Power Rangers 1. Part 1

As she went down the stairs that went down to the staff's quarters she couldn't help but feel relieved to be back home where she belonged. The past few months had been hectic for her, she had been stressed out more than she normally would and a majority of the reason for that stress had been placed squarely on the shoulders of the weather from the planet that she, her co-workers and the family that had just arrived to the mansion. It had been very cold on the planet, it had snowed a lot, a lot of ice had formed around the ship that her male co-workers had worked feverishly to get removed before their employer had sat down in the driver's seat. She had been kept warm, like all of her co-workers and like her employer and his family that had been on his ship, but the weather had made her feel down, she never had been on who liked colder weather. She liked color, she liked life and colder weather just took all of that away. Colder weather caused a blanket to form over the ground, it made the ground freeze and become frosted over with snow, flowers didn't bloom, baby animals weren't born, animal families weren't running around enjoying the weather and the sun got a dull, chilled look to it that made it almost feel like it was thinking about giving up its cycle of providing heat for the planets that revolved around it.

Her male co-workers had worked normally, they had not showed any sort of depressions except for when their employer was depressed, it was mostly her female co-workers that were depressed along with the children that were on the ship who were barred from going out because of the extreme cold. Children just loved playing in snow, they loved to roll snowballs then throw them, they loved having snowball fights, they loved making snowmen and they loved to run around and kick the stuff about. She had just one child, a son, and he loved the snow. Her husband had taken their son to one of the moons that revolved around Moas, the planet where a majority of the people who lived and worked in the mansion. The moon he had picked was Fulnoos, a moon where it snowed for eight months of the year and where it grew so bitterly cold that anything that wasn't covered up by a layer of winter clothing would turn black with frostbite. She had told her husband and son to put on and wear their cold weather clothing whenever they went out and to not stay out for no more than an hour and a half to two hours before heading back to the rented cabin and warming up. Her husband had said that they would and that she had nothing to worry about, her son had groaned and had said that she was already making him grow pruned. She had said _well that's just too bad, you can grow as pruned as can be but you obey me. I don't want you coming home missing any fingers, toes or an ear or a nose._ Twenty-four hours before she had gotten a call from her husband, they were back at home in their apartment underneath their employer's, TazirVile Surfeit's, mansion and they had returned fully intact, nothing missing. They had stayed warm, had had fun and had eaten good and she was glad for that.

"Welcome back, Attaec." Craetalii Khrelan said when she saw one of her husband's co-workers.

"Thank you, how's your husband?" Attaec Ionif asked, she stopped for only a short talk.

"A little sore, looking forward to working again." Craetalii replied. "Is it true that they were all captured and are in the house?"

"Master Tazir is a very happy man, has all five of his children and his wife in the house again." Attaec replied.

She walked on, going past several other wives of her male co-workers and a few husbands of her female co-workers, she didn't stop to chat as she was tired and did want to take a few hour nap before getting up to resume work. The carpet that ran down the stairs and down the hallway that she was on was light red, there were dark red and multi-pink crystal-like designs in the center while running around the sides there was a single, white line. The walls on either side of her were brown, there was a dark brown line going down at every five-inch intervals. Hanging on the walls were photographs of her co-workers with their employer, the man was a right nice employer, he was respectful and polite and he had a wonderful relationship with quite a lot of his staff. Also, hanging on the walls, were the odd photographs of flowers, painted vases or painting of picnics which she and the other wives had put up to give the hallway a non-work feel. The ceiling above was eggshell white, a long bar ran down its center from which a yellow light from. Attaec decided to make one stop while on her way to the apartment that her employer had given her and her husband and child to live in, her employer provided housing for any employee that wished to live on his property and, unlike most employers, the apartments were free. She and her husband didn't have to worry about the electric, water or gas bill, their employer took care of that. She and her husband also didn't have to worry about the price of repairs, if something happened and some sort of damage was done in the apartment, their employer took care of it. She had asked her employer why he was being so nice in footing the bills and repairs after he had showed her the staff's quarters, he had replied with _you guys have enough to deal with when working for me, why add more to that burden?_ She couldn't help but admire and respect that, TazirVile Surfeit was a fine employer and she had signed her Loyalty Papers in her own blood, as was custom as she was a Goblin, near three years after the interview that had changed her and her husband's life. Attaec Ionif stopped and turned at the door that had the number 37 on it, she hesitated for only a second then knocked twice on the door.

"Hello," a Goblinette, a female Goblin, answered the door. She had long, gorgeous, silky smooth blonde hair that flowed down to the middle of her back. Her skin was light purple and she had light blue eyes that looked out from a very gentle-looking face. The Goblinette was wearing a gray dress that had a ruffled, button down front and short sleeves. A gray ribbon was tied around her waist and on her feet she had gray slip on shoes.

"Hello Abara, is Mr. Modulavich available for a short talk?" Attaec asked.

"Is it important?" the Goblinette asked. "My husband's still feeling the effects of his pains, poor thing."

"It is, we arrived home j-..."

"Abara, who is it?"

She let her in without any further questioning, the first thing that Attaec saw when she entered the apartment that the Modulavich family lived in was her co-worker who had gotten injured a few days before and who had been told to head back home for a rest. Homsi Modulavich was TazirVile Surfeit's most trusted employee, they were good friends and, in fact, Homsi was also Angel Irene's most trusted as well. The man was one who had worked hard to get the position that he had, he had put hours of his time into working his job and in assisting Master Tazir that he had been rewards with the title shortly after his two hundredth year of working for the man, before him it had just been Eldass Zultoa who had been granted the title of most trusted Goblin but, Mr. Zultoa was still her employer's most trusted Goblin to that day, just like Homsi, he deserved the title as he had worked hard to acquire it. Homsi Modulavich was seated in an old brown leather chair that had an ottoman in front of it that, to her, looked rather comfortable. There was a matching brown leather couch placed right beside the chair, a brown wood coffee table sat in front of that and placed right in front of the coffee table was a white oak entertainment center that had a 30" tv on it, a video player was underneath the tv while, on either side of the tv, were two speakers that went to a stereo that looked as if it had some age on it. There was also a gaming cube connected to the tv, the Modulavich's had five children and, like all children, they did like to play games on them gaming systems. Attaec walked towards her co-worker, who was fifteen thousand years her senior, she stopped when she was two feet from him.

"Master Tazir back?" Homsi asked, he was a brown-skinned Goblin who had large, expressive, blue eyes set in a very serious, and to her handsome, looking face. His ears were elf-like, light gray hair grew out from them which made him look a bit funny as that was the only hair on his head. He was wearing a pair of brown pants, a white t-shirt that wasn't tucked in and there were a pair of light brown slippers on his feet.

"Yes, he landed his ship in the hangar forty minutes ago." Attaec replied. "He had everyone of us staff stay in the ship until after he had Mistress Angel and Young Master's Bile, Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer safely in the mansion."

"Young Master L-..." Homsi sat upright, he winced painfully then dropped back in his chair. "so, all the reports on the news are correct then? Young Master Lazeer is alive?"

"Alive and very healthy," Attaec replied. "he inherited a mild form of his father's photo sensitivity but he's very healthy."

"Good to hear, how did they act when-..."

"Eclaire claims that all four of the boys clung tightly to their mother, Young Master's Hazaar and Lazeer refused to leave the ship for a few minutes and then Young Master's Bile and Lhaklar started acting the same way." Attaec said.

"They're nervous, they'll calm down soon." Abara Modulavich said. "Poor things."

"Master Tazir put Mistress Angel and her sons all in one room on the second floor," Attaec said. "I think he wants them to calm down some before showing them their chambers."

"Very wise, the boys are probably not going to be leaving their mother's side for a while." Abara said.

As she left the Modulavich residence and began heading towards her own apartment to take her nap and be with her husband and son she thought on what Abara Modulavich had said about Young Master's Bile, Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer calming down and coming around soon. She had slightly fibbed to Homsi on how the boys had reacted, none of the boys had wanted to leave the ship. They had all clung tightly to their mother and had refused to take a step down the ramp. Their mother had been extremely nervous, Eclaire Gozakaal had said that although Mistress Angel had had a calm voice with her children and had not ordered them to walk down the ramp or had chided them for being fearful she had been very jumpy and her eyes had slid all over the place. According to Eclaire, when Master Tazir had walked over and had gently pushed his youngest son to walk down the ramp his wife had lunged out at him and had made him back off. She had been reacting as a mother should, her children were nervous, they were scared and there was a male that they didn't know trying to push them down the ramp. She had only been acting in that fashion, Attaec truly believed, because of her nervousness and because of her instinct to protect her babies. Eclaire had said that Master Tazir had acted very patient and understanding, he had not done anything to provoke his wife into further violent actions, he had simply backed off and had waited. After Mistress Angel had her four sons down the ramp and headed towards the door that would take them inside the mansion Master Tazir and Eshal had followed and then, just before he had entered his mansion, he had turned around and had given a loud piercing whistle. She and her co-workers had exited the ship right after that whistle had been sent out. Attaec hoped that her employer would have no problems with his wife and sons, she hoped that they all calmed down and settled down to living with their father, for both their sakes, their mother's sake, Eshal's sake, their father's sake and for her and her co-workers sakes. Attaec took a deep breath just after reaching the door to her apartment then grabbed the doorknob, twisted it then opened the door.

"... ill no word from TazirVile Surfeit on the well-being of his four sons after they were moved from his ship, which entered Moas Air Space at two twenty-four in the morning. It has now been five hours since he and his full family have been back home, currently there has been no further reports on whether or not the boy that was said to of been identified as LazeerVile Zuluduz Surfeit is the thirdborn son of TazirVile Surfeit or not, all attempted contacts with TazirVile Surfeit have not been allowed to go through. The universe is wanting to know what new discoveries were made after Angel Irene Vile-Surfeit and her four sons were captured." a blue faced, yellow eyed, female-looking reporter that was wearing a long, dark blue dress, was reporting, she was standing just outside the wrought iron front gate that had vines and mold growing on it and that had a large, gold, T on it so the viewer knew that there were reporters hanging around near the mansion that he and his family were in and, in fact, the camera captured several others, some with mics, some with cameras and some with both, standing near by her. The viewer didn't want to hear anymore on the report, he grabbed the six-inch long remote that was light gray and had black and white buttons on it. In one press of his finger, the report stopped and the screen went dark.

Bile Vile sat up from the bed that he had slept on for only thirty minutes before waking up, he had had a very difficult night and, despite his mother's attempts to calm him and his brothers down, he was still very nervous. He and his brothers had been terrified after the ship that had them in it had touched down in the hangar that was placed underneath the ground on the planet that they had been brought to, he and his brothers had grabbed their mother by either her shirt or had grabbed her arms or had wrapped their arms around her body to keep her close. There had been plenty of _it's okay, you don't have to be afraid, shhhh baby _and _calm down, I won't let anything happen to any of you _coming out from their mother's mouth which had nearly fallen on his and his brothers' deaf ears. He, his brothers and their mother had been led to the room that they had been put into after they had been captured after they had been taken to the medical chamber that had the automated medical table that had tended and healed a majority of the injuries that they had had on their bodies and that had ran a physical exam on them afterwards. Their father had left the door wide open after he had led them to the room and that had made for them to become stressed out. The Goblin staff members that his father had brought along with him when he had gone to Earth to find them had kept peering in from time to time to get a look at him and his family which had made each and every one of them feel as if they were the new exhibits in a zoo. He and his brothers had felt as if they had become the next big thing, the new animals in a zoo that everyone _had _to see, that everyone _had _to say something about and that had made things much worse for them. Their mother had closed the door twice so that he and his brothers could get a little piece of mind but, as was expected, a staff member would walk by and open the door and the peering into the room at them, the new animals at the zoo, had resumed.

When it had come to unboarding the ship he and his brothers had grabbed their mother, he had grabbed her by the back of her shirt while Lhaklar had grabbed her by her arm. Hazaar had grabbed their mother around the waist and had plain refused to go a step without having her body close to his and Lazeer had her hand in his. He had looked as if he would walk out of the ship without much fuss but then, after the hatchway had opened and their father had walked into view, he had wrapped his arm around their mother's waist. Naturally, their mother had done several turns, she had done the _it's okay, you're fine, you are all doing well's_, she had said the _calm down, babies _and the _no one's going to hurt you's_ and then she had clamped her mouth shut after the man that had taken them from their home on Earth had walked up and had pushed Lazeer, who had moved slightly away from their mother during the confusion, forward. The man had pushed Lazeer gently but, regardless if the push had been done gently or had been done in a harsh way, Lazeer had jumped. Their mother, in a fit of rage after Lazeer had leaped up then had started making groaning noises after he had been pushed, had lunged out at their father then she had demanded that he back away from them which he had done quickly. After they had exited the ship and had been on the way to the door that would take them to the inside of the mansion where he and Lhaklar had been raised and where Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer had been concieved and where Lhaklar and Hazaar had both been born their father and older half-sister had followed behind them. Everything that had come after that was such a blur in his mind that he wasn't even going to try to figure it out and he was for damn sure not going to ask what had happened after he and his brothers and their mother had walked through the door and had entered the mansion.

For all he knew, their mother quite possibly had gotten violent with their father. Quite possibly, after their father had come up behind one of them and had either brushed past or had gently pushed either he or one of his brothers forward their mother had lashed out. Their half-sister, for all he knew, could have also started something or, one of the Goblins that had treated them like the new exhibit in the zoo had come up and had spooked them which had sparked their mother's drive to protect them from whatever it had been that had spooked them and, as it was also quite possible, nothing had happened. They could have entered the mansion and nothing violent had been done, no Goblin had brushed up against them or their father or Eshal had said or done anything to get them to move forward. All Bile knew for sure was that after he had stepped foot in the room that he and his family had been taken to was that when he had seen the bed he had been sudden overcome with fatigue. He had gone to the bed, had layed down and then he had fallen asleep for thirty minutes before waking up.

"How long you been awake?" Lhaklar asked after his vision had cleared after he had woken up.

"Few hours now, just couldn't sleep." Bile replied.

"Did I sleep any? Feel as if I haven't." Lhaklar said.

And he looked every bit of what he had said. Lhaklar, Bile's younger brother who was a hundred years younger than he, was normally the one who liked to stay away from stressful situations but, as of late, he had been thrust into them. LhaklarVile Closhu Surfeit, that was his name but his brothers called him either Lhaklar or Lhakie, or whatever pick-on name that sparked up in their brains when they were fighting or when they were joking around. Lhaklar stood up to his full height of six-foot, one inch then stretched his arms up straight, he really had not slept at all. He had gone to sleep for only five to ten minute intervals before waking up to stare up at the ceiling before falling back into another five to ten minute sleep. He had been wearing a pair of brown pants and a brown and green striped, long sleeve, button down shirt and brown shoes some hours before, he now just had a towel around his waist that covered the pair of tighty whitey's that he was wearing.

Bile looked away from his brother, he wished that his father would have left some clothing with them or had slid some clothes into the room at one time during the five hours that they had been in his mansion. His brother's upper body and legs were fully exposed. His whole, entire body was mint-green and it was very athletically built. Lhaklar had good muscle on the arms and legs, his chest was nicely chiseled, he had a good, firm six-pack and his back had decently rolling muscle on it. He had gotten all of the muscle on his body from natural means, by using the ghost towns that had been around their now-former hometown of Green River, Wyoming as his sort of gym. He had picked up logs and had used them as weights, he had ran and he had thrown punches at invisible opponents. He had also acquired some of his muscle by good ol' former-home maintenance. He had chopped down trees, he had lugged fallen trees about and he had yanked up bushes, grasses and had also helped out quite a lot when it came to floor, wall and household appliance repair or replacements. When he had gone and gotten his probably left behind punching bag, weights and dumbbells his brother had already had the muscle on his body. What made Lhaklar look so damn tired were the dark green bags that were underneath his large, oval, Pistachio-colored eyes that had a silverish tint to them.

"Man, I feel as if I was hit by a damn truck!" Lhaklar exclaimed. "Did what happen on Earth happen or was it a dream?"

"W-..." Bile started to say. Hazaar shot up from the bed that Lhaklar had just gotten up from and that Bile and all of his brothers had slept their short sleep on.

"Dude, if it was a dream then I'm Elmer Fudd." Hazaar said. "Ain't not dream, more like a friggin' nightmare!"

"I was hoping someone would say 'yeah, it was a dream. You're at home, breakfast is on the table, come get it." Lhaklar sighed.

"No such luck." Bile said.

Hazaar sniffed, what his older brother had said was stupid. Of course what all that had happened to them had been a nightmare, of course the nightmare was true and of course, the nightmare was still happening. As he got up from the bed he was reminded instantly of what had happened, he was sore all over and he put full blame on his father for it. Had his father not of gone and gotten his damn Goblins to go into the shield, blast a portion of it down so he could get in then find the apartment, rob it of everything that they owned and then chased after Lhaklar after he had gone home this whole mess wouldn't have happened. If his father, grandfather and uncle and them damn Goblins had not of attacked him and his brothers after they had gone to rescue Lhaklar, captured them and if his father had not of used his damn belt on their bodies as a disciplinary object he wouldn't be feeling the way he was now. Had he, Lhaklar and Bile gotten so much as a I'm sorry from their father after he had beat them with his belt? Had there been any apologee or attempt to make up for it? Hell no!

He was shorter that his three brothers, he stood at just five foot, eleven inches tall but that meant jack shit as he was just as strong as his brothers with his powers and he had some good muscle on his body to keep him going in a physical fight if one ever came upon him. Hazaar painfully drew his hand back behind his head, he felt the deep purple tail of hair that came out from the nape of the back of his head that was four and a half inches in length and noticed that the braids were coming undone. He went straight to the walk-in bathroom and started undoing the braids and taking out the beads and feathers that he had put into the strands that he had made one full day before. The boy in the mirror was him, he had dark blue skin and wrap-around, oval eyes that were a deep purple color. Like Lhaklar, he had an O-shaped mouth, holes where a nose would be and there were suction-cups on the tips of each of his fingers. There were some bruises on his face, he had fought and had gotten thrown around quite a lot, there were bruises on his chest, ribs and his backside was also bruised up. Like his older brothers, he had just a towel wrapped around his waist. He had been given nothing to wear after his father had taken him and his brothers to the medical chamber that had been on his ship.

Unlike Lhaklar, who had an athletically built body, he had a lean body type that was strong and that had good muscle mass on Lhaklar, he had gotten his muscle the natural way by lifting up logs, punching at invisible opponents and running in the ghost towns that were around Green River, Wyoming and by raking up and bagging leaves, cutting down trees, moving trees that had been felled, mowing the grass and by helping around with the former-homes maintenance. He had a strong, well-formed chest and the workings of a six-pack, he was still working on his back, which was smooth but had the beginnings of muscle on it, and his arms and legs were very strong-looking. His father had tried to be buddy-buddy with him after he had put the ship on autopilot for thirty minutes to spend a little time with him and his brothers, he had said that he could use the gym that was "at home", as he had put it, Hazaar was for sure not going to be leaving his mother's side. He didn't trust the man, the man had used a belt on him, had belted him for fighting him after he had attacked him and his brothers. Had he and his brothers let the man be buddy-buddy with them? That was a big, fat hell no! Lhaklar had spoken some to the man but he had had such a tense look on his face and in his voice that their father had decided to not speak to him after he had been in the room for five minutes. Lazeer had said nothing to the man, he had acted like the man hadn't been in the room and he had acted the same way until the man had pissed him off with his constant questions and Bile had had such a snarl in his voice whenever he had spoken to the man. Their father had kept the visitations brief at just fifteen minutes, he had tried to make them behave several times by telling them to watch themselves and to behave but that had not worked. In all, after he and his brothers had had a majority of their injuries tended to and they had been put back in the room that they had been put in after they had been captured, the very room where they had felt as if they were being treated as lab specimens from the Goblins who had been constantly peering in, their father had put his ship on autopilot three times. Hazaar finished up in the bathroom then went back into the room where his brothers and mother were in.

"I look like something a damn pack of wolves hunted, dragged then chewed on before deciding to go off because they didn't like the taste of my flesh." Hazaar said. "Anyone have a comb or something?"

"Oh yeah, let me check my drawers for one." Bile said sarcastically, he unwrapped the white towel that was around his waist then pulled the elastic band of his brown boxer shorts away from his body.

"You think any of us have anything on us, Hazaar?" Lhaklar asked. "Except for mom, we've been robbed of everything on our person. And that includes my blasted cigarette case!"

"Cigarettes, cigarette case, pocket knives, wallets, my bag of weed..." Bile leaned back in the chair that he was sitting on, he had tied the towel back around his body. "made off with everything."

"Is that why you only looked down your shorts for a second?" Lazeer asked, he was seated upright on the bed. "They even made off with your pecker?"

"Shuddup," Bile snorted.

It had only been a full twenty-four hours since his true identity had been discovered, he was happy to know that he was now known as LazeerVile Zuluduz Surfeit but he wasn't very happy about being taken away from all that he had known for his entire one thousand, six hundred years of living. Like his brothers, he didn't trust his father and, like his brothers, he feared the man but there was a whole different reason for the two. His father had fought and had injured him, he was still suffering the effects of his father kicking him in the back and stomach and from when the Goblins had kicked him all over and from when the one Goblin that had been bringing him in had kicked him in the groin, and his father had thrown him in a cell that had been in the dungeon on his ship. He had been cuffed up, a Goblin had spit at him then had slapped him in the back of the head then had left him. He had sat crying his eyes out because he had been scared to death. His father had beat his brothers with a belt, he had found that out from Hazaar a few hours before they had arrived on the planet and that had cinched his fear that he felt towards the man.

He had been born prematurely at five and a half months gestation, the doctor's had said that he'd not live but two days after he had been taken from the hospital that he had stayed in for three weeks after he had been born... his mother had had him nurse from her as many times as his little infant self could and he had lived for four months before the man that was her and Bile's father had opened his flapper. Due to his grandfather, who he and his two full brothers would never call the term, and his mouth running, saying that he wanted their mother to abandon all of her children and that he was coming over to take her from all of them, his mother had taken him and his brothers to Earth. She had disappeared for one thousand, six hundred years, had raised him and his brothers on her own in all that time and he had grown and matured. The doc's were wrong, he had said countless times, I'm not weak or have mental issues, I'm a strong, healthy young man.

Lazeer stood up slowly then carefully when to the bathroom. He used the toilet then went to the mirror and looked at himself. Here he was, one thousand, six hundred years old. No longer an infant that could barely hold his eyes open or was so weak he couldn't move. The young man in the mirror was strong and healthy, as he should be. He had periwinkle-blue skin and circular-shaped eyes that were silvery. He, like Lhaklar and Hazaar, had an O-shaped mouth, holes were a nose would be and he had suction-cups on the tips of each of his fingers. He had a row of bristly, brick-red hair that went from the left side of his head, around the back then wrapped around to the other side of his head that was two inches in width. When he had been born, he had been told, he had been bald. His hair had not started growing in until he had reached six months of age and boy was he ever glad that he had hair because he thought he'd look damn funny being bald. Like his two full-brothers, he had no viewable ears.

Due to his only having a towel wrapped around him, he had not been given back his netted shirt or gray pants that he had personally ripped at the knees or his gray and brown shoes after the automated medical table had healed a majority of his injuries and after the table had ran a physical exam on him, instead he had been given a white towel to wrap around his waist, his body was fully exposed. His body was like that of Hazaar's, it was lean and had some good muscle on it. His chest was hard and well-formed, he had a nicely developed six-pack and his arms and legs were very nicely muscled. His back was mostly smooth but he did have some muscle there as well. He stood a full six feet tall and, his mother had said, he was still growing. He was unique from his brothers and he sort of hated it. He had inherited a mild-severe form of photo sensitivity in his left eye which bothered him greatly. The skin around his left eye was a dark blue color, he had suffered the effects of his photo sensitivity for a while before his mother had helped him by getting him some drops to reverse the effects. He hoped that his near twenty minutes of experiencing the pain that the sun had caused him to go through after he had been caught out in the open didn't cause his eye issues to get worse.

"What time is it?" Lazeer asked after walking slowly out from the bathroom.

"Near eight in the morning." Bile replied. "Why?"

"Very wise of you to ask that question, Bile, when you damn well know what the answer is." Hazaar snapped. "Last thing I've had to eat were the donuts you bought for me and Lazeer yesterday."

"Last thing I ate were some fries." Lhaklar said.

"Foooooood, must haaaave!" Lazeer moaned, he then walked over and grabbed Bile's arm. "This'll do."

"Man you sink your teeth into me and you have a problem." Bile pulled his arm out from Lazeer's grip.

He stood up and crossed the room, he walked stiffly because he was still sore from the fight but he was glad that his ankle had been fixed by the medical table. He was taller than his brothers, he stood six-foot, three inches tall and he had a very muscled body and he looked far different in appearance than his three younger brothers. His mother had been held hostage by her father for a few months in his bedroom chamber at his palace on Gamma-Vile, she had been raped several times and in one of them rapings she had conceived him. He was the product of incest, his father had claimed his own daughter, his youngest daughter, as his Family Mate and he had forced her to carry him. She had said she didn't want him at first, she had said that she wouldn't do a thing for him for seven months of her pregnancy and then, after she had escaped from their father and had had to fend for both herself and keep up her pregnancy and had given birth to him, she had accepted him as her son. Bile was very close to his mother, he loved her greatly and admired her for who she was, he thought she was a great woman... a one in a million... a queen. He'd do anything for his mother, if she said for him to jump off of a bridge he'd do it, if she had told him to go out and do some fishing he would have gladly done it.

He looked most like his father and that plain disgusted him. His mother said she loved him for who he was, she said she didn't care about who his paternal was because he was her son, he was the first child that she had been able to carry and give birth to and raise. He was her gift, her treasure and her baby, like his brothers he was her baby and would always be her baby. Bile went into the bathroom, relieved his bladder which had started to throb from being full then he looked at himself in the mirror. His elongated ears were dark green, they had light green Tiger-like stripes on them and they went only half the length of his shoulders. The left side of his face and body was yellow while the right side of his face and body was green. His eyes were a glowing yellow-green that had small, black pupils in the center. This was his face, he had inherited most of his appearance from his father but he acted in no way like his father. His whole right shoulder was skeletal in appearance, his right arm from the elbow on down to the wrist was also skeletal in appearance and he had skeletal knees, these he had also inherited from his father. He had long and sharp, dark yellow fingernails on each of his fingers and he also had dark yellow toenails.

Bile glanced down at his body, he had worked hard to get it to be the way it was and he was damn proud of his muscle mass. His chest was thickly muscled, his six-pack was very powerful and he had very big and very finely muscled arms. His lower half was a little less extreme in the muscle department but that meant nothing, he had muscle on his legs as well. He was extreme fast, why he had broken his own father's record at Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic when he had ran track. He had blown that record for a mile, which had been 2:06:54, to bits when he had ran on that track, the record now stood at 1:48:12 and it was said to last for many thousands of years to come. He had also broken the mile and a quarter record, that had been placed by his grandfather, KurukVile Shonsinu Surfeit. It now stood at 2:00:45, and he had also broken the mile and a half record that had been set by his uncle, TriskullVile Vuupipii Surfeit. That baby still stood at 2:15:0, and he had also broken the record that had been placed over a hundred thousand years ago by another member of his family, a man named RosolVile Surfeit. The record for two whole miles stood at 2:36:34. Besides running track, he had also done wrestling and he had gotten some awards, trophies and plaques from that. His mother had attended each of his track meets and each of his wrestling events, she had attended with her hair dyed a different color but, fiery red hair or not, he had known that the woman that cheered for him in the stand and who had ran up to be at his side after each victory had been his own dear mama. Bile opened his mouth, he noted the fangs that were on the top and bottom rows of his teeth, he stuck his tongue out at his reflection then he nodded his head. He then turned and walked out of the bathroom.

"So, who's going to be the unlucky victim of us poor, hungry boys?" Lazeer asked. "Can't be Lhaklar, he's too thin. Not enough meat on his bones. Can't be Hazaar, although he has a little more meat on his bones he don't have much more that Lhaklar and it can't be me. I'm too damn sexy to be cooked and eaten."

"Why don't I cook and eat all three of you?" Bile asked, he licked his lips teasingly. "Between the three of you, there's plenty of meat to go around."

"Then what will we eat?" Hazaar asked. "Ghosts can't eat, I'll probably haunt you for the rest of your life but I can't eat or drink anything after I've been cooked and eaten."

"You cook and eat us you'll find yourself a very lonely man," Lhaklar said, he was chuckling. "you'll be walking around all alone, no brothers to bug you apey."

"Just you and your old, hideously ugly mug." Lazeer said.

"How will I be lonely if I have you three haunting me after I've cooked and eaten you?" Bile asked.

"Don't look at me, sweetheart." their mother said when Lhaklar had looked over at her. "You boys have to make the decision on who gets eaten and who don't."

"Boooooooo!" Lazeer exclaimed, he then burst out laughing.

The woman that was huddled in the far off corner of the room that they were in was their mother, she was the one that they looked up to, the one that they turned to for comfort and for advice on their issues and she was the one that they all loved so much that words could not describe it. They had all, even in their soreness, had circled around her after she had near collapsed from pains that had began as soon as their father had come walking down the hallway, Bile had near punched the man who had adopted him and who he saw as his real father when he had walked forward to put his hand on his mother's shoulder or on her stomach and Lhaklar had actually jumped on his father when he had wrapped his arms around her to help her straighten up. The woman in the corner had birthed all of them, the woman in the corner had raised all of them. Her name was Angel Irene, the name that came afterwards, Vile-Surfeit, she had never used before, it was just a name pinned on her after she had been claimed by her father and then had been found to be TazirVile Surfeit's Universal Wife. She had passed something down to each of her children. She had emerald-green eyes that had a golden-yellow ring around a pair of black pupils, Bile had inherited the green in his eyes and Lhaklar had inherited his mint-green skin from his mother, she had explained that her eye color had somehow intermingled with his father's light blue skin and by that her first son by the man had been born with mint-green skin and her sons knew that she had also passed down her eye color to Lhaklar as well. She had fiery red hair which glowed off of the surfaces around her, her hair had intermingled with their father's light blue skin and the gene that he carried for dark blue skin and had made Hazaar have deep purple hair and eyes. Her skin was honey colored, she had a petite body that had some muscle on it, she stood five foot, seven inches tall and she had a heart-shaped face. Lazeer had inherited his brick-red hair from his mother, that much they all knew. Their mother was wearing a pair of black slacks, a dark purple satin blouse that was low-cut and had short sleeves and she had black shoes on her feet. There was a deep purple satin belt around her waist as the shirt, which Hazaar had found one day while scrounging for things at the dump and had thought that his mother would like to have it to wear, was a bit big for her. Angel Irene looked at her four sons and smiled, she and they were very close and she loved them just as much as they loved her.

"Ma, are you okay?" Bile asked, he always called his mother ma or mama. "Look a bit squished up over there."

"Sitting squished to stop the stomach gurgles," Angel replied. "just as hungry as you four are and I'm a bit cold."

"Son pile up time!" Lazeer yelled, he began walking over to his mother. "Ma's cold, we m-..."

"You are much too sweet, Lazie." Angel said to her fourthborn son. "I'll be fine, you four stretch them cramped muscles. Shouldn't be long before something is brought up for us to eat."

"You're still going to cook for us aren't you, momma?" Hazaar asked.

"Of course honey." Angel said. "Wouldn't stop cooking for my babies for the world."

"That is a relief!" Bile breathed a sigh of relief. "Had me worried there, no food cooked by my mama? I needs my mama's good cookin' in me."

"Hazaar, don't ask." Angel said when she saw the question form on her thirdborn son's lips about her natural milk. "I haven't had anything to eat for a while now, you know as well as your brothers that I'm dry and will be until I eat something."

"And then it'll take a few hours before we can get some of our favorite beverage." Lhaklar said, he then sighed. "You don't think-..."

"Lhakie, as long as I'm still producing milk you four will continue to get it." Angel said. "No one is going to stop that, you four are still growing and my milk helps you four gain them antibodies and proteins that you need to keep strong and healthy."

"I love you, mama." Bile said.

"I love you too, Biley."

"I love ya, momma." Hazaar said, he walked over and gave his mother a hug.

"Mmmm, goodness me is it me or do ya'lls hugs get warmer with each giving?" Angel said after her son had hugged her. She hugged Hazaar back. "I love you too, Hazie."

"Me too! Meeeeee toooooo! I loves me ma!" Lazeer exclaimed.

"Silly thing, I love you too." Angel chuckled lightly. She then looked over at Lhaklar. "And I love you as well, Lhakie-Boo."

"Lhakie-Boo!" Lhaklar exclaimed, the corners of his O-shaped mouth curved up gently. "Mommy! You are my mommy!"

"I am, yes. Have always and will always be." Angel said.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing that she saw that morning after she had woke up in her very own bed was the sun shining. Being back on the planet that she had been born and raised on felt great but the feeling that her home was giving off she thought was the greatest thing in the universe. There was no longer that empty feeling, no longer was there that feeling that there were ghosts walking about in the mansion. The mansion that she had been born and raised in had a full feeling to it, now that her brothers were home where they were suppose to be the house got that comfortable feeling that felt so great. She had gotten out of bed, had showered quickly then had noticed the time. Her father had docked the ship in his hangar at 2:24 am, her brothers and mother had been moved from the ship to the house and then she and her father had followed them with the staff coming in afterwards. Her brothers had been very nervous when they had left the room, having had Kalach escort them to the front of the ship where her daddy was waiting for them, when all four of her brothers had seen her father they had gotten very upset and nervous, so much so that it effected her mother as well. They had been good after entering the mansion, her father had walked around them gently that had led them upstairs to the second level. All four of her brothers, her father had said after he had come downstairs after taking them up to their temporary chamber, had blacked out.

Bile, Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer had been so freaked out and nervous that they had blacked out and had simply walked forward because their mother had been. Her father had said that neither he, her or his staff were going to bother them for a while, whether that meant for a few hours or a whole day, she had no idea. She was looking forward to getting to know all of them again, they were all very different now, had all grown up into strong, healthy mid-teenagers that reacted differently that they had when they had been six hundred, five hundred, a hundred and four months of age. She and her father had gone to their chambers for the night, to rest up for the day ahead of them. She was wondering if her father had slept any or if he was awake, the mansion was sure quiet. Her room was up on the third floor, she had a feeling that her brothers chambers were also on this level, before they had disappeared they had all had rooms on the second floor and so had she. When she had gotten older and could manage stairs better her father had decided to give her a new chamber. Her old chamber was still the same, her father had said it would always be the same, nothing would be taken out or replaced or anything unless she said for it to be. Bile's and Lhaklar's old kiddie chambers had remained the same as well and Hazaar's baby chamber was exactly the same as it had been when their mother disappeared with him and her brothers. Eshal looked at the big, cherry red wood Grandfather that had bird and bat carvings on it, a copper and bronze clock face and three big pendulums hanging behind a large plate of glass and saw that it was 9:45 am in the morning. She had slept for seven hours and twenty-one minutes. Eshal quickly made her way towards the stairs that went down to the second floor then she went down the second floor's hallway. She contemplated going into the room that was a few doors from her father's chamber, decided against it then walked on to the stairs that would take her to the first floor.

"Morning daddy," Eshal said when she walked into the kitchen and saw that her father was at the stove.

"Morning Eshal, sleep well?"

"Yes, you?"

"I slept for about four and a half hours then got up to continue work on your brothers' chambers." TazirVile replied.

Eshal looked at the man in front of her and smiled, he was her hero, she looked up to him for everything and was so proud of him for keeping his skin on him and in keeping the search for her mother and brothers going. Had it not of been for her father, her mother or brothers wouldn't be back in the mansion or be known to be alive. Eshal didn't need to look at her father's front to know what he looked like, she had been raised by the man for two thousand, five hundred and one years, she had seen him every day of her life so she knew exactly what he looked like. Her father had light blue skin, large, oval eyes that were silvery and a typical Zetakin face. He had holes where a nose would be, an O-shaped mouth and an upside down tear-drop face. The clear, elastic band that was around the back of his head held a pair of goggled lenses on it, her father had inherited a severe form of photo sensitivity in both of his eyes, he couldn't go outside without his goggled glasses, if he did he'd experience excruciating pain then go blind. Her father stretched his arm out once, Eshal saw the suction-cups that were on the ends of each of his fingers. Her father was a tall man, he stood six-foot, one inch tall and had a lean body that had a lot of muscle built up on it. Her father was wearing a burgundy tuxedo, the jacket of which sported a long tail that trailed the ground, and burgundy shoes. He had a burgundy tie around his neck and, she didn't have to look, she knew that he was wearing a burgundy vest that had dark burgundy ties on it over a white shirt that had gold buttons down the front which had belled cuffs. Her father's name was TazirVile Lajoshu Surfeit, he was the son of the fearsome DuruVile Bolushi Surfeit and the nice and meek Ashaklar Zoopray. He was a conqueror, like his father, but he was very unlike his father in quite a lot of ways. One was he was a good dad, he never disciplined unless he had to and he was patient and understanding while his father was one who liked to teach his children respect through harsh disciplinary means and, Eshal knew, his father beat his children as a way to get them to know who was the dominant one... who the boss was and who was in charge.

"So, are their rooms ready for them?" Eshal asked.

"Everything is set for them, all ready." TazirVile replied, he then turned around and began walking towards the kitchen table. "It'll just be you and me for breakfast today, Eshie. Let your brothers cool down some and relax."

"Okay," Eshal said, she had already planned on leaving her brothers be for a while. "when will you be showing them their rooms?"

"Hopefully today," TazirVile replied, he placed a plate in front of Eshal then turned and went back to the stove. "if not today, tomorrow."

"Mam with them?"

"Of course, they're rather close to your mother. Don't think they'll leave her side for a short while." TazirVile replied. "Don't you be but so buggy on your mother now, let her have a chance to settle down as well."

"Okay, maybe if she settles down they will as well?"

"It'll take a few days before they settle down," TazirVile said. "a week, at best."

The room that she and her father ate in was the kitchen, there was a dining room in the mansion but they had not eaten in it since her brothers and mother had disappeared. The kitchen was lit up by a bright white light that was set up on the ceiling which was metal and had a silver shine to it. The floor underneath her and her father's feet were the same color, there was a built-in heating system in the floor which kept it warm so they wouldn't get cold feet if they walked into the room barefooted. The walls around them were white, there was a blue line slashing down at every five-inch intervals. They were eating on an island that was placed right in the center of the kitchen, it went around in an elbow, the surface was black marble while the cabinets underneath were cherry wood. She and her father were seated on tall, dark stool that had been placed on one side of the island. The counter tops around the kitchen housed many containers, some that had long toothpicks in them and others that had cooking utensils in them. There was a cutting board on the surface of the counter nearest the refrigerator, which was a deep shiny silver and had an ice maker built-in on the front, a rack of knives sat next to the cutting board. A china cabinet sat near the wall that had plates, bowls, trays and other eating vessels on one shelf while the shelf underneath had a large spice rack on it. Underneath the spice rack were some holders for candy and cereal, there were four each. On the other side of the kitchen sat three stoves. Her father, or one of his staff, used the one that had the large burners on it for when he went out to do some hunting and had come home with some venison. The one beside that one had normal burners on it and on the left side of the stove that had the large burners sat a large oven that had three slots on it. Her father had put a plate of honey pancakes that had a touch of vanilla inside, maple syrup bacon and link sausage in front of her, he was eating the same thing and he had made them both a protein drink that was dark brown with a line of white in the center which was plain whipped cream. Her father finished before her, when he stood up he went straight to the sink, washed the dishes he had used then he went to the counter next to the sink and grabbed a large tray that had several dishes and plates and five glasses on it.

"Keep it down, Eshal." TazirVile said as he began to walk out of the kitchen. "No loud noises for a few days."

"Yes daddy." Eshal said.

As he walked down the hallway that had a dark green rug going down it and that had dark brown walls and ceiling, he couldn't help but admit that the mansion did have that old feeling back to it. Like Eshal, he had felt that the mansion had gotten that back-to-being-full feeling again. His entire family was back home, his wife was home and so were his sons. He had slept for only a few hours during the night, the excitement of having his family all back in his home had been just too great for him to sleep but for so long. He had gotten up at six, had showered then had gotten himself dressed then he had gone right up to the third level. Due to Hazaar's being a bit cautious of him, he was beeing extra careful in approaching him. He had gone out and bought his secondborn son a train track that ran around his chamber fully, a train ran around the track and, if his son wanted it to, there was a controller than had sounds on it. He had se tup the models, had made up the beds and had put all of his son's clothing in the dressers. Bile and Lazeer had a few tears in their clothing he had noticed, he had nearly thrown the torn clothing out but he had stopped himself after he had noted that most of their clothes had tears in them. Quite possibly, both Bile and Lazeer had done the tears themselves to add some style to their wears? Everything was set up well, everything was in their rooms except for the cigarettes and the bags of weed and the bottles that's labels had been torn off. He'd let his wife take care of those items after he told her about them.

He made a turn and went down the short hallway that led to the foyer then, once he reached the foyer, he stopped. It wasn't much changed, the foyer that was. The gold chandelier that hung down from the light copper ceiling was the same. The staircase that branched off around the foyer was the same as were the two, long candlebras that were standing beside each side of the stairs cases that stopped after reaching the floor, the two, normal sized candlebras that were standing on the flat rail endings were also the same. The floor underfoot was wooden, it had a glowing rust red finish to it. The short hallway he had come down had a dark red carpet running down it that started at the archway. There were portraits hanging on the walls, photographs of him and his children at various ages, portraits of bats, skulls, fangs and gruesome kites. With each new addition to his family he would have a photograph taken then mounted up, there was a photograph of him holding Eshal as a baby hanging up next to a heavy wooden door that acted as the front door to his mansion. There was a photograph of him and Angel with Lhaklar as a baby being held between them beside that one. There were photographs of him holding Lhaklar and Bile when they had both babies and when they had been toddlers, then there photographs of him, Angel, Eshal and Bile and Lhaklar with newborn Hazaar placed between them and then there was the one photograph of his wife and he with baby Lazeer being held by his wife soon after Lazeer had been born at the hospital. So many memories, he was really surprised and really glad that Lazeer was still alive, his youngest son was a very healthy youngster. Without further glancing around at his foyer, TazirVile went up the stairs to the second level then went to the door that went to the room that his wife and sons were in. He knocked twice, waited then opened the door and went in.

"Morning," TazirVile said after he had closed the door behind him.

"Good morning," Angel said, she then looked at her sons. "boys, what do you say?"

"Morning." Bile, Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer all said together.

"Everyone alright this morning?" TazirVile asked after he had placed the tray with the plates and dishes and glasses on the solid black marble bench that was in the room.

"Peachy," Hazaar said.

Yes, it was going to take a while before they calmed down and settled into living back home where they belonged. When he had walked into the room he had been blasted by a gale of tense air so thick that it seemed suffocating. He had decided to put his wife and sons in a room that his wife knew of in hopes that they would all calm down faster, he had put his wife in the room after his neighbor and good friend, Gloar Rovnitov, had discovered her sneaking around his place some months after she had given birth to Bile and he had ordered his staff to have her put in the room after he had caught her on Ite after she had returned Eshal to him when she had been much younger that she was now.

The one bed in the room had cost him a pretty penny but he spared nothing when it came to decorating the rooms that were in his mansion. The bed was full foam, from mattress to the twelve-inch sides. It had a dark purple velvet blanket and black sheets on it and there were three normal, two throw and one small pillow near the front of the bed that were all in dark purple pillow cases that had the letter T, his initial, stitched on each of their surfaces There was a long, black dresser that had a mirror above it placed against the far wall, beside it was a deep red chair that had an ottoman in front of it. There was a black armoir in the room placed on the opposite wall from the deep red chair and ottoman, placed beside that was a chair that had a black cushion that had spikes running all along the bottom and bat faces carved on the arms. There was one bench in the room, it was solid, black marble. There was a large, 50" tv mounted up in the room, this was new, he had forgotten to add a tv to the room when it had been designed. That was a mistake he had fixed up quick after it had been pointed out to him. The carpet in the room was dark purple, there were dark red thorny designs on it, the walls were light red and the ceiling matched. In the center of the ceiling there was a large, dome light that cast down a golden glow that made the faces of his four sons look even more tense. After he had placed the food down he backed away, he went to the black chair that had the bat faces carved on the arms and sat down. His wife stood up first and went to the tray that had the food on it, she lifted up the tops of the trays and dishes then started making herself a plate. TazirVile sighed inside in relief when the boys followed in her example.

"It'll be the two younger ones who'll come last," he thought, his two, younger sons had kept their eyes on him as they had gone to get something to eat. They were now both standing on the far side of the room far away from him, eating what they had taken from the tray. "Lhaklar's nervous but he'll come around, so will Bile. They both know this place."

"Don't stare,"

TazirVile looked over to the side and saw that his wife was standing right beside him, this comforted him some and he reached his hand up. There was a mild throat clearing from Bile but he didn't walk forward or say anything as he brushed his hand down Angel's arm. Was there that same old love between them? That same connection? That same feeling and that same passion that they had felt between each other one thousand, six hundred years ago? He really couldn't tell, he felt the same old love for the fiery red-haired woman who had emerald-green eyes that had a golden-yellow ring around her pupils but he wasn't sure if she was feeling it or not. Angel had accepted him, had respected him and had loved him, she had treated him wonderfully and he had done the same with her. TazirVile felt a sort of sadness fall over him, what if his wife had decided to stop loving him? What if all them years of being away from him had made the flame that had been sparked between them become extinguished? He loved the woman, he loved their children and that included Bile who was not his own. Sure, he would love to have more children with her, but... if that old love was gone between them how could that happen? He wasn't going to force her into being with him, that was for damn sure. He knew better than to do that, she had reacted rather nastily when her own father had tried to force her into loving him he remembered. TazirVile lowered his hand then looked forward, he didn't stare, he glanced at the boys from time to time then, after a few minutes, he stood up and left the room.

"Did you see the look on his face?!" Hazaar said after his father had left the room. "He was like, 'oh, she's beside me, I gotta touch her... oh, she's cold'."

"I saw it, he tried pulling a lovey-dovey move on ma." Bile said. "Didn't work, she's like stone."

"Man, she wasn't like stone." Lazeer said. "More like steel."

"Boys, that's enough." Angel said to her sons. "I wasn't being hard, was just standing next to him."

"You didn't respond when he touched you." Bile said.

"You wanted to see our mother go-..." Lhaklar turned around, wrapped his arms around himself then started making kissing noises. Lazeer burst out laughing right before his brother turned back around. "on our father in front of us?"

"My eyes!" Lazeer exclaimed. "Mama, he blinded me by making out with himself!"

"Eat your breakfast you crazy kids." Angel said, she then held her hand over her mouth to stifle the laughs that wanted to come out.

Their father had brought up a large tray that had three dishes and two platters on it. There had been a few plates placed off to the side and there were five glasses that had some milk in them just underneath the tray and there had also been a bowl of fruit placed in the center of the tray. Lhaklar and Hazaar had grabbed two honey pancakes that, when they had bitten into them they had discovered that the pancakes had an innard of vanilla which tasted rather good, and Bile had grabbed a bowl of scrambled eggs and two sausage links. Lazeer had grabbed a pancake, a small bowl of scrambled eggs and he had added two strawberries as a side. Their mother had grabbed one pancake then had taken a strawberry after noticing the fruit underneath the tray, after she had retrieved her small breakfast she had gone and stood by their father. After they had finished their first helping, they all went for second and third helpings. When their father returned he saw that everything had been eaten, his sons all had a glass of milk in their hands.

"Goodness, I was gone what-..." TazirVile said upon seeing the de-nuded dishes and plates that were on the tray he had placed down on the bench. "eight... nine... ten minutes and-..."

"Boys eat a lot," Angel said, she smiled at TazirVile and he smiled back. Angel then noticed that he had some clothes under his arms. "boys, think it's time for you to get dressed."

That smile of hers threw his whole train of thought and his new plans completely into the fire. She had used that sweet, trusting smile of hers with him quite a lot, it was a smile that she also used when she was being flirty and, whenever she had smiled at him with that sweet smile of hers he had smiled right back. On his way upstairs to get his sons something to wear he had thought about how his wife had reacted when he had touched her arm. She had stood there, had said nothing and had done nothing, she had just stood there, eating and looking out at her sons. He had gotten a feeling that she was merely standing beside him as a sort of insurance. She had stood by him to ensure that he'd not do anything rash with her children. He had gone to seven schools, he had gone to Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic, Shlane's Academy, the University of Telepathy, the School of Hard Knots, the School of Gray, the University of Power and then the Academy of Evil, he was rather intelligent so he had used that intelligence in his thinking of what had happened after she had walked over and stood beside him.

Men and women were known to be rather protective of their young, women were more so protective of their offspring and did get rather violent when it came to their youngs well-being. A woman was most distrusting when she had her young with her, she kept each and every male in her sights and she didn't stick around for long when an unknown male came around to talk because of that inbred instinct that they carried within them. Female animals were the same way, he had bred horses for thousands of years and he had found that with each of his mares foaling during the night that the mare would act distrustful of anyone who walked near the stall and both he and his staff had to be careful when entering the stall because a mare with a newborn foal could well take some skin in their drive to protect that newborn baby from the unknown being that entered the space that they called the nursery. It was only after a few days had passed that he and his staff were out of the red and into the green when it came to the mares with their new foals, after a few days had passed the mare had calmed down enough to know who they were and that they could be trusted. Dogs, cat, rodents and even sapient, intelligent beings acted the exact same way.

Right before he had entered Hazaar's bedroom chamber to get him something to wear he had decided to simply take the clothing that he retrieved from each of their rooms to his wife, hand it over then exit the room. He had planned on experiencing a few lonely nights as he was sure his wife would be sticking by the boys and he had planned on keeping things in his mansion as quiet and calm as he could. That smile of hers, that trusting smile that had warmed him up some, had made them plans evaporate completely. TazirVile stood in place for a few seconds then he turned and went towards Lhaklar. His firstborn son merely looked him up and down, he said nothing and he did nothing for a few seconds then he hesitantly took the clothing that was his that was on the top of the pile. He went straight for the bathroom afterwards. TazirVile went to Bile next, he repeated what he had done before. He stood and waited patiently, Bile took his clothing then went to the bathroom a full fifteen seconds later. TazirVile decided against going towards Hazaar and Lazeer, he knew that his two younger sons would freak out and that might well spark their mother into a frenzy. He simply went over to the bed with the remaining clothes that he had in his arms. He placed the clothing down then turned and collected the tray and its lid and then left the room.

"I feel much better!" Lhaklar said upon exiting the bathroom, he was now wearing a brown and green striped, long-sleeved, button-down shirt, a pair of brown pants, brown socks and brown shoes.

"Out of my way," Hazaar brushed by his brother and went into the bathroom with his clothes.

"I am glad that that bathtub had a curtain on the rod." Bile said as he exited the bathroom, he was now wearing a pair of pants that were dark brown and a torn brown shirt, dark brown socks and brown boots. "I'd be further scarred for life had there not of been one."

"Oh shut up," Lhaklar snapped. "the wrinkles on my back are not as gruesome as yours."

"Really? How about on your ass?" Bile asked.

"I'm younger, that means I have less wrinkles that you." Lhaklar replied.

"Ma, let's chop off Lhaklar's leg to see how many "wrinkles" he has inside it." Bile said.

"Last I heard, sweetie, it was rings instead of wrinkles inside legs." Angel said.

Hazaar ran out from the bathroom, he slapped the towel that he had upwrapped from around himself and whapped it at Bile's hip and then rear. After giving his oldest brother a few whappings, he turned the towel on Lhaklar. Lhaklar chased his younger brother, who was now wearing a pair of multi-brown pants that were slightly faded at the knees while being faded greatly at both the inner and outer thighs, and a brown shirt that he had tucked in, around the room a few times before deciding to stop. After Hazaar had ran around the room he plopped down on the foam siding of the bed and began to put on his dark gray socks. Bile, as fast as grease lightning, ran forward and snatched up the brown shoes that had light brown ties that his younger brother had placed near him.

"Hey!" Hazaar exclaimed, he jumped up from the foam siding of the bed then leaped at Bile. "Gimme!"

"Can you reach them?" Bile asked, Hazaar leaped up for the shoes twice more then he grabbed Bile's arm and began pulling it down. "Lhaklar, catch!"

Come on! Give me my damn shoes!" Hazaar said, he was starting to get angry.

"Nope, they are our shoes now." Lhaklar said, he held his younger brother's shoes up high.

"Lhaklar!" Hazaar snarled, he then balled his hand into a tight fist then slugged it home into his older brother's stomach.

"Now I know you won't be getting them back." Lhaklar groaned, he tossed the shoes to Bile then grabbed at his stomach.

Lazeer, who had already dressed himself in a dark gray pair of pants that were ripped at the knees, a netted shirt, light gray socks and multi-brown and gray shoes that had dark gray ties, looked on as Hazaar jumped up and tried to tackle their oldest brother to the floor. Hazaar swung his fist a few times, Bile held his chest out and acted tough with each swing then, when Lhaklar regain his composure, the shoes sailed across the room to him. Although both he and Hazaar were experiencing that dreaded temperamental phase that made then get extra moody or extra emotional, his brother was experiencing the phase a bit more extremely than he was. His brother let his temper get away from him quite a lot, before the phase had set in he had been a tiny bit mean, after the phase had set in he had changed into being the opposite. Hazaar had tried to isolate himself several times, he had tried to stay in the room in the apartment on Earth that they had just been forced to abandon that he had shared with him but, after their mother had found that out, that had come to a swift end. Hazaar was fine to get along with about seventy percent of the time, the other thirty percent he was just too ornery to be around.

He was experiencing the temperamental phase in a little lesser light that his brother, although he had slapped a few things around and had become snappish towards his mother and brothers, he mostly was experiencing the overly emotional part of the phase. Their mother had said that everyone reacts in different fashions to the phase, some people got particularly violent, like Bile had been when he had gone through the phase, some people were effected in a medium-fashion, like Lhaklar when he had gone through the phase, and some people were in between the two, that was Hazaar, he had broken a few windows and had had a few episodes where he had been violent but their mother had always gotten him under control and fast, and then there were the people who experienced the phase in a lesser fashion and who seemed barely effected. His main problem was his eye, he was already depressed over not being able to go and do the things his brothers could and the temperamental phase was only elevating it. He had tried isolating himself as well but his isolation-attempts had been solely on the fact that he couldn't go outside with his brothers or become involved like they had been with the environment and the beings outside. He could only go out when the sun was down, if he went outside when the sun was out he'd experience excruciating pain in his eye because of his damn ailment. Lazeer ran forward just as Hazaar threw a punch into Lhaklar's stomach, he leaped onto Lhaklar's back and forced him to both drop to his knees and drop the shoes which Hazaar grabbed up. Just after Hazaar had grabbed his shoes, their father walked back into the room.

"Uh uh, rule number one, don't wrestle unless its in the gym, boys." TazirVile said upon entering the room and seeing Lazeer on top of Lhaklar who was on his side.

"Sorry Tazzy, I usually don't let them wrestle inside." Angel said. "This one's mostly on me, don't blame them."

"I'll look past it," TazirVile said. "forgotten what its like to have sons in the house, it'll take a short while before I get the hang of it."

"Be warned, the old man just said he's putting us boys on coat hangers." Lazeer said.

"You'll get use to after a while, seems that the soonest I get use to one of their actions or hobbies they pick something else up." Angel said, she gave Lazeer a warning glare to not say anything further.

He worked in silence, said not a work nor made any sound and he did his damnedest to be careful with whatever he was dusting or cleaning up, for twelve hours and thirty minutes then, after a hard day of keeping himself silent, of not even saying a word to his co-workers who walked about and who had been just as silent as he had been, he clocked out then grabbed the keys to his car from the hook that was in the office of the employees garage. He was tired, he was wanting to go home but above all, he was damn bored. A whole day of working in silence had just been boring, normally he and his co-workers could mill about, speak freely and be themselves when they were not working but for the next few days he and his co-workers were to work in complete silence. He knew his employer had only ordered the silent working on behalf of his just-returned sons but did it necessarily have to be so damn quiet in the house that one could hear one of his or her co-workers fart or one of the bats that their employer kept as pets flapping its wings? On top of the order to be quiet while working, their employer had given the order for each and every one of his staff to keep their lips sealed about what was happening inside his home.

He went to his car, a Isetta Ni1 that the humans had found one day after felling a ship from Moas that had carried all sorts of vehicles that had been heading for a big ol' show in a galaxy near the Milky Way Galaxy and, after a few taking aparts and experimenting and then rebuilding, had renamed the BMW Isetta, and opened the door. His car he had bought cheaply, he had spent a little under $4000 for it but damn did it run ever smoothly and he made sure to keep it in tip-top form, he had to if he was to go to work every morning and then drive home every evening. His car was egg-shaped, had bubble-like windows and it had just three wheels, two in the front and one in the back. When he had bought it, the paint had been falling off. He had repainted the car fully a light blue color, had added a white stripe down the sides and then he had redone the upholstery inside as it had been coming down. His car had just one door and, unlike other vehicles, the door was placed in the front and was hinged outside, the steering wheel and instrument panel had been built onto the door and the roof was canvassed. Only two could fit into his car, himself and one of his co-workers or him and one of his siblings or, if his father didn't feel like driving to work, he'd drive himself and his father to and from work since they both worked for the same man.

The seats were cream leather, the floor had cream-colored carpeting and there was a large parcel shelf behind the two seats with a spare wheel located underneath of it. The humans, when they had rebuilt the vehicle, had not figured out how to put a heating and cooling system in the car so their BMW Isetta's had no heating or cooling system, the only way a human who drove the vehicle could get warm in winter or have a nice, cool ride during the hot days in spring and summer was to have the door ventilated well and, in the spring and summer seasons, undo the canvassed sunroof. He had a heating and cooling system in his car, he also had windshield wipers, a water system to wash the windshield off if it got dirty or smudged up and the canvassed roof could not be taken off. As Zshon Zultoa slid into the driver's seat then grabbed the handle to swing the door shut so he could start his car up then drive home, he was hoping that things would look up the next time he came into work which was at 6:30 am in the morning of the next day.

"Zshon, honey, you on your way home?" Zshon's mother, Aboshi Zultoa, asked upon answering the phone after her son had called her from his cellular. "Right late, I've kept supper warm for you."

"I am on my way now," Zshon, a green-skinned Goblin that had a large nose, large warts on his face and yellow eyes, replied. "are Daosi, Yhozah and Mekaia home yet?"

"Been home for nearly an hour now," Aboshi replied. "they said they had a rough day."

"So have I." Zshon sighed.

"What happened? Did Mr. Surfeit-..."

"I'll tell you when I get home." Zshon said. "I'll be home shortly."

He was the oldest of his parents' children, he had been born three hundred and twenty years before Daosi had been concieved and then there had been plenty others following afterwards. In total, he had thirteen siblings, his grandparents were now hounding his father to get the units snipped which was a hoot. He worked alongside his father and three of his siblings, his father was rather loyal to TazirVile Surfeit and he had gotten the idea to get the man to employ some of his children after they had graduated from Staffer's Academy and had grown and aged a little more. Besides himself, who had been the first of his father's offspring to get employed, his brother's, Daosi and Yhozah and one of his sisters, Mekaia, had been employed next. Being the oldest, he had the most responsibility with Daosi and Yhozah coming behind him, his parents had had three sets of twins with only one being fraternal. Zshon snapped his cellular shut then set down to driving, he lived with his parents in a house that his parents had owned for thousands of years in the next county. He had just over an hour an forty-five minute drive ahead of him, a long drive that was about to be made shorter as he reached down to turn the radio on.

"It's about time you got here," Aboshi, a four-foot, three-inch tall Goblinette who had green skin, yellow eyes and long, light blond, hair, said when her oldest son walked into the house. "been worried sick about you. Daosi, Yhozah and Mekaia are already upstairs in bed, been so for hours."

"Don't blame them, working in silence all day makes fatigue build up." Zshon said. "I take everyone else is upstairs sleeping?"

"Everyone but me, you and your father." Aboshi replied. "He's waiting for you in the kitchen."

The house was big enough to fit twenty, at the moment it housed just sixteen but from the look of his mother's stomach that number might possibly be on the way up. His parents had met at a country club, they had seated themselves on either side of the room and when they had seen each other a spark had been started. His mother's father, Teromeo Raclomor, had not liked his father at all and had barred his father from seeing his daughter but, after a few slip-outs during the nighttime hours and some creative thinking, his mother had changed that. Aboshi Raclomor had married his father a virgin, had gone to bed with his father a virgin and had conceived him soon after. They had lived in a small apartment for a few thousand years and then, after his father had become employed by TazirVile Surfeit at the age of four thousand and thirty years, they had upgraded to the large house that was tastefully placed up on a hill. There was a white picket fence around the house, a shed and garage were in the front while, in the back, there was a small barn that had three cows and about five goats and, behind the barn, there was a small garden. The house had a brown singled roof and the walls on the outside were a light purple color, there was a large porch on the front with a small porch on the back and there was a small peach and apple tree in the front yard with a small bird bath placed between them.

"Papa," Zshon said after he had entered the kitchen that had mosaic wall tile all on the walls, a black vinyl floor and a light cream ceiling. His father was seated in one of the brown wooden chairs that was in front of the light brown table.

"How was it?" Eldass Zultoa asked outright. "Good or bad?"

"Cannot really say, we were ordered to work in complete and total silence all day today." Zshon replied, he went straight to the microwave, took out his still warm supper then walked over to the kitchen table. "Probably will be all week."

"Did you see them?" Eldass asked.

Did he see them? Well that was sort of a no in the have you seen them any while you was working. He had seen the four boys, he had looked into the room that they had been put in while in the ship a few times and had seen four very healthy boys that looked scared half out of their wits. Young Master's Bile, Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer had not left the room that their father had led them to and had put them in after they had unboarded the ship and neither had their mother, Mistress Angel. They had all stayed in the room, Master Tazir had come and gone from the room several times, sometimes he had come out looking a bit stressed out, othertimes he had come out looking rather happy and pleased and there had been the one or two times that he had exited the room looked a bit tempered. The man was trying, Zshon had to tip his hat at him for his attempts in getting the boys use to him. Zshon knew that if it had been his employer's father, DuruVile Surfeit, instead, the boys would have already had half their flesh torn from their bodies and would be a bloody stressed our wreck. His employer was taking it right slow which was in the right, Master Tazir was doing the getting-use-to thing intelligently by doing things slowly, calmly and with as less stress as he could think of.

Eldass Zultoa, his father, had been injured on Earth after fighting one of their employer's sons and he had been ordered to head home on work related leave. His father wasn't sweating the not-wanted vacation, he had a few bruises on him and he had had to get stitches in his arm to close up a nine-inch long gash. His father looked old but he wasn't, his father was like him, he was forever. He was eternal. His father had fluffy, white hair on his head that had once been a dull, coppery red, he had a lot of wrinkles on his face but that meant nothing as he wasn't old. He had a rather long nose that had large nostrils, his eyes were blue and he had light blue skin. He stood four-foot, seven inches tall and had a lean body that had firm muscle on it. At the moment, he was wearing a pair of blue pants, a white t-shirt that was tucked in and brown shoes.

"No," Zshon answered after a full minute had passed. "they stayed in the room that Master Tazir took them to this early morning."

"Give it time, they'll come around. This is new for them, they're nervous and scared." Eldass said.

"Papa, Young Master's Bile and Lha-..."

"It's been years, son. They've forgotten all about their old home. It'll take them a while to get use to living back at the mansion and it'll take a while before they start trusting their father and us." Eldass held his hand up slightly from the table.

"Master Tazir spent most of his time going between Mistress Angel, their sons and Miss. Eshal today." Zshon said.

"As he should be," Eldass said. "it'll take him a while before they all calm down around him."

"Surely, Young Master's Bile and Lha-..."

"Don't matter son, a blind horse won't let itself be led by one who it doesn't trust. Same with them boys. Right now, they're blinded by their nervousness and fear. Master Tazir has to earn their trust, same with Mistress Angel's."

"Papa! Mistress Angel-..."

"Has four sons to think of, her instincts are in-tune to her sons. She'll come around first, yes, but even with her it will take some time." Eldass said. "Young Master's Bile, Lhaklar and Hazaar will follow soon after. Along with that Reezal boy"

"Lazeer, papa. He was positively identified while on the way here." Zshon said, his father looked up at him sharply. "He was identified as Master Tazir's third son."

"The Gods have really looked out for Master Tazir and his family. I am sure that he has a lot to think of and be thankful for." Eldass said after a moment's pause. "In that case, it'll probably take him and Young Master Hazaar a little longer than their older brothers to get use to their father and to their new home."

He got up from the table and left the room, his son had gone on to eat his supper in silence so he had figured best to leave him be. He had worked for TazirVile Surfeit for a long time, he had been among the first Goblins that the man had hired and he had acquired the status of Most Trusted Goblin quickly afterwards. He was the only one of the first batch of twenty Goblins that had been employed by TazirVile Surfeit to remain in the man's service and he felt a pride at that, the others had left after figuring that there were better possibilities for work, better families that were more known. Granted, TazirVile Surfeit, back then, was little known except for is being the second son of DuruVile Surfeit. He had not conquered a thing, he had done nothing with his life. Soon after he had settled on Moas, had gotten his mansion built up and had gotten everything set up and his first batch of Goblins working for him he had started looking for a galaxy to conquer. The Vaisha Galaxy he had picked out of hundreds, the galaxy was full of gold and silver, gems, both semi-precious and precious, oil and for it's gutloads of paper money. He had conquered that galaxy soon after setting his sights on it and that had made a name for himself but, still, a majority of the help that he had hired had seen him not as a conqueror, they had all said he had barely made the conquer when, really, he had taken the galaxy in four months, it had taken him two months of research before deciding to go on and conquer the galaxy and then, after he had set himself to do it, he had gone in and had taken the galaxy with barely a fight. The news had said that he had been like a Moagle, he had flapped his wings once then had dove and everyone had fled in the first planet he had invaded. The other planets he had had to fight, he had no army at the time so he had fought each and every being that came upon him himself. That had set the fear bar and then, afterwards, the man had gone and recruited an army.

The Goblins had not been loyal to him, he had picked each and every one of them for their fierceness and that could well of gotten him seriously hurt or worse, killed. After he had recruited his army he had gone back to the Vaisha Galaxy and, with his army running behind him, he had conquered planet after planet time and again with, again, very little trouble. Unlike his brother, who let his army fight in front of him while he stood up on a high area and made use of his powers when he saw fit the time to use them, Tazir had ran in front of his army and had fought with both his sword and with his powers. It had taken three full planets before the two thousand member Goblin army had decided to write his name in blood, as was custom for any Goblin whether staff or military trained, on their Loyalty Papers. His family had thought him crazy when they had found out that he was fighting in front of the front lines and they had all said that he was risking his life. It was true, he was risking everything in his blind rush in front of his army towards the enemy, it was well known that the first major volley of fire went towards the first line, Master Tazir had dodged each and every bullet and each and every attack in his mad dash for the opposing forces and, when he had reached the front lines, he had started fighting with every bit of strength and endurance that he had. Eldass remembered well the live broadcast of what had happened on Caicla all too well.

As soon as the opposing army had showed up his employer had jabbed his swords up into the air then he had raced forward with his army running some five to ten feet behind him. Bombs had gone off near the man, bullets had whizzed by him and the power attacks had struck him twice but he had gone on. When he had met the first line of the opposing army that had ran up to meet him he had swept his swords and had felled each and every one of them and then he had dropped down to an almost seated position on the ground. Eldass had thought the man had been injured but, in reality, his employer had one hell of a jump. His employer had dropped down then by use of the muscle on his legs he had shot up into the air. He had landed right dead in the center of the first line and had begun swinging his swords and using his powers to fell the ones around him that were trying to make him surrender. The Goblins that had followed him had slammed into the first wave that he had left behind when he had jumped, they had quickly fought them and had gotten most either to surrender or had felled them and then they had gone to the next wave of militants. In all, it had taken two hours of fighting before Caicla had succumbed to his employer and before TazirVile had stabbed his flag into the soil of the planet, claiming it as fully his. His employer had had a few injuries to him, a few cuts and scrapes and his arm had been sliced open at the elbow but he had looked very well. Soon after Caicla, his employer had gone to the other planets in the galaxy.

Raising Eshal practically on his own and having a galaxy to rule over had slowed him up in conquering the Andromeda Galaxy, he had conquered about half of the Andromeda Galaxy when Mistress Angel decided to take his daughter. That had sparked a monster, one of which even he had no idea existed in the man. His employer had thought that the Dolis family, the ruling family of the Andromeda Galaxy at that time, had taken his daughter as he had just finished conquering a planet in the galaxy, he had gone off to each planet, had fought each and every army fiercely, sometimes even his Goblin army, now numbered in the millions, had barely anyone to fight after their leader had reached the opposing forces. It hadn't been until Mistress Angel had showed up on Ite, Ute's red ice moon, with Eshal that the monster within him had gone into a semi-hibernation. Mistress Angel had taken Eshal in an act of teaching his employer who not to mess with and who not to betray, she had learned a very valuable lesson herself afterwards that her great-uncle was also not one to mess with.

He had fourteen children, nine sons and five daughters, if someone would have taken one of his children from him, whether adult or still a child, and he had caught them he'd not of showed any mercy. He had thought that his employer would show his great-niece the same treatment, he had thought that the man would punish the girl. He had caught him getting on her hard once and then he had switched things up. Eldass had noticed that, after his employer had come back home, that his white juice firing episodes, as he called them, ceased completely. Angel Irene was sleeping in his bed with him, he knew that but what they were doing he had no clue. He had figured that the girl that had taken his employer's daughter was being punished by simple intimidation, that his employer was forcing her to sleep in his bed with him as an intimidation thing. It wasn't until after the girl had escaped by help of some friends of hers that he and his co-workers had found out that the girl was their employer's Universal Wife.

"He's fought and won plenty of major battles in the past," Eldass thought. "he tamed Mistress Angel when no other man could. He'll win this new one as well."

"Eldass..." his wife called down from the white-painted stairs that had a green carpet going down them. "coming to bed?"

"On my way right now." Eldass said, he began walking up the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

"Mam!" Eshal exclaimed upon entering the room, she ran by her father who tried to grab her arm but she was much too fast.

Angel looked over at the girl that had rushed into the room about an hour and a half after Tazir had brought breakfast in. At first, she didn't recognise her and that, in itself, set off her instinct to protect her sons. She got up from the ottoman that she had been sitting on and walked over in front of her sons who had all jerked their heads over in the direction of the girl who had ran into the room. When the girl came to within two feet of her she stopped, there was no dangerous look on her face, there was no look of deceit or even trouble cast off from her movements and her eyes had a clear, peaceful look to them. After a full minute had passed, Angel's instincts to protect her sons shut off and she remembered who the girl was that was standing in front of her. Bile, after his mother had walked over in front of him and his brothers, had stood up. He knew who the girl was but he couldn't put a name to her.

"Eshal?" Angel said after a full minute and thirty seconds had passed.

"Uh huh," Eshal nodded her head.

"You really have grown," Angel said, she walked forward and gently hugged her adopted daughter.

Gone was the child that she had left one thousand, six hundred years ago, gone was the five foot tall girl that had been nine hundred and one years of age when she had put her to bed on the night that she had decided to take her sons out of the mansion and away from the planet to keep them safe from the man who was her father who had wanted to take her from her sons, one who had been born prematurely and who she had become so stressed over. She had light blue skin, just like her daddy, but she had inherited her eyes from her real mother. Her eyes were green and cat-like complete with black pupils, they were very feminine in design and they made her face look very pretty. She had suction-cups on the ends of each of her fingers, just like her daddy, but the rest of her had been inherited from her mother. She had a heart-shaped mouth, a small nose and she had high cheek bones in her face. She had grown her hair out, it ran all the way down her back now. Her hair was the same color, her bangs were purple while the rest of her hair was light blue, she had braided some of the hair in the back which made her look even more pretty. She was wearing a green dress that fit her fully, her perky breasts jutted out slightly but she had made sure to keep them contained. She had green shoes on her feet and there was a jade necklace handing down from around her neck. Eshal, at nine hundred years of age, had been five feet tall. Now, at two thousand, five hundred and one years of age she stood five foot four inches tall.

"Your daddy's done real well with you," Angel said. "all grown up now."

"Well, not yet my love. She has several hundred years to go before she can be considered a grown-up." TazirVile replied. TazirVile walked over to his wife then leaned down and whispered in her ear. "I hope it's alright that she visits for a while. She wants to see her brothers."

"Fine with me, just take it easy." Angel whispered back.

The first two days had been slow, he and his brothers had been brought their meals and snacks by their father and their mother had let them nurse a few times. After each meal they had spent a little time alone in the room with their mother and then, about an hour and a half after their meals had been brought in, their father had walked in, had taken the trays, dishes and utensils then had left with them. He had returned after he had taken everything down to the kitchen and had simply seated himself in either the deep red chair that had the ottoman or the chair that had the black cushion and the spikes running all along the bottom that had the bat faces carved in on the arms. Hazaar and Lazeer had either stood nearly on top of their mother or they had seated themselves as far away from the man as the room would allow. He, after the second day, had started to calm down a little. He had walked over and had spoken a few times to the man who had adopted him as his son and who he regarded as his true father, their conversations were short at first and then, after a few hours had passed and his nerves had dropped. When he had arrived at the mansion three days before his nervousness gauge had been at a high ten, Bile estimated it at a low six now.

Lhaklar was a nervous wreck and that surprised him, he guessed that his brother was simply feeding off of the energy that Hazaar and Lazeer were throwing off of them but, then again, his nervousness could simply be an after effect from his stress as well. Lhaklar acted somewhat too adult at times, infact he acted sometimes like the paternal figure and that just plain annoyed Bile to a T. His brother was his brother and should be acting as his brother, he shouldn't be trying to act like a father towards him. On Earth, Lhaklar had a job. On Earth, Lhaklar had decided to take up a responsibility of keeping the family's finances up. Their mother had not wanted their brother to get a job, she had said she wanted him to be jobless, to act like the mid-teenaged boy that he was. Lhaklar had not listened, he had gone and gotten himself a job after he had gotten him to get him made up a fake I.D. after he had gotten one made up for himself so he could enter the bars and do a little drinking and female companion shopping. Lhaklar had told their mother that he worked at the register at Walmart, in realty he had worked at a strip club called Kale's World.

"Bile, is that you!" Eshal exclaimed when she saw her brother.

"Last time I checked my tags I was," Bile said.

"You've gotten big!" Eshal said. "What do you weigh now? How tall are you?"

"Six three and two hundred and fifty pounds." Bile replied. "And not a speck of that is in fat."

"You look really strong," Eshal said. "bet you'll be lifting up the weights in the gym soon."

"Probably will be," Bile said. "I can lift two hundred pounds right easily."

"My goodness!" TazirVile said. "Angel-..."

"Show off! Last time I checked, you struggle when you go upwards of a hundred and eighty pounds." Hazaar snapped.

He had learned a few things about his sons in the three days that he had been spending time simply sitting in one of the chairs in the room. Bile could do Elemental and Energy powers and he was very well trained in the art of using a sword. Lhaklar had also been well trained in using a sword and he could do Elemental and Energy powers as well which had been surprising. He had heard his father say time and again that he doubted him being able to pass along his Elemental powers to his children, well his firstborn son was proof that he could pass the powers on and then he had further proof in his second and thirdborn sons who, he had found out, could also do Elemental and Energy powers. His wife had trained each of her sons how to use a sword and how to use their powers and, when Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer had started showing that they could also do Acidic powers, she had done her best in teaching them how to work them powers. Lazeer, he had found out, was a natural with his Acidic powers while Hazaar had them but hadn't done much in training himself in how to use them. Lhaklar wasn't as good with his Acidic powers as he was with his Elemental and Energy powers, Bile had described him as half-taught with his third power. He had already known that all four of the boys had gone to Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic and Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer had all gone to the University of Telepathy. He had their forms, rank cards, the records that each had broken and other important information on his desk in his office. He also had several tapes of when Bile had ran track, had broken the records that had been made thousands of years prior by members of his own family, and from when Bile had done wrestling and, also, from when Lhaklar and Hazaar had ran track, the latter had only ran track when he had been a student at the University of Telepathy.

All four boys had a normal sibling rivalry to them, Hazaar was experiencing a bad case of the temperamental phase but he could be controlled by his mother and that was good. Lazeer was also going through the phase but, from what he had seen, it wasn't effecting his thirdborn son as much as it was his secondborn son. All four of the boys were very close to their mother, they listened to her well and obeyed her. Bile and Lhaklar had good memories on them, they remembered well the mansion that they were in and had asked a few questions about the pool, gym and if their old chambers were still up or if they had been demolished and Bile had asked if the in-house theater was still up and running. Hazaar and Lazeer had no clue about the mansion, they listened but they didn't speak. Both were still rather wary of him, he was taking his time, he was simply sitting and speaking and letting them get use to his presence.

"BroSis has really gotten big." Eshal said enthusiastically.

"It's Hazaar you-..."

"Hazaar, hush!" Angel said to her son quickly." Eshal, if you are to use a different name with your brother please use Hazie okay? He don't like being called BroSis."

"I called him that when he was a baby." Eshal said, she looked over at her father who simply looked down at her. He said nothing so she looked back at her mother.

"I know, honey. But he's not a baby anymore, he's-..."

"I am too!" Hazaar exclaimed, he ran up to his mother and wrapped her up from behind in a hug. "I'm yours."

It happened so fast that he had no time to prepare for it, he saw his secondborn being so close to him and saw that as his chance to walked over and place his hand on his shoulder. Hazaar, the second he felt his father's hand fall onto his shoulder, leaped up then lunged towards him. Angel grabbed her thirdborn son by his arm to pull him back but her action came a fraction of a second too late, Hazaar had clinched his hand into a fist and had swung it. TazirVile shook his head, his secondborn son had a dandy of a punch to him and he, not expecting for any violent action to happen, had taken the blow squarely on the jaw. Lhaklar, soon after his brother had been pulled back a few feet from their father, walked over and grabbed him about the waist. He lifted his brother up an inch off of the floor then carried him over to the bed, the second he had released Hazaar he found himself being turned upon. Hazaar turned around then swung his fists, one of them clobbered the side of his face while the other struck him just above his Adam's Apple. Angel rushed forward just after her secondborn son had leaned himself down, she grabbed Hazaar by his shirt then forcibly sat him down. She then turned and looked at the man who had created her second, third and fourthborn sons.

"It was nice seeing you, Eshal." she said. "Tazzy, you best check your jaw now."

His reaction had happened solely on his fear, when he had placed his hand on Hazaar he had evoked that fear and his son had used that fear to a violent degree to get the thing that had made him become afraid to his advantage. TazirVile knew well that his son wouldn't have done a thing had he of not touched him, if he would have kept his hands to himself his son would have simply stood where he had been, with his arms around his mother. Eshal had left the room quickly when he had told her to and then he had followed, she was upset and he understood why. She had not expected such a reaction and had grown fearful herself... for him. In the hour after his son had lashed out at him he had caught his daughter talking to one of the maids that she was close to, he had caught her exposing what had happened and the maid, in a friendly yet professional manner, had told her exactly what he would have said. The reaction was natural, he got scared and decided to try to sent the thing that had scared him away by lashing out.

Some children did that, some reacted to fear by trying to fight it and its cause. Some reacted in a different way, by running and hiding. Hazaar, TazirVile automatically knew now, was one who would fight his fears. His son wasn't dangerous, he knew that, but he could become one if there was not someone he knew with him in the room that he was in. He could of well made it ten times worse if he would have grabbed his son after he had punched him or if he would have disciplined him, as he saw it he was being wise in staying away for a while. His jaw was fine, it was bruised but it was fine. He saw the bruise as a lesson, he had made a mistake in putting his hand on his son who was still afraid of him and he was now going through the results of his mistake. Was he going to be afraid of entering the room that his wife and sons were in? Was he going to stand by the door like a little frightened cat after he decided to go back in for another fifteen to twenty minute visit? No, he would simply walk back into the room, would glance around then head for a chair that was vacant. His son would come around, one day or another he would. TazirVile walked down the hallway from the third floor of his mansion with a box in his hand, he had decided to head up and retrieve the few items that he had confiscated after his sons had left the medical chamber in his ship.

"You alright?" Angel asked when he walked into the room. "Anything broken?"

"No, jaw's bruised but nothing was broken." he replied. "He alright?"

"Hazaar's fine, as you can see."

Yes, he could see his son and yes, he did look fine. Hazaar was seated on the bed, his legs were pulled up to his chest and were crossed, he had a very nervous look to his face that said he had returned back to the state he had been in before he had rushed forward to wrap his mother in a hug after she had said that he was not a baby anymore. TazirVile went over to the deep red chair that had the ottoman, he placed the box down on the ottoman then he sat down in the chair. Lazeer, who was just a few feet from him, looked at him curiously but he said not a word nor made a sound. TazirVile reached into the box, he didn't fumble around or fish around, he simply grabbed a wallet then pulled it out. He had a feeling that the wallet belonged to Bile as the wallet was black leather, very well kept, and had two studs on the side that kept the wallet closed. A gold chain that had a wolf on one end went from the one hole on the corner of the wallet. He held the wallet out and, just as he had suspected, Bile walked forward and took it and, as he had also suspected the owner of the wallet to do, Bile opened and then inspected the contents that were inside.

"Not a thing taken," TazirVile saw that his stepson was fibbing, there was one thing missing from the wallet that he had confiscated. "thanks."

"You're welcome," TazirVile said.

He contemplated saying something about the three photos of the girls that were in the photo sleeves and decided against it. He had checked through the contents of the wallets thoroughly to be sure that there was nothing in them that he didn't want his sons to have. He had nearly taken out the three photographs when he had seen them then he had thought to leave them where they were. His stepson had a topless Hawaiian girl that had a blue, wrap around skirt in the first photo sleeve while in the second photo sleeve there was a half-naked girl who was looking down at the floor. The third photograph he had actually taken out from the sleeve and had been planning on discarding, he lady in the third photograph was fully naked except for a thin piece of fabric lying across her waist. The woman was leaned back on a bed with one of her legs held up and she had a cigarette held in the right hand between her index and middle fingers and, for some reason, the woman was wearing a little heart charm necklace around her neck. Boys will be boys, he had a photograph of his wife sitting sideways half-naked in his wallet as well along with the photograph that his nephew had showed him that had gotten the Universal Gods plans working on who he was meant to be with. TazirVile reached back into the box and took out a brown leather wallet that had dark red stitching on it. He had figured that the wallet belonged to Lhaklar and his figuring turned out right again as his firstborn son walked forward with hardly any hesitation and took the wallet quickly. Tazir watched as his first son and child with his Universal Wife started looking through the wallet, checking to see if the anything had been taken.

"Lhaklar! What the-... you been robbing banks or something?" Angel exclaimed when she saw the large wad of cash that her son took out from his wallet.

"Been saving up everything that I find on the ground these past few months and whatever extra I make at work and whatever I have left from the allowance you give me, mom." Lhaklar replied, he started counting the money. "Yep, all here."

"My curious mind wants to know how much cash you have in your hand," Angel said.

"One thousand, eight hundred and twenty-five dollars."

"What!"

He was curious about this "job" that his son said he had, his son had in his hand just as much as he had in his own wallet and that was quite a lot for one, two thousand one hundred year old boy to have. He had counted the cash up himself and had been flat-out surprised that his son had that much on his person, he had contemplated putting the cash in an envelope and then putting the envelope in his safe for his son at a later time but then, that trust thing had rang up in his head and he had decided to just put the cash back in the wallet. There had been two things that he had taken out from the wallet and one of them had been a rubber, why his son had had that on his person was beyond him. His son was much too young to be thinking about sex with another being and he was for damn sure not going to let his son walk around with a prophylactic in his wallet. He knew that kids carried the weirdest of things on their person for luck, he had carried a copper and silver coin in his wallet for years after he had found it simply lying on the dash-board of his father's car when he had been one thousand, five hundred and twenty years old and, afterwards, he had added a gold candy wrapper in his wallet in hopes of having double luck. Regardless of his son's intention for that rubber, he wasn't going to allow him to have one on his person until he was of age to have them. Lhaklar walked off, he said not a thing about his missing rubber and the other thing that was missing from his wallet and TazirVile reached back into the box. The next wallet that he took out he had a feeling belonged to Lazeer. It was black leather but it had a stallion's head and a portion of the stallion's neck engraved on the front surrounded by a horseshoe. TazirVile turned towards his youngest son, he showed him the wallet then he tossed it over. Lazeer caught it then opened and began inspecting the contents that had been inside it when he had lost it. Seeing as there was just one wallet left in the box, a red-brown leather wallet that had the head and back of a crocodile pattern on the top, TazirVile took that wallet out then held it out for his wife to take. Angel walked forward, took the wallet then she took it over to Hazaar who took it between the thumb and index finger of his right hand slowly.

"Who was the one that had the twin blade pocket knife that, when it's opened up, looks like a bat?" TazirVile asked, he had the knife in his hand, it was light weight and was black on one side while the other side was metal silver.

"Me," Lazeer said in a weak voice.

"Don't hurt yourself or anyone with it now," TazirVile said, he tossed the knife over to his youngest son who caught it then stuck it into the left pocket of his brown pants. "you and I need to talk on that knife. I like the design."

"Your daddy is one who likes bats, Lazie." Angel said when Lazeer looked over at her.

"Yep, very true." TazirVile said, he smiled at his wife, she smiled back then he reached back into the box. "Bile, I take this knife is yours?"

He had never seen a knife like the one he had found in the pocket of the pants that had been in the pocket of the dark brown pants that matched the pair that his stepson was wearing now. It had a big handle that housed four blades in it. There was a long, sharp, seven-inch blade, a six-inch blade, a four-inch blade and a small, two-inch blade held within the Dragon-Motorcyle handle that was very silver and very well polished. He had personally looked over each blade and he had also checked the blades for their sharpness. The seven-inch blade was very sharp, it had sliced through a piece of paper with it easily and the six-inch blade had been just as sharp while the four-inch blade had been pretty dull. The two-inch blade was either there as a decorative item or his stepson just never bothered with cleaning and sharpening it up as it was so dull that it couldn't cut through paper. As he had expected, Bile walked up and took the knife with no hesitation. TazirVile then reached into the box and took out the pocket knife that had a medium redwood handle and a four-inch, stainless steel blade. He knew this was Lhaklar's, he tossed the pocket knife over to his firstborn son then reached back into the box for the last remaining knife.

He hesitated, he had once considered keeping the knife because of his son's young age but then had decided to go on and give it back after he had found it, the one thing that he worried over with Hazaar was his son losing it and using the knife, either on himself or on someone else. At one thousand, seven hundred years of age he had not been allowed to have a knife on his person and he had been watched closely when he had used one of he dinner knives during dinner as well. Like all early, mid-teenagers, he had been curious about knives and his parents, and that included his abusive father, had decided that his having a knife on his person would like handing him a gun, it had been just too risky with him being so curious about the instrument. The knife was small, it had a four-inch, stainless steel blade that was housed in a golden dragon handle that had a can opener on it fashioned to look like the wings of a dragon that he liked a lot. Tazir thought hard on keeping the knife then he looked over at his wife, she came over, took the knife then walked it over to their secondborn son.

"Think your father is thinking the same as I with this, Hazaar." he heard his wife say to Hazaar. "You be careful, you use or act as if you're going for it and it'll be taken away. Hear me?"

"Yes momma." Hazaar said, he took the knife then stuffed it into the front left pocket of his brown pants.

He tossed Hazaar the Playboy magazine, a pornographic magazine that had photographs of either semi-nude or fully naked women and all sorts of articles in it, that he had found hidden inside the shirt he had left behind on the floor of the medical chamber in his ship then he reached back into the box and took out the cigarette case that he had found hidden inside the sewn in pocket that had been inside Lhaklar's green and brown striped, long sleeve, button down shirt. He had found three black papers cigarettes held nicely by a spring inside the cigarette case that was a nice, sturdy, aluminum, cigarette-length box that opened flatwise symmetrically on hinges into two halves that was silver that had an engraving of a bull deer jumping over a fallen log on the front and, without a second thought on it, had taken the cigarettes from the case. The case, on the inside, had red velvet lined on both sides. TazirVile looked over at his firstborn son then he tossed the cigarette case at him, his son caught it and, as he had figured, he opened the case to see if he had been robbed or not of the cigarettes that had been in it.

The next few items that were in the box he had found in the car, a Buick Lucerne that was a deep red color and that had cream-colored leather seats and polyester upholstery, that his staff had turned his attention towards after his sons had been caught in the dump in the town of Green River, Wyoming on the planet Earth. TazirVile took out a large, black canvas bag that he had found in the front seat of the Buick. He had checked the contents in the bag, one of the boys liked music that he viewed as harmful on the ears. He had found Judas Priest's Screaming for Vengeance, AC/DC's The Razor's Edge, Ozzy Osbourne's Bark at the Mood, Disturbed's Indestructible, Rammstein's Sehnsucht, Godsmack's Faceless and a disc of music that had only seven songs on it by a band named Hollywood Undead in the bag along with a small baggy of weed which he had confiscated. He had taken each and every pack of cigarettes and each and every baggy of pot that he had found in the apartment and from when he had checked the pockets of his sons' clothing and had put them in a box. He'd let his wife deal with discarding all of that later. TazirVile held the black, canvas bag out and waited. It was Bile who came up and claimed the bag.

"Who was it that drove the car?" TazirVile asked, he decided to cut to the chase, he did want to know who it had been that had driven the car and who the car was owned by. "That Buick Lew-..."

"The Buick Lucerne? That's my car." Angel said. "I let Bile and his younger brothers have it on the day that you-... took us."

"Baby, you know that the boys are much too young to be driving?" TazirVile asked in shock, he had found two licenses in two of the wallets and he had confiscated them.

"What the Universe don't know, won't hurt anyone." Angel said. "They drive very well, all of them do."

Regardless of how well his sons drove, he would not be allowing them to drive a vehicle until they reached the appropriate age to do so. Mid-teenagers were not good drivers, he knew that from both experience and from hearing stories of how the male members of his family had been when they had decided to take a pleasure drive in one of their father's vehicles. Kuruk, his older half-brother, had been very foot heavy when he had started driving and, when he had been one thousand, three hundred and nine years old he had near rolled one of their father's cars on its side after getting it out of the driveway and Vile, his nephew and his wife's father, Family Husband and Bile's biological father, had stolen his father's car after a fight and had taken it for a drive about ten miles down the road before nearly wrapping it around a tree when he had been one thousand, four hundred and three years old. He could take the loss of his vehicles, the loss of one of his loved ones he couldn't take and he did not want to lose any of his children or his wife. TazirVile reached back into the box and took out several more boxes that he had done a spell on to make them shrink to a smaller size. He stood up then walked over to the bench, he placed each shrunk box on the bench then said the reversal spell to make each box grow to its appropriate size.

"Someone have a girlfriend or a girl they're trying to impress?" TazirVile asked the boys. "Found quite a lot of f-..."

"Last I heard, Bile and Lhaklar had a harem of ten and that they have made three children per woman that were in their harem, ma's got plenty of gr-..."

"We went shopping for our mother." Bile cut Lazeer off, he glared at his younger brother for only a second then went and began searching through the boxes.

So his sons liked treating their mother well, that was good to know as even he liked to treat the woman as well. Bile took out a few bags from the boxes then Lazeer carefully made a wide berth around him to get to the boxes and find and get the bags that were his from the boxes. Lhaklar, surprisingly, didn't come forward. There were about seven bags in one box left, TazirVile was wondering who it was that owned the bags and then he heard movement behind him. He stood stock still as the son who had punched him and who had put the bruise on his jaw tip-toed by him, his arm and Hazaar's brushed against each other as his son walked by him. Hazaar collected the seven bags from the one box then quickly walked over to the far side of the room that was far from him. With the boxes now empty, TazirVile collected them, made them shrink to a smaller size then he walked over and put them in the bigger box. TazirVile then sat down and watched as his four sons began looking through the bags then began handing Angel the items that they had bought for her. It didn't take long for him to figure out that it had just been Bile, Hazaar and Lazeer that had shopped for their mother.

"My goodness!" Angel exclaimed when her sons started handing her the things that they had bought for her.

Their shopping for their mother and the items that they were presenting to her was a clear showing to Tazir about how close they really were to Angel. Lazeer had bought his mother a lovely blue topaz and bead necklace that would drop about two inches after she put it on and he had also bought her a matching bracelet to match it. Hazaar had bought his mother a dark red pleated dress that had a laced top that would go down to his mother's knees and some matching shoes to go with the dress while Bile, it seemed, had done the most shopping for his mother. Bile took out a light tan suede leather hand bag that had tassels hanging down from the middle and a short shoulder strap from one of the bags that he had and gave it to his mother, it was quickly followed by a jewelry set that consisted of a necklace that had fake gold coins hanging from it, two earrings that matched and a single, false gold, bracelet and then he handed over a small box that had a ring in it that had a coiled snake design on it that was covered in red and pink rubies, the eyes of the ring-designed snake were emerald and contrasted very nicely with the red and pink rubies.

The boys looked as if they had done some shopping for themselves as well, Hazaar showed his mother the things he had bought for himself. He had bought a few hunting and pornographic magazines, the latter he did hide from his mother out of shame, and a model of some animal that the box said on the from was _the most fierce creature that flew the skies. The Tyranaglat is the most fearsome of all flying animals_. TazirVile took note of the model, it was one of them combination models, one that had several animals built into one. The animal shown on the top of the box had a Tyrannosaurus Rex's body type and tail, feathers and an Eagle's head and face and, what he thought was pretty cool, the animal had bat wings and feet. Either his two younger sons had an interest in bats, taking after him as he loved bats, or they just thought they were cool. Hazaar had also bought something for Bile, he had bought Bile two pornographic magazines and a skull that was designed to look like a brain. Lazeer had bought himself two hunting and fishing magazines, a plane model and a model of a dragon. The box that the dragon model was in said that the model came complete with an armiture, some clay and some paint. After Lazeer had showed his mother what he had bought for himself he looked over at Lhaklar then took out the model car that he had bought for him and handed it over. The model was of a 1969 Chevrolet Nova SS Diecast, an old car that Lhaklar said he would enjoy putting together.

"I feel left out here," Lhaklar said. "ya'll went shopping for mom and what'd I do? Hunt and fish all day long."

"Did you catch anything, sweetie?" Angel asked her depressed son.

"Yeah, a big moose, a turkey and eleven fish." Lhaklar replied. "One of the fish I caught I wanted to get mounted."

"Mounted? Ma! Lhaklar just said he wanted to rape one of the fish caught." Lazeer said loudly.

"What fish was it?" TazirVile asked his son.

"Th-the Bl-black Bullhead c-c-catfish." Lhaklar stammered.

"You caught eleven fish and only wanted one taxidermied?" TazirVile asked his son. "Describe to me this fish, there's eleven in the freezer."

"I-I was fi-ishing f-..."

"The boys fish and hunt quite a lot, they do so to add something different to our diets and-..."

"We love our mother's cooking!" Bile, Hazaar and Lazeer said together.

"Right, they like it when I cook whatever they bring home." Angel said. "The fish had barbels near its mouth."

"I can keep the fish fresh for a while so you can make them up some fish dishes." TazirVile said. "I'll have the fish that he wants taxidermied done and waiting for him in his chamber."

"Thank you." Angel said for her son.

It happened very quick after he had said he'd keep the ten fish that his son had caught fresh and would have the fish that he wanted taxidermied done, Lhaklar had looked as if he had gone a shade lighter, his mint-green face went a shade lighter and then he started breathing heavily. Not long after he had started to breathe heavily he clamped his hand over his O-shaped mouth then tore across the room heading for the adjacent bathroom. Angel ran into the bathroom right behind her secondborn son, leaving her first, third and fourthborn sons in the room with their father. TazirVile saw his son getting sick as an effect of his not having anything to smoke for a few days, he saw his son getting sick as a sign of nicotine withdrawal. With Angel and Lhaklar out of the room, TazirVile decided that he shouldn't chance it by sticking around, Hazaar and Lazeer were staring at him both nervously and fearfully and Bile looked slightly tensed. TazirVile walked out of the room, he left the door slightly ajar so his wife and sons wouldn't think that they had been locked inside the room then he went down the hallway towards his office. Hazaar and Lazeer, once their father was out of the room, raced for the bathroom together with their hands clamped tightly over their mouths.

"Master Tazir," Kohl Zolwin, a green-skinned Goblin who had warts on his cheeks, chin and a single wart growing on his forehead and solid black eyes, whispered lowly before entering the office that his employer had entered an hour and a half before.

"What is it, Kohl?"

Regardless of the bigness of the room, he knew exactly where his employer was but he still glanced around real quick. It was very luxuriously detailed and uniquely styled, the walls were a milk-white with purple roses, there was a line of brown going vertically that separated the wallpaper well, the carpet in the room was dark blue and it was rather soft and the ceiling above was milk-white and had a swirled pebble texture to it. There was a bat statue in the room that had a flock of bats on it, some were flying, some were landing, some were sitting and others were just hanging, right dead in the center of the room. It was silver in color and had living plants growing on it, giving it that feeling that it was real and not some statue. There was a large built-in bookshelf on the northern wall that had what looked to be hundreds of thousands of books on it. A row of cabinets ran along the left side wall, there was some files on top of them. His employer was seated on the right side of the room, as always when he was seated at his desk and either working on paperwork or something of equal importance.

The man who had employed him right out of Staffer's Academy was seated at a full stone desk, he was sitting in a deep brown leather swivel chair that had a long back. Sitting beside his desk was a cage, in it was an albino bat, one of his pets that he called Teskon. There was a couch off to the side of the desk, it was dark blue and looked velvet in material. A set of chairs sat in front of the desk, they were long-backed and both were a deep brown color. Up above on the ceiling were domed lights set in a circular fashion with a larger domed light placed the center.

His employer, regardless of being a Surfeit and a member of one of the most prominent families in the universe, didn't have anything on his desk that was odd or overly unique. The items on his employer's desk were the basics, a desk lamp, a three-rack file, a black French style phone, a calculator, a Touchpad with a small pen that had a soft rubber top so it wouldn't scratch the screen and some folder stacks that housed the forms, records, rank cards and other important information of his son's from when they had gone to Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic and the University of Telepathy. There was a black leather case placed off to the side on the desk that had his employer's goggled glasses in it.

"Mr. Modulavich wished for me to bring this up to you." Kohl said, he walked forward then placed the cream envelope on his employer's desk. "Says it's important, sir."

"Haven't heard from Homsi or Eldass in a few days," TazirVile said, he reached forward and took the envelope. "hear anything coming from the room that my sons and wife are in?"

"Yessir, all walking about and talking except for Young Master Lhaklar." Kohl replied quickly. "Seems that he's sick. Young Master's Hazaar and Lazeer were talking about wishing they had some brushes."

"For their models, I'll bring them some in just a few." Kohl detected that his employer was concerned for his firstborn son. "How ill did Lhaklar sound?"

"Mistress Angel says that he's running a slight fever." Kohl replied. "Something about stress and his nerves, she says."

"Mmhmmm, thank you Kohl." TazirVile held his hand up, he dismissed Kohl who bowed then exited the room quickly.

He didn't think that what his son was experiencing was anything related to stress and his nerves, he fully believed that it was caused by his lack of nicotine. Tazir had no clue how long any of his sons had been smoking but he figured that they would all be a bit ill for the next few days as their bodies called out and were denied the nicotine and THC that they had been given by his sons. With the knowledge of Lhaklar being ill and having a fever fresh on his mind, TazirVile decided that the next time he went into the room that his wife and sons were in he'd not only have a few paint brushes with him along with some cups for the paint thinner and water to wash the brushes with after they had been used but also a heated blanket, a cooling wraps that either he, his wife or his son could wrap around his head or around his arms and a drink that would settle his son's stomach as he had gone to the bathroom, presumably to get sick, just before he had exited the room an hour and a half before. TazirVile opened the top drawer of his desk quickly after picking the envelope up that Kohl had brought in then grabbed a pair of white, latex glove and then the letter opener that was placed right in the slot in the front of the drawer. He slit the envelope, put the letter opener back in the drawer then slid the drawer closed before taking the paper that was in the envelope out.

He had nothing to fear from Homsi, he trusted the Goblin man fully and knew that whatever he had written and sent to him wasn't contaminated with any sort of chemicals or toxins that could harm one through simple contact of flesh. The white, latex gloves that he was wearing he always put on when he opened and read the contents in letters, it was a habit that he had started doing soon after conquering the Vaisha Galaxy. Who knew, someone from one of his conquered planets or galaxies might have decided to lace the paper of the letters with a liquid chemical or a dust-like toxin to attempt taking him out so the galaxy could go back to the way it had been before he had set his sights on it. It had happened before, Grazoarass Corhdor, after he had conquered the Solol Galaxy, had touched a simple note that had been handed to him by someone who had been payed by one who lived on one of the planets of the Solol Galaxy and he had gotten so sick that he had been blinded and he had lost his tongue, penis and most of his hand soon after being admitted to the hospital and Kahigli Xemsood, the conqueror of the Peilko Galaxy for a fully month and a half, had been killed by a member of the ruling family of the galaxy he had just conquered by simply shaking the former rulers hand that had been laced with a powdered toxin. He was a nice man, he was a decent man, he didn't conquer a planet then afterwards go around and grab the women on the planet that he had just conquered for a fear-enduced sex adventure. He was a nice, decent conqueror who didn't split up families or make up rules that said a family could only have but so many offspring and he didn't make up any laws or rules about how much a family could make in a week. Regardless, though, he was still a conqueror, still a taker of worlds and that meant that people could well be out there to get him... and his family. He had to be very careful of who he and his family were around and who came around him and his family, besides the chemicals and toxins, there was also the possibility that someone, even a friend, could have hidden on his or her person a weapon. After Tazir took out the paper from the envelope he opened it then began to read what was written on it.

_Dear Master Tazir,_

_It has been a full five days since I was sent home to recover from injuries sustained on Earth during a fight against one of your generals. I have heard no word from you and am beginning to wonder if your silence is a saying to me that my position as an employee of yours has been discontinued. I do apologize for disobeying you on Earth but I was busy fighting more than one and did have to keep my attentions solely on them. I have heard that Young Master Lazeer was discovered alive and well and I am thrilled at hearing that, you and Mistress Angel have always been fine parents and have always looked forward to the growth of your family... as have I, you're most loyal employee. Hope all is well with you and that you swiftly win the trust, hearts and affections appropriate from your sons and from Mistress Angel. ~ Homsi M._

No word being heard from him for five days? Surely Homsi had gotten the check that he had sent him for his work-related injuries, he had sent it and Eldass' own work-related check in the mail the day after the fight were the two Goblin men had been injured. He remembered signing the checks, both for the same amount of $2365, and then putting them in an envelope then sending them off. TazirVile picked up his touchpad and its pen, he tapped on the screen with the pen then did a quick track of the two checks and found, to his amazement, that neither check came up. There was no number, no message that said the two envelopes with the checks enclosed within them came up saying that they had been delivered and there was also no return notice. TazirVile placed his touchpad down then reached into his slate gray tuxedo jacket, always had a cellular on him and it was always put in his inside tuxedo jacket pocket. He took out the piece that was dark gray and small, about four inches long by three inches wide, and had a pull out screen and keyboard from which he could use a soft point pin to tap the buttons with. He quickly tapped out Zshon Zultoa's work cellular number with the soft point pin then pressed send, he then sat back and waited. His second most trusted employee's son walked into his office about five minutes later.

"Master Tazir, I do apologize for keeping you so long. What is it?" Zshon Zultoa, who was wearing a blue tuxedo, complete with a blue vest with light blue ties over a white shirt, blue pants, socks and shoes and, around his waist, he had a thick, dark blue wrap, asked upon entering his employer's office.

"Your father, has he received any compensation check from me recently?" TazirVile asked quickly.

"No sir, just the normal stuff coming in the mail. No checks from you." Zshon replied.

He stood up and went directly to the northwest corner of his office, Zshon watched for only a second then looked away as he heard the dial to his employee's safe being turned. His employer had a safe hidden behind a large painting of him and his children, Lazeer included, that he kept blank checks and check stubs that had a number written on them but had not been signed yet along with several important documents like birth certificates, his Universal Pin Number and his Universal Monetary Value papers and about forty grand worth of loose paper money that he had lying in the safe just in case something came up to where an employee had issues cashing a check or if the employee asked, nicely, for cash instead of a check in regards to injuries he or she had received on the job. Soon after his employee had taken out two checks he closed the safe, turned the dial then placed the painting back to where it had been before. He then walked back over to his desk, sat down and then took out from his inside tuxedo jacket's pocket a silver fountain pen.

"I'm surprised that your father didn't contact me on not getting a compensation check," TazirVile said after he had signed and then initialed his name on Eldass Zultoa's check that had the amount of $3065 written on it. "I added an extra seven hundred onto this check, be sure that he gets it will you."

"Besides mine, my father's hands will be the only ones being placed on his check, sir." Zshon said.

"Good man," TazirVile stood up, walked around his desk then handed the compensation check to his employee. "you're dismissed. Thank you for coming in on such short notice."

"My job and pleasure, sir." Zshon bowed then turned around and exited the room. TazirVile followed soon after, he had decided to had down to the staff's quarters to personally deliver Homsi's compensation check himself.


	4. Chapter 4

"M-m-m-m-mom..." Lhaklar shook violently, he was freezing even while being underneath the heated blanket that his father had brought into the room.

"Shhh, baby." Angel said to her son. "Lie still and try to rest."

Bile looked at his younger brother with grave concern, his adopted father had brought in a heated blanket along with several chilled wraps and some sort of orange drink that he had said would settle his brother's stomach. His adopted father had also had several paint brushes and tin cups and some plastic and newspaper with him, those had been for Hazaar and Lazeer who were both on the far side of the room working on their models. Hazaar had gotten the armature all fixed up on his model Tyranaglat and he had added the clay around it, with periods of glancing up to see if their father was seated near Lhaklar of course. Lazeer had put the bottom part of his model plane together and then he had painted it, he was now just waiting for it to dry before going onto building the rest of it. While he was waiting for the paint and glue on the base of his model plane to dry, Lazeer had started doing the model dragon that he had bought. He had asked their mother if she could, at some time in the future, transform into one of her dragon forms so he could get a better idea of how to do the crests and back spines after he had gotten the armature all fixed up and after he had added the clay around it. Their mother said she would in a few days when things calmed down so, until then, the model would just sit around not completed for a few days. Hazaar had read a few of the magazines he had bought, he had read one magazine that Hazaar had bought for him and then he had simply sat and stared at Lhaklar.

Their father said that what Lhalar was experiencing was nothing more than the effects of nicotine withdrawal and that he'd be fine in a few days. That was very incorrect because, if that was what Lhaklar was going through, then he and his two younger brothers would also be suffering the same thing. Lhaklar smoked maybe one or two of his cigarettes, the Netherlands kind that was called Black Devils that had a black paper around the tobacco, a day so he wasn't addicted or anything and neither were Hazaar or Lazeer who smoked maybe two to four a day, depending if Hazaar, who he and Lhaklar had just discovered, had been slipping a guy on Earth some of the money that he got from his weekly allowance to go buy him cigarettes and dirty magazines. He smoked a bit more than his three brothers and even so, he was feeling no effects at all from nicotine withdrawal, or THC withdrawal since he mostly smoked high-grade weed. No, what Lhaklar was going through was something different, his nerves and the stress from the past few days had caught up to him and had caused his immune system to drop a little so a cold could set in. The trip from Earth to Moas had been rather chilled, space was cold due to it having no surface to heat up. He was surprised that he and his two youngest brothers hadn't caught a cold either and he was very surprised that there had been no advanced symptoms of space travel sickness shown between he and his brothers. They had all grown a bit pale in color and he and his brothers' stomachs had acted queasy but no one had gotten sick.

Upon walking into the room and seeing Lhaklar lying on the bed, covered in the blanket and sheets yet sweating and shivering at the same time, the man who had adopted him had walked forward with no hesitation. He had placed what all he had had in his arms on the bench then he had grabbed the heated blanket. He had put the blanket over Lhaklar carefully then he had turned the dial so it would begin working, he had then gone and retrieved the orange drink, a Dislic as he had called it that would settle Lhaklar's stomach and calm him some, and had gotten Lhaklar to drink half of it. Their mother had gone from him, Hazaar and Lazeer in turn to be sure that they were okay and then she had gone to sit beside their brother, their father had already seated himself on the foam siding of the bed, Lhaklar had grown nervous a few times but he was now calmed down and relaxed and that had made him relax some. Bile had glanced outside once at the Coo Coo clock that was black, had bats carved on it and had two, pine cone-like pendulums hanging from it and had seen that it was a little over eleven at night. He recalled from his childhood that the mansion that his adopted father owned and lived in and the mansion that he had grew up in for six hundred years would always be down-powered at nine at night and that his adopted father and mother would have him, Lhaklar, and later Hazaar and Lazeer when they had been born, put to bed at exactly ten minutes after nine and then they would head to bed soon after. Although the mansion had been powered down and the employees had gone home, either to their apartments underneath the mansion or to their homes outside of the mansion, there were three rooms lit up and his adopted father was still awake.

"A little over a hundred degrees," TazirVile said after he had checked Lhaklar's temperature with a thermometer. "he'll be near back to himself in the morning."

"I-I have always h-h-hated them damn th-things." Lhaklar said of the thermometer. "Of-offensive."

"Takes after me," TazirVile looked up and smiled at Angel who smiled back. "don't much like them myself."

"You hear that, Lhakie? You'll be feeling better in a few hours." Angel said to her son. "Try to get some sleep now."

Y-yes m-m-m-mom." Lhaklar said, he rolled over to facing the foam siding of the bed.

Lhaklar was one who snored lightly so, when Bile heard the slight snores coming from the bed he knew that his brother had fallen asleep. His adopted father stood up then walked across the room, the way he moved was a clear saying that they all needed to head off to dream land so Bile got up from the deep red chair and went to the bed, Hazaar and Lazeer followed behind him. The second his head hit the foam siding of the bed he drifted off to dream land, Lazeer fell asleep two minutes after he had and Hazaar stayed up for five minutes more before drifting off to sleep. Angel, seeing as all four of her sons had gone to sleep, went to the wall and flipped the switch. She contemplated heading off with Tazir for a second, near left the room then decided against it as both of her younger sons were still acting very nervous and fearful of the man. She left the door slightly ajar then went to the bed. She had not felt a mattress underneath her back for many hundreds of years, she had given her sons the mattresses and had slept on the couch or on the sleeper sofa's pull out mechanism that made the couch into a bed that did become rather uncomfortable after a while. She forced herself to stay awake until after she heard Hazaar's sleep mumbles then she fell into a quiet, calm and relaxing sleep.

"Hey!" Bile exclaimed in a loud whisper when he saw a shadow walked across the room. "Who-..."

"Bile, hush!" Bile heard Lhaklar's voice, strong and healthy, respond.

"Lhaklar? What time is it? You feeling alright?"

"Feel like a million bucks," Lhaklar responded. "Clock outside says that it's near eight."

"In the morning?" Bile asked incredulously.

"Yeah, think there's some Goblins up and about, not sure but I've heard shuffling go on outside the door." Lhaklar said. "I need a stretch."

"Do so in here then." Bile said.

"Outside of the room," Lhaklar said.

Normally, it was he who made the rash decisions, the decisions of adventure or of exploration, hearing his brother say that he was headed outside of the room made him feel as if his position as the risk taker was threatened. Bile got up from the bed, grabbed his boots and slid them on quickly then walked over to where he thought the door was. It was nearly pitch black in the room, he could barely see his hands much less his brother, the only light that he saw was coming from the bottom of the door. Just as Bile wrapped his hand around the doorknob he felt Lhaklar's hand wrap around his hand, in one motion, he slapped Lhaklar's hand off of his then he gave the doorknob a twist. He pulled the door open just enough so that he and his brother could get out so not to disturb his mother and younger brothers then, after he and Lhaklar were out of the room he closed the door quietly.

The hallway was exactly the same. The carpet was light purple, the walls were brown and the ceiling above was light brown, there was a long bar that ran in the center of the ceiling that went all the way down the hallway, it cast down a yellowish gold light that made both Bile and Lhaklar blink. The artwork and photographs on the walls were the same... ish. There was a full gold bat placed a few doors down that had ruby painted eyes and silver fingernails, across from it was a full silver bat that's wings were held out but were bent slightly at the tips and then, directly across from the room that he and his brother had just left, was a painting of a colony of bats flying out from a cave. Their mother had said that their father was one who liked bats and, both Bile and Lhaklar knew, that was still true as, if not, he'd not have anything bat-related hanging up on the walls of his mansion. Besides the bat things that were up on the walls of the hallway that they were on, there was the black Coo Coo clock that had bats carved on it that had two, pine cone-like pendulums hanging down from the bottom and there were also quite a lot of photographs and paintings of Bile and his brothers, Eshal and, of course, his mother and adopted father hanging up on the walls.

"I remember this one well," Lhaklar said, he was standing in front of a painting that had him, as a three hundred and twenty year old, Bile as a four hundred and twenty year old and Eshal as a seven hundred and twenty-six year old, on it with their mother and father. "pop had a hard time keeping you still."

"Yeah, I remember that as well." Bile said, he was looking at a photograph of him and Lhaklar standing next to their father, his adopted father, when they had been four hundred and five hundred years of age. "Ma didn't much like the painted portraits, she liked having the photographs taken but the painted portraits-..."

"She said that they took too long even with a fast artist working," Lhaklar nodded his head. "What did it take... thirty minutes to an hour for a painted portrait to be completed?"

"About an hour, I recall." Bile said. "No moving, no bathroom visits... just sit or stand. Very boring."

"Dad was happy on this day," Lhaklar said, he was standing in front of a photograph of his father holding Hazaar as a day-old infant, their mother was still in the nursery bed, she was right behind their father, a bit fussy but looked just as happy. "remember how Hazaar was said to be a girl when he was born?"

Bile chuckled, his mother and adopted father had been trying hard for four hundred years after Lhaklar had been born to not conceive because of a curse that had been put on ma for her to lose any subsequent children that she got pregnant with. The person who had put the curse of his mother had been no other than his own biological father who, his mother had told him, had been so eaten up with jealousy that he just went crazy. His mother had had to pull out a few tricks from her bag to get the curse lifted and by tricks he meant she had to seduce his father into dropping the curse. His father had been furious after he had found out what she had been really up to and he had threatened to put the curse back on her but his adopted father had come in and had said that he had worked a spell to make any and all curses that were put on her repel. His mother had gotten pregnant right after the curse had been lifted but, unlike he, Lhaklar and Lazeer, Hazaar had not be conceived by natural means. His mother had gone and gotten a few samples of semen from a top of the line secured building on Gamma-Vile, the place of his conception and the place of his father's and adopted father's births and raising along with the rest fo the Surfeit branch, called the Sperm Bank and she had implanted herself by use of a turkey baster.

His father had found out about his mother using the vial of semen that she had gotten from the Sperm Bank and the turkey baster after she had checked out pregnant on the medical table that was in the medical chamber downstairs. Apparently, his mother and adopted father had not had sex for near two weeks and his adopted father had suspected adultery. Nope, the child she had been carrying had been his, his parents liked keeping the genders of their offspring secret until they were born but... his adopted father's hand had slipped in his excitement of having another child and the genitals had been exposed. He had overheard his father apologizing for the slip up and he had overheard him explaining what had happened to cause him to accidentally show what was in his mother's stomach, his mother had said that she understood and then she had said that since he had gone and exposed the gender of the baby that she was carrying that he might as well confirm it. The baby was said to be a girl, Hazaar was said to be a girl and thus he had been given the name of PhloowaVile Epa Surfeit outright after the confirmation of the gender.

Well... Ms. PhloowaVile Epa Surfeit had actually turned out to be a boy. His adopted father had not seen a thing when his hand had slipped, the blank space had been Hazaar's stomach, nothing more. Hazaar had been born, one of the midwives had plopped him on ma's stomach and then she had handed the scissors up and had asked if daddy wanted to cut the cord. It had been grampy, as he and his mother called him, who had pointed out that his adopted father should do a double check as, after he had walked over to standing beside his mother, had thought he had seen something that looked male on the baby when it had moved its leg. His adopted father had handed the scissors back then had done the checking. Eshal had wanted a sister pretty badly, Bile remembered that. She had spoken to the baby inside their mother's stomach and had used all the female terms, she had been somewhat cheated when Ms. PhloowaVile Epa Surfeit had gone from being a girl into being a boy. His biological father had acted like he had actually wanted the baby to be a girl while he had been thrilled to have another brother to run around and bother him crazy and to rough house with. His mother had named Hazaar herself... well, after granpappy, as he was called by both him and his mother, had said _Hoozah, thank the Gods! I have a new grandson!. _She had switched the o's for a's and the h for an r and had said Hazaar, his adopted father had followed up with Tlair afterwards.

"I remember, when Hazaar wakes up why don't we do some teasing? Say good morning Phloowa or something?" Bile suggested.

"I'm game," Lhaklar nodded his head. "anything to drive him batty."

They went down the hallway away from the staircase that branched around the foyer, more photographs met their eyes as did further bat-like items like photographs, paintings and decorations then, when they heard someone talking, they went in that direction. Bile suddenly remembered that, right on the second level, the level that he and his family were on, the staff's quarters was located. He couldn't put a name to the Goblins yet but he had followed two Goblins around like crazy for a long time and they had let him. He had stalked one of the Goblins that he had followed around like a shadow, he remembered that very clearly now. The Goblin, a burly fellow, would simply be walking down the hallway and he'd follow in a bent down fashion. When the burly Goblin turned around and saw him he'd straighten up then follow him about normally, sometimes being quiet, sometimes asking questions and sometimes simply listening to what the Goblin had to say to him. There had been not a one Goblin in service to his adopted father who had acted towards him aggressively or offensively, they had always treated him well and... Lhaklar, he remembered, followed one of the two most trusted Goblins in his father's service. Bile and Lhaklar stopped in front of a room that's door was held half-open by a doorstopper, they listened to what the Goblins inside the room were talking about.

"Master Tazir says that one of his sons grew ill last night," Eclaire Gozakaal, a brown-skinned Goblinette who had short, gray hair, brown eyes and who was wearing a gray dress with an apron tied around the front, said. "Young Master Lhaklar, he said."

"From not having anything to smoke for the past few days, his body is craving nicotine and is reacting to not getting any." Olok, a blue-skinned Goblin who had warts on his cheeks and large brown eyes and a crooked nose who was wearing a black tuxedo, said. "Feel for him, truly do."

"Master Tazir says that Young Master's Bile and Hazaar also smoked," Eclaire said. "they've not showed any symptoms of withdrawal yet but he says that he expects for them to any day now."

"Poor kids, I picked up drinking at a young age as well. Not easy when you're as young as they are in kicking them bad habits." Ulok, Olok's twin brother who looked exactly like his brother except that his nose was straight instead of crooked, said.

The room was theirs, all theirs to go to and do whatever the hell they wanted to and speak whatever the hell they wanted to when they needed a break from their jobs. The couch underneath of him was dark green velor while the ones placed on either side of the couch that he was on was dark red velor, there was a dark brown walnut coffee table between the three couches and, directly in front of the couches was a 40" screen that had a cable box placed underneath it. He had the remote and had the news on, he had made damn sure that the volume had been turned down so not to disturb his employer's wife and children that were in the room down the hall. There were several lounge chairs in the room, all were a dark green color and had light green floral designs on them. The floor in the room was a soft, dark green while the walls were a cherry red and the ceiling above matched the walls. There was a bar behind him, the counter was a solid slab of stone, very nicely smoothed and polished, and there were several bar stools that were made of plain wood that were connected to the floor. The wall behind the bar had bottles of wine, Whiskey and champagne and there was a small refrigerator that he and his co-workers had small snacks and no alcoholic beverages in and, to the far side of the bar, was a silver chrome water dispenser that had bubbly crystal blue water in it, there were small white plastic cups hanging down from the cup holder.

Their employer had said that when it came time for lunch they were to either simply go down to his kitchen and make up something, whether it was from his own cabinets or something that they had brought from home, or they could head down to the staff's quarters and have lunch with their families. Not many employers let their staff do the cooking of their meals in their own kitchens, Master Tazir was a right respectful man and each of his Goblins respected that greatly. There were just a few of his co-workers in the room with him, besides his twin brother, Olok, there was Eclaire, Zshon and Kohl. Everyone else was working, in silence as had been ordered a few days before. Miss. Eshal had told what all had happened with Young Master Hazaar the day before, Ulok wasn't much surprised as the youngster seemed to be going through one of them mid-teenage episodes and phases where he was not only extra moody and sensitive, but also unpredictable. Master Tazir had met up with Mekaia Zultoa, Zshon's younger sister who Miss. Eshal had spoken with and had spilled out what had happened the day before, and he had made sure that whatever had been told to her by his daughter would not leave the mansion. Mekaia Zultoa, a woman, had slipped it out to her co-workers but she had obeyed their employer by keeping what she knew of the happenings inside the mansion to herself.

"Mr. Rovnitov has his hands full with the Derby this year." Ulok said. "Normally, it's only four hundred entrees with twenty-two picked after gaining enough points in the races held in the six months before the Derby is done. There's two extra horses this year that have the same points as the last two that raced."

"Yeah, I heard about that. Clokclor and Asromortor, they won their last race nose-to-nose." Eclaire replied. "I like Klobrik, though. Fast three-year old."

"I disagree with you, Anzaika is the best of the lot this year." Olok said. "If I was Mr. Rovnitov, I'd not look at Clokclor and Asromortor, they lost two races before winning the Tuckett together."

"True, came in dead last in both of them races." Eclaire said.

"Reporters are still milling about behind the gates," Kohl said, he was standing by the bar, he had a Gose cocktail in his hand. "they just don't want to let up."

"Neither does our Master's family." Eclaire said, she then sighed. "That Duru called twice, left two very impolite messages and so did Kuruk. Vile's number was blocked the other day."

"All wanting to know what's going on, Master Tazir is doing right by keeping them in the dark." Kohl said. "They didn't help any in looking for the Young Master's or Mistress Angel, Master Tazir stuck with his searching and look where it got him? He has his whole family now in his home."

"Ashaklar and Cheshire also called once, they left a nice, pleasant message, as always, and they haven't called back since." Eclaire said. "I think it'll be them who will be called over in a few weeks."

"Sounds about right, they stuck with Master Tazir as well when it came to looking for-..."

They decided to not listen in anymore, Bile jumped across the door and Lhaklar followed. Bile was slightly upset in hearing that his biological father had been calling but he was glad that his biological father's number had been blocked. He remembered hearing his father yelling out for him to shut it after he had been dragged into the camp on Earth after he had been caught along with his younger brothers. Bile decided to see if his old baby chamber was still up, when his mother had taken him and his brothers from the planet to keep them all together and safe it had been intact. Bile went down the hall, he passed by a few doors then he stopped right in front of the door that went to his old baby chamber. Lhaklar went past him two doors then stopped, he reached forward and grabbed then doorknob then he twisted it. He went into his old baby chamber just as Bile entered his and just as Ulok and Olok exited the employee lounge.

It was exactly the same! Holy shit and Hail Mary, his baby chamber was exactly the same. There was the dark mahogany crib, the rocker and the baby swing that was hanging down from the ceiling that was tan and had a pebbled texture. The carpet was the same, it was tan, the walls were dark and light blue striped and the dark blue and white circular carpet that had light blue tassels on the edges that the crib was on was the same as well. There was the shelf that went around the room that had the toys he had played with or had slept with when he had been a baby, there was the toy chest that had more toys that he had played with before he had really gotten down to walking and there was the dark blue dresser that had his baby clothes in it. The items were the same exact ones that had been on the dresser when he had left the mansion with his mother, the green shaded lamp that had a green bulb in it had not a speck of dust on it and neither did the small, dark green clock that had a bat's head on it. Bile looked around the room quickly, taking it all in as quickly as he could, then he left the room and went down the hall. He hesitated for a second then went into Lhaklar's baby chamber.

"This is sort of heart-warming," Lhaklar said when Bile had stepped up beside him. "everything's the same."

"Like you haven't even left the room," Bile said. "my old baby chamber is exactly the same way. Nothing missing."

His adopted father had treated him much like his own son and had adopted him soon after he had reached three years of age, still an infant in alien terms. He had not given Lhaklar more than he had and he had not treated Lhaklar better either, he had treated both he and Lhaklar equally. Lhaklar's baby chamber had a dark brown crib with attached changing table that had three drawers on it, a baby swing and a rocker in it. The carpet was dark purple, the walls were light purple and so was the ceiling, there was a line of light blue ducks running horizontally around the room. A dark brown dresser sat off near the left wall that had a blue lamp that had a light blue lamp shade on it and a white clock that had bear and bat faces carved in it on the surface. The toy chest that had all of Lhaklar's old baby toys in it was still in the room, the toys on the three shelves that were right beside the door frame were the same and the playmat that was blue that had all sorts of hanging toys on it that were either plush or rubber was in the same place it had been when his brother had been moved to his childhood chamber. Lhaklar, Bile noticed, had the plush, blue duck that his father had given him one day to sleep with in his hand. Lhaklar ran his finger over the face of the plush, blue duck once then reached over and placed it back on the pillow that was in his old crib.

"Let's get out of here before I start weeping." Lhaklar said, he turned around and left the room. Bile followed behind him. That was sort of the reason why he had not stuck around for long in his old, baby chamber.

When he saw them leave the chamber that use to be used by Lhaklar when he had been an infant the first thing he remembered was on the morning of the night that Bile, Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer and their mother disappeared. Their mother had acted normally, had gotten up just as Master Tazir had, she had showered then had gotten dressed then she had gone to check on the kids to see if they were okay. Young Master Hazaar, being only a hundred years old, was allowed to sleep a little longer than his brothers and Young Master's Bile and Lhaklar and Miss. Eshal were allowed to sleep until 7:30 then their parents would wake them up, Young Master Lazeer would be woken up by his mother once, she had been constantly waking him to see if he was alright so it was normal to see her go into his baby chamber each morning of the three months that he had been in the mansion to wake him up at 6:30 am. Mistress Angel had gone downstairs after checking the children to make breakfast, she and Master Tazir had eaten together then they had gone to do their normal morning activities.

Master Tazir had had quite a lot of paperwork to do and quite a few phone calls to return while Mistress Angel had done some stitching, needlepoints and knitting. That rank Vile, Mistress Angel's and Young Master Bile's father, had called and Mistress Angel had picked the phone up. A fierce fight had happened between the two, Kohl remembered only hearing small bits and pieces of it but they had been fighting over Mistress Angel coming over to her father's place and leaving the kids behind. His mistress had slammed the phone down then had gotten up, she had gone to the gym for a few minutes then she had gone straight upstairs to get the older children up from bed. Eshal had wanted to take a bath, Mistress Angel had given her one. Young Master's Bile and Lhaklar finished their breakfast fast then ran off outside, their mother had followed them and had seated herself on the swing that was on the front porch, Miss. Eshal had stayed inside and had bothered Mekaia and Attaec. No further calls from Vile were placed until lunchtime.

Mistress Angel had just made lunch for herself, Master Tazir and the children and had just been sitting down when the phone had rang. Normally, it would of been one of the staff who would of answered the phone and would have taken a message but she had gotten up, excused herself then had gone to a different part of the mansion to pick up the phone. Another fight had happened, Mistress Angel had come back to the dining room a bit stressed and had not said a thing of what had happened, she had just eaten her lunch then, when her two older sons had gone off, she had followed them. Master Tazir had gone with them, he had asked what was wrong and had gotten nothing back in reply, Mistress Angel had gone into silent mode afterwards and had refused to speak of what had happened after she had left the table. To that day, no one knew exactly what had happened. Two other phone calls had been sent through the landline, one from Kuruk, his employer's older half-brother, and the other from Vile. When the interviewing had taken place after Mistress Angel and the boys had been discovered missing Kuruk had said that his granddaughter had sounded fine, normal, cheery and happy to hear from him and she had said not a thing about the fights that she had had with his oldest son that day. Mistress Angel had let one of the Goblin chefs cook up supper, she had eaten with the family and then... the phone had rang.

She had gotten up, excused herself and had gone to answer the phone again in another part of the mansion far from her children and Master Tazir, a fierce fight had been sparked after she had picked the phone up and had said hello, Surfeit residence and then, sometime in the night, she had taken off with her sons, all of them, including Young Master Lazeer who had been just four months old at the time and still rather weak but had far surpassed all of the doctor's at Cawanuuk Hospital who had said he'd not survive but two days after being taken home. His employer had been happy for every bit of that six hundred years that his wife and sons had been with him, when they had disappeared they had taken that happiness and had left nothing but a shell behind. Kohl had said, at first, that it was bound to happen as he knew Mistress Angel's history to be a bit unsettled, a bit of a wild one. He had changed his tune after the interviews had taken place and the cause had been found for his employer's wife's taking of their sons and disappearing.

His employer, after he had woken up to find his bed having just him in it and after seeing Bile, Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer not in their chambers, had been so freaked out that he had not bothered putting anything on but a thin silk fabric robe that had barely covered his body. He had driven up to the mansion, had gotten out of his car then had punched his ticket in. After he had gone into the mansion one of the bigger, burlier Goblins, a man named Uqubor Soshi, had grabbed him by his arm and had forcibly pulled him into the living room of his employer's mansion where all of his co-workers either stood or sat. His first thought had been that Young Master Lazeer had passed away in the night and that everyone was being moved into one room solely to grieve while the parents and children stayed up on the second level. When he had found out that Mistress Angel had disappeared along with all four of her sons he had hung his head, his inner laugh box had vibrated and had laughed and he had hated it. He liked Mistress Angel a lot, she treated his employer and his employer's daughter greatly, she respected them and loved them and he had noticed and that had cemented his liking of her as a friend. TazirVile Surfeit had entered the living room soon after the last of his employees, the chef named Ulision Volvoio, had been brought into the room and then the interviews had begun.

Of everyone in the room, there had been only four who had known that something was amiss the day before and of those four, it had only been him and another who had overheard two of the phone calls. When his turn came to be interviewed he had spilled what he had known, he had told his employer about the one phone call that he had overheard and about hearing Mistress Angel saying twice _you're not taking me from them, I won't let you and over my dead, lifeless corpse_ and about the other phone calls that he knew his employer's wife had answered and who had called, all except for one being from his nephew, Vile Vile. After he had been interviewed his employer had gone on to his other co-workers, all who had known nothing, and then... and then he had come upon Flicakak Knuub, one of the new recruits who had decided soon after the interviewing had ended and everyone had been ordered to leave the mansion and not come back for a few days that working for Master Tazir for them five months had been nice but had decided to drop his employship and look for work somewhere else for someone else.

Flicakak Knuub had been washing the glass of one of the fish tanks in the hallway that had fish tanks on both sides of it when he had heard the yelling and had decided to pick up the phone nearest him and hear in to what was going on. This was a big no-no with Master Tazir, unless he asked for it or had ordered for it to be done, there was absolutely no eavesdropping allowed from employees in the mansion. Flicakak had picked the phone up and had overheard Master Tazir's nephew saying to Mistress Angel that he would be teleporting over right before she and his uncle, who he had called a wimp and an underling, woke up. That rank Vile had said he'd be teleporting right dead in center of Master Tazir's and Mistress Angel's bedroom chamber and would just grab Angel and go off, he'd force her to take a potion that would make her forget all about Master Tazir, her four sons and Eshal and then he'd start the process of making sons and daughters with her soon after and, then, he had said that if Young Master's Lhaklar, Hazaar or Lazeer, the worms as he had called them, were in the room with her he'd be sending them to see their makers quick just to sever any motherly ties that she felt towards them. That had set off something within their mistress, she was an excellent mother, she was a mother who wanted to be with her children at all times and, with Young Master Lazeer being premature and so weak, she was a stressed out excellent mother. When her father had said that he'd be taking her from them she had gotten scared, for all of them, not just Lazeer but for all of them. She had taken the boys to insure that they would both safe and that she and they would be together.

He knew how his employer had felt and what his employer had gone through afterwards when he had found out what had happened and when he had started the search to find his wife and sons. His mother, Eklipa Bhegforg, had married Klaexy Zolwin who had been a general in TazirVile Surfeit's army when the man had conquered the planet Caicla. His father had gotten very badly injured and had been forced to retire much too early, he had turned to alcoholism after retiring then he had found his mother, had married her and had abused her physically, sexually and mentally. In total, he had three siblings, two sisters and a brother, and they all had been abused physically by the old man and his belts and his shoe. His father had wanted both him and his younger brother, Dultog, to go to Militant's Academy after Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic and he had actually gotten his younger brother to do so after he had threatened him. When his mother had come in after his father had beat him within half an inch of his life after he had refused to attend Militant's Academy, and after saying that he wanted to go to Staffer's Academy instead, his father had turned and had beat her. Klaexy Zolwin had been all over the news after he had taken off with him and his two younger sisters.

His father had taken him and his younger sisters to the third moon that orbited around Moas, Woglof, and there he had upped the anti on his abuse. He had been forced to go and attend Militant's Academy, despite being too short as he had been four-foot, four inches at the time, and his sisters had been viciously treated. Zeekli had been beaten so bad that her jaw had to be fused shut once, their father had broken her arm and both of her legs at another beating and then he had raped her to show her who was boss. Kabie had been the wise one in running away after their father had beaten her so bad that one of her disks had nearly slipped out of alignment. Their mother had searched for them for five years, had put every penny that she had had to her name into the investigators to find them and in the end it was Kabie and her abuse report against Klaexy Zolwin that had gotten the investigators attentions. Dultog had gone on and graduated from Militant's Academy, he had dropped out soon after he had gone home to be with his mother. His mother had been so happy when she had seen him and his sisters that she had nearly scooped him and they up clear off of their feet. It had taken fifty years before everyone felt okay to leave the house again and feel a sense of normalcy, when he had left the house it had only been to enroll as a student at Staffer's Academy. He had graduated with very high marks on his rank cards, he had several languages under his belt and he had also gone and done wrestling and boxing while at the school. Besides being the son of one of his generals, his grades and the extra curricular activities he had done at Staffer's Academy had attracted TazirVile Surfeit after he had seen that he had been serious about his schooling and that he had an education in fighting.

His mother had acted violently when TazirVile Surfeit had pulled up in the drive way of their small, two bedroom, cottage. She had grabbed a carton of eggs and then a spatula then she had raced out the front door. The man had not a chance to leave his car, his mother had chucked each and every egg at his nice and shiny, dark red Model A vehicle and then she had swatted at the hood of the vehicle when the egg missiles had diminished. TazirVile Surfeit had driven away, he had gotten his car washed, waxed and then he had had the dents from the metal spatula taken out then he had come back. This time, he got out of his car fast then walked up the sidewalk before his mother had time to get out the house. A gallon of milk had been thrown on the man and his mother had said for him to get his ass off of her property and that she had seen one man go vicious after being dismissed from his service and that she didn't want to see another of her family turn out the same way. His mother had been doing exactly what Mistress Angel had done when she had disappeared with her sons, she had been going out to face TazirVile Surfeit only in order to protect her children. It took two more tries before the man got into the house, his mother had been outside and his sister, Kabie, had answered the door.

TazirVile had apologized for what had happened and for the mess he had caused by dismissing his mother's husband and for the trouble that it had caused of them and then he had cut to the chase. His mother had thought that the man was there to talk to Dultog, nope, he had come to talk to him. The interview had taken place and he had waited a full week before saying yes. Due to his working with the man who had, unintentionally, destroyed his father, his mother had kicked him out of the house and he had found himself homeless... for only two days before his new employer had taken him to the side and had told him about the apartments in the staff's quarters underneath his mansion. He lived in apartment 76, a nice, spacious apartment that was all his... and his wife's and child's. Soon after he had met Ms. Edanie Thuim, who had been working for Master Surfeit for less than a year, he had fallen instantly in love. They had married soon after their first date and they had a daughter together and there was another on the way, he was very happy with life and with Mistress Angel and her four sons being back in the mansion where they belonged, he felt a sense of completeness fall over him. Kohl slowly and carefully made his way down the hallway, he didn't want to disturb his employer's sons who had only been in the mansion for four days.

"Holy shit and shinola!" Lhaklar exclaimed when he walked into his old, childhood chamber. "I feel as if-..."

"You're walking into the past." Bile finished for his brother.

If someone would have told him that his old, childhood bedroom chamber looked exactly the same as when he had left it he would not have believed it. He would have had to see it with his own two eyes to believe it and he truly believed it now. The floor was dark blue carpeted, the walls were light blue and the ceiling above matched, there was a shelf that ran all the way around the room that had his old toy cars and models on it and directly in front of him was the bed, an old Mercury X2 that was black and that had working headlights in the front that he had worked by pressing a button that was right on top of the bed side table that was beside the bed, that he had slept in when he had been a child, it even had the old blankets and sheets, black and purple and green, that was what was on the bed when his mother had taken him and his brothers from home and that was what was on the bed now, on it and his old favorite stuffed animal that he slept with always, Mr. Green Bear that's ear had been stitched on three times and whose stuffing had been replaced four times.

There was his dark green dresser that had the antique handles, the 25" tv that sat on it looked old but it had not a speck of dust on it, and there was the old toy chest that had his old toys in it that he had played with when he had been two, three, four and five hundred years old. The model cars had already been assembled when he had gotten them, either his father had done it for him with him standing at his elbow or behind his shoulder watching as he built the model or they had been already built in the box when purchased, and toy cars that lined the shelf he had bought himself when his father had started teaching him about the value of a dollar. His father had started giving him an allowance of $5 a week, after two weeks had passed he would take him to the town nearest home and would start his teachings on money and its value, and, of course, his first lessons in math when he had started to talk good. He had done the same with Bile. The kites that were hanging down from the ceiling he had started to collect fifty years before his mother had taken him and his brothers from the mansion. He had had an interest in the weird shaped kites such as the octopus, the fiery orange dragon, the beautiful butterfly that had fangs and the black shark back then, he had grown out of it after a few hundred years but his interest in old cars had remained, something that had stemmed from his own father who had some very unique cars that on Earth had been on the market in the early twentieth century.

