Bright are the Stars[Fely]

[Dark Strider]

Leon looked down at Somni's hand on his. He gave a small smile and nodded his head. Come to terms with the thing that almost ruined his life? Dealing with him being able to control it, yes... but being able to live a life normally with it inside him? No way in hell. It had its uses, that much was sure, but it was more a hindrance then anything, in Leon's mentality. "Don't worry now, darlin'. I'm not going to be goin' anywhere any time soon. And don't worry about the thing I got inside o' me. I've got control over it." Leon said, looking up at her. "Now... lets get to eatin'. I'm starving." Leon said, picking up his own fork and taking a bit into the dish.

She certainly had gotten much better at cooking. The first bite brought Leon out of his hidden contemplations to the attention of Somni's cooking. Though he tried as hard as he could, Leon wolfed down the entire meal. It had been a while since he had good food. He was going to have to re-adjust to the level of cooking that he had experienced here at his home. Soon, his plate was empty and he sat back with his arms crossed behind his head. "Ahh..." Leon said, reclining his head and smiling widely. "Very impressive, m'dear. You certainly are quite the cook. I'm going to have to watch out for you if we ever go into a cooking competition." Leon said, complementing her. He stood up slowly, stretching his back and arms. Unfortunately for him, the scars that he had tried to hide, were revealed as his shirt rose. Mentally he cursed and hoped that Somni didn't see them.

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[Felypsa]

That assurance Somni was wary about, since she never knew if something was going to invade their lives suddenly and force him to leave, but she trusted his intentions. It touched her and she gave another smile, removing her hand to let him eat his food. She turned back to her own plate, though would sneak glances at him as if to make sure he was enjoying himself. At the end of it, he did flatter her, and her smile grew wider. She liked his little terms of endearment (though he might say them to just about anybody) and was pleased to hear that she had risen to a level of cooking that had impressed even him. “I hope that day will never come. I fight dirty and show no mercy.” She grinned and winked as she wagged her fork at him, as if it were a weapon.

He stretched and she glanced down his body subconsciously, but just as quickly averted her eyes. Not because the scarring was ugly, but because she was sure he did not want her to look at it. Whatever he had gone through had been intense indeed. His skin looked a lot more scarred than it had before. Somni reached for her glass, taking a sip as she set her fork down. “So, what do you want to do now? It’s your homecoming…we can celebrate, or we can relax…anything you want to do.” She thought of mentioning Starshadow but the subject was awkward to bring up. It would mean she would have to explain that she rarely saw Alice and was afraid that Leon would blame her for not keeping a close eye on or taking good care of her.

[Dark Strider]

Leon nodded his head and walked away from the table. "I'm thinkin' I'm going to reacquaint myself with the house. I've got to check up on certain things and I generally want to relax. Don't mind me. If you're looking for some fun, then by all means, go for it. I need to get back into the mentality of being home." Leon said, before walking out of the kitchen. He walked the short distance to the elevator and punched in his unique key code. The door opened and Leon walked into the car. He pressed one of the many buttons and rode down to the medical lab.

Once there, the doors dinged open and Leon walked into the sterile environment. The floors reflected the light coming off from the overhead LED lights. Leon smiled and moved over to one of the few computer banks. Pressing several icons on the touch panel, Leon began to familiarize himself with the technology. Soon, Leon's fingers were flying across the keys and his aptitude with technology came back, in part. "Alrighty then... Lets get this over with." He said. HARVY, ever watchful, came down into the medical lab. "All set Leon?" He asked, taking control over several pieces of equipment. Leon nodded his head and proceeded to take off his shirt. Scars ran all across his back, up his chest, and down his arms. Once his shirt was off, Leon sat down on a stool and placed his hands on his knees. "Lets get this over with HARVY." Leon said. A green light popped up on a screen, letting Leon know that HARVY had acknowledged his request.

Twenty painful minutes later, Leon stood up and flexed his arms. His scars, all over his body, had been removed via science. It was astonishing the things that were possible now-a-days. His body still stung from the electrical scalpels removing the scars, smoke from the burnt flesh curled up into an air duct above. Now that his body was clear of the unsightly marks, Leon pulled back on his shirt and fixed his shades. He walked over to the elevator door and pressed the call button. The door dinged open and Leon returned to the cab of the elevator. Pressing the living quarters button, Leon rode back up to the main house in silence. He contemplated demonstrating what he could do now to Somni, but then tossed the idea. Only if she asked him what he could do would he show her. No showing off.

