Redemption
(By "And NEDDIE-BLANGO, I was run over by a fic idea" Zarla)
(Note: I am not responsible fer any mental damage caused by readin this fic.)


Drak sat alone in the room with the lights off. It was night outside, but that made no difference in his decision. He wanted them off.

Ella E hadn't chosen him.

She didn't want him. He wasn't good enough for her. Everything he had done...

What did he have now? He had nothing in his life before she appeared and now he had nothing again. He was alone, she was happy. She probably didn't care. That was unfair to say, but he wanted to believe it.

She hadn't chosen him.

He was alone now. This wasn't his decision. He was here in this house where she lived, staring at things she had bought, hearing things that she said. He was living in a box of needles in this house, where everything he saw or touched or smelt or heard caused his heart to die.

He remembered dying.

Or at least, almost dying.

He had refused, however, fought his way back to life, partly because of Cyrus' abilities and partly because in the end he wanted to come back for her. He wanted to come back for everyone he would leave behind and where was he now? He had no one.

With Ella E's decision, a rift had been created between them. While before, Drak and Ella E could talk, communicate, do things together, now he could barely stand to look at her without knowing that he was not her first choice. It's a terrible thing to know.

He knew that she had to make the decision, that in all logical ways he was not the best potential mate by any means, but it hurt regardless. Despite the fact he had no home, no experience, and limited at best people skills, he wanted to believe that Ella E would look past that. He knew better, though. He was somewhat psychic, after all. He knew that Ella E had made the right decision, even if it wasn't the decision that he desired. He loved her, but even he knew that wasn't enough. That wasn't enough because they all loved her too.

He had a feeling, even at the beginning, that he could not win. When the other three had declared that they also loved her, even then he felt a sinking sensation. He did not believe in himself enough to win. He never thought that Ella E would choose him. He pretended though, for the other's sake and for his own, to put up a fight for her, to try and impress her. He tried hard to convince her that choosing him wasn't a mistake, but it was difficult because it would be a mistake. He had trouble lying to people. He could sense those emanations from others, lingering traces of their thoughts and doubt, and with such limited contact with humans, it was difficult to remind himself that they could not sense his own lies. Mewtwo was psychic as well, therefore rendering a lie irrelevant, and Drak had not had much experience lying to people at all. He was not good at it by any means. He was just not good at interacting with other people. Another point against him in the grand total.

He never thought he would win because there was simply no way.

But he had hoped that he would. It was a sad hope, the kind that he would deny consciously and never give voice to, excepting through his imitations of the other boy's attempts to gain Ella E's attention. Somewhere in him, he hoped for a miracle. He hoped that he would wake up one day and know what to do. He would wake up and know what to say when Ella E started crying, how to fight when she got upset, and how to deal with the jealousy that burned for the other three no matter how friendly they all were. He would wake up and be normal, and know how to do things. He would learn how to make Ella E love him, he would learn how to make himself desirable. He would convince Ella E that he was the right choice. He even hoped that he would not have to change for that outcome to occur, that in the morning...well, Ella E would change. Ella E wouldn't care that Drak had no future and no past and was clumsy and awkward and inconveniently attached to that Mewtwo.

He thought it was stupid, but he hoped for it anyway. Somewhere in him he liked to believe that it would happen and he would feign surprise. He'd imagine how he'd react as Ella E took his hand and told him how she felt. He imagined how his life would progress from that point, even as he logically broke down every argument and support this hope had. It was there and it had never really gone away.

Well, not until today.

Drak did not hope for much in his life. He hoped that his leg would get better and he would stop limping, he hoped for his friends and his loved one's happiness, he hoped for long life. When Ella E decided, it felt like one of the tenuous supports holding him up had collapsed. Drak had struggled with depression through most of his life, but was able to fight it more often then not. This was not one of those times.

He had hoped for so long for something he told himself he never thought would happen, and it didn't. The disappointment at this and in himself for believing something so stupid kept crashing down on him.

I'm sorry, Drak. You know I do like you, it's just that...

You're so stupid. You're so so stupid. How could you ever think

I'm sorry Drak

How could you ever even think something like that would happen

You understand, don't you?

How could you be so stupid how could you be that stupid how could you be so stupid so so so so stupid

He pitied Mewtwo, who shared his mental link and had to endure this constant repeating mantra.

In the dark, he thought about death. Near-death.

He couldn't kill himself. He and Mewtwo were linked too deeply for that. Another complication that he was sure Ella E worked into her equation. How could she love someone who was constantly two people?

He didn't want to hurt Mewtwo, and he didn't want to hurt him by feeling this way. Guilt did not alleviate his sadness in the least. He wished he could cut the invisible cord that constantly connected them, but at the same time Mewtwo had always been such a presence in his mind that the thought of losing him again was unbearable. He remembered when he had been separated from Mewtwo and never having felt that alone in his entire life. Despite the sadness he must have constantly been broadcasting to the Pokémon, he couldn't bear the thought of hurting him or otherwise removing himself from him.

Shame at his weakness, his mental weakness at putting Mewtwo through his constant misery just because he wasn't strong enough to withstand it on his own. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to be like this. He didn't want to feel this way, if only...

There was no way out.

"Are you okay?" It was a common question repeated often after Ella E had announced her decision. Drak never had a good answer.

There was no way out, and Drak felt as if he was choking.

"No, I'm not okay. Leave me alone."

"I understand-"

Not in the mood. He didn't want to hear this, didn't want to hear those familiar words and that common sympathetic routine. Even if it were true, even if Mewtwo knew why he felt the way he did, he didn't want to hear it. He didn't want anyone else to understand, it made his problems seem all the more petty and childish. "You don't understand anything. Leave me alone."

"Drak-"

"This is your fault, you know that?" Drak didn't care his accusations were unfounded. "It was you that made Ella E not choose me." He could feel the confusion and hurt from Mewtwo's side of the mental connection. "You're like an extra person, I put that burden on the house. It was my fault she had to take care of you. She must have hated me for it."

That wasn't why he blamed Mewtwo, but he was sure that the Pokémon knew that anyway.

"You know perfectly well it isn't my fault. You need to calm down and think about this entire thing more clearly."

"I don't want to think about anything anymore." Drak stood from the bed as if Mewtwo could see him do it. As far as he knew Mewtwo was in the backyard somewhere. "Look where I am now for all my thinking! All my thoughts-"

"Listen-"

"I don't have to listen to you! You don't know how it feels!" Drak knew this was false and because of that, he felt even worse. Mewtwo knew exactly how it felt, and Drak was why. "I just want to be left alone."