"Race you to your old chamber?" Lhaklar suggested after he and his brother had exited his old, childhood bedroom chamber.

"Isn't there a rule here that says no running in the house?" Bile asked.

"It's only a short ru-... hey! Cheater!" Lhaklar shouted after Bile had torn off down the hallway. He ran on after him.

It was a short run and Bile had him bested due to his already being accustomed to his body and not having to wait before his legs untangled before he could reach top speed. As far as he knew, there was a rule that no running was allowed in the mansion unless it was absolutely called for. The rules was there so them kids wouldn't slip up and hurt themselves and so they wouldn't break anything. Bile had actually broken a statue on the fourth level once by running, the statue had broken in half so it could be saved but boy had his dad been pretty angered over the incident. There had been no further running incidents in the house after that... but Bile had plum gotten in trouble for walking into the house with muddy shoes several times. Dad had said for them to act like boys, to go out and scrape a knee, play in the mud and get into trouble and boy, did he and Bile ever do so. As soon as he had caught up to his brother, Bile twisted the doorknob then pushed the door in that went to his old, childhood chamber. He walked in with Lhaklar following on his heels.

"Very nice of you to come down and deliver this yourself, Mr. Surfeit." Abara Modulavich said after she had let her husband's employer into the apartment that he had allowed her husband to have to live in and, later, she and any offspring that they had. "My husband was wondering what was up."

"I do apologize for not double checking the desk in my ship while on Earth," TazirVile said. "I have the check written out and signed and I had it in the envelope but I never sent it out. I was coming down late last night but, after finding out that one of my sons was sick, I just couldn't swing it."

"Very understood, you was very busy at the time." Abara said. "My husband will be out in just a second, I'm sure he wishes to speak to you."

"I have a few minutes to spare," TazirVile said.

"Please, sit and make yourself comfortable and at home." Abara said.

He had but ten minutes to spare before having to go upstairs to retrieve the tray that had his sons and wife's breakfast on it, he had decided to let them sleep for a short while longer until he went into the room to hand off their breakfast then sit and be with them for a while. He had had to fight himself to not go in and check Lhaklar, he was concerned that his son was still ill and he had made a light breakfast especially for him. Angel had told him that Lazeer was allergic to nuts so he had made sure that Lazeer's breakfast had not nuts in it and Hazaar was a cheese lover so he had made his eggs extra cheesy for him and he had added a little something extra for him that he was sure that he'd like, Eggs Benedict. He had made sure that Bile had a little more meat in his breakfast, some more sausage and a Hash Brown that had ham cooked inside it. And, for all of them, he had made a nice stack of chocolate and strawberry filled pancakes that had a cinnamon-like taste to them. He had the glasses of milk and juice waiting in the fridge and the tray was waiting in the top slot of the oven that he had turned the warmer dial on to keep it all warm and fresh. Abara Modulavich went off to retrieve her husband, she was gone for all of a minute then came back in, Homsi walked into the living room slowly behind her.

"Master Tazir, it is very nice to see you after so long." Homsi said.

"Have you been to a doctor?" TazirVile asked, he had noted that his most trusted Goblin was walking slowly because he was in pain.

"No sir," Homsi replied."

"My husband has given me the word that if he says to pick up the phone and call the hospital I am to do so with no fuss." Abara said. "He's been roughing it and I've been giving him the home remedies every three hours."

"What're the extent of your injuries?" TazirVile asked Homsi. "Eldass claims he'll be able to work in a three days but I'm making him stay home for five more before he returns."

"His sides were as black as could be when he came home," Abara spoke up. "hurt quite a lot. He's still in pain but his sides have gone to a dark brown color."

"I suggest that you go to a doctor and get a diagnosis on your injuries." TazirVile said.

Before he left he was surprised by having the three older children of his most trusted Goblin and his wife run up to him to ask him questions on his sons. Homsi and Abara had five children total, but only three of them five had been around to interact with his sons. Arenzoar, Homsi and Abara's oldest child and firstborn son, looked like his mother quite a lot but he had inherited his father's large, blue eyes, and Dlahsleon, Homsi and Abara's secondborn son and the third child born to the pair, looked very much like his father except that he had dark purple skin, had wrestled and rough housed with Bile and they had also rough housed with Lhaklar as well as trying to climb a tree to catch him when they were playing a game of hide and seek or tag. Beaufi, the oldest daughter of Homsi and Abara, had simply joined up with Eshal in driving Bile and Lhaklar crazy with their female activities. Beaufi had once joined up with his daughter in giving Bile a hug which had sent his stepson running throughout the house yelling _cooties! They just gave me the cooties! _The kids were mainly wanting to know when they could see their old playmates, Homsi and Abara also had two other children that were three hundred and eighty years old, they were twins, male and female, and they had been named Gizzeppli and Galiza. TazirVile answered the young Goblin's questions quickly then excused himself. He exited the apartment, went down the hallway then started going up the stairs that led up to the first floor of his mansion.

"Deja Vu, man!" Bile exclaimed after he had flicked the light switch to the on position, making the room go from being dark to being lit up.

"Even your old bears are still here!" Lhaklar said after he had walked around his brother to see what the room looked like.

He had been on that liked teddy bears that had been dressed up and propped in fashions that made them look, in his mind, cool when he had been a child. Two shelves ran around his old kiddie chamber that had nothing but bears on them. There was the gangsta bear that was wearing blue jeans, a white t-shirt and that had a pair of small sunglasses over his eyes. That bear had a heart-shaped tattoo on his left arm that said Mama, his arms were positioned so they looked as if they were being crossed. There was the biker bear that was wearing a black leather jacket, white t-shirt, blue jeans and black boots. That bear had a silver, chain-like tattoo up high on his upper left arm and he had a red, white and blue bandana around his head, a cross earring in his left ear and he had wrist bands that had studs on them on both of his wrists. There was the matching bear beside that one only that one was standing up and had a skull and cross-bone bandana around his head and he had no earring or wrist bands on him and this bear had sunglasses over his eyes. There were the normal looking teddy bears that's faces had been made up to look like hideous snarls, some had blood trickling from their fearsome sharp teeth while others just had yellow teeth.

There was his dresser that had the skulled bear lamp and lamp shade on it and the small, 25" tv with alarm clock placed on top of it mounted on the wall. The carpet was the same, dark blue. The walls and ceiling were the same, light blue and the ceiling had a pebbled texture to it. His toy chest that had his trucks and other toys in it sat next to the bed that he had slept in for a few hundred years after he had graduated from his baby chamber. His bed was what got him to decide to stop thinking of TazirVile Surfeit as his adopted father and to plain think of him as his actual father. Yes, as odd as it seemed now, he had slept on a big, ol' bear bed complete with the head, legs and fake claws of a bear. The bear had a silly smile on its face but he had loved that bed when he had been a child. It had brown sheets and a dark brown blanket on it with a bear fur on the foot of the bed folded up. He had dropped the bear thing soon after reaching nine hundred years old, the knives, swords, chromed items and motorcycles had taken the bears places. Bile turned around after looking in his old childhood bedroom chamber and exited the room, his brother followed behind him. He switched the switch on the wall to the off position then closed the door behind him.

"What time is it?" Bile asked after regaining his composure.

"Uhhhh..." Lhaklar looked at the big, black clock that had bat wings and fangs carved on it that had a roman numeral face. "shit! It's near nine in the morning!"

"Ma, Hazaar and Lazeer have probably already been up." Bile said, he began to run down the hallway. "Probably worried sick of us!"

The first thing that he saw when he entered the room was that there were two missing and that both Hazaar and Lazeer looked very nervous. His wife was seated in the deep red chair, she looked as if she wasn't very concerned about the missing of her two older sons and that told him that she had settled down. TazirVile went to the bench, placed the tray that had his sons' breakfast on it down then went over to the chair that his wife was seated on. Angel looked up at him, smiled then got up. He took her place then reached up and touched her arm, she sat down on his lap and, to his great relief and surprise, reached her hand up and touched his chin. He felt the connection between them, it was still there, still strong regardless of the years that they had not seen or been with one another. Lazeer went and got himself something to eat first and then Hazaar, with some slight hesitation, walked up and got himself a plate. TazirVile, without giving a second thought to what he was doing, tilted Angel's head up then kissed her on the lips. She returned the kiss then giggled and kissed him again, Bile and Lhaklar walked into the room quickly then stopped in their tracks when they saw their parents, their mother seated on their father's lap and both kissing.

"Maaaaaybe we should go back out for a few more minutes." Bile said, Angel turned around after hearing her son.

"Where've you two been?" Angel asked her two sons. "Woke up to seeing neither of you in the room."

"Did some quick exploring," Lhaklar said. "just looking around."

"How you feeling, Lhaklar?" Angel asked her secondborn son. "Feel better?"

"Feel like a million bucks." Lhaklar replied.

"Been checking out your old chambers, boys?" TazirVile leaned back in the chair. "Everything is as it was before you five left. Not a thing missing."

"Yes, looks like you two been making up." Bile said.

"Y-..."

"Making me sick is more like it!" Hazaar cut his mother off.


	5. Chapter 5

_No Word From Surfeit Mansion_

_With it now being a week after Bile Vile, LhaklarVile Closhu Surfeit, HazaarVile Tlair Surfeit and LazeerVile Zuluduz Surfeit's and their mother's, Angel Irene Vile-Surfeit's, return to Moas each and every being in the universe is still wondering what is going on inside the mansion that the four boys and their mother were taken to soon after TazirVile Lajoshu Surfeit, the father of LhaklarVile, HazaarVile and LazeerVile Surfeit and the adopted father of Bile Vile, landed his ship in his underground hangar that is located within his land. All phone calls to the residence have been forwarded to a machine, no one is picking up and no staff that drives out from the mansion after their work day had ended had answered our multitude of questions. Calls have been placed to TazirVile Surfeit's older half-brother, KurukVile Shonsinu Surfeit, along with to both KurukVile's and TazirVile's father, DuruVile Bolushi Surfeit, and they have also not been picked up. No activity has been seen going on within the mansion or outside of it, even TazirVile Surfeit's oldest child, EshalVile Eskara Surfeit, had not been seen since her return home with her father and brothers. _

_"Most probably nothing is going on," Kooduz Harec, a behavoirist, said when asked of how the boys are probably reacting inside the mansion that they have not seen for one thousand, six hundred years. "the boys will be fearful for a while, nervous after that and then they'll start exploring and then, after they settle down, things will go back to being normal within the residence."_

_Gloar Rovnitov, TazirVile Surfeit's neighbor and friend, even had no response as to what was going on within the mansion owned by his friend. He claims that he is much too busy in figuring out the years most promising to be entertaining Moas Derby on record which, he claims, will be a spectacle for everyone who attends and even those who watch on the screen. A report from the Bula Galaxy shows that Mr. Surfeit is still working normally, he is still collecting his monies from the galaxy and he is still ruling over the galaxy along with the Andromeda and Vaisha galaxies as he normally would so some activities within the mansion are known but the most pressing question is how Angel Irene Vile-Surfeit and her four sons are reacting to their new environment after being away from it for so long. The universe is waiting and shall continue until something is heard and the throngs of reporters that stand outside of the main gate that is around Surfeit Mansion remains and is growing with each passing day._

Angel tossed the paper over to her son who had been eying it like a hungry bear ever since his father had brought it into the room, she was glad that Tazir had done as she had asked by keeping the reporters away but having the reporters so close to the mansion did make her feel somewhat stressed. What happened if one of her sons looked out a window? The mansion had hundreds of windows, some big, some normal, some octagonal and some circular, if one of her sons looked out a window would his picture be taken and flashed all about the universe along with the colorful rhetoric that was sure to be written just to drive what the reporters wanted to hear out in the open. What about the back, Tazir's property ran a good hundred acres of good, artificially covered blue grass and rocky beach coast that had white fence around the front and sides but not in the back. What if one of her sons, after he felt himself ready to explore outside of the mansion, was out and a reporter slipped through the non-fenced section of her Universal Husband's property or rode in on a boat and began snapping pictures with his or her camera then ran forward or jumped off the boat, to ask questions? So many what if's, she sighed then sat back. Lhaklar and Bile had left the room only to explore the level that the room that they were in was on. They had always come back and they had only explored the level that they were on once when their father had been on it.

Hazaar and Lazeer were still nervous wrecks, she had a feeling that they would be for a few more weeks to come after the treatment that they had received from both their father and from the Goblins. Lazeer had finished his model plane, it looked rather well and now he was bored half out of his wits. The poor thing had nothing to do but re-read the magazines that he had in the room. Hazaar had finished his model Tyranaglat within one, single day, it looked rather fearsome and she was very proud of him for building it up while his father had been in the room. Now, even he had nothing to do but sit and re-read the magazines that he had bought a week and two days before and open and shut his pocket knife time and again. She had asked Lhaklar to take a memory of hers from when she had transformed into a dragon for Lazeer then make it turn into a photograph just so he could have something else to do, meaning finish his dragon model. He had done that wonderfully and right in front of his father to boot, Lazeer had finished his dragon model soon after and it looked nearly like her when she transformed into her winged dragon form. Lhaklar had done his model of the 1969 Chevrolet Nova SS Diecast car within two days. Her sons had found each of their completed models missing on the morning after they had been completed, their father had said he had put them in their chambers on the third level and he had offered to take them upstairs to check out their chambers but, due to all of their nervousness, either slight or extreme, all had said no. It was eleven thirty in the morning, Angel had a good mind to just stand up and take her four boys upstairs herself but she had a feeling that Tazir would want to be the one to lead the way so she simply waited. Even she was bored now, a week of being in the same room, just sitting and watching as her sons settled down, either a lot or slightly. She had not a thing to do except, when Tazir came in, be somewhat affectionate. She kept the affections down to a bare minimum for all of her sons sake, especially Hazaar's who, whenever he saw her or his father going in for a kiss or doing an innocent flirt, he'd snarl out that they were making him feel sick. She had started getting the mately pains whenever Tazir walked down the hallway, either on his way down to the first level after getting up or in coming up to either come bring them their meals then sit and stay with them for a spell or go to his office that was on the same level.

"Hazaar, quit opening and closing your knife please." Angel said to her son who was seated behind her, just hearing the blade click inside the handle then be clicked out again was upping her stress level.

"Yes momma." Hazaar said.

Any one person would get stressed out by simply staying in one room for a week, she loved her sons dearly but she did feel that she needed to have a little space of her own and, maybe, an hour or two to her own. She had a feeling that latter one wasn't going to be happening any time soon as both Hazaar and Lazeer were still acting very nervous of their father. They'd walk by him, but only at a snail's pace and if he made any movement or sound they'd high-tail it away. Lhaklar was acting the same but in a lesser degree, if his father clicked his throat she'd see her secondborn son jump to the side then turn his head to the side to look at his father. Bile became tense whenever Tazir made any sounds or movements whenever he walked by, she mostly feared for her firstborn in regards to his being two inches taller and a hundred and forty pounds heavier than his adopted father. Although she knew that Tazir was a mature man who had experience in fighting, she also knew that Bile was also experienced in fighting... although not as much so as he had only had a few physical, real, fights to Tazir who had probably had over a thousand in his long lifetime. Bile was fast, he could get away from anything in the blink of an eye while Lhaklar it took some time to untangle his legs before he could really put his on his speed boots and Hazaar... he liked fighting, she knew that if anything started up between either Tazir and Bile or between Tazir and Lhaklar that Hazaar would join in solely to both be included in the fight and, also, to help his brothers. Lazeer could fight as well but he was handicapped by his photo sensitive eye. She worried about all of them if anything sparked up, she did worry about Tazir as well but she was directing most of her concern towards her four sons.

She had sort of lost trust in Tazir after she had barged into the room on the ship that her sons had been in to find him holding a whip and had seen Lhaklar, Bile and Hazaar all cowering near the bed, either crying their eyes out or looking scared out of their wits or both. Tazir had said that he would never use a weapon or tool against one of her children when it came to disciplining, he had promised. He had broken that promise by using the belt on Bile, Lhaklar and Hazaar and that, she truly believed, was why all three of them were nervous around him. What was worse, he had fought, injured, let him Goblins attack and injure and then had thrown Lazeer into a cell in the dungeon that was in his ship. That, in itself, was another reason why all four of her sons were nervous around the man. Tazir had said that it had to be done, that the disciplining with the belt had to of been done after they had attacked him. Well, she sided with her sons on that one. She'd of fought, and kicked him to kingdom come, had she of walked into the apartment to find it robbed then him sitting in the living room having the most serious of faces that said that something might well happen. She'd of fought and kicked his ass had he of chased her to the dump and cornered her as well. He was doing a good job in being slow with the boys, she had to commend him on that. He wasn't rushing things or ordering her sons to quit acting fearful of him, he was taking each day slowly. If she had to guess what her trust meter was set at for her Universal Husband at the moment, it was at a four and a half out of ten. He had a ways to go. Angel was about to get up and walk around the room when she heard the knife click open behind her.

"Hand it over," Angel said, she had turned around, her hand was held out for the knife. "I gave you a warning, Hazaar."

"That won't me, momma." Hazaar said, he held his hands out. His pocket knife wasn't in neither one.

"Baby?"

Of course, she had forgotten. The doors made a clicking sound whenever anyone twisted the doorknob. Each and every door on the level that they were on had a silver painted doorknob and locks made a clicking noise whenever they were unlocked or whenever the doorknob made the mechanism pull in so that the door could be opened. Angel apologized to her son then went to him, he gave her a hug then a kiss. She had a chance to see the state of his hair, her poor son's deep purple tail of hair that came out from the nape of the back of his head that was four and a half inches long was tangled up and in need of some brushing and combing. Hazaar had been complaining since they had arrived on Moas about how he wished that there was a comb or a brush in the room, she had asked Tazir for one but he, as of yet, had not delivered on it. Either he had not understood why she had asked for a comb or he had become too busy to get what she had asked for. Either or, her son needed some assistance with his hair. Angel sat down on the foam siding of the bed and began running her fingers through Hazaar's hair, she was gentle and careful to not hurt him as she did this. Due to the phase that he was going through at this period in his life, he was a bit overly emotional about his hair.

"Angel, if you'll please follow me." TazirVile said, he had let his wife tend their son's hair and was wanting to take his sons upstairs. "I'd like for the boys to see their chambers."

"Ma-..."

"Sure, just so you know, though, I'll be sticking up on the third level with them." Angel said, she stood up then walked across the room.

He really wanted the boys to be out of the room that they had been in for a week and, he figured, that since they were still rather nervous around him that the best way to do that was to get their mother to head up along with them. A week with having his wife in the mansion with him had been somewhat torturesome for him, he had found himself doing his bedding each morning after an emission during the night. Some of the most vivid and sexy dreams he had ever had, although he could only remember bits and pieces of them, most were of Angel either undressing herself or of her getting into a pool buck naked. Just seeing that curvy body of hers in his dreams had set him off but then again, seeing them 40C cup breasts and that honey-tanned body of hers that had slight muscle shown on the top, plenty more underneath hidden but very much there and them gorgeous locks of fiery red hair had really sealed his ticket to popping out the baby makers each and every night for a week. No, he didn't so much want her away from the boys solely to have sex with her, he simply wanted the boys and her out of that room on the second level. Five people in one room for one week was just asking for more stress to happen and he didn't want that. TazirVile led his family out of the room then turned and made his way down the hallway, he was forced to stop after one of his two younger sons stopped to look at a photograph that was hanging on the wall.

"I sure didn't have much hair back then," Hazaar said.

"It was there, just barely though." Angel said to her son. "Was about a quarter of an inch long back then."

TazirVile smiled, his secondborn son had, indeed, been born with a very short, deep purple tail of hair sprouting out from the nape of the back of his head that had been a quarter of an inch in length. His son had grew it out, his tail of deep purple hair now flowed down four and a half inches, it went past his shoulders and was full. His father had wanted him to shave off that tail of deep purple hair from his son after he had been in the universe for only two days, he had said that it would Hazaar look funny. He had not listened, he had left the tail of hair remain and it had been about an inch long when he, his brothers and their mother had disappeared. Tazir had a feeling that his son would be pleased with how the bathroom that was adjacent to his chamber had been set up, he had felt that something lying underneath the floor in the bathroom on the first floor of the apartment and when he had ordered his Goblins to tear the floor up he had found three boxes hidden underneath the floor. All had beads, feathers, dyes and ribbons along with other hair-related items and since Hazaar was the only male child of his who had hair long enough to accommodate such items he had decided to spell-send the items to his mansion. He had set up the bathroom that was adjacent Hazaar's bedroom chamber himself, along with going with the advice of Mekaia, Eldass' daughter. TazirVile walked on as soon as Hazaar decided to walk on.

"You remember that episode of that old program The Fairly OddParents where Timmy Turner's Godparent, Cosmo, looked at photographs of Timmy wearing dresses?" Bile asked Hazaar.

"Yeah man, his parents wanted a girl and they said they'd be crushed if the baby was born a boy." Hazaar replied.

"That's what ma and pop did with you," Bile said. "you was said to be a girl and when you came out being a boy instead, they simply dressed you up as a girl."

"It's why mom calls you Hazie." Lhaklar said.

"Shut up you wet ends!" Hazaar snapped, Lazeer, who was in front of Hazaar, stopped suddenly. His brother walked right into him. "Hey! You have feet, use them!"

Angel tapped Hazaar on the arm then went to Lazeer, he was looking at a photograph of him from when he had been three months old. The photograph had been taken just before she had decided to take her sons after her father had said he was on his way to take her away from them. Lazeer was in his crib, he was on his side so the faint red line that went from the right side of his head, to the back then to the other side of his head could be seen. Her son had not gotten his brick-red, bristly hair that was two inches in width that went in a C-fashion around his head until he had reached near seven months of age and, even then, it had barely shown. Her infant son's eyes were open, but barely, and he looked tired. When he had been born, he had weighed no more than two pounds and had been near five inches long, after the fight she had had with her father and had decided to take her sons to protect them and to keep them with her always Lazeer had weighed near twelve pounds and had been near ten inches long. Still small, still weak, but he had survived by her actions. Had she not of left with her children on that night, she fully believed, she might well be without one of them today.

"You was a very early arrival," Angel said to her son. "had you when I was twenty-two weeks along in my pregnancy."

"Had a fight with them blasted doctors," TazirVile said. "we wanted to give it a try with the pod and and they didn't."

"Your daddy put a lot of money into the hospital just to keep you going for three weeks," Angel placed her hands on Lazeer's shoulders. "they had no faith in you surviving, we did."

"And by that, here you are." TazirVile said. "I never was one who liked hospitals, they like to be fast. Get you in, work on you then get you out. I had to threaten a lawsuit if they didn't continue after week one and actually did take the hospital to court after they released you."

"It was ma and her constant care of you that made it so you'd survive." Bile said. "She'd not allow herself to put you down after we got to Earth-..."

"Much less leave you for a minute. She tended Hazaar the same way." Lhaklar said. "After fifty years had passed, she calmed down some and finally let you be alone for a short while. Hazaar as well."

"Had you and Hazaar at her breast all that time, she was constantly eating and drinking to keep the milk flowing." Bile went on. "If she did hand one of you off so to let me and Lhaklar nurse she'd have her eye glued to that person. If the one that she had handed one of your to began to walk off-..."

"She'd go 'where are you going with my baby! Bring him back this instant!'." Lhaklar finished.

Well, he had some of his answer as to what his wife had done after going to Earth. Apparently, she had let Hazaar and Lazeer suckle all the time for fifty years and then, when it came time for Bile and Lhaklar to nurse, she'd let someone else hold either Hazaar or Lazeer so they both could and so they wouldn't squash the two infants. He knew his wife had worked in the years 3003, 3039, 3043, 3080 and that she had made the special effects for four movies and that she had been working for a Food Lion when he had discovered that she was on Earth but what had she done between them years? From what Bile and Lhaklar had said, she had been around others and she had had help. Who had helped her, surely all of the friends that she had known from when Bile and Lhaklar had been babies had already perished as they didn't have immortality like he and she and their kids did. One thousand, six hundred years was a long time, had she been faithful to him by not having sex with anyone or had she gave in to her need? TazirVile started taking his family up the stairs with these questions running through his mind, when he reached the third floor he was near haunted by them. He made himself get control of himself just before he stopped before a black wooden door that had a black door frame around it that looked like metal but was really wooden. He turned and looked at the boys then reached forward and grabbed the gold doorknob, he twisted the doorknob then pushed the door open.

"Hazaar, this one's yours." TazirVile said, he took a few steps back then waited.

And told Lazeer to remain where he was then slowly walked Hazaar into his bedroom chamber. He took just two steps then stopped, his deep purple, oval, wrap around eyes near popped out from his face when he saw how his bedroom chamber had been set up. A train track ran fully around the chamber, even over the door, and it had a train on it that had all of the cars on it. There were shelves put up that had Hazaar's model trains and space ships on them, the model train that Hazaar had been working on was placed on a desk that had all the paints and utensils that were required to continue building the engine and there was a pile of boxes that looked as if they had just been bought that had train cars, engines and the works in them. There was a tall bookcase that had all his books and magazines on it on the left side of the room next to a walk-in closet, a dark gray dresser was on the other side of the walk-in closet that had his alarm clock, a French industrial train clock that was two-color gold and black with gilded brass and dark patinated bronze locomotive, on its surface along with a large, 50" screen mounted up on the wall behind it. His bed wasn't like the one he had had back on Earth, the frame of his bed was like that of the engine of a train. There were black and blue sheets and a dark blue blanket on the bed and the bed frame had a train whistle on it and hanging on it was a conductor's hat. His Tyranaglat was placed on a black bed side table that had a black lamp on it. The carpet was dark green, the walls and ceiling above were a little lighter green. There were two windows in his room, both had dark green drapes and both drapes were pulled shut. Hazaar took two steps forward then stopped and turned to the side. By the Gods, he also had a walk-in bathroom! Hazaar looked back at his mother.

"Go on, sweetheart." Angel said to her son. "I'll be on this hall with you four for a while. I'm not going anywhere so if you need me, give me a yell and I'll come lickety-split. Okay?"

"Okay, momma." Hazaar said shakily. "I-I love you."

"I love you too, baby." Angel said, she then turned around and walked out of the room. She left the door open so not to scare her son.

The third floor's hallway had torches on it, a black, blue and white carpet ran down it that had white tassels on the ends and sides and the walls were dark gray as was the ceiling above. She remembered well that she had cleaned and re-cleaned and dusted and re-dusted each bust and statue on this exact floor a few days before Lhaklar had been born. A bar ran the length of the ceiling, it was light yellow and sent that color out on the walls although it was the torches that lit the hallway fully. Tazir was not like his brother, father, grandfather and her father, they had either a thick Gothic or medieval design to their houses while he was a more modern designer who added touches of Gothic and medieval to his rooms and the hallways that went through his home. Tazir seemed a bit off when she exited Hazaar's room, the first room that her secondborn son had all to himself and didn't have to share with one of his brothers. After she exited her son's room she followed her Universal Husband down the hall, Tazir took her and her remaining three sons past two doors then stopped. The door that he was standing in front of was dark gray, it had a design on it that made it look as if it had been shattered, the painted wood splinter and shard shadows had been done in near black paint and the door had a solid black doorknob. TazirVile grabbed the doorknob, twisted it then pushed the door in. He then stepped back.

"Bile, this one's yours." TazirVile said.

Bile looked at her, gave her a wink then went into his chamber without so much as a second thought. She took that as his saying for her to go on with her two remaining sons down the hall, find their rooms then come back after she had made sure that they were settled. TazirVile went down the hallway with her at his side, he seemed rather distant to her, sort of cold as well, so she said not a thing to him, she dropped back to behind him. Lazeer hugged her from behind then released her. TazirVile went by four rooms quietly, he said not a word to her or her two, remaining sons who were following behind her. When her Universal Husband stopped in front of a door that was mahogany and had a rustic feel to it he grabbed the doorknob, a solid gold piece that had flecks of copper, silver and bronze all around it. Tazir gave the doorknob a twist then he pushed the door in, Lhaklar didn't need to be told that the room was his as he could see his model cars on the shelves. Lhaklar went by his father, his eye was turned slightly, keeping the man in his sights then he entered the room that was his very own. Angel, seeing as Lazeer would probably not want to be left behind with his father, he was gripping her arm rather tightly, nodded her head at Tazir who turned around and began walking down the hallway again. He only stopped at a door that was a solid piece of oak wood that had a gilded metal scorpion tacked up high above the door frame and, right in the center of the door, was a gilded metal monogrammed L. TazirVile gripped the solid gold doorknob, gave it a twist then pushed the door in. Angel walked by with Lazeer clinging to her arm tightly.

The first thing that he saw was that the floors and walls were dark red while the ceiling above was a light red color and had a swirl-fashioned pebbly texture to it. The second thing that he saw were the shelves that had his model Dinosaurs on with the shelves underneath having the model planes that he had had in a box underneath his bed. There were several model planes that he had built that had not come with the landing mechanisms, those were hanging down from the ceiling. A dark brown oak dresser sat near the western wall, on it was a large, 50" tv and right above the tv was a clock that had an image of a several Deinonychus' hunting and eating Sauropod dinosaurs that looked eerily similar to Camarasaurus. There was a black bed side table next to his bed that had a solar-powered lamp on it that had little planes hanging down from the bars that, when the light hit the bars, would revolve around and around. The little planes had lights on their sides so it was they who gave off the light. He thought that was awesome but not as awesome as the B-17 Jet Aircraft Military alarm clock that sat right beside the lamp. His bed was a normal one, had light green sheets with a dark green blanket on top and he had several plane and dinosaur posters up on his walls and he quite liked the blonde flight attendant poster, she was a bombshell and her blue flight attendant outfit fit her right tightly except for around the breasts, the buttons on the top part of her shirt had come undone to show the bra and some cleavage. A bookcase sat off on the northern wall that had his books and magazines on it, he could see the History of the Plane and the Titanic Dinosaur Book right on the top shelf. His model dragon was placed on the second shelf, it was all by its lonesome which sort of made him feel sad but then he remembered that the dragon would probably have some company soon. There was a desk placed next to the closet that had his incomplete plane model, the WWII Lockhead P-38, placed on top of it with the paints, brushes and other utensils required to finish the model placed around it.

"You going to be alright while I go check on your brothers?" Angel asked her son, who had gone to check out what looked to be a remote control plane.

"You staying on this level with us or-..." Lazeer stopped, his mother had nodded her head. The corners of his O-shaped mouth curled up slightly. "Yes, ma. I will."

She exited the room that was her youngest sons then saw that Tazir had already gone down the hallway, even halfway away from her she felt that distance between him and her. She let it go, sometimes a man needed time to be with himself and sometimes a man needed time to be with his thoughts. She had a feeling that he was thinking about what she had done on Earth, if that was so then she'd just let him guess for a little while longer. She had done not a thing sexual with anyone on Earth for one thousand, six hundred years, she had been too damn busy with the kids to even think about sex and, besides, she had still been with him. She was still wearing the ring that he had given her nine months after their first son's birth that he had said was their ring on her finger and it had not left her finger except for when she showered or washed the dishes. Angel walked down the hallway, following TazirVile then, when she got to Lhaklar's bedroom door she stopped. TazirVile turned and looked at her, he nodded his head and she nodded back then she disappeared into the room that was her secondborn son's. Lhaklar had pulled the chair out from the desk that was in the northwest corner of his room and was sitting in it, he looked as if he was overwhelmed with everything that had unfolded in the past five minutes.

"Lhaklar, you alright?" Angel asked her son.

"Somewhat... mom, I'm a bit... I'm a bit..."

"Come here, Lhakie." Angel said, her son stood up and walked over to her. She wrapped him up in a hug and he returned it. "Take it all in slowly, it's a lot to take in and I know that but do please, don't stress yourself over anything. Let me do the stressing, okay?"

"I'd not like for you to stress either, mom." Lhaklar said. "I love you and I w-..."

"Don't you worry none about me," Angel said. "I'll be fine. It's you and your brothers that I worry about."

His room had a dark brown carpet in it, the walls were painted dark red and there were light red stripes going down the walls vertically. The ceiling was a light red color and hanging down from it was an antler chandelier that had big bulbs held on gold sticks on it. There was a light brown dresser placed perpendicular to the walk-in closet that had a 40" screen mounted above it on the wall. A shelf ran across the wall between two windows that had the few model cars that her son had built on it. The 1950 Studebaker that her son had painted red was placed beside the 1960's Chrysler that her son had painted blue. There was a little space between the blue painted model of the Chrysler and the model of the Model A vehicle that her son had painted mostly red but had made the top black, the model beside that one was that of the 1940 Cadillac which he had painted a burgundy color and had attached the thin-leather strip on the back to make the car have the appearance of a convertible. The 1969 Chevrolet Nova SS Diecast car was on the shelf underneath them models, it was the only model on that shelf.

There was a desk placed in the north-east corner of her son's chamber that had three boxes next to it. Angel saw that model of the Buick Stream, a vehicle put into production quite recently which looked pretty sweet to her that had real red leather interior and seating, pull up doors and seating for only two persons, on the surface of the desk. The model kit for the Chevy Streamer truck, a truck that had a stream-lined back but looked very truck-like in the front, was one of the boxes that sat beside the desk while there were two model kits of alien vehicles that looked like they housed older model vehicle models inside them. A bookshelf stood just three feet from the desk, it had her son's books on it along with his magazines on cars made from 1880 to 1940 and his scrolls and books on Acidic and Elemental powers and his jade figures of the bears and the rearing horses. Her son's bed was one of them big, queen sized beds that had dark green sheets and a black and gold blanket. He had four pillows at the head of his bed that were encased in black pillow cases that had the letter L sewn in the top in gold thread. His poster of Christopher Lloyd as the character from the movie The Addams Family of Uncle Fester was mounted up on the wall, the Moose skull and antlers that her son had collected from one of his hunts were mounted up over the door and the (fish) that her son had wanted taxidermied was up on the wall beside the door. Beside her son's bed was the bed side table that was dark gray and had the lamp that he had made, a light bulb that was frozen in some water that he had used his Acidic powers on to solidify the ice-cube forever that could be turned on and off by his touch only and the upside down lightbulb alarm clock that her son had purchased some years ago for $12 was right beside it. As far as Angel was concerned, the room had an unfinished feel to it. It had a just-made feel to it and it had that unfinished feel to it as well. She was hoping that her son didn't get nervous just from the vibes that the room had in it.

"My Marilyn Monroe poster is missing, mom." Lhaklar had pushed away from her, he was standing next to her, looking at the Uncle Fester poster. "I checked and it wasn't there."

"I'll get it back for you," Angel said. "keep it well hidden, though."

"Promise, I had it hidden behind my Christopher Lloyd poster anyways."

"Take a seat and take it in all very slowly okay. Don't jump into all this fast." Angel said to her son. "I need to go check on Bile and Hazaar, you'll be okay until I get back?"

"Think so," Lhaklar went over to the bed and sat down on it. "I'll be right here when you get back."

As she went down the hall to check on her firstborn son she began to wonder if, possibly, they being at the mansion with Tazir was the best thing. She understood what Tazir was doing, he was being slow and she respected that but her sons were really overwhelmed with all of this extravagance. She had raised her sons the best that she could, sure, she wished that they could have had their own rooms when children and sure, she wished that she could buy them anything and everything that they wanted but she did have to be careful in her activities on Earth. She had that fear that if her father found that anything spectacular had happened on Earth he'd come down to investigate then find her and her sons then capture her and make her abandon her boys. She had trained each and every one of them how to fight not only with their powers, but also with their hands and with a sword and she was very proud of them all for learning their lessons. She had been very surprised when Bile had written to her asking if she'd please let him do wrestling at Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic along with track. She had agreed and had sent the money on over through the wire to her son for him to accomplish his goals. Soon after her son had gone through a few months of training in track and had his first track meet scheduled he had sent her a letter with the time, place at the school and who all was running. She just could not bare to miss seeing her son run and had she ever been proud of him for them records. Her baby was fast, she had been fast at the school as well when she had ran track but she had had trouble with working her legs and, usually, when she had gotten them untangled the runners were far in front of her so she had just ran to finish the race. She had been there for all of Bile's and Lhaklar's track meets and for Bile's wrestling meets, she had had to dye her hair to not be noticed but she was glad to of been there for each of them events. A parent was suppose to be there to support their children and she had been there for hers. Angel, when she got to Bile's bedroom chamber's door, knocked twice. The doorknob twisted on the other side then the door was pulled open.

"How you doing?" Angel asked her firstborn son after her son had closed the door behind her.

"I'll get use to it, probably take some time but I will get use to it." Bile replied.

The first thing she saw was the Raquel Welch and Rita Hayworth posters that had been hung up on either side of the walk-in closet. The Rita Hayworth had the lady on her knees on a bed wearing what looked to be a silk gown that had a black lace top, she was looking out of the poster and had a very seductive smile on her pretty face, Angel remembered the movie very well from which the poster had been made out from. The Movie Gilda had been released in 1946 and had been rather decent although, at that time, seeing Rita Hayworth flinging her hair back in a silk gown had been called erotic. Her son had bought the poster from the Flea Market in Green River, Wyoming for only sixty-five cents, a damn good buy and the poster was in fine shape. She had had no problem when she had been shown the poster, Bile had his rights in having his pin-up girls and in expressing his sexuality after all. The Raquel Welch poster, on the other hand, she had nearly told her son that he couldn't keep it.

She had no problem with Raquel Welch, she was a fine actress who had been in some good movies. Her main issue with the poster that her son had gone and bought at the Flea Market for $1.25 was in the pose that the woman had been photographed doing. The actress had been photographed on her knees, with one being held back a ways from the other, one of her hands had been placed on her hip while the other was held up near her temple. The woman had been photographed wearing the deer skin bikini that she had worn in the movie One Million Years B.C. and the poster had been made to promote the film and to bring in viewers and, of course, help it along when it was released on video some months after it had been shown in theaters. She had relented on her son keeping the poster after a few minutes of thinking it over.

A black bookshelf had Bile's books and magazines on it, she saw that her son had a few hunting and knife magazines along with some of them nudie magazines that Hazaar read on the second shelf. Once again, as long as her son wasn't going out and doing anything she was fine with him just looking. His books and scrolls on Elemental powers were on the shelf underneath that while, on the third shelf, were his knives and his two glass dragon what knots. The third shelf was empty. Beside the bookshelf was a rustic dresser that looked similar to the one that her son had had on Earth but looked more sturdy. Bile's lamp, that's base was set up to look like a pelvis and spine that was curved up at the top, was on the top of the dresser. His lamp had gotten a burnt looking lampshade, an upgrade as he had had a normal, white lampshade on his lamp before. Beside his lamp was his alarm clock that looked like a skull but had eyes that acted as the hour and time windows.

Bile's Water Buffalo skull and rack, trophies from one of his hunts, were up on the wall above his bed. She was glad that Tazir had put that baby up, her son had been so proud when he had felled the Water Buffalo and she had done all that she could to help him clean and mount the two items up. The skull that was designed to look like a brain was on a black bed side table beside a bed that had some cool sheets and blanket and pillows on it. Bile's blanket was black and had white and dark purple deer skulls and antler designs on it while his sheets were dark gray and had leg-bone designs on it. The pillow cases on the pillows, two large, three throw and two small, were black and dark green and had skulls and cross-bones on them along with a gold and silver stitched B right in the center. As with Lhaklar's chamber, Bile's chamber had that incomplete feel to it... it gave off a vibe that it had just been done. The walls in her firstborn son's chamber were a dark green color, there was a light green stripe running down them every five inches, and the ceiling above and the floors were a dark brown color. Angel had just taken in the moose antler chandelier that hung down from the ceiling that had six candles on it that were lit up when the door behind her opened and Hazaar walked in.

"Hazie, what's wrong?" Angel asked, her son had ran up and hidden behind her.

Hazaar wouldn't answer her so she figured that someone had gone into his chamber and had spooked him so Angel told Bile that she'd be going back and forth from his chamber and his brothers' then she exited his chamber with Hazaar clinging to her backside. There was no one in the hallway but one, lonely Goblin who was standing at the far end near Hazaar's chamber. He looked familiar to her and she had a feeling that it had been he who had scared her son. Angel walked down the hallway normally, Hazaar kept his arms around her for only ten seconds then he released his hold on her. He walked up beside her and walked in step with her nearly to his chamber then dropped back behind her. Angel ushered Hazaar into his chamber then turned slightly to look at the man who she believed had spooked her son.

He was short, about four-foot, five or six inches tall and he had dark blue skin. The Goblin was wearing a dark blue tuxedo with a light blue cravat hanging down from his neck and he had dark blue shoes on his feet. The Goblin had quite a lot of warts on his cheeks and forehead, dark blue skin, a long and slightly crooked nose, a headful of what looked to be soft, brown hair and large, yellow eyes. Angel, merely being polite, nodded her head at the Goblin who returned the nod then she walked into her son's chamber. Hazaar looked at her, she truly had no clue as to what had happened to make him so nervous. Surely a Goblin in the hallway that was a few feet away from her son's chamber wouldn't spook him but so much unless the Goblin had walked towards him when he had had his back turned. Angel was about to ask her son what was the matter when a name suddenly zapped itself into her brain. She turned and left the room, the Goblin was still standing in the hallway, he stood almost statue-like in the center of the hallway.

"Daosi?"

"Yes, My Mistress." Daosi nodded his head.

"You look well." Angel said.

"My Mistress, I thank you." Daosi said. "I do hope I did not upset Young Master Hazaar but so much. I merely said hello to him."

And with that admition, she not only remembered how Daosi Zultoa, Eldass' secondborn son, acted but she also knew what had happened. Daosi was one who acted before he thought, he was a very loyal Goblin but he had been reprimanded most out of Eldass' four children that worked for her Universal Husband. Hazaar had fought his father and, quite possibly, he had been the one who had injuried Eldass and, quite possibly, Daosi had decided to do a little trick on her son to make him feel guilty about fighting and injuring his father. Despite being one of the trusted Goblins in her entourage, Angel would support Hazaar, along with her other sons, in anything that they did in life and that included fights. Angel said not a thing else to the Goblin, she went back into her thirdborn son's chamber. Hazaar looked at her, then he looked at the hallway, he then walked over to her.

Her sons had a way in asking for comfort, whenever one of them wanted some comfort they'd simply walk up to her then start nuzzling his head up against hers while wrapping her up in a hug. Angel gave her son a warm hug then returned his nuzzle. After a full five minutes of asking, and receiving, comfort from her, Hazaar stepped away then turned and went towards the desk that had his model train on the top. Angel walked over and stood over her son's shoulder as he began working on his model train. The box that the train engine had come in was placed on the edge of the desk so she could see that it was one of them Halloween-Theme models. The box said on the top and sides _The Spooktacular Train, the most evilest of trains. comes with moss, ghosts, a skeletal conductor and six bottles of paint_. Her son had already built the base of the train, it had been painted coal-black that looked real good, the inside portion of the engine had been done and there was a skeletal conductor at the wheel. The sides had been put up and partially painted, it looked as if her son was trying to make the engine have a rusted, spooky appearance. Hazaar had the tops of the paints he was using already off, he looked back at her once then turned back and began painting the rest of the sides of his train engine.


	6. Chapter 6

"Morning, Bile."

He had slept so horribly during the night that he nearly missed hearing her greet him. He was much like a typical human, it took a day or two before he settled into a new room. The sounds, sights and shadows kept him awake as did the fact that his mama had not been with him. That had been a majority of his problem during the night, wondering where his mother was and wondering if his brothers were okay. Hazaar had asked their mother if she'd sleep at the foot of his bed during the night of his first night in his chamber and she had said that she would. She had promised to sleep at the foot of Lazeer's bed the night after and then she had said she'd do the same for Lhaklar and him on the nights that followed. He was glad she was remaining with them and that she had not gone downstairs to be with their father, but he wished she would have done the Copier spell, a spell that would make several copies of one being and a spell that was typically used to throw off an attacker or the enemy, and would have had the three copies split and sit in their chambers with them. He'd of felt much better had he of had someone he knew, a copy or the real thing, sleeping at the foot of his bed in his chamber with him. Bile turned around and saw his adopted father's oldest child and Lhaklar's, Hazaar's and Lazeer's half-sister, Eshal walking down the hallway towards him.

"Morning, Eshal." He said.

"Sleep well?" Eshal asked him.

"Not really, takes me a few days before I can sleep in a room for a full eight hours." Bile replied honestly.

"Make sure that if there's something wrong or missing in your chamber to tell daddy." Eshal said. "He'll fix up whatever's wrong quick."

"I will, thank you." Bile said, in reality, the only thing that was missing in his chamber was his music discs and something for them to be played on. He couldn't think of anything else that he'd want in his chamber.

"Think you guys and mam will be eating breakfast in the dining room this morning?" Eshal asked, leaned against the wall.

Eshal was three hundred and one years older than he was and should have known the signal that she was giving out after she leaned back against the wall and began moving her waist in and out. Bile felt quite uncomfortable, what she was doing he had seen being done in the bars and he had had it done to him a few times when he had been flirting with a woman that he was interested in. Eshal was wearing a long flowing purple dress that had silver designs around the neck and hems, the dress showed nothing of her body, it fit her somewhat loosely and the front was completely closed which he was glad for. He had grown up calling Eshal his sister, they had referred to themselves as siblings when they had been growing up and for her to be moving her hips in and out the way she was doing made him have the impression that she was trying to make him interested in her which he was definitely not. He was not going to repeat history in picking a member of the family as a mate and he for damn sure wasn't going to stand and watch a member of his family try to seduce him. Bile looked away from Eshal, he neither made contact with her eyes or looked at her when he replied to her question.

"We might, depends on my brothers."

"Think daddy wants you guys downstairs for your meals from now on," Eshal said. "only when I'm sick or badly injured does he allow for me to eat in my chamber."

"I'll keep that in mind and I'll relay that to my brothers when I see them." Bile looked down the hall and saw that Lazeer had exited his chamber. "Speaking of which, I see one now. Excuse me."

He was expecting for her to head down the hallway towards the staircase that would take her down to the second level but, instead, she followed behind him which annoyed him greatly. If breakfast was being done or had been completely, surely the man of the house would want her downstairs at her place at the table. He began to wonder why she was on the level that he and his brothers were on, she seemed dressed and ready to go, her hair was done and she looked fresh-faced so she had no reason to be on the third level. His alarm clock had been set for seven, he had gotten up with no fuss as that was the time he had gotten up from bed when he had been on Earth. He had slept in his clothes during the night, his nerves had been strained and he had just not felt right in sleeping in his night clothes. When he had gotten up he had swiftly changed clothes, he was wearing a pair of deep brown jeans that had been ripped at the knees and a brown shirt that he had recently torn four holes in. On his feet were a pair of black socks and his black combat boots, rather scuffed up which he liked quite a lot. Before he had left his chamber he had looked through the top drawer of his dresser and had noticed that all his male jewelry had been placed in side in a big, well organized, well-polished brown box. He had taken out his gold chain necklace that had the scorpion pendant on then he had exited his chamber. The second he walked up to Lazeer he noticed that he had not had a wink of sleep during the night, there were fine dark blue bags underneath his youngest brother's eyes.

"I don't need to ask if you're cranky or not this morning." Bile said. "Looks like you-..."

"Yeah, I've slept none. So what." Lazeer snapped, Bile held his hands up.

"Whoa now, Little Brother! I think you'll be needing a nap after breakfast."

"Dad'll let him sleep after breakfast," Eshal said. "you look terrible, Lazeer."

"I am terrible." Lazeer walked around Bile and Eshal then made his way down the hallway. Lhaklar exited his chamber at just that time and received a good shoulder shove when he got in Lazeer's way.

"Someone better warn the old man what's in store after we get to the breakfast table." Bile said out loud.

"Is he always like that in the morning?" Eshal asked. "Dad is right patient, but he won't allow for him to be that way for long without reprimanding him."

"Only when he hasn't had any sleep," Bile replied. "or when he's depressed. Hazaar's ten times worse in the morning."

"Dad's real worried about Hazaar, says he's acting out."

"You'd act out as well if you had a belt taken to you for no reason." Bile said lowly, he then began walking down the hallway.

Lazeer had gotten not a single wink of sleep during the night and Lhaklar looked as if he had only gotten a few hours of sleep. His brother was still wrapping his shirt around himself and getting it straight when he exited his chamber, when he finally had it on straight he began to fumble with the buttons. He had put on his brown and green checkered, long sleeve, button down shirt that made him look funny and his usual brown pants, brown socks and his brown shoes. After he had gotten the buttons on his shirt buttoned and had gotten himself straight, he began heading down the hallway. Lazeer had stopped at Hazaar's chamber, he was talking and Bile could detect that same old depressed tone he spoke in when the depression grabbed ahold of him good. Bile and Lhaklar had just walked up to Hazaar's chamber when their brother walked out with their mother following on his heels. Hazaar had put on a pair of blue jeans that were badly ripped at the knees and a brown shirt that he had tucked in. He had some light brown socks on and he also had his brown shoes that had the light brown ties on as well.

"Ma-..."

"We're to go straight downstairs for breakfasts." Angel said to her sons quickly. "You boys just eat your breakfast, I wish to speak with your father on a few areas of seriousness."

"Our licenses?"

"Our cigarettes?"

"My pot?"

"Yes, I'm going to do my best to get your things for you today." Angel replied. "Lhaklar, I'm going to let you talk to your father on your poster first. If you can't get him to give it back, I'll see if I can."

"I love you." Lhaklar said.

He simply followed his mother, he didn't look up or to the sides and he didn't look back to see the extra that was following behind Bile who was in the way back of the line. He had slept very well during the night, he had felt very safe with his mother sleeping at the foot of his bed in her fiery red dog-form. He was moody, as was his usual when mornings came, but he felt fine. He was hoping that his mother would get his father to give her everything that he had taken from them, the cigarettes and pot she had said she'd simply say she was asking for them to destroy them in front of them and since she had done the form and had spent the money on Bile and Lhaklar's driver's licenses she was going to ask for them back for holding. Their mother had said that as long as they didn't smoke all the time or got addicted or obsessive over their smokes, she had no problem with them smoking and she had said she also had no qualms about the Marilyn Monroe poster or the Playboy and Hustler magazines that he and Bile bought and read. His mother led the line for a long time, when she entered the dining room that was when he began to look around.

The room that his mother had led him and his brothers and the extra follower to was rather big. The walls were light blue and had a shine to them, when he looked closer he saw that the shine was from the silver dust that had been thrown into the paint, the floor was blue marble and the ceiling was white and had a pebbled texture to it. There was a row of gold domed lights hanging down from the ceiling that cast down a gold glow. The table in the room was long, looked to be able to gold up to twenty or so persons, and it was white oak with a black marble surface that, when he walked up closer to it, had a gold T and Z on its surface. The table's legs were accented, they were set in a swirl-like fashion which looked unique. The chairs that were pulled up to the table were white oak and had light blue cushions on the back and seats. The one who had followed him and his family to the room walked away from them, she went around the table then sat down in the chair that was on the right side of the table. Hazaar was wondering why the follower, or his mother for that matter who had seated herself on the chair that was on the left side of the vacant chair that was at the head of the table, had not taken the chair at the head of the table when, suddenly he saw his father walk into the room. It became clear swiftly why that chair had not been taken by his mother and the girl who he knew was his older half-sister. The chair at the head of the table was usually taken up by the head of the family, his father had rights to that chair since he was the one who had made the family that was in the room. Bile sat beside his mother while Lhaklar sat beside him, Hazaar took the chair beside his older full-brother and then Lazeer took the chair beside him. This was not new to him, they had even done this on Earth. The oldest would sit next to mom with the next born sitting beside him and so on.

"Good morning," TazirVile said after taking his place at the table. "everyone sleep well?"

"Decently, it'll take one more day before I settle in fully." Lhaklar replied.

"Same here." Bile said.

"Normal, took me near two before I had a full night's sleep after I moved in." TazirVile said, he then looked at Hazaar and Lazeer. "What about you two, sleep well?"

"Maybe an hour," Lazeer replied in a near whisper.

"Four hours," Hazaar lied.

"Lucky shit." Bile looked down the table at his younger brother, he lowered his left eyelid in a wink.

"Bile," Bile looked at his adopted father who had spoken calmly yet had a note of seriousness in his voice. "I'll ask only once now. No cursing inside the house or outside of it. Let's show some common decency alright."

"Yessir." Bile said, he looked at his mother who nodded her head at him. He could curse in front of her, she had let him use the smaller range of curse words while in her presence but she had said for him to not curse outside the house but so much and to also respect others wishes. Some people just didn't like cursing, some were offended by it.

His father had with him a small, gold bell which he rang at just that time. Three Goblin butlers, either clad in black or light blue tuxedos, walked into the room with trays and dishes. They placed each dish and tray down then exited the room, they returned only seconds later with one single dish and some glasses that had red, blue and yellow liquids in them. When all the trays and dishes had been put down the Goblins bowed then exited the dining room in quick and orderly fashion which struck Bile and his three brothers as odd. TazirVile stood up and grabbed the top to the dish that was closest to him and that was what started breakfast for them. Hazaar and Lazeer had two bowls each of porridge with milk, eggs and bacon, Bile had a plate of two pancakes with sausage links on the sides and Lhaklar dived into his plate that he had filled with fried eggs, sausage, black and white pudding, bacon, mushrooms, baked beans, hash browns, toast and half a tomato. Their mother ate a novelty-stamped pancake, cantaloupe melon slices, grapes and butter while their father ate an unrolled crepe with whipped cream and strawberry sauce, scrambled eggs and bacon. Eshal ate the least amount of food, she simply had a bowl of porridge, a bow of strawberry and blueberry sauce and eggs. It seemed like forever before their mother said something about the licenses and their smokes, Bile had figured that she was waiting until their father had gotten really involved with his meal as he knew that some people really didn't take in what was being said to them or what was being asked when they were eating.

"So, what did you do with the smokes that you took from the boys?" she asked.

"Have 'em in a box," TazirVile replied. "I'm letting you dispose of them."

"After breakfast I'd like them to do just that." Angel said. "They won't be getting them."

"I'm glad to hear you say that," TazirVile said. "with us adults, it's alright. With them it is not. Their lungs are much too undeveloped to handle cigarette or otherwise smoke."

"What have you done with their licenses?"

"I have them in the safe that's inside my office, why?"

"I'd like for them to be handed over to me after breakfast as well. I was the one that put the cash up for the tests and licenses to be done and made so I should be able to hold onto them until the boys are appropriately aged enough to drive." Bile was impressed, she was stating truth and wonderfully.

"Alright, I'll hand them over after breakfast as well." TazirVile said.

Lhaklar was thinking that if his father had been that easy for their mother to get the items that he had confiscated from them then he would have no issue with getting his Marilyn Monroe poster back. The glasses that had the red, blue and yellow substances in them were picked up seemingly at the same time, after he had taken a sip he was instantly reminded of the breakfast shake that his father made on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The shake was full of vitamins and minerals that were needed in the morning and his father had specifically used three different flavors so, even though the shake was a protein-based one, it tasted more like a fruit smoothie. Lhaklar detected three flavors, pineapple, strawberry and blueberry all mixed together that gave one hell of a flavorable taste to the drink. Hazaar drank his on down with no problem as did his other brothers. After the meal was over with his father called in the Goblins, they came in and retrieved the plates, trays and dishes along with the glasses and the silverware quietly. After the Goblins left, his father started one of them after-meal conversations.

"So, Lazeer," TazirVile said, Lazeer looked over at him quickly. "where, exactly did you find that pocket knife of yours?"

"There was a fellow on the corner of Weston and Bridge street near the Flea Market that was selling the knives." Lazeer replied, Bile instantly knew who his brother was referring to. Mr. Wilmont was a gentle soul, he lived in his car but sold quite a lot of stuff during the day that could well pay for a single night at a motel. "He was selling them for a dollar twelve a piece, when the clouds drifted over the sun I went over and bought one."

"On Earth?"

"Yessir,"

"Son, you needn't use the sir terminology with me. Dad'll be enough alright." TazirVile said. "Bile, same goes to you. I'm your father as well."

"Okay." Lazeer said weakly.

"Eldass returns tomorrow," TazirVile said after everyone had gone into a minutes worth of silence. "been on vacation due to injuries sustained on Earth. He's looking forward to see you four boys and your mother."

"How badly was he injured?" Angel asked.

"Got a few bruises and a nine-inch gash in his arm that needed stitching." TazirVile replied.

"How'd he g-..." Angel started to say then she remembered that Eldass had fought Hazaar, who was looking as if he was trying to evaporate away from embarrassment. "where's Homsi these days?"

"He's also on vacation due to injuries that he received on Earth," TazirVile replied. "one of my generals really roughed the guy up. Cracked and bruised some ribs and bruised the tissue and muscle around his lower back. He won't be able to resume work for another two and a half weeks."

Ouch, that did have to hurt! He had experienced several injuries during his track meets and training sessions for both track and wrestling, one time he had severely pulled his hamstring in his left leg and in another he had nearly broken his ankle while running. In wrestling, he had experienced several bruises but the worst had to be that one when his opponent had swung low and caught him in the inner thigh. He had had a hard time walking after that one but he was glad that the guy hadn't aimed upwards otherwise he'd not of been walking to his classes at all and the guy wouldn't either. A man's sack was sacred and damn was it fragile! A hit down below the belt put a man out of commission for a few hours to a few days or worse, a few weeks depending on the force of the hit. TazirVile asked their mother a few questions on the car, he asked her if she wanted it to be changed over from gasoline-power to energy and she said, after a moment's pause to think it over, that he could. Lhaklar found that his good, brown leather jacket that had tassels hanging from the shoulders and his coonskin cap that had a raccoon tail attached to the back had been put up in his closet and he also found out that his father had all of his finger knives and had them in safekeeping, Lhaklar was told that he'd get his finger knives, whick he had bought on the planet Viro for $50, when he got older. Bile was also told that he'd get his brass knuckles back when he got older as well, although both boys wanted to put up a squabble about their confiscated items, they kept their mouths shut.

"Explore a little more than the second level today," TazirVile said as he stood up. "I've got a week's worth of mail to go through, if any of you wish to speak to me or have any questions, I'll be in my office. Second level. A gully washer will blow through and last for three days, just so you all know what the weather will be like for the next few days."

Had he and his brothers of been on Earth, he and Bile would be headed out either to go hunt, fish or maybe even shop or even rough house or gawk at the women. Lazeer would probably stay home due to his eye but, if the sun was hidden behind any clouds he would be given the boot out of the house and would either go along with them and Hazaar or he and Hazaar would go off to some other part of Green River, Wyoming. If Lazeer did stay inside because of the sun not being covered, Hazaar would leave soon after them, wherever he went they had no clue but they'd always return around lunch time to see their mother after she got off work for her lunch period then they'd go out again and do whatever they had a mind to do until six when it was time to head home. Since they weren't on Earth and they had no idea what to do other than explore, they decided to split up. Bile took Lazeer and went down one hallway while Lhaklar had Hazaar tagging along at his elbow, he went down the hallway then made a left turn. He made himself stay away from the foyer, he didn't want to head up and bother his father about his Marilyn Monroe poster just yet, he was going to try to do what his mother had done when she had mentioned their smokes and his and Bile's driver's licenses. He was going to wait until his father was so thick in the mail that he he had the mail and its contents so heavily on his mind that he wouldn't refuse to say yes about his poster.

"What's a 'gully washer'?" Hazaar asked after they had reached a long and wide hallway that had a hallway balcony overlook it.

"A right bad storm." Lhaklar replied. "Lots of rain, wind, thunder and lightning and some hail mixed in for flavor."

"Like a hurricane?" Hazaar liked storms, if that was what was coming later on that day and that would last for three, long days he was sure he'd find himself gazing out a window in no time.

"Somewhat, winds aren't as bad. Gully washers are more like flash floods. Make things flood because the rain just comes down so fast and hard and don't let up for a while." Lhaklar replied.

"Think it'll flood here?" Hazaar asked, he was now really looking forward to the storm.

"If so, only to th-..."

"Only to the horse pastures, sir."

He had been so interested in getting information on the "gully washer" that he had not been paying any attention to his surroundings. He and Lhaklar had stopped in the long and wide hallway that the hallway balcony above overlooked, they had stopped right before the entrance to a hallway that branched off from the hallway that they were on, blocking anyone's path who came through that particular hallway. There were neoclassical white upholstered benches placed at odd sections up against the walls, white and gold classical vases were placed on one side of the hallway while on the left side of the hallway there were bronze vases with some wicked bats on them that almost looked real. At the far end of the hallway where, Hazaar suspected, a staircase began as he did see the shadow of some stairs on the wall was a vase that was a stained bronze that was nearly, fully hollow and had bat's flying off. There were photographs of bat's flying about in caves or exiting caves on their nightly trips to catch insects after the sun went down and there were also photographs of his father, mother and him and his brothers up on the walls. The walls in the hallway were mainly dark gray with white trees painted on them and, when he looked closer, he saw that there were bats hanging down from the limbs of the trees. The floor underfoot was dark gray marble and had a floral design to it that was light gray and white and the ceiling above was white and gold, from where he stood he saw that there were three other hallway balconies that overlooked the hallway that he and Lhaklar were in. A gold glass chandelier that looked damn heavy hung directly in the center of the ceiling that overlooked the hallway, the strands that the gold glass hung from stretched down two levels and looked pearl-white to him. It took Hazaar a short amount of time to find the one who had spoken, when he did he jumped quickly behind his brother. The Goblin that his mother had called Daosi had been standing directly behind him and he had had no knowledge at all about it until he had looked down. How long the Goblin had stood behind him, he had no idea, all he knew was that this particular Goblin had said _Hello... Haaahzaaah _in one of them scary tones of voices that had literally had scared the shit out of him the day before.

"Yes, thank you, I remember that well. If it flooded, it never went much past the farthest horse pasture that was nearest the beach." Lhaklar said, even he had jumped when he had seen the Goblin.

"Finally coming out from your shell, Haaahzaaah?" Daosi said, he completely forgot that Lhaklar was there or that both Lhaklar and Hazaar were his employer's sons. "Or did you pop back in?"

"What is it you want?" Lhaklar asked, the Goblin looked up at him the produced a low hissing sound.

"My father will be returning tomorrow, you be sure to keep that wreck of a brother of yours behind you on a thin leash." Daosi spat. "I'm loyal to your father and mother, not to neither of you two, Lazeer or Bile."

"You need to head off now." Lhaklar said, he stepped up in front of the Goblin, who stood four-foot, five and a half inches tall. The Goblin hissed then, without warning, he swung his fist. Lhaklar grabbed his knee, hopped up and down twice on one leg then swung his own fist down. "I said go on! Leave us be!"

"You just remember what I said." Daosi laughed, he had ducked Lhaklar's fist and had simply turned around and begun walking down the hallway that was in front of Lhaklar and his younger brother.

He decided to go down the hallway beside the one that Daosi had gone down, for both his and his brother's sake he didn't want another encounter with the Goblin. His impression of the Goblin was simple enough, the man was crazy and the man was regarding his brother hostily. He could care less about himself, his knee throbbed and would probably bruise up but his younger brother was his main concern. Hazaar had a tendency to react in negative fashions when times of stress called for head-straight decisions. Although he would have enjoyed seeing his brother kick the Goblins ass, his brother had the Goblin by six inches and probably outweighed the Goblin by fifty or so pounds, he did have to remind himself that the Goblin was older than his brother and did know more on defending himself and was probably one of them types that tried to destroy his opponent and fast. Lhaklar just didn't want to see his younger brother be bloodied or broken up, he'd fight the Goblin for his brother but he had a feeling that the Goblin was mostly out for Hazaar than for him. And, as for the loyalty thing, he could care less who the Goblin was loyal towards. He wasn't going to be acting in any way loyal to any of the Goblins that worked for his father, he had his loyalties tied up in his mother and brothers. Lhaklar had gone down the hallway about halfway with Hazaar nearly clipping his heels when his brother suddenly grabbed him by his wrist and pulled him to a stop.

"Are those-... are those Striped bats?" Hazaar asked.

He had taken his brother down a hallway that had thick glass on both sides that housed bat colonies in them and, sure enough, there were bats in both cages. The bats that Hazaar was looking at were mostly black but had light brown Badger stripes and spotting on their backs, light brown masks and light brown patches under its wings and belly, they were so unique that Lhaklar put a name to them immediately. Niumbaha superba, or the Striped or Badger bat, was discovered in July of 2012 and, after fifty years of attempts by Human kind the bat had gone extinct. Lhaklar remembered that his mother had taken his father to Earth on one of his birthdays for a day of relaxation and Bat capturing. His father had caught fifty of the Niumbaha superba species and, from the looks of the bats that were flying about behind the thick glass that was on the left side of the hallway his father had not only cared for them very well, but they had also bred and multiplied. There had to be at least a hundred flying about behind the glass and, when Lhaklar leaned over then really looked at the environment that the bats were in he saw that there were several female Bats with pups clinging to their chests. The bats that were flying about behind the thick glass on the right side of the hallway looked like Kitti's hog-nosed bats, a species that went extinct on Earth in 2190 and, when he heard a dry, fluttering sound he looked up. The floor under his and Hazaar's feet was gray stone while the ceiling and walls were nothing but thick glass, flying about behind the thick glassed ceiling was a bat that went extinct in 2090, the Great Fruit-eating and, also flying about behind the thick glass were some Egyptian Fruit bats, that species had said to of gone extinct in 2096 but a colony of a hundred thousand had been discovered in 2112. Lhaklar walked down the hallway quickly, Hazaar clipped his heels twice but he was alright with this, he used his brother near walking on top of him as a sign that he was following him and that they had not become separated. Once Lhaklar made a turn onto the hallway that branched off from the one that the bats were on he stopped.

"I have not seen so many fuckin' bats in my life!" Lhaklar gasped in shock. "Mom wasn't kidding when she said that dad liked bats."

"Liked? More like obsessed!" Hazaar exclaimed. "Was that there when you and Bile were five and six hundred years old?"

"N-..."

The memory clicked in so fiercely that he near slammed his head back on the wall hard. He remembered that his father had been the one to design the hallway that he and his brother had just seen and then he had gotten a contractor to build it up. It had taken six months, he and Bile were absolutely not allowed to go near the hallway but they had and they had seen quite a lot of things that they had been awe-struck by, like the slipping and welding of the glass to the walls and the contractor tearing up the vinyl flooring to change it to what he had been instructed to put in as its replacement. He and Bile had slipped into the hallway soon after it had been completed just in time to see their father releasing the bats. The thick glass that they had seen, that was just thick glass so one could see the bats as they flew around inside their full stone cage. There were artificial trees, bushes and streams in the cages along with artificial grass. The area that they had just seen the bats in his father had called the artificial cave, an area where the bats went to raise their pups and rest after a hard night of hunting. The artificial cave on the top cage had had a tunnel built onto it so the bats could fly out to their enclosure that was inside the wall which only their father could get to. Directly in front of him was the door to the cage that the Kitti's hog-nosed bats were in while, on the other side of the hallway, there was another door that went to the cage that the Niumbaha superba or Striped or Badger bats were in. His father had the keys to each door and, he remembered, he went into each cage every day to personally interact, feed or simply sit and let the bats fly around him. He and his brother had been allowed to look at the bats but, due to their age at the time, they had not been allowed to interact. Their mother had been nervous around the bats for a short amount of time then she had opened up to them, he remembered.

"Yeah, we were here when the hallway was rebuilt." Lhaklar answered a minute later. "He designed the hallway himself then called in a contractor to build it."

"How many-..."

"I can't yet remember that." Lhaklar answered, he then looked down the hallway that he and Hazaar were on. "Let's go down this and the hallway that comes off of it before we head back. I have an appointment with dad that I don't want to miss."

"What is this all important appointment about?" Hazaar asked, he walked in step beside his brother as they went down the hallway.

"About my poster, the Marilyn Monroe one."

"Oh, good luck on getting it back." Hazaar said.

As his sons explored his mansion home he was elbow deep in mail that had piled up so high that he doubted that he'd be able to get through it all in one day. He had sifted through the mail quickly, the bills he had put in one pile, the junk which he'd use to line the nursery cages for his bats in his Bat Room in another and the letters from family in another. That sifting and putting each mail in its correct pile had taken forever and he had just sat down to looking through the bill pile when his wife had walked into his office. He had dropped the mail-looking thing to speak to her, that old love was strong in her and he relished in her company greatly. She had come, they had talked for twenty long minutes then he had given her the things that she had come to get, all nicely organized in a box and he had surprised his wife by also relinquishing his sons wands. The wands were not his, he had no right in keeping them, he'd let the boys have them and, since breakfast, a few new things had been added to their chambers such as stereo systems and a wand holder and a few other things. After his wife had left his office he had gone right back to the bill pile.

The electric bill was $5,265, he had no problem with that, the bill was lower than normal due to him and his family returning home. The normal bill would cost him double that. The water bill was $550, again this was low because he and his family had been away and the only ones that had used any water were the Goblins in the staff's quarters. The normal bill would cost him near double that. The natural gas bill was the lowest at $400, the Goblins in the staff's quarters didn't much use the natural gas systems except for when weather was cold and they decided to use the big fireplace in the staff's quarters big recreational area which doubled as a full living room and exercising area. Had he and his family of been home earlier the bill would have been fifty to sixty dollars more, even he and his family didn't rely on natural gas, instead, he and his family relied on the plain wood tossed in the fireplace. Taxes were due until February, he'd have to shell $360,000 for that and he was alright with that, he was rich after all and could well afford to pay that six times a year and still be wealthy and well off. Soon after he looked through the bill pile he took out his touchpad and began paying off the bills. He had an automatic account in a bank that housed $80,000, he added that amount each month come bill time just so he wouldn't have to use up paper or waste a stamp.

It wasn't just $12,060 that he was paying this month, he also had insurance to keep up, on both his vehicles and his mansion. He had over fifty vehicles, golf carts and about twenty water vessels, the vehicles alone in insurance cost him $7,500. The rest just under $4000. His mansion's insurance was high, as he liked it to be as he did have quite a lot invested, not just in his home but also the items outside of it and he also had to consider the ones he had living inside his mansion, not just him and his family but also the Goblins who resided in the staff's quarters underneath his mansion. His home insurance cost him $50,000 a month, that was the most expensive and, yet again, he was perfectly fine with paying it. In total, he'd be sending out a whopping $67,707 for this month, the month after he'd be sending out $73,526. It was all worth it, for him, his family and his employees who worked for him and who lived underneath his mansion. It took six taps of his soft rubber topped pen that had come with his touchpad and the bills were paid, he got the confirmation and then, after thinking it out, he decided to go on and pay his, his wife's and Eshal's health insurances which rang up $20,000 each, this he paid through a private account in another bank and, since he was feeling froggy, he decided to go on and set up health insurance accounts for the boys. This took several minutes to do but, in the end, it was, again, well worth it. Bile, Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer had health insurance put on them that would cost him $20,000, the same as his, his wife's and Eshal's. The $12,293 that was left in the account that he used to pay the bills he had wired over to him, the bank chute that he had spent ten grand of getting set up slid the money into the safe that was behind the painting of him and his family. After he heard the ping that signaled that his money had been placed in his safe he turned his touchpad off, placed it down then began looking through the mail he had gotten from his family.

_Dear Tazir,_

_It has been over a week since I last heard from you, your phone lines are either down or you've turned them off and there's been nothing new coming up on the news about the boys and Angel. Do hope all is well with you, get in contact soon. Each and every tombstone has been torn up and disposed of, they will not be replaced in the cemetary. Came home to find the three mares that I was looking forward to seeing foals from had given birth, one I don't think I'll be keeping due to him being a solid bay. You know me, Lad, I like any horse but when I breed my horses I do so with having a frosted rump foal, a full spotted foal or a half spotted foal being born. I also returned to finding that the maids and other help had not been adhering to my instructions to have Chasan, Makan and Zoodghin walked and let out in the back for a few hours each day, all three of my Kuvasz's had not been let out any and their fur had been not tended to so, when I got inside I saw, instead of my seeing my three Kuvasz's I saw three unkept Poodle-like dogs. The ones I put in charge of my dogs I fired, if they're not going to do what I instruct them to do then why bother, right? Looking forward to getting the invitation to come to your place and seeing the boys. - Shaam S._

There was nothing else in his letter, his grandfather not only owned three Kuvasz's, a full white breed of dog that got up to sixty pounds, was big-boned and high-spirited, but he also owned two Cymric cats and two White Cockatoo's, along with his hunting canines and horses. As with when he had sent the invitations out when Angel had been due to have Lhaklar and Hazaar, there would be no family pets allowed to be brought into his home. He had nothing against pets, everyone had their preference in what breed or type of pet that they wanted, his main reason for his family to come as only themselves and have no pets along with was he didn't want any of his family's pets to mess up his home. His older half-brother's dog, Azawakh, when he had brought him over one day a few hundred years ago had knocked over a statue and destroyed it, had his brother done anything in reprimanding his dog? Hell no! He had said woops, so sorry about that then he had walked off. His family still regarded him as the weakling and as one to push around and to disrespect. TazirVile put his grandfather's letter to the side then grabbed his older half-brother's letter. He slit the envelope open with his letter opener then pulled the piece of paper that was inside out, before he had started reading the mail he had slid his hands into a pair of latex gloves.

_Dear Brother,_

_Haven't heard anything from you, phone calls go straight to voice mail and my letters have gone unanswered, am hoping that you're just too damn busy to answer as I am quite concerned for my granddaughter and grandson, Bile along with my nephews, Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer. Congratulations on having all three of your biological sons alive and well and in having everyone back at home where they should have been all along. The things we have missed with them boys, holidays, birthdays and such. Everything is well here, Baruk has been a handful and I've had to reprimand him several times now. He's grounded for a week. Kaasa and Selik are doing well, wondering when they'll be able to see their cousins. All animals accounted for, Irka's pet Roe-Poe was found after we returned. I have gotten on Baruk for leaving his bedroom chamber door open when we are out for an extended period of time, as you know I drop the heating and cooling systems so they only work in a few of the rooms in my fortress home and in the staff's quarters. Irka's Roe-Poe rolled right into Baruk's cold room and gave birth to six babies, three did not make it while the other three were well and healthy. The mother is still looking for them three babies that she lost, she's real depressed. My wife is not happy about Gahzie losing half of her litter. Two mares foals, one had a red foal and you know how I am with my horses. I prefer gray and black horses over any other. Everything else is fine, all other pets are fine, no other new additions although I'm keeping an eye on five mares that are due here soon. Get in contact soon. ~~Kuruk_

His brother had really not been thicking when he had bought his wife that Roe-Poe. Roe-Poe's were a new thing in the pet market, not many people knew about them or their needs and that meant that quite a lot of the animals went to homes, got inadequate care and then ended up in shelters. Some Roe-Poe's bit, some got to rolling and bouncing around, knocking things down in the process and others got so overweight that they could barely move. The most concerning thing about Roe-Poe's was when one got pregnant. The animal was small, about ten inches tall and was the same in width and that meant that they were fully round, had no legs and had thick fur. When a mother Roe-Poe gave birth she did so by rolling back and forth, this put the babies she had previously given birth to at risk of being rolled over and trampled and this also made for the babies inside to be rolled into positions where they could not be passed through the birth canal. The animal needed temperatures over seventy-two degrees to be happy, anything over and they got sluggish and stopped eating and anything under they stopped taking in food and water completely. Irka had not had her pet Roe-Poe for no more than three years and she had already encountered issues with her, for one she had given birth twice and for two and three and four, she had had a lot of medical issues that had raked in the vet bills. His wife's father, his nephew, had gotten on him for buying her a Sekhem, a member of the mammal family that was known for its playfulness, mischievousness and it's loyalty. He had known when he had bought the animal for his wife that they bit when they had been startled or had been handled roughly but his wife had never been bitten by her pet. He had bought his wife two more, all three were still living after he had given them the Ever-Life potion and his wife had been thrilled when she had walked into their bedroom chamber to find all three of her pets lying on their bed. He had known what a Sekhem was when he had bought his wife her first one, his brother had not had a clue on what a Roe-Poe was or anything about the animal's needs when he had purchased his wife one of the animals.

TazirVile put that letter on top of his grandfather's then grabbed the letter from his father. This one he was not looking forward to reading, he and his father had one of them strained relationships. His father had made up potions to knock him clean out of the gene passing department, his father had beaten and verbally and mentally abused him as a child and after he had returned to the world of the known he had continued abusing him and he was now attacking Eshal on how she lived her life and about the powers that she had acquired. The man, he knew, favored Kuruk over him and he was a-okay with that. Although his wife had told him several times that he was ten times better than his brother and he somewhat believed that, he would never say that to his father's face. His father was one who demanded respect and when he didn't get it he went decided to dive into his bag of cruel, unusual and violent tortures. If he couldn't get respect by someone automatically, he tried beating it into that person with his fists and if that didn't work he used whips and if that didn't work he'd use his belt and if that didn't work... if that didn't work then he'd beat that person to within an inch of his life. He'd never abuse his female children, he used normal disciplinary methods with his female get but with his male children he got mean, nasty and cruel. He had the scars all on his backside, arms and legs to prove that. TazirVile slit the envelope that his father's letter was in quickly then he tore the letter out, he contemplated tearing the letter in several pieces but decided against it.

_Where the hell have you been for this past week and a half days boy? I've called, you've not answered. I've left messages on your voice mail, have gotten no reply and I've written and have also gotten no replies back. Are the boys doing well or are they causing you grief? How is Angel? Is she letting you take on the responsibility of discipline and teaching or is she dominating on the parenting thing like I think she is? I have more confidence in her in being a parent that you, you've raised a daughter practically on your own and have not even tried to get her to attempt doing Elemental powers, it's just Energy and Acidic with her with no other and yet here she is with a father who had Elemental powers, how you acquired them is beyond me. You never should have been allowed to acquire the powers and Angel should never had taught you. That is her biggest mistake, teaching you to do Elemental powers. Get in contact with me as soon as you can, we have much to talk of. I highly suggest you consider further education of the boys and that you trim off Hazaar's hair completely. He looks ridiculous with it being as long and thick as it is. Makes him look like a girl._

Same old with him, he never did write a formal letter to him. He'd always just write it all down then end it and slap it in an envelope then put it out in the mail. That last part about him cutting his son's hair off was a hoot, his father had wanted him to lop off his son's hair soon after he had been born so it was no surprise that he'd be demanding that he lop it off now. He had no intention of doing so, if his son wasn't taking care of his hair then yes, he would have it trimmed or cut but, from what he had seen so far, Hazaar was doing very well with his hair and he did not look like a girl either. As for the boys' educations, as far as he knew Bile had just Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic under his belt while Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer had both Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic and the University of Telepathy under theirs. He'd ask during lunch if the boys had had any other educations under their belts and then he'd ask if they had any intention of heading to other educational facilities. Eshal had also gone to just Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic and the University of Telepathy, if she had other educational facilities that she wanted to go to she had not voiced that with him. Those two were very important so he was glad that both his daughter and his three sons had their educations from them facilities. TazirVile had his hand on the letter that had been written from his grandfather's uncle, TrobrencusVile Surfeit, when a knock on the door made him look up.

"Enter if it's important, leave if it's not." TazirVile said loudly. He wished he could have taken it back because, after the door was open about halfway then Lhaklar looked in shyly. TazirVile quickly removed his latex gloves then stood up. "Son, come on in."

"Am I-... am I disturbing anything?" Lhaklar asked.

Like with his wife, he would not turn any of his children out of his office, whether they were of blood or not he would not turn a child of his out of any room that he was in. TazirVile walked around his desk then went straight to his son who, after he got to within two feet of him pulled off to the side. Lhaklar was still nervous, he knew it and decided to slow things up. Soon after walking up to his son he turned around then placed his arm around his shoulders. Lhaklar made no move at all to get away, he hesitated once then walked towards his desk. TazirVile asked his son to take a seat on the dark blue velvet couch and Lhaklar did, TazirVile moved the deep brown chair that was nearest the couch that his son was sitting on to face the couch then he sat down. Before he said anything he looked at his son, he got somewhat confused when he saw the look of non-recognition on his son's face then he calmed down some after he realized that his goggled glasses were sitting in their black leather case that was near the lamp that was on the surface of his desk. He figured that he did look somewhat non-Tazir without his goggled glasses and, surely, his son who had not seen him for one thousand, six hundred years wouldn't automatically know who he was without the glasses on his face.

"It's me, son. No one other than your old man here." TazirVile said.

"I know, just seeing you without your glasses-..."

"Although I do wear them quite a lot, I do need to let my eyes "air" out once in a while." TazirVile said. Lhaklar tittered then went quiet.

"I saw the bat hallway, looks like you've still got a good colony." Lhaklar said.

"Bigger than what you saw my son," TazirVile leaned back in his chair. "the Striped bats put out at least two or three litters a year."

"I did see some babies in their cage." Lhaklar said. "About two or three."

"Probably more than that in there, I usually just let them breed, have their pups then do a quick count a few weeks later." TazirVile said. "Them Striped bats are rather valuable, they still extinct on Earth?"

"Unfortunately," Lhaklar sighed. "quite a lot of animals on that planet had gone extinct due to-..."

"Poaching, habitat encroachment and diseases made from stress that weaken the immune system." TazirVile shook his head sadly.

He had spent just a few more minutes of walking down the hallways, not really paying any attention to what was in the hallway or to his younger brother for that matter. When he had seen that it was twenty minutes past lunch hour he had turned around and had made his way back to the hallway that had the bats on it. It had taken a while, he had gotten lost twice but, luckily he had found his way back then he had gone straight up the stairs that was directly in front of the stained bronze vase that was nearly, fully hollow and had bat designs on it. Hazaar had followed him, sometimes running his mouth and othertimes just following in quiet. When he had walked up to the office that his father was in, which had a pair of double doors to it that had a letter on each door in gold letter, Hazaar had said that he'd wait outside then he had, again, wished him luck. His chest had been tight upon entering the room and, yes, he had not recognized his father right off because he was not wearing his goggled glasses. He had decided to start-up a small conversation before cutting to the chase about the poster. After a few minutes more of talking about the bats and about extinct life forms on Earth, he decided to dive into the issue that he had come to speak to his father about.

"So, about my Marilyn Monroe poster," Lhaklar started the conversation slowly, he made sure to word his sentences carefully. "I'd like for th-..."

"Don't start on me about the poster, son." TazirVile said. "I was serious when we were on Earth. She's much too provocative and you are much too young to be looking at something like that."

"You let Hazaar and Bile have their nudie magazines." Lhaklar said, the conversation went swiftly down after that. His father sat upright, got a serious look on his face that said that he was tapping into his parental side, the side where he'd stop being the decent guy to talk to and would start being the stern, no-nonsense type of guy.

"I did, yes. If you haven't noticed, Lhaklar, them items are not big." TazirVile said strongly. "If them items had been poster-size I would not have given them back."

"And you also put the two posters that Bile had up on his walls." Lhaklar said.

"Do you see them two ladies naked, son?" TazirVile asked. "They have clothes on, your poster is fully naked. Not something you need to be looking at nor have in your possession."

It went very downhill after that, Lhaklar got angry and stood up, his father got even angrier and stood up, he demanded that his son sit his butt back down which he did then he started giving his son a lecture on respect and how not to challenge him. A majority of Lhaklar's anger stemmed from his belief that his father had picked favorites, his mother had never picked favorites, Lhaklar saw his father's letting Bile have his posters and magazines and in letting Hazaar keep his magazines as a showing of favoritism. After a few minutes of being lectured, TazirVile stood up, walked around his desk then sat down. Lhaklar glared at his father then stood up and exited his father's office. Hazaar ran up, he didn't ask what had happened, he had heard it all and he truly felt for his brother who, he knew, was very angry. Lhaklar went down the hall to the stairs that led up to the third level then went straight for his chamber. Hazaar stopped mid-way to his brother's chamber then turned around and went to his own, he hed just entered his chamber when he heard the door to Lhaklar's chamber slamming shut. The first thing that Hazaar saw was his mother sitting on his bed.

"I'm going to take it that your brother's meeting with your father didn't go well." Angel said, Hazaar shook his head. "Close your door, baby. I have a few items here that I want you to have."

He did so, he'd do his best always in obeying his mother, it didn't matter if she had something for him or not, he respected her greatly. After closing his bedroom chamber's door he turned around and walked over to his mother. She looked fresh, she looked as if she had just stepped out of a shower and she was wearing a very pretty outfit. She had on a pair of dark purple hippie pants that had flared bell bottoms below the knees that looked great on her, dark purple slip on shoes and a light purple blouse that had long sleeves and a ruffled collar. Besides the ring that had an oval aquamarine gem set beautifully between three rows of diamonds, the top row having vanilla diamonds on it while the two other rows had chocolate diamonds on them that his father had given her that she regarded as their wedding ring, she also had a purple amethyst ring that was set in a sterling silver band on her left index finger and there was three-strand purple amethyst and shell necklace. Hazaar sat down beside his mother with no fuss.

"You look good, momma." he said.

"Thank you, sweetie." Angel said, she stood up for only a second, took out a brown box from her left side pants pocket then sat down. "Crescat," the box was one of them normal cardboard deals, about fourteen inches long and wide and, inside of it, he saw that there were ten cigarette packs and two wands in it.

"Momma,"

"Shhh, baby." Angel said. "There's several brands in this box, which one did you smoke again?"

"The Camel's, Marlboro's and Newport's, momma."

"You know the spell to hide these right?" Angel asked, she gave each pack of the brand that her son had said he smoked over to Hazaar. She took out four of the ten packs of cigarettes that were in the box, two of the brand called the Kamel Red Smooth Taste, one of the Newport's and one of the Marlboro's.

"The one where they are hidden in plain view but cannot be seen?" Hazaar took each of the packs of cigarettes that his mother handed over to him.

"No, not that one. Your daddy has a nose on him, he'll find them easy if you use that spell on them."

"Could I hide them underneath the ground? Do the spell that'll-..."

"Yes, Hazie. That spell should keep them hidden and safe from your father." Angel nodded her head.

"Become hidden in the ground, let the dirt roll over and hide you, do not let yourself known except to the owner." Hazaar said, his smokes suddenly disappeared from his lap. "I know the spell to make one or more appear when I want to smoke one."

"Be careful, smoke in secret and never inside. When your father decides to let you and your brothers explore the outside, smoke out there and always do so while hidden." Angel cautioned her son.

He promised that he would and then his mother gave him over his wand. He was glad that he was being allowed to have his wand, he was rather fond of it. His wand he had gotten while a student at Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic, it was one of them beginner wands that would last only a few thousand years before they'd need to be replaced. The lady at Wand Fitters had simply lifted the gray cloth up that had about fifty wands hidden underneath it and had instructed that no one in his class walk forward but to let the wands pick them. A straight, light yellow stick that had a crystal ball on the kell from which a tightly woven strand of dark brown leather ran down had flown at him, it was a good wand and he liked it quite a lot. His mother pointed over to the bookshelf and he saw that, during his outing with his brother before Lhaklar, there was a hand carved wand holder on the middle shelf. Hazaar walked over to the bookshelf, placed his wand on the holder then he turned around. His O-shaped mouth dropped down in shock the second he saw the stereo system.

"M-momma-..." he stuttered.

"Yes, honey. Your daddy put in a stereo system while you was out." Angel stood up. "You keep them cigarettes well hidden. If you play that loud, use the silencer spell, okay.

"Yes, momma." Hazaar said, he started walking towards the stereo system that's box said it was one of them UF-X3 models. The system was big and tall, it was was mostly black but had indigo blue speakers and it had a port for both discs and tapes. It was sitting on a sturdy, dark brown table that had stone legs that had note been in his room before and, directly underneath the table was a music disc rack that had all of his music discs on it. Hazaar grabbed disc that said The Massacre on it, the disc contained music done by the rapper 50 Cent, his mother, Lhaklar and Bile didn't much like the artist but he and Lazeer liked the guy's music. Hazaar took the disc out the slid it into the portal appropriate for it, just before the first song began to play he did the silencer spell, a spell that would make any and all sounds from inside his chamber not be able to be heard from outside of it.


	7. Chapter 7

As he slowly drove his Tazzari EC vehicle into the employee's garage he thought about the drive to work. It had been hell, the rain had started coming down after lunch the day before then the sky had just opened up and great buckets and waterfalls of rain fell down afterwards. The news had said that this rain would not let up for three days, it made for some very dangerous driving. Although his car, a white, two-door vehicle with a small trunk in the back and a compartment in the side for the energy cable to be locked into place after he drew up to the energy pump at one of the conveniently placed energy stores where one could buy either canisters of energy for their vehicles or could simply lock the pump up to the slot and, if the person felt froggy, buy a few convenient store items like cookies, chips or even a lighter, had just recently been given new tires and he had just put on new windshield wipes he had been forced to drive at a snail's pace. The roads were saturated, there were great puddles in places and in others the roads were submerged underneath a lake of rainwater. He had had to take the back way to work, his sons, Mekaia riding double with Yhozah who had refused to let her drive due to the weather, had followed him as he had rode on. The winds hadn't started up until after dark, a big oak in the back of his property had fallen but nothing had been underneath which he was glad for, so if it wasn't just the torrential rains that he had to worry about, he also had to worry about keeping on the road because the wind was just trying its damnedest to blow him and his little car clean off of the road.

The lightning and thunder had not started until the wee hours of the night, it seemed to know when to strike at the worst possible of times. He and Aboshi had been aroused from their sleep after Akavira, Lorboyan and Zardox, the youngest of their children, had started screaming in fright. A silencer spell had taken care of the noise from the storm that was raging outside. The hail had not mixed in with the rain until after he had gotten up to get ready for work. He had just gotten out of the shower when a transformer had exploded and everyone on his street had been plunged into darkness. That had not gone well with Akavira, Lorboyan and Zardox, they had screamed their heads off and Zardox had grabbed him and had begged him not to go for fear that the monster outside would get him and he'd never see him again. He had talked with his young son, had calmed him down then he had grabbed his car keys, his rain slicker and his galoshes then had gone out to the garage to get into his car. The instructions he had said to Zshon, Daosi and Yhozah were simply enough, follow him but stay at a distance, no radios and no cellular using. He had used his cellular once, after crossed Jaszi's Street to find that it had become a mini-lake he had had to call up his employer to tell him that he and his sons and his daughter would be ten to fifteen minutes late in punching their tickets in. Master Tazir had said to not rush in getting to his place, to take it slow and be safe and that was exactly what he had done. Soon after Eldass had parked his car in one of the slots he took the key out of the ignition, pocketed it then got out. Zshon, Daosi and Yhozah had just parked their vehicles when he had closed and locked his driver's side door.

"Thank the Gods that is over with!" Yhozah, Eldass' thirdborn son through his wife who had green skin, blue eyes and short, light blond hair, said after getting out from his car.

"Made it in one piece and no cars were made into boats while here." Daosi said. "How'd you fair, Meke?"

"Had the seat gripped tightly." Mekaia, the oldest of Eldass' first set of twins who had light blue skin, blue eyes, a few warts on her chin and cheeks, a slightly long nose and long-flowing, light blonde hair, said.

"Would have grabbed me hadn't she of known that I needed to be nearly on top of the steering wheel." Yhozah said.

He removed his red rain slicker and galoshes quickly, underneath was a white tuxedo with a white lace cravat tie that he had just recently bought and a pair of white dress shoes that he had polished up the night before, one didn't just walk into Master Tazir's house looking non-professional, you had to have that professional look to you otherwise you're just not going to be employed for long. After he had put his things in his locker he went to the machine that was by the door, he took out his card, slid it down into the machine, punched his ticket in then heard the buzz that said he was late. He opened the door and went into his employer's mansion right after, the roar of thunder made him jump slightly, it seemed to of just waited until he had gotten into his employer's home. Soon after he had entered his employer's home, his sons and daughter came in behind him. He figured that he should head straight for his employer and speak to him before starting the process of cleaning, checking and tending of the animals that were in the buildings in both the front and back yards of his employer's mansion.

Zshon had told him that Lhaklar had gotten his first reprimanding from his father the day before for standing up while in the presence of his father after his father had said no to his getting back of a poster of his. That just showed how immature that youngster was, typically it was around the mid thousands to early two thousands that a youngster did that. Master Tazir had done right in lecturing his son on not challenging him. Prior to the reprimanding, Young Master's Lhaklar and Hazaar went and did a little exploring, they had found the Hallway of Bats, as he and his co-workers called it. Young Master's Bile and Lazeer had gone and simply walked upstairs, looking at nothing in particular. Mistress Angel had gone and retrieved some of the boys' stuff from her Universal Husband, she burned the cigarettes then gave over the wands that belonged to the boys. She had gotten on Young Master Lhaklar rather hard after hearing that he had challenged his father at lunchtime then she had had to quell a fight between Young Master's Bile and Hazaar, the latter having jumped at his brother after his brother had called him a wussy in a joking fashion. Supper had been eaten in near quiet, except for the master and his mistress talking, the boys and Miss. Eshal had said not a thing. Zshon had told him that Young Master Bile had just one educational facility under his belt and that was Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic while Young Master's Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer had that school and the University of Telepathy under theirs, they had no further interest in going further in their educations, they were rather close to their mother and had decided to not go to any other educations on that closeness. Master Tazir was rather disappointed in that but he was hopeful that in a few years the boys would shape up and decide to head to any other education and, if not, he wasn't going to press it any further.

Master Tazir and his Mistress were forever young, they were eternal so they could have other children, other sons and daughters, who would be interested in going on with their educations. Mistress Angel had slept upstairs with one of the boys, she had transformed into her fiery dog-form to sleep at the foot of her youngest son's bed. He knew nothing more except that the night before she had done the same thing with Young Master Hazaar. To him, she was making matters a bit stationary in keeping close to her sons. They were never going to learn that their father was a kind, understand, patient and decent man with their mother constantly hanging around, they did need some time away from her. Eldass let his instincts take over, they took him upstairs to the second level and nearly all the way down the hallway before they made him come to a stop. He heard voices, he heard talking and from what he could detect, it was his employer who was doing most of the talking with his wife, Angel, speaking in a sort of daze. He straightened his laced cravat tie then reached forward and knocked on the door that was in front of him which was white and designed to look as if it was weather-beaten. On his first knock he realized what the room was, he was standing directly in front of the room that housed all the articles and tapes and news broadcasts that his employer had collected over the one thousand, six hundred years that he had been searching for his wife and their sons. His employer stepped out after his second knock.

"Eldass, you arrived safely?"

"Yessir, the roads are puddling and laking up and the winds are horrible but I, my sons and my daughter arrived safely." Eldass replied.

"Glad to hear that, I have the bigger Goblins tending the goats, sheep and horses today. I want you to simply check into the boating equipment and then sit in the employee lounge. Keep an eye on the back, the ocean came up three feet during the night. Contact me if it hits the lower pasture at once, hear me?" TazirVile said.

"Yessir, I will do that." Eldass said, his employer went back into the room without saying anything more and Eldass went down the hallway with full intentions on doing what he had been instructed to do.

They say that one started off on a new leg, or had a fresh start, when the coming of a new day came around so he had put his oldest biological son's challenge towards him from the day before behind him. He had personally cooked breakfast himself, his wife and the boys and Eshal had attended breakfast, a few things had been said but mostly everyone was quiet and that did include him. He had reminded himself during the night that his sons were in their mid-teens and would not become scared of a storm, had they of been four hundred or so years old he would have had to worry about them getting scared and running into the room that he and his wife slept in begging to sleep with him and Angel. Bile and Lhaklar had done that plenty when the gully washers blew in, when they had turned five hundred and six hundred years old they had stopped begging to sleep in relative comfort in his and his wife's bed with them so the monstrous storm outside wouldn't get them. He was now getting rather concerned for his youngest son, he seemed depressed the day before and, with the coming of the new morning it had been very noticable. Hazaar, he had noted, like storms, as did Bile. Lhaklar had been calm but it seemed that he was tense because of the storm and Angel had acted the same way. After breakfast he had decided to go on and bring the boys and his wife upstairs to the room where he had all of the newspaper articles, photographs that had been taken over the years before his wife and her son's had disappeared, recorded broadcasts and copies of the leads or discoveries that had been made in his search for them either placed in picture frames or put in clear cases. As was natural, when each and every one of them had entered the room they had stopped dead in their tracks. They had all been shocked at what all was in the room but his wife had been the most shocked of them all.

He wanted them to stay in the room for a few hours, read up on what all he had been doing in looking for them for the past one thousand, six hundred years. His main hope was that, by their looking through the articles and watching the tapes, that they'd all calm down and settle in completely and quit acting fearful of him. He was sick of seeing Hazaar and Lazeer hiding behind their mother whenever he was around and he was sick of having Lhaklar duck away from him, a simple disciplining should not have installed this much fear in them over him, he had only disciplined Bile, Lhaklar and Hazaar with the belt once then he had burned it with no intention of using it ever again. He had apologized to his youngest son for locking him up in the dungeon of his ship and having his Goblins attack him but, from what he had seen on his youngest son's face, he had not believed a single word of his apologee. Possibly, after he left the room to let his wife and the boys do some reading and tape watching in private he'd go and talk to Eldass about the problem.

"There has to be over a fifty articles hanging up and in frames on the shelves in here." Lhaklar said in a low voice.

"There's much more than that in here, son." TazirVile said. "There's five, full books of articles in them by the tapes as well."

"You really did do a lot in searching for us, didn't you?" TazirVile jumped, Angel, who had been standing right beside him, had reached her hand up. Just feeling her touch made him want to melt.

"Only one who kept the search going," TazirVile said. "besides my mother, Cheshire and their family, I was the only Surfeit left searching for you five."

"I'm almost afraid to sit and read a few of these," Angel said. "almost like a museum in here."

"It _has _a museum feeling in here!" Lhaklar said, both shock and amazement had formed in his voice now.

The room that she and her sons had been taken to was large but with all the things set up as they were, it looked rather cluttered and smaller than the others that were in Tazir's mansion. Besides the framed articles and photographs and the articles and photographs that were hanging down from the light gray ceiling above, there were shelves that ran all along the dark gray painted walls that held more framed articles and photographs and there was also a 40" screen in the corner sitting on a sturdy brown entertainment center that had several rows of tapes underneath it along with a tape player placed just above the screen. There were two purple bean bag chairs in front of the screen, between them was a short couch that was dark brown velvet. The carpet underfoot was dark blue, there were several domed lighted hanging down on thin wires from the ceiling and there was a tall French-styled lamp that had a golden light bulb in it placed in one corner of the room. There were no windows that looked in or out of the room, it had been build solid and, she guessed, Tazir had done a spell to make all the sound from the storm outside not be heard from within the room. Tazir reached over, took Angel's hand gently then led her to the couch. Bile, Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer followed. Once they had all been seated, Tazir left the room.

"Stay for a while, do some reading and tape watching." he said. "I'll be in my office if any of you wish to speak with me."

Well, she figured that the first thing that they should do was do a brush-up on the articles. Angel got up from the couch and went over to one of the shelves that had five thick books on them. She pulled the one that was in front of the others out then brought it over to the couch and sat down. As always, whenever she was reading something interesting that her boys had an interest in as well, all four of her boys crowded around her. The book had a gold title on it that said First 100 Years, Angel guessed that the title meant the first one hundred years of her Universal Husband's search for her and her sons. She opened the book up and, to her amazement, found that the very first article was on Lazeer's birth with the article on the next page being of his coming home. Lazeer slid over closer to read what the articles had on them without being told to.

_Surfeit Family Scare, Baby Born Prematurely_

_It is very well known that all pregnancies do not go according to plan and that each and every pregnancy should not be treated as the former or be thought of to go smoothly. Five and a half months ago Angel Irene Vile-Surfeit, the daughter of Vile Vile who is better known as Master Vile, was found to be pregnant with her fourth child, the third by her Universal Husband, TazirVile Lajoshu Surfeit. For five and a half months the pregnancy went as it should, Mrs. Vile-Surfeit was seen as gaining the appropriate weight, eating well, exercising and conducting her usual daily activities such as tending to her three children and her adopted daughter, EshalVile Surfeit. The scare came so unannounced that all networks thought it as a false report and discarded it until a family member confirmed that it had, indeed happened. Angel Irene Vile-Surfeit's water broke at 1:00 in the afternoon and, soon after, she was whisked away to Cawanuuk Hospital where she was swiftly checked and then her labor swiftly induced. Her fourth child was born on February the 13th at 1:35 am and is said to be a male._

_One has to wonder what happened to cause such a thing when Mrs. Vile-Surfeit has had three prior pregnancies that went smoothly, with no complications, and she gave birth normally with, again, no complications noted except for the gaining of Puerperal Fever soon after her second child's birth. It could be because she had a baby a hundred years prior and her uterus had not had a chance to recover. It could also be because, after four babies, she cannot carry any further offspring due to her uterus being "exhausted" and it could also be that she has several lines of the Surfeit family in her lineage that has caused for her reproductive system to not act cooperatively. Angel Irene Vile-Surfeit's mother, Helen of Earth, is the product of a great-grandchild of KurukVile Shonshinu Surfeit and it is well known that Angel Irene Vile-Surfeit is the granddaughter of KurukVile Surfeit and his wife, Irka Shaiden. _

_"The child was born healthy, acted fine but was rather tiny and weak. They did put him in a pod in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Cawanuuk Hospital soon after he was born." Cheshire Ubalki, TazirVile Surfeit's stepfather and Angel Irene Vile-Surfeit's step-uncle, said when questioned about the premature baby that was born to the pair. "They are doing all that they can to help the child grow stronger and be ableto go home and my stepson is planning on intensive spending to insure that his youngest son gets the medical treatment that he needs to be able to survive."_

_This is not the first child born prematurely in the Surfeit family, KurukVile Surfeit was born at six and a half months gestation and he was rather sickly up to his 50th birthday then he got better by leaps and bounds. KurukVile Surfeit went on to become a very important member of the Surfeit clan with his leadership abilities, his conquering and his fathering of eight children, four of them eight being of the male gender. It may also be pointed out that DuruVile Bolushi Surfeit's mother, Egla Shaar, passed away two weeks after giving birth to the only child that was alive upon being birthed by the similar ailment that gripped her great-great granddaughter over two hundred thousand years later, she passed away from gaining Puerperal Fever which caused her health to deteriorate rapidly over the two weeks after she had given birth. ShaamVile Klondike Surfeit, DuruVile Surfeit's father, KurukVile and TazirVile's grandfather, was born on August 18, 1821 at near ten months gestation and was quite a big baby, his mother, Frahfrie Cloridona, barely was able to pass him safely. Could history be repeating itself with a premature baby being born in the Surfeit clan who could well become the next conquering terror? Angel Irene Vile-Surfeit's other children are being said to be fairing well._

_Premature Surfeit Baby Headed Homeward, Fears Still Great_

_Almost four weeks ago, LazeerVile Zuluduz Surfeit gave his parents and family a scare by being born at just five and a half months gestation, he was a very premature baby who, although strong at first, grew weak and was swiftly put in a pod in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Cawanuuk Hospital. His father, TazirVile Lajoshu Surfeit, put an estimated one million dollars into Cawanuuk Hospital to keep his son in the pod and for the doctor's to keep working on him, it does seem that the doctor's had gotten enough of the man as, earlier today, a car was seen being pulled up to the front of the hospital and Angel Irene Vile-Surfeit, the mother of LazeerVile Zuluduz Surfeit, got in along with her now six month and one week old baby who was reported as still looking rather ill and weak. _

_"We did all we could, it's just no use to go into further care of the infant." the doctor who was in charge of the young infant Surfeit's care said upon being questioned about the dismissal of the young infant. "Sadly, he wasn't doing much in growth or in movement so we decided that, in good retrospect with the Surfeit family, that we send the infant home."_

_TazirVile Surfeit has been reported as saying he has plans in suing the hospital for their not continuing to aid his son or helping him further along, the doctor's all at Cawanuuk Hospital had given the young Surfeit baby only two days before he succumbs to his weakened state and slips away. The only ones that were with the young baby were his parents, his grandfather, Cheshire Ubalki, and TazirVile Surfeit's neighbor and good friend, Gloar Rovnitov. _

"I'm glad that not all doctor's are correct in their prediction," Angel said after reading the two articles on her youngest son. "otherwise, I wouldn't have all four of my precious babies here with me."

"Dad put all that money into the hospital and they still sent me away?" Lazeer shook his head then hugged his mother. "They should have done it without being paid anything."

"Closest hospitals are not always the best," Angel said as she turned the page in the album. "you boys won't ever step a foot in Cawanuuk Hospital again."

_DISAPPEARED: Angel Irene Vile-Surfeit and sons Discovered Missing_

_In the event of a normal disappearance one would not see an article like this being written but, due to the history of one of the missing, this article and the broadcasts made from the local and other news networks around the universe this article has to be written. Angel Irene Vile-Surfeit was known five hundred years ago to be one who would never settle down and who forced her family to drop their lives to chase her down and tame her up. After several years on the run and after giving birth to two children, it was only one man who was able to tame the fiery red-haired woman and that was TazirVile Lajoshu Surfeit who claims the woman as his Universal Wife. Angel Irene Vile-Surfeit was said to be most happy and had been also said to of given herself fully over to her Universal Husband several years after her second child, fathered by her Universal Husband, was born. One has to wonder now if she has decided to become unsettled again because, as of this early morning, the woman along with all four of her sons, one being very ill from being born prematurely at five and a half months gestation, were all discovered as missing from the home that she has been living in for five hundred years._

_"She seemed fine the day before, maybe a little distant but she gave off no signs." TazirVile Sufeit, the husband of Angel Irene Vile-Surfeit, said upon being questioned about his wife's and sons' disappearance. "I woke up this morning to find her and all of the boys missing."_

_Space traffic has been slowed up all over, motorists are being questioned, everyone in the Surfeit family has been questioned and all of the staff that works for TazirVile Surfeit are currently waiting for interviewing. Angel Irene Vile-Surfeit gave birth four months ago to a premature baby that was named LazeerVile Zuluduz Surfeit who, against all odds, made it past his reputed passing date of two days after leaving the hospital. It's been thought of that she simply got overly stressed and decided to run off with each of the boys for a spell before returning. It's a hope. It is a hope!_

_Master Vile Cited As Causer for Daughter's and Son's Disappearance_

_A few days ago the universe was stunned to find that the wayward daughter of Vile Vile, better known as Master Vile, disappeared along with her four sons, one being rather weak after being born prematurely but the universe is now in further disbelief on the reputed cause for the disappearance. An employee of TazirVile Surfeit, the man who is Angel Irene Vile-Surfeit's Universal Husband, after being interviewed, told of how a phone call from Master Vile had sparked a fierce fight between the two along with other interviewed employees saying that the man also called several times prior to the one phone call placed during dinner hour that also caused fighting between the two. Soon after hearing what all had happened on the phone and with the fights, a search was quickly called up to find Angel Irene Vile-Surfeit and her four sons. Master Vile was not available for comment but has been said to be a part of the search._

Angel turned the pages slowly, she learned how her father had checked throughout his galaxies for only her and Bile, he had looked for Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer but only half-heartily which was no surprise to her. Her father had never accepted nor allowed for her sons by Tazir to be called his grandchildren despite the fact that they were. His father, her grandfather, had accepted Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer as his nephews and her great-grandfather had accepted her sons by Tazir as his grandsons, her father had treated her sons like crap. If Lhaklar had so much as spoken to him when he had been a child her father would simply stick his nose up in the air and walk away. Her father had been fully against Bile playing and rough housing with Lhaklar and he had been against Bile calling Lhaklar his brother. At one time, her father had wanted her to abandon Bile, to just leave him in the desert. He had wanted to make a "better son", she had never let him have the chance, even when he had raped her during that week that she had been at his place she had not given in, she had used a spell to make herself infertile just so she wouldn't catch pregnant by the man. Angel turned the seventh, eighth and ninth pages in the book then she stopped at the tenth page and began reading.

_One Year; Angel Irene and Sons Still Missing_

_A year ago today it was reported that a member of one of the most prominent families in the universe went missing along with her four sons, despite intense searches, interviews and thousands of broadcasts, the woman and her sons had not been found and brought back home. While most of the universe's population has gone back to its usual life, the Surfeit clan has not. Many of the womenfolk have remained home, taking care of the children, while the menfolk are conducting searches that have, so far, garnered nothing but attention and have gotten no results. The planets in Vile Vile's conquered galaxies (the Betta, the Dark and the man's family's and his own birth galaxy, the M-51 Galaxy) have all been searched with no results being found. The galaxies and single planet that KurukVile Surfeit has in his possession have also been searched with no results being found and the same go for the galaxies that are under control by DuruVile Surfeit, ShaamVile Surfeit and TrobrencusVile Surfeit. One has to wonder if, possibly, Angel Irene Vile-Surfeit didn't just disappear, but was kidnapped along with all four of her children._

_"No, that's impossible. My place is locked up tight, nothing, not even a rat can get in." TazirVile Surfeit, Angel Irene Vile-Surfeit's Universal Husband and the biological father of three of the four missing boys, said upon being questioned if his wife had been kidnapped along with her sons. _

_The Surfeit clan are now broadening their searches to other areas in the universe, to other planets and other galaxies. _

The next few pages that had articles on them were of them stitched up kinds of newsprint where the editor just re-wrote a small section of an article that had already been written along with adding a small bit of the just discovered information near the end of the article. Angel flipped the pages like crazy until the book ended, when it did she stood up and walked it back over to its proper place. She took the book down that was beside it then walked back over to her sons and sat down. Upon opening the book, she got a cold feeling in her stomach, one of them feelings that foretold that something was wrong. She contemplated putting the book back in its place but, after Lhaklar had turned the blank first page over, exposing the first article in the book, she had no choice but to read what all was in the book.

_Master Vile Returns Home, Declares Search Over_

_April 18, 2699_

_It is such a shock when today, at midday, Vile Vile, better known as Master Vile, walked up to a podium that was in front of his palace on Gamma-Vile, a planet in his and his family's birth galaxy which he owns and rules over along with the other planets in the galaxy, and declared himself out of the search for his daughter, Angel Irene, and their young son who would not be eight hundred years old, Bile. Master Vile claims that the two would have already been found had they both been alive. Master Vile claimed the youngest of his children as his Family Mate eight hundred years ago, the oldest child by his daughter is his and was even named similarly to his father. A full day of silence was announced soon after the announcement. Master Vile's father, KurukVile Surfeit, grandfather, DuruVile Surfeit, great-grandfather, ShaamVile Surfeit, and great-great uncle, TrobrencusVile Surfeit are still searching for Angel Irene and her four sons along with the search leader, TazirVile Surfeit and his entourage, Ashaklar Ubalki, nee Zoopray, Cheshire Ubalki and their children. Also, still searching are Master Vile's aunts and their families who are all traveling with ShaamVile Surfeit. Rita Repulsa and Rito Revolto, the two oldest children of Master Vile, and Lord Zedd, Rita Repulsa's husband, had dropped out of the search six months before their father._

_TrobrencusVile Surfeit Returns Home_

_August 19, 2699_

_After a gallant effort, the man who broke the record for conquering a galaxy with over a thousand planets in it in six months called it quits in his involvement in the search for Angel Irene Vile-Surfeit and her four sons. After two hundred years of his joining in on the search, he had found not a thing that says that Angel Irene or her sons are alive or are wanting to be found. TrobrencusVile Surfeit would give no quote after returning home, he simply went into his castle then locked the door._

_DuruVile Surfeit Says No More, Returns Home_

_November 12, 2699_

_Possibly it was fate that called DuruVile Surfeit, the son of ShaamVile Surfeit and Egla Shaar, home but sources say it was a threat called in by his wife, Cyla Dybla, that called the man to wave the white flag of surrender. DuruVile Surfeit, the man who put such a great effort in on looking for Angel Irene Vile-Surfeit, his great-granddaughter, and her sons, one being his great-grandson and the others being his grandsons, was reported as being told that his wife would leave him and take the kids, numbering three, if he didn't come home. It's possible that it is time for the wounds to be healed, if Angel Irene and her sons were to be found they would have been long before now. Angel Irene Vile-Surfeit disappeared along with her four sons, one prematurely born and rather weak, two hundred years ago. _

_A Shocker: ShaamVile Surfeit and Company Call It Quits_

_October 30, 2799_

_In a shocking turn of events, a hundred years ago Vile Vile, better known as Master Vile, and his great-great uncle, TrobrencusVile Surfeit, declared themselves out of the search for Angel Irene Vile-Surfeit and now, a hundred years and two months after TrobrencusVile Surfeit dropped out of the search, his nephew, ShaamVile Surfeit, along with a majority of his grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren, return home to Gamma-Vile. ShaamVile Surfeit was said to be very close to Angel Irene, speaking and writing quite a lot so his leaving of the search is a shock. The search for the woman and her four sons now has just TazirVile Surfeit, the leader, the Ubalki's, QueetaVile Surfeit, KurukVile Surfeit, TriskullVile Surfeit and Dara DaraVile Surfeit._

"Naturally, it would be your father who would leave the search first." Angel said after she had closed the book, the article on her great-great grandfather dropping out of the search for her and her sons had been the last on in the book. Angel got up from where she had been sitting, told her sons to walked around a little, stretch their bones and muscles, while they walked around the room she grabbed the next book in the line. Most of the articles in the third book in the line of five were repeats, just to keep the search alive. Tazir had searched Earth, he had sent his Goblins into the shields to look for her and her sons then he had called them out after one of the plagues had set in. Angel put the third book in its place then picked up the fourth, one glance was enough to tell her that most of the articles in it were repeats. She put that one back in the line then grabbed the fifth book which was rather big and bulging. She went over to the couch, sat down then called her sons over. When all four of her sons had sat down she flipped the front flap of the book open then began reading.

_KurukVile Surfeit Declares Angel Irene and Sons Deceased, Goes Home_

_May 12, 3299_

_In a shock of events, after searching and being a big contributor in the search for his granddaughter and her four sons, KurukVile Surfeit, the son of DuruVile Surfeit and Cyla Dybla, dropped out of the search for his granddaughter and her fours sons, one of which being his grandson. KurukVile Surfeit took to the stage on Deocomos, a planet under his control in his conquered galaxy, the Wycos Galaxy, and declared publicly that he was emotionally tormented by his declaration of dropping out of the search and, afterwards when he further declares Angel Irene and her four sons deceased that it would take a very long time before he feels like himself again. _

_"The last seven hundred years have been very hard on me, I was very attached to Angel, I was her grandfather, we spoke a lot on the phone, we wrote to each other a lot-..." KurukVile said soon after the declaration of his dropping out of the search and also declaring his granddaughter and her four sons as gone. "all we can hope is that she is forever at peace with her boys."_

_With KurukVile Surfeit and two of his three adult children, TriskullVile Surfeit and Dara DaraVile Surfeit, now out of the search, it is now only TazirVile Surfeit, his younger sister, QueetaVile Surfeit and the Ubalki family that are left to do the searching. TazirVile Surfeit claims he will continue to search for his wife and sons until his dying days. _

_TazirVile Surfeit Refuses Death Certificates_

_TazirVile Surfeit Refuses To Accept Tombstones in Surfeit Cemetary_

_Surfeit Family Grows, Possibly Healing_

_September 12, 3400_

_Since KurukVile Surfeit's dropping out of the search for his granddaughter it seems that a majority of the family is trying to go on with their lives. Reports are coming in that Rita Repulsa, the oldest daughter of Vile Vile, the man better known as Master Vile, has given birth to her first child, a boy named Thrax. No other offspring have been born through Irka Surfeit, KurukVile Surfeit's wife, or through Cyla Surfeit, DuruVile Surfeit's wife or through Bahne Brotzol, TrobrencusVile Surfeit's wife, and ShaamVile Surfeit, the pro-claimed most eligible bachelor in the universe, has not settled down to start making some babies despite being seen dating two women in the past four hundred years. _

_"Although we're not fully ourselves yet, we're getting there. It takes time when bad events like ours strike." Irka Surfeit, nee Shaiden, said when questioned on her family's return to normal life. _

_We all wish the Surfeit's well in their recovery, TazirVile Surfeit, his sister, QueetaVile Surfeit, and the Ubalki family are still searching for Angel Irene Vile-Surfeit and her sons. _

_Woman That Claims to be Angel Irene Flees Moas_

_In a startling report, a woman claimed to be Angel Irene, even having the woman's fiery red hair and emerald-green eyes with a single golden-yellow ring around the black pupils, fled from the planet Moas, a planet in the M-51 Galaxy that is under rule by Master Vile after TazirVile Surfeit came to check into her claim. The woman claimed that she ran off after a fight with her father, took all four of her sons with her who all died after a few hundred years leaving her childless and that she was very badly lame in the leg due to trying to commit suicide after Bile Vile perished after dropping in body weight to a skeletal form. The woman had everyone on the planet so up in a frenzy that she was even called Angel Irene, given lodging in a high-class apartment and treated to the finest of meals from the finest of restaurants on the planet. Once TazirVile Surfeit saw her, got a good look, he reeled himself around and left the area saying that the woman was an imposter. _

_"She must have been one as she tore off soon after he said she was an imposter." Klikodorn Shefh, who had let the woman eat for free in her restaurant where TazirVile met the woman a few months later. "She took off, must have had a jet in that lame leg of hers because I have never seen a being run that fast before."_

_The woman was swiftly identified as Afata Sliziban, a local woman who liked to fake injuries to gain sympathy and get free stuff from unwary patrons. Afata Sliziban was apprehended on the planet Koolaz, another planet in the M-51 Galaxy, and was put up on charges of trying to impose._

"How long we been in here?" Hazaar asked, the article on Afata Sliziban had been the last one in the book worth reading, the rest were repeat articles.

"Hours, clock outside says it's near lunchtime." Lhaklar replied.

"Can we go someplace else, momma?" Hazaar asked, he then started begging. "Please... pretty please with gum drops and cherries and-..."

"Yes honey, you four can go on. Stretch your legs and bodies. Hazaar, if you look out the window be careful. Only look out the back ones o-..."

_"...-ooooo, please don't tell me you've abandoned me like everyone else! You're the only one who's stuck by me! Where are you? What have I done to make you run off? Hello? Hello? Anyone in the apartment? Helllooooo?!"_

"Momma?" Hazaar asked, his mother had stood up, the book that had the articles in it had been dropped to the floor at her feet. She had a terrified look on her face and she was pretty stiffened. "Mommy?"

It just popped into her head, she heard it one second and the next there was nothing. Nothing else said, no further contact, no nothing. Angel looked at her sons and saw that each and every one of them looked upset and tense over her actions. She quickly placed the book back in its place then herded her sons out of the room. She closed the door behind her then maneuvered around her sons to the front of the line. Her instincts told her to go to the chamber that was hers and Tazir's and that was were she went, her sons followed behind her obediently. As she walked, she wondered who it had been that had contacted her. The person had been male and he had had a nasally low voice that was cracking slightly, the person had been frantic, seemed to be searching for someone but why that person had contacted her was way beyond her. Contacting one through using magic and earnesty had been one of the first things taught to her and her sons when they had gone to Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic, when one really wanted to get in contact due to experiencing a stressing problem or because they needed serious help, they yelled out the name of their chosen contactee then waited for the contactee to contact them back, some contactees simply popped in without answering while others answered to see what the problem was for them to be contacted. As far as she knew, not a soul had ever not answered the call of contact. She really couldn't figure out who it had who had called, she knew not a soul other than her family who knew how to contact another through magic and earnesty, her sons had no friends pop up to join in their games or activities outside of home. Angel shook her head vigorously when she reached the door that went to her and Tazir's bedroom chamber then she grabbed the purple glassed door knob. One twist, one push then she was taking her sons into the room that she had led them to. She left the door open, that way if Tazir came down the hallway, intending to go into his and her chamber, he wouldn't be startled by seeing them all in it.

"A-... Mom, those are your pet Sekhem's!" Lhaklar exclaimed when he saw the three animals lying on the bed.

"What are those things?" Hazaar asked.

It was one of the coolest rooms he had ever seen! He saw immediately that it was a large room and it was very elegantly and Gothicly designed! There was a ruby-red painted chandelier with gold chains dangling down from it hanging down right in the center of the ceiling and there were four, inter-linked, circular candle holders on each wall that had yelled sticked candles in them that were unlit. There was a huge bed near the wall across from him, it had a black headboard that had a bat's head staring out, the bat had ruby-red eyes and a blue-black tongue, the baseboard was also black but it had fang-like designs on it. The bed had a shiny, black and lovely blanket on it that looked rather soft and velvet-like, underneath the blanket were some dark purple sheets. There were seven pillows on the bed, two normal sized pillows, three long throw pillows and two small circular pillows, all had dark purple cases that had white tassels on the end, on each surface of the pillow cases that was stitched in gold thread the letters T and Z, which Hazaar knew now were his father's initials. Beside the bed was a black bedside dresser that had a unique lamp on it. The lamp had a metal framed shade that had glowing green glass in it, the base was metal and had oil in it. Beside the lamp was a book and beside the book was an empty glass of water.

There was a black dresser that had a dark purple cloth over it, there was an oval bowl was on the top of the dresser with a towel beside it, above the dresser hung the head of an animal that had spiraling purple horns, the animal had black and gray fur. In one corner of the room sat a chair. The chair was black and it sat up on normal legs but all along the bottom were spikes, the arms even had spikes on them. The chair has dark red cushions on it. A screen was directly in front of the bed, it was suspended in mid-air which Hazaar thought was very cool. There was also a swayed over black book shelf, there were two black Dragons, three skeletal Bats and one dark purple lizard with ruby eyes on the top shelf, underneath of that shelf was a box. When he looked closer he saw that the box was on of them Cigar boxes, he didn't need to be told what a cigar box looked like, he had seen plenty of them and, by just seeing the cigar box, he knew that his father smoked. Near the dresser, hanging up on the wall, was a large portrait of multi-green glowing goo, Hazaar had seen them motion-animated works once and had liked them greatly, the multi-green goo portrait was one of them motion-animated portraits. The walls and carpeting in the room was dark red while the ceiling above was a light red color. There was a framed skeleton of a bat hanging on the wall nearest him, from the looks of the bat it had been a young animal but the skeleton was very nicely arranged. There was also a taxidermied Red Bellied Piranah fish on the swayed over black bookshelf along with a jarred Octopus on one of the lower shelves. A taxidermied Ceolacanth fish was mounted up on the wall above the swayed over black bookshelf and, on the left side of the swayed over bookshelf sat a statue of a fish with spikes running along its back and sharp teeth.

What he and his brothers had seen soon after entering the room that their father slept in were the three animals lying at the foot of the bed. The animal's reminded him of a skunk, one was boldly striped. It had creamy white and lemon-brown fur, the animals feet were fully cream-colored and it had a white patch at the end of its tail which was very fluffy. There was a black and white, very skunk-like animal lying next to that one and beside that one was a full, light brown animal that looked related to the other two. All three had collars around their necks and all three had long claws on each of their feet. Hazaar took a step closer to the animals then he stopped, it was then that he noticed that there was a tall and wide cat tree that was set up to look like an oak tree, there was a box of animal toys next to the cat tree along with six ceramic bowls propped up next to the wall that was on the right side of the bed.

Beside the cat tree there was a black wired vanity that had bottles of perfume, three black candle holders that had red candles on them and a black boxed make up kit and carved jewelry box that had four drawers in the center and two pull-out doors on the sides that was black and purple on the surface. A black wired stool that had a deep red cushion on it was pulled underneath the vanity. Beside the vanity sat a rather impressive armoire that was tall, had eight drawers on it with two pull-out doors on the sides and a pull-up mirror on the top that was black and gold. There was a walk-in closet beside the armoire that Bile and his brothers all knew had had either their father's or mother's clothing hanging up inside it or a plethora of shoes for any occasion. On the other side of the walk-in closet was a large mirror that stretched up from the floor to the ceiling, it was black and had bat carvings all on the frame. Bile and his brothers figured that the right side of the room belonged fully to their mother.

"Ma-..." Lazeer said when his mother sat down on the bed and the three animals jumped on her lap all at once. "are them animals skunks?"

"No, they had no scent glands on them. These are Sekhem's. A domesticated pet similar to a skunk and a Ferret but also very different." Angel replied. "They don't bite unless provoked, they don't scratch and are easy to tame."

"C-can I pet one, ma?" Lazeer asked timidly.

"Of course, honey." Angel said, she then maneuvered the one closest to her son, the one that had creamy white and lemon-brown fur, so Lazeer could pet him without having to fuss to do so. "This is Zeox, my first Sekhem."

"What're the other two's names?" Lazeer asked, on his first stroke of the Sekhem that his mother had maneuvered slightly so he could pet it he noticed that the animal's fur was real soft.

"Exutho is the one that is fully brown," Angel replied. "Elaye is the little girl, the one that-..."

"Looks like a skunk." Lazeer said.

"Man, I have some weird parents." Bile said, his mother and his brothers all looked at him in a sort of shock. "What? One of my parents likes bats, the other likes skunks. Two very different animals."

"Don't forget the fish now."

Lazeer jumped, he looked in the direction of the motion-animated goo portrait and near yelled out in shock. His father slid out, he didn't step out, he merely slid out as if he was on a slide. His father dropped to one knee after sliding out of the portrait, he stayed that way for a second then he stood up. He looked as if he had just gotten through with a workout, he was wearing a pair of burgundy dress pants, burgundy socks, burgundy dress shoes, a knitted burgundy lace cravat was around his neck and a white, long-sleeved, button down shirt that had belled cuffs, he had a burgundy vest that had burgundy ties on the front over his shirt, all of this was darkened with sweat. Held over his father's arm was a burgundy tuxedo jacket that had a long tail in the back. Ange, when she saw that Tazir had slid out from the secret tunnel that her Universal Husband used after he had gone to his secret rooms to either sit and remember his past or train with his Elemental powers, stood up. Zeox, Exutho and Elaye all tried to get on Lazeer's lap at the same time, that freaked Lazeer out and he near got bit by one of his mother's pets.

"Haven't I told you to not use the gym while wearing your good clothes?" Angel said, Bile detected the notes of a tease in his mother's words.

"I do believe I plumb forget my dear wife." TazirVile replied. "How long you and the boys been in here?"

"Few minutes, hope you don't mind." Angel said. "Been in your "museum" reading up on them articles for hours now. Need a few hour break."

"I do not mind, my love." TazirVile said, he then looked at Bile and his brothers. "How you four doing this morning?"

"Rather well." Bile replied.

"Good," Hazaar said.

"Okay," Lazeer said.

"Same as them." Lhaklar said.

The room had not had the silencer spell done on it so that storm that seemed to of gotten worse outside could be heard loud and clear. Hazaar could hear both the hail and the rain pelting the large window that looked as if it had a balcony behind it, the drapes that were made of thick, black fabric that had a thin fabic over them that had purple roses on them were pulled slightly back so he could see what was going on outside the window. Hazaar contemplated going forward to look out the window but then, after his father walked by him heading towards the window, he decided against it. His father slid the curtain closed then turned around to facing him, his brothers and their mother. The three Sekhem's that were their mother's pets leaped off of Lazeer's lap and ran over to their large, oak-styled cat tree just as a loudly white lightning bolt zapped down. A loud boom of thunder followed behind the lightning bolt four seconds later.

"Should I perform a spell to make the sounds from the storm outside become silent inside?" TazirVile asked, he had his hands up by his neck, he was undoing his knitted burgundy lace cravat tie.

"No, we're fine." Angel said. "Hazaar has a big interest in weather, specifically storms. More so than his brothers."

"That's not true, I like storms. I'm not obsessed over them, though." Bile said quickly.

"You referring that I'm storm obsessed?" Hazaar said in a slightly elevated tone of voice.

"Every time a storm blew by on Earth your face would be glued to the window." Bile said, he then added, "And by my saying glued, I thoroughly mean it. Ma has to literally drag him away from the window sometimes."

"That is not true!" Hazaar exclaimed angrily.

"Bile, Hazaar, not in this room please." Angel said, Bile had been about to reply to his brother but his mother had come in quickly. "If you two are going to fuss and fight, do so in the gym."

Lazeer quickly left the room afterwards, his father had let their mother reprimand his two older brothers and had gone off to the walk-in bathroom. Bile, Hazaar and Lhaklar followed on his heels, due to the storm giving him and Hazaar a sort of brave mood, they decided to join up and do some exploring of the hallways that branched off of the hallway that the hallway balcony that was on the level that they were on looked over. Lhaklar and Bile decided to simply head downstairs to look for the gym that their father had come from, both were wanting to find that room to do a little exercising as they were both bored and, since they didn't want to lose any of the muscles that they had worked so hard on getting on their bodies they figured that it was time to find the gym and work out some. Just as Bile and his brother walked by the employee lounge, Eldass stood up. He had done all that his employer had asked for him to do that day and, although he was complying with his employer's order to keep an eye on the back of his property, he felt a sort of boredom fall over him. The Goblin walked out of the employee lounge intending to go downstairs to sit and watch the back in a different location.


	8. Chapter 8

Although he had been shocked by Bile's saying that they had weird parents, he did believe that himself after seeing the bedroom that his father sleeped in and the three Skunk-like animals that his mother said were her pets. He had personally saw his father's bat collection in the hallway and by that, he viewed his mother and father as very different from one another. One who likes winged, nearly hairless, rabies carrying animals while the others likes Skunk-like animals that seemed rather tame? How opposite could one get? Of course, he figured, that since his father was of the male gender that he would like something more masculine but why pick a bat? What was so masculine about an animal that flew around, caught bugs at night then flew back into its cave? To Hazaar, there really wasn't anything special about his father's chosing of bats for pets. They flew around on wedded wings, might have some fur on them and ate bugs at night and also carried diseases. Hazaar viewed his mother's pet Skunk-like animals as of the feminine sort, they were pretty, fluffy and cute and had women's pet written all over them. Those, he saw, had purpose as being pets, with bats there was just no reason to have one as a pet. Besides the threat of rabies, there was also the truckloads of guano that they produced each day. Yuck, he had been told how his father acted around his pet bats. He walked into their cages, interacted with them, let them fly about around him, land on him, climb on him and eat from his hands and, yes, Lhaklar had also told him that his father sometimes sat down and watched as the bats did their activities either around him or above him. That meant that his father was sitting in bat-generated bacteria, feces... shit that came out from a bat's bunghole. His father came off looking like one of them very clean types to him at first, after being told that his father sat in his pet bat cages and watched his bats as they flew around he didn't think that anymore. Hazaar had led his younger brother down to the hallway that had the bat hallway branching off of it then he had taken Lazeer right through the bat hallway. His brother had not wanted to stick around for long, that dry, scratchy sound of bats flying about had made him overly nervous so he had led his brother down the hallway then he had made a turn.

"Was that dad who said something about fish or was it mom?" Lazeer asked after a while.

"Huh?"

"Upstairs, in their room. Someone said something about not forgetting the fish. Who was it?" Lazeer clarified his question.

"I have no idea, more concerned for our mother at the moment." Hazaar said. "She's never acted in that fashion before."

"What fashion?" Lazeer asked. "W-..."

"When she stood up and dropped the book, acted like something spooked her or something." Hazaar said.

"Probably from reading all them articles, saw a shadow or a spider. You know how she hates spiders." Lazeer said.

That was very true! Hazaar remembered the time when he and his family had been living in Canada and their mother had walked into the only bathroom that had been in their small, one room apartment to see a big, brown spider crawling about on the floor. She had screamed, she had ran out of the bathroom and Bile, who had just walked into the apartment, had grabbed her and had asked what the matter was. Bile had a way in dealing with the dismissing of the spiders that trespassed in their homes. After he had been told that a big, brown spider was in the bathroom he had cracked his knuckles that had gone into the bathroom. The usual yelling, screaming and banging along with the yelling that came after it had followed then their brother would walk out, say that the varmint had been discarded and that he had sent a message to any and all other arachnids to not trespass or spook their mother. His message must not have been heard very well because another spider had taken the one that Bile had killed a few days before had come crawling in through the vent to take up residence in the bathroom. It was just spiders that freaked their mother out, all the other insects that roamed Earth never got so much as a gasp. A loud clap of thunder, which seemed to make the mansion shake, made both him and his brother come to a stop.

"Where's a window? I need to look outside!" Hazaar exclaimed excitedly.

"Uhhhh, right there!" Lazeer pointed at a single, circular window that had a short, dark blue curtain hanging over it that was near see-through.

He walked over to the window then, without giving it a second thought, drew the curtain back. At first, he saw nothing. It was pitch black outside the mansion, here it was almost lunchtime and it looked near time to be headed for bed! That spelled that a storm was bad, Hazaar waited for the next lightning strike. He was waiting for only twenty seconds before the entire yard that he figured was the backyard of his father's estate lit up a bright red. A portion of the backyard was forever burned into his memory from that one lightning strike and it almost made his O-shaped mouth drop open in shock. He felt Lazeer pressing up against him, normally he'd shove his brother off of him but he was so much in shock over the layout of the part of the backyard that he had been able to see when the lightning had struck that he just let his brother lean up against him.

From what that bright red lightning bolt that had sizzled down to the ground, lighting the place up like crazy, had shown was a landscape that consisted of half blue grass and half rocky terrain. The blue grass part of the yard was fenced off, he had seen a huge stable that ran along the back of the fenced in half of the backyard. There were at least four segments of fencing, he guessed that each section was for whatever livestock was in the stable that was closed up tight. A small portion of the pasture that was further down the line of fenced in separated pastures looked as if a part of it was rocky and it also looked like half of it was submerged under water. Lazeer, when he had seen the stable when the red bolt of lightning had struck to show some of the back yard, was wondering what was in the stable. Horses? Goats? Pigs? Cows? He could well see his father having several of those types of animals on his land, the man was rich, after all, so he could well afford to have such animals. As soon as the loud thunder-clap rolling in, another bolt of lightning zapped down, this time yellow, and it lit up another portion of the back yard.

Lazeer saw tall trees that had widely spread branches that held red and pink flowers on them, there was over a dozen in the back yard and there was also a lot of hedges in one full square section over near the stable. The reason why a small portion of the farthest pasture was flooded had been unveiled in that second flash that had come off from the yellow lightning. Their father's home was situated so it overlooked the ocean. The ocean in the back seemed to go on for miles, it was a very choppy, dark blue with a blue-gray underwave color. The water, when it splashed up against the rocky shore, was white. Hazaar, in that split second glow from the yellow lightning bolt, had seen that there was a wrought iron bench and swing set up near the ocean with a wrought iron table placed between them. Another lightning bolt followed after a loud, explosion-like, thunder clap and it exposed the rest of what the back yard had in it.

"Damn man! He even has a garden in his yard!" Hazaar exclaimed.

Well... that's what he thought he saw. There was a row of bushes that had red roses on them around a large area that he saw a light yellow glow bobbing to a fro in the wind, rain and hail. Very close to the beach was a building that looked fully concrete which he thoroughly believed was flooded and there was what looked to be a cave with a big door in front of it to the far left of the beach, the surf was pounding against the big door relentlessly so he figured that that building was also flooded in. Why his father had gotten the building built so close to the beach was beyond him, he was very curious about what was in that big area that had red rose bushes going around it and what was in the cave that looked like it had a big door on it. In that flicker of lightning light he and his brother had seen a large wave that looked over six feet tall rush in at the shore. When the next bolt of lightning struck down, lighting the back yard up, they saw the tall wave slam down. The water from the wave came up where the ocean water had come up in the farthest pasture then, as if the ocean wanted to claim the full pasture, it went past two feet more before it pulled back. Lazeer had seem some pretty spectacular lightning bolts in his life but what this storm was producing was very new to him.

The lightning in the storm was all sorts of colors, red, blue, purple, white and he had seen two green strikes as well that had captured his attention very quickly. He had seen cloud to ground strikes, three anvil-to-ground strikes, a very electric blue cloud-to-cloud strike with the next being a very multi-pathed green cloud-to-cloud that he was going to call a lightning explosion and he couldn't much tell but he thought he had been a ball of red lightning fall out from the clouds. The storm only waited five seconds before emitting a thunder clap then it let out the next lightning bolt, the winds were bad, it was raining so hard that he and his brother had been damn lucky to of seen what they had of the back yard and it was also hailing badly. Hazaar compared the storm to one of them hurricanes on Earth but, then again, he challenged himself quickly as the storm didn't have the same characteristics of a hurricane. For one, it had been storming for over twenty-four hours with no let-up, usually with hurricanes that have lasted for over that time they started to lose their punches soon after hitting land. For two, the winds were not blowing in one direction, they were blowing all over the place. Going north, south, east and west. A hurricane's winds went in one direction, counter-clockwise until the eye had passed over then they went in the opposite direction. A bright green explosion of cloud-to-cloud lightning sent Hazaar and his brother away from the window, they decided to walk down the hallway and try to ignore the storm. They had seen enough of it for the time being, the last thought that Hazaar had on the storm was of him having a feeling that he'd be looking for the library soon to look up weather on the planet that he was on. They walked for a short while then stopped when they came to a door. Lazeer reached forward, grabbed the door knob then started to turn it.

"Locked?" Hazaar asked.

"Very, can't even twist the-... is this a door knob or an art piece?" Lazeer asked.

They had stopped at an all glass door that had a gilded Starfish door knob on it with a slot for a key placed underneath it. Lazeer thought about using his telekinetic powers on the door to get the door knob unlocked then he thought against it, his father had put him in a dungeon once, if he entered any room that was locked by using his powers to unlock it he might well get worse. Lazeer stepped away from the door then, leading the way, he went down the hall a few feet then stopped at a door that had a glass door knob on it that was very shiny. Before he could grab the door knob, his brother reached forward. Hazaar gripped the all glass door knob then gave it a twist, it was unlocked so he pushed the door in then walked in. Lazeer hung back for a minute then, after looking both ways down the hallway that he and his brother were on, he walked into the room. He very nearly left the room after he saw what it had inside it, Hazaar barked at him to close the door after he had stood in the room after he had walked in with his mouth held a-gape and he did without delay.

"I-I thought those bats in the hallway-..."

"Apparently not!" Hazaar said, he was in equal shock.