The elevator doors opened and Leon walked back into the main part of the house. Looking about, Leon sighed and walked over to one of the large chairs. He plopped down in it and massaged his temples. "HARVY... Where's my sister?" Leon asked, keeping his eyes closed and his head tilted towards the floor. "Sorry Leon... I don't know actually." HARVY responded. Leon only sighed and silently groaned. This was going to be and interesting family reunion... Leon could already tell.

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[Felypsa]

Somni would allow Leon to relax in his own way. It was his homecoming, his choice. Instead, she moved to start cleaning up after dinner, still marveling in everything that had happened and what he had told her. She felt more compassion for him than he perhaps would have given her credit for. And though for those long months she had been pining, she had never given up hope that he would return one day. And here he was. It was still a great relief, a wondrous weight lifted from her shoulders.

Mirror reappeared while Somni was starting the dishwasher. Somni frowned at her, now knowing the truth. A little piece of her had gotten into Leon, and Somni did not like that. Did not like it at all. She could see the exotic alien regarding her just as warily; for once, displaying more cautious emotion. “It was not at all my intention to do what had happened,” Mirror finally said. “Nor could I have had any control over it afterward. You need not blame me for his suffering.”

Somni let out a derisive snort. “I find that hard to believe.” Yes, Somni could be stubborn too. “But to be frank, it relieves me. I trust Leon way more than I trust you. So if you ever get any nasty ideas about turning on us, I know he will defend us.” The alien made a tsking noise and shook her head lightly. “You are truly oblivious, if you think that will ever happen.” Of course, Somni didn’t like being insulted in such a haughty manner. She stepped toward Mirror and had the satisfaction of watching the alien step back a little, her eyes on Somni’s fingers, even though they were gloved. Oh yes. It was the closest thing to fear this proud alien ever got. Not quite fear. But Mirror had admitted it to be “an inconvenience” when she was put to sleep that one time, and Somni suspected she hated the idea of having one thing she couldn’t control.

“I’m not as oblivious as you think,” Somni said, her voice dangerously quiet. “You know you have something to do with Starshadow’s disappearance. And Leon will find out soon, and then you will have to face off against him.” Mirror tilted her head to one side. “Is that what you think?” She shook her head. “Alice made her own choice. I didn’t influence her one way or another.” Somni rolled her eyes. “One of these days, you’ll realize that you will have to take the blame for something. Intentions don’t matter. Sometimes even an accident is your own fault.”

Mirror gave a small smile. “Thank you for the lesson in ethics. But I see no reason to take the fault for Alice’s folly.” Somni’s eyes flashed. “What happened?” she asked icily. But, again, the alien just shook her head in that infuriating manner. “It’s not for me to say.” Somni strode away from her. “We’ll see about that. Leon!” she called, thinking she had heard him come back up.

[Dark Strider]

Leon had been reclining in one of the chairs, relaxing and trying to clear his mind. A lot had happened in those six months he had been gone. Missions had come and gone, all of which Leon had passed by. Money had been an issue, as he had to work under cover, something which was easy for him now, now that he had the ability to become anyone or anything he could imagine pretty much. Mion had come down in his anthro form and acknowledged Leon, then vanished around a corner. Leon shifted his weight and placed his hands behind his head, closing his eyes and slowly beginning to nod off.

Then Somni called him, her voice seeming urgent. Surprised, Leon got up quickly and strode to the Kitchen. Walking in Leon saw that Mirror had entered the room. The two had apparently been talking and something said must have upset Somni, for she had a look on her face. "What's up?" He asked, placing a hand on the corner frame. He leaned against it, resting as he was tired and wanted to go to bed soon. It had been a long enough day, the shower woke him up a bit, but none the less... he wanted to sleep in his own bed. "Something wrong here or is this going to turn into a throwing of knives?" Leon asked, a playing smile on his lips.