"Drak, you can't run from this. We can't run from this. We can solve your problems together."

Drak closed the temporary mental connection without warning. "Get out of my head! This is all your fault!"

He stormed out of the room into the hallway which was also dark. What time was it? Didn't matter. He stumbled down the stairs, the ever-present limp almost causing him to fall the bottom six.

He just couldn't live here anymore, looking through that bubble of affection surrounding Ella E and her chosen. Moving in circles and hating the one he loved because she never loved him back. He couldn't hate her. He couldn't handle hating her, he still loved her, but how could she do this, but it made the most sense, but...

He couldn't do this to his friends, who were already concerned that Drak would try to commit suicide. Colt in particular was quite vocal in his concern, which made Drak feel worse. He couldn't do this to them, he couldn't hate them behind a mask of nonchalance, couldn't stand this jealousy he had that was eating away at the friendships that he used to hold so dear.

There was no way out, but he had to leave.

He opened the front door. He had nothing of material value to take with him anyway.

"Where are you going?" Mewtwo's voice was strained with effort. they had lived together for more years then Drak was probably aware and in the process, had built those minor barriers that allowed a little privacy. The difficulty Mewtwo had in breaking through this mental wall was not only the fact that Drak was a skilled psychic, but that Mewtwo was conditioned to respect this attempt at privacy, and to break it...

"I'm leaving. There's nothing here for me anymore."

"That's not true-"

"You aren't coming with me." Drak's voice was hollow and serious. "You're going to stay here with your mother and live a happy life without me." How melodramatic. "I just...I can't deal with this anymore. I don't want to drag you down anymore. I know that you can be happy, you've got your mother and I...I can't have what I want. I can't live with that anymore and I can't make you live with it either. I can't stay here."

"Drak, the others who were rejected aren't taking this nearly as hard as you. You should be glad that Ella E is happy. You are overreacting."

"I don't care! Just...leave me alone, I just want to be alone for a while, okay? Stop talking to me."

"Drak-"

He cut the link as he began to run. A nasty side-effect of a prolonged psychic connection was that his eyes glowed that eerie blue color, but also that he couldn't see clearly. He regained his vision somewhere in the middle of the road, where he barely managed to dodge out of the way of an incoming car. Once out of the way of danger, he stood on the other side and stared at Ella E's house, his body still shaking with the sudden adrenaline.

There was no way out.

He didn't want to be here.

Why did he roll out of the way of the car?

~~~

He wasn't sure exactly how he had wandered back there. He had been scraping by as he aimlessly walked through the cities he passed through, stealing or begging as the need came to him. No one particularly cared who he was and he didn't care who they were.

He didn't care for much of anything these days.

Mewtwo could no longer speak to him, primarily from the extended distance. Even their connection had their limits. Drak had also tried his hardest to shut Mewtwo out of his mind, not wanting to talk to him. He didn't want to hear his cold logic, his explanatory way of solving all his problems.

He didn't want to know how he felt and why. He didn't want to know that he was wrong. He knew he was wrong already. He just wanted to feel and not have a reason.

So he kept Mewtwo away from him. Somewhere in his mind, he knew they were still connected and the opportunity to contact him again, if he tried hard enough, was there. He just had no desire to do so.

He didn't want to talk to anyone.

Drak was sure that he must have looked terrible. He never was one for personal hygiene in the first place, considering his upbringing, and he certainly didn't care much now. He had tried to look nice for Ella E and where had it gotten him?

Nowhere.

That's where he was. He stared at the cave opening in front of him.

He was nowhere. Where he was and should have stayed. He had never belonged in human society. He wasn't supposed to be pretending to fit in, pretending to act like everyone else...

He wasn't human.

He entered the darkness without hesitation. He didn't have a light and he didn't care. May I fall off one of the hidden cliffs and die.

The floor stopped beneath him and he realized that he had, in fact, walked off one of the hidden cliffs.

How ironic.

He felt a tinge of panic, which he quickly stifled.

This is what I want, isn't it?

He tried to remain limp as he hit the ground again, the rocks gouging long furrows into his back and his arms. The sensation sent a wave of pain that felt almost electric throughout his entire body, but he kept his eyes closed and tried to focus on something else. He wanted to die, but he like many he didn't want to feel pain while doing so. Death was an escape from pain, after all.

Such selfish thoughts easily fit with his others. He knew he was selfish for feeling the way that he did. He had tried not to be selfish for too long and it had gotten him nothing. So he was going to be selfish now. Who was going to stop him?

Just a reject...

He vaguely noticed hitting the bottom as he began to lose consciousness.

I can't die...Mewtwo...

But it was a little late for that.

~~~

To his surprise, he woke up.

That was the first thing he did not expect.

Another thing that he did not expect was to be warm.

When he opened his eyes further, he found himself wrapped in some rough kind of blanket. There was a fire burning in front of him. He couldn't see anyone else. That could have just been his vision.

When he moved his arms, he could feel bandages stretching.

He sighed. Someone had found him and saved him.

Another failure...

Well, at least the Mewtwo was still alive. That was something that only crossed his mind rarely for the importance it held. He and Mewtwo were still connected. He couldn't kill himself.

But I want to die so badly...

Someone else walked up through the shadows of the fire. Drak looked upwards, staring at the person's face, then sighed again.

Why am I not surprised...?

"Y'know..." Cyrus kneeled in front of him. "Just when I think you're smart enough to be left by yourself for a few days, you do somethin' like this."

"Leave me alone." Drak mumbled. Cyrus stared at him in disbelief.

"What th' #%@# did you think you were doin', anyway? Practically threw yourself down that cliff, y'know that? I bet you could've stopped yourself if you wanted to. What th' $%@#'s wrong?"

"Leave me alone." Drak repeated.

"Did that stupid girlfriend of yours do somethin' to you?" Cyrus was psychic as well, and it wasn't as if Drak was working particularly hard to stifle his emotions. "Wait...I bet she finally chose out of 'em all an' didn't choose you, right?"

"Leave me alone!" Drak spoke with more energy. "Don't...get involved..."

"That would make you do somethin' that stupid."

"I don't want you to feel bad for me about trying to kill myself." Drak spoke with some measure of sarcasm. "I don't need your sympathy."

"You've never had my sympathy, you dumb#$&." Cyrus crossed his arm. "I don't feel bad for you. If y'want to kill yourself, that's your business. I don't give a @#%@."

"Then why didn't you-"

Cyrus interrupted him. "B's still linked to you, ain't he? You die, he dies. You can kill yerself, kid, but I won't let you kill someone else too."

That was exactly the point Drak didn't want brought up. "Just leave me alone...I don't want to see anyone..."

