Diverion clenched his teeth in pain as he felt his side sting again from the injured rib. Not only did his body hurt, but so did his heart.

Angry tears threatened to spring under his dark mask as he lay there still, clenching his fist to numb the pain.

He had been kidnapped and injured and he hadn't been able to stop it.

He hated how helpless he was in this situation. He hated how weak he still was and no matter what he seemed to do, he failed in it. He hated how Cassandra had so easily been able to defeat him and drag him all the way over here. He also hated how all he could do was just sit there and let Andrew attend his wounds.

Why couldn't he do anything without having someone else assist him?

He then heard Andrew sigh and turned to look at him as he spoke, shaking his head slightly, "You really need to try be more still here kid, it's gonna be a lot harder for you to heal if you're not resting."

He huffed in annoyance, "You don't think I don't know that?! This would've never happened if you didn't drag me along."

Andrew stared at him in silence and got up one knee, getting ready to leave before he stopped.

Diverion wasn't going to try to be friendly with the people who kidnapped him anytime soon; and who could blame him? Might as well give him what little time he had to himself.

He then thought about the bright eyes that had tore through his heart.

He had to know... who was this kid?

Pushing down his fear, he turned and looked at the injured teen boy before him and willed himself to try to get answers.

Whoever he was... he seemed dangerous to Andrew. Something just felt very OFF about him.

Face pale and drawn he turned back towards the teen, already debating whether he should turn back, "Diverion... w-why were your eyes amber a couple of days earlier? Why did you look like her??"

Diverion tensed and turned his head away for a moment before looking back up at him through his mask, "Look like who?", he managed to ask, his voice quavering.

Andrew felt his heart break as her face went through his mind and heard the last whisper of an echoing laughter.

Brushing away a tear that found its way through his eye, he swallowed, "My sister... Zaren.. you looked like just her when your mask was off that day.", he said quietly, "Your eyes... they.. were exactly the same as hers."

Andrew then curled his hand into a fist as he thought about his first meeting with the mysterious teenager. It didn't make any gods damn sense!!

He shook with anger as it flowed through him. He knew it wasn't like him to get so pent up... but he couldn't seem to hold it back as he stared at him.

Diverion was hiding something and he was determined to get to the bottom of it, "Why the HELL do you look like her if I know for certain your eyes were blue when we first met you?!! Explain yourself!!", he cried out as tears started steaming down his face out of nowhere.

Grief grabbed his heart, it's cold, sticky hands surrounding him and making him feel empty.

"I know you're not... n-not NORMAL!", he told Diverion resisting the urge to grab his shirt.

"I think this trip has just gotten to your head.", Diverion responded calmly after he lay there still for a moment, "I mean, after we crashed down you most likely hit your head and have some things mixed up because of it..."

He shook his head, "Don't. You. Dare. Give. Me. That.", he said breathing heavily, pointing his finger closer at his face with every syllable, "I know you are lying to me kid!"

Since when he did feel so much anger? Why couldn't he seem to calm himself down?? He had seemed so angry lately. Blowing up at Cassandra earlier and at this helpless teen now. He needed to stop.
Andrew had these thoughts dimly in the back of his mind as he tried to reign himself back.

He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths as he heard and felt Diverion shifting back a little.

Then an idea popped in his head. It was as if lightning struck him.

"Are your changing eye colors the reason you wear that mask?", Andrew blurted out staring right into the unreadable masked face, "It is... isn't it..."

He watched as a bead of sweat went down the teen's neck as he propped himself up, "What are you talking about? That's ridiculous! My eyes are perfectly normal Hubert!"

He blinked.

"You too?", he ran a hand over his face almost breaking into a hysterical laugh as he felt like almost everything was falling apart.

People kept lying to themselves, to him... it never seemed to end.

What was the point anymore in trying to figure out and find the truth if no one ever wanted to realize it?

Andrew fully got up and turned away from Diverion, "You know what? It doesn't matter anymore..."

He felt the teen's eyes staring at him in confusion, "Wha-?"

"That's right kid, it doesn't matter.", he said giving Diverion an almost devilish smile, "Because Cassandra is coming back over here with the person we need and I'm about to see for myself what exactly you are."

If he had imagined the teenager sweating before, he definitely was sweating now.

A tiny part of Andrew took joy in seeing Diverion worry, confirming his suspicions of the boy's secrecy even further. But as quickly as he felt this, it was replaced with guilt for putting the younger male through so much in his short amount of time with them.

