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The day after his training session with Taranis (that had then evolved into much more than that, much to his dismay – damn his apparent ability to attract youma), Xavier wandered off into the outside world in spite of not working and not having any classes that day. This was a rare event, given that he would just stay in his apartment unless someone called him to hang out.

Well, it had used to be that way. Being a senshi had kind of chipped away at what little time of peace he actually had. And, in a way, it had been the reason why he left that afternoon, brows still furrowed in thought. He didn't henshin, but his pen was in his pocket... Just in case.

He'd gotten a few useful pointers last night, before the spider youma had rudely decided to interrupt the two senshi, and now he was planning to act on it a little further by his lonesome. He just couldn't rely on someone else to do all the work for him, right ? Not if he intended to be somewhat decent at this whole thing.

He was stuck with it – he'd gone though pretty much all the stages of denial and had finally settled on acceptance. He was stuck with this, and if he was going to bother with this, then he would do this whole senshi business as well as he could possibly do it. And that was the end of that. It wasn't like him to half-a** something once he had finally decided to bother with it.

Maybe someday, after all of this, he could have some sort of normal life again... but in order for that to happen, he needed to survive long enough. Which was the point of this.

His first idea was to actually attend self-defence classes. It was a good one, but it had been shot down for a few reasons, the most was that with school, work, and senshi-dom to deal with, he didn't really have the time. His work schedule could change on any notice, and he didn't want to cut on his hours. Xavier liked to think himself independent, even if he knew his father would help him if he asked. This meant that he needed the money. His classes would change each semester, to complicate things even further. The last problem was he was sure his mother would end up hearing about it – the woman was such a gossip – and the last thing he wanted was to deal with his mother more than he actually had to. For now, the good old internet and more practice with Taranis, or any other senshi, would have to do.

His second idea was to buy a punching bag. It could be hung in his living room, and he would get to at least practice punching. This was a start, and for now, he would start there. And that was where he parked his car in the parking of a sport store, and made his way inside.

It took a moment for Xavier to find what he'd been looking for, being unfamiliar with the store layout. He just wasn't a sports kind of guy, really. Patrolling couldn't be counted as a sport. After chosing his bag, he brought it to the register. The clerk seemed rather amused to see a small guy like him (whoses glasses basically screamed 'nerd') carrying around a punching bag, but the young man remained impassible – he rung up his purchase, carried it to his car, and went back home.

About half an hour later, he had the bag installed in a corner of his four rooms apartment – it was good enough to be out of the way, but far enough from the walls to keep it from knocking about and hitting things.

This was a good enough start. Self-defense class would probably happen in summer break.

It took a little white – police was persistent – but finally he'd managed to have them lose their trail – and so he henshined down went went back to the scene a few hours later. The unconscious man was gone, probably taken to the hospital. It made sense, with it was troublesome. With the adrenaline of the fight with the Negaverse agent out of his system, he would much rather be taking painkillers like candy and be passed out in his bed. Nothing was broken, and nothing really bled, but the bruises were pretty epic looking already.

He hadn't gotten the dude's name. On the other hand, he hadn't gotten his'. Probably better that way. At least he'd gotten the one thing he felt had mattered. There was a glowing object in his jacket pocket, it's glow obscured by his hand. The starseed. He'd actually taken the time to get a good look at it, out of sheer curiosity. It was weird to think that there was one of these in all humans, a little crystal like this. That it could be pulled out so easily. It was a little distressing to think about. How had modern science not discovered such a thing ?

He didn't know the answer, and he couldn't dwell on it for long. He had one last thing to do before he could go home and lick his wounds, so to speak. He really was hurting like a b***h.

Xavier Avery slid into the hospital, still thinking of a way to somehow get to a man he didn't even know the name of. Turns out it was much easier than he thought he could, since no one was paying attention to him. He just wandered down the corridors toward the coma ward. He knew the way, and perhaps the nurse recognized him from this summer, where he had wandered down it daily to watch over Tallulah. Tallulah, pale and lifeless on an hospital bed, stricken by the coma epidemic.

Bad memory. He didn't want to remember it, and yet he couldn't make it go away.