"Well, let me just say..." Cyrus closed his eyes. "I think 's a #$%# good thing y'got out of that @%$@in' house."

Drak blinked.

"You got any idea how sickenin' that was for me? To watch you, mister 'you can't push me around' get ordered around 'cause you wanted to impress them. Impress her. 'S embarrassin."

Drak remained silent.

"See, kid, you're strong by yourself, like..." Cyrus didn't want to say the name of the place, "...back then...but when you got with th' others, you got all weak."

Drak did not care for personal attacks at this mental state. "I wasn't weak, I was trying to be nice."

"An' look where you are now." Cyrus gestured to their surroundings. "All yer niceness didn't do #$#%. Your girl chose someone else. You got %@#$ed."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Now you got nothin'. Well, 'cept B. Where'd he go, anyway?"

"Mewtwo's not with me." Drak kept his eyes focused on the floor. Cyrus looked at him and blinked.

"What?"

"I didn't want him to come. I told him to stay."

"Why?" Cyrus sounded confused, which was entirely reasonable.

"It's just..." Drak wasn't sure how to express his feelings. He had never had much experience. Mewtwo could just read them. "It's just...Mewtwo would explain everything I was feeling...and I didn't want an explanation...I just..."

Cyrus nodded. "Understand perfectly, kid."

For some reason, this was more believable coming from him then from Mewtwo, despite the lack of mental empathy. "No, you couldn't-"

"'Course I do. I know th' feelin'. Y'don't want anyone to explain how you feel, y'just want t'feel in general...everyone's always like 'Y'know, you are feeling like that 'cause blah blah blah an' some $%@#' an' I was always like "@$%# that! I don't care why I want t'kill you! I jus' WANT to!'"

Cyrus' rendition of an internal struggle caused Drak to smile. "Something like that, yes..."

"Sometimes y'don't want an explanation." Cyrus paused for a second before shrugging and turning away. "Y'didn't need all of 'em anyway, kid. You sure as #$#@ didn't need her."

Drak stared at him after blinking several times. "Of course I needed her, she-"

"You didn't need her for $@#$!" Cyrus' voice raised. "She needed you. Remember when you were stuck there? You didn't need her @%@#in' help. What's th' first thing she does? She goes lookin' for you."

"She was worried about me-"

"She wasn't worried about you at all!" Cyrus continued speaking with a mixture of excitement and anger, apparently glad that he could truly express how he felt about Drak and Ella E's relationship without any kind of repercussion. "She just wanted you to come back an' control B for her."

That wasn't it at all. "No..."

"Think about it, kid. How'd you meet her?"

"She beat me in a battle."

"An' why did you join up with her?"

"She took Mewtwo."

"Do th' math, kid." Cyrus held up one finger. "Ella E," he held up another, "Plus B," he held up his other hand, "Equals you. Ella E minus B..." He put down his finger, then his hand. "No you. 'S all about B."

"She gave me back Mewtwo-"

"After you @$%@in' saved her life! She probably knew that she couldn't control it an' felt she had to pay you back. She don't give a @#%@ 'bout you."

You know I do like you, Drak, it's just

"She has to care about me-"

"Then why isn't she lookin' for you, kid? She ain't lookin' for you 'cause she has both her chosen boyfriend AN' B. What else could she want?"

"I'm sure she's looking for me-"

"How long has it been, kid, since you left?"

"I don't know..." Drak never liked to measure time. "Months, I suppose..."

"She would've found you by now, if she was really looking. She found you before, remember? Took less time then this."

"But..."

"Face it, kid." Cyrus put a hand on his shoulder. "She don't care about you. You're alone now."

"If you're trying to make me feel better, you aren't really succeeding." Drak managed a smile.

"I ain't tryin' to make you feel better." Cyrus stood and walked away. "I jus' want you to know th' truth."

Drak stared at his back as he disappeared back into the darkness.

Cyrus was one of the more unique people he knew in the fact that he said exactly what he felt and didn't care what others thought. Drak wished at points he could share the same sentiment, to be able to put himself as first in his thoughts, saying what he wanted without worrying whether or not he would offend someone. He admired Cyrus' strength in that aspect. To be able to just tell him the truth.

If that was the truth.

Drak smiled bitterly to himself. "I do care too much. But I'm going to change that..."

~~~

"Why are you here?"

Cyrus looked up from what he was doing, which was currently burning some kind of message into the floor with his mental powers. No doubt it was some kind of large obscenity. He shrugged.

"Ain't got anywhere else to stay, do I? I ain't no beggar, I wasn't goin' to leech off you an' stay at your house. So I just stay around here."

"No bed? No blankets?"

Cyrus rolled his eyes and pointed to what was around Drak's shoulders. "There's that, kid."

"Don't you get cold?"

"Pff, cold." Cyrus rolled his eyes again, but didn't really answer the question.

"Is there anyone else here?"

"Yeah..." Cyrus remarked in a strangely nonchalant tone. "There're those two demon things. They come by sometimes."

"Michelle and Gabriella?"

"Yeah, that's them."

Drak thought back. "...Don't you hate them?"

"Ah, they ain't so bad." Cyrus shrugged. "They don't bug me, I don't bug them. They really don't want much. They sure as $%#$ don't have a grudge against me. Once, I forgot about that little cliff you fell off of an' got hurt pretty bad. Not that big a problem when you can heal yourself, but it takes time. Anyway, two found me, didn't kill me when they had th' chance." Cyrus shrugged again. "Guess they don't want t'fight me anymore then I want t'fight them."

"Are they around?" Drak couldn't stifle his instinctual fear of the two. Cyrus made a scoffing noise.

"@#%@ if I know."

"Is there anyone else here?"

"Not that I know of, kid."

"What do you eat around here?"

"What I can find."

"Don't you ever get lonely?"

"What kind of #^#$in' stupid question is that?" Cyrus glared at him then stood. Drak had learned that Cyrus would walk off into the caves for hours on end, not telling where he was going or when he would be back. It reminded Drak at some level of his Mewtwo. As Cyrus vanished into the darkness, he called back, "You're so #%^#in' stupid, kid."

Drak watched him go, wondering why he had reacted the way he had.

Do you ever get lonely?

He wasn't sure what he wanted Cyrus' answer to be.

God, Drak got lonely.

He shrugged and sighed. Closing his eyes, he tried to keep the image of Ella E out of his mind.

Drak opened his eyes again and stared directly into the fire in hope it would block what caused him so much pain.

~~~

"So you are here because you have nowhere else to go."

"That's right."

