"I thought you said you were the only live sentry for while we were down here!" Sunray crouched down at her partner's side once more. She and Raevyn had practically flown to the top platform after hearing an attack from another living darkald.

"I was supposed to be!" Raevyn retorted in shock, standing behind her. "Either we took longer than expected, and this one took his next post, or-" He broke off, his large eyes widening. "-or someone noticed I was missing."

Although she was concerned for Raevyn's safety, Sunray was mainly focused on Night. He'd managed to kill his attacker, but hadn't been left unscathed; there were five deep claw marks across his shoulder, and it looked bad. She gritted her teeth in worry, while Oscuro- standing beside her looking anxiously at his son- had tears in his eyes.

"He'll be okay," she tried to tell the former guardian again. "We just need to get him to Milan."

"Right." He shook himself a little, then knelt down and very carefully picked him up. Raevyn, who still looked nervous, reached up and pushed the heavy door open several feet. With Sunray's help, Oscuro climbed up and out onto the road, then laid his unconscious son gently on the pavement.

Just before Sunray joined them, her darkald friend tapped her on the arm, and she leaned closer to hear him murmur, "I know we couldn't get your mother today because that would risk your identity even further, but I'll bring her to you tomorrow, okay?"

She gazed back at him gratefully. "Thank you so much, Raevyn," she choked happily, then leaned closer to hug him as a thank-you. However, Raevyn instantly flinched away the moment she reached for him, his eyes briefly flashing with fear. She stopped, wondering if she should have asked first.

He looked around awkwardly for a moment, then replied with a forced laugh, "It's, uh, no problem! I think. Um. Yeah."

Although she was a little confused as to why he seemed so flustered all of a sudden, Sunray smiled. "I won't forget this. We'll see you again sometime, right?"

". . . Are you kidding?" Raevyn's eyes narrowed slightly, giving the impression he was smiling, and she breathed a silent sigh of relief that the awkward moment was over. "I don't intend to stand in the sidelines when you two defeat Preciser."

"I look forward to it," she replied with a grin. "Take care of yourself in the meantime."

"Will do." Raevyn gave her a brief nod, then vanished among the darkness right before the large door slid closed again.

Biting her lip, Sunray turned back to Night, who was groaning again, his eyes opened halfway but rolled into the back of his head. Oscuro was waving a hand over his face, but Night wasn't responding.

"I can't wait till he's recovered," she commented softly. "Even before his accident, he seemed pretty stressed and overwhelmed. I kinda miss the older times . . . when we first really became friends. We weren't completely carefree, but things were a lot simpler back then."

Oscuro looked at her for a moment, then smiled faintly. "Oh, trust me, Sunray. Take your own encouragement. If he recovers enough to the point that he's the more mature version of his childhood self, he'll be like that again, and better."

Sunray blinked at him, slightly reassured, then cast a wistful glance back down at her partner. Was that really true?

"For now, though," the older guardian went on, shifting his gaze back down to his son, "we need to get him some help."

She started to ask if Night had told him where he lived, but her partner interrupted by echoing in a shaky murmur, "Help . . ." Slowly, he closed his eyes and feebly curled into a ball, trembling violently the whole time. He croaked, "Please," then vanished into thin air.

Both Sunray and Oscuro stiffened at once. "Oh, no," she whispered, panic quickly rising inside her. Oscuro's expression told her he felt the same. "Where did he . . . ?!"

"Could be anywhere," he replied, his voice alarmed. "He's practically delirious."

"He's in a very unstable condition, physically and mentally . . . !" She leapt to her feet, fully panicking now. "And if his gem was the only thing keeping him alive, he'll die on his own! He . . . I . . ." She covered her mouth with both hands, terrified and near tears. "Oscuro!"

"We need to find him." Her partner's father appeared to be handling the sudden situation calmly, but she could see the fear in his eyes. So that's where Night gets it. "Do you know any specific places he likes that he might've ended up at?"