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[Felypsa]

oOc| Sorry for the delay. I've been crazy busy lately and am only now taking a chance to breathe. You know how it is, I'm sure.

p.s. Let me know if you don't like this plot twist and I'll change it. :3

If she had known he was about to sleep, she would have—no, this was urgent. He made a joke, and Somni took in a deep breath. She felt like a tattling child but this was important. “Mirror—I believe if you’re interested in the whereabouts of Starshadow, you need to ask her.” She turned her head, narrowing her eyes at the alien, who was standing there, as usual, with a great look of disinterest on her face.

“I assure you, Leon, where she’s gone, you can’t follow. You can only wait for her return.” Mirror was about to walk away, but Somni grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Mirror flinched and eyed her, true danger flashing in her eyes. But she didn’t do anything, knowing Leon would flip out if she attacked Somni. “She wanted to see where I came from,” Mirror finally said, glancing over at Leon. “Curiosity—it always plays a role in you humans’ demise, doesn’t it?”

“What are you talking about?” Somni asked, dumbfounded. “You’re from another planet. How could Star have possibly gone there?” This sounded like a bad science fiction plot, she was thinking. Mirror glanced at Leon. “I wonder if you have interdimensional travel at your fingertips now too. Oh, I know about your warping; I mean beyond that. I mean slipping between the very atoms of this world, creating your own wormhole, and reappearing somewhere, no matter how many light-years away it is.”

Somni’s mouth dropped open. “You did that? And with Star?” Mirror gave a shrug. “She insisted. She thought she could somehow find a weakness of mine on my home planet. She’ll be back as soon as she figures out how.”

[Dark Strider]

Leon leaned against the door frame as Somni worked her way into forcing Mirror to tell her little secret. When Mirror brought up the point of near inter-dimensional teleportation, Leon laughed aloud. "Sub-atomic reconstruction of atoms and the movement of said atoms at near light speed. Nothing new to me. Its generally what I can do, only on a much larger, or in this case, smaller, scale." Leon said, pushing himself off the wall and into the kitchen area. He walked to one of the chairs and pulled it out for himself. "Its rather impressive that she thought this far outside the box. Oh well..." Leon said, reclining in the chair.

"I've know about sub-molecular teleportation for quite some time now, actually. I've even seen it done. I've gone through it, but I don't think the kind of thing I'm thinking of relates to what you can do. But, then again, isn't defying the general laws of physics what we're talking about either way?" Leon said, raising his arms in a rhetorical manner. An answer for a question in the question. So to speak. "Somni, I'll have Star back here soon, don't you worry. I'm sure she's well enough tired of being stuck on that planet." Leon said, getting up from his seat.

He walked past the two of them and out to the front hall. He took his hat and coat off the rack and pulled them on. He warped to the top of the stairs and walked into his room, quickly pulled on his sword and his pistol holsters, and walked back down stairs. "I'll be back in a little while. Need to go find a buddy of mine." Leon said with a wink. Then, like he normally did, Leon warped off, towards the bustling city to search for his friend in the shadows.

~

Several hours later of searching and convincing his old friend that it was a worthy cause, Leon stepped out of a rift in time and space onto the soil of the world where Mirror had come from. He was happy he had placed that location chip on Alice a while ago, or else he would have had to have brought Mirror along to find this place. Looking around, Leon found himself to be in an empty field, much like those back home. He took in a slight sniff, testing the air for traces of industrial chemicals. Plenty of them hit him, telling Leon that he wasn't far off from a city or facility of some sort. Leon turned to the portal that he had just walked out of and nodded. "I'll be back in a while. I'll give you a holler when I need the portal reopened. Thanks again, by the way." Leon said to the unseen friend of his. "Don't worry about it Leon." A man's voice said before the portal winked out of sight.

Leon shook his head and sighed. His friends, honestly... He surrounded himself with some pretty unique people. Leon shook his head to clear his thoughts. He was here for a reason and he was going to complete that mission. Leon reached into his pocket and took out a small PDA. He thumbed the power button and gave the device a chance to boot. Once it was done, a GPS signal pinged on Leon's "map". Thought the screen was blank, Leon had a distinct marker of where his sister should be. He nodded his head and began walking towards the blip, hoping to find his sister.