Drak looked at the green-haired creature that hovered along next to him. Michelle was on his other side. The two had gradually approached him over the course of many days, not speaking at first. Once they decided that Drak was not a threat they began to spend more time with him. They had reacted favorably to his quiet, unobtrusive personality and often traveled with him while he wandered the caves. Drak's temperament was quite different from Cyrus', that was for sure, and he felt that Michelle and Gabriella appreciated his lack of violent mood swings.

They would never speak of their past nor anything else relating to them. They seemed interesting in learning about his, however, and never interrupted him while he spoke. It made him curious as to whether or not the two were collecting information on him. Either way, they were silent company that didn't ask too many questions, so he was appreciative of that. Cyrus rarely would join him for his walks.

"How long do you plan to stay?" Michelle's voice echoed around the caverns.

"I don't know...until I find something I have to do." Drak shrugged. Michelle held up a hand in some kind of semblance of a human gesture, claws shining from the tips of her thin fingers. Drak wasn't sure what kind of message that Michelle wanted to convey through that but decided that she was trying to use some human gestures to make him feel more at home with her. The two actually were concerned at some level for his welfare and wanted him to feel comfortable while he stayed in what they felt was their home.

"What of the other?"

"You mean Cyrus?"

"Is he going to stay?"

Drak sighed. "Well, I hope so...he's the closest thing I have to family here. You two are almost like my friends, but Cyrus is much closer to me then that."

"We understand." The two seemed to say at the same time, although it was hard to determine where their voices came from. Drak trusted them in this. They were very logical about what they did and felt. Another reminder of how Mewtwo commonly spoke...

"I think I might take a walk outside."

Michelle blinked and shook her head. "You cannot. It is raining."

Drak sighed again. "Well, I can watch the rain, I suppose."

"We will join you, if you wish."

"That would be nice."

Drak walked along and listened to the almost inaudible flaps of their wings as they flew at the exact same pace he walked. "If you don't mind me asking..."

No response. Drak took this as an affirmative.

"I'm just curious why you want to do this for me. All these...things. Is there something from me that you want?"

"No. You have nothing that we desire." Michelle's answer was quick. "We simply wish to learn from you. You are the best subject we have had to study so far, one most likely to be found in human society."

"What would you want to learn from me?"

Michelle shrugged, causing her to raise slightly as her wings were still beating. "Nothing that you would understand."

Drak was relieved to find her tone was not hostile. "Well, I do appreciate you coming with me."

Michelle turned her face forward, taking her red eyes from Drak. She didn't say anything. Gabriella remained silent on his other side.

It wasn't long until they reached the cave entrance. Drak sat beneath the protective shade of the cave and settled to watch the rain beat into the earth. The two demon-like creatures slowly perched beside him. Michelle took her place directly next to Gabriella and the two stared forward with frightening intensity. While Drak watched the rain often to think, it seemed that Michelle and Gabriella were really watching the rain.

"Do you do this often?" Drak smiled. Michelle turned to him.

"Occasionally we come this far, but not often. It is not safe, otherwise."

"Not safe?"

"We are attacked on sight due to our appearance. We prefer the darkness within the caves but rain also appeals to us. A-" Michelle started a word, then stopped it abruptly. After a moment's pause, she resumed as if the falsely started sentence had never happened. "We never go farther then where you sit. It is hazardous."

Drak looked down. "That's too bad. There's a great world out there."

"And yet you have come to join us."

Drak fell silent almost immediately at this and turned his gaze back to the rain. Again, her voice was not angry but the simple truth of her statement had cut into Drak's temporary good humor and killed it instantly.

Drak focused on the dark gray. Mist was beginning to form in front of the cave, keeping anything substantial from view. The rain splashed down with frightening intensity. This was a rather bad storm.

Monty liked the rain. So did Colt.

Old friends...

If only Ella E...

Loneliness crashed over him quite suddenly. Michelle and Gabriella had been civil to him, but they were nothing compared to his previous friends. For all the bickering that had gone on when they met to the fights over breakfast at Ella E's house, the four of them had formed such a tight bond. After all, they had all gone through a rather traumatic experience and some of them still bore the scars of it all. Drak's leg was a particularly current example. He knew that Colt would definitely miss him...or at least, show that he missed him perhaps more then the others. He and Colt had connected due to their similar stoic natures, and Drak had felt he could talk to Colt more so then the others. Monty's lighthearted jokes, although he meant well, often went misinterpreted by Drak and Caleb, whenever he was listening, was often interrupted by Colt making some snide comment, and then they'd get to fighting again. At the thought of Colt and Caleb's constant nonstop bickering, Drak couldn't help but smile. He wasn't sure what it was about those two that constantly caused that friction, but in a way he felt they weren't serious. After all, there was that time he had caught them once...

He had spent so much time at Ella E's house having those kind of mini-adventures with his old friends. He was not good at social interaction and had to be dragged into any kind of outing, but somehow, his friends were able to bring that side of him out. Drak did have a side, did have that ability, to enjoy himself...to make those deadpan jokes that they found hysterical, to really enjoy himself with them...

When he left, he thought he had no way out, he thought he was leaving them behind...and here he was, having brought them with him all the way out here. Their jokes, their mannerisms, their peculiarities...their kind words...those times they spent together staring out into the rain...

He thought it hurt to hate them, to feel that jealousy, and now it seemed like missing them hurt more then he could have imagined.

"@$^# kid..." Cyrus was sitting next to him. Drak hadn't even noticed he had came and jumped when he spoke. As Cyrus was becoming more and more isolated from outer society, his accent had become worse. He didn't try to control it. "Y'know how powerful those 'lonely' feelin's y'broadcastin' are? I could feel 'em even if I wasn't psychic."

"What were you doing?"

Cyrus shrugged and glanced towards the two who sat a short distance away, but didn't say anything.

Drak thought back to his friends.

"You could feel that?" How embarrassing.

"Sure, kid. You're pretty #@%#in' lonely. That's what it felt like."

Drak looked down at his hands. He remembered that one time when Monty had invented this elaborate game where he persuaded everyone to paint each other's hand a different color and it involved spinning in circles a lot and matching colors, he couldn't remember exactly...

"It's just...I kind of miss my friends...you know, Colt and Caleb and Monty and everyone..."

"Friends." Cyrus laughed without humor. "They weren't your friends, kid. They would've #^#$ed you over first chance they got t'get at that girl of yours."

No.

"Everything I used to have has to be evil to you, doesn't it!?" Drak glared at Cyrus with sudden hatred in his voice. "Can't anything I used to know be good? For God's sake, there's more, there's more what I used to have then just, just evil things, okay? They were my friends, all right? They cared about me a lot and it's not their fault that..."