Apparently their father was more into bats than they originally thought he was. The room that they had entered had full cages that had bats in them. On the left side of the room, there were large and medium-sized mesh cages that had small or medium-sized doors on them. On the right side of the room there were extra-large mesh cages that had large doors on them, some of the cages had cages stacked on top of them while others just had a space all to themselves. In the far back there was a built-in natural cage that was lit up by a black light. There were some bats in some of the cages on the left side of the room while there were none in the cages on the right side of the room. On closer inspection, Hazaar saw that the cages were there to house sick or injured bats, bats who had feet missing, injured wings or bats who had white spots on their noses and looked a bit too round in the belly. He saw five bats in five of the cages that had pups with them, the female bats looked malnourished which was probably why they had been put in the cages. There was a long, brown wooden table in the far back that had a few small, mesh cages on it along with medical supplies and there was a white refrigerator next to the table that was plugged in. Hazaar walked over to the built-in natural-looking cage and saw that there were light gray bats, dark gray bats, Little Brown Bats, Giant golden-crown bats and a bat species that had little horns on its head and little spikes running down its spike that he had never seen before.

"Sick Bat Bay?" Lazeer suggested.

"Either that or Bat Central." Hazaar replied.

"Let's get out of here before the old man comes in and does cartwheels." Lazeer said, he then turned around and ran out of the room. Hazaar followed right behind him.

It took him and his brother and short while to find the gym, they had to walk down four hallways, make several turns and look in each room that they came upon but, after a full fifteen minutes of searching they found the blasted room that had two, solid dark wood doors that had hand-holes in them. Lhaklar had thrown the doors open then had walked in first with Bile coming in behind him by half a step. Once inside the gym, they set to work in teaching the muscle on their bodies that they were not allowed to become slackened nor allowed to fall off. Bile ran for four full rounds around the in-door track that ran all around the room while Lhaklar grabbed two, 40 pound dumbbells and began lifting them. Neither brother said a word to the other for a long time, as was their custom, when they were working out they got serious and that meant no talking. Talking, both viewed, was distracting when one was working out. Although they acted brotherly and got along greatly, neither brother liked for the other to speak during their work-outs.

Besides the in-door track that was full of synthetic soil, there were dumbbell racks that held all sorts of dumbbells ranging in weights from 20 to 80 and there was also a space where a bench was set up with two bars placed beside it that it that held up a long, steel bar that had two rubber wheels on it. A set of weights were piled up near the bench, Lhaklar had seen that each pile had a number on it. The one closest to the bench had 100 pound weights in it while the one beside that had the 50 pound weights in it and so on, there were only four piles of weights, the other two had twenty and ten pound weights which looked rather unused. There was a black roman chair that had spikes on its flat-out seat, one of them could lie on that and see how long they'd be able to take the uncomfortableness of the spikes digging into their backs before they got off but both decided to steer clear of the device which both viewed as torturesome. There were hand-bars on the roman chair that would allow for one to do leg-ups and here were three ropes hanging down from the ceiling for one to climb if they wished. That was all that was in this part of the gym, there was another section that had treadmills that rose up at an angle while one ran along with a treadmill that had a helmet that projected images for one to avoid while running. There was a unicycle that was forged in place, one could also do pull-ups while using that exercise equipment, and there were three normal exercise bikes as well next to it. One of the walls in the adjacent room had grooves, door knobs and handles in it, the ceiling above the room also had grooves, handles, door knobs and bars on it which acted as a sort of synthetic rock or mountain. Lhaklar contemplated heading over to the synthetic rock wall after he put the two dumbbells down, before he could make up his mind Bile walked over to the bench. Bile put two, 100 pound weights on the bars then he went and added a fifty and then a twenty pound weight to them before adding the clamp. He then set down to lifting the bar with the weights attached.

"A hundred and seventy pounds?" Lhaklar shook his head, he had walked over to act as spotter for his brother. "Think you're asking for trouble? That's a lot of weight to-..."

"Hush up, a hundred and seventy's fine for me after not lifting up anything in near two weeks." Bile said, he wasn't having any issue with lifting the weight up at all.

"Still need a spotter or-..."

"I would say that he does,"

Lhaklar grabbed the weight to stop it from falling on his brother's face then he looked over at the doorway. A Goblin that looked rather elderly stood in front of the doorway looking in at him and his brother as they worked out. The Goblin had fluffy, white hair on his head, light blue skin and blue eyes. His nose was rather long, it had large nostrils in it and there were only two warts, high up on the forehead, on his face. The Goblin stood four-foot, seven inches tall and he had a lean body that was clothed in a white tuxedo, there was a white lace cravat hanging from around the Goblins neck. There were white dress shoes on the Goblins feet. Bile sat upright, looked at the Goblin for only a second then he sat back down. He resumed lifting the weight, Lhaklar resumed acting as his spotter but he kept one of his pistachio-colored eyes that had a silverish tone to it on the Goblin who had walked into the room. The Goblin walked forward slowly, he had a confident step to him that said that he was aged and experienced. Bile had just lifted the weight ten times when the Goblin stopped beside him.

"Your father would most probably not wanting you lifting over a hundred and thirty pounds, sir." the Goblin said after looking at the weights that were on the steel bar that Bile was lifting up.

"That's much too light for me." Bile replied, he pushed the weight up five more times then placed it on the holders that were on the bar. "I can lift over two hundred."

"Young Master Bile! That is too much weight for you at your age to lift!" the Goblin exclaimed in shock.

Yeah yeah, he was big for his age, he had more muscle than he should and he should slow it up and not try to grow up so fast. He had heard it all once from other worried parents before. He had asked his mother a few times if she thought he was overdoing the body building and if he should tone his body down in the muscle department after one of them worried mother's who had a teenage son, a grown-up son and two young child had gotten on him about his unhealthy living. He had listened carefully to what his mother had said, if she had said that he was he would have toned it down, stopped lifting weights and running and exercising as much as he did. But, instead, he found her saying that, although he was big for his age that was because of his genetics and because he had a good head on his shoulders, not because he was unhealthy or anything. She had said nothing to him about slowing up, stopping or eating less, she had just said that she thought he looked fine and that if he was happy with what he looked like then why was he bothering to wonder about what other people thought of about him. Bile got up from the bench quickly, he removed his shirt in one, clear upwards jerk then he went over to one of the treadmills that lifted up every few steps to make it like the runner was running uphill. The Goblin stayed behind, he heard him start berating his brother when Lhaklar picked up an eighty pound dumbbell and began lifting it.

"Young Master Lhaklar, please slow it up. For both your sake and for your mother and father." the Goblin was now singing out. "Surely neither will want you to hurt yourself."

"How is my lifting an eighty pound dumbbell hurting me?" Lhaklar asked. "I've lifted twice this."

"Sir, seriously, you're still very young and your muscles have-..."

"Look," Lhaklar placed the dumbbell down on the floor. "I see your concern and I appreciate it but it's not needed. I'm perfectly fine as is my brother."

He had expected to see Young Master Bile and Lhaklar lifting weights appropriate for their ages but, instead, he had found them lifting weights that their father would be lifting. Eldass was very concerned about muscle and tissue damage, the two that were in the gym had very young, inexperienced bodies that had a good muscle tone to them but them muscles were very inexperienced and fragile. Zshon had near crippled himself by lifting a weight much too heavy for him to be lifting up when he had been no more than two thousand, five hundred and nine years old. Daosi had actually torn his biceps completely off of the tendon when he had lifted a one hundred and twelve pound weight when he had been two thousand, three hundred and twenty-five years old and Yhozah had torn several muscles in his back and legs by running too fast for too long and by lifting weights three times his limit when he had been one thousand, eight hundred and thirty-four years old. Eldass looked at the two youngsters that were in the gym, one was his employer's biological son who looked nearly identical to his father except for his eye and skin color and the other was his step-and-adopted son, when he saw that Lhaklar had gone and started climbing up the rock wall he turned and ran out the gym fully intending to get his employer's attention on what was going on in the gym. Lhaklar went up seven feet then decided that he had had enough. He climbed back down then went and sat on the only long, solid oak bench that was in the room.

"You idiot!" Hazaar snapped. "You led us down a blind-spot! We're fuckin' lost in this big place!"

"How was I suppose to know that a bunch of left's and a bunch of right's and then a walk down a real long, full stone hallway would take us to a dead-end?" Lazeer asked. "I don't have a compass or a map of this place built into my head. Lhaklar and Bile, maybe. But me, no. I wasn't raised in this place."

"Shut up! I'm leading us back upstairs." Hazaar turned around and started walking down the way that his brother had led him from.

"Ooooh, is my owwwder browder angwy at me for getting him wost?" Lazeer said in an annoying, girl-like fashion.

He had led his brother from the room of bats that he still called the Sick Bat Bay, down a hallway then he had made a turn. He had had no intention of getting them lost but boy had it been fun to see his brother get all worked up. They had seen statues of bats, they had seen bronze statues that had three Sword Fish on them which he had thought looked cool and then they had seen the statues that he had had to stop and gawk at in a sort of dumb wonder. They had seen jade, silver, gold, gold and silver, silver and jade, silver and ruby and bronze statues of numerous fish and bat species and then they had come upon the statues of mermaids, mermen, bears catching salmon and eagles that were flying off with fish in their talons. They had seen framed fish bones, some normal in color while others being gold or silver or ruby, there had been a large fish skeleton hanging up in a room that he and his brother had glanced in for only a second that had had all of them colors plus onyx on the bones. His brother had yelled at him several times, he had ran down a few of the hallways in a blind panic and then he had pushed and shoved him around. The intention wasn't to get lost, he really had no clue where he had been going and he was actually trying to get them back to that bat hallway that he had been shown first. Hazaar led them down the hallway that he had led him down then he made a right turn, when he had led them down the hallway he had made a left so he figured that going right was sort of correct.

"You're useless sometimes, you know that?" Hazaar spat angrily. "Useless!"

"Hey man, I didn't mean to get us lost. I have no clue of the layout in this place." Lazeer said in shock, although he knew that it was just that damn temperamental phase taking his brother over he did feel a trifle hurt by his brother's words.

"You meant it, I never should have let you take change! You can't lead in daytime anyways because you're too damn blind!" Hazaar snapped. "Uselss, blind, you're never going to do anything with y-..."

"Shut up, Hazaar!" Lazeer said, his shock and hurt was turning to anger. "Watch what comes out of your mouth. You're just as blind and useless as I am in this place."

"You're useless and blind even outside of this place!" Hazaar stopped, he turned around then he shoved his brother hard. "Ugly as homemade soup as well."

"Goes double for you as well." Lazeer said.

He and his brother began to fight just as Lhaklar and Bile stepped out from the gym after they had heard the verbal fighting two halls down. There were no statues around, which was good because if there had they would have gotten broken. Lazeer swung his fists as hard as he could, two of his punches collided with his brother's left eye, Hazaar, after he tackled Lazeer, started ramming his fists and arms onto his younger brother's chest. In a last-ditch effort to get his brother off of him, Lazeer wrapped his arms around his brother then rolled over completely. Hazaar fought him, he kicked, he punched, he even tried to headbutt him. Lazeer held his brother down up to Lhaklar's running up to separate them. Lhaklar, when he saw that his brothers were tied up in one of them brutal fist fights, ran up quickly. He grabbed Lazeer by the back of his shirt then tore him up. He had just thrown his youngest brother to the side when Hazaar jumped up from the floor and lunged back at Lazeer. Bile grabbed his younger brother by his shirt then grabbed his arms. TazirVile, who had been notified that the two older boys were in the gym lifting weights that were inappropriately weighted by Eldass, ran down the hallway with Angel and Eldass behind him. He quickly separated Bile from Hazaar then stood between them. Angel grabbed her son's arm when, after he was freed from Bile's restraining hands, he lunged at Lazeer.

"What the hell is going on between you two?!" TazirVile demanded to know loudly. "Temper phase or not, no physical fighting in the house!"

"Hazaar, I'm very surprised with you." Angel said, although she was upset as well she didn't voice it as angrily as Tazir had. "Even on Earth you know that's not allowed. Sit and chill when it's near to bursting don't let it explode. That's how people get hurt."

"He got us lost." Hazaar said, his anger was starting to subside, it was swiftly being replaced with dread over his words and actions. "He-he-..."

"Getting you lost is not cause for a fi-..."

"Tazir," Angel held her hand up, she then turned Hazaar to facing her. "getting you lost is not a reason for you to let your anger take over."

Hazaar broke down heavily, he grabbed his mother in a hug and started weeping into her shoulder. Angel patted her son's shoulder while listening to Tazir as he got on Lhaklar and Bile for their inappropriate weight amount lifting. According to Eldass, both of her sons had been struggling when they had been lifting the weights, Bile had been struggling when he had been lifting a hundred and seventy pound weight and Lhaklar had been struggling to lift up an eighty pound dumbbell. She knew her sons well and knew that that was balls. Sure, Bile tried to lift up over two hundred pounds but he knew when to not go but so far and sure, Lhaklar tried to also lift up more than what he could lift but, again, he knew when to stop when his limit was reached. Angel had Hazaar sit down in the hallway then she walked forward, she had just gotten to Tazir's side when he did something that made her blood boil. Lhaklar had said that he and Bile had been fine and had not been having any trouble in lifting the weights that they had been lifting in a slightly elevated voice and that sparked Tazir to swing his hand. Angel lunged forward, she put herself between her two older sons and her Universal Husband quickly after Tazir had slapped Lhaklar on the hip.

"That is enough, Tazzy." Angel said, she then looked over at Lhaklar who had taken a few shocked steps back. "Where you and Bile struggling when you were lifting the weights?"

"No ma." Bile spoke up. "No problem at all. Was lifting a hundred and seventy pounds with no issue at all."

"Had n-no problem with the eighty pound dumbbell, mom." Lhaklar stuttered one word, he didn't like how his father was glaring at his mother at all.

"Eldass claims that you two were struggling." Angel said.

"Who the hell is Eldass?" Bile demanded to know, when his mother pointed to the Goblin that had bugged him and his brother in the gym he shook his head. "No, ma. We were having no problem with the weights. Lhaklar tried going up the rock wall but he came right down after he reached his limit, though."

"When my arms started showing the signs of fatigue, I climbed down then went and sat on the bench." Lhaklar said.

"How far up did you go?" Angel asked, she knew immediately what her sons were talking about. Tazir and his neighbor, Gloar, had sometimes raced up that rock wall. Tazir could go up the wall and across the ceiling very easily.

"Seven feet." Lhaklar replied.

"Alright, I suggest you stay at just four feet with that wall." Angel said. "Seven feet's pretty high up, don't need you falling down because you've lost your grip or-..."

"From now on, only when I say it can you two work out in the gym."

Eldass watched the fight between his employer and his employer's wife in shock, although he had fibbed in telling Master Tazir that Young Master's Bile and Lhaklar were struggling to lift up the weights that they were picking up he had done so with good intentions. He hadn't wanted neither of the boys to hurt themselves, had one of pulled a muscle or had gotten a worse injury while his being there he'd of felt terrible. Mistress Angel was still a spitfire woman, very full of fire regardless of raising four boys on her own, she was yelling her head off at his employer and his employer was counter-yelling at her. Mistress Angel still had that body on her, Eldass had noticed upon walking into their bedroom chamber and seeing her walking around. She looked like she had not given birth to four children nor had had to deal with the stresses of child raising. Mistress Angel still had her petite figure, very trim with some muscle showing while the rest was hidden well underneath her flesh and, surprisingly, her breasts had remained the same size 40C cup. Aboshi had dropped a breast size after giving birth to Akavira and Lorboyan and then her breasts had gone back to their normal size after Zardox had been born. It was said that after the weaning of the young the breasts go down in size, his wife had experienced the upwards size growth after Molwuff, Mekaia and Faalia and Devlor and Seiqo and Zardox had stopped nursing and then, after she stopped nursing Zshon, Daosi, Saplina, Malmeen and Bamaia her breasts had dropped to a size smaller than what she had been before she had given birth. When Aboshi had stopped nursing Yhozah, Akavira and Lorboyan her breasts had gone back to their normal 34A cup size. Eldass stayed clear of the fighting, as he saw it, it was a fight between his employer and his wife. After a few minutes of fighting back and forth about the boys, on who knew more about the boys, who knew what was best for the boys and when not to discipline the boys, Mistress Angel walked away from his employer. All four of her sons followed behind her closely, Eldass, automatically, knew that all of the boys were very close to their mother. If not, they would not have followed her and, if not, their mother would have turned and told the two younger ones to quit clipping her heels.

She took her boys straight upstairs to Lhaklar's chamber, Hazaar was a wreck, he was upset and a majority of it was caused by the after effect of his temperamental phase while the rest was caused by fear after seeing his father strike Lhaklar. Lazeer was nervous, all over seeing his father yelling at his two older brothers then striking at Lhaklar and her two older boys were slowly getting over their anger. She let Hazaar and Lazeer nurse from her, as usual they nursed until there was only half the amount of milk left in each breast then they sat up, then she held her hand out for Lhaklar to come forward. She didn't let then nurse from her all the time, only when they were stressed or very ill or injured, seeing as all four of her sons were in need of both comfort and something to calm their nerves, she was allowing them to nurse. Her breasts were gasping out in relief, finally that extra weight and pressure was being relieved from them, she was sighing in relief because she knew that she was doing the right thing in calming her sons down. After pacing back and forth three times after his mother had held her hand out to him, Lhaklar walked forward. He latched onto her left breast quickly and started nursing. When all the milk was gone from that breast he unlatched his mouth from around his mother's nipple then sat up. Angel gave her secondborn son a reassuring pat on the back then she looked up at Bile. He came forward, he didn't need any prompts or sayings that it was his turn.

"Hazaar, you alright?" Angel asked, her son was seated by the window that looked out on the front yard.

"Yeah," Hazaar said. "mom, can I peak out Lhaklar's window?"

"No, I think that is one thing you shouldn't do." Angel said.

"Why not? Are the reporters still out there?" Hazaar asked.

"Reporters can be a stubborn lot, sweetie." Angel said. "They are still out there, in rain slickers and galoshes with big, black umbrellas held over their heads. Some are in cars but I do believe that if they caught even the curtain being moved they'd come straight out with their weather-protected cameras."

"Lazeer," Hazaar said, he turned around and looked at his younger brother.

"Yeah,"

"I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't mean what I said to you when we were lost."

"Guess a lot of the fault is on me for not watching where we were going or what hallway we were going down." Lazeer said. "Don't think much of it."

He decided to try to make up for what he had said and for the fight by inviting Lazeer over to his chamber for some magazine reading and to listen to some music together. Lazeer said okay and they went off, the second Hazaar stepped foot in his bedroom chamber he stopped. He had wondered during the night what had happened to the entertainment systems, the Nintendo 64, Super Nintendo and the Play Station systems, that had been in the living room of the apartment that he and his family use to live in. A brown table had been added to his chamber during his and Lazeer's exploratory outing and sitting on its surface was the Nintendo 64 and the Super Nintendo. There was a shelf above the two systems that had games on it, when Hazaar went to look at them he near laughed himself silly. Even though the Nintendo 64 and Super Nintendo had been added to his chamber, the games had not been. The person who had put the two gaming systems in had put the games for the Play Station 2,3 and 4 on the shelf. Hazaar grabbed the games, he had about twenty in his arms, then he went to see which of his brothers had the Play Station consoles. As it turned out, the person who had set up the Nintendo 64 and Super Nintendo in his chamber had put two of the three Play Station consoles in Lhaklar's chamber. Hazaar and Lhaklar quickly switched the games on the shelf that was above the two gaming consoles then Hazaar ran off to Bile's chamber to see if the third console, the Play Station 4, had been put in his chamber. That was a negative, instead of the gaming console he found Lazeer's Gameboy and the games that went along with that. Hazaar grabbed those items then went off to Lazeer's chamber where the last gaming console was in along with all the games for the Nintendo 64 and Super Nintendo consoles. He swapped the games quickly, placed the Gameboy and its games down on his younger brother's bed then he ran out the room.

"Alright, now that the games are all squared away, what should we play?" Hazaar asked.

"Is Blue Marlin in that pile?" Lazeer asked.

"You know it is."

"Pop that sucker in," Lazeer walked forward and grabbed one of the remotes. "get ready for your booty to be beaten. I been wanting to play this game for weeks now."

"Mom says she's making Lhaklar's fish for supper tonight." Hazaar said as he slid the game into the Super Nintendo console then powered that console up. "Looking forward to fish steak and to that thing Lhaklar was talking to mom about when she said she was making his fish for supper tonight."

"What was it that Lhaklar wants her to make?" Lazeer asked.

"Something called Fishcake,"

"I imagine that as not being very tasty." Lazeer said. "Fish baked into a cake then have frosting covering it? Ew!"

"Your Gameboy and its games are on your bed." Hazaar said, he quickly added his name into the game then waited as Lazeer did the same. "They were in Bile's room. The Play Station four is in your room."

"Lucky me!" Lazeer exclaimed. "Of course, if either of you numbskulls wish to play that console just say so. Not my system, it belongs to all of us."

He had last track of the time, his two younger brothers had gone to Hazaar's room to play one of the video games on the console that had been set up and he had gone off to his chamber. There was a stereo in his chamber, he had noticed it the night before and he had tried it out to find that it was rather, as he called it, kick-ass. The box had still been in the room when he had noticed the stereo, the wording on the box had said that the stereo was on of them JVC H2X Model 2's that had a volume up to twenty and the box had also said that there was a set of replacement speakers included which was nice. He had slid in Ozzy Osbourne first after doing the silencer spell then he had listened to Queensryche's Operation Mindcrime afterwards with ACDC's Back in Black following. On this day he had decided to just slide in one of the loudest discs that he had into the system then sit back and look at his magazines. The disc he had slid in contained music from the metal group Manowar, the group that had been awarded a plaque for loudest band in history. Manowar had been recorded as playing 129.5 dB in Hanover in 1994, the Guinness Book of World Records had not included that in their list of records though for fear of hearing damage, the band had already broken the sound barrier in 1984. He had slid in a disc that had music from both the Hail to England and Sign of the Hammer albums that that band had made. Naturally, before he had even pressed that play button he had done the silencer spell then he had just laid back on his bed with the latest edition of Hustler, the magazine that Hazaar had bought him near two weeks before, held in his hands. He had had no idea that it was nearing supper time until he had glanced at the clock that was on his dresser, the second he saw that it was near 6:30 pm at night he shot up from his bed, tossed the magazine that he had been very interested in looking at and reading onto his bed then he shut off his stereo, he then exited his room and went down the hallway. Obviously, his brothers had also lost track of the time because all of them came piling out from their chambers at once.

"Mom went downstairs to make supper near an hour and a half ago." Lhaklar said as Bile walked by him.

"She still making your fish for supper?" Bile asked, he hoped that she was. He thought his mother was a fabulous cook and the thought of her cooking up river-caught fish was mouth-watering to him.

"Yeah, said she was heading down to do that." Lhaklar said. "Finished a model."

"Oh yeah," Bile said, he then walked up stealthily to his younger brothers. He grabbed them by the backs of their shirts then picked them up. "And what did you two trouble making brothers do after the games for the gaming systems were re-arranged?"

"Played Blue Marlin, Super Black Bass and then Tournament of Champions." Hazaar said, he tore himself free from his older brother then slugged his fist into his brother's back. "What'd you do?"

"Listened to some music while looking at a magazine." Bile replied.

"Should I wash my hand now?" Hazaar asked.

Bile led his brothers down the hallway then down the stairs to the second level, before he could lead his brothers down the second floors hallway Lazeer elbowed past him and went to one of the windows. From the sound of things outside, it was still storming and after one glance he confirmed that. It seemed that the sky no more recovered from sending down a lightning bolt before the next one either crashed down or one made a web within the clouds. He had time to see that all of the lower pasture was flooded in before Bile grabbed him away from the window. When Bile resumed taking his brothers down the hallway he found himself being told about the oddly colored lightning that the planet gave off in its storms. He found himself being very surprised and very interested about the ball lightning and green bolts after being told about them types of lightning that was being emitted from the storm. When Bile and his brothers got down to the first floor they wasted no time in going down the short hallway that led away from the foyer then in making a right turn onto the hallway that branched off from the short hallway that they had just transversed. Before they entered the kitchen area where they knew their mother was in, the smell of food cooking was almost too salivating for all four of them, they knew that there were two others in the room with her. Lhaklar walked forward to standing behind Bile, nodded his head, then took the lead in taking his brothers to the kitchen. Their mother was just fixing up a roll of what Lhaklar believed was his asked to be made Fishcake and sitting at the island that was in the center of the room were Eshal and their father.

"You boys decide that yet that you've grown tired of the virtual fish to come get some real ones?" Angel asked when she saw all four of her sons walk into the kitchen.

"Yes!" Hazaar and Lazeer said together.

"You're cooked fish is better than a virtual, computerized fish, ma." Bile said.

"Better on the eyes and better tasting." Lhaklar said.

"What does virtual fish taste like?" Lazeer asked.

"Have no idea, pro-..." Lhaklar had fallen into one of his younger brother's traps.

"Like cardboard and newsprint together!" Lazeer exclaimed.

"Your jokes seem to be getting lamer, Laz." Hazaar said.

"So is your face."

"Lazeer, watch it now." Angel said.

"Yes ma." Lazeer said, he then zipped his mouth shut.

She kept it in just so not to get discipline again but she thought of it heavily. As of the past few days, she was really dreading having her brothers back home. She saw them as doing no more then causing trouble for the ones that both resided and worked at her father's place. So far, her father had had to reprimand them all several times, Eldass had walked off in silence and had said nothing after seeing her brothers for the first time in the place that they should have remained since birth and, except for Bile, none of her biological half-brothers had said two words to her. She was glad to have her mother home where she should be but, she really did wish that her brothers weren't in the residence. When she had voiced this her father had turned and given her a watch it look before reprimanding her vocally and her mother had also turned, she had said her name in a shocked tone just before her father had started reprimanding her. It seemed that with each day her mood towards her brothers had grown dimmer, sure, she had been glad before when they had been brought home but now all that was gone. It was replaced with dread. Life in her father's house wasn't the same anymore, she felt that she literally had to tip-toe down the hallway that her and her brother's chambers were on and she felt that if she said anything to her brothers that one or more would get angry and start up a fight with her.

The thought of why hadn't she of given birth to girls instead of boys had rang in her mind several times during the near two weeks since her mother and brothers had returned to the mansion. She'd get along so much better with a sister, she and a sister could do the things that her brothers refused to do like playing make-up, doing their hair, gossiping around, baking sweets and reading girlie magazines. Her brothers wouldn't allow themselves to do any of that because, well, they had masculine qualities instead of feminine ones. They liked being mean, as she saw it, and tough and unruly. They liked to lift weights, grow muscle on their bodies, talk and act like they were macho and read smut and they liked to cuss as well which she viewed as unacceptable and unneeded. When she and her father had walked into the kitchen her father had started up apologizing to her mother, why she had no clue but he had done so and he had offered an explanation as to why he had acted the way he had earlier that day.

She knew her father was one of them overly protective types, one of them male parents who jumped at so much as a gasp or the dreaded sir, come quick. She also knew her father was very patient and understanding, all of these things made him a great father, one that she loved greatly, but why in the whole, wide universe was he apologizing for disciplining Lhaklar and saying that her brothers couldn't enter the gym without his say? She figured that her brothers were spoiled rotten and when she had voiced this oh boy had her mother of gone off like one of them rockets! Her father had glared at her all the while that her mother had said that what she had said was very rude and disrespectful and very far from the truth as neither of the boys had been spoiled by her or by any other person. Her mother had said that all four of her brothers were very awkward in being in such surroundings because they had not been raised in such extravagance in one thousand, six hundred years. Her father had agreed with what her mother had said and she had decided to clamp her mouth shut, her feelings were still the same though.

She had been okay with the bigness of Bile before, now she was terrified that he'd hurt her. She wished that her father would do something to make him become less muscular. Lhaklar seemed a bit too arrogant to her, standing up to daddy? Mouthing off? Hazaar seemed to have a real issue in keeping his temper under control, she was afraid that he'd explode around her and hurt her and, as for Lazeer, she saw him as trying to be funny but being so in a very wrong, rude and disrespectful way. She wished her father would do something to make him stop singing out his bad jokes and she really wished that her father would put Hazaar on something so she didn't feel like she had to tip-toe around him whenever she and he were in the same area together. Her main fear and worry was centered around her father. Her brothers seemed well-behaved for her and their mother, so far they hadn't been for daddy though. She worried that, one day, Bile would snap and hurt her father by using his great muscled bulk. She worried that Lhaklar and her daddy would get into a fight and both would be injured and she worried that both Hazaar and Lazeer would gang up on her father and hurt him. All of this brought forth a big fear within her, one so thick that she was near blinded by it. She had confided in Mekaia about her fear and about her now-felt feelings towards her brothers and she had simply said that _every thing was fine, that her feelings were appropriate and that everything would settle down soon_. When she had said that she also feared for all of the Goblins that worked in her father's mansion as well, Mekaia had said that _she had nothing to fear as the boys wouldn't harm a soul_. How could she know that? How could she be so sure of that? Eshal's breath caught in her throat when she saw her father stand up and walk over to Lhaklar, she readied herself for a fight, any fight, to spark up between the two.

"I'd like to apologize for my earlier actions towards you and Bile, son." TazirVile said, Lhaklar looked him up and down then looked him straight in the eye. "I let my protective side take me over a bit too far."

"Suppose we all let it get out of hand earlier," Lhaklar said. "with Hazaar spazing out, fighting with Lazeer and then you being told what you was told about me and Bile then a fight between you and my mother. Enough to drive anyone to not think clearly."

"True, it is." TazirVile said. "Eldass offers his apology as well for fibbing on what really was happening in the gym. He was only acting out of concern for you and Bile."

"I'll let the event slip from my memory banks."

"You and Bile can use the gym whenever you two wish," TazirVile said, he then looked over at Hazaar and Lazeer. "goes for you two as well. Just don't overdo it."

"I'll be honest with you, I've near torn all the muscles in my arms at one time for lifting way over my limit," Lhaklar said, his father blinked his large, oval, silvery eyes once then he kept them open. "I do not wish to have that happen again."

"Learning from bad experience, like that." TazirVile said. "What was it that you was trying to lift at that time?"

"A hundred and fifty."

"What's your limit?"

"A hundred and thirty."

"You'll get there one day, son." TazirVile said. "My limit at your age was five pounds over that."

Lhaklar sat down on one of the stools, he noticed that when he did that his older, half-sister had gotten up and had gone away from him. Eshal was standing by the counter, he had a mind to ask her if there was something wrong but he never got to doing so as his father started saying something about leaving for a few days after the storm had passed to get a few things strengthened and looked into in the court system. One item was the order that the Elder Courts had given him two thousand, one hundred years ago, where he had been granted permission to watch Bile's father around both Bile and their mother and, also, to retain all of his estates and properties on the planets within the M-51 Galaxy. The other was about Bile's secondary guardian, that one, his father claimed, was simply to check if he was still Bile's secondary guardian due to his adopting him. Their mother stayed quiet throughout their father's telling them about his going away for a few days to do his court things, she continued cooking the fish he had caught, he was wondering what the point of his father's going to the court system to check into both orders.

"It's up to your mother if she wishes to take control of the home or not," his father was saying. "if not, I'll have Eldass in charge of running things."

"I can take care of the house," Angel said, she looked back once. "I'll make sure everyone is working and that the animals and everything is tended to."

"When I get back you four can officially explore the outside." TazirVile said. "The back first, then the front."

"What's in that room that has that gilded starfish door knob?" Hazaar asked, his father looked over at him in a sort of shock. He had not expected for his secondborn son to say anything to him and that made Hazaar sort of nervous. "I-it was l-locked when me and Lazeer were exploring earlier."

"That's your daddy's fish room." Angel spoke up quickly. "Has lots of tanks in there full of fish."

"I keep it locked because the tanks are rather fragile, don't want anyone of my staff to go in poking or even cleaning as the tanks can break easily." TazirVile said.

"Because of the water pressure." Lhaklar said. "The pressure against the glass is so great that so much as a finger touching the glass can make the glass break."

"Yes, that's right." TazirVile said. "The glass on the tanks is as thick as my arm and it's still rather fragile."

"Wasn't you, at one time, thinking of switching the glass in the tanks to something stronger?" Angel asked.

"I was looking into changing over from glass to acrylic but they say that it scratches easily and that it also gets "mucky" after a while." TazirVile replied. "I considered doing both glass and acrylic at one time but, after you and the boys left, I had not a thing else on my mind other than finding you five."

"How come you're going to the court systems to find out if you're still my secondary guardian?" Bile asked.

"Don't want any fuss with my nephew." TazirVile replied.

Bile went silent after his adopted father started telling him that, yes, he was inviting his real father over in a few weeks. He didn't like the idea of the man being anywhere near him and, he believed, his mother felt the same way. His adopted father, who he regarded fully as his real father, said he was sending out the invites soon and that everyone was coming for an extended period of time just to get use to him and his brothers and, also, so he and his brothers could get use to them. His father said that he was sending the first invite out to his stepfather, Cheshire Ubalki, and his family and that they'd be the first ones in the mansion before he sent out the other invites, to his grandfather, KurukVile Surfeit, and great-grandfather, DuruVile Surfeit, and their families, which included all of DuruVile Surfeit's daughters from his previous marriages, and, also, to his great-great grandfather, ShaamVile Surfeit. The last invites would go out to his great-great grandfather's uncle, TrobrencusVile Surfeit, and his family, his two older, half-siblings, Rita Repsula, her husband, Lord Zedd, and their child, Thrax, and Rito Revolto. One named Gloar Rovnitov would also be allowed to visit afterwards with his wife, Vixbie soon after TrobrencusVile and his family arrived. Bile figured that he looked rather nervous, it seemed that quite a shit-load of people were coming over. When he looked over at his mother he saw that she, too, looked nervous as well and he also saw that his brothers also looked nervous.

"Alright everyone, grab a tray or dish and follow me." Angel said as she walked out of the kitchen, intending to go straight to the dining room, with a large tray that had fish steaks on it. "Supper's ready but no eating until we get to the proper place."

"No need to tell me twice," Lhaklar grabbed an oval dish that had fish soup in it. "been looking forward to mom's good, fish cooking for a while now."

"Make way for the supper train," Lazeer said, he grabbed a long tray that had fried fish and frech fries on it. "smells so good I might just gobble this down while walking to the dining room."

"You do that and I'll cream you." Bile said, he grabbed a medium-sized dish that had fish chowder in it then followed his brothers.

Hazaar grabbed the tray that had the Fishcakes on it then followed his mother and brothers as they made their way to the dining room, his father followed behind him with the tray that had the Sashimi, a meal that consisted of very fresh raw fish that was cut into thin pieces, and Eshal followed behind her father with the tray that had the drinks on it. This was new to her, she had never walked with a dish or tray in her hands acting as if she was part of a train. She was dreading her father leaving her alone in the mansion though, although she trusted and loved her mother she was still very afraid of her brothers. She had plans to try to get her father to take her with him when he went to the courts to check into the orders that he had put through over two thousand years before. If she couldn't... well she'd have to wait on that one because if she couldn't convince her father to take her then she felt that she would be safest with sticking in her chamber or sticking around the Goblins. When everyone reached the table they set the trays and dishes down then took their places, as usual, TazirVile sat at the head of the table with Eshal sitting on his right and Angel sitting on his left side with Bile, Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer sitting in order of their births on Angel's side of the table. Everyone filled their plates fast and began eating, Lhaklar was the first to bite into the Fishcakes that he had asked his mother to make and he very nearly was floored from the taste. He wasn't sure if the recipe was what had made the dish taste so good or if it was his mother's cooking, either or, the Fishcake that he was eating tasted so good that he was sure he'd be having another and, thankfully, his mother had made near twenty rolls of his requested dish.

"I made several desserts," Angel said after they had eaten half of the food that had been put on the table. "five, to be exact."

"Ma, I'll need a restraining order to keep my hands from grabbing each one and a new notch put in my belt." Bile said.

"Your cooking is splendid, my love." TazirVile said. "I can see how the boys got to looking so healthy."

"Good food and good exercise." Bile and Lhaklar said together.

Bile helped his mother take the trays and dishes, the plates and silverware to the kitchen then he grabbed two round, silver and flat trays then headed back to the dining room with them. His mother followed behind him with two more then she returned back to the kitchen for the final tray. When she returned to the dining room and had placed the final tray down she began lifting the lids off of each one. Lazeer's circular shaped, silvery eyes grew very bright when he saw the Banoffee pie, an English dessert pie that was made from bananas, cream and toffee from condensed milk that his mother had put on a pastry base. Hazaar eyed the Apple cake, a cake that's main ingredient was apples but one could also add various spices to it like nutmeg or cinnamon to give off a unique flavor, when the lid from the tray that the cake had been placed on was lifted while Lhaklar's large, oval, pistachio-colored eyes that had silverish qualities to near popped out of his face when he saw the Genoise cake, an Italian sponge cake made from a whole egg beaten in sugar and heated at the same time using butter or bain-marie or flame, to a stage known to patissiers as "ribbon stage". His mother had covered the whole cake with butter-cream icing which gave it a very appealing look. Tazir quickly grabbed himself a slice of the Ice Cream cake then he added a slice of the Apple cake on the side and Eshal grabbed herself a slice of the Banoffe pie, the Apple cake and then a small slice of the Genoise cake simply to give it a try as she had never seen such a cake before. Bile had a three rolls of his old favorite, that good, ol' Molten chocolate cake that his mother had made to form into a ball while it had been baking that had a double dose of melted chocolate hidden inside along with a slice of Ice Cream cake and Apple cake on the side.

"Think I'm with Bile on this one, sweetheart." TazirVile said after he had finished his dessert, he had had a roll of Molten chocolate cake and two slices of Banoffee after he had eaten his Ice Cream cake and Apple cake slices. "I'll need a new notch in my belt here soon and a visit to the gym as well."

"That... was very good, mam." Eshal said, even she was stuffed.

"Take it slow now, all them desserts will need a few hours before they are fully settled in your stomachs." Angel said.

"We will." everyone said at once.


	9. Chapter 9

His return to work coincided with his employer's leaving to deal with matters of court and, although his employer's daughter had given him the scoop on what was going on with her brothers and with her mother, he really didn't believe any of it. In the near week that his employer had been gone and he had resumed work he had noticed a few things that had contracted what Miss. Eshal had said to him about her brothers. For one, Miss. Eshal had said that Lhaklar was arrogant. He had seen no hint of arrogance in his employer's firstborn son. For two, Miss. Eshal had said that Hazaar was too temperamental. Well, he was going through that phase so that was sort of scratched out and his mother was doing fine in keeping him rooted. Lazeer looked as if he wouldn't harm a flea and, as for Bile and his bigness, he saw not a thing wrong with Bile's personality or had caught the faintest whiff of Bile being aggressive. All four of the boys seemed very well-behaved, he had noticed that the day that his employer returned that Lhaklar was one who seemed to not understand who not to challenge while defending himself or his brothers. He could understand the latter one clearly as, one, Lhaklar and his brothers had not been around their father for a very long time and it took time to adjust and two, he had had that issue as well when he had been Lhaklar's age.

His mother, Rertalini Khrelan, had raised him as a single parent until he had reached two thousand, one hundred and ninety-eight years old then she had gone and married Kasdi Bishub who had not given so much as a bat of an eyelash at her former career or of the fact that she had given birth to a child out of marriage. His mother had started working in bars early in her adult years, that had gone swiftly into topless bar stripping and then to the full deal thing where she walked on stage with only a single cloth covering the area between her legs. He had met his father once, he was a man named Rollum Dalser, a truck driver who had been five foot, three inches, tall for a Goblin, and who had a right bad disposition. His mother had slept with the man once and she had gotten pregnant with him right off, due to his mother whoring herself off the man had refused to accept that he was his child and he had walked out on them. She had stripped only as a means to bring in money for his raising, the thrill in dancing purely for show had worn itself off, his mother had grown up after he had been born, responsibility had taken hold on her pretty thick. He had known his mother's job for his entire life and had been fine with it, as long as she stayed safe. Due to his being the only child of hers and due to their needing money all the time, he had taken on the responsibility of bringing money in himself at a young age. At six hundred and twelve years old he had started tossing newspapers out, that had graduated to selling magazines and then that had graduated to his selling produce at a store that had employed him solely because the manager felt sorry for him and his mother.

Kasdi Bishub had met his mother one day when she had been shopping, he had noticed that she had had a long list of things that she was constantly crossing off due to not having enough money to pay for them and he had offered to pay for the things she had on her list. She had said no and that had started their relationship. He and she had dated for a few years then he had moved in then he had asked for her hand in marriage. Due to his being more mature than kids his own age, he had seen Kasdi Bishub, his new stepdaddy, as a threat. He had kept selling produce for a few years then his stepdaddy had told him to stop, he had said that he wouldn't in an elevated voice that had started a fight between he and Kasdi, his stepfather had given him a lecture on when and how to show respect and how not to use an elevated tone of voice when defending himself. The fighting and lecturing had gone on for quite a long time, as had the disciplining, the whippings, the groundings and the nights going without supper, before he had tamed down and had accepted that it was alright to be his age and enjoy being a kid.

Kasdi Bishub and he were cool now, he had two half-siblings thanks to the man courting his mother, two younger sisters, and there were very few fights that happened between he and his stepfather nowadays. Kasdi Bishub had put him through Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic, he had paid his late fees and had encouraged him, and then he had sent him to Staffer's Academy. The thought of him attending Military Academy had crossing his stepfather's mind but, to his quiet, calm and peaceful nature he had decided against it. As he was a Goblin, and as it was in his custom to do, he did act hostile towards ones that he didn't know but he was rather peaceful in nature. He had graduated from Staffer's Academy sixty places from top of his class, he had had a few issues with three of his courses and that had effected his grades and that had caused him several job opportunities.

He had gone home and had applied for work wherever and whenever he could. He worked as a hotel bell hop for five years before quitting then he went and got a job at a food mart, making barely minimal wage. He had quit that job ten years afterwards then he had gotten a job as Tooglib Bazulun's gardener and personal chauffeur. Mr. Bazulun was a good employer but he did have his problems with the man. For one, Tooglib Bazulun was rather fond of the drink and would have him driving him to and from the bars in the nearest town in the wee hours in the morning. For two, Tooglib Bazulun had a way of doing drugs and in ordering him to go get his stuff for him so he'd not be caught with it if he was pulled over if he went and got them himself and then there was also the way he walked around his garden, which he'd always have in tip-top form, and look for things to yell at him about. If one of his flowers or one of his crops looked to be drooping, he'd yell at him. If one of his flowers was at the end of its cycle he'd yell at him for it and say that he had purposely killed his flowers and the same went for his crops. If a bushel of corn or beans couldn't be harvested, he'd find his boss crawling all over his back. It had only been his luck that on the day that he had been canned that Gloar Rovnitov had passed through looking for a gardener.

Gloar Rovnitov lived in the mansion a few miles down the road from his current employer, they had gone to several schools together and were good friends, Mr. Rovnitov had been on the lookout for a gardener for TazirVile Surfeit. Mr. Surfeit had found himself needing three gardeners after he had increased his garden area and had personally lended his hand in helping his hired help in planting his produce and flower crops and, since he was rather busy, he had asked his neighbor to "shop around" for him. Mr. Rovnitov had seen how well kept Tooglib Bazulun's garden had looked and he had asked who the gardener was, his former employer had said that it had been he who had been the gardener and that he thought that the garden looked terrible which was the reason for his giving the boot to him. His former employer had given Mr. Rovnitov his name and address, due to his having a small, one room apartment in a town over fifty miles away Gloar couldn't go over to check him out or give him an interview. He had told Mr. Surfeit what he had found then he had given the man his name and address. Mr. Surfeit had checked his credentials at Staffer's Academy the day after, had noted that he had had some issues in some of his classes and that had near cost him the interview but the man had given him the benefit of the doubt and had driven over to his apartment afterwards.

It had been rather late when the man had arrived, near ten at night and the man had been starving so he had whipped him up something quick to eat and, as the man had eaten his small meal he had done the interview. He had answered the questions as well as he could, some he had loused up on and some he had had no choice but to say he had no clue on. After the interview it had been rather late, he had offered the man his couch for the night and the man had politely turned him down. Mr. Surfeit had left and he had thought that that was it, he had done poorly in the interview and he had done a no-no in offering temporary stay for the night. As it turned out, he had passed the interview and, a week later he had found an envelope from the man in his mail slot saying that he expected him to be at his mansion and working soon afterwards. The man had been too busy to write a formal letter to him, he had arrived at the man's mansion and had gone straight to work. After a week of his employment his new employer had shown him the staff's quarters, he had asked if he could be permitted to live in the apartment that had the number 287 on the door and his new employer had said that he could. He had moved in soon after.

He felt terrible for how he had treated his employer's wife, as was his custom he had acted rather rudely towards her. He had called her a skank, a whore and he had slapped, body slammed and cut into her face with his fingers, his employer had gotten on him for all of that but the woman had acted like it hadn't effected her at all. When he had found out that she was his employer's Universal Wife he had thought nothing of it, he had continued to treat her badly and she, surprisingly, had taken it for a few weeks then, after the fatigue from her pregnancy had started taking a-hold of her, she had started mouthing off to him then breaking down afterwards. She had done that twice, and she had apologized personally twice, after that the meeting had been called up by one of his co-workers, Eldass Zultoa. He and Homsi Modulavich had signed their Loyalty Papers in their own blood, as was custom for them as they were Goblins and for the loyalty to be sealed, it had to be done with the blood of the loyalist, then half of his co-workers had followed suit. He had walked away, saying that there would be a cold day in hell that he'd sign his life to a whore. After two days and nights had passed he had silently written AI in his blood on his Loyalty Papers then he had gone on to do what was needed to be done in the mansion. His wife, Mikia, had given birth just two weeks after his Mistress had been captured so he had trimmed himself up quickly. After Young Master Lhaklar had been born he had fully turned from treating Angel Irene poorly to acting in the correct, respectful, fashion with her. He was glad that she was back after being missing for so long and he was thrilled in seeing that she had been able to keep alive and raise four boys for one thousand, six hundred years. Losal caught himself, yet again, glancing out the door of the employee lounge when he heard one of the boys coming down the hallway. The two older boys were rather adventuresome and curious, the two younger boys were getting there but they were still acting rather clingy with their mother. He was surprised when he saw that it was not one, but all of his employer's sons coming down the hallway and right in front of them, looking rather tired, was their mother.

"Ma, where are we going?" Lazeer asked.

"You'll know when we get there." Angel replied.

"Dad's been rather quiet and mystique since he got back," Lhaklar said. "possibly he asked for all of us to be brought downstairs for something or another that he wants us to see."

"More articles to read?" Hazaar groaned. "My eyes have grown allergic to newsprint... and to the news on tv as well."

"Doubt it, honey." Angel said. "We've read all the articles and we've watched all the broadcasts. Can't be that."

"Do you know?" Hazaar asked. "Momma, do you?"

"I might have an inkling to what we have been called down for." Angel replied.

"What is it?" Hazaar asked.

"Mom's being as mysterious as our old man." Lhaklar chuckled.

That only upped his curiosity, he had been trying to get his mother to tell him what his father was up to as his father had said not a word after he had returned after eight that morning, his father had simply gone up to his office, had worked then he had been going in and out of his mansion. Their mother was tired, they didn't need to be told this as they could see and feel how tired she was, the six days that their father had been away had not been easy on her. Besides having to give the daily order to the Goblins on what they were to do and somewhat oversee what they were doing to be sure that they were doing as she had asked of them to do correctly, she was also having them to look after and also their sister who had been acting out quite a lot. Eshal had tried to pressure their father into taking her along with him the morning where he shoved off, she would plain not leave the man be and that had gotten her quite a bit of reprimanding. Soon after their father had gone off their sister had gone up to the third level and had locked herself in her chamber, she had flat-out refused to come out unless they were off of the level. Their mother had had to go get her three times, as they knew her very well they all knew that when their mother was being enforcing she could be rather... well, forceful. Eshal had been expelled from her chamber, had walked around and then she had attached herself to the Goblins. He and his brothers had an idea on why she was acting so weird, he and his brothers had a feeling that she was afraid of them. For whatever reason the fear was for, it was all in the wrong areas as none of them would harm her. Maybe a sibling verbal fight but nothing over that, she was a girl, she was their sister, she wouldn't be able to last in a physical fight with one of them.

Their mother had waited until all the Goblins had left and when all of them were in their chambers, bedded down for the night, before she went to Earth to pick up some things for them. The Playboy and Hustler magazines for December had been found in Hazaar's and Bile's chambers and Bile had found the December issues of Deer and Deer Hunting, Hunting and WhiteTail and Knives Illustrated in his chamber. Lhaklar had found the December issue of Field and Stream, In-Fisherman, Sport Fishing, Fly Fishin' and Bassin' in his chamber. They had all been very happy over getting the issues to the magazines that they had thought they'd not ever see or be able to read again and then Hazaar and Lhaklar had gotten a further surprise. Their mother had gone and done a restock on their cigarettes. Hazaar got three packs of Kamel's Real Smooth Taste and Lhaklar had gotten four packs of his Netherlands Black Devil's. They had all thanked her and, naturally, they had hid everything that she had generously gotten for them so they'd not be caught or questioned on where they had gotten them. Bile had gotten a further surprise on the morning after, he had woke up to find a brand new, shiny knife at the foot of his bed that had a sabre-like blade and a hilt that was silver and was shaped like a dragon, the case that the knife had been housed in was also shaped like a dragon. He had put that on his bookshelf then he had gone and grabbed their mother up in one of his special morning hugs where their mother would literally be lifted clean off of the floor. Naturally, their mother had said she had no idea what he was talking about when he had thanked her for the knife then she had said for everyone to sit and eat breakfast.

He had been slowly slipping into his usual depression, the storm had passed and the sun had come out to both warm and dry the land and he knew that, one day, his father would have them exploring the back yard, with the front yard following soon after. That wouldn't go very well for him since he couldn't go out when the sun was out, if he did he'd have to deal with the pain that the sun had created after it had blazed its rays into his unprotected, photo sensitive eye. His mother must have known this, and she must have known about his liking boats, because he had found three models near the desk in his chamber of boats. He had put the Chris Craft model together in one full day, it had come with two wooden parts, a leather-made interior and the kit had come with three flags to add onto the stern. The Maine Lobster boat he had put together within two days, half of his model was wooden and he had given it a good coating of hi-gloss paint to make that part shine brightly while the rest had been plastic. He had painted the plastic parts red and light brown and the kit had come with a driver and some fishing gear. The third boat had been a model of a pirate vessel called the Queens Ann Revenge, he had not yet finished that model and, since it was all wood, he was painting it all black. The model kit had come with black sails, two that had dark red skull and cross-bones on them, and the kit had also come with a crew, rum containers, canons, blunderbusses and other guns and a large treasure chest. His father had seen the three models, he hadn't said a thing on them but he had seen the question of where they had come from cross over his face once afterwards. He had thought that his just-built models would be confiscated soon after his father had laid eye on them but, surprisingly, they had not been touched. His father had seen them, stared at them for thirty seconds then he had turned and walked out his room.

Lhaklar hadn't been left out in getting something extra to pass the time away, their mother had gone and gotten him three car models as well. He had built the Cadillac Coupe De Vil, a car that had been built and put into production in 1949, in one full day, on the second day he had painted it burgundy and then he had added the leather top that was the convertible part. Afterwards he had done the model of the 1940 Buick Roadmaster Convertible Phaeton, a car that had been built and put in production in 1940. He had painted that model dark blue and he had made it so the leather top could both be raised and kept up on the car. The car that he had finished the night before their father had returned had done the third model, which had been the Ford Tudor Coupe, a car built and put in production in 1940. Their father had walked into each of their chambers after he had come home, had checked things over, then he had left. Why he had done so was beyond them, they guessed that he was simply checking to see if they had smoked while he had been absent or, possibly, he was just looking for things to confiscate. Bile had thought that he'd take his new dragon knife but all the man had done was walk up to it, look it over inquisitively then walk away.

Their mother had looked around for things for Eshal as well, although not on Earth, she had gone and done a side-trip to one of the stores on the planet that they were on to look for something that their sister would like. Apparently, their sister was one who liked making dolls so their mother had bought her a doll kit and, since their sister was very interested in cooking and in watching their mother cook, their mother had gotten her a cook book on the foods that she had been making for years for them. Eshal had accepted the two items quickly, she had thanked their mother and then she had stood around for a short while before taking off to stand by one of the Goblins. Bile claimed that when their father had returned that their sister had sang like a canary on what had been going on during his absence, he had overheard Eshal blurt it all out on what their mother had gotten them and about the two items that she had also gotten for her. Quite possibly, their father was just up in their chambers to see if what all he had been told was true, they had no idea. Their mother had said for them to not think anything on their sister blurting out what had been going on at home during the head of the household had been away, she had said for them to just go by their usual. Thankfully, Hazaar and Lhaklar both had done the spell to hide their new cigarette packs and each and every magazine had been well hidden behind the books on the bookshelves that were in their chambers. The only things new that their father had seen were the models and Bile's knife, all of which were plain innocent items. They had all been wondering if they had done something wrong over the six days that their father had not been home and their mother, as always, she had good vision on her, she could see any and all questions that they were wondering, had said that they had done nothing wrong.

"Mistress," Eldass said after Angel and her sons had finished their descent down the stairs that went down the left side of the foyer.

"Hello Eldass." Angel said.

"Master Tazir says for me to lead you and the boys to the back door." Eldass said.

"How nice, we're being kicked out the back door." Lazeer couldn't keep it in, it just popped out and he had no control over it. Eldass looked at him, smiled then began leading the way to the back door.

"Young Master Lazeer has one fine sense of humor." Eldass said.

"I have no idea where he gets it," Angel said. "definitely not from me."

For some reason, he was overcome with his depression and couldn't squeeze out another joke the entire way to the back door. His depression seemed to make him look down at the floor, he couldn't lift his head and look around at his surroundings and he could barely keep his eyes open. He became like a robot, Bile was behind him, he was the last one in the line, and Hazaar was in front of him. Although he could have dropped back behind his oldest brother or could clip Hazaar's heels he didn't, his depressed mind kept him going forward in a robot-like fashion that was polite. When anyone spoke, it became an echo to him and he sort of was pulled into himself, he was sort of pulled into his former, cheery self. When the Goblin that was leading him and his family to the back door stopped he put the brakes on. He was near shocked out of his depression-brought-on robotic way when a white light showered on him. Lazeer pulled back in shock, he blinked his eyes rapidly then he tried to turn around. Bile grabbed him by his arm then, with a shove, pushed him out the door.

The shove he had done was merely to get his younger brother to walk forward, after he had exited the mansion he saw the extreme error in his making his brother go outside. The sun, a bright, white disc that sent down white rays, was blazing above in a blue sky that had purple clouds drifting about. The porch that he had stepped onto would offer his brother some cover, his brother would be protected by the overhanding roof, there was a lattice fence around the lower section of the back porch, the upper part was open to the air and elements. The porch was painted dark brown, there were three, white wire chairs that had high backs on them and there was a path of white stones that led away from the porch steps. Bile moved his youngest brother behind him, he acted as a sort of shield for Lazeer. The Goblin walked down the steps of the back porch then stood silent, they had all been wondering where their father was and they found out right then and there. Their father, TazirVile Lajoshu Surfeit, walked out from the stable that was nearby, he walked right over to them.

"My love, if you'll come over and stand by me." TazirVile said. Angel looked behind her, did a quick head count then slowly did as her Universal Husband had asked her to do.

"No reporters around?" she asked quickly.

"I have Goblins stationed all around the back, no reporter will get in to disturb the boys." TazirVile said, he then clapped his hands together loudly. "Alright, all four of you are free to explore the back. Just the back, not the front."

Lhaklar was the one who decided to do as his father had told him to do first, as he saw it, this outing was no different than the ones where their mother had locked the apartment after all of them had exited it in order to get Lazeer outside. He walked down the four steps slowly, glanced around then headed off towards the stable. Hazaar trailed his hand along the railing as he descended the stairs then he went towards the rocky beach while Bile stayed behind. Bile saw Eshal picking flowers and the flower petals that fell off from the trees, she seemed to be looked behind him and saw that Lazeer had moved off, he was standing by one of the railing that held up the overhanging roof, the look of depression was thick on his face and Bile understood it very well. He, Lhaklar and Hazaar could walk out freely in the glare of the sun. He, Lhaklar and Hazaar could do anything that they could think of during the day because neither of them had inherited any eye ailments, Lazeer would have to wait until the sun either went behind one of the purple clouds to do some exploring or he'd have to suck up his depression and wait until one of them cloud overcast days came about to quench his curiosity about the back yard. Bile went down the four steps then he headed in the direction that Hazaar had gone in, Lazeer near burst into tears when his oldest brother walked off, leaving him all by his lonesome.

"Please tell me that you haven't made it so that door locks after one walks out." Angel said, seeing her child looking so depressed made her hurt all over.

"Course not," TazirVile said, he then walked over to the back porch. "come on down, son."

"Tazir, don't-..." Angel said, her son had backed away from the railing that he had been standing by. He had shook his head no.

"Lazeer, there is nothing out here that is going to hurt you." TazirVile walked up the four steps, he stood just four feet away from his thirdborn son. "Go on and explore."

"Lazeer, go inside." Angel said, Lazeer looked at her then took off for the door. He had just barely got himself back into the mansion before he felt his father's hand wrap around his arm.

He didn't go but so far in the stable before twisting his body around then racing out, just hearing his mother yelling and screaming her head off was enough to get his attention. He had not really looked at anything in the stable, he had just walked in then he had waited for the signal to return. The horses that were in the stable had all stuck their heads over their stalls and had begged him for pets but he had paid no attention to them and he wasn't now as all the horses tore their heads back into their stalls and began making up a ruckus with their snorts and high-pitched whinnies. Once he was out of the stable he ran a short way towards the back porch where he knew his youngest brother was still at, when heh ad gone halfway there he put the brakes on. His father was pressed up against one of the posts that held the overhanging roof up and his mother was giving the man an earful on not grabbing a child of theirs in a harmful manner or in making one of their children do something that could be harmful to his health. Just by hearing his mother say that latter he knew what had happened to spark the protective instinct to come fully out. His father had obviously tried to force his younger brother out from under the overhanging roof to explore the back yard without realizing that Lazeer had a photo sensitive eye. Eldass, the Goblin who had led him and his brothers and their mother out of the house to the back yard, stood back a bit, his eyes were fully on their mother. Lhaklar slowly strolled over to the Goblin, when he got up alongside the man he noticed that Eldass was rather tense.

"Never seen Mistress Angel behave in such a manner before." the Goblin said absently. "Very terrifying."

"Not suppose to look beautiful all the time, when she gets into that protective groove she does get rather terrifying." Lhaklar said.

"Keeps saying something about Young Master Lazeer's eye-..."

"He has PSE in his left eye," Lhaklar replied, Eldass blinked his eyes then turned and finally saw who he was speaking to. He began listening carefully. "his condition is only mild-severe, but it's enough to cause him considerable pain if he goes out when the sun is out."

"Does your father know this?" Eldass asked.

"We told him on the ship."

"Quite possibly he plain forgot." Eldass said. "He's a sentient being, like you and me, sir. He forgets things just the same as you and I do."

"Tell that to my mother." Lhaklar said, he then walked up the back porch steps, tip-toed by his mother then he pushed Lazeer through the open door into the mansion.

He considered going back, he considered turning around and leading Hazaar back to where the back porch was but he decided that if the fight was centered around just their mother and father then he and his brother were fine, they had not been given the shout-out to come back, if they had heard their mother yelling for them to return they would have turned on their heels then run back without so much as a groan made between them or a oh man, why now, if their mother had called for them, they would have returned and had done as she had told them. Bile had just to hear the words _push_, _harm_ and _his eye_ to know what had happened, his adopted father had tried to force Lazeer to exit the safety of the back porch with its covering without thinking about his photo sensitive eye. Bile could just imagine what Eshal was thinking at that point in time, surely she was looking up in shock and would probably want nothing to do with their mother afterwards for a few days. The sick thought of good, more for us, ran through his head before he threw it aside. He had caught up to Hazaar, he had gone to the very edge of the rocky shore then he had turned. He was leading him to the concrete building that had a sliding steel door on the front.

There were Goblins standing at odd places along the rocky beach, obviously they had been put there to keep any reporter who dared to run up to question them or snap their picture at bay. Hazaar walked by each Goblin without batting an eyelash, when he reached the building he grabbed the wrought iron door handle. He pulled the door to the side and, surprisingly, it wasn't locked. The door slid open and Bile saw, to his complete disbelief, Hazaar disappear into the darkness that was inside the building. Not wanting to be left out in the cold, Bile stepped into the building. Before he could light the palm of his hand aflame to give him and his younger brother some light to see what was in the building, a long section of floodlights that had been built in the ceiling turned on.

"What the hell is this place?" Hazaar breathed.

"Good question, there looks to be a stall up ahead of us but after that I see nothing." Bile replied.

The corridor that ran down from the sliding steel door was long, there were several openings in several places and, oddly, there was a sliding steel door that had bars on it that belonged to a small stall that was completely steel in design. What that was used for, they had no idea, but as soon as the floodlights came on they heard the baying and howling. The baying was loud while the howling was long and low, it was the latter that made both go cold with fear. The movies that had depicted werewolves had done so with the animals making such long, sadly overdone, low howling, the werewolves in the movies had also yipped, barked and snarled as well, although they didn't hear them sounds they heard plenty of baying and howling. Hazaar was thinking that his father had gone and captured a poor animal to torture and that the animal was only calling out for help while Bile thought that the animals that was baying and howling were a back of experimented on canines that were only calling out for dinner. It took Bile a full minute before he remembered that his adopted father had a pack of hunting canines that made them exact same sounds, when he remembered the animals he near burst out laughing.

"Brother, I think we both watch too many horror movies," Bile said. "we're getting all worked up over the old man's hunting dogs."

"Huh?"

"Follow me,"

He led his brother to the far back of the building then he went down a long set of steps that had been stone-made. When he finally got down to the level that he was heading to he reached over and slapped the switch that was big and red, the second level of the building became engulfed in red and white light and the animals that had been baying and howling came into view. Hazaar bumped into his older brother when he got down to the second level then he walked around him, he stopped in his tracks when he saw the dogs that were in the large kennels that had thick steel bars on them along with chain link fencing and welded wire that was on and five eight inch tubing. There were big dog bowls in each kennel, it seemed that the beasts that were inside the kennels also had large dog houses in their kennels as well. When one of the beasts lunged at its kennel Hazaar saw that each and every kennel had an electric charge on it, a series of loud, bright yellow sparks flew off and the beast walked off, as if it had been offended at being shocked.

"His pack of MoHunds has only gotten five extras since our leaving here one thousand, six hundred years ago." Bile said after he had done a quick count on the animals that were in each kennel.

"Mo-whats?" Hazaar asked.

"MoHunds, it's a breed of hunting dog that is native to this planet." Bile explained. "Very fast, very determined and known to be one hell of a good hunting dog."

"How many does he have?" Hazaar asked.

"Counted eighteen," Bile said. "from the looks of these, these are the males. I think the old man has all the females in another area."

"I'd hate to know what the females look like," Hazaar said. "these things are hideous!"

The beasts, MoHunds or whatever his brother decided to call them, that were in the kennels had long limbs and were nearly hairless. They really did remind him of werewolves, each animal had four foot long hind legs with the front legs being nearly that long and each animal was gray in color. What hair the beasts had was black and greasy, the hair was either on the haunches or on the animals shoulders. When Hazaar looked at the feet of the beast nearest him he saw that the animals had human-like fingers on each paw but, unlike a human's, each animal had long, sharp and curving claws that were on each paw. The animals eyes were yellow and, when the animal nearest him opened its mouth in a yawn, they had sharp, werewolf-like teeth that were yellow. The canines were either not very smart or they didn't give a damn over being shocked by the electric charged kennel, several kept jumping at the sides of their kennels then falling back after getting zapped.

"Can we get out of here?" Hazaar asked in a weak voice. "I don't want to be in this building anymore."

"Why're you asking me? Go up the stairs, they're right behind you." Bile said. "By the way, this building sort of doubles as Mohund Breeding Central. That stall that we saw up above us, that is where the old man releases the male and female MoHund to do their business."

"Please reframe from telling me more." Hazaar grimaced.

"Oh now, come on. It is rather educational." Bile said, he decided to gross his brother out. "The male grabs the female, shakes her around a few times then drops her, when she is on her ba-..."

"Stop!" Hazaar yelled. "Please, stop. No more!"

"When she is on her back he mounts her," Bile went on. "he and she fight while they mate, quite a lot of blood is spilled from both animals and then the male gets off. The old man then comes in with a leash to get the male."

"You're disgusting!" Hazaar exclaimed, he placed his hands on either side of his head. "I can't hear anymore. I can't hear you anymore."

"The female gives birth three months later to three pups who eat her afterwards." Bile lied, he knew that the MoHund gave birth to three pups after three months. His father separated the mother from her pups after three months had passed then, after two more months had passed by he would separate the males from the females.

They figured that the fighting between their father and mother had stopped and everything had gone back to being peaceful again when they exited the building that housed the MoHunds. Hazaar slid the door back into place then he turned around, he had just taken notice at the Goblins, who had all moved closer to the building that he and his brother had just come out from, when he saw the vessel flying in towards shore. Had Lazeer of been out with them he would probably of known what the boat was, all Hazaar knew was that the boat was streamlined and a dark silver color with a stripe that was white on the sides. The boat zoomed towards shore then it made a turn, the Goblins that were milling around outside of the building that he and his brother had just exited from turned then, after seeing the camera that was panned in on him and Bile, ran over at them. Hazaar's breath caught in his throat, had he of had pupils they would have grown tiny. Just seeing the Goblins rushing in on him and his brother set shock waves throughout his body, he sort of blacked out after seeing the Goblins running towards him and his brother. When he regained control of his facilities he saw that he was in his chamber, it took him a short while longer before noticing that he was lying on his bed.

He paced back and forth in his office in a sort of panic, he had had no idea that a reporter would dare come in from the ocean to snap photographs of his children as they explored the back yard and he had had no idea that Hazaar would freeze completely up afterwards. Olok and Kalach had carried his secondborn son into view then he had taken over, he had ran over and had grabbed Hazaar up from his two employees then he had rushed inside his mansion. Angel was frantic, as if the fight that they had had earlier wasn't bad enough for her stress levels, now she had to also worry about what the reporters would be saying on seeing Bile and Hazaar outside for the first time. He had completely forgotten about Lazeer's photo sensitive eye and he felt like a damn fool for it, his wife had gotten on him quite a lot for his blindly trying to harm their son and he had accepted each and every harsh word that she had said to him. He hadn't been trying to harm Lazeer, he had just been trying to get his son down from the porch to explore a little. After the reporter snapping photographs of Bile and Hazaar and his and his wife's fight over his grabbing Lazeer to make him become exposed to the sun he was sure that the settling in and trust that he had built up in his wife and sons been nearly, completely, undone.

Eshal was in a fit, she had seen Angel fighting with him over Lazeer as her mother's way of picking favorites and she had also gotten a fear that his wife was a danger to him. In the two hours after the fight and the surprise reporters and in his having to take Hazaar up to his chamber he had sat Eshal down and had explained things as clearly as he could to her. He had done his best in telling his daughter, his only daughter, that what had happened was a normal, natural thing that her mother had done. Angel had purely acted on her instinct to protect her child, a child he had sired and a child that he had near hurt by making him and his photo sensitive eye become exposed to the sun. Eshal had not listened, she claimed that she now wanted nothing to do with any of them and that had included the woman who had adopted her as her daughter. The good father had fallen at just that moment, he had reprimanded his daughter, had told her that she had no idea what she was talking about and that she was letting fear take her over. He had sent Eshal up to her chamber, a few hours to herself he hoped would make her come around.

He had been told about the doll making kit and cook book that his wife had gotten for his daughter, Eshal had told him about them and she had put a bug in his ear about a big, sharp, shiny thing that was on Bile's bookshelf. He had been curious and had gone up to investigate, sure enough, his adopted son had a new knife, one he had surely not gotten for him, up on his bookshelf. He had gone through all of their chambers and had noticed the new things, the models and he had looked through the bookshelves, curiosity having gripped him to see if there was anything hidden. When he had seen the magazines stuffed behind the books, magazines only one on Earth could get and read, he had put two and two together. His wife had gone to Earth for a few things for the boys and then she had gone to get Eshal something as well, he was alright with this, it only told him that his wife could be trusted. She could well of teleported out of his mansion with the boys, forcing him into another search for them but she hadn't. She had gone to Earth, gotten a few things for everyone then had returned. With Lazeer having boat models in his chamber he now had the idea that his youngest son had a thing for boats, that was good to know.

Lhaklar liked to fish and he had a thing for old model cars. Bile had a thing for magazines and knives. Hazaar had a thing for model trains, ships and magazines and Lazeer had a thing for model prehistoric animals, planes and boats. This was all good to know, he had an idea now of what interests his sons were into, what interested them, what didn't and what they liked to build. Lazeer had gone up to his chamber soon after Lhaklar had taken him inside, as far as he knew his youngest son was still there. Lhaklar had gone to the in-house library then he had gone straight up to his chamber with three large books, another good thing to know, his firstborn son still liked to read, and Bile had gone to the gym for a few minutes after the reporters had showed their faces then he had gone straight up to his chamber. His wife was going between Hazaar, she was frantic with worry that he'd not wake up, and she was also going from Bile's chamber to Lhaklar's and then to Lazeer's. He hoped that she'd calm down, she was worried and her worry was in the correct area, she was worried about their sons well-beings. He had turned his phone landline back on just twenty minutes before, he figured it was time to start having things go back to normal and what way wasn't the correct way except in turning the phone lines back on? TazirVile walked over to his desk, sat down then pressed a button that was underneath the surface that was on the desks right side. A portion of the right side of his stone desk dropped then flipped over, without hesitation he grabbed the headset of the gold telephone then he began to dial the number for the Ubalki residence on the rotary dial.

"Hello, you've reached the Ubalki residence how might I help you?" the voice was unmistakable, it had been his younger sister, Qeeta, who had answered the phone.

"You really need to think about applying for a job in being a secretary, sis." TazirVile said.

"Tazzy!" QeetaVile exclaimed. "How in the world are you? Been two weeks since-..."

"I have been very busy these past two weeks, sis." TazirVile said. "Is mother around? I need to speak to her."

"Mom!" TazirVile had to hold the phone away from his ear, his sister was screaming out for their mother.

"Tazir, was wondering if we'd ever hear from you again." Ashaklar Zoopray, his and his sister's own, true-blue mother, said after taking the phone from her youngest child from her first marriage. "What's going on?"

"I do believe that I'll be paying you fine people a visit in a few days," TazirVile said. "L-..."

"Paying us a visit? How have things been with the boys? With Angel?"

"Going slow but that's good, don't want things to go but so fast here." TazirVile replied. "Me and my wife have had a few fights over the boys, normal things. The recent one is why I'll be coming over to pay you and yours a visit."

"What happened, you tell me now and you leave not a detail out."

He had told all that he could tell to his mother, giving her the near full truth of what was happening under his roof. The only part that he left out was how Eshal was acting, he felt that that wasn't totally needed to be told as he felt that he could take care of it. After he had told his mother what had been going on under his roof he told her that there was a fifty percent chance that he, Angel and Lazeer would swing by _the old farm_, as he called his mother's and stepfather's residence, for a quick visit after he had gotten his son his goggled glass and, also, to personally deliver them the invitation to come over to his place for an extended visit. His mother had said for him to not concern himself over visiting them and to plain send the invitation through the mail. His mother said that they were looking forward to seeing him, Eshal, Angel and the boys before she hung up the phone. Right after he made the phone swing down to its hidden place within his desk, TazirVile stood up, straightened his dark gray tie then left his office. He went down to the kitchen to start making supper for everyone, soon after he entered his kitchen he was jumped on by his daughter who claimed she wanted to be around someone that she could trust.

"I feel like it was a big mistake to bring them here." Eshal said. "Even to find them, daddy. They all give off a bad vibe."

"Eshie, you're running scared for no reason at all. You got scared because your mother got defensive over your younger brother when I tried to get him-..."

"To go out and explore, I know. You told me." Eshal said. "I do think she was lying about his eye, though. I don't think he has any ailment in his eye."

"He does, Eshal. He does act-..."

"How can you be sure of that, though? He could have faked screaming and acting like his eye hurt him." Eshal said. "I think she's only got them on her mind and in her heart, she's forgotten all about the love she had for us two."

"Eshal, I'm only going to tell you this once more." he was sick of hearing all of this, his daughter was talking bad things of her adoptive mother and her brothers that were far from the truth. "Your mother has her instincts wrapped around you and your brothers. She acts according to you kids, she loves all of us dearly and that includes me. When time comes around for her to defend you kids, I get placed as the seventh in the line as it should be but that doesn't mean that she doesn't love me. When you're a parent, your kids govern your every action."

"It shouldn't be that way!" Eshal exclaimed, she then stood up and stormed out of the kitchen.

He decided to make a large serving of spaghetti, a basket of italian bread and then he had had the idea to make garlic bread as well so he had made that as well then he had made Calzone, a folded over dough that he had filled with whey cheese and other ingredients to spice up the dish, Cacciucco, a fish stew that he had made from the leftovers from what all had been left over from the meal that his wife had made six days before, and lobster. He had added several rolls of Salami and Mozzeralla to his prepped supper after thinking it over then he had walked over to the call buttons that were right underneath the light switch. He pressed the buttons for his sons' rooms then he started taking the dishes and trays to the dining room. His daughter was already there, already in her place, and soon after he had placed the last tray his wife, with all four of his sons following behind her, walked into the room. Bile and Lhaklar sat down quickly with Hazaar and Lazeer following behind them, Angel walked over to Tazir and gave him a hug and a kiss before sitting down in the chair that was on his right side.

"I do apologize for earlier, I shouldn't have jumped all over you like that." Angel said after she had filled her plate with the food that her Universal Husband had made. "I should have just reminded you instead of jumping all over your case."

"Don't think or worry of it any further, my love." TazirVile replied. "You was acting on instinct to protect our child. I should have remembered that he has the ailment in one of his eyes."

"Is Eshie alright?" Angel asked after she had noticed that Eshal hadn't touched the food she had put on her plate. "I hope I didn't frighten her."

"She's a bit unsettled, doing my best to explain why you reacted the way you did earlier and, of course, I am doing my best to explain that our sons are not a danger to her." TazirVile replied. "She is a teenager and, thus, she isn't taking in what I'm saying fully."

"You don't have to be afraid of Bile, Lhaklar, Hazaar or Lazeer, Eshal." Angel said. "They can be unruly at times, yes. They are boys, after all, they're going to rough house and pick fights with one another, its the nature of a male to be unruly. They won't hurt you any, though."

"Not me I'm worried about." Eshal lied.

"Eshal, what your mother just told you is one hundred percent true." TazirVile said. "Boys are much more unruly than girls, they fight among themselves along with dealing out their rough housing and joke-minds on themselves while, when they are around girls, they tame down. Surely you know this. You've seen how me and my neighbor, Gloar, act around each other."

"You're men, not boys." Eshal said.

"Doesn't matter," TazirVile said. "adult or not, a male will act according to his sex around his own gender."

"It's true, sis." Bile spoke up. "Ma ain't ever seen or heard me acting male around her any and I can vouch for my brothers that she hasn't seen any male activities from them."

"Well... except for Lazeer." Hazaar said. "And that's only when he gets in one of his overly joke making moods."

After his daughter continued to not accept the fact that her mother and brothers were not a threat to her or to him he had everyone go silent at the table for a short while. Everyone ate in silence for five minutes, Lhaklar grabbed a lobster, as did his mother, and then Hazaar reached over for another helping of spaghetti. TazirVile noticed how depressed his thirdborn son seemed, Lazeer looked as if he was only toying with his food instead of eating it. After five minutes had passed he began asking a few questions on Lazeer's liking of boats and why the space ship models that had been placed in Hazaar's chamber had been moved to Lazeer's room during his absence. According to his wife, she had noticed their son watching programs on Earth that had nothing but boats on them for twenty years now and had figured that he had gotten a liking to the water vessels which had turned to be correct. And Hazaar spoke up for himself on the removal of the space ship models that had been placed in his chamber. Lazeer was the one that liked space ships, he had accidentally given his secondborn son his thirdborn son's models. After his wife told him this he went into a sort of embarrassed silence for a short while, he ate his supper in quiet, took a drink from his wine glass then he leaned forward to suggest what he wanted to do in the next day or two.

"So, how soon do you think he'd like to go get his glass?"

"Pardon?" Angel looked up then at him questioningly.

"I'd like for him to get his goggled glass," TazirVile said. "I can easily pay for it and for three replacements shall he need them. When do you think it appropriate for him to get his glass?"

"As soon as we know what that reporter intends to do with that ph-..."

"Tomorrow!"

"Hot damn, can you try any harder to make me go deaf!" Hazaar exclaimed, he tapped the right side of his head three times then he shook his head.

He was willing to take his wife and son to Zeta Ren, or wherever they wanted to go to get the goggled glass made, but his wife was very adamant about everyone sticking inside until it was known what the reporter who had snapped a photograph of Bile and Hazaar was going to do with the photograph and, of course, she also wanted to let any media attention that would be done on the sighting of her sons being outside die down before she and her son left Moas to get the goggled glass. Lazeer fought vocally with her, he said that he didn't care who all saw him or who snapped a photograph of him as long as he got the glass that would allow him to be outside in full range of the rays of the sun. After a few minutes of back and forth bickering, Angel sent her son upstairs, he was grounded for the night for fighting her. Tazir had stayed quiet throughout the fighting, he felt like he had betrayed his son by not joining him in getting his mother to say yes on getting his glass the next day but he did remind himself that if that reporter did sell his photograph to a news station or if that photograph was posted in the newspaper the next day then he and his wife and their child would have a problem as, surely, reporters would be keeping an eye out for them in other planets of the universe not to mention, and he was very sure of this, Zeta Ren had been swarmed with reporters the last few weeks. Zeta Ren was where his wife and the Reezal-Boy-who-turned-out-to-be-Lazeer had been sighted after one thousand, six hundred years of being missing. Tazir made a note to bring his son up a few of the dessert items that he had made for that nights dessert.

He had made several desserts, the one that he had been very careful in making had been the Frankfurter Kranz. He had grabbed the cook book that his wife had given Eshal and had scanned through it, simply browsing, looking for something that looked appealing to him and that he figured the family would like having for dessert. When he had turned to the middle of the book he had found the Frankfurter Kranz cake, an oddly named cake that looked rather good in the one image that had been in the book. He had started making the cake by baking a firm sponge cake, a cake based on flour, sugar and eggs that was sometimes leavened with baking soda, in a ring-shaped baking tin. After the sponge cake had been made he had taken it out from the oven, he had sliced the ring-shaped sponge cake horizontally into three layers. He had added butter-cream icing between each layer along with a layer of red jelly made from strawberries and then he had added a thick coating of butter-cream icing all on the outside of the cake. He had also made a Boston Cream pie and a Chiffon cake, a cake made with vegetable oil, eggs, sugar, flour and baking powder and flavorings. His family ate in silence then left quickly, he gathered the trays and took them all to the kitchen. He cut two slices of the Boston Cream pie and a slice of Chiffon cake for Lazeer and then he cut a large slice from the Frankfurter Kranza cake, he put all of the dessert slices on a clean tray then he put a lid on the tray before going to clean the dishes. After he cleaned the dishes he grabbed the tray that had the slices of desserts on it and went straight up to the third level. He knocked on Lazeer's chamber's door then, after his son yelled out the word what he opened the door then slid the tray in. Grounded for the rest of the night, well possibly them slices of dessert items would make the night go by a little faster. TazirVile went straight to his own chamber after he had slid the tray with the dessert items on it to his son and started getting ready for bed, it was near 11:30 at night and he had had a very hard day. As he slid into his bed he wished that he had the warm body of his wife lying beside him, since her return to his mansion she had stayed upstairs with the boys. She had started out sleeping at the foot on one of the boys' beds in her fiery dog-form, now she was sleeping in one of the vacant chambers on the third floor. As his head landed on the pillow that was on his side of the bed, a bed that he had slept on alone for one thousand, six hundred years, he felt the pain of missing his wife grip him. She was home, yes, but she wasn't settled down yet. TazirVile rolled over to his left side then he pulled the sheets and blankets over his head, he fell asleep soon after and encountered a series of rather good dreams that made him fire off the white wiggles that were the other half in creating a baby. When he woke up the morning after he found himself needing his bedding to be cleaned and, since he knew that his mattress was saturated with his juices, he got one of his Goblins to put a new mattress, a king sized mattress, on his frame.


	10. Chapter 10

He knew something was up, had it of been one of them normal days he would have slept until his B-17 Jet Aircraft Military alarm clock would have beeped at seven. He felt the hand shake him awake first then he saw the time on the alarm clock that was on his black bed side table. 5:30 am? Who in the world would dare wake him at this hour in the morning? He had fallen asleep at eleven, he was sans one hour from a full night's sleep of eight. Lazeer sat upright slowly after seeing what time it was then he pulled his hands up to rub the sleep out from his eyes. This was the hour that adults would wake up when their work schedule was around the time he would actually get up, this was the hour where an adult got up, showered, ate his or her breakfast, maybe read the paper then grabbed the keys to whatever car they drove to go to their place of work. This wasn't the hour that one his age would wake up at. Maybe if one his age was still going to school, he or she would be up thirty minutes later, but 5:30 am was just not the usual time for getting up for beings that were his age. After Lazeer rubbed the sleep out from his eyes he looked around, he received a shock when he saw that it had been his own father who had woken him up at 5:30 am.

"Get up and get dressed quickly." he heard his father said.

"Why?" he asked weakly.

"Don't ask questions, son. Just do as I say and quick."

His father turned on his light and he saw for the first time that morning the new items that his mother had gone to Earth to get for him in the four days after Bile and Hazaar had been caught on camera by the reporters when they had been exploring the building that was near the beach. The four days after the reporters had snapped their damn photographs of his brothers had been somewhat hellish, but he had done his best to lighten up the mood by doing his jokes and by acting funny. When the reporters had rushed in on their speedboats and had started crowding around the beach that was a part of his father's property he father had gone out to deal with them. He had been nice on that first outing, he had simply told all of the reporters to leave his property. When they hadn't he had threatened to call up the law and get each and every one of them arrested and when that had not worked he had yelled out that he was going to take each and every one of them to court for harassment and trespassing charges.

The latter had worked somewhat, Lazeer had seen half of the reporters leave while the rest of them brave souls had simply gone and gotten into their boats. The braver reporters had gotten their cameramen to drive the boats that they were on out to about five feet from the shore then put the motors on idle. When his father had seen that half of the reporters that had once been on his property had moved he had been somewhat pleased, he had gone back inside and had stayed inside for a short while before leaving. Them brave reporters had been in the same place that they had been before, just riding the waves of the ocean, staying five feet from his land. That had struck a serious nerve with his father, the man had come right back in and had gone straight to a room of his that was near the back door for a long gun then he had rushed out and had threatened that if each and every one of the remaining reporters to didn't leave the area adjacent his property that there was going to be issues. One look was all them brave souls had needed to know that the man was serious, each reporter had gotten their cameramen drivers to drive away from his father's mansion.

Hazaar had said later, after their father had come back inside and he had personally seen the gun, that the gun looked like one of them Jezail's, a rifle that had been reverse engineered from a western firearm by the Afghans after the invasion of Britain. The stocks, barrels and other simple compartments had been made on Earth by hand and were very beautifully decorated. He and his brothers had taken what Hazaar had said for granted, Hazaar had watched several programs on guns while on Earth over the past few hundred years, he knew quite a lot about guns. Their father's rifle had a rather beautiful design around the barrel, stock and butt, Hazaar had called the design a nacre, they had, again, taken him for granted on that as well.

Their mother had gone to Earth to do some shopping for them so that they'd all have something to do in the days after the reporter had snapped Bile's and Hazaar's photographs. She had gotten him a resin model kit of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, which he had done in one full day and had painted dark green, he had made it so that the tyrant lizard model looked as if it was running, with one leg held up and the jaws held open as if the model was about to take a bite from something that it was chasing down. Ma had also gone and gotten him a model kit of the Spirit of Mississippi, the model was based off of the historic riverboat cruiser, the Spirit of Peoria that cruised along the Mississippi River. He had done about half of that model, it was a big model and he was trying his best to be careful with it as it did have a lot of pieces to add onto it.

He had the lower body done and all of the first and second levels, he was going to put the paddlewheel, steam engine and the ornately decorated smokestacks on last. What was taking him so long in building his new model was the cabins. Since the model had so many parts to it, many of which went into the cabins, he had built the cabins when he had come upon them, he had added the furnishings like the beds, dressers, bathroom items like the toilets, sinks and mirrors, and the couches as well to the lower cabins then he had done the second level. That level had the bar on it, he had added the saloon area, the plastic barrels that had the labels that said what beverages they held in them, the small, plastic glasses, some of which he had put stickers on that showed that the glass was either full, half full or nearly empty, and the stools and tables and the gambling tables as well. The first level was suppose to have the ballroom on it, he had decided to put that on the second level and that had been a great idea as the first level had started to become cluttered. He had added the tables to that, the chairs that went with the tables, a piano, the stage where he had glued a small, plastic female figure that was scantily clad, and he had also added the microphone in front of the plastic figure to give it that "real" feeling. He was now on the third level and the deck surrounding the first level. He had added the game tables to the top level along with the pool, the benches, the flags and the croquet area, why that had been included in the model kit was beyond him. He still had tons more work to do on the model, he had all the flags to add, the plastic barrels, the crates, the other figurines that had come with the model, the lounge chairs, the life preserves, chains, the lights and the lines that would further stabilize the model and the ladders. He was also painting the entire model to look as if it was made of wood, his brothers were all looking forward to seeing his model of the Spirit of Mississippi and so was he.

Ma had gone and gotten Lhaklar several model cars. The resin model of the Lincoln Continental had been done quickly, Lhaklar had painted that baby a nice, shiny black and he had added all the grills, bumpers and hub caps after he had painted them silver. After his brother had finished his Lincoln Continental resin model he had put it to the side to dry then had grabbed the next model, which had been a model of the 1936 Mercedes Benz. He had done that model quickly as well, had painted it all white then had added all the works like the hub caps, bumpers, grills and the top that had made the car what it was, a convertible. After he had completed that model he had placed that to the side then he had grabbed the model that they had all looked at in a sort of awed shock.

Their mother had gone and gotten Lhaklar a model kit that had contained pieces to make the car that had been owned and drived by the character of Nemo in the movie The League of Gentlemen. Lhaklar had taken one look at the description then he had torn the box to pieces to get to the pieces that were inside. The Lincoln Continental and the 1936 model of the Mercedes Benz had been put together all in one day, the model of Nemo's car from the movie The League of Gentlemen had taken his brother two days before it had been completed. He had painted the body of that beauty all white then he had gone and painted the parts that went around the front and back lights silver before he had glued them onto his model. He had then painted the grill silver, the hub caps silver and then the door handles and the lines on the trunk and hood silver before he had added the six wheels to the body. His model had come with both a convertible top and a full top, he had added the convertible top, had made it so he could both have the top on the car and folded back, then he had done the interior. The seats he had done himself, they had a nice, red fabric to them, and the wheel was full silver. All three of his older brother's models were now resting safely on one of his shelves, all nicely done. Lhaklar had found in the box that the League of Gentlemen model car had come in a coupon for a model kit of the Munster Koach, a vehicle used in the show, The Munsters, and he had shown it to his mother. He had said nothing when he had shown her the coupon, which said that the holder would get 50% off on the model kit, but they all knew what he was doing. It was the silent asking for that model kit. Whether he got that model or not, that was fully up to their mother.

Their mother had also gone and gotten and then given Hazaar a train model of a Steampunk train, a train that looked more like a submarine on wheels. Hazaar's model had come with the engine and three cars, it had also come with three black flags, several "rusty" chains and five pieces of track. Hazaar had done the model within two days, the painting of the body of his model had slowed him up but he had stayed occupied during the wait with the magazines that their mother had also put in the box that his brother had found at the foot of his bed the morning after the reporter had photographed him. Despite looking rather weird, Hazaar's model submarine train had come out looking very cool, Hazaar had even managed to paint several areas on the body of the train a rust red color. He had put his new model train, with its completed cars and track pieces, next to his spooky train which he had completed earlier that week, the two looked odd together but Lazeer guessed that any other "normal" train model would have looked ten times as odd next to the spootakular train model.

Bile had gotten some cool models himself, some of which had surprised all of them, even their father, after they had looked upon them after they had been completed. The first was of the alien monster holding a bound and gagged woman that had just ribbons around her body, Bile had made it so that there was a lot of cleavage shown on that part of his resin model, he had even made sure to make the ass of that part of his resin model fully seeable. Their father had given their mother a warning to not get him anything else of that magnitude again, he had let Bile keep his new model though and that was rather nice of him. The fire-breathing dragon resin model had taken his older brother a full day to make, it looked awesome! His brother had made the model had its mouth open and the wings were fully splayed out. The resin model of the sleeping dragon that had a sexy, barely clothed, woman standing over top it had been the cherry on top of the three fine resin models that Bile had found at the foot of his bed after waking up the morning after being photographed by the reporter.

Eshal, his older half-sister, hadn't been left out in the gift giving. Their mother had gone and gotten her two horse resin model kits, one of a foal lying down and one of a stallion that had his neck craned high so the crest on it could be seen. Eshal had enjoyed doing them models, she had made the foal look like one of their father's horses. The foal had been painted to look like a sorrel and white splash horse, very flashy. The stallion she had painted to look like a silver dapple horse with a flaxen mane and tail, the kit had come with ribbons and quite a lot of fabric and she had gotten the idea of making her just painted silver dapple stallion resin model into one of them pretty princess types. With their mother's help, she had stitched together a blanket for the stallion that was purple and gold and had added purple and gold ribbons to the mane and tail. Since their sister had liked doing them models so much, their mother had gone back to Earth the night after and had gotten one more model, along with two dresses and a large make-up kit that had all the things that one of the female gender would use such as blushes, lipstick and eyeshadow, he imagined that the kit had more things in it as well but, since he was of the male gender he had no idea as to what else could have also been included in the kit. The new model had been of a horse reading up to his utmost height, his mane had been blowing back and his tail had been swept to the side. Eshal had painted that model to look like Rhoosod, one of their father's stallions that she said was a lovely flea bitten gray with a fine musculature.

Lazeer swung his legs out of his bed then he stood up, he went directly to his walk-in bathroom for a quick showering then, after he had exited his shower he went straight to his dresser for some clothing. He threw on a pair of underwear, a dark red mesh shirt and a pair of dark red pants that had holes in the knees that had tattered areas on the cuffs quickly then he grabbed a pair of socks from his top drawer, since they wouldn't be seen he just grabbed any old pair that his eyes had landed on, then he grabbed his shoes. He had just laced up his dark red shoes that had a light red stripe on the sides when his mother walked into his chamber. She looked as if she was in a hurry, although she looked as if she had showered and had taken the time to make herself look presentable she had a hurried vibe to her. His mother was wearing a pair of dark blue harem pants that had a frill around the waist that had a gold band around it, there were gold lace designs and scarves on the pant legs of her pants that made that part of her outfit stand out wonderfully and she was had matched the pants with some dark blue slip on shoes and her dark blue chiffron shirt that had a ruffled collar line and front and cuffs. Hanging down from his mother's neck was the blue topaz and bead necklace that he had bought for her a few weeks before and, when he looked down at her wrist, he saw that she had the matching bracelet on as well. Naturally, his mother had the ring that had an oval aquamarine gem placed beautifully between three rows of diamonds, the top row having vanilla diamonds on it while the two other rows had chocolate diamonds on her ring finger but he also noticed that she had a ring on her middle finger that had a blue sapphire gem placed in a gold band. Lazeer stood up and left his bedroom chamber quickly, his mother followed behind him, she closed the door behind them after she had left his chamber.

"What's going on?" Lazeer asked his mother.

"You'll know in just a few," Angel replied.

He really wanted to know what was going on, his mother led him down to the second floor then she had him stop before the chamber that she and his father slept in, she went into the chamber for only a second then came out. He didn't need to be told that she was looking for something, or someone, she acted this way always when she was looking for something, or someone, that was important. After his mother left she and his father slept in she walked down the hallway, he followed behind her obediently without being told to. She led him down to the first level, the mansion had a chilled feel to it that he didn't much like. A majority of the residents inside it were either still sleeping or had just gotten up to get ready for the work day ahead, the mansion was quiet, still and slightly chilled and that made him hug up against his mother some. What was going on? Why had his father woken him up at 5:30 am, told him to get dressed and quickly and why was his mother acting in the way that she was? Lazeer had just grabbed his mother's wrist when his father walked into view. It looked as if he had something hanging on his arm, Lazeer saw the indication in the striped, dark gray tuxedo jacket but he couldn't see what it was.

"We have fifteen minutes," TazirVile said, he touched Angel's elbow then led the way out the front door.

"Will we make it?" Angel asked.

Will we make it? What the hell was going on! A fine mist was hanging over the artificial blue grass of the front yard, Lazeer wanted to stop and look around, he wanted to take in the front of his father's place but he knew that he shouldn't. Something told him to walk by his mother, to keep up, to not ask questions or even speak. He was nervous, he was slightly scared and he didn't like it. The idea sparked up in his brain that his father was taking him to see a doctor, some mean, cruel doctor who was going to operate on his photo sensitive left eye, maybe even yank it out while he was lying awake on the table. He even got the idea that his father was sending him away, sending him to a school for some sort of education, sending him away from his brothers and from his mother. Lazeer had let it slip on how tightly he was holding onto his mother's wrist, his mother suddenly gasped out in pain then stopped and slapped his hand. That was what got him to look up and see that his father had led him and his mother into a building that was flooded in golden light that housed all sorts of vehicles. The floor underfoot was white concrete, the ceiling and walls were brown and all around him were vehicles. A quick glance told him that there were more than fifty vehicles in the building, all lined up in neat rows. He saw that a majority of the vehicles were Model T-like limousines but he also saw a few that looked like golf carts and then there was the one normal, non-limousine vehicle that was dark blue that had red flames on the hood and sides, the chrome on that one vehicle was extremely shined up and to his amazement, the vehicle's engine was un-covered. His father led his mother and him to the far back of the building then he stopped, there was a covered vehicle in front of him and he went to it. He grabbed the white cover and with one motion, tore it off. Lazeer blinked his eyes when he saw the dark red 1986 Tiffany Classic Coupe that had a black fenders and a very nicely shined up chrome grill in the front. His father went to the driver's side of the vehicle, inserted a key then opened the door. He got into the car, reached over and unlocked the passenger side door then he leaned back over to his side of the car, Angel and her son got into the car silently.

"Ma-..."

"Hold on, son." TazirVile said, he inserted the key into the ignition, started the car up then he grabbed the seatbelt and swung it around himself. "Let me teleport this baby first to our location then you can ask all the questions you want to."

He had just buckled his seatbelt when he felt a zapping sensation, this freaked him out, he didn't like that at all and the fact that a staticky sound started up right afterwards didn't help matters any. Lazeer looked out the window and saw that the vehicles around the one that he, his mother and his father were in were fading in and out along with the building. It took him just a second to realize that his father was teleporting them and the car to some other place, where exactly he still didn't know but his father was teleporting the car with them in it away. When Bile teleported the car with him and his brothers in it all he heard was a staticky sound, the zapping sound heh ad never heard before, and whenever his older brother teleported a car with him and his brothers in it the teleportation was much smoother. Lazeer had just looked forward when his father completed his teleporting of them and the car to the place he was taking them. The windows on the car had been tinted so the rays from any type of sun or sphere or star wouldn't enter the car as extremely so he was able to take everything in.

There was desert-like, red sandy soil on either side of the yellow street that his father was driving on, lush, tropical plants and trees were on one side of the street while, on the other side there was a farmhouse that had a white fence around it. Lazeer saw that the grass on the planet was flat and either brown or yellow in color, the planet looked as if it was in forever drought mode. His father drove for a short while down the street then he pulled over to the side of the road, he turned the car off then turned slightly to the right. Lazeer thought that his father was going to make his mother and him get out of the car, he could see his father now saying for both of them to get out and start walking and he could see his father driving away once they had gotten out of the car. The interior of the car was dark red leather with light red upholstery that went well with the color scheme on the outside of the car. There was a folded in ashtray in front of him, it had been built into the front seats, and there were two cup holders, painted dark brown, built into the doors on either side of him. Lazeer was reaching down to undo his seatbelt when his father turned and looked at him.

"Know where you are, son?" his father asked him.

"No,"

"Think a little bit, you visited this planet with your mother and Lhaklar a few times."

"I did?" Lazeer blinked his eyes then he looked out the window. "Ma-..."

"Uh uh, honey. You figure it out." Angel said to her son.

A planet where he, his mother and Lhaklar visited a few times, well there were a few that he and his mother had gone to and visited, ma had taken Lhaklar along on three trips to two planets. Lazeer searched his mind, he looked out the window and saw that with each passing second the red light outside would get brighter, it really did contrast nicely with the red sand that was on the ground and with the yellow road that his father had driven off of a nearly a minute before. Lhaklar had been allowed to tag along with him and his mother on three planetary visitations, the first had been to Zeta Chaibloa, a planet that was nearly, fully dominated by purple ocean and mountainous terrain where people did manage to reside on and do their daily activities, and the second had been to Zeta Ren, the both of the planets that he and his mother had gone to were in the the Zeta Reticuli system, a galaxy that had quite a lot of planets in it that all revolved around a red star. Lazeer looked closely at the geography around him, the soil, the lush, tropical forest and the yellow road, he had just glanced up at the red star that was casting down its red rays when he finally figured it out of where his father had taken him and his mother to.

"Zeta Ren?"

"Yes, son. The very planet where I made a break in my search for you, your mother and your brothers." TazirVile nodded his head.

"Why're we here?" Lazeer asked.

"Your daddy called Navub Babusa early this morning," Angel said to her son, TazirVile had restarted the car and was driving it back onto the yellow road. "he set up an appointment for six thirty this morning for you."

"Navub Babusa? That's that guy who-..."

He didn't ask about anything else, he felt all excited inside, it became clear why he had been woken up so early and told to hurry into his clothes. His father had decided to take it upon himself to get an appointment set up for him to see Navub Babusa, the guy his mother had taken him to see a few months back after they had found out that he sold goggled glasses much cheaper than anyone else. He and his mother had left Zeta Ren afterwards somewhat disappointed, Mr. Babusa had quoted the charge for his goggled glass at $2,100, an amount that they had not expected to hear. Mr. Babusa did have the best price for the goggled glass that he needed but they had not had the money to pay for the goggled glass at that time, they had left the building with a few bottles of eye drops, specifically labeled for people that had the Mild-Severe ailment in their eyes and had gone back to the apartment on Earth. He had begged for his mother to take him back to Zeta Ren afterwards, he had needed a sort of an upper after leaving Navub Babusa's place of business and, seeing as his mother was just getting ready to take him back home he had wondered if she'd be so kind as to take him on a few trips to other planets. She had gladly done that for him and he loved her so much for it. Lazeer looked out the window and saw that the farmhouse had disappeared behind them, he saw a sign the loudly pronounced that the town that his father was driving them into was called _Baf-az town, 97,590 years Strong!_ and then, after they had driven past the sign, a large cathedral loomed up on the right side of the road.

He saw a large, beautiful white stone fountain that had water shooting out of it from five spouts which had yellow stoned flowers on them. The area surrounding the fountain was gray slate, very pretty, and there were two benches placed near the fountain. A light gray path led from the fountain to the thick wooden, double doors of a church-like building, a large building that was made of white stone that had either a dull gold or a real gold roof. There were Gargoyle statues that had one leg held up placed on each of the corners of the roof. After they had passed by the church-like building the business buildings came up. He saw food marts, he saw shoe department stores, he saw clothing stores, he saw eateries such as bakeries and pizzerias and then the buildings that people who worked as dentists, eye, ear and general health care specialists and, of course, the gynecologists and the urologists. He saw the market where he had been approached by Amadh Ubalki, his uncle, and where he had ran off with a magazine called Bows, a hunting magazine that was solely about hunting with a bow and arrow, clinched tightly in his hand that he still had.

Lazeer looked away from the buildings after he remembered his running off with the magazine, Amadh had surprised him greatly, he had had no idea that he or his mother were being talked about on the news and when the guy had walked up and asked him if he was the one that he had seen on the news he had freaked. His mother had said for him to keep on a down-low when he had asked if he could go alone to the market, when Amadh had asked him if he was the one that he had seen on the news he had thought that he was in big trouble for breaking his mother's order. As it had turned out, he and his brothers and ma had all been on the news. When the car came to a slow stop Lazeer looked to the side, he near groaned when he saw the throng of reporters, people who had either cameras slung over their shoulders, cameras in hand or were holding a small microphone in one of their hands, that were surrounding the building that's glass door had Navub Babusa, Optometrist, Eye Care Specialist on it in bold black letters.

"Taz-..." Angel said, she had gone from being content and happy to being nervous. "maybe we should-..."

"Lazeer, climb up into the front seat." TazirVile said quickly, he shut his car off, pocketed the key ring that had the car's ignition and door keys on it then he turned and looked at his wife. "It'll be alright, had a feeling that the line was tapped after I got off the phone with Mr. Babusa."

"I don't like this, Taz." Angel said, her son clambered over the front seats and near sat on top of her. "You know how reporters are, maybe we should-..."

"It'll be fine." TazirVile said again, he reached down and grabbed the invisibility cloak that he had brought along with him. "Son, are you familiar with the invisibility cloak?"

That was, in a sense, a no. He knew what an invisibility cloak was, it was a garment that was invisible that would make the wearer become unseen, they were used by people who wanted to be unseen when they went to places, some private investigators used them while they were tagging someone that they were investigating. Mr. Uijah Ukalo, his old Teleportation teacher from Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic, had done a side-lesson on the cloak once. It had been a very short lesson, a twenty minute lesson that had been all said by mouth and his old teacher hadn't even asked for him and his classmates to look in their book when he had been doing his side-lesson on the cloak. The decision of looking in the big book that their teacher had given them at the start of the year for the section that had been written on the cloak had been totally left to him and his classmates, he had looked in the index, had found the chapter and had read the chapter during lunch the day after. Was he familiar with the invisibility cloak? He knew the history and why the garment had been made but he had never seen one.

"Mr. Ukalo did a small lesson on the garment," Lazeer said. "I read up on it, yes, but I've never seen one."

"Well, son, that's understandable." TazirVile chuckled lightly. "It's a combination of a spell and a special fabric that makes the cloak invisible, you never seen the garment but you can feel it."

"Okay," Lazeer was wondering why his father was telling him this.

"I have one here," TazirVile said, he then swung his arms up then over Lazeer. Lazeer felt the heaviness of something fall over him, he felt a fabric but he couldn't see what it was that had been put over him. He poked at what had been put over him then he turned and looked at his mother.

"Ma?"

"I know you're beside me but I can't see you." Angel said.

"Dad turned me into a ghost!" Lazeer said excitedly. "I get to do some haunting now."

He had lay awake for hours after last nights supper had come to an end in his chamber, the reporters that were milling around his residence had really gotten on his nerves and the fact that it was they who were stopping him from taking his wife and son to Zeta Ren to get his son his goggled glass had not been helping matters at all. When he had gotten the photo sensitive ailment in both of his eyes his mother had been away visiting relatives, his father had gotten ten eye care specialists to come over to his mansion, the mansion that he had been raised in and the very mansion where his father's father had owned at one time before signing it over to his one and only son, to check into his eye problems. The ten separate eye care specialists had done ten painful check-ups on him, he had screamed, he had cried, he had tried to run away and hide but his father had not let him. He had been forced to sit and let them horrible people tamper with his sensitive eyes. After his mother had returned home she had put an end to the appointments and doctor visits, she had sat his father down and had told him what she thought was happening then she had taken him to see a certified eye care specialist that had ben educated specifically on Zetakin photo sensitivity. He wasn't going to have his son go through ten painful appointments and procedures from ten eye care specialists that hadn't a clue as to what they were doing, he wasn't going to yell at his son for yelling or screaming because he was in pain and he definitely wasn't going to let his son sit out on everything that went on outside because the sun was out. He had gotten up at 4:08 am and had gone straight to the solid black French phone that had a dark red cord that was on a black glass table that was next to his walk-in bathroom. He had called Navub Babusa up, had scheduled an early appointment for man's services and then he had gone and gotten ready. He had showered quickly, had gotten dressed then he had gone upstairs to tell his wife what he was going to do that morning.

She had been hesitant, she had said that she wanted to wait until the reporters were gone, and he would hear none of it. He had said that he was bringing one of his invisibility cloaks with them, he had said that she was coming along and that she needed to get ready and fast. After he had gotten his wife up and had told her what was about to happen he had gone and gotten Lazeer up. He'd take his wife and son into the building, he'd let his wife sign their son in and then he'd walk behind his wife and son as Mr. Babusa took them to one of the examination rooms. He'd ask after the appointment had concluded and after their son had gotten his goggled glass if they wanted to stop to get something to eat or if they just wanted to go home and have some home cooked food. TazirVile plopped his head on his youngest son's head then he opened the driver's side door and got out. His wife got out of the car after he had, Lazeer, shielded in an invisibility cloak, got out after she had. TazirVile could see that his son had a handful of the back of Angel's shirt, there was a clump being pulled back. Although TazirVile could see this, the reporters couldn't. All of the reporters ran over and crowded around him, they screamed out their questions, he felt two grab his arm and he heard camera shutters, his wife was walking into the building just as he had managed to begin heading towards the building. Soon after entering the building Lazeer pulled the invisibility cloak off of him, he handed it over to his mother who took it and draped it over her arm.

"Mrs. Vile-Surfeit, nice to see you after so long." Navub Babusa, a male Zetakin that had a headful of brown hair, triangular-shaped eyes that were a golden color and an O-shaped mouth, said after Angel and her invisibly cloaked son had walked into his building.

"Hello, Mr. Babusa." Angel said. "I believe my husband made an appointment with you very early this morning."

"He did indeed." Navub Babusa nodded his head.

_Who in their right mind phone another up at 4:09 am?_ That had rang through his brain the second his phone had gone off. He had let it ring and had slid into a light sleep only for the phone to ring again, the same caller, a TZSUR, as it had said on the caller I.D. He had gotten up and had answered the phone in his underwear and, to his surprise, the caller had been no other than TazirVile Surfeit, the man who had found and had brought his wife and all four sons home a few weeks ago after his wife and youngest son had walked into his medical practice a few months ago for an innocent, little eye care appointment. The man had wanted to make an early appointment, one that would be placed before all the others in his thickly made schedule, and he had asked if 6:15 am was appropriate for him. It had been and he had written it down and had said see you then before hanging the phone up then heading back to bed for an hour and a half before having to drive to work, get the building all lighted up and ready for his first client of the day.

Although he had kept up to date on what was going on with the revived search that Mr. Surfeit was doing, in thanks to him for agreeing to see his wife and son a few months before, he had not been able to get in deep with keeping up to date as, with all the news reports on his place of business he had experienced a boom in appointments and in new clients. Twenty to twenty-five clients a day had been upped to fifty to fifty-five a day, he had been booked solid for two months. With all the cash he had made from them surplus, surprise, appointments he had been able to buy his wife, Yoshiar, a few dresses and a few of the items he had seen her eying one day in one of them expensive stores and he had been able to buy their daughter, Falvia, a few nice things as well. He had taken the son sired by another man that his wife had bore to one of them science exhibits and he had bought him some nice things as well with the money he had earned by selling his goggled glasses. Since he had known that the good times would one day be over he had put the rest of the money he had earned through selling his goggled glasses into his and his wife's savings.

It hadn't been bad when everything had settled down three months and a week and two days later, that surplus number of clientele had dropped to his usual amount, twenty to twenty-five a day. He was still bring in money, just not as much as he had been after Mr. Surfeit had discovered his wife who had been missing for one thousand, six hundred years and the youth who would surprisingly be discovered to be LazeerVile Zuluduz Surfeit. When Mr. Surfeit had called him up and had made an appointment for his son he had not thought that it was time for round two of the surplus customers. He was a decent man, he didn't overcharge for his specks and he didn't charge for the eye drops and he gave the goggled glass cases for free where most in his professional would charge for them as well. He had been glad to help the youngster, who had been Reezal Bakerly, out with giving him some eye drops appropriate for his photo sensitivity and he was again glad to help the youngster, now known as LazeerVile Zuluduz Surfeit, get his glass along with all the fixings like a goggled glass case and a few eye drop containers. Mr. Surfeit walked into his building right after his wife had signed in her correct name and their son's name, he led all three of them to the back quickly after checking to see if the name and date and time was correct on the sign-in sheet.

He led the three down the hallway to the very room where he had examined Lazeer the first time, the youngster sat down in the brown chair that didn't have a back on it without being told to and he took the seat across from him in the chair that matched the one that Lazeer was sitting on. The examination device that hung down from the ceiling was between them, it had several windows on it, Zetakins sometimes were born with different eye shapes and them windows allowed for a more comfortable examination, Lazeer looked through the two circular windows that his doctor told him to quietly and obediently. A row of white cabinets went around the room, one top of their surfaces were containers of liquids, eye drop containers and, of course, the box that contained the types of lenses that an optometrist would use when he or she is sizing a goggled speck up or getting the right percentage before heading to another part of the building to get the goggled glass or glasses made. Navub Babusa didn't have to ask for the symptoms that his client experienced when his photo sensitive eye was hit by rays produced from a sun, star or sphere, he remembered what the youngsters mother had told him a few months before.

At first glance, he knew that the left eye had been somewhat damaged by long drawn exposure and non-relief from being exposed to sun rays. The eye was still slightly darker than the other, a slightly darker silver color, but it hadn't darkened up any further than that so he knew that the photo sensitivity hadn't been worsened. He did the sunlight tests, giving the youngster time afterwards to recover and, of course, giving him a container of eye drops to use so the left eye wouldn't pain him any further, just like the last time whenever he had flipped the switch for the sunlight test to begin the youngster had shrieked then had jumped back and, just like the last time, he had grabbed at his eye that had started to tear up from being exposed to the sunlight test. After Navub had done five tests he decided to stop and start the process of making the youngsters glass.

Lazeer did as the man requested for him to do, look through the window that had shot its tests at his sensitive eye. He figured that man was going to torture him yet again with another test but, this time it was different. The man slid a small lense, circular in shape that had a squishy texture to it, into the window and asked for him to tell him if the sunlight that was sent through the window caused him pain or not. The first lense wasn't efficient enough, it let the synthetic sunlight through the lense which pained him. The second lense was the same, as was the third. After some adjustments, Mr. Babusa then slid the fourth lense that was again circular in shape but was thicker into the device. This lense gave him no pain at all, he squinted when the sunlight test was applied but that was all, he felt no pain and that made him feel exhilarated. For some reason, that lense was replaced with another which, when the sunlight test was applied, gave him some pain. The next lense had no effect on him as did the next. In all, Mr. Babusa had tested ten lenses before standing up and leaving the room with lense number seven in his hand.

"You think he could have tortured me enough, ma?" Lazeer asked, his left eye was throbbing slightly but he didn't feel any pain. The whole ordeal with the examination and its sunlight testing had taken a lot out of him, he was exhausted!

"Was wondering that myself." Angel replied, she had forced herself to not rush forward to help her son with each episode of his feeling pain from having his photo sensitive eye examined and sunlight tested. She knew that the testing was important, but hearing her son scream out like that had nearly blinded her. "You alright, Lazie?"

"Eye's throbbing a little," Lazeer replied. "but I'm fine."

"You did well, son. Ten tests is a good number for your sensitivity." TazirVile said. "Had to go through double that when I was a kid."

"What's your sensitivity again?" Lazeer asked his father.

"Severe," TazirVile replied. "both eyes. You got off very lucky with having just one eye afflicted with the ailment and in a lesser degree as mine to boot."

"What's the difference between mild-severe and severe?" Lazeer asked.

"I'd say about ten times worse than your ailment." TazirVile replied.

It took ten minutes before Navub Babusa came back with the lense that he had placed into a half-wrap elastic band that was nearly see-through. Angel knew that the lense was a molded piece of squishy rubbery material that was wet only on lense facing the eyes, she had asked Tazir once about the wetness that was on the side of the lense that faced the eyes and he had replied in saying that there was a drip system built into the lense so it provided the eye, or eyes that were behind the lense, or lenses, with moisture while they were hidden behind the lense or lenses. She had let a friend of hers, Lisa Wahlberg, examine a pair of Tazir's goggled glasses that she had taken when Tazir had attacked her on Earth soon after Bile had been born and she knew that from her friends examining of the specks that the goggled glass that Mr. Babusa had in his hand had almost no weight to it. Navub Babusa handed the goggled glass over to her son, who held and looked at the glass for a few seconds then he slowly put it on. It took him three times before he finally figured it out that the half-wrap elastic band would stick to the back of his head. The elastic band was clear, it looked as if the goggled glass was being held on his eye by itself and for that, Lazeer was glad. He'd feel a bit awkward had the elastic band of masked his horizontal mohawk.

"Now, like with any other normal pair of glasses, it'll take you a short while to get use to the glass." Navub Babusa said after Lazeer had gotten his goggled glass on. "If you find that the ground is looking like it is falling away from you when you're walking with the glass on that is normal. That goes away after a day and a half of wearing the glass. If you find yourself dizzy while wearing the glass that is also normal."

"Thank you," Lazeer said, he was actually feeling somewhat dizzy now but he was dealing with it. "Now I don't have to wait for the sun to be hid behind some clouds or stay inside while my brothers are outside."

"Your father asked for me to specifically make you four contact goggles as well," Navub Babusa said, he handed four blue disc containers that had a single contact lense goggled glass inside them over to Lazeer then he went over to the counter. Lazeer looked over at his mother, he remembered telling his father that he wanted a goggled glass, not contact lenses while on the ship. "I've also got two replacement specks for you as well along three cases and some eye drops and some medicated drops."

"W-what's the difference between the normal eye drops and the medicated ones?" Lazeer asked.

"You've got a little bit of exposure damage to the afflicted eye, the medicated drops will take speed up the healing." Navub Babusa replied.

Lazeer knew why his eye had been slightly damaged, he had experienced a lot of pain after his and his father's fight on Earth before he had been captured, had it not of been for his mother in asking his grandfather, Cheshire Ubalki, what sensitivity he was and, after finding out, asking him if she could borrow his drops he would have never felt any relief and his ailment might have worsened. Mr. Babusa gave him a glazed and Caiman crocodile eyeglass case and an eyeglass case that was shaped like a peanut which he thought was hilarious. Mr. Babusa gave his mother a small bag that had six containers of normal eye drops, the labels, when his mother had checked them, all said that they were for his photo sensitivity, and three containers of medicated drops which were to be applied three times a day. Mr. Babusa also gave over a pamphlet that showed the proper care of a goggled glass, how to clean and properly store a goggled glass and how to take care of goggled contact lenses. After everything had been handed over, his father reached into his striped, dark gray tuxedo jacket and took out a brown leather check book. He filled out then signed a check for twelve thousand, three hundred dollars then he handed it over, Mr. Babusa took the check then bid them a pleasant day. After Lazeer had put on the invisibility cloak, he and his parents exited the building and went to the Tiffany Classic Coupe, the reporters were all still in front of the building and, this time, they harassed both Angel and TazirVile over Lazeer and his brothers. It took them five full minutes before they reached the car, Lazeer kept the invisibility cloak on him until his father had driven away from Navub Babusa's medical practice's building.

"Thanks, dad." Lazeer said after he had taken off the invisibility cloak.

"You're quite welcome son." TazirVile said.

"You hand up that cloak now," Angel said, she held her hand back. "Last thing we need is for you to have that always."

"Ma, you know I won't do anything with it." Lazeer lied, he imagined he could do a lot of things to drive his brothers batty with it.

"Uh huh, Lazie I know you way too well." Angel said, Lazeer sighed then handed the invisibility cloak up. His mother put the invisible garment on her lap. "Besides driving your brothers crazy with your invisible antics, you'd also drive me, your father, your sister and the Goblins insane as well."

"We don't need any newspaper articles written on how you stalked the ladies bathroom while hidden underneath the cloak of invisibility." TazirVile said.

"That sounds like fun!" Lazeer exclaimed.

"Don't give him ideas!" Angel shook her head.

"Either of you two wish to have a meal at a restaurant or do you want to go home for breakfast?" TazirVile asked.

Both she and her son were in agreeance that if they were taken out to eat that they'd feel guilty about Bile, Lhaklar, Hazaar and Eshal not being along with them so Tazir got the idea to teleport them all home then grab his other sons and Eshal then head out for a meal in a restaurant. He teleported them back to Moas, parked his car in the garage then got out. Angel handed the invisibility cloak to him after she had gotten out of the car then she turned and looked at Lazeer. He looked happy and that made her feel happy, he'd not have to hide under trees or under overhanging roofs or sit inside and watch his brothers as they rough housed out in the sunshine. TazirVile led his wife and youngest son into his mansion, he told them to not go far as they were to go right back out and soon then he headed upstairs to retrieve Bile, Lhaklar, Hazaar and Eshal. The appointment had taken all of an hour, it was fifteen minutes past seven in the morning so everyone should have been woken up and should have been dressed by then. Lazeer blinked his left eye twice then he shook his head, he debated on taking the goggled glass off for a few minutes then he reached up and removed it from his face. The dizziness went away as soon as the goggled glass was away from his eye and that made him wonder if the lense was too powerful for him. Angel teleported the spare goggled glasses, two of the three eyeglass cases, the containers that had the goggled contacts inside them and all but one container of the medicated eye drops and the normal eye drops to her son's chamber then she looked at her son. She remembered reading once about how a new pair of normal glasses would make one feel dizzy, experience headaches and sometimes even feel and get sick for a few days after they had been prescribed and she figured that that was why her son had taken off his goggled glass. Lazeer had just put his goggled glass back on his face when his brothers and sister came downstairs with their father walking a few steps behind them.

"Holy shit, Laz went and got a third eye!" Hazaar exclaimed upon seeing his brother wearing his newly prescribed goggled glass.

"It's got x-ray and laser beam built into it as well." Lazeer said.

"Let's make sure that all the ladies know that," Bile said.

"Does the lense have night vision built into it as well?" Lhaklar asked.

"Night vision, heat vision, x-ray vision, laser beam and-..."

"You crazy kid!" Angel said. "Tazir, I blame you on passing the crazy gene to our youngest kid."

"Don't you look at me, sweetheart." TazirVile said. "I am just as innocent as a newborn bat."

"Sure you are." Angel said.

"I think the old man just said that it was our own mother who passed along the crazy gene to Lazeer." Bile said.

"Hey, you did something with your hair."

What Lazeer had said was true, Hazaar had finally gotten over his hesitation in using the hair station, as he called it, that was in his bathroom. Hazaar had braided four strands of the deep purple tail of hair that came out from the nape of the back of his head, the braids were done tightly and his brother had added a few yellow beads between the braids which looked great. His brother had also done one other strand that he had added plain yellow and light purple beads to, that looked fine as well but the braids that had the yellow beads braided into them looked cooler. TazirVile led his family out of his mansion home, down the white rocked path then into the garage. Due to the outing having his entire family involved in it he had made the decision to grab the key to his Excal X2 Limo. When he got to the tarped vehicle he stopped, he grabbed the white tarp then he yanked it away, he saw that Lhaklar was giving the car a good look and decided to let him do so for a minute longer before he went over to the driver's side of the car. He inserted the key that would unlock the car, gave it a twist then he opened the door. He took the key out of the keyhole before he got into his car, since his Excal X2, a fully light gold painted limousine that had four ooga horns in front of the grille that was light gold chrome and three windows on each side of the car that were darkly tinted, was one of the electric cars he didn't have to reach over to unlock the doors. He pressed the unlock button and each door unlocked, his wife got in beside him while his daughter slid into the seat that revolved around the back. Bile bent down low to get into the vehicle, he struggled a little with gaining control if his height then sat in the seat beside Eshal, Hazaar and Lazeer got in quickly then Lhaklar got into the car. When the door had been closed Tazir pressed the locking mechanism to make each door lock up then he inserted the ignition key into the ignition. The car started up with a pur, there were no clanging or clacking sounds from the motor and the wheels all rolled finely when Tazir drove his vehicle out of the garage. The reporters, when he drove his vehicle out of the front gate, tried to snap photographs of the people that were in the vehicle but all they got were photographs of the vehicles windows and of the vehicle driving away.

"Limousine and a six-foot, three-inch being do not go well together." Bile said after they had driven down the road for a few minutes.

"After a few times in this car you'll get use to it." TazirVile said, he momentarily looked over at Angel before looking back at the road. "This the first time Hazaar and Lazeer been in a limo?"

"It is, first time in a long time that Bile and Lhaklar have been in one as well." Angel replied. "Goes double for me as well."

"You five will get use to it," TazirVile reached over and grabbed his wife's hand.

Lhaklar had seen this very car twice when he had been a kid, still living with his father. The car looked much the same, the paint job was the same, the grille and the ooga horns were the same and so was the interior. There was a single row of bulky, dull gold seats in front of him on the left side of the vehicle and there were two seats that matched them in the back, he happened to of seated himself in one of them. The floor was violet, the upholstery was light purple and there was an area that housed drinks and triangular-shaped glasses. He found himself wanting to reach over and grab whatever beverage there was in the compartment and pouring himself a drink but he knew his father would see it and would say _uh uh, don't you even think about it, you're much too young to drink_. He wanted to smoke one of his Black Devil cigarettes pretty badly and seeing the compartment that housed the drinks made him want a cocktail or a bottle of Bud Lite or Miller. The ceiling in the car had a lined design in it, each line sparkled with crystal and the light that was built into the ceiling above the crystalized lines made the inside of the car have a sparkly appearance. He had been four hundred and seventy-eight years old when this car had been purchased, his father had spent over a hundred thousand on the car and he had then gotten the interior and ceiling done which had cost him fifty grand. He was glad that his father hadn't put a chandelier in the car, that would have made the inside look overstuffed. He had seen a photograph of the interior of another limousine, a Merc Double X that could fit ten persons inside, that had had a chandelier hanging down in the center of the ceiling once and he had showed that photograph to his father who had said that them type of vehicles had quite a lot of mechanical problems and the chandeliers also made for driving difficult since the back window was obstructed. Some limousines had tv's in them, some had laptops in them, some had both and some even had built-in pools which made the vehicle look outrageous. He was glad that his father had gone with designing a much more sleeker interior that didn't have but so much in it. He would have felt awkward if there were tv's hanging from the ceiling and if there had been a table for a laptop or a meal connected to his seat.

"Where're we going?" Hazaar asked.

"To a place to get breakfast, son." TazirVile replied.

"Where's that?" Hazaar asked.

"Guess your daddy has a mind to keep where we are headed to a secret." Angel said when Tazir didn't answer Hazaar's question.

It took them a right long time, near six hours, before they had exited the country roads and had started to see the outline of a city. Their mother said that the city was called J'Sepp, a large city that had quite a lot of eateries, shops and business buildings in it along with three parks, two animal parks, two museums and several auction buildings. Their father drove them to a parking building, he signed himself in them tossed the guard a twenty-dollar bill, the fee for parking his vehicle in the building was actually ten dollars but he had given the guard a twenty for the extra security, then he drove on. He found his parking slot, number twelve which was on the first tier, and quickly parked the car. Soon after he had parked he and his family all got out, after a near six-hour drive everyone was rather stiff and needed to stretch and walk around for a few minutes before feeling limber again. After his family had stretched out, Tazir led his family out of the building and down the street towards a building that had a sign on it that said Laetiquoar Buffet, he held the door open for everyone then, after everyone had walked into the building he went in. He had just walked up to the payment podium when ten cars that had four people in them, all reporters, drove into view.

"How many?" the green-skinned lizardman who had yellow eyes and teeth and who was wearing a black tuxedo asked after everyone had reached the payment podium.

"Seven," TazirVile replied.

"That is seven hundred and twenty dollars, sir." the lizardman said. "Smoking or non smoking?"

"Non-smoking, thank you." TazirVile paid the man then he led his family past the payment podium in the direction that the lizardman had directed him to take his family in.

Since he had read through half of the book that had teachings of the Moasian language in it he had known what Laetiquoar meant after he had seen it on the sign that was in front of the restaurant. Laetiquoar meant breakfast all around, and since buffet had been added behind that word the sign had basically said Breakfast All Around Buffet. That could mean that the restaurant served breakfast all day long or just had a full buffet of breakfast items, all he knew was that he was fucking starved! He had woken up, had noticed that Lazeer was not on the third level and had figured that he had just gone to explore some of the mansion and, afterwards, he had gone and spent some time in the library. While he had read the books he had taken off of the shelves he had wondered when breakfast would be served and where his mother was, he had not seen her since he had gotten up at 6:45 am. He had also noticed that his father was missing. He had just gone up to his chamber when his father had called out for him and his brothers and Eshal to come downstairs. Lhaklar followed his father as he went towards the buffet tables, his father grabbed a tray and several plates, as did his mother, and he figured he should do the same. His brothers and sister followed in his example and then they all got into a nice and orderly line. Their father worked quickly, going from one area of the buffet line to the other then, when he had filled his tray, he walked off to a table that had seven chairs around it. His mother sat next to their father after she had filled her tray, he, his brothers and Eshal quickly filled their trays after she had left them to go to the table then went over to the table where their parents were seated and sat down.

"Ma is the only one I know who will eat shrimp for breakfast." Bile said after five minutes had passed.

"That so young man. Suppose I'll come back with the you're the only one I know who'll have noodles draped in syrup for breakfast." Angel replied.

"Gross!" Eshal made a face.

"I gasped and said Bile rather loudly when I saw him eating it." Angel said. "They said that the boys would have their weird food cravings when they went into their growth spurts and boy did Bile and Lhaklar ever have some weird appetites."

"I can imagine," TazirVile said. "they ever tried eggshells or eating half-cooked eggs while having their growth spurts?"

"Half cooked, near burnt, eggshell, raw and the entire egg." Angel replied. "And, sometimes, all at once. I wouldn't speak to Lhaklar after he had plopped a fully shelled, just taken out of the egg carton, egg into his mouth for a short while. I was that much in shock."

"My mother can tell you a few things of what I ate while in my growth periods as a teenager. A fully shelled egg was one of my dietary eats." TazirVile replied.

"Your mother ever walked up on you eating glue or paint?"

That was a no and he quickly put an end to that conversation after hearing that all four of his sons had eaten glue and wet paint at one time in their teenage growth periods. It was very well known that teenagers in their early teens and mid-teens ate quite a lot and, naturally, they ate things that would make others look at them in shock. Eshal had eaten quite a lot of the combination vegetable and fruit salads during her early teenage years and she was now going through wanting to eat fruits and cheese now that she was in her mid-teenage years. He had looked on in shock when she had made a cheese and strawberry smoothie once, how she had been able to stomach that was beyond him but she had and he had walked off in a sort of shocked disbelief. His mother had even walked off in complete shock after she had seen him make a shake that had consisted of meat lovers pizza, ice cream, mushrooms and noodles when he had been one thousand, eight hundred and twelve years old. Knowing these things, he could imagine the odd things that his four son had eaten that had shocked their mother. Seeing as the conversation would come up on when and who the first invitations would go out to, he started telling his wife his plans for the next week and a half.

"So, what's the count in total for who is coming in the first bunch?" Angel asked soon after being told that her husband was going to start sending the invitations out.

"My mother and stepfather and their family and my sister, Qeeta, first," TazirVile replied. "seems fitting since they stuck with me in search for you guys that they get to come first."

"Just them? How many in total?"

"Nine,"

"Qeeta have any kids now?" Angel asked.

"No, still single. My mother and stepper had two new ones though." TazirVile replied. "Defe and Qhuakiz, they're rather young."

He told her that he was sending his older brother's and his family's invitation through the mail next, that would make seven in the next group that would arrive at his mansion for the extended stay and then he would be sending his grandfather the next invitation, his father, Cyla and their family would be next to get an invitation and then Trobrencus and Bahne and their family would be sent the next invitation. In total, after he had sent out the invitations and after everyone had gotten them he was expecting some thirty to thirty-seven people arriving for their stays. He'd wait until his sons had gotten use to the extras that were walking about inside the mansion then he'd send out the next batch of invitations. In total, he was expecting some sixty to sixty-six people living in his mansion for the next few months and that was not including his neighbor, Gloar, and his wife, Vixbie, who he claimed he'd be phoning up and saying that they could come over whenever they wanted to to see the boys.

"You have all these invitations locked up safely, right?" Angel asked after she had been told the full list of who all was coming. "When did you send out Ashaklar and Cheshire's invitation?"

"I sent out the invitation for my mother and stepfather, their family and Qeeta yesterday." TazirVile replied. "I left some on my desk and the rest of the invitations I put in a drawer."

"Do you still leave outgoing mail on your desk every evening?" Angel asked. "Does Losal or one of the other Goblins still take the mail out each morning?"

"Yes, why?"

"Because I saw Losal taking a large bundle of white envelopes out to the mailbox yesterday morning." Angel replied. "I'd say fifteen or-..."

"I did have a large stack on my desk after I left my office the night before last." TazirVile said. "I'm sure that what you saw Losal take out was them."

They finished breakfast at the restaurant then stood up and exited the building, all seven of them had to fight the reporters who threw their questions at them relentlessly to get back to the building where the Excal X2 had been parked. Once inside the building they went to the car, piled in then settled in for the long drive back to the mansion. Bile, once again, had to struggle to get into the car, he near had to crawl after getting into the limousine because of his height, he was glad that no one made fun of him or laughed at his awkwardness. Lazeer sat down next to Hazaar then, soon after Lhaklar had swung the door shut behind him after he had gotten into the car, he jabbed his elbow into Hazaar's side. When Hazaar yelled out Lazeer pointed over at Bile and blamed him which started a vocal fight between both of his brothers until his parents both looked back and told them to snap their mouths shut. As was the usual in car rides, the ride back home went faster than the drive out to J'Sepp City. It seemed that when their father had driven the limousine into his garage that they had just started going back home. Everyone got out of the car, stretched then went to the mansion. TazirVile went straight up to his office to check to see if the envelopes that had contained the thirteen envelopes that had the invitations in them for his older brother and his family, his father and his family and his grandfather in them. He knew that his mother and stepfather would be arriving any day now, they'd get their invitation either tomorrow or the next day, depending on the speed of the mail in their area in the universe, the main reason why he was checking to see if the envelopes were still on his desk was because of his wife telling him about Losal taking a large bundle of envelopes out to the mail the morning before. Just a quick check to see if the envelopes were still there, that's all he wanted then he'd head upstairs to see what the boys were doing. A day of riding about in a car was rather boring and he did have a few things for them and Eshal that he had bought for them the day before.

His wife had gone and purchased Lhaklar his Munster Koach model, he had purchased Lhaklar two resin model kits of LyncMoL, or a vehicle that the humans had confiscated from a downed spacecraft that they had felled and had discovered soon after coming upon the downed craft that it consisted fully of cars. The humans had done their usual, they had torn the car apart after looking into the full interior and motor then they had put it back together, had test driven it a few times then had slapped the name of Lincoln Model L Imperial on it in 1927. Luckily, the spacecraft had been piloted by a robot, had it of been piloted by an actual, living and breathing being there would have been a war between humankind and the Mokasih family, the family who had owned the spacecraft and all the vehicles onboard it that had been headed to an exhibition. The other resin model kit was of a Upsk Mod2 Luxury vehicle that had also been on the same craft that the LyncMoL had been on, the humans had done that same to that car as well with the examining and dissecting and putting back together and testing and then selling with the new, humanized name of Model K vehicle.

He had gone and purchased Lazeer a 3D model of a spacecraft, a sailboat model and a Lobster Boat model, he had gone and gotten Hazaar two models of trains for him to do that he had a feeling he'd be thrilled with and, for Bile, he had purchased him two more posters and two dragon resin models. He had gotten Eshal several dresses and several sets of jewelry so she didn't feel left out and he was hoping that his wife would reward him with finally leaving the chamber that she had been sleeping in for a week on the third level and would sleep in her appropriate sleeping place... with him at her side, as it should be. The idea of having his wife sleeping next to him, of him feeling her warm flesh against his as they slept together and the idea of him possibly rolling over on top of her, giving her some kisses and some affection was so great that he had to stop just before entering his office. He was right in front of his office, his hand was on the door but the idea of having his wife, who he had not slept next to or had any marital relations with for one thousand, six hundred years had just stopped him cold in his tracks. TazirVile shook his head and shoulders, he got control of himself slowly then he pushed the dark cherry wood double doors that had his initials open. The second he walked into his office and looked over at his full stone desk his heart sank.

There had been a large stack of thirteen invitations, all housed within white envelopes, on the right side of his desk the night before last. He had sent his mother and stepfather's and their family's and his dear baby sister's, Qeeta's invitations to come his place for an extended stay in the mail the day before. He had left his brother's and his family's, his grandfather's and his father's and Cyla's and their family's invitations on his desk in a neat pile, they had been placed on the right side of his desk, the side opposite the one that he placed the other outgoing mail on. The right side of his desk was just as bare as could be, the outgoing mail that had been on the left side of his desk was gone and so were the envelopes that housed the invitations within them. Tazir went to his desk quickly, tore the key to the lower drawer that housed the other invitations in it out from his pocket then he frantically inserted it into the keyhole. One twist, one pull out of the drawer and he had his answer, he had wondered if he had placed the thirteen invitations that had been on the right side of his desk in the drawer with the rest. He grabbed the envelopes that were inside the drawer and did a quick count and his heart almost dropped to his feet. Although everyone else's invitations were in his hands his brother's and his family's, his father's, his father's wife and their family and his grandfather's were missing. TazirVile put the invitations that he had in his hands back in the drawer that they had been in, locked it up tight then left his office. He went straight upstairs to the third level to tell his wife the unfortunate news that yes, Losal had taken the thirteen invitations off of his desk along with the other outgoing mail and had sent them out and that there would be more people than he had scheduled to arrive in the next few days.


	11. Part 2

He heard the buggy bells tolling away as he walked back from the garage where he had just parked his Cadshire Truck, a vehicle he had purchased over two thousand years ago that was had its nice burgundy paint job and still had the two exhausts in the back and was still short in both the front and back but able to easily hold the feed for his wife's chickens and ducks, feed for the sheep and goats and equines that were on his farm. He had had to get the engine redone a few times, as with any car the engine would last for as long as it could before it conked out and the engine on his truck had gone out four times and he had gotten it redone each time that it had needed to be redone. The engine purred again like a kitten and he was glad for that, no more clinging and clanging and no more put-put sounds or sounds that an engine gave off when it was nearing the end of its life. Over the years he had bought several more cars but he continued to put money into his Cadshire truck, it was one of his favorite vehicles and, since it got the job done in getting him from place to place he saw no point in sending it away to be crushed.

The vehicle that was on the left side of his Cadshire truck was a new one, purchased just fifty years prior and it was mostly one of them vehicles that he drove when he had the entire family with him. It sat ten persons inside which meant that there was a seat empty if Qeeta, his stepdaughter, decided to come along for a country ride or to tag along when he took his full family into town and, if she decided to not tag along there would be two seats open. Usually the two younger children would make good use of them seats or, if things had been purchased in town during the full family's outing then seats would be used to put the bags on so that wouldn't take up floor space. He wasn't very fond of the van due to its bulkiness but it had its purposes and that was why he had bought it. His wife had a license to drive, yes, but what was a family outing when one spouse drove part of the family in one vehicle while the other drove in the other? The van had a burgundy front while the rest had been painted to look like wood, the top could hold picnic boxes or bikes and there were two windows behind the driver's side and front passenger windows.

The vehicle on the right side of his Cadshire truck was also new but it was not owned by him and for that, he was damn happy. Amadh had gotten a liking for the Shebie vehicles some time after he had gotten his license to drive and he had asked him time and again if he could please help him by buying him a Shebie vehicle, a nice dark blue one that had a white stripe on the sides and a double white stripe that was on the hook and trunk. As was his nature, he had looked into the car and his initial thought on it had not been good. The tires were too big, the front was too long, the trunk was too short and there was just one exhaust. He had not bought the car for his son, Amadh had had to be content with driving one of his old cars. After a few thousand years he had went on and bought his son his Shebie, Amadh took good care of the vehicle and he was glad for that as he had taught his son that after his name had been put on the title that his hands would not be touching the car for anything. Amadh did the driving, cleaning, the maintenance and he also paid for any repairs from his own pocket.

The vehicle beside the Shebie was Efagti's own vehicle and he was glad that his oldest son had taken after him in vehicle ownership otherwise he would have gone crazy. Efagti's vehicle was painted dark green, it had a little chrome rearing horse on both sides and it had a trunk that was big enough to house the big bags of feed that the livestock on the farm needed. The only thing that Cheshire had against the truck was that the tires were big. His son liked to drive on them muddy roads and he had gone and bought some mud tires that had thick threads and deep grooves. They made the truck look silly in his eyes, the body of the truck was held up pretty high because of them big, mud tires. He drove that truck from time to time when he had to get a goat or a sheep to a vet quickly and for buying the big bags of goat, sheep, Almas and horse feed and, of course, the big ol' bales of hay. He sometimes used his oldest son's truck for bringing in the big, household items that needed to be replaced every so often like the stove, the refrigerator, the washing machine, the dryer and the hot water tank. His son had paid him back for the truck, same as Amadh had done for his Shebie so he knew that both had a good head on their shoulders when it came to money and in acting decent. Had he of bought the vehicles for his sons and they had not offered to pay him back he would have not put their names on the vehicle's titles. He would have kept the vehicles in his name until his sons had matured some and had changed their way of thinking. Efagti and Amadh had not been required to pay him back for their vehicles, but by their doing so they had showed him that they were mature and that they had good heads on their shoulders.

Those four cars, his Cadshire truck, Amadh's Shebie, Efagti's Ford and the van, were all considered the men's cars, the vehicles in front of them were called, by him and his two mature son's, the women's vehicles. There was his lovely wife's dark purple Himiko, a sleek vehicle that sat two in the front and had just one seat in the back. He had bought his wife the car and had told her that on no uncertain circumstances was she to ever think about paying him back. She was his wife, he was suppose to buy her things to spoil her as he loved her son. She treated her Himiko vehicle very well, had it washed and waxed twice a week and had the electric nozzle in the fueling compartment checked once a month, he bought the car four new tires twice a year just so his wife wouldn't have to worry about driving on worn tires and he had placed two spares in the trunk just in case his wife, who knew how to change a tire very well, could take care of business if she ever encountered a flat while on the roads.