But hopefully it'd all be over soon either way.

Cass would get her answers, whether they were good or bad.

He then heard the door open as Cassandra ushered in a shorter woman with round glasses and a mousy face.

"Are you the person I'm supposed to look at?", the new person asked him looking at him unimpressed, her voice laced with annoyance.

Andrew suddenly then got a memory of one annoying member of the Separatists he used to know. This woman reminded him of Clementine.

It was a comparison he wasn't too thrilled about as he looked back down at her.

"This is Calliope, she's the keeper of the Spire.", Cass told him as she shut the door behind her as the woman stared up at him in scrutiny, "And no Calliope, that's Hubert. The teenager I want you to look at is over there.", she answered directing her attention to Diverion.

"Ahhhh.. I see.", Calliope said adjusting her glasses.

She made her way over to the propped up teen who instinctively backed away as she bent over him.

"It's kinda hard to make out how he looks like Varian to you Cassandra if he's wearing a mask.", she commented dryly, "Am I supposed to leave it on orrr..."

"Yes!!", Diverion interjected at the same time as Cass said no.

Andrew watched as Cass frowned and walked over towards Diverion, "Yeah, of course you'll see what I mean if we take the mask off! So take it off!", she said exasperated as she reached for the mask herself.

"NO!!!", the teenager shouted slapping her hand away and jerking back as far as his body would allow, "THE MASK STAYS ON!!"

Andrew could feel the fire shooting from his Diverion's masked eyes as he faced them breathing hard.

"No one else is going to touch my mask except me!", he said angrily, "I've had enough of you two,", Diverion pointed at him and Cassandra violently, ", just doing whatever the bloody hell you want with me!! No MORE!!
I'm done with all of this!! DONE!! Just stay away from me!!", he yelled pulling a hidden weapon out of a concealed fold on his pants.

Before anyone could do anything Calliope yelped as she was held hostage.

She didn't even have time to react as he grabbed her swiftly with his left arm and put the dagger up to her neck in warning.

As he grabbed her, Calliope shot her arms into the air as she was pulled back making his mask fly through the air before clattering to the ground.

He grunted as he quickly had her arms pinned down and her neck under his blade.

"Back off!! Or the Keeper gets it!!", he threatened, his arm tightly wrapped around her shoulders and neck.

Andrew noticed his eyes were bright amber again but the outside seemed to be transforming into a familiar vivid blue. The effect was chilling as his whole face seemed to remind Andrew of a cornered animal ready to attack.

"Diverion!! Calm down!", Andrew shouted in alarm while taking a cautious step towards the teen, "You're going to others if you don't stop, you'll hurt yourself as well! Calliope isn't going to hurt you!"

The boy shook his head, his eyes casting off a dangerous light, "No.., you don't get it. The only ones going to get hurt here is all of you if you don't lay off.", he warned, "So back off or she's dead!!"

Andrew felt his stomach drop as he stared back into the teen's eyes.

What could he do?!

Cass moved and inched forward slowly, drawing her sword as she cursed, "How in the world did I miss that?", she muttered staring at Diverion's weapon.

He gave her mystified look from the corner of his eye in response as he shrugged. He hadn't felt a thing there or see any indication for a weapon concealed there...

Cass then glared at Diverion, "Let her go Diverion!! NOW!"

"Not until you back off!!! NOW!!", he yelled back at her as the blade got closer and closer to his prisoner's neck.

"I've gotten pretty good at reading people and I can tell you that is most likely not Varian!", Calliope shouted unhelpfully as she stared petrified at the gleaming metal, "I'm pretty sure you told me that Varian wasn't a killer!!"

Diverion seemed to take more fuel from her words as he dug his fingers into the wood and grabbed the wall, pulling himself up.

He yelled in pain as his hair stuck to his  ashen face, the strain of forcing himself up damaging his body even more.

He still held onto the shorter woman though with a vice grip, the dagger to her neck in his left hand which hooked around her as his free right supported his weight against the wall.

Andrew opened his mouth, ready to try again to talk some sense into him as Cass tensed her body ready to attempt a rescue.

Diverion then pressed the blade into her skin, making a bead of scarlet blood bloom onto the blade, "I swear it upon Demanitus if you move as much as an inch, she'll die.", he panted his voice unstable and serious.

The two adults shared a look.

They both knew that the teenager before them wasn't playing around. The best they could do was just let him pass and wait for him to collapse on his own.