That I'm out here...

Cyrus looked surprised the sudden attack, evidently not thinking it would strike such a sensitive nerve. He quickly softened his tone. "Ah jeez, look, 'm sorry, kid, that was too soon. I mean, th' whole deal with your girl an' then I attack your friends. Bet they really were y'friends, kid."

There was a minute of silence only broken by the hiss of rain. Cyrus sighed, a hand held to his lips. He didn't have a cigarette, but the motions remained. Drak idly wondered how long it had been since Cyrus smoked. Was that where he went all the time?

"But they ain't here now." Cyrus mumbled. "Y'just got t'deal with that."

"I...I don't want to..." Drak stared out at the rain as his previous anger dissipated. It was replaced with the deep overwhelming sadness he knew so well. "I...I left them because I couldn't stand...hating them and yet...it feels like everything I ever cared about turned its back on me. I have nothing now...I have no one..."

Cyrus laughed for a second, although this time it was genuine. "Hey, y'still got me."

Old friends...

I'm sorry, Drak

"Ella E..." He felt his eyes sting. "Why did you...I wish it could have been different. Why couldn't I have been enough, could have been something for you..."

To his surprise, he felt Cyrus' arm around his shoulders. "Christ, kid, it ain't your fault...she made th' #$^@in' wrong decision in my opinion. Her loss. Y'should just let it be."

Drak sighed. "How can I do that? She changed my entire life...she was my life...and now, she's gone...I always thought she'd leave, you know. I never really thought...that I'd actually...keep her with me all this time. I always knew but...I always wanted her anyway..."

"No one's that important, kid. She wasn't your life. Y'got your own life. She was just a part that came an' went an' there's nothin' y'can do about it."

Drak did not feel any comfort at Cyrus' words, but more at his actions. Feeling someone put an arm around his shoulders made him feel slightly better. He felt as if no one had touched him affectionately in months, which actually was probably true.

Depression swept over him again, a familiar dampening of thought and emotion. He found himself leaning against Cyrus, his eyes staring forward without seeing anything. He expected Cyrus to recoil from being touched but was surprised to find he didn't move. Cyrus just kept his arm around him.

The two stared at the rain in silence for a while.

"After all, y'still got me. I got t'be somethin'."

"You are something, Cyrus..." The mist was getting heavier. "I just don't know what."

~~~

"Have you ever been in love?"

"What kind of #$^#in' stupid question is that?!"

Drak was sitting beside the fire again with Michelle and Gabriella beside him. Cyrus reacted rather badly to his comment by the traces of energy beginning to form around his hands. Drak immediately retreated.

"I was just curious. I'm sorry. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"#$^# kid..." Cyrus sat down again and the glow faded. He probably didn't even notice it was there. Michelle and Gabriella watched this with no reaction. "Y'got some @$^$in' stupid questions."

"I'm sorry." Drak looked away. He wasn't really, but he definitely didn't want Cyrus to get mad at him. "It's just, I wanted to know if someone felt like I did. You know, all hurt inside."

"You did not ask us, but that is understandable." Michelle spoke from beside him which caused him to jump slightly. "I do not blame you."

"I'm sorry." Drak apologized yet again, although this time he did mean it. He had forgotten the two were there completely.

"Do not worry. We have not been in love." Michelle's voice did not change tone. "So asking us would have been useless anyway."

Cyrus moved until he was sitting next to Drak, still staring at him as if Drak had insulted him somehow. A cigarette burned between Cyrus' fingers that caused Drak to cough slightly. Where did he get those, anyway?

Noting Drak's displeasure, Cyrus moved his hand until the smoke was wafting in a different direction. Michelle was sitting in this new direction and, at the scent of the smoke, she spread her wings and flew upwards until she could latch her claws into a stalactite. She perched there upside-down without any change in expression to note this was different then sitting upright. Within the beats of matching wings, Gabriella was soon beside Michelle, the two sharing the stalactite and staring down at Cyrus and Drak. From this vantage point, they greatly resembled bats.

Cyrus and Drak waited until they finished moving before speaking again.
"Well, in answer t'yer question, I was in love once." Drak barely stifled a surprised noise. "Not th' way you were, more like a mom'n'dad thing."

"You had parents?" Drak couldn't remove the obvious surprise in his voice, although at Cyrus' angry stare he wished he could. Drak quickly changed his tone. "I didn't know..."

"Had." Cyrus stared directly forward, his face set in stone. "They're dead now. My fault, of course." For such a delicate topic, Cyrus' voice was surprisingly monotone. Somehow, that spoke more of his grief then tears. "So I know what y'mean when it hurts t'fall in love, even tho' it isn't quite th'same thing."

How do I respond to that?

He didn't want to probe any further. "But never love...like I had, right?"

"No. I mean, think about it kid." Cyrus' voice was becoming incredibly bitter. He gestured at himself. "I'm a freak. Who'd fall in love with me, anyway?"

"You're being too hard on yourself." Drak hardly noticed Cyrus' strange appearance due to his constant exposure. Then again, Drak had lived with a huge white and purple psychic Pokémon for almost his entire life. "You're...not bad looking at all."

"Yer a #$#@in' bad liar." Cyrus inhaled on his cigarette shakily. "Only two people ever loved me, they're dead 'cause of me, end of story."

"You're blaming everything on your appearance." Drak pointed at him. "That's really not fair. I've gotten used to how you look. I don't think it's really that big a deal."

Cyrus didn't respond, so Drak continued. "But I think what really makes people avoid you is that you just don't want to talk to people at all."

Cyrus turned towards him. "@#%# you."

"I'm serious." Drak felt a vague tinge of familiarity, perhaps from some previous conversation he had had with Cyrus. "You chase everyone away before they can get to know you."

Drak expected another sharp obscenity and Cyrus to again head off into the caves, but surprisingly Cyrus continued the conversation.

"Good thing too." Cyrus blew a puff of smoke forward, making a note to avoid where Michelle and Gabriella were hanging. "Anyone who gets close t'me dies."

Drak somehow did not believe that. "How many people have died because they loved you?"

"Two. But that's enough."

"Cyrus, you can't let your past control you like this. You can't be scared to try new things just because some bad things happened."

"What do you know, kid." Cyrus sighed. "You're a %#&$in' hypocrite, talkin' 'bout forgettin' your past when y'can't #$^@in' get over that stupid whore, 'scuse me, girlfriend of yours. #$^& you, y'don't know what 's like to be me."

Drak ignored the insult, intent on getting the point across. "You have to give other people a chance, Cyrus. Or else you're going to miss out."

"Y'know what, #^#$ other people. I don't want 'em an' they don't want me."

"Think about it. If you hadn't tried to reach out to me, I wouldn't be here right now." And I'm not a hypocrite.

"I didn't try an' 'reach out t'you', kid." Cyrus' voice was mocking. "Y'just happened t'be there when...'it' happened."

"Still...afterwards, you could've pushed me away. You could've gotten rid of me lots of times. But you never did. You even saved my life and you didn't have to. So here I am, staying with you here. You're not alone anymore."

Cyrus didn't look at him. "I'm always alone. I'm always #$^$in' alone."

Drak was familiar with the role of the comforting quiet listener. The hypocrite comment still bothered him, but he was intent on not letting Cyrus cut this off with angry words.

"You don't have to be." Drak touched his shoulder and expected him to shy away. He was surprised to find Cyrus almost didn't react. "No one ever has to be alone all the time."

"Y'don't know anythin', kid. It ain't somethin' I can change. There's not a #^#$in' thin' I can do about it."

"Cyrus-"

"Sometimes..." Cyrus sighed. "Sometimes I wonder what it'd be like if I wasn't...alone anymore." His voice took a sharper edge, although his anger seemed self-directed. "But what th' #$%$ am I talkin' about? Might as well accept it. It ain't goin' away."

"There's one thing about loneliness, Cyrus." Drak tried to get Cyrus to look at him, but he was staring deep into the fire. "You have to try and make it go away. You can't just accept it and hope it leaves."

"That's just it, kid." Cyrus shook his head back and forth slowly. "I may be lonely, but I don't want anyone hurt 'cause of me. Everyone who gets attached t'me get hurt."

That sounds familiar. That's why I left.

That's why I felt lonely before, but...

"I've gotten attached to you, and nothing's happened to me."

Cyrus was silent and did not speak.

Drak wasn't sure of what else to do when Cyrus got like this, so he hugged him. He wasn't sure where the urge to do so came from, but he remembered doing it before and getting some kind of response.

"Don't touch me..." Cyrus' voice was soft and held no threat. Drak did not move. He could hear the rustling of wings above and the crackling of fire as he closed his eyes.