"Up," she responded instantly. "High places. The roofs!" Memories of finding him sitting atop the city for various reasons rose in her head as she spoke. She wasn't certain he'd gone there, but the chance existed. "I'll start there; you begin looking down here. Everywhere. Anywhere." With her last words she created a beam of light that stretched upward into the cloudy heavens, jumped on, and took off running to the roofs.

Her magical ability of being able to travel at the speed of light quickened her thorough search drastically, but this time he was nowhere among the tops of Milan. She was beginning to feel increasingly desperate and panicked- scared to death that he wouldn't make it without any help.

She did get the shock of her life on the way back down, however. As she neared the ground, the figure of a civilian collapsed in the alley below her caught her eye. She hesitated for just a moment, then changed directions toward him; it wasn't Night, but she was a guardian. She had to be impartial while doing her job.

After landing gracefully onto the road, Sunray straightened and started to hurry for the unconscious person, but gasped and stopped dead when she suddenly recognized his features.

Ruffled black hair. Tall but slender and powerfully built figure. Dark jeans, gray shirt, and a black leather jacket.

Alex?!

Immobilized, she stood there rigidly like a statue for a few seconds, then broke into a sprint and practically skidded to a halt on her knees by his side. Her eyes widened in horror as she took in his appearance for the first time in weeks. He looked terribly thin, and his face was ashen.

Muttering "Hold on, Oscuro," she deactivated her magic, then leaned down and pressed the side of her head against her friend's chest. Shock and panic swept through her like ice when she felt nothing for several seconds, and she took in a ragged breath of shock as she realized he wasn't breathing.

No no no no no no no no no no no! NO! He's not dead! He can't be dead!

Then she picked up on a very, very faint and decreasing, but existing, heartbeat. She lifted herself and shuddered slightly with relief, fully sobbing now. Fumbling for her phone out of her pocket, she dialed 118 and jerked it to her ear. As soon as a voice sounded on the other end, she started to ramble out the situation. "Hi, my name is Jakira, m-my friend Alex needs help, now, please come quickly, please!"

"Calm down, ma'am," the female voice soothed. "We'll be there as soon as possible. Where are you?"

Trying desperately to control her emotions, she rattled out a detailed location, and only hung up when she was assured help was on the way. As she waited for the sound of the sirens, she cradled Alex's head in her lap, repeatedly stroking his hair and silently crying.

Time seemed to drift by in slow motion when the ambulance arrived at last. She watched several paramedics climb out and quickly check over her loved one, one of them commenting in shock that he wouldn't survive another ten minutes if not put on immediate life support. She heard them tell her he wouldn't be allowed visitors for a couple days at least when she asked to go with him. She sat there watching as they took him carefully into the large vehicle, then sped off again, the sirens still blaring and the lights still flashing.

He's back.

They've got him.

They'll take care of him.

He'll be okay.

He's back.

Night's back.

Oh gosh, NIGHT!

Jakira shot up straight in despair, worried to desperation that something had happened to her dying partner while she'd been taking care of Alex. Rapidly she transformed again, then raced back to Oscuro to see if he'd had any luck.

But the look on his face quickly turned her hope into stinging disappointment as she drew close. It was a look of blank, confused grief, one of loss. The former guardian was stumbling around the streets in the same general area she'd left him, half-heartedly scanning his surroundings: a tiny corner of the large city. When his dull brown eyes met hers, a sense of grieved foreboding crept into her. Their shared, saddened gaze exchanged more words than either of them could ever say aloud.

They'd already taken too long.

He's . . .

She swallowed hard, although the lump in her throat was impossible to get rid of.

. . . gone.

Never in a million lifetimes would she ever let the other word go through her mind.

Why didn't I go down sooner . . . ? Why did he die after we brought him so far? Why, when we were so sure he would make it?

Why did I break my promise . . .

This is my fault.

He's gone because of me.

• • •

Sundown came, abandoning the Italian city to darkness. Mortal again, Jakira lay hunched across the floor beside her bed. The light was off, and the setting sun through her window made it near impossible to see. But she didn't care.

She'd failed him. Worse, she'd failed him when he needed her the most. Her eyes stung from crying so hard for so long. Synthia would be back in the morning, but no matter how much she loved her mother, she loved Night in so many different ways. He'd been her loved one, her best friend, her fighting partner, her shadow. Her other half.

