"Brian?”

Brian jumped and looked up. He sighed, a small smile on his face. “Hey.”

“Hey there,” Kevin greeted as he moved closer. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Liar.”

Brian stiffened and turned away.

“I’m sorry, cous.”

Brian shrugged. “It’s okay.”

“Tell me the truth,” Kevin requested after a moment, squatting down beside him. “Are you okay?”

He waited for the younger man’s answer, but Brian continued to stare at the rug in silence.

“Did I do the right thing?” he finally asked.

“What?”

“Coming here. Agreeing to this project. When that guy came up to me in the store… I thought I was gonna get torn to pieces. And then last night another guy just glared at me all through rehearsal. I could barely concentrate.”

“They hate a person that’s no longer there, don’t they?”

“They hate him because he was a monster that destroyed their lives,” Brian retorted. “But he was a monster because I was trained that way.”

“Brian—“

Their eyes met. “Kevin, I was in training long before I ever became Kael. Don’t try to correct me this time, because it’s true. He wanted me to train along with the rest of his soldiers,” his gaze moved away, “and because I was under the delusion that I was protecting my family by serving him, I went along with it.”

Kevin’s eyes widened. “Brian, don’t say that! You were trying to protect your family. Granted, it wasn’t the best method--“

Brian set his gaze to Kevin’s. “If I had actually given him the amulets like I was ordered to do, I wouldn’t have had a family or even friends to protect. Zator would have destroyed Earth the first moment he had, and I probably would have assisted him had it not been for you and the others.”

Silence fell as Brian finished with a frustrated sigh. Kevin stared at him, aghast.

“You were in his service that deep?”

Brian closed his eyes and nodded. Kevin sat beside him in shocked silence, shaking his head.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“Wasn’t your fault,” Brian murmured.

“What… what was the training like? What were you put through?”

Brian cringed as the memory invaded his mind of the nightmare that sent him to the living room turning all lights on. “At first it was awful, but the longer I stayed and trained, the easier it was to bear. But the first couple of weeks… Every other day was a failure. To be honest, I… I just had a nightmare about one session.”

Kevin looked up in interest. “You want to tell me about it?”

“Not really.”

“It might help,” Kevin said carefully.

Brian sighed. “Well…”

~~

The lights rose to reveal the ceiling of the large training room he’d been using for the past hour. His head throbbed where it had hit the floor when he’d fallen flat on his back. He had missed when he should have dodged and attacked his “enemy”. He took care as he rolled over on his side, groaning when he got up on his elbow. His heart beat faster as he heard the familiar hiss of the training room door slide open. Raising his gaze, Brian recognized his new master’s black and red boots as he stood in the doorway, his shadow reaching deep into the room. His eyes continued up to see Zator’s grim face watching him, his dark eyes darker with annoyance.

Brian gulped and climbed to his feet as Zator entered the room. He tried to meet the Emperor’s eyes, but looked away after a second.

“I’m disappointed, human,” Zator declared. “This hasn’t been your first failure in training.”

“I-I know sir,” Brian replied as he tried to meet Zator’s eyes. “It’s just difficult. I’m trying as hard as I can.”

Zator’s eyes narrowed. “Are you?” he demanded. “You promised willing service as long as I would let your family stay safe. Are you going back on that?”

Brian’s eyes widened. “No sir! I… I’ll try harder. I will.”

“Good, that’s what I want to see. Reset the hologram. I’ll be watching you.”

Brian nodded. “Aye, sir.”

“I don’t mean just here for training,” Zator clarified as he started to turn. “I’ll be watching for any moment that you would betray me.”

When the door closed behind the Emperor, Brian took a deep breath and spoke. “Reactivate.”

As the room darkened, Brian immediately whirled around, going into a fighting stance in preparation.

~~

“Man,” Kevin muttered.

“That wasn’t the worst he did to me though.”

“No?”

Brian shook his head. “The worst were his subtle lies that got me to go deeper into his service and become Kael.”

"Lies?" Kevin repeated. "Like what?"

Brian swallowed. "Like... like my parents only wanted to have me so they could enjoy watching me and Harry argue." Brian shook his head. "And I remembered that there were times when they laughed at our arguments."

"Well, no offense meant Brian, but some of your arguments were pretty stupid. But that's typical. Kids always have stupid arguments, not just you and Harry."