~~~

It was always Cyrus that brought him his food, although Drak never knew where it came from nor what it was. He knew better then to ask, as he most likely did not want to know the answer.

While Cyrus left him, Gabriella and Michelle remained with him. He noted that the two were rarely if ever apart and spent the majority of their time simply staring at him or staring at something that he could not see.

It was as if they were statues that never spoke unless he asked them to.

He was lonely...

He longed for someone to fill the hole that leaving Ella E's house had left in his life. Just someone that would be his friend...a real friend...

Perhaps more then that...

He sighed deeply, holding the tattered blanket around his shoulders. It rarely left him these days, as the temperature within the caves stayed steady at a rather nippy temperature. Cyrus was either not affected by it or he was simply hiding it. Drak could never tell with him.

Staring at the pile of sticks in front of him, he wondered where they came from briefly until he remembered that Michelle and Gabriella had brought them. Accessing his own mental power, he was able to start a small flame. It eventually grew until it began to warm him. His clothes had been badly ripped as he had fallen down the cliff (such a stupid thing to do) and he had no way of fixing the problem. So he had to rely on outside sources for warmth.

There was so little to do here that he found himself focusing his whole being on completing such simple tasks.

When Cyrus returned, he seemed different, although Drak could not quite place why. He was unsteady on his feet and his face was flushed somewhat. He said nothing to Drak and just laid down near the fire, shivering from what Drak supposed must have been the cold. Drak was concerned but wasn't sure how to ask him what was wrong. He was so bad at this.

Michelle and Gabriella had simply left when Cyrus had arrived, sensing that their presence was no longer needed.

Drak pulled the blanket from his shoulders, noting the instant prickling of his skin in response to the sudden cold, and put it over Cyrus. At the contact Cyrus sat up and stared down at the blanket in confusion. He turned to Drak, then looked back and forth between the blanket and the boy as if trying to connect them together.

"What're you doing?" His voice was angry and indignant. Not sure of why Cyrus was reacting so badly, Drak shrugged, ignoring the now painful cold about his previously protected shoulders.

"You seemed cold, that's all."

"You're more cold then me." Cyrus ripped the blanket off and nearly threw it back at him. "Don't be so @%@#in' stupid all th' time, kid."

"I'm not being stupid." He can be so childish sometimes...! "I'm just worried about you."

Cyrus narrowed his eyes. "That's stupid right there, but that's not what I was talkin' 'bout."

"Well?" Drak resisted the urge to give him back the blanket. Cyrus pointed at him, his hand shaking violently.

"You...y'always got t'put someone else first, right kid? Y'shouldn't be worryin' over how cold I am, y'should be worryin' 'bout how cold you are. After all, 's your body, ain't it? You should take care of yourself."

"You're my friend, Cyrus, and I'm worried about you." Drak picked the blanket back up. "You just...I don't know, there's something wrong..."

"@$@#, nothin's wrong with me. I'm fine." Cyrus turned away from Drak, curled into a ball, and continued shivering. Drak watched him for a few moments. Finally, with a shrug Drak lied down near him so the fire could warm his back.

"Aren't you cold?" He asked Cyrus.

Cyrus responded by swearing at him.

"I'm just curious. If you are, you shouldn't lie about it. It's not like I would think less of you...you're just shivering a lot, and it's really cold tonight..."

Cyrus didn't respond.

"I was thinking maybe we could take turns. By the fire I mean. We could heat some rocks and put them against our backs and we can take turns sleeping. That way, we can stay warm."

Nothing. Sighing at his behavior, Drak placed some large rocks near the fire anyway. Returning his concerned gaze back to where Cyrus lay, he found that the man was sitting upwards and staring at him.

"If it'll make you shut th' #@%# up an' let me get some sleep, fine. I don't care."

Drak smiled at him.

"Okay, I swear that if you just go along with this, I won't say anything else."

"Good." Cyrus' voice was weak, from what Drak didn't know, as he turned back towards the fire. Drak stared at the rocks he had set nearby.

"It'll be a little while..."

"Whatever..." Cyrus' response was mumbled and almost incoherent. Drak turned his eyes towards the fire, letting Cyrus fall asleep. He found his thoughts wandering back to his previous life.

Old friends...

I just...I just want someone to care about me again...I left them, I know it, I know I did and I know why, but still, if I can't go back...I want someone to care about again...I hate being alone. I hate being alone so much.