And now he was gone. Because of her.

• • •

"Knock, knock," a familiar male voice said softly.

Startled, Jakira sat up and turned to her bedroom door, exhausted from her sleepless night of grief.

Raevyn was standing in her doorway, Synthia at his side. She looked a little pale and was shivering slightly, but still rushed forward, dropped to her knees, and pulled her daughter close. Jakira tightly hugged her back, tears of mingled joy and grief filling her eyes.

Still a couple feet behind them, Raevyn nodded once, then turned silently and vanished down the hallway- heading back to Rifugio.

Her mother finally pulled back a little and started covering her face with kisses. "I'm so sorry," she murmured at last. "I'm so, so sorry. He just appeared out of-" Abruptly she stopped. "Sweetheart . . . what's wrong?"

Breaking down for the hundredth time, Jakira slumped forward against her mother's chest and shoulder. "Everything," she sobbed. "You were captured because I gave away my identity. A-And after you were gone, he took away Night . . . and Alex . . . I took so long in going to look for him . . . and I found out Preciser had been starving him to death for two weeks. I found Oscuro with him-"

"Oscuro?!" Synthia had gone rigid, her amber eyes glistening at the things she was hearing. "He . . . He's alive? And Night had been . . . ?" She lowered her head, tears beginning to trace their way down her face.

Jakira pressed closer to her, nodding miserably. "Raevyn helped me bring them back, and Oscuro's home now, but Ni . . ." She trailed off, unable to finish saying his name for grief.

Her mother started asking, "What happened to-" but broke off suddenly, a look of despairing disbelief clouding her expression. "Oh, no . . ."

"It's all my fault, too," she cried. "I-I broke my promise, and now I'll never-" She turned away, rattled from crying so much. "I hate myself."

"No. Be quiet," Synthia snapped all of a sudden. "I never want to hear you say those words again." She sighed heavily. "If this was his time, we couldn't have done anything to prevent it."

Jakira reluctantly looked back at her mother, fighting another burst of sobs. "A . . . Alex is back," she whispered finally, trying to take her mind off of Night. "He's not doing well, but he's going to be okay."

Her mother smiled faintly and nodded. "That's good," she murmured. "Maybe we can go visit him tomorrow."

"Yeah," she replied distantly. "Sounds good."

-

Is Night . . . actually gone?

All I can think of when he comes to mind is all the things we've been through together. When we first met, learning our powers side by side, helping him through his depression, saving the city together over and over, having get-together days when we could just fool around and hang out as friends with no villain . . .

How could all that just disappear?

-

The rest of the day was spent catching up, Synthia taking a long nap in a comfortable bed for the first time in weeks, and the two finally having meals together again. It felt comforting to know her mother was back, but still . . .

"Wipe that look off your face, or I'll flip ice cream at you," her mother said suddenly, and she jumped. They were on the couch eating their dessert that evening- at least, Synthia was. Jakira was half-heartedly mixing hers around, still grieving and upset with herself.

"Mom, Night was like a part of me," she murmured sadly, setting her bowl on the coffee table. "It's going to take more than just a couple days to get over it."

"And I understand that," Synthia sighed. "But you're still blaming it all on yourself. You weren't the one who injured, captured, and tortured him. You weren't the one who made the last month of his life a living nightmare. Preciser was. Preciser is to blame. Not you."

She stared at the ground, eased only the slightest from her grief.

"Now finish up your ice cream before I do and get to bed," her mother commanded. "We can go and visit Alex in the morning."

-

According to the doctors, Alex had been suffering from severe malnutrition, which resulted in many internal problems, including heart failure. Otherwise, since that was said to be the worst of it, he had a fractured leg, a minor concussion, and several burns and deep scars across his arms and one of his shoulders. On top of that, he was still sick.

In the late afternoon the next day, Jakira found herself nervous as she entered his hospital room with her mother. His assigned nurses had been genuinely surprised he was getting visitors, considering the fact he was still completely out of it.