It took some time before he finally found the man he was looking for, and he waited, hidden, for the doctors and the nurses to leave his side before stepping inside the room and pulling out the starseed. It continued to glow, unhindered, and to him, it didn't look like it's glow had lessened any. That had to be a good thing... right ? He had no idea how to put the starseed back in – really had no idea how the negaverse agent had taken it out to begin with – so he took the steps that separated him from the unconscious man laying on the bed. He laid the starseed on his chest, roughly where he'd seen it come of, and... somehow, in it went without too much hassle. Or too much logic. Oh well, that was convinent.

The man started stirring already, and Xavier had no intention of staying behind to play the hero some more. “Don't attack a nergaverse agent head on next time.” He whispered. Was the man actually hearing him, would his words imprint in his memory, his subconscious, enough for him to remember ? “There might not always be someone to help you.”

And then, Xavier turned around and left, sliding his way out of the halls, and then the hospital proper. He might not have truly won, or even truly lost, but the most important things had been done. The civilian had survived... and so had he.

He'd fight on another day – but for now, it was to the pharmacy and then back home with him. He was really hurting like a b***h.

She's said yes.

She'd said yes !!!!

Needless to say, Xavier was thrilled. But at the same time, something very obvious soon dawned on him. He wasn't working on Halloween. He hadn't planned on even going to any halloween related activities before now. Not working was what enabled him to go, but it was a double-edged sword. Since he didn't work that day, and since he had no reason to go to the carnival, he did not have a costume.

One couldn't just show up costume less at an Halloween event ! He'd look... well, it wouldn't be a favourable first impression, wouldn't it ? This could be bad.

Think, Xavier. Think, think, think. What could he dress up as ? He was pretty sure he had his costume from last year... well, if it wasn't here, it was in his room at his father's house. Well, the point was that he hadn't tossed it, of this he was certain, but... his costume last year had been pretty lame. He couldn't afford to look lame in front of Bell, now couldn't he ?

Of course not ! He'd gotten this far, which seemed to be a miracle in itself – he couldn't blow it up now. Unfortunately, this brought him straight back to square one. He began to think about games, about characters... Hm, he'd been replaying some RPGs lately (in what little free time he had left that wasn't being eaten up by this whole senshi thing, that is). Neku came to mind immediately – any excuse to have headphones was a good one, but... ah, probably not in this case. Beside, he didn't have the sewing skill needed to pull it off decently. And he definitively did not have the time to even think about learning how to sew. It was such a ridiculous thought.

He needed something easy, something quick, but that would look decent. Something that required little to no modification of existing clothing that he already owned, or that he could find easily. And cheap at that.

Something...

...He had it.

The teen grinned to himself, scampering over to his computer, and a printout later, he was on his way out, taking his jacket off one of his table chairs in an afterthought.

Getting his idea in motion would take him most of the afternoon – he gratefully skipped class for this. What could they do, call his dad ? HA ! He'd just say he got sick. They always brought it, because he didn't bother to skip class often. He hit thrift store after thrift store, sometimes coming out empty-handed, other times with a lucky find or two. The coat he found first, which had surprised even him – he had expected it would have been the hardest thing. It turned out, the hardest thing would be the hat, but eventually he came back home with even that in tow. Modifications were easy – rip up the black jeans he just got, just right, and... There he was.

Sho. He wasn't a villain kind of guy, but... It had turned up okay enough to be shown to the girl he so desperately wanted to impress. All that was missing was makeup for his arms, but he could get that tomorrow. As it was, Xavier just grinned at the reflection the mirror was showing him. He'd prevailed !

“So zetta slow.” He proclaimed to no one, and then just laughed. This was, at least, starting off nicely for him, for once.

Ninja, Ninja, OH SHI- [BAT8]

Pumpkin Decorating Contest [H-REG9]

Do not despair.

Those words rang out into his subconscious, firmly engraved there as if by a magical force, even if he had not been awake to hear them. Hadn't been awake to feel Bellatrix cradle him, hadn't been awake to hear Tallulah reveal his double identity. Hadn't been awake for all that had happened, for the crystal's sudden disappearance in the hand of a Negaverse agent. Hadn't been awake to truly know about his own failure, though that would come quickly enough.