Andrew could only watch and feel pity for Diverion as he practically dragged himself out of the caravan with his hostage, looking more like a pathetic and wounded cornered animal then anything else.

As he passed them by he snatched up the fallen mask on the floor, his hand wrapped tightly around it as he steered Calliope.

Cass kept her eyes on Diverion's bladed hand as she watched for a sign of weakness where she could take advantage and throw him off guard, but Andrew shook his head slightly at her. He didn't want her to take unnecessary risks unless it was called for.

The last thing they needed was to scare the teenager into accidentally or purposely ending Calliope's life.

"Open the door and do nothing else.", Diverion ordered Calliope, his voice shaking, "Or else you won't live to see another day."

Andrew watched as Calliope reached out and turned the handle, her eyes full of fear as she complied.

The teen boy then shoved her ahead of him, using her body now to help support him as he stepped outside. "Move.", he said coldly pressing the blade against her skin in reminder of his power over her.

Calliope squeaked and shuffled forward doing as she was told.

"Now would be the time to do something...", Cass hissed under her breath as they watched through his progress through the window, "I can't just stand here and do nothing at all and let him have a chance at getting away! We've already been through too much for that to happen!"

"No. Just wait Cassandra... he'll give out to exhaustion in a few minutes. Trying to do anything, even if he's outside, would result in the injury for not only Calliope but maybe even him."

She have him a disgusted look from the corner of her eye, "Okay, but what happens if he passes out and drives that dagger into her neck on accident as he falls? What then Hubert?"

A slight moment of panic went through him. What if that DID happen?? He didn't think of that...!

He swallowed, "We won't let it go that far. Once he looks like he's about to drop we'll get in there, also I'm sure Calliope has enough sense to break away from him once she feels he's loosening."

Cass rolled her eyes but didn't say anything, just continuing her watch over the escaping teen.

Andrew could even see the horses knew better then to try to approach Diverion as Fidella and Fuego stood stock-still as he passed them.

They watched as Diverion made his way slowly to the thick trees, always snapping his head around every couple steps, at him and Cass, to make sure they weren't following him.

He could barely make out Diverion's face now as he grew smaller, but he could see the pain radiating off his body in volumes even from here...

"As soon as he passes that tree, we move in.", Cass said, winning his attention as she tensed her body again, "He's about to give out and the trees not only provide cover for him but also us. We'll take him out in there if he isn't already down."

Andrew quickly thought it over as he watched the teen step into the woods  and he nodded, "Alright... but we need to be cautious and if we make a move on him, it needs to be quick and efficient."

She smiled, "Alright, he just went in. Let's move."

Then without waiting for a response, she vaulted over the window and landed with a gentle thud on the ground and took off. Bending down low while moving forward swiftly and carefully.

Andrew watched as Diverion's pink hair disappeared behind the shadows of the trees and bark before he followed Cassandra's example.

Hopefully they wouldn't make things worse.

He snuck forward silently, reaching the tree line almost immediately, where Cass was already peering over a couple of bushes analyzing the area.

Crouching down beside her, his eyes swept over the foliage and he spotted Calliope and Diverion to their left, making their way deeper into the trees.

Surprisingly the teen was still somehow up and running, though his face was covered in sweat and his body trembled like a leaf. Andrew was impressed and concerned seeing him still up and running; he thought he would've passed out long before he had gotten into the trees or at least passed out now, but here he was still moving. Painfully and slowly, yes, but still going.

He felt Cass rise up and he pushed her back down, "Not quite yet.", he whispered hastily, "He's still got a hold of Calliope and is still moving at the same pace as earlier... it's still too risky."

She smacked his hand away and gave him a look. "How the heck is he still even moving?!", she asked, "He should've dropped by now or at the very least doubled over from the pain!"

"Well... you know how injured animals are more dangerous then a mad one?", he prompted, "I think it's kinda like that right now...
He's probably finding some inner strength to get away since he's scared and angry, but he'll get worn out soon enough. We just have to wait and make sure he's weak enough to not lash out and end up killing Calliope."

Cass glanced at him with concern and impatience, "We can't wait forever Hubert, we gotta try something."

She then stood up and brandished her sword and ran towards the last place they saw Diverion, rounding the corner of the thick trees.

"Cassandra!!", Andrew whisper shouted as he ran after her, "Aren't you listening? We got t-,", he stopped in alarm as he ran right into her as she stood in place shocked.

"I can't believe it...", he breathed, "Is that MAGIC?!?"