With a deep breath, she stepped hesitantly to the side of his bed and halted, gazing in silence down at him. He was mostly covered by a thick blanket, except for his head and shoulders. Various monitors and medications were attached to his arms, which were carefully bandaged and laid out across the white sheets. His head lay limply on a soft pillow, his eyes were closed, and an oxygen mask was placed over his mouth.

Very, very gently, she reached out and slowly traced the side of his face. Synthia watched with a wistful smile as she leaned closer and tenderly kissed him on the cheek.

"You're sure you don't feel anything special for him?" her mother asked quietly as she sat down on the couch beside her.

Without taking her eyes off of Alex, Jakira sighed and shrugged a little. "I . . . don't know anymore," she said, her voice soft and hoarse. "I thought I could only ever feel this way for one person, and you know very well who that was. I just . . . I don't get it; it's not that they're alike in any way-"

Then she stopped herself.

What am I thinking?

Night and Alex were everything alike.

They were both kind, easygoing gentlemen. They both were introverted and shy with strangers and the general public, yet changed into an outgoing sweetheart with a ridiculous sense of humor whenever they were with her. They treated her like a queen but at the same time teased her like a big brother.

. . . They could've been the same person.

And she'd fallen in love with them both.

-

Synthia left for home a couple hours later, but Jakira stayed- determined to remain at his side at least until he woke up. The doctor doubtfully pointed out that he might not awaken for another week, but she didn't care.

As it turned out, the doctor was wrong, anyway.

Having slept on the couch, she woke the next morning to find that they'd taken off the oxygen mask. It must've been good news; he was probably breathing evenly on his own now. The beeping of the heart monitor, though still irregular, had steadied a little since the day before.

The only times she left the room were to have meals, which she rushed through and afterward hurried back to him. Her mother came back to visit every day for a period of time, then would leave around evening.

Late in the night the second day, nearly twelve, she was sleeping on and off. The light from the hall was shining under the door, and the couch was becoming uncomfortable. She'd woken up for at least the seventh time and was lying on her back staring at the ceiling when a quiet, feeble voice mumbled drowsily, "Jak . . . ?"

In an instant she was on her feet, pleasantly surprised and hopeful. Through the dim light, Alex's eyes were open to tiny slits.

Quickly she turned on the lamp, which made him wince slightly. She moved to block the sharp glare, all the while gazing down at him with amazement and affection. "Alex," she said happily, and leaned down to gently hug him. "You're awake!"

Although scarcely able to hug her in return, he laughed softly, and she felt his hand rest on her back. "Hey."

Suddenly she stood up straight, then glared down at him. "If you weren't in the state you're in, I would slap you right now!" she hissed.

Alex's expression turned into an offended frown. "Gee thanks, I love you too," he muttered sarcastically.

"Where have you been for the past few weeks?!" she demanded, still in a furious whisper. "I've been worried sick! I didn't know if you were dead, or alive, or where you'd gone, or . . ."

His eyes shadowed as she rambled on and on. When she finally gave him a chance to reply, all he said was, "I'm sorry . . . I can't explain." No matter how much she questioned, he just tensed up more and repeated the same protest.

Within a minute she'd given up, knowing how stubborn he could be. "How are you feeling?" she asked instead, changing the subject.

Alex relaxed a little and shrugged. "Could definitely be better," he replied with a sour face. "Nauseous, shaky, weak. Everything hurts."

For a few seconds, Jakira stared at him in surprise. He'd just given her an honest answer to that question. That question to which he usually responded with, "Nah, I'm okay," or "I'm fine, stop worrying about me."

A sudden thought occurred to her. "What about your anxiety problem?"

He smiled faintly. "It's gone."

Relieved, she grinned in response and sat back on the couch. He was back. He was awake. And even if he wasn't feeling well, he was in good care and would be fine in a matter of weeks.

-

The two stayed up talking for another four hours before finally falling back asleep where they were. Late into the next morning, probably at least around ten, Jakira opened her eyes to find that Alex was already awake. He'd adjusted his bed so he could sit up but still rest against it. He was staring off into space, yet was wearing a small smile of contentment.