The car beside his wife's Himiko he had bought for Qeeta himself after the car that her real father had bought for her had reached the end of its cycle of life. Qeeta's real father, DuruVile Surfeit, was a real mean assed man who seemed to not really give a damn for his offspring. When she had phoned him up about her car burning up on her he had said _tough stuff, what do you want me to do about it?_ A simple fixing would have done wonders, he had thought after he had heard what the man had said to his daughter, Qeeta had not been calling to ask for a new car, she had simply called and said that her car had burned itself out on its cycle of life and that she wanted to know if he'd help her with the cost of getting it repaired just long enough for her to be able to drive fifty thousand further miles with it. The man could well afford to of paid for the car to be fixed up, hell he could have bought his daughter two cars if he had had a heart but no, he had just said that his daughter's car burning up was too bad and to not bother him over it. Had Qeeta of been any of her other sisters her father would have bought her a new car or would have gladly paid to get it fixed but since she was the daughter born to Ashaklar Zoopray, the woman who had bore the man his second living son and the woman who he had married after he had divorced his second wife who he had remarried after he had returned to the world of the known and since she lived with innocent, ol' Cheshire Ubalki and regarded him as her stepfather she was to take care of herself. He had personally taken it upon himself to buy his stepdaughter a new car, a nice, shiny black and silver LuxDux2 that had doors that swung up instead of out and that had a remote so, if she had her arms full of bags she could just press to make the doors lock or to have the trunk lid to become free from its holding bar. His stepdaughter had been very appreciative, she had offered him rides and had hugged him crazily. The man who was her real father, after he had found out that it had been he, innocent ol' Cheshire Ubalki, who had bought Qeeta a new car he had flipped and had said that he was turning a nicely bred and taught girl into a spoiled rotten brat. Was he? Qeeta was a good girl, she didn't demand cash from him, she didn't buy a whole store out when she went out shopping and she didn't go out shopping all the time. She helped out a lot on the farm, she helped a lot inside the house and she was nice and decent. To him, his stepdaughter was far from spoiled rotten.

"Cheshire," he heard, he turned his head to the side and saw that his wife was outside of the house. She had a small bucket with her that, he figured, had the chicken feed or the feed for the ducks in it. "get the mail please. I'm a trifle busy at the moment."

"Of course, Ashie." Cheshire said back loud enough for his wife to hear.

He walked down the beaten path that was between the white picket fence that was around his house and the long white fence that belonged to one of the sides of the horse pasture for a short while then he made a turn onto the drive way that was long and gray, he had just added new pebbles to the drive way two days before so it still had that new smell to it which was sort of addicting. When he had designed the house he had decided against putting all the pastures and paddocks in the back, he was a plantation-bred man and he also had mining thick on the brain and in his genetic code as well so the back and one side of the yard that was beside the house had been left alone for pure crop planting, growing and harvesting while the front and one side of the land around his house had been purely for the animals. A white picket fence with a gate in the front and back had been built around the house and around the picket fence there were long, white fences that were separated that housed the livestock. Nearest the house, in one of the large paddocks, was the brown, white and purple sheep and their barn and hay shed which were both built near the fence. Beside the sheep paddock was the goat paddock, there was a small herd of knee-high, black and white goats in that paddock and, just like the sheep, they had their red barn and hay shed in their paddock as well. There was a pack of ten Almas beside them, funny animals that grew thick, wool coats only once or twice a year that needed to be sheared and they also needed to have their teeth trimmed every so often because they grew like crazy, the worst thing about them animals, though, was that they spit and kicked something fierce. He had only been bitten five times, they had a strong bite to them but their kicks were far worse than their bites. The Almas had their own barn and hay shed as well in their paddock.

Before two thousand, one hundred years ago, that had been it in the paddocks. Just the sheep and goats. But since then his wife had asked for some ducks, a species called the Zeduun which was a nearly all black bird that and a fluffy appearance that did looked rather cute. The only part on the animal that wasn't black was the top of the head which was either red or yellow and looked akin to a mohawk. He had bought his wife five of the species, four female and one male and since then they had been breeding and that number had gone up over the years from five to fifteen and then from fifteen to thirty and so on. He had been selling the surplus over the years whenever he could catch the ducks, they came up to his wife whenever she called out to them or whenever she entered their paddock but whenever he entered the paddock they ran or flew off and hid. It was like they knew that he was coming to get some of their brethren or to get one of the flock that seemed to be injured. Their paddock had a red barn in it as well, the door was open at the moment so they could walk in and out as they pleased but when that sun started its descent he'd go in and close the door after chasing them all into the barn. Their paddock had a large pond in it so they could swing and some duck toys, he had had no idea that ducks liked playing with rubber balls until he had seen his daughter, Blaiga, tossing one of her own toy rubber balls into the paddock and one of the ducks had grabbed it and had ran off with it.

Fifty years ago, Blaiga had hounded him for days after the Azyaha Clorb, their closest neighbors that lived two miles down the road, had shown her her new Micro Farm Pigs that had just been fourteen inches long and had stood twelve inches above the ground. He wasn't a pig-man, they ate like crazy and made a mess of the grounds not to mention they were excellent escape artists. He had spoken to Scoyfol, Azyaha Clorb's husband, about the pigs and he had said that he had had to chase three down in three months after they had gotten out of their pen. He had said no, absolutely no, on the pigs after hearing that, he hadn't felt like chasing after a bunch of pigs or putting the neighborhood at risk of having wild pigs running around because pigs grew wild in a very short amount of time and he wasn't going to allow for a pig to be brought inside the house, he knew very well that quite a lot of them micro pot bellies were actually the bigger breeds of pigs, people just said they were the micro pot bellies pigs to make a good profit. He was not going to have a two hundred plus pig roaming the inside of his house, tearing things up and driving him crazy. His daughter had been crushed but she had gotten over it, a father had to know when to say no to his children and, although he did like spoiling his children he did teach them right from wrong. An advertisement on pig-proof fencing that was said to keep in domestic pigs and keep out wild swine had grabbed his attention eight months before and he had checked into it and had made a few pit-stops in town to ask about the fencing. Everyone had said that the fencing was spot-on what the advertisement had said and that it did wonders in also keeping out the predators that liked to snack on farm pigs, with that knowledge he had gotten the pig-proofed paddock built. He had just built the barn and the shed when he and his family had been called away to Earth after his great-niece and two of her four kids had been discovered alive. When he and his family had gotten home he had put in the order for four of the Micro Farm Pigs, three females and one male. His daughter was thrilled with the new animals and she tended them very well.

That was all on the left side of the yard that was in front of his and his family's house, on his right side were the horse pastures. The pasture closest to him was large and it housed a small herd of small pinto and solid colored ponies. There were seven in the herd, a stallion, three mares, two yearlings and a foal that was a brown and white pinto with a white tail. One of the mares was still pregnant, he was waiting to see if she'd foal before his stepson sent the invite for him and his family to come over to his place for an extended stay. The mare was seven years old, she had had several babies over the years so he knew that if she did foal while he and his family were away she'd be fine. The other mare in the herd was a palomino and white pinto, she was only three years old and she had yet to catch pregnant for the solid black stallion. The pasture beside the one with the ponies ran back far almost to the side of his and his family's house, in it ran the bigger equines which were finely sleek and of exquisite beauty. There was a herd of nine in that pasture, the stud was a nice and shiny black who's face was split down he middle by a nice, white stripe while his mares were either palomino, sorrel, sorrel and pinto or bay. There were two foals in that pasture, two of the mares were still heavily pregnant while the other horses where their offspring, two yearlings and two two year old fillies which he had plans on selling to his neighbor in a few months. The stallion followed him as he walked down the sidewalk to the rustic mailbox that looked like a trunk. He made it to the mailbox just as the mail buggy that was being pulled along by a gray mule pulled up in front of it.

"Mr. Ubalki, nice to see you." Tafflong Venal, a dark blue skinned Zetakin who had large, circular silvery eyes, an O-shaped mouth, holes were a nose would be and shaggy brown hair, said as he reached in the back of his mail buggy. "Where's your wife today? For the past few weeks she had been waiting for me."

"Been waiting for word on her son and on our grandchildren." Cheshire replied. "Personally, so am I."

"Her son?" Tafflong looked at Cheshire hard. "Mr. Efagti gone off to be on his own or-...'

"No, they are still living here with us. They're free to live here with us for as long as they want to put up with us." Cheshire replied. "Tazir, her son through her first marriage, is the one she is waiting to hear from."

"Mr. Surfeit?"

"Yes,"

"He was seen in Baf-az town yesterday morning." Tafflong said. "With his wife, Angel Irene, and one of their sons, or so it was said since no one saw the youth."

"Yes, we saw the report when it aired at eleven." Cheshire replied.

"I have several packages and letters here for you and your family." Tafflong Venal said, he pulled four packages, two small, one large and one medium-sized, from the back of his buggy then he reached back and grabbed a handful of ten envelopes that all had the Ubalki residence's address on them. He handed all of these to Cheshire then he grabbed the reins. "Have a nice day, Mr. Ubalki. Tell the misses I said hello."

"I will, thank you." Cheshire said, he saw Tafflong Venal off then, after the man had gone down the road he turned around and walked back up the drive to his and his family's house.

The house that was now walking towards was large, huge even if one chose to use the word but to him it was a plain, simple, normal house that could well house thirty but, at the moment, only housed nine. He had some staff that worked inside but, mostly, it was he and his family that worked things both inside and outside. The house was painted light brown and had quite a lot of windows in the front. There was a large porch on the front that had benches, rocking chairs and a swing on one side. The porch was white, there were green vines winding around the white railings, vine-like plants with purple and red flowers hung down from the overhanging roof and there were bird feeders and chimes hanging down right near where the first step began. The porch steps had been built thin and high up, their design had been his wife's idea, she had liked how exotic they looked and he liked them quite a lot as well. There was a screen door behind the main door which was heavy cherry wood, the main door had a large knocker on it that was a hollowed out circle that had rubies set around it.

Cheshire moved the packages and the envelopes that contained either letters from family, letters from educational facilities asking for him to become one of their faculty, bills and the usual junk that would usually be thrown out then he reached his hand down and pushed the front gate of the white picket fence that went around the real front yard of his property open. He walked through then turned and closed the gate behind him, had he not of done that the chickens that were his wife's pets would have gotten out and his wife would have thrown a fit and he'd of thrown a bigger fit because he would have had to chase after them. There was a chicken coop built off to the side of the front yard, around it were three fluffy purple chickens. The rest of the chickens, either being purple, black or red and all having a fluffy appearance, were scattered about, pecking at the ground, looking for that last kernel of corn or for an insect or some grass seeds. Cheshire shifted the mail and packages in his arm once again after he had walked up the steps of the front porch then, once he was on the porch and had gone towards the main front door which was open while the screen door was shut, he pushed the screen door in, he walked into his house quickly, the screen door clicked behind him after he had released it, the springs on the door closing mechanism made it so the door didn't slam when he released it, it closed almost silently.

"Qhuakiz, don't run in the house." Cheshire said to his youngest son when he ran up to him.

"Daddy got meel!" Qhuakiz said excitedly.

How a toddler spoke, it sometimes made him shake his head and laugh inside. Qhuakiz was his youngest son as three hundred and ninety-three years of age. He was cranky at times due to his age, along with having his usual emotional fits and, of course, he had his loud moments like any other toddler would. He left his toys out for everyone to trip over, he threw his clothes all over the house for no reason what so ever and he tended to be the one who got disciplined the most but he was very much loved. Cheshire looked at his son and smiled, his son had large, oval-shaped eyes that were a shiny, bronze color, the color of his eyes he had inherited from him, and he had medium-blue skin. He stood just four feet tall but, Cheshire guessed, he'd be around six-foot to six-foot, two inches tall when he got to being a upper-teenage young man. His youngest son was dressed like a typical toddler, he was wearing a pair of blue overalls with a bright red, short sleeve shirt underneath it and he had blue shoes on his feet. Qhuakiz didn't know how to read just yet, he simply liked to run up whenever someone walked into the house and say whatever that person had done or had in his or her hand loudly before running off to resumed whatever thing he had been doing before. Qhuakiz, in a typical toddler fashion, tried to grab the mailed packages and letters from his father's hand then, when his father wouldn't let him have them he made a face then ran off to play with his toy trucks and blocks. Cheshire went towards the living room after his youngest son's short attention span had wavered and he had gone back to his toys.

He had let his wife design the living room, pick out the furniture and decide where to put it all, he and the few staff that he employed had done all that they could in not getting frustrated while she had asked for the S-shaped couch to be moved from one side of the room to the other and then to the other side, she just plain couldn't decide where to put that elegant piece of furniture. The S-shaped couch he had bought himself from a catalogue after he had seen his wife eyeballing it, the couch was dark gray, it had light gray cushions and it had come to the house in two sections. The first swirl's cushions were facing forward while the second swirl's was facing the other way, between the two swirls was a unique wooden phone that had chrome flowery designs on it. The phone was seated on a light brown wooden table that had a single drawer on the front which a notepad that had numbers on it with family members names written alongside, the notepad was there because he sometimes forgot phone numbers. Besides the notepad that had the phone numbers in it in the drawer there was also a ball-point pen in there as well.

Besides the couch and phone, there was also two brown, elegant chairs that had white cushions on the seat and back. A white stone bench stood near the white gold, wallpapered wall from which a 50" screen was mounted on. Four vases, the two on the ends normal while the two on the inside having a Tulip-effect to their design, were on the bench, they had yellow and blue flowers in them. Vases were one of his wife's favorite things and, he did have to agree, they did give the room that they were placed in a brighter and calmer light. After Cheshire sat down on the S-shaped couch he placed the mail and packages on the long, dark walnut coffee table that was in front of the couch. He began to sift through the mail quickly afterwards. Qeeta, his stepdaughter, had gotten a package from one of them jewelry catalogues, his wife had gotten a package from the same catalogue and so had Blaiga. For some reason, Qhuakiz had a package as well. Crazy Charlie's Toy Factory? He'd have to ask his wife on that one, Qhuakiz was much too young to be sending mail out and his birthday was several months away.

Several schools had sent him applications for applying for a teaching job, he'd file them away with the others that he got, they'd be put through the paper shredder. He hadn't taught school in thousands of years, he had taught for a hundred years then, after he had bought fifty plots of land and had started planting and mining and had started getting rich his benefits had started going up and his pay had started going down. His interest in teaching by the time he had quit had been next to nothing, his mind had fully moved over to mining and farming by then. After he had discovered gold glass on some of his plots of land he had started really raking in the dough. He was rich, he was assured rich for life just from finding that rare, natural substance that everyone wanted but no one could get because it was so rare. Besides mining he also planted, grew and harvested crops. His family, the Ubalki's, had been plantation owners and crop growers for almost their entire existence so it had only come natural for him to be one as well. Regardless of his being rich for life he didn't throw his cash all around, he lived somewhat modestly. He didn't buy cars once a month, he didn't own ten plus houses and he didn't go to them auctions all the time. Why would he when he had everything a man would want anyways? A home over his head and a family that he loved dearly and who loved him just as much.

He put the electric, water, gas and insurance bills to the side, he'd deal with them later. Here was a letter to his wife from his sister, Clerabia. His wife would usually let him read whatever she wrote to her after she had read it. His wife's brother, Cluebron, had written to his wife and-... by blessed stars here was an envelope that had his stepson's address and name on it. Cheshire took that one up and was about to open it when he saw the one underneath it. The envelope underneath the one that he had picked up had his stepson's name and address on it as well and it been stamped express, when he looked closer he saw that it had been sent in the mail the night before which he found as weird. Cheshire picked up that envelope then he sat back, he took out his Boker, dark wood handled pocket knife from his left side pants pocket, opened it then he slit the first envelope. After he had taken the invitation, and the short letter that came with it, out of the envelope he wanted to jump up and yell for his family to get ready to leave but he controlled himself. Cheshire read the short note quickly, it just said that he and his family had been invited for an extended period of time to stay at his place. After he had read the short note Cheshire slit the express-sent letter that also had his stepson's name and address on it.

He and his stepson, TazirVile Lajoshu Surfeit, had a great relationship that was fully owed on one thing, his respect for his stepson and his stepson's respect for him. His stepson had been abused pretty badly by his real father, his real father had beat him with his fists, his broad hands, a belt, a whip and he had also verbally and mentally abused him when he had been growing up and then, after he had returned back to the world of the known after being said to be dead for near a hundred thousand years he had resumed his abused. Tazir had been feeling pretty low when he had found out that Angel Irene, his great-niece, was his Universal Wife, he had been so low that he had not accepted it, he had seen her experiencing the pains for him as a curse or an act of punishment towards him. After the Universal Gods had told him that the girl was, indeed, his and that he was her Dominant he had done a 360. Gone was the depressed stepson he had known for the year after his father had returned to the known universe, it had been replaced with a very confident man who now had three biological sons and one son that he had adopted and who he treated and loved as if he was his own.

From the phone conversation that his wife had had with Tazir nearly a week ago, he knew that his stepson was being very wise with the boys. He was letting them settle in, he was being slow in his actions around them and he had told his staff to not say a thing of whatever happened inside his mansion. The reporters had been kept at bay, the only time they had gotten in was five days ago when Bile and Hazaar had been exploring outside and two reporters had rushed up in a boat. His wife had told him that Hazaar had punched his father once, his father had said that incident had come around due to the fact that he done a big no-no in reaching forward to put his hand on his secondborn son's shoulder when his son had rushed up to his mother and had grabbed her up in a hug. Hazaar was still very jumpy and nervous around his father, so was Lazeer and Lhaklar was starting to come fully out of his shell. Bile, from the last he had heard, had calmed down fully and had settled down. There had been no other incidents of Hazaar swinging out at his father, there had been an incident where Hazaar and Lazeer had fought inside but Hazaar hadn't swung out at his father again. When he had seen that Hazaar had been photographed outside with Bile, in the full, blown sunshine, he had thought back to where Angel, his step-niece, had asked him about his eye sensitivity, what range it was and then she had asked if she could borrow his eye drops for her youngest son. Naturally, since he had not known that the Reezal boy was really his youngest grandson he had thought that it had been Hazaar who had been afflicted with the photo sensitive ailment. He now figured that it was Lazeer who really had the ailment, otherwise Hazaar wouldn't have been out in the sunshine. Cheshire took out the letter that was in the express-sent envelope and began reading it.

_Stepper,_

_You and your family need to expedite your arrival sooner, one of my butlers accidentally sent out thirteen invitations that should not have gone out yet so I'm expecting more than nine persons to arrive in the next few days. The action of the other invitations going out is purely on me, I left them out on my desk and my butler, who had just returned from injured leave, did not know that they were not suppose to go out yet. My wife and the boys know what is going on and are looking forward, still, to my sister's, your, mother's and your family's arrival. - Tazir_

He leaned back on the S-shaped couch and thought for a second, the first letter had said that he and his family and Qeeta were the first to be invited and that they'd be the only non-residents in his stepson's mansion before his stepson would send out a some of the other invites. He believed that his stepson had had that intention because it had been him, his family and Qeeta that had stood by his side and had helped in looking for his wife and sons. Cheshire knew better than to think bad of his stepson, he knew that sometime things changed. He knew that things were crazy over at his stepson's residence, he had seen the line of reporters at the front gate and he knew that there had probably been reporters running to rent boats so they could wait five feet or so out to sea as his stepson's mansion had been built so it could overlook a small portion of the ocean. Possibly, with all them reporters milling arround and with having to take care of matters inside his home he had forgotten about telling the Goblin who had returned that he was to not touch them other invites on his desk. His stepson wasn't fully to blame for what had happened with them other invites being sent out, neither was the Goblin who had mailed all them invites out. Stressful times made for things to be forgotten easily. Cheshire stood up, stretched then went out the front door. He grabbed the empty bucket that had once had the chicken feed in it that would always be left on the front porch and began pounding on it, making a loud racket to gain his family's attention. His wife, his two adult sons and upper mid-teenage son, his upper mid-teenaged daughter and Qeeta all looked in the direction of the house then slowly stood up. Ashaklar, who had just gotten through feeding her ducks, Efagti and Amadh, who had been checking the wheat in the back, Phaggo, who had simply been sitting on a grassy knoll with a yellow baseball in his hand that he had thrown up into the air and then caught a few times, and Blaiga and Qeeta, who had been tending the Micro Farm Pigs all began walking towards the house to see what the racket was all about.

"Cheshire, what in the whole wide universe-..." Ashaklar Ubalki, born Ashaklar Zoopray, asked upon seeing her husband standing with one of his feet up on the porch railings.

"Defe inside?" Cheshire asked his wife.

"Yes, probably playing." Ashaklar replied.

"We need to pack and get ready to leave now." Cheshire said loudly after his sons, daughter and stepdaughter had walked into view. "Tazir sent his invite, there's been a complication. A mishap. We need to go and quickly."

Ashaklar, a woman who was pure Zetakin, looked at her husband seriously. He didn't say anything more, he simply said that her firstborn son from her first marriage had sent the invite for their family and for Qeeta, her firstborn and only daughter from her first marriage, to come to his mansion on Moas for an extended visit and that there was an issue... a problem... a complication of some sort that called for them all to pack their things quickly then pile up in their cars then teleport to Moas. Cheshire Ubalki, a man who she had married sixty-one thousand, six hundred years ago who was her second husband and who she greatly hoped would be her last as she loved him dearly, was one handsome looking man in her eyes. He stood a tall, six foot, three inches and he had dark blue skin that was pulled tight across his body. His eyes were almond-shaped, they were a very lovely bronze-color. He wore a goggled monocle over his left eye as he had inherited the mild-severe photo sensitivity from his mother who was a fine woman in her own right, personally, she thought that goggled monocle made him look even more handsome. Her husband had quite a lot of muscle on his arms, chest and back while the rest of his body was slender. He was wearing a pair of black pants that had a dark gray belt around the waist, a dark gray, button-down, long sleeved shirt that had a light gray vest over it that had silver buttons down the front and there were black boots on his feet. There was a gold chain going from the left breast pocket of his vest, it ran down to the left pocket of his pants, on the end of that chain was a container that contained snuff. Her husband was an avid snuff chewer, he did smoke but he did so only on special occasions or when he was stressed out.

Efagti, her oldest son from her second marriage who was forty-seven thousand, four hundred and fifty-nine years old, walked into the house fast after he had heard the word that there had been a complication and that they needed to move and fast. Her oldest son was very responsible and very caring and understanding, just like his father. He had dark blue skin that, like his father's, was pulled tight over his body and large, oval silverish bronze eyes. Unlike his father, he had muscle all over his body, not just on his chest, arms or back. He had gotten all that from working on the farm, By working with the animals, holding the ponies so his father could give them their shots or trim their hooves, leading and tending the bigger horses to their barn, heaving and tossing hay, toting heavy pails of oats or other animal feed, helping when shearing time came around for the sheep and Almas, milking the cows that were two plots of land over, milking the goats and helping with the fields when harvesting time came around. Efagti was wearing a pair of blue pants with a black belt around the waist, a blue shirt that had its sleeves torn off and black shoes.

Amadh, her secondborn son from her second married who was thirty-five thousand, twelve years old, entered the house after his brother, he was usually the comical one in the family but as of the past week he had been all serious which she had thought was strange. Usually, whenever someone was feeling down he'd pull out his jokes and start to make them laugh but, he also had a tendency to open his mouth at any odd time as well. He looked most like his father, had dark blue skin that was pulled tight over his body but his eyes he hadn't gotten from his father. The almond-shape he had gotten from his father, yes, but the pure silver color he had inherited from her. He stood tall, had muscle on his chest and arms but his lower half was slender and graceful looking. He was wearing a pair of dark green paints, brown boots and a brown, short-sleeved shirt.

"Go on and get your things packed up, Phaggo." Ashaklar said when her thirdborn son dawdled.

"How long are we staying with Tazzy?" Phaggo asked.

"A while, best pack enough to last a week." Cheshire replied. "That's seven of everything, only three pairs of shoes though."

Phaggo was her thirdborn son from her second marriage. He was two thousand, seven hundred and thirty-four years old, he had inherited his physical appearance from both her and his father. He had his father's dark blue skin but it was stretched so gracefully over his body that had such a look of femininity to it that Amadh sometimes spurred out jokes on him actually being a girl in disguise. His large, silvery oval eyes he had inherited from her. The look in his eyes said it all, his eyes had a gentle look to them that said that he was calm, cool and collected which was one hundred percent true. He would fight among his siblings but he'd not start a fight outside of the family, much less hurt a flea. Her thirdborn son had quite a lot of maturing and growing up to go before he was a full grown adult. He was wearing a white, short sleeve shirt, blue pants that had a black belt around the waist and brown boots. Phaggo went into the house then went directly up to his bedroom chamber to begin packing his things right after he had been told what all to pack in his suitcase.

Ashaklar watched as her firstborn daughter from her second marriage followed after her younger brother who was seventy-seven years younger than she was. Blaiga could well of been Phaggo's twin and, in fact, she and Phaggo had been asked quite a lot by the kids at Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic and the University of Telepathy if they were twins. She had dark blue skin, very feminine in design, and large, oval eyes that were silvery that she had inherited from her. She was wearing a pair of blue pants, a blue shirt that was slightly loose fitting and she had blue shoes on her feet. She and her husband were adamant that their oldest daughter not wear anything that showed a thing of her body, no leg, no breasts or rear, she was to wear what was appropriate her age or else, they'd get on her and send her back up to her chamber to dress into something more appropriate her age. Blaiga had been her only daughter from her second marriage until Defe had been born and, as was custom, she and her little sister were rather close.

"Is it bad?" Ashaklar asked her husband after she had entered her house, Qeeta walked around her then went upstairs to her chamber to pack what she would need on the trip.

"Nope, nothing bad. One of Tazir's staff accidentally mailed out several invitations a few days ago." Cheshire replied.

"That all?" Ashaklar slapped her husband on the back, he turned and looked at her questioningly. "That's for scaring me! You made it sound like my son was in trouble or got hurt or that something had happened to one of our grandchildren."

"No, if it had been that I'd of said for everyone to drop everything and teleport to whatever hospital or to Tazir's mansion quickly." Cheshire replied.

She and her husband did a spell to make all of the things that they would need while away from home appear in their suitcases, a week's worth of clothing, a few spares of their goggled specks, whether of the monocle type or contact lense kind, a few shoes, medications, important documents like birth certificates, the title to the house, the title to the cars and so on, their cellulars, Ashaklar did a spell to make a few of Defe's and Qhuakiz's toys appear in a box and she also did a spell so that Defe's and Qhuakiz's suitcases would be done and ready and then she and her husband stood and began the waiting game for their children to come down the stairs so they could all teleport over to Tazir's mansion on Moas. Cheshire grabbed the mail that had come in and slid it into his suitcase, he'd do all the bills after he got settled in at his stepson's place and he'd give the packages over to their owners, well except for Qhuakiz's, he'd simply hold onto it then ask his wife about it later on. It took all of fifteen minutes before Amadh, with Efagti following, came downstairs with a suitcase each held in their hands. Phaggo and Blaiga followed behind them and behind them came Qeeta and Defe. Cheshire went and retrieved Qhuakiz after everyone had appeared at the front door, the last action he did was leave a note for his few staff. It was a simple note, just said what his staff was to do while in their absence and, of course, he left his number and the address where he could be reached. After he wrote the note he signed it then taped it to the refrigerator. When he rejoined his family he said nothing, he simply grabbed his suitcase then teleported. His family teleported a second after he had. They all appeared in front of the first step of Tazir's front porch soon after, they all walked up the porch steps and went to the front door. Cheshire knocked twice then he stood back and waited, he had to knock again before the door was finally opened.

"Losal, how are you feeling." Ashaklar asked after she saw that it had been Losal, the Goblin who her second oldest grandchild had injured, who had answered the door.

"Rather well, I do fear though that it is by my hands that more than your invitation was sent out." Losal Khelan, a tall Goblin who had green skin and eyes, there were a few warts on his face and he had a thin, but long, nose. He was wearing a purple tuxedo, the shoes that he had on his feet matched his tuxedo perfectly. His scraggly brown hair was combed to the side nicely, but it still looked slightly unkept. Losal stood to the side and gestured for Cheshire and his family and for Qeeta, his employer's sister, to come in. "Master Tazir has been expecting you."

"How is my son?" Ashaklar asked.

"Very well, been having a very pleasant day so far." Losal replied.

"How are the boys?" Ashaklar asked.

He got no chance to ask that question, the morning had been rather hectic for him and for his co-workers. Due to his mistake in sending out the invitations that had not been meant to be sent out they had all had to check into the rooms on the second, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh floors, make sure that they were appropriate, that they were clean and that everything was in order and then they had had to also do their normal chores. Master Tazir had woken up a bit on the happy side, Mistress Angel had slept in the chamber that was theirs for the first time and, from the looks of things, both had enjoyed being together in the same bed again. He could understand that one well, after getting the order to go home he had been really looking forward to being with and sleeping beside his wife again. They said distance made the heart grow fonder, he could vouch for that saying and say that it was one hundred percent true. Master Tazir and Mistress Angel had made breakfast for them and for their children, they had all eaten in the dining room and then they had all dispersed in different directions. Losal knew that Young Master Hazaar and Lazeer had gotten up from the wrong side of the bed, both had been very moody all of that morning and he knew that both had gone straight up to their chambers after breakfast. He figured that they had gone back to bed to sleep for another hour or two but they could have also gone up to their chambers to be alone and build the new models that their father had gotten them as well. Mistress Angel was taking his sending off the invitations that should not have been sent out very well, she had not gotten on him for it and he had actually caught her saying twice for his employer to not get on him either. Losal, after he had closed the door after his employer's mother, stepfather, their family and his employer's younger sister had entered the mansion, turned around and saw that his employer was walking down the side of stairs that went around the foyer on the left side. His employer gestured for him to go on and he did, he had plans to stick around the door as he wanted to personally answer it to bring in the arrivals that he had unknowingly sent the invitations off to two days before.

"Mother," TazirVile said after he had descended the stairs. "stepper, how is everyone this morning?"

"Doing very well." Cheshire replied.

"Pardons for my being hurried," TazirVile said, he turned around and started leading everyone up the stairs. "I will probably be in hurry all day today."

"The invites that shouldn't have been sent out yet?" Efagti asked.

"No, actually I've got several mares that are showing that they are ready to foal and I also have to do a bat count today." TazirVile replied.

"I bet all them mares will be fine," Ashaklar said. "how're the boys this morning?"

"Doing rather well, Hazaar and Lazeer were a bit mouthy earlier." TazirVile replied. "Combination of that temperamental phase and them not getting much sleep last night."

"Are they still clinging to their mother?" Ashaklar asked.

"Hazaar and Lazeer are," TazirVile replied. "Bile and Lhaklar aren't."

"That's good to know, maybe the younger boys will take after their older brothers and be more open." Cheshire said.

"Possibly," TazirVile said, he was now leading his mother and her family down the hallway of the second level towards the stairs that would take them up to the third level. He had just gotten to the stairs when he stopped. "level four, rooms two through ten are yours. I'd love to take you up further but I do need to check on them mares now."

Due to his owning horses and ponies, he knew that some mares did need more care than others when it came time to give birth. He knew of some mares that, after giving birth, turned on their foals and he knew that some foals also got twisted up within the uterus so badly that they couldn't pass through the birth canal. He allowed for his mares to foal in a padded stall, he didn't wrap the tail or fix up their manes, he let them give birth naturally. When one of his mares showed the signs that she was about to give birth he'd sleep in the barn with her, he'd just sleep on a cot outside of the stall, he'd have all the medical supplies, the scissors, the bandaging, the iodine, the towels and, just in case, a chain. He had found out real quick after one of his mares had gone into labor and couldn't pass her foal because he was too big that pulling the foal out after wrapping a chain around the forelegs helped greatly. His stepson, he knew, had his mares tails wrapped so they'd not get in the way and he knew that Tazir also had three mares that were prone to turning on their foals after they had given birth to them. One of his stepson's mares had had issues giving birth four years before, the foal had been in breach position and she couldn't pass it, he had had to call in a vet then take her in to get the baby removed surgically. That mare, he knew, had stayed open for three years then his stepson had bred her to one of his studs. He hoped that all went well with that mare as she was a rather lovely animal and she had a nice disposition to her. As for the bat counting, he had no idea how his stepson was going to do that. He had over a hundred bats in his pet collection and none of them were tagged. Cheshire guessed that Tazir would be catching each bat then would put each individual in a cage and then, after all the counting had been done, he'd release each captured bat but that was only a guess. Cheshire took over in leading his family up the stairs to the third level, when his family reached the third level they all stopped dead in their tracks. Standing directly in front of them were Lhaklar and Hazaar, the latter looking as if he was a bit irritated.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Lhaklar said. "I have no magazine of yours in my possession."

"Come on! I asked Lazeer and he says he don't have it, I asked Bile and he says he don't have it so that means you-..."

"You checked your room thoroughly for it?" Lhaklar asked. "Turned it upside down? Checked under its skirt and all?"

"Yes and it's not in there."

"Have you asked the old man if he took it?" Lhaklar asked, Ashaklar's mouth dropped in shock over hearing Lhaklar using the term old man in regards to her son who was his father.

"Hell no, how could he when he's been either on the first or second levels since-..."

"Then why do you think I have it? Lhaklar asked.

"Why would dad want a magazine on outdoor living?" Hazaar asked, when Lhaklar tried to get by him he grabbed his arm then threw him against the wall.

"F-... I don't have your damn magazine, Hazaar!" Lhaklar said angrily. "Either it's some place in your room or one of our brother's has it or dad took it or one of the Goblins took it."

"Someone took it and if I don't get it back in two seconds there's going to be hell to pay!" Hazaar exclaimed.

He saw the people at the other end of the hall and was doing his best to keep his cool but with his brother pushing and shoving him about and cursing pretty loudly, he was having a real hard time doing that. Hazaar had been a real pain in the ass ever since he had gotten up that morning, he had got up, had grumbled and whined, complained and cursed himself silly until mother had quieted him up then he and followed him and their brothers, who had slept decently, down to the dining room for breakfast. Hazaar had pushed Lazeer twice when he had gotten in his way and that had started a fight between his two very moody younger brothers that had lasted throughout breakfast. Their father had said for them to pipe it down twice, their mother had turned and had done the finger across the mouth that meant zip your mouths shut and when they had continued to bicker and fight and threaten each other their mother had gotten up and had gone to them. One tap on the back of the head was all it had taken for his younger brothers to quit bickering and eat the rest of their breakfast. When Lazeer had finished his breakfast he had gotten up from the table and had walked off, he had not asked permission to do this and he had felt a trifle bit embarrassed by his rudely leaving the table without asking permission to do so but their father had said nothing of his leaving so he figured that he was alright with it. Hazaar had done the same four minutes later, he had gone upstairs to his chamber and, from the sound of things when he had gone up his younger brother had started fussing with Bile, his older half-brother had gone upstairs before him after he had finished his breakfast and had politely asked if he could leave the table which he had been granted.

He had gotten his music ring, a silver bracelet that he had bought for $45 at the Flea Market in Green River, Wyoming two years before that had come with some strips of silver paper that one could burn music on, as he wanted to listen to some music while he worked out in the gym. He had just gotten out of his chamber when Hazaar had walked up to him and had started rambling about the "disappearance" of his Outdoor Life magazine that was last month's issues. He had no idea where the magazine was and he only went into his brother's chamber when his brother invited him to come in. He had a strong suspicion that Lazeer had the magazine, his youngest brother had gone up before Hazaar had so he could of easily gone into Hazaar's chamber to get the magazine. Lhaklar tried to walk by his younger brother again and found that he couldn't, his brother may be five foot, eleven inches tall but boy was he strong, Hazaar pushed him back against the wall and that just made him even more pissed off. With having the people at the end of the hall to view all of this, all of this unneccessary fighting, he felt a tinge of further embarrassment. He tried to walk by his younger brother again, Hazaar grabbed him by his shirt instead of pushing him back against the wall. He lost his cool right then and there, he turned and shoved his brother so hard that he fell on his back against the floor.

"I don't have your mother fucking magazine!" Lhaklar exclaimed. "Lazeer came up here before you did, he probably has it!"

"I asked him numb nuts!" Hazaar got up quickly then ran forward. He shoved Lhaklar hard then tried to punch him but his brother pulled back just in time to avoid his fist. "He says he doesn't have it so that leaves just you and B-..."

"For crying out loud!" Bile came out from his chamber, he had a green spined magazine in his hand that was rolled up. He grabbed Hazaar by the back of his shirt then yanked him around, he practically threw the magazine in his brother's face. "Take your damn magazine! You lent it out to me late last night just before you went to bed."

"I did?" Hazaar asked, he bent down and snatched his magazine up. "I don't remember doing that."

"I do." Bile said.

"Well, I don't." Hazaar said. He shoved past Lhaklar then went to his chamber. He slammed his door hard enough for everyone in the mansion could hear it.

"Someone better get him a chill pill." Bile said, he shook his head.

"Or one of them," Lhaklar's chest heaved up once then he began yelling in the direction of his younger brother's room. "straight jackets and a gag!"

"Go to hell!" Hazaar yelled so loudly that Lhaklar, Bile and the others down the hall could hear him.

"Maybe you should also get one of them chill pills." Bile said, he then turned around and walked back to his chamber.

It had been one of them brother brawls, he and his two brothers had had them and he had seen Amadh and Efagti have them and he had also see Efagti, Amadh and Phaggo join up for a triple brawl and he had had to separate all three of his sons from each other from time to time when things had gotten nasty or when a brotherly fight was near to going into one of them old fashion real fights where the fists would be dished out. Regardless of his knowing that the fight had been a normal, natural thing between two brothers, he had held his hands over the sides of Defe's head where her ears were and his wife had done the same for Qhuakiz as well. Lhaklar was now coming towards them and he decided to his family on down the hallway so they'd not make Lhaklar's passing through on the way to the stairs to wherever he was headed to congested. Lhaklar locked eyes with him first then he walked on, when Cheshire looked back he saw that his oldest grandson was locking eyes with everyone, he wasn't saying anything but he was acknowledging their presence which he appreciated. Cheshire understood, Lhaklar was probably still upset inside over the fight he had just had with his brother and was not wanting to say anything as he knew it'd come out strained or in an elevated fashion and, also, he and his family were sort of new to Lhaklar. Although Lhaklar had seen them and had spoken once or twice to them, he didn't know them. Cheshire, just as he had walked by a chamber that's door was wide open, looked back once more and saw that Lhaklar had disappeared. When he turned his head to facing forwards he saw Bile coming towards the door to the chamber that he was passing. He walked by the chamber normally, when he was past it he looked back and to his complete disbelief he saw that Bile was looking out of his chamber at everyone in his family that were passing by it. He had a curious look to his face and he had curiosity in his eyes but he had quite a lot of hesitation and timidness on his face as well. So not to frighten Bile, or Hazaar or Lazeer, Cheshire hurried his family on down the hallway to the stairs that led up to the fourth level where his and his family's assigned chambers were.


	12. Chapter 12

As he walked into the dining room that had fourteen in it he automatically focused on trying to not limp, and he did very poorly in doing so. The pain in his foot was bad for one reason and one reason only: his father had walked in on him as he had been lifting a weight up from the floor of the gym and it had surprised him so much after hearing his father say_ hello son _that he had lost focus on lifting the weight. He had tilted the weight as he had lifted it and the clamp that he hadn't checked to see if it was on correctly after he had added the fifty and then the twenty pound weights onto one of the ends had slipped. He had managed to dodge the fifty pound weight that had fallen but the twenty pound weight he just couldn't dodge. All twenty pounds of that weight had fallen on his foot and daaaaaahhhhmn did it ever hurt! His father had grabbed him quickly and had let him lean up against him on the way to the medical chamber that was in his house, when he had gotten him in the room he had told him to remove his shoe and sock then get on the medical table. He had done so slowly, his foot had started hurting right then and there so taking off his sock and shoe had to be done carefully and slowly or else, he'd of been near to crying. The medical table had showed no breaks, thank goodness, but his father had said that he was to stay off of his feet for the next few hours and ice, ice, ice and quadruple ice his hurt foot whenever he could. He had done just that, he knew that icing his foot was important as it'd take care of the swelling, he could deal with the bruising but the swelling he could not. Regardless of his applying the ice to his foot it had swelled up and it had also bruised to a nice, real dark green color.

"It's Duck-Foot!" Lazeer exclaimed when he saw him. "How's the flat as a pancake foot this evening?"

"Hurts like hell and I wish I could give it over to you." Lhaklar replied.

"That sounds like fun." Lazeer said. "Do you waddle when you walk now or have you decided to swim forever in a lake?"

"Think he waddles now," Hazaar said. "better call Bile and tell him that there's a big, green duck inside the house that he needs to take care of."

"I highly doubt if green ducks taste good." Bile said. "Might make a good, unique trophy though."

"You alright, son?" TazirVile asked concernedly.

"Peachy," Lhaklar said, he then sat down at his place at the table between Bile and Hazaar.

"Don't you mean quack-quack?" Hazaar broke out laughing as did Defe, Qhuakiz and Phaggo.

"Alright, Lazeer. That's enough." Angel said.

"Yes, ma." Lazeer said.

"Quack quack." Hazaar said.

"Goes double for you, Hazie." Angel said.

"So who is it again that's the duck? The mint-green one or the one that has a tail of deep purple hair sprouting out from the back of his head?" Bile asked, when his mother looked at him he leaned over to the side then held his hands up. "Hey now, ma. I'm just asking that way I know which duck it is that I go out huntin' for tonight."

"That's not funny, young man." Angel said to her firstborn son.

They started eating soon after, Ashaklar found that all four of her grandsons were very healthy eaters and that each and every one of them had good, healthy appetites. Angel had cooked most of the food that was at the table herself, Tazir had come in to help after she had had to sit down, having to work at a hot stove for as long as the poor dear had she had been starting to get dizzy from all the heat that the stove had been giving off. Angel had made a nice, big roast, a whole lot of BBQ chicken wings, several leg of lamb, there was quite of a lot of fried fish on a tray and she had made some cabbage soup as well which tasted great. Tazir had made oysters that he had dipped in spicy sauce, artichoke and spinach stuffed hot dogs, stuffed Kielbasa and Bratwurst. Ashaklar didn't need to know that her husband had put two artichoke and spinach stuffed hot dogs and two stuffed Kielbasa's on his plate and she didn't need to ask or look to see if Efagti or Amadh had a helping of BBQ chicken and a leg of lamb on their plates, her plate was stuffed enough for her at the moment. She had just one stuffed Kielbasa, one artichoke and spinach stuffed hot dog and a good slice of the roast beef on her plate and that would be her first serving. If she went for another serving she'd do so but only after she had finished everything on her plate.

"My goodness! Bile sure is an eater!" QeetaVile exclaimed after she had noticed how much her nephew had on his plate.

"Bile has always been a fine eater of what I cook." Angel said. "Same for Tazir's cooking."

QeetaVile Surfeit, or Qeeta as he and everyone else called her, was exactly the same. She was his adopted father's baby sister, she was five hundred years younger than his adopted father and, from appearance, they both as if they were not related. Aunt Qeeta stood five foot, eight inches tall, much shorter than her older brother, she had long, jet-black hair that she had braided down the middle and sides and, like his adopted father and sister, she had holes where a nose would normally be, an O-shaped mouth and suction-cups on the ends of each of her fingers. She had very small breasts that barely poked out from underneath her dark pink, pleated dress and she had a very petite, pencil-thin like figure. Unlike her brother, she had teal-colored skin and circular, silver eyes. On her feet were dark pink heels and she had a pink agate and stone necklace hanging down from around her neck. Bile didn't mind hearing about how much he had on his plate, the males that were seated at the table had equally full plates and, besides, he did have to think about that big tank that his big, thickly muscled body needed to be filled. If he didn't eat a lot at the table with each feeding he'd feel somewhat slow, whenever he ate a lot he found himself having more energy. He had two Bratwurst sausages on his plate, two Kielbasa's, two artichoke and spinach hot dogs, a big slice of roast beef and two BBQ chicken wings on his plate and he also had a tall glass of pink lemonade as well, that meant to him that he'd have a full tank of energy to run on for the rest of the night.

"Just you wait until dessert comes around," Angel said. "the man at the head of this table is just as bad as my boys are when it comes to filling his plate of the goodies."

"You made dessert, mam?" Eshal asked.

"I made a majority of it, your daddy made two of the dishes after I had finished making my picked desserts." Angel replied.

"Mam cooks good," Eshal said. "we're all having to work hard to work off the calories after each meal."

"I can see how the boys are so healthy," TazirVile spoke up. "I'd be needing a new notch put in my belts if I didn't go visit the gym after each meal."

"Lookloor looks like you, Tazir." Defe said.

"A chip off the old block, Defe." TazirVile said.

"I had a feeling that you fell off of a rock after you was born." Lazeer said to Lhaklar.

The two younger children of her Universal Husband's mother and stepfather did look rather cute but the older of the two had a very unique appearance to her. Defe had the darkest of blue skin, large oval-shaped eyes that were a light bronze color and long, blonde hair that she had put white flowers in between the braids that were on the sides. She was a tall, young lady. She stood five foot, two inches tall and she was still growing. Defe Ubalki was just five hundred and ten years old, two hundred years older than her younger brother, Qhuakiz. Due to her age, she was still having issues pronouncing her words and she was still acting out which was perfectly normal. She was wearing a pair of black pants, a purple shirt and there were purple shoes on her feet. She had a purple bead necklace hanging down from around her neck and there was a matching bracelet around her right wrist. Angel was having to watch her boys closely around the two younger children of Ashaklar and Cheshire Ubalki, she didn't want her sons to say a curse word in front of Defe or Qhuakiz as, at their age, they could well repeat the words said and she knew from experience that it was hell to get a child at their age to stop saying a bad word.

"So, you like doing jokes Little Man?" Amadh said to Lazeer.

"Who's the little man? Surely not I." Lazeer replied, Hazaar dipped his head then started tittering.

"No, you look like a very well-grown young man." Amadh said. "What are you, six-foot exactly?"

"Yeah,"

"Two inches shorter than me."

"You challenging me?" Lazeer asked nervously.

"No, just saying that you're shorter than me." Amadh replied.

"He's younger than you are, Amadh." Efagti said. "He is still growing."

"That was very rude, Amadh." Ashaklar gave her son a glaring look.

Lazeer looked at the woman who had chided his uncle, he knew that she was his grandmother but beyond that he knew not a thing of her. The woman was tall, she had a petite body with medium-sized breasts that made her look a little unbalanced. Like he, his full-brothers and father, she had suction-cups on the ends of each of her fingers, an O-shaped mouth and holes where a nose would be. Her eyes were large and oval sized, they were a silvery color and were very shiny. She was wearing a green cotton-blend dress that had a tan belt around the waist, short sleeves, a V-neck crossover from with ruched side detail and she had tan heels on her feet. There was a green multi-strand beaded necklace hanging down from around her neck, she had a green tourmaline and diamond ring on her index finger, he guessed that the large blue and red diamond ring that had a gold band that was on her ring finger was the ring that his grandfather had given her when he had proposed. Since he didn't want to start any sort of fighting with anyone at the table, Lazeer looked down at his plate quickly. He had taken off his goggled glass, he had decided he'd only wear it when he went outside, wearing it inside seemed a bit unneccessary since he had no problems seeing inside.

"How is it that my father only made one child who has hair and my brother made two that have hair?" Blaiga asked, Cheshire looked up from his plate then he looked down the table at his firstborn daughter sharply. "What? I'm not asking in a bad way, Hazaar and Lazeer are rather cute."

"They both got their hair from me," Angel spoke up. "Tazir played a big part in the color of Hazaar's hair and eyes, though."

"And Lhaklar looked very identical to his sire." Efagti said. "Except for the mint-green skin and the pistachio-colored eyes, he looks very much like his son."

"They all look like they are my sons." TazirVile said.

They ate in silence after that, Lazeer felt very awkward and left out. He knew that Hazaar had inherited his blue skin from their father, their father carried that gene within him and by that, he had passed it down to him and that gene had somehow got mixed up in their mother's hair color to make the tail of hair that sprouted out from the nape of the back of Hazaar's head and Hazaar's eyes a deep purple color. Their father's light blue skin and their mother's emerald-green eyes had somehow got mixed up when Lhaklar was conceived to make him be born with mint-green skin and pistachio-colored eyes, Lhaklar had also gotten a silverish tinge to his eyes so they shined rather brightly. Lazeer guessed that he had gotten most of his appearance from his mother, his brick-red, bristly hair that went from one side of his head, around to the back then around the other side of her head he had definitely gotten from her. He guessed he had gotten his circular-shaped eyes from her as well, her almond-shaped, human eyes had made the gene for large, oval-shaped eyes shrink to become circular in him. He had no idea where he had gotten his periwinkle-colored skin, though. His father had light blue skin, his skin was darker so it could be possible that his father's gene for dark blue skin and his gene for light blue skin had mixed together to make a lighter color but, then again, he knew that that was next to impossible. That would have made a medium-blue color, not periwinkle. Maybe his mother's fiery red hair or emerald-green eyes had played a part in making his skin color a periwinkle color. Lazeer decided to not think of the gene make-up of him or his brother anymore, there really was no point in thinking about it because he knew that he was his father's son, his mother was not one of them ladies that mated freely. After he had finished eating his supper he forced himself to wait patiently for dessert to be brought in. He could literally live off of his mother's made dessert dishes, he'd not need breakfast, lunch of dinner to live on, he could very well life off of and survive very well through eating just his mother's cooked up desserts.

"Alright, now that the main course, in us adult standards, has concluded it is now time for the course that I think the children are chomping at their bits for." Angel said.

"Who said it was just the children that wanted the desserts?" TazirVile said. "Think I can vouch for everyone here that we all are looking very forward to the desserts that you have made up."

Cheshire was wondering what his stepson was talking about because he was a man who was more on the main course than on the dessert made items, he liked his meats and veggies and potatoes more than the sweets. He knew his stepson was also a man who liked the main course over the dessert course as well so this was strange for him to be saying that he was looking very forward to dessert. He ate dessert like everyone else but he didn't go completely crazy over it and he asked his wife to not make but so a big cake for when his birthday came around each and every year, he preferred to cook on the grill some steaks or some ribs. Angel, Tazir and Bile stood up and left the dining room for a few minutes then they returned with either two trays or two dishes each, Bile sat down at his place at the table while Tazir and Angel went back for the other dishes and trays then, after they had placed them down they sat down. The second that each tray and dish lid was lifting, Cheshire saw why his stepson had said that he was looking forward to dessert.

Three loaves of Banana Bread were on one of the bigger trays, three large Banoffee pies were on a tray that had a rack on it that housed each pie, Ptasie mleczko, or a dish called Bird Milk which was a soft-chocolate candy filled with soft meringue, was on a large tray. He saw a three-tier Butter cake, a cake made mostly of butter but also had sugar, eggs, flour and a leavening agent such as baking soda or baking powder in it as well, he saw a Chiffron cake, an ice cream cake, a plain, old chocolate cake and then he saw the cookies. Tazir already had a slice of ice cream cake on his plate along with a slice of chocolate cake and he had three Bird Milk's on the side as well. Bile had two slices of Banana Bread on his plate, a slide of the Chiffron cake and then he had four of the Bird Milk's to the side. Lhaklar had two slices of the Banoffee pie on his plate and he also had a nice slice of the chocolate cake as well on his plate. Hazaar had three almond cookies, three chocolate chip cookies and a slice of the Chiffron cake on his plate and Lazeer had a slice of Banana Bread, Banoffee pie, Chiffron cake and he also had two of the Bird Milk's placed to the side as well. Eshal had taken a slice of the ice cream cake and chocolate cake then she had gone and dived into the cookies while Angel had a single slice of the Butter cake on her plate along with two Bird Milk's and two butter cookies as well. Cheshire simply grabbed a slice of the Butter cake and the Chiffron cake, he wanted nothing else, he'd let the others at the table have their fill of everything else. After he had finished his two slices of cake he found his wife sliding him two of the Coconut macaroon cookies, he suppressed a sigh and ate them... and found that they were so good that he needed two more.

"Lazeer," TazirVile said, Lazeer looked up the table at his father after being called. "there is one last dish in the kitchen can you go get it?"

"Uh, yeah sure." Lazeer said, he got up and left the table.

He did as he was asked to do but he was wondering why the hell he had been asked to get up from the table as, usually, it was Bile or Lhaklar who were the ones who were allowed to go get the dishes that had been purposely left in the kitchen. The dishes that had the special items in them, something that had been specially made to surprise everyone at the table. Bile had been asked the night before last to go get a tray that had had quite a lot of Coyotas, a cookie that was made large and flat and that's main ingredient was brown sugar. After he got to the kitchen he saw that there was a large dish on the island, he'd need to be very careful in taking the dish to the dining room, if he dropped it he might well get yelled at but one of his parents or worse, both. Lazeer picked up the dish, he balanced it as well as he could, it was surprisingly heavy, then he turned and went back to the dining room. It took him all of four minutes before he got back to the dining room, it looked as if everyone had been waiting for him and that sort of made him nervous. His mother seemed to of felt that he was nervous because she stood up and went to him. She took the dish from him, told him to sit down calmly then she took the dish the rest of the way to the table. When she lifted the lid up off of the dish Lazeer's heart near exploded in laughter. There were two rings of Coyotas in the dish and, in the center of them two rings there was a large Lincoln biscuit, a short dough biscuit that has a pattern of dots on the top in concentric circles.

"I know you much too well, Mr. Ubalki." Angel said to Cheshire, she knew that Lincoln biscuit was one of his favorite dessert dishes and she had made it specifically with him in mind.

"Make me a reservation for your gym in the morning, Tazzy." Cheshire said, he stood up and cut himself a slice of the Lincoln biscuit.

After they had all finished all of their dessert items that they had put on their plates they all got up from their chairs at the table and went to the living room for a sit and chat session. Lhaklar, having injured himself earlier that day and still suffering the pains of his neglecting to check the clamp that he had put on one of the ends of the rod that he had put the two fifties and two twenty pound weights on, was the last to enter the living room, he was quickly ushered to one of the couches and made to sit and rest. Lazeer and Hazaar sat on either side of their mother, their father found himself unable to sit next to her which irritated him a little but he suppressed it. He went and sat in the brown leather chair that had arm protectors on it that was in front of the fireplace. The day for Lazeer played itself back very quickly for him in his head. He had woken up feeling groggy, he hadn't slept well the night before and he was experiencing one of them periods in the temperamental phase that he was going through where he just wanted to be left alone. As it had turned out, Hazaar had also been experiencing a bout of the phase as well and. He and his brother had been at each others throats all that morning and then, after he had left the table rudely he had gone up to his chamber to get some more sleep and then try to finish his model of the Spirit of Mississippi. Hazaar had started something with Lhaklar, a fight had happened right in front of their grandparents and aunts and uncles and it had all been over a stupid magazine that his brother had lent out to Bile the night before right before their father had yelled up for him and his brothers to all of them to snap off their lights and go to bed.

He had slept for a few hours, that sleep had done wonders in kicking that blasted moment he had experienced earlier with the temperamental phase to the curb and he had gone right to work on his model of the Spirit of Mississippi. His model looked so good that he was thinking about getting one of them plexiglass cases to put it in so it wouldn't get dusty or destroyed.

He had just started on the model of a HiRileyPo6, a model that his father had surprised him with the night before. The model was on of them 3D ones which he thought was fantastic! The model was one of them spaceships that had a part in the middle that that looked like the steering wheel of a car that revolved around and around while, on one end, there were four thrusters, when his brother had walked in and had put a bug in his ear about the new arrivals that had arrived while he had been catching up on his sleep. The model spaceship he had done was one that humanity had tried to make a thousand years earlier, they had failed miserably twice then had sent one up which had disappeared into the vast area of outer space. He had put that model together fully just before his mother had yelled that lunch was ready and for him and his brothers to come downstairs. He had eaten lunch with the same people that he had eaten supper with, his impression of his uncle, Amadh, had been pretty good, he had liked how the guy spurred the jokes and how he had acted funny, but now he wasn't so sure of the guy. After he had eaten his lunch he had gone back upstairs to his chamber to start on the sailboat model that his father had also gotten him.

Although he appreciated what his father had done for him in getting him the three models he had gotten him, he did wish that the sailboat model hadn't of been so easy to build. The body of the model had already been done in the box, all he had had to do was paint that then add the posts, the masts and the sails then everything on the deck and it was done. That model had taken him just an hour to do, he appreciated the model but it was not one of his favorites due to its easiness. The Lobster Boat model, the third model he had found at the foot of his bed the night before with his father's card on it that had the word surprise written on it, was similar. The main body of the boat had already been done, he had just had to paint it then let it dry before adding the two lobster cages, the pilothouse, the radar and GPS, the lines that had come off of the pole, the stack and everything else. That model had only taken him an hour and a half to do, he had had nothing else to do but walk around his room, listen to music or go out and walk around the mansion. He was now starting to feel cooped up, with having his goggled glass he wanted to go outside and try it out and see if it really worked. He hadn't really noticed that day before, he had been too struck by shock over finally getting a goggled glass and then dealing with the headaches and dizziness that the lense had caused him to experience to notice much of anything.

He had visited Lhaklar's chamber once after he had finished his Lobster Boat model and had seen that his brother had the bottom of his Munster Koach built already, their mother had gotten Lhaklar that model and Lhaklar was very happy to have it in his collection. He had also found some models from the old man on the end of his bed, a model of a Lincoln Model L Imperial, which, on the box, it had said that it was actually a LyncMoL, and a model of a Model K, or, as the box had said it was, a Upsk Mod2 Luxury vehicle. His brother had yet to do them two before his accident but, afterwards, he had started on them and he had actually finished the Lincoln Model L Imperial, or the LyncMoL or whatever the hell it was called here on this planet. Both models were of the resin kinds but his brother had made the one model that he had completed look very good. The last he had heard, his brother was nearly finished with the Model K, or the Upsk Mod2 Luxury vehicle as the box had called it, and he still had a ways to go with the Munster Koach before it was finished and could be put up on one of the shelves that were in his room.

Bile had personally called him into his chamber to look at his two new posters and his two completed resin dragon models. Their father had gotten Bile a poster of a blue leopard-skinned woman that had been seated on a bed who had just a white sheet pulled up to hide her breasts. The leopard-skinned woman was wearing white heels and she had light blonde hair that was wavy, a part of it was over one of the woman in the poster's eyes. The other poster he was surprised that their father had gotten for Bile, he had given their mother a warning over the resin model that Bile had done of the alien holding the woman that had bands around her parts and whose breasts were finely made and who's ass was very well shown. The woman in the poster was naked, that was very obvious, and she had cream-colored skin and very blue eyes, a tentacle wrapped around the one exposed breast, the rest of the woman was hidden by the woman's leg which was held up. He had had to asked his older brother to smack him in the head to get him to look at something else, that one poster was sexy.

He really couldn't focus on the two resin models that Bile had completed and had put up on a shelf that their father had put up in his room. The first one had been a head bust resin model, his brother had made it so the dragon's mouth was open, there was red on the teeth and he had added cotton to the mouth so it looked as if the dragon was foaming at the mouth. His brother had painted the head and the back of the neck a dark green color, the under part of the neck and underneath the jaw he had painted yellow, he had painted three or more areas on the neck light and dark red to imitate wounds that were open. His brother had said that he had added the brown leather band around the dragon's neck after it had been completed, a spur of the moment type of thing... a light bulb going off moment, he had said. The other model had much more detail to it, his brother had had to model it so the body of the dragon looked realistic, he had made it look like it had scales on it and he had added spikes on the hips, another spur of the moment thing, he had said, before he had done the horns and the teeth. After he had done the body of his second resin model dragon he had done the head, had made it look wicked! The mouth was wide open, the eyes were drawn down in an evil glare and the tongue was lolled over to one side. His brother had made a pair of wings for the model out of the excess resin clay he had had that looked great on the dragon, they were all splayed out to make it look as if the dragon was in full flight and the front legs of the dragon looked as if they were about to grab at something, some sort of prey that the dragon had zoned in on or something. The tail of his model dragon he had curled over to one side, it wrapped twice at the end and had a large, white spike on the tip that looked gruesome! His brother had painted his model dark red on the back, sides, tail and head, he had painted the underbelly, underneath the neck and head and tail dark yellow, the teeth were a yucky yellow and green color and the inside of the mouth was dark red and black. Bile said he had plans to find a large rock of some sort outside or get dad to get him a piece of wood or clay so he could make a landing platform underneath the dragon, he wanted the model to be held up by a string to make it look like it was really flying and he wanted to have a sheep or goat toy or figurine on the rock or piece of wood. That all sounded great now that he had the two posters that Bile had just received and had put up on his walls out of his head, he was looking forward to seeing all of that come together.

He had not been able to look into the two model trains that dad had gotten for Hazaar, due to all the fussing that he and his brother had done that morning he had sort of steered clear of him. Having him beside him as he had eaten lunch, then supper and now having him seated on the other side of mom was the closest he had gotten to him since all the bickering that they had done all that morning. He wondered if his brother was sorry for all the fighting, he sure was, even though Hazaar could be a pain in the neck with his overly temperamental explosions with the phase that he was going through he was a good brother and he was close to him, just the same as he was with Lhaklar and Bile. Lazeer found the image of the two posters that Bile had up in his chamber pop back into his head along with the dinosaur and the one of the flight attendant bombshell that he had in his room. He felt a tinge of jealousy over his older brother getting a sexy pin up poster from their father then he tossed it to the side, he knew better than to be jealous over ones things. If he had wanted a poster of a sexy lady in his chamber he'd of asked for it and, probably, he'd of gotten a no right off and then had found a poster in his chamber a few hours later. He was the youngest, after all and, besides, he could always ask Hazaar or Bile if he could borrow one of their pornographic magazines if he wanted to look at a sexy, barely clad woman.

The room that they were in was called the living room, in order for them to of entered the room they had had to go through a large, set of double doors that were dark brown and had knobs on all on them and a gold knocker in the shape of a lion's head. Why there was a set of double doors placed in front of the living room was beyond him, normally one would just have the living room door-less. The room that he and his family were in had a dark red carpet that had white fang and bat designs in it that only covered a third of the high-polished brown wooden floor. There were two brown leather couches, one that was longer than the other, and a brown leather chair that had brown leather arm protectors on it that had been placed on the carpet, he and his family, sans Bile would couldn't fit and was just sitting on the floor, were on the longer couch his grandparents were seated on the couch across from him, Hazaar, Lhaklar and their mother, the two younger Ubalki children were sitting on the floor, they looked rather tired and were leaning forward slightly. There were portraits, both of the photograph and painting kind, on the walls and there was a large, bubbled dome above on the ceiling that showered down a golden-yellow light. There was a stone fireplace in front of the room that had a mesh gate dangling down from the fireplace's mantle edge. A flying bat portrait was above the fireplace, the couches and chair were sitting directly in front of the fireplace.

There was a really long, dark brown leather couch behind him placed up against the wall, the rest of the Ubalki family were seated on that. His sister was seated in a dark purple chair that had an ottoman attached to it in front of the two, large windows that had deep purple drapes that had white pike designs on them, she was looking out the window at nothing, the sun had set hours ago, plunging everything into blackness. There were four moons that moved around the planet and all of them were hidden behind thick, black clouds, rain had been forecasted for the night and another "gully washer" had been said to be coming in in the next two or three days with it being sunny for the week following. If he didn't get to go outside tomorrow or the next day he'd have to wait a few days more for the "gully washer" to blow past to be able to. It was quiet for a while, they all sat in silence for nearly five minutes then his grandmother, Ashaklar Ubalki, decided to start-up a conversation.

"So, Angel, it's been a right long time." Ashaklar said.

"It has, yes." Angel said. "A very long time."

"You look good for raising four boys on your own for one thousand, six hundred years." Ashaklar said.

"Thank you, wasn't easy the entire time. The first fifty years I was rather thin and frail." Angel said. "Round the clock nursing was what made me so thin... as did the stress of worrying over Lazeer."

"I'll be honest here," Cheshire leaned forward. "I am very surprised that Lazeer is alive. We all figured he'd not live but, at least, a week or two after you left with the boys."

"Never underestimate a woman when it comes to the survival of her kids." Angel said.

"Tazzy tells me that you still let the boys nurse, is that true?" Ashaklar asked.

"Yes, I do." Angel replied. "When they're stressed out, injured or sick. Otherwise, they get my milk from a normal glass."

"You really should have weaned all of them by now." Ashaklar said. "By your continual nursing, you're putting yourself at risk for-..."

"Mastitis, I know." Angel cut Ashaklar off. "I've been getting myself tested for breast cancer for years now, the doctor's all say that I am very healthy up top."

"Just so you know, I'm not picking on you about your continued breastfeeding of the boys." Ashaklar said. "I asked purely out of concern, I love you dearly, as does my husband and family and yours. I let Tazir and Qeeta nurse until my ex-husband told me to stop when they were four hundred years old, I'd of let them nurse for longer but-..."

"It is well-known that long-term breastfeeding makes for better mental, physical and emotional health." Angel said. "I've had my milk tested a few times, it is very high in everything."

"You still produce milk that is high in antibodies?" Ashaklar asked.

"Yes,"

"I'm surprised, I went to the Academy of Womanhood and it's taught there that yes, a woman can choose to breastfeed her child for as long as she is producing milk but it was also taught at that school that the antibody decreases with each year, as does the fats, sugars, proteins and waters." Ashaklar said. "Are you able to produce enough for all four of them?"

"Wake up full each morning," Angel replied. "enough to produce half a glass for all four of them."

"That is very... interesting." Ashaklar said. "I guess if everything is going well with the feedings then you should keep doing them. But I'd not do it past two thousand, five hundred years, that's when I weaned Efagti, Amadh, Phaggo and Blaiga."

That was... very awkward. Bile felt very out of place at the moment with the mature women talking about breastfeeding, weaning and child care. His adopted grandmother was now asking how his mother had been able to keep him and his siblings fed with non-natural milk and how she had been able to get enough cash up to keep them clothed and then get the cash required to send him and his brothers off to their educations. His mother had worked after she had left Dione's underground castle, she had put away a little of each of her paychecks into an emergency account and she had used the rest on them. It had been expensive, he and his brothers had been growing like weeds back then so it seemed that with each purchase of new clothing she'd need to go get the next size up and then there had been the toys and enrichment items that she had also bought for him and his brothers. Now, due to him and his brothers looking to be done in growing physically she hadn't had to go to the store constantly for clothing and, now that he and his brothers were mid-teenagers and didn't go into toys anymore she could completely drop going to the store for them items. When he and his brothers had been on Earth their mother would give them an allowance of $50 a week that they'd use on whatever they wanted, like magazines, models or cigarettes or booze or even some clothing, their mother would buy them clothing from time to time but mostly it was now them who did their clothing shopping. His mother hadn't had to worry about providing food for them for the first two hundred years of being on Earth because she had been staying with Dione, or Granny D, as they sometimes called her, and her pack of two, her daughter and granddaughter. The same had gone for clothing, toys and enrichment items. Bile looked over at his brothers and saw that they, too, looked very awkward as well. He contemplated getting up and saying that he was going upstairs to get ready for an early sleep but, before he could, his mother said something that he did want to hear in on.

"So, have you heard anything of the others, Tazzy?"

"I did get a call from my grandfather today." TazirVile replied. "He hasn't got his invite yet, I didn't tell him that it had been sent out but when he gets it I suppose he'll rush right over."

"Is your father the same?" Angel asked. "Still rather mean? Rather b-..."

"Still the same, yes." TazirVile replied.

"You don't think he'd mind my asking him to not strike or yell too much at the boys, do you?" Angel asked, TazirVile looked at her for the longest time before answering.

"I think it would make him a bit irked at you," TazirVile replied with a sigh. "he might say a few things, might start a fight or two about the boys but I don't think he'd go so far as to striking one of them."

"Naturally, we all know what she has going on in her head." Ashaklar understood clearly why Angel was asking this. She had been married to DuruVile Surfeit, her first son's and first daughter's father, for two thousand, one hundred and two years, she had had to see him abuse their son for all them years which she felt a great guilt over. Had she of said something or had she of left him and had taken the children with her she might have saved her son from getting all of the beatings and verbal and mental abuse that he had gotten. "Angel's thinking highly of her children and of their protection."

"Yes, if I find out that he's put so much as a finger on either of my four boys there's going to be one hell of a fight between he and me." Angel said. "Just so you all have been warned, I am a rather protective mother to my sons."

"And you should be," Cheshire said. "us father's can be rather protective of our young ones as well but it's the women who get particularly nasty when it comes to protecting the children."

"Has he and Cyla had any other children besides Gaajah?" Angel asked.

She should have remembered Uevaa, the girl that her great-grandparents had bore one thousand, nine hundred and eighty-six years ago. She had picked the phone up after the baby had been born, her great-grandfather had barked at her and had demanded that she hand the phone over to Tazir at once which she had done just to get rid of him and his loud mouth. Her great-grandmother, Cyla, had been carrying twins, a boy and a girl, and she had sadly lost the oy after two months had passed in her pregnancy, she had nearly lost the girl as well hadn't she of been put on strict bed rest for the rest of her pregnancy. She had voiced her sorrow at Cyla losing one of her babies but the woman was just like her husband; hard, mean and cruel. She had seen her offering of condolences for the loss of one of her babies as her way of brown-nosing into her affairs and she had yelled at her. She had not gotten to know the name of the baby until almost two weeks after the baby had been born. Uevaa had just celebrated her birthday a week earlier.

As it turned out, she had also forgotten about Selik, her great-grandparents' fourthborn son who they would always regard as their thirdborn. Selik was one thousand, six hundred and nine years old, nine years older than Lazeer and she had never really gotten to see him as a baby. Her great-grandfather had done the same thing after he had been born, now that she remembered that he and his wife had had another child nine years before Lazeer had been conceived. He had called up her Universal Husband, she had picked the phone up and he had yelled at her, had told her that she should know better than to pick up the phone when the call wasn't meant for her or something around that area, she couldn't much remember all of what he had yelled at her, she just remembered calling Tazzy's name rather loudly then holding the phone up for him to grab.

There was another side to her great-grandfather that she had grown to know and that she liked quite a lot. He was nice underneath all the meanness, he acted like a bully, he was all cruel and mean and hard but he could also be nice and cool. He was mean quite a lot of the time but, when you caught him at just the right moment he could be decent to be around. She had gotten use to his meanness, the same as Cyla's, but she still worried that he might try to hurt one of her children. He had made a fuss once over the short tail of hair that Hazaar had been born with, he had made up so much of a fuss that she had literally called him up herself and had told him to back off, that had started a fight between them two over when and where and how to show respect before she had gotten so frustrated with the man that she had told him to not call the mansion again for a while. Although he had apologized for the fight and for making such a fuss over her son's hair, she had still be on guard. And she also remembered that Gaajah had been rather mean and bossy towards both Bile and Lhaklar when they had been children, when she had told her great-grandfather to control his son he had came back with the_ control yours, mine's doing as he should_. Angel made a mental note to not let her children have any contact with her great-grandfather or his wife or their children until she had had a chance to talk to them and get some things straight first, there was no way in hell that she'd let the man hurt her children, she had confidence that her sons could deal with Gaajah on their own now since they were older but when they got there she'd make damn sure to keep Gaajah in her sights when he was around her sons. After she had been told about Uevaa and Selik she fell into a quiet spell.

"How many bats did you count today?" Lhaklar asked after it had been quiet for a few minutes.

"Near three hundred." TazirVile replied. "That's not including the pups."

"So the full tally is a hundred or so more?"

"Correct,"

"Still have them Platypus' that you caught one day when ma took you to Earth?" Bile asked.

He had suddenly remembered about the four Platypus' that his father had caught one day while on Earth, his mother would surprise his father on his birthday by having his breakfast placed by their bedside on the morning of his birthday then, after he had finished his breakfast she'd instruct him to get dressed quickly. After he had gotten dressed she'd whisk him away to Earth for their day together in either watching and capturing bats or scuba diving. His father had caught several bat species from Earth on his birthday trips there and he had also collected ten of the Humpbacked turretfish and four Platypus' as well. TazirVile didn't answer Bile vocally, he stood up and beckoned for everyone to follow him. Bile followed behind his and his brothers' mother while the Ubalki's, minus three of them as Ashaklar had decided to take Defe and Qhuakiz up to their chambers for the night, walked behind them. They walked a long ways, went down several hallways, made ten or so left and right turns and then went down a flight of stairs before coming to a stop before a large door that was padlocked. TazirVile reached into the pocket of his dark blue dress pants, he rummaged around for a short few seconds then he took out a key ring that had quite a lot of tiny rings on it.

"Regain your size," he said, Bile knew he wasn't talking to anyone behind him as he was looking down at the key ring. "regain your shape, your size and your grooves. Grow to the size of your originality."

The keys on the key ring grew to their appropriate size and TazirVile began sifting through them. He went through five then he found the one that went to the door, it was the one that had a royal crown on the end that was silver while the rest of the ring was gold. He wasted no time in inserting the key, twisting it then withdrawing it from the keyhole and he wasted no time in pushing the heavy black painted steel doors open and walking into the room. He had kept his Platypus' in a small chamber at first, had given them a large pool to swim in and had pulled the vinyl flooring up so he could have it replaced with synthetic dirt and rock. The four Platypus' had acted happy in that small chamber but, after a while, they had grown from four to eight and then from eight to thirteen and so on. That small chamber had gotten too small for all of them so he had had the room that he was now leading his family into built and designed just to accommodate them and their offspring. He had sold a few of his Platypus' over the years, when their population had gone above fifty, he usually sold his extra Platypus' to private collectors, zoos or exhibits that wanted to show weird, exotic animals that other planets had on them. At the moment, his Platypus population was at twenty-one animals.

"Cachu sanctaidd!" Bile exclaimed in Welsh, one of his learnt languages.

"Watch your language, Bile!" TazirVile said sharply.

"I'd say he still has them Platypus'!" Lhaklar said after he had entered the room.

"Bats and now Platypus'," Hazaar shook his head. "what else are you into?"

"I'll show you in just a minute." TazirVile replied.

What had fascinated him about the Platypus was the fact that it was a freak of nature, something that looked hoaxed... fabricated... not real! When his wife had told him about the animal he had taken it as a joke, they had been at lunch after he had collected his ten Humpbacked turretfish when she had told him about the animal and, when she had seen that he wasn't taking her seriously she had told him to hurry up with eating his sandwiches. He had done so, had stood up and she had teleported him to Tasmania, a state island of the main island of Australia. She had taken him to a pool where he had seen for himself that the animals were for real. That one sighting had been enough for him to want to have a few, he had dived in and had come up four times with one of the animals in his hands. He had had to be careful, his wife had told him that the male animal of the species had a spur on the back of its back feet that had a very painful poison on it. He and his wife had come home with the ten Humpbacked turretfish and the four Platypus' soon after he had caught the last one.

The animals were semiaquatic so he had ordered and had helped his staff put in a deep pool in the chamber that and his family were in. He had pulled the vinyl flooring up himself and had put dirt and rocks down afterwards, there were some real bushes and some small trees around the pool along with a few logs. There were a few small patches of blue and green grasses in the chamber but, for the most part, the floor of the chamber was dirt and rock. He had done his research on the animals and had found that they both layed eggs and let their offspring nurse and that they did this in burrows so he had added more dirt on top of what he had already put in the chamber and boy had them Platypus' been so appreciative... his population had grown seemingly overnight. One of the animals was just waddling up on the bank of the pool, it had dark brown fur on its body, a beaver's tail, a duck's bill and an otter's feet. It hadn't been until three years after he had had his Platypus' that he had found out that they used electrolocation to find their prey under the water. That had sealed his liking for the animals, they were unique, they were weird and they had something similar to a bat. After two minutes had passed Tazir led his family out of his Platypus Chamber, he closed the door behind him and put the padlock on it then he led his family down the hallway.

"Do not touch or tap on the tanks, please." TazirVile said to his family after they had reached the room that had an all glass door that had a gilded Starfish door knob on it.

The second he entered the chamber he knew what it housed but, still, like his brothers, his mouth dropped low in shock. There was a long, circular hallway that went around the room which was large. A majority of the room was taken up by several tanks, the hallway went all the way around the tanks. The tank on the left had several Blobfish, Angelfish, Starfish, Eels and a fish that had gills on it that lit up. The first tank on the right had Speckled Stingrays, small Stingrays that could fit in the palm of his hand and medium-sized Stingrays that had a fan on their backs. The tank beside it had sharks, small, medium and large sharks, sharks that were white, sharks that were black, sharks that had a stripe or two on their sides that lit up an electric blue and sharks that had red and orange stripes on their bodies. Each tank had corral reefs, the tank that had the Blobfish had a sandy bottom and was right dark while the one with the Stingrays was lit up bright. As he was walking by the shark tank a small shark latched onto the glass, Lazeer saw that it had a short, rounded head with large, anteriorly placed eyes and a transverse mouth. He knew at once that it was a Cookiecutter shark. That shark swam away after he couldn't get to them, the second that it swam away a new fish swam up to the glass. The fish was long and dark green, it reminded him of an eel but it had sharks teeth and a suction-like mouth.

"Hey, I think this fish wants a kiss from someone." Lazeer said, the fish had latched itself onto the glass.

"That's one of my Suction Sharks, son." TazirVile said. "Have five of those."

"Maybe he wants a kiss from you, Little Man." Amadh said, the fish unlatched itself from the side of the tank and slowly swam away.

"By my guessing with him unlatching himself from the glass like that, I think he was wanting a kiss from you." Lazeer said, Efagti and Phaggo chuckled lightly, Amadh stayed quiet.

His mother, grandmother and Blaiga shivered after reaching the last tank that was in the room and that prompted his father to move them along faster. He had everyone exit the room quickly then, after everyone was out of the room he closed and then locked the door behind him. Lazeer walked over beside Hazaar, he glanced over at his brother then he nodded his head to acknowledge him, Hazaar turned his head at him then he walked by him without saying a word. Guess that meant he was still miffed at him for the fighting that they had done that morning. TazirVile then led his family down the hallway away from his fish room, he made a turn then walked down a rather long hallway before turning left and disappearing. Hazaar was wondering what was wrong with his father as he seemed to be in a hurry. When he and his brothers, their mother and the Ubalki family made the turn that his father had made they all saw that the man was standing, waiting for them. After everyone had walked up to him he turned around and led them down that hallway then he made another turn and stopped. Hazaar was growing bored of all the walking, escorting and fish seeing, he was wanting to go upstairs to his chamber and go to bed, it was near ten at night. Right after Hazaar had reached his father he had to force himself to not sigh, directly in front of him was yet another hallway but this one had fish tanks on either side of it that had fish in them.

"Bats, Platypus' and fish," Hazaar thought. "I have one weird father."

Bile was also getting bored of all the fish seeing, he was one who liked to go out and fish but he wasn't one who liked to have fish as pets or go out to them amusement parks that had exhibits that had fish in them. His adopted father had really gone overboard with his fish and with his Platypus', it almost made him wonder if there was something wrong mentally with the man as, surely, one would not want to have all of the fish that he had in his or her house. As he walked down the hallway he remembered it, his mother had told him that his father had designed the tanks himself and he had also overseen it being built. The tanks both had blue water in them and both of them had a rocky and sandy bottom with seaweed and coral reef rising up from the rocks that did give the tanks have a natural look to them, in the way back of both tanks there was a mountain of rocks that covered the wall that gave them an even more natural feel.

There were orange and white striped Clown fish that had faint black lines on the orange stripes and fins and tail darting in and out of the coral, there were dark blue Jewel Damselfish with light blue spots on their bodies, Neon Damselfish with blue stripes on their bodies and Flourescent Blue Damselfish that were an electric blue color swimming around the coral, Black and Gold Bi-color Chromis, Blue Green Chromis and Fiji Devel Damselfish, the latter having a body that was separate in color, one half being blue with the other being yellow, swimming near the rocked back of the tank and there were several Radiata Lion fish swimming around near the sandy bottom. This was in the tank on her right, the tank on her left had something far different.

There looked to be hundreds of Black, Yellow and Red/Orange Hippocampus Reidi clinging to the seaweed which was placed in the center of the tank, on the left side of the seaweed cluster was rocky terrain while on the right there was sand. On the rocky side of the tank swam Banded Pipefish that were black and white striped and Arothron Golden Puffer fish swam back and forth from the rocky area beside the seaweed and the mountainous, artificial back of the tank. On the sandy side of the tank he saw a few Bluespotted Stingrays that he did like quite a lot, there were also Yellow Watchman Goby and Blue and Target Mandarin in that same area. When he reached the end of the hallway he saw that there was a tank separate from the other one behind him that had several Epaulette Sharks, very unique brown spotted shark that had a white or tan base color. Soon after Bile had reached the end of the hallway he turned around, he waited for his brothers to catch up to him, he had just to look at Hazaar and Lazeer to know that they, too, were as bored as he was. Lhaklar was the last one in the line, he had been forced to drop back because of his foot. Bile latched onto his brother's ailment and used that as an excuse to go upstairs.

"Pardons, I have greatly enjoyed seeing and remembering the fish in the room and in this hallway but I do think I need to head upstairs for the rest of the evening." he said, he turned and began walking away. "I do, after all, have a mint-green duck to catch sometime in the future."

"Night, Bile. Sleep well. See you in the morning." TazirVile said. "It is getting rather late, think it is time that we all retire for the evening. We do have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

"What's going on tomorrow?" Hazaar asked, he hoped it wasn't another escort through fish paradise.

"You and your brothers will find that out after you've finished your breakfast tomorrow." TazirVile replied.

"No fair! You're keeping us in the dark. That means we'll be up all night, staring at the ceiling or at the walls of our rooms wondering what all you've-..."

"My son, you and your brothers will find all that staying up, staring at the ceiling or the walls to be a good thing." TazirVile said, he then turned around and walked down the hallway that had the fish tanks on it. "Night everyone, sleep well."

"He really is a weird one." Hazaar whispered over to Lazeer, his brother agreed with him fully.


	13. Chapter 13

He ran into the bathroom that was all his that was adjacent his bedroom chamber and looked at himself in the three-way mirror, although he wanted to do his hair up quickly he also wanted to do his hair good and that meant he'd be in the bathroom for a few minutes. While on Earth, he had done a spell on a single mirror to make it stretch all the way around him, here he found he didn't have to do that but he still preferred to do it as it did help matters when it came to getting his hair done right. With a flick of his wrist he swung his wand at the mirror, the first time that he said the spell nothing happened, he was out of breath and that had made his wand not work, he took two, deep breaths then he said the spell again to make the mirror wrap around him but not distort his image while doing so. This time the spell worked and the three-way mirror stretched around him fully, his image within the glass remained crystal clear and he was glad for that, had his image of been distorted in any way he wouldn't have been able to add some style to his hair the way he wanted to, what he had in mind to do might have come out looking very wrong. After the mirror had stretched around him he looked down at the stuff that was all his that was on the light brown wooden shelf that was beside the blue porcelain sink.

All of his old stuff was here, his father had found his boxes in the bathroom in the apartment that he and his brothers had lived for three hundred years with their mother and he had spell-sent it back to his mansion here on Moas. The red, bright blue and yellow beads had been arranged in order of their color in neat and tidy rows in the first tray that was on the top shelf. The second tray had the new ones on it, his father had gone and bought him a shitload of gold, light purple and light and dark purple leopard print beads for him to do up his hair with and there was also a bead in that tray that changed color which, although he thought was cool, he had a feeling that it wouldn't go well with his hair color or with his style. There was a tray on the shelf underneath the new beads that had his yellow, light blue, light purple and red feathers in it, these were all placed in rows just like the beads above and his father had gone and gotten him some new feathers that were gold which he had a mind to use that morning.

His father had put the other stuff that he didn't use anymore in the two shelves underneath the one that had the tray that had the feathers on it. All lined up in neat lines on the shelf underneath the one that had the feathers on it were the tubes of red, light purple and light yellow dyes, he had used the tube that contained the light purple colored dye once on a single strand of his hair and he had near had a bloomin' heart attack afterwards when, instead of the single strand of hair being dyed light purple his whole rattail had turned a light purple color. He had had to wash his hair six times in a row just to get his natural hair color back and ever since that incident he had never touched the dyes again. They just sat around and collected dust, just like the ribbons which he had bought on Earth. One light purple ribbon in a strand of his hair was all it had taken for him to put them in the box that he had thrown the dyes in, the ribbons had made him look like a girl and that was one of the last things he wanted to look like. He was glad that he hadn't bought more of the dyes or ribbons, he had bought both items to experiment with, to just see if they looked good on him.

Besides the tube of toothpaste and his dark blue toothbrush, there was a container on the sink counter that contained his comb, brush and the pair of scissors that he had also had in one of the three boxes that he had put some of his hair care stuff in, he was glad he had those items but he had been rather miffed after he had noticed that the metal rod that he used to grab a strand of hair from his rattail had been missing. The metal rod that he used on his hair was needed... he needed that metal rod to keep the strand of hair that he wanted to work on straight and tight, although he could use a spell to do that he liked using the metal rod better as the result was much better, in his opinion that was. He had asked his mother if she could ask his father where the metal rod that he used on his hair was two days before and when she had come back saying that his father had thrown it out he had had a temper tantrum. He had thrown his hands and arms around, he had yelled and he had stomped around for a few minutes before sitting down on his bed. After he had calmed down he had apologized for his temper tantrum then he had asked his mother if she could ask his father for a new metal rod or for something similar to what he had had, she had no more left his chamber before coming back in with a new metal rod that was very identical to the one that his father had said he had thrown out. He had put the metal rod in the container that had the scissors, comb and brush soon after he had been given it.

The night before he had noticed that his hair had grown to being a full five inches long and that there were quite a lot of split and uneven ends, he had used the scissors to trim his hair back to its four and a half-inch length. He liked his hair being this length best, if it got any longer it got uneven and the ends got split. He knew that some people would have just grabbed their hair and then snipped the locks that they didn't want off without wondering what they looked like afterwards, he didn't do that. After he had snipped the extra half-inch worth of deep purple hair off of his rattail he had examined his hair, he had looked for more split ends, he had looked for more uneven ends and, to his surprise he had found not a one. One snip was all it had taken for his hair to go back to its original, four and a half-inch length that had no split or uneven ends. Hazaar grabbed the comb from the container and ran it through his rattail three times then he grabbed the metal rod from the same container. He shoved the metal rod through his hair, gave it three, good twists then he pulled it over to the side.

"If it works, why stop using it?" he thought after the reflection in the mirror showed that the new metal rod had collected a decent strand of his deep purple hair.

He worked quickly after he had collected a strand of his deep purple rattail, he did a spell to make the strand of his hair that was around the metal rod braid up tightly then he tied that strand off with a rubber band. After he had pulled the metal rod out from that strand of hair he shoved it back in and collected another strand, he put one of the gold feathers in the strand that he now had around the metal rod then he said the spell for that strand to become braided. After he had done that strand of hair and had pulled the metal rod out he shoved it back into the rest of his rattail and collected another strand of hair, this one he put the light and dark purple leopard-print beads and a few gold beads on. He thought hard about doing a fourth strand, he didn't want to miss what his father had said he had planned for him and his brothers that morning but he didn't want to stop styling his hair until he felt that it was complete. After some thought, Hazaar shoved the metal rod back into his rattail twice more and made two more strands come out, he did the spell to make the strands braid up but, with these two strands he added gold beads between the braids. After he had done that he dropped the metal rod into the container with the comb, brush and scissors then ran out of the bathroom that was adjacent his bedroom chamber. He opened his bedroom chamber's door and ran out, he ran so hard down the hallway that his and his brothers' chambers were on that he thought his heart was going to pop out from his chest, having two flights of stairs and several more hallways to go down didn't make this thought become any better. Hazaar took the first flight of stairs that went down to the second level while plain running, he kept his pace up while going down the second floor's hallway then, when he got to the staircase that branched off, going around the foyer in different directions, he changed tactics. He jumped down half of the steps then he ran down the next, when he got down to the first floor of his father's mansion he tore off to where he had left his family. When he got to them he was very winded.

"Someone get him one of them breathin' masks quick!" Lazeer exclaimed. "He's about to keel over!"

"Lazeer, that's enough." TazirVile said. "Hazaar, thought I told you not to run in the house."

"S-s-sorry," Hazaar gasped his reply. "I-I didn't m-mean t-..."

"There's no need for you to of rushed yourself," TazirVile said. "we have no issue with waiting on you."

"What have you got up your sleeve for us today, dad?" Lhaklar asked.

"You'll find out soon," TazirVile said, he reached into his dark green tuxedo jacket that had a real long tail in the back and took out five pieces of fabric that were long. "each of you now, wrap these around your heads. Cover your eyes and that does include you my lovely wife."

"I would love to but I am afraid that I am allergic to blindfolds." Lhaklar said.

"Same here." Hazaar said.

"Oh, well I guess you two will miss out then on this thing I had planned for all four of my sons today." TazirVile said, he then looked over at Lazeer who was fingering the dark red blindfold that he had given him. His wife and Bile had slid their blindfolds on without saying a thing. "So, is this it for today? Just my wife and Bile that will join me on what was planned for today?"

He grumbled a little but he slid the thing over his head, he fiddled with the part that went over his eyes a little then he reached forward and grabbed the shoulder of the person who was nearest him. Having a blindfold being handed to him and then being told to put it on didn't sound right to him at all, he saw his father leading his family to a secret location them abandoning them just to see if they'd come back to his mansion or not. Lhaklar was somewhat worried about Bile, normally he'd say something in the morning but all throughout breakfast he had been quiet and to himself. Usually, Bile was only that quiet and to himself when he hadn't slept good the night before. He had looked at his brother closely when he had turned and looked at him and he had noticed some dark areas underneath his eyes but his brother looked as if he had slept. Lhaklar figured that his younger brother had slid his blindfold on because, a minute and a half after he had put his on the one who he had his shoulder on that was nearest him began walking forward. He had no idea where he was being led to, all he had done that morning was get up, he had showered quickly then, afterwards, he had slid on a pair of whitey tighties before putting on a pair of mahogany pants and a brown and cream striped shirt that had buttons down the front and long sleeves. He had grabbed a pair of brown socks from his top dresser drawer and his brown shoes on the way out of his chamber. The swelling of his foot had gone down, it was still discolored and it still hurt him some but not as much as the night before and he was still limping some but that didn't slow him down from following the one that was walking in front of him. He had no idea where he was being led to, all he knew was that the person that he had the shoulder of walked a long way before stopping then resuming going forward. Lhaklar stopped after his instincts told him to and refused to go any further when some light began to come through the blindfold that he was wearing. He only went forward when a pair of hands that had suction-cups on the ends of each finger pulled him forward, whoever it was that had him took him down a flight of four steps then he was stopped and told to stay put.

"Alright, everyone remove your blindfolds." Lhaklar heard his father say, he did as he was told. After he took his blindfold off he blinked his eyes a few times to help them adjust to the light from the sun that was pouring into them then he turned around and saw that Lazeer had been stopped right after exiting the mansion. His brother, after he had removed his blindfold and had seen where he was, reached into his back pants pocket and took out his black leather Caiman crocodile designed eyeglass case. He took his goggled glass out and put it over his eye quickly then he walked down the steps of hte back porch and joined his brothers. "You four know what to do now, go do some exploring. Lazeer, that includes you. No excuses this time."

He should have known that this was what his father had meant by him and his brother having a big day a head of them, although Lhaklar was glad to have something other than building a model or walking around, exploring the home he had lived in for a few hundred years he was slightly disappointed in finding that this was what his father had meant when he had said for him and his brothers to get a good night sleep. Lhaklar sighed inside then he walked off in the direction that Bile went, he really wanted to see what his problem was that morning. Hazaar went off towards the ocean and Lazeer went off towards the stable, Lhaklar had just noted that Eshal, Phaggo, Blaiga, Defe and Qhuakiz were also running and playing about in the backyard when he turned around and got his first, real look at the back of the mansion that his father owned and that he had lived in for five hundred years.

The mansion in front of him was burgundy in color and that had a roof that spiraled up and was topped with a gold sphere that sent down gold rays upon the artificial blue grass that was around the mansion and the fences that were in the backyard. There seemed to be a hundred windows in the back of the mansion, they all looked out from either rooms or from a few of the long hallways that seemed to stretch on forever. Lhaklar took a step back then he turned around and walked on to find Bile and speak to him about the way he had been acting all that morning. He had just passed a large tree that was dropping petals of pink flowers when he saw his older, half-brother duck behind a bunch of bushes and disappear. Without giving it a second thought about his still sore foot, Lhaklar ran after his brother then, when he got to the cluster of bushes he leaped. He suppressed the yell of pain when he landed on the other side but he didn't suppress the gasp of shock when he saw that his brother had hidden himself under one of the Weeping Willows that had white leaves instead of green. Bile was well hidden due to the bushes that were behind him that gave him some cover and he was lying on his back, what had made Lhaklar gasp out in shock was seeing the joint that his brother had jutting out from between his lips.

"Bile, you crazy?" Lhaklar whispered, he walked over then sat beside his brother.

"No, I'm taking advantage of a good hiding place to have a smoke." Bile replied, he made a flame appear on the end of his index finger then he lit his joint up with it. He took one, long drag from his joint, held it in for nearly a minute then he exhaled. "Worth every step here, I'll do some exploring after I'm done with this."

"You feeling alright this morning?" Lhaklar asked, he made the box that he had spell-sent underneath the ground appear at his feet. After he had taken a single cigarette out from a pack of his Black Devils cigarettes he spell-sent the box that contained his cigarettes in it disappear back under the ground. "You was rather quiet at breakfast."

"So what, can't a man have a quiet moment once a day?"

"You normally aren't but so quiet in the morning." Lhaklar said, he put his cigarette in his mouth then lit it by lighting his suction-cup on fire. He took a drag from it then he exhaled the smoke before taking another puff.

"I was still waking up,"

"You do have some slight discoloring under your eyes." Lhaklar said, he took a puff from his cigarette then he leaned back against the log that he was seated in front of.

The next few minutes scared Lhaklar half to death and made him even more concerned for his brother. Bile had never spoken about leaving the nest or about striking out on his own before in a serious fashion, he was sitting beside him saying that he wasn't so sure that he could take living where he was now and living how he was being forced to live, he claimed that he felt restricted and that he felt like he didn't belong. Lhaklar's breath caught several times in his throat when his brother said that he missed Earth and in being able to do what he wanted after breakfast had concluded without having a pair of eyes following his every move. Although Lhaklar could understand that last one, he felt somewhat awkward where he was now but he was getting use to it and, as far as he could tell, so was Bile. Lhaklar finished his cigarette, stubbed it out then burned what he had left in his hand by making his hand become engulfed in flame then he stood up, he didn't know if his brother was serious about leaving or not but he did know that he didn't want his brother to leave. He loved his older half-brother, he was close to his older half-brother and he knew that their mother would be crushed if Bile left not to mention so would Hazaar and Lazeer.

Bile had not done any fussing or had said anything about leaving home when their mother had decided to move the family from Clearwater County, Alberta, Canada, he had actually been all for it as he had said that the place had gotten too cramped. They had moved after their mother had found the apartment in New York, after she had moved the apartment they had set to fixing it up and then they had started settling in. It had taken a while for them to get fully settled in, a few years as their mother had been a single parent footing the bills, both for utilities and their interests, but they had all been happy after moving to Green River, Wyoming. Although some of the towns around the county that they had moved to had been near deserted, some even going ghost, they had liked where they had moved to because they had had room to move and breathe and the people had been very nice to them. He guessed he understood how Bile felt about having a pair of eyes on them at all times but, now that they could go outside they could escape them eyes and have some time to breathe and be on their own.

"Where are you going to go after you leave us?" Lhaklar asked his brother. "What are you going to do? Are you going to find work? Are you going to find a place to live in, you need a job to pay the bills and you also have to worry about yourself."

"Back to Green River, where else?" Bile sounded distant, he didn't sound like he was fully there. Lhaklar walked over to his brother and slapped his hard in the face.

"You said after we all came home from out educations that you didn't want to be away from mom because you loved her so much and you also said you didn't want to be away from us, your brothers, because you'd miss us too damn much." Lhaklar said, he almost felt like crying at that moment. "You leave here and you crush our mother and us. You want our mother being brought to tears because one of her sons disappeared? You want us, your brothers, to feel like we're not complete because you can't get a grip on yourself?"

"What're you talking about man? I'm not leaving here on my own, I'm taking all of you with me." Bile said, he shook his head. "You're my family, but I can't stay here. I can't when-..."

"You can if you try," Lhaklar said. "you were doing well before, what happened? You seemed to of gone from being unsettled to settled in a few days now you're-..."

"Places like this make dreams happen, recurring dreams and nightmares that make one wake up constantly drenched in sweat and breathing heavily." Bile again sounded not there, Lhaklar was about to slap him again when he said something else that stopped him. "I saw our apartment go up in a green flame and plume last night in my dream then I saw a shadow walk away from our just-blown apartment. I kept waking up then going back to sleep only to have the dream resume itself from where it ended after I woke up."

He had already seen the building near the shore the beach and he had no intention of going back to see the ugly beasts that his older brother said his father used as his hunting canines. He went towards the beach but he turned at the last second and went towards the bushes that had red roses on them when he had seen them. He remembered, when the "gully washer" from the week before had blown in, that he and his brother, Lazeer, had seen a light yellow color bobbing to and fro in the winds, rain and hail that the storm had generated. He had not been able to check the area out the last time, he was going to do his damnedest to check it out that day. Hazaar had noticed that the artificial blue grass had ended when he had neared the beach, it had given way to a full rocky terrain. Now that he was headed towards the bushes that had the red roses on them the artificial grasses had returned, he had stopped twice to see how the artificial grass was coping with the natural terrain. To his surprise, the artificial grass seemed to of fused in with the rocks, he had seen roots clinging onto the rocks and then disappearing underneath them so the artificial grass seemed to of taken a liking to the original terrain and the original terrain had retained its natural color which was interesting. He had seen several birds hopping and skipping along on both the artificial grass and the rocks, they had pecked at the ground, had found bugs and they had flown off in a normal fashion. He had seen a big, red worm wriggling about near one of the rocks near him after he had stood up after looking to see how the artificial grass and the natural terrain were getting along and he had gone and picked it up. The worm had been nice and big and fat and slimey like a normal worm would be. He had seen beetles and ants and he had checked them out, all acted normally and looked normal.

The second time he had stopped was when he had decided to put his hand on the artificial terrain to see if it was as rough as the artificial terrain on Earth that the humans used on their sports areas. The artificial terrain that was used on Earth was known to be rough and it often caused painful, open lesions that resulted from abrasive contact and it was also known that artificial terrain on Earth contained a lot of bacteria on it as well that survived for long periods of time so if someone got a cut or scrape on the terrain he or she would also be at high risk for getting a bad infection as well. When he had put his hand on the artificial blue grass he had been surprised to find that it was soft and that it had a real feel to it and the grass had been slightly wet from the dew that had fallen as the sun had begun to rise up in the sky. After he had felt the artificial grass he had begun to wonder if what his father had put down was something different than what was used on Earth, it was very quite possible since his father was ancient and since he was also from a different planet. His father was a hundred and fifty-seven thousand, nine hundred and twenty-three years old, surely some sort of near real artificial grass had been created so it wouldn't be harmful to the ones walking and playing on it and it wouldn't harm the environment and its animals and insects as well.

"Young Master Hazaar," a burly Goblin that stood four-foot, ten inches tall who had brown hair that was slicked back and who had light brown skin and green eyes said after he had walked up into view. The Goblin was wearing a dark blue tuxedo, he had a light blue hand-knitted cravat tie around his neck.

"Uhhh, hello." Hazaar said.

"Is everything well this morning with you, sir?" the Goblin asked.

"Uhhh, yeah." Hazaar said.

He walked away from the Goblin, he had no idea what had prompted the Goblin to speak to him but he had felt somewhat awkward during the small conversation. He figured that the Goblin was just being friendly and polite in acknowledging him and in engaging in small talk, Hazaar really didn't know any of the Goblins that worked for his father, he remembered a few of them and, in fact, he remembered that the Goblin that had spoken to him had helped his father when he had been taking him and Lhaklar to the medical chamber that was on his ship after he had captured them the first time. He couldn't remember the Goblin's name, but he remembered that the Goblin had been very obedient to his father. Hazaar went towards the rose bushes and had nearly gotten to them when a big, blue bird that looked as if it had a long, dark blue feathered tail flew out at him that he had disturbed. He gasped out loudly then fell back hard, his elbow scraped against one of the rocks deeply and he felt the sensation of pain immediately. The Goblin that he had had some small talk with a minute and a half before ran up to him and helped him up to his feet quickly.

"Sir, are you okay?" the Goblin asked. "Should I call for your parents?"

"No, I'm okay." Hazaar replied, he took a step away from the Goblin then he pulled his elbow up to examine the scrape he had received after being surprised by the bird. The second he saw the deep scrape from which his bluish colored blood was seeping out of he grew angered at himself. He had jumped back and had gotten surprised by a stupid bird that had been more scared of him than he was of it.

"Sir?" Hazaar shook his head, he had been so immersed in his scrape and in his anger over getting frightened over a bird that he had lost track with reality. The Goblin was standing at his side, he was staring up at him concernedly.

"I'm fine, just a scrape." Hazaar said. "I've had dozens, nothing worth worrying over."

"You sure, sir?" the Goblin asked. "You are bleeding rather badly on your elbow."

"I'm fine...-" Hazaar searched his brain for the Goblins name, all he came up with was Apeelo so he said it. "Apeelo?"

"Abevo, sir." the Goblin bowed slightly. "Abevo Speelin', brother of Kalach Speelin who is one of your mother's most trusted confidants."

"What kind of bird was that?" Hazaar asked. "It looked like it had a right long, dark blue tail."

"Catalingo bird, sir. Your father has been having a time with them this planting season." Abevo replied.

"Why? Do they eat the seeds that are planted in the garden?" Hazaar asked.

"No sir, they don't mess with the produce. They come from a small island north of here that was treated with a sort of spray that is used to bring in insects. The birds have collected the spray on their feathers and when they roost here in the garden that spray passing from their feathers to the plants." Abevo explained. "The insects have been having a field day with the plants this planting season, your father has had to call in a specialist to spray everything with a spray to make the insects go away twice."

"Why then is he still having problems with the birds?" Hazaar asked, he found himself being very interested in the spray that the birds were flying in and in the insects that the spray was attracting.

"They keep bringing in more of the spray, seems the more that the specialist comes in to spray the garden with the spray that makes the insects go away the birds bring in more." Abevo replied. "Your father just recently gave the order for everything in the garden to be pulled up, he's going to start over fresh in a chamber inside the mansion."

"Why hasn't he contacted the people who are spraying the island that the birds are coming from? Surely the birds are getting sick from the spray." although he was glad that his father had a plan B with his garden he felt somewhat sorry for the birds as they were flying around with a spray that could well harm their health.

"He has, sir. The island is one of them reserves for several species of turtle, frog, bird and bat. The spray is applied to up the insect count so the animals won't go hungry." Abevo said. "The Catalingo bird isn't one of the island's natural fauna, it's cousin, the Sabahdira is but the Catalingo isn't. The people who run the island are even having a time with the Catalingo's."

"When did they start having this problem?" Hazaar asked.

"Just this year, it is believed that they are following the weather systems. They are from the far south part of the planet where it's much more tropical." Abevo replied.

That had happened on Earth once before and, instead of farmers worrying about their crops the whole human population had begun worrying about a plague starting up. They had worried for years and, when no plague had happened they had calmed down and then, as if it had been waiting for just that moment the Avian Flu plague had struck. His mother, he and his brothers had been living in Canada when it had struck but they had seen the effects of it, the government had sent out military squads to fire on the birds that were flying in because they had been carrying a disease that would make a human go into convulsions then go into a coma before dying. In all, ten species of bird on Earth had been wiped out in the year 2708 with another five being wiped out the year after. The plague had claimed almost ten million and then, after the plague had gone away and the government was starting to recover there had been a global shift in weather. Desert birds found themselves flying north because the rains had made their desert-homes become like mud, birds from way up north had flown west because snow had started falling much earlier and they couldn't roost, raise their young or even find food to sustain themselves and the birds from places like Africa and Australia flew up to Europe to avoid the flooding that had been happening in them places because of the rains that wouldn't let up. It had taken another three years before the weather had returned to normal, as a three hundred and three-year old he had seen a bird that normally would not be seen in Canada, he had seen a very pretty Phainopepla bird, the bird had had a very noticeable crest on its head and it had had a long tail, it had been a nice, glossy black and it had had a white wing patch under its wings and, interestingly, the bird had had red eyes. When he had moved to Green River, Wyoming three hundred years ago he had finally see another of them birds and he had looked up the species afterwards. The bird he had seen had been a male, the males were the ones that were black while the females were gray. Hazaar shook his throbbing elbow then he went into the garden to give it a once-over before going to look at the building that was near it.

At first glance, the garden looked fine. The plants had green leaves and the produce looked in good order but when he went over and squeezed one of the beans that was hanging down from the bean plant he saw that everything on the inside of the plants were not fine. The inside of the plants were mushy and when he had squeezed the bean a black substance had come out that had a smell to it. His father's garden had both flowers and produce in it, the garden ran for miles and it was divided evenly. The left side was of full flowers. Yellow, red, purple, black and white, purple and white, red and black striped, and a sort of flower that looked like a Venus Fly Trap bobbed in the morning breeze, the garden was surrounded by beautiful light green bushes that had red and red and white striped roses growing on them. The right side had produce growing, tall apple, peach, orange, mango and banana trees grew, carrots, cucumbers, potatoes and grapes looked about ready for picking, lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, onion, celery, peas, beans, collard green and kale looked not yet ready to pick and to the far back Hazaar saw yams, garlic, ginger, radishes, squash, peppers, pumpkins, corn and eggplant. All of the produce was bad on the inside, the outside looked good but the inside he knew from just squeezing one bean from the bean plant nearest him that the produce was all bad. The flowers, when he looked at them, he saw that they were discolored in the middle and that the stalks were very fragile, when he blew on one of the stalks of one of the flowers it broke in half. Hazaar quickly left the garden after he had seen what damage the birds had done by flying in the spray that had attracted the insects, he went straight for the building that had a thick wooden sliding door on it. He had figured that the door would be locked but he gave it a try anyway and, to his surprise, he found that the door was unlocked. With all the strength that he had in his body he slid the door open enough so he could slide in then, when it was open about a foot or so he slid in. The last thing he saw while he was sliding into the building that he was now going to investigate were two Goblins walking over in his direction.

"Lazeer, you are going to be so friggin' jealous!" Hazaar exclaimed after he had made a small flame appear on the suction-cup on the tip of his right index finger.

He was in a building that house all sorts of sea-faring vessels and boating equipment. Right off the bat, he saw two sleek, well polished and well equipped boats that looked like that had a single, fine engine on the backs. When Hazaar went over to get a closer look at the boats he saw that the outside frame had been painted to look like wood, the frame of the two boats was made of pure steel. Hazaar stood nearly on his toes to look into the boats and he saw that both of them had six seats inside of them and that there looked to be a lower level in the boats as well. After he had looked at the two boats he went down the aisle that ran between the smaller boats and the ones that looked like the ones that someone would use when they are fishing out in the ocean. He had gone down halfway down the aisle when he saw that there were four more boats in front of him, three that looked like the typical fishing boats and one that looked to be an ocean-faring vessel and then he saw the stuff that had been propped up against the wall.

He had thought that his father was weird the night before, now he was thinking that his father had a thrill-seeking side to him. His father had parachutes, the kind one would use when he or she decided to go parasailing, hanging up on hooks that had been placed in the wall of the building and there were several life vests hanging next to them. On the floor next to the life vests there were a few coils of rope and several rows of weapons. Hazaar saw harpoons, a gun rack, a few fishing poles and some fishing gear and, when he turned around he saw that there was an area that had a tarp over it. When he went over and lifted the tarp up slightly to see what it was covering up he saw a pair of water skis, some surf boards, some spare boat parts and a few extra parachutes. There was another tarped area beside that one that, when he lifted that tarp up he saw that there were several spare engines underneath it. Hazaar had just noticed that there were three jet ski's in the building as well when the building was flooded with light. Hazaar took the building being flooded with light as his cue to leave the building and go see what Lazeer was up to, he turned and went to the front and the building and slid out then he ran off in the direction of his father's mansion, the two Goblins who had opened the door to let in a little light for their employer's son looked at each other in confusion then they grabbed the thick, wooden door and slid it back to being closed.

He had acted as he usually would when the sun was out and he had not had anything to aid him in keeping the rays from harming his sensitive eye. He had ran over to the stable that was built near some fenced in pastures and had ducked inside, it wasn't until after he had done so that he had realized how funny he had looked. He had his goggled glass on, there was no need to run and hide from the sun anymore as his speck protected his sensitive eye from the rays that the sun generated. After he had chided himself on his silly, mad dash for the safety of the covered stable he began to look around. He had thought that the stable, the red and white-painted stable that had a silver roof, had just a few horses in it. What he saw after he started exploring was far over that number and what he saw he viewed as far more superior than the equine stock on Earth.

As he passed by the stalls he glanced inside them and saw that each and every horse had a sleek and beautifully formed body that was trim, well-groomed and well-muscled, each horse looked as if they had not an ounce of fat on them and that included the mares that had the foals at their sides. He had been told the day before that his father had been rather busy over some of his mares that had been showing that they were near their time in dropping their foals, it looked like there were three newborn foals in the stable. Lazeer looked in one of the stalls that housed a black mare that had white markings all over her sides and a full white tail and her foal that looked no more than a few hours old that was solid black. The mare, besides having recently given birth, looked trim and she looked as if she had been groomed recently while the foal had not been, Lazeer guessed that his father had either groomed the mare but had left the foal alone to not make the mare feel stressed or he had ordered one of his staff to only groom the mare and to leave the foal alone so the mare wouldn't get stressed out from seeing her baby being handled by strange hands. The mare in the stall beside her was a very bright gray with a white mane and tail, she too looked trim and well-groomed and she also had a small foal at her side that was black. The mare in the stall beside that mare was one of them roan sabinos that's neck and head were bay but the rest was a combination of pinto and roan markings, she had a small foal at her side that had a loud bay pinto coloring to it.

When he came to the mare in the stall beside the one with the bay foal he had to stop and stare in disbelief. The mare was bay and she had pinto markings but it looked as if the white on her coat had been splashed on her from the belly on up to the withers with a small bit reaching past her flanks. She was heavy in the belly, her tail was wrapped up in red bandaging and to Lazeer, the mare looked plain uncomfortable. Right in front of him, she kicked her left high leg up at her belly then she turned her elegant neck around and gave her belly a nip. Lazeer had just put his hands on the door to the mares stall and had just noticed that the nameplate on the door said Afafika when the mare lunged forward at him with her teeth bared. Lazeer pulled back just in time, the mare stuck her head over the stall door, she stared at him with her nostrils flared then she made a snort and went back to the far back of her stall. A Goblin ran over right after he had heard the mare lunge forward, he had just reached Lazeer when the mare lunged forward again.

"Did she get you, sir?" the Goblin asked, Lazeer didn't answer, he moved around the Goblin then walked on down the aisle. "Young Master Lazeer!"

He went on, he was still rather nervous around the Goblins and didn't much want to have one of them fussing over him for some phantom injury. Lazeer saw several other pregnant mares that had their tails wrapped up, most of them were a nice, sleek and shiny copper penny color while the rest were either black, gray or dun and some of them had pinto markings, he had just passed by a dun pinto mare that had blue eyes when he came upon the stallions. The first stall that he looked into housed a lanky, but finely formed, copper-colored stallion that had Bend Or spots on his flanks and withers, the stall nameplate said that the stallion's name was Tritor. The next stall had a stallion named Breklor that was blue roan while the stall beside that stallion housed a lovely near white stallion that had fading black markings on his shoulders, rump and neck and two ice blue eyes. Lazeer had just looked into the stall that housed a stallion that his sister had said that she had done when their mother had given her a horse model kit to do when he saw Hazaar walking into the stable.

"Looking for a horse wife now?" Hazaar asked after he had reached his younger brother.

"Yuck, I am not one of them dancers that do it with the burros." Lazeer made a face.

"Nice stallion," Hazaar said after he had looked into the stall that housed the nicely muscled flea-bitten gray stallion that had a creamy mane and tail that was named Rhoosod. "looks like one of them Arabians or one of them Thoroughbreds that are on Earth."

"Dad's got a lot of pintos in this stall, neither of them breeds have pinto markings in their make-up." Lazeer said. "Most are-..."

"Solid colored, like sorrel, bay, gray or black." Hazaar said, he then leaned in close. "I'm heading to find a hiding place to have a smoke, you coming with or-..."

"Sure," Lazeer said, he turned away from the stall that had the stallion in it. "got a magazine hidden on you as well?"

"When have you known me to not have one stuffed inside my shirt?" Hazaar winked one of his deep purple eyes then he began to lead his brother out of the stable.

The second that they exited the horse stable they saw that the planned smoke and magazine check-out was not going to happen. Their mother was standing on the porch talking to someone that looked like Bile but, from the distance that they were at they could tell that it wasn't Bile just from seeing that the guy had black and silver, bi-colored skin. Their father was standing at the foot of the stairs and milling around him were three beings that looked young and, standing off to the side near a tree was a woman that looked nearly like their father. Lazeer stopped in his tracks when he saw that there was someone else in the yard besides the Ubalki's, he could see that granddad Cheshire and grandma Ashaklar were standing off to the side near one of the fenced in pastures with uncle Efagti and Amadh and he saw that Eshal, Phaggo, Blaiga, Qhuakiz and Defe were all still playing. Hazaar decided to head off in the direction that he had seen his two older brothers go off in after their blindfolds had been removed, he glanced behind him once then he started off. He had only gotten half-way across the backyard when he heard his father yelling over at him and his brother to come over to him. Hazaar stopped, sighed in frustration over being called over to a location where he did not want to go then he turned and went towards his father. Lazeer followed him for most of the way there then, when they got to being five feet away from the people that had not been there before they both stopped.

"What is he wearing?!"

Hazaar glared at the one that had spoken and he saw that he looked just as young as he did but there was a drastic difference. While he was dressed in a pair of brown pants, brown socks, brown socks and had a brown shirt on that had dark brown, short sleeves on it, the one who had spoken was wearing a pair of black pants that only went to his knees that had ties around the ends that kept them from going any further and a white, long sleeve, button down shirt that had laced cuffs and gold buttons. The kid had white stockings on that went up to his knees and he had black shoes on his feet that had a silver buckle on them. There was a white frilly lace cravat around the kid's neck and the kid had a black jacket slung over his back. The kid that had spoken had dark red, spiraling horns on his head that stretched up about ten inches, the left side of his face was dark red while the right side of his face was fully silver. The kid had elf-like ears and his eyes were a glowing green color, there were light yellow pupils in them. The kid stood stood six-foot, exactly, and had a lean body to him that had not a bit of muscle on it which, to Hazaar, was hilarious.

"Same question to you." Hazaar said back.

"Good clothes that my father wore when he was a kid," the kid replied. "you're wearing what one from the streets would wear."

"How come that one behind him has one glass over his eye and not two, Tazzy?"

One look was all it took for him to know who the girl was that had asked his father about his brother's goggled glass. She had said that she had thought he was cute during that one dinner that he and Lhaklar had had with the entire Surfeit family after he and his brother had been caught at the hot spring near Green River, Wyoming. Her name was Uevaa Surfeit, and she was, technically, his, Lhaklar's and Lazeer's aunt, she was their father's baby half-sister. She stood five foot, nine inches tall and she had long, dark auburn hair that flowed down to the middle part of her back. The left side of her face was silver while the right side of her face was dark yellow, Hazaar had only to look at Uevaa's hands to know that the left side of her body was silver while the right side of her body was dark yellow as well. She had no viewable ears on her head, like him and his full-brothers, but she had very blue, glowing eyes that had yellow pupils in them. She was wearing a blue dress that had long sleeves, white slacks and she had blue heels on her feet that had bows on the sides,

"He's-..."

"He has the same thing that you inherited from your mother, doesn't he Boy?"

He knew who it was that had interrupted his father as well, he was his grandfather, DuruVile Bolushi Surfeit, the only son of ShaamVile Klondike Surfeit and Egla Shaar. The man had a deep, booming voice that was strong and that automatically got everyone's attention. The man stood six-foot, three inches tall and there was not a hint of his age showing at all in his body or face. He had a hard, experienced look on his face, even his glowing green eyes with the yellow pupils showed his experience. The left side of his head was silver while the right was black, his elongated ears ran the full length of his shoulders and were a silver color with black Tiger-like stripes. The man had long, black fingernails on each of his fingers that were filed to a sharp point and he had fangs on both his top and lower teeth. The man was wearing a black aristocratic shirt that layered collared shirt that had long sleeves and silver buttons that went down the front, there was a severe cut done on the far left side of the shirt's bottom which looked like it had been put there on purpose by the designer. He was also wearing a pair of black pants that only came down to his knees, ties had been tied at the knees to keep them at that length with a pair of slacks going down the rest of the way to a pair of black leather shoes that looked rather distressed, they had side buttons at the scalloped edges. His grandfather had an ear adornment hanging down from his left elongated ear that had a gold chain on it with a silver ball on the end and he had a gold chain hanging down from around his neck. Hazaar nearly slapped himself in the face when the question of why the man looked so much like his older, half-brother, Bile, ran through his head. The man looked so much like Bile because he was related, while the man was his, Lhaklar's and Lazeer's grandfather, he was Bile's great-grandfather. Hazaar hissed when his grandfather walked down from the porch then in his direction, his grandfather stopped then looked at him.

"I don't think an introduction on my part of who I am is needed for Hazaar since we have already met," DuruVile said. "he seems to still have a lot of that defiant streak in him that he had before and I see that you have done nothing about his hair, Tazir."

"What the hell is wrong with my hair?" Hazaar demanded to know.

"He takes care of it well so I see no reason to have it removed." TazirVile said.

"It makes him _look _ridiculous!" DuruVile said in a strained fashion, his glowing green eyes with the yellow pupils flashed with a tinge of anger before setting back to have a calm appearance to them.

"So does y-..."

"Hazaar! His hair is perfectly fine, it doesn't make him look ridiculous and he takes very good care of it." Angel said, she had stepped down from the porch and was now standing beside DuruVile, who was also her great-grandfather. "And, yes, Lazeer has a mild sensitivity to his left eye only."

"The younger one in the back I have yet to see," DuruVile said, he walked by Hazaar and went straight up to Lazeer who took two steps back.

"From my standpoint, they both look to have some defiance in them." Cyla Surfeit, DuruVile Surfeit's wife, said from where she stood against the tree. "Angel had passed that gene on well, it seems."

She had no relation to him and his full-brother's but she was related to his mother and his older half-brother but, to look at her, she only looked to be related to his mother more so than Bile. Cyla Surfeit, born Cyla Dybla, stood six feet tall, with most of that height accredited to the length of her legs, and she had light blue skin that looked very smooth. His grandfather's wife had red hair that was wavy, there were two strands that she had dyed purple that Hazaar thought contrasted wonderfully with the rest of her hair. She had beady, blue eyes and she barely had a nose, she had red eyeshadow, lipstick and blush on her face and she had mascara on her eyelashes that was a dark red color. His grandfather's wife was wearing a black gown that had a red, flame-like floral design on the front. The dress had belled cuffs that were turned inside out so that he could see that the flame-like floral design was also on the inside of the dress and the dress had an attached hood on it. There was a matching flame-like floral designed necklace around her neck and she had black heels on her feet. When Hazaar looked down at Cyla's hand he saw that she had painted each fingernail red and that she had a sterling silver dragon ring that had a blue topaz stone in the center on her ring finger and she had what looked to be a 14kt celtic knotted ring on her ring finger that had a red diamond in the center. Hazaar turned around when he heard his brother make a sound and saw that their grandfather had grabbed his brother by his arm.

"Hold still, Boy!" his grandfather barked, Lazeer was trying to get away by pulling away from him.

"Let him go!" Hazaar exclaimed, before he could run forward to help his brother he found his mother running by him.

She had done all she could when her great-grandfather had appeared on the back porch with his family to tell him that he was to not lay a finger on any of her children and she had gotten a half-promise that he wouldn't which, to her, wasn't enough. Her great-grandfather had her youngest son in what she called a vice grip, a grip that was tight and a grip that he used when he was trying to gain control of someone. Lazeer swung his fist twice then he kicked out before she reached him, Angel quickly pried Duru's hand off of her son then she stood between the two, Hazaar took two steps towards her then he stopped. He looked back and saw that his father had a concerned look on his face while everyone else looked as if they were not surprised that his brother had acted the way that he had when their grandfather had grabbed him. Hazaar's eyes landed on the kid that had insulted his dress sense when Cyla walked forward, she walked over and stood beside the kid then glared over at him. Hazaar returned the glare then he turned back around and looked at his mother and brother.

"You need to get both of these boys a better wardrobe, Tazir." DuruVile said after he had looked Lazeer up and down. "I agree fully with what my son said earlier. These two are dressed like gutter people, not appropriate for one of Surfeit blood."

"My sons have a very unique style to them." Angel said. "Their dress sense is perfectly fine."

"You must be joking," DuruVile said, he then began pointing at Lazeer's clothes. "rips in the knees of his pants, the hems are torn to bits and he has two tears in his shirt. Tazir, tell me that you do not approve of this."

"The thought of tossing the clothing that had holes in it did pass my mind but I decided against it." TazirVile replied. "Their style, I am sure they will grow out of it one day."

"You need to get to work on this one," DuruVile turned around, he pointed his left index finger at Hazaar for just a second before dropping his hand. "as you can well see, Angel, Selik and Lazeer are both taller than he is. He may have a bigger body than my youngest son, but he is stunted for his age."

"Which one is Selik again?" Angel asked, Hazaar and Lazeer paid special attention to what was said next as even they wanted to know who Selik was.

"Selik, step forward Boy!" Hazaar nodded his head when the kid that had the dark red, spiraling horns stepped forward. "He is just nine years older than Lazeer."

"Hazaar isn't stunted in growth," Angel said, she had even nodded her head when Selik had stepped forward. "he's not unhealthy, either."

"He's five foot, eleven inches tall, Girl. That is-..."

"Hazaar's still growing." Angel said, she then looked at her two sons. "Why don't you two go find Bile and Lhaklar."

"Yes, do please!" DuruVile said excitedly. "I will see you two shortly, I do hope. When you get back you shall have some interacting time with my three children, one of whom your two brothers know very well from their childhood years."

The past fifteen minutes had been difficult for him in telling his brother what all he had experienced the night before and, in a way, he was glad that he had spilled what had happened as it had lifted a great weight from his chest and from his mind. He had been speaking in a haunted fashion, saying that he was going to leave his family on Moas, go back to Earth and resume his life there and then he had said that they were coming with him which had put a further scare on him which had made what had happened to him all throughout the night before he had woken up that very morning at seven o' clock spew out of him like foam does when one presses the button on a can of shaving cream. He had spilled, Lhaklar had listened and then his brother had offered him some advice and some brotherly comfort afterwards which had also helped out greatly. He felt as if he could fly now, what had happened the night before had come out, he had tried his hardest to keep it to himself all that morning and almost everyone, even his own mother, hadn't asked or noticed that he was much more quiet than his usual. He didn't blame his mother for not noticing, he still loved her beyond words, his love for her still had no definition. His mother had been preoccupied all that morning at the dining room table talking to grandma Ashaklar and granddad Cheshire, when she had found out that it had been granddad Cheshire who had suggested the use of a belt on him, Lhaklar and Hazaar she had looked at him in shock then she had politely asked him to not give such suggestions again as she didn't want him or his brothers to have such ill-disciplining techniques used on them. Granddad Cheshire had said that he wouldn't make such suggestions again and he had thanked her for not biting his head off.

He had smoked two of his brother's Black Devil's cigarettes as he had told what all had happened to him during his disturbing night, the nervousness had caused him to have three smokes; one joint and then two of his brother's cigarettes, the cigarettes had helped a lot when he had told of his dreams and his brother had even smoked a second cigarette as well. Lhaklar hadn't yelled at him, he hadn't slapped him or anything after he had told of his dreams, he had slapped him once and that was to knock some sense into him. After he had told his brother of his dreams he had asked him if he could keep what all he had told him to himself which Lhaklar had said that he would and he did trust that he would, Lhaklar had never spilled his secrets before and that went double for Hazaar's and Lazeer's secrets as well. All of them, when they found out something that one of their brothers wanted to keep to themselves, to keep secret, kept what they were told to themselves. If Lhaklar was told something by Lazeer and then asked to keep it to himself he would, if he had been told something by Hazaar and then had been asked to keep it between them he would and so on. A prime example of that was when Lhaklar had found out that Hazaar had a guy that he would pay to buy him cigarettes and nudie magazines on Earth, he had only found out after Hazaar had spilled his secret out to their mother. He found himself happy to have a brother that also got into something that he also got into, which was nudie magazines. Lhaklar looked at his nudie magazines, but he didn't go out and buy them and, from what he could tell, Lazeer was the same way.

He had told of how, after he had gone to bed the night before and after he had fallen asleep how he had been plagued by one, single dream that continued to happen even after he had woken up. The one dream had been so clear except for one thing, he literally had believed that he was seeing what was happening because it looked so real and so clear. What he had seen soon after he had fallen asleep that first time was the apartment that he and his family had lived in for over three hundred years go up in a plume of green smoke and flames. The apartments and other housings around the apartment had either been wiped out or they had been damaged so bad that the people within them had been forced to move out and find a new place to leave and there had been many injuries and three deaths from the apartment exploding. Just before he had woken up that first time he had seen a shadow walking away from the just destroyed apartment that he, his brothers and their mother had lived in for three hundred years, the shadow had been warped a little because of the smoke and flames but, just before he had woken up, it had taken the shape of a person that he guessed was of the male gender.

That first time he had woken up he had been scared out of his wit's end! He had been covered in sweat, his eyes had darted all over his bedroom chamber and he had noticed that he had been breathing heavily, as if he had just gotten through running two miles. He had gotten up from bed, had gone to the bathroom and had thrown some water on his face then he had left his chamber to check on his brothers to see if they were alright and then he had made the trip down to the second level to see if his parents were okay. One peak in each chamber had told him that everyone was fine, sleeping soundly so he had gone back up to his chamber, had climbed back into bed and then he had fallen back to sleep. The second part of the dream had started up right then and there, it had picked right up from where it had ended after he had woken up. The shadow-person had walked down the street, he had seen that he had had a jean bag slung over his shoulder that had just one strap on it but that was all that he had seen, the shadow-person had been totally cloaked in shadow from head to foot. The shadow-person had exited the shield that was around Green River, Wyoming and had gone straight for Expedition Island where he had made up a camp which had consisted of a white sheet that acted as the man's tent and a fire. He had gone and caught a small, brown fish from the river then he had gone and sat by the fire. The dream had, again, been so clear that he had believed that it was real, he had seen the shadow-person jab a stick into his small, brown fish then he had held it over the fire until he had burned it to a crisp. He had woken up just after the shadow-person had ripped a chunk from the fish from the stick with his crooked and sharp-looking, yellow teeth.

Again, he had woken up finding himself drenched in sweat and, again, he had found himself breathing heavily and, again, he had found himself feeling scared for his family. He had gotten up from his bed yet again, had noticed that two hours had passed on his alarm clock as he had made his way to the bathroom that was adjacent his bedroom chamber then he had stared at his reflection in the mirror for a long time before making his rounds of checking on his brothers and on going down to the second level to check-in on his parents. Everyone had been fine and, after he had checked on his mother and father he had gone up to check on Eshal to see if she was alright, which she was, all covered up in her purple and pink blankets and sheets, looking like she was getting a great sleep. He had gone back to his chamber and had climbed back into bed, he had forced himself to stay away for thirty minutes then he had slid into his last sleep of the night that had generated the last part of the dream that had made him decided to just stay up for the rest of the night.

When the dream had resumed itself for the third time he had heard the shadow-person actually talking. The man had been seated by the river, his jean bag had been leaned up against his leg and he had just been staring out into the water and into the blackness of the night. When the shadow-person had spoken he had done so in a nasally low voice, he had said that he knew that _nothing good could ever happen to him _and that _he should have known that he'd be abandoned by them as well_, then the shadow-person had stood up from the log that he had been sitting on. He had made a stream of red fire shoot out from his hand to a bush that was near him then he had rushed over to the burning bush and had kicked and punched at him, all the while saying that he knew he _shouldn't have trusted them_ and that he _shouldn't have let himself get to thinking that things were going to turn around for him finally because they never did_. The shadow-person had exploded in an emotional rage after that, he had burned all of Expedition Island, he had cast out a green fog from his hand that had made the fish in the river mutate and die and the animals that had been in the area had raced away in a blind panic. The shadow-person had then teleported out of the area with a great, white explosion of smoke, the second he had disappeared the fire department had come in to try to stop the flames on Expedition Island only to find that the military was already there. Before he had woken up he had heard a general say that everyone in Green River, Wyoming was to evacuate immediately.

After that part of the dream had concluded with his waking up he had got up from bed, had dressed himself in a pair of brown pants, a dark gray shirt that was ripped several times at the collar, at the chest and stomach and back and that was missing one of its sleeves, he had put on a pair of brown socks, had put a black belt around his waist and then he had grabbed and had put on his black boots that had a single thin, silver chain around them. He was still wearing what he had put on at 4:09 am, the only thing that he had added to his outfit before leaving his chamber when his alarm clock had gone off was the sterling silver necklace that had an Eagle's claw on it that was gripping an Apache gem, he had done the silencer spell to make the music from the disc that he had slid into his stereo for three hours not be heard from outside his chamber and, while he had been jamming out on the disc that had Kiss' Love Gun, Christine, I Love It Loud, Shout It Out Loud, Detroit Rock City and Lick It Up and then he had put in the disc that had Fear Factory music on it, he had simply sat on his bed and listened to music and had read his magazines until the alarm clock had gone off, giving the signal that it was time to shut everything off and head down for breakfast.

His brother had listened to him as he had told of what all he had dreamed the night before then he had put his hand on his shoulder and had said that everything was alright and that it was just a stupid, silly dream that had been conjured up after the day's events had run their course through his mind before he had entered the moment when dreams start happening. His brother had explained that each day's happenings always go through a person's mind before that person falls into deep sleep mode where dreams and nightmares happen and that the events that had happened during the day played a great part in what one dreamed of after they entered deep sleep. Besides Hazaar and Lazeer having an episode in the phases that they were going through and them fighting all that morning, they had also had to contend with the new arrivals and then the tour that they had taken to see their father's Platypus' and fish collections. After his brother had explained why he had dreamed what he had and what had generated it and had offered him a sense of comfort by simply saying that it was alright and that it was just a silly, stupid dream he had gone into a sort of distant quiet before standing up. At the moment, both he and Lhaklar were heading back to the mansion and, to their surprise, they saw that their two younger brothers were running towards them. When Hazaar and Lazeer got to them they were near all out of breath, Bile grabbed Hazaar by his arm then started fanning him with his hand.

"Whoa there, slow it up before you have a heart attack." Bile said, he then released his younger brother who took one step away from him. "My record I don't think you can come anywhere near so best save your lungs and your legs."

"Why in the world would I try to break a record that my own brother made?" Hazaar asked.

"Good question, I'm about to make another one now." Bile lunged forward and grabbed Hazaar. While his brother struggled to get free from him, he gave him a noogie.

"Let me go, Bile!"

"Oh shit, you made me lose count." Bile said after his brother had gotten free from him. "I have to start all over again, what was my last record, Lhaklar?"

"Think it was fifteen before he go lose. That one you got up to number ten." Lhaklar said.

"Enjoy all of that head-love, Hazie!" Lazeer's sides were hurting him from his laughing so hard, Bile had grabbed Hazaar again and was now giving him another helping of the noogies.

"When was the last time you had a little head-love, Lazeer?" before Lazeer could duck and run away Lhaklar had lunged forward and had wrapped his arm around him tightly. Lazeer and Hazaar both got away from their older brothers just when Lhaklar had really started giving him his own dose of noogies.

"I broke my record, twenty-five noogies in one sitting." Bile said. "What shall we do next to our pestersome little brothers?"

"Can't give 'em wet willies since their ears are not viewable outside of their heads." Lhaklar said. "There's no toilet around so we can't give them a swirlie."

"You wet end!" Hazaar exclaimed, he and Lazeer were now backing away from their older brothers.

"I know!" Bile snapped his finger excitedly. "Best start running because we're coming in for the backs of your underwear."

"Oh yeah!" Lhaklar laughed evilly.

There was no way in hell that they were going to let their brothers grab the backs of their underwear to hike them up to give them a wedgie, Hazaar and Lazeer turned around and raced off as fast as their legs could carry them. Lazeer, who was wearing a black mesh shirt that had two rips on it, one in the chest and one in the stomach, and a pair of black pants that were ripped at the knees and that had been torn up some at the hems that had a gold chain wrapped around the waist twice and who had black boots on his feet that had a single gold chain coming out from the bottom shoe lace hole that wrapped around the lower part of his boots once, tore across the space of yard that was clear as fast as he could go. He ran so hard that his knees nearly banged up against his chest, the chains clicked and clanged as he ran and seemed to be cheering him on to a greater speed which he was able to put on for only a few seconds. When he reached the bushes that he had passed through on his way with Hazaar to find Bile and Lhaklar to tell them about the new arrivals he was near out of breath. He had only to look to his left to see that Hazaar was slightly behind him and, from the two shadows that were racing along behind them, Bile was closer to him and Lhaklar, somehow, had managed to pass their older brother and was heading for him. He and his brother reached the area where they could well be seen by everyone in the back yard when they were suddenly knocked clear off of their feet. Lazeer, with Lhaklar's arms wrapped around him tightly, rolled twice on the ground then he tried to get to his feet while Hazaar wrestled for his freedom from Bile who had his arms wrapped around him tightly. Bile and Lhaklar had just positioned their younger brothers for the giving of their wedgies when they noticed that someone was walking towards them. Just before Bile grabbed the back of Hazaar's dark red colored briefs he looked up and saw that their mother was coming over to separate them from their brothers. He and Lhaklar both decided to rip the backs of their brothers' underwear up quickly before their mother got the chance to stop them, with a heave they yanked the backs of their brothers' under up then they got up and got out of the way, Hazaar and Lazeer both were now flopping and rolling about on the ground, trying frantically to relieve the pressure that their assaulted underpants were giving them.

"Bile! Lhaklar! What in the world-..." Angel exclaimed after she had seen what her two older sons had done to their younger brothers, although she wanted to laugh she was also trying to act like an adult.

"Hello, ma. You look very beautiful this morning." Bile said, he smiled widely, his smile was so big that his mother could see the fangs that were on his top and lower teeth.

"You know what kind of damage you can do by... by doing that to your brothers?" Angel asked her two, older sons.

"Ooohh, we didn't pull their boy panties up but so far. They'll be fine." Lhaklar said, he waved his hand to the side as if what he and his brother had done to Hazaar and Lazeer was nothing.

"Normally, I'd allow for this in a light way but-..."

"You allow for your sons to play like a typical street child, Girl?"

Although Lhaklar had seen and had attended a supper where his grandfather, DuruVile Bolushi Surfeit, had been a part Bile had never seen the man in the flesh before. He remembered seeing the guy's name on the back of a photograph that he had taken with Hazaar's camera after his brother had handed him it when he had figured that they were headed out of the shield but this was the first time he had seen the guy and his first, initial, thought on the man was not a good one. The mare who was both his and his mother's great-grandfather began berating his mother right in front of him and his brothers for letting them interact with each other in such a manner and in letting him dress the way he was. Had the man of been his father he would have wasted no time at all in sending his fist through his face, he was still plenty tempered towards the guy as he knew that the guy had put some of the marks on his mother that were on her back. One day when he had been one thousand, three hundred and forty-five years old, after his mother had come out from the community pool that had been in Blind River, Ontario, Canada and he had seen the scars that had looked pretty deep all on her back he had asked her where they had come from. His father had put some on her, his and her grandfather had put some on her and the man that stood in front of him now had put some on her as well. The deep, dark red scar that was half on the back of her shoulders and half in the middle of her back had been put on her by the man in front of him now when the man had put a large ice block on her back, his mother had said that he had put the ice block on her to get some respect from her which hadn't really done a thing but made her distrust for him grow deeper. Angel, seeing that her son had gone from being playful to having the look only one that was pissed off and ready for a fight, stepped between Bile and DuruVile quickly.

"You need to get your oldest under control and fast, Girl." DuruVile said in a low, throaty growl. "I will be here for a while and you know me, I will not take disrespect or-..."

"Leave the disciplining of my children to me, granpappy." Angel said.

"I need only look at your two older boys to see that they, also, have quite a lot of defiance in them." DuruVile said, he then turned around and began walking back to his family. "You watch them boys of yours, Girl. They harm my kids any and there will be a problem between me and them."


	14. Chapter 14

"It's about damn time that you returned!" Kalach Speelin, a burly Goblin who had brown skin, a large nose and a very wrinkled brow who was wearing a brown tuxedo and shoes, said after Homsi Modulavich walked into the employee lounge at 6:30 am.

"Hello Kalach," Homsi said, although he was wearing his usual brown tuxedo and shoes he had put on a mustard yellow, long sleeve, button down shirt that had a black embroidered tipped ruffled front underneath his brown vest which his wife had been hounding him to wear one day while he was working. He had his cellular phone, his pager and his radio hooked up to his brown belt and his brown tuxedo jacket was buttoned up neatly. His outfit had not a wrinkle or crease in it as he had ironed it the night before. "how are things here?"

"Master Tazir's father, his wife and their children arrived yesterday morning." Kalach said. "The Ubalki family the day before."