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[Felypsa]

It sounded terrible at first—Starshadow, stuck on an alien planet—but Leon just laughed it off. And again demonstrated how much he knew and experienced. Somni looked at Mirror triumphantly as he explained that it was, for him, nothing new, and not such a big deal. Indeed, he promised her that he could get Star back. Which meant he was leaving again so soon. But he didn’t seem concerned that it would take long. “Well—hurry back,” she said softly, watching him get ready. As soon as he left, she turned to glare at Mirror, who only shrugged and said, “I could have told you you were overreacting.” Then she oozed away. Somni’s eyes flashed. Ooh she hated that alien.

~

oOc| this is where I pull everything out of my arse xD

And people wondered if alien life existed or not.

Yet here she was, in the middle of it all.

Literally in the middle of it all.

Back on Earth, there was always the possibility that if alien life arrived, they would be put on display for everyone to see. Starshadow wished she had been more prepared for that possibility. But she had gotten too cocky: she had thought that her shadowy powers and her intensive Marine training would have prepared her for anything.

She should have known that the civilization that created Mirror would be better than that.

She was not harmed. She was not treated poorly, which was something she felt this civilization did better than humans would have. She was simply kept in a liquid-filled glass case, unable to move, floating there, with nourishment running into her body via a tube. The alien people passed by, pointed, laughed. The thing was, they were small. As small as meerkats, but with very flexible, nimble tentacles attached to their backs. Very strange-looking. They called themselves, as far as Star could make out, Lubecks. Even with the tentacles, they were really quite adorable. Unfortunately, they were more advanced than humans were, and they found Star as a specimen more amusing than one of their equals. Yet she was the main attraction: kept in the center of the city, for the Lubeck people to gawk at and whisper about.

It was humiliating beyond belief.

There would be a small contingent of these Lubecks who would see Leon approaching their city. The rodentlike creatures would stop, stare, and then whisper amongst themselves. He looked like their newest arrival—but there was something about him that was familiar. Perhaps they could sense the piece of their Mirror inside of him. These Lubecks, civilians, drew back, not wanting to encounter him. One of them pulled a cell phone-like device out of his fur and held it to his ear, clearly contacting someone of higher authority. This needed to be reported right away.

[Dark Strider]

Leon noted the little creatures, thinking at first that they were just members of the local wildlife, a rodent that looked somewhat similar to those back home. Leon was going to overlook them, but when one pulled something out and placed it to its ear, speaking in some, however ironic, alien language. Placing a note of caution now, Leon picked up his pace, moving towards the target on his PDA. Keeping an eye out, Leon began to grow much closer to the indicator beacon. The smells of industry hit Leon harder now, making him become aware that he was entering a city of some kind.

The buildings, while obviously made for different purposes, stood somewhat smaller then those Leon was accustomed to. Vehicles of sorts stood here and there and pedestrians, while not unlike those back home, back stepped away from Leon as he approached, looking at him with caution and a hint of fear in their eyes. Leon moved into the city undisturbed, thought a small collection of "people" were following him, watching with silent eyes at his progression through their city. Chatterings and a few loud calls came from around him, telling him that he was a source of interest and of possible attack.

Looking one more time at the little device he held before placing it in his pocket, Leon warped to the top of the nearest building, sending squeals and shouts from the populace below. Looking around, Leon found his target. With ease, Leon leapt from building to building, making great time to the center of the city. Once he was close enough, Leon jumped down to the ground and looked at what he had come here for. A stasis cell, containment unit, a body locker, all of these fit into the description of what Leon was looking at. He whistled through his teeth and placed his hands on his hips. "Well well... I leave for a bit of time and I find you like this, eh Alice?" Leon said with a sigh. "Suppose I can get out outta there, just don't know what kind of new fangled technology they're running with here. Might take me a minute to get ya out of there." Leon said to his sister, kneeling down to look at the device. Impressive stuff here, Leon thought. Might have to take a sample home to toy around with.

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[Felypsa]

oOc| again, sorry for taking so long! I'm finally done with finals, woooot!!