Brian's lips twitched. "I know. 'Mom! Harry stole my pen and he won't give it back!' That was dumb. I ended up busting his lip because of it."

Kevin chuckled. "That one wasn't the worst though. I could give you plenty."

"Yeah, I bet you could. Since you were involved in about half of them.” His smile dropped. “But..."

"But?"

"But that lie wasn't the one that hurt the most."

"Really? What was?"

Brian exhaled slowly. "That... that if my family and friends really loved me, you would have come after me already. And that you and the others in the group didn't really like me, you just needed me in order to make money.”

Kevin gaped. "Brian you don't believe that, do you?"

Brian looked at his cousin's eyes for a second, and then looked quickly away.

Kevin shook his head. "We didn't come after you because we never knew you were with him until you'd already been in his service for a month. And as for the group... you know it's not about the money. It was never about the money. When the five of us are together, everything just clicks. It's not about an individual's particular talents; it's about how it all blends and becomes something more... something very special.”

Brian hung his head. Even after a year, that lie still held sway in his mind. “I’m sorry, Kevin. I shouldn’t have believed it, but… he’s very convincing.”

“I know. Zanell warned us about that the first time we met her, remember?”

Brian winced. “Yeah.”

Kevin sighed, shaking his head. “No wonder you didn’t sound convinced that Kael’s dead.”

"So many of Zator's lies still worried me, still hung around me like a heavy weight. A lot... a lot of them got cleared up when you forgave me."

"Brian-"

"We should get some sleep.” He stood. “We've got a busy day ahead of us.”

Kevin stared in surprise at Brian's sudden reluctance to talk. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm just tired," Brian insisted. "I didn't get a whole lot of sleep."

Kevin knew something was up, but he decided that pushing his cousin at this point wouldn't work.

"Well, remember that if you want to talk... any time... just knock on my door," the older man said carefully.

"Thanks," Brian replied, "I'll take you up on that."

Kevin watched the younger man head off to bed and wondered how long he had been awake.

He'll talk when he's ready, he thought as he headed back to his room.

~~

"All right Kevin, now don't move." Kevin rolled his eyes. "I haven't moved for ten minutes. I'm not going anywhere."

Despite his grumbling, there was a glimmer of amusement in his green eyes. Normally, a photoshoot – even for a good cause – was a tedious, boring affair that none of the boys particularly liked. But this one was somehow different. The sky was slightly overcast, making lighting conditions perfect for shooting outdoors. The large Community Park had been chosen for the location, and the photographer and his assistant kept an undercurrent of humor going. Even after an hour, the group was still relaxed.

"Ah, come on, Kev," Nick teased. "You know you love to be the center of attention. After all, you have to keep all those... mature... fans happy!"

"At least I don't have to worry about eleven and twelve year olds chasing me down the sidewalk," Kevin retorted, grinning back.

Howie chuckled. "Hey, I love 'em all," he said.

"We know," said Brian and AJ in perfect unison.

"Hope it doesn't rain," Nick remarked after a few minutes.

"Even if it does," AJ said, "the fans will certainly enjoy those pictures."

The photo shoot concluded half an hour later and everyone agreed that it had been the best one that they'd done.

"I haven't had that much fun during a shoot in a long time," Brian remarked to Kevin as he grabbed a couple of chocolate Dunkin Donuts.

"Me neither," Kevin agreed, handing Brian a cup of apple cider and grabbing a doughnut for himself.

"Enjoyed that, did you?"

Brian turned at the heavy foreign accent to see one of the photography crewmen standing behind him. At least he thought the man was photography.

"Yeah, we did," he replied. "I've enjoyed family life, but I've kinda missed this."

"Yeah, it's funny how you can miss the things you used to do. Or the person you used to be."

Brian looked up sharply, the statement striking an odd chord. He gave the man a closer look. There was something... familiar... about him.

"Maybe you like the change from the person you used to be," the man continued.

"What… what do you mean?"

The man grinned. "Perhaps that person you were before," he leaned in closer and slipped into a different language, “was a monster."

Brian froze. He knew that language almost as well as he knew his native tongue. But it had been a year since he'd spoken it.

He set his food and drink back on the table and faced his former Zophacian colleague. “How did you find me?”

The man laughed. "Do you really think it would be that hard? You didn't just disappear when you left your master for Earth. All we had to do was look."

