Drew walked in the door, and immediately was pummeled by a small silver furball to the face. "Daddy! Daddy Daddy Daddy!" It cried! Drew chuckled sadly. "I missed you too, Dari. But be careful!" As he pried the small Guardian Kitten off his face, he looked around to make sure that his own Mom, Dad and Aunt Dia, or others that didn't know that Dari could talk, were around (not that Dari actually was his child, just that Dari kept on insisting on calling him that - and that was a long story).

Dria, his twin sister, and Dani, his twelve-old sister, each came out holding one of their (all of their) 15-month-old twin brothers, Dell and Den - both Dria and Dani knew. "It's okay, nobody else is here." Dria said calmly. She nodded at Dari, who now paced back and forth anxiously on a chair. "He has been waiting to discuss something seriously with you. Something that has been on all of our minds, but as he is your Bonded, we felt he was the one most affected." Drew frowned. Dria nodded to Dani, and they took the younger twins back to another room who were crying, because they had missed their older brother Drew. Drew laid his bag down on the floor next to the couch and sat next to Dari, with deeply serious look on his face. "I think I already know what this is about but go ahead."

Dari frowned, still pacing and trying to frame his words in his mind. Finally, he stopped. He shook his tiny, silver head, turned, walked over to sit on his Daddy's lap.

When he looked up at Drew, Drew could see that he had been crying. His small cat eyes were swollen, and red. Drew also noticed that his front paw was bandaged. "What happened -" "I cried for you, not knowing what was happening to my Bonded, my Daddy. I was doing my duties. I tried to focus on my duties, but couldn't focus on my Communicator, because I was worried about you. You could have been Corrupting or ... or... worse." At this the little silver kitten started to cry, but he got it under control quickly. "We ... we need to ... need to ... communicate!" He screeched, now sobbing.

To Dari's amazement, Drew didn't say a word. Instead, he gently, firmly and tightly embraced Dari, his own tears falling on Dari's soft, furry head. "I am so sorry it had to had happen like this." Dari jerked - no it couldn't be!

Drew chuckled wearily; Dari obviously thought the worse. "No, Dari, I have not corrupted at this time." Dari jerked again - NO!

Drew chuckled wearily once more. "No, I am not thinking of corrupting now or ever. And I'm not breaking my Bond with you. Unless you choose to break it with me."

Then what - Dari jerked again, then a second time, "Why would I break it with you, Daddy? What would you have done to make me so?"

Drew closed his eyes, seeing the images flash once again before him and frowned in anguish. "Not exactly I, but yes I." It was Dari's turn to frown. He wrinkled his snout in confusion. Why was Daddy speaking in riddles? "What does that even mean, Daddy?" Dari asked. "What happened? Was you or not you?"

Drew frowned some more. These multiple lives things made things complicated and confusing. "Let me put it like this. It wasn't Andrew Bones. It was a Sailor Etamin, by the name of Hapii Merii - although -" Why did the people of Etamin have that complicated too? "Sailor Etamin's usually legally lost their civilian identities the moment they were discovered to be Sailor Etamin - but I digress... Anyways... I wanted you to hear it from my own mouth..." Drew turned his face away in shame.

Dari was really confused now. "What? What did !??! you??!?! DO??" He was also very frustrated with Daddy, whose face was now darkened with shame.
Instead of answering, Drew let tears of shame and remorse fall from his face. Dari could only watch the anguish that Drew went through, as he tried not to speak just yet.

Finally, Drew turned back to Dari, a haunted look upon his face. "Hapii Merii didn't just do this terrible wrong to you. There were others."

Dari frowned. If Sailor Etamin had done this wrong - it had to have been in another lifetime, a previous incarnation of Sailor Etamin as Daddy was saying. This "Hapii Merii" would have lived during at least during the Silver Millennium - at least a thousand years ago (which also meant that Dari, incredibly had either had a past life there as well or had been placed in a stasis pod at some point... somehow, he didn't like the possibility of either.

"But Daddy..." "Please don't call me that. I don't deserve it, also with our previous relationship, it would be weird." Dari felt stung. This must have been something really bad, if Daddy - Drew - didn't feel he shouldn't be called 'Daddy', then it was horrible whatever he had done. And what was their previous relationship? Why would that make him being Dari's 'Daddy' be weird?

"Wouldn't all the people that were there at that time be dead now?" As Dari watched and felt, Drew visibly flinched. The anguish in Drew's eyes only grew deeper as silent tears started once again to fall. He shook his head once more.

"There are at least two more, that have been reborn." Drew swallowed and dried his tears. "I want to wait until I have all of you together, until I tell you."

Dari was anxiously excited (in a bad way) and started pacing once more across Drew's lap. "Well, where are they?" He asked, jittery. "Are they nearby? Can you call them, here? I know it's late, but-"

An odd look crossed Drew's face. "Yes, they are near. They are in fact, very nearby. However, they are busy at the moment."

"How nearby? And - busy? How do you know they are busy? Busy doing what?"
Dari frowned.

"They are busy putting little brothers to bed."

A confused look crossed look crossed Dari's face - then realization dawned.

"Wait, you're not saying that -? You're kidding?"

Drew shook his head. "Dria? Dani? You done yet? If you are, we need you in here."

Total Words: 1056