"Wh-... I thought Mr. and Mrs. Ubalki and their family and Master Tazir's sister were suppose to come here first before-..."

"A mistake happened, Losal accidentally mailed out several invitations a few days ago." Kalach explained quickly. "Young Master Bile has become unsettled, he and Duru are not getting along at all! Young Master's Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer have also gone from being settled, they're having issues with Duru's kids."

"I am in no way surprised," Homsi said, he had been hoping that when he returned to work that he'd see that Mistress Angel and her four sons had settled down, now it seemed that that hope was smashed to bits. "how bad is it?"

How bad was it? Well he could answer that in just one, short sentence: it was bad. He still was shaking his head at what all had happened after Duru and his wife and their children had showed up. After Duru had walked away he had given the word for his kids to go on and get acquainted with Mistress Angel's sons, he and his wife had gone inside to put the things that they had brought with them in their rooms that were on the fourth floors. The second that they had left their kids had started their crap with Young Master's Bile, Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer. Selik had walked up and had started pushing Young Master Hazaar and Lazeer around in a non-playful manner while Uevaa had stood around urging her younger brother to get rougher while Gaajah had walked up to Young Master's Bile and Lhaklar and had started trying to bully them. He had grabbed Bile's shirt twice and had torn it back which had gotten a defensive reaction out of Bile, Mistress Angel's oldest son had turned around and had swung his hand out at Gaajah who had jumped out of the way. Gaajah had then set his sights on Young Master Lhaklar, since he couldn't get his way in bullying Bile he had decided to do his bullying on Lhaklar instead. He had pushed Young Master Lhaklar three times, had tripped him up after he had seen him limped and he had stomped on his foot, which had made Young Master's Lhaklar's foot become swollen an hour later. Young Master Lhaklar had surprised Gaajah after he had stomped on his foot, he had swung his fist at the bully and Gaajah, who he figured didn't think that Lhaklar was serious, had stood in place. Gaajah had gotten a nasty punch in the face, his jaw had bruised up pretty badly.

Mistress Angel had stood up for her sons when Duru had started up on his shit about trying to discipline them after he had seen Gaajah's jaw and had heard his son's "innocent" tale of how he was just "playing" with Lhaklar. She had gotten slapped twice by her great-grandfather and that had sparked Young Master Bile into an anger frenzy which Kalach fully understood, had he of seen his mother getting slapped he would have blown his top as well. Bile had managed to get by his mother, who had tried to put herself between him and Duru, and he had slugged his fist into Duru's face four times before his mother had pulled him away. It had taken two hours for Mistress Angel to calm all four of her sons and for Duru to calm down, afterwards he had started making his rounds in "examining" the boys' chambers. He had barged into each chamber without knocking and had looked everything over before giving his two-cents on what he was seeing.

Young Master's Hazaar and Lazeer had done another switcheroo on the space ship models, it seemed that they were really trying to mess with their father's head which, although was funny, was also rather annoying. Duru had said that the model making needed to be put to a complete halt as all four were way too old to be concerning themselves over model making and then his eyes had landed on the gaming systems and the magazines. Now, he had two sons himself and he knew well that they liked playing them gaming systems and, in fact, he had bought his sons two of them gaming systems and whatever games his sons had an interest in. His sons were a little younger than Young Master Lhaklar but they were older than Hazaar and Lazeer but that meant nothing as they still played them gaming systems. He couldn't understand how and where Duru got his reasoning from but he had heard that his employer's father had demanded that the gaming systems be removed, the games be taken out and each smashed to bits. When his eyes had landed on the nudie magazines he had exploded and he had nearly destroyed each and every one of them... he would have hadn't Mistress Angel of ran in to shove him out from Young Master Hazaar's chamber. She had done the same thing when the man had entered Bile's chamber.

Young Master Hazaar had flipped after that, his grandfather had re-entered his chamber to see if he could remove the offensing items himself. The man had gone three feet into the room then he had been sent reeling out with his hand held over his eye. Young Master Hazaar may be one thousand, seven hundred years old but he had one hell of a dandy punch to him which, Kalach had been told by Zshon Zultoa later on after that event, compared very similarly to his mother's. The space ship, car, dinosaur, boat and plane and dragon models remained, the gaming systems were still in their chambers and their magazines had not been touched. Their mother had put a stop to her great-grandfather's bullying soon after by barring him from ever entering her sons' chambers again and she had done the same with Cyla, her great-grandmother, soon after when she had started up on the models and gaming systems and the magazines. He had no idea what happened after he and his co-workers had gone to their homes after their workdays had concluded but, from seeing Master Tazir only leave his bedroom chamber he guessed that the rest of the evening had been just as bad and he also guessed that supper had also been pretty bad as he had seen a stack of dishes smaller than what he had thought he'd see upon coming up from his apartment that was underneath his employer's mansion. He had done a count and had seen that there were twenty-eight plates, fourteen glasses and twenty-eight silverware short from what all now resided in his employer's mansion. There were twenty-one persons now residing in his employer's mansion, that meant that there would of been a bigger stack of dishes on one of the kitchen counters waiting for one of the maids to put away. Usually, his employer's family had two plates each, same with two forks, two spoons and two knives when suppertime came around, the first plate and silverware would be used during the main course while the second plate and silverware would be used during dessert, everyone would just re-use the glasses that had been put in front of them. Going by that shorter stack of dishes and silverware on one of the kitchen counters, Kalach guessed that quite a lot of people got upset during dinner-hour and had left the table either in the middle of dinner or just before dessert was served. Kalach told all of this to Homsi then, after he was done, neither of them said a word for a short while.

"I have yet to see or speak to Mistress Angel since her return here," Homsi said after a while. "do you think she is on the third level?"

"I would think that she is," Kalach said. "probably with her sons this morning."

He left the employee lounge after being told that Mistress Angel was probably upstairs, he wished to speak to her and maybe offer her some advice in what was going on now in the mansion that her husband had brought her and her sons to. After hearing what his employer's father had done the day before he really wanted to see if he could help a little in relieving some of the stress that his employer's wife was going through. Women were prone to getting very stressed out when their children's well-being, whether physical, mental or emotional, was at jeopardy and, from what all he had heard from Kalach a few minutes before, he was worried that his employer's wife would hurt herself or someone else in the mansion. Homsi went up the stairs that went up to the third level then he began to go down the hallway, he stopped just before he reached Hazaar's chamber. He heard voices, he heard a female talking and he heard several male voices which he pinned as his employer's wife and sons. He followed the voices to a door that went to a chamber that was unoccupied, when he got to the door he lightly tapped on it. The voices stopped, he heard some shuffling behind the door then the door was opened. Mistress Angel, dressed in an electric blue silk shirt that had a removable collar, a ruffled front and that was slightly transparent on the shoulders and top, blue pants that had a light blue strand going down the sides of the pant legs and blue, low-heeled shoes that had a rose design on the toe, looked out of the room at him then she beckoned for him to come in which he did. She closed and locked the door behind him afterwards.

At once, he knew that the chamber had been used in the night. Although the bed, which was one of them kinds that only allowed for one to sleep on it, was made the room gave off that smell of having been used. The bed had white sheets on it, there was a dark blue blanket that had light blue flowery designs on it tucked in neatly and the pillows were all housed in dark blue pillow cases that had T and Z stitched on their surfaces in gold thread. There was a white, wrought iron, table next to the bed that had a lacquered solid brass swivel arm lamp on it that had a white lamp shape on its surface. There was a white-painted fireplace in the room that was lit, the room had a warm feel to it which was comforting and he figured that his mistress had lit the fireplace to get that feeling going within the room for her sons. The carpet was dark blue, the walls were a mixture of light gray and blue and the ceiling above matched the color of the walls. There was a large, coral reef framed, mirror above the mantle of the fireplace and that was it. A white dresser sat near the wall that looked as if it hadn't been disturbed at all during the night. Young Master's Bile and Lhaklar were seated on the couch that was shaped like a coffin that had wooden arms and dark blue velor seating and backing, Homsi saw that Lhaklar had a pile of magazines next to him that he was reading and he saw that Bile also had a pile of magazines next to him. Young Master Lazeer was seated in the room's Papasan Rattan chair that was round and had a large, dark blue cushion in it, Homsi saw that he had a device in his hand that he was using and there were also a small pile of games next to him on the cushion. Young Master Hazaar was lying back on the bed, he looked content which he was glad for.

"I suppose you are here to tell me that my husband wishes for me and the boys to come down for breakfast?"

"No, Mistress. I actually was hoping to speak with you on-..." Homsi looked at all four of his mistresses sons, they had looked up at him after he had entered the room but that was all, they had resumed doing what they had been doing before he had entered the room. "on what happened yesterday."

"Don't you think you should get back in the groove of being back to work? Isn't this your first day back?"

"My Mistress, I will be perfectly fine." Homsi said. "The doctor's have all said I am in fine health again, all of my injuries have healed up, I am as I was a month and a half ago."

"Really not much to talk off except that my great-grandfather got here, opened his big, fat trap and created all sorts of problems for me and my sons." Angel said. "I had Tazir give over the keys right after I woke up this morning to their chambers which I gave to my sons. They have their chambers all locked up and, as you can see, they refuse to leave my side."

"Duru is a most unappealing man," Homsi sighed. "he has not harmed the boys, have they?"

"No, but they sure as hell been showing him that just because they are young that they can produce a fight." Angel said. "I don't much worry over Gaajah or Selik, it's my great-grandfather that I worry over. Him and his wife."

He had wondered the night before when he had gone to bed at his usual time if his employer's wife would still see him as her must trusted, although he had told himself that she probably would be aggressive towards him at first and would probably not talk to him or confide in him her issues he had also told himself that she'd do all that purely on instinct. Strange male, a woman that had four sons who are mid-teenagers that is very protective of her sons, she was bound to not regard him as she normally would had she not of disappeared with her sons one thousand, six hundred years ago. He cast all of that to the side quickly after Angel began confiding in him her worries, concerns and how she was feeling at that moment, he noticed that her sons were all quiet, they looked up from time to time but none of them said a word or got up from where they were sitting. He guessed that they were staying quiet out of both respect and also because their mother was saying all that was needed to be said to him. When she started asking him if he thought she was doing any wrong in letting her sons read their magazines, build their models, wear what they wanted to wear or act brotherly towards one another he quickly said that she was doing not a thing wrong. He had two sons that were slightly above Young Master Bile's age and he knew that boys were rougher than girls, their play was rough and their talk was rough.

"Mistress Angel, I have two sons that are slightly older than Young Master Bile and I can tell you that they both read magazines, play on gaming consoles, build models and, yes, rough house." Homsi said after Angel had finished talking. "You have done well in raising four, healthy boys. The Young Master's are dressed very well, if they were wearing items that barely covered them then yes, I would say that they are inappropriately dressed but I see no issue with them wearing clothes that make them look cool. They are at that time in their lives where cool is... well, cool."

"That is what ma said to that fool that is our great-grandfather," Bile said from the couch. "course, cannot say that to Mr. Big Mouth without getting the 'oh, you are so wrong' lecture from the man's equal."

Young Master Lhaklar spoke up after that and told him what all had happened during supper the night before. Cyla had found out that Mistress Angel was still producing milk and that she was still letting her sons nurse and have her natural milk after she had eaves dropped on Ashaklar talking to Qeeta about it. Cyla was dead against it, she claimed that by Mistress Angel's continued milk production and allowing of her sons to have her milk that she was making her fertility drop to next to nothing and that she was also making her sons too dependant on her by letting them have her natural milk. To Homsi, that was bull. His wife had just stopped giving Arenzoar, their oldest child, her natural milk and he was in his upper two thousands. His wife had conceived three more times for him while nursing, her fertility had not been compromised due to her nursing and she had not gone down in health either. Duru had demanded that Master Tazir give the pill that would make his wife's milk supply dry up and then, when Master Tazir had said that he would not he had stood up and had started up again on the things that they should not be allowing their children to do. Duru had gotten on Young Master Bile for eating so much, he had demanded that Mistress Angel stop feeding her sons as much as she was and then, when dessert had come around and had been put on the table he had said that everyone at the table was to just have one thing and one thing only to eat before leaving the table. Mistress Angel and her sons had left the table soon that with the Ubalki family following soon after.

"Mistress, you are raising your sons very well. You are doing nothing wrong in their raising, feeding or care." Homsi said, he felt angry and offended by all that he had been told. "Is there anything that you wish for me to bring you or your sons?"

"No, we'll be headed downstairs for breakfast in just a few short seconds." Angel said. "We won't be long at the table, you know why. Afterwards we'll be coming back up here. I'm not leaving their sides until my great-grandparents drop this bully thing that they are trying to do on us."

She gave them some comfort, she told them to not say a thing back if anything happened at the table and then she told them to put all the things that they had brought into the room that she had slept in that was on the level that their chambers were on in their own chamber. She waited for them all to come out from their chambers then she led them down to the dining room after each of her sons had locked the doors to their chambers and had slid the key in their pockets. Her sons had dressed themselves in their usual clothing and she was damn proud that they had not been deterred from acting as they usually did. She had raised her sons to act individually, to not try to act like their parents and to not let her or their father's or anyone else try to steer them to act in a robotic fashion. Once they all reached the dining room they took their respective places at the table, breakfast began and they ate it. Bile ate his usual, three chocolate filled honey pancakes, a bowl of eggs and three slabs of bacon. Lhaklar had a bowl of eggs, two vanilla filled honey pancakes and two sausage links and Hazaar and Lazeer had two raspberry filled honey pancakes and a bowl of eggs each. Angel ate a single raspberry filled honey pancake, a small bowl of eggs and a sausage link and she was thinking of getting two more as her husband had cooked them and they did taste rather good, she had just decided to go for the sausage links when Duru spoke up.

"You and the boys going to act as you did yesterday?"

"If we're driven to it, yes." Angel replied.

"Tazir, I am not very surprised that you didn't speak up in telling your wife and boys to pipe down last night. I figured that you'd let Angel walk all over you." DuruVile said.

"Pardon me, but we have not been walking all over him." Angel said, she was offended. Not once had she or her sons taken advantage of Tazir after they had been brought to his mansion.

"From memory of the happenings last night, you five did look to be doing so." DuruVile said.

"From my correct memory, none of us did a thing or said a thing that would regard such a statement." Angel said, she then stood up. "Tazir, if you wish to have any contact with us today you will find us on the third level."

He let them go, he wasn't angry with them and he wasn't disappointed, his anger was directed fully towards his father and his wife. After his wife and their sons had left the table the night before he had really gotten on his father for all that he had said and done during the day and then he had given Cyla an earful afterwards. He had finished his supper then he had left the table and Eshal had followed him. It looked now like what all he had said in defending his wife and their children the night before had just fallen on deaf ears, his father had already started his shit. His father had gotten the his improperly sent invitation in the morning mail along with his express sent letter explaining what had happened, he had not written saying for his father and his family to not come by for their stay, he had just made up a quick letter to explain what he was expecting upon his and his family's arrival. His father and his family had stayed with granddad, he had been told by his younger half-brother, Gaajah, two nights before and, when they had gotten back home they had only just gotten their suitcases set down before snatching them back up to teleport over to his place. Just from Gaajah telling him that he had a feeling that the invitation had arrived two days before but, when the mailperson had seen that no one was home he or she had bundled everything together and had put it right back in his or her vehicle. That told him that, if his father and his family had gotten their invitation to come over for their extended stay, his brother and his family and his grandfather would be arriving for their stays soon. TazirVile finished his breakfast, stood up then exited the dining room, his daughter finished after he as did Uevaa, they went to the kitchen to clean the dishes. He had reached the hallway that his gym was on when he stopped, he heard the usual clicking and clanging and shuffling that one would normally do while in the gym and he figured that one of his sons had decided to go there after breakfast. Tazir went straight for his gym, when he walked in he stopped in a sort of shock.

"Well, I'll be if it's not two of my four boys in here." he said.

"Yeah, we decided to come here for a short while." Lhaklar said, he had a sixty pound dumbbell in his hand and was lifting it quite easily. "At least, until someone starts some shit then we'll head upstairs."

"Or to the library." Lazeer said, he using the Ab Roller, a piece of equipment that he had just recently bought.

"How's your foot this morning, Lhaklar?"

"Stings. Swelling went down but it is still swollen and very discolored." Lhaklar replied.

"Are you able to walk on it alright?" TazirVile wanted to ask his son to follow him as he was concerned that by Gaajah's stomping on Lhaklar's injured foot that he had made something break.

"With quite a lot of limping, yes." Lhaklar replied.

"Are you able to put any of your weight on it? Do you think it is broken?" TazirVile asked.

"I don't think it's broken, I can put some of my weight on it but not for long." Lhaklar replied. "Has no smell to it, if that's your next question."

"Yes it does," Lazeer sat upright quick. "smells like he walked through a sewer last night them decided to have a skunk spray it. Phew!"

"Very funny, Lazeer." Lhaklar said.

He removed his dark gray tuxedo jacket, slate gray vest that had the light gray ties and his white, long sleeve, button down shirt that had gold buttons and belled cuffs then he joined his sons in the gym. He got on a device that he had recently bought but had not had a chance to use yet that was called the Twist n Pull and began using it. The device was created for one to both be walking or running while pulling up two elastic bands that were connected to the steppers. There was no bar for him to hold onto, he had to rely fully on balancing himself or else, he'd fall on his side and possibly dislocate his shoulder or break his arm. He worked on that device for ten minutes then he jumped off of it and went to the bar that was on the two poles and began adding weights to it. He put two fifties on each of the ends of the bars then he slid the clamp on that would keep them in place. Lazeer had gone over to the device that he had just gotten through using, Tazir was keeping his eye on him as he didn't think his youngest son would be able to use the device without his help but Lazeer surprised him by not only staying on the device but he also was able to use the pulleys as well. TazirVile had just started lifting the weight that he had just made up when his father, with Gaajah following behind him, walked into the room. Lazeer, upon seeing his grandfather and uncle, jumped off of the Twist n Pull, he went over to the synthetic rock wall and began climbing up it after he had slid the vest over him and had connected the bungee cord to it.

"I am very impressed with the one that was prematurely born." DuruVile said, he had walked over to stand beside TazirVile. "Seems to be maturing similarly to your brother, Tazir. Little low in muscle, but he shows promise."

"This is the first time I've seen him in my gym, I am also very impressed." TazirVile replied.

"Your firstborn seems to be lame, Boy." DuruVile said. "I have seen him limping around lately, why is that?"

"He dropped a weight on his foot the day before yesterday." TazirVile said.

"Did he break his foot?" DuruVile asked.

"No, experiencing bouts of sw-..."

"Then he should act like a man and walk normally then." DuruVile said crisply.

"You're one to talk, dude." Lhaklar said, he had heard everything that his father and grandfather had said. "Interrupting another is rather childish."

"I see that your mother hasn't taught you manners either," DuruVile said. "speaking when not spoken to and acting disrespectful. Disgraceful, utterly disgraceful."

"What you did in interrupting my father is worse." Lhaklar said.

"My father's one of the elders in this room, he has more rank." Gaajah said.

Lhaklar rolled his head, the one that had spoken was, technically, his uncle but he was younger than he was and he'd not refer to or of him by that title because he didn't act like an uncle would. GaajahVile Vulbub Surfeit, or just plain Gaajah, had been born nine months after he had been born but that meant nothing because time had sort of slowed down to make that nine months into a hundred years by space standards so he was only two thousand years old, a hundred years younger than he. Gaajah's skin was light blue and he had a normal sized head but he had inherited the gene for elongated ears from his father, they stuck out only slightly from the sides of his head and were a slightly darker blue from the rest of his skin color and they had just one black, Tiger-like stripe on them. He had a lean body that was still immature, it had some muscle on him but in comparison to him he was very behind. Curiously, Gaajah stood six foot, two inches tall, he was a foot taller than he was. He was wearing a red velvet and satin jacket that was long and had dull gold buttons and embroidery down the front, a red, long-sleeved, button down shirt, a bright red vest that had gold ties on it and he had red pants on that only were tied tightly around his knees. He had slacks on and he had a pair of dark brown shoes that had a silver buckle on the top on his feet. Lhaklar was wondering if the guy needed help in finding a powdered wig because he looked as if he had stepped right out from one of them text books that had them drawings of people wearing colonial clothing. Lazeer got ten feet up then his arms began to shake from fatigue and he quickly climbed down, he had just removed the safety vest from him when his mother walked into the room, she had Selik by his arm with her.

"Girl! Remove your hands from my son this minute!" DuruVile barked once he saw that his son was struggling to get free.

"You need to teach this one some manners, granpappy." Angel said, she released Selik, who ran over and hid behind his father, then she walked over and stood beside Lazeer. "Hazaar couldn't even use the bathroom without him walking in and causing trouble. Your son made the scrape that my son received yesterday after he fell reopen again."

"Boy, have I not told you that bathrooms are not places to cut up in!" DuruVile swiped his hand back, it collided with Selik's arm, just above his elbow, sharply.

"S-sorry dad. I didn't know that he-..." Selik was near to tears, his arm where his father had hit him was throbbing, he knew better than to show tear, fear or shiver in the company of his father. Had he of done so he'd of gotten another, much worse, hit from his father. As it was, he was expecting for his arm to bruise where his father had hit him later on that day.

"Did he take care of his elbow, mom?" Lhaklar had put the dumbbell down, he was now limp-walking over to his mother.

"I have not a clue," Angel replied. "he ran off in a huff after I got there to stop any further fighting after he was shoved by Selik and had bounced off of the edge of the sink's counter."

"You don't seem very concerned, Angel." DuruVile said, in truth, he was very shocked that his great-granddaughter wasn't showing more concern over her son being injured.

"My boys are among the strong elite, you throw something at them and they just keep getting up. Hazaar's fine, his scrape is deep but not deep enough to be very concerned over. He'll take care of himself, like always." Angel said.

"I've seen that scrape, he's had twenty times worse in the past." Lhaklar said, he then turned and looked at his mother. "Remember that one time when he got both of his knees scraped down near to the bone and also had-..."

"I remember," Angel said. "we were at the beach when that happened. He was running, playing with some other kids, when he tripped and fell on some rocks. He got right back up regardless of his injuries and continued to play as if nothing had happened."

"Took mom three yells for him to come over to her." Lhaklar said.

"When and where did that happened?" TazirVile exclaimed, he was both shocked and proud of his son for continuing to play with the injuries that he had recieved after he had injured himself so badly.

"San Diego, California. Ocean Beach, to be specific." Angel replied. "About seven hundred and one years ago."

"He was nine hundred and ninety-nine years old," DuruVile said. "what were you doing in that location, Girl?"

"It was just after shooting concluded with Volcano Eruption, we did our last scene at that location." Angel replied.

"Volcano what?" DuruVile was confused.

Although he had heard of people using their powers when it came to making movies or when making the pyrotechnics for whatever bands that wished to have some flame or fireworks shoot out from the stage but, in his two hundred and eighteen thousand, six hundred and twenty-five years, he had never heard of a Surfeit going so low in using his or her powers in them jobs. He found himself feeling rather disappointed in Angel for allowing the humans to use her and her powers for a bunch of movies, he was glad to have her back where he knew where she was and he was glad to have her back to where he could actually speak to her and see her but he was not glad to hear that she allowed for the humans to ask and then get her to use her powers in a bunch of movies. She claimed she had done so to bring up funds for her sons' educations, that much made sense as an education at Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic did cost one a hundred thousand dollars, and that didn't include the costs of the classes and extra curricular activities, and, since she had three sons that she and Tazir both confirmed went to the University of Telepathy she had also had to scrounge up another hundred and twenty thousand dollars each for that for Lhaklar's, Hazaar's and Lazeer's tuition. His son said that he had all of the records from Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic and the University of Telepathy and that he also had Angel's resume and the four movies that she had helped to make. He found his interest more in the education records and in his great-granddaughter's resume than in the movies that his son had collected.

"So, think I'll ask one more question before I and my sons head out of here," Angel said, she looked at Selik. "he going through that phase as well where he's rather-..."

"He is, yes." DuruVile nodded his head. "Been giving me and my wife and his siblings grief for years now and he's been getting quite a lot of discipline because of it."

"So, quite possibly, he was having one of his phases episodes when he barged in on my son while he was in the bathroom." Angel said. "Hazaar and Lazeer are also experiencing that phase, Hazaar more so than Lazeer but even Lazeer has them moments where he gets-..."

"Use a stick or a belt on them and they'd not get to them uncontrollable points." DuruVile said.

"I would never!" Angel exclaimed.

"Boys require different disciplinary techniques then girls, Angel." DuruVile said. "They walk all over you if don't put them in their place and fast."

"My sons have not nor will they ever walk all over me." Angel said, she then turned around and began walking away.

"We love and respect her too much to do th-..."

"Lhaklar! Lazeer!"

"Coming!" Lhaklar and Lazeer turned around and followed their mother as quickly as they could out of the gym.

When he had been on Earth, living in the apartment that he and his family had lived in for over three hundred years that had had two bathrooms in it he had not had to worry about anyone barging in on him and, surely with this being a mansion that he was sure that had dozens of bathrooms in it, he had expected for the same respect to be given here at his father's place but nooooo, that kid Selik seemed to have the word respect not in his vocabulary. He had barely had his pants up after taking a crap when the kid had rushed into the bathroom and had thrown him to the side because he had to whiz, the kid had not even had the common decency to knock before he had entered, he had just thrown the door open and had run in. At the apartment on Earth, even if one of his brothers were waiting to use the bathroom that he was in they would have knocked. Sure, they would have said the usual, _come on man, what the hell are you doing in there _and his old timey favorite, _did you fall in the commode or something_, but they wouldn't have banged the door down or shoved him out the way. He was glad that he had been facing towards the door, if he had been facing away from it and had been taking a piss he feared he might well be missing a part of him, as it was that kid had reopened the scrape on his elbow which his shoving him out of the way. He had wrapped that baby up after putting some medication on it then he had gone to his bedroom chamber to get back to work on a model that he knew his grandfather would say was something a child would do.

He liked trains and space ships, he liked doing models of them but he wasn't obsessed with them. He wasn't acting as a child would with the items, he didn't beg or plead or bitch when he saw a model train or space ship that he wanted, he asked and if he didn't get he just accepted it. Most of the time, after he had reached one thousand, four hundred and fifty-five years of age he had purchased his own model kits, his mother had surprised him from time to time afterwards with a model but, for the most part, he used the money that she gave him in his allowance on model train and space ship model kits. He hadn't started smoking or reading dirty magazines until he had reached one thousand, five hundred and seventy-eight years old. The model that he was building now was one that his father had bought for him and had surprised him with, it looked like one of them Zaamurets Russian Armoured trains that had been manufactured in 1916 but his father said that it was really a Momurterrent train, a military train that had two canons built on each car and that each car had slots for guns or other weapons built into the sides. Whatever the train was called, a Zaamurets Russian Armoured train or a Momurterrent train, the model train that the kit had in the box he thought was cool.

He had built the base, had painted it and the five piece of track that the kit had with it dark gray and was now building the side and top. The photograph on the top and side of the box that the model had come in showed a light brown train, he had decided to paint the train different shades of gray. He had a few extra parts as well to do, the innards like the seats, the guns, the canons and the ammunition and he also had five figurines as well do add to the inside of the train, he had decided to do all of that after he had built the sides and had done the top of the train car that he was doing. He had decided to do the engine later as that would require more paint than what he had, he'd need to ask his mother if she could go to Earth to get him some more paint or if she could please ask his father if he could get him some more gray paint. The model train's engine had a triple cannon on the front which he thought was awesome, the battering ram that was also on the front of the engine looked made the engine have an even more awesome appearance for him.

Hazaar's eyes drifted up to the shelf that ran around his room that a long track had been placed on, along with several tunnels, hills and a fake mountain peak, the shelf actually broke off in three places but whoever had made the shelf up had made it that way on purpose. Track pieces ran across the open spaces, there was a real long train that was on the track that had a dark green engine and about ten cars behind it that were a mixture of green, yellow, red and gray. He had a button to make that baby work and, since he was in the mood, he got up and went to that very button that was on his bed side table. One press and the train started going around his bedroom, he had a button to make the sounds that a train would make come out from a speaker system as well but he decided to just leave it at just the train going around his room, he went back to his model and began working. As he began to build the sides of his model train he heard his grandfather in the deep recesses of his brain say that he was acting childish by building a model and he quickly thought up how his father was with his bats and fish, if he was acting childish by building model trains and space ships, he thought, wasn't his father also acting childish by having so many damn bats and fish, a hallway of bats and fish and so many artifacts of fish and bats in his home?

There had been all kinds of trains on Earth a few thousand years ago before the zoomers, as he called them, were put into production and put all them older trains in storage to collect dust. There were the high-speed rails, the maglev, which was a train that could go past 310 miles an hour, the inter-city trains, the regional, the commuter, long distance, the rapid transit, the tram, the monorail and the light-rail trains zooming by on the tracks that the new trains were now running on a few thousand years ago, they had carried passengers or merchandise such as boxes of fish, furniture, coal, gasoline and even items from overseas that the planes flew in.

The speed demons that the humans had replaced the old trains used energy instead of coal and they ran on a track that had one, single rail on it. The single rail reminded him of a roller coaster because they had outrageous twists, turns, the rail went up and then down at outrageous angles and, also, the humans had built the track so that the speed demon of a train that rode on it could be driven upside down as well which he thought was ridiculous. Who in their right mind would want to ride on a train when it was upside down? He had ridden one of them new speed demons once a few hundred years ago after getting his allowance from his mother, he had gripped the steel pole that was in the center of the aisle of the train so tightly that when he had released it his palms were red and blistered, not to mention he had not been able to talk for hours afterwards because he had screamed himself nearly to shitting his pants. He had heard stories of how the humans had felt like their faces were being peeled away when the new trains rolled by them and he had also read the stories in the newspapers how the passengers of them trains felt as if their bodies had been rearranged after the train had come to a stop. He had never ridden on one of them speed demons again, he had hopped several of them old trains that had rolled through Green River, Wyoming several times though and he viewed them as a much more enjoyable ride, they had a much more steady, fluid and smoother ride to them than them newer trains and they were much more fun to ride on as well. Hazaar had no idea how long he had been sitting at his desk, thinking about trains, but when he had finished the sides and the top of his Zaamurets Russian Armoured model train he looked up then over at his alarm clock that said it was near noon. Hazaar cleaned his desk up, put the caps on the paint jars that he had used, plopped the brushes that he had used in the chemicals that would make the paint on them thin then he got up and pressed the button that was on his bed side table to make the train stop going around his room. With everything squared away, he exited his chamber, locked the door then pocketed the key then he turned around. He groaned when he saw Gaajah and Selik standing just two feet from him.

"Oh look, it's the sissy. He finally decided to come out from his hidey hole." Gaajah said.

He was one of them outspoken people, when it came to bullying he was especially so and that had gotten him quite a lot of detention time at both Prongohrn Academy of Sorcery and Magic and the University of Telepathy, that and his fighting in class with his brothers. When Gaajah started being a bully towards him he defended himself, when Selik pushed him when he tried to get by him he pushed him back and when Gaajah flat-tired him, by stepping on the heel of his brown shoe which nearly made him fall flat on his face after he had walked by him he turned around and punched him in the stomach. That punch was what got the three of them fighting in full physical terms. Selik tried to grab Hazaar, who ducked in time then slugged his fist home into the kid's stomach, and Gaajah kicked his foot up which connected with Hazaar's gut. One more, well-placed kick to his groin was all that it took for him to really get going, once Gaajah's foot crashed up between his legs he exploded and started wailing on the two of them like no tomorrow.

He threw punches, he kicked and he pushed as hard as he could, the two kept coming on but they seemed to be slightly disoriented by his strength because they were both slow in getting themselves together. He had just slugged his fist into Selik's face when Gaajah grabbed him by his arm and swung him around. A bronze Elk statue was directly in his way and, although he tried his damnedest to not hit it or let Gaajah or Selik hit it, his two opponents seemed to have other ideas. Gaajah released him when he had him positioned right after he had swung him around by his arm and Hazaar did as much as he could in deterring his path away from the statue but he was going too fast and the statue was too close to be avoided. He felt his heart drop when half of the statues head, with one of its antlers, broke off after he collided with the statue, he knew his father would not be please with him for the breaking of the statue. Before he could start panicking he saw Gaajah come towards him. Gaajah grabbed the part of the statue that had been broken, he broke it some more so he had just the antler piece in his hands then he advanced forward, Hazaar had just stood up when Gaajah swung the bronze antler piece at him. His ribs stung from the blow, his back hurt afterwards and then he saw stars and tasted blood, he had not a clue as to what happened next as he sort of blacked out.

He had left his chamber just in the knick of time, he had been in his chamber for only an hour, just sitting on his bed, listening to some music after he had done the silencer spell to make all the noise that happened in his chamber stay in his chamber. He had only left his chamber after he had seen the time, he had turned his stereo off, taken the disc out from it and had put it in its case then he had done the counter spell to make the silencer spell null out. He had heard a sound outside just after doing that and had figured that it was just his two, younger brothers fussing and fighting among themselves. When he had come out from his chamber and had seen Gaajah and Selik both kicking his little brother and when he had seen that Gaajah was assaulting Hazaar with some sort of weapon he had switched his calm demeanor to one of anger. He had rushed over to the two then he had grabbed them up by the seat of their pants. One yank, one twist and two punches each was all it took for them to turn on him. Gaajah had caught him twice on the jaw, once on the stomach and he had tried to deliver the finisher punch to his groin but he had grabbed his fist just in time. He had sent Gaajah off crying for his mother and father after he had broken his wrist, he had sent Selik off after he had given him a good boot in the ass then another in the shoulder, after he had sent them off he had collected Hazaar from the floor. His younger brother was lying on his bed in his chamber, he had a few cuts and bruises on him that would need to be tended to and Bile had a feeling that he'd be needing some ice soon after he woke up. Bile waited for his mother, adopted father or his great-grandfather to come up to see what all the fuss was about, it took just five minutes before all three rushed down the hallway.

"Bile, you have two seconds to explain yourself." Angel said after she had entered her firstborn son's chamber. "Gaajah claims you broke his wrist and-..."

"Damn right I did, ma." Bile said. "I come out of my chamber to see him and his little brother beating up on Hazaar with a piece of statue that they had broken in the hallway."

"Selik claims that Hazaar broke-..."

"I can tell you right now that that is bullshit!" Bile exclaimed. "Ma, you know Hazaar well. He'd not break a thing here, he knows that everything here is quite valuable."

"Where's your br-..."

Gaajah had just two cuts to his face and his wrist had been broken, Selik had some cuts to his face and his shirt and jacket had been torn in several places but, from the looks of her thirdborn son that was lying on the bed they had come out with less injuries. Hazaar's face had four cuts to it, the one that was on his left cheek was deep and it was bleeding pretty badly, and he had the beginnings of bruises forming on him. Her son had just woken up, he was seated on Bile's bed with his hands clamped between his legs, he was shaking all over and he was rocking himself back and forth. Angel knew that her son could break things, he had broken a window in the apartment a few times, but she also knew that he knew better than to break things that had value on them. When he saw her, his father and his grandfather standing in the doorway he began to shake more and that was what prompted Angel to walk forward and sit beside him on the bed.

"I-I d-d-didn't m-m-m-m-mean it, momm-my..." Hazaar stammered. "Th-they th-threw me at it, I tr-tried to not hit the st-stat-tue but I c-c-..."

"Calm down, Hazie." Angel said, just from the way that her son had spoken she knew that he was telling the truth. He wouldn't of stammered so badly if he had done something bad, he would have said it fluidly instead. Angel wrapped her son up in a hug and that was when Hazaar broke down.

Lhaklar, after he had heard what had happened upstairs on the level that his and his brothers' chambers were on, rushed up to help. From the looks of his father he had gotten there just in time, his father looked like he was about to explode, whether it was about his all-too-precious Elk statue or about Hazaar being beat up, he didn't know nor care. All he knew was that he could help out. Soon after he had gotten to the level he went to his chamber and retrieved his wand, a straight, silver stick that's kell and fondel had been molded to look like strand of DNA, after he had retrieved his wand he had gone to Bile's chamber, had pushed through his father and grandfather then had gone to his brother who was having an emotional episode. He did the spell to make the memory come out from his brother's temple then, without thinking, he stood up then cast it out at his father. Tazir took three steps back after the light blue strand had struck him in the forehead then he shook his head, it took just four seconds before the memory played out of what happened and when he saw that his son had been telling the truth, that he had not broken the statue nor had started the fight like Gaajah and Selik had claimed that he had, he grabbed his father by his arm and pulled him of Bile's chamber. He then reached over and closed the door, giving his secondborn son and adopted son some much needed time to themselves to get themselves under control.

"Mistress Angel," Eldass said a few hours later, he had knocked on Bile's bedroom chamber's door lightly so not to send off any bad signals to his employer's wife. He stood on the other side of the door for ten seconds before the door opened.

"Mr. Zultoa," Angel said, it looked as if she had been roused from a light sleep. "what is it?"

"Master Tazir wanted to know if you or your sons are hungry." Eldass said.

"Bile might be," Angel said. "Lhaklar as well. Not so sure about Hazaar, he's quite traumatized."

"Master Tazir isn't angry with him about the statue," Eldass said.

That was very true, after his employer had shoved his father out of Young Master Bile's chamber he had carted him downstairs to his office and there had been a shouting match between the two that, Eldass fully believed from all the other noises that had happened in his employer's office and from seeing both his employer and his father upon exiting the room, had turned into a physical fight that had gotten pretty brutal. Master Tazir's lower lip was split right open, his right cheek was cut twice deeply and he was limping slightly but his father, that ill-man named DuruVile Bolushi Surfeit who should never of been allowed to have any further children, had come out with equal injuries and his shirt had been lacking half of its buttons on the front. The bronze Elk statue had been repaired, it was rather expensive, had cost his employer $4,961 dollars at auction, and, from what Cantrella Teludok had said, both Selik and Gaajah had been beat pretty harshly when their father had gone up to deal with them. Not a peep had been heard from Young Master Bile's chamber for two, long, hours, he knew because both he and Homsi had trekked up to listen in to see if there was anything going on inside the chamber that they should become concerned over and report to their employer but, instead, it had been as quiet as could be on the level and they had seen not a hair of their employer's wife, Young Master Bile, Lhaklar or Hazaar. Young Master Lazeer was somewhere around the mansion, the last that they had seen of him was when he had been walking towards the Entertainment Chamber that had all the machines and tables in it.

"He fixed it, I see." Angel said when she looked down the hall and saw that the Elk statue had had its head and antler replaced on it.

"Yes, Mistress. He had it fixed, good as new. Looks like nothing happened to it." Eldass said.

"Hazaar had not a thing to do with that statue breaking," Angel said. "I do hope my husband knows that. Lhaklar did send him the memory of what happened but, after that-..."

"He has not blamed his son on the statue's breaking," Eldass said after Angel had trailed off. "he has no anger towards him."

"I'll see if I can send Bile and Lhaklar down for something to eat," Angel said. "Hazaar is sleeping at the moment, been asleep for just twenty minutes now so it's best he be left alone."

"I will respect that." Eldass said, he bowed lightly.

For some reason, he stood by the door to his employer's adopted son after it was closed. He didn't do this because he was eavesdropping on what was said within the chamber, it was just an instinct within him that said that he should stick around for a short while longer. It took just a few minutes, three at best, before Bile walked out from his chamber. Eldass and he stood, staring at each other, for a few seconds before Bile walked off. Eldass didn't mind nor did he feel threatened in any way, as he saw it, Young Master Bile was only acting as one would after a fight. He was wary of everyone and everything. After Bile came out from his chamber, Lhaklar exited afterwards. He looked down at Eldass, nodded his head then went down the hallway before stopping and turning around. Eldass had a feeling deep within his gut that the youngster had something he wished to tell him and he also had a feeling that the youngster hadn't yet gotten the nerve up yet to say it. Lhaklar turned around three more times while going down the hallway then he stopped at the stairs that went down to the second level, just as his mother exited the chamber he turned around and walked back down the hallway. When he got up to Eldass he had a face of deep seriousness on it that looked more like it should belong on a full grown man instead of a boy who was in his mid-teenage years. Angel, feeling that something was about to happen, stood right in front of the door to her firstborn son's chamber, her hand was just held over the doorknob when her secondborn son started talking to Eldass.

"My mother says that you're the father of that one Goblin named Daosi." Lhaklar said.

"Yessir, Young Master Lhaklar."

"I suggest you do some deep talking to him, he's been threatening my brother whenever he sees him." Lhaklar said, Eldass' breath caught in his throat. Daosi, his secondborn son, threatening his employer's min-teenaged son? Sure, Daosi was on who got into more trouble than Zshon and Yhozah, but would he really head into that territory of threatening one of his employer's offspring?

"Sir-..."

"Lhaklar, if you're looking to cause trouble-..." Angel said, this was new to her. Until now, she had no knowledge as to Hazaar being threatened by any of the help that her Universal Husband had working for him.

"I'm not, just telling him that his son has been threatening Hazaar." Lhaklar said.

"What, sir, has he said to your brother?" Eldass asked.

"That he's loyal to just my parents, not us, and that, if he puts a hand on you, he'll do something bad." Lhaklar said, when he saw that the Goblin in front of him looked doubtful he held his wand up. "Should I-..."

"No! No sir, you needn't do that." Eldass said, just seeing his employer's son wielding his wand, offering to take the memory of what was happening and what was being said by his son made him realize that his employer's son was telling the truth. Why would he take a memory of the event out from his head to show him unless he was trying to prove that he was telling the truth? "I'll speak to my son, he won't be harming any of you."

"Thank you, Eldass." Angel said, she had wanted to ask Eldass if he'd stand and guard Bile's chamber while she went down to get something to eat but after finding out what was happening between Hazaar and Daosi, she decided that she could risk the hunger to stay by her son. Angel went back into Bile's bedroom chamber afterwards, she locked the door then went over and sat next to her son who was fast asleep on Bile's bed.


	15. Chapter 15

As he drove his Tazzari EC vehicle out of the employee garage he began thinking over what had been told to him a few hours before by Young Master Lhaklar. His son, his secondborn son who had been working for quite a lot of years, had been creating stress build-up for not only Young Master Hazaar but also for his older brother, Lhaklar. As he had worked for the rest of the day he had purposely stayed away from his son, his mind had been a twisted up funk over what he had been told and he had done his best to untwist it and make some sense out of what he had been told. He had begun to wonder if Lhaklar had not just taken what his son had said and had turned it around, had made whatever Daosi had said become harmful but... that serious face of a man who should not have been on the face of a mid-teenaged boy and that wand and that offering to show the memory of the events of the threats... a child would not offer to do that unless they were telling the truth. Work at 6:30 am tomorrow, work ends at nine... he had been working for TazirVile Lajoshu Surfeit for a very long time, he was very loyal to the man and to his wife and that loyalty also carried over to their kids, even though he had not written ES, BV, LS, HS and LS, double on the latter since Lhaklar and Lazeer both had L-names, on his Loyalty Papers he still showed them untold amounts of loyalty. From the looks of things, Zshon was doing the same as he and so was Yhozah and Mekaia, could Daosi of decided to not do that?

Zshon had Daosi behind him, they were riding double, and Yhozah had Mekaia in his car with him, he was the only one riding single and, since he was leading the line, he could very well do a turn, make some skid marks on the asphalt and block the vehicles behind him from going forward. He was taking the back way home, there were street lights on to light up the dark road but, up ahead, there was a stretch of darkness as the storm that was just coming in had made the lines snap. Eldass placed his left hand on the lower part of his wheel, he kept his right hand on the side, at the three o' clock area, then, without thinking any further of what he was about to do, he twisted the wheel so hard that his car swerve hard on the road. Rubber squealed, black lines formed on the asphalt with his mad decision to bar the road and, when he came to a stop he was right where he wanted to be. His car was small but it blocked the road perfectly and the two cars that were following him came to a rubber squealing stop just as he had figured that they would have. Still without thinking, Eldass removed his seatbelt then pushed the driver's side door open and got out into the now silent night. Zshon pushed the front of his car open and got out first, with Daosi behind him, Yhozah and Mekaia followed, Eldass didn't care if they witnessed what was about to happen. As he saw it, his job along with theirs was at jeopardy from the actions of Daosi. They all needed to learn this lesson, if they were to keep their jobs they had to. Eldass wasted no time in running up and punching Daosi in the face, hard.

"Papa," Daosi said, he wiped the back of his hand across his face, his nose was bleeding and he was in shock over having been punched by his own father. "what-..."

"You wish to have a job or a roof over your head for long you best quit threatening our employer's offspring!" Eldass yelled, he grabbed his son by his light blue tuxedo jacket then yanked him up to standing eye to eye with him. "I have not a problem in throwing your ass out on the street nor denouncing you as my son if I hear that your threats keep occurring."

"Papa, I haven't-..." Daosi said, even though he said that his black pupils had grown small.

"I needn't hear your attempts to pull the wool over my eyes, when I have our employer's son offering to show me his memories of the events where you've threatened his brother I won't believe any of what comes out from your mouth!" Eldass said angrily, he threw his son hard against Zshon's car then he backed away. "What was it that you was intending to do anyways, Daosi? Beat our employer's mid-teenaged son's bottom end? Send him to the hospital? Put him in a grave? You expect that our employer wouldn't have the law thrown on you in a heartbeat if you had harmed one of his children? You're a grown, fucking, man! Hazaar is a mid-teenaged boy!"

Zshon and Yhozah both backed away, leaving their brother in the hands of their father who was madder than a Hornet. They both stared at Daosi in utter disbelief, their brother was thousands of years old and he was threatening a youngster who was just one thousand, seven hundred years old? Their employer had had to get on their brother far more than they on things, their brother had come close to being fired four times for things such as fighting with Master Tazir, doing things he shouldn't have and breaking things and setting the livestock free when all he had to do was give them their feed or give them water. The first raindrops of the gully washer began falling down just as Daosi stood up and started saying that he was in no way loyal to their employer's sons due to his not knowing them and that got their father really raving mad. Mekaia held her hands up to her face as she saw her father swinging his fists at her older brother, she was just as shocked as her two, older brothers and she did see that their father was in the right. The rain had started coming down at a right good pitch when their father stepped away from their brother, whose face was half red with his blood. Mekaia quickly got into Yhozah's car when she saw her father getting into his vehicle, when her father drove off she and her brother followed. Mekaia looked behind her once and saw that Zshon was following, she had not a clue if Daosi was in the seat beside him or not but she thought she saw just one in the vehicle. She had just turned back around to facing the road when Yhozah's cellular went off. She reached down shakily and took the phone, she answered it without even looking at the screen to see what the number was.

"Hello, Mekaia Zultoa here." she said after she had answered the cellular phone.

"Zshon behind you and Yhozah?" her father asked in a quick and angered fashion.

"Yessir."

"Who all in the car do you see with him?"

"I-I think I saw just one in th car, papa." Mekaia answered.

"Good, Daosi needs some time to himself to figure out what he's going to do in his life." her father said.

"He'll be fine." Mekaia said. "Might be sick when he gets home but he'll be fine."

"If he is sick when he gets home then that's a good thing." Eldass said loudly. "I'm heading straight to Master Tazir in the morning after we get to work to give the word for his blue slip to be sent in."

"He going to be fired, papa?" Mekaia asked.

"Either that, he'll shape up or he'll quit." Eldass said, there was a long pause before he went further. "And if he does he'll be changing his name and moving out. I have worked too damn hard to get us this far, I'm not having a child of mine destroy all that I have worked for."

"We, that's me, Yhozah and Zshon, understand you fully."

They drove home, ate supper in silence then went up to bed, their father stayed with their mother and they overheard him telling her what all was happening and why Daosi had not been with them when they had gotten home. Mekaia, who slept rather disturbedly during that first night of the storm, heard her brother enter the house, clean himself up, get something to eat them go to his room. When she got up that morning she saw him but she didn't acknowledge him. She got ready for work, she put on a gray dress with a white apron tied around the front then she grabbed the keys to her single seat, blue painted, three-wheeled, Jagul. She ate breakfast quickly then she got into her car, locked the door then drove off towards Master Tazir's mansion. Behind her, Zshon followed with Yhozah behind him. After a short while, their father pulled by them, speeding and driving a little recklessly on the slippery road. He only slowed up after he had gotten past her so she figured that that was the reason why he had been driving so maniacally. The drive to work was made slower by the quietness and from the fact that they were one short, when they all had driven into the employee garage they all noticed that it had only been two hours since they had been on the road. She and her brothers removed their rain coats and galoshes normally while their father removed his quickly then went into the mansion equally as quickly. They all knew why he was acting so quickly at that hour in the morning, he had to do some explaining as to why Daosi wasn't with them and he also had to do some kissing up afterwards. Daosi threatening Young Master Hazaar had put all of them in jeopardy of losing their jobs and their ranks in Goblin society, if Daosi was fired, it was a sure bet that they would be as well and, after that, they'd lose everything. The high status, the house, the cars and their happy lives, everything of theirs was now threatened. She hoped that her employer was decent, in a good mood and that he'd just give off an orange slip of temporary leave of work instead of the pink. Mekaia took a deep breath then went into the mansion, she grabbed a feather duster and began dusting the statues around her, all while looking over her shoulder.

"My love, so early for you to be up." TazirVile said after his wife had walked into his office. He was just putting the large painting of him and his children back over his safe after he had put a few documents into it.

"Should I not say that to you as well?" Angel asked. "What're you doing up so early?"

"Couldn't much sleep last night," TazirVile replied. "dreaming and all."

"Bedding all down at washing deck, I suppose." Angel said, she winked one of her eyes.

"I will be down in a short to retrieve them." TazirVile confirmed what she had said.

"Poor thing, I do think I have abandoned you." Angel said. "You should put me away for that."

"I shall punish you one of these days for forcing me to bed alone." TazirVile said. "An all day type of thing."

"Oh my, why not a half day with the night off?" Angel walked over and sat in one of the deep brown chairs that had a long back that was in front of her Universal Husband's full stone desk.

"Oh now, you'll be getting off much too easy then." TazirVile said, he walked over to his wife then gave her a kiss. "Mmmm, I still feel that spark from you."

"Never did go away," Angel said, she then added. "same as that spanking I gave you the night before I left with the boys."

Same old flirting, same old teasing, she was his same old wife and he felt great relief from realizing that. He had slept a little awkwardly the night before, besides the storm he had also been having back-to-back dreams on his wife and that had caused quite a lot of emissions to happen. His wife was still experiencing her mately pains, which he took care of quickly whenever he saw her enter into one of them pained periods and, despite his father's and his family's arrival the day before last, she was starting to spend some more time with him and she was starting to talk to him on a normal basis. Bile and Lhaklar were speaking with him now on a normal basis, Lazeer was acting normally and he was speaking to him as well on a normal basis and he was now starting to walk around without hiding behind someone. He was glad about that but now, after what had happened with Gaajah and Selik, his two baby half-brother's, the night before he feared that Hazaar would have a relapse and head back into hiding behind his mother and acting fearful towards him. His secondborn son hadn't changed much at all, he had gotten brave at some points but he had relapsed into his fearful moments and in running and hiding behind his mother which he thought was odd. With it now going on a few days past a month since his sons had returned home he had thought that all four of them would have calmed down fully and had settled in completely. TazirVile had just leaned in to give his wife another kiss when Eldass walked into his office. He looked up, sighed at having his moment of giving affection to his wife being robbed from him then he went and sat behind his desk.

"Sir, I do apologise for disturbing you and your wife but I do have something I wish to speak with you of that is of immense importance." Eldass said after he had walked up to his employer's desk.

"Take a seat, Eldass." TazirVile said, he then looked over at Angel. "this'll only take a minute, my love."

"Take your time," Angel said, she had a feeling of what was about to be discussed between the two men.

Her feeling turned out correct and she left Tazir's office soon after Eldass had told all of what he had been told the night before by her son and all that he had done after his workday had concluded and he and his four children who worked alongside him had been on the way home. Eldass told it all then he simply stood and waited, like a child waiting to be reprimanded after he had done something bad. Angel looked at Tazir and saw that he had a look of shock on his face which, in front of her, turned quickly to a blind fury. Lhaklar had done a spell to make his memory become a liquid so he could store it in a jar, one of them pickle jars that he had gotten from the kitchen that had had one, single pickle in which he claimed that he had eaten. Her son had cleaned that jar to make it look as if it hadn't been used then he had put his liquified memory in it then he had given it over to her, saying that he wanted her to have and hand it over for his father to look at if Eldass did go to his father about what he had said. It looked as if the liquified memory would be wasted, her Universal Husband looked as if he believed every word of what he had been told and it also looked as if Eldass was in for an earful and that made her fill up with worry. Angel leaned forward just before Tazir said a thing and spoke what was on her mind.

"Taz, although what he told you is true, Lhaklar showed me the memories of what happened so even I know what he said is true, but, before you make any judgements let me suggest that you don't fully accuse Eldass on anything." she said, she then cleared her throat when TazirVile looked over at her. Over the years, she had learned that them eyes did show emotions, they weren't just a large, silver oval hidden behind a pair of goggled glasses, if one looked at them correctly he or she would see what emotion was housed within them and, right now, they housed pure anger. "Eldass isn't the one that you should be howling your head off at, honey. It's his son who you should be channeling that anger at."

"Angel, please leave me to my employee." TazirVile said, even his voice was heavy with anger. "We have a few things to chat on about his son."

She did so with a heavy conscience, when she left she and Eldass locked eyes for only a second and she saw in them eyes a professional man who was showing balls by coming up and saying something of what he learned instead of keeping what he had been told to himself and she also saw something else. Fear. It was plain in them blue eyes that he was scared for more than just himself. He had his family to worry over, if his son, Daosi Zultoa who carried the Zultoa name and who had heavy responsibility over protecting that name, was fired for threatening a child then the whole family would be in jeopardy. Mekaia, Zshon and Yhozah all were in danger of losing their jobs, along with their father, and they were also in jeopardy of losing all of the status that they had earned in Goblin society. She remembered once asking Eldass why, exactly, he and everyone of the other Goblins were so worried over what others of their kind saw and thought of them.

Goblin society had started elsewhere in the universe, it had started in an unruly fashion, one Goblin would kill another without worry, one Goblin would take his or her brother's or sister's spouse while pregnant and have the baby raised as his or her own, stealing had been rather the thing back then and so had other crimes. It wasn't until one, lone Goblin named Vlurgatarn Wyiaf had decided to put an end to all the crime and unruly activities and put up a Goblin code that all Goblins were strictly to adhere to. He had appointed a counsel to look into matters that a normal Goblin court couldn't take care of and there had been quite a lot of battles, riots and banishings before the code was accepted. In all, it had taken nearly two millennia before the Goblin Code had been accepted. Each and every Goblin born was photographed after birth, names, details such as birth marks and etcetera were written down and then, when that child got to knowing well what Goblin society was he or she would take the oath to always adhere to the code. Goblins could remain as rude and nasty as they wanted, but they had to remain strong-headed around their employers at all times. Goblins could choose to not speak to anyone, but they couldn't harm that person by hand, they could talk all they wanted but touching one was now forbidden unless it was strictly on a defensive basis. If Eldass and his four children were canned by her Universal Husband it'd be written down in the books as to why then each and every Goblin that they came upon would shun them. To Angel, it seemed a bit extreme for a council to be so strict after one who was loyal either quit or was canned. It seemed... cruel that a counsel held the keys to ones future after he or she was canned after that Goblin had signed his or her employer's name in their blood on their Loyalty Papers. Angel went down to the first level, she passed by Zshon, who looked as if he was only working in a half-so way, then she went by Yhozah who was acting in the same fashion. When she walked by Mekaia, who looked as if she had one of her ears pointed up at the ceiling, like she was trying to catch whatever was being said upstairs in Tazir's office, she quickened her pace to the kitchen.

"Bile, what in the whole, wide universe are you doing-..."

She stopped short when she saw the figure that seemed there but also seemed to not be there. She had thought he her firstborn son but after the figure that seemed to be in an almost ghost-like way standing near the fridge turned around she thought otherwise. Black, he was all black except for a pair of glowing, yellow eyes that reminded her of her father yet did not remind her of her father because they didn't have that same intelligence or experience in them. She saw muscle on the chest, she saw that the deltoid muscle was well-formed, the pectoralis was equally well-formed, the biceps and triceps were large on both arms and the waist contained a six-pack that looked very similar to her own son's. Angel blinked her eyes, thinking that what she was seeing wasn't real, then, when it remained in front of her, looking solid yet also looking as if she could walk through it as if it was a ghost, she pulled her hands up to her eyes and rubbed them. When she pulled her hands down from her face and saw that the figure was still there she felt fear leap right through her. A blink of the eyes had not made the figure go away. Rubbing her eyes had not made the figure go away so, maybe, if she turned around and counted to five it would. She did that and, when she turned around and saw that the figure was still there she hitched in some breathes for a scream. She had just hitched in two, strong breaths when the figure spoke in an almost sad way.

"Why?" the figure said in a nasally low voice that was leaden with grief and that was also cracking in the fashion that a mid-teenage boy's voice would do. "Please, tell me why you abandoned me."

She hitched in breath to scream, opened her mouth and then... nothing happened. No scream, no moan, no nothing came out from her mouth and that gave her further fright. The figure remained in front of her, he looked as if he was pleading for her to answer him and that scared her even more, how could she respond when she couldn't even say anything or make a single sound? She hitched in breath again and tried to scream loudly and found that, again, she was unable to which turned her fear into something else. How dare this person, whoever he was, use magic on her! Who was this guy? Why was he terrorizing him? This was the second time that she had heard that low, nasally voice that was cracking the way a mid-teenaged boy's does when he losing his childlike voice and gains the voice of a man. Angel felt her anger soaring within her and decided to try to speak to the solid, yet almost ghost-like, being in front of her. When she thought of her replies she got a surprise, her replies didn't come out in an angered way, they came out in a near mother-like, comforting way. Why, she had no idea, but she was talking to the being in front of her as if he was one of her own children who was scared.

"I didn't abandon you." she heard herself think out. "I and my sons did not abandon you."

"Then where are you?" she heard the near apparition asked her. "I went to the apartment, you wasn't there. What happened to you guys?"

"We were captured, we're on another planet in another galaxy."

"Held against your wills!" the near apparition said in a near angered tone. "Where! Where are you guys? I'll come-..."

"Mistress?"

How long had she been standing there in the kitchen like that? Standing with her back so straight it almost looked as if it'd break if she moved an inch. Her arms hanging down from her shoulders, looking as if a breeze would be enough to make them move stiffly. Her legs bent slightly yet holding her up curiously and her fiery red hair being blown back by some unseen wind that was blowing through the kitchen. When Zshon walked into the kitchen after hearing that he, his siblings and their father had no fear in losing their jobs, he had expected to see his employer's wife making breakfast. He had expected to see her working the stove, making pancakes, making a gutload of eggs for everyone and making all other matter of breakfast foods that would feed everyone in the mansion and would keep everyone going until lunchtime. Instead of seeing that, he saw her standing in a stiff-like fashion, looking as if she had become a piece of paper instead of a real, flesh and blood, person. After she didn't turn around nor acknowledge him he walked around her then looked up at her face, a yell of shock shot out from his mouth when he saw that the emerald-green eyes that had a single, golden-yellow ring around the black pupils had rolled over completely so the white could be seen. Without giving it a second thought, Zshon rushed forward and grabbed his employer's wife by her arms. He shook her three times, yelling out her name. It seemed that just one shake was all that was needed to snap her out of her trance-like state as she blinked her eyes twice then she grabbed his wrists.

"Zshon... Zshon! I'm okay! Quit shaking me." Angel said, there was a hint of a laugh to her latter sentence. "I am not a rattle."

"Mistress, you okay?" Zshon asked.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"I walk in here to find you in a... in a sort of trance-like state." Zshon said, he and Angel stared eye-to-eye for a few seconds before Angel laughed a little.

"It was bound to happen," Angel said. "I've had several black-out moments while on Earth, caused from stress and from not getting enough sleep. I'll be fine."

"Mistress, you-..."

"I'll be fine." Angel said, she placed her hand on Zshon's shoulder and, although her voice sounded sincere her hand trembled some and that made Zshon think that she was lying.

She made up breakfast quickly, three trays of pancakes, Tazir was the master at making pancakes that had a filling in them so she did the best that she could in making two of the three pancake stacks be of the filled type. She filled one stack with raspberry sauce while the other stack she filled with apple slices, that she cooked up well in a cinnamon paste, while the third stack was just plain apple-cinnamon flavored. She made croissants, she made large dishes of eggs for everyone that would be at the table and then she decided to go all out on the bread items. She put a stack of normal, toasted bread in one tray, then she put two stacks of cinnamon and apple toasted bread in another. She made a slew of potato bites, some that had cheese in them that she had made specifically for Hazaar, the poor thing had had a difficult day yesterday, he needed something to bring his spirit up. She decided to make something specially for her great-grandfather as well, since he was a fan of sausages that had a eggs on top of them that were rolled up in pancakes she made two trays of that then she set to making the oatmeals and porridges. The latter she made up several bowls that contained strawberries, blue and black berries and honey chunks, just in case anyone wanted to add another flavor to his or her oatmeal or porridge bowls. The last item she made was specifically done so with all of the adults that were in the mansion, she did several trays that had crepe rolls on them. She had a tray that had crepe rolls on them that had a layer of chocolate spread over them along with a dollop of whipped cream near the outer edge. There was a tray that contained crepe rolls that had strawberry filled. There was a tray that had crepe rolls on it that had both strawberry and blueberry filling in them and there was a tray that had caramel-filled crepes in it. With breakfast finally done, and she feeling rather exhausted already, she had been standing at the stove for almost an hour, cooking up food and preparing it on the trays on the counter nearest her. The last thing she had to do was take each and every tray to the dining room and, seeing as she was already so tired, she asked a few maids to help her out. After everything had been placed nice and neatly on the dining room's long, brown table that had her Universal Husband's initials on it in gold letters, she sat down at her place. It was near 7:30 so her sons would be coming down any minute and then everyone else would be on their heels afterwards.

"I think ma's been military cooking again!" Bile said in awe when he came into the dining room five minutes later. He went over quickly and sat at his place at the table, he noticed that his mother seemed a bit tired and that worried him some. "Ma, you okay? You look a bit-..."

"I'm tired, honey. Been working in the kitchen for an hour now pretty hard. I'll be needing a rest afterwards." Angel replied.

"I love you," Bile said, he reached his arm over and gave his mother a gentle hug. "you're the best ma in the universe."

"I lvoe you too, Biley." Angel replied, she very nearly fell asleep while her son was giving her a hug.

"Someone really needs to be barred from the kitchen when it comes to mealtime cooking." DuruVile said after he had walked into the dining room, his wife and kids were right behind him.

"When a woman cooks for her family, she doesn't dilly-dally around." Angel said.

"True," Cyla said, she nodded her head. She had, several times, gone over board when cooking for her family. "and I suppose, that since you have more than seven here you do have to cook a lot to meet up with the demands of the extras."

"No trouble in it, granmammy. One thing I enjoy doing is cooking." Angel said. "One of many, actually."

When they all sat down at the table and Tazir and the other mature men had lifted the tray and dish lids breakfast began. As Angel had suspected, her great-grandfather snagged up three pancakes that had sausages and eggs rolled inside and then he grabbed up two strawberry-filled crepe rolls. Bile grabbed two strawberry-filled crepe rolls, a blueberry-filled crepe roll and a raspberry sauce filled pancake while Hazaar ducked into the cheddar cheese potato bits, he also had two pancakes that had apple slices in them and a bowl of eggs. Lazeer grabbed Two croissants, a bowl of eggs, two cinnamon-apple flavored pancakes and a bowl of oatmeal that he dribbled a spoonful of blueberries on top of. Lhaklar surprised her by eating the most, two cinnamon toasted breads, two croissants, two strawberry sauce filled pancakes and two bowls of porridge that had both honey and blueberries sprinkled on the surface. Tazir ate three caramel filled crepe rolls, two pancakes that had apple slices inside them and two bowls of eggs before he pushed his plate away from him. Eshal had two apple-cinnamon pancakes, a bowl of eggs then a croissant before pushing her plate forward, she was stuffed. By the time everyone had pushed their plates forward, had gotten their full of everything after second and third helpings, near all of the trays and dishes on the table were empty except for a few crumbs, the thing that was least eaten was the oatmeal, there was just one bowl-full left in the dish.

"Think I'll be needing your gym again, this morning, Tazir." Cheshire said, he had eaten two strawberry sauce filled pancakes, a bowl of eggs and three crepe rolls that had both strawberry and blueberry filling inside them. "Angel, where in the world did you get your culinary skills?"

"Didn't get but so crazy until my boys started getting their growth spurts." Angel said. "They were fed good before then, afterwards I found their demands much more... extreme."

"Normal, Cyla and the cooking staff at home were working full-time in the kitchen when Gaajah, Uevaa and Selik were going through their growth spurts." DuruVile said. "Just be careful, your sons are a bit too big for their age. Don't overdo it."

"My sons are very healthy for their ages." Angel said defensively, despite her exhausted state she was still going to act in a defensive manner towards her children's well-beings.

"They are still growing, Angel." DuruVile said. "You don't want them to look ungainly, they have at least two more to go before they are all done with the growing thing."

"I always did figure that Bile would be a big fella when he got older." Cyla said. "Lhaklar, though, surprised me on his height and... muscle."

"Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer all look like their father," Ashaklar said. "you can see him in each of them three boys."

"No offense, Ashaklar, but I still don't have much faith in your son." Cyla said. "For him to of had enough for his first wife to conceive Eshal was a surprise. For him to of had enough to produce four sons, though ..."

"Why you busting balls?" Hazaar asked Cyla, who looked at him sharply.

"Hazaar, you hush." Angel said, although she was glad to hear that he was, in a way, taking up for his father. "It's very well-known that it's the male who is the one that decides the gender of the child that is conceived. The female always carries the X-chromosome on her eggs, the male's sperm carry the next important chromosome that decides whether the child will be of the female or of the male gender."

"Exactly, thank you for pointing that out." Cheshire said, he leaned back in his chair.

DuruVile, feeling as if he had been deliberately targeted at by Angel's words, stood up. He had been married six times, had remarried his second wife who he was still married to and, out of them marriages he had popped out enough juice to make seventeen children, two of which had been lost and both of which had been bore by his beloved Cyla. Out of them seventeen children he had made eleven daughters, he felt as if he had been insulted by the mere bringing up that his secondborn son, born to a woman that he had married after he had divorced Cyla for that first and only time, had been able to make three sons back-to-back while he had not been able to do that. His sperm count had been counted during the last physical, there were over three hundred thousand of them in the sample that he had been able to shoot out into the cup and each of them had been fertile so he knew they he was not a dub by any means. Why his secondborn son, who he regarded as very inferior male stock in comparison to his older, half-brother, had produced three sons back-to-back was beyond him but he was in no way going to allow for his great-granddaughter, or anyone for that matter, say that he was the cause for his only having four sons out of fifteen living children. He said all of this loudly then he sat down, everyone at the table was quiet for a short while before Angel cleared her throat and leaned forward.

"So, uh, I read in an article from some time ago that your father was dating some ladies." she said carefully. "He settle down yet?"

"No." DuruVile replied quickly.

"Any baby brothers or sisters running around, nipping at your heels or-..."

"No."

"Shaam's one of the most eligible bachelors in the universe, the women are harking on him madly and he-..." Cyla looked over at her husband, who was simply staring forward at Angel. "He's dated a few times, but he's not been fully into it. He's been much too concerned with his grief over you and over your disappearance to get fully involved in it."

She left it at that, she asked nothing more about baby half-brother's or sister's or about her great-great grandfather's dating of other women. Angel did regard Shaam with quite a lot of respect, despite his bigness and strength, he was a rather kind man but he was prone to get mean and cruel when the timing was right. She had brought the man back from limbo over two thousand years ago, his and his only son's relationship was as thick as could be and, although she had let this piece of information out to her sons and had told them to clamp their mouth's shut about it, he was a lover of women. He had been married once, had had seven children with his first wife but, out of them seven children only one had been born alive and that one had been a girl. After he had gotten himself and his wife tested for fertility and had found that his wife had problems in the baby-making department he had divorced her and had found another woman. He had become engaged to Bikare Globoosie and, from him telling her what all had happened during that engagement, that coupling was a disaster. They had had six children together, despite their issues, but, again, only one had been born alive and, again, that had been a girl. Her great-great grandfather had left Bikare and had raised their only child as a single parent, Bikare Globoosie had not wanted anything to do with their little girl. After he had sent their daughter off to her educations he had started looking around for another woman to be engaged with and he had come upon Egla Shaar, who was DuruVile Surfeit's mother. The two had had twelve children together but most of them had been born still or had been miscarried, the only one that had been born alive was her great-grandfather, DuruVile Surfeit but... it had come to a great price. Egla Shaar, after two weeks of battling Puerperal Fever, an ailment that she had had after she had given birth to Lhaklar, she had died, leaving Shaam to raise Duru all by himself.

She had written several times to her great-grandfather, joking and teasing him to pieces about his soon-to-be-gotten baby half-siblings and she had gotten no reply from each of them letters. She had called and had spoken to him about his father having more kids one day, giving him a baby half-brother or sister, and he had done exactly what he had done now. A quick reply, nothing long drawn, a quick no or an excuse to get off of the phone. She figured that her great-grandfather didn't want brothers or sisters, she figured that if he did get some brothers or sisters he'd feel as if his place at being so close to his father would be jeopardized. That was sort of strange since he had said that he did want to have more kids, at the time that was when she had written and had gotten a reply from him or had called and they had had a long conversation on the phone. How could one, who wanted to have more than three children, to give his present children little brothers and sisters, not want to have a brother or sister him or herself? Angel decided to go onto another topic, something away from childbearing since her great-grandfather was being so quiet on the subject. Before she got the chance to bring up her chosen topic, Hazaar spoke up with a request for her.

"Mom," he said, just the way he said the word she knew he was going to ask for something. What was it, a model of a space ship? A train? A magazine? Angel looked down the table at her thirdborn son who was looking at her. "I need some more paint, for one of my models. Can you-..."

"What color, son?" TazirVile asked.

"Rather low on just about... everything." Hazaar replied.

"I'll get you some more, Hazaar."

"Really, Boy, you should can all this model building crap." DuruVile said. "They are not children anymore."

"Even grown men do models, granpappy." Angel said. "What's so wrong in him, or my other sons for that matter or Eshal, doing a model?"

"It's childish."

"So is your not wanting a baby sibling." Angel thought, was that really fair? Surely, if she had been as close to her father as her great-grandfather was to his she'd... no, she'd know better. She said something else, instead. "Is that all you need, Hazie? Just the paint, nothing else?"

"Just the paint, momma." Hazaar said.

"Okay, well as seeing that your father has said he'll take care of that-..." Angel trailed off, she said nothing for a few seconds then went on. "I'll be slowing up my trips to Earth, boys. Something-..."

"You'll be what?" DuruVile asked, startled. "Tazir! You have not been letting her teleport to Earth!"

"She's been going to Earth these past few weeks, been coming back after every trip so-..."

"You shouldn't be letting her!" DuruVile shot up like a Jack-In-The-Box. "We just got her back! She was just brought back to where-... you want her to escape again? Take the boys? I sure as hell don't!"

"She's been returning." TazirVile said.

"So what! She was returning way before she disappeared as well!" DuruVile shrieked at the top of his lungs. "Give her something that'll make her unable to teleport, do something, Boy! I don't want her running off again! It damn near killed me inside when she disappeared, don't you dare let her-..."

"Granpappy! I won't be going back to Earth for a while." Angel said. "I have no reason to disappear, I did so the last time because I was being threatened of having my children taken from me. Is that happening now? At this moment?"

"I don't want you running off again, Angel. I am serious, now. When you left, you took a piece of me with you. I just got that back. You're my great-granddaughter... they," DuruVile pointed frantically at Bile, Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer who shifted their weight uneasily in their chairs. "are my grandchildren and great-grandchildren! If-..."

"I won't be running off again. I do that and you have my permission that after I am discovered you can tear each fabric of flesh off of me." Angel said in a very high voice, she then calmed down some. "Besides, the location you found us at is off-limits now."

"Off-limits. "Bile repeated the word his mother had used. "Why is that, ma?"

"A week ago one of the gas lines underneath the apartment that you, your brothers and I lived in exploded. Made the apartment go up in an explosion." Angel replied. "I have no idea why, but the military has evacuated everyone from Green River, Wyoming. They say its because of radiation, which is crazy since a gas line has no radiation in it. It's just... gas."

"Good thing you was found and was brought back here, then." TazirVile said, he reached his hand over and grabbed Angel's hand. She smiled at him and he smiled back. "I love you."

"Same to you, Blueberry Cutie."

He and his brothers left the table soon after, their mother, grandma Ashaklar and granny Cyla, as he and his brothers all referred to her behind her back, took the dishes to the kitchen for cleaning while the men went off to do some mature male talking and activities. He, his brothers and the other immature ones were to stay out of the adults' affairs, as Duru had so said it. They were to behave and to just stay away until... well, until an adult walked up to them. Bile figured that the mature men were going to a chamber where they could talk like men. Could just open up that ol' book of male-talk and be free of having to keep their mouths restrained. The women, he figured that they were going to do the dishes then, maybe, go off and talk freely in a female way which he was glad to not be a part of. The talk of which member of a specific band was cuter, what man they saw on the tube they'd not mind strapping on for the night or the talk of which child had a problem toilet training, which child needed more discipline and which child did this, that and the next thing was just plain boring to him. He had no idea where Gaajah and Selik went off to, same for Phaggo and Qhuakiz and the same went for Blaiga, Eshal, Defe and Uevaa, he knew that Efagti and Amadh had gone off with his father and the other mature men. Bile led his brothers to the foyer then he stopped dead in his tracks, his face grew hard then, without saying a thing, he wheeled around and gave Lhaklar such a punch in the face that his brother fell flat on his ass then managed to cart-wheel back once before coming to a stop. Hazaar and Lazeer stood out of his reach, they feared that they were next.

"You said that it was a dream and that it'd not come true and yet-..."

"How the hell was I suppose to know!" Lhaklar said in a near yell, twin trails of his bluish colored blood was coming out from the two holes that was his nose. "I said what I said to comfort you. How the hell was I suppose to know that what you dreamed was-..."

"Our apartment! Our old home... I saw that go up... Go BOOM... in my dream and you made me think that that was what that was." Bile rushed forward and with one, well placed kick, he sent Lhaklar flying up onto the stairs that went up the left side of the foyer. "A dream! A dream of where a shadow walked out from nowhere... a dream where many were injured and three were killed!"

"I didn't know!" Lhaklar yelled. "I have no newspaper here, I had no idea that what you dreamed was-..."

"Ma could have been in that apartment!" Bile yelled, he lunged forward, tripped on the banister then got up then ran up to Lhaklar and grabbed him up by his neck. He held him up high, his brother was struggling to get free. "Ma could have been killed if she-..."

"How... c-c-could... I... of... k-cknown!" Lhaklar tried to pry his older, half-brother's hand off of his neck, Bile's long, dark yellow, fingernails were dangerously close to his jugular vein and he was gasping for breath.

"You're a fool!" Bile released his brother after his brother had gone a shade of lighter green in the face. Lhaklar coughed and then gasped at his feet. "You are a blasted fool! I don't know why I take your fuckin' advice in the first place or even waste my time hanging around with you! You're just as spineless as an Octopus!"

"B-Bile..." Hazaar said in a weak voice, when his brother turned around he shrunk against the wall.

"What! You want a piece of this you little brat?" Bile spat.

"N-n-no..." Hazaar sputtered.

"Then go away! Both you and Lazeer! This is big brother time, not time for you two pissy fried baby wipes to cry and bitch and clutch at our backsides!" Bile snapped. Hazaar and Lazeer, both hurting deeply inside by his words, ran off down the short hallway then made a turn and ran down the hallway that branched off from the one that they had both ran down.

Did he deserve to get the shit beat out of him for trying to offer some sense of comfort to his brother who had been so disturbed by a dream of his that had made him talk in a inconsistent, ghost-like way? He had not read a newspaper from Earth in a month, he had not read The Green River Star, the local paper from Green River, Wyoming, in a month so how could he of known that the apartment that they had lived in for over three hundred years had gone boom? Lhaklar pushed himself up the stairs a few feet then he turned and ran up the rest, his knees banged up against his chest in his mad dash away from his brother and, surprisingly, he beat his brother to the top of the stairs then began his run down the hallway. He had just reached the middle length of the hallway when he heard a faint knocking sound which he perceived as his brother, running up, gaining by feet instead of inches. Coming up to tear him, an innocent being who had only been trying to help him, to pieces. He went by his parents' bedroom chamber then he decided to turn and try to make it back down the hallway... back to the stairs that went both down the left and right side of the foyer... back to the foyer where he could go down the short hallway then make a left turn to go towards the kitchen where... maybe he could run in and hide behind his mother and feel somewhat saved. He had no intention of letting Bile get ahold of him. He had no intention of letting his brother end his life, as he saw this mad dash down the second floor's hallway. He edged over to the wall as far as he could go then, on a dime, he turned. He ducked low to avoid his brother's hand that swiped at him... he ducked to avoid the hand of his mad brother who he saw wanted him dead for giving him comfort for a dream that he had thought was just a dream and was, instead, a premonition. He ran down the hallway just as Homsi poked his head out from the employee lounge's door, Homsi had just yanked himself back into the room to avoid Bile crashing into him then, after Bile had gone past, the Goblin gave chase.

He had come to the foyer to see what all the yelling was about, he had been in the bar that was in his employer's mansion, just sitting and waiting to see if anyone else arrived that he could let in then lead upstairs to the level that his employer had told him to take whoever it was that arrived that had whoever that person was' assigned bedroom chamber on, instead of seeing what all the yelling was about he had heard some knocking. One. Two. Three. Four, with a short second pause between each knock. Check and see what all that yelling was about or answer the door, that had been a hard one. After he had heard three more knocks on the door he had decided to just answer the door, he was sure that there was someone already looking into what all that yelling was about. If he had heard it from the bar that his employer had in his mansion, then surely someone else had heard it as well, it had been rather loud, after all. When Losal grabbed the doorknob and gave it a twist he already had a feeling that it was someone else coming in to join the rest of the guests that he had accidentally sent an invite to a few days ago. Was it Kuruk and his family, with Dara Dara and Triskull in tote or was it Shaam, the man who had grown sick of him and his co-workers very quickly because of their intense loyalty to his secondborn grandson? It was just them who had yet to arrive, eight people, eight other family members that he had accidentally sent the invites to.

As he turned the doorknob he heard pounding footsteps from the level above, that made him curious as to who, now, was running around upstairs. His mistress' sons? Duru and Cyla's offspring? Ashaklar and Cheshire's children? There were twelve children in the mansion that could well of been running about upstairs, breaking one of the rules of no running in the house. He discarded Eshal from that list, she knew the rules and she knew better than to run in the house, the others he wasn't so sure. The Young Master's seemed rather respectful, he was tempted to scratch them off of the list off possible runners but he kept them on, Defe and Qhuakiz, Cheshire and Ashaklar's youngest children, were the ones high up on his list with Gaajah, Selik and Uevaa being underneath them, those three didn't seem to know respect. Phaggo and Blaiga seemed rather respectful so that were last on the list of possible runners with Bile, Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer being placed above them. Losal, again, figured that someone upstairs, either working or just sitting and taking a break in the employee lounge, would stop the running. He twisted the doorknob fully then he pulled the front door in, it seemed just his luck that standing on the other side of the front door was ShaamVile Klondike Surfeit, his employer's grandfather.

"Mr. Surfeit," Losal said, it seemed weird to him to repeat that but his employer was a man and he was a Surfeit as well so he just did so. "Mr. Surfeit has been expecting you."

Lhaklar reached the end of the hallway, he had yelled back twice, begging his brother to not kill him and, naturally, he had yelled back that he loved him and, surprisingly, Bile had yelled back that he did as well. He had near stopped running twice after hearing his brother say that he loved him back but, after he had felt the ends of them long, dark yellow fingernails scrape against the back of his neck he had put the speed back on. It was either run and try to get away or stop and get the shit, and possibly his life, beat out of him. How he had been able to keep his brother off of him was beyond him, his brother was faster than he was so he should have been able to run him down quick but yet, here he was. In front of his brother by a few inches. He had pinwheeled his arms twice, he was now using his arms to propel him forward, he was using them to scoop the air around him to make a sort of air push to his mad run away from his brother. He had glanced behind him once to see that Bile was nearly on top of him, his glowing yellow-green eyes with the black pupils very bright, and that, running quite a distance behind them, was Homsi. When Lhaklar reached the balcony that overlooked the hallway from which the stairs came down from, going down both the left and right side of the foyer, he didn't bother turning and running down the stairs. He gathered himself, grabbed the railing of the balcony then he leaped over. When he landed on the floor of the foyer below he did so on his back and he did lose all of his breath and that filled him with fear. Out of air, he couldn't run so he was sunk. He was as good as a cooked goose now, all Bile would have to do was jump down, grab him then pommel him to death. Lhaklar almost cried when Bile leaped over the banister of the balcony, he moved slightly but not enough to avoid his brother landing on him and he yelled out when his brother's knee landed on his crotch. The last thing that ran through his mind after his brother had landed on him after he had jumped down the balcony was Bile yelling back that he loved him too... he began crying the second he saw a maroon-colored hand that had long, sharp, maroon-colored fingernails on each fingertip and then he lost it. The world swam in shades of gray then it went black completely as the shock from the past five minutes collapsed in on him and made him faint.


	16. Chapter 16

"I say we should remove each and every child from this residence or have Bile removed!" Cyla exclaimed. "He's dangerous!"

"I am very surprised, he had been acting very well-behaved since his arrival here. This is the first time he has attacked-..."

"Come off it, Boy! He trampled all over Lhaklar while on Earth in trying to get away from us and he swiped Lhaklar off of a tree soon after." DuruVile spat, he was pacing back and forth in the living room. "That was not his first offense! That was not his first-..."

"They all seemed to get along very well, the only ones that have been fighting here are my two younger sons, Hazaar and La-..."

"We came upon Hazaar and Lhaklar fighting upstairs after we arrived, it does seem that they are all fighting." Cheshire sighed, he had his elbow on his knee, his head was propped up on the hand that was on that arm.

"Pubba gets here and the first thing he sees is a fight," DuruVile shook his head. "what was it... Bile broke Lhaklar's ribs or-..."

"Not that I know of, Angel took both straight upstairs after she reached the foyer." TazirVile said. "Been up there with them for half an hour now."

He was at a loss for words over what had happened! He, his father, stepfather and half-brother's had gone to the chamber that he had set up for just him, and whoever male member was also in his house, to go to to unwind and get back in-tune with his male side, after breakfast, the women had gone to the kitchen to wash everything and to do some female talking and the children had dispersed in different directions. He had heard the yelling and had been about to leave the chamber where he had gone to put an end to it when the yelling had stopped and when the sound of running had begun. He had gone down to the foyer soon after and had found that his wife was there and that she had Bile by his shirt and was yelling at him and then he had seen that Lhaklar was on his side, he had either been knocked out cold or he had fainted. When he had came to a short minute and a half later he had started crying his eyes out and had started begging for Bile to not hurt him. Angel had shoved Bile, who had broken down and had started to cry, up the stairs then she had come back for Lhaklar and had done the same to him, although not in such a hurried fashion. After they had gone, his grandfather had collected his bags and had gone up to the second level where his assigned bedroom chamber was, the fourth level was as full as he wanted it to be, although there were thirty chambers on that level he didn't want for all of them chambers to be filled, that would make for problems to happen. Family would be bumping into each other too much, there would be unneccessary fighting and he'd be worrying about his wife's stress levels, as if he wasn't already over-worrying over that latter one. His grandfather had been assigned a chamber on the second level, so had Triskull and Dara Dara while his brother and sister-in-law, Irka, and their three younger children would be assigned chambers on the fifth level.

After his grandfather had gone up to find his chamber and settle in he had pulled Losal and Homsi, the latter who had been so out of breath that he could barely stand much less speak, to the side and had demanded to know what had been going on in the foyer. According to Losal, Lhaklar had leaped down from the balcony that came off from the stairs that ran down from the second level and Bile had come down soon after. According to Homsi, who he had had to be patient with for a few minutes as his most trusted Goblin had needed a little time to regain his breath, he had come out from the employee lounge to see Bile chasing Lhaklar down the hallway, he had seen Bile swiping his hand out at Lhaklar and he had also heard Lhaklar yell out to Bile to not hurt him because he loved him and Bile had yelled back that he loved him as well. What was the reason for Bile to chase after Lhaklar and what was the reason for Lhaklar to beg his brother to not hurt him? He couldn't ask Hazaar or Lazeer if they knew what had happened, they had ran up to the third level soon after his grandfather had gone up to the second level to find his chamber. He figured that they were with their mother, he had noticed that, when they had been running by him, they looked and had acted rather emotional. Why was that?

"Should I head up to see if Angel is alright?" Ashaklar asked gently. "Or should I-..."

"Stay here," a loud, huskily voiced man said from the doorway of the living room. "leave her and her sons be. She'll be down shortly after she's gotten them all under control."

Getting Hazaar and Lazeer under control was much easier done than getting both Bile and Lhaklar calmed down and in getting what the issue was between them out in the open. She couldn't believe that Bile, who had not fought with his brother's physically in such a fashion in many hundreds of years, would chase after and freak Lhaklar out so badly, much less call his two younger brothers pissy fried baby wipes, as both Hazaar and Lazeer had told her after they had been calmed down. Lhaklar had blacked out twice after she had gotten him to his bedroom chamber then he had fainted, he was still not awake and she decided to leave him alone, he had had a difficult morning after all. Maybe a sleep brought on by fainting was a good thing to set him straight again. Bile had broken down completely and was still not right, after she had gotten him to his chamber he had collapsed and he had taken her with him when he had done so as he had been leaning up against her shoulder. Her son claimed he didn't mean it, he claimed he wanted what happened to not be true and he claimed he was extremely sorry and he kept rambling on and on about a dream. What dream would cause her son to crack and attack one of his brothers? Was it the stress of having his and her great-grandfather and his family in the mansion causing his sanity to crack or was he starting to succumb to a mental and emotional disorder that had been brought on by the three Surfeit genes that he carried within his genetic code? Bile was still upset, he was draped over her lap, his hands were wrapped around her waist and he was begging her to not leave him which she had already planned on not doing. Hazaar and Lazeer were in their chambers, she had told them to go put on some music or do one of their models which they had said that they would. Angel looked down at her son, whose shoulders were rolling back and shaking with each sob, with a slight smile on her face she smoothed her hand down his shoulder then she gently pulled him up, with her other hand she undid her shirt. Bile latched onto the breast that she presented to him and began nursing at once, as he nurse she rocked him gently.

"You know, dreams can't hurt you." she said gently to her son after he had finished drinking her natural milk, she had let him have all of the milk from her left breast, which she only did when one of her children were in dire straights of stress or emotion. "They're pictures conjured up by memory, some are pleasant, others are not. Doesn't call for you to attack your brother, though. You wiped three hundred years off of Lhaklar in that run. Made him go form being young and spry to being old and feeble."

"I'm-I'm-I'm s-s-sorry." Bile snuffled. "H-he t-told me what you told me and I-..."

"Shhhh, baby. Calm down now. I'm sure that he'll forgive you. Whatever happened..."

"Ma... I dreamed... I dreamed..."

"What did you dream of, Biley, that upset you so and that drove you to chasing your brother down the hallway of the second level?" Angel asked her son.

As he told her he was reminded of what happened after he had been grabbed up from his brother. A man had grabbed him by his shoulder and, with one jerk, had pulled him up then had thrown him down to the floor. All he had seen was maroon and carmine pink and then a pair of glowing white eyes that had red pupils, the rest was a blur. He had lunged forward, thinking that the man, whoever the hell he was, was trying to harm his brother and the man had flung him back against the stairs. He had been back slapped twice, punched once and then the man had kicked him in the stomach after he had kept lunging in to keep him away from his brother. As he told of how he had seen the apartment that he and his family had lived in for three hundred and twenty-two years had exploded in a plume of green fire and smoke he noted that his mother's face had gone like stone. She listened, she went _mmhmm_ but she didn't say anything and that made him grow fearful that she wasn't believing him. He said how Lhaklar had given him comfort after he had told him when he had asked him what was wrong a few days ago and he said that after he had heard what had happened to their old apartment that he had just had one of them extreme breakdowns where he had been gripped by both fear and anger over his belief that his brother had given him false comfort. In the end of his tell his mother all of this he went silent, he searched her eyes, her face, for anything that would say he was in trouble or if he was to get some further comfort and, to his surprise, he saw nothing but blankness and that scared him worse than hearing of how their old home had really gone up in fire and smoke and of how his dream had been reality.

"That does sound scary, Bile." Angel said after a full minute had passed. "Having them premonition dreams can be right scary, can make people think that they are crazy when they aren't."

"Am... Am I crazy, mama?" Bile asked. "Am I crazy for dreaming what I did and then finding out that it, or something similar to my dream, happened?"

"No, you're not crazy. You got scared, that's far from being crazy." Angel said, she cupped her sons' chin in her hand. "You should have come to me and told me what happened. I'm glad that you have such a close relationship with your brother, but you really should have come and told me about it."

"I-... I mean, after I woke up that first time... I kept having the dream, mama. I woke up, stayed awake for a few minutes then I went back to sleep and it resumed like it-..."

"Shhhhh, Biley. You just had a long-drawn premonition, something that just wouldn't go away." Angel said. "Y-..."

"I did keep checking up on my brothers and I did keep going downstairs to the second level to check on you and dad... you know, to see if you guys were alright and all after I kept waking up." Bile said.

"You grew worried and that worry and the anxiety from your worry kept the dream going." Angel said.

"W-what happened to the apartment? Did it explode in green flames? Did Expedition Island-..."

"All that you dreamed is spot-on to what happened." Angel said softly. "Everything but that one guy, I can't explain that one. And I can't explain why the military wanted everyone out of Green River either."

"That happened?"

"That did, they evacuated Green River and its surrounding counties quickly." Angel replied.

"In my dream, they said it was because of radiation, it was very dangerously high and-..."

"Would you like to read the article that I brought back that says what happened?" Angel asked her son. Bile blinked his eyes then he nodded his head slowly. Angel reached into her back pants pocket and took out a folded article from the Sundance Times, the local newspaper from Sundance, Wyoming that was in Crook County, Wyoming, she held it for only a second then she handed it over to her son who took it slowly and unfolded it.

_Apartment In Green River Explodes, Military Evacuates Sweetwater, Carbon, Uinta, Lincoln, Sublette, Fremont and Natrona Counties_

_Although authorities will not say what for, the county of Sweetwater, along with its surrounding counties, were all evacuated after a two-story apartment exploded in the wee hours of the morning of December 13, 4099. The apartment that exploded was located on Forest Hill Dr. but the apartment was not a part of that area until three hundred and twenty-two years ago. Miss. Angel Irene, the heroine who put up the shield all around the globe to protect us all from her evil father, Master Vile, had moved the apartment from New York and then, after quite a lot of work from both her, her sons' and the city's part, settled in. The apartment had been quiet for some time which made neighbors wonder if the heroine and her sons, numbering four, had left the area after reports had surfaced about Goblins and Zombies running rampant in the counties nearby. _

_Ten apartments nearby the one that exploded were destroyed, there were quite a lot of injuries and three deaths and, curiously, Ms. Irene and her sons have all not shown up which makes some wonder if she, or one of her four sons, had set the apartment up so it would explode, wiping all trace of theirs from the area. One neighbor claims that there was no one around, one walking her dog claims that the apartment went up in a plume of bright green flames and that it also gave off a green smoke and another passerby claims that he thinks that he saw someone walking away from the residence. Soon after the apartment exploded the military swarmed in and ushered everyone out of the county, other units worked on the surrounding counties as well. The city council claims that the evacuation is only precautionary. Thousands had relocated and there are many questions still not answered._

"Turn it around, Bile." Angel said after her son had looked up at her after he had finished reading the article. "There's another article on the back about Expedition Island."

He did so and his breath near caught in his throat as he read how Expedition Island, which was near Green River, Wyoming, the town where he and his brothers and their mother had stayed and had lived in for over three hundred years, had gone up in a torrential green fire that the military had simply let burn. The article didn't mention anybody being seen, it just mentioned that the military had come in afterwards to evacuate the civilians that were living all over Sweetwater County along with its surrounding counties. After he had read the article and had handed it back he looked down at his knees, which were knocking up against each other. He felt scared, he felt confused and he didn't know why. His mother had given him some advice, she had let him nurse, she had comforted him and she had let him read for himself what had happened in the city-turned-town that he had been in a few weeks before. After a few minutes Bile dropped onto his back and looked up at the ceiling, his mother remained at his side, she ran her hand over his forehead then over the sides of his face then she leaned down and gave him a kiss which, somehow, made him feel better. Bile sat upright, gave his mother a hug then asked her if she could take him to see Lhaklar so he could apologize to him for hitting him and chasing him and scaring him which she said she would.

They found Lhaklar not in his room, not still lying on his bed sleeping after fainting. Both Bile and his mother found Lhaklar walking about outside of his chamber, looked a trifle confused and somewhat perturbed. One look at her secondborn son was enough to set Angel's already high level stress meter up another notch, she ran forward and grabbed Lhaklar up, her son looked down at her then he looked at Bile then he looked at the wall before he collapsed on the floor. He didn't faint, he didn't cry, he simply sat on the floor with his legs pulled up close to his chest. Angel dropped by her son's side, she felt his forehead and automatically knew that he was feverish and figured that that was the problem. Too much excitement had made him faint then it had caused him to have a fever and that had caused him to walk around in a confused way. Angel and Bile helped Lhaklar to his chamber then they helped him into his bed. Angel went off to the walk-in bathroom that went with her son's room and that was when Bile snagged his chance to apologize to his brother.

"Lhakie," he said in a gentle way. "I'm really sorry for beating you up and chasing after you. I didn't mean it or all them things I said of you."

"Don't think anything of it," Lhaklar said weakly. "I now know exactly why you reacted in that way."

"Brothers?" Bile held his hand out for his brother to shake it which Lhaklar did.

"Always and forever." Lhaklar said, he then stared down at his feet that were sticking out from underneath the bed's bedding.

Angel walked back into her son's room to find both of her two older boys regarding themselves as they normally would, Bile was sitting by Lhaklar's side and he was talking to him and Lhaklar was responding in a non-scared way and it looked as if Bile had apologized for what he had done which was a relief. She found herself proud for having four sons who were as close to each other as they were, she had told her old, half-sister, Rita Repulsa, a bunch of times when she had come over for Family Week that she wanted all of her children to be close to one another when her sister had said that she wished that she'd quit having Bile and Lhaklar sitting next to each other and that she wished she would let her sons play or have any contact with one another. Although she had done what she could in having her sons know who they were in connection to one another, it really had been they who had made their relationships become so close. Angel went over and placed a cool cloth on Lhaklar's forehead, she gave him a kiss on his cheek then she let her two sons be. When Hazaar and Lazeer went by her while she was walking down the hallway she glanced back to confirm where they were going, sure enough they both disappeared into Lhaklar's chamber. With a little smile on her face, Angel went down the hallway towards the stairs that would take her down to the second level. She slowed down purposely while going down the second level's hallway then she slowly picked the pace up as she went down the right side stairwell that branched off of the balcony that was at the head of the foyer's stairs. She went straight to the living room, where she had a feeling everyone was. She had no more opened the door to the living room than found herself being yanked by the arm into the very room that she was heading into.

"Goodness! Grampy, I do suspect that you are where my boys gets their warm hugs from!" Angel exclaimed, it had been her great-great grandfather who had yanked her into the living room. The second he had seen her after she had opened the door he had rushed over and had grabbed her arm. He had her in a very tight, warm hug that she couldn't help but return.

"Warm hugs do come with the Surfeit name, Lass." ShaamVile Kondee Surfeit said.

She felt no fear towards the man who had yanked her into the living room, she felt that she was perfectly safe and, obviously, everyone else in the room felt the same way. She couldn't fit her arms around the man, he wasn't big as in fat but he was big as in... well he was big as in full of muscle. ShaamVile Kondee Surfeit, the son of RaalVile Surfeit and Frahfrie Cloridona, stood a tall, six feet, six inches and he had a very strong, very big body to go with all of that height. He was like an upside down spinning top, his top half was strong and sturdy while his lower half was more slender but even under his belt he had muscle, just not as much as he did on his top half. His arms were thick with muscle, as was his chest which was barrel-shaped. The left side of his face, and body, was carmine pink while the right side of his face and body was a maroon color. His elongated ears went the entire length of his shoulders, they were a burgundy color and they had black, Tiger-like stripes on them. Shaam's eyes were a glowing yellow color, they had red pupils in them and he had long, maroon-colored fingernails on each finger of both of his big, strong hands.

"Ah will lock thes hug in mah memory forever." he said, he released Angel but before she could get by him he leaned down and gave her a kiss on her cheek.

He spoke with a Scottish accent only to make a woman smile, he knew several languages and he spoke each with a fine accent but the Scottish accent was something that he purely used in making females that were in a gloomy mood smile and it did work. Her great-great grandfather, who was also Bile's great-great grandfather and who was Lhaklar's, Hazaar's and Lazeer's great-grandfather, was wearing a dark green jacket that had gold hems and pocket that was long on the left side only, the left side of his jacket went down to the floor while the right side of his jacket went down only to his waist before stopping. He had a dark green vest underneath his jacket that had green ties on it, underneath that was a shirt, long sleeve, button down shirt. He was also wearing a pair of dark green pants that went down only to his knees before stopping, there were silver buttons running down the sides of the pant legs and there was a row of six silver buttons going down the groin part. Shaam was wearing a pair of brown suede boots that's tops were pulled down, coming out from them were two slacks that went up to his knees. He had a gold chain running out from his left jacket pocket, it went up to his vests' right pocket, the chain housed a pocket watch that was solid gold and had Roman numerals on it.

"So, our dear wayward mother returns to either tell us good news or to try to pull the wool over our eyes about what happened nearly an hour ago." Cyla said.

"And what, pray tell, is your idea of "good news" with what happened nearly an hour ago?" Angel asked hotly.

"That Bile was severely punished." Cyla said.

"Bile has not been punished," Angel said. "what happened was-..."

"Come on Angel!" DuruVile yelled at the top of his lungs. "He attacked his younger, half-brother! That calls for either a beating by a belt, by a stick or by a whip!"

"Angel, I do tend to agree with them on this one." TazirVile said. "That should have gotten a punishment of some sort."

"Is his flipping out after getting an unknowingly done confirmation of a premonition that he had a few days call for such punishment?" Angel asked.

She explained quickly to avoid being interrupted by Cyla but she also added as much detail as she could about what her son had told her of what he had dreamed a few days ago and then, afterwards, she showed the article that had another article on the back that said exactly what had happened a week ago. Premonitions can be scary and when one doesn't understand them or when one has had his or her first premonition that he or she can act out, either in a violent fashion or in a quiet, drawn-in fashion. It was thought of on Earth that premonitions happened from spirits sending warnings of what was about to happen to people that they were either close to or to people that were sensitive to spiritual energies, what humanity didn't know was that it was a warning sent by a sense that very few humans possessed. She had moved her family from so many places due to getting premonitions of bad things about to swing in, like plagues or natural disasters, and, after each plague or natural disaster had struck she had been glad she had gone by her instinct to get out, she or her sons wouldn't be on Moas if she had not of done so. When the articles were done being passed around and read they were handed back to her, she put them in her left back pants pocket then she sat still and quiet.

"I will say, Lass, that I was very surprised to have Lhaklar and Bile jumping down from the balcony after I walked into this place." ShaamVile said.

"You explained what all a premonition was?" Ashaklar asked. "That it's nothing for him to be scared of or to act violently about?"

"Of course." Angel nodded her head. "He's already done his apologizing upstairs to Lhaklar and his two brothers, he called them a few names that he shouldn't have."

"I suppose that his acting out due to a premonition isn't punishable." Cheshire said. "He's never acted out before? Besides trampling over Lhaklar and knocking him off of a tree, that is."

"What and what?"

"The first time we saw them on Earth. Bile freaked after Tazir put his hand on his arm, turned around and flattened Lhaklar to his back. After Lhaklar had climbed up a tree, Bile appeared and used one of his air powers to make him fly off of the tree." Ashaklar explained.

"First time I'm hearing about those two events." Angel said, she was rubbing the back of her neck nervously. "Lhaklar said nothing about them nor did he act like he was hurt."

"Scared me half to death when Lhaklar got trampled. He got up and ran off afterwards." TazirVile said.

"I wonder-..." Angel began to think about the crates that her sons had brought home soon after Tazir and his family... and hers, had appeared and had made camp near Expedition Island.

"You wonder what?" DuruVile asked.

"Bile and Lhaklar, after you all set up camp near Expedition Island, came home with some crates." Angel said. "Contained some clothes, shoes and food in them along with six, live Lobsters. I was wondering where in the dickens they found those. They brought home six."

"They ever do that before?" Ashaklar asked.

"Maybe once or twice a year, say they found them just lying around, looking as if they had been thrown out." Angel replied.

"Does remind me of how me and my brother would come home from the town nearest up with bags of oysters for our mother." ShaamVile said. "I wouldn't fret over it, Lass. Boys will be boys."

After thirty minutes of staying in the living room, hearing Cyla go on and on about how much her son needed the heavy-duty discipline instead of her constant pacifying she stood up, excused herself then went upstairs to be with her children. She took up residence in Lhaklar's bedroom chamber, where her four sons stayed for most of the rest of the day. Her sons took turns at the Playstation 3 in playing Cabela's Outdoor Adventures and Cabela's Dangerous Hunts then they took turns in playing the Playstation 2, the games that they chose to play on that gaming console were ATV Offroad Fury, Backyard Wrestling: There Goes The Neighborhood and Don't Try This At Home and Cabela's Monster Bass, all of the games that they were playing she had found one day at the Flea Market in Green River, Wyoming after she had sifted through dozens of old games that had been thrown in a box that had $20 for all written on its sides. When they were done playing them gaming consoles they decided to read some of the magazines that Hazaar ran off and retrieved from his bedroom chamber then, after that, they had a few hour napping session. She made them lunch, found out that Tazir had gotten his staff to make everyone else's lunch so she could concentrate her energies on the boys, and she also found herself making supper for just her and her sons as well. When they all went to bed that night, they did so in their individual chambers and Angel surprised Tazir by slipping into bed with him, giving him and his bed a little relief from another night emission.

"You will find a citation to go to court in five minutes for touching me." Angel said after Tazir had rolled over and had wrapped his arm around her, the alarm clock had gone off ten seconds before, signalling the start of a new day.

"This woman beside me will have a citation to appear in court for being so beautiful and sexy." TazirVile replied, Angel felt him press his face into the back of her shoulder. "Luckiest man in the universe to have you as my wife."

"Luckiest woman in the universe to have such a fine man as my husband and as the father of my kids." Angel replied back, she turned around then gave Tazir a kiss which he returned.

She got up after he had gotten out of the shower then went in and began washing herself, regaining that fresh feeling that only a shower can give one in the morning. After she had showered she went into the chamber that she shared with Tazir, she saw that Tazir had dressed himself in a slate gray tuxedo, the jacket of which had twin tails on the back and the vest of which was light gray but had very silver buttons going down the front and the white shirt having belled cuffs on the ends. Her Universal Husband was seated on the bed, which he had made, he had put on a pair of gray socks and was just putting on a pair of gray dress shoes that matched his tuxedo when she walked into their chamber. She had to work quickly as, from remembering, Tazir could be rather grabby in the mornings when she was slow and had only put on a pair of panties and a bra. She donned a purple pair of panties, a matching bra then she dived into the lower dresser for some pants and a shirt. She grabbed an electric blue blouse that had long, see-through sleeves and a wrap around the middle and that's top was low-cut then she grabbed a pair of dark blue pants that only went down to her knees that had a frill at the hems. She had just barely had her pants on when Tazir walked up and grabbed her from behind.

"I should make you remove everything and get back in that bed." he said in her ear, although he said this in a tough fashion he had added quite a lot of playfulness to it. "Much too beautiful in anything, my love."

"You're one to talk," Angel replied, she turned around then reached her hands back. Tazir jumped slightly when she wrapped her hands around his rear end. "much too sexy."

He released her and exited their chamber, she stayed a while longer. She put blue, slip on shoes on her feet then she went over to the armoire and grabbed the blue topaz and bead necklace and its matching bracelet from the top drawer that her fourthborn son, Lazeer, had bought for her the day that they had been taken from Earth. The necklace hung down from her neck about two inches which she liked a lot, before she left her armoire to go feed her pet Sekhem's, who were all clambering for their breakfast, she grabbed a blue diamond and sapphire ring that's large, blue diamond was set in the center of a gold rosebud. She fed Zeox, Exutho and Elaye their mushed up food which consisted of potato and an oatmealish paste that smelled rather bad but was said to keep the animals' digestive tracts working well along with their kidneys and liver. Her Sekhem's all ate quickly then ran over and started climbing the cat tree like mad. Angel filled their water bowls, she put out some of their toys then she left the chamber that she had slept in with Tazir and went straight for her great-great grandfather's.

Cyla had gotten so on her nerves that she had not been able to apologize to the man for having to break up a fight that her two sons were having after he had stepped foot into his grandson's house, she felt really bad for that, Shaam was such a fine fellow and she respected him greatly and for her to not of apologized to him made her feel like such a keel. Tazir had said he had assigned his grandfather the chamber that he liked the most, which was down the hall past the stairs that went up to the third level. Angel went straight for that chamber, she hesitated before knocking on the door, Shaam was one who, although was nice and polite, did like his sleep and did like for it to not be disturbed unless it was absolutely, positively necessary. Her great-great grandfather had not liked being disturbed from his slumber when she had gone into labor when she had been pregnant with Hazaar, he had yelled at Eldass pretty loudly and had nearly kicked him out of the chamber. He had only calmed down after Eldass had told him that she was in labor and had been moved to the Birthing and Nursery Chamber, that had been like flicking a switch with the man. He had been mad and grumpy for all of a minute then, after he had found out that her third child was on the way to being born he had changed to being overjoyed. It was 6:30 am, she knew that her great-great grandfather was awake but was he awake enough to allow her to give him an apology without biting her head off? There was only one answer to that question, with a sigh she knocked on the door to the chamber that he had been assigned and the chamber that he had slept in all the night before then she waited. Her great-great grandfather answered the door thirty seconds later.

"Did I knock at the wrong time?" she asked after he had answered the door to his assigned bedroom chamber.

"No, Lass." ShaamVile replied, he sounded as if he hadn't been up for long, his voice was still clouded with sleep. "Been up for five minutes now, slowly waking."

"Should I come back later after you've woken fully?" she asked.

"No, come on in." ShaamVile replied, he turned and left the doorway. After some hesitation, Angel followed. She closed the door behind her.

There was a reason why he liked this room, it was very elegantly designed and had a very fluid-like feel to it that made one feel both uncomfortable and comfortable at the same time. He claimed that he felt very comfortable in the room and that, since he was so fond of it, Tazir had made an effort that whenever he was around for either a one or two night stay or a lengthy stay he'd always have the chamber that he liked most.

The room had been built with a bar in it, there was a bottle of Ruinart Champagne in an ice bucket and there was a rack behind the black marble surfaced and black oak painted bar that had all kinds of drinks on it. There were two rugs on top of the black carpet in the room that were rather large, they were Zebra-print and had black fur around the edges. A large bed sat on a circular step-like area that had a gray and white furred blanket and black sheets, there were seven pillows on the bed, three normal sized, two throw and two small, that had gray and white striped pillow cases that had white tassels around the edges. There was a marble fireplace off to the right, a silver deer statue stood in front of it and there were three candlebras that had been placed on the mantle of the fireplace. Around the legs of the silver deer statue were five pillows, all had black satin and velvet pillow cases. There was a silver marble bedside table with a silver lamp on the surface and there was a black and silver marble dresser in the room that had what looked to be an impressive stereo system on the surface a short walking distance from the bed. What her great-great grandfather liked most about the room, she truly believed, was the ceiling adornment that hung down around the bed. It was a very elaborate chandelier that had gold tassels hanging down in a circular fashion around the bed, besides the gold tassels there were also strands of pearl and silver tassels as well. The bar area had been left uncarpeted, the whole area behind the bar's counter was black marble, it was so shined up that one could see their reflection in it. The walls around her were black and gray marble and the ceiling was painted a dark gray color. Shaam had asked Tazir who he had hired to design the room and, soon after he had been told the guy's name he had rang the guy up and had gotten a room very similarly built up in his own mansion that was on Gamma-Vile, the planet where he and all of his family had been born.

"Give me a few minutes," ShaamVile said. "need to grabs some wears."

She blushed, she had not noticed that he had answered the door in nothing but a silver netted robe which gave him very little cover. She could see the thin, bristly, dark red hair that was arranged in a thin T on his chest and she could see the good sized six-pack that he had along with his very, overly muscled, arms that were very big along with the muscle from below his waist. Soon after she saw that he was wearing the netted robe she looked away and gave him some privacy. Her great-great grandfather dressed himself quickly in a light gray shirt that had near white buttons going down the front and long sleeves, a vest that was a shiny, light gray that had even lighter ties on the front and dark gray pants that had silver buttons going down the sides of the pant legs and three buttons on the groin part with a short silver zipper sewn in underneath them, his pants went only an inch past his knees before stopping. ShaamVile fastened the ties around the ends of his pants after he had slid a pair of white slacks over his legs then he grabbed a pair of dark gray suede boots that had a large, silver buckle on the sides. The night before, she had not noticed if he had been wearing his ear adornment or not, she had been too busy in explaining why her sons had been acting the way they that had. After he had put on the necessary clothing items he went over to a very well polished box, he pulled a four-inch long silver chain that had a gold and silver triangular adornment on one of its ends from the box them he quickly put it in his left elongated ear. After he had put on his earpiece he grabbed his dark gray jacket that had silver hems and designs sewn into it that went down to the floor on the left side only while the right side only went down to his waist. He slid that on then he grabbed the solid gold pocket watch that he had put in the box with his ear piece. He connected the end of the pocket watch's gold chain to the little loop that was inside the left side pocket of his jacket then he slid the pocket watch into the right side pocket of his vest. In all, it took five minutes for him to get dressed, in them five minutes Angel was thinking about her sons. Either they were awake already or they would be waking up after their alarm clocks went off in twenty-five minutes.

"Thank you for waiting." he said after he had finished clothing himself.

"I left rather hastily last night before I could offer an apology for your walking in and having to break up a fight between my sons." Angel said, she simply got down to business quickly. "My sons don't usually act that way. They get along rather well and are rather close to one another but-..."

"Say no more, Lass. They're lads, they are going to fight every once in a while." ShaamVile said. "Seeing them fight like that brought back memories of how many times my own father had to break fights up between me and my brothers."

"I've been getting quite a lot of flak lately for how I been raising my sons, just wanted to offer an apology on your entrance here and finding yourself already being "put to work"." Angel said.

"My daughter-in-law does have a rather flappy mouth," ShaamVile said, Angel blinked her eyes in shock. Never once had her great-great grandfather said that of Cyla, this was rather new and shocking. "she was telling me after you left of how you are still letting your sons nurse and of their hobbies."

"As long as I'm still producing milk, they'll get it." Angel said, her jaw was set now to start going off in defense of her sons and in defense of herself.

"I have a slight issue with the nursing thing, their hobbies I have nothing against." ShaamVile said. "You do know that they have strong blood in them, right? Surfeit blood."

"Yes."

"Good, due to that good blood they don't need any further nutrients from your milk. They are fine without it."

"As long as I am still producing milk for my sons they will continue to get it." Angel said.

"Lass, let me ask you something. You listening?"

She said she was and before he even started giving off examples and asking for her confirmation on these examples she knew what he was going to say. He bred horses, just the same as Tazir, Duru, Kuruk and her father and his uncle, Trobrencus, and, after his horses had their babies he'd breed the ones that he wanted more babies from. He'd let the mares wean their foals themselves, he didn't come in and wean them himself by taking them to a different stall or to a different barn. When the mares were nearing their time to have their new babies he'd let them tend to the yearlings themselves in getting them weaned and then, after the yearlings had been weaned, he moved them off to their own stalls. He claimed he did it that way to lessen the stress on both the mother horse and the foal. Although true, a yearling wouldn't get much nourishment from the mother horse, she was far different than a horse. She had gotten her milk tested several times, she had been told that it was not only very good but that her milk also retained each and every mineral and nutrient that a baby on up to a toddler would need to grow and stay healthy. Angel let the man talk, she nodded her head, agreed just to agree with him then, after he was done, she let him go into a silent period for a few minutes before she decided to use up five more minutes.

"I'd also like to apologize for having slowed up your life." ShaamVile had his back turned to her, once them words were out his back stiffened. "Cyla says that you couldn't be you after I left. Sorry about that."

"Lass, I wasn't myself for a reason and you know it." ShaamVile said a bit heatedly. "You think I'm going to go around acting like my old self when there is one of my family missing?"

"No, but-..."

"No buts, Angel. You and your sons are a part of my family, I love you five like crazy." ShaamVile said. "You had a reason to leave anyways so why are you apologizing?"

"The bachelor thing."

"Oooooh." ShaamVile gave off an awkward laugh. "I cannot say that I have been a bachelor all them one thousand, six hundred years, Lass. I did date but I wasn't fully in it."

"Because of me and my sons."

"Correct, you five were thick on my mind and heart and you all are still thick on my mind and heart. It's how it should be." ShaamVile said, he walked over then placed his hand on Angel's shoulder. "I have plenty of time to find another lass to be with, I'm forever. Remember?"

"I do, yes." Angel nodded her head. "You still interested in having more kids?"

That was a stupid question, of course he was still interested in having more kids! Whenever she and he had spoken on the phone or he had responded to a letter of hers he had always said that he was looking forward to the day of when he would be a father again. The man had been said to be infertile once, but all of the tests that he had gotten done on himself soon after Hazaar had been born had said that not only was he very virile in his seed, having over a million wigglies in each sample, but he was also one hundred percent fertile and healthy. The man was able, he was willing but there was one problem that he was facing. He wanted someone who, like Tazir, would accept him for who he was, treat him right and who would accept and treat his family, specifically his son who he was mostly worried about, right. Like Duru, Shaam was very close to his only living son, he had lost his two surviving daughters to Shlock's Plague, Duru was all he had left of his living offspring, if he was to be with someone he was going to be with someone who wasn't going to shit all over him and his son. Angel found it strikingly odd, though, that although Shaam wanted more children that his only son did not want a little brother or sister. Angel decided to keep her mouth shut on that one, she ended the talk, got up from where she had seated herself on the seated structure that was around the bed then exited the room. She went directly downstairs to get breakfast made.

"Mornin' ma." Bile said after he had walked into the kitchen. He gave his mother a hug, kissed her cheek then he turned around and went over to the island that was in the center of the kitchen. He sat in one of the stools slowly.

"You feeling alright?" Angel asked her son.

"Yes, why do you ask?" Bile asked.

"Just asking, your hug this morning isn't as warm as the ones you usually give-..."

"I'll change that now."

He had been planning on giving his mother a short hug that morning just so she'd ask if he was alright then say something about his warm hug giving. Bile stood up then rushed over behind his mother and grabbed her up in a deep hug. He had just put her down on the floor when his brothers all walked into the kitchen. They took turns in giving her hugs and kisses then, after they had all finished giving their morning hugs and kisses they ganged up on their mother for a group hug and kiss. After the events that had happened the day before, almost all of them were feeling like they could run a mile and still keep going without slowing down or stopping to rest up, the only one of them that was acting not himself that morning was Lhaklar. Bile had noticed that his brother was acting somewhat stiff, he seemed not himself and that did bug him but he figured that, after he had chased him and had punched and kicked him a few times, that he had not slept well. Lhaklar was wearing a nice ring of very dark green around his left eye and the holes that were his nose had rings of very dark around them as well. His brother had grown swollen in the area where his nose was the night before and he had had trouble breathing for a short ten minutes before their mother had discovered his problem and had relieved the pressure from the swelling with a bag of ice. Besides the very dark green rings that were around his eye and nostrils, his left cheek was very bruised and so were his ribs and there were bruises from where he had grabbed him about the neck. Seeing his brother in such a state made him feel horrible, he felt guilty all over again. Bile went to the fridge and took out one of the bottles of milk that was their mother's natural milk, he next went and retrieved a glass and poured his brother some of their mother's milk. Lhaklar mumbled his thanks after he had been handed the glass then he sipped it twice before putting it down on the island's countertop.

"If I could take it all away, Lhakie, I would." Bile said sorrowfully. "I'm really, really sorry for fighting you yesterday."

"Don't worry over it." Lhaklar mumbled. "I've already forgiven you, no need for further apology."

"Want me to be the Brother Slave today?" Bile asked, whenever he did something to his brothers that hurt them he'd always ask if they wanted him to act as a slave, or as their personal helper.

"No." Lhaklar replied. "I'm fine, just sore."

"After Bile beat you up, I guess you would be." Hazaar said.

"New hairstyle, Hazaar?" Bile asked, Hazaar had braided three strands of his deep purple rattail and he also had a strand that had color changing beads and a gold feather in it.

"Just trying out them new beads that the old man got me." Hazaar replied, trying was an understatement. He had forced himself into using them and he really didn't like them. The color changing beads made him look childish and he did not like that.

"Too bad you don't have a full head of hair." Bile said. "Actually, let's be glad you don't. We'd see you walking around with braided strands and beaded strands and feathers-..."

"I prefer my one rattail, thank you." Hazaar said, he then looked over at Lazeer. "It is just too damn bad that you couldn't get more hair than you do. Women swoon over me and my hair, they barely bat and eyelash at you."

"At least I do't have to worry about one of my brother's sneaking up behind me with a pair of scissors." Lazeer lowered his right eyelid in a wink.

"You even consider that and you'll find yourself with no teeth left in your mouth." Hazaar said hotly.

"Snip snip, oop, where's my hair?" Lazeer mocked Hazaar. "Ahhhh! Someone stole my hair! Someone stole my single lock of hair! That was my baby!"

"You are pathetic!" Hazaar exclaimed.

"I have a mohawk, I can afford to be pathetic. What's your excuse?" the corners of Lazeer's O-shaped mouth curved up gently in a mockish smile.

She would have finished making up breakfast for everyone had she not of had to separate Hazaar from both Lazeer and Bile, her thirdborn son seemed to be having one of them mornings where he was going to do non-meaning threats and mock lunges and non-meaning insults which got on both her and Bile's nerves and she also had to deal with Lazeer who was on a roll with his jokes that morning. He said a joke on how Bile had turned Lhaklar into his own, personal punching bag which got Bile all riled up then he said something about how Hazaar was trying to become more like the girl that he was said to of been before he was found to be a boy that got Hazaar near ready to pounce on him and pummel his face into the stone flooring and then he said something to Lhaklar about his trying to turn the inside of their father's mansion into his personal running track which got no reply whatsoever from his brother. Before she left with a tray and a dish in each of her hands she asked her sons to grab up a tray or dish and follow her, breakfast was late in getting to the table so she knew that everyone was already there, waiting hungrily for the meal to be served. Soon after she and her sons had entered the dining room they set the table then sat down in their respective places, breakfast began with Tazir lifting the first tray's lid, the other mature men at the table followed suit.

"Bile is a rather big lad, Angel." ShaamVile said after he had filled his plate of four Italian breakfast cookies, three stuffed Italian Calzones, two Pancetta Egg cups and two German Sausage Balls. "Bigger than I was when I was his age."

"We've been trying to get her to lower the amount of foods she cooks, Bile eats quite a lot and he also uses the gym too much for our liking." Cyla spoke up loudly.

"How many times does he use the gym a day?" ShaamVile asked.

"Two... maybe three times a day." Cyla answered.

"Need to slow up, Lad. Gaining too much muscle isn't good, not for one your age." ShaamVile said, Bile was sighing on the inside. Was it everyone that thought he was too big and too muscled for his age? He mother seemed rather accepting of his muscle mass and height.

"Lhaklar is the same way," Cyla said. "he goes into the gym here twice a day."

"He looks a bit thin to me," ShaamVile said. "or are my eyes playing tricks on me?"

"He's very athletically built." Angel said. "Not thin."

"Got quite a lot of muscle on him as well, no fat on his body whatsoever." TazirVile said.

"And Hazaar and Lazeer?" ShaamVile asked.

"Lean bodies with good muscle mass on them." TazirVile answered before Angel could.

They kept their mouths shut while the man whose name was Shaam spoke his mind on their appearance and, of course, how they were dressed. Bile saw nothing wrong with his shirt, he had put on a gray t-shirt that had a pocket on the left breast. The shirt had holes on the right shoulder, put there by him after he had taken it out from the pack of shirts that he had bought one day, and there was a tear above the shirt's pocket along with tears along the hem that was along the bottom of the shirt. The sleeves had many tears in them, they were barely there and that was how he liked them. His pants were dark gray, he had genuine black leather boots on his feet that he had laced up loosely and that had a single chain on the sides and a pocket on the sides as well that had a false bronze skull and cross-bones on it. He had a necklace around his neck that hung down about four inches that had Sperm Whale, or so the man had said when he had bought the thing when he had seen it at the Flea Market that was in Nordic county, Wyoming, the location that he, Hazaar and Lazeer had spent the day before they had been captured and had been brought to the mansion that was owned by their father nearly a month ago, teeth hanging down from it. When his great-great grandfather said something against the necklace that he was wearing he near said something back but, when his mother tapped her foot against his, her signal to him to not say anything, he obeyed her by keeping his mouth zipped.

Lazeer was wearing his usual, a mesh shirt and a pair of gray pants that had holes in the knees and brown and gray shoes, he had his goggled glass in his back pants pocket and that was the only thing not usual about him, he and his brothers were slowly getting use to him carting the case with the goggled lense in it on his person everywhere. Hazaar, besides having something new in his deep purple rattail, was wearing nothing out of his usual, a brown shirt that was tucked in and he had a pair of multi-brown pants that were faded slightly at the knees while being greatly faded both at the inner and outer thigh. He had his usual brown shoes that had the light brown laces on them on his feet and, Bile presumed, he had a nudie magazine hidden underneath his shirt. Bile grew particularly tired of the man who was his great-great grandfather soon after he said something against Lhaklar's clothing. Lhaklar stayed quiet, he looked down at his plate throughout all of the picking-on about his light green and dark green striped, button down, long sleeve shirt, brown pants and brown shoes then, after the man had gotten through talking he looked up from his plate slowly. Bile's, Hazaar's and Lazeer's mouths all dropped when he spoke.

"At least me and my brothers aren't dressed like a fuckin' pirate or like someone from the colonial days." he said.

"Lhaklar!" Angel exclaimed.

She got up before anyone else could and whapped her secondborn son on the back of his head hard, when her son stood up from the table she reached down and grabbed the cloth that she had had on her lap and began whapping that on his ribs and backside and when he started blubbering and continued to act disrespectful she grabbed him by his shoulder, turned him around then shoved him out of the dining room. Bile looked over at Lazeer, when he saw the ghost of a joke forming on his lips he made a slashing motion under his chin frantically, one brother being disciplined was bad enough, having another leaving the table afterwards to get his own brand of discipline would be worse. Lazeer didn't seem to get the meaning of his motioning, he opened his mouth and said _and there goes cloth whapping number one of the day, he usually gets five with ten more on top then he gets sent to clean the gutters and yard afterwards_. Their mother, who obviously had been close to the dining room and had heard the outburst, walked into the dining room and yanked Lazeer up from his chair. She shoved him out of the room, Bile and his only remaining younger brother guessed that the two would be grounded for either a few hours, a few days or a few weeks. When Bile looked to his left he saw that his adopted father looked rather miffed, he looked as if he was upset over having his chance of disciplining one of them being snatched from him. When his mother returned she gathered Lhaklar's and Lazeer's plates then left with them, Bile presumed that she was taking them to the kitchen but he also thought that she might also be taking them up to his two brothers who had been ushered out from the dining room. When she returned she sat back beside him, just the way she sat down told him that she was not in the best of moods.

"Now, is anyone else wanting to be disrespectful this morning?" Angel asked her two remaining sons.

"No ma." Bile replied quickly.

"No momma." Hazaar replied, he looked down at his plate.

"Good then. Eat your breakfast."

"Very impressive, Lass." ShaamVile said. "But, if I may, you was a bit too light on Lhaklar."

"I will not be using any sort of belt, whip or other disciplinatory weapon on my sons." Angel said.

"Lass, it is best that with sons you use strength over gentleness." ShaamVile said. "Sons will walk all over one more so than daughters."

"I have had to discipline Eshal from time to time but I've never found myself using a belt, whip or a stick on her. I always use my voice and a swat with my hand, what he says about the daughter thing must be true." TazirVile said.

"The lads will still love you regardless of what disciplinary items you use on them to keep them in line." ShaamVile said.

Before she could say, again, that she'd not be using anything on her sons that would put marks on their bodies that may well become permanent and before she could turn on Tazir for what she took as his agreeing with his grandfather over the use of a weapon as a disciplinary tool, Losal walked up. Tazir leaned down and Angel detected whispering, she detected the words brother, family and the word here and that was what got her to think that her grandfather and his family, including two of his three grown children, had arrived for their extended stay. Angel couldn't help but feel somewhat betrayed by her great-great grandfather, she had thought that he'd be somewhat on her side about how she was raising her sons and yet, here he was. Giving her his two-cents worth about her still letting her sons have her natural milk and talking about how she should discipline her sons. Angel decided to finish her breakfast, collect her two obedient sons then go up to her and Tazir's chamber for her pet Sekhem's, collect some of her pets' toys then head up to the chamber that she had taken up residence in one time that week. She had just finished her breakfast and was just getting ready to stand up when her great-grandfather started talking.

"You know them lizards and monkeys you helped me get a few thousand years ago, Girl?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she remembered well what he was asking her about. He had gotten the idea one day that if they spent some time together they'd gain an understanding on each other. He had teleported her to Earth to find three species of lizard; the Jackson's Chameleon, the Centralian blue-tongued skinks and the Draco volans or the Flying Lizard, which she had helped him acquire for his collection and then she had surprised him by finding him several Mini-pygmy lemur for his monkey collection as well. She had also found him a black Blue Tongue skink as well on that trip, that one he had liked quite a lot.

"I still have 'em." DuruVile said, he had a proud tone to his voice.

"Monkeys and lizards? My grandfather likes both monkeys and lizards?" Hazaar was thinking. "I have one hell of a weird family. A father who likes bats, Platypus' and fish and a grandfather that likes monkeys and lizards. What else will I find out about my weird ass family?"

"Still have them Augrabies Flat lizards as well?" Angel asked.

"I have had a time with them beasts! They breed like crazy and the black ones keep popping out rainbow babies." DuruVile made a face. "My wife likes them so I kept a few of the rainbows, as I call them. I have only seen fifty black babies born from the ones you helped me acquire."

"And the Red Eyed Crocodile skinks?"

"He has pah-lenty of them!" Cyla said loudly. "You said he might not see any babies being born from them. Seems every time he walks into his lizard room he finds eggs in their cage and they are always fertile!"

As with surprising Tazir with birthday trips to Earth to find bats and fish, she had persuaded her great-grandfather a few times to let her take him to Earth to look for lizard and monkey species that she thought he'd like to have in his collection. She had started asking him if he wanted to head to Earth to find a new lizard for his collection when his birthday came around and, when he had continued to say no and that he was too busy she had decided to just ask him whenever the subject of his lizard and monkey collection came up. After two hundred years of asking, he had said yes and she had whisked him away to Earth to find the first lizard that she had told him about. She had caught him ten rare, black Augrabies Flat lizards. The females, usually, had dark brown backs with three, thick, cream stripes running down the length of their backs while the males, usually, had blue heads, greenish backs with a darker area in the middle of their back with orange or yellow forelimbs, a dark blue throat and a half black and half orange belly. She had been lucky in finding him ten rare, black Augrabies Flat lizards, he hadn't helped much, he had mostly stood around, waiting for her to come back to him with his "prizes" then, after the lizards had been caught they had gone back to their respective homes.

She had persuaded him to go along with her to Earth to find some Abronia graminea, or Mexican Alligator lizards, for his collection twenty years later. She had caught him ten of those, all vividly colored, either blue or green, and all having an Alligator-like texture to their skin. Whether he had those still, she had no idea, he was saying nothing about them so he probably either got rid of them or they all died while in his care. She had put a bug in his ear about the Pygmy Marmoset once, he had said he had no interest in the small monkey that ate tree sap and she had also told him about the Pygmy tarsier, a species of monkey that had been thought to be extinct until the year 2000 and then they had actually gone extinct fifty years later due to the pet trade. He had had no interest in the two primates so she had dropped conversation on that subject afterwards.

After the trip to Earth with him to get the Mexican Alligator lizards she hadn't waited on asking him if he wanted to go to Earth again afterwards, she had known that he would beat around the bush about it, he didn't much like going to Earth with her, he viewed the trips as her way to attempt to escape which had been far from her mind at the time. Twenty years after she had caught him his Mexican Alligator lizards she had gone to Earth herself and had caught the man ten Red Eyed Crocodile Skinks, an all black lizard that had a ring or red around its eyes and that had a four rows of pointy, rigid, bony scales along their back and tail and textured, leathery skin which had given the animal its name. She had given him the lizards as a birthday present afterwards.

"They have yet to discover the Mini-pygmy lemur on Earth." Angel said. "Good thing too, had they of done so that species would not be around anymore."

"Those mini-monkey's are rather cute." Cyla said. "I find myself liking those a lot."

"She has her favorites among them, I like them all. Naturally." DuruVile said.

"Still have Brakol and Tuclo?" Angel asked.

"Oh yes, still have them two. I have had both for a very long time and, as you know, I have given them that Ever-Life potion so they'll live forever so I'll have them... forever." DuruVile replied. "Cyla also has all of her cats still."

"Do you still have Argiser and Datzav, Grampy?" Angel asked ShaamVile.

"Yes, Lass. Still drive my staff crazy with their screaming. Like my son has done for his pets, they've been given the Ever-Life potion as well so I'll have them for a very long time to come." ShaamVile replied, Argiser and Datzav were his two pet, white Cockatoo's. He had acquired them fifty years after he had been brought back from limbo, they had hatched from eggs in his mansion and he had raised them from tiny chicks to their present adult state.

"You still haven't acquired any Palm Cockatoo's?" Angel asked, a Palm Cockatoo was an Earth species of Cockatoo that was either smokey gray or black in color and the species was known to have red cheeks that changed color when the bird was excited or alarmed.

"No, I am quite happy with Argiser and Datzav." ShaamVile replied. "And, of course, I am also quite content with my three dogs and two cats."

"You going to start using the word Arrrgh now, buddy?" Hazaar thought. "I agree with Lhaklar, you dress like a friggin' pirate and you have Cockatoo's."

"Didn't you have some fish at one time?" Angel asked. "Some Koi or-..."

"I still have the pond in the back of my property, right between the garden, that still has the Koi in it." ShaamVile replied quickly. "As you know, I keep the pond warm year-round so the fish don't die off when the cold season comes in. I still find myself buying ten to twenty more with each year to restock it though."

The tranquil mood in the room that had begun with Duru's bringing up of his still having the lizards and tiny monkey's that Angel had helped him acquired changed to one of unease when the being who Bile knew was his and his mother's grandfather walked into the room. Angel grew suspicious of Duru after the man had walked into the dining room, he had probably also overheard that his oldest son, who he regarded in a much better light than Tazir and who he did show quite a lot of favoritism towards, and, when he heard that his oldest son and his family had arrived he had decided to keep her and her two remaining sons in the room that they were in with them until either all of them came down to join everyone at the table or his oldest son decided to come down himself to make his introduction. Either, or, when KurukVile Shonsinu Surfeit, his oldest son and his first son who had been born to Cyla during his first marriage to her, walked into the room Hazaar quickly hopped chairs. He moved from the chair that was his to the chair that Lhaklar had been seated in a few minutes before, Angel stood up after her grandfather walked into the room. She put her hand on both Bile's and Hazaar's shoulder to reassure them then she walked forward.

"This my granddaughter or is this some other lovely woman?" KurukVile asked after Angel had stopped when she was a foot in front of him.

"Last time I checked my tags, I do carry blood from you in my veins." Angel replied.

"Good girl!" KurukVile said, he then grabbed Angel up in a big hug. "I have missed you pretty damn greatly, Angel."


	17. Chapter 17

Lunch was pretty basic by his standards but the quantity of what was on the table made up for what all had been cooked and prepared. There were two trays that had grilled cheese sandwiches on them, one stack of which had been very badly burned while the other had been both undercooked in his opinion, and then there were two dishes that had two liquids in it. He smelled the odor of tomato and onion so he figured that one of the dishes had a liquid that had them ingredients in, the other dish had a yelled liquid in it that had some noodles and green stuff floating around on its surface. There were two pizzas, one that had anchovies on it that he was going to duck into while the other two were cheese and sausage and cheese and pepperoni, he was sure his kids would duck into them along with the other kids that were at the table. There was a large dish that had Ma-Po Tofu in it that he was going to get a large helping of and since he didn't want to hurt his granddaughter's feelings, he knew that she was very different in her cuisine choices than he, he'd grab a grilled cheese of both types as well. KurukVile took his place at the table, he and his family had been said to pick any seat and he had decided to grab the chair next to his mother, who had his three baby siblings between her and his father. His wife sat beside him while Baruk, Kaasa and Sudir sat next to her in that order. Soon after everyone had seated themselves lunch began, Kuruk got what he had decided to eat then he started eating. Soon after he had taken a bite from the one burned grilled cheese he had to lean back in his chair.

"Made with you in mind, granddad." Angel said, she had noticed his reaction after he had taken a bite out of the burned grilled cheese sandwich he had put on his plate.

"I am impressed, Angel. Made very well." KurukVile said. "What is that red liquid in that one dish?"

"Tomato onion soup." Angel replied.

"And the red liquid in that pitcher?" DuruVile asked.

"Italian Cherry Cream Soda," Angel replied. "the pitcher beside that has Chocolate Ice Cream Soda and the pitcher beside that has plain tea in it."

"Think I'll take a glass of that one pitcher that has that chocolate stuff in it." Uevaa said, she stood up, poured herself a glass of the Chocolate Ice Cream Soda drink then she sat back down.

"Had a feeling the girls would like that one drink." Angel said. Eshal had just got through pouring herself a glass of the Chocolate Ice Cream Soda drink and she was now handing the pitcher over to Ashaklar, who had been asked by Defe if she could pour her a glass of the drink.

"By the time we leave here my kids will of made a list of things for my wife to make for them for their meals." Cheshire said, he had put two grilled cheese sandwiches, non-burned, on his plate and he had a bowl of tomato and onion soup beside his plate. Angel could tell that that was all he'd be eating, he didn't seem very interested in anything else.

"Just for the record, I am fully aware that I poured all three of them drinks into my glass." KurukVile said.

Lazeer kept his mouth shut for fear of the man that had just said he had poured himself a glass of all three beverages that his mother had made up for everyone at the table. His fear of the man didn't stem from his not knowing him, his fear stemmed from the fact that the man was a huge mountain of muscle, the man looked as if he could lift the dining room table, with all of the trays and dishes on it, and then hurl it across the room with ease. The man's name was KurukVile Shonsinu Surfeit, he was the oldest son of DuruVile Bolushi Surfeit and Cyla Dyla and that made him his uncle. He looked quite a lot like Bile but Lazeer knew better than to even think that the man, due to his similarity to his older, half-brother, was Bile's actual father. The left side of his uncle's head and body was white while the left side of his uncle's head and body was red, he had a few wrinkles on his head that took on a deeper shade from whatever side of his head they were on. His uncle's elongated ears went only half the length of his shoulder, they were a gold color and they had red, Tiger-like stripes on them. His uncle had fiery red eyes that had black pupils in them, one look at them eyes was enough to tell Lazeer that the man had both seen and done a lot and, also, that he was dangerous. The man was wearing a black tunic that had a black belt around the waist and black fur on the shoulder, he was also wearing a pair of black pants and he had black boots on his feet. His uncle's tunic had no sleeves on it so the heavily muscled arms that he had were fully out in the open, veins bulged out from underneath the tight, tough skin of both arms and, like the few wrinkles that his uncle had on his face, they took on the color of the arm that they were on. His uncle had long, purple fingernails on each finger that came to a sharp point and he stood six feet, four inches tall, if Lazeer had to guess, the man weighed over three hundred pounds and not a pound of that was in fat either, he only had to look at the man to know that a majority of that weight was all in muscle.

"Usually lunchtime she doesn't make but so much," Cyla said. "from what we have seen, it's both breakfast and supper that she goes overboard with."

"Makes enough for an army." DuruVile said.

"Probably because there _is _an army here." KurukVile said. "There's twenty-seven people here at the table, that _is _an army."

Thank you for saying the very obvious to Mr. and Mrs. I-Think-I-Know-It-All." Cheshire said. "Your parents, Kuruk, think they can up and come in here and start molding Angel into their version of what a parent is."

"For the record, we are trying to help her get them in line." Cyla said.

"From my personal opinion, Angel seems to of done very well in raising all four of her sons." Cheshire said. "I see four well-behaved boys."

"I suppose you forgot what Lhaklar said this morning to my husband and father-in-law?" Cyla gave Lhaklar a glare then she looked back at Cheshire.

"No, and from what I hear he apologized." Cheshire said. "Who wouldn't have a come-back after hearing someone insult their sense of style anyway?"

"It was highly disrespectful." Cyla said.

"Once again, Madame, he apologized for the scorning he did this morning." Cheshire said, he then went back to his lunch.

"Lhaklar doesn't look like he's filled in any since coming here, that still concerns me." Irka said. "Bile looks much too big for his age as well, is Hazaar still the same height as he was when we last saw him?"