Before sitting up, she lay there and continued to watch him for a few moments. She was aware he had several mental illnesses: depression and anxiety. Most times before, when she looked at him while he thought no one was watching, he usually looked saddened, stressed, or somehow upset. Now, seeing him so relaxed and happy . . . She didn't want to ruin it.

Alex ended up seeing her, anyway. "Would you look at that," he teased. "The zombie lives."

"Mm. Look who's talking." Jakira fumbled for the couch arm and hauled herself up, glad to wake up so near to him. "You spent at least the last three days sleeping."

"It's called a coma, doof. And also-" he added, pulling back the blanket partway, "why the heck am I wearing a dress?"

She laughed at his offended face. "It's called a hospital gown, doof," she retorted through her giggles.

"This is an abomination!" he exclaimed in protest. "Outright disrespect to my reputation and personal privacy." Jakira was doubled over laughing at his seriousness. "I demand masculine attire immedi-"

The door opened, and a nurse casually entered. Alex froze mid-speech, shoulders tense, his eyes fixed with a somewhat suspicious look on the woman.

"Hi, Alex," the nurse said cheerfully. "It's good to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

Her friend looked somewhere between a deer in headlights and a stiff wooden soldier. "F-Fine," he mumbled uncomfortably at last, and Jakira scooted forward a little in concern.

"We need specific answers, sweetheart," the woman insisted. Alex shrank back even further and looked away, this time remaining silent.

His second response made the nurse look so confused that Jakira quickly intervened, repeating his reply from the night before. The lady, although still confused, hesitantly accepted the answers and left a few minutes later.

Once they were alone again, Jakira said, "Al, now that we're a little closer . . . can you please tell me the real reason you don't like nurses and doctors, and such?"

Alex gave a long sigh, closing his eyes and covering his face with his hands. "I don't-"

"Alex."

He groaned loudly in frustration. ". . . When I was eleven, my mom took me here because I didn't act like the other kids my age," he sighed at last, his tone defeated. "That . . . That was when I got diagnosed with depression and all the stuff. At that age, the knowledge that there was really something wrong with me, something wrong with my mind, freaked me out, especially since that was what I'd been thinking was the reason . . . that the mess in my childhood happened. It only convinced me further that I simply couldn't be like everyone else-that I had no choice. It wasn't long after that happened that I . . . I started believing that . . . maybe I . . . should never have been born in the first place." He shuddered, obviously reliving these unpleasant memories. "It took me a long time to get over it. I thought about suicide and even attempted it once . . . and it seemed it all led back to that day when I came here."

Jakira looked at him in shock. She'd known he was sensitive and could be emotional, but she'd never known that he'd once thought like that. "But . . ." she finally ventured, "now that you're older, you know better. Whatever happened when you were young wasn't your fault, right? It was most likely the shock of it that led to . . ." She trailed away, wondering anxiously if she'd said the wrong thing.

Alex just shrugged sadly. "Yeah, I know. I just . . . have problems. Guess you could call it something like a grudge. But it-it's not just that. Everything about this place makes me uncomfortable; I . . . don't like the questions they ask me, I don't like strangers touching me in weird places-" He exhaled sharply. "And I'm so sick of people asking me if I'm okay!" He broke off into a coughing fit at the end of his words.

She watched him sadly as he slumped against the back of his bed, gripping his chest and trying to catch his breath. Quietly she rose, stepped forward, and sat down on the side of his bed. "The very fact that people keep asking you that proves that you're not, that you haven't been in a long time," she said in a low voice. "And you know what? That's okay."

At this point the attack had settled. Alex stared distantly at the ground, panting slightly, tears visible in his eyes.

"Al," she murmured, pulling him close in a tender and consoling hug. "We ask because we care about you and want you to be okay. We're trying to find what's bothering you so we can get rid of it, because we love you. Alright?"

His face buried in her shoulder, he drew in a deep, trembling breath. "I feel like a little kid getting comforted by his mother," he admitted, laughing a little through his tears. Jakira smiled, and lowered her head to rest on his.

"We swing from mood to mood so quickly," she giggled quietly.