"Cyrus..." Drak's voice was soft, but it was pointless anyway. As he turned to speak to him, he found Cyrus asleep. Sighing, Drak picked up the rocks that had heated and put them against Cyrus' back. Strangely, it seemed to have almost no effect on him as he continued to shiver as if he were cold. Drak knelt next to him.

"Cyrus, are you okay?" He couldn't force his voice above a whisper. He touched Cyrus' hand lightly and he convulsively grabbed his wrist with surprising strength. He tried not to gasp from the painful pressure that Cyrus was exerting, trying to watch and find out why he was acting this way.

Cyrus' face easily revealed the amount of pain he was in, but also showed the internal struggle that must have been going on within Cyrus against revealing or succumbing to such pain. Drak wasn't sure what was going on but knew that he had to do something.
He pulled the blanket over Cyrus again, trying to hold his shaking body still. Cyrus' continued to shake despite his efforts. He kept the death-grip on Drak's wrist as well, which got Drak to wonder. Perhaps Cyrus wanted something that he could use to release his stress or safely express his pain. Maybe...

He hoped Cyrus wouldn't kill him for this.

Slowly, he lied down next to him and pulled Cyrus' arm over his own body. Cyrus' pain-guided instincts made him nearly crush the boy as he tightened the arm around his chest. Drak gasped but tried not to wake him.

He would allow Cyrus to hurt him like this for now...he needed something to hurt to avoid his own pain.

His chest against the fire and his back against Cyrus, Drak tried to ignore the burning pain from the tight grip he was in and focus on the fact that for once, he was actually warm.

~~~

Drak kept waking up in starts and stops, the fire burning down more and more as he continued to fall in and out of sleep. Finally, he forced himself truly awake in order to replenish the waning flame. He sat up, rekindled the fire without much mental effort, and looked at Cyrus.

Cyrus' face was now definitely flushed and he seemed to be sweating, although Drak was shivering from the sudden cold of being separated from his source of warmth. He was breathing in short gasps.

"Cyrus? Cyrus!" Drak shook Cyrus' shoulder, trying to bring him back into the real world. Cyrus didn't react for quite some time, but when he did it was subtle. He opened his eyes a small crack, noting that it was Drak.

"Kid..."

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"Somethin'...bit me...'while 'go..." Cyrus managed to breath his words throughout what seemed to be racking pains through his chest. "Maybe...poison..."

Drak touched Cyrus' forehead and recoiled sharply at the heat that he felt. "Why didn't you tell me? You weren't like this before, you were shivering...can't you heal yourself?"

Cyrus was unable to speak anymore. He only made a slight noise and tried to breath.
Drak was overcome with sudden panic. What would he do if Cyrus died? He had spent so much time here with him and now that he had left everyone else behind Cyrus was the only person he had and he couldn't be alone, he couldn't handle this completely alone anymore...

He had to do something.

He grabbed the front of Cyrus' shirt with faintly glowing blue hands. Cyrus did not react, apparently still too focused on getting air into his lungs. With a smooth movement, Drak ripped the front of the shirt, revealing Cyrus' narrow chest.

"Cyrus, you can't die! You can't..." Drak wasn't sure of what else to say. He noted the edge of the letters that had been burned into Cyrus' arm.

This did seem to help Cyrus somewhat. His breathing slowed and his eyes opened. He turned his head towards Drak.

"^@#@ it, kid...that was...m'only ^#@#in' shirt..." Cyrus coughed as he tried to laugh.
"Don't say anything, you should try to, try and sleep." Drak was panicked. He didn't know how to deal with sick people. He tried to dig into his memories of books for information, but at the moment he was so stressed he could think of nothing. Cyrus scoffed at him.

"Eh...been sleepin'...for too long...didn't do @%@#..."

"C'mon Cyrus, can't you heal yourself? This shouldn't be a problem for you..."

"Takes...time, kid..." Cyrus tried to move but his body wouldn't respond. "It'll take...a while 'fore this...wears off..."

Drak took the blanket and took hold of Cyrus' shoulder. He was surprisingly light and easy to lift off the ground of the cave, allowing him to spread the thin blanket on the rock Cyrus had been sleeping on. His head rested against Drak's shoulder.

"This should help protect your back, so..."

"Kid...I can't move..." Cyrus would have sounded panicked if it was possible for his voice at the moment, which was weak and soft. "Can't move..."

Drak remembered this and knew what memories this brought back for Cyrus, what he had endured in a psychopath's hands. "Listen to me, Cyrus. You're not there anymore, okay? She's gone. She can't hurt you here. You're here with me, not anyone else. You're safe. You just can't move because you're sick, okay? Don't think about it..."

Cyrus, apparently sliding into feverish dementia, wrapped his arms around Drak tightly and closed his eyes. "Oh god, kid...'s happenin'...again..."

"No, no it's not!" More then anything, he couldn't let Cyrus regress back to that time. There was no way it could be beneficial at all to his current state. He had to stop him, remind him of where he was, remind him that it was all right and safe to sleep and heal. He had to remind Cyrus that he was here. He responded to his movements by putting his own arms around Cyrus, although he was not holding on nearly as tightly. "Cyrus listen, it's not happening again, it's over, it'll never happen again. She's gone, she can't find you, she's nowhere even near you, don't worry..."

"I can't move..." Cyrus' voice cracked. "Totally...helpless...can't..."

"No, no, you're not helpless, Cyrus, okay? You're not helpless at all, you're very strong." Drak wasn't sure what to say. He just had to keep talking. Cyrus held onto him as if afraid he would disappear.

"She's...not here..."

"No she isn't, it's just me, okay? It's just Drak, I'm here."

"Kid...yer so...yer really goin'...t'keep me safe from 'er...right...?"

"Of course I am, I promised I would, didn't I?" Drak noted how Cyrus beginning to calm down. "I promised that it would never happen again and it won't. Not as long as I'm around. I'll never ever let her hurt you again, I swear."

"Kid...sometimes y'remind me...of...them..." Cyrus allowed his arms to fall as Drak slowly lowered him back on the floor, making sure his back was on the blanket.

Drak paused before speaking, knowing this was a tender subject. "Your parents?"

"Yeah...but there's somethin'...different too...don't know what it is tho'..."

Taking the ripped parts of Cyrus' shirt, he put them underneath Cyrus' head as a makeshift pillow. It wasn't much, but it was something. "I'll try and heat up some more rocks for you so you can be warm, okay?"

"Don't go..." Cyrus' voice stopped Drak instantly. "She'll get me...if y'go..."

"She won't get you, don't worry..." Drak tried to reassure Cyrus, but he was never good at this.

"Don't leave, kid...yer th' only one...who can stop her..."

"She's not here..." Drak was hurt by the terror that was in Cyrus' eyes. The experience had scarred him deeply and seeing fear of this nature was strange. Drak couldn't see any other option. He stayed where he was.

"But I'll stay if you want me to."

"Thank god..."

Trusting in Drak's ability to protect him, Cyrus turned his head to one side, closed his eyes, and apparently fell sleep.

Drak thought about this.

A few moments ago, Cyrus had been convinced that he was back with Dr. Kagakusha and, with just some words and sincerity, he fell asleep.

Trust. Cyrus must have really trusted him, even in the depths of feverish delusions.

Drak waited until his breathing was regular before fetching some more of the rocks. He hoped that Cyrus would fall asleep again. As it was, Drak knew nothing of how to treat sickness of this severity. All he knew was that sleep was always a good thing to do. So that was what he advised.

When he came back, he found that Cyrus had somehow turned on his stomach. He still seemed to be asleep, however. He doubted that Cyrus would be sleeping restfully tonight.

Carefully placing the rocks around him so they would warm, but not burn his skin, Drak stared at Cyrus' pale back. He noted there were many thin scars that ran across it. Not thick, heavy, or deep scars one might get from being beaten with a cane or a whip. These were thin scars, like that made of a needle being dragged across or under the skin. Drak wondered how many tests Cyrus had endured and how many of these kind of medical scars decorated his skin.

Trying to find another way ease his pain, as Cyrus sounded as if it were a great effort just to breath, Drak placed a hand on his back. Normally, he might have suspected that Cyrus would have told him "t'get his #&#%in' hand off him," but at this moment he probably wanted or needed the contact from another human being. Drak got the impression that Cyrus was feeling alone and thus had reacted so strongly when Drak tried to leave.

It was terrible being alone.

Cyrus didn't react to the slight pressure. Drak rubbed at Cyrus back distractedly, thinking of what he was going to do. There probably wasn't harm in it, considering. He was sure that Cyrus must be rather tense.

At one certain area, on Cyrus' left side near the bottom of his ribcage, he twitched.
Wary that he might awaken, Drak waited in silence. Cyrus still seemed to be sleeping fairly peacefully. Curious, Drak rubbed the area again and he noted Cyrus' leg twitching slightly with each motion.

He increased the speed and the twitching began to come regularly, following his movements exactly.

He remembered Ella E petting her Growlithe...how there was this one area on Growlissa's stomach where if you scratched it, she would thump her leg wildly. Perhaps this was what was happening now. Some of Cyrus' Pokémon side had suddenly become painfully evident. Like any common furry Pokémon, Cyrus would twitch if you rubbed a certain spot. What Ella E called the "ticklish spot."

This saddened Drak for some reason. It seemed too...too inhuman to him for a trait associated with Cyrus. He preferred to think of Cyrus as a human, not anything else, and such animalistic reactions bothered him.

He looked at Cyrus' face. Still asleep. He reached out again and rubbed the spot, noting the strange look that came over Cyrus' face as his leg began to twitch once more.

Drak stopped, angry at himself for doing it again. He laid down next to Cyrus, who was facing him, his eyes lining up directly with the letters that had been burnt into his skin. Letters that Drak hated, because they were always something that would separate Cyrus from him. Separate Cyrus from himself.

Drak closed his eyes, feeling Cyrus's soft breath ruffling his hair. He often found himself wondering why Cyrus ever put up with him. He seemed to be just the kind of person that a person like Cyrus would hate...and yet, he trusted him so deeply, so completely...

He was glad to be here with him, to have someone that he knew placed some value on his life. He felt as if those he had left behind had never given him a second thought, as he had been wandering for too long...they would have found him by now if they wanted him. So he was alone...he had finally severed all ties he had with the world and had unintentionally entered into Cyrus', a world he found more hospitable and pleasant at times then the one he left behind.

The rock's heat was gradually fading...Drak found himself shivering. Nudging closer to Cyrus, he tried to use his body heat as a source of warmth. Cyrus almost didn't react, apparently, deep in sleep.

Drak almost fell asleep himself when he noted that Cyrus was moving. Opening his eyes, he watched as Cyrus' arm wrapped around his chest and pulled him close, holding him firmly. Drak was at first surprised, then curious. Why would Cyrus do something like that, even in sleep?

Perhaps he was cold...or perhaps the animal instincts within him told him to get close to whatever was already close by.

That must have been it...Drak had awoken the Pokémon side of Cyrus and it had done this without thought.

Although Drak felt as if he had explained it away, he still felt his depression lingering. If anything, stronger then before. Why...was it because he wanted it to mean something else?

He tried not to think about it as he fell asleep.