The thing was, Starshadow was entirely conscious and aware of herself as an object of entertainment to these weird aliens. And what made it humiliating was that this liquid she was encased in somehow prevented her from becoming her shadowy self. She had never been quite this stuck before. Actually, no. What made it incredibly humiliating was that Leon himself was the one to come rescue her. In her head, Alice cursed at the same time as she inwardly wept with relief. He was alive and mostly well, from what she could tell. But dammit, she was going to be the one to save his ass…by learning as much about Mirror as she could. Oh well. At least it wasn’t Mirror coming to save her.

Leon was talking but Star couldn’t hear him through the glass. She just stayed there, hoping he could navigate the alien technology. But of course, that was when security arrived. A group of about ten of the Lubecks, each one of their multiple tentacles armed with what looked like silver pens. Star had seen them before. They were the equivalent of tasers, but much stronger, capable of stunning an elephant. And all of their weapons were pointed at Leon. One of them spoke in the language, and even though it was incomprehensible, it was obvious what he wanted: stop, or else.

Meanwhile, a crowd of civilians was drawing nearer to the scene, their little mouths gaping at the second bizarre alien to walk in among them. A few of the security guards were moving to keep them back, glancing warily at Leon. Star had put up quite a fight when she was here. What was this specimen capable of? Was he stronger or weaker? They could tell he looked different from the first (different cloth coverings, different body shape and height, different facial structure), but what did that mean?

[Dark Strider]

The technology was incredible. Lightyears ahead of anything back home, even with the technological advances that Leon had been able to pull together. But this simply took the cake. Though some of it looked roughly similar to what he was acustomed to, such as wires and diodes that gave off a static whirr, the rest was simply mind-boggling. Hardly paying any attention to his surroundings, neglecting to realized until the last moment that he was being surrounded, Leon pushed forward, something in him allowing him to pair up different things of his knowledge, as well as that of the alien symbiote in him, and that of the technology before him. Things began to click into place and soon Leon had a farther understanding then he did just moments before.

"Stop what your doing, or else." a voice said from behind him, breaking Leon from his deep contemplation. Leon's lips curved into a smile and he slowly turned from the machine. A fairly large crowd surrounded him now, with what appered to be security forces wealding a strange object. Similar in size and general shape to a pen, Leon quickly put things together. He stood slowly, his hands hanging at his sides. "Howdy there." Leon said simply, without knowing he had slipped into the language of the Lubecks. Apparently there were some residual memories or traits that were embedded into the genetic code of the symbiote that Mirror had, allowing her to communicate with these creatures.

"Don't mean to seem like a bother, but I'm really just here to gather up my sister," Leon said, gesturing easily with his thumb at the cell that held Alice. "Once I have her, we'll be on our way. Nothing difficult about that is there?" Leon asked simply. If things went down the path of a fight, Leon was well ahead in preperation. With subtle movements of his fingers, Leon had been sending messages to his buddy that opened the portal to this planet. A trick he had picked up a long time-ago, during his time with his squad in the Marines. The movements of different fingers in quick, but hardly noticable twitches, sending fragmented messages which could easily be translated by those who knew them. As it turned out, his friend understood them quite clearly. "So," Leon continued, "Mind if I take her offa your hands?"

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[Felypsa]

The head guard was taken aback by the fact that Leon could speak their language. All the first one had done was babble incoherent syllables at a loud volume while she kicked and fought like an animal. The Lubecks didn’t even know if she was capable of higher intelligence, whether it had been a developed language or not. Clearly, this one was demonstrating a capacity for language. The guard’s small eyes narrowed intensely on Leon. He looked between Leon and the caged Starshadow, and then back to Leon. “Even if you were telling the truth, I cannot authorize the action. She is owned by the government now. Furthermore, she has caused damages that must be paid for…no, it’s too complicated for me to allow her to just walk.”

He straightened up, though, and motioned to the others, who fell in behind him. “Besides…there is something to you that I do not like…something familiar…” The guards began to press in toward him, approaching carefully. “What are you, fleshy, apelike things?”

[Dark Strider]

Formal bunch these things were. Owned by the government? I don't think so, Leon though. Alice is one crazy sonofagun and she's not one for being forced into the service of others. Leon crossed his arms and shifted his weight onto his left leg. "What are we? Well... I don't think it'll have much effect on you if I told you that we are human, so, I can put it like this. We're not from around here, or from this solar system for that matter. Now don't frett. I'm not here to cause a rucous. I'm just here to get my sister. Who would I talk to about getting her released into my custody?" Leon asked, forging ahead of the plesantries.