"Yup . . ." he agreed with a hopeless sigh. "And- um, sorry for being such an emotional sap. It's stupid, I know. I'm a guy; I'm supposed to be-"

"Oh, shut up," Jakira interrupted. "I don't judge you at all, and neither should anyone else. It's not like guys have to be emotionless, you know."

"I know . . ."

She pulled back a little, slightly embarrassed at how close they'd been. Yet Alex didn't seem to mind, which of course he wouldn't. They'd been like that before; once she'd even fallen asleep with her head on his lap. They had a bond that was almost like brother and sister . . . but not quite. The way they teased and loved each other was almost just like a sibling relationship, yet neither viewed the other like that.

It was weird.

With a sinking feeling of grief, Jakira swallowed. She'd had the same relationship with Night. They'd made inside jokes, definitely teased a lot, and weren't afraid to touch each other with high-fives, hugs, and random pokes whenever they could. The Monday before his accident, when he'd arrived ready to collapse because he was so sick and sleep-deprived, she'd let him use her lap as a pillow when he did pass out. He'd been embarrassed when he woke up, but she'd convinced him that it was fine. Alex had told her the same when the opposite had happened with them, jokingly commenting that he enjoyed being a pillow.

"Girls get the weirdest facial expressions sometimes," Alex noted back in the present, and she blinked. A look of concern clouded his eyes. "Are you okay?"

Jakira hesitated for a minute. She couldn't tell him the exact truth, but she didn't like lying to him, either.

"I've . . . been keeping some secrets from you," she confessed at last, and he raised his eyebrows. "I have- I had- another friend . . . whom I've known for years . . . and I wasn't supposed to tell anyone about . . ." No gender pronouns. What if he gets the right idea? ". . . them."

Alex seemed confused. "Jak, it's totally fine for you to have friends other than me," he pointed out. "If you've been friends with this person for so long, though . . . why did you think you couldn't tell me, or anyone else?"

". . . Another thing I can't explain," she mumbled, and he leaned back in even deeper bewilderment. "Anyway . . . they had a terrible accident a few weeks ago . . . and last Friday . . ." She trailed off, letting the last part speak for itself.

He sat up straight again, shock evident on his face. After a long silence, he sighed, "Jakira . . ." and drew her closer in a hug when the thoughts of her partner drove her to tears yet again. For the next few minutes, all she could do was gingerly lean on him and cry her eyes out.

"It was a boy?" he asked quietly, and she reluctantly nodded. Alex wasn't stupid; it was obviously more common for girls to befriend other girls, and the same with boys. If she wasn't openly sharing what gender her "mystery friend" had been, of course it was a boy.

"He was the guy you liked, wasn't he?"

She exhaled, completely defeated but glad Alex wasn't asking too many questions. "Yep."

Except now I've fallen for you, too . . . Gosh, why does my love life have to be so confusing?

When silence continued to reign for the next minute, Jakira hesitantly changed the subject. "Do you know when your family is coming to visit?"

"Mom said as soon as I'm awake," Alex said, then blinked and frowned as he realized how weird that sounded. "I mean, I texted her earlier before you woke up, and she kinda ranted and lectured a bunch, then said she'd been planning to visit after I was awake because she didn't want the twins to see me like . . . y'know." He paused. "And her husband has a full time job, so she couldn't come alone."

As if the subject had summoned them, the door slowly opened and Annah poked her head inside. As soon as she spotted Alex, an openmouthed smile of delight lit up her face, and she broke into a run towards him. While she squealed his name and hugged him tightly, his mother and May followed her example, with May apparently realizing she didn't know what she had until she lost it.

Jakira sat watching the family reunion with a broad smile. Despite how he was feeling physically and the long recovery ahead of him, she thought Alex had never looked happier.

Quietly and quickly, she leaned closer and whispered in his ear, "I should be getting home now." For a moment a look of disappointment flashed in his eyes, but it quickly changed to understanding.

"Alright," he said with a smile. "Tell Synthia I said hi."

"Will do." The two embraced each other one last time, then she stood up and backed out of the room.