~~~

"Hey, kid."

Drak woke slowly, finding Cyrus' strange eyes staring at his own. "Huh...? Cyrus?"

"M'better now, if that's what your wonderin'." Cyrus turned away for a moment, seeming busy with something. "M'thanks t'you."

Drak pushed himself upwards, finding that Cyrus had taken the remains of his shirt and had wrapped it around himself as well as he could, giving the impression of him wearing a ragged cloak. "You're okay?"

"Yeah, 's gone now. Th' sickness, I mean. Y'really did a good job of takin' care of me, kid. Thanks."

"It was my pleasure." Drak held his own head at a sudden surge of dizziness. "I couldn't let you die or anything."

Cyrus smirked to himself. "Tho' it was a #^#$in' surprise t'find y'huggin' me in th' night, I must say."

Drak tried to look surprised. "Me? You did that."

"No I didn't. I'd never do anythin' so stupid. Y'wouldn't want me touchin' you anyway." Cyrus turned his eyes away and although he most likely meant for his words to be facetious, they, to Drak, sounded far too serious.

"Cyrus..."

"#&%#, that was a joke, kid." Cyrus seemed to have realized how he must have sounded. "Didn't mean it."

Drak moved until he was sitting next to Cyrus, putting a cautious hand around his shoulders. "Cyrus, listen. Why do you think I wouldn't want you to touch me?"

Cyrus was silent for a few moments.

Without any warning he grabbed Drak's other arm and pulled Drak into an embrace. He kissed him with what seemed to be a mixture of hope, fear, and desperation.

When he broke away, the first whispered words that came from Cyrus' mouth made the hair on Drak's arms rise.

"Well, for one thing...I'd touch you like that...second...I ain't @$^#in' worthy to do ^#%# like that t'someone like you...so..."

Cyrus released Drak and buried his hands in his hair. Drak watched him as he touched his own mouth with his fingers. Everything that he felt seemed heightened somehow, his senses enhanced. Shaking slightly, he stare