They had his sister, Leon was pissed, but wasn't going to show it off just yet. He was going to try and coax these... things, into a state of ambvailance, a state of at lease mutuial understanding. "As for the damages to you're people or whatever, I can tell you that I'll take responcibility for her actions. She was, in fact, trying to figure some things out for me. I didn't know she was going to act this way, but then again, I can't really tell what she's going to do..." Leon explained, turning to his sister. His eyebrow rose as he carefully examined the container, looking for the smallest things. It was obviously self-regulating, and there had to be a kind of security system protecting it. Tampering with the controls, though Leon had no idea how, would probably end the life support in the container, or induce something into the liquid that suspended his sister, killing her or causing some other kind of irreperable damage. Both civilized and monsterous, the kind of temperment that people back home had. Placing a hand to his chin, Leon sent quick, un-noticable messages to his hidden friend. If things went to hell, Leon had several different plans on how to get himself as well as his sister and friend out of harms way and back home. Leon sighed and rolled his eyes, his buddy was going to demand a fortune for this, Leon could already tell.

Turning back to the captain, Leon squatted down to be almost level with the things face. "You said something about me being familiar... what exactly do I remind you of, eh? Something you probably feared, from the look and attitude you're giving me." Leon said, his hands resting on his knees. Leon had a good idea of what he was talking about, and only one thing that Leon knew connnected him to this planet. Mirror. The symbiote, well, not even that anymore, it had become so much a part of him that it no longer even seemed to had a mind anymore. More of just another part of Leon's body. That small fragment of Mirror that was now a part of Leon was the thing that must have been sending the creature into a state of distrust. Things were certainly going to be getting interesting, both back at home and with Leon and Alice.

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[Felypsa]

The guard eyed him warily. Aliens. That was what this was all about. Well, they had always known they existed, and here was proof. Staring at them right in the face, telling them to give up the alien sister. Oh what would the science world pay to study these creatures. Unfortunately, they were willing to fight, as they had seen the other one do. He hesitated. It would be easiest if he just let them go. But then he would have hell to pay on his end. The government would not understand why he had let such precious specimens go.

But then Leon knelt down and the guard’s eyes narrowed. “You remind me of the terror…a being we should have never unlocked…” His fellow guards were murmuring behind him, also put off by the memory. “I do not understand…but since you have reminded me of that horrible event, I have decided to let you both go. We should have learned last time not to poke and prod at strange beings. We do not know what powers we might unlock.” He stepped back, waved at his guards to stand down. “I will speak to the head scientist and the director.” They would not be happy, but if they knew that Mirror might be involved, they would agree to it. Any Lubeck knew the fear of that hideous abomination.

The guard motioned to two of his men to keep an eye on Leon and Starshadow, just in case, and then left. About ten minutes later, he returned with two other Lubecks. One of them was muttering angrily but fell silent when he observed Leon. Indeed, there was something so much like Mirror in his way—maybe he even was a part of Mirror. Better not to risk it. The scientist went to pushing the buttons, turning dials, and the liquid started to drain. Presently, the glass cylinder faded away, as if it had been no more than a hologram. The various tubes were detached, and Star was lowered to the ground.

She inhaled and then started coughing, looking around warily. Pounding her chest, she narrowed her eyes on all the little critters. Her gaze finally fell on Leon and she deflated. “Ah hell.” She smacked her forehead. “I tried to play hero and you ended up rescuing me. Figures.” Nevertheless, she strolled over to her foster brother and hugged him tightly, resting her face on his shoulder. “Good to see you again…though it wasn’t exactly the reunion I pictured.”

[Dark Strider]

Leon smiled and returned the hug from his sister. He pulled her back and held her at arms, length, looking her over. "My god... six months. Six damned months, and I've missed you. Strange enough, huh? Now... How's about we go home?" Leon asked, smiling at his sister. Turning to the guard captain, Leon nodded his head in thanks. Taking his sister by the hand, Leon turned again and walked forward, a black portal suddenly opening in the space before him. That was sure to send squeals and shouts from the Lubecks, but then again, Leon's business with them was done. All he cared about was getting home and explaining things to his sister.