-

She came back to visit for several hours the next few days, and was each time happy to hear that he was doing better and better. On Thursday she walked in around 3 and found a small cluster of Get Well Soon! balloons floating against the ceiling and a basket filled with sweets and a few cards. Alex was leaning back against his bed, staring into space, looking dazed.

Stifling a smile, she asked, "Where'd these come from?"

Alex jumped and looked at her, then blinked and slowly grinned. "Hi. Uh . . . these are . . ." He hesitated. "You know Shawn and James, and Gracea and Michael?"

Jakira blinked in surprise. "They brought these? When did they come by?"

He checked the time. "About an hour ago. It blew me away, but they were . . ." He smiled. "I just . . . I never thought anyone else in our class cared. Or knew about this, for that matter."

She broke into a grin. "That's great! What'd they bring you?"

Alex gestured to the balloons and the basket. "Stuff to cheer me up, and a bunch of candy and stuff that I can't eat."

Jakira laughed. "Aww. Well, I guess you can in a couple weeks."

He snorted. "Yeah, much better. But they still made my day. They even wrote . . ." He sat up straighter and leaned over to fumble for the cards. ". . . these sweet little notes. They don't say anything super deep, but still. The fact that they did this . . . ?"

She took his hand as she sat on the side of the bed. "I can tell," she told him with a grin. "You said they left an hour ago? When I walked in a minute ago you still looked blown."

He blinked. "I guess, yeah. It was a little awkward at first, but . . . I just . . ." He raised his hands in a shrug. "I don't have the words."

"It'll make it easier to talk to them for sure," she teased, poking his arm. He rolled his eyes, but continued smiling.

-

With the doctors gradually easing him back into a normal diet, by Friday he was nearly strong enough to walk again- with crutches, of course.

Friday . . .

Preciser was bound to have noticed by now that both his prisoners were missing. He hadn't attacked on Monday, but Jakira hadn't been able to predict his next move for months. She decided to transform just in case, but was nearly driven to tears as soon as her mask was on.

Night would not be joining her this time, nor anytime in the future.

She sat down on the edge of the roof of Torre Breda- one of the tallest buildings in Milan- with a heavy heart. Some bad memories were associated with this place, but at the moment she needed a good view of the city so she could see Preciser if he showed up.

Time and more time passed, and she lost herself to her own thoughts. Her mother had first told her about the light gem when she was six. She'd had seven years of preparation for the wild, double-life she now lived, but when she'd first really comprehended the fact that she was going to be a guardian, she'd grown hesitant and reluctant, especially after learning that her fighting partner would be a boy. She'd never been boy-crazy, and at the time thought that guys were gross, crude, and loud, since she'd only ever learned things about them by watching the boys at her schools from a distance.

Then she'd met Night, and her entire opinion on boys had changed.

Night was unlike anyone she'd ever met before. The first words he'd ever spoken to her had been an apology, for scaring her by accidentally appearing in the shadow right in front of her. He'd apologized a lot that day, even though she kept telling him it was fine. His lack of knowledge on what was going on, even some of his own powers, had startled her.

But what shocked her more so was how little he'd thought of himself. He'd seemed amazed that she was willing to accept him as a friend. When she'd learned how depressed he'd actually been and tried to help him, he'd pushed her away. Despite the distant kindness he'd shown to her and the sacrifices he'd made by accepting the life of a guardian, he'd been convinced he was worthless and shouldn't have been born. Later, she was horrified to find out he'd been seriously thinking about ending his life.

Thankfully, she'd found out in time and managed to help him through it. Once he'd finally started opening up to her, their close friendship had begun at last.

Back in the present time, the wind started picking up. She shivered slightly, and pulled her hood over her head. The already-cold temperature started dropping with the air currents swirling around her, and within minutes, small flakes of snow had begun drifting from the sky.

Yet although the wind was decently loud, it wasn't enough to drown out the voice that called out to her in the following moments. It was the voice that she'd known for years, the voice she thought she'd never hear again. It startled her so badly that she leapt to her feet with a cry of shock, but didn't quite turn around- afraid to believe a daydream.

Because that voice was Night's, and had called just one word. One name.

"Sunshine!"