But these words, the remained. And even as he slept, they echoed, over and over and over, as if to make sure he would remember them. He winced, in his sleep, and the sole onlooker perked.

Find the lights that wait for you...

“Xavier ?” A voice called out, a familiar voice, but it did not belong with the ethereal voice of the Ancient Queen. The male voice dragged him away, and he screamed.

“NO ! WAIT !”

Find them, and find hope.

Light blue eyes snapped open, and the voice faded down to nothingness.



“Xavier ?” The familiar, male voice asked again. And now, the blonde boy knew who it was. There was a man in his late fourties sitting on the chair beside... the hospital bed ? How had he wound up there ? A man with white-streaked brown hair, but eyes that mirrored the one of the teen that was laying in bed, his right arm encased into something white and rigid.

“Dad.” He finally said, his voice hoarse. Nothing made sense in his head, but events started to place themselves in a neat order, slowly. He'd been channelling his attack, and... something... hit him, and then... nothing. A blank state.

Damian sighed, but there was relief in it. “I was starting to wonder when you would wake up.” The older man didn't look so hot – most likely he had been standing vigil ever since he'd been called at whatever unholy hour of the morning. Most likely, he'd kept Tallulah from ripping her way trough hell and high water to enter this very room. The thought should have made him smile, but it didn't.

Damian shook his head, moving to redo his ponytail – the elastic holding it had started to come loose. Xavier still didn't say anything. “What happened ?” Damian asked him.

“The ball.” That part was easy enough. There wasn't even a need to make anything up. “...It got crazy, the terrorists got in there, and...” He shook his head again. “I must have gotten somewhere I wasn't supposed to be.” Understatement of the century, that. “I don't... remember a whole lot of what happened.”

“Not just that, Xavier.” Damian's voice was even, yet stern. It was easy to see where the blonde had gotten his near-legendary calm. “The doctors told me you had multiples bruises... Old bruises.”

Damn.

“I've been working closing shifts.” Xavier admitted, not even daring to look at his father. “That's when they're most active, at nightfall. I've... gotten caught by some of them.”

“Xavier...” Damian sighed again. There was no relief in that sigh.

“I started using my car when I do late shifts.” That was bullshit, but he had no choice. He had no choice but to lie to his own damn father. It hurted, so very much. “Ill be fine, dad.”

“I figure it could have been worse...” His son was beaten the hell up, with a broken arm, but he was alive. Xavier moved to reach for the side desk, but his father was quicker than he was, taking the black-framed glasses and handing them over.

“They want to keep you for a day or two, just to make sure you're fine. Usually they don't keep you this long for a cast and a broken arm, but your circumstances were... a little unusual.” Xavier opened his mouth to protest, but Damian did his best father-face, and whatever protest it was died out. “I already called your work to let them know. Your manager said to take all the time you need to get better. Sovereign, too.”

Damn. Sometime his father's calm and his sense of organization really worked against him. Now he was quite certain that half his co-workers and a whole lot of his schoolmate were about to flood the tiny little hospital room. But there was something more preoccupying than that. “You'll take care of Tempo, right ?”

Damian Avery had never been a cat fan. But at these words, the older man chuckled. “Don't worry about your cat. Fill the bowl and scoop the litter, right ?”

That was about as much as he could ask of his father. “Yeah.”

“You rest up a little bit.” Xavier looked like s**t. But then, his father didn't look much better. It didn't take a rocket scientist to pick that one up.

“Go sleep, dad.”

“Ill drop by later, in the evening.” After work was left unsaid. “Though, I don't think you'll come any short of company.” He'd seen them, waiting in the waiting room, with Tallulah. When had his son started to meet so many pretty girls ? He would need to poke to figure out if any of these young ladies was his secret girlfriend. Later.

Definitively later.

“Ill be back.” Damian nodded toward his son, and then stood to exist the room. There wasn't a need to worry anymore. His son was awake, and lucid – the girls would make sure he'll be well.

Xavier, however, wasn't really sure if he wanted to see anyone. He was awake and lucid, but this was a double-edged sword. He felt like s**t, and a part of him just wanted to pass out all over again.

Oh Bro, Oh My Bro~ [REG10]