The portal warped them the increadably long distance from where they just stood back to their home. Within an instant, they were standing back looking at Leon's mansion. But, a sight that Leon wasn't expecting stood before them. A shiny black and grey Corvette sat in the drive way. No one Leon knew drove this kind of car, and there was no way for him to know who it was, him being on another planet and all. "I'll be taking my leave, Leon. We'll talk later about my payment." Leon's friend said from inside the black portal they had just exited from. Leon hardly heard him, and the portal closed without a trace. Something wasn't right around here, Leon could feel it.

~

Leon was right about something not being right. About half an hour before Leon and Alice had returned to the estate, the car that Leon had seen rolled up to the front gate. Without a signal from HARVY, or even without him noticing, the gate swung open, allowing the newcomer entrance to Leon's estate. The car rolled quietly up to the main house, stopping shortly before the main walk. The interior lights flashed on for an instant and the form of a man with a fedora and full suit lit up, before faiding into the darkness of the night. Though it was daytime on the other planet, time marched forward, like normal. The daylight in which Leon had left in had turned to night, and with it, the evils of the world began to emerge from their slumber.

Walking up to the door, the man, for it was obvious the way he carried himself, waved a gloved hand over the sensor modual, which clicked. A light flashed, signifying that the door was unlocked. The gloved hand closed around the carefully crafted handle and pulled. The door opened on well maintained hinges. A light foot step brought the man into the house, undetected. With a quick check of himself, the man brushed a spot of dust off of his jacket. Easing into the house, the man walked with a distinct familiarity of the place, walking about as if he was in his own home. In fact, the man had studied the layout of Leon's house for quite some time, modling his own home much like Leons.

The man entered the main living room, after depositing his coat and hat on the coat rack. He wore a low u-neck black vest over his white dress shirt and his crimson red tie. Finding Leon's favorite chair, the man sat down carefully, fixing the crease in his pants and adjusting his tie. Reaching to a small side table, the man opened a cask of whiskey, took out a glass, placed two cubes of ice into the glass, and poured himself a drink. Just as he placed the glass to his lips, however, Mion, Leon's fox friend, casually clambered down the stairs. Sniffing the air, Mion picked up the fragrence of calogne and of freshly washed clothes. Confused and a bit warry, Mion picked his way towards the source of the smell. Sitting in Leon's chair was a stranger, but somehow, he seemed vaguely familiar. A hand came down, indicating Mion to come over. For some reason, Mion felt comfortable with this man, but also he felt compelled to inspect him closer.

Once he had gotten closer, however, he regreted it almost instantly. The man had four different guns on him, two in chest holsters, one on his left hip, and one in the crook of his arm and his arm pit. Mion's two tails flared and he skittered away, fleeing for his life. A slight chuckle rolled through the man's chest as he returned the glass to his lips and continued with his drink. Now all he had to do was wait for Leon and their sister...

~

The front door opened, Leon's pistol leading the way. He checked the different courners and would nod to his sister, if she was following him, that it was all clear. Leon circled around in the entrance hall, looking for signs of forced entrance, but only found an Itallian coat and a Fedora on the coat rack. "What the hell?" Leon asked quietly. Walking farther into his house, Leon looked about, and his eyes struck the sight before him. His mouth fell open and the gun in his hands followed his hands to his sides. With instinct, Leon put the pistol on safefy and holstered it in his hip holster.

"How? How is it possible?" Leon said, pointing accusingly at the man who sat easily in the chair. "Its been years! and you decide tonight of all nights?" Leon said, his voice rising. He recognized the man damn near instantly. There was no one who sat the way he did, who held himself the way he did, in all the world. It was his brother, as well as Alice's. Scott Ranton, back from the dead. Scott, now smiling at his brother, stood up and bowed his head slightly. "It's good to see you Leon. Ahh... and Alice... you look as lovely as ever..." Scott said, bowing slightly. Hell was about to break loose, for another of Leon's family had returned from the grave. Boy... the dead really liked to come knocking at his door.

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