Had it not been for that, Lazeer would have thought that she was decent and not one of them people that liked to pick out every little flaw one person had to them. Irka Surfeit, his aunt, had a full skeletal appearance that made her look very feminine and fragile, the bones in her body were either dark purple or black, and she had no eyes whatsoever in her eye sockets or viewable ears. She had long, blue hair that went down to her waist that was crystalized. His aunt was wearing a purple dress that was tight around the breasts which poked out like pyramids, which, due to her skeletal appearance, made her look somewhat odd. There was a white belt around her waist that was studded with spikes and she had black heeled boots on her feet that had spikes on the sides. When she moved her hand Lazeer saw that she had a purple diamond ring on the ring finger of her left hand that had a row of diamonds around the purple diamond gem and she also had a pewter ring on her index finger of that same hand that had a large, burgundy Swarovski crystal in the center of the ring. This was the first time that he had seen the woman, he only knew that she was his aunt from when his mother had placed the envelope that had the photographs that Bile had taken after Hazaar had slipped him his camera after their father had made up his camp near Expedition Island. Lazeer cocked his elbow into Hazaar's rib quickly then when his brother looked at him he mouthed for him to not say anything. His brother nodded his head then went back to his cheese pizza.

"They all work out in the gym here too much for my and my husband's liking." Cyla said. "Bile is seen in the gym two to three times a day and Lhaklar is seen in the gym twice a day. Neither have an ounce of fat on them and no, Hazaar has not grown any."

"I am only going to say this once," Angel said angrily. "all of my children are healthy."

"Lhaklar looks like a pencil, Lass." ShaamVile said, he then looked at Lhaklar who had looked up from his plate at him. "I apologize, Lad but it's the truth. You've got a thin body that-..."

"He's athletically built." QeetaVile spoke up. "He looks like his father."

"At two thousand, one hundred years of age, that is not good." DuruVile said. "Tazir was not the height that Lhaklar is until he was over the age of two thousand, four hundred years and he didn't get any muscle mass on him like what Lhaklar has on him until he was near two thousand, eight hundred years of age."

"Everybody matures differently, Granpappy." Angel said. "No one child matures the same as the other."

"Very well said, Angel." Ashaklar said. "I said the same to Duru when he started ranting about how little Tazir was maturing when he was a child. 'Kuruk was much bigger and stronger when he was three hundred and twenty', 'Kuruk was faster, stronger and wiser at seven hundred and fifty-four', 'Kuruk was-'..."

"Woman are you going to trudge up fights that we had when you was a Surfeit wife?" DuruVile was rubbing his brow with his left hand. "Regardless of how "different" each child matures, Surfeit children go by a schedule. Angel's sons are way over schedule. They're either too tall and muscled or their too short."

"Man fuck you!" Hazaar spat angrily, he was through with hearing the man who was his grandfather talking bad of him. There was a loud gasp from down the table and he looked down at the one who had done it. "Yeah, I cursed. What's it to ya, Bone Boy?"

Bone Boy was an appropriate name for the kid that was sitting in the last of the occupied chairs at the table. He stood six-foot, two inches tall and he had a lean body like him but it had immature muscle on it while he had good rolling, hard muscle on his that he had worked damn hard to get. He was the son of his aunt, Irka Surfeit, and like her his body was fully skeletal in appearance. The bones in his skeletal body were a milky-red color but, unlike his mother, he had glowing red eyes in his boney eye sockets. His head was the only thing that was bi-colored on him, he had inherited that feature from his father, KurukVile Surfeit. The left side of his head was red while the right was a golden color, he had no noticable ears but he did have fangs, which were on his upper jaws only. The kid's name was SudirVile Sorrass Surfeit, he was the current youngest son of Hazaar's uncle and aunt and he was one thousand, nine hundred and sixty-five years old. He was wearing a cream-colored, long sleeve, button down shirt, matching pants that only went all the way down his legs that had snaps on their sides to keep them from slipping down past his knees and he had black shoes on his feet that had large, silver buckles on the sides. On the back of the chair that he was sitting on was a very light pink jacket that had gold hems and buttons down the front over his shirt. The kid said nothing to him, he glared at him but that was all.

"Watch your language, Hazaar." Angel said sternly.

"Just for confirmational purposes, he is going through that phase right?" Irka asked Angel.

"Yes, he and Lazeer both." Angel replied.

"Need to work on him some, it's during this period that a child gets it in his or her head that they can get over on their parents." Irka said. "Sudir needed a few paddlings just to get him straight when he was going through that phase. Neither he nor Baruk curse or act like they are better than me or your grandfather."

"My sons are right well behaved," Angel said. "never once have they walked over me, although they have had their moments of talking back from time to time."

"Angel-..." Irka said, Angel could tell that she was getting ready to give out a lecture but before she could, Bile spoke up.

"We love our mother and we give her great amounts of respect, why in the world would we walk all over her?"

"And Tazir," Irka looked up the table at her brother-in-law. "how do you treat him? How're you going to treat your own father when he gets here?"

"I've had a few issues with Lhaklar and Hazaar but other than that they have shown me respect." TazirVile said.

"Issues? What kind?" Irka asked.

Lhaklar kept his mouth shut, he had been grounded that morning for two hours after he had counter-insulted his grandfather and great-grandfather on their dress sense after his great-grandfather had insulted him and his brother's on what all they were wearing and he did not want another grounding. He had apologized to his mother for standing up, effectively challenging her which he very rarely did and then he had gone to whichever level his grandfather and great-grandfather were on to personally apologize to them for his rude outburst on them dressing like someone from the colonial days or like a pirate and then he had gone to his father and had apologized to him for acting disrespectful and embarrassing him. After he had done all the apologizing, he had gone up to his chamber to find that Cheshire was leaning up against his bedroom chamber's door. What he had wanted was simple enough; spend a little time with him and get to know him some. Only thing he could think of was asking if the man wanted to join him in playing a game on one of the gaming systems that he had in his chamber and to his surprise, the man had said _lead the way_. They had played Rapala Pro Bass Fishing for an hour, both had used the controller that was shaped like a fishing pole during the playing of the game. It had taken his grandfather a short while to figure the game out but after that, it was on. They had only played for fun, no competition, and his grandfather had actually beaten him by nabbing a twenty-pound bass fish. That had been fun and his opinion on the man was good, the man defending their mother and him and his brothers made his opinion on him grow more.

Tazir told of how he had had to deal with Lhaklar's challenging of his authority and with how Hazaar had swung and had hit him soon after he and his brothers and their mother had been brought back home and of how he had dealt with them, Lhaklar heard none of the tellings, he was looking at the one who was seated beside Irka. This kid had a look on him that said he was not only a bully, but he was a leader and he had one of his lackeys at the table with him so Lhaklar figured that soon, very soon, he would begin his antics of trying to pick on him and his brothers and that soon he and his brothers would be fighting back in defense. The kid's name was Baruk, BarukVile Glosu Surfeit, and he had been born soon after him and he had also been born in the same bed, in the very mansion that they were all in now, as he had been. Regardless of him being the same age as he, Baruk looked more like Bile in appearance and he looked very much like the son of the man two seats up the table.

The kid's elongated ears went only half the length of his shoulders, they were black and had red, Tiger-like stripes on them. The left side of Baruk's head and body was a blood-red color that was so dark that one would think that it was actually black, the right side of the kid's head and body was an imperial red color. Baruk had long, imperial red fingernails on each of his fingers that he had filed to a sharp point, it was his eyes that told all whose son he was. He had fiery red eyes that had small, black pupils in them, just like his daddy's. Baruk stood six-foot, three inches tall and he had a very strong, well-muscled body. Although he had quite a lot of muscle on him he was still dwarfed by Bile's muscle and that, Lhaklar guessed, saved him from getting the same non-needed concern that Bile was getting about how much muscle he had and how strong he was. He was wearing a white shirt, long sleeve, button down shirt that had black buttons going down the front that was tucked into a pair of dark red pants that were held up by a black belt. On his feet were a pair of dark brown shoes that had a gold buckle that looked overly big for the shoes on the top. There was a dark red jacket hanging on the back of the chair that Baruk was sitting on that had gold hems and designs on it.

"So there haven't been any other violent actions here beside those?" DuruVile asked, not believing what all he had been told. "A single punch from Hazaar, which should have gotten a good belting in return and a few challenges from Lhaklar, which should have gotten more than just a plain lecture? Tazir, I am not in the least bit surprised that you have not taken charge from Angel on the disciplining of the boys."

"Angel's still producing milk," Cyla said, Irka and Kuruk, who both had spoons of soup held up from their bowls, dropped their spoons then leaned back in their chairs with sighs. "she is still letting her sons nurse from her."

"Angel, we had this problem with you before with Bile and Lhaklar." KurukVile said, he shook his head miserably. "They do not need your milk anymore. They are big enough and strong enough to be well enough off of it."

"What you've done is make it so they are dependent on you for everything." Irka sighed. "You need to wean them and now."

"Now wait a second here," Ashaklar spoke up. "I let my children nurse until they were two thousand, five hundred years old. Angel is doing no wr-..."

"Your children are common children," Cyla said. "Angel's children are Surfeit children. Good blooded children. Practically royal children."

"Angel has explained to me that she had both gotten tested for mastitis for years now and that she has gotten her milk tested as well. Them tests, she says, come back saying that her milk is full of everything a child needs. If them tests are correct then she is f-..."

"She is not fine in letting them boys nurse at their age." KurukVile said, he had an aggravated tone to his voice. "She needs to wean them and take the pill that would start the process of drying her milk up."

"So was what we were told when Lhaklar and Hazaar attended dinner with us after they were caught the first time correct that Bile only has one education under his belt while Lhaklar and his two full siblings have two educations under their belts?" Irka asked.

"Just Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic for me and I have no interest in going further." Bile said strongly.

"Pronghorn and the University of Telepathy for me, Hazaar and Lazeer and we've all decided to not go any further than that." Lhaklar said.

"Angel! You've neglected their educations as well! Bile's father would not approve at all, he'd demand that your and his son be sent to-..."

"We have no interest in this evil or conquering game you all play." Hazaar said.

"We are close to our mother, yes. But we're not dependent on her. We love her, we're close to her and no, she has not neglected our educations." Bile said. "She actually threw a bunch of pamphlets on the table and said that wherever we wanted to go to, after we had graduated from Pronghorn and the University of Telepathy, she'd do all she could to send us there. It was a mutual decision on our parts to not go through with any further educations."

"You let them pick their own educations?" Irka shook her head, she sighed. She said nothing else, she just went back to eating her lunch.

"You should not have done that, Angel. I didn't let your father, Dara Dara, Triskull, Baruk, Kaasa or Sudir pick theirs, I was a correct parent in sending them to an educational facility that would give them the educations that they need to be-..."

"Evil." Lazeer said. "We have no interest in that, like my brother said. Our choice."

"You should not have been given that choice." KurukVile said angrily.

How difficult was it for them to understand that they loved their mother and that it was difficult for them to be away from her? They weren't dependent on her, if they were they'd not know how to cook, clean and they'd not of gone around the towns where they had lived, picking up a female companion for an hour or so, spending what all they were given from their mother when they were given their weekly allowance or go out hunting or fishing to bring back something for the table that was not store-bought. Yeah, if they had not gone to any school to get an education Lazeer would understand all the getting-on but they had gotten good educations under their belts. He, Lhaklar and Hazaar had gone to Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic and to the University of Telepathy and Bile had gone to Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic, they had gotten good grades and all of them had made some mark in the two schools before going back home. Their mother had decided to go into the movie making business to get up the funds for them to go to them two schools, she had done sacrifice after sacrifice after sacrifice for them just for them to get their educations and, after they had gone to them schools and she had slid the pamphlets across the table of all the known educational facilities in the universe then had said that she would do all that she could in making their dreams come true and in sending them to whatever school they wanted to go to.

She had been so very proud of them and they had felt so much love radiate towards her that it had been decided mutually that they'd not pursue any other educations, they'd stay home and be with their mother. She had made four movies, she had busted herself silly to put them through school and she had said she'd continue to bust herself silly for them, what child would not have felt the love for a parent who tried so hard not come out bursting from within them? They still drank her natural milk, but they weren't dependent. Hell, Lhaklar had had a job before they had been caught and their mother had also been working for eight hours for six days of the week. They didn't follow her around like a shadow, or at least not anymore, they were now walking about freely in the mansion home of their father's, and they didn't fly off he handle when she wasn't two feet from them. They gave her her space and she, respectfully, gave them theirs but that didn't mean that from time to time she'd pop in to do a quick parental thing where she'd look around for the items that she'd consider contraband. A prime example of that was when he had been one thousand, five hundred and five years old. He had had a book that had drug-related material in it that he had not known of, he had just bought the book because it said Jokes on the front flap and on the spine. When she had seen it she had taken it then had asked him about it, after he had told her why he had bought the book and that he had no idea that it had such material in it about drugs she had taken it and had gotten rid of it. He knew then like he did now that she only did so to protect him, she didn't want him involved in drugs anymore than he, himself, wanted to be involved in them. Lazeer went back to finishing his lunch and that was when conversation turned to a different area.

"So, who all was sent an invite "early"?" DuruVile asked, he had cleaned his plate and was just sitting back in the chair he was sitting in, his left arm was slung over the back of the chair.

"Everyone here at the table except for my mother and stepfather were sent their invitations early." TazirVile replied, he looked his biological father in the eye when he referred to Cheshire as his stepfather. It was very well known that he and Cheshire had a very close relationship, Angel include and she also knew that Duru despised Cheshire to a T.

"When are you sending out the other invites?" DuruVile asked.

"In a few more weeks." TazirVile replied.

"You should send them out now," DuruVile said. "the boys need to get to know their family and Angel needs to get reacquainted with the full of her family."

"Momentarily, granpappy. I don't want to make my sons get but so stressed out." Angel said.

"Lass, I appreciate and understand what you are saying but..." ShaamVile stopped speaking, he looked up at the ceiling, he looked as if he was searching for the right words to say. "well, what can I say, Lass. They do need to get to know who their family is and the only way to do that is if everyone comes here. They might get a little stressed out, that is natural. But it is better than to have everyone else waiting in anticipation. We all want to see you and the boys. We all want to get to know the boys and we all want to reacquaint ourselves with you."

"I'd really like for this process to go slowly," Angel said, she was now choosing her words carefully. "less stress on them and less stress on me."

"Lass, I'm going to switch from being logical to something else." ShaamVile slid his plate forward, he stood up then reached into his left side pants pocket. Lhaklar eyed the man suspiciously, he was afraid that the man would hurt his mother, like bring out from his pocket then throw a knife or some harmful dry potion that would blind her or make her sneeze for hours or have difficulty breathing. He sighed inside when he saw that the man only took out a white envelope from his pants pocket instead of something that would harm his mother. "I have here a letter from my uncle, Trobrencus. I do believe you and everyone here at this table remember what all happened a few weeks ago with your ambushing him, his wife and their firstborn son."

"We didn't ambush-..." Angel started to say, Shaam held his hand up and she went quiet.

"I opened this the day before I got my invitation to come here, I think you should read it and, also," ShaamVile reached back into the same pocket that he had taken the one envelope from, he took out another envelope, this one looked as if it had not been opened. "you need to read this. He wrote this specifically for you, in the letter he wrote to me he asked for only your eyes to read it."

"I'll read them, but I will make note right here and right now that neither I nor my sons ambushed him or his wife or their son." Angel said, she stood up then reached across the table. She took the two envelopes then sat back down in her chair. "My sons-..."

"Tell that to my uncle before you tell that to us." ShaamVile said, he then excused himself from the table.

The fact that Bark, Gaajah, Sudir and Selik all went off together after Shaam excused himself from the table struck Bile as odd, he imagined all four of them waiting in some area of the mansion home of his adopted father, waiting for him or for one of his brothers to gang up on and beat up and that imagination sparked up a need for him to have all three of his brothers close by him. He was confident that his brothers could fight against maybe one or two of them at once, but all four was a calling for disaster, he might be able to take on all four at once but he knew that he'd be struggling. Four-on-one was something, he thought, even a grown man would have trouble with taking care of, much less one who was in his mid-teenage years. With Shaam's leaving of the table, everyone stood up quietly and left, a majority going off on their own but the married couples went off together. Their mother went off to the kitchen to clean the dishes and Bile and his brothers were following her. Them two envelopes and their contents made them feel both curious and nervous at the same time.

Although they had no idea who this Trobrencus-guy was, Bile had an idea from the photographs that he had taken that one day a few months ago after Hazaar had handed him his camera after their father had arrived on Earth and had set up camp near Expedition Island. He and Lhaklar had gotten into quite a lot of trouble for that, their mother had said that she was going off to work but, instead, she had really gone to scope out the camp as well and when she had seen them she had not been happy because they had been breaking an order of hers which was to stay inside the shield and away from the camp near Expedition Island. They and Hazaar, due to his involvement by handing over his camera, had been grounded for two weeks and, a few days before they had been released from their two-week grounding they had found an envelope that had contained all of the photographs that Bile had taken with the camera with information written on the backs of who all were in the photographs and what relation them people in the photographs had to them.

Their mother was right about the "ambush" thing. There had been no ambush at all between them and the guy who they had seen put his hand on their mother's arm. Bile had called their mother up, had been talking to her then the phone had gone dead. He had called their mother's cellular several times, he had called up the Food Lion where she worked at several times, and he had even called up her boss as well only to get the recording from each number saying that the person or business that he was trying to get in contact with was not available or that he had called up the wrong number. Lhaklar had done the same and, although he had wanted to wait it out and see if it was just something going on with the lines as there had been a snowstorm going on at the time he had changed his mind. In the Buick Lucerne they had all piled in, Bile had removed his winter coat and shirt after they had reached the parking lot for no apparent reason and then Hazaar had complained about not being able to see a damn thing. When Lazeer had made the fog, mist and snow that was making visibility go away by using one of his Elemental Air powers they had seen their mother, surrounded by five and with one of them five having his hand on her. It was an honest to goodness reaction afterwards, they had perceived the man who had had his hand on their mother as an attacker and they had seen the others around her as trying to hurt her and they had all ran forward to fight them thought-to-be attackers to defend and protect their mother. Simple as that. Bile would do anything for his mama, if she had told him to jump off of a bridge he'd do it with no questions asked and if she would have asked him to leap into a ice cold lake buck naked he would have also done that without asking any questions. He loved her, he admired her, he was her son and his love for her just had no definition to it. He wasn't dependent on her, he couldn't understand where his grandmother had gotten that from. He loved his mother, but he wasn't dependent on her. Bile and his brothers helped their mother in clearing the table, they collected the dishes, the trays, the plates and utensils then they followed her to the kitchen.

"Bile, surely you and your brothers have other interests than helping your old mom clean the dishes." Angel said, Bile had gently pushed her to the side and had started drying the dishes after she had cleaned then and had put them on the other side of the sink. Hazaar had made a pile up and, when that pile got big enough, he slid it over to Lhaklar who gave the utensils to Lazeer to put away, Lhaklar was the one who put the dishes, trays and plates up in the cabinet where they belonged.

"For one so "old" you look very beautiful and young, ma." Bile said.

"I suppose it is the letters that you and your brothers are wanting to see." Angel said. "Grampy said for my eyes only, honey."

"Our secret, ma." Lazeer said. "He doesn't have to know that ten pairs of eyes looked at them."

"Yeah mama, no one will know but us five." Bile said.

"Pleeeeease." Hazaar said, he got down on his knees then grabbed at Angel's shirt. "We won't say a word of what we read. We'll be mute, no one will get a thing out of us."

"Oooooh..." Angel finished washing the last tray then she handed it over to Bile who dried it. "Alright. One at a time, though."

"I was looking forward to having all four of us look over your shoulder as you read them." Lazeer pouted falsely.

It was a joke but they all really wanted to just pile up on her, Bile could see it now. Lhaklar and Hazaar would be looking over her shoulder, he'd be looking down from above her and Lazeer would he elbowing in and causing a fuss with either Lhaklar or Hazaar because he couldn't see what everyone was reading. That had happened a few times and, after the third or fourth time, their mother had put an end to it and they had obediently waited their individual turns at reading what all she had in her hands at the time. There had also been put forth another rule after the third or fourth time that they had ganged up on her, looking over her shoulder or her head at whatever she was reading, this rule was to protect what all she had been reading from getting torn into five or more pieces. They were only allowed to read individually and then, after they were done reading what they had been so curious about that had been sent to their mother, they'd pass it on down the line to the next brother who was waiting for his turn to read the contents of the newspaper or letter patiently. After Lhaklar put the last tray away and Angel had pulled the plug to the sink's drain she turned around facing away from the sink. She slid her fingers into the envelope that had been opened by Shaam first, took out the letter then read it. It took her only fifteen or twenty seconds before she sighed then handed it over to Lhaklar, who had somehow gotten in front of Bile and who Bile felt some resentment towards. The letter made its rounds, being read by Lhaklar first then by Hazaar and then by Lazeer before it got to a nearly impatient Bile, by that time Lhaklar had the other letter that had been written by Trobrencus. Bile, when the letter got to him, looked at it intently.

_Dear Nephew,_

_We are doing well, Bahne has been cooking up a storm and keeping us well fed. Found out that several of the staff let the dogs out before we got back, they were still chasing after them when we stepped foot in the castle and have only retrieved four of them. I've fired each and every one of them, if they cannot adhere to my orders to keep the dogs inside then they have no point in being employed by me. Also, I gave orders before we left home that the male dogs be kept away from the girl dogs, two of my staff let in old Zamin and Iruhlezer in with the girls. Jhopa and P'poa caught pregnant and gave birth to ten puppies, each. Not what I needed, as you know I do breed my dogs but only when I see fit and when the animals are fit to be bred and them two were not ready to be bred, they were only one year old dogs. Out of the ten pups born, only four were born alive and P'poa passed after she couldn't pass the bigger pup. I have decided to not keep the surviving puppies, eight is quite enough thank you. Celobra's cats also got out from their room, the staff claim they had no idea and I call balls on that. Two litters of five born from unfixed felines found under the couch and I do believe there is another litter as I keep hearing kitten crying noises from the laundry room. Will have to tear up the wall I suppose to see if one of the cats gave birth between the wall. Benoci's pet Racobi also got loose and the story on that one is that the staff member that was in charge of feeding him didn't close the door properly. How the hell do you not close a door properly? That member of my staff was nixed as well. Three horses gave birth, a colt had to be put down due to a deformity in his left foreleg and a filly had to be separated from her dam due to the dam's not accepting of her baby. I've not been able to answer calls or write back to you before now due to all these problems that should not have happened in the first place, I am still missing three of my dogs and am still searching for them. One was old Cocbok, my father's old dog that was willed over to me after pop kicked the bucket, may that old warrior rest in peace. If that dog is not found and soon I will not be a happy man at all. _

_The gardener was suppose to keep up the produce and keep away the Seebs, he didn't do none of that so he was fired. See what happens when the employer is not around to keep an eye on his staff? They slouch, they slack, they sit around and be lazy, letting all your stuff go to shit and make your coming back a living hell. Have had to open all windows in the castle due to the central air conditioning not working, have looked into that and it is a brand new system so it should be working. Had no choice but to call up a technician to look into it, long story made short on that piece of needed equipment: it blew during our absence. How did that happen when it was in the mid sixties in my area when he left to go to Earth? Bahne's chocolate sculptures were near destroyed due to the central air system not working but, luckily, they were able to be saved. The glass sculpture in my and Bahne's bedroom had a crack in it due to the conditions in the castle, that was repaired but one of the glass chandeliers had to be taken down and replaced. The meat locker also went down during my and my family's absence, everything in there had to be thrown out and the door had to be left open, a small fan was put into the box to help get the smell out. Had that fixed and new meats put into it. The kids are doing well, happy to be home where they should be. Happy to have their old toys, due to all the issues me and Bahne had had a few fights. We've made up with each one and, yes, Shaam, you know me, I took her and the kids out a few times just to get out of the stress that dwells within my residence. _

_Although I have enjoyed hearing from you, getting and reading your letters and hearing your messages on the old automated attendant I must caution you in not bringing up Angel and her sons to me, both me and my family are not very happy with her and with them brats of hers. She's back where she should be and that is good, the boys are back where they should be and that is also good but do not forget all of what happened a few weeks ago between me, my wife and our son. Trivit vomited leeches, clots of blood and slugs for eight long hours and I do believe that he had another ailment which he refuses to expose to me that one of them brats put on him when he shouted out that curse. My wife has marks on her arm from where Lhaklar used his razor bladed finger knives on her, I have marks on my back from where that brat also used his weapon on me. I was forced to lay up in bed for a few days after the fight between me and Bile and I have no idea who sent that ice pike at my shoulder that drew blood before all of that happened but whoever did it I have him also on my shit list. Angel brings up her kids to fight and injure members of the family, I don't want any of my family near her or them brats of hers. I have heard no word of apology from her, do not think I will and even if she does cave and gives an apology it will probably be a hall-assed one and you can damn well expect that if I get an invite to come over to Tazir's place it'll be shredded, just like what happened to the trust that I had gained in her over the four hundred years that I knew of her and the love that I had, as an uncle to the girl who raised them four boys. I have included an attachment envelope with letter included within it to this one, if you will please when you see that woman who sicked her sons on me, my wife and out firstborn son give it to her. For her eyes only, Shaam, not yours. _

_Much love, respect and wisdom to you, my nephew. ~ Trobrencus_

Bile passed the letter that he had just read up the line then, when he got the other letter, he began to read it.

_To Whom It May Concern,_

_Due to your ambush on my, my wife and our son I want no contact with you or with them boys of yours until I get an apology and a full one, not a hall-assed or a non-meaning one and I don't want any attempts at explaining yourself out of this one. What have I done to you to deserve you and your sons attacking me and my family, Angel? We've gotten along well except for on one area and that was on controlling ones staff, the ambush was a surprise and a hurtful one. I and my family have put hours into looking for you and two hundred years of searching for you and your sons and this is what we get back in return? An ambush, when did you have time to ever make up such a thing and why? Bahne claims that you spent a little time in the workers slouching room but she also claims that you had two Goblins with you and that you were not given your bag until you had left the room. With all the shit I have had to deal with since I've gotten home I have also been running what all happened through my head so many times that the memory is no longer a memory but a dream that simply dances in front of my eyes, both open and shut. You know how much you put on me due to that ambush you called into effect? A LOT! You know if my father was alive today and knew of this ambush of yours on my family he'd have your whole on a pike? You can call, write or show up at my place for the apology giving, if you have no intention of giving any apology then have a nice life without me and my family in it. We can do this nice and decently or we can do this the way a common person's family does it by turning our backs on one another and forgetting we both exist. _

_For it's worth, hear from you or not, have a nice day. ~ TrobrencusVile Bolym Surfeit_

" 'Your whole on a pike'," Bile repeated that one line that was in the letter. "ma, you don't need this cockamamie in your life. You know what happened, we all do."

"I do, yes. We do, yes." Angel said, when she was handed the letter she folded it then put it back in its envelope. "I could write the guy and tell him what happened but I doubt if he'll accept it."

"Just forget him." Bile said. "Forget what happened, the fool got what he deserved."

"That woman acted like she was going to jump in and join in on the fight, I gave her a warning then I turned and went back to helping Hazaar with fighting the Goblins back. What was I suppose to do after she sent several Energy attacks on me?" Lhaklar stood still, he looked from each of his brothers' faces and then he looked at his mother. "I didn't fight her out of meanness, mom. She attacked me while my back was turned and then she leaped onto my back. What was I suppose to do? Go yippee ki yay, let's have tea and cookies?"

"Were we in the wrong, ma, for fighting them and defending you? For taking a stand in protecting you?" Lazeer asked.

"A lot happened during that event, I suppose I can write and say what happened, why you four were there and why you," Angel nodded her head at Bile then she looked at Lhaklar and then Lazeer, "three fought them. Probably won't do any bit of good but it'd get us past what happened. Whatever happens afterwards is in the hands that guide us."

"You'll stay here, right?" Bile asked. "I mean, you'll just write then send the letter in the mail, right?"

"Honey, I'm two hundred and forty-one years older than you. I know far better than to show up at someone's place who has ill-feelings towards me. " Angel smiled at her firstborn son. "Not to mention, I am not leaving this mansion without you four."

"You stick by us, right?" Hazaar asked, he was trying to not show it but he felt scared. "You won't-..."

"Honey, I'm your mother. I'll stick by you and your brothers' sides for the rest of your lives." Angel said, she went over and gave Hazaar a hug which he returned.

"When will you write?" Bile asked.

"Do you want a copy of our memories to-..."

"No, you boys keep your memories in your heads. I'll head up now and start writing the letter and it'll be sent out afterwards. Trob should get it in the mail tomorrow morning." Angel said, she then started to leave the kitchen.

"How is he going to get it by tomorrow when he's planets away from us?" Bile asked before his mother got out of the kitchen. Angel stopped then turned around, facing her sons.

"Express mail, Biley. Costs a few bucks but it is well worth every penny." Angel said. "You four go on and find something to do. Don't get into any trouble, now. Behave yourselves."

"We will." Bile and his brother's said together.


	18. Chapter 18

"Hey girlie-boy!" Sudir shouted, he then pounced on Hazaar's back, he drove his bound-up hands against Hazaar's back so hard that Hazaar both lost his breath and went face down in the mud. Sudir laughed, as did Selik who was behind him.

"Lookit the baby wheeze and cough," Selik said happily. "he's practically dying without air, Sudir!"

"Look at that hair, kept so crisp, clean and long." Sudir said. "He keeps it like how my sister keeps hers and look at the braids and beads."

"Queer! My dad hates his hair." Selik said. "Wants it to be cut off completely."

"Why don't we help him out with that." Sudir said, he reached into his right side pants pocket where he had put a pair of silver scissors.

This was the second time in the four days after Sudir and his family had arrived that he had tried to snip off his hair and Hazaar, just like the first time, reacted violently. He sucked in air hard, filling his lungs and making the pain from having been hit go away then he twisted himself around. He kicked his foot up just as Sudir took out the pair of silver scissors, they were flying up in the air and landed about four feet away. With the scissors out of the way, Hazaar didn't hold back from beating the shit out of Sudir. He kicked his foot up again, it collided with Sudir's shin, then he stood up and started pummeling Sudir with punches. When Sudir backed off, his hands were held tightly on the cavity of his nose and he was yelling out in pain, Selik ran in. Selik threw one punch and that made near all of the fight from Hazaar disappear. He threw low, he threw hard and he threw so precisely that Hazaar dropped to his knees. Selik had thrown the punch that ended all punches, a punch that drove out all fight from one of the male gender and the punch that left a man vulnerable. Hazaar's crotch hurt, it throbbed and he had no more dropped to his knees than had been shoved back onto his side. Sudir, brushing his hand across his nose, went and retrieved the scissors that had landed four feet from him then he returned. Selik grabbed and held Hazaar's arms and, although Hazaar tried to get away, tried to squirm away to maybe get on his legs and run or possibly roll away to the mud where he hoped he'd be sucked in, it was no use. He saw the shine of silver as the scissors were opened then shut twice then he saw no more of them as Sudir walked around him. He had braided two strands of his hair that morning and he had put gold beads in another strand, when he heard the snip he felt both dread and anger swell up within him. He gathered his feet underneath him then, while using his Elemental Ground power, he shot up from the ground courtesy of a slab that he had made shoot out underneath his feet.

"Wimp!" Sudir shouted, he had Hazaar's hair in his hand. "You run like a cow-..."

He landed between them and with both hands formed into tight fists he punched them both silly. He kicked his legs up, he sent mud flying when he used a combination Elemental Water and Elemental Ground power and then, when both were down, he made vines shoot up from the ground and entwine around Selik. He'd deal with him later, first he had Bone-Boy to teach a lesson to. Sudir rolled over to his side then he got to his hands and knees only to find himself knocked over. He yelled as Hazaar started rolling him around in the mud, getting the clothing that his father had worn when he had been his age, muddy. Hazaar didn't stop there, he got down on his knees and started rubbing handfuls of mud into his downed opponents face then he ripped Sudir's shirt up and put mud underneath that. When Sudir did manage to throw Hazaar off of him he got a surprise, he turned around to gain his footing and Hazaar, like grease-lightning, ran forward and grabbed his underwear. He tore the elastic band up high then he gave Sudir a kick in the ass, Sudir went sprawling, headfirst, in the mud screaming in agony. Seeing as Sudir had dropped the deep purple tail of hair that he had cut off from his head, Hazaar went over and collected it. He stuffed his victimized hair into his pants pocket then he turned on Selik who had gotten loose from the vines.

"Dad..." Selik cried weakly. "Da-..."

Hazaar leaped at him, grabbed him by one of his horns then he jerked his head down, his fist slammed into Selik's face so hard that two of Selik's teeth broke clear from his gumline at once. Selik cried, he screamed incoherently for his father and then he saw Hazaar's knee coming at him. He tried to avoid it but that was like trying to avoid a thunderstorm. Hazaar's knee struck him right in the chest, it sent him reeling back into the mud. The mud splashed up and out around him as he dropped into it, before he could get up he found that Hazaar had already jumped onto him. Hazaar battered him with ten punches in the face and chest before he put his hands and arms up to protect himself. He kicked his legs up but found that the mud was so thick that doing that was nearly impossible. He did kick Hazaar in the thigh but that was all, and that seemed to only increase Hazaar's anger. Selik felt his nose being shoved over to one side then, after he was punched hard enough to roll over he felt mud enter his nose and mouth. He tried not to breathe it in, he tried not to swallow any of it. Before he could lift his head to scream for help he found himself on his stomach and he found the mud flying towards him. He closed his eyes just in time to avoid the mud entering them as Hazaar started head slamming his head into the mud. He had no idea how many times Hazaar head slammed him into the mud but when he felt the guy get up off of him he didn't waste any time in getting up and running away.

"Go tell your daddy you little porker! I've got a dose for him if he wants a go." Hazaar yelled, Sudir, after he relieved himself of the pressure that his underwear had given him after he had been given a wedgie by Hazaar, stood up then turned around. Hazaar turned towards him menacingly. "You want another go you little pustule?"

"You're cr-..."

He was glad to be outside, after being cooped up inside he was just plain glad to be anywhere other than inside a house. The storms had passed a few hours after Kuruk and his family had arrived but they had left a mess, a mess of mud that was. The artificial blue grass in the yard in the back of his secondborn son's mansion home had become eroded and the ocean had swooped in, a majority of the back yard was a mudded mess while the rest was a sandy quagmire. The sun above had dried the surface only, underneath the surface it was just a soupy mess and he was surprised that he had even allowed for his kids or grandkids to go out in the mess. He had a feeling that the boys would all need baths after the call had been given for them to come in and they'd probably need their clothing washed as well, the girl children were behaving. They were inside, either with Cyla or with Irka except for Defe and Blaiga who were with Ashaklar and he was glad for that as well since he didn't want any of his ex-wife's kids that had been sired by another man, a commoner, near his brood and grand-brood of royal bred and blooded offspring.

He looked over to the side and saw that Cheshire was standing with his back propped up against one of the Tazir's horse pastures, he had a silver flask in his hand. DuruVile rolled his eyes, what a thing to be doing when the ground was in the state that it was. A kid could get a broken leg or could well break both legs. A kid could break an arm. Hell, a kid could also break his spine or neck in this slop. Drinking was not the appropriate thing to do when the outside world that was outside of your residence was in this state. Duru couldn't believe his ex-wife had gone and married and had stayed married to such a fool and had allowed herself to be bred and have the fools children. It was only by force that he had kept in contact with Ashaklar, Tazir continued to have dealings with her and with that peasant farmer and miner of a husband of hers. If it had not been for his son's keeping in contact and having her a part of his life he'd of nearly forgotten all about her. Cyla, in his opinion, was the better of his wives and he loved her so much and, actually, he had still be in love with her when he had divorced her for Ashaklar. Cyla was much more mature, she was prettier, she was smarter and she... well she was just plain better. Of his five wives, it had just been Ashaklar he had kept in contact with and that contact had been forced upon him. Duru looked back over at Cheshire when he saw movement, one of the farmer/miner's kids was running over to him and from all looks of the kid, he had been playing in the mud. Duru contemplated going over and giving the fool a talk on how he should raise his kids but then he asked him why bother when the kid isn't his own.

"Bile!" DuruVile yelled, his great-grandson had ran towards a mud puddle and, right before his eyes, dropped then slid along on his side for a good, long ways before standing up and running off. Duru was about to yell out Bile's name again when the color green caught the corner of his eye. He turned slowly then howled out in disbelief when Lhaklar did just as Bile had done in running up to the mud, dropping to his side then sliding along for a good, long distance before standing up. "Lhaklar!"

"Drop it, Duru." Cheshire yelled from across the yard. "Let them be boys."

They could be boys all they wanted to be and still retain their dignity, Duru was thinking. Duru looked over to the side and saw that Baruk and Gaajah were just standing under a tree, they were looking in on the inappropriate play activities, as Duru saw it, of their two comrades and Duru detected a sort of curiosity between the two about the mud. Seeing as he was detecting that curiosity and that Bile and Lhaklar were causing disruption between his son and grandson's logical thinking, Duru called his two sons and his two behaved grandsons in. Baruk and Gaajah ran up, they looked at him questioningly then they walked up the steps of the porch then disappeared inside the mansion. When he didn't see Selik or Sudir he got concerned, he yelled out loudly for them to come in. He demanded it, he put every bit of authority into the yell and when they still didn't appear he got mad. Where the hell could those two of gone? Duru took one step from where he was standing then, when he heard the door to the back of Tazir's mansion click open he turned. Angel walked out from the mansion, she walked across the porch then down the steps then she walked by him as if he didn't exist and that startled him.

She had not had a good four days since Kuruk's and Irka's arrival, in fact she had had a horrible four days and Duru did feel some sadness over that. His father had been getting on her for breast-feeding her sons, he had actually walked in on her breast-feeding Hazaar and Lazeer twice, and Kuruk had also been trying to keep her away from her sons in an attempt to wean her from them. Angel had managed to slip away from his son every time, claiming some excuse but she had really only made up each excuse to get away from him to go be with her sons. The second day that Kuruk and his family had been in the mansion home of Tazir's, Kuruk had slipped into Bile's, Hazaar's and Lazeer's bedroom chambers which had been accidentally left unlocked. He had done several spells to make several models, posters and magazines go into a small size and he had put each item in a box. When the three boys had noticed their things missing they had gone to Tazir and to their mother. Kuruk had given over the stolen items after a fight, Duru was happy that his son had done that but he was not glad that his son had given them over. Each and every item had been put right back up in the places where they had been taken from and Bile and Hazaar had seated themselves down in Bile's chamber to look through the magazines, Duru had looked in as they had made two piles each of who all's magazines that were in the box. They had kept their chambers locked when they were not in them right after that incident, no one other than Cheshire and his sons were allowed to go into them.

His father had tried to do an old trick on Angel yesterday. He had made her up a drink and had put the white pill that would make her milk dry up in it. Angel had taken the drink but she had not downed it, he had looked in on his father and Angel, both were in the kitchen, in full view, and had seen Angel dump the drink that his father had laced into the sink. His father had gotten another chance at suppertime, he had made up some rolls and had made three specifically for Angel. He had slipped in some meat and cheese, the meat of which had the white pill in it, into the rolls then he had handed them over. Angel had found the pill right after that first bite, she had taken a small bite, barely breaking the outer edge of the roll, from the roll then she had put the roll down. When she had held the white pill up, in plain view of everyone, both Tazir and all four of her sons had gotten very angry. His father was just looking out for her, he knew that and so did Kuruk but Tazir, Cheshire and Ashaklar had not seen it that way. He had not seen Angel or her sons at breakfast or lunch that day and he guessed that he'd not see them at dinner either. He had walked up to her after breakfast and had asked her if she had any hard feelings towards him over the pill incident and he had gotten no reply, that had hurt because he had not had a thing to do with it. In his opinion, Angel should wean her sons and let her milk dry up but it should be Tazir doing the pill giving instead of his father. They could pressure her with words and try to keep her from her sons for short periods of time but the pill that would dry up her milk supply should only be given to her by her spouse, not by her great-great grandfather, great-grandfather or grandfather.

"Selik! Soo-..." DuruVile's jaw dropped when he saw his son running towards him in a frantic fashion.

Her drive to protect her children was sparked soon after seeing Selik running out from the bushes. He was a muddy mess, his clothes looked ripped in two or three places and his face was bloody. Angel saw Bile and Lhaklar so she knew that they were safe but she had no idea where Lazeer and Hazaar were and that concerned her greatly. She become engulfed in a pink energy as she transformed, an energized breeze fell off from her which attracted Lhaklar's attention then, after her transformation was complete, she flew off as a fiery red bird that's wingspan was five feet across. When her sons had gone out she had watched them as they went off in their different directions. Lhaklar had gone off towards the horse stable, Bile had gone off past the bushes and her two, younger sons had gone off towards the beach. She had not seen where Selik had gone off after he had been told to go play by his father but she guessed that he had come from the direction where one of her two younger sons were at. She flapped her wings twice then glided, a fiery red glow flashed down upon the ground as she flew by the scorned ground of her Universal Husband's back yard, the sky above was clear and the ocean had receded but it had left sand and all matter of ocean flora behind. Angel had just flapped her wings for a third time when she came upon a flat area of Tazir's property that had been completely eroded of its artificial blue grass. Right in the center of the mud was her son, she flew towards him then, when she saw him rush out and tackle Sudir who looked near-so to one of them mud monsters that the parents on Earth told their kids about to keep them out of the mud, she went faster. When she was two feet from the two of them, one her son and the other her great-uncle, she changed back to her true form. She ran forward quickly to separate them, her feet didn't slip or slide in the thick mud as she ran and she was glad for this as it might have hindered her getting to her son quickly. When she got to the two boys she grabbed them by the backs of their shirts then yanked them away from each other. Her son, once her hand was on him, stopped fighting at once but Sudir continued to fight and struggle.

"What-..." Angel yanked Sudir hard to the left, he dropped to his knee in the thick slop of the mud. "is the reason for this? Hazaar, why are you fighting S-..."

Hazaar yelled out in shock when he saw the hand, the boney, milky-white hand, of Sudir's rushing towards his mother and he tried to get in the way of it to take the blow for his mother but when his mother saw the hand rushing towards her she quickly turned away from him. Sudir's hand went whap across her face hard, her fiery red hair bobbed from her right shoulder over to her left and her head whipped over to the side with such force that Hazaar thought that she had gotten a fracture of some kind in the bones in her neck. Angel, breathed twice then she turned and looked at Sudir. Her emerald-green eyes were hot with anger, the golden-yellow rings around her black pupils had grown. Hazaar thought his mother looked gorgeous, she was taking a stand and was mad and he saw all of that anger on her face as a thing of beauty. Sudir, on the other hand, backed off in fear. He got two feet, slipped and fell to his rear in the mud then he bounced right up and ran off. Angel shook her head then she turned around and looked at her son, who did not recoil back from her anger.

"Explain yourself."

"Selik and Sudir ganged up on me, momma. They beat me and they-..." Hazaar reached into his pants pocket and took out his deep purple rattail which had, miraculously, stayed intact and clean throughout the entire ordeal that he had had with Selik and Sudir. "they cut off my hair, momma."

Angel looked down at the hair that had once been on the nape of the back of her sons head for the longest time without saying anything or making a single sound then she gently took the hair from her son. She stuffed it into the left side pocket of her faded blue jeans then she placed her hands on Hazaar's shoulders and gently guided him towards the mansion. She knew the spell that would make his hair reattach to his head but, before she did, she wanted both her grandfather, great-grandfather and Tazir to see what Selik and Sudir had done to her son. When she came upon the silver pair of scissors that had been dropped on the ground she picked them up, thinking that they were important. She slid them into the back pocket of her jeans then continued on. Hazaar was muddy, he was beat up and he was walking funny, it looked as if his groin was giving him issues, but he wasn't crying and she was proud of him for that strength. His hair cut off, himself beat up, his clothes torn in several places and him hurting, he was showing that same strength she had when she had been fighting against her family. Angel led her son right past his brothers and Cheshire up to the back porch, Hazaar went up the four steps slowly then he crossed the porch and went into his father's mansion. The first person they came upon after entering the mansion was Cyla, and she was not in any way happy.

"You discipline him and you discipline him good, Angel!" Cyla yelled. "Selik's nose is broken, both he and Sudir's clothes have to be thrown away because he destroyed them and-..."

"I won't be disciplining Hazaar for any of what happened." Angel said, she marched Hazaar past Cyla.

"Mom, is dad going to be mad because of this?" Hazaar asked.

"Probably will but the anger won't be directed towards you any." Angel said.

She took her son up to the third level, straight to his bedroom chamber. On the way, they had lots of eyes looking at them, both from family and from staff. Eldass acted like he was going say something but when he saw the raw anger on his mistress' face he decided against it. Once Angel had her son in his chamber she took out her son's hair, which had gotten a little bit messed up after being stuffed in her pocket. She undid the braids and took out the braids then she walked around her son, she held her son's rattail up by the hair that had been left on his head and said the spell to have it rejoin the strands that it had been attached to before it had been cut. For a second, nothing happened, then there was a spark of yellow then her son's hair floated up and reattached itself to what had been left over after Sudir had snipped it off. After her son's hair was back on his hair Angel gently tugged on it to see if it had attached itself correctly. Hazaar's hair was back on his head, it had attached itself strongly to the rest of his hair, all it needed was a little care, some beads or a feather or a braid or two and it'd be all set. Angel tapped her son on his shoulder, told him to go shower then she left his bedroom chamber. She walked right into Tazir who had been just two feet from Hazaar's chamber, he looked mad and he also looked confused and concerned at the same time.

"If your anger is being directed towards our son I highly suggest you turn around and leave this level." Angel said.

"What happened? My father claims that Selik and Sudir were beat up by Hazaar for no reason." TazirVile said.

"They ganged up on him, beat him up and then snipped his hair off." Angel said. "He got mad and fought them back."

"They cut his h-... Where is Hazaar?" TazirVile blinked his eyes, his father had not said that when he had yelled for him after he had dragged Selik and Sudir into his mansion. Selik and Sudir had been crying when he had intercepted them and they had looked like they had been in a fight.

"In his chamber taking a shower. Covered in mud." Angel replied.

"Do you have his h-..."

"It's already been reattached." Angel said, she then reached into her back pants pocket and took out the scissors that she had found. "I believe they used these to cut his hair with."

Had the scissors of been a normal pair he had would have to ask his son if he could see the memory of what had happened but since the pair of scissors were a pair that his father used he didn't need to do that. The scissors were silver, they were antique and they had grape and grape-vine patterned designs on the grips. His father used these whenever he had an issue in the bathroom that required their use, these were his pair of scissors and only he was allowed to use or handle them. TazirVile turned the scissors over and right on the back, around both of the finger loops, was his father's name. He nodded his head, pocketed the scissors then walked around his wife, he headed up to the fourth level where his father and his family had been assigned their chambers. He looked back only once and saw that his wife had walked down the hallway, she had had it rough the past few days, he knew that she didn't need this on top of the other shit that she had to deal with. She had slept in a chamber on this level last night, the night before she had slept with him and, after she had found out that Baruk had entered Bile's bedroom chamber in the very late hours of the night and had caused a fight between the two she had decided to sleep on the third level just to keep an eye and an ear out. He understood, had he of woke up to find someone other than himself or his wife in his bedroom chamber at 2:35 am he'd of leaped out of bed, tackled the person and beat him to a pulp as well. Baruk had said nothing of why he had entered Bile's chamber, he had just said that he had gotten lost. TazirVile went up the stairs that led him up to the fourth level then he went down that level's hall. When he reached room twelve, his father's and Cyla's assigned bedroom chamber, he stopped. He knocked on the door twice, waited then he knocked twice more a bit louder. When he was about to knock again for a third time the door opened, his father stood in the doorway and he looked not a bit happy.

"What is it you want, Tazir?" DuruVile asked, his voice was leaden with anger. "Cyla's already told me that Angel isn't going to do a thing over what happened. I'm not a single bit happy over that."

"She has good damn reason." TazirVile said, he reached into the pants pocket of his black dress pants. He took out the scissors then handed them over to his father. "Angel found those in the location where she found Sudir and Hazaar fighting, Hazaar's hair was cut clean off of his head with those by Sudir."

He stared at first and then he took the scissors that he had been looking for and had actually gone home to check if, somehow, he had sent them back to their place in his and Cyla's bathroom that was in their bedroom chamber slowly. He had wondered all that morning where they were, he had asked his wife if she had taken them and she had said why would I want to take scissors that you use to trim your hairs with and then he had just teleported to Gamma Vile, his birth and home planet to look for them. Why anyone would want to take a man's scissors that he used to trim the hairs in his nose or used to clip any hair that formed on a man's arms was beyond him, he was surprised that he had use for them and, now that he had seen and had taken the scissors and the memory of what all he had done that morning before breakfast had been served in looking for them the memory of his great-granddaughter asking him if he had come out from his ordeal with Kankuranger and after waking up from being in cryospace for twenty thousand years looking like he had before he had fought, and lost, his first fight with his hated opponent popped into his brain.

She had called and they had talked at first about his Finger Monkeys, she had asked how they were doing and then, after he had told all of the new babies that he had found in their cage, she had gone quiet before asking, tentatively, if he had come out from cryospace looking like he had before he had fought the opponent that had put him away for nearly a hundred thousand years. That had been a hard question to answer, he had sat in a chair with the phone pressed up against his ear wondering why she was asking him this and why she wanted to know and how she knew about his being put in a sleeping chamber in cryospace for twenty thousand years. After a long, two minutes worth of silence he had said that he needed to go, that one of the kids needed him for something and that he'd call her back. It had taken him four days before he had called her up and had asked her if she'd like to go out to a private lunch with him to discuss matters of his "disappearance" for a hundred thousand years. She had said_ yeah, sure _and he had said for her to show up at Glen of Nablodrak at ten minutes to twelve in the afternoon.

He had barely survived that first fight with Kankuranger, the bastard had used a weapon, a gun that fired a very high powered laser, on him that had burned away his clothes, his skin and nearly all of his muscle. The guy had just aimed and pointed, the battle before had ranged for three hours and he had actually been coming out on top when the coward had whipped out the gun. When the guy had released his finger from the trigger he had walked up to him, had asked how he felt then he had pointed the gun at his head that had been completely de-nuded of all flesh and muscle. By the grace of the Gods he had found the strength needed to teleport, he had done so with the thought of Mooshang on his mind and he had ended up there near a church. He had nearly died afterwards, the priests and nuns had brought out a stretcher and had rolled him onto it then they had carted him inside. They had prayed over him, had sprinkled him with Holy Water and had prayed some more for a long time, it wasn't until three hours later that he had been able to say something and when he had he had said _Roklar's... contact Dr. Whekbar_.

He had fainted, one of the priests had gone and called up the top secret facility and, through quite a lot of fuss and fight a general had come out to the church to see him and see why he had asked the priests to call an area that not many denizens on the planet knew of. When he had woken up he had said just two words before falling back into a black, dreamless, sleep, he had said his name and that had saved his life. The general had gotten an ambulance to drive up to the church, he had been loaded up then driven over. He had woken up one more time, they had used a drug to induce his eyes to open, and they had asked him if he wanted to chance the experimental cryospace chamber. He had been very weak then, barely able to keep his eyes open, but he had managed to nod his head and he had been able to sign his name on the paper that said he understood that complications might arouse and that he might not survive and that he gave full consent to them saying that he was deceased. In the chamber he had gone, tubes had been inserted in his mouth and nose and then a blue liquid had rushed out from several pipe holes in the chamber. The blue liquid had just gotten to his face when a white gas had floated up through the tube that had been inserted in his nose, he had fallen asleep soon after and he had stayed asleep for twenty thousand years. They had made the outside of the cryospace chamber freeze up, had made several chemicals for tissue and muscle regrowth flow into the chamber and had monitored his vitals. All the while, his family, his two sons and ten daughters, at the time, had mourned his death.

They had still been grieving twenty thousand years after he had been put in the cryospace chamber, he wasn't fully sure on what had happened but he had told Angel that when he had opened his eyes, had woken up after such a long time spent sleeping, he had had a team of white jacketed doctors and nurses standing around him and he had been on a bed. They had said that the chamber had done its job, that the experiment was a success and that he was not only alive, but back to nearly himself. When he had asked what the nearly meant they had said that they didn't think any hair that he had had on his body would ever grow back. He had sighed in relief then had reached down underneath the sheet that had been thrown over his body to see if his manhood was still there as it, and a small area of muscle around it, had been the only muscle left on his body. His penis had been there, his testicles had been there and he had felt damn happy for that. He could deal with living without any hair, he could deal without living with one of his ears, he could even live without an arm or leg, but without his manhood, his penis and testicles, he'd feel that the purpose of life was useless. After he had woken up he had been given a few days to rest, in them days he had wondered what his children were up to and he had slowly, and painfully, started the process of moving his arms and legs. The muscle might of been there, his body might of looked like it had before he had met Kankuranger, but it was just hollow... not there, just hanging on his body for show.

The therapy, both mental and emotional, and the physical training had gone slowly, he had near given up several times because of the pain. All the medication in the universe for pain management had done doodly squat for him, he felt pain all the time and that had been hard for him to deal with. He had done the walking with the steel bars alongside his body, he had lifted two pound weights and then the five and then the seven and so on for months, he had lifted his arms above his head and had used an exercise bike for thousand of years, both learning how to use his body again and getting the muscle that he had lost back. He had left Roklar's seventy-nine thousand, four hundred and ninety-two years later, not fully himself, not fully healed but the docs had told him it was time to leave the facility. He had gone to a small cottage of his that was built on and overlooked a cliff and had continued working out, the doctors had said he'd not have the full muscle he had had on him before the procedure had been done with the chamber, well they had been wrong. They had also said he'd not be able to use his arms or legs like he use to, be able to have anymore children or have any hair on his body anymore, all of that had not come true. He could use his arms, his hands, his fingers, his legs, his feet, his toes and his muscle to their full extent like normal and he could sire children and, as much as he had been rather embarrassed by admitting to his great-granddaughter this piece of private information, he had actually gone quiet before saying it and he had only done so by standing up and going over by her head to whisper it into her ear: he had hair growth as well. He had to shave his private area three times a month and he did have to clip the hairs that grew in his nose and he also shaved the hair on his arms as well, he had never had much hair growth on his legs and, thus, he had never much bothered shaving them. He had gone by the alias of Bofalis Shragle for five hundred and eight years before he had showed his "ugly, very much alive, mug" to the universe.

The rest was history, he had married, had had three more children and he had gone back to being a conqueror and he had even gone back and defeated Kankuranger. His father being brought back from limbo was a surprise to him, he did owe that thanks to Angel as he'd not have his father back in the world of the living had she of not gone to retrieve his remains on Jupiter, as she had called the planet.

"Selik and Sudir had these?" DuruVile asked Tazir.

"Unless one of my staff took them and played toss the scissors, I do believe so." TazirVile replied.

"Hazaar alright?" DuruVile asked, he reached over and placed the scissors on the chocolate-brown dresser that was in his and his wife's assigned chamber.

"Must be, Angel claims he's showering." TazirVile said.

"I'll take care of matters with... your brother," DuruVile said. "thank you for returning the scissors."

"No problem," TazirVile said, he started up the hallway towards the stairs that would take him up to the fifth level. "what purpose would I have with a pair of scissors my old man uses on his body?"

He had to shower twice just to get all the mud that he had both personally splashed on himself and that Sudir and Selik had splashed on him when they had attacked him then he dressed himself in a pair of brown jeans that had faded blue knees, a brown and gray shirt that had netted on the arms and brown socks. He had another pair of shoes, a light brown pair that's strings were nearly out and since that was the only pair that he had other than the ones that he normally wore he put them on, he slowly and carefully did the ties then he went back into his bathroom to check his hair. He tugged on it twice, it was just as strong as it had been, and it's color was exactly the same. Deep purple, a very dark purple that had a shine to it, had it of faded any he would have gotten very angry and would have punched at the mirror. Since his hair was back to the way it had been before it had gotten snipped off he ran a brush threw it then he ran a comb threw it twice before grabbed the metal rod. He tapped that on his hand twice, rapidly, then he shoved it through his rattail and collected a strand of his hair. He did four braids and, after some thought, he tied four gold coins to the ends of each strand. He wished that there was some sort of spell that he could do to make a shield appear around his hair, or do some sort of spell to make a protection source appear on his hair so that if anyone touched or tried to snip it off they'd get zapped or burned but, as far as he knew, there was no such spell in existence. He just had to watch his back and grow eyes in the back of his head, besides his mother, he didn't like for anyone other than he to touch his hair.

He didn't feel like leaving his bedroom chamber, after having his hair assaulted he wanted to sit on his bed, read a magazine and listen to some music. He left his bathroom and went straight for his stereo system, the disc that he had in mind to listen to had music that he had bought and had burned onto it himself. It was a mixed-song disc that had just songs about hair on it, if one would have asked him if he was obsessed with his hair or with hair in general he would have said no and that was the truth. He wasn't obsessed at all, he liked his hair, he liked how it grew and how it looked after he spiffed it up but he'd abandon his hair in a heartbeat if a situation called for it and he didn't spiff his hair up all the time, sometimes he left it flowing freely after he woke up. The disc of music he took out from the rack, the list that came out along with the disc when he shook the paper sheaf that the disc was in said that the disc had Almost Cut My Hair by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young; Bangs by They Might Be Giants; Bald by The Darkness; Cut My Hair by The Who; Cut Your Hair by Pavement; Devil's Haircut by Beck; Devilock by The Misfits and Get a Haircut by George Thorogood, among others. He slid that into his stereo and had just walked over to get one of his magazines when there was a knock on the door, the music had just started playing and he felt annoyed by having to pause the disc but he did so. He went to the door and opened it, he blinked his eyes when he saw his father standing behind his door.

"Uhhh... hello." lame, he knew it was but it was the only thing he could think of to say. He was near paralyzed with fear over why his father had knocked and was standing behind his bedroom chamber's door.

"Hello Hazaar," TazirVile said, he walked into his son's chamber by simply turning his body sideways. "how you been?"

"Good," Hazaar blinked his eyes. "you?"

"Doing better, seems you had an altercation with Selik and Sudir earlier."

"Yeah,"

"I see your mother fixed your hair up so it's back to normal." TazirVile said after he had caught a glance of his son's reattached rattail. "She claims that you gave her your hair, is that right?"

"Yes,"

"Very wise of you to do. You aware the Repousser Potion, son?"

"Yeah, either can be taken by mouth or through a syringe." Hazaar said. "Makes whatever was lost, meaning a limb, digit, ear or hair grow back."

"Good boy, although I have that potion on hand if it's ever needed I'm glad that your mother did the spell instead." TazirVile said, he then held out a bundle that he had been hiding behind his back. "Still doing your model?"

"Had to stop, no paint." Hazaar said, he had asked for some model paint a few days before and his father had said he'd take care of it, due to his not having any paint he couldn't continue with his train model.

"You have plenty now." TazirVile said, he plopped the bundle in Hazaar's arms then he exited his son's bedroom chamber. "Don't damage your hearing with that stereo now, son."

"Thanks dad!" Hazaar said.

He got to work straight away, totally forgetting about reading one of his magazines. He turned the stereo system on, how his father had known that he was about to play it was beyond him as he had done the room silencer spell so that the music he played in his bedroom chamber couldn't be heard beyond the walls or the door, then he set to work. He painted the sides and top multi-gray, paying special attention to making it look as if the train had been driven through a battlefield where smoke and fog was all over the place, then he set to painting then setting up the inside parts of the car that he was working on, when he was done with that he worked on the two canons and glued them to the top of the train car. After he had the car that he had just left out on his desk completed he started on the other cars, he had two more to do before he'd do the engine which he knew was going to take him much longer as it had a much more complex build to it. As he worked, as he blued parts together, painted, glued more parts together and painted some more, he kept his eye on his alarm clock. He had just finished the third car on his model train when his alarm clock went from 6:59 to 7:00 pm, his mother would be either starting supper now or completing it. Hazaar washed the brushes he had used then he slid them into the jar that had the chemical in it that would keep the bristles from stiffening up. He made sure that the three train cars had some distance between themselves then he stood up, turned his stereo off then he left his bedroom chamber, he locked the door behind him before he began walking down the hallway. After sitting on his rump for five hours walking felt good.

He had just taken that last step from the stairs that went down the left side of the foyer when he came upon someone who reminded him of someone. He couldn't put a name to the person he was thinking about, all he knew was that the man reminded him of somebody. Hazaar had only seen the man from a distance and he hadn't said anything to the man and the man hadn't said anything to him, they were strangers and, thus, they had had no contact with one another. Until now, that was. The man had very dark blue skin, it was so dark that it looked black, and he stood a tall, six-foot, two and a half inches. The man had a lean body that had a good amount of muscle on the chest, arms and legs, he had some muscle on his stomach and he had a modest six-pack. His eyes were a golden-yellow color, they had black pupils in them and, to Hazaar, the eyes gave off a hint of inexperience and a shortening of intelligence. The man had a triangular-shaped head that had elongated ears that went the length of his shoulder that had dingy white skulls on the ends, there were sharp, white teeth in his mouth and he had two horns on his head that were gray in color, his horns swept back over his head gracefully. The man had a collar around his neck that had a chain ran down from to a dark blue belt that was around the waist of a pair of blue jeans that had holes and tears in the legs and knees. The man wore no shirt, he had spiked wrist and ankle guards on and there was a pair of wings on his back that had red webbing that had tears on it.

"What're you looking at runt?" the man spat.

"An overgrown rat, obviously." Hazaar spat back.

"You best watch your tongue. I'm ninety-seven thousand, seven hundred and fifty years old, an elder and you will respect that, Runt." the man said.

"And if I don't, Vuupipii?" Hazaar said, he remembered an article that he had read while on Earth that had once had the man's full name in Vuupipii Surfeit was the man's name and he was KurukVile's and Irka's secondborn son.

"Triskull, Vuupipii is my middle name Runt." Triskull said.

"I'll leave a memo with my father about the near black, big bat that had red webbing'd wings that is waltzing around here." Hazaar said, he then walked down the hallway away from the man.

He left the man behind him and went towards the kitchen, before he entered he heard that there were more than one in the room. He detected Bile and Lazeer and he thought he heard Lhaklar as well as their mother but he also detected another being as well. The one sounded female and she also seemed to be getting on his mother about her not propagating further with her father-mate and not dropping the attitude problem that she had towards the man who had both fathered her and Bile. He entered the kitchen, which smelled of freshly baked cookies, pies and cakes, and went straight to his mother who was pouring some batter in a pan for one of the desserts that she was making for supper that night. Hazaar allowed for her to pour the batter in the two pans that she had buttered and floured up then, when she put the bowl down, he wrapped his arms around her in a hug. The other in the room, as he saw her, the intruder, the outcast, had quieted up the second he had entered the kitchen. As soon as he had wrapped his arms around his mother the woman started speaking wrongful things that made him want to bite her head off but he controlled and behaved himself.

"Let us be glad that my brother doesn't claim none of these weaklings as his grandchildren." the woman said disgustedly. "Tall and rail-thin and short, that's them. You really should have stayed with my brother."

"I can't help what happened anymore than Tazzy could have." Angel replied. "Personally, I'm glad it happened. Wouldn't have my four boys."

"Nonsense! You'd have four boys, maybe some daughters as well and all would be better boned, better heighted and better-..."

"All begotten by rape." Bile said.

"Bile Vile, your daddy did not rape your mother!" the woman exclaimed in shock. "Your conception was by natural ways, she's filled your head with lies."

"Her "lies" must have truth to them. Has the scar he put on her when he tried and succeeded in killing her on her stomach." Bile said.

"She got that by birthing that last brat she-..."

"Watch yourself, Dara Dara!" Angel wheeled around angrily. "I'm glad I have my four boys and I do not intend to have any further by that man that has both sired me and my oldest son."

"Might be changing your mind when he gets here." Dara Dara said. "He'll be trying hard to move you away from them three weaklings and from Tazir."

"I highly doubt if my mother allows for that man to take her from us." Lhaklar said. "If he could, he'd of already done so, right mom?"

"Right, Lhakie." Angel said, she smiled at her son then turned back and went on with making the dessert dishes that everyone was going to eat after the main course had been eaten.

She had come in after he had and, once she had seen his mother, she had started ranting and raving about Vile this, Vile that, my brother makes a better father and my brother makes better offspring that that father of theirs. He had sat with his elbows held against the surface of the kitchen island, hearing in yet not hearing in, letting what all she said go from the ear that was inside of his head out the other. The lady was a beauty, Dara Dara had bright blue crystal shards surrounding her face which was light blue and she had the lightest of blue hair that was wavy and long. She had long, dark blue fingernails that curled slightly and she had bright blue eyes. The woman was, technically, his great-aunt but he'd not refer to her as this due to her hostile mood towards him, Hazaar and Lazeer. She was wearing a long flowing dress that had blue, purple and black synthetic crystal on it and she had blue heels on her feet. The only piece of jewelry she had on her was the blue diamond ring that was on her left pinky finger. She stood about five foot, two inches tall. Lhaklar and Bile both got up from the stools that they were sitting on and went to their mother who had backed away from the oven after she had slid the two cake pans in and had taken two out.

"Need help, ma?" Bile asked.

"Icing? Decorating or-..."

"Much too sweet, you two are." Angel said. "Bile, think two of the pies are done. Can you check and see if they are? Lhaklar, help me get these out of the pans and iced."

"What about us?" Hazaar and Lazeer asked together.

"You two want to make some Banana Pudding for everyone?" Angel asked, this was one dish that she had just decided to go on and let them two make.

"Okay," Hazaar said. "get the mix, Lazeer."

"I shall obey you for only a nickel." Lazeer said, he went towards the back of the kitchen to a large cabinet that had all the pudding and jello and cake mixes in it. He collected five boxes of vanilla pudding, hesitated then grabbed five more before closing the door to the cabinet.

"That'll be one of the things that Bile does that my brother will also be putting an end to. The word ma is something a child would say, he should be say-..."

"He can call me whatever mom-term he wants to." Angel said, effectively cutting Dara Dara off. "How're them pies, Bile?"

"Don't know, they ran off as soon as I opened the oven to check them." Bile said. "Probably on the other side of this place by now."

"What pies did you make, momma?" Hazaar asked.

"Cherry, apple, raspberry and blackberry." Angel replied. "Of course, made four of each."

"Which ones ran off, Bile-O?" Hazaar asked.

"Uhhh... the Cherry and the... I think it was a Raspberry." Bile replied, he then walked over and placed two pies on the counter. "Those were the only ones that looked done, ma."

"Let's take Bile to the emergency room and quick, I want my apple pie back." Lazeer said.

"I didn't eat them, they ran off. I'm innocent!" Bile laughed.

The Crystal Princess, as he thought of her, left soon after and he was glad. No more hearing her say that he, Lhaklar and Hazaar were ill-bred and ill-gened. No more hearing her get on their mother for sleeping and conceiving for a man that she should not have laid eyes on. No more hearing that the man that was, technically, his grandfather was better at everything. Lazeer filled the bottom of a large, glass dish that was almost twenty inches in width with vanilla waffers then he stepped back, Hazaar had been whipping four packets of the vanilla pudding mix that he had gotten in a large, blue bowl for nearly two minutes, when it got to a creamy, non-clumpy texture he poured the whole contents into the glass dish. Lazeer pushed a row of vanilla waffers down the sides of the dish then he grabbed a canister of whipped cream. He sprayed the whole canister of whipped cream into the dish, put some vanilla waffers on top of the whipped cream then he stepped back. Hazaar, who had beat another four packets of vanilla pudding mix in the same bowl, applied another layer of whipped cream on top. They did this three more times, Hazaar went and got two more boxes that had vanilla pudding mix in them from the cabinet, then they bother stepped away. It was a simple dish but it was one of his and his brother's favorites. Angel walked over, picked the glass dish up and moved it to a safe location then she got ready to make the real supper, she had made the dessert courses first since they took more time in making.

"You making chicken tonight, ma?" Lazeer asked when his mother exited from the walk-in freezer with a stack of chick thighs.

"Yep, have to make a lot so everyone can have a piece." Angel replied. "Also have to either undercook or overcook two packs of these."

"My mama's so nice, she thinks about everyone come suppertime." Bile said.

"I'd be a criminal if I didn't, Biley." Angel said.

"What else you making, ma?" Bile asked.

"A few steaks, some lamb of lamb and..." Angel began to think, what else would be good for the main course? She knew her grandfather was rather fond of leg of lamb but she also knew that her great-grandfather was fond of lamb parcel as well and she knew that Shaam liked very undercooked lasagna. She made a sound then headed back to the walk-in freezer. Why not make some of each just to appease everyone's taste buds?

"Think she's going all out on this one, Bile." Lazeer said, he went over and started helping his mother prepare the meats for the oven, Hazaar went and took out the remaining pies and cake pans, Lhaklar started icing and decorating the cakes after the pans had cooled down.

It took them a long time before they finally finished making supper and by then, all were so exhausted that they could barely walk with the dishes and trays to the dining room. Tazir came in and helped them more the trays and dishes to the dining room, had it not been for him they would have kept everyone waiting. When the last dish was put down and Angel and her sons had taken their places most of everybody that was seated at the table looked as if they had lost some of their appetite. Tazir started the process of dinner by lifting the lid of the tray nearest him, Duru, Kuruk and Shaam and Cheshire followed suit. Cheshire and his family were the only ones that understood why supper had been late in being placed at the table, he wished that Angel would have asked for help as he and his wife would have gladly assisted in any way that they could have, Amadh and Efagti would have helped as well had they of been asked of if they had known that they five were cooking a lot. Cheshire and his family filled their plates quickly and dived into them equally as quickly, Kuruk and his family, Duru and his family and Shaam ate with very little interest and that was very noticed by Angel, her sons and Tazir.

"Bastards! We know it was late in coming but we did as we could." Bile thought angrily.

"So it was a little late, we busted our balls as hard as we could." Lhaklar thought.

"Hope you choke on it you unappreciative dorks." Hazaar thought.

"One spoils it for all, like mom says. We haven't spoiled anything, we worked hard to make everything and they're just poking spoons and forks into their plates without eating much." Lazeer thought. "Mom would of said for us to perk up or leave the table if we were doing what they are."

"So, Lass." ShaamVile said, he cleared his throat twice then went on. "You sent my uncle a letter or called him yet?"

"I have not been allowed to do neither." Angel replied. "Been too busy to-..."

"Lass, you have had plenty of time. I've seen twenty chances that you could have called or written." ShaamVile had a hot, angered look on his face. "You just going to let what happen become like bad blood between you two? Do you know his phone number or-..."

"I know his phone number and home address, if I'd not have people barking up my boys' backs I'd of written." Angel said angrily.

"No one has been barking up the boys' backs, Lass."

"My grandfather taking items of theirs," Angel started counting on her fingers. "you trying to slip me the pill to make my milk dry up. You, your son and grandson trying to keep me away from my sons and both my grandfather's sons and your son's sons ganging up, fighting and bullying my sons? You think I have had time for anything? I can barely take time out to piss in the toilet!"

"We've been trying to help you, Lass!" ShaamVile said after he had stood up, his hands were flat against the table and he had a mean, angry look on his face.

"You've been trying to turn me into being your version of what you view as a "Perfect Mother"!" Angel screamed, she stood up and slammed her hands against the table so hard that Bile leaned over to the side. Cheshire and Ashaklar blinked their eyes then they turned to Defe and Qhuakiz and asked them to leave the room which they obediently did.

"We have no-..." ShaamVile's voice had picked up to such a high pitch that the room seemed to of rumbled, Eshal, who was beside him, leaned to the side in fear.

"You have." Cheshire said, he removed his goggled monocle and slid it into a brown leather case. "She can't so much as speak to her kids without one of you chomping and clawing at her back."

"You stay out of this Commoner." DuruVile barked.

"Angel's just as much family to me as she is to you," Cheshire said. "what all I've seen with her mothering her kids I say she is doing a very good job. Besides me and my family, it's just Tazzy who gives her any respect. You and your lot do not."

She knew that supper was over, it was over before it had even gotten fully underway and they all had that to thank to the Surfeit clan, sans her son who had seated himself down normally and had actually looked quite happy. Ashaklar stood up and asked for her remaining children; Efagti, Amadh, Phaggo and Blaiga, and for Angel's children and for Eshal to stand and follow her. She left the table with them following behind her, they had just gotten out when it seemed like a volcano had gone off. Angel and Shaam started screaming at each other, casting accusations at each other and cutting each other down ruthlessly. Ashaklar ushered the children into a room far away from the dining room, she had just closed the door behind her when she heard both her husband and Tazir yelling. All of the children sat down in the room, she saw looks of disappointment, rage and distress on all of their faces.

"We'll let them hash it out for a while," Ashaklar said. "I suppose your mother wouldn't mind if I just told you four to hit the desserts for supper."

"Probably would be glad you did, she never was one who liked for us to go without eating a meal." Bile replied.

"Regardless of what them fools say, she's a fine mother." Amadh said.

"Best mom in the universe." Lazeer said, he looked up momentarily and Ashaklar detected a smile on his face.

"You four seem to love her greatly." Ashaklar said.

"More than anything," Bile said, he then clamped his mouth shut. He was near to tears.

"Our love has no definition when it-... when it comes to her." Hazaar said.

"You four are very lucky to have her as your mother and she is very lucky to have you four as her sons." Ashaklar said.

Efagti and Amadh let Bile, Hazaar and Lazeer be, they were upset and for good reason, Lhaklar had moved off to the far side of the room and they could detect that he was crying so they left him alone as well. The past month had been very hard on them, they both knew that. Amadh looked at Lazeer for a second and then he let go of his resentment of the youngster. He reached over, he placed his arm around his nephew. Efagti did the same with Hazaar and Bile while Phaggo and Blaiga went over and gave Lhaklar some comfort. Ashaklar looked at this as a good thing, she looked at all this and wondered why the majority of the Surfeit's that were in the mansion couldn't act like her family did. When Bile nearly broke down Eshal wrapped him up in a hug, this brought back a memory from when Ashaklar had come upon Qeeta hugging Tazir after Tazir had gotten beat by their father for leaving his shoes out on the back porch, they had been dirty but had Duru of seen the dirt and had he been happy that their son had not walked into the mansion with them on his feet, making the floors a dirty mess? No, he had seen the shoes on the back porch as an excuse to inflict more abuse on their son. He had used a stick, a thick one, on the backside of their son and then he had grabbed their son when he had continued to cry after he had beat him, he had thrown him from the kitchen to the hallway then had used his belt on him, all the while telling him to quit crying. Ashaklar hated her ex-husband, he had done so many things wrong when they had been married. The only things she saw that had come from the man were Tazir and Qeeta. Ashaklar went over and hugged all five of her grandchildren, Bile included, then she hugged Efagti, Amadh, Phaggo and Blaiga. By the time that there was quiet outside the door everyone had calmed down.

"Well... let's hit the kitchen for supper then go to bed." Bile said. "I'm tired, think I also speak for my brothers as well."

"Alright, lead the way." Ashaklar said.


	19. Chapter 19

As she drove her vehicle, a burgundy car that had cream-colored leather seats and polyester upholstery, she glanced nervously to the passenger seat that was beside her. She had the bag that Bile had given her, a light tan suede leather hand bag that had tassels hanging down from the middle and a short shoulder strap. Inside that bag she had a few essential items such as the Art Nouveau leather and silver plated coin purse that had a burnished cicada bug that Bile had also found for her at the dump at Green River, Wyoming that had, actually, been in rather good shape that had two rolls of quarters, two rolls of nickels and a roll of dimes in it and she also had a tan leather wallet that had about a hundred dollars in it, that had been given to her by Tazir after he had found out that she was heading over to Gamma Vile to see and speak with his grandfather's uncle. The wallet she had bought herself for $28.06, it was just one of the free buys and she had needed a wallet so she had just bought it. Besides the coin purse and wallet, her bag also had a brown leather case that Hazaar had found at the dump, had cleaned up real good then had given her as a gift. She had some Moas credit cards in it, which she had no interest in using and, actually, she had asked for Tazir to not apply for any credit cards for her but he had done so anyways, saying that she did need some cards on her person. She also had the most important item in it, the invitation for TrobrencusVile Surfeit and his family. She also had a small pocket knife and some pepper spray in her bag as well, she only had them as a protection source. What say she got jumped while on Gamma Vile by some thieves or someone who had an evil, twisted mind?

Although her eyes had wandered to that bag she had really been looking at the dog that was in the floorboard of the passenger side of her car. She had teleported to Gamma Vile and had started driving only to have to pull over after seeing a dog with a small link, chain collar around its neck that had three tags on it. The dog, a male of what looked to be the Cursinu breed, looked scared and hungry and, also, he had an injury to his left front leg. Once she had pulled over and had gotten out of her car the dog had loped right over. She had been fifty miles from Trob's castle then and when she had checked the tags she had seen, as plain as the morning itself, that the dog belonged to TrobrencusVile Bloym Surfeit. One tag said that the dog had had all of his shots, another had Trobrencus' name and address on it and the other had further information on the dog, such as allergies and what all. The dog's coat was brown and black brindle, he had a white marking on the chest and the front paws were white, she had picked up the dog and had put him in her car then had drove off. She was just twenty miles from the place that she was going, her nervousness was growing now with each sign that went by her.

Four days ago she, her great-great grandfather, great-grandfather and grandfather had had such a fight that she and they had spoken not a word to each other, Tazir and Cheshire had stood by her side and had aided her quite a lot but it had mainly been her yelling and screaming her head at the men who she had been fighting with. Duru had actually punched Cheshire in the face twice, Kuruk had nearly swung his hand at Tazir and Shaam had actually slapped her three times, once in the face with the other two slaps striking her hip. Kuruk and Irka's kids and Duru and Cyla's kids had remained in the dining room for the entire fight, thinking back to that fight Angel could remember that they had been both terrorized and in full agreement to what their paternal figures were saying, she wished that her grandmother and great-grandmother had asked for their kids to leave the room as the fight had not been a pretty one. Ashaklar had taken all of her kids, along with Bile, Lhaklar, Hazaar, Lazeer and Eshal, out of the room and she was glad for that. Fights between adults, she thought, should not have an audience of children. She had found her sons and Eshal in the kitchen twenty minutes later with Ashaklar's kids enjoying some of the desserts she had cooked up, she hadn't minded at all. All the hard work she had put into dinner had been for nothing, everyone had eaten nothing of what she had made for the main course. Her sons, Eshal and Ashaklar and Cheshire's kids had eaten something and that was the important thing, she wished that the others would have eaten something but, after that fight, everyone had just stood up and left the room.

She had had to ask Tazir what all she needed to do after she got to Trobrencus' place, she knew nothing of the guy when it came to paying him a visit at his place after all. Tazir had only visited Trob twice but he knew how it went after one drove up to the gate. Angel didn't simply want to drive up, lay her hand on the horn, making all manner of disruption in the area that her great-great grandfather's uncle's castle had been built on. She wanted to arrive in the correct, respectful fashion. She knew it was rude to just plain show up but the guy had said in his letter to her that Shaam had given her a week and a day ago for her to either call, write or show up at his place. She had totally forgotten his phone number and since she and Shaam were not talking she couldn't get it and call the guy up. She had finally written to the guy three days ago, she had asked Tazir to please send it express which he did. No word, she had no clue if he had gotten her letter or not so here she was, driving along at 8:50 in the morning on a gravelly road towards a castle owned by one of her relatives that was angry at her. It was enough to sent chills up and down her spine, she had no idea how the guy was with his emotions, she knew he could be rather nasty and cruel towards his staff but how was he with his temper? Would he be pleasant after she arrived or would he be so angry that he was scary? The only way she could really find an answer to that question, since she and Shaam were not talking to one another, was to drive up to Trob's front gate and wait until he let her in.

"You drive down a road called Rohyan then take a turn onto Xroylo, stay on that road, it takes you right to Trob's place." TazirVile had told her after she had asked for directions to TrobrencusVile's place."You drive up to the front gate, not the side or the back but the front, and you wait. Trob has a strip under the soil that will beep a device that he has on his person, when you drive up to the gate you sit and wait. Have the window down so he can see you. If, in five minutes, he doesn't answer then you back up and come home.

"He'll press a button on that device to let you in if he wishes to speak to you. After the gates are open you drive through them. Follow the driveway to a circular patch of yellow rocks, park the car near the front of Trob's place then get out and go to the front door. Knock, a servant will answer and you follow that servant to wherever he takes you." TazirVile had gone on after he had stopped to take a drink from the glass of lemonade that she had given him before asking him for directions to Trobrencus' place. "His place is big, you follow that servant like a shadow so you don't get lost."

She had asked Tazir and Cheshire to watch her kids like hawks before she had grabbed her bag, Bile had wanted to go with her but she had stood her ground in him staying put with Tazir in his mansion. She didn't want Trob to hurt her son, for all she knew if he saw Bile he might run out to beat the living daylights out of him and she definitely did not want that! All of her sons had been ordered to stay put in the mansion, she had promised to return and then she had gone off to her car. Tazir had gotten her car worked on, the gas tank had been removed and an energy tank had been put in to replace it. Her car purred like a kitten and she was glad for that, it might not look like one of the cars that Tazir drove but it worked and that was what mattered to her. It got her from point A to point B. She had checked the fuel gauge before leaving, it had been full and then she had teleported herself and the car to Gamma Vile. She had only just started driving when she had spotted the dog and, with knowing that Trobrencus was missing one of his she had checked into the dog. She wasn't looking at the dog as some sort of insurance thing, a thing to make Trobrencus smoother to talk to or less angry with her, she simply saw herself as being a good Samaritan in bringing someone's dog home that had been missing for some time.

"I'd say ten more minutes and you'll be home." Angel said to the dog, who looked at her then thumped his tail twice.

She rode in silence, no radio and she spoke no more to the dog, who seemed perfectly happy and content in lying down on the floorboard. The landscape passed by, she was going just thirty miles an hour, she could of gone faster but she preferred to go at this speed. Pebbled hills passed by, rolling fields of purple grasses, poisonous grasses, rolled by on both sides of her and she saw in the distance mountains that looks as smooth as glass. Ten, long, minutes passed by before a fence began to roll by her. It was black, it was wrought iron and each section had a Fluer-De-Lis topper that had a sharp, middle, point. The grass beyond the wrought iron fence was green, a lush green that seemed odd but she let that pass. She saw a white fence that stretched back and disappeared from her view, she figured that the fence belonged to a pasture that either Trob put some horses or some cows in when the weather was good. As she drove on she saw a red barn that had a Gothic-style roof, the doors were open on the side so she could see that there were servants inside, probably tending to whatever was in the barn. There was a gray silo beside the barn. She was just driving by a lake, a long, flat lake that had lily pads on it. As she drove by a flock of five Black Runner ducks flew to the lake. The dog beside her, probably excited after seeing the old familiar sights of his home, began to bark and whine. Angel looked away from the ducks and the lake to shush the dog up and to tell him to be patient, that she was going as fast as she wanted to go. When she turned back to facing the road she had no choice but to drop her mouth in shock.

The castle that loomed up seemingly out of no where was big, black and it had just one tower that had three spires on it, one that looked to have a straight pole on it and one that had what looked to be a wind catcher on it. There were approximately seven or eight spires on the castle, that she could see, and she saw more than four chimney stacks on the castle and, on a guess, there had to be over a hundred windows on the castle. There looked to be vines and moss growing all along the base of the castle and... Angel nearly turned her car around when she saw that there were people on the front lawn. She did a quick count, there looked to be fourteen or fifteen people either running and playing or sitting on the lush green grass. Trob was mad at her for her sons' defensively attacking his wife and Trivit, he surely would not want her anywhere near his family of children and grandchildren, of which she was sure that SyamsinVile and TralisaVile were among the fourteen or fifteen that were out on the lawn. The dog barked and howled loudly, he acted like he wanted to jump out the driver's side window that Angel had down. Angel struggled to get him under control, she slowed down to ten miles an hour just to get the dog to sit down and to calm down, there was no way for the dog to get past the wrought iron fence, he'd injure himself if he got loose by both jumping out of her car and by running and trying to get through the fence and she didn't want that. When the dog was sitting, he was whimpering but that was better than barking and howling, Angel drove on towards the front gate. It took her another five minutes before she found it.

"Just like Taz's," Angel thought after she had seen the wrought iron front gate. "he has his initials on it."

The gate was long, it was wrought iron, just like the fencing that went around the property, and it had a T, a B and an S designed on it on both sides. The gate had a spread-out, tree design to it and there were vines and moss on it. Angel drove her Buick Lucerne up to the front gate then she slid the gear shift to park, she waited with her head nearly sticking out of the driver's side window. To the east she saw another lake, there looked to be more ducks swimming on it or flying about above it, and beyond the lake she saw that there was a forest, a mini forest, on Trob's land. There was a red and gray brick structure between the mini forest and the eastern wall of the castle, Angel guessed that it housed some horses or, quite possibly, some goats or cows or sheep or even dogs as she was sure that Trobrencus had a pack of hunting canines.

As she waited, she was going on the one-minute mark in waiting for Trob to either press the button to let her in or in backing up, turning about and going home after letting the dog out, she remembered what kind of horses Trobrencus bred and owned. He bred all kinds of color in his horses but he was more fond of the silver, silver dapple, gray, black and palomino. He liked to breed horses that had lots of leg, trim hind quarters and a short back. He was one for speed and for jumping ability as he did ride out with his hunting canines whenever he went out for the hunt. He kept his horses manes long, he made sure their tails were trimmed so they didn't go past the hoof and he liked that graceful, elegant look to a horse. Angel had turned him onto the Akhal-Teke once and he had liked how the breed looked, he had especially liked the golden shine to the coat. As far as she knew, he had asked Tazir to send some of his Goblins to to Earth to retrieve four mares and two stallions of that breed for him, she couldn't remember if her Universal Husband had done so or not. Trob's father had taught him well how to ride a horse, she remembered seeing him astride one of his stallions while out on a hunt with her grandfather and Tazir, they had headed off and left her behind but she had seen them off. Trob had a very well-balanced, graceful and intelligent movement to him when he rode a horse, he didn't move but so much and he kept his head on his shoulders which was very good as, if he did not do that, he could very well be hurt.

"Come on, Trob." Angel sighed, she had been sitting in her car, waiting to be let in, for four and a half minutes now.

She looked over to the left and took in what she saw. A creek ran from, what she believed, the lake all the way to the driveway, there was a wooden bridge that ran over the creek. Angel followed the creek and saw that it wound its way to the lake on the opposite side of the driveway. When she looked back to the left she saw that there were Italian Cypress, Weeping Willow, she saw several, pink flowering, Crepe Murtle trees and she also saw some white and pink flowering, Dogwood trees as well and right, smack in between all these trees there had been set up an area. Angel saw three, cast iron, tables with two chairs each pulled up to them. In only five of the chairs sat someone of female gender. There was a croquet game set up, there were four children playing. There were three hammocks tied up between the trees, she saw that each one had someone of the male gender lying on them and there was a blue canvas, a towel or a tarp or something, lying on the ground near the lake that two other children were sitting on. A woman was walking up, it looked as if she had gone and gotten some drinks or something for everyone. TrobrencusVile Bloym Surfeit was known to be a big man on family, he was also known as a heavy protector of his family, when six minutes passed Angel figured that she best just let the dog she had found out of her car then head home. If Trob had looked at his device after it had beeped, telling him that she was there, had wanted her in his home he would have already opened the gate to let her drive up into the driveway.

"Alright," Angel said after she had gotten out of the car then had walked over to open the passenger side door. "there's a little opening in the fence that I suppose you can-..."

The dog thumped his tail then he got out of the car and went for the opening which Angel truly believed was too small for the dog to squeeze through but dogs were cunning and when a dog wanted to be back home with his family they would do things that made people stunned into silence. The dog went to the opening in the fence, which was only twenty-three and a half inches wide, and squeezed through. Once on the side of the fence that his family was on he barked then loped, holding his injured foot up off of the ground, towards the people on the lawn. The woman that was standing up turned when she heard the dog, Angel didn't wait to see what happened, she figured that the woman was just going to collect the dog, take him inside then call up Trobrencus and tell him to get home and fast. Angel slid into the driver's seat of her car, she moved the gear shift from park to reverse then looked back so she could back away from the front gate. Her foot slammed on the brake when she saw what was coming down the road.

She had seen the movie Christine, about a sentient and violent vehicle named Christine, when it had come out in theaters in 1983 and she had also seen all of its remakes, which numbered fifty. That one scene where the vehicle is driving while engulfed in flames had stuck itself in her memory forever, it was a classic scene and a scary one at that. The vehicle that was driving down the road looked very much like the Plymouth Fury that had been in that one scene, chasing down the character of Buddy, portrayed by William Ostrander, after he had taunted and challenged her only there were some very big differences. It looked like the car was one of them Lincoln Zephyr Convertible Sudan's, she couldn't tell what color the car was because of the flames that were whiplashing all over the frame. She saw the nameplate which said TROSUR7. The windows on the car were dark, she couldn't see who it was that was driving the vehicle. Angel was wondering about the flames, they were all over the frame of the car and, curiously, they were even on the tires. Angel was wondering about how the driver could drive with all them flames blowing to and fro on the car and how the driver could withhold the heat as, surely, the flames were making the inside of the vehicle stiflingly hot. She was just starting to wonder who it was who was driving the car when, to her surprise, the car pulled up beside her. She had her hand resting on the gear shifter but it hadn't moved, she had been too mesmerized by the flaming car to drive away or teleport back to Tazir's mansion.

"Probably Trivit, Trob's adult son. Trobrencus usually drives a hearsh-like car, he doesn't-..."

She regained control of her body just as the window on the passenger side of the car lowered. Just one look was enough to make her heart start racing, just one look at the driver was enough to tell her that it was time to go. There was red upholstery in the car, the seats were black leather and there looked to be a real, light brown furred, monkey arm and hand hanging from the rear view mirror. What made her make the decision to get the hell out of the area was the man who was driving the car. The man behind the wheel looked above pissed off, he wasn't so much snarling at her, he was just staring at her and in that stare she saw anger. His face was set like stone, his eyes were non-blinking in his face and his lips were set in a fashion that looked about to start spewing out words in a heartbeat if she so much as said anything. She had thought that it was TrivitVile, TrobrencusVile's and Bahne's adult son who had been born during Shlock's Plague and who was a twin but who had been the only surviving twin of the two. The man behind the wheel turned out to be none other than TrobrencusVile Bloym Surfeit himself.

"Move away from the gate! Oh shit, move away from the gate so he can get in then speed away!" she thought frantically.

She moved the gear shifter from park to reverse then backed away, she went the length of the small circle before the wrought iron gate and was about to turn the wheel when something caught her eye. Angel looked up then to the side and saw that Trobrencus had backed his car up, drawing up beside her again. Angel's heart near skipped a beat, just looking at that mean, angry face of his was enough to put the fear of death in her. TrobrencusVile looked somewhat like a typical Surfeit except, instead of having the typical Vilian appearance he had inherited his zombie appearance from his mother, Birava Yamubabba. The left side of his face was light blue while the right was a creamy color. His ears were located inside his head, they were not viewable outside of his head. The irises in his eyes were red while the sclera around them and the pupils were white. He had red markings under his eyes that looked like blood and he had several red, flaky patches of flesh that looked as if they were drooping from his face. His lower lip drooped and looked shredded and he had a thin and pointy nose. Trobrencus had dark purple hair on his head that was sort of scruffy. He had it cut all nice and trim in the front and sides but he had a long, braided strand in the back that fell down past his collar-bone, Angel saw that there was a dark purple bow on the end of the strand of braided hair.

"Move away from the fence!" her screaming mind told her. TrobrencusVile had a deep, stoney, angry look to his face and his eyes looked like they were burning in his fury that she was here, at his place.

Angel increased the speed of her backward motion as she backed out onto the main road then she turned the wheel so her car would face looking down the road, so she could just drive the way she had come and could get the hell out of the area. She had just moved the gear shifter from reverse to drive when she saw Trob's vehicle, yet again, draw up beside hers. His eyes met hers for only a second then Angel looked down the road. The idea of him actually keeping his vehicle beside hers crossed her mind. She imagined him like a mother bear, his cubs were in the yard on the other side of the fence and here was a predator. It was either he attack to defend his cubs or stay beside her to escort her safely away. Angel put the gear shift back in reverse then she backed down the road going twenty miles an hour. She looked back as she backed down the road for twenty-five yards then she got a surprise. When she was turning her head back around so she was looking out the windshield she saw that Trobrencus was still right beside her and had he gotten closer? It seemed that there had been sixteen inches between her car and his before she had started backing down the road, now there looked to be about eight inches between their cars. Angel decided to back down the road fifty yards more, she looked in her rear view mirror this time instead of looking back. It seemed slow work, making her car go back, but when she had gone fifty yards she stopped. She was about to turn the wheel so she could turn her car about when she heard something.

"Kkkkllllllllpppp..."

She looked over to the side and saw that not only was Trobrencus still beside her, but his side view mirror had clipped hers. He had moved his vehicle closer to hers, there was now but four inches between his car and hers and he was still staring at her. Angel carefully backed her car down the road, being careful to not make Trob's side view mirror break, as she backed down the road Trobrencus matched her. Inch for inch, foot for foot they backed down the road together. Seventy yards, seventy-five, eighty-five, ninety, Angel's heart was beating furiously in her chest now. She had noticed that Trobrencus was not looking back as he backed down the road with her, he wasn't watching the road. He wasn't watching what was coming at him or what was coming from behind him. He was driving backwards while keeping that stoney, angry, chilly and scary stare of his targeted on her. Angel glanced back once, she saw that the fence in the front of the man's property stopped and then branched off, going around the mini forest, one hundred and fifty yards from her. She figured that Trob wanted her past that fence. She figured he wanted her to be as far away from his property, and family, so she punched her foot down and backed down the road going forty miles an hour. She lost track of the time, she lost track of her surroundings in a way, as she went back. When she was past the fence that went around Trobrencus' property she started to sigh in relief. That sigh caught in her throat as Trobrencus pulled right back up beside her, he pulled up so close that, this time, her side view mirror didn't clip his. Her side view mirror was broken completely off from the body of her car as did his own, this did not hit well with her.

"I brought your dog back you fool! He's injured, go home to tend him!" Angel's mind screamed.

There was a ringing sound, a omnimous, ringing sound that chilled her to the very bone. Angel had her old cellular but, due to moving back to Moas, the service was out. She had left her cellular back with Tazir so she didn't have anything to make such a ringing sound. Angel guessed that Trobrencus had a cellular in the car with him somewhere, probably close by him. She guessed that someone, his wife, his son or one of his daughters, were calling him to up tell him about the sudden reappearance of the dog. Trobrencus acted like he didn't hear the ringing sound, his car idled beside hers and he continued to stare his scary, stoney, angry stare at her. Angel could feel the heat from the flames that were shooting out all over the car, she could feel the heat from the flames inside the car and outside of it as well. She was sweating from both the fear and from the heat that the flames generated. Her throat was itchy, it was dry, her eyes seemed too dry to her and she was starting to tremble a little bit. Angel moved her car back another twenty-five yards, Trobrencus stayed with her and he actually drew his car up against hers, she heard the paint from her car scraping away as the body of his car rubbed up against the body of hers.

"I'm away from your family!" her mind screamed at him. "Go back to them! Go back to your dog! Let me go home! I get your point! Go away. Stay away and don't ever come back."

Due to his vehicle being so damn close to hers now she hestitated in moving back then, slowly, she drove her car back. The paint from her car scraped away, the flames caught her hair twice and she had to remove her hands from the wheel to swat them out and that was when she saw the semi driving down the road. Angel pointed forward at the truck, hoping that Trobrencus would take his stare off of her and drive forward to avoid a collision but, to her surprise, he did neither of them things. The driver of the truck blared his horn loudly twice and then there was the sound of tires squealing as the driver drove onto the embankment on the other side of the road to avoid striking both of them. Angel decided that she had had enough, she slammed her foot down on the gas petal and, although she gritted her teeth at the sound of the body of her car scraping away at the body of Trobrencus' car, she made it halfway past him. She was thinking that he was finally letting her get by, get past and go home. She imagined herself going to sit in a room alone to plain get ahold of herself, Trobrencus had scared her half to death. She might take a shower after she got herself back together, she might eat something or have Eldass or Homsi bring her a bottle of wine. She was very glad that she had told Bile that he could not come, she would have been even more of a nervous wreck had he of tagged along with her. Angel made it almost to the bumper of Trobrencus' vehicle when, with a screaming pop, the windshield exploded in her face. Angel yelled out in shock then she dove for the seat on the passenger side of the car. She grabbed the shoulder strap of her bag in her hands and gripped it tightly then she dove her face into the side of her bag to protect it from the glass that was shooting towards her from the windshield.

"Going to happened sooner or later with Trob's car being so close and with his car being engulfed in fl-..." she started to think, there was a sudden yank on the driver's side door and then she felt hands grab the back of her shirt. The hands that grabbed her yanked her clean out of her Buick Lucerne.

"Where you think you going, Ragamuffin?" TrobrencusVile snarled in her face in a low, weasel-like voice which had a growl after he had yanked her out of her car.

"Trob-..."

"Yeah, that's my name now you... get in there!"

TrobrencusVile reached for the handle to his flaming car then yanked the door open, he threw Angel in then slammed the door closed. Angel, when she popped up on the seat, saw that it had been Trobrencus, himself, who had made her windshield explode in the manner that it had. He had waited until she had gotten to his bumper before backing up and swerving at the same time. Her fender was smashed, her windshield had been shattered, the hood was buckled up in two places and both headlights were broken but, miraculously, the rest of her car was unharmed. TrobrencusVile walked over to the driver's side of his flaming car, Angel saw that he was wearing a burgundy, Satin trimmed, velvet tuxedo and shoes. There was a burgundy vest underneath the tuxedo jacket that had black buttons on it, a gold chain ran out from the left side breast pocket of the vest, it ran over to the pocket on the other side. He had a white, button down, long-sleeved shirt underneath the vest and from around his neck hung a striped, burgundy cravat tie that had a gold button in the center. When Trobrencus pulled the driver's side door open and got into his car, Angel saw that he had dark cream-colored, medium-length fingernails that had been filed to a fine, sharp point. She still had her bag with her, somehow, when he had torn her from her car, it had come out with her. After he got into his flaming car, that he had put in park mode after striking hers, Trobrencus reached over and grabbed the silver cellular that had a flip top. It was still ringing when he picked it up.

"Yeah, Bahne, I'm here." he said into his cellular, Angel slid over to the door then reached forward to try to grab the handle. Trobrencus must have anticipated this because, suddenly, he reached over and slapped her hand hard, he still had his cellular in the hand that he had slapped her with.

"Trob, you need to come home. Cocbok came back! He just ran up to us about three minutes ago." Bahne's whisper-like voice came out from the cellular, Trobrencus had obviously put his phone on speaker. "His leg is hurt, think it's broke."

"I am on my way now." TrobrencusVile said. "I've got company with me so I'll be a bit busy."

"We did see a car by the main gate," Bahne said. "since you're the only one who can open the main gate we couldn't let the person in. Rode off I think."

"Rode off but I caught up to her. She's in the car with me now, we'll be driving to the garage in five minutes." TrobrencusVile said, he then shut his cellular off. He tossed it over to Angel, it bounced off of her leg. "Put that in your bag, you'll be with me and my family for a while so you best get comfortable and you best behave your rear end."

Surprisingly, the ride back wasn't as stuffy or as stiflingly hot as she had thought it would be. The flames outside the car had generated a lot of heat onto her car, both inside and out, but the inside of Trob's car was comfortable and he didn't even have the air conditioning on. Trobrencus had a very fine stereo in his car, it was off at the moment but by looking at them speakers she guessed he liked hearing the tunes that came through the radio or stereo loud. There were cup holders built into the sides of the doors, all of them, and there was a compartment for eats as well. The dash-board was a nice, shiny black, the air conditioning vents were chrome and the top did come down so the car was a convertible. As Angel was taking all this in TrobrencusVile pulled into the front gate, he had a button, a small, blue button, in the palm of his hand that he pressed to make the gate open. After the gate doors had closed behind them Angel's eyes landed on the items that were on the dash-board of the car.

Trobrencus was one who walked with a cane and he kept a cane on his person wherever he went, he even carried one when he was inside a residence. He had no physical problems to his legs that required the use of a cane, he simply had and used canes as an attractor, to make his appearance seem more important. Lying across the dash of the car was a brown stick that had a sterling silver cobra handle, the cobra was turned down and the mouth was open so it looked as if it was biting or eating the stick of the cane, the eyes of the cobra were ruby and the fangs were gold. She knew he had a collection of about fifty canes, all that had chrome handles of animals on them. The small gun that was lying beside the chrome handle of the cane was what attracted her attention more. It was small, about six inches long, and it was full silver. Seeing the gun not only brought back that first ride in a vehicle owned by Tazir, he had pulled a gun out at her when she had tried to get out of his Model T limousine and had kept it aimed at her just to keep her in the car, but it also made her think that Trobrencus was somewhat paranoid. His residence was no where near any type of civilisation, there were no neighborhoods, city's or towns anywhere around him, he was actually fifty miles from the nearest town. Why he needed to have a gun in his car was beyond her but she knew this: after seeing that gun she was not going to try to get out from the car again until he told her so. It took Trobrencus only five minutes before he drove up to and then around a full circle that had yellow rocks in it, yellow and black flowers bobbed all around the outside of the circle, Angel saw that everyone that had been outside was gone now, they were probably inside tending to the dog that she had released after six minutes had passed and the gate had not opened. TrobrencusVile drove around the circle once then he stopped.

"Out." he said.

Yessir! Whatever you say! She got out fast, tripped and fell on her side then got up and turned around. Trobrencus, with his cane and the gun in hand, got out from the car and started towards the front of his castle. Angel was wondering where the garage was when, suddenly, she felt the ground that was underneath her left foot fall. She looked down then, after uttering a surprised gasp, jumped back. The ground was lowering underneath the car, apparently Trobrencus had gotten the garage built underneath the ground. Angel backed away from where the ground was lowering then she looked up in time to see that TrobrencusVile, who was a good six-foot, four inches tall and who, although not as big and as muscular as his nephew, was rather well-muscled and had a very good-sized, well-muscled set of arms on him, was coming at her. Angel only just managed to get by him then went towards the front door, a big, brown wooden door that had a large, Lion-headed, knocker on it, as she went towards the front door she remembered that he had a very quick, grease-lightning like, movement to him. She had just reached the door when TrobrencusVile came up behind her, he grabbed and tore her bag from her hands then he reached into the left side pocket of his pants. After some rummaging around, he brought out a large, gold key.

"In!" he barked loudly.

"Yessir!" Angel said, she then went in, TrobrencusVile followed behind her. He swiftly closed the door behind him then turned the lock.

She walked in, took in the foyer which was shaped octagonally and had hanging vases of purple, red and white roses hanging down from a dome, light brown ceiling with photographs of Trobrencus and his family on the dark purple walls then, after Trobrencus pushed her from behind, she walked down the black and gray marble flooring. There were arches over openings in several places, each arch had a hallway going through it and she saw several staircases as well. Tazzy had told her to follow the servant when she was let in so she'd not get lost as Trobrencus' place was big, she believed Tazir fully as the castle looked more than big on the inside. It looked like it went on forever! There were no photographs on the hallway walls that she and Trobrencus were walking down, she saw plenty of swords, knives and coats of arms though. She was just walking by a lion-head water spout when she got a surprise. The lion-headed water spout didn't shoot out water from the hole that had been chiseled in the mouth of the lion, flames shot out and up. She stopped only momentarily out of fear, Trobrencus made a sound then he shoved her forward. Angel was forced to walk by many flame-shooting, animal headed spouts, Trobrencus acted like it was normal for the things to do what they were doing and that sort of gave her some sort of comfort that they weren't shooting their flames at her. Angel nearly stopped to take in what looked to be a fountain with a small pool around it that had a triple-necked and headed dragon sticking out from the wall that had water falling out from the mouths when Trobrencus grabbed her by her shoulders, tore her to the side then placed a thick, smoke-smelling, canvas bag over her head.

"Main office, third level, on the double!" she heard him say, she guessed that he was talking to a servant of his.

"Yessir, Master Trobrencus." she heard a female-sounding voice say in return.

"Lhohakuh her in afterwards!" he drew out the word lock in a mocking fashion.

"Yessir, Master Trobrencus." the female who had just wrapped Angel's arm up in her hand replied. Whoever it was that Trobrencus had given order to, she sounded young, she sounded scared and, when she touched Angel's arm, Angel felt that her touch felt sympathetic to the situation that she had gotten herself into.

"Name's J'taveta, you a new employee?" the servant asked Angel.

"No, actually a relative." Angel replied.

"A relative?"

"Distant, his nephew is my great-great grandfather." Angel replied.

"With him throwing the black bag over your head I thought you was a new servant." J'taveta said. "He usually does that to install fear into new employees. Both male and female."

"He seems rather... mean to his servants." Angel said, when she felt the rise of a step she slowed down. She went up the stairs by using her sense of feel only. "Any servant, actually."

"He's cruel, to say the least." J'taveta sighed. "Cruel and nasty.

"Just so I know, how many more steps do I need to go up?" Angel asked.

"Forty, you've gone up only ten." J'taveta replied. "Take it slow, when you're on the second floor I'll remove the bag from around your head."

"Thank you."

It was no surprise to her that Trobrencus wrapped a new employee's head up in a bag simply to get the sick pleasure of scaring the new employee half to death, her great-great grandfather's uncle was not necessarily the best employer in the universe. She knew from experience that he could get rather nasty and cruel, he had used his cane on Homsi, Losal, Zshon, Kalach and Abevo several times for no reason other than to plain use it to assert his authority over them. She wouldn't be surprised if the guy used his cane on both his male and female employees either, he just seemed to be that type of guy to do that. Besides Tazir's staff, she knew he had used his cane on Kuruk's staff and on Shaam's as well from time to time when both, he saw an opportunity to assert his authority over them and when he viewed that they were slouching. Angel stopped talking and started counting, J'taveta stayed at her side, her hand remained on Angel's arm to guide her but she found that Angel didn't need any guidance. She was doing just fine in taking the stairs while blinded by the sack. It took about six minutes before Angel's feet felt that no more steps, when she finished her climb to the second level J'taveta did as she had said she would. She removed the black bag from around Angel's head slowly then she stepped back.

"Well, I was expecting for you to have a more Surfeit look to you since you claim to have such a man as Shaam as your direct descendant." J'taveta said after she had gotten a look at Angel. "You sure you're not a new employee just trying to throw him off of you? He can be rather pushy around the beautiful employees, especially at night."

"My line goes from Shaam to Duru to Kuruk then to Kuruk's firstborn son, Vile Vile." Angel replied. "Have four kids, one by my father, Vile Vile, and three by his uncle, Tazir."

"That sounds consistent with Angel Irene." J'taveta said. "You're not-..."

"I am her."

"Well then, you are related to my employer then." J'taveta sighed in relief. "Come, the stairs up to the third level are this way."

J'taveta was a very pretty woman who stood just four feet tall, had long, black hair and silver eyes that looked akin to coins. What made the woman have as exotic an appearance as she did was her face, her face was Star-fish shaped and she had star-fish shaped hands and feet, the latter had black shoes on them. She had a black dress on, there was a white apron over the skirt part of her dress and there was a white frill coming down from around her neck. As J'taveta took her down the hallway of the third level, this one having light purple walls, a light gray, marble floor that had a purple rug going down its center and a light gray ceiling that had a pebbled texture to it, Angel asked a few questions on how Trobrencus was with his employees. Just from what J'taveta had said, it seemed that Trobrencus did more than yell, kick, punch or slap or swing his cane at his staff. Angel thought that the maid wasn't going to answer her questions as she, instead, spoke of the residence.

"There's a total of seven hundred and twenty rooms here, all of which we are required to check and clean daily." J'taveta said absently. "Sometimes he gives the order to clean a specific room more than once just to see us work our rears off for no reason. He's gotten me to wash and wax the two kitchens that he and his family use five times in a row, he could care less about the one that me and my co-workers use to cook our food. The little kitchen that is across from the bigger one his kids learn to cook in, his wife mainly cooks in that kitchen as well, the kitchen staff works in the larger kitchen."

"He made you wash and wax the larger kitchen's floor five times?" Angel blinked her eyes then shook her head, that was wrong on all accords.

"We have our own quarters underneath this place, a hundred and eighty-eight to be specific with separate bathrooms of that same number. He could care less about them as well but he makes damn sure that we clean the rooms in his castle. We typically clean each room fast because, if he walks in with one of us in the room still, we can expect to clean the room over again. He's famous for seeing ghost dust." J'taveta went on. "Unless one of my female co-workers was ordered to clean his and Mrs. Surfeit's bedroom chamber or Trivit's bedroom chamber, we let our male co-workers do them. Mr. Surfeit is fond of playing grab with his female staff that are pretty or beautiful, his wife's okay with it as long as there's a sign put over the doorknob to their door saying that the room is occupied. My employer's had me under him six times."

"That's horrible!" Angel gasped in shock. "You shouldn't let him do-..."

"Fight more, the more he comes onto you. I've worked for him less than thirty years." J'taveta said. "Trivit is rather pleasant, good lover, but he mostly lets his father have at us."

"Afraid of his father?" Angel said.

"No, he's got a girlfriend, been dating her for a thousand years now. On and off but sometimes he does need a little releasing. I'm told that he and Alaah get along well, they just have problems with Mr. Surfeit, is all." J'taveta replied. "Mr. Surfeit don't like Trivit's girlfriend, he wants them separate."

"Trivit's a grown man, he should-..."

"He loves his father too much to stand up to him and to tell him to leave him and Alaah alone." J'taveta said.

Angel had always seen Trivit, the son that had actually been the younger of the two twins boys that had been born in the full concrete shack that had just two rooms in it, one for the family and one that served as the bathroom area for the family, as somewhat of a wimp. She had been told that, after Trivit's brother had been born dead, Bahne had said she didn't want to see the other one. This was in the early part of Shlock's Plague, everyone who wasn't staying inside their homes that were heavily insulated were contracting the disease and dying, Shaam and his only son had stayed indoors the entire time of the Plague. Shaam had even stood by his front door with one of his guns cocked, ready to fire, at his two adult daughter's who were pleading to come in, it had hurt him bad to send them away but they had the disease and had he of allowed them entrance to his home he and Duru might well of not survived. As it had turned out, both had contracted a mild form of the disease but they had beat it, Shaam's two adult daughter's had died and had been buried in Surfeit Cemetery that was behind Duru's mansion, the very mansion that had once been owned by Shaam and the very mansion where Duru had been born and raised and the very mansion where Duru's wives had given birth and where their children had been raised. Trobrencus had only left the concrete shelter for two things, to bury the one twin that had died and to go get the inoculate against Shlock's Plague after it had waged on for near two hundred years. Angel remembered that Shaam had told her that he had seen his uncle walking to the cemetery, he had been in a bulgy, yellow suit that had a helmet that had a plastic face on it, he had been carrying the bundle of the one twin, Tolibyte had been his name, that he was going to bury. Trivit, she had been told, had screamed after the light from the spheres had hit him and he had demanded to be left in the shelter. She understood why, with the kid living two hundred and five years inside a cement shelter that had a good, steel top, he had no knowledge or experience in the rays that were given off by the three spheres that Gamma Vile and its surrounding planets revolved around. Hearing that Trivit had a girlfriend was new, she had never heard of him having one before. Hearing that both Trobrencus and Trivit had their way with the female help was, in a way, not surprising. With knowing how her great-great grandfather's uncle treated his staff, abusing them with his cane, punching or slapping at them or yelling at them for no reason, finding out that he had his way with the female help was not very surprising to her.

"Here it is, Miss. Irene." J'taveta said, they were standing in front of a pair of rustic, brown stained doors that had steel bars over then that spelled out Trobrencus' initials. "I'm suppose to lock these after you've entered, all I can offer is my apologies for having to do so and wish you luck."

"Thank you, same to you on the luck thing." Angel said, J'taveta opened the left door and Angel walked in, she heard the lock on the doors snap into place after the door that had been opened for her had been closed.

There was a bright desk that had a burnished copper finish to it sitting tastefully in front of two, stained glass, windows, a brown leather chair was pulled up to it and there was a bear rug, with the head still attached to it, sitting right in front of the desk. There were two couches placed in front of the desk, both were light brown and had carpeted fabrics on them and had three couch pillows on them. There was a circular, red and black rug underneath the desk and couches that was pretty large, the rest of the hard wood floor was bare, it shone a brilliant copper color in the early morning sunshine that flew in through the stained windows behind the desk. There was a dark wood china cabinet in the room that had purple, red, orange and black spined books on it, a built-in bookshelf ran from that around the corner to the side of the desk then stopped, it had more books on it but it also had some vases and trophies on it as well.

There was a stalking, dragon statue between the desk and the two couches, it had a round, glass top on it that had two skull ashtrays that had glass inserts glued onto its surface. There were two, matching, Dragon vases on either side of the desk. The top of the desk had a dragon stapler, a four-stack file and pewter tone, serpentine dragon mug on it along with a long, brown holder that had a medieval skeleton figurine on it that held a shiny sword, Angel guess that that was Trobrencus' letter opener. There was a vial of black ink, a quill and a rag, nicely folded, next to a medieval knight lamp, the knight figure on the lamp was down on one knee and was holding a sword that had a red bulb in it, the lampshade was light gray, it had small holes all around it to allow for the light from the bulb to escape. A black skull telephone was placed right in front of the lamp, it had a black cord on it. Angel looked beside the desk and saw that there were two canvas bags that had ties around the tops, she guessed that Trobrencus had his mail delivered to him in that fashion, she knew that Tazir got a lot of mail from the plants in the galaxies that he had control and rule over. A spear-like chandelier hung down from the center of the ceiling, it had white bulbs on it and spanned about three feet across. Lit candles held in clear jars that had metal circling their necks hung from steel beams, there was a dragon skull hanging by a white stone fireplace that stretched up nearly to the ceiling, there were pig and goat heads and skulls on the mantle. Angel walked over and sat in one of the couches, she began to wonder why Trob had gone and snatched her bag from her and hadn't given it back before wrapping her head up in that black bag and why, exactly, had he wrapped that black bag around her head in the first place.

"Got nothing more than coins in a coin purse, a hundred dollars in the wallet, some Moas credit cards and the invitation in a case, pepper spray and a small pocket knife in it," she thought. "he told me to put his cellular in the bag, if he of wanted it back he could have just asked for me to reach my hand into my bag to retrieve it instead of grabbing and disappearing with it."

He might get mad at the pepper spray and pocket knife but she'd explain that away by saying she simply didn't go anywhere without them, they were sort of like that little, silver gun that she had noticed on his dash-board after he had thrown her into his flaming car. Purely for protection, she'd not use them against family. If he asked about the two rolls of quarters, nickels and a roll of dimes that were inside her Art Nouveau leather and silver plated coin purse she'd just say she carried rolls of coins on her just in case they were needed at a convenience store or something and if he asked about the hundred dollars that was in her tan leather wallet she'd just say that Tazir gave her that before she left his place. He really had no point in snooped around in her purse, dragging out every little thing out from it, all he had to do was just stick his hand into the purse, grab his cellular phone then take it out.

Why he had had backed up along with her while keeping that stoney, angry look on his face was beyond her, why he had swerved into her car after she had gone two hundred and sixty-five yards from his home was also beyond her. If she had to guess, the guy had done a good two grand plus damage to her car by scraping the paint away, breaking the side view mirror then swerving and shattering her windshield, smashing his fender to bits, buckling the hood in two places and breaking the headlights. He had done damage to his car too while damaging hers, his mirror and probably the bumper in the back and, if the car had any paint on it, he'd also be looking at getting the paint touched up. Why to all; why had he backed up his car in sync with hers, why had he smashed into her car, why had he ripped her from her car after he had hit her car with his and why had he taken her bag then brought her into his castle in the manner that he had. So many why's and not a single answer to any of them. Angel looked up at the clock that she had missed that was pegged up about the fireplace mantle and saw, to her amazement, that it had been twenty-three minutes since she had been put in the office that J'taveta had been ordered to take her to. Angel leaned back on the couch and sighed and that was when the fireplace, suddenly, behind her became lit and Trobrencus walked in through the flames.

"I do apologize for the waiting up for me but I do have a family to check up on and speak with," TrobrencusVile said, he walked directly to his desk. He pulled the brown leather chair out then he sat in it.

"They doing well?" Angel asked just to be polite.

"Indeed, they are." TrobrencusVile replied, he then held up a white envelope. "I do believe that this, here, is from you."

"Wrote and sent that out three days ago," Angel said, the envelope looked as if it hadn't been opened. "sent it out express."

"I've had it for two of them three days," TrobrencusVile said, as if to confirm that the envelope hadn't been opened he reached forward for the sword-shaped letter opener. "let's see what type of excuses you put on the paper that is in this envelope."

Finding her waiting at his front gate was like finding one of Bahne's delicable Flourless chocolate cake sitting for him on his main office's desk. It was delicious, it was like letting the air fill into his lungs, he had seen her and he had smiled sickly a great smile. He had gotten the letter of hers two days ago, like he had said, and he had purposely not opened it, had purposely held onto it just to bring her out from the safety of Tazir's place to see him. He had scared her white and that had felt good, he saw that she deserved that scare and now, sitting here opening the envelope that held whatever it was that she had put into it, he felt like laughing all about it. A scare deserved, a scare still being given and him now waiting to see if the scare would continue. The bag he had on his person, after he had sat down at his desk he had moved it to his lap, he had taken his cellular out from it and then had rummaged around a little, taking a little breather after seeing his family and telling them that he had the Ragamuffin, as he called her, in his office waiting for him. Four dollars worth of coinage, a hundred dollars worth of cash money, some cards made out for Moas stores only which he thought rather unappealing since Bahne and his daughter's had credit cards for planets outside of their birth planet in their wallets, and nestled within that same tan leather wallet was an invitation made out for him. Obviously, she had decided to bring him the invite to come over to Tazir's place in person. He liked that, with this being her first ever visit to his place he was going to make damn sure that she remembered it. Before he had come up to his office he had made a pit-stop by one of the phones that he had in the hallways, he had rang up Tazir and had told him that she had arrived and that she'd be staying for a while. Before the guy could start in on his begging for him to not hurt her or scare her but so much he had hung the phone up, he'd scare her plenty before things settled down between he and she and, yes, if he saw fit he would slap her around a few times. As he saw it, she deserved being scared and slapped around by him after what she had allowed to happen to his wife and son. All their injuries, physical and emotional and mental, were going to be paid back in threes. Oh yes, as his father had so often said, when it comes around it also goes around and boy howdy, was he ever going to be sling-shoting that going around bit her way.

She had been terrified of him after she had first met him, after a while she had gotten use to him and that feeling had gone away, he aimed to have that same, delicious, oh so desirable feeling back for a few hours. He had a feeling that old Cocbok's return back to the family homestead was partially on her and, yes, if that feeling turned true he would thank her for that. The only reason why he had gone out in the first place in his ZephFlam Double Delux was to find that dog, he was the only one of the six that had been let out by the four servants that he had ordered to watch after his dogs that had not come back and to have him returned back to him and his family was a good thing. He leg was most surely broken, he had asked Bahne to call the vet to come over and fix the leg up, other than the leg the dog was in fine condition. Get his leg fixed, a good meal in his tummy, some water and his old bed and old Cocbok would be right as rain again. He had played with Cocbok in his kid years and then he had taken it upon himself to keep up with the dog's needs, such as feeding, water, walking and playing and vet care, when he had reached his teen and then adult years. His father, IackVile Uovo Surfeit, had willed the dog over to him instead of to Raal, his younger brother who was Shaam's father, because he had interacted with the dog more than his brother and Rosol had not had any involvement with the dog. RosolVile had actually acted like old Cocbok was not there, like a statue or a shadow that just sat or lay around collecting dust.

Bahne had said for him to thrown her out, to just plain throw out Angel, he had better ideas for the woman. If she had made up a bunch of excuses in this letter that he had now just taken out from the envelope and was unfolding then she'd be doing maid's chores and be worrying about having to keep him in her sights. The only blood she had in her that also ran through his veins was his father's, he had played no part in her genetic make-up. There was no TrobrencusVile Bloym Surfeit in her line, he was purely her great-great-great-great uncle related only because his father's name and blood was a part of her make-up and lineage so that meant that, in his mind and if he wanted to, he could have at her. As he saw it, she had not married Tazir, his great-great nephew, in a ceremony or in a church nor had she had it signed on paper that she was married to the man. The Universal Gods had picked Tazir for her, they had also picked her own father for her, and that did mean that both men were married to her by their wish. If she had had the marriage to both men authenticated then he'd not even have that thought of making an off pass on her should her letter have any bone-headed excuses in it. He'd just say _well, that's nice now get out_ instead. Trobrencus sat back in the chair that he was sitting in and started reading the letter, Angel was sitting cross-legged on the couch in front of him.

_Dear Trobrencus,_

_I apologize for not writing the soonest I got your letter to me, Grampy (Shaam, your nephew) didn't give it to me until the noon of the day after he arrived at Tazir's which was a six days ago today and I was not able to write back until now. A lot has been going on to prevent me from writing back, meaning issues with the family which have had me tied up for quite some time. You requested an apology from me about what happened between you and Bile, Bahne and Lhaklar and Trivit and Lazeer, I'm sorry but I do have to explain what happened. It's fully up to you on accepting this or not with the apology following, I'm not going to force you into accepting what caused the fights that happened that day a month ago, if an acception happens I wish for it to come by normally._

_I'm sure that with you being a parent you know how it is when a parent wishes to be on the side of their offspring when issues like ours happen, I'm not fully standing by my sons about what had happened between them and you and yours but I am standing by them. I was on the phone with my oldest son when the line went dead, he claims he called both my cellular, my workplace and my boss several times and Lhaklar also claimed he called each number as well soon afterwards. They got worried about me and decided to risk the drive (and another grounding) to check on me to see if I was okay. I cannot explain what happened to the phones, they all should not have gone down. Cellulars on Earth work by getting a signal from a sattelite that orbits around the planet, main lines work by ground lines attached to a tower. Although there was a bad storm going on at the time my cellular should have worked. They drove up, Hazaar complained about not being able to see a thing and Lazeer cleared the fog, snow and mist so everyone could see. When they saw you, with your hand on me, they all freaked in thinking that I was being attacked and when they saw four others around me that assumption strengthened. It was bad judgement on their behalf's and I do apologize for that. Lhaklar claims that he did tell Bahne to back off as she was acting as if she wanted to join in, I was there so I can lay claim to that and I can also validate that she attacked him after he had turned around, leaving her be, to assist Hazaar with fighting off Eldass and Homsi. Lazeer admitted to shooting the ice pike at you. I was not able to call them off because I was dealing with my own problems. I had been ganged up on by numerous Goblins soon after the fighting had begun so I couldn't do much of anything except concentrate on fighting to protect myself, had I of stopped I would have gone down. Tazir's staff obey my words but the Goblins that are in his army do not go by my orders, they are only loyal to Tazir, after you and Bahne were forced out from my shield my sons, sans Lazeer, went to help me with the Goblins (it took several yells from Tazir to actually get them to retreat and they actually did hurt Bile, he spent an hour or two in the hospital after the event after he overexerted himself and got his head banged up on a hubcap of a car). _

_It's up to you if you wish to accept my apology and if you wish to see my standing by my sons as a way of nullifying my apology but like I said above: what parent wouldn't stand by their offspring in a situation like ours? Bile and Lhaklar only saw you and your family two or three times, Hazaar and Lazeer have never seen you and your family so how were they to know that you, Bahne and Trivit were harmless? No, I don't wish to lose you or yours as family to me and no, I don't want bad blood or spit spilled between us or any close relationships you've had and/or gotten since my disappearance one thousand, six hundred years ago to be severed. _

_Much regards and apologies to you and yours, Angel I._

_P.S.: Bile apologizes for photographing and capturing your wife and daughter's on camera as well. He was grounded after that, he and Lhaklar and Hazaar both, and the video was deleted soon after I had my hands on the camera. _

He lowered the letter and looked at the girl that was seated across from him on the couch, there was no mistaking the hardness that was going on between his legs, his penis had been rock hard ever since he had seen her parked in front of his front gate and it was still hard now. What she had written in the letter wasn't what he had wanted to read, he viewed it as both a confession of what had happened, her admitting that she had allowed it to happen and an excuse but then again, that one line where she had written that she wasn't going to force him into accepting the apology or her explanation on what had happened. Bahne couldn't even force him to accept any old apology, neither could his daughter's or Trivit. When Trivit had been thrown into the side of a building by one of his classmates at Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic who had been passing by and it had been captured on the small mirror that he had given his son he had not allowed for his son to say a word, he had not allowed for his son or for his wife to calm him down. He had gone to the Dean and had reported the incident, his son shouldn't have been thrown against the side of a building by some kid who had plenty of room to walk or run through.

She claimed in her letter than her cellular and the main lines had all gone down, he had a hand in that. After he had been given the go for his involvement in going to get Angel from her workplace he had gone straight to his ship to the panel that controlled the Disruptor Ray. He had punched in the coordinates then he had pressed the initiate button, all phone lines from main to cellular had been disrupted for thirty minutes. He figured that that was a good excuse for her sons to of gone to check up on her, if they had been on the phone with her and talking and suddenly got disconnected and couldn't get in contact with her afterwards yes, he figured that would justify their coming to their mother's workplace. Had his cellular or main line of been cut while he was talking to one of his family and he couldn't get back in contact he'd be in a fit as well with worry over what was going on and whether or not the person that he was related to was okay or not.

Yes, he figured that if his offspring, his adult offspring, had seen him or Bahne having a circle of five or so around them or had seen someone that they didn't know grabbing him or Bahne around the arm they'd freak out as well. Bile, Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer were still in that stage where they still depended on their mother, they might be having some exploratory sessions away from her but they'd always return. He could see Bohir and Fleebe acting in the same fashion as Angel's boys had they of come upon either he or Bahne being surrounded on all sides and/or seeing someone grab either he or his wife by the arm. Trobrencus was wondering exactly what it had been that had caused for the woman seated on the couch that had made her not write as soon as she was given his letter. Family issues, what kind? The last he had talked to his nephew he had been on Gamma-Vile, he had not heard from him since, where was he? Where was Duru and his family and where was Kuruk and his family? All of them he had not received any mail from for quite some time. He usually had two big bags delivered to the front gate each day by the mail man, for the past two weeks he had not heard a thing from them, not a letter or a phone call or even a sighting on the tube. He had actually called up his nephew twice and had just gotten the automated attendant, as he called the thing. TrobrencusVile stood up, he plopped the bag that he had taken from Angel on the top of his desk then he walked around his desk.

"Stand up," he said.

She did so obediently which he did appreciate. He remembered well that she was the third child of Vile Vile, the man's second daughter, actually, and she happened to be his favorite of the man's offspring. Rita spoke in a screeching voice that was annoying, she seemed all about her looks and she whined a lot which he did not like. Rito was strong, he looked powerful but he was dumb and he viewed that as not good. Angel was tall, standing five foot, seven inches, and she was beautiful but, as far as he could tell, she wasn't all about her looks. She spoke normally, without any screeching, and she was smart and powerful and from what he had been told she was also fast. Since he didn't know Bile, he couldn't make a judgement on him, his mother he held in very hard regard, though. She was wearing a black shirt that pulled down slight in the front, he could see a little bit of cleavage, he could tell that her breasts were healthy, the top part of her shirt had some ties on it and he was surprised that he had not yanked the shirt clean off of her body when he had yanked her from her vehicle. Her pants were blue, when he ran his hand over her hip he knew that they were jeans. She had blue crochet shoes on her feet, there were no socks at all on her feet. She had a ring on her ring finger that had an oval aquamarine gem placed beautifully between three rows of diamonds, the top row having vanilla diamonds on it while the two other rows had chocolate diamonds, there was no other jewelry on her person which struck him as odd. Being that he was four hundred thousand, three hundred and twenty years old he knew soon after looking at her face that she had applied a powder to one cheek and one cheek only. Trobrencus reached into his tuxedo jacket, he took out a black silk kerchief then he walked forward. He slowly wiped the cheek that had the powder on it, when he had the powder off of the one cheek he felt the veins in his penis tighten some more. There was a nice, red and purple bruise on the girl's cheek, it went almost down to her jaw line. Trobrencus reached forward, he brushed his hand across the cheek to see if the bruise was real, when Angel grimaced he nodded his head.

"He gets you back and strikes at you soon after, that is not good." TrobrencusVile said, he shook his head sadly. "Why do you let Tazir do that to you? What was-..."

"Wasn't Tazzy, he'd not hit me for the world." Angel said, interrupting him.

"Who, then, had the nerve to strike at you?"

"I'd rather keep my tongue twisted." Angel replied.

"I've seen the marks on your back, the ugly scars which you carry around and refuse to have treated away." TrobrencusVile said, he walked by Angel and went towards the fireplace. "You won't tell me who put them on you and you've said that two of the family has taken two of your offspring from you, you refuse to tell me who on that as well. It is not good to keep bad secrets such as yours." TrobrencusVile pressed a button that was on the side of the fireplace and a portion of the built-in bookshelf swung around, exposing an area that had bottles of wine and champagne that had black bands wrapped around their bottles. Trobrencus grabbed a bottle of red wine and two glasses then he pressed the button to make the portion of the built-in bookshelf swing back into place. "You keep too many bad secrets."

"Not really secrets, just don't want you to know who all did what." Angel replied. "Don't want your opinions on anyone changed, you know."

"And I do appreciate that." TrobrencusVile said, he sat down on the couch then reached up and grabbed Angel's hand, he pulled her down to sitting beside him. "Has Tazir ever hurt you?"

"Uh uh," Angel shook her head. "he's actually been very nice and polite with me."

"Who then put them marks on your back?" TrobrencusVile said, he made up two glasses of wine then he held one of the glasses out to Angel, who took it slowly. "Whatever you tell me will not get out, I'm not one of them people that goes around, flapping my lips and exposing another's secrets or pasts."

"Too kind,"

She sighed, he was acting a bit too nice to her and that was making her somewhat apprehensive towards him. Angel took two sips from the wine in the glass that Trobrencus had given her then it spilled out of her about her treatments before she had met Tazir. She told of where she had been born, how she had been conceived and who she had been raised by before telling of how her father had shown up on Earth after he had discovered that he had another child. She told of how heh ad taken her from her birth planet and how he had tried both gentle treatment and then brutal abuse with a whip. Trobrencus listened, he stayed silent, he moved not an inch until she told of how her father and grandfather, after they had captured her, had tortured her by using bull and cat-o-nine tail whips, candles and hot pokers and of how her grandfather had held her while her father had gone and cut her hair. Angel stopped for a short while then she added that a majority of their treatment was because of how she had tried to do what they had done when they had kidnapped her and her friends, she told of how they had gotten angry over her taking captive Irka and then releasing her and then capturing Dara Dara, she told of how they had gotten angry over her injuring Triskull in a fight by lopping off his arm and horn and she told of injuring Rita during their fights. Angel admitted that her father and grandfather had made her drop one of the babies that she had been carrying and she admitted that Tazir had assisted in their removing another by holding her legs. When she got to the part about Duru using a spiked belt on her and putting an ice block on her back to get respect out of her Trobrencus was shaking his head.

"Tazir helped them get rid of one of the babies that you was carrying?" TrobrencusVile asked in shock, in his mind offspring were sacred, a sacred treasure and to be hearing that Tazir had assisted in removing one of the babies that Angel had had in her stomach made him feel betrayed.

"I would have lost it, regardless. You see, before my four sons I couldn't carry babies by humans. I always lost babies sired by human beings, I've had several miscarriages and one stillbirth. The two babies that were taken from me by them were sired by a human male." Angel replied.

"Oh," he felt a sort of relief flow over him after hearing that she couldn't carry babies by humans and of who the sire was of the two that his relatives had taken from her. "who hit you?"

"Your nephew." Angel replied.

"Shaam?" TrobrencusVile blinked his eyes once in shock.

"After I was given your letter I wanted to write straight away but I couldn't, things are pretty crazy at Tazir's place. My grandfather's and great-grandfather's sons have been bullying and fighting my sons for no reason, everyone except for Tazzy and the Ubalki's are on me about how I have raised and am raising my sons and-..."

"You're being put under a lot of stress, it seems." TrobrencusVile said, he downed his glass of wine in one gulp.

"The main area that they have been getting on me about is the fact that I'm still producing milk and still giving my milk to my sons." Angel said.

Hearing that was like making his brain and heart explode, the healthiness of the girl's breasts hit him so hard in the head that he sat back on the couch. Bahne was still giving her natural milk to Impub and Varaxcan, the former being seven hundred and thirty-four years old and the latter being four hundred and sixty-three years old, he had not said anything to her on not doing that, he knew better. A woman picked the right time to wean her kids, a man had no right to step in and say when she was going to stop doing this or that with her offspring. To hear that everyone except for Tazir and the Ubalki's, whoever the hell they were, were doing this to the girl that was seated beside him made him mad. He had a lot of experience with child raising so he knew what to do and what not to do and he also acted on instinct, he and Bahne had ten children for goodness sakes and they had two grandchildren, of which he and his wife helped in their raising but allowed for their parents to do a majority of the work. TrobrencusVile looked at Angel's breasts again, his cock felt near about to pop out from his pants but he ignored it. Without saying anything, he reached forward and brushed his hand against the breast nearest him, when Angel recoiled back in pain he knew that she had not relieved the pressure of the milk that her breasts carried.

"Let what they say to you go through one ear and out the other." TrobrencusVile said. "They're bullies, adult bullies."

"I do that and they-..."

"So, my nephew hit you after you let the stress from all that you have encountered the past... month? Month and a half?"

"Month and a week." Angel replied.

"What brought on the fight?" TrobrencusVile asked.

"Your nephew asking if I had written to you yet." Angel replied. "I said that I couldn't because of all that was going on in the mansion and he called bull on that." Angel sighed and then added; "you're nephew's son's son and grandson ganged up on Hazaar and cut his hair near clean off of his head three days ago and my grandfather has also been caught stealing stuff of my sons'. Magazines, posters and models."

"Shaam and I are pretty close, I'm surprised that he hit you at all. He seems to be rather close to you as well." TrobrencusVile said. "Are you sure-..."

"Happened in the dining room three nights ago, my sons, Eshal and the Ubalki children had been escorted out of the room but everyone else remained." Angel said, interrupting Trobrencus again. "I had made up a rather large meal, was right slow in getting it to the table because I was tired. Only ones that helped me were Tazir and my sons in getting everything to the table, no one ate a thing, it seemed that they were all... all-..."

"Spring-loaded, ready to leap out at you at any second." TrorbencusVile said. "I take it that they are also on you for your culinary talents?"

"Cyla, mostly. Her and her husband claim I cook too much and that my sons eat too much." Angel replied.

"How many are in the house?"

"Twenty-seven,"

"Does call for a lot of cooking, who arrived last?"

"My grandfather and his family. Your nephew arrived a day before them and my great-grandfather and his family arrived before him."

"Are you able to add on more to your ticket?" TrobrencusVile asked. "Say, oh, fifteen more."

"Long as I have some help in getting things to the table, cooking is exhaustive work." Angel replied, she knew that Trobrencus was referring to him and his family as the "fifteen more".

"Bahne and my daughter's can concur with that." TrobrencusVile said. He went quiet for a few minutes then he stood up, he went directly to the chair behind his desk and sat down. "Apology accepted."

That was the hardest ever conversation that she had ever had with someone! Just letting it all out, admitting all that had happened after her father had laid eyes on one of her Pronghorn forms with him, her grandfather, great-grandfather and now what was happening to her with them about her children, it had all been hard and she felt exhausted by what all she had told him. When Trobrencus had reached out to touch her breast she had recoiled back in both fear, pain and anger, Angel had noticed the bulge and tightness of the man's pants when he had stood up after he had finished reading her letter and when he had sat down beside her and the thought of him actually attacking her to rape her to teach her a lesson had crossed her mind. Trobrencus reached down and opened a drawer behind his desk, he rummaged around then pulled out a round, silver can that had a cap on it. He unscrewed the cap then stuck his pinky finger into the can. Angel looked down to give him a sense of privacy, she guessed that he had some snuff or a powder akin to cocaine in it. He took the finger he had stuck in the can out then he put it up his nose. Angel detected him breathing whatever he had put in his nose up into his sinus cavities, he repeated the process with his other nostril before putting the can back in its drawer.

"You do know what-..." TrorbencusVile stopped for a second to blow his nose, he shook his head then reached back into the drawer, he took out the same can and a squeeze bottle that Angel guessed had either another nose-sniffing drug in it or eye drops. He put both in front of him then he looked directly at her. "Zomos, you do know that species right?"

"The half of you," Angel replied. Zomos were a full zombified species that were rather strong and intelligent, to an extent. They had yet to leave their galaxy for other galactic travels. "your mother was a pureblood."

"Correct," TrobrencusVile said, he nodded his head. "the species is prone to getting colds and allergies easily. I missed getting the cold getting gene but I got a good dose of being sensitive to allergens. I've been tortured since my return here but I am managing. Fifty thousand years ago I near succumbed to my little problem and I near gave out the order for my staff to remove each and every tree and flower, blooming or not, from my property. My physician got on me fast and had me prescribed these." he pointed at the circular, silver can and the squeeze bottle. "what're those two things in your bag? Two packs of a thing called Benadryl and a small, ziplock baggy that has four, white pills in it?"

She looked at him in a stern but comical way that said she was half joking, she had figured that he would have looked through her bag and the truth had come spilling out from the bag checker himself. Angel searched back in the deep recesses of her mind about the things he had found that she had not known were in her bag. She had been plagued by allergens for the past three years and a doctor had given her a prescription for Zyrtec about nine months ago that had been working wonders on her sinuses, before that she had bought small packets of Benadryl which had also been helping her out some. The last she had used the bag that Trob had on his desk was two weeks before Tazir had arrived on Earth so she found it very likely that she had had them two items in her bag, she had been using both up to Tazir's arrival then she had stopped taking them, her allergy problems had gone away when the pollen levels had dropped down. Angel figured that Trobrencus was telling her about his allergy problems to give her a heads up that if she saw him taking out the circular, silver can or the squeeze bottle to not worry or bust his chops about it.

"I'll make sure to let every female know at Tazir's that you have tricky fingers when it comes to purses." Angel said.