Brian scowled. "He is not my master."

"Oh really? Then who is he?"

"He's a monster that finds pleasure in destruction," Brian spat.

The soldier chuckled. "So did you, once upon a time."

Brian stiffened and glanced around for the photographer and his assistant, but they were gone. "Kael loved it."

"Like I said. You swore everlasting loyalty to the Emperor and you betrayed him, Kael.”

“I am not Kael!”

"We'll see."

With that, the soldier turned and left, chuckling. Brian glared at his back until he was out of sight.

"Brian?"

He blinked. He'd forgotten that he wasn't alone. Turning, he saw Nick staring wide-eyed at him. The others wore similar expressions.

"What was that?" AJ asked.

“That was one of Zator’s soldiers. Apparently he’s been looking for me since I left.”

"You were speaking Zophacian!" Nick cried. "How? Zanell said it was a difficult language to learn."

"You'd be surprised how much you can learn in a month with a ship full of people speaking the same language," Brian replied. "You tend to pick it up a little quicker. And Zator taught me most of the time."

“Zator taught you?”

“Yes, Howie, Zator taught me. There’s nothing wrong with your hearing.”

A hand rested on his shoulder. “Brian, is what he said about everlasting loyalty true?” Kevin asked.

Brian looked away and sighed. “Unfortunately, it’s true. But after what happened, I don’t plan on serving that monster again.”

He shook away from Kevin’s hand and grabbed his cup. But that soldier had disgusted him so much that the cider didn’t taste good anymore. Neither did the doughnuts.

“What else have we got today?”

After a pause, Kevin replied, “Rehearsals sometime after lunch, and then another meeting with the council members to go over what hasn’t been done yet, and maybe we can help rebuild a few things. That gives us two hours of free time till lunch.”

Brian heaved a deep sigh. “So what are we going to do till then?”

Kevin raised an eyebrow. Brian never lacked ideas for entertainment.

“Basketball?” Nick offered. “Then we can look for an arcade somewhere in town.”

Brian shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

~~(~/~)~~

“And 5… 6… 7 and 8! One-and-two… That’s it!”

Brian breathed a sigh of relief. It had been so long since he’d danced that hard that his leg muscles were aching. He moved over to a cooler sitting on the edge of the park’s amphitheater stage and grabbed a water bottle. He downed a third of the precious liquid in seconds.

“Thirsty, B?”

“Just a little bit.”

Nick chuckled as he took a bottle of his own. “I guess none of us have done this in a while, huh?”

“Man, my legs are aching.”

“We just need to keep practicing.”

Brian nodded. “It wouldn’t look very good if we were all bending over in pain when we do the concert.”

Chuckling, Nick replied, “No it wouldn’t. Hey Kev, how much longer we got?”

"Hopefully not much longer," the oldest replied. "I don't know if continuing will help us or harm us. I, for one, am out of practice."

"Same here," Brian agreed.

Nick smirked. “What? With Baylee you don't get the exercise to stay in shape?"

"Shut up."

Kevin shook his head. "You know, that settles it. If you've got enough energy to argue, we can do a little more."

Four sets of groans met his declaration. Undaunted, he said, "No pain, no… well, no applause."

"Now that's inspiring," AJ muttered, rolling his eyes.

“Would you prefer no fans?”

AJ cringed.

"Okay, let's do the last two routines in the show and call it good."

"But what if it's bad?" Nick said, grinning.

Kevin shook his head and cued the music again. By the time the two routines were completed, all five were groaning. Kevin didn't even have the energy to vocalize; he just waved them off the stage.

The minute Nick's feet hit the park lawn, however, he seemed to spring back to life. "Hey Bri, come on... how about a little b-ball?"

Brian looked at his best friend in astonishment. "Man," he said. "If you could ever bottle that energy you seem to find..."

"Too bad you don't show the same energy during rehearsals," AJ said, wiping his face with a towel.

"I'm saving myself for the real thing," Nick tossed back. "Come on, Bri, what do you say?"

"I say that if we don't want to get rained on, we better postpone," Brian said. "Now can someone point me in the direction of the bathroom?"

"Straight down the path behind the amphitheater," Kevin said. "I found it before we began."

“Thanks."

Brian had just finished washing his hands when two men entered the bathroom. He nodded in greeting and turned back to what he was doing. That was the last coherent thing he remembered.

