear anything in a while.

"No, but we were hoping you could help us put the pieces together to find them," Aarch spoke to him. "Everyone heard the announcement Duke Maddox yesterday and while I know only so little about what happened in the past, I was hoping you could be the one giving us more insight. You and D'Jok did not get along at first, nobody on the team did not get along at first yet you're the one who brought them together. You're the one who united a group of people and turned it into a team."

Rocket understood now what this was all about. Sonny probably wasn't aware of some of the things that happened on Akillian growing up and naturally as a worried parent he wanted to find out... the thing is Rocket really didn't want to be the one who rats out his friend to his dad... Sonny's eyes grabbed his attention. They were full of guilt. "I know I wasn't the most present parent... I should have tried harder looking for him and my wife after the impact, but I never knew he battled addiction."

"He's clean now." The teen's response came instantly. He sighed knowing he had betrayed his friend already by opening his mouth. "It's true. Growing up on Akillian during the Ice Age was tough for all the families, we hardly had any export or sports or anything to take pride in. So most of the planets avoided ours like a plague. Which is why for many years Akillian was a place where only the strongest could survive as a third galactic planet if you would like to call it that."

Sonny nodded and looked down in shame, still blaming himself for everything that happened in that cursed day. Rocket continued. "The economy was crushed, prices went up exponentially and food was difficult to acquire, so if you weren't somebody who was somebody you had to make ends meet which wasn't easy. Therefore the people were easy to thick off so it wasn't such a shock to hear about street fights, robberies, selling stuff that shouldn't be sold... it was really bad for a while."

The teen shifted uncomfortably. It wasn't easy to discuss something he agreed to never open up about, not only in front of the father of one of his best friends but his uncle as well. "I only knew from bits and sights back then as my father wouldn't let me get too close." And to be honest, now he is happy that his father was so stern back then. "But the guys did battle addictions. Drugs were the easiest to acquire, fastest to sell, and were making good earnings. They just fell into the temptations... and they only stopped because you recruited them..."

"Micro-Ice, too?" Clamp asked shockingly assuming he was a part of 'the guys' Rocket mentioned earlier. He looked uneasily at Aarch as he recalled the promise they made to Mana-Ice to immediately inform her as soon as they learn anything new about her son.

"No... not him. It was actually the other way around, D'Jok was trying to convince him to try. He had gotten himself into a really bad situation, multiple street fights and more trips to the local police station than any other teen his age... the other guy is Thran..." he felt nauseous betraying his friends like that, remembering how he was usually passing by with his father at the twins' house to drop by some floral arrangements only to find Ahito out of his mind with worry. "... and Sinedd as well..."

"Thran?" Aarch couldn't help but interrupt out loud. While he had been aware D'Jok had a rough past on Akillian which had a deep impact on him not only as a football player but as a human being, he was utterly shocked to hear about Thran running the same race. Oh, how Ahito must've felt...

"It was a really rough process, but they're both clean. I swear!" Rocket insisted. "It was a very long time ago when life was just different. If I am to be completely honest if it wouldn't have been for my father to keep a tight leash on me, I would've probably fallen on the same boat." And if he wouldn't have met Tia, he would've definitely fallen on the same boat. Tia rescued him from himself in ways she could never imagine. "And you want to know how I know?"

The newly reappointed captain took a deep breath before launching into the story. "It was just right the match against the Rykers. After we lost, we were utterly divided and speechless, not to mention hopeless and full of doubt. We've lost the pleasure to play and we've lost the passion, but also the bonds that we had been building so far had been shattered as well. I knew I had to do something to bring the team together and create something more than just a bunch of people on the same field who happen to have a ball at their feet."

"So one night, after you and Clamp and Dame Simbai went to rest, after a training session we decided to spend it together and do something to strengthen our bond... the idea came to me all of a sudden, I knew it would've been the key to successfully create a powerful bond but I also knew how damaging it could be. I decided to play the dice I had in my hand and see if the odds are in favor... I called everyone to my room and suggested them my idea. Surprisingly enough, everyone agreed."

"I told them that my idea to bring the team closer would be for all of us to sit in one circle and talk about our past with the vow that what is being said in that circle is not leaving that room. It was also a test of trust, trusting some people you barely know with possibly the worst secret that you have... so we sat down and we were all surprised to see that everyone agreed... that night we all came clean with everything, what we did, who we were and who we are now. After that night we were closer than ever..."

Rocket closed his eyes as he relived that entire night in one brief moment suppressing a shiver that ran down his spine. That night while it had been the key to bring the team together it certainly opened up old wounds he would rather move on from... Ahito spoke about his childhood always being teased and bullied for his sleeping habbits, having no friends other than his older brother who was battling addiction. How it broke him to see his brother destroy himself so badly, but he chose to sleep because when he was sleeping nothing was happening.

He spoke about feeling lonely isolated and useless because he couldn't help his brother. Sleeping was the only thing bringing him comfort because it stopped all the thoughts in his head and he couldn't be aware of his brother doing drugs out in the middle of the night on who knows what dark corner of a street if he wasn't awake. He used to stay awake all night long waiting for his brother to come back whenever he left. He used to cry himself to sleep hearing his brother on the other side of their room snorting or injecting until sleeping was the only safe space he considered he had.

Thran in his turn spoke about battling his own addiction back on Akillian, how he met D'Jok through a common dealer around the neighbourhood. He said he hated himself so much for not being able to provide for his family better that he became his own enemy. Not that they grew up poor, but they were not rich either. He felt he had let his family down, he felt he was never going to do anything with his life or be able to even get off of Akillian. It started as something to cope and soon turned into something he couldn't control anymore.

In his own words, his addiction became the reason of his own existence, and every time he said to himself he would stop he would only fall harder into that dark pit... one time he was going to be involved into a very bad situation with a gang, one that could've turned so wrong he might not have been there to discuss it. Thran said he never went through with it because Ahito overheard him talking about it one night and told the police... at first when he got arrested, Thran said he felt such a deep hatred towards his brother he was ready to become an only child.

Then he saw his little brother's face, looking at him and at what he became... Thran went on to tell how Ahito had broken down into the precinct, broken down into the ugliest crying he had ever seen, hysterically sobbing that only then he snapped out of it and got clean. He never touched again anything related to drugs, never went near them again, would never ever try again. He changed his life around the moment he realized how much he was destroying Ahito's...

And the stories that followed after that from the other Snow Kids weren't any prettier either...