"I felt an urge and went for it, your bag is right nice." TrobrencusVile replied. "The pocket knife is nice but much too small for any good use and the pepper spray is a hoot, my dear Ragamuffin."

"Protection uses only, not for play."

"Should get Tazzy to get you something more useful, those two things are pitiful." TrobrencusVile said, he then changed the subject so fast that Angel could barely keep up. "How is Tazir with dogs?"

"With what?"

"A Canis lupus familiaris, how is he with dogs? He like them or-..."

"I have no idea." Angel replied, still confused.

"He have any pets at his place?"

"He's got bats, fish and Platypus'." Angel replied. "I have three Sekhem's but that's it."

"He doesn't have any hunting dogs?" TrobrencusVile asked.

"Has a pack of MoHunds, very well cared for and kept in heavy-duty cages." Angel replied.

"Grab your bag and come with me, please." TrobrencusVile said, he stood up, rounded his desk then went for the double doors of his office.

As she walked beside him the smell that rolled off of him near made her nose curl in on itself, the man was a particularly clean one, he showered quite a lot and he used a vanilla scent shampoo and soap but there was just no way he was going to mask that rotting flesh and decay smell that flew off from his body. How Bahne stood that smell was beyond her, possibly the woman had gotten use to it enough to not mind it or she just looked by it because she was very much in love with the man. When she had been in his car with him she had not much noticed the smell, she had been too terrified, she now noticed it. TrobrencusVile led her down the hallway then he made a left turn, when he came to a set of stairs he went down them effortlessly. She followed two steps behind him, he didn't wait for her to catch up, he simply walked on. Angel took in none of the decor, that, she viewed, was disrespectful and she did not want to be in any way disrespectful towards Mr. Hard-On, who still had that very noticeable bulge in the seat of his pants, that was leading her to a place that only he had knowledge of. If he was leading her to a bedroom to have a private moment with her, he'd have a problem on his hands because she could not only fight very hard but she could also bite very hard. TrobrencusVile led her to a green glass door that had leaf designs on it, he opened it with a green key then he ushered her out of his castle, he followed behind her quickly, he closed and then locked the door behind him.

There was a white concrete path running from a side concrete slab that had a cast iron table and two chairs on it, the path went directly to the red and gray brick building that was beside the mini forest. Trobrencus edge around her, his pelvis struck hers and she felt the bulge between his legs as he brushed by her, she followed behind him. As she walked in his shadow she pulled the shoulder strap of her bag over her, her bag flopped at her side as she walked on behind the man who was leading her towards the building. She heard bird calls, she heard ducks, she heard the leaves of the trees in the mini forest as they were blown to and fro by the wind. Angel hurried her walk when Trobrencus got four steps in front of her, the man had a good length of leg and he was really putting some speed into his walk. He seemed to be in a hurry and she had no idea why. The idea of him throwing her into the red and gray brick building, slamming the door shut behind him then rushing at her to relieve the pressure between his legs crossed her mind again. She slowed down when she got a step and a half behind the man. When Trobrencus got to the building he grabbed the steel door and with a groan he pulled it open, he ushered her inside then he went in behind her, he closed the door behind them nearly plunging them both into a deep, scary, darkness.

"It is known that dogs are good relievers of stress." TrobrencusVile was saying absently in the dark, there was a rustling sound then bright, white lights flickered on. Angel and Trobrencus both stood in silence for a few seconds, blinking their eyes, letting their eyes get use to the sudden change in lighting.

At once, the dogs began to bark. Angel saw Trobrencus' hunting canines, a fierce-looking animal that had large, white teeth, large, red eyes and huge, bulging muscles on a long body that had four, long legs. The hunting canines all howled, yipped and snarled at her as she walked by them, when Trobrencus walked by they quieted up. The floor underneath her was concrete, the walls were just red and gray bricks and the ceiling was yellow cement, there were belled light fixtures hanging down from the ceiling that lit up everything. After they had passed by the hunting canines they reached some empty kennels. Angel saw that Trobrencus had put his hunting canines in heavy-duty, quadruple, chain-link kennels that had steel bowls chained up against the sides and a dog house set in the far back. The kennels she was passing by now looked like the ones that normal dogs, not alien hunting dogs, would be put in. She and Trobrencus went by five before they came upon one kennel that had one adult dog that had five juvenile puppies inside. The adult dog stood about twenty-four inches at the shoulder, she had a long, broad nose and muzzle. The adult dog had silky, thick, fur on her ears and hanging down from her muzzle, she had a long, straight tail and her fur had a wavy look to it, she had feathering on her ears, legs, underside and tail. Trobrencus brushed by Angel again, and again Angel felt that bulge as he moved his body up against hers as he went by her, and he went into the kennel. The adult dog barked twice then, after Trobrencus said for her to hush she sat down on her haunches, Angel saw that she had a speckled gray coat that had some black patches on it. TrobrencusVile grabbed a puppy then he turned and left the kennel, he closed the door behind him.

"Here ya are," TrobrencusVile said, he simply plopped the puppy in Angel's arms. "take good care of her now. From good stock."

"Trob, this is really, very nice of you but-..."

"You'll find your vehicle already fixed up, it's back by the front gate." TrobrencusVile cut her off quickly. "My family and I shall arrive at your and Tazir's place for our stay in four days, we should be able to take some of the pressure off of you, the puppy and your sons will take care of the rest."

Before she could say his name again he brushed by her, he again brushed his body up against hers and she again felt that hard bulge in his pants. He went straight for the door, exited then disappeared, leaving her all alone in the kennel. Angel looked down at the puppy, she really was a fine puppy and she did like the coloring. There was gray intermingling with the brown, the puppy had two small patches on her sides that were dark brown and she had feathering on her just like the adult dog that was in the kennel. Angel sighed, come here to see if Trobrencus had gotten her letter, get scared out of her skin, got to feeling uncomfortable due to his sick rubbing up against her and now this. It was quite a lot for her to digest and it wasn't even noon. Angel exited the kennel building then walked across the lush green grassed yard to the front gate, which was slightly open. When she slid through with the puppy held tightly against her so she'd not snag up against the gate and get hurt Angel thought she saw something forming on her right. She ran to her car, tore the driver's side door open then got in. The puppy jumped over to the passenger seat and sat down just as Angel slid the key into the ignition. The car started up with a pur, just like TrobrencusVile had told her, her Buick Lucerne had been fixed of all damages, it looked as if nothing had happened that had happened only forty minutes before. She yanked the gear shift back to reverse, backed away from the front gate then twisted the wheel to the left. She sped away going sixty-five just as a black figure formed fully in front of her car. The black figure, who had glowing yellow eyes and who had on just a pair of blue jeans that had rips in the knees and both inner and outer thighs, ran at her car snarling. She screamed just as she felt the vibration of her car being hit, the puppy beside her whined then cried in fear.

"You say you didn't abandon me yet you run from me!? What's up with that, mom?" she heard the black figure say, the hair on the back of her neck stuck up on end, the skin on her arms bunched up in gooseflesh and she nearly started crying. She had heard that from inside her car, she had heard that as clear as the day itself coming from inside her own car! Angel wasted no time in teleporting to Moas, she'd worry about Tazir's reaction to the puppy later, right now she just wanted to get out from her car, take the puppy with her and go inside her Universal Husband's mansion where she knew she would be safe.


	20. Chapter 20

As he sat behind his desk, the envelopes that held the other invites in them to members of the family that had not yet received theirs, he began to wonder what the hell had all happened when his beloved wife had gone to see Trobrencus, his great-great uncle, three days before. He had said for her to go to the gate, wait then go in after Trob had pressed a button on his security device for the front gate to open and that, if he had not done so in five minutes she was to come straight home. Trobrencus had called him a full twelve minutes after she had gone off saying that he had just accepted her entrance. What had happened in them seven extra minutes? Had his wife deliberately disobeyed him by waiting longer than five minutes or had something happened to make her entrance to his great-great uncle's residence go seven minutes over the scheduled time and what was with the puppy that she had come back with?

Angel claimed that Trobrencus had plopped the puppy in her arms, saying that the pup would be a good reliever for stress. He wasn't much of a dog person, he got along well with canines outside of his home but when they were inside his home that was where he changed. So many things to look out for, so many trinkets and valuable items, carpets, walls and so on to watch out for not to mention the general care a dog needed. There was the food, the treats, the toys, the harnesses and collars and leashes and the training and the bills from the vet... oh that list just went on and on. No, he had not said for his wife to head her ass back to Gamma-Vile to return the puppy, he would have made himself out to be an asshole had he of done that but he had not much liked the idea of her coming home with the puppy nonetheless. Despite her coming in with the puppy, she had also driven up in a hurry and she had rushed inside to a room where she had locked herself in for a few hours. Why, had Trobrencus hurt her? He had tried to get her to come out to talk to him, she had refused for two hours then she had let him in. She had been sitting in a corner, had obviously been crying and she had looked cold as well. The puppy had been rolled up on her lap sleeping, when he had pointed at the creature and had asked where it had come from his wife had spilled out some of what had happened during her trip to see Trobrencus.

The man had scared her something rotten but he had a feeling that Angel had told him only half of what had happened, how in the world would she of gotten so scared after someone had driven up beside her and had stared at her angrily had scared her so badly? He had a feeling that something much worse had happened, no one came home scared enough to lock themselves in a room and no one came home with a puppy after being scared so badly. He had gone out to check her car for any sort of magic done on it and to his extreme surprise he had found many damages hidden behind a Damage Disappearing spell. The fender was smashed, the windshield was shattered, the hood was buckled up in two places and both headlights were broken not to mention he had found that the side view mirror on the driver's side had been broken completely from the body, only hanging on by a thin piece of metal, and the paint all on the driver's side of the vehicle scraped and burned away. What the hell had happened to his beloved wife for all that damage to happen to her car and what the hell had Trobrencus done to make such damages occur on her car? After he had done the counter-spell to make the Damage Disappearing spell cancel out and had seen the damages to the car he had requested that three of his auto mechanic-inclined Goblins come out to inspect the car. They claimed that only another car could do the damages that had been done on Angel's car and they had also said that the inside of the car on the driver's side had burn marks on it. He had dragged his grandfather out soon after being told that by the three Goblins that he had requested to look into his wife's car and had showed him the state of the car, his grandfather was very concerned, as was everyone else after they had seen the car's state.

They had all sat Angel down separately and had tried to get it out of her about what had really happened, she was sticking by her story, she claimed that nothing had happened and he and everyone else knew that was bull. When Angel said that Trobrencus and his family would be coming over for their stay in four days he had stood up, had nodded his head then had walked away. Let them come, he had thought, he'd be doing some serious grilling when they did. No one scared his wife as badly as she had been when she had returned. He wanted answers and he wanted them swiftly and he figured that if he couldn't get them from his wife he damn well was going to get them from Trobrencus himself. His wife had taken a long bath after all the interrogating then she had put on some fresh clothes, afterwards she had grabbed the puppy and had gone upstairs to show the boys and Eshal the new "pet". He wished she wouldn't have done that, with finding the car having a spell done on it to mask the damages put on it after she had gone out to see Trobrencus and after she had come home scared half to death he had been very close to saying that she couldn't keep the puppy. As he saw it, Trobrencus could well of given her the puppy as hush-hush card. One of them I'll give you this, you say nothing of what happened between us, things. So far, three days after she had come home with the puppy, the puppy had done no damage inside his mansion. Angel and the boys and Eshal were tending the creature well, he was glad for that but that question of why she had been given the puppy still pulled on his brain something awful.

WhoslaVile and Zebyr Verobari  
12 Waji Street, 278451-09685  
Planet Qhuannii, M-51 Galaxy

BeklaVile and Keibo Sebatu  
45865 Ulaqua Drive, 120985-74590  
Planet Zaikeo, M-51 Galaxy

VaibaVile and Majeer Doshluna  
676 Hosai Court, 435641-75346  
Planet Gamma-Vile, M-51 Galaxy

AraimeeVile Surfeit  
4532 Aloks Drive, 239856-75761  
Planet Gamma-Vile, M-51 Galaxy

AzvraVile Surfeit  
4543 Aloks Drive, 239856-75761  
Planet Gamma-Vile, M-51 Galaxy

TakkeVile and Kokan Hyunduzia  
549 Kreblok Street, 234312-32461  
Planet Haaglurn, M-51 Galaxy

BellatanVile Surfeit and Canere Klaie  
745 Belldaire Court, Apt. 12, 254314-34120  
Planet Gamma-Vile, M-51 Galaxy

DaispaVile Surfeit and Chokota Zentuie  
751 Belldaire Court, Apt. 21, 254314-34120  
Planet Gamma-Vile, M-51 Galaxy

ZajraVile Surfeit and Poa Pendusklia  
954 Lhaj Drive, 075621-00985  
Planet Mooshang, M-51 Galaxy

KashiraVile and Bushon Bedali  
85 Jabona Court, 000985-00021  
Planet Gamma-Vile, M-51 Galaxy

TulaVile and Rubacon Iovides  
099 Vurfrr Drive, 111090-12091  
Planet Mooshang, M-51 Galaxy

That was a lot of invites to send out, eleven total and a majority of those had more than one invite in the envelopes. Araimee and Azvra were still single, the others were married and had children. There hadn't been any new arrivals, any new nieces or nephews born from his older or younger half-sisters. Beside those he also had several others which he now was picking up and looking through. As he scanned the addresses, checking to see if they were correct, he thought about putting them all away and waiting. His wife being scared so badly, the puppy and he also had to worry about Lhaklar and Lazeer as well. Them two had not been acting right at all. Lhaklar had clammed up, he barely spoke anymore and he was clinging heavily to his mother and Lazeer refused to leave his chamber unless either Bile or Angel came up to retrieve him and even he, now, was refusing to leave his mother's side. The boys were loving that new "pet" that their mother had brought back with her, that puppy that Trobrencus had given her, but he saw deep in their eyes that they were having some issues. Could it be that with everyone coming all at once that they are getting stressed out, they had seemed perfectly fine the day before Angel had gone off to see Trobrencus, soon after their mother had returned Lhaklar and Lazeer had become unsettled. Could the puppy... no, they seemed rather enamored with the puppy. He didn't need to ask if they were alright with the creature, he had just to go outside after they had been told to go out to see that they were rather accepting of the animal. He had caught all four, with Eshal joining in, throwing a black tennis ball that had red stitching for the puppy to run after, chase then bring back and he had also seen Eshal throw some sticks out for the puppy to run and retrieve. Tazir threw the thought of Lhaklar and Lazeer feeling as if they had been pushed aside by the puppy that Trobrencus had given their mother away, even them two had acted normal, had acted happy, when they had played with the puppy.

NishonaVile Sebatu  
29 Maiae Drive, 090761-09489  
Planet Gamma-Vile, M-51 Galaxy

WebalaVile Sebatu  
32 Maiae Drive, 090761-09489  
Planet Gamma-Vile, M-51 Galaxy

BralaVile Verobari  
12 Karplo Drive, Apt. 43, 987451-09001  
Planet Keaipa, M-51 Galaxy

VrawieVile Verobari  
26 Karplo Drive, Apt. 59, 987451-09001  
Planet Keaipa, M-51 Galaxy

ShenieVile Verobari  
57 Plaktor Drive, Apt. 12F, 910401-00001  
Planet Keaipa, M-51 Galaxy

NekkeVile Doshluna  
1231 Tablio Boulevard, Apt. 43, 095641-03451  
Planet Gamma-Vile, M-51 Galaxy

AesaVile Doshluna  
320 Falkshu Boulevard, Apt. 65, 012001-98500  
Planet Ynkg, M-51 Galaxy

Vile Vile  
606 Terracota Drive, 110110-90012  
Planet Gamma-Vile, M-51 Galaxy

Rita Repsula Vile and Lord Zedd  
1 Moon 12, 012431-08671  
Planetary Moon, Milky Way Galaxy

Rito Revolto Vile  
1 Moon 12, 012431-08671  
Planetary Moon, Milky Way Galaxy

Tazir quickly put the latter three back in the drawer, Dara Dara, one of his nephew's younger sisters, was already giving his wife grief and he knew well that she had been calling up her brother to give him daily reports of the going ons within his mansion. He had told her to stop doing that twice now and she just continued to do it, he had blocked outgoing and incoming phone calls from his nephew just to stop her from doing the reports and soon after she had found that she couldn't call her brother she had ran up to him yelling and screaming. Vile's number was still blocked, he wasn't going to back down on unblocking the number, he had invited his niece over to see the boys, not to start up trouble which she was doing, whether knowingly or unknowingly. What Dara Dara was doing was the last thing he wanted right now for his wife, have her father and older, half-siblings come here and bring in more, unneeded stress upon her, she was under enough stress as it was. That was seven more invites to send out, not counting his nephew's and his offspring's and his grandson's, the grand total would be eighteen invites being sent out and his wife had said that an assured fifteen persons were coming four days after she had returned home from seeing Trobrencus. There would be sixty people in his mansion, quite a lot and he wasn't fully sure if his wife or sons were ready for all that yet. TazirVile put the first and second set of envelopes that contained invitations inside them back in the drawer then, after thinking it out, he reached back into the drawer. He ripped his hand back out quickly then he stood up. No, it wasn't yet time. He'd see Trobrencus and his family in a few hours, he'd talk to Trobrencus then, after he found out what had happened, he'd sit down, have a stiff drink then think it out on who he should send the invites out to next. TazirVile stretched tall, yawned, then he headed straight for his bedroom chamber. His wife had already gone to bed, she had been sleeping in their bedroom chamber, beside him these past three days and he was enjoying that feeling of having her back in bed with him where he could roll over, wrap her up in his arms and feel how warm her body was against his own.

"Have you picked a name for her yet, mam?" Eshal asked after her mother had placed the puppy that she had come home with three days ago down on the ground. She had slept well, breakfast had gone well without much fuss as everyone had been still a bit groggy and now she was looking forward to playing with the puppy that her mother had brought back home after she had gone to visit Uncle Trob.

"No, was hoping that you and your brothers would do that." Angel replied. "I name my three Sekhem's, you five pick a name for the puppy."

"And it is now time for the pile up of names. Let's all split up, write some names on a piece of paper then submit them to ma for viewing." Bile said, Eshal and his brothers all looked at him like he had lost his head. "What? Better than her having five names all at once isn't it?"

"I like Partillia quite a lot." Hazaar said.

"Yuck! How about Aikma or Aikme?" Lazeer said, he had a black tennis ball in his hand that had red stitching on it, the puppy was eying the ball greedily.

"Jarishka?" Lhaklar suggested.

"Azumi?" Eshal said. "Lazeer, throw the ball. Think Miss. No-Name wants to play chase this morning."

"Heave Ho and away she go!" Lazeer said loudly, he pulled his arm back then he shot it forward, the tennis ball went behind some bushes and the puppy gave chase while barking excitedly.

He and his brothers had all been nervous wrecks the entire time their mother had been away visiting the guy who had said that if his father was still around she'd find her whole on a pike, they could not eat or drink a thing, they had all just sat in front of a window and had peaked out at every odd sound that they all heard coming from outside. Bile had thought he would have a heart attack after she had been gone for as long as she had, he had nearly had one when he had heard that she had returned home and he had not witnessed her return. Where had he been? Taking a piss break, he had been so worried about his mother that he had sat by one of the front windows with his legs pressed tightly together, he had needed to pee so badly. Two minutes before his mother had returned his bladder had won out on the waiting, he had rushed to the bathroom as fast as he could and had barely had it out and pointed at the toilet bowl, had he of been a second or two slower he'd of needed a new pair of underwear and a fresh pair of pants but he had made it just in time to avoid pissing a river down his legs. After he had found out that she was back home he had asked where she was, his adopted father had said that she was taking a nap and he had specifically told him to not disturb her. He had obeyed that order, his brothers had nearly all gotten daddy-groundings due to their wanting to go into the room that ma was in after they had overheard that she had gone to a room after getting home but they had backed away and had gone upstairs to their chambers just in the knick of time to avoid such a punishment.

It had been three and a half hours after she had returned home that he and his brothers had seen her, why it had taken her that long to come upstairs to see them was beyond him but she had had the puppy with her, Bile figured that after having such a hard, exhausting morning of driving around and probably of being scared out of her wit's end she had needed to have some time to herself to gain control and to rest up. She had said that the pup was theirs, hers, his and his brothers and Eshal's, and that it was a gift from Uncle Trob. He and Lhaklar had taken her to the side and had asked her what all had happened during her trip to see the guy and she had just said that she had driven up to the gate, had been let in after a few minutes of waiting then had talked to and had gotten a few things straight with Trobrencus along with exposing some of what was going on within the mansion that they had been brought to. The puppy, she said, had been plopped in her arms after she had told the guy everything that had been happening in the mansion. Bile had a feeling that the man who had adopted him and who owned the mansion and everything in it didn't much like the puppy, he and his brothers and Eshal had quickly accepted the puppy.

Bile looked over at Lhaklar, it seemed that his brother had already been up and dressed and ready for breakfast for the past four mornings in a row and he was wondering why. His brother had done that while on Earth when he had plans to go out for a morning hunt or a fishing trip, there was none of that allowed here, it seemed. If they brought up anything of hunting or fishing the adults would not say anything on it, a different subject was talked about instead. For some reason, Bile had noticed, Lhaklar was not using the bathroom adjacent to his bedroom chamber. If he was in his bedroom chamber and had to go one or two he'd run off to a bathroom outside of his bedroom chamber and, for some reason, he always ran out with a black towel clinched tightly in his hands. That was really weird, he had been using the bathroom adjacent his bedroom chamber up to four days ago, Bile figured that he was hiding something within his own bathroom, a problem of some sort but then, he thought of all the plumbing work he had done on the apartment that had blown up near two weeks ago on Earth that they had lived in for over three hundred years. Lhaklar knew how to unclog a toilet, change the piping, unclog a drain and he also knew how to clean a bathroom very well, as did all of them. If anything was amiss with his brother, it seemed to of gone away for a while. He stood happily, when the puppy brought the tennis ball back and dropped it at his feet he bent down and picked it up. He threw the ball hard and the puppy ran off after it barking madly.

As he waited his turn Bile looked over at Lazeer. He was really concerned over him! As with Lhaklar acting clingy with their mother, Lazeer was acting so in a more extreme way. Lazeer would not leave his bedroom chamber for anything unless their mother came up to get him or unless he, himself, went up to retrieve him. Once he was out, he ran right over to their mother and stayed by her side. He seemed rather spooked about something, whatever it was he wouldn't spill but, to Bile, he looked as if he had been scared to death by some force enough to want to be by their mother's side at all times. Lhaklar, when he had confided in him about the way their brother was acting, seemed not a bit concerned, he just brushed it off which was very unlike him. Along with the heavy clinginess to their mother for the two of them, they were also much too quiet for his liking. Lazeer, who had gone back to being his old, goofy, joke-shooting self, had suddenly dropped the jokes and had nearly gone silent. Lhaklar, both he and Hazaar had to prompt him to say anything and their father was also having a time in getting him to talk.

Grampy Shaam claimed that it was just a nerve thing, their mother having left to go off someplace and leaving them behind had made them feel nervous and insecure. Bile didn't believe that, their mother had gone off for six to eight hours while on Earth when she had had a job and they had been just fine, sure they felt a little nervous and saddened to see her go off without them but they had gone on with their daily lives afterwards and, naturally, had been overjoyed to see her come in through the front or back door after her shift was over. Even though they had all pointed this out to the man he was steadfast on it just being a nerve thing, them being nervous because their mother who they depend on so much being away from them. The picking on had started right back up when lunch had been served, the man who was his grandfather had been the instigator, Grampy Shaam and granpappy Duru had followed by his example. His grandfather had chided their mother for returning so scared after she had gone to see Trobrencus, he had said that she should have better control of herself. He had also said something about the puppy that she had brought back with her. Duru had followed in, he had come into the bedroom chamber between Lhaklar's and Lazeer's chambers to find all of them in it with the puppy and their mother's three Sekhem's. He said that they were going way to fast in the introducing department and that they shouldn't expect to keep the puppy but so long as Trob or one of his kids or his wife, when they got there for their stay, would probably want the puppy back. The man had also said that it was very dangerous for their mother to have all five of them in the room with a puppy and three Sekhem's at the same time and Bile could, again, call balls on that since their mother had seemed to be very well knowing in what she was doing in showing her pet Sekhem's the new puppy. He had seen it on Earth as well where a family brought home a new dog or a cat or even a new baby, the adults would introduce everyone then, when everything had calmed down and everyone was in a calm state, one of the adults would bring in the other pets. The puppy hadn't swatted, pounced, barked or snarled at their mother's pet Sekhem's, she had sniffed all three then she had gone and sat on the bed. The Sekhem's had squeaked twice but they had actually acted like they wanted to play with the puppy, they had leaped up onto the side of the bed, had given the puppy all sorts of sniffs and had even tried to get the puppy to chase after them. Their mother had kept her eye on all of this and Bile knew, he just knew, that if either of her Sekhem's had given a sign that it was going to hurt the puppy that she'd come in and prevent it before it happened.

"Alright, it is now _my _turn to throw." Bile said, the puppy had brought him the tennis ball. He reeled his arm back then heaved it forward, the tennis ball shot off far. He couldn't be sure but he thought he heard water splashing.

"Way to go Hercules." Hazaar spat, regardless, the puppy was running off after the tennis ball that his brother had just thrown.

He and his brothers waited for a short while for the puppy to return and when she didn't they walked towards the spot where the tennis ball had gone behind, which was behind some bushes and some tall trees. Eshal walked behind them, although they had accepted her as their sister and did let her join in on some of their game playing on the gaming systems that they had in their bedroom chambers she and they didn't hang out much. She hung out with their mother, Ashaklar, Blaiga and Defe mostly, Duru had been getting on her to hang out with his daughter and Kaasa, Kuruk and Irka's young daughter and she had been doing that. Hazaar had overheard their sister saying that she liked hanging out with gramma, Blaiga and Defe and their mother more because she felt more accepted which he could concur with. That was why he hung out mostly with his brothers, he had been trying to hang out with Phaggo some but that guy seemed to have it out for him, he had also been hanging out and getting along famously, regardless of his temperamental moments, with granddad Cheshire. It took Bile and his brothers and Eshal a little bit of time to get by the thick bushes and past the lumpy artificial blue grass that had just been put down over the rocky terrain of the back yard and had yet to settle in, when they all came upon the rocky beach with the ocean behind it then stopped in their tracks. Baruk, Gaajah and Kaasa were standing in front of them, Gaajah had the tennis ball and Baruk had the puppy held tightly under his arm, Kaasa was just standing at their side.

"The sons of the puppy thief have finally come to see where their mutt went." Baruk said, Bile stepped forward angrily after hearing the kid refer to his mother as a thief.

"Put the dog down, Baruk." Bile ordered.

"Don't hurt her!" Eshal cried when she saw that Baruk had the puppy.

"How is it that you still hang out with the scrubs, Bile?" Gaajah asked. "Should be hanging out with someone more your breeding. More your speed and-..."

"That's for sure not you two." Bile said. "You'd see just dust before you even got a chance to settle into a good running pace."

"You bring down the name of our family by hanging out with such filth as they." Kaasa said evilly.

"They are my family, if you haven't noticed yet." Bile sniffed. "Put the dog down, Baruk."

"Come get her. If you think you are so tough then, come and get her." Baruk said.

Lhaklar blinked his eyes once then he walked up beside Bile, his brother had taken five steps towards Baruk and what had the kid done in return? He had backed up, the puppy was wimpering and whining, she wanted down and he didn't blame her at all. Had he of been a dog he'd not want to be around Baruk either, he was a bully, he thought of himself as a king. The puppy's coat was wet, so apparently she had jumped into the ocean water to retrieve the tennis ball, the tennis ball had been thrown from Gaajah to Kaasa who caught it and then had chucked it towards Hazaar who caught it then tossed it behind him. Lhaklar saw that Lazeer was going in Kaasa's direction to gain her attention and he was glad for that, she couldn't distract him, Bile or Hazaar, who was walking on Bile's right side, from Baruk or Gaajah. For all Lhaklar knew, Baruk might really try to hurt the puppy that he had in his arm. Kaasa was a pretty girl, she had long, dark auburn hair with cream strands mixed in for good measure and flavor, dazzlingly beautiful dark blue eyes and a teardrop-shaped face and she stood just under five foot, three inches tall. Her hair was down, it flew around her face when the wind caught it and that gave her a more prettier appearance. She had no make-up on so Lhaklar could see that she had a light purple skin color to her. She was wearing a blue dress that she had hiked up past her knees and she had blue shoes on her feet. Lhaklar remembered that she was two thousand, fifty years old, fifty years younger than he. Bile stopped when Baruk had reached knee-high water, his childhood nemesis had moved the puppy from under his arm. He was now holding the puppy with both hands over the water and that just infuriated Bile to the brink of exploding.

"No!" Eshal screamed, Hazaar looked back for only a second to see his older, half-sister running off. "Daddy! Daaaaaddy!"

"Wimp!" Kaasa laughed loudly.

Baruk dropped the puppy into the water and was just pushing the puppy under when a wave of ice cold water struck him in the face. He stepped back for just a second, released the puppy then, when he realized that Bile had been the one who had sent the wave at him in the first place he started fighting him. He threw purple and green water balls and then he shot out a jet of blue water, Bile caught each one then threw them back, he leaped up then back flipped to the rocky shore to avoid being electrocuted as Gaajah had shot a lightning bolt at the water after he had returned Baruk's attacks. Baruk was momentarily stunned, Hazaar and Lhaklar had leaped up high to avoid being electrocuted and Gaajah had followed them by making a water spout form around his lower body. Lazeer ran past Kaasa to the puppy who Lhaklar had snatched up in an air ball just as he had leaped up from the ocean water, his brother had thrown the air ball towards shore then he had made a golden air funnel form around his lower body. Lazeer grabbed the sphere of air that the puppy was in by making an air rope then he pulled the puppy towards him, once the puppy was in his arms he made the air ball break. He set the puppy down on the rocky shore then he turned to help his brothers, the puppy ran off towards the mansion with Kaasa running after her.

"You haven't got a chance against me!" Gaajah yelled. "I was trained by my daddy who is an expert!"

"We were taught by our mother who is a natural." Lhaklar said back.

The clock had tolled nine o'clock in the morning and that was when he had been approached by Losal who had said that Trobrencus and his family had arrived. He had wasted no time at all in going up to see the man, he had assigned the man and his family all rooms on the fifth floor, the idea of having some of the man's family on the sixth floor had crossed his mind but he had decided against that as the man was one who liked to keep his family close by him whenever he and they were away from home. At 9:10 am he had reached the fifth level, his mother and stepfather had stopped him for a quick asking of where Angel was and he had answered honestly with an I-Don't-Know then he had gone on. His mother and stepfather wanted to help his wife with making up lunch, they wanted to know what all she had planned in cooking that afternoon, he was glad that they were helping out, his wife needed all the help that she could get at that moment. When he had reached the fifth level he had gone straight for room thirteen, Trobrencus's and his wife's assigned bedroom chamber. He had knocked then had waited, Bahne had answered the door a minute and a half later looking rather flustered. She had let him in and then she had gone off to finish up the unpacking. Trobrencus, clad in a plaid red tuxedo, complete with matching pants, matching vest and bow tie, with a white, long sleeve, button down shirt underneath the plaid red vest and black shoes, turned around then left his wife to do the rest of the unpacking.

"If I recall correctly you didn't pay chamber visit after I and my family arrived when your Ragamuffin was near due when she had Hazaar in her." TrobrencusVile said.

"I'd like to speak with you over my wife's visit with you four days ago." TazirVile said.

"Yes, ask away but don't keep me but so long. I do have other matters to tend to."

"She came back scared half to death, what'd you do to make her so scared?" TazirVile demanded to know.

Although he didn't know the man but so much, he and Trobrencus had only had small conversations on the phone and he had maybe seen three or four letters a year, he did know that the man was a rather proud one. He did go around talking highly on specific areas of his doings, such as staff treatment or a design of his that he had gotten built in his castle or of his horse breeding for example, and that part of his personality did not change after he asked him the one of two questions that he wanted answered. The man claimed that he and Angel did a "car dance", where he had stayed alongside her in his ZephFlam Double Delux for near two hundred and seventy yards after he had found her parked in front of his front gate. Tazir felt his temper rise within him, the car that Trobrencus had just spoken about was one of the man's more favorite vehicles, it was a dark blue color when it wasn't running, when it was running a special gasoline came out of the body of the car that ignited. The inside of the car might stay a comfortable degree, but outside it was hot! His wife was lucky that her car hadn't caught fire or worse, she was lucky that she, herself, had not caught fire. After hearing that his great-great uncle did such a dangerous and scary act on his wife Tazir was close to shouting at the man to just get the fuck out of his place and not come back.

"That doesn't explain the other damages to her car, Trob." he said instead. "The fender, the headlights, the hood and the scraped p-..."

"I had a point to get across to her my dear nephew." TrobrencusVile said, effectively cutting TazirVile off. "I'm not going to just pull up alongside her and say 'come on in, have some tea and cookies while we discuss the reason why you came here'."

"You could have just yelled at her and not-..."

"Sure and how would that of gotten my point across that she did wrong in-..." TrobrencusVile cleared his throat. "In my ill-meant anger towards a situation that-... ahem-... my disruptor ray caused? She now knows better than to attack me or my family, think that of what our meeting was about."

He looked down and saw that the man had a Cobra-headed, chrome handled, brown sticked cane hanging down from the black belt that was around his waist. His wife had said that Trobrencus had forgiven her for what had happened, but was that forgiveness cancelled out from the "car dance" that they had both had? TazirVile decided to keep the man in his sights, for his wife and children's sakes he didn't want anyone to be hurt by the man. TazirVile nodded his head, excused himself then turned around and left the chamber that he had assigned for Trob and his wife. The issue of the puppy had completely escaped his mind until he was out of the room, he had a mind to go back into the chamber and ask why his great-great uncle had given his wife, who he had scared so badly, a puppy but before he could make up his mind he heard and then saw his daughter running down the hallway towards him. She was winded, she was sweaty and she looked freaked out, before he asked her what was wrong he turned towards her and gave her a stern stare.

"Walk! Eshal, do we need to have another discussion on why running is not allowed inside a home?" he said sternly after she continued to run towards him.

"D-d-d-d-d-..." she sputtered, she was breathing heavily and she was shaking badly as well. TazirVile wrapped his arm around her to steady her then he slowly started leading her down the hallway.

"Whatever you wish to tell me do so after you have calmed down." TazirVile said. "No need to have a-..."

"Tazir!" Ashaklar screamed, she ran down the hallway at him. TazirVile sighed, first his daughter running in the house and now his very own mother.

"Mother," he said. "please don't ru-..."

"Get your ass outside now!" Ashaklar yelled. "Bile and his brothers are fighting Baruk and Gaajah!"

Angel teleported out of the mansion as quickly as she could after she hear that her sons were in a fight with Baruk and Gaajah, she transformed into a fiery red Eagle and flew off towards the ocean where she saw jets of purple, green and black water and golden gusts of air being thrown every which way. Losal had put a bug in her ear about Trob and his family arriving for their stay, she figured that Tazir would be going up to talk to the man about what he had done to her to make her be so scared, she planned on staying away from the man until mealtime. She had no idea what all he had meant by his telling her that he and his family should be able to take some of the pressure off of her, probably by now he had completely forgotten about saying that but, regardless, she was going to keep a little bit of distance between her and him and she was also going to keep her kids in her sights when the man was around them. Angel made her eagle-wings flap faster towards the gusts of golden air and the jets of water that were either purple or green or black that fired out above the trees, as she flew she couldn't help but feel a pride to herself over the training of her four sons. She had trained all four of them as well as she could in their Elemental and Energy powers and she had also personally taught Lhaklar all that she knew when he had discovered that he could transform into forms other than his true form, she had taught them all that she knew and then, when Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer had showed that they had inherited their father's powers she had done all that she could in getting them some scrolls that would help them in learning them powers and abilities. They had listened and watched her well, they had practiced well and had learned from their mistakes and were very well in-tune with their powers, she couldn't be prouder. Angel flapped her wings once more then, when she came out from behind the treeline and into the clear where the rocky shore of the beach began, she screamed out in shock and then in fear. She swooped down to the ground, changed her form from that of a fiery red eagle to that of her true form then she ran forward to stop the fighting that was happening.

He saw his mother running towards him and his brothers but, at the moment, he was too engulfed in the fighting that was going on in front of him to really lock onto anything else for too long. Bile was firing sonic blasts and combination attacks of water and lightning at Baruk who was starting to back down from the onslaught. Baruk had fought Hazaar hard but Hazaar had gotten the better of him by throwing some fire rings at him that had caught him by surprise, obviously the kid had not been taught that move yet. Hazaar had then thrown a rope around Baruk and had both electrocuted him and had burned him by making strands of Energy and Elemental Fire go down the rope, it had looked like Baruk would fall but then Gaajah had run in and had hurt Hazaar bad. Hazaar had been in two inches of ocean water and Gaajah had made two waves of purple rise up. Lazeer had yelled out but, in the end, there was just no evading them purple water waves. Hazaar had gotten burned, badly, and then he had gotten electrocuted afterwards, he was lying, facedown, on the rocky shore. Lhaklar was now seriously fighting Gaajah, he was throwing every bit of what he had learned from his Elemental Powers to his Energy to his Acidic into the fight and Gaajah was faltering and fast.

As he watched the fighting that was going on in front of him, Lazeer thought back to the past two days. He thought back to when he had started hearing the voice and to when he had seen the owner of the voice walk out from his closet. As he saw it, his bedroom chamber was sacred to him. It was his private place, the place where he could go to when he wanted some time to himself. He had been thinking about asking for another model, this one of a plane, when the voice had rang him in. It had started faint, he had barely heard it and he had waved it off then it had come in stronger. He had thought that it was just the sound from one of the gratings in his room, the air conditioner kicking in or something but then, when the voice had come in nearly shouting at him he had stopped putting up excuses for it. He had sat upright then he had pulled his legs up so his knees were pressed up against his chest. He had heard the voice, even though it had been yelling it had come in sounding nasally and low with the hint of cracking in it, say Bruder then he had not heard the voice again for a few hours. After two and a half hours had passed he had started hearing that same voice again and again, always saying the same word. Bruder... Bruder... Bruder... it was enough to make him start shivering but the event that had happened during the night of that day he had started hearing that voice had scared him so much that shivering was not a word for what he had done.

It had been near midnight, he had been wide awake, sleep was impossible when you had an unknown voice say something to you. He had heard nothing, it was silent, dead silent all around him so seeing his closet door slide open on its track and then hearing the sound of someone shuffling around in there had been very easily heard. His heart had been yammering in his chest, he had sweated great amounts of sweat and he had near started calling out for his mother. His heart had near burst out from his chest when he had seen the hand, a black hand that he only knew was a hand when the glow from one of his glow-in-the-dark models had hit it had grabbed the sliding door. The hand had cracked, very dark gray fingernails on it and the hand had looked very strong, he had seen that the veins poked up from underneath the skin. Slowly, ever so slowly, the hand had moved the door to his closet fully open then nothing had happened for a long ten seconds. He had thought that he had been seeing things. Tee hee, my tired mind is seeing things, no boogeyman in my room, no boogeyman in my closet, no boogey man to-... and then a black figure, black-faced and bodied wearing a pair of blue jeans that had rips in the knees and both the inner and outer thighs and who had chains around his neck, a chain going across his chest and a chain wrapped around his waist, had walked out from his closet. The figure had stood for just a second, he had seen nothing on the face, the black face of the figure was just that. Black. As black as night. As black as the darkest hole. After the dark figure had stood motionless for a second or two he had walked forward, he had been wearing worn out brown combat boots on his feet and when he had walked into a sliver of moonshine he had seen that the figure had the remnants of a blue hoody on that covered his head. The figure had walked up to within two feet of his bed then he had stopped, he had opened his eyes which had been glowing a bright yellow color and then he had spoken.

"I was told I had a family, a family that had four sons in it that were to be my forever bruders." the figure had said. "And yet, when I show up to be a part of that family they are gone. Mom runs away from me, won't tell me where you are all at and-..."

"Who are you?" he had screamed. "Who the hell are you!"

"Your bru-..."

A pop had happened and then he had felt a gust of air blow on him that had scared him silly, he had grabbed his bedding and had ripped it over his head. When he had gotten brave enough to peak over his bedding he had seen that the figure was gone, no hint of him ever being there. He had gone to sleep then had woken up then had decided, for his sanity and fearing that he might be hurt by the figure should he tell anyone of what he had seen, to stay in his bedroom chamber until either Bile or mother came up to retrieve him. He stayed by his mother's side like glue as he saw that if that figure returned for him, to hurt him or something, she'd fight to protect him. It had been two days since he had seen or heard anything but he was taking no chances, the only reason why he had gone outside, away from his protective mother, was because he really wanted to play with that puppy. His mother, his brothers and the puppy were all that gave him comfort now, he viewed that his father would just laugh if he had told him what all he had seen two nights ago then say it was just a nightmare and nothing more when, Lazeer fully believed, it wasn't. He had been awake and, to further prove that what he had seen was real and not just some dumb nightmare which wouldn't of scared him much at all, he had pissed his bed that night as well. Something he had stopped doing a very long time ago had happened after he had seen that black figure that had scared him so badly. If that wasn't proof enough then he didn't know the meaning of proof.

"Lazeer-... Look out!"

Lazeer looked up then to the side then he shot his hands forward. He made a gust of blue air blow out from his hands that propelled him backwards away from the golden air blast that Gaajah had managed to grab then throw his way. When he was out of harms way he swung his arms out then he drew them in. He blew black smoke out from his nose holes as the flaming rings of black rolled up and then down his arms, charging up. When his black fire rings were at their utmost charge he punched his arms out, Gaajah screamed in agony when three of his four black fire rings struck his side and chest. Lazeer charged up another set of black fire rings quickly then cast them out at Baruk who barely managed to evade them. Baruk's fiery red eyes with the black pupils locked onto his circular, silver one then they both lunged at each other while being propelled forward by waves of white air. Lazeer readied an acid ball, a purple one, when he struck Baruk they both screamed then dropped heavily to the ground. Baruk had sent out a purple fire ball just as he had struck Lazeer, both attacks exploded and caused great burns on the shoulders and heads of both youngsters. Bile dropped from his purple water spout and ran to Lazeer's side, he examined his brother quickly and found that he had been knocked out cold. Bile didn't bother checking into Baruk to see if he was alright or not, he had a seven-inch gash to his chest and a four-inch gash going across his groin thanks to the fucker, he had gotten off very lucky in not losing what he had down there by turning to the side at just the right second.

Lhaklar met Gaajah's biggest attacks, he sent out as much as he could but he paced himself and kept his attacks down to medium to save his strength for when it was really needed. His mother had always told him to keep his head during a fight and he was doing his very best to do just that. He had been injured four times, his chest had two, deep, gashes in it and he had a gash to his back that was near nine inches long and the deep, three-inch burn mark that was high up on his inner thigh burned him greatly but he was still fighting regardless of these injuries and he had actually injured Gaajah more that the kid had injured him. Gaajah's stomach had two deep scratches on it, his chest had two burn marks on it where a fire ball that he had laced with acid had burned away his shirt and the front part of his jacket and he had lash marks on both of his arms and legs. The kid was now breathing heavily, he was still breathing normally and he still had a lot of strength left in him to take the kid out of the fight, should he want to that was. After the kid had deliberately thrown his golden air blast at Lazeer after he had caught it, he had seen it, he had a mind to send the kid to the hospital for a few days. The kid had grabbed his golden air blast then he had smiled then he had shot his arms right in Lazeer's direction. Lhaklar saw that his father, grandfather, uncle and mother were running towards him, his brothers and their two attackers, he figured that he should end the fight now instead of waiting around. He made a wall of ocean water rise up then with every ounce of strength that he had he threw it forward, he made it freeze, laced it with both electricity and acid then he kicked out. The wave of ice, electricity and acid broke into shards, icicles and ice pikes and Gaajah, who had no time to get out of the way, took a majority of the attack. He yelled out in pain then his water spout dissipated from underneath him, he pinwheeled his arms as he fell down to the water of the ocean below. When he splashed heavily into the water Lhaklar dipped his body, he made his golden air funnel lower as he swung down towards the ground. When he stepped off of his air funnel he had made it shrink to two feet. Lhaklar ran right over to Hazaar, he rolled him over to his back then he sighed in relief, his brother was breathing.


	21. Chapter 21

"I come here to a bloody battlefield." TrobrencusVile shook his head miserably.

"What we've told you is exactly what my kid and grandkids told us," Cyla said. "Gaajah was there, so were Baruk and Kaasa. They all say the same story, they came upon Bile holding the puppy that you gave Angel under water, the fight sparked up over that puppy."

"That's a damn lie!" Bile exploded, his chair squealed as he shot up from it. "My brothers and I and Eshal were playing with the puppy, I over threw the ball and the puppy ran off after it. After the puppy didn't come back with the ball we all decided to go look for her, we came upon Baruk, Gaajah and Kaasa near the shore, Baruk had the puppy and he was-..."

"He's lying, daddy." Kaasa cried, she got up from her chair, ran over to her father then grabbed him by his black tunic. She then buried her head in it and started sobbing. "He-He's l-lying!"

"Eshal ran off to get her dad when she saw Bile-..."

"I ran off to get daddy when I saw that Baruk was pushing the puppy under the water." Eshal said loudly. "We were playing with the puppy, having a good time then-..."

Lunch had been served a little earlier than usual, Ashaklar, Blaiga and Bahne had helped Angel all they could in preparing the meal and they had helped Angel in bringing the trays and dishes to the table, not really anyone was eating because of all the fighting that was going on and that was starting to really irk him. True, he didn't know what had happened before he had teleported in to put an end to the brutal fighting but, from what his daughter had said and from how Bile had shot up from his chair after being accused of trying to drown the puppy that he, his brothers and Eshal had been playing with he was willing to bet his right arm that his younger brother and young niece and nephew were the ones lying. There had been a long line waiting to use the medical chamber that was in his mansion, all consisting of parents and grandparents that were fussing and fighting, all already picking sides and pointing fingers and throwing accusations. TazirVile shook his head miserably, each of his sons had been injured but their injuries had tended to. The seven-inch gash to Bile's chest had been treated and wrapped heavily in bandaging, he really shouldn't be standing or even walking after the four-inch gash that went across his groin had been tended to. The medical table had done all that it could in stitching and patching him up, his body would have to do the rest.

The deep gashes to Lhaklar's chest had been stitched up, treated then bandaged, as had the near nine-inch long gash to his back and the three-inch burn marks that were high up on his inner thigh. Tazir had seen the likes of them injuries several times in his lifetime and he had had such injuries on himself so he had asked for his wife to brew up a blue tea that had a herb in it that would help against infections, an infection on the groin and inner, upper thigh was not something he wanted his two sons to go through, or any of his sons for that manner. Hazaar had been knocked out cold, as had Lazeer, but Hazaar had a three-inch gash to his forehead, his arm had had a deep cut on it and he had sprained his ankle pretty badly, everything had been fully healed by the medical table except for the gash. That had been carefully stitched, medicated then bandaged up. Lazeer had had some deep burns on his head and shoulders, he was lucky that his hair hadn't been burned completely off of his head. The medical table had made them burns go down to a low-level first degree burn, The table couldn't do anything about the two patches of his horizontal mohawk that had been burned off, Angel had taken care of that herself. Lazeer's hair was back to normal, he was still a bit too quiet though.

It was another of them, the long-term guest comes in and doesn't have a chance to get unpacked before something happens to distract him/her/them from doing so. The first time, his grandfather had walked in then Bile and Lhaklar had landed right in front of him after they had leaped down from the balcony overlooking the foyer that had the two staircases branching off from it. This time, Trobrencus and his wife had been allowed to unpack only half of the stuff that they had packed before they had heard the commotion downstairs and had come down to investigate what was going on. This was getting rather monotonous; the gang-ups, the bullying, the fighting and the picking-ons that followed afterwards. There had been just two adults outside when the fighting had started, two of his staff who had been too far to run in to put a stop to it. Gaajah had been retrieved from the ocean, dripping wet, clothes a mess and badly injured but alive, Baruk had been grabbed up from the ground then he had been shoved towards the mansion. Kaasa hadn't appeared until he had come in with Hazaar leaning on him, he had still been rather weak and he had also acted like he didn't know where he was or who he was. His mother had gone out with the kids, she claimed that she had seen them playing with the puppy and that the play seemed very normal. Tazir had no idea where that puppy was, Lazeer had said that he had seen Kaasa chasing after the creature but he hadn't followed.

"Why did you give her that puppy anyways?" ShaamVile asked his uncle.

"She told me what's going on here, seems that quite a lot of stress is being put upon her by most of the people in this house. Gave her the pup as a way to relieve that stress." TrobrencusVile replied.

"You had good intentions but you did wrong in doing that." Cyla said. "Angel has no experience in dog ownership, neither do her sons and neither does Eshal. None of them can be trusted with-..."

"Silence!" TazirVile spat, Cyla whirled over towards him so fast that her red, wavy hair flew from her right shoulder over to her left. "I can vouch for my wife and children that they were doing very well with that puppy, the same with my wife's Sekhem's. That puppy was not under any threat here."

"And yet here we are, discussing what happened when my son and two of my grandchildren came upon Bile trying to drown that puppy." Cyla said.

"Do I need to show everyone a memory of what happened?" Lhaklar asked angrily. "My memory of what happened is the same as my brother's, Bile would not of harmed a hair of that puppy's body."

"Your memories are tampered so there's no reason-..."

"Fuck you man, my memories have never been tampered with!" Lhaklar yelled at his grandfather who glared at him angrily.

Qeeta looked at Kaasa, who was still standing and who still had her head buried in her father's black tunic. She had heard her mother and stepfather's children fake crying several times, she knew the signs of a cry that was faked and Kaasa was doing just that. Why Kuruk was just patting the girl's shoulder and telling her that it was alright was beyond her, he had had eight children so he should also know the signs of false crying. Irka, too, was acting oblivious to Kaasa's fake crying. Qeeta didn't think that Bile, his brothers or Eshal had done anything to hurt the puppy, she had looked out the window on the second floor to see Lhaklar throw the tennis ball after the puppy had brought it to him and she had also seen Bile throw the tennis ball as well when the puppy had dropped it at his feet. She had seen the five of them go towards the beach two minutes after the puppy hadn't returned with the ball, what Cyla claimed Gaajah, Baruk and Kaasa had told her about them coming upon Bile trying to drown the puppy didn't sound right. She had seen them three kids go off towards the beach before Bile, his brothers and Eshal had come out with the puppy so they could have been planning on waiting until the puppy came in their direction to pick her up. She had seen all four of Angel's sons play with Zeox, Exutho and Elaye, their mother's pet Sekhem's, and she had also seen them feed them three animals as well. Qeeta was about to say something on Kaasa's fake crying when, suddenly, Bahne spoke up about it.

"Kuruk, Irka, I am surprised that you haven't told your daughter to can the crying." she said, she spoke in a near whisper but everyone heard her and Kuruk looked down the table at her slowly. "I can detect that falsity even from where I sit."

"Kaasa is upset for a reason, after coming upon what she, her brother and Gaajah came upon she can cry all she wants to." KurukVile replied.

"It's untrue crying, a pull-on. Stage crying, in other words." Bahne said.

"Seems real to me." KurukVile replied.

"I'm surprised at you, Bahne. You let your husband hand off puppies bred on your property to-..."

"I stand by my husband's side on his giving Angel that puppy, Cyla." Bahne said, anger seeped into her whisper-like voice. "He told me all of what he was told by Angel, I stand by his giving that puppy to her."

"He told y-... what all did this girl tell you?" DuruVile demanded to know, he flashed his glowing green eyes with the yellow pupils at Angel angrily once before looking down the table at Trobrencus and his wife.

On Earth, the man had attacked him once for taking photographs and making a video of his wife, daughters and quite a lot of other women with a camera that Hazaar had given him so Bile made damn sure to not look too hard at the women that were seated beside Trobrencus. The one that was talking angrily, telling all that she had been told by her husband to all that were at the table, was a right beautiful woman. She had long, creamy colored hair and fully bright blue eyes on a face that was heart-shaped. Her nose was small and trim, her lips were large and full and she had a trim chin. Her figure was hour-glass shaped, her breasts were large while her hips were slightly smaller and she had darkly tanned skin. Bahne stood five foot, five inches tall, she was wearing a ruched, purple silk blouse that was slightly low in the front, a purple skirt that had a slit going down one side and she had purple, low heeled, shoes on her feet. She had a necklace hanging down from around her neck that had purple gems on it that were shaped like Peacock feathers. Her fingernails had been painted a purple color and she had purple lipstick and eyeshadow on as well.

"You have absolutely no right in running your mouth on what goes on here in this house." Irka said, she shook her head, her lips were pursed angrily. "No right at all, Angel."

"I live here, if you haven't noticed. I have all right when it comes to my home and to my and my children's well-beings." Angel replied.

"You go around blabbing what all is said in other people's residences as well, Angel?" KurukVile asked his granddaughter. "That was very disrespectful."

"We've been trying to help you. If you keep giving your breast milk to your sons they will continue to be dependent on you. You need to wean them and n-..."

"Now you just wait a darn tootin' second here." TrobrencusVile said, Irka looked down the table at him. "You let others come into your life only to tell you how you should or should not raise your kids, Irka?"

"Hell no!" Irka exclaimed. "No one would have guts enough to do that and I'm an experienced mother. Angel is not, she-..."

"Seems pretty experienced to me." Bahne said. "Four sons and an adopted daughter, she practically raised them boys of hers on her own."

"And she did it wrong. Look at them!" Cyla screamed, she stood up and started pointing out at Angel's sons. "They wear clothing that is ripped or torn up, when they were brought home they were smoking, they read bad magazines and build childish models. They still nurse from their mother, they follow her like a shadow and-..."

"Putting myself in their perspective, I'd follow my mother around like a shadow as well if any of this shit was going on in the home that I was either being raised in, was raised in or was brought back to after being gone from it for so long." TrivitVile said.

The guy who he had fought and then had put a spell on after he had seen him, his father and mother at the Food Lion that his mother worked at still looked odd to him. He had a Zombie-ish face complete with facial coloring under his eyes that were a puke-yellow color that Lazeer guessed imitated puss and he also had red, flake-like patches on both of his cheeks, neck and arms. Lazeer didn't need to be told that the guy had inherited some of his mother's physical looks, he had a heart-shaped face and cream-colored hair that he had grown out long, it flowed down past his shoulders but it wasn't greasy or unkept. The left side of Trivit's face was red while the right side was purple, he had a lean, but strong as steel, body and stood just six-foot, two inches tall. He was wearing a dark green, long sleeve, button down shirt, dark green pants and he had black shoes on his feet, Lazeer saw that the cuffs of Trivit's shirt were undone and that the top three buttons on his shirt were also undone. Lazeer looked down at his plate of grilled cheese on rye sandwiches, he had put two on his plate and he had not eaten a single one yet. How could he when all this fighting was going on? Even though his stomach was growling, all the fighting that was happening at the table had robbed him of his appetite.

"Which one of your sons, Angel, is Hazaar?" TrobrencusVile asked.

"Third one down the table from me." Angel replied.

"Which one was it that loped off his hair again?" TrobrencusVile asked.

"Sudir." Hazaar replied. "Selik held me down so he could snip it off."

"My grandfather says he don't like his hair, I was only doing him a favor." Sudir said in a pitiful, I'm-Innocent, fashion.

"You and your grandfather ever take into consideration that he is his own person and that he has a right in doing whatever he wishes with his hair?" TrobrencusVile asked the youngster. "Which one at this table is your grandfather again?"

"That would be I and yes, I do wish Hazaar or his father would get rid of his hair." DuruVile said, he and Trobrencus locked eyes for nearly a minute.

"That so, Angel may I ask to see your son for a second please."

He had listened and had taken in what she had told him when she had come by to pay him a visit but he had told himself to not believe it fully until he had gotten to his great-great nephew's mansion home to see it for himself. Now that he was here and had seen all that she had told him, he believed everything that Angel had told him. Trobrencus remembered that, when he had received his and his family's invitations to come by Tazir's mansion to be there during the birth of Hazaar that he had thought that it'd be a happy occasion and that everyone would just be happy and overjoyed in another baby, a Surfeit baby, being born. The mood in the mansion when he and his family had arrived for their stay had not been pleasant. Angel had been plenty glad to receive him and his family as guests in her home but everyone else had acted like he and his family were to join in with the fussing and fighting. Angel had been very heavily pregnant at the time and she really did not need to have all that fussing and fighting going on around her and it had not surprised him one bit that it had been her father, older, half-siblings and Cyla who had been the main fussers of the lot that had been in the house. The reason then for them to all be there was to see a new Surfeit baby be born, the reason for them to all be here now was to get to know Angel's sons and to get reaquianted with Angel again. He had warned his family right before he had given the order that they all teleport to Moas that they were probably going to walk into a madhouse and that was exactly what they had walked into.

Trobrencus stood up from his chair and waited, Hazaar had to be prompted from his chair by his mother, he was nervous and Trobrencus understood fully why. He was an unknown to the youngster, Hazaar didn't know if he was going to hurt him or not. Hazaar, after he stood up from his chair, took his time in walking around the table, when he got in front of the man who had a Zombie-like appearance to him and who his brothers had injured a few months ago he stopped. The man stood six inches taller than he had he had a smell to him that was revolting. A vanilla smell rolled off from his body that intermingled with the smell of death and decay and rotting flesh, it was enough to make him want to plug up his nostril holes but he forced himself to keep his hands at his sides. TrobrencusVile looked his front up and down for a full ten seconds then he walked around him and looked at his backside, Hazaar thought this as weird but, again, he said nothing. Hazaar detected the man peering at the four and a half-inch long rattail that came out from the nape of the back of his head, three strands of his hair he had braided earlier than morning. The man looked at his hair for a long, twenty seconds then he went back to his chair. When Hazaar saw the man dismiss him he quickly went around the table. He went back to his chair, sat down then looked down at his plate. Trobrencus was doing the same, he simply stared down at his plate that had two uneaten, badly burned, grilled cheese sandwiches, on it. He cleared his throat then looked up near three minutes later.

"What's the problem you have with his hair, Duru?" TrobrencusVile asked, when no answer came quickly he turned his head and looked at the son of his nephew. "I'm trying to figure out what you have against his hair and am coming far short of an answer. His hair looks clean and well-tended."

"With no other hair on his head, that simple tail he has looks ridiculous." DuruVile answered after a while, an awkward silence fell over the table then, out of no where, TrobrencusVile stood up then walked down the table towards DuruVile, who stood up. DuruVile gave him a glaring look that said just one, clear thing: Try me was what the glare said, try me and see what you get back in return.

"Shaam, you teach this boy of yours to stand up against his elders?" TrobrencusVile said after a long minute and a half's worth of silence.

"No, I taught him to respect his elders but it seems that with age and with me going into limbo he got to thinking that he can up and be disrespectful." ShaamVile replied.

"Should reteach him his manner lessons, Nephew. I see nor have any issues with Hazaar's hair and I take offense in your words about his hair. If you haven't noticed, Duru, I have my hair set in a similar fashion to his." TrobrencusVile said.

"You have a full head of hair, he doesn't. He just has that silly tail sticking out from the nape of the back of his head." DuruVile answered.

"I see something different in your eyes than what you are telling me." TrobrencusVile said. "Both my son and I have long hair, I have mine braided in the back while Trivit keeps his plain long or have you not noticed that?"

"I've noticed." DuruVile replied.

"Regardless of gender, having hair of any length for a being that is born with it is totally up to the person who has that hair." TrobrencusVile said, he turned around and went back to his chair then sat down in it. He stayed silent for thirty seconds then he changed the subject to a more, as he viewed it, important topic. "I suppose no one here is going to fess up to what happened to the pup that I gave Angel?"

It was law that the breeder of any puppy had rights of asking where and what was going on with the puppy that they had given away up to a week after it had been given away, it had only been four days since Trobrencus had given Angel the puppy so he was in his right to be asking what had happened to the puppy. Tazir sat back in his chair and simply waited, a dead quiet settled over the dining room, no one said a thing and no one confessed to what had happened to the puppy. Tazir noticed that Eshal, Bile, Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer seemed to be waiting for an answer, as was his wife but their children seemed near about to fall out from their chairs in waiting for the answer to the question that had been asked. It took a real long time before someone answered, both Kuruk and Irka were surprised when it was Kaasa, who looked as if she had been very much defeated by some unseen force, who admitted to the dog's fate.

"I-I chased her." she admitted. "She disappeared behind some hedges."

"What hedges did she disappear behind?" Angel asked.

"By some apple trees."

"Not them." TazirVile groaned then put his hand over his eyes, he had gotten one of his employed gardeners to plant an orchid of apple, pear, peach and orange trees some three thousand years before and he had specifically asked for the orchid to have thick hedges planted around it so wild animals couldn't get in to eat the fruit that grew on the trees. Although the hedges had done that job wonderfully it had come with a price; snakes had moved in so anyone who went into the fruit tree orchid had to wear both rubber boots and two pairs of gloves just to stay safe. He, himself, had gotten bit by a snake once when he had gone to blindly pick an apple from one of the trees for his wife, he was being romantic and his romantic gesture had come with a price. He had had to go to the hospital with the snake, of which had been put in a burlap sack, placed a safe distance away from him in the ambulance. If that puppy had gone behind them hedges then she was a goner.

"I'll go find and get her." Angel said, TazirVile plopped his hand on the surface of the table so hard that everyone jumped. "Tazzy, what-..."

"I and my brother will go into the orchid to find the puppy," TazirVile said, he stared at Angel in a stern way. "there is no way in hell I am letting you go behind them hedges into that orchid."

"Taz, I'll be fine." Angel said. "I'll wear your boots and-..."

"The hell you will!" TazirVile nearly shouted. "You remember that bite I got from innocently picking an apple from one of them trees? There are snakes running rampant all throughout that orchid!"

"Slithering," Bile said, TazirVile looked past Angel to his step-and-adopted son. "snakes slither, they don't have legs to run on."

"And let's be glad for that," Lazeer said. "Bile, you remember when you came home with that nice, long, green snake in your pocket?"

"Ma asked what I was hiding then, after I started stuttering and stammering, she reached right into my pants pocket. I thought my ears would start to bleed, she screamed so damn loud!" Bile said, he and his brothers broke out in hysterical laughter soon after.

"You are now required to empty your pockets before entering this abode, Bile." TazirVile said, Bile and his brothers began laughing all over again.

"Back to the puppy, Tazir I will be perfectly fine. No snake will bother me." Angel said.

"Angel-..."

"I am going to find that puppy, Tazzy. Whether you like it or not I am going." Angel said, effectively silencing the man. "Trob, when I come back with the pup what do you wish for me to do with her? Bring her to you or-..."

"Keep her." TrobrencusVile said quickly. "She's yours and your kids' now."

"Which of the puppies that were born during our absence did you give her? Whose litter?" Bahne asked her husband.

"One from Jhopa's litter, Iruhlezer is the suspected father of that litter." TrobrencusVile replied.

"We were talking the other day about P'poa's one pup, have you decided yet on what you're doing with her?" Bahne asked.

"Celobra's decision, not mine since that dog wasn't owned by me." TrobrencusVile replied, before his wife started in on him he turned and looked at her. "Before you start ranting and raving about me giving one of Bohir's dog's puppies away let me remind you that Bohir is much too young to have more than one dog and that twelve dogs is quite a lot to have, even if we can afford and have the space for them."

"What breed was Jhopa again?" ShaamVile asked his uncle.

"Speckled Picardy, as we call them." TrobrencusVile replied. "The suspected sire is a Moozed Fousk."

"You up and gave away a rather expensive puppy from two fine breeds for free?" ShaamVile seemed rather shocked. "You bought Celobra and Bohir them two dogs last year, how much did you spend on them?"

"Two grand, each." TrobrencusVile replied.

"You gave Angel a puppy worth two grand for free?!" Cyla exclaimed.

"We going into another fuss for all, Cyla?" TrobrencusVile asked, he then sighed. "Yes, I did and I am glad that I did. Any other questions now?"

"For crying out loud, you people that against my father giving Angel, a member of his family, a puppy that bad?" CelobraVile, who had stayed quiet up to now, asked headly. "Tazir, you sure that you didn't bring Angel and her kids back to the right family?"

Bile had to, he just had to, stare at Celobra for a few moments, in his mind she was damn gorgeous! Her long, curly, creamy-colored hair fell around a pretty heart-shaped face that housed a pair of thin lips that had pink lipstick on them and full, bright blue eyes. There was light pink blush on her cheeks and she had light pink eyeshadow on her eyelids and, to match this, she was wearing a light pink lace blouse that had a dark pink string around the waist and very short sleeves. She had a pair of blue shorts on underneath the shirt, there were dark and light pink patches of paint on the legs of the shorts, and she had pink, slip on, shoes on her feet. From around her neck fell a light pink Swarovski crystal that hung down from a silver chain and, Bile could see as clear as the day itself, the pink diamond ring that was on her finger. Bile forced himself to look away from her, her beauty had just mesmerized him to a great extent. When Bile saw that Lhaklar was also staring at the woman he jabbed at him with his elbow.

"Looks like the two older boys are already showing their interests in the opposite gender. Tell me, Angel, are they all straight or-..."

"All are straight." Angel replied. "They look at and read quite a lot of magazines that show barely clad women."

"Grow up fast don't they?" CelobraVile asked, she smiled a dazzlingly white smile. "Seems like yesterday that my father found Syamsin in his own personal collection."

"We've been trying to get Angel to take away their magazines, Bile and Hazaar have practically a library up in their chambers of that junk." Irka said.

"So does m'granddaddy." SyamsinVile said.

"Nothing wrong with them looking or having that sort of stuff. Better than them going out at their age to experience it." TrobrencusVile said.

"Thank you, Trob." Angel said. "I have no problem with my sons reading their magazines or in owning their magazines. Like he said, better they read or look at it in a magazine than to see it in person at their age."

"What is this that I hear that your boys also do model building?" Pagnyar Palus asked. "Which one of them does the model building?"

The man and his son looked so much alike that there was no mistaking that they were father and son! Pagnyar Palus had long, dark brown, curly hair all of his body that he kept trim. The hair on his head was cut short, his bangs were especially kept short so they'd not get into his dark blue eyes that had green glowing pupils in them. The only real, physical difference between the two was that Syamsin, who was two thousand years old, had dirty blond hair all over his body that was straight. The hair on the kid's head was curled at the ends and his bangs were cut short so his bright blue eyes could be seen. The father was wearing a black tuxedo with matching shoes while his son was wearing a simple pair of blue pants, a white, long sleeve, button down shirt and he had brown keds on his feet. How both of them had been able to tame the hair that was all over their bodies to fit into their clothing was way beyond Lhaklar, both of them reminded him of that creature from The Addams Family, Cousin It.

"All of them build models." Angel replied. "They all have different areas of interest, though."

"What're their interests?" Pagnyar asked.

"Boats and planes." Lazeer replied after a few moments of silence. "And dinosaurs."

"Trains and spaceships." Hazaar said.

"Cars." Lhaklar near mumbled.

"Really not much into model building unless it's something good to look at and keep. Anything that's cool." Bile replied.

"Like?" Pagnyar prodded Bile for more details.

"Like dragons or-... ahem-... anything sexy."

"My husband is an avid model builder." CelobraVile said. "I think your sons, Angel, and my husband will hit it off rather quickly."

"How long has it been since they stopped smoking?" Qepax Veonim asked.

"Since our return here." Angel replied. "Haven't had so much as a puff since."

"That's good, smoking is best left to us adults." Qepax said. "Might not be very healthy for us, but our lungs can handle smoking much better than someone in their mid-teens."

Hazaar had seen the movie Men In Black so many times that, at once, he began comparing the insect-like man who had said something on their smoking. He looked like a big, ugly roach. He was all brown on the back and he had a yellowish underside. His feelers and antennae were tied together, the man kept them swept back behind his head. Curiously, the man had multi-brown hair that was cropped short, he had a stubby nose and large, yellow eyes that had vertical, black colored almond pupils within them. When he spoke, Hazaar saw that he had just six, thin but very sharp-looking, yellow teeth. The man's arms were thin, the hands had just two fingers on them. Qepax Veonim was wearing a brown checkered tuxedo with matching pants, vest and shirt, his shoes were brown. The man stood just six feet tall and he was pretty chunky in appearance. Hazaar blinked his eyes then looked away from the man, he merely poked at the single grilled cheese sandwich that was on his plate. Like his younger brother, he had no appetite at all.

"Tazzy, is there another room where the youngsters can eat or is this the only dining room in your place?" TrobrencusVile asked.

"Only dining room, there's a small area for maybe six in the kitchen but this is the main eating area." TazirVile replied.

"That is a shame, the kids at this table are still growing and they do need to eat. Eating generates growth and it gives them energy, all this fighting just takes away appetite." TrobrencusVile sighed. "How many times have fights sparked up during mealtime?"

"Five," Ashaklar replied. "most during breakfast and supper."

"Pardon me Miss, who are you again?"

"Ashaklar Ubalki, Tazir's mother."

"A woman who should not be here in this residence." Cyla said.

"Pardon me but I think me and my boys will be excusing ourselves." Angel said, she stood up then started for one of the many open doorways that came off of the dining room. "Have a puppy to retrieve and four boys to see up to their rooms."

"I'd really prefer that you not go looking for that puppy, Angel." TazirVile said. "Let me and one of men go, you stay here where it's safe."

"I'm going, Tazir." Angel said, she gave him a stare that said that he was to say no more on the issue. "I'll have Homsi or Eldass or Kalach come along with me."

"Who and who and who?" TrobrencusVile asked.

"Members of my staff." TazirVile said, he then sighed. He leaned back in his chair at the head of the table, a defeated man. "Alright, Angel. Just come back to me and the boys and Eshal in one piece please."

"Oh no, I was planning on coming back in two or three pieces. All with their own, personal fang marks." Angel replied teasingly.

Angel led her sons slowly up to their bedroom chambers, she saw that they all either sat down and did some of the new models that she had gone down to Earth to get for them or that they put a music disc in their stereos or had a magazine in their hands before she left. She had gone to Earth to find and get Lhaklar a model car that she hoped would keep him busy for a while, when her eye had landed on the kit for the Rolls Royce Silver Ghost she had known that that was the model for him. She had bought it then had left the store before buying another, the next store she had gone to had models of planes and space ships in it. She had looked hard for a spaceship model kit for Hazaar and the only thing she could find that she thought he might like was a Lunar Module Eagle kit, it wasn't really a model of a spaceship but of a lander from a spacecraft, regardless Hazaar had liked the model and she was relieved about that. Picking out the model kit of the Monogram B-29 Superfortress was rather easy, she had bought both then had gone off to a different store that sold exotic model kits. She had looked and had nearly bought a model kit of Elvira, the Mistress of the Dark, but she had decided to look around first. In the end, she had bought that kit along with a model kit of Fay Wray that included the unpainted hand of Godzilla. Her sons were very happy about the new things she had bought for them, she hoped that them models would lift their spirits as she was worried about Lhaklar and Lazeer quite a lot. They hadn't been as clingy to her before she had left for Trob's place, they were nervous wrecks now and that concerned her greatly. She had tried to get them to talk to her about what was bothering them and, so far, no go. She figured that, when the time was right, they would confide to her what was wrong, in the meantime she'd just let them cling to her like glue. After each of her sons were settled down in their bedroom chambers, Angel went downstairs to find either Homsi, Kalach or Eldass.

Them three were a part of her circle of the most trusted of Tazir's staff and she knew that neither had an issue with snakes. Losal, despite being five feet tall and being pretty strong, didn't much like snakes. He killed them on sight and then, afterwards, he'd back off and lean against some hard surface like concrete or brick, they freaked him out something awful and Angel didn't blame him at all for feeling that way towards the animal. Although she transformed into the animal when the situation called for that form to be put into effect she didn't much like snakes either. They crawled, they wiggled, they flicked their tongues out and they either killed their prey by biting to inject a venom or suffocating their victim by wrapping around them. Zshon, also, didn't much like snakes so the best choices for her in asking for assistance in going to find and retrieve the puppy that had ran into the fruit tree orchid were Homsi Modulavich, Eldass Zultoa or Kalach Speelin, all who had no issues with snakes at all. Angel went to the closet first. It was more like a dressing room than a closet as it had a bench running all along the wall and hooks from which coats, gloves, hats, boots and scarves hung from, she didn't waste in time in sliding Tazir's size eleven boots over her feet, she kept her shoes on as there was no way in hell that she'd be able to keep Tazir's big ol' boots on otherwise since she wore a size seven in shoe and a size eight in boot. She next grabbed two pairs of Tazir's big, rubber gloves then she left the closet and started really looking for either Homsi, Kalach or Eldass. It was just her luck that, coming her way from the direction of the in-house bar, was Kalach Speelin.

"Mr. Speelin," Angel said.

"My Mistress," Kalach bowed politely. "you look near swallowed up in them boots."

"You going to be busy for the next five to ten minutes?" Angel asked. "I need to head over to the fruit tree orchid to look for the puppy that I brought back four days ago."

"My Mistress, I am available." Kalach said. "Might we ask for someone else to come along as well? Slikix Mustafe just came in from that place with a bushel of apples, he says the snakes are crawling about madly there."

"That scares me, yeah sure." Angel said, hearing that made her worry more about the puppy.

Since she couldn't find Homsi or Eldass anywhere she decided to ask Kalach who she should go and ask to tag along with them in finding the puppy. He told her about Lusotobaar Hiperaun, who was just ten years into his employship by TazirVile Surfeit and who Angel didn't know. The guy was said to be one of the burlier type of Goblins that had been employed by Tazir and he was also said to be pretty handy in snake handling, Angel decided that the man was appropriate enough for the job quickly after he was described to her. She asked Kalach where the man was and he led her almost to the back door, the man was just walking in when they came upon him. The Goblin had purple skin, green eyes, warts on just his left cheek and a wart on his jaw and he had stringy, platinum blond hair that he had combed fully to one side. Lusotobaar stood five foot, one inch tall and was wearing a brown tuxedo with matching vest and shoes, when she told him where she was going and that she wanted another with her and Kalach and he said that he'd be glad to help despite the fact, which he brought up very loudly, that he wasn't loyal to her. Kalach and Lusotobaar put on rubber boots and grabbed some shovels and two pairs of rubber gloves then they followed Angel as she left the mansion. The noon air was warm, there was a breeze which caught against Angel's hair, blowing it behind her shoulder, and Angel could detect barking in the far distance. She let Lusotobaar lead the way to the fruit orchid, although she knew where it was located, Kalach followed behind her.

"What does this puppy look like, ma'am?" Lusotobaar asked, due to his not having any loyalty to her he'd not allow for himself to call Angel his mistress. He just called her ma'am out of respect.

"She has gray mingling in with her brown coat, has two dark brown patches on both of her sides and she has feathering on her muzzle, ears, belly and tail." Angel replied.

"You sure she went to the fruit tree orchid, ma'am?"

"My husband's niece claims she disappeared behind some hedges that were by some apple trees." Angel said.

"I do hear a puppy barking," Kalach said. "Slikix didn't say he saw a puppy in the orchid but he did say he did hear quite a lot of barking."

"Quite possibly then the pup hasn't been harmed by one of the snakes. She barks, she's fine. She goes quiet, she's not." Lusotobaar said. "Puppy have a name?"

"My sons and daughter had no chance to name her, they were talking about naming her when she was chased off." Angel replied.

The orchid might have looked pretty on the outside but once one entered it the "pretty" appearance just disappeared. Angel had never really much liked the orchid, although all of the fruit produce that Tazir got came from the orchid there had been quite a lot of his employees headed to the hospital with burlap bags that had the snake that had bit them placed safely at a distance in the ambulance. She had tried to get Tazir to take it all down several times and make a better, safer, fruit tree orchid someplace else on his property but he'd not listen, even after getting snake bit himself he still refused to take down the orchid. The orchid was a large one, apple trees stood tall along the outer edges and there was a second row beyond them, there were two rows of pear trees beyond them and the peach and orange trees followed after them. There was a yellow path going between the rows of trees, the snakes liked to lie on the path to sunbathe and warm themselves up but, a majority of the time, they were hiding up in the trees. The first thing that Angel, Lusotobaar and Kalach saw after walking into the orchid was a nice, big, fat orange snake. Lusotobaar swung his shovel, splitting it right down the middle. The snake wiggled regardless of being split in two. The barking of the puppy seemed to be echoing within the orchid, Angel had no idea where the pup was as it seemed that the puppy was in several places at once. She started calling out to the puppy, hoping that she'd come to her. All her calling got was more echoing barks and whimpering. Angel walked behind the two Goblins for a bit then, after they both had to stop to use their shovels against five yellow and black snakes she walked around and then in front of them.

She had no idea where she was going, she was just following the barking that the puppy was doing and she really wasn't paying any attention to her surroundings. She walked right through two rows of trees, a snake lunged at her then it coiled back, the snakes that she came upon that were on the ground slithered away like she had some snake fearing disease that they didn't want to contract. The puppy's barking and whimpering was coming in louder now, it seemed that with each step she took the puppy's barking got closer. She walked through a grove of pear trees, a black snake opened its mouth at her then it closed it quick and slithered up the branch that it was on. Everywhere there were snakes. Black and yellow, orange, orange and black, green, blue and black and plain black snakes. Some of them had round heads, those, she knew, were non-venomous. Others had triangular heads, those were the venomous snakes that would either send her to the hospital or worse, kill her. Moas was famous for its Black Mobas, a snake that reached fifteen feet in length and had near three inch fangs. The Black Mobas was a deadly snake, one bite was enough to kill and it didn't matter if you reached a hospital if that snake got ya. You'd be pushing out Daisy's in less than five minutes, the venom was that bad.

Black Mobas were bad. Green Racers were bad because they went for the throat when they bit and the NatiMoKing's were bad because they struck more than once but the snake that she'd have to be particularly careful with was the blue and black Ocian. That species of snake acted docile. That species of snake acted so calm and tame when picked up but then, after you let your guard down, it bit and it didn't let go. You'd be flinging the arm or hand that got bit madly and that damn snake would still be attached to you, it had double fangs in its mouth and it gave four times as much venom as the Black Mobas, which it actually preyed on and ate. One bite from an Ocian and your goose was as good as cooked. Angel ducked to avoid hitting her head on a low-hanging branch from one of the pear trees then she walked on. The puppy had stopped barking, it was very quiet now in the orchid and that made her stop dead in her tracks.

The puppy had stopped barking, no sounds were heard in the orchid and that scared both Kalach and Lusotobaar. They had both gotten preoccupied in dealing with the snakes, in total they had swung their showels at twenty-four snakes, most of those snakes had been split down the middle while the others either had their heads lopped off or had managed to escape unharmed. Curiously, the snakes had all disappeared. Neither man knew what was going on for the snakes to simply back off like they had, it seemed that they had been all around when they had entered the orchid and there had been plenty of sightings of the snakes up to their mistress' going off on her own, after Angel had gone off on her own the snakes had disappeared and the puppy had stopped barking. Kalach's throat was dry, Lusotobaar's throat was sticky and he was sweating greatly from his nervousness. Kalach, after clearing his throat a few times, called out Angel's name twice. Her name echoed in the orchid, it got no reply so he called her name again. Lusotobaar, when Kalach walked by him, lunged forward and grabbed Kalach by his arm. He squeezed his co-worker's wrist then held his finger to his lips when Kalach turned to him. When Angel's name finally stopped echoing they both heard something that made their blood run cold. They both walked forward slowly, except for the shovels neither had any weapons on them. Their employer hadn't had many trespassers on his land since his moving to the planet but that didn't mean that, from time to time, someone did come in to hide from the law or to just rest up after they had done a long, country walk. The trespasser, if found, would be told to not come back onto their employer's land again unless they wished to have the law on them. There had been only one person who had returned and he had been arrested and charged with trespassing on private land. Kalach and Lusotobaar walked towards the talking slowly and carefully, they heard at least two people talking, a male and a female with the male sounding a bit young.

"Sir, I really am sorry that we cannot help you further," a woman was saying. "we're an adoption agency, we're not the police."

"Surely you have some notes or a phone call or something from her, this agency was where my paperwork was pushed through." a male who had a nasally, low voice that had a youthful crack to it said, he sounded desperate. "She had the paper signed by my real mother two and a half months ago, it was sent here for processing then it was sent to me. I have the original papers on me that says that Angel Irene is-..."

"Sir, what is your reason for coming here again?" the woman asked.

Angel blinked her eyes then she shook her head, she couldn't believe what she was seeing! She had had her subconscious tapped into only once when she had been awake by Dione while the other tappings had been done while she had been asleep, she knew how one would feel afterwards; the numbness, the coldness, the feeling of being violated and the confusion followed by fear. What she was experiencing was not caused by someone tapping into her subconscious mind, she was not only awake but she had complete control of her body, she had turned around twice just to confirm that. Had this been a subconscious tapping she'd not be able to move at all, she'd be in a trance-like state, an unplugged state. Soon after she had entered the clearing that was in the center of the fruit tree orchid she had been swallowed up by a white fog. She had screamed, she had yelled out for Kalach and Lusotobaar and she had tried to run only to find that the more she fought and struggled against the fog the more it seemed to wrap around her. She had stopped fighting and that was when the white fog had started to change. It had gone from white to being multi-colored and then the colors had started separating. It seemed like forever but after five minutes the fog had changed from being a collection of suspended liquid water droplets or crystals in the air to a solid surface, the fog had gone away shortly after the room that she had been forced to see and be in had formed.

The room she was in had red flowered wallpaper on the walls and a light red carpet, the ceiling was white and had a pebbled texture to it. There was a light brown desk off to the far side of the room that a blonde haired, blue-eyed woman was seated behind, the woman was wearing a blue dress and her blonde hair was held up in a tight bun. There was a computer, a keyboard, a stapler, a white desk phone that had a cord and a small stack of papers on the surface of her desk, the copper nameplate that was on the front of the desk said that the woman's name was Patricia Appold. Patricia Appold's hands were clasped together in front of her, she had cut, french tip, fingernails that had a shine to them. The door to the room was closed, there were flower paintings and pictures on the walls and there was either a real or a fake fern plant near one of the corners of the desk, a brown waste basket was near the plant that had some trash in it. There were two chairs placed in front of the desk, both were traditional upholstered vinyl side chairs that had nailhead trim, they had burgundy backs and seats. One of the chairs had someone sitting in it and that someone had Angel's full attention.

She had heard him once, she had seen him as a near apparition and then he had formed near her car and had chased after her while she had been leaving Trobrencus' place. The guy that was seated in the chair had some fine muscle on his back, he was wearing the remnants of a blue hoody, the hood of which was up, over his head, and he had a single chain wrapped around his neck twice. When Angel went over to look at the man's front side she saw that another chain came down from the one that was around his neck, it wrapped around the guy's chest once before the excess dropped down his stomach to the single chain that was wrapped around his waist. The man wore a pair of blue jeans that had rips in the knees and both the inner and outer thighs, the man's pants only went down slightly past his knees, he had brown combat boots on his feet. Angel had no idea if the man knew if she could see her or not or or if he had any idea that she was in the room with him and Patricia, she could see and hear both very clearly. Due to the man not having a shirt on, Angel saw that he had a very strong, upper body that had quite a lot of muscle on it, his arms were nicely muscled and he had a very nicely formed six-pack. The man had black skin, just as black as midnight and it was very tough and tight looking, there were all sorts of veins sticking up from underneath the man's black flesh. When she tried to look at the face of the man she saw that she couldn't see much of it. The man's face was almost like shadow, a black shadow that had two, glowing yellow eyes in it. She couldn't see a nose, a mouth and that was all. She couldn't see any other facial features. It was just the eyes that she could see. Angel reached over to put her hand on the man's shoulder and, to her surprise, her hand went right through.

"My former family were the Meyer's, I never get mail and was quite surprised when Lenora Meyer, my former adopted mother, threw me a package that was from this agency." the man said, explaining why he was there. "That package had paperwork that had been done by this agency, the first page of that paperwork had my birth mother's and Angel Irene's signature on it saying-..."

"Are you a former ward of this agency, sir?" Patricia asked.

"Since my birth, yes."

"Why are you hear?"

"After I got the paperwork I moved out from the Meyer home, I went straight for my new home. To the address that said my new mother lived at. She had four sons, two older than me and two younger. When I got there-... when I got there they were not there. The apartment had all the main furnishing but they were not there. I-..."

"How long has it been since you went and found them not at home waiting for you?" Patricia asked. "That is very abnormal, sir. Normally, we have the new families come here to pick up their newly adopted children, we don't have the children that we either have in our facility or have formerly adopted out go to their new homes on their own."

"I've known this woman since I was three hundred and seventy-three years old." the man said. "She's been the only one that has shown me any-..."

"How long has your new family been missing?" Patricia asked.

"A month."

"If you wish for us to give you a new family we can do that. How old are you?"

"I don't want a new family, I want the one that I was going to be with! I want-..."

She never got to hear more of the man's sentence, she was suddenly yanked back into reality with such force that she fell right on her bum in a small hole that a snake called home. Luckily for her, the snake that was in the hole didn't strike out at her, it just stayed coiled up in its hole. Angel got up, she brushed the seat of her pants with her hands then she looked around. She saw the puppy, she was standing right in front of her with her tail held nearly between her legs. Angel went and picked the puppy up, she checked the puppy quickly for snake bites and found that there were no puncture marks at all on her body. The puppy was scared and that was all, Angel was glad that that was all. Angel turned around and walked down the path that wound around the orchid, as she walked she wondered why she had just been forced into seeing what she had just seen. She racked her brain hard looking for answers as to what she had just saw. She wondered if she was going crazy. She wondered if someone was doing some magic, some sort of spells on her that were making her hear and see the things that she was hearing and seeing. The guy that she was seeing, the black-skinned guy, surely did look demonic but he also seemed to have some innocence to him as well that she couldn't understand. She remembered when she had seen the guy in a near apparition-like way, he had given her such a look that didn't seem at all demonic. He had looked as if he was pleading in an innocent way to find answers to a problem of his and didn't she answer him in a motherly fashion? Angel stopped and shook her head, she was really confused. Angel walked around the row of pear trees, when she saw Kalach and Lusotobaar she sighed then went towards them.

"Mistress, you okay?" Kalach asked.

"Perfectly fine." Angel lied.

"Puppy alright?" Lusotobaar asked.

"Seems to be, haven't found any snake bites on her but I'll have Tazzy get an appointment with the vet as soon as we get back indoors." Angel replied.

"Did you see anyone around while you was looking for the puppy?" Lusotobaar asked as he took his place on Angel's left side. "We heard voices, talking. A young-sounding male and a female."

Although she stopped after they had told her that she didn't tell them what she had just experienced. Instead, she told them that she had heard nothing and that they must have just mistaken leaves or branches rubbing up against each other as voices. She led the two Goblins out of the fruit tree orchid then she went towards the mansion, the puppy wagged her tail when she saw the mansion then she started to try to get out from Angel's arms. Angel stopped only for a second to reposition the puppy then she went on, Kalach and Lusotobaar took their gloves off behind her, they checked their hands for any indications that one of the snakes that they had killed had gotten through the gloves and found not a single mark. Angel slid off Tazir's gloves then she kicked off Tazir's boots when she got to the back porch, before she could retrieve the boots Kalach walked forward and grabbed them up for her. She thanked him then walked up the four steps of the back porch, she felt relief rush throughout her when she entered Tazir's mansion. She felt safe now and she felt that that was a very important thing. Safe was good, safe with family in a home that was familiar to her. Angel breathed in deeply then, after she had let let that breath out, she went towards the dining room to see Tazir about getting a vet to come out to check on the puppy.


	22. Part 3

"Play? You call this play!" Angel screamed, she got up from the chair that she had been forced to sit in. She went straight to Lazeer, who was sitting on the couch with one of his arms held against his chest. "Arm broken, face busted up, pants ripped in the back, the back of his shirt has been completely torn off of him if you haven't noticed."

Lazeer winced in pain, not in fear of his mother but in pain. All over he hurt and he had it all to thank to that little punk bastard, Baruk. Him and his crew of bully friends, Gaajah and Bohir. They had followed him after everyone had dispersed after breakfast had concluded, they had walked behind him in silence then, after he had exited his father's mansion and had gone across the back porch they had pounced. He had not a chance to get his arms out in front of him to cushion his fall from the back porch, he had landed right on his face in a patch of soggy artificial blue grass. His goggled glass, which he had taken out of the case and had put on before exiting the mansion, had gotten dirty but it hadn't broke. That had come later, way after Baruk and his gang had come down and had surrounded him. He had been scared when he had looked up into their faces but he hadn't been down, he had fought them hard after Bohir had reached down to grab him by the collar of his red mesh shirt. That kid had yanked him up so fast that the back of his shirt had ripped completely off from his body, he just had the front and sleeves of his shirt on him now and he was surprised that that much of the shirt he had decided to wear that day after the alarm clock had gone off, telling him to get up and get ready for the third day of the year 4,100.

His alarm clock had gone off at 7, he had gotten up, had stretched then had gone to the bathroom to relieve his bladder. After he had used the toilet he had brushed his teeth then he had gone to get dressed. His grandfather didn't like his sense of style, meaning he didn't like the holes in his pants and the mesh shirts that he liked to wear so he had decided to be a bit dangerous that day in wearing something that he liked to wear. A red mesh shirt and a pair of multi-gray cargo pants he had thrown on after exiting from the bathroom that was adjacent his bedroom chamber. He had put on a pair of gray socks and then he had grabbed his gray and brown shoes on his way out from his bedroom chamber. Bile had yelled to him to come down the hallway when he had seen him and, without giving a second thought about it, he ran on down to see what was up. His brother had looked him up and down then he had slid a necklace of his into his hand and had said for him to wear it. The chain of the necklace had been silver and hanging from it had been a stainless steel Eagle's claw that had been holding a red cubic zirconia stone, his brother had bought the necklace a few years earlier for $15 at a store located in Nordic, Wyoming that sold strange, unusual and exotic items. He had been honored to have been given the necklace to wear, he had had intentions to give it back as soon as lunch ended. He couldn't give it back now, Gaajah had yanked it away from his neck then he had used his Elemental Fire power to melt it into a hot liquid.

"This is not play! This was not rough housing! He was beat up and if your eyes can't see that then I suggest you get them checked!" Angel yelled.

Including him and his mother, there were four others in the room and one of them four was trying to put off what had happened outside as just "play". Irka, his aunt, was trying to put the notion of him making normal play turn into a fight which was absurd. He had been doing nothing but walking outside, there had been no one in front of him, it had just been him and his following predators going down the hallway towards the back door. He had done nothing but stumble around for a few seconds, go down to his knee then get back up before finding himself being sent sailing towards some metal cans. His head had made one of the metal cans go bong, he had seen stars for only a few seconds then he had gotten up and had turned to defend himself. Baruk had run forward, had swung his fist and he had dodged to the left. The metal can that Baruk's fist had struck had not made a dinging sound, it had made a sound akin to a gunshot and a nice, big dent had formed around Baruk's hand. He had leaped up, had clasped his hands together then he had swung his arms down with all his power, Baruk had kissed the metal can then had gone silent for almost all of the rest of the fight.

Gaajah had ran in and had started really swinging his fists at him, he'd probably have a black eye or two and he didn't need to be told that his lips were swollen, he could feel their heaviness. He had swung his arms as hard as he could, Gaajah's left eye had been shut after the first punch and one of the blood vessels in the right eye had blown. Lazeer didn't need to know that he had bluish trails going down from the two holes that were his nose, Gaajah's left fist had struck home right in the center of his face four times. He had been thrown against the metal cans four times when he had tried to get away, Gaajah had tried to kick him between the legs twice and he had managed to barely avoid them. He had waited, had taken a lot of Gaajah's blows then, when Gaajah had reached uneven ground, he had rushed forward and had shoved his attacker back. Down went Gaajah, he had run off, going towards the back porch. He had only gotten to the first step when Bohir, who had stayed behind, hiding in the shadows righ beside the back porch, had stuck his foot out. He had gone down for only a second then he had gathered his footing and had started to run again. He had gotten up to the first step then his feet had been ripped right out from under him and he had been rolled over then yanked up. Bohir had really wailed on him, using the sides of his arms, his fists and his feet. He had not had a chance in hell in defending himself, Bohir had been crazy-mad and he had been scared half to death. Soon after Bohir had kicked his knee up into his chest and he had fallen back, striking the back of his head up against one of the steps of the back porch, Gaajah had ran forward. He had grabbed the necklace that his brother had given him to wear that morning then he had ripped it off. What had he done after Gaajah had burned the necklace, burning it into a red liquid, in the palm of his hand? He had damn near burst into tears, that necklace had been loaned out to him, Bile had trusted him to take care of that necklace and... and... Lazeer nearly burst into tears when the thought of how mad his oldest brother would be when he found out that the necklace that he had given him to wear had been destroyed.

"Honey, I see what you're saying but-..." Irka started to say.

"Don't try to pass the buck onto someone else or try to sweeten me up!" Angel snapped angrily. "My son was found lying outside, underneath the porch in the back, by Mr. Khrelan when he went out to dispose of this mornings trash. My son claims that your son, Gaajah and Bohir ganged up on him and beat him up. I was called down soon after he was brought in, I yelled for all of you to be brought down here to see for yourselves what-..."

"Can your son speak? I'm not doubting you at all, I just want him to aknowledge what happened." TrobrencusVile said, Lazeer shivered slightly, he could detect the anger that was behind the man's weazel-like voice very clearly.

He had been really wailing on Bohir and Gaajah, going back and forth, giving them everything that they had given him back double time when Baruk had ran up. Baruk had seen him wailing on Gaajah's face and chest, giving him hell, then he had gotten up and had rushed on over, bellowing like a wild boar all the way. It had been Baruk who had broken his arm, he had grabbed his left arm then he had barked at Bohir to hold him steady. He had kicked Bohir in the groin so Bohir couldn't do a thing of what his "leader" had told him to do, Gaajah had done so instead and he had done it in near perfection. He had grabbed his shoulder then he had stomped on his feet, Baruk had twisted his wrist around then he had yanked his arm back. He had felt his twisted wrist touch the back of his head and he had both heard and then felt the bone in his arm explode. He had screamed in agony, had tried to jump to the side and that was when Baruk had released his newly broken arm. Bohir, like a raging bull, had shoved Gaajah to the side afterwards, he had shoved him backwards then he had jumped on him. He had had his newly broken arm underneath of him so being jumped on and then beat up on afterwards had made the pain that he had been feeling feel even worse. Before Bohir had gotten off of him he had done one last, degrading thing. He had removed his goggled glass that he needed to shield his sensitive eye from the rays of the sun off of his face. He had screamed, he had cried, he had pleaded for mercy then, being beat up wasn't so bad, having an arm broken by a bully was bad but having to deal with the excruciating pain in his left eye after it had been exposed to the rays of the sun had been enough to signal his defeat. After Bohir had stood up then backed away he had rolled over then had started crawling away. He had thought that he was in for round four when Bohir had grabbed him by the seat of his pants, Baruk had laughed something fierce when Bohir had ripped the full seat of his backs clean off and then he had shut up after the peanut-shaped, light brown colored, goggled glass case had been thrown in his direction.

That goggled glass case happened to be his favorite, it made him laugh and it had a cheery feel to it, who wouldn't feel happy or laugh after looking at it's odd shape? He had sat up then had started asking for the glass case back, he had quoted the cost of $500 for the case along with the $2,100 for the goggled glass that was inside it to his bullies and he had hoped that that would make them give it back. No go, Baruk had opened the case then he had dropped it to the ground. Both he and Gaajah had stomped on the peanut-shaped goggled glass case, denting and bending it all to hell then, when they had not done enough damage as they had wanted Baruk had scooped it up. He had broken the goggled glass case into six parts then he had thrown them parts right into his face. Baruk, after he had gotten control of himself, he had been laughing so hard that he had been sure he'd piss his pants, had taken one look at the goggled glass that Bohir had thrown at him and that he had caught then, without saying a thing, he had shredded it. The last thing that Baruk had done before he and his bully-friends had gone back inside and he had crawled over to the remains of his goggled glass was sort of sick and yet, sort of expected. Baruk had rubbed the remains of his shredded goggled glass on his rear end then he had thrown them to the ground. After he had crawled over to the remains of his goggled glass he had picked them up with his good hand, had stuffed it all in one of the front pockets on his cargo pants then he had gone and grabbed the pieces to his goggled glass case. He had crawled under the back porch afterwards, the reason why he had done this was because he had felt ashamed of himself. Ashamed because he couldn't put up as much of a fight as his older brothers had when they had been bullied and ashamed of himself for not being able to protect his goggled glass, its case and his brother's necklace. Losal Khrelan, like his mother had said, had found him soon after he had disposed of that morning's trash. He had seen something move underneath the back porch and had gone to investigate, when the man had seen him he had asked for him to come out. It had taken all of four minutes for him to do so, when the man had seen his state he had rushed him inside. His mother had come as soon as she had been called for and, oh boy, had she not been in the best of moods when she had seen what he, her youngest son, had looked like. He had been taken straight to the living room, his father had wanted him to be taken to the medical chamber but his mother had said no, she had wanted the parents of the bullies to see what had happened to him. He had painfully taken each piece of the shredded goggled glass and each piece of his broken peanut-shaped goggled glass case out from his pocket then he had placed them on the table before sitting down on the couch.

"You're not doubting what I've told you yet you ask if my son can confirm to you what I have told you." Angel sniffed, she then went towards her injured son and sat down next to him. Lazeer saw that his mother gave Trobrencus, the man who had actually helped her out quite a lot in the past week in getting everyone to back off from her, him and his brothers, a glaring look. The glare was only there for one second then, when she turned and looked at him and he saw that the glare had been replaced by a soft, warm and kind look. Lazeer sighed, having his mother sitting next to him and looking at him in that way made him feel safe, totally and completely safe. She asked him lightly and kindly to tell Trobrencus, the man who had sired the kid who had ripped the seat of his cargo pants completely off only ten minutes before, what he had told her. Lazeer opened his mouth and was about to do just that when, suddenly, the pain in his broken arm sparked up so badly that, instead of him telling the man who had attacked him he yelled out in pain. His mother reached over to hug him and comfort him, his father rushed over and gave him a hug then he turned and looked at the man who had asked for his son to confirm all of what he had told his mother.

"That's enough, Trob. If hearing from my wife what our son says what happened to him ten minutes ago wasn't enough then-..."

"Normally I do need to hear from the one who claims that one of my progeny harmed him or her but, in this case, I will make an exception." TrobrencusVile said, he went forward and placed his hand down gently on Lazeer's right shoulder. Lazeer was grateful for this because, regardless of the man placing his hand down gently on either of his shoulders, he had a feeling he'd of felt pain. As it was, with each breath that he took pain shot up from the arm that Baruk had broken and whenever he moved he also felt pain. "My son will apologize for what he did in a few hours, you worry over that arm getting fixed up. Get some rest afterwards, you need it."

Angel was glad that her son blacked out after TrobrencusVile left to deal with his son, the walk from the living room to the medical chamber was a long one and her son was experiencing quite a lot of pain. Due to his temporarily shutting himself out of everything he didn't feel any pain on that long walk to the medical chamber. He felt a lot when TazirVile picked him up to put him on the automated medical table that had the swing down, glass dome doors that had medical arms hidden in compartments in the outer sides but, after that, he felt no more pain. Tazir quickly made the arm that administered a medical drug that would make all pain numb out jab their youngest son's neck then he watched carefully, his fingers ready to press the buttons on the panel should a command come up for anything other than medicating, stitching or bandaging. The table, very quickly, gave off a read-out saying that not only was the bone above their son's elbow broken but so was the bone that was in front of Lazeer's elbow. The laser-powered arms that swung out from their compartments worked studiously, carefully, on their son's arm, working the broken bones back together then mending the break to like it had never happened. When their son slid off from the table his wrist was in a cast but his arm had gone from being broken to not being broken. The facial injuries would have to mend on their own, there had been no internal injuries noted and the physical exam that Tazir had run on their son came back saying he was fine. Angel led her son up to the third floor, she took him straight to his bedroom chamber.

"Bile's necklace-..." Lazeer said, he sat upright in his bed then looked at his mother fearfully. "Gaajah destroyed the necklace that I was wearing this morning, mom. It wasn't mine, it was-..."

"I'm sure that Bile will understand that it wasn't your fault." Angel said, she gently pushed her son back to lying down on his bed. "Nap for a while."

"What about my speck and-..."

"Your daddy will take care of that," Angel replied. "you have several spare glasses and some contact lenses as well. Your father will probably have the case that was destroyed replaced."

She let her son nurse from her, taking in all of the milk from her left breast, for fifteen minutes then she got up to leave his bedroom chamber. Her milk would aid in strengthening the mended bones in her son's arm and it would also calm him, it had always done so and she knew it always would until she dried up naturally. Before she was allowed to leave his bedroom chamber he asked for her to do something else for him, Angel sighed inside in annoyance. Lazeer had stopped being afraid of the boogeyman or the fabled monster that hid under his bed or down in the basement when he had turned eight hundred and twelve years old, for him to be asking her to check his closet for the "boogeyman" at one thousand, six hundred years old was rather annoying and rather worrisome. He had started doing this soon after Zanra, their young puppy, had been named nearly a week ago and he was still doing it. She had asked him several times why he was asking her to do the closet checking for his feared boogeyman and he had not answered... until two days ago, that was. She had gone into a serious mood with him, had sat him down on his bed then had demanded to know why he was having her, or his father, check his closet each night or whenever he went upstairs for a nap. When he had told her about the guy he had seen come out from the closet, the black skinned guy with slanted, glowing yellow eyes that was wearing chains around his neck, chest and waist, she had gone quiet. First her, then Bile and now her youngest son, she was really getting angry at that guy, whoever the hell he was, terrorizing her family. She had gone on checking his closet, making sure that the "boogeyman" wasn't there. She had a mind to phone up her father and ask... no, no. Demand why he was terrorizing her family and she had a mind to also call up someone else in the family, Bushon Bedali, the grandson-in-law to her great-grandfather, DuruVile Surfeit.

Angel swung the door to her youngest son's closet open then peered in, she did this with the utmost seriousness because, if there had been someone in there he or she would not be for long. Tazir had been comical the first three times that he had checked the closet but, now, he was losing that comical side, Angel detected that he was annoyed at having to check the closet that was in the bedroom owned by his one thousand, six hundred year old son for a thing that a child would be afraid of. There were winter coats, of the light, medium and heavy variety, hanging down from hangars. Next to them were some sweaters and turtle neck shirts and next to them were two black tuxedos and, next to the two black tuxedos were two robes. The black robe that had a yellow collar had come from Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic, her son had worn it on his graduation day. The blue robe with the silver collar her son had worn on the day of his graduation from The University of Telepathy. There were three ropes, one full silver, another black and silver and the other a red, gold and white, hanging down from the shoulders of the Pronghorn robe, her son had earned those from his potions, mechanics and math clubs, the University of Telepathy robe had two ropes, one that was red and gold and the other being green and black, hanging down from the shoulders. Her son had earned those from the clubs he had joined when he had been a student in that school. The top shelf had the boxes that contained her son's shoes or boxes from models that he had completed and had just shelved in his closet after he had finished doing the model. Angel looked the closet up and down then she pulled her head out from it, she was closing the door when the thought of leaving it open to keep her son calm crossed her mind. She left the closet door wide open then crossed the room to the door. She told her son where she'd be if he needed her then she reached over, turned the light off that was in the room then she exited.

At first, she headed for the staircase that led down to the second level then she changed her mind. Lazeer had seemed a bit worried about Bile being mad or upset with him over the necklace that he had loaned out to him earlier that morning. She figured that it'd only be appropriate for her to let Bile know what had happened that morning and that he'd not be getting his necklace back. Her son, wisely, kept a picture of each necklace that he bought and owned so she was sure that she could go and get him either a better necklace or one that was exactly the same as the one that had been destroyed by Gaajah. Baruk, Gaajah and Bohir had been bullying every male child in the mansion, at least two a day and, usually, the one that got bullied had to go to the medical chamber to be fixed up. Baruk had really pissed Cheshire off when he had bullied Qhuakiz, his three hundred and ninety-three year old son. Baruk had claimed that he had had no involvement in what had happened but Qhuakiz had pointed at him, fresh tears falling down the trails left from the old ones on his face, and had said that he had pushed him down the stairs then had kicked him in the bum when he had tried to get up. Qhuakiz had been very lucky to not of been killed, a fall from the stairs could have broken his back or worse, his neck. Cheshire had had to be held back from disciplining Baruk himself by her grandfather, the man who had sired Baruk and who had been just as angry as Cheshire with his son over his pushing Qhuakiz down the stairs. That had happened four days ago, Phaggo had been bullied the day after by Gaajah and his younger brother, Selik.

Phaggo had been doing nothing but reading a book in the shade outside when Gaajah and Selik had jumped on him. The book, one of Tazir's from the library that he had in the mansion, had been burned to ashes and Phaggo had been beat up pretty badly. He claimed that Gaajah had grabbed him then had thrown him, face first, into the trunk of the tree that he had been leaning up against and that Sudir, afterwards, had torn his pants off of him. His pants had been found in one of the branches of the tree, Sudir had torn them in two so Phaggo could not of put them back on. Phaggo had gotten two black eyes and the whole left side of his face had been very badly bruised, he had also had a contusion to his left testicle. Cheshire had not been happy about that at all, Duru had punched the man in the face when he had advanced on Gaajah after Duru had said he wasn't going to discipline him. Phaggo had showed the memory of what had happened to him to Duru a few hours after and her great-grandfather had then acted in disciplining his son, Gaajah had only been grounded for a week and Cheshire had not been happy about that at all. He had said that, after such a beating, the kid should have gotten whipped and then grounded and she did agree with him.

Trobrencus had done as much as he could in keeping everyone off of her back but he couldn't do a thing about the children that were bullying everyone in the mansion. He could discipline Bohir, he was in his right there and he had been in his right when he had disciplined Syamsin as well since Syamsin was his grandson and his parents had nodded their heads in his direction then had left the room. He had no say in the disciplining of the other child bullies, though. He could get on their parents all he wanted but, in the end, it was the bullies parents who had the say on disciplining them. Although he had taken the stress of the adults off of her back, her grandparents and great-grandparents and Shaam were actually acting accepting of her and her parenting of her children now, but Baruk, Gaajah, Bohir, Sudir and Selik and Uevaa and Kaasa had taken their places so she was still stressed out and now, knowing that Tazir had sent out the second batch of invites to eleven others in the family, her stress levels were so high that she could barely sleep at night. The bullying in the mansion, that black skinned guy who was terrorizing her and her sons and not knowing how everyone would act after the ones who had gotten their invites showed up was really making her nervous and stressed. When Angel got to Bile's bedroom chamber she knocked on the door twice then waited. It took her two more knocks and then a yell before her son answered the door.

"Ma?" Bile said after he had opened his bedroom chamber's door, Angel detected Fear Factory playing on her son's stereo and automatically knew that her son had had the volume up loud but not loud enough for it to be heard outside his bedroom.

"Hello Biley, we need to talk a bit." Angel said.

"Am I in trouble?" Bile asked. "Was my stereo up too loud or-..."

"No, nothing like that." Angel said, her son stepped over to the side and allowed for her to come in.

Her son was dressed normally, he was wearing a pair of brown pants, a brown shirt that had tears in the collar, chest and stomach area and he had brown combat boots on his feet. His face had cleaned up well after he had been triple-ganged up on by the bullies that were in the house. Baruk had jumped on him from a large rock that had been on the beach, he had tried to beat her oldest son up and he had found out very quickly that Bile was very strong. Baruk had been sent running back to the mansion with a bloody elbow and a broken nose, her son had not had a mark on him from their fight. Baruk had recruited Gaajah to help him with the second attempt a few hours later and they both had found out that they, still, were out-muscled by her son. Gaajah had jumped onto her oldest son's back and had tried to use his weight in bringing her son down, he had found himself being flung backwards after Bile had managed to move his body when Baruk had swung his fists. Gaajah had taken all of Baruk's punches and Baruk had gotten his nose broken again by Bile, his thumb and index finger had also been broken and his clothing had been ripped down the back when her son had grabbed and then thrown him in the direction of the back porch.

Trobrencus and his family had only been in the mansion one full day when that had happened, the day after Bohir had been recruited to help in dishing out round three on Bile and, again, all three had found themselves fighting someone who couldn't be taken down. Bile had fought all three of them hard, putting everything into the fight. Baruk had been sent away with a broken wrist. Gaajah had been run off, his face had been half-bloody and he had had a long gash going down from his elbow to his wrist on his left arm. Bohir had been thrown twice, he had jumped on her son's back twice and had been thrown back both times and then, when he had tried to swipe Bile's legs out from under him he had gotten a very nasty surprise. Bile had kicked him in the face then he had grabbed him up by his shoulders, Bohir had been sent racing away from her son with one eye swollen shut, his nose hugging up against the left side of his face and his right hand had been broken. Baruk's, Gaajah's and Bohir's parents had tended to their children, in both mending their injuries and then in disciplining them, none of them three had so much as said a thing or looked in her oldest son's direction again. Bile's left eye was discolored, a blood vessel had popped thanks to Bohir throwing his fist into that eye hard, and his nose had been broken. His right brow had a healing scab on it, the remnant of the two-inch cut that he had recieved from Gaajah and his lower lip had been split open by Baruk, it had some stitching in it and looked to be healing well. Her son was taking these injuries in his stride and she was glad for that, he had been on the Wrestling team when he had been a student at Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic so he did know some moves.

"How in the world are you able to work on that model with your music up so loud, Bile?" Angel asked after she saw that her son had the model of the female dragon who was guarding a nest of gems and dragon eggs. She had bought her son that model the last time she had gone down to Earth, she had thought he'd like it and he had. Bile had built the body of the dragon, he had painted the female dragon a bright yellow color with the underside being almost white. He was now working on the nest and base. Her son was building and painting his models on a long piece of wood that was one and a half inches thick, he had no work station to build his models on, he borrowed the paint that he wanted to use on his models from either Hazaar or Lazeer.

"Just like making them models with something loud backing me up." Bile replied.

"You're crazy," Angel said, she smiled at her son then she got down to business on why she had come to see her son. "you remember that necklace that you gave your younger brother this morning?"

"Yeah, the Eagle claw." Bile nodded his head.

"You have the image that came on the card for it?" Angel asked. "Lazeer was attacked by Baruk and his gang this morning, Gaajah destroyed the necklace."

Bile looked at his mother for a second after that then he felt the same old fury that had swelled within him when he had found out that Hazaar had been attacked by Baruk and Gaajah and then Lhaklar had been attacked by Baruk, Gaajah and Bohir. Baruk and Gaajah had set their sights on Hazaar the day after Baruk had been grounded for pushing Qhuakiz down the stairs and for kicking Qhuakiz in the ass afterwards. Gaajah had run up, had swung his fist at his younger brother's back and then, when Gaajah had had Hazaar's attention Baruk had run up. Between the two, they had beat his younger brother up pretty badly but he had roughed them up enough for them to have cuts all on their faces and for their nails to all be broken down to the quicks. Baruk and Gaajah had been scared off when Hazaar had shot blue fire out from his mouth, nose holes and eyes, they had never seen that ability in the Elemental Fire power before and, obviously, they had never been trained in it. They had not gotten their fill of bullying that day because, after getting disciplined and then given another extension on their already hefty groundings, they ganged up on Phaggo. Hazaar's face had been badly bruised, one of his eyes had been swollen shut and his clothes had been ripped off of his body but he had come in on his own, two feet and he had been high-spirited.

Baruk and Gaajah had not been able to further bully Hazaar, they had been told to stay in their bedroom chambers the day after so, instead of Hazaar being picked on and beat up by them he had been beat up by someone else. Selik and Sudir had jumped on his younger brother at the same time, had thrown him around then had punched at him unmercifully until he lay at their feet a bleeding, crying mess. Before his brother had done the same trick with shooting blue fire from his mouth, nostrils and eyes they had cut off his deep purple rattail again, they had run off scared with it. Hazaar's hair had been returned a few hours later, their mother had done the spell to reattach it to what had remained on his head. His hair had stayed on his head for only one day before it had been cut off again, this time by Sudir and SyamsinVile, TrobrencusVile's grandson. Sudir and Syamsin had beat his brother up again then they had snipped his hair off, Syamsin had pocketed the deep purple rattail and, through his doing that, he had been discovered as one of the bullies that had attacked Hazaar. Trobrencus had found it after he had searched his grandson's pockets, TrobrencusVile had returned it shortly after he had found out what had happened and then, after Syamin's parents had given him consent to doing so, he had personally seen to disciplining Syamsin afterwards, ma had done the spell to reattach Hazaar's rattail to the remains, of which there were very little sticking out from the back of his little brother's head but she had managed to reattch every strand with her spell. Hazaar was happy to not have to wait two to three months for his hair to grow back to its original length and, really, so was he.

The bullies had still not had their fill, the day after Lhaklar had found himself under attack by Baruk and Gaajah. He had fought them hard and they had found that he was much too fast and much too quick on his feet for them to get a good hold on him, much less be able to get a good punch in. A few hours after Baruk and Gaajah had come upon Lhaklar in the gym they had asked Bohir to join up with them for the second attempt. They had all jumped on his brother and had beat him up but heh ad gained the upper hand by his swiftness. Bohir had been sent packing by a double tornado kick to the groin, Baruk had been chased away when Lhaklar had fired a golden fire stream at him that had burned his shirt and pants completely off and Gaajah had run off on his own after Lhaklar had started sending icicles at him. Lhaklar had dark green rings around both of his eyes, he had come in with trails of dark blue blood flowing down from his nostrils and one of the suction-cups that he had on the end of his fingers had been nearly severed. That had happened yesterday, from what his mother had just told him the bullies had still not gotten their fill and had attacked his youngest brother today. First him, then Qhuakiz, then Hazaar, then Phaggo, then Lhaklar, then Eshal and then Lazeer, Bile was getting very sick of it all and he was sure that his mother felt the same.

"How bad was his hurt?" Bile asked as he went to his dresser. He had a box in the top drawer that had all the card images that his necklaces had been taped to, he did this for security reasons, if one of his necklaces got stolen, damaged or destroyed or misplaced he could always take the card image to the store and get a replacement.

"Pretty bad," Angel replied. "broke his arm and busted his face pretty badly."

"How bad was the break?" Bile asked, he was rummaging through the card images, looking for the one that went with the necklace that he had given Lazeer that very morning that his mother had said had been destroyed by the bullies.

"His left arm was broken in three places," Angel said. "above and below the elbow and his wrist."

"What's the problem with everyone who is an "adult" in this place? If they had been your sons they'd of not done that. Like with us, you'd of taught them right from wrong and, if they had done any bullying and were your sons, they'd have long lists of chores that would keep them busy for more than a month." Bile shook his head, he had never ganged up with any bully or had beat anyone up in his life. He and his brother's fought but only in a sibling way, their mother had taught them all well on when to and when to not fight.

"Everyone's raised differently, Biley." Angel sighed, what her son had just said was very true.

He found the image card soon after, before he gave it over to his mother he closed the box then slid the drawer shut. When he gave it over to his mother he saw how beautiful she was, even stressed out she looked beautiful and he hated himself for thinking that because he hated, absolutely hated, seeing his mother stressed out. So what if she had help in the kitchen with the cooking and so what if he and his brother's and Bahne, Ashaklar and Eshal helped take the food to the table. So what if Trobrencus had gotten the other adults to back off, his mother was still stressed out. Bile had heard that there would be new arrivals soon and that three of the ones that had been invited had children older than he. If those three kids joined with the other ones that were dishing out the bullying in the house then his mother would be even more stressed out. He had taken his father to the side and had told him his concerns about that, his father had said that he had nothing to worry over which had made him sigh inside. Nothing to worry about? Oh yeah, there had already been enough to deal with before Baruk had arrived with his family, now there was a mini-army out to get at him and his brothers. Bile saw his mother out of his bedroom chamber, he lightly closed the door after she had started going down the hall then he turned and went to his stereo. He stood in front of his stereo system for a few seconds, thinking heavily about how he felt, then he did the Silencer spell to make noise that happened in his bedroom chamber not be heard from outside his bedroom chamber's walls. With the spell done he cranked his stereo up to full blast then he went towards the model he was working on.

She slid the image card of the necklace that had been destroyed in her bra then walked on, that morning she had doned an outfit that Tazir had asked her to wear and that outfit had no pockets on it so her bra was the best place to put the image card at the moment. Tazir had asked her to wear the outfit specifically for him and she, after a moment's pause to think about it, had gone and put it on. When Dara Dara had seen the purple, halter rhinestone, evening dress that's skirt went down to the floor and had a slit down the side she had demanded that she go up and change immediately into something more appropriate. The dress had now back on the top half and it fit her figure tightly yet comfortably. She had put on a pair of silver spiral wrap around rhinestone sandal heels on her feet then she had rummaged around the armoire that was in her and Tazir's bedroom chamber that was all hers for something else to bring out the outfit. Before she could pick out the necklace that she wanted to wear Tazis had surprised her by dropping a lovely silver rhinestone and amethyst necklace in front of her face. He had said that only the adults would be able to see what she was really seeing while the children would see just a full, non-risque, purple dress. She had put the necklace on then had grabbed a Swarovski rhinestone bracelet out from the armoire before standing up and leaving the chamber that she had slept in the night before, Tazir had had his arms around her all that night so she had felt a sense of comfort and safety all during that night. Once Dara Dara had seen her outfit she had howled at the moon then had demanded that she head up and change, her grandfather had said the same thing before Tazir had told him about the spell he had worked on the dress to make it look like something more pleasant, and less risque. The dress wasn't new, Tazir had bought it for her two weeks after Lazeer had been conceived and the bracelet and heeled sandals had also been bought at the same time. Angel went down the stairs to the second level, turned sharply then found herself in a jam. She had not noticed that Trivit had been on his way to the stairs, she walked right into him, she would have fallen hadn't he of grabbed her in time.

"Having trouble walking in them heels or just happy to see me?" he asked.

"Turned too sharply, wasn't looking where I was going." she replied.

"He still takes good care of you I see," TrivitVile said, he stepped back to take in her outfit. "mmmm, very good care indeed."

"Yes, he does." Angel said, she went to brush past Trivit only to find herself blocked.

"How is it that after four you still find yourself being so neat and trim?"

This was one thing she hated, absolutely hated, about Trobrencus' and Bahne's firstborn son. He drops flirts all the time and made people of the female gender feel very uncomfortable in the process. She had caught him flirting with Ashaklar and Qeeta twice and she had also caught him throwing some flirts in Dara Dara's direction as well. Although they had taken it all in stride she had not been fooled, the look of being uncomfortable was plain on their faces. Trobrencus was right flirty as well, she had caught him throwing the flirts towards staff, Qeeta, Ashaklar, Cyla and in Irka's directions and she had also caught him trying to flirt with Efagti, Amadh and Cheshire and some of the male staff as well. The man swung both ways but he claimed he liked women more than men. Trobrencus was still the same with how he treated other people's staff, she had caught him swinging his cane at Homsi, Losal and Kalach twice and she had also caught him yelling at other members of Tazir's staff as well for "slouching" on the job. She and Tazir had been getting on him about both the flirting and the yelling and cane swinging at the Goblins but Trobrencus was Trobrencus, he just wouldn't allow for anyone to tell him to quit disciplining the staff. Angel pushed Trivit hard against the wall then she walked by, she heard Trivit whistle behind her but she didn't turn back. She remembered what J'taveta had told her when she had been at her employer's residence, that Trivit and Trobrencus both had their way with the female help and that Trivit also had a girlfriend who he had been seeing for a thousand years named Alaah. Angel wondered what Alaah would do or say if she knew that her boyfriend was casting flirts out like crazy on whatever female that walked by, she was wondering this when she walked into Tazir's office. TazirVile looked up soon after she walked in, Homsi, Eldass, Losal and Kalach simply looked back as they had their backs towards her.

"Am I interrupting anything?" she asked. "Important meeting or something?"

"No, come on in Angel." TazirVile said. "Was just talking to these four about having their kids come over to interact with the boys."

When she walked by Homsi she saw clearly that he was not much in wanting to have the two sons of his that had played with Bile and Lhaklar when they had been young children come up. She didn't feel offended by this, he knew as well as Losal, Eldass and Kalach about what all was going on with Baruk and with all the bullying that was going on. Losal, Eldass and Kalach had similar looks on their faces, a look of point-blank seriousness and concern over the well-being of their children. Angel remembered once when Eldass had driven over a little later than usual one day when Bile and Lhaklar had been kids and when Hazaar had been just ten years old. Devlor and Seiqo, the former being nine hundred and twelve with the latter being a hundred years younger, had been with him as had Malmeen and Bamaia, who were a hundred years younger than Lhaklar. He had called up Tazir the night before to ask permission to bring them along for a playdate and he had gotten permission, Bamaia had played with Eshal while Devlor, Seiqo and Malmeen had played with Bile and Lhaklar. They had been good friends, had gotten along very well. Angel began wondering how Bile and Lhaklar would react when they saw their old kid-chums, they weren't young children anymore and they didn't play like young children anymore. All their kiddie-play had died out just when they had all started going to Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic. They still rough housed, like all boys do regardless of age, but they were all bigger and stronger so it was very possible that they could unknowingly and unwantingly seriously hurt one of the Goblin children. Angel walked by the four Goblins, she went straight to dark blue, velvet couch and sat down. Although she detected Tazir's eye on her he went on with the meeting.

"Right then," TazirVile said, his cleared his throat once then he went on. "I understand all of your concerns about Baruk, Gaajah and Bohir, they're correctly placed as are your concerns about Sudir and Selik." TazirVile cleared his throat again, Angel began to wonder if he was nervous but, when she looked over at him she saw not a bit of nervousness. What she saw was a man who looked somewhat ill. His face was shined with sweat, his eyes were not a shiny, silvery color anymore but a dull silver and his hands were clasped in front of him, she saw that they were shaking slightly and that concerned her. "I'm willing to make an effort in being out with you and them when they meet the boys and the five who have been causing disruption in my house have been restricted to their chambers for a week so they wouldn't harm any of them."

"Pardons sir, but what about Syamsin, Uevaa and Kaasa?" Eldass asked. "The last I want is for one of them to take up where the others left in making problems for you, your wife and the Young Masters."

"Uevaa and Kaasa have also been constrained to their chambers, Syamsin has his grandfather's eye on him hard." TazirVile replied. "I'm keeping my eye on Tralisa, just in case she decides to join in on any of this childish bullying that Baruk started."

"When and where will this meeting take place?" Eldass asked.

"I will leave the time setting to you four fine chaps." TazirVile replied. "The front, give the boys some new scenery and a chance to see what all is in the fr-..."

"Will you gentleman be so kind as to give me a moment with my husband?" Angel asked the four Goblins.

Homsi looked at Angel just as his employer did then he complied with removing himself from his employer's office. Eldass, Losal and Kalach left afterwards, all three of the Goblins still outside the closed door, not really wanting to listen to what was going on but doing so only out of concern. When Tazir had gotten up that morning he had been healthy and happy and he had been healthy the last she had seen him which was an hour ago, for him to look as ill as he did now made her stress levels jump up a notch. She had counted each of the times heh ad cleared his throat, which was a total of nine times, and she had also taken note of how much sweat he was producing which was a lot. The man really didn't look good and that concerned her, when he took his goggled glasses off right after the four Goblins had left and she saw that his eyes had sunk in a little that made her stress levels go up a notch more. Dull silver eyes that were sunk in a little, face slick with sweat, clearing his throat a lot and trembling hands, she had experienced a lot of the plagues that had struck Earth in the past one thousand, six hundred years, she was concerned that Tazir had caught something bad. Angel got up, she left her Universal Husband's office for just a minute to grab him a glass of water, when she came back in she saw that he was still seated in his chair behind his desk. The man was the same, was still acting the same. Angel gave Tazir the glass of water then she waited, after he had drank almost off of what had been in the glass she went to him.

"Strange, look sweated but you're not feverish." Angel said, surprisingly, Tazir's temperature felt fine.

"Haven't had anything to drink in quite a while." TazirVile replied.

"You should never allow for yourself to get to this level of dehydration, Taz." Angel said in shock, she left Tazir's office to go back down to the kitchen for a pitcher of water. When she came back she found the four Goblins back in, it looked as if they were finishing up their meeting. TazirVile dismissed the four Goblins then sat back in his chair. Angel went over, gave him the pitcher of water and told him to drink every last drop. He did so without saying anything in return and he looked much better afterwards. "Look better."

"Mmmmm, you look like something I'd much rather drink up then plain water my love." TazirVile replied, he smiled at Angel and she returned it.

"You should really have something to drink once every thirty minutes or so," Angel said. "especially now that you're pregnant with numbers four through eight."

"Very funny, Angel. I'll leave the baby carrying and birthing to you, I'm not made up for that." TazirVile laughed lightly.

"So, do I have to ask permission to use a phone here or-..."

"My love, your home too. If you have need, use it." TazirVile said. "Anyone I know that you're calling up or is it an old, Earth fling flare?"

"Stayed abstinate during my stay on Earth," Angel replied, she reached over for the handset of the black French style phone that was on her Universal Husband's desk. As she reached over for the phone she purposely rubbed her body up against Tazir's side, he reached over and wrapped his arm around her. In one, clean jerk he had her turned around then sitting on his lap.

"My good wife," TazirVile said happily, he kissed her on the lips then released her. "only mated with my hand since your disappearance."

"So that's why you have that vast collection of hand puppets up in our bedroom chamber." Angel laughed. "I imagine there is a big pile in one of the locked up drawers of our dresser as well."

"Might be, got it locked up tight so no one other than I can get to them." TazirVile hinted at their existence.

"Be sure to keep that under the radar with the boys," Angel said. "our boys have an uncanny ability of picking locks."

Duru had not been happy when, after he had returned to the world of the known, he had found out that a majority of his offspring had moved to different planets in the M-51 Galaxy after they had either married or after he had been reported as deceased. He had tried to get all of them to move back to Gamma Vile, putting more emphasis on his daughter's more so than Tazir. He had been successful with only one of his daughters, Kulabai had moved back to Gamma Vile soon after her father had asked her to. She had abandoned her former life on Yunkia, a planet very far away from Moas and Gamma Vile, to do as dear dold daddy had asked her to do. She had an apartment all her own, the last that Angel had heard before she had left with her four boy's Kulabai had still been single and she had also still retained the title of Father's Favorite. The night before Angel had asked Qeeta what was up between her and her father as they were not getting along at all. It seemed that Qeeta, DuruVile Surfeit's sixth daughter, had dropped to least favorite daughter due to her both living with her mother and Cheshire and because she had moved to a galaxy far from M-51.

He had his qualms about everyone but he did his best to keep his little issues about Kulabai under the hat. He had four daughter's that had same-sex partners and six that were straight with only three of them six having had children of their own. Whosla and Bekla, two of the three daughter's from his first marriage, had married and had had children with their husbands and Vaiba, the daughter through his fourth marriage, had had children with her husband. Duru had issues with their husbands that Angel could only shake her head at. Take for example his qualms over Majeer Doshluna, Vaiba's husband. He said he didn't like how he presented himself and he also didn't like the man's profession. Majeer, despite his short stature which Duru also had a qualm about, was a master electrician by trade, he had gotten a very impressive education and he seemed to be a very nice man but Duru said otherwise. Duru claimed he was lazy and that his laziness had made his daughter, Vaiba, feel neglected when, Angel knew, was very untrue. Majeer loved Vaiba to death and Vaiba loved him just as much, they went out on dates about twice a month, had three daughter's together and Majeer also brought gifts home to his wife once every weekend. Even though Kokan Hyunduzia, Takke's husband who was Vaiba and Majeer's son-in-law and Duru's grandson-in-law, had sired one son with Takke he was still picked on. Duru claimed that the man didn't have it in him to have more than one child and that he couldn't have more than one because he was scared of ejaculating. Angel didn't know how any of that came about, she figured that her great-grandfather was just picking on the man to just pick on him, make him mad and make him feel belittled. Kokan was a fine man, was quiet sometimes but he was also right talkative when the right subjects came about.

Bushon Bedali, another of Duru's grandson-in-law's who had married one of Bekla and Keibo Sebatu's daughter's, was one that her great-grandfather claimed he couldn't stand. Duru claimed that the man was an illiterate fool, someone who can barely read, write and hear and someone who had just been given the green paper that said he had passed the driver's test just to get him out of the building. Bushon had gone to three schools, had gotten injured pretty badly when he had been a student in Goboshu's Academy of Meanness which had stopped his schooling further but he had gone through and gotten degrees in Business, Economics, Physics and Engineering after his leg had been snapped in two after a student had tackled him wrong when he had been in Goboshu's Academy of Meanness. He was smart, regardless what Duru said of him he was one smart cookie. Really, Duru saw issues and had qualms with everyone in the family and that did include her. Why, Kuruk had given her a hug after he had arrived for his stay, so had his wife and so had Shaam, Ashaklar and Cheshire. Had Duru and Cyla done that with her? That was a no, they had just walked up with their three children, had said hey then had stood back as she told Duru that he was not to lay a finger on her children. Angel dialed the first four numbers of his and his wife's number then she stopped then she rolled out the next two before swinging the wheel to a number that was not one on their number. She waited, when a recording came up saying that the number she had called was unlisted she did a false conversation then hung up. With being on Tazir's lap she had no privacy to ask Bushon that she figured he'd know. Angel dropped the handset then reached back, caressed Tazir's face, gave him a kiss then excused herself. She got up and left his office quickly afterwards.

She contemplated going to the chamber that she and Tazir slept in for a change of clothes then she changed her mind. Angel went down the hallway then, when she got to the balcony that overlooked the foyer, she went down the right side staircase. There was a phone located in the library that she could use along with a phone that was located on one of the ends of the hallway that had the bat cages on either side of it. Although she would have wanted to have some privacy with speaking to Bushon she also didn't want to be in a room all alone. It had been a week since the black-skinned guy had done his tapping into her and making her see what she had when she had gone to get the puppy from the snake infested fruit tree orchid, knowing him he was just waiting until she was alone before going in for another try in making her go into a trance-like state or in trying to snatch her away from reality. Angel passed by several Goblin butlers and maids, when one of the Goblins acknowledged her she stopped for a small chat then she went on. It seemed like forever, it seemed that fifteen Goblins had turned and had said hello to her or had said something about her outfit, when she reached the phone that was on the end of the bat hallway she stopped. She looked both ways then, when she saw that she was in the clear she grabbed the phone, a French-style phone covered in white crystals that sat on a round, crystal table that had water flowing through the Cactus-like legs and surface. She dialed the number for Bushon and KashiraVile Bedali then waited, in total she had to spin the wheel fifteen times just to get the planetary number and then the phone number out fully. After about five rings the other end was picked up, Angel sighed in relief when it was Bushon who answered, she'd of felt very awkward had his wife of answered the phone and had she of had to ask her if her husband was home and if she could talk to him.

"Hello Tazir, we got your invite just this morning and will be over right after lunch so if-..." Bushon started to say, Angel gently cut him off.

"Yeah, I don't think Tazzy looks anything of who is on the other end of the phone."

"Yikes! I agree otherwise I would need to have my eyes examined." Bushon exclaimed. "How's it going over there? Any wars going on that I need to know of?"

"Want to say yes and, then, I want to also say no." Angel replied.

"Duru?"

"Use to be him, his wife and my grandparents and Shaam. After Trob came over they dropped from the battle." Angel said. "Their kids, however, have taken up right where their parents left off in the battle now."

"Surprised on Shaam being a part of all that, what're their kids doing?" Bushon asked.

"The usual, beating up on my sons and on the Ubalki children." Angel replied. "Kaasa and Uevaa tried framing Eshal after they wrecked the kitchen, spreading chocolate syrup all over the place and then they tried framing her, Defe and Blaiga Ubalki after they destroyed the meal I, Ashaklar and Bahne made for supper."

"Damn, I can assure you that Ladira will not be joining in on all that. I can imagine how stressed you are over there with all that going on." Bushon said.

"Still have one child?"

"Kashira and I actually have three now, two boys and a lonesome girl." Bushon replied. "Wyir is out youngest at two hundred and nine, Sukton's three hundred and twelve."

"Congratulations, Duru never said a thing."

"No surprise, he sort of forgot that they were born. Wasn't there when they were born although we did call. His staff said he was in town with his family, family outing or something." Bushon replied. "Tazir, I don't think, knows about them. He's been much too preoccupied in finding and bringing you and your sons home."

She got down to business then in asking Bushon the question that had been nagging her for all of that week. Even through her finally grabbing Tazir's light tan, suede hat that had a light band around the crown then telling her kids to put two names on a piece of paper, fold them then put them in the hat for the official naming of the puppy that Trobrencus had graciously given them she had been thinking about what had happened when she had seen the black-skinned guy in an office with the woman named Patricia Appold. Bile, Lhaklar, Hazaar, Lazeer and Eshal had obediently dropped their folded pieces of paper that had the names on them into the hat and she had rolled the names about for all of two minutes before taking one of the ten folded pieces of paper out. Hazaar's Zanra had been picked and, since his name had been picked he was automatically picked to have the pup sleep in his bedroom chamber for that night. She was surprised at how different Tazir was with the puppy, he had acted rather cold towards Zanra at first. He had half-heartily called the vet in, Zanra had been checked out and the vet had said that she was a-okay, no flaws or knicks, scratches or snake bites or punctures on her body. He had not wanted to have anything to do with her, he had demanded that she be taken out of a specific room like either his office or their bedroom chamber or the dining or living room and he had not wanted to go out to get the stuff required for the puppy like the food, treats, the collars, leash and harness and so on. After the puppy had been named he had changed, she had caught him slipped Miss. Zanra a link of sausage the morning before and, although she had gotten on him for it, acting more like a disciplining parent more than a wife, she had been glad to see the change. She had gotten poor Eldass to go into town for a week's worth of canned puppy food, a medium bag of puppy kibble and a collar right after the vet had left, she had slid Tazir's wallet out from his back pocket to pay the man back then, after she had told him to be silent on her asking him to go into town for the stuff she had asked for him to get, she had sent him on his way. Tazir, after the puppy had been officially named, had gone into town himself and had gotten several huge bags of dog kibble and two crates of canned dog food that'd last for about three months. He had also gone and gotten Zanra her first harness, leash and about twenty dog toys, two of which had to be kept away from Zanra until she was older and had stronger teeth because they were made of a very thick rubbery material. After Angel told Bushon what had happened to her and had asked why she had seen what she had seen she went silent, she waited for a reply. As she waited she saw Homsi walk down the hall towards her.

"Sounds like you either have let a demon take hold of you or that someone has attached himself to you." Bushon said after five full minutes of silence. "Either way, you need to stay calm. You know the spell to make demonic figures unattach from you?"

"Elimination Demoniaque?"

"Correct, use that and also brew up a dry potion. The potion made for protecting one's self is also good for making one who has attached him or herself to another without permission become unattached. Brew that potion, put it in a small pendant then wear it. Don't take it off for a month." Bushon said. "Got all that?"

"Got it, thank you." Angel said.

"Alrighty then, I shall see you in a few hours so if you have any other questions keep them until then." Bushon said, they said their goodbyes then Angel hung the phone. Angel, after she hung the phone up, looked down at Homsi who had stopped at her side and who had heard the entire conversation.

"Mistress, is everything alright?" Homsi asked after he and she had stared at each other for a full minute and a half without saying a thing to each other.

"Yes, just having a normal, pleasant conversation with a member of the family." Angel replied.

"You sure? Because Elimination Demoniaque doesn't sound like something a normal conversation would have in it." Homsi said.

"Everything's fine, Homsi." Angel said, she turned around and went down the hall that had the bats on it. The bats fluttered in their glass cages, making a lot of noises which she found comforting at that moment. The dry, fluttering noises that the wings of the bats made and the vocal noises that the bats made when they either found a bug like a moth that had been missed earlier when they had been fed or when they were looking for a companion gave her the opportunity that she needed to drown everything out. When she exited the bat hallway she went straight for the stairs that went up to the second level. There was three hours before she would have to go down to the kitchen to start making lunch for everyone, seeing as she had that much time to herself she figured she best head up to check on Lazeer to see if he was sleeping peacefully and, also, check up on Bile, Lhaklar and Hazaar.


	23. Chapter 23

"You get in there now and do what I told you to do earlier." Angel, along with everyone else, looked towards the doorway where TrobrencusVile had just been heard shouting from. TrobrencusVile, regardless of the changing era and its numerous offerings of clothing, was wearing a suit akin to a medieval knights. His tunic was all black with a dark gray mesh bottom, it had a dark red and green splayed out dragon's hand on the front. There was a mesh hood hanging on the back of the outfit, it had a small zipper on it so it could be removed if Trobrencus didn't want it included on his outfit.

A cane that had a silver chromed, Cobra headed handle hung from a black belt that was around Trobrencus' waist, on his feet were dark brown boots that had drawn string laces on them. Trobrencus, when Bohir stopped long enough to take in his surroundings, walked forward and gave his son another shove in the direction of the table then he went towards the chair that was his that was beside his wife. He sat down heavily, glanced up at his son then he moved his eyes in the direction of Lazeer, who was struggling to not say anything on the man's outfit.

Bile looked at the kid who he had been told had been one of the three that had attacked his younger brother and who had been there when Baruk had broken his brother's arm. Bohir and he didn't have the greatest of relationships, the kid had his good times when he could be fun to be around but when he was around Baruk all that "fun" went down the crapper. Bohir was one of Baruk's lackeys for a reason, besides the fact that he was Gaajah's friend he was big and powerful, just what Baruk wanted in his group of bully friends. Bohir looked very much like his father, he had a Zombie-ish looking face that had red and purple flaked patches of flesh on both cheeks and there was a single flaked purple patch of flesh up high on his forehead and he had two, very noticable, red patches of flaking flesh on the sides of his neck. He had dark blue hair that had creamy streaks in the back and in the bangs. Bohir's bangs were long and thin so Bile could see the kid's cream-colored eyes that had puke-yellow irises and red pupils in them. Besides the patches of flaked skin, the kid had puke-yellow colored skin which made him look almost like he had some sort of disease. He was wearing a pair of black pants and a black velvet, long sleeve shirt that had a wide collar and lacing on the front, the shirt was slightly baggy. On his feet were a pair of black suede shoes that looked rather old. His shoes looked like something that either his father had used when he had been Bohir's age or like what someone who had lived in the Renaissance or medieval period would wear. Even though Bohir's shirt was slightly baggy, Bile and his brothers could see that he had a lot of muscle on his arms, legs, back and chest. He was two thousand, eight hundred and three years old, six hundred and three years older than Bile, and he stood six foot, two inches tall.