~~

The thunder growled louder and louder. Howie looked up at the sky in worry.

“It’s getting closer,” he remarked. “I’m gonna go check on Brian.”

“Howie, chill,” Kevin said. “He’s a grown man and he can take care of himself.”

“Still, it wouldn’t hurt.”

Kevin shrugged. “All right. We’ll wait in the van for you.”

Howie nodded and headed off down the path. He crossed paths with a couple of men coming from the opposite direction.

“Excuse me,” he called, “did you see anyone in the bathroom? About 5’ 7”, sandy blond hair, blue eyes?”

One man shook his head. “Nope, sorry. Didn’t see him.”

“Maybe you just missed him,” another suggested.

“Yeah, maybe so,” Howie agreed. “Thanks anyway.”

He didn’t see Brian upon returning to the group, nor was he in the van. “Maybe he thought we’d already gone and caught a cab back to the hotel,” he suggested to the others.

With confidence that they’d meet back at the hotel, the boys headed off. The rain began to pour just before they arrived at the hotel. Kevin, Howie, AJ and Nick raced into the hotel and dashed for the elevator. As they stepped inside, Nick hoped that Brian wasn’t caught out in that storm.

~~

A deep growl invaded his conscious. He was cold… and sore… Something flashed behind closed eyelids. His chest burned, and it hurt to breathe. Something was poking his back. His head was pounding, ready to split his skull in two. Another growl, louder now. He realized he was wet. Something splattered all over his body that made him cold and wet. The skin tingled around his eyes as he tried to open them. He managed to see through a small slit in his right eye, while the view was clearer with his left eye.

Oh… it’s raining.

He shifted, wanting to get up. Fire raced up his legs as he tried to move. A scream of pain bubbled up inside him and echoed in his surroundings. His eyes flew open and discovered he was in a grove of trees. Trees…

Angry brown eyes glared at him as Steve punched him in the chest. He doubled over, but was thrown to the side as a fist connected with his jaw.

He groaned. No… He’d been ambushed just as he finished in the bathroom.

Fists and hate-filled words were thrown at him. He couldn’t dodge them. Thrown to the ground and kicked.

He lay curled up on the ground, every bruise on his body pounding to the beat of his heart.

”Why?” he croaked.

“This is for every injury you caused us, you monster!”

“I’m sorry… I never meant to hurt anyone.”

“You killed her! She’s dead because of you!”

“No… Dear God, why?” he prayed. “Why was I such monster? I didn’t want to be. I thought I was protecting my family.” His gaze focused on a small bit of the heavens that he could see peeking through the trees. “I never thought I’d kill anyone… please… I’m sure I deserved what I got… but I wanted to make amends. I wanted… I wanted forgiveness.”

“Brian?”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “Dear Lord, please… please forgive me.”

It started in the center of his chest, tiny at first, and then quickly spread throughout his whole body, enveloping him like a warm blanket. Tears of joy slid down his cheeks as he realized what this feeling was.

~~

Howie knelt beside his friend in shock. Bruises covered most of his face and his nose showed signs of previous bleeding. Gosh, what else was wrong? And what had happened to him? Then he noticed that Brian was smiling. Smiling, of all things. How could he be? He had to be in pain with all those injuries.

"Alan, come here!" he called, then he turned back to his friend. "Brian? Brian, can you hear me?"

"It's okay," Brian murmured. "I'm okay."

Howie stared. "You're okay? You sure don't look that way to me. What happened to you?"

“A... a few people got the revenge they wanted. But really, I'm okay."

"Brian, you don't look like you can get up without help. Look, we should call the police.... and an ambulance. Alan, can you call an ambulance?"

“I’m on it.”

"Howie?"

“What, B?"

"Did... did you see a cemetery anywhere in town?"

"I don't think you're going to need a cemetery," Howie said, his concern growing.

"Not for me. There's... there's something I need to do, later."

"Um, okay... look, try to relax until the ambulance arrives."

Brian chuckled, but winced immediately and pressed a hand to his ribs. Howie gasped and leaned in closer.

"B?"

"I-it's okay," Brian managed to say. "It's passing now." He paused, then said, "I guess I know a little of what you and the others went through when Kael tortured you."

Howie winced as memories of that day flashed through his mind. He shook them away and turned his care back to his friend.

"Everything's going to be all right, Bri. I promise."