"Go on boy, quit standing there with your tongue twisted." TrobrencusVile snapped when one, full, minute had passed and Bohir had said nothing.

He mumbled his apology then tried to take his place at the table but his father wouldn't allow that. Baruk and Gaajah had already apologized but Bile knew full well that they had not meant it, he could see it in their eyes that their apology had been said only to get their parents off of their backs. Them two had done that so many times, he was surprised that their parents hadn't said or done anything to make them really mean their apologies. His mother, if he had been caught doing something bad or if he had bullied someone, would have demanded a full-on, full-meant, apology and not just one of them simple I'm sorry's. It took a few minutes for Trobrencus to get his son to say his apology out loud, when Bohir did he looked miserable. Bohir took his place at the table, as did his father, and lunch resumed. No one said much of anything except for the usual quietly said pass this, pass that and so on. Bile looked down the table at his youngest brother and saw that not only was he looking better, he had some bruises and cuts to his face but he looked well rested and energized which was good, but he also looked as if he was fighting to keep his mouth shut. Bile nonchalantly elbowed Lhaklar in the ribs then, when he got his brother's attention, he whispered to him to get Hazaar to either give Lazeer a tap on the arm or a light slap. Lhaklar, after he had looked down the table at Lazeer and had seen the ghost of a joke, possibly one that could hurt someone's feeling and get him into trouble, did as Bile had asked him to do. He tapped his foot against Hazaar's then he asked him if he could either give Lazeer a tap or a light slap to keep him from running his mouth. Hazaar nodded his head then he swung his arm, he didn't slap Lazeer in the back of the head lightly, he slapped his younger brother hard enough for Lazeer to yell out in shock.

"Ow, Hazaar!" Lazeer yelled after Hazaar had slapped him in the back of the head, he put his hands to the back of his head quickly. "What the hell was that for? That hurt!"

"Hah-zar, that is not something you do at the table." Angel said. "You alright, Lazie?"

"Dunno, think I'll need to hire a lawyer in a few minutes." Lazeer replied.

"You're going to take me to court for slapping you in the back of the head?" Hazaar asked. "You'll never win, you'll find yourself and your lawyer laughed right out of the building."

"You assaulted me!" Lazeer snapped.

"I'm your brother," Hazaar said. "I have rights in driving you crazy and in giving you a hit from time to time."

"I'll remember that the next time you run over to ma saying I kicked you in the ah-..."

"Hazaar, Lazeer, that's enough." TazirVile said.

The atmosphere at the table, now that Trobrencus and his son had joined in with everyone for lunch, got sort of dark. Bahne and Irka had personally made the "main" lunch for most of the Surfeit clan, grilled snake steaks and bugs that had been baked and then stuffed with a yellow mush or creamy innard and worms that had been sprinkled with a white powder sent their foul smells up, into the air. Hazaar had nearly had to clamp his hand over his mouth to not puke when he had seen the red paste that had octopus tentacles, clams and white rice floating about on the surface and Lazeer had looked away as soon as the lid to the tray that had been hiding crispily cooked frog and crab legs that had been slathered in a red and black sauce. The Ubalki's, Eshal and Tazir were eating what Angel had made which, for Bile and his brothers, looked much more appealing in both sight, smell and taste. Their mother had made Mini quiches, a pepperoni and cheese pizza, a cheese and sausage pizza and a triple cheese pizza, regular BBQ, honey BBQ and normal, non-BBQ nuggets and Shrimp salad for them which all looked so good to them. Bile had caught Baruk eying the pepperoni and sausage pizza once but either the kid didn't have the guts to give it a try or he feared ridicule if he went against eating what his mother and Bahne had cooked.

TrobrencusVile had black and yellow rotten and rotting teeth, Bile had found himself being very surprised when he had seen the guy take a big chunk out of a baby back rib, one that had been cooked appropriately and not burned or undercooked, about four nights ago. Bile had expected for the guy's teeth to drop out from his gums while he yelled out in pain but that had not happened, Trob had lunged in, had grabbed the nicely sauced baby back rib in his teeth then he had yanked the meat back. No teeth had shattered or had come pulling out, no blood had come gushing out from the man's mouth and there had been no pained yells. Trob's black and yellow rotten and rotting teeth had stayed in his mouth, in their accustomed places in his gumline. When Bahne had started helping out in the kitchen the choices in food items had changed. The pretty, well-cooked and tasty foods that their mother made for them had been forced to sit beside badly smelling and disgusting looking foods. Bile had laughed himself silly when he had seen the scene in the movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, a movie made in 1984 that had starred Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Jonathon Ke Quan, Amrish Puri, Roshan Seth and Philip Stone, where Kat Capshaw was having a near nervous breakdown after seeing all the food that the people were eating when she and Harrison Ford had gone to India to look for both the stolen children of Mayapore and the sacred Sivalinga stone that had been stolen from their shrine. He wasn't laughing now, he saw himself, his brothers and their mother being pushed into a similar scene like what had been in that movie.

Although he and his brothers were doing their best to not look at the food, there was no escape from hearing the crunching sounds of the beetles or crickets or locusts being eaten and there was no escape from hearing the slurps as the innards of them bugs being sucked out from the shells. Bile and his brothers had been taught very early on how to eat with manners, how not to smack, slap or slurp or talk with food in the mouth. They were all wondering why most everyone on the other side of the table were acting that way, it made for one uncomfortable time at the table and it was also embarrassing them. When Bile heard Shaam crack open a baked beetle he didn't look up, he flinched when he heard the man slurp the yellow innards though. It was silent for a majority of the time that lunch was going on then Kuruk, after he had wiped his mouth then had placed his napkin down beside his plate, spoke.

"I was looking for you earlier to ask what it was you spent on that glass and the case that my son destroyed this morning." he said, he looked right over at Tazir. "You get a replacement yet for them?"

"For the glass, no." TazirVile replied. "I did get him a replacement for the case."

"How much did you pay for both of the vital items that my son destroyed this morning?" KurukVile asked.

"Twenty-one hundred for the glass, five hundred for the case."

A man's wallet was sacred, just as sacred as his balls and for him, they were both very sacred to him because one gave him the ability to continue making his family grow and the other gave him the ability to spend money on that growing family. His black leather wallet with the blue lined interior had all sorts of credit cards in it, credit cards made specific for stores in the M-51 Galaxy along with other cards he had gotten from his conquered galaxies and from his lone planet of Oot and the two Universal cards that were good for five years for any store in the universe. Unless he was on a business trip or was out shopping for some odd thing for his wife and children after a business meeting had ended he didn't use the cards. The wad of cash, consisting mostly of hundred-dollar bills, was neatly folded in the back compartment. Like his brother, he was rich. Most of his wealth had been acquired after he had stripped then had destroyed the planet Tyche of its riches then had destroyed Ceres, he had ordered twenty ships do a scoop of the planet Ceres' now vacant orbit after that planet had been destroyed. Ceres had been a near gold planet and when he had destroyed it all that gold had become either dust or gold debris, the twenty ships that he had ordered to swoop the area where Ceres had once been had collected well over a centimillion in gold dust and debris, most of that had gone to him but some had been tossed to his military and staff. He had conquered the galaxies of Wycos and Vulcan and then the lone planet of Oot soon after, between them he acquired well over a million an hour and his conquest of the Ergots Galaxy was bringing him further wealth each and every day so he and his family were good to go for life. Kuruk took out the wad of cash, he flipped the bills wildly as he counted then he handed the $2,600 that he had counted out over to his brother. He felt no pull of the heart when he did this, no sorrow over having to reimburse his brother for what his son had destroyed. Kuruk looked down the table at Baruk, after he had found out what had happened he had not been easy on the kid. The belt had been used and the kid had been grounded for four months and he had made damn sure that if his son did any further bullying that more would be added onto that grounding slate. When his son looked up then over at him, Kuruk nodded his head then looked forward just in time to see Angel handing Bile a small box.

"What's that you're handing Bile, Angel?" he asked.

"The necklace that Gaajah destroyed," she replied. "was able to find him the same necklace when-..."

"I really wish you'd stop going to that planet, Angel." DuruVile said. "regardless of replacing something my son destroyed that you or your son bought from that planet, you really need to quit going back. I worry enough of waking up and finding you've skipped out on us again."

"I return don't I, you needn't wor-..."

"Doesn't matter," DuruVile said. "I'll still worry regardless of your returning back."

Irka nodded her head slowly in agreeance with her father-in-law, beside her she felt her husband's energy and knew that he felt the same way. Kuruk had been getting up at night to go down to the third level to steal a look in each of his nephew's and their grandson's chamber's to see if they were still in there and he had also gone down to the second level to peak into Tazir's chamber to see if Angel was where she was suppose to be. She had seen him coming back into their assigned bedroom chamber twenty minutes later either looking perfectly fine and happy or looking very nervous, when she had asked why he was nervous he had always replied with she wasn't with Tazir. After twenty years had passed after Tazir had taken Angel, Bile and Lhaklar home when Bile and Lhaklar had been iddy, bitty babies she had not been allowed to leave Moas for a thing unless Tazir was at her side. After that she had been allowed to go wherever she wished, she had earned their trust and their faith in her not running off, forcing them into another chase had grown steadily with each year. When she had disappeared one thousand, six hundred years ago all of that trust and faith had disappeared as well. They loved her, that love had never and would never change, the trust and faith would have to rebuild itself all over again though.

Cyla, although not as close as Irka was with Angel, felt the exact same as her daughter-in-law and oldest son. Over the last few days she had been begging Tazir to do a spell to make teleportation become disabled in his home and she had also been begging him to give Angel something that'd make her unable to teleport. Tazir had said that he'd do no such thing but that he would be keeping his eye on his wife and that the boys wouldn't be leaving the house unless with him and their mother in tote. Duru had been carrying a small mirror on his person each day, he'd glance at it every thirty minutes to see where Angel was. Shaam, Cyla knew, was also keeping a good eye on Angel and her sons. Once every hour he'd go and look for Angel, when he found her they'd talk for a short while then he'd go to check up on her sons. Tazir was spending more and more time with his sons, Bile included. Although Cyla was glad for this, they did need to know who their father was, she wished he'd spend more time with Angel. She worried about him neglecting Angel, she had needs the same as he did and she needed them needs tended to or else, she might go to pieces. Angel spent a lot of time with her sons as well, that was a good thing, Cyla was glad that Angel was such a tending mother but she worried that she was concocting some sort of plan in leaving with them. Although she wasn't as close to Angel as the others at the table were, she would still not be the same if her great-granddaughter disappeared again with her sons. Cyla put a forkful of burned snake steak in her mouth and started chewing just as Losal walked into the dining room, Trobrencus looked up right after the Goblin came into his line of sight.

"Miss me already? Only been twenty minutes my dear man." he said.

"What is it, Losal?" TazirVile said to his butler.

"Sir, Mr. and Mrs. Bedali and their family have just arrived." Losal replied.

"Bedali? My good man, there's a bed upstairs if we shall need it. The dining room table is not appropriate for such activities am I not right my dear wife?" TrobrencusVile turned and looked at Bahne.

"You are and it is not very comfortable either." Bahne said.

"Kashira and Bushon with Miss. Ladira, I have not seen them three in a while now." ShaamVile said. "Looking forward to seeing them when they get down."

Angel looked at the laughing children that were Trobrencus' and Bahne's youngest, it had surprised her to find out that with her and her son's disappearance that most everyone in the family had not gone on with their lives, had not gone on to have more kids, marry or conquer planets or galaxies. It seemed that the only ones who had gone on with some portion of their lives were Trob and his wife and Bushon and Kashira. Varaxcan was their youngest at four hundred and sixty-three years old and, surprisingly, Bahne had not had any domination on her appearance. Varaxcan looked very much like her daddy, she looked very Zombie-like. She had dark purple hair that was long, the sclera in her eyes was light red while the irises and pupils in her eyes were cream-colored. She had three loose patches of flesh on her face hanging down, she also had two red, flaky patch markings on her chin and, right underneath her eyes, she had dark red markings that looked like blood drippings. Her skin was very pale but she looked to be a very healthy child. She was wearing a stylish, Islamic-style dress that was light brown that had gold embroidery on the skirt and on the hems of the arms, she was also wearing light brown shoes on her feet.

Impub looked very much like his father only he had full green eyes and a pug-like nose, so unlike his father's which was trim and curled up slightly. Impub, she had been told, was seven hundred and thirty-four years old. He had dark purple hair that was cut short and, like his father, he had patches of red and purple flesh on his cheeks, forehead and neck. He was wearing a red, button down, long sleeve shirt, dark red pants and dark red shoes. The child seated beside Impub was Trobrencus' and Bahne's granddaughter, TralisaVile Veonim. She had a cockroach-like body that was pretty chunky, light brown feelers were tied back, out of her face and she had antennae that had little, bright pink, bows on the ends. She had a little stub of a nose on her face, the sclera in her eyes were light yellow while the irises and pupils were gold and she had very few, but very sharp-looking, teeth in her mouth. Her hair, long and multi-brown with purple and yellow strands intermingling, looked very pretty. She was wearing a light pink dress that had a flowery design on the collar and waist-line. She had been born a few days after Syamsin but she was his same age of two thousand years.

BenociVile Veonim sat beside her daughter, she looked a little bit more mature and was a little bit more open than she use to be but she was still pretty shy and close-lipped. Celobra, or Celie as she was commonly called in her family, was her twin but she and her twin sister were not identical in their appearance. Benoci, or Beenie as everyone in her family called her, had long hair which was uniquely split in color, the hair on her left side of her head was purple while the hair on her right side of her head was a dark creamy color. Her face was shaped like her father's, she had light purple irises but the sclera and pupils were red, her nails were long and she had a few flakes of flesh on her face that were dark red, there was one loosely flapping piece of flesh on her left arm and that was it. She stood at five foot, six inches in height, her petite figure showed clearly in her skin-tight black dress that had a frill around the neck and a dull gold band around the waist. On her feet were a simple pair of black, slip on shoes. Losal left as soon as TazirVile dismissed him, Angel saw that he was relieved to be sent away and she could understand that. He was married, had children and was straight and he didn't much get along with Trobrencus. He only put up with Trobrencus because he was there, in the mansion for a while and, because, he was a member of his employer's family.

"What was that movie you was watching earlier, dad?" BenociVile asked her father.

"Something that Angel brought back from her recent trip to Earth." TrobrencusVile replied. "Asked her to bring back some of the flicks most known from that planet before she disappeared, found a small box full of them in front of you mother and I's chamber a few hours ago."

"Which was did you watch?" Angel asked.

"The Exorcist," TrobrencusVile replied. "not a flick my family will be seeing any time soon."

"Scary, daddy?" CelobraVile asked timidly.

"Yes, tis my dear daughter." TrobrencusVile nodded his head. "Enough for all of you to not want to sleep for a month, scary."

"What version was it?" Bile asked. "The original or-..."

"The 1973 version, Bile." Angel said.

"Like that version better than the o-..."

"You've seen... Angel, you have not been letting your kids view such... such..." TrobrencusVile struggled to find the word that he wanted to use, the fork that he had been holding was lying nearly, fully on his plate in a puddle of red sauce. When he found the word that he wanted to use he said it quite loudly. "brutality. That flick I viewed earlier is enough to scar a child of their age for life!"

Bile smiled, of course he and his brothers had seen the likes of the classic horror movies. When he had been eight hundred and fifty-six years old he had broke into a neighboring apartment and had made off with eight DVDs before the human that had been lying in bed, sleeping, had noticed that his place had been entered. He had stayed up until four, watching The Exorcist, The Omen, The Amityville Horror and Hellraiser, by the time he had finished watching them four films he had not wanted to sleep at all much less watch the other four he had stolen, he had been much too scared. It had taken him nearly two months before he had scrounged up the courage to watch Predator, Slumber Party Massacre II, Cujo and Ice Cream Man. He had kept them DVDs for a few years in secret under his bed then, after he had gotten back from Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic, he had tricked Hazaar and Lazeer into watching two of the films. Lazeer, then eight hundred years old, had gotten so scared after seeing Ice Cream Man that he had never asked for ice cream from the truck that rolled down the street again and Hazaar, then nine hundred years old, had been so scared of dogs that he had screamed whenever he had seen one for nearly two years after he had watched Cujo. Over the years he and his brothers had watched many of the old classics and their numerous remakes, they had gotten over their fears but he was always on look-out for a film that would, he hoped, scare the living shit out of his younger brothers. He had grossed Lhaklar out about fifty years ago when he had shown him a recording that he had gotten from the public library one day of some video that had been put up on the internet in the early 2000's called Two Girl's, One Cup. Lhaklar had gone three, full days without talking to him afterwards.

"We've seen all the classics and their numerous remakes." Bile said, his mother had been about to say the same but he had beat her to the punch. "We're use to them."

"Such flicks you four should never of been allowed to view." TrobrencusVile sniffed, he then began to mumble to himself. "Them flicks make for one so young to be damaged mentally."

"What all did she bring back from her recent escape from this mansion?" DuruVile asked. "I am very curious, humor me please."

"About thirty flicks I found in the box at the door to my and my wife's assigned chamber." TrobrencusVile replied.

"You going to watch all them features?" DuruVile asked, even he had a different name for the word film.

"Not all at once," TrobrencusVile replied. "come by the chamber, I'll loan you two or three."

"Be there after lunch." DuruVile said. "Angel, what else you bring back besides the features and that necklace for Bile?"

"Did some shopping for the boys and Eshal, what else you expect for me to do? Drop down for one necklace then hop back up, I have five to think of here." Angel said, then she added. "And something for Tazir and I also brought back a few newspapers for myself."

"Newspapers? Why did you bring back-..."

"After what happened at the place where you all found my son's and I, I would like to keep up to date on what's going on." Angel said. "My birth planet, you remember that."

"And mine." Bile added.

"You concern me greatly now after this recent trip to Earth." DuruVile said, he was about to say more but, before he could, Bushon Bedali and his family walked into the dining room. DuruVile stood up after he saw his granddaughter, he opened his mouth to say hello then, when he saw the two youngsters standing behind Bushon, he closed it. When he opened his mouth the next time he said more than just hello. "Who the hell are those two behind your weed of a husband, Kashie?"

It was a family of five, two mature adults and one child that looked to be in her upper teenage years and two very young children. The man, Hazaar saw, had a sturdy body that was long and thin but very muscled. His face was strong, it had one, long scar on the cheek and the guy's nose was slightly crooked. His eyes were green, they had light green irises and pupils in them and, around them, were two rings of light blue. The man's skin color was dark red, Hazaar had a feeling that his stomach was light red because the palms and the underside of the fingers were that color as were the small portion of the man's wrists. The man was wearing a pair of black pants, a white, button down, long sleeve shirt and black shoes, there was a black belt around the man's waist and, on the ring finger of the left hand shone a gold banded ring. No one in the group answered Duru's question right away, the man walked forward though. Hazaar saw that the man walked with a slight limp, either the man had recently been injured or he had gotten an injury sometime in the past that was still effecting him.

The woman that was beside him looked somewhat like his grandfather. She had slightly elongated ears that were light pink, they had no Tiger-like stripes on them but they had a few Leopard-like spots on them, and, like Duru, her face was evenly split in color. The left side of the woman's face was dark pink while the right side of her face was dark brown, she had glowing, purple eyes that had bright green pupils in them. Her arms, curiously, were thin and pencil-like and she had an odd, worm-like but sturdy-looking body. She was wearing a cream and black, two-tone, blouse that had a neck wrap and no sleeves and black slacks, on her feet were black shoes that had two-inch heels. Her hair went down to only her shoulders, it was a tawny-brown color. Hazaar saw that she had a pretty red diamond ring on her ring finger, he took the woman as the man's wife.

"Look like we are disturbing a meal here," the man said.

"Not disturbing anything, take a seat." TazirVile said. "I see there are two youngsters with you and Kashira, you two had more?"

"Yes," the woman that Hazaar figured was Kashira replied, she went over and sat down in a chair. "two boys."

"I'll be damned!" DuruVile exclaimed, he stood up, went over to Kashira and gave her a hug. "Why didn't anyone tell me? How old are these two? What're their names?"

Hazaar snuck a glance at the older of the three children that had come in with Kashira and the man that he figured was her husband. She was very pretty, had long, brunette hair and red eyes that were brighter than flash light beams. She had a long, thin body that was very petite, she stood about five foot, three and a half inches tall. The girl's face was light pink, as was her body, and she had no ears on her head. She was wearing a long-sleeved, floor length, black dress that had laced sleeves, she had black heels on her feet and there was a silver bracelet hanging loosely from her right wrist. After Duru went and hugged Kashira he went and hugged the girl then he went to the two, younger kids who were both boys.

"What's this one's name?" DuruVile asked again.

"Sukton, he's three hundred and twelve." Kashira replied.

"How come I wasn't told about these two?" DuruVile asked, he bent to hug Sukton, who looked almost exactly like Kashira's husband except he had Leopard-like markings all over his face and glowing purple eyes that had bright bright green pupils in them. Sukton shly hugged Duru back then he slid over closer to his older sister.

"We called numerous times to tell you, your staff kept telling us that you and your family were not home." Kashira replied. "You and yours were not home when I went into labor as well."

"My staff never told me of any phone calls from you two, I've not heard a thing from y-..."

"We figured you didn't want to have anything to do with us," Kashira said. "we-..."

"With each phone call we made and with your staff telling us that you wasn't available to speak with we figured that you just didn't want to see or speak with us anymore." the man said.

"Nonsense, Bushon! You two should have bombarded me with calls." DuruVile spat, he then softened up when he got to the other, young boy who, again, looked like his father except that he had long, orange-blond hair and glowing orange eyes. "And who is this?"

"Wyir," Bushon replied. "he's our youngest at two hundred and nine."

"Miss. Ladira is looking more and more beautiful with each day, how old is she now?" DuruVile asked after he had hugged Wyir.

"Twenty-seven hundred, poppy." the upper teenaged girl replied.

"You two keep an eye on this one, the Surfeit line has always produced very fine, beautiful females." DuruVile said of Ladira. "No great-great grandchildren now, not until you are above twenty thousand years."

"Agreed, we've already done that talk with Ladira so we have no fears on that happening yet." Bushon said, he then looked over at Bile, Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer. "Those are _not _the children that Angel Irene birthed so many thousands of years ago are they?"

Sometimes adults acted like children when it came to keeping secrets, some adults just could not contain themselves to keep what all they had been told by another to themselves and that knowledge made Angel feel a bit nervous. She had spoken to Bushon a few hours before on her problem, about the black-skinned man who was bothering her, she had taken it for granted that he'd keep what all she had told him to himself but now that he was here she chided herself for not asking the man to keep what she had told him between them. She did the introductions quickly then the table went quiet as Bushon, Kashira and their family set down to making themselves up a plate. Duru went back to his chair, sat down then looked up at Angel. Angel saw the concern in his eyes, the nervousness and that made her feel sad. Duru could be mean and nasty, he could be cruel and destructive but he also had a cool, nice, loving and protective side to him and that side she was clearly seeing. He had dressed himself that morning in an outfit that was one of her personal favorites. A black chiffon shirt that had a ruffled front, lace ruffles and decorative, gold buttons on the front and Victorian-style wide lace sleeves that had narrow cuffs and ruffles on the ends, a pair of black pants that only came down to his knees, ties had been tied at the knees to keep them at that length with a pair of slack-socks going down the rest of the way to a pair of black shoes. He had on the ear adornment, the gold chain with the silver ball on the end and, hanging down from around his neck, was a gold chain. He had style, she couldn't deny that. Cyla, seated beside him, was dressed in a black, green, orange and red, garden trellis, dress that had no sleeves. She had green heels on her feet. Angel particularly took a liking to the emerald, green glass beaded necklace that hung down from around her great-grandmother's neck. Angel looked down at her plate, she was merely toying around with the remnants of her lunch when one of Trobrencus' adult daughter's spoke up.

"What all newspapers did you bring back?" DananVile Surfeit asked.

"Just the major ones, three papers in total." Angel replied.

"Anything in them that's worth going to get them?" DananVile asked.

"Of course," Angel answered. "there's several articles on the weather and general politics and sports, the latter two I really could care less for and didn't really pay much attention to when I read them and there's also an article in each paper on me and my sons."

Lhaklar looked at the woman who had asked about the newspapers for only a second, although she was right pretty and attractive he found himself more interested in the newspapers and their articles. DananVile Surfeit, he knew, was the oldest child of Trobrencus and Bahne. She had cream-colored hair that was curly and an hour-glass shaped body. Her eyes she had inherited from her father, the irises in her eyes were a light red color while the sclera and pupils were white. She was wearing a simple, purple and black, blouse that had a ruffled front and black slacks, on her feet were purple, slip on shoes. The woman that was seated beside her Lhaklar knew was her younger sister, DazassVile Surfeit had been born a full fifty years after DananVile but she looked very different. Dazass's face and body were bi-colored like her father's with the left side being a green color while the right was a cream color. There was just one patch of red, flaky flesh on her left cheek and on her forehead, she had no other patches of flaked flesh on her that he could see. Her eyes were full blue and she stood just two inches taller than her mother. She was wearing a green t-shirt, black slacks and there were black shoes on her feet. There was mascara on her eyelashes, dark blue eyeshadow on her eyelids and she had light pink blush on her cheeks. Lhaklar pulled his pistachio-colored eyes away from the two women, he leaned back and, through the small amount of space between Bile and the chair that Bile was sitting on he looked at his mother.

"What all's happening on Earth, mom?" he asked.

"Lot of storms, a lot of the western states are under five feet of snow. Things are pretty badly frozen up, there's a lot of reports of busted water and gas pipes because of the freezing temperatures. A lot of people are without power, power lines either have tree limbs or branches lying on them or the weight from the ice that's on them has canceled out power or the pole has been knocked completely down by a fallen tree. Ten ranchers who supply most of America's markets with beef lost almost all of their herds so the prices of meat are going to be pretty high for the next few months and-..."

"Sounds like we came claiming for you five just in time." TazirVile said.

"Are the cold seasons on Earth normally that bad?" Dara Dara asked.

"Typically it is bad in the western states of North America and Canada." Angel replied. "Until this season, all of Europe was experiencing a dry spell. They've been blanketed in near ten feet of snow. England, Britain, Ireland and Scotland have been getting lots of rain and Africa and Egypt have been very dry for almost ten years now. A majority of Egypt and Africa are now abandoned, been so for over seven years now."

"Damn," Triskull said.

It was on the tip of his tongue to ask about one, specific location in North America. He very nearly asked if anything was going on in or around the town of Granite, that was located in Chaffee County, Colorado before he bit down on his lower lip. If he asked about the location, he feared, he'd have to tell what all he had been experiencing upstairs in his own, personal bathroom for nearly two weeks. He feared ridicule, being called and considered crazy and having everyone wonder if his brain had skipped town on its way to loony lane. He had actually thought he was going crazy after all that he had seen going on in his mirror, he had gone and retrieved a few books from his father's library about mirror warping, illusion and mirages and all of them books had said the obvious: that an image in the mirror that was not of the one that was in front of it was either just a figment of one's imagination or something that wasn't real that a being saw when they were not yet woken up. He still had them books up in his bedroom chamber, he had marked specific places in them for reread and the reason for that was because of what all he was seeing on the mirror that was above his bathroom sink.

It had all started almost two weeks ago when he had been doing his usual. He had gotten up after his alarm had signaled 7 in the morning. He had stretched, had gotten dressed then had gone to the bathroom to take a leak and to brush his teeth and to throw some water on his face to further the waking process. He had just squeezed a line of blue and white toothpaste on his toothbrush when the mirror had started to warp. He had thought nothing of it, he had thought that his mind was just playing tricks on him as it hadn't really woken up yet. When he had started hearing the sound of birds he had thought the same, he was still not fully awake and he was both seeing and hearing things that were not real. He had gone on brushing his teeth, had done them real good and had leaned down to splash some water in his face to further the waking process after he had washed his mouth out of the paste. When he had looked up he had seen that his reflection had been replaced in the mirror, he had not seen his mint-green face in the mirror, instead he had seen a beautiful, white landscape that had quite a lot of trees on both sides of it with a herd of deer standing still in its center. As he had watched, the deer had suddenly run off, going as fast as they could away from some threat, birds had flown away and then quiet had settled over the area. When the deer had run off he had noticed that the area was covered in snow which had been pretty deep, the deer had had snow up to their stomachs and that had made their escaping whatever threat they had either seen or had heard slow. It had taken a while before the Mountain Lion, a beautiful, tawny brown animal that had looked to be rather healthy, had walked into view. The Mountain Lion had walked off towards a road when, suddenly, it had been attacked. At first, he had thought that what had come out from under the heavy snow had been a bear, hiding in waiting for some animal to walk close by, then, after he had realized that bears hibernate in December and January, he had thought that the creature had been one of them Bigfoot creatures that the humans continued to report each and every year. The creature had been black from the top down to his waist but from his waist on down he had been, curiously, blue. The creature had wrapped its arms around the Mountain Lion and there had been a great, big fight. He had thought that the Mountain Lion was going to win the fight several times, the animal had caused quite a lot of injury to its attacker and its attacked did seem to be tiring. At the end the Mountain Lion's attacker had won, it had swung its arm up hard, so hard that the hand that had been attached to that arm had plunged deep into the Mountain Lion's chest cavity. The animal had made a coughing sound then it had slumped to the side, the snow around the two had become disturbed, thrown all around and it had become bloody from the battle. When the animal had finally been felled the image on the mirror had suddenly pulled sharply in and he had been able to get a good look at the Mountain Lion's attacker. He had raced out from his bathroom soon after that seeing the Mountain Lion's attacker, he had been both shocked and horrified at the same time.

A few hours later, after lunch had concluded, he had gone back up to take another look at his mirror. He had told himself that he'd see nothing out of the ordinary, just his reflection and that was it. Well, it had started that way but it had changed soon after he had looked at the mirror. The image in the mirror had warped, had changed to that same landscape and, curiously, he had seen what had happened after the Mountain Lion had been felled. The animal's attacker had stood up tall, had looked around then he had bent down to collect the downed Mountain Lion. He had carried it into the thick bushes, past several tall trees and then he had carried it across a river that had been nearly, fully frozen, before he had stopped at a camp that was near a sign that said Welcome to Granite, Colorado in bright, white letters that had been on a dark blue background. The man had sat down on the trunk of a fallen tree then he had shot his arm forward. A green flame had shot out from his hand at a pile of leaves, the leaves had sparked aflame, lighting the area up then the man had set to skinning then collecting the meat of the animal he had hunted and had felled. The man had collected most of the essential items from his kill; the lungs, heart and liver then he had discarded the kidneys and intestines before he had gone on to collecting the meat. He had completely de-nuded the bones of all flesh before he had started throwing some of the pieces on the fire. He had hung the pelt to dry then he had started working on the head, which he had cut off and had placed off to the side.

As the man had been doing all of this, he had been getting a very good look at him. Taking him in and comparing him to the man that Bile had seen in the dream that he had continued to have even after waking up and staying awake for ten to fifteen minutes about a month ago. The man had looked very much like what Bile had seen in his dream, he had had midnight black skin and glowing, yellow eyes that had been slightly slanted and he had looked rather strong. The man had been wearing hardly anything to keep him warm, he had just been wearing a pair of blue pants that had looked like jeans that had gone down slightly past his knees before stopping, his pants had had rips in the inner thighs and tears in the hems of the legs, and he had also been wearing the remnants of a blue hoody. The hood of the hoody had been the only thing really remaining, the sleeves had been nothing but ribbons over the big, strong arms that had veins bulging out from underneath the flesh of the muscles, there had been nothing else on the hoody to cover the man's body. He had been able to see the bulging muscles on the man's arms, shoulders, chest and back, all of them had had visible veins bulging up from underneath the skin. He had also been able to see the man's nicely formed six-pack and the man had also had some good muscle in his legs as well. There had been a chain wrapped around the man's waist once, there had been another chain running off from it that had gone up the stomach. That chain had wrapped around the man's chest and shoulders twice before it had stopped, the end of that chain had been connected to a separate chain that had been wrapped around the man's neck twice. On the man's feet had been what looked to be either a heavy pair of mountain boots or combat boots.

Except for the man's clothing and the chains, everything of what he had seen clicked well with what his brother had told him he had seen in his dream and that had freaked him out, he had been about to leave his bathroom when the man had reached into the fire and had taken out one of the chunks of meat that he had casually thrown in. He had been able to see the guy's cracked, dark gray fingernails and he had also seen two places on the guy's thumb and index finger that had recently been opened then had scabbed over. The Mountain Lion had given the man some bad wounds on his back and sides and his left arm had been torn open just before the elbow, all of these injuries had still been bleeding and, curiously, the man had not taken any notice of them. He had just gone on with taking care of his kill, of taking the downed Mountain Lion to his camp and of skinning and harvesting the meat and organs and the pelt.

The man, who, until that moment, he could only see the eyes of in the face as the face had been pretty dark, had opened his mouth to expose some crooked, yet sharp-looking, yellow teeth. The man had lunged in, had grabbed a mouthful of the meat then he had reared his head back. He had chewed, swallowed then he had just sat there. Looking at really nothing in particular, just staring into the fire, the chunk of meat that he had taken a bite from nearly ready to fall out of his hand to the cold, snow-covered ground. After a short two minutes the man had sighed, then had stood, had thrown the chunk of meat that he had taken a bite out of to the side of his camp then he had walked off towards the town that his camp was near. That was when the scene had stopped, his mirror had gone back to show his reflection and he had gone on with his life for all of two days before something had happened to scare the living crap out of him.

It had been soon after lunch had ended on the third day after the scene had stopped playing itself out on his mirror, he had gone up to his bedroom chamber to listen to some music, write a few things on a piece of paper, like models that he was interested in along with music and books and magazines. He had only gotten three things written on the piece of paper when he had heard someone yelling for him. He had turned the volume down on his stereo to listen in closely and, when whoever it had been had said nothing, had not yelled or called out to him, he had turned the volume back up. The song by Ray Charles, Can't Stop Loving You, had just concluded and the next song had been about to play on his stereo when the person had yelled out for him again. Whoever it had been had yelled louder this time and had sounded serious so he had turned his stereo off, had stood up and then he had gone to check if someone was behind his bedroom chamber's door. He had opened the door, had looked out then had stepped out from his bedroom chamber to see if anyone was in the hallway. No one in the hallway, no sign of anyone having been in the hallway the last four or five minutes and no reason for him to of heard someone calling out to him so he had gone back into his bedroom, had gone back to his desk and had gone back to listening to his music and writing on the piece of paper.

With the year of 4099 coming to an end and the year 4100 swiftly coming upon him he did wish to continue getting his monthly magazines. There was January's issue of Field and Stream, In-Fisherman, Sport Fishing, Fly Fishin' and Bassin' that he was interested in having along with that month's Bow and Arrow and, of course, he was interested in some car magazines as well. Classic Car, European Cars and the one magazine that he had acquired a fine taste for; Unique Cars. It was a long list of magazines and he knew that if his grandfather, or the woman who he had been married to before he had met his father's mother and who he had married again some thousands of years later, had seen it he would have screamed at the heavens that he was being spoiled which was not true. If he had still been on Earth, had never been taken from the planet, he'd still be working at Kay's World and he'd be buying his own model kits and magazines and he'd be hunting and fishing. Since he was not on Earth at the moment and since he had no job he had to ask his mother to get the things that he usually bought each month, either with his allowance or with the money he had made while stripping at Kay's World. He had just written down the magazine, Unique Cars, when the person who he had heard yelling out for him had yelled out for him again. He had put the pen down then had stood up, after a short minute and a half the person had yelled out for him again and, as hard as it had been for him to comprehend, it had come from his own, personal bathroom that was adjacent to his bedroom chamber.

The bathroom that was adjacent his bedroom chamber had been styled in an entire French fashion. An ornate bathtub, with gold plating on the outside and a smooth, pearl interior, sat off near the wall on delicately made legs, the faucet and knobbs were a nice and shiny gold. A gold sink bowl, complete with matching faucet and knobbs, was in a single, county-made, French vanity that had been given a light coating of gold finish had sat across from the tub and, between them sat a black decorated, ceramic toilet that had gold designs on it. A glass shelf had been mounted up above the toilet, it had extra toilet paper, soap and shampoo and two containers of powder on it. There was a towel rack was mounted about the bathtub from which two blue towels hung from, a shelf underneath had a bar of soap on it that had been taken out of the box. On the wall nearest the hall stood a shower that had glass sides and a glass sliding door, the shower had a bench in it and, when he had investigated it he had seen buttons that claimed that the shower could be turned into a sort of sauna. The floor in his bathroom was traditional French Chenonceau parquet wood vinyl, the walls had Lotus wallpaper on it while the ceiling had a pebbled texture and was pearl white. A light cream carpet had been placed in front of the toilet and a matching, oval, carpet had been placed in front of the bathtub and shower.

The mirror, a tall, rectangular mirror that had a giltwood frame that was light gold painted, had been placed above the sink. He had not looked at the mirror at first, he had done a slow look around the bathroom to see if there was anyone in it that shouldn't. He had just looked away from the shower when he had heard the yell, this one clearly coming from the room that he had been standing in, again. He had turned towards the mirror then his O-shaped mouth had dropped in shock. No landscape of snow this time, no man hunting or sitting alone in his camp with a chunk of meat in his hand that had just one bite taken out of it. The man that he had seen hunt the Mountain Lion, harvest its meat, organs and pelt, take a bite from a chunk of the animal's meat that he had thrown into the fire and then walk away had been in the mirror. He had seen the shadowy face, the remnants of the hoody, the chest and stomach and a little bit of the arms, he had been able to only see the man from the head on down to the waist. Just the sight of what he had been seeing had been enough to make him stagger two feet back, he had hitched in a breath to yell out and had been about to when the man had spoken.

"If I recall correctly you are the more mature of my bruders," the man had said in a nasally low voice that had had a youthful crack to it. "think you can pass mum a message for me? She keeps running from me and I don't know wh-... hey!"

He had turned and fled from his bathroom and then from his bedroom chamber soon after, the man had yelled for him to come back several times but he hadn't. Just seeing that had scared him half to death. Naturally, he had looked it up in one of the books that he had kept in his bedroom a few hours later. A being, he knew, could use his powers to walk through a mirror, to warp the glass enough so he or she could walk through to a room of his or her choosing. Some beings could and did use mirrors as a security thing, of seeing what someone that they loved were up to or of keeping tabs of ones children when they went to school but, through his schooling at Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic and the University of Telepathy he had never heard of a being using a mirror to communicate. He had looked it up in the books that he had had in his bedroom chamber and not a one had a section on communicating through mirrors. He had checked the bathroom afterwards, had seen that it was vacant except for him then he had gone to bed. The morning after, when his mother had gone off to see Trobrencus, he had gotten another surprise. The man had suddenly appeared in the mirror again, he had been rising his head up from dipping it into the water basin, he had not had the best of nights and he had been still rather sleepy, when the man had appeared. He had howled, he had ran out of the bathroom again and he had not returned to his bedroom chamber all of that day until bedtime. After that had happened he had started covering the mirror in his bathroom with a towel and then, when he had heard the man call out to him, asking and pleading and then demanding to know where he was and demanding to know what was going on, he had decided to use a different bathroom in the mansion. He carried a towel with him each time he went to use one of the bathrooms that was on the third level, he wasn't taking any chances. Using a bathroom, taking a leak or taking a bath or a shower or tending a wound on one's body should not have an audience. He had felt terrified and violated and, above both, he had felt scared. Who wouldn't after seeing someone who shouldn't appear like that in a mirror that was in a bathroom? For the past four days in a row he had heard nothing from the mirror that was in his bathroom but he wasn't taking any chances of seeing that man again. Lhaklar kept his mouth shut, for the sake of his sanity and, also, he didn't want to put more stress on his mother. He had a feeling that Lazeer had had an experience with the same guy, besides he and his youngest brother clinging to their mother like crazy he had also overheard his brother one night asking if their mother and father could check his closet. He thought that that was weird, Lazeer was one thousand, six hundred years old, very over the age to be afraid of the closet monster or boogeyman or the monster that hid under the bed. He had not asked his brother personally why he was asking their parents to check his closet each night, he was too afraid of finding out what it was that his brother was worrying about that may or may not be in his closet.

"I've noticed that you've been spending some time with the boys," DuruVile said. "you training them, Tazzy or-..."

"Just spending some time with them, getting close." TazirVile replied.

"Have you done any training sessions with the boys since they've been here?" ShaamVile asked.

"No."

"Very neglectful of you, Lad." ShaamVile said. "You need to know where they are at in their training then-..."

"My sons have been trained nicely," Angel spoke up. "trained them myself, only thing that they don't know is how to do the clear abilities of the Elemental powers."

"Alright then," ShaamVile said. "last I heard even you couldn't do that part of our main powers. Allow for me or my son or my oldest grandson to teach that to you and your kids. To Tazir as well."

"Teach me that ability and then I'll teach my sons and Tazir." Angel said.

That upset Shaam and that caused a fight to happen between both Angel and the man. Angel had her reasons for not wanting her grandfather, great-grandfather or great-great grandfather training her sons. She had seen how Shaam had trained his son, he had been hard and rough, he had not let Duru get use to his powers when he had been a child, he had attacked his son unmercifully, trying to get his son to use his not yet developed powers on him which was very dangerous and when his son had not been able to attack him back, been able to defend himself, he had whipped and beat him. Although she had no idea how her great-grandfather and grandfather trained their kids in their abilities she didn't want to risk anyone getting hurt. She had taught her sons all she could in both their Elemental and Energy powers and she had also done what all she could when Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer had started showing that they could throw acid to help them learn their Acidic powers. Of her three sons that had been sired by Tazir, only one was a natural with his Acidic powers and that was Lazeer. Lhaklar knew how to use his Acidic powers but he wasn't very strong or equip in them and Hazaar had only learned the basics before the temperamental phase had taken hold of him. Besides training them in their powers, or helping them by going to get them scrolls so they'd learn what powers she either did not know or powers that she couldn't do, she had also trained them in the sword. All four of her sons were excellent swordsmen, they had all learned very well from her how to use a sword and she was very proud of them. Even though she told all of this to Shaam he didn't believe her, he demanded that all four of her sons be put through a trail and that their training be handed over to someone who had more experience in Elemental powers.

"Why exactly do they need trails when your son, Tazir and my grandfather have seen them use their powers?" Angel demanded to know.

"And myself," Angel looked over at TrobrencusVile, who had cleaned his plate and was just sitting back in his chair. "I've seen them fight with their powers. Before you flew in while being in your dragon form, I seen 'em."

"We, that's me, my father, and Blaiga, actually saw them training in the location where they were attacked by Baruk, Gaajah and Bohir... uh... Sweeney Ranch I think it was," Amadh was struggling to say what he had on his mind to say, Cheshire put his hand on his son's shoulder to silence him then he took over.

"We did see them spar and they did seem to be very well trained." Cheshire said. "Angel's done very well in their training, I'd say."

"We still need to know where they are in their training." ShaamVile said.

Before Shaam could start back on her about her son's training Trobrencus spoke up and told him to hush it up. Bushon and his family ate lunch then, afterwards, everyone dispersed from the dining room. Angel went off with her four sons, she was frustrated over having someone challenge her over her training of her sons and all of her sons felt angry about seeing their mother being challenged. Bile was actually hoping that his mother would let a trail be done, he would have loved to of been given the chance to teach the man who was his great-great grandfather a lesson or two in respect. Lhaklar just wanted the man to leave his mother alone while Hazaar and Lazeer wanted both a trail to be done and for the man who was their great-grandfather to back off. Bile pocketed the small box that his mother had given him, he knew that it had more than one necklace in it as it was much too big. His mother, after he had thanked her, had tapped her foot against his then had nodded her head so he knew that there was more than just a necklace in the box. When his mother broke off from the group on the first level he and his brothers stopped for only a second, each thinking about following her, then they went on. They walked up the stairs that were in the foyer then down the second floors hallway then they went up the stairs to the third floor, when they were on the third floor most of them went off on their own. Bile stopped, he dug into the pocket of his pants and took out the box. Lazeer went off to his bedroom chamber while Lhaklar and Hazaar went off to Hazaar's bedroom, Bile guessed that Hazaar had asked Lhaklar if he wanted to play one of the games that went to either the Super Nintendo or the Nintendo 64 game system and that Lhaklar had taken him up on his offer. Bile shrugged his shoulders then he looked down, he opened the box and saw that, besides the one necklace that his mother had gone down to Earth to get a replacement for, she had also gotten him a fashion generous tiger tooth charm necklace that hung from a black band along with a necklace that had a Thai silver dragon pendant on it that that a red gem fastened underneath the dragon. There was also a note wrapped around the three necklaces, he took that out, unfolded it then started reading it.

_I brought more back from my recent trip to Earth, all of you will find stuff waiting for you in your rooms to keep you busy for a little while. Not sure when I will be heading back to Earth again, I'll be busy for a while, keep an eye on your brothers for about thirty minutes to an hour please. ~ Mom_

He nodded his head then went off towards his bedroom chamber, although he was curious about what all his mother had brought back from her recent trip he was more curious about the newspapers that his mother had claimed to of brought back with her. He wanted to know what all articles they had in them and he really wanted to know about the articles that his mother had said had been written on his family. When Bile walked into his bedroom chamber he saw the box that was on his bed, he went towards it slowly and started to sift through it. He found that month's issue of Deer and Deer Hunting, Hunting and WhiteTail and Knives Illustrated in the box and four resin model kits; the Monster from the Black Lagoon, the character of Morticia Addams, Ecstacy Dolya Art and a dragon that had six necks and heads, the latter he was really looking forward to building and painting. There was also a catalogue book of knives along with a poster of Morticia Addams which he thought was hot. He though that both the woman who had portrayed the character in the 1960's television series, Carolyn Jones, and the woman who had portrayed the character in the 1991 film, Anjelica Huston, were hot but he liked Anjelica Huston better because she had made the character in the film have a more darker aurora around herself. The poster that his mother had gone and gotten him was of Anjelica Huston, she was standing in front of a fern-like plant, her hands were clasped and she was holding a pair of scissors. The poster was one of them black and white ones which he liked a lot, Bile quickly tacked the poster up on his wall then he went to put the magazines and the catalogue book up on his bookshelf. When those were put away he went to finish the one model that he had been working on earlier, the models that his mother had just gotten him he placed under his bed, he wanted to start doing the six necked dragon model soon after he had completed the one dragon model that he was still working on.


	24. Chapter 24

As was his usual, he slapped the alarm clock, a black Victorian made clock that sat on a black oak nightstand that was beside the bed that he and his wife had slept on for the past two weeks in a chamber that his great-great nephew had generously given over to them to reside and sleep in. This was his normal, to slap the alarm clock off quickly, he set it so it'd ring at 5:45 am each night before bed and he'd do the same that very night. His reason for slapping the alarm clock off quickly was simple, he didn't want to disturb his peacefully sleeping wife who was lying on her side on the circular bed that had a white head-board, four black pillows and matching white sheets and blankets that had black leaves on their surfaces. He swung his long legs out from under the sheets, stood up then stretched then he got down and started doing some push-ups. This was his normal as well, a quick workout after waking up not only quickened the waking process but it also limbered a person up, it made them still tired bones and muscles loosen and it made the blood that ran through the veins to the organs that kept a being living run through smoother. Three hundred and fifty push-ups, he saw the black and gray rose carpet rise and then fall as he did his morning routine and then, when he was done, he rolled over and started doing some sit-ups. The flowered red and gold wallpaper that was on the walls came into his sight-line then it disappeared, having been replaced by the light red ceiling that had a classic design to it. He did two hundred sit-ups then he got up, collected his black and gold, leopard print, robe that he had placed in the walk-in closet. He wrapped that around his body loosely then he went to the bathroom for his usual morning shower.

The second that hot water hit up against his body he gained that last step in being fully awake. That hot water, he liked it so hot that the glass sides and the glass door of the shower fogged up with condensation, both refreshened him, taking the night's sweat and stink from his body, and made the memories of what all he had been thinking before he had fallen asleep the night before come back into view. His nephew's son had not come by his and his wife's assigned bedroom chamber for any of the films that Angel had brought back for him from her recent trip to Earth and, when he had gone down to the fourth level to see what was up with Duru, he had seen that the door to the bedroom chamber that had been assigned him and his wife had been open. He had peaked in to see that Cyla was in the chamber, she had been sitting in one of the chairs that had been in the room knitting and her husband had been walking around. Duru had been ranting and raving about something and, since both had been too preoccupied in their doings, knitting for Cyla and ranting and raving for Duru, he had been able to hear what he was ranting and raving about.

It had been all about Angel going down to Earth for things for her children and, also, about bringing things back for others in the mansion. He had seen clearly the two books, The History of the Monkey and Earth's Monkey's, Past, Present and Future, lying on the bed that was in their assigned bedroom chamber. The brown paper that had been wrapped around the two books had still been underneath them so they had obviously just been opened, the string that had been wrapped around the paper to keep it around the books had also still been on the bed. Sitting by the two books had been a set of disc containers that, after a few seconds of looking, had flicks about monkey's in them. While he thought that that was rather generous for Angel to of done, to think of others besides her sons and Eshal, Duru had not been pleased. He had turned and gone down to the second floor, where his nephew's assigned bedroom chamber was, to see how he was doing after Duru had said that he had a mind to burn the books and the discs.

He was very surprised with how Shaam was treating Angel, it seemed that he now had two sides to him. He treated Angel good, decently, about fifty percent of the day then he went mean the rest. He was trying to tell her how to be a mother which, to him, he had no right in doing. The lunch from yesterday was heavy on his mind now, Shaam had been very disrespectful when he had said for Angel to relinquish her hold on training her sons. He had seen them use their powers so he knew that they had been trained well, he had no idea of how well they were with a sword he had a feeling that their mother had trained them equally as well in that as well. Angel was mother to Bile, Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer and she was the mother of Eshal as well and Tazir was father all of them children as well, they had rights in training their children with their powers and with a sword, no one else had any right in coming in to steal that right from them. Before Angel had disappeared with her sons, Shaam had been very nice and decent towards her. It now looked like he had decided to try to usurp her from being a parent to her kids. He had found Shaam in his bedroom chamber, his nephew had let him in for only a few minutes and, in them few minutes, he had noticed that Angel had brought things back for him.

His nephew was a big fan of shrunken heads, a severed and specially prepared head that was commonly used for trade, ritual or trophy purposes, and Angel had brought back four shrunken heads with her from her recent trip to Earth for the man. A shrunken head of a man whose eyes and mouth had been stitched shut but who had blonde hair, a blonde mustache and beard had been casually placed at the foot of the bed. Two female shrunken heads, one that had red hair and that had sticks going through the cheeks with the other having faded black hair and earrings hanging down from the ears, had been beside it and a shrunken head whose head had been given a leopard-print tattooing and who had very long, brown hair had actually been dropped to the floor. Angel had also gotten Shaam a book chronicling Earth's shrunken heads on her last trip, this looked as if it had been tossed to the side. This was very unlike his nephew, he usually was one who cherished Angel's gifts, for him to be treating them fine gifts in that manner had shocked him. He had left his nephew's chamber quickly and had started looking around for Angel. He had found her going up to the third level after he had searched all of the first level for her, she had been holding five necklace bands in her hand that had bottles on them that had contained a red liquid. Although he had been curious about the necklaces he hadn't pried into what they were, he had just told her to not bother getting anyone, and he had made sure to include himself, anything whenever she went back to Earth. After he had explained all that he had seen she had nodded her head, had said thanks then she had gone on up to the third level.

Supper had gone the same as lunch, Shaam had insisted on Angel relinquishing her hold on the training of her sons and she had refused... she had actually said that she would not let him train them and that had sparked a nasty fight between the two. Tazir had been given rights of training Lhaklar, Hazaar and Lazeer in their Acidic powers soon after the fight, he had a feeling that she had allowed that right go to him because she had not that power and, also, because she trusted him more than anyone else in the mansion. Bile and his brothers and Eshal had been asked to get up and go to the kitchen with their plates right before the fight between their mother and his nephew had started and he was glad for that, he and the other adults had worked a spell so that the children that had remained at the table heard none of the fighting. After supper everyone had dispersed from the dining room, Angel had gone up to the third level with her sons and that was when he had noticed that each one of her sons had a black drawstring around their necks that had a bottle hanging from it that contained a red liquid and he had also noticed that Angel had one around her neck as well. He had been wondering about them necklaces all night long after supper and, just before he had fallen asleep, he had come up with the idea of her making them necklaces for her and for her sons as a source of protection. Quite possibly, he had thought, she had made them necklaces for all of them to protect them and her from everyone in the mansion. It was a nice thought, a comforting thought and, with that thought in his mind, he had fallen into a pleasant sleep.

He stepped out of the shower, shook his head to the left and then to the right then he grabbed a towel that was hanging on the towel curtain. He dried his dark purple hair good then he wrapped the towel around his lower half, with that done he exited the bathroom. A dark brown walnut dresser, shaped like a coffin, was the first thing that came into his line of sight and he went to it. A spectre table that had a round, glass top was in the center of the room, it had nothing on it. A baroque couch that had a black leather back, cushions and arms, was placed on the right side of the bed up against the wall, a black Antelope candle holder that had quite a lot of webbing on the candle sticks and antlers was mounted up on the wall above it. A black leather chair that had spiked arms sat askew the couch, a black glass table sat between them. A black chandelier that had sticks and antlers all entwining in a tight ball hung from the ceiling, he and his wife had thought the piece ugly at first but, after the lights were turned down they had noticed that the chandelier cast off shadows in the rooms, creepy shadows that just made them feel oh so excited.

The black trunk that had very dull gold trim that was at the foot of the bed was his and his wife's, he had insisted on their bringing it along with them to put their more fancy outfits in. At the moment, it was empty, but when they had arrived and had started to unpack it had contained several of the tuxedos that he had that he wore on special occasions and several of his wife's dresses that were of very fine quality. The Victorian made, wrought iron, lamp that had a thin quality purple lampshade that was on the nightstand behind the alarm clock he liked, when it was on it cast a purple glow out onto the table. The box that was on the dresser was his, it was a normal, brown, wooden box that had his allergy medication in it. Mounted up on the wall above the dresser was a 50" flat screen tv and, on either side of the tv there were two wrought iron lanterns that had a jar that housed a single candle inside. The candles were lit either by a match or by a switch that was on the wall that made a mechanism work in the candle that made a flame light up.

Trobrencus wasted no time in dressing himself. He doned a black, button down, long sleeve shirt, put a leaf-designed black and gray vest that had buttons going down the front over the top of that then he slid on a pair of black underwear before grabbing a pair of black pants. This was his usual, he typically put on a shirt and vest before going for a pair of underwear and then putting on a pair of pants. He next grabbed a black patterned, double-breasted tuxedo jacket from the closet, this jacket had a laced tail going down the back. He slid black socks then a pair of black shoes on his feet then he went and grabbed one of the five canes that he had brought along with him. He chose the chrome plated, Lion headed cane that had a wenge wood shaft. Seeing that he wanted to be a bit dangerous that day he went and grabbed a skull and spiked armoured finger ring, he had just slid that over the index finger of his right hand when his wife was stirred from a comfortable sleep. He was on his way to pushing her back down to the bed, it was only 6:50 am in the morning and he didn't want her to lose any of her beauty sleep, she usually woke up ten to fifteen minutes later, when there was a knock on the door. He sighed frustratingly then turned and went and answered the door.

"What do you want you ungulate fool?" a blue skinned Goblin who had warts on his cheeks and large brown eyes and a crooked nose stood in front of the door. The Goblin was wearing a black tuxedo with a dark green wrap around the waist and black shoes, he had a strong, lean body and was four-foot, four inches tall. The Goblin looked at him, squinted his brown eyes then he cleared his throat.

"Master Tazir has asked that I let you and yours know that his wife will not be available for making breakfast this morning, she will be much too busy." the Goblin said. "He has plans on taking his family out for a meal in a restaurant later on this morning, he wishes to know if you and yours will be joining or not?"

"When did he decide on this outing? When will he and his family be leaving?" TrobrencusVile asked, he wasn't much for morning outings but he did feel that a change in scenery was needed for everyone.

"This morning after waking, he and his wife will be busy all this morning on the front lawn with their children. No one will be available for meal cooking." the Goblin replied. "They will be leaving a little after nine."

"I and mine shall look forward to this outing." TrobrencusVile said, he had been let in on the planned activities that were to take place that very morning before everyone had dispersed after supper had ended. Although he wasn't very savvy on his great-great nephew letting his stock, born of fine, royal blood, interact with common stock from common folk he had kept his mouth shut, he had not wanted to spark up any fighting and he didn't want to make more stress fall on Angel's shoulders, which he knew were already sagging with the stresses that she was already dealing with. He dismissed the Goblin by waving his hand then, after the Goblin had disappeared from the door frame he leaned out. When he saw the Goblin walking down the hallway he couldn't contain himself, it was his usual to give one insult or one uncomfortable feeling to at least one staff member, whether or not that staff member was employed by him or not, and he had a chance to do so now. "Walk with a twist my good man, work off that breakfast before I work it off for you."

"Enjoy the view sir, I have plenty to go around with my twists and turns." the Goblin, after he had stopped and had turned half way around, said back. TrobrencusVile blinked his eyes, stunned for a second that the Goblin hadn't acted in any way offensed by his crack. The Goblin disappeared before he had a chance to say anything more, he ducked back into the chamber that had been assigned to him and his wife, closed the door then went to his wife who had gotten up from the bed. He always undid the braid in his hair before going to bed each night and, at the moment, his hair was just hanging loosely. Although he was very expert in braiding his hair, he had been braiding his hair way before meeting Bahne, his wife liked to great the morning after she had woken up fully by brushing, combing and then braiding his hair. Trobrencus went to his wife, bent down, kissed her on the forehead then he sat down beside her on the bed.

As he entered the kitchen his train of thought was on one thing and one thing only and that was the two kids that were tagging along at his backside like shadows. They were his own, the two sons who had played with Young Master's Bile and Lhaklar when they had been young children. They had been all excited after he had told them what the plans were for that morning after he had gotten home from work, sadly he wasn't sharing that excitement and he had it all to thank on his employer's wife saying one sentence. One little sentence had haunted him for all of the rest of the workday yesterday, one little sentence had robbed him of being able to eat the peanut butter, lettuce and onion sandwich that he had made before leaving apartment 37, his and his family's generously given apartment that was underneath the mansion of his employer. He had been so perturbed by Mistress Angel's saying that her conversation with Mr. Bedali that had included a spell for eliminating ones self from demonic possession or protecting one from being possessed by a demonic presence that he had really not been able to work as proficiently as he usually did.

Elimination Demoniaque was just not a spell that came up so easily in conversation, if it was brought up then it had a good, damn reason and that reason was, usually, in telling one who was either possessed or who thought he or she was possessed or who thought he or she was in danger of possession to use it to gain a sense of protection. He had never heard of one using that spell in a normal, non-meaning way and he was sure that every one of his co-workers and even his employer had never heard of that spell being brought up in a normal, harmless conversation. Normal conversation typically had no talk of spells, potions or charms, it consisted of normal, harmless things like sports, how one was doing, how the weather was and how things were doing at home and at work. He had never had a conversation with another being that had contained small talk of spells, potions or charms. It had rained the night before for a few hours, when it had stopped he had secretly wished that it would pick back up and that it'd come down so hard that the planned meeting between his sons, Eldass Zultoa's sons, Kalach Speelin's sons and Losal Khrelan's sons would be postponed. His wishing this had nothing to do with his not liking or trusting his employer's wife or any of her children, his wishing that that would happen had come off of his concern that someone was in danger.

"Is that it, dad?" Abrenzoar asked, he pointed at a ten inch long by four inch tall tupperware container that had a piece of yellow tape on the side that had Homsi Modulavich written on it. For the past few weeks his employer's wife had been putting some of the uneaten foods that she had cooked into a tupperware container for him and his family, Losal Khrelan and his family, Eldass Zultoa and his family and Kalach Speelin, the latter one being big enough to have two meals put in it and, in reality, she had included enough for both Kalach, his family and for Abevo, Kalach's brother, in it. He and his co-workers had found themselves looking forward to finding the tupperware containers after each meal that the Surfeit family had attended had concluded and they all made sure to clean and then return each tupperware container on the morning after they had found it. He had two under his arm now, cleaned and dried and ready to be replaced back in the cabinet where they had been before they had been taken down. Homsi went over and picked up the tupperware container that had his name on it, he opened it quickly. He bit his tongue to not laugh, Mistress Angel wouldn't be cooking breakfast today but she had left him something. Inside the container lay about twenty Valomilk's, a chocolate bar that had a liquid marshmallow filling inside a milk chocolate cup that he had become rather fond of while on Earth for them two and a half months last year, and, underneath them, he saw five Three Musketeers, Mounds and Almond Joy's each. His employer's wife had gone to Earth the day before, obviously she had gone and gotten him something while on the planet. It was a nice gesture, a friendly gesture and he appreciated it greatly. Homsi put the tupperware containers that had been cleaned and dried by his lovely wife back into their respective cabinet then he grabbed the container with the candy bars in it and turned around. He spied three more containers sitting on the counter top before he and his two sons left the kitchen, he guessed that his employer's wife had also gotten Eldass, Losal and Kalach something as well while on her last trip to Earth.

Besides him having his two sons at his side and having half the morning off just to sit and watch and supervise the meeting that Abrenzoar and Dlahsleon were going to have with their old playmates he had still done his usual morning routine. Wake up when the alarm sounded, slap the clock off then go to the bathroom to use the toilet then take a shower. He had put on a brown tuxedo, the long sleeve, button down shirt was light brown and it had a ruffled, embroidered front and the cuffs were trimmed and ruffled as well. The vest was brown, it had dark brown buttons on it, and his shoes were brown and very shiny, he had never come to work looking shaggy or unprofessional. His two sons had dressed in their usual attire, they had been much too excited to sleep for more than a few hours but they had a spring to their step so he knew they were fine.

Arenzoar, his oldest who looked quite a lot like his mother, even having blond hair on his head and light purple skin, had dressed in his usual attire. A pair of blue pants, a light blue shirt that had short sleeves and dark blue shoes. He had cleaned himself well, his hair was nicely combed and his eyes, which were large and expressive like his own, were very bright. Dlahsleon, his secondborn son who had been born after Beaufi, had been quiet all throughout breakfast but, soon after he had walked out from the apartment he had started talking a mile a minute. Dlahsleon looked quite a lot like him, he had large, expressive blue eyes and there was thin, dark gray hair sticking out from the sides of his elf-like ears. He had inherited his dark purple skin from his mother. Both Arenzoar and Dlahsleon stood four-foot, two inches tall, they were still growing so he expected them to reach his height in a few hundred years. Arenzoar was older than all of Master Tazir's children, Dlahsleon was a little under Young Master Lhaklar's age but neither of his employer's sons had taken advantage of their height, age or heavier weight when it had come to their playing with his sons and the same had gone for Losal Khrelan's, Kalach Speelin's and Eldass Zultoa's sons. Dlahsleon was wearing a pair of baggy, gray pants, a white, short sleeve, shirt and gray shoes, on his wrist was a black rolex watch that he had gotten last year as a birthday present.

"Mr. Surfeit have a dog now dad?" Dlahsleon asked when Zanra, the puppy that Angel had been given by TrobrencusVile, walked into view. The puppy turned, looked at the three Goblins then she trotted off. Homsi saw that she had a light red collar that was made of velvet material around her neck, the two shines that he had seen when the puppy had turned had been the tags. Master Tazir had gotten the vet to give the puppy all of her shots nearly a week ago and Trobrencus had signed the puppy over fully soon after he had arrived, the second tag had the Surfeit surname along with his employer's address on it. Seeing the puppy walking around downstairs told him one thing: his employer, his employer's wife and their children were all awake. The puppy, he knew, slept upstairs either in one of Master Tazir's and Mistress Angel's children's bedroom chambers. She only left the chamber that she had slept in during the night when her owners had all woken up.

"Yes, that's Zanra." Homsi replied. "They have had her for a few weeks now."

He led his sons upstairs to the employee lounge where he quickly stashed away the tupperware container in the fridge that was in the room, he slid the black bag that had an insulated interior that contained his and his son's lunches inside into the fridge next then he closed the door. He got serious then, he brushed his hand down his front, smoothing invisible wrinkles out of his suit then he straightened his shirt, checked his vest then he left the employee lounge. Arenzoar and Dlahsloen, like shadows, followed behind him. On the way down the hall, Homsi and his sons happened on Kalach Speelin and his two sons and then they walked by a very visibly tense Losal Khrelan who had his one son tagging along a foot behind him. Neither Homsi nor his sons said hello to the two Goblin family's that they walked by, they simply nodded their heads then went on. When they reached the stairs that went down to the foyer they saw Eldass Zultoa walking up with Devlor and Seiqo and Malmeen walking behind him in a straight line. As with the other two Goblin family's, they just nodded their hellos then walked by. Homsi took his sons down to the living room then he took a seat, his two sons followed in his example, the night before he had been given orders that he was to bring his sons up to the mansion then, after he had gotten himself all set and squared away, he was to take his sons to the living room. They were to sit and wait until word came that it was okay to come out then they were to bring their sons out to the front, Arenzoar and Dlahsleon were then to be "turned loose" and he was to stand with the parents and watch what happened. Homsi took a deep breath, so much could happen with this meeting. Either one or both of his sons could be hurt by the taller, bigger and stronger sons of his employer. Either one of both could hurt themselves out on the front lawn by tripping over something. Homsi forced himself to think of only good things coming out from this meeting, he had just taken another deep breath and had just sat back on the couch that he was sitting on when Losal, Eldass and Kalach walked into the living room with their sons following behind them.

He told himself upon waking up that the nervousness that he was feeling was normal, just the nervousness of a parent sending his or her offspring off on a new adventure, just the nervousness from unneeded worry when a child was sent off to a new phase in his or her life. He had felt this nervousness when he had sent Eshal off to Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic, he had felt nervous and sad at the same time because, for the first time in her life, she would be on her own. She'd ben living on her own in a dorm with other females, she'd be making her own meals, she'd be waking herself in the morning and eating breakfast without having him to look at or speak to. He had so wanted for them years between her turning one thousand, one hundred years to go by slow, he had not wanted her to go off to school because he had grown attached to her like any other parent did with their children. It had hurt, her going off to Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic for two hundred years, but after a few months he had gotten over his nervousness and hurt. She had written, had said that she missed him terribly and that she hoped that the two hundred years of her being away from her daddy would go by fast. Her going off to Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic, and then the University of Telepathy, had been especially hard because Angel hadn't been there. She had been missing, had been on Earth for one thousand, six hundred years with the boys. Eshal had nearly called him up several times to come pick her up but, through her depression, she had gone to the school and had gotten good grades and she had graduated.

This outing with the children that two of his four sons had played with when they had been children was just another phase in their coming around in living with him again. He had told himself that several times and he had thought that as well but, with each saying and thought of this he just went into a more nervous state. He had sat himself down in the bathroom that was adjacent his and his wife's bedroom chamber last night on the toilet, Angel had been sleeping on her side, her hair draped over her head making her look even more exotic and making him feel giddy. After he had seated himself down in privacy he had started the process of thinking what all his nervousness was about. Bile was big, strong and tall, he could well hurt the Goblin children that were coming over to interact with him and his brothers. Lhaklar was tall and strong, he could also hurt the Goblin children. Lazeer was very energetic and he had a way of flapping his mouth, of spewing jokes that could well hurt feelings and Hazaar... well he worried most about his secondborn son because of his temper and the fact that he was experiencing the heavy moments of the temperamental phase. Lazeer was also going through that damn phase but he seemed to be having a better go at it but, still, he could be unpredictable.

He had hurt a lot of feelings after supper had concluded, after he had seen the pendants hanging down from around his son's and wife's necks he had asked for his brother, father and grandfather to see him in his office. He knew very well what them pendants were, they were protection amulets, the small bottles that hung from the drawstring of each necklace contained a protection potion in it that would protect the wearer from harm. He had called his father, grandfather and brother in to his office and he had told them to drop all the ganging up or else, they could plain pack up and leave his home. If his wife was going to his potion chamber to make amulets for protection then there was seriously something wrong and he had a feeling that all that wrong was in their doing. The getting on, adult bullying and fighting, they had her so stressed out that she could barely see straight. He knew of the gifts that his wife had brought back with her for them, the shrunken heads, the books and the movies, all they had done was look at them, make a face then throw them to the side like spoiled rotten brats. His wife had thought about him and Eshal on her last trip to Earth as well, she had surprised Eshal a few horse model kits and a few dresses and she had from surprised him with a motion activated bat, the kind that flapped its wings and gave off squeaks and squawks whenever someone walked by it. He and his daughter had accepted the gifts with great appreciation, his grandfather, father and brother had not done the same with their gifts because they had their heads stuck in the past. Yes, Angel had disappeared with the boys for over a thousand years and yes, he and they had searched for a long time but did that call for all of what his wife was being put through now? His wife was, indeed, coming back after each trip to Earth so, in that, he knew she could be trusted. If she had been taking off for hours or days then yes, he'd be worried and he'd put his foot down on her leaving Moas for a trip to Earth. A husband had to let his consort have some time to herself, a husband should never give his spouse orders like she was a servant or maid.

When the clock on his bed side table had gone off he had reached over to turn it off, his hand had only gone half way to the clock before he had felt his wife rolling over then pressing her body up against his as she reached for the alarm clock herself. That touch of hers, her body being pressed up against his, had made him want to slap his hand down on the clock then roll over and stay in bed with her. Feel her body up against his, runs his hands through her hair, give her kisses and hugs and maybe engage in a little romantic sex-play but, before he had had that decision locked down she had pressed her finger against the knob on the clock then she had sat upright on the bed. She had gotten up, gone to the bathroom then he had heard her using the toilet before going in for a shower. The need to have his naked body pressed against hers had been strong, she had been back with him for two months and not a day of that two months had they had any sexual activity. He had been using the old method to contain his urges, he had been telling himself to let her stress levels go from where they were, which he estimated as very high, and he had also been telling himself to let things calm down before even considering sex with her. When his need for her had reached a peak he had grabbed one of his own magazines, an old issue as he didn't buy them anymore, that he kept locked up tightly in one of the dresser drawers of his and his wife's dresser. The bathroom, a magazine and his hand, that was how he had tended them urges and, so far, it was working. If she wanted sex, he kept telling himself, she'd give him a sign and, thus far, she had given him no signs at all that she was interested. The love was there, she expressed her love for him each day but her need for sex was, obviously, not tops on her mind. He told himself that the reward of sex would come one day but, in the meantime, be patient and that was what he was doing.

She had showered then, after she had exited the bathroom, he went in and showered. When he walked back into their bedroom he saw that she had put on something a bit more presentable. A pair of black dyed jeans, the legs being a bit loose so the blood could flow normally, and a blue shirt that had long sleeves made of a lace-like material. She was putting on blue socks and there was a pair of light blue shoes near her, the amulet that hung down from around her neck stuck out like a sore thumb with her outfit but he said nothing on it. He let her wear it, there was no doubt in his mind that he could protect her and their children but, if wearing the amulet made her feel better then he he saw nothing wrong in her wearing it. He went to the dresser and started rummaging around, he had nothing but a gray towel wrapped around his waist, the rest of him was out in the open. He took out a pair of gray briefs, slid them on then he reached back into the drawer for a pair of gray socks. When he had them he went to another drawer that had his pants in it, he found a pair of striped gray pants quickly then he slid the drawer closed.

Striped gray pants, a light gray, long sleeve, button down shirt, a gray striped vest and then his gray socks with a pair of dark gray shoes following, that was what he put on that morning. He had just fastened the last button on the vest into the hole when Angel walked around him. She went to the drawer that had his ties in it, opened it then took out a silver-gray cravat tie. He bent down low enough so she could wrap that around his neck then arrange it so it was neat and tidy then, after that was done, he stole a kiss from her that made energy sizzle all around his body. The Universal Gods had done him well, he thought after kissing her, with each kiss from her, whether him giving it or she, he'd always feel that energized jolt sizzling up and then down his body. Angel next slid his wallet into his right back pocket then she slid the spell-made tiny keys that were on a gold ring into his right side pants pocket. Her emerald-green eyes that had the golden-yellow rings around the black pupils never left his large, oval eyes that were a shiny silver color, even when she grabbed his silver pocket watch and started connecting the chain that ran from that to his vest she didn't look away from him. TazirVile did need to be told that she held both trust and love in that gaze of hers, he could feel it leap out at him.

"There you go sexy," she said, he smiled down at her. "ready for work now."

"I should demand you remove it all from me now," he said to her, he touched her chin gently. "get you back into bed and keep you there for a while."

"Then you'll find yourself carrying number four." Angel winked her eye at Tazir, she then turned and went towards the door.

He followed but, instead of going in the direction that his wife went which was towards the stairs that went up to the third level, he went the opposite way. Before he had gone to bed he had written specifically for Olok Gzujus, one of his butlers, to inform everyone that his wife would not be down in the kitchen that morning to make breakfast. She'd be busy, he had written on the note, and his butler would know why because he had briefed every one of his staff on what was going to happen between 7 am to 8:50 am that morning. His main reason for requesting Olok to go around, passing the word that his wife wouldn't be in the kitchen to make breakfast was because Olok was one of only five of his butlers who was gay. Trobrencus had been pestering his staff for two weeks with his annoying flirts, he threw them around towards both his male and his female staff and was making his employees uncomfortable. Olok, he knew, would be able to control himself and, also, dish out his own brand of uncomfortableness if it called for it. He had also written for Olok to make himself "available", meaning work out in plain view of the man, all day long, either Trob would can the flirting after he, himself, grew uncomfortable by his butler's come-back flirts or something else would happen that he didn't want to dwell on for long. Either or, Olok was being a sport and he was glad for that. Olok, he saw when he turned to go towards the stairs that went down to the foyer, was turning after exiting the stairs that went up to the third level so he knew that the Goblin was doing as he had written for him to do on the note that he had written. His niece and her husband, Bushon, had surprised him when they had arrived with two other children in tote, he had had no idea that they had had more children. He had assigned them chambers on the third level, the same level that Bile, Lhaklar, Hazaar, Lazeer and Eshal's bedroom chambers were on, with finding that they had two young children in tote he had acted quick in assigned them a chamber, their parents had asked that he put them together in the same room and he had done just that.

That had been the only real surprise of the day yesterday, two of his older, half-sister's and one of his younger half-sister's and their husband's had arrived as well and he had assigned them all chambers on the fourth level. His wife had reacted in a friendly fashion towards them, they had never done anything to harm her so she had known that they were safe and, in fact, they had actually aided in trying to get his and their grandfather to pipe down when he had started to fight Angel over her sons training. The boys were acting normally towards them, they were shy and would need a little bit of time before accepting that they were both family and that they'd not hurt them. Neither of his two older, half-sisters had any extras with them and the same had gone with his younger half-sister as well, it had just been them and their husbands coming by and taking up residence in his house. Bushon Bedali, Zebyr Verobari and Keibo Sebatu had said nothing when they had walked into the boys' chambers, they had looked around, had nodded their heads a bunch of times then they had turned and left. It was only later, and in private, that they expressed their feelings of Bile's models and posters and of the magazines that Bile and Hazaar had in their chambers. They had simply advised him to keep an eye on the boys, there had been no expressing of who wanted what out of which boy's chamber from them, they had remained respectful and he appreciated that. They had said nothing bad of the game systems or games, they had actually said that the boys having and playing the games was a good thing as the game system and the games that went with them was a good outlet for stress and nervousness. His sisters had said the same after they had checked the boys' bedroom chambers.

The plan for the day, he hoped if all went well that morning, was that he would lead his wife and sons down to the foyer then he'd open the front door and step out of the way. His wife would take over, she'd lead the boys out to the front, they'd look around while being on the front porch then, he supposed, they'd step down and start exploring. He'd let them explore for ten minutes then he'd go in and get Homsi, Losal, Eldass and Kalach and their sons, they'd follow him outside then he and his butlers would stand on the porch and watch what all happened. If anything happened that was too rough, they'd go in and stop it but if nothing rough or bad happened they'd just stand by and watch. If no overly rough stuff or fights sparked up, if the morning went well, he'd take his family out for a late breakfast at a restaurant that he thought that they'd love. He figured that there'd be several additions coming along, he figured that about fifteen to twenty would be the total for that late morning's bill at the restaurant, it would be an expensive outing and he had no problem with that. He was rich, after all, he could afford to eat an any fancy restaurant in the universe day in and day out for the rest of his life if he wanted to. TazirVile went down to where the employee lounge was then he stopped, he leaned back against the wall and waited for his wife and sons to come down the hall.

As she waited for her sons to come out from their chambers to join her in the walk down the hallway towards the stairs that would take them down to the second level Angel found her hand rise back up to touch the amulet that was around her neck. She had found Tazir's potions chamber easily, he had never hid it from her and he had never barred her from using it shall she find herself in need to brew up a potion, and she had gone to work fast in making enough of one, particular protection potion that Bushon had told her to make for herself and for her four boys. She had nearly forgotten what the room had looked like and, when she had stepped into it, she had been wondering if she was still in the same mansion where her sons and Universal Husband resided. Tazir was so clean, organized and he had a style to him that was very different than his older brother's, father's and grandfather's. He typically had a more modern style to his building designs by the potions chamber had no modern design to it at all. In fact, it had more of a dark design, a stone-work design that had a cold, clammy feel to it that had nearly sent her running out of the room.

It had been built entirely of stone, from floor to walls to ceiling and the shelves and table had been built of the heaviest of wood and painted a dark brown. The cabinet had been made of granite, the shelves on it had a good coating of dust on them and on this cabinet she had found all the items that she had needed to brew up the potion. Tazir had a chemistry set, complete with tubing, funnels, clasps and vials and bottles, it was placed on a long shelf that had been welded onto the wall. She had taken all the ingredients that were required to make the Protection Potion; the pixie dust, tail of a lizard, troll tears and the crystals collected from dried pig piss, to the shelf and had started making the potion quickly. Tazir had a stone fireplace in the room from which an iron-clad pot hung in, she had poured the ingredients in then had started stirring. When the brew had gone from brown to purple she had stopped. It had called for careful handling afterwards, if her flesh would have touched the potion that she had brewed up she would have gotten very sick so she had grabbed a pair of long tongs, a jar then had gone to work in collecting the brew. It had taken all of an hour for its color to change from purple to red, in that time she had sat and waited. Tazir had several tiny jars, big enough to be put on an enchanted drawstring, in the cabinet and she had gone to get them after the potion she had brewed up had done through the numerous twists and turns of the tubes then had collected in one of the vials that was over a funnel. Ten minutes after she had collected each drop into the five bottles that she had grabbed from the cabinet she had squeezed a cork into the top of each bottle, had given each of them five shakes then she had grabbed five drawstrings before leaving the room.

The fifteen minutes following had been strange for her. All the way up to the third level she had suddenly been gripped in a strange depression, she had started crying immediately and that she scared her. The tears had stopped once she had started her way up to the third level where her sons were at, it had been replaced by an anger which she couldn't understand. Even now she wondered where it had come from, she had not been angry at the guy who was haunting and stalking her and her sons... she had found herself angry with herself for some reason. When she had reached the third floor she had asked for each and every one of her sons to go to Bile's bedroom chamber, after that her anger had changed. It had been replaced with nervousness and sadness, she had been nearly overcome with both emotions twice because they had been right strong. It had taken her two times to say the spell, she had gotten all of her sons to hold the amulets up in the air and say the spell in sync with her, when they had finished saying the spell out they had all looked at each other then, slowly, ever so slowly, they had put the amulets around their necks. When she had left Bile's bedroom chamber she had found herself tortured with another feeling. She, for some reason, had felt the anger from betrayal float into her and why she had felt this was beyond her, it had just floated into her and had remained in her for almost the rest of the day. The amulet that had the protection potion in it didn't make her feel protected or safe, if anything it made her feel vulnerable. She had a feeling that she had hurt someone or something and that she, herself, was in danger of being hurt. Bushon had told her that, after she had brewed the potion and had put it in small bottle that hung from a drawstring, to wear the amulet for a month. With the feelings that she was feeling she had a mind to remove it and discard it.

About two hours later Bile had asked to see her, she had gone up to his bedroom chamber to find that not only was it he that wanted to see her but Lhaklar and Lazeer had also wanted to talk to her. For an hour and a half they had all spoken about their experiences with the black-skinned man and they had all expressed their emotions on the guy, she had kept her sudden feelings of sadness, anger and betrayal to herself but she had told of how she had heard the guy once then had seen him three other times with the latter being like a memorical showing. Lhaklar had told of how he had seen the guy in his mirror for nearly two weeks and she, on impulse, had gone to check his bathroom afterwards with him, Bile and Lazeer following closely behind her. She and they had entered Lhaklar's bathroom then she had instructed that her three sons stay back afterwards, her jaw had been set and she had felt tight in the flesh as she was angered by the sudden revealing that the black-skinned man had been stalking Lhaklar as well. She had whipped the towel away from Lhaklar's bathroom's mirror then she had jumped back in shock. There had been no black-skinned man or any scene being played out on the mirror, instead the mirror had broken just as she had whipped the towel off of it. The mirror had formed a series of cracks in it immediately then the glass had shattered and flown towards her. She had several cuts on her hands from when she had held them up to ward off the glass and she had gained a two-inch long scratch on her cheek from the one shard that had managed to get past her hands. She had treated the wounds quickly then she had done a spell that would make them disappear, the last thing she wanted was having Tazir fussing and fretting over her about some cuts on her hands and face. She had cleaned the mirror glass up then she had made Lhaklar a new mirror by use of her Elemental Water power by filling the basin then making the water rise then shooting it at the vacant, glass-less area in the mirror. She had done this several times, freezing the water each time after it had splashed onto the glass-less area, before she had turned then left her son's bathroom. Lhaklar had been so shaken up that he had actually asked Bile if he could sleep in his bedroom chamber that night, Bile had said that he could and that was where her secondborn son had slept... and that was where he came out from. The side of Angel's mouth pulled up in a slight smile as her two older sons walked out from the same bedroom chamber, Lhaklar had obviously taken some of his clothing with him so he wouldn't have to leave Bile's bedroom chamber after his brother's alarm clock had gone off. Both looked as if they had slept well and she was glad for this and this gave her some hope that the spell and the amulets were working.

"You two look well rested." Angel said when Bile and Lhaklar reached her.

"Slept all night long, best sleep I've had in two weeks." Lhaklar said.

"Had to deal with his snoring but I slept well." Bile said.

"Least my snoring is better than your night mumbles." Lhaklar said back, he then started imitating his brother's nightly mumbles.

"You both wearing your-..." Angel stopped when her two sons lifted their protection amulets out from underneath their shirts. "Good, keep 'em around your neck for a month. Do not take them off of you."

"You mean we have to shower with these things on us?!" Bile asked loudly.

"Yes dear, even when you shower." Angel said.

Bile had dressed in his normal attire, a pair of brown pants, a brown shirt that had rips and tears in the chest and stomach and a pair of brown boots. Angel was glad for this as she knew that the reporters were still out by the front gate, they had been hanging around for nearly two months and surely, with her sons heading out on the front lawn, there would be lots of photographs taken of them. She knew how reporters were, they twisted and turned facts, they beautified stories to make a story more appealing and, surely, if her sons had gone out with clothing that had more than two of three tears in them she and they'd be reading newspaper articles the next day on what her sons had been wearing. Lhaklar was also wearing his usual, a pair of brown pants, a light green and dark green checkered, long sleeve, button down shirt and brown shoes. Angel found her hand going back to the small bottle hanging from the drawstring again, she forcibly dropped her hand. Bile and Lhaklar stood on either side of her, when she leaned back against the wall so did they and when she swung her left leg over to scratch an itch on the right they imitated her. Angel had just turned to tell them to stop when Hazaar and Lazeer exited from their bedroom chambers. Like their older brothers, they were dressed in their usual attire, Hazaar was wearing a pair of multi-brown pants that were faded slightly at the knees while being faded greatly at both the inner and outer thighs, and a brown shirt that he had tucked in. He had a pair of brown shoes on his feet that had light brown ties going through the shoelace loops. Lazeer had on a dark gray pair of pants that were ripped at the knees and a netted shirt. On his feet were a pair of multi-brown and gray shoes that had dark gray ties. Both of her younger sons showed her that they had their protection amulets around their necks then, when Angel started going down the hallway, they followed.

Hazaar moved out of the ordered line that was following his mother, he went past Lhaklar and then Bile and nearly went by his mother before slowing down. He had gotten a feeling after putting the necklace that his mother had said would protect him, a feeling so ominous that he had nearly taken the necklace off. He knew that his mother had a good reason in giving him and his brothers the necklace that had a bottle on it that held a protection potion in it, she wouldn't have made up a potion or had gone and done a spell while he and his brothers had been standing with her, making a complete circle, for no reason other than to keep him and his brothers safe. He did not feel safe, he felt downright unsafe now. He couldn't understand it but, soon after he had slid the drawstring that had the bottled potion around his neck he had heard a pop and then a startled gasp. All that night he had lay awake, sleep had just not come to him for some reason and, also, he had felt a sort of frantic energy sweep over him. He almost felt non-Hazaar, he felt as if he was not he but someone else who was either very scared, very nervous or anxious. When he had rolled over to his side, trying to escape from this weird, confusing feeling of being not him he had found himself looking at a shadow on his wall that seemed almost to manifest into a scene.

The shadow had manifested into a sort of camp, he had seen trees and a campfire and what looked to be a dark square of space that he figured was a tent or something maybe tied up to shield the person that had made the camp. He had seen a dark figure jump up suddenly, out of the blue by the fire then start pacing, running or walking around quickly then running towards the dark square of space. The shadow that had been either running or walking around had disappeared for a few seconds then it had appeared again, it had run out from the dark square of space towards the shadowed fire. The manifestation had ended there, he figured that it was just shadow trickery, shadows in any place could play tricks on anyone, could make shapes and could even look to be playing out a sort of scene. He, his mother and his brothers had once played shadow puppets once when the lights had gone off during a bad storm, they had cast all sorts of animals and silly images on a place in the wall where his mother had directed the beam from her flashlight. It had been fun then, making all them animals and silly images and trying to make scenes. Seeing the shadow manifestation of the camp had not been funny for him, it had scared him some. He had only seen that shadow manifestation of the camp once, it had haunted him the rest of the night and he had wondered why he had seen it and who it had been who had been pacing and then walking or running about.

He had no idea where the shadow manifested scene had come from and he had no idea where the feelings of nervousness, anxiety and scared that he was feeling were coming from, all he knew was that he was experiencing a rather bad spell of the phase that he was going through. He was frustrated, he was sleepy and he was also nervous, he figured that sticking near his mother was the best thing to do as she knew things. She was his mother, she would protect and take care of him. His mother would not have made the necklace nor had done the spell to hurt him, he knew that much for sure. Hazaar was nearly hugging up against his mother when she came off from the stairs that she had gone down from the third floor, he saw his great-grandfather coming out from his bedroom chamber and he saw his father, who was leaned up against the wall and who seemed to be waiting for them. Hazaar had no idea what was going on or what all had been planned for the day but he had a feeling that he and his brothers were about to be included in something. Regardless of his not having anything to eat for a few hours, he had merely toyed with his supper the night before, he didn't really feel hungry. All he wanted was to be close to his mother, that was all, to have her near him where he knew he was safe.

"Morning boys," TazirVile said after Angel and her sons had reached him. "you're going to have a bit different day today, alright. I think all four of you will have forgotten any hungers you have once you see what all is awaiting you."

Bile merely nodded his head, his brothers made no acknowledging sounds or motions, Tazir quickly thought up an explanation for this as he began to lead his family down the hallway towards the stairs that would take them down to the foyer. They were still not yet awake, they were up and about but they were still sleepy and that was making them slow in both their motor and verbal functions. Angel walked up beside him and asked him one question which he answered quickly. She asked where Eshal was as she had not seen her exit from her bedroom chamber that morning, he explained that she had asked if she could spend the night with one of her female friends and he had said that she could. She was in the next county with the Hoolorg family who had two female children that were her age, Pikki and Kaiki were twins and they had attended Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic with his daughter, they had known his daughter for quite a long time and he wasn't going to dissuade his daughter from interacting with other children that were her age. His father had kept him away from other kids his age when he had been growing up, he had seen plenty of the neighbor kids that lived a mile away from his father's mansion on Gamma-Vile, he had wanted to go and play and interact with them but his father had dissuaded him from it, telling him to keep his head on his shoulders and study and train. That had been his life from the moment he could talk; study and train and with tons of discipline on top of that. He had been stressed out a lot when he had been a kid, worrying his fool head off that if he didn't do good in one subject or another subject he'd be getting the belt or a stick or worse, his father's fists and then, when it had come to his training, he had gone through that same worry and stress. He had gotten beat plenty just because he couldn't do Elemental Powers, his father had tried to snap them up from their dormant state by burning a pile of leaves that he had been playing in and by making waves rise then fall over him while he had been in the pool and by attacking him with his Elemental Powers, trying to make the dormant powers that had been in him go from being dormant to active. He didn't want that for any of his children, he had expressed very early on that they go out and play in the mud, leaves, splash around in the pool, get into some trouble and have some relaxation time and, of course, interact with other children. He viewed that having a child interact and play with other children was an excellent way of socializing, they learned what to say and do and what not to say and do by interacting with other children and they didn't clam up. He had been pretty shy when he had been enrolled at Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic, he had made no friends at all until his fiftieth year at the school. The shell had been cracked, and then popped, soon after he had met Gloar Rovnitov.

Gloar was younger than he, although he came from one of them old-money type of families he didn't come from a prominent family but he did have a good, strong head on his shoulders and he was smart. The kid had come into the potions class that he had just been assigned to, had said hello to the teacher then the teacher had pointed over at the desk that had been sitting right beside his. He normally was the quiet one in the class, the one who stayed to himself and who knew all the answers to the questions because he just went to class, learned his lessons then went to his dorm and studied. Gloar had tapped his arm with his pencil, had asked if he had a spare piece of paper which he had handed over then, he had started asking him questions. The questions had been normal; who are you, how old are you, what family are you from, how long you been a student here, he had answered each after a few seconds worth of silence then he had gone back to being silent. The next day the kid had started it up again with him, asking him all sorts of questions, throwing him off track with his work and making their classmates look up, both in shock and in nervousness. It had taken Gloar all of three weeks before the shell that had been around him had fallen, he had to thank Gloar a lot because, if not for him, he'd still be a right quiet, to himself, secluded man. He didn't want that for his children, Eshal was doing very well in her socialization lessons and now he was going to see how well his sons had been socially educated. Before their mother had gone off with them, they had been on track with being socially educated. They had played, had interacted and had conducted conversation with children not of their calibre of pedigree. He had had to discipline Bile and Lhaklar two, maybe three times for overly rough housing or for hurting another child's feelings with saying something that they shouldn't have said.

"Alright boys," TazirVile said, after explaining where Eshal was he had said nothing, he had just walked down he hallway then down the stairs that went down the left side of the foyer. He turned around and looked at the boys, who were all pretty much huddled near their mother. "you're allowed to explore the front but do your mother and me a favor. If a reporter or a photographer asks for you to come over to the front gate do not do so. Stay away from the fence and front gate."

"I take that we'll be seeing a lot of camera flashes while on this outing." Bile said.

"Probably you will." TazirVile said, he turned around and began undoing the locks that were on the inside of the front door. When he had the last lock undone he twisted the knob, he walked onto the front porch after he had pulled the door in. Angel, with her sons following close behind her, followed behind him.


	25. Chapter 25

The artificial blue grass was still wet with morning dew and the sky was slightly overcast, he felt that old feeling of relief fall over him on the latter then, after he brought his hand up and felt the soft rubber of the one band that came off of the side of his goggled glass that he had numbly put on after leaving his father's mansion he found himself laughing inside. _Why be relieved to have the sun covered up by thick, ugly, gray or black slouds when I have a specially made goggled speck over my sensitive eye_, Lazeer thought to him. His father walked forward then he stopped, turned and went down the porch a ways before stopping then leaning over the railing. Lazeer took a step away from his mother then he turned and began taking the porch that he, his brothers and his mother had been led out onto. The cloud cover in the sky suddenly drifted away, bright rays of sunlight flooded down onto the landscape, heating and drying everything up, making everything seem to shine brightly.

It was huge, the porch, that was. It ran the whole length of the front of his father's mansion, the floorboards were painted a weather resistant, dark burgundy color, while the railings were bright white. There was a wooden swing on the far left side of the porch with a wicker chair that had diamond-shaped designs on the tan cushions placed near it. When Lazeer looked to the right he saw that the far end of the right side of the porch had been knocked down, he saw that a ramp had been built on that end of the porch, the ramp went all the way down to the artificial blue grass. For some reason, Lazeer figured that his father had decided to knock the railing down on the end of the right side of the porch then had a ramp built in its place to accommodate his kids. He could clearly see Eshal or Bile or Lhaklar running all about on the porch or driving one of them kiddie cars that had pedals on the inside and that were either yellow and red or yellow and blue up and down the ramp. There were several rocking chairs, a few wrought iron tables and a few, single drawer, brown dressers that he guessed his father had put out for his mother. He could see his mother now, sitting on the porch with a glass of lemonade placed on one of the wrought iron tables to her left and with a ball of yarn or something on her lap, knitting up a sweater or a blanket while keeping her eye on his sister or his brothers as they played about in the front yard.

He felt very alien now, he felt as if he was in a place where he shouldn't be and that made him feel sad. His older brothers had been raised in this environment for five and six hundred years, he and Hazaar had not had a chance to even be raised here, he and Hazaar had been mere babies and yet... he could see his mother sitting in one of the rocking chairs with Hazaar in her lap, swaddled in a blue baby blanket, being rocked to sleep. He could see his mother walking around the front yard with Hazaar in her arms with either Bile or Lhaklar or Eshal jumping up and down at her sides, begging to see him and he could also see a blue blanket being spread out for his mother to sit on. He could see a baby bouncer being placed on the blue blanket, he could see a few baby toys, a bag that had diapers or bottles of milk or napkins or even small towels that his mother had used on his brother when he had had a throw-up moment. Was it fair to say that Hazaar, also, was an alien in this environment just because he had been a hundred years old, a baby still, when he had been here? Hazaar had, in a way, been raised in this environment for a hundred years. He had not, he had only spent four months of his one thousand, six hundred years of living in this place. If anything, he was the alien while his older brothers were the locals. Lazeer looked down, he wished to become invisible in this strange world, he felt as if he was trespassing on this strange world, a world where two of his three older brothers had been born and a world where his three, older brothers had been raised.

"Psst, Lazeer." Lazeer looked up then to the left. Bile had stepped down from the porch and was walking about the patch of grass that was shielded by the sun by the shadow that was cast off from the railings of the front porch. Lhaklar had gone down two of the five stone steps then he had stopped to look back, it was just him and Hazaar standing on the porch now. Lazeer looked over at his mother, his mother was walking down the length of the porch, her hand was trailing over the railing. Hazaar walked over to his brother, he stood behind him then he gave him a firm shove to move forward.

Lhaklar finished descending the stone steps then he made a right turn, he walked away from Bile. Lazeer and Hazaar went down the five steps together then they went off towards the fencing that they had both seen that went around in a complete square. They saw a long, white fence stretching all the way across the front quite a ways off, it stopped and then connected to a large bright copper-colored gate that had the initial T on it. A road of yellow rocks ran up from the gate, it went over and then past several of the artificial blue grass-covered hills, the yellow rocked road stopped only when it reached a garage-like building. Lazeer saw that there were tall trees, some that had plain blue leaves while others had both blue and bright pink leaves and there were a few that had red flowers on their limbs as well, the tree that was nearest the mansion had a tire attached to one of the limbs by a rope, Lazeer could well see either his sister or Bile or Lhaklar swinging on the tire when they had been kids. When Lazeer and his brother got to the fencing that they had noticed they saw that it was attached to the fence that went around the front yard and they also saw that it had a section of fence going down the middle This confused both of them until they saw the two, red and white, barns.

As if on que, once they were seen leaning up against the fence, trying to get a good look at the two barns, two burly Goblins ran, seemingly out of nowhere, to open the barn doors. Lazeer heard the bleating calls of goats and the baah-ing sounds of sheep then he and his brother saw the animals. Little gray, black spectacled, gray and white, brown and white and plain white goats, looking to be no more than knee-high, ran out from the barn farthest from them. The goats ran, skipped and then jumped, seemingly happy that their captivity was over with, before settling down to graze. Black and gray, brown, brown and white and cream-colored sheep ran out from their barn, the lambs bounced, skipped and ran about while the adults got down to business quickly in grazing. The Goblins left the barns open, they walked across the pastures that they were in then they walked out after opening small gates. The two Goblins walked down a white rocked path that led from the yellow rocked road, Lazeer and his brother saw that it went all the way to the porch, there were several branch-offs with two going towards the two pastures that they were standing in front of.

"Do not get any wild ideas in that head of yours," Hazaar said to him. "the old man will freak if you go chasing after any of them."

"I wonder if Bile or Lhaklar did any goat or sheep chasing when they were kids." Lazeer said.

"Probably, probably got a good whipping from the old man afterwards." Hazaar said.

That made him laugh, he couldn't really see Lhaklar chasing after the goats or sheep but he could see Bile doing so and he also saw Bile getting quite a lot of spankings from doing so. Bile had once run right into a herd of Fainting Goats, a species of goat that seized up then "fainted" for ten seconds before getting back up onto its feet and going by its business as if nothing had happened, about half of the herd had fallen to their sides while the others hopped around stiffly afterwards. It had been funny but his brother had sure gotten into trouble for it, the owner had grabbed him by his ear soon after the goats had fallen to their sides, Bile had been no more than nine hundred and fifty-two years old, still a kid, he had come away with a badly bruised ear because of that owner grabbing him the way he had. Their mother had been called, she had been fined $40 then she and they had been barred from that humans property for life, Bile had been more scared than embarrassed but he had learned a valuable lesson: don't go chasing livestock while the owner of the farm was at home.

Hazaar tapped Lazeer on his arm then he walked on, the reason why he wanted someone with him, he had tried staying with his mother but she had given him a gentle rebuffing then had told him to go on and explore some, was because he just plain didn't want to be alone. Bile was out, he had walked off of the porch too fast and he had one of then vibes around him that Hazaar had detected. That old vibe where one wanted to be alone, to go where he or she wished to go alone, Hazaar guessed that his older brother wanted to find some place to hunker down and hide in to have a smoke or something. Lhaklar also had that same vibe around him but he seemed much too nervous for his liking, the last thing that he wanted was to have Lhaklar bite his head off, he was already teetering on the brink of having his temper exploding. Lazeer was the only choice left for him, he guessed that he'd have to bite his tongue to keep from snapping at his younger brother but at least he had someone with him. Hazaar led his brother around the pastures to the side where the backs of the two barns were, he stuffed his hands in his pockets to keep them from shaking when he saw the walkway of blue stones that branched off in different directions. One path led to a green garden that had a fountain-pool in it. Spouts stuck up out of the water, blue water splayed out from the tops in a jet-like fashion. Hazaar saw lily pads floating in the fountain-pool, some had pink flowers on them. A grove of blossoming cherry trees were on either side of the fountain-pool, when a gust of morning wind caught against their branches a bunch of pink pedals fluttered down into the pool. A line of yellow flowers grew on one side of the trees with another line of purple flowers planted beside that line. Hazaar took one step in the direction of the fountain-pool then he stopped, a flash of white made him look more closely at the area he had walked towards. When he saw that there was a line of reporters pressed up, with cameras pointed at him and his brother, he decided against going in that direction.

He began looking for a place to hide, a place that had some low-hanging bushes or had a tree or two that's branches hung down and were thick. Two of the paths went towards white concrete buildings that had butterfly-like roofs, another led to an area that looked as if it had a tennis court or a basketball court on it and another path led to yet another area that looked almost identical to the tennis or basketball court, the only difference was that this area had a small baseball diamond on it. Hazaar had no idea how long he had been walking when, suddenly, Lazeer grabbed his wrist. Hazaar turned to look at his brother then, when his brother pointed over to the right he looked in that direction. He nodded his head in approval quickly, just the place for him and his brother to sit and let the time pass. Maybe smoke a cigarette or two, do some small talk or look at the two magazines that he had stuffed in his shirt before exiting his bedroom chamber. He had had a feeling that that day was going to be different, that it wasn't going to be one of them days where he and his family were locked up indoors, subject to hearing and witnessing the fussing and fighting and having to deal with all the bullying.

The place that his brother was pointing at looked ideal enough for what he wanted to do. It had quite a lot of low shrubs, hedges and it had some stone and wrought irons benches in it as well. The blue pebbled path went right threw and then around the area which was nearly half a mile wide and nearly that long. Blue, purple, red and white flowers bobbed up and down when the morning breeze struck them. Right dead in the center was a stained gazebo that had yellow flowers planted around it. There was the sound of water running, after Hazaar started walking towards the area he saw where it was coming from. Behind the gazebo stood three tall Yew trees, the third one had a fountain-pool around it that had a Bonsais pool around it. The pool had a small and then a medium-height waterfall connected to it, lily pads and other matter of water floating flora floated on the water of the pool. Hazaar stared at the pool for a few seconds then he smiled, there was a stepping stone path that ran up to the Yew tree that was in the center of the pool and, from the looks of the path, it went underneath the tree. Hazaar walked down the blue pebbled path that he had began walking down after he had walked past the pastures that had the goats and sheep in them, when Lazeer clipped his heel he stopped then turned towards him, when his brother backed off a step he nodded his head then went on. When he got to the stepping stone path he stopped, he looked both ways then he started using the stones to get across to the tree. He had just gone low to duck under the branches when Lazeer gasped loudly. There was a splash, he was suddenly drenched from head to foot and that pissed him off.

"You idiot!" Hazaar yelled at his brother, who was waist deep in water.

"What? I slipped on the rocks and fell in." Lazeer said, he struggled to get back onto the stepping stone path before finally getting his hold on the stones. "This water's pretty deep."

"I hope you swallowed a frog after you fell," Hazaar spat. "look at me! I look like-..."

"You went skinny dipping with your clothes on." Lazeer said. "That's against the rules of swimming naked, you now owe me twenty dollars."

"I owe you a punch in the face and a kick in the ass." Hazaar sniffed.

"Put it on my bill," Lazeer said, he then looked down at the water. "Hey! There's fish in this pool."

"I hope they're Pirahna," Hazaar spat meanly. "hope they took a bunch of bites out of you and made you bleed in several places and gave you fish diseases."

He ignored his brother's angry outburst, the feeling of being a trespasser or an outsider that didn't belong in this vast, wild and exotic land was back and he did not like it. Although Hazaar was acting mean towards him he accepted it, he'd rather have his brother being a bit angry and mean towards him than being alone. He viewed that if he had gone off alone that someone would run up, take aim with some gun then order him gone. He envisioned his own father running up with a gun or simply staring down at him, giving him one of them watchful looks while holding a gun across his lap or while holding a gun loosely in his hand. Lazeer looked down at the water that he had fallen into, the fish that were swimming around were snake-like, they had two dorsal fins and a single tail fin. Curiously, they were colored like one of them Koi fish. Lazeer knelt down, he thrust his hand into the water to grab one of the fish. He shrieked then jumped back when one of the fish latched onto his hand. He felt several rows of teeth puncture his flesh then he saw drops of his bluish colored blood seep out from where the fish had gripped him. Lazeer fell back into the water, he rolled over twice then he grabbed the stone path and pulled himself back up, the fish was still attached to his hand and that freaked him out. He grabbed the fish, it had an Eel-like flesh texture and it was roughly thirteen inches long, about the head then he pulled back. The fish, whatever it was, pulled the flesh that was on his hand as he pulled it back, when the fish unlatched from him he saw that it had a pharynx that had four teeth protruding from it. The fish had two, large eyes and a single nostril that was on top of its head, it also had seven or eight gills on both of its sides. Lazeer threw the fish back into the water then he rushed under the Yew tree where his brother had disappeared under no more than fifteen seconds before.

"Thanks to your shrieking out there I'll probably have to put this out soon." Hazaar said, he had one of his Kamel Red Light cigarettes in his hand.

"Dude, there's some sort of fish that had rows of teeth in the water." Lazeer said. "It... it has some sort of pharynx and..."

"Baby bro get scared of a fish all of a sudden?" Hazaar said in a sissy way, his deep purple, oval eyes that were slanted slightly glowed brightly. "You're alive, get over it."

He looked at his brother then sighed, that feeling of being a trespasser had a hold over him something awful now, he wished it would just go away but it wouldn't. The branches of the Yew tree had been cut back some on the under part just enough for a person to stand up, there was a wood carved bench by the trunk that his brother was sitting on and, right in front of him, was a fire pit that looked as if it hadn't been used in ages. That was all that was underneath the tree, it was cool and shady, the water came up to about five feet all around the tree and there were some rocks piled up to keep the water from coming up any farther. There were two or three bushes that had purple flowers on them with a medium-sized rock placed between them underneath the tree as well. Lazeer went over to the medium-sized rock, sat down then leaned his head back. The croak that he heard was so close to his head that he had no choice but to jump up from the spot he had sat on. Hazaar broke into a laughing fit after he saw the orange and black frog hop away from where his little brother's head had been.

"What's wrong baby bro? Scared of a wittle frog now?" he said between laughs.

"I had no idea it was there." Lazeer said, he felt foolish for jumping after hearing a frog croak. He had seen plenty when he had been on Earth, he had even had a few as pets when he had been a child. He wasn't afraid of frogs, it was just... the feeling of him being a trespasser had gripped him so tightly that he felt jumpy at just about anything.

Lazeer went over to where the frog had leaped over to, which was in the bush that was on the left side of the rock, he plunged his hand into the bush then started searching around for the suction-cupped critter that had startled him. It took only five seconds before he heard another croak then he felt the amphibian jump onto his hand. He closed his hand over the animal then he cried out in pain, just when he had started to close his fingers in on the frog so he could bring it out in the open he had felt a burning sensation in his hand. Lazeer yanked his hand out of the bush, opened it then looked at it. The orange and black frog leaped out of his hand, it left a reddish orange substance that burned the first layer of his palm. Lazeer cursed then he walked over to the water's edge, he plunged his hand into the water to wash it of the substance that the frog had secreted on him and, also, to get some relief from the burning sensation that he was still feeling.

Earth's most poisonous frog, the Golden Poison frog, was small and came in all sorts of bright colors to serve as a warning to predators that it was toxic and that it was deadly. The humans had done several captures and had done many years of captive breeding to make the species not as toxic so it could be put on the market to be sold as a pet, the captive bred individuals were not as toxic as their wild counterparts but they were still toxic enough for some of the humans that bought them for pets wore rubber gloves just to keep the toxins that were on the skin of the frog from touching their skin. He had owned two Blue poison dart frogs a few hundred years ago, he had handled them without having rubber gloves on his hands and he knew that they were not so toxic that they burned flesh or made flesh turn colors. He had washed his hands well after the handling of his two, poisonous frogs and he had tended them frogs for ten years before they had both perished from old age. What he had had in his hand that had burned him reminded him of a Poisonous dart frog but, now that the frog had burned his hand, he knew that it was not one of them frogs. The frogs on Earth had no toxins in their skin that burned the flesh of others.

"Ma's gonna flip!" he exclaimed after he had taken his hand out from the water and had seen that the palm had bruised a dark blue color.

"Why, because a frog pissed on you?" Hazaar asked.

"That damn frog burned me!" Lazeer exclaimed, he showed his brother his hand.

"Shit, is that dye or-..."

"It's a bruise, when I grabbed that frog it-..."

"I'd do a Water Heal exercise on it to get the bruise to heal up," Hazaar said, the Kamel's cigarette bounced up and down as he spoke, he had smoked about half of it. "Wonder what else is under this tree?"

"I'd not touch anything," Lazeer said, he dipped his hand back in the water then, with his other hand, he made the water roll around it. "the fish in this pool also-..."

Hazaar's deep purple, oval eyes grew large when his brother leaped back from the edge of the water. Attached to the end of the hand that Lazeer had been trying to heal was a long fish-like animal that had barbs on its sides. Lazeer screamed loudly then he grabbed the fish by the back of its head, he pulled it off of his hand then he threw it to the ground. Hazaar ran forward just as his brother yanked his leg up, he scooped the fish up just before his brother could stomp on the fish then he turned away. The fish had no dorsal or tail or side fins whatsoever, it had four eyes and one, large mouth that was O-shaped. When he peered into the mouth he got a surprise, the inside of the mouth was full of sharp, little teeth and there was a forked tongue that had two, fang-like teeth on the end. Hazaar got scared at just that moment, he threw the fish back into the water then he turned around towards his brother. Lazeer's hand, right above the wrist, had been bitten and it was bleeding pretty badly. Hazaar grabbed his brother's hand to steady it, Lazeer had been flinging it about in a sort of frenzied horror which Hazaar understood, had the fish of latched onto him he'd of acted the same way, he looked closely at his brother's hand to see if there was any venom oozing out of the wound. After a few seconds of watching he released his brother's hand, he had seen nothing but blood coming out from the wound.

"Was that the fish that nabbed you earlier?" Hazaar asked.

"Heck no, that was a different fish. It came out from the rocks, like it had a hole or something that it was living in." Lazeer answered, he was breathing heavily.

"Why the hell would our old man have fish like that in this pool?" Hazaar wondered out loud. "I mean, this pool is big enough for one of them quick dip things."

"I am not swimming around in this pool that has fish that have teeth and fangs and-..."

"Your hand alright?" Hazaar asked, when he had glanced down he noticed that his brother's hand was turning an odd whitish-blue color.

"It hurts like hell!" Lazeer exclaimed.

Just before they heard their father calling out their, and their brother's, names Hazaar looked over at the rock where Lazeer had sat in front of earlier. He went over, knelt down then gave the rock a good looking at before he lunged forward. Lazeer, whose hand was now really starting to hurt him, looked on in shock as his brother pulled out from beside the rock a unique looking turtle. The turtle had a red shell that had yellow and light red markings on it, a dark red stripe went down the back of the shell to the tail. The turtle's neck was long, about four inches and it had a small head on the end that looked funny. Hazaar held the turtle for only a short while before he dropped it, the turtle had whipped its neck over to the side then had snapped at him, he had just barely missed getting bit. Before the turtle could get away he grabbed it back up. The turtle wagged its tail, which was an inch and a half long, twice before it disappeared into the shell. The turtle, obviously, had had enough of having its soft, vulnerable parts exposed, it tucked its legs into its shell then it pulled its neck and head to the side underneath the short lip that was on the front of the shell.

Hazaar was one who liked turtles, he had caught one of them Spiny softshell turtles while in Canada once and his mother had allowed him to keep it as a pet. He had fed, changed the water in the turtles tank and had kept the cage furnished with all sorts of rocks and vegetation to keep the turtle happy, he had named the turtle Frankie and boy had that turtle lived for a good, long time. He had lived for all of forty years before dying of old age, Hazaar wondered if his father wouldn't mind him keeping the turtle for a short while then he decided against asking. His father would probably be going nuts after he saw the state of Lazeer's hand, he would probably both say for him to put the turtle down then follow him as he led everyone back inside the mansion. Hazaar put the turtle down on the ground, he wiped his hands on the sides of his pants then he turned around. Lazeer's hand, to his great surprise, had started to swell. He grabbed his brother by his wrist then started leading him out from under the Yew tree, before he left the cover of the tree he crushed the cigarette that he had smoked then he said a spell to make the smoke smell that he had on him disappear. He had led his brother halfway across the stepping stone path when he heard their father yelling out for them, and their older brothers, to come to him. Hazaar lost his balance quickly after he heard his name being called, he yelled out in shock then horror as he fell into the water that the two fish that had hurt his younger brother's hand had been seen in.

"Bile... Lhaklar... Hazaar... Lazeer!" TazirVile yelled again, he turned and looked at his wife for a second then he looked back out at his front yard.

"I forgot to put bells on them this morning," Angel said to Homsi who was standing behind her. Homsi and Eldass chuckled.

Angel looked at the children that her Universal Husband's staff had brought along with them to work that morning, there were quite a lot of young Goblins waiting to interact with her sons and she really couldn't wait to see how her sons and the eight Goblins reacted to each other. She hadn't dissuaded any of her sons from interacting with the children on Earth, when the weather was good and there were no plagues or natural disasters going on and she had some free time after work she'd take her sons to the park. She had watched her sons as they played in the sand that were in the sand pits, climb the monkey bars, chase after children their size, play hide and seek and, of course, make all sorts of animal sounds that children made when they were being funny or were trying to play zoo. When her sons had come home from their educations they had continued to act appropriate towards humans, both of the teenage and young adult type. Bile and Lhaklar had gotten into maybe a handful of full on physical fights with male humans but they didn't go around looking for trouble and that went double for her two, younger sons.

Bile had gone off around the front porch, she had last seen him when he had rounded the far left side of the porch so she guessed that he had plans to find an area that had some cover to do a quick smoke. Lhaklar had been a little bit nervous, he had gone off to the right before stopping then turning and going in the direction that Bile had gone. He was somewhere in the yard but, like with Bile, she guessed that he had found himself a little hole to hide in to do a quick smoke before possibly going out to explore a little bit. Hazaar and Lazeer had explored the most, they had gone across the yard to look at the sheep and goats then they had walked around the two pastures, they had disappeared afterwards. There was quite a lot of things that they were probably looking at, besides the tennis and basketball courts there was the baseball diamond and the gardens. Tazir had several, she could only remember five but she knew there were more than that. There was one that Tazir had built specifically for him and his friends, he called it his Man Garden. He and his friends went there to be men in private; to talk male, drink some beverages, smoke some MoGars or other smokes. She had seen the garden once or twice, it was pretty but it had an aurora around it that said that she was not welcome, Eldass and Homsi were welcome from time to time to go there and she had asked what all happened underneath that one Yew tree that had a pool around it. According to them, they just did a lot of macho talk and that they and Tazir also act tough by trying to snatch up the exotic fish that Tazir had put in the pool that was around the tree. Whoever came out of the pool with more than one MoPrey attached to their arms or necks got a free lunch at a restaurant of his choice, Eldass had said. Whoever came out with three of the BarEels coiled around his legs or arms he'd get either a bonus in his next check or a free dinner at a restaurant of his choice, Homsi claimed.

MoPrey were an exotic fish that was very similar to the Lamprey of Earth, the only difference was that the MoPrey using their pharynx to puncture the flesh of other fish or animals that fell into the water. BarEel were another exotic type of fish that looked like eels and even had an electric charge to them like eels but they had barbs all on their sides and, also, they had fang-like teeth on their tongues that had a low degree toxin on them that made any area bitten swell up. Neither fish were dangerous, they were exotic and spooky and that was why Tazir had put them in the pool. He saw the fish as a sort of weird, exotic, dare thing, she really couldn't understand why he'd want something so ugly swimming around in a pool of his but, then again, she was a woman and he was a man and men do things that only their gender understood. In a way, Angel hoped that her sons had stayed away from that garden. She didn't want them freaking out, thinking that they had been bitten by some vampire or venomous fish. If Hazaar and Lazeer had gone and explored that garden she'd not fret or fuss over it, they had a right in exploring the yard and everything in it. Angel looked over to the left and saw that both Bile and Lhaklar were coming around the porch, she decided to let her two younger sons continue their exploring, there was plenty of time for them to show up and join in with their brothers in playing with Homsi's, Losal's, Eldass's and Kalach's sons.

Going off to have a smoke was far from what he had done, he had walked off, had stuffed his hands in his pockets then, when he had found the shrub that looked as if it needed a good trimming back, he had dropped to his knees then had crawled underneath it. He had made the box that had his baggies of weed pop up from underneath the ground, had made himself a joint then he had smoked it while leaning back on the trunk of the shrub. He had stayed quiet, hadn't really wanted to say anything or make any sounds. He had been startled when Lhaklar had crawled under the shrub, he had thought that his father had found him, when he had seen that it was his brother he had heaved a sigh of relief. He had passed the joint that he had made over to his brother, who had shook his head, then he had watched as his brother had made the box that had his Black Devil's cigarettes in it rise up from under the ground. Lhaklar had smoked two of his cigarettes very quickly, he was nervous and he understood why. The back yard they had felt a sort of safeness in, the front yard had a dark feeling to it, he couldn't understand why but he felt that the front yard had a danger to it.

He and Lhaklar had played a lot in the front yard when they had been kids, they had gone all throughout the yard, running and chasing or just playing jungle safari. Sometimes they had playing with just themselves, other times they had played with some of the help's kids. He had skinned his elbows quite a lot as a kid in this part of the yard, after tripping and falling on the yellow road or one of the paths, and he had also scraped his skeletal knees several times as well. The flesh on Lhaklar's left knee had split open once when he had fallen from the porch and he had also cut the skin on his hands when he had tried to chase him into the bushes. Several times, when they had played cops and robbers, he or his brother or one of the Goblin kids that they had been playing with had gotten cuts on their faces from trying to run into the bushes.

He had smiled only once in that near fifteen minute period of time, he had been a right young kid, Lhaklar had been barely out of diapers and he had just so happened on a nice, big, fat toad. He had been a bit of an evil creature back then and, seeing that toad just hopping around had given him an idea. He had picked the toad up then had carried it over to his brother who had been on the front porch. He had put the toad in the back of his brother's big boy pants then he had stepped back, Lhaklar had screamed then had leaped up, their mother had come running and the toad had been released. Naturally, he had been disciplined. He had been no more than two hundred and thirty years old then, a right little thing. When he and Lhaklar had heard their names being called they had stubbed out their cigarettes and joints, he had done the spell to make all the smoke smell disappear from them then they had exited from under the shrub. The photographers that were at the front gate, all lined up, had snapped plenty of photographs of him and Lhaklar, he guessed that they had done the same when they had seen Hazaar and Lazeer as well. On the way around the front porch he had glanced over at his brother once, his brother had a strange look on his face, a thoughtful look that had a troubled appearance to it. He was about to pull his brother to a stop and ask him what was wrong when, suddenly, his brother stopped in his tracks. The strange, thoughtful and troubled look disappeared, it was replaced by a look of shock.

"Dlahsleon?" Lhaklar said, Bile looked over at the porch then gasped. There, standing by the first step going down from the porch were eight Goblin children, all of whom he and his brother had played with when they had been children.

"Bile! Lhaklar!"

Lazeer now had a busted lower lip thanks to him and he was promising to get him back but he really doubted that since he had also wrestled his younger brother down a hill then had punched him a few times in the left side, if his parents asked why he had beat up his younger brother he'd be honest and tell them that he had annoyed and aggravated him enough to warrant such a beating. He had fallen into the water that was in the pool that was around the Yew tree, had swallowed two mouthfuls before he had shot up then climbed back up onto the stepping stone path. No fish had taken any bites out of him but he did have to contend with hearing his younger brother asking him twice if he was alright and then spur out his dumb jokes on him trying to turn into a mermaid. The jokes had stopped when he had found a brown worm on his neck, he had pulled it off then he had started gasping and yelling out when he had found that what he had pulled off of himself was a species of Leech. He had run right back underneath the Yew tree, had stripped himself of everything then had started slapping, grabbing then throwing what all he saw that was on his body that did not belong on him. In total, he had thrown ten or eleven Leeches off of his body, the last one he had found resting nearly inside his underwear which had done more than freak him out. The little bastard that was his younger brother had just stood and watched and laughed and joked, he had cursed at him, told him to shut up then he had started to redress himself. He had done a quick spell on the two magazines, the Hustler and Playboy January editions that his mother had just got for him, to dry them off and make any of the ink that had run from the pages go back to its appropriate place, then he had shoved his brother out of the way.

Lazeer had bugged him ape-shit afterwards, asking him how many Leech babies he had made and asking if he had made sure that one of his "Leechy girlfriend's" hadn't made off with more than a little blood, he had had enough when his brother had asked how it had felt to be sucked on by a parasitic worm. He was sure that one or two photographers had snapped a photograph of two of him wrestling then fighting his brother and he really didn't care, his brother had deserved to be beat up by him, he'd say if questioned on why he had beat his little brother up. Lazeer had managed to slug his fist home into his left eye twice and he had also managed to kick his knee up into his groin and stomach but he had dished out the most damage. Lazeer was walking a few feet behind him, his arm was around his stomach and he had a pained look on his face, Hazaar heard talking up ahead of him and he went towards it.

"You have gotten big!" he heard someone who sounded male say. "I bet you could pick all of us up at once."

"Probably can, get one of them long, sturdy sticks then all of you grab hold and-..."

"Bile," Hazaar heard his mother say, just from the way she said it he knew that she was telling his older brother to not do that.

"You're as tall as your dad, Lhaklar." another male said. "You was just over his waist the last I saw you."

"And so was you," another male said.

Hazaar dropped to his hands and knees and started crawling forward, the fence from the pastures hid him wonderfully so he knew that whoever it was that had his older brother's attention couldn't see him. When he got to the corner of the pasture he stopped, the sight before him almost made him feel like laughing. There were seven Goblins, around mid-teenager to upper-teenager from the looks of them, standing all around Bile and Lhaklar who were standing near the steps of the front porch. There was a four-foot, four-inch Goblin that had dark brown skin standing on Bile's left, he had bright blue eyes, a triangular-shaped head and a long, thin nose. He was wearing all black; black shirt, pants, socks and shoes, and he looked younger than Bile. The Goblin that was standing beside him looked identical except for one thing: he had red hair while the other kid had light brown. That Goblin was wearing a gray shirt, brown pants and a pair of brown shoes. Lhaklar had two Goblins standing on either side of him, one stood about four-foot, seven inches tall, had green skin and it looked like he had yellow eyes, the other had dark purple skin, large, expressive blue eyes and it looked like he had hair sticking out from the inside of his ears. There were two others standing behind Lhaklar, both were the same height of four-foot, four inches and had blue eyes but that was where the similarities stopped. The one on the left had light green skin while the other had light blue skin and one had a wart on his temple while the other had a series of three warts on his chin. There was one more Goblin in the group that was smaller than the others, he stood about four-foot, two inches tall and had dark blue skin, light blue eyes and fluffy, red hair. Hazaar laughed inside, his two older brothers looked funny being surrounded by all the Goblins. The Goblins made his two, older brothers seem almost like giants. Hazaar pulled back behind the fence, crawled back over to Lazeer then stood up, Lazeer had stopped just behind one of the barns.

"What's going on?" Lazeer asked, he could hear all the talking, all the excitement, and was wondering what was going on.

"Bile and Lhaklar, I think, have been made into idols." Hazaar said. "They had seven Goblins, around their age, maybe older, around them."

"Attacking?"

"No, just talking."

"Oh."

The fight with his brother had made him feel somewhat better, it had made him feel like he was back to normal, like he had nothing to worry about in feeling like a trespasser or an outsider or an alien walking the grounds of his father's property. He had been happy after the fight, regardless of his ribs hurting him, his hand hurting him and feeling his lower lip throb, now he felt as if he had been yanked back into the previous feeling of being a trespasser. He figured that all the Goblin kids that were around his two, older brothers had once been Bile's and Lhaklar's old playmates, they might have played hide and seek, chase and might have even gotten into trouble before he and Hazaar had been born. He and Hazaar, he felt, had no friends in this environment. They had simply been born, had lived for a short while in the place then they had moved before forming any sort of friendships or connections. He had had several acquaintances on Earth, when the sun was hidden behind the thick clouds he had hung out with a crowd of boys who, he thought, were pretty cool. They smoked, they goofed around and got into trouble but they were not destructive by any means, he and his friends might had busted a few trash cans from time to time or he and his friends might have gone girl gawking or drove an adult crazy but he and his human friends had never gotten into any real, thick trouble. He and Hazaar had no friends here, no one to be associated with their age, no one to goof around, rough house or even talk to. All he had was his brother and all his brother had was him. Lazeer leaned back against the fence then he slowly dropped to the ground, he listened to the talk across the yard from him.

"I feel like such an alien here."

"Hate to break it to ya, Lil Bro, but you _are _an alien." Hazaar replied, Lazeer blinked his eyes, he had not meant to say anything of how he felt.

"Like the kind that don't belong, Hazaar. I feel like I don't belong here, like I'm a trespasser or something."

"You're weird, dude." Hazaar said, he sat down in the grass beside his brother. "You belong, you was born h-..."

"I was born, wasn't raised though." Lazeer said. "Only history I have with this place is I was concieved then born here."

"You was raised for four months here." Hazaar pointed out.

"And that is all, Bile and Lhaklar have more history here at this place that either you or I do." Lazeer said. "They were here for over two hundred years, they have memories of this place while we don't."

Although he got what his brother was saying he also figured that his brother was starting to succumb to whatever stress he had been going through the past two and a half months that he had been living in the mansion. Yes, Hazaar knew, his brother and he had only been babies when they had been taken from this place. Yes, Hazaar knew, he and his brother had not been able to establish any friends or connections, what being did when they were infants? Hazaar leaned back, he heard Bile and Lhaklar running around and he heard the Goblin kids either giving chase or running away from his two older brothers. This place, he thought, was no different than the apartments that his mother, he and his brothers had lived in then moved away from. It'd take a short while, maybe two or three more outings in the front yard before his brother got to feeling like he did belong. Not knowing he was doing it, Hazaar sighed then started talking about the shadows that had moved around like a scene after he had gone to bed the night before. Lazeer stayed quiet the whole time that he was telling him about the shadow manifested scene that he had seen, he had stone-like face to him and his circular, silvery eyes were like two, silver stones in his face.

"I ever tell you about what I saw a few weeks ago?" Lazeer asked, he reached over and wrapped his arm around his brother's shoulders. "The reason why I been asking mom or dad to check my closet each night before I go to bed?"

"No,"

"It was right before Trobrencus came over with his family, like a day or two before, I heard someone talking in my room that wasn't me then I saw the door to my closet slide open." Lazeer said. "Someone walked out, he had a black body, a black fleshed body with plenty of muscle on it and he also had glowing yellow eyes."

"Probably dreamed something up or-..."

"I saw him," Lazeer said strongly, so strongly that Hazaar was forced to believe him. "I saw him like I see you now. He came out, walked over to my bed then spoke to me."

Lazeer got to tell no more of what he had seen because, suddenly, a Goblin ran around the pasture fence then slid to a stop when he saw them. This Goblin stood about four-foot, two inches tall, had large, expressive eyes that were a blue color and light purple skin. He had blond hair on his head, no warts on his face at all and was wearing a pair of blue pants, a light blue shirt that had short sleeves and dark blue shoes. Hazaar got up to his feet quickly, Lazeer got to his slowly then he walked around his brother then towards the Goblin. His ribs were still hurting him, his hand was still swollen and bleeding but he dismissed these pains, they were replaced by his curiosity of who it was that had run around the pasture then had stopped near them. When he was but two feet from the Goblin two things happened that were unexpected, the first was the Goblin saying hello and the second was another Goblin running around the pasture then stopping right beside the other fellow. This Goblin Lazeer knew, he pulled back sharply when he saw the Goblin then, just as he turned around to head back to standing beside his brother the Goblin noticed him.

"You!" Amfloon Speelin exclaimed upon seeing Lazeer.

"Heh-Hello Am-Amfloon." Lazeer said shakily.

Hazaar looked at the Goblin, really taking him in before stepping in front of Lazeer. He stood about four foot, four inches tall, had red hair and bright blue eyes on a triangular-shaped face that had a long, thin nose on it. Amfloon Speelin was wearing a pair of black pants that had faded knees, a red and blue shirt that had short sleeves and he had red shoes on his feet. The watch that had a black band was wrapped around the kid's wrist tightly. Hazaar knew who the kid was as well, he had attended the same potions and spells class as Lazeer so he had seen his brother do his cut-up gags, class clowning and joking all the time. His brother had been smart, regardless of his cutting up in class, he had known a lot of the answers and he had always turned in his potions and his tests and quizzes earlier than everyone else in the class and he had always done his spells to perfection so, besides also being known to cause trouble because of his goofing off in class he had also been known as the smartest kid in class. Both of them things had earned him a lot of hatred in the class and the guy that was in front of them now happened to of been one of their classmates that had despised his younger brother to a T.

Amfloon Speelin was a hundred years older than him, he had been on his last hundred years at Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic when Lazeer had enrolled and had been assigned the potion and spells class taught by Arkav Lihdrel. The kid had gotten adequate grades, Hazaar had noticed a lot of B's and C's and maybe a D on the papers given back that had Amfloon's name on it, when Lazeer had become a classmate the two had had a sort of rivalry. Amfloon's grades had gone from being B's, C's and D's to mostly B's and C's and he had upped his activities in the classroom but it had always had a purpose. He had wanted to show up his younger brother and he had bullied him a lot as well. If Mr. Lihdrel had said very good, Reezal, Amfloon would have a comeback and if Mr. Lihdrel handed his brother, who had gone by the name of Reezal when he had been a student in both Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic and the University of Telepathy, a paper that had an A+ on it Amfloon would throw his hands up, cackle loudly then claim that he had cheated. Amfloon had actually tried to beat his brother up twice, had he not of been there he would have.

He, himself, had had some issues with the kid. Amfloon had tripped him up, had tried to make him fall into several of the pots that had potions that he was brewing up in them and he had also called him quite a lot of derogatory names. He had beat the kid up several times and he had been sent to the office then been assigned detention soon after, Amfloon had never been punished. After his brother had started going to Pronghorn he had stuck up for him and had actually fought several of the kids that had wanted to beat his brother up, several of his detentions had been made because he had been defending his brother, the others had been given to him because he just couldn't control himself enough to not fight back and he had actually talked back to several teachers as well when they had been giving him one of them teacherly talks on how he should behave. Although Hazaar was sure that his brother could take care of himself, he still stepped in front of him to bar the Goblin from running forward to hurt him, he figured that his brother had already gotten his daily beating and didn't need another on top of it.

"Look, we don't want any trouble. We just want to get back to our parents." it pained him to say that but he said it just to get away from Amfloon without a fight sparking up. "My brother got sprayed by some sort of frog then he got bit by some f-..."

"What frog sprayed him?" the Goblin that had large, expressive blue eyes and light purple skin asked.

"I don't know the species, it was black and orange though." Lazeer answered.

"Seeper's Frog," the Goblin replied quickly. "they're not bad poisonous but they do excrete a chemical from their skin when they're threatened."

"I see you've not changed much, you still touch things you shouldn't." Amfloon said. "Seeper's Frog is more of a look but don't touch species, the only frog that's dangerous around these parts is the Ocean Frog."

"Ocean Frog?" Lazeer asked.

"One of the ugliest frogs you'll ever seen in your life!" the Goblin that had the light purple skin said loudly. "It's dark brown all over and has yellow spots on its back. Has webbed feet and a pointy face. The eyes are beady, blue things. M'daddy says that Mr. Surfeit put out a chemical to keep them frogs away."

"Have you seen one?" Lazeer was now right interested in seeing one of these so-called Ocean Frogs.

"No, but my dad has." the Goblin replied. "Name's Arenzoar Modulavich, you two must be Hazaar and Lazeer."

Kalach Speelin had brought Amfloon, his youngest son, along so that Hazaar and Lazeer could have someone their age to interact with, Angel thought that that was a very wise decision and she was grateful for it. Kalach and his wife, Lege, had had three children, a daughter and two sons, and as far as she could tell both of his two sons seemed to be very polite, Amfloon was also experiencing the Temperamental Phase, he seemed a bit slow intelligently but he was smart in his own right while his brother, Olteeb, was very smart. Bile and Lhaklar had mostly been asked questions, the usual type like what they had been up to since their disappearance, how much weight they could lift up and what they had done academically and what their interests were. Bile had gone a bit far in suggesting that all of the eight Goblins grab a hold of a long, thick stick so he could lift them up all at once, showing off how strong he was, but she had been quick in telling him no. The entire outing was going well except for one... well, actually, two things. Hazaar and Lazeer had gone off and disappeared and she was having to contend with Homsi's continual questioning of whether or not she was okay. She had gently told him to back off several times then, when he had continued to come up to her to ask her whether or not she was alright she had been a bit more forceful. He was now standing beside Losal and Tazir, they were keeping a good eye on the children that were walking about the front. Amfloon and Arenzoar, Homsi's oldest son, had run off, playing one of them chase me games, the other Goblins children were simply following Bile and Lhaklar as they went about exploring the front yard.

Losal's son, who had been named almost after him, was a right quiet fellow but he had his moments of being exciteful and energetic. Homsi's two boys were respectable, smart and responsible youngsters but they had their moments when they become a bit unruly which was only their natural since they were a hundred and fifty and a hundred and eighty-five years older than Bile. Eldass had brought three of his sons over, all acted very mature but the younger of the three, Malmeen, had been reprimanded twice for unruly behavior. She had only had to reprimand Bile once and she hadn't had to reprimand Lhaklar at all which was good. Tazir seemed happy that everything was going well with them, she was still a bit nervous because Hazaar and Lazeer had not yet showed up to join in with the eight children that had been brought over for a meet and great and play session. Angel touched the amulet that hung down from her neck, she had lost track of how many times she had touched the thing but she had put her hand up to the bottled potion that hung from the drawstring once every five minutes, the act seemed to now come instinctly but she still felt that odd feeling of having betrayed someone. Homsi had come over to sit next to her just after his sons had gone off to interact with hers, he had asked her each time she had reached up to touch the bottled potion that hung down from around her neck on its brown drawstring if she was alright and she had politely answered quickly, saying that she was very fine. It had just been Homsi who had asked her continually if she was alright, Eldass, Losal and Kalach had come up to speak with her a few times, they had asked her only one question and that had been the how're you today which she had answered politely, and a bit dishonestly. After they and she had had their short talks they had walked off, Homsi had remained at her side until she had firmly asked for him to go on and be with the men. She had not meant to hurt his feelings or anything, she simply had grown annoyed by his constant questioning of whether or not she was okay or not.

Seeing as nearly an hour had gone by and that neither of her two, younger sons, had made an appearance Angel decided to call out for them. Her sons obeyed her very well, they snapped at attention and were very respectful towards her and she was grateful for this. Only when it had called for it had she disciplined them and her brand of discipline had nothing to do with abuse. She either chided, grounded or whapped at her sons with a dish cloth, she would never use a stick or belt on them. At the same time that she called out for Hazaar and Lazeer, Homsi and Kalach called out for their two, absent, sons. Abrenzoar and Amfloon ran around the pasture that the sheep were in quickly after being called and, surprsingly, Hazaar and Lazaar were running right behind them. Angel sighed in relief for only a second then she quickly walked off of the porch. Over the years she had been able to detect an injury on her sons by only looking at them, watching their movements, and the same went for her noticing something that didn't look quite right. Hazaar's clothes were dark, it looked as if either he had gone for a quick dip in one of the pools or he had been pushed into one of the pools and Lazeer looked similar only it looked, to her, like he was either holding his side or his stomach and there was an odd discoloration to his lower lip. Abrenzoar and Amfloon went past, they slowed up then went over and started cutting up with Bile and Lhaklar, Angel stopped about ten feet from the porch then crossed her arms over her chest.

"I only need to look at you both to know that you two have been fighting." she said, Hazaar and Lazeer stopped a foot from her.

"We had a small fight," Hazaar said. "he annoyed me with his jokes. I couldn't take it anymore."

"He went fishing, kissed a fish then found himself covered in his hybrid offspring." Lazeer flashed his brother a smile then he looked back at their mother.

"We both fell in a pool that's around a Yew tree, momma." Hazaar said after a short while of silence. "He got bit by two fish then a frog sprayed some chemical on his hand. His hand's bruised and-..."

"What frog was it that sprayed you, son?" TazirVile asked, Angel looked back at him once then she turned and looked at her two sons.

"Amfloon says it was Seeper's Frog." Lazeer replied.

"Nothing to worry over, that's a common tree frog around here. Only spray their chemicals when they feel threatened."

"Why's your hand swollen, Lazeer?" Angel asked.

He had been wondering where Hazaar and Lazeer had been all the time that they had been out, exploring the front yard as well but, unlike Angel who had not much worried over them being not in sight he had been a little bit concerned. He had no worries about any of the reporters or photographers getting past the gate or trying to jump over the fence that went around the front and sides of his land, he knew that the reporters and photographers were getting quite a lot of photographs of his sons and he allowed for that to happen just as long as everyone stayed out of his yard and left his children be, what had worried him was where all four went and what all four did while exploring the front yard. Lazeer telling him about him and his brother going to the Man Garden, as he called it, where he and his male friends; Gloar Rovnitov, Rilam Salirok, Mewokken Khasahu and Homsi and Eldass to name only a few, would go to "air" out and be men in private, was one of them things that he had been slightly worried about. Lazeer getting bit by a MoPrey and then by a BarEel he wasn't so much worried about, the same as his son getting sprayed by a Seeper's Frog, it was hearing that Hazaar had been bitted by a species of Laechums. Laechums were a species of Leech that had a toxic bite that made the skin around the place where the parasite bit to get for the blood to flow turn either a green or a yellow color, they had no bad effects to their bites but they did make for some moments of extreme anxiety and some slight numbness of the areas that the parasite had latched on to get itself a meal of the blood that flowed underneath the flesh of an animal or being that decided to dive into the water for a swim. Tazir was glad to hear that neither of his two sons had been hurt, just freaked out as they both claimed to of been.

"I suggest you two head in and put on some dry clothes," TazirVile said. "come out afterwards and join in with everyone. Lazeer, take care of your hand while you're inside."

"Okay," Hazaar said, he walked by his parents. Lazeer stood in place for a short while then he went towards the mansion to do as his father had told him to do.


End file.
