Erebus flinched as the bells began their midnight toll, but they were quickly drowned out by the voices carrying conversations around him. Smiling faces and joyous music filled the halls, and finally he was able to reach the two people near the back. "Erebus!" Sophie squealed and threw her arms around him in a crushing hug. "I thought we weren't going to get the chance to see you alone. Congratulations! I'm so happy for you two."

"Thank you, Sophie," Erebus embraced his pseudo-big sister back with just as much enthusiasm. "Thank you so much for coming."

"As if we'd miss watching you sell your freedom away," Dáithí snorted into his goblet.

Sophie whipped a hand against his chest, and he choked. "Only you would see our baby brother getting married as a bad thing," she snapped. "Be nice."

"At least I have the sense not to marry my own damn cousin."

"Don't say it like that, Dáithí," he groaned as Sophie's eyebrows flew up. "She's not... Gods above, my father's brother's wife's sister is Theo's mother. Cousins by marriage, technically, but that hardly counts."

"Thank the gods," Sophie breathed out before smacking Dáithí again. "Don't scare me like that!"

"Stop hitting me!" he snapped back. "It's not my fault you're so damned gullible!"

"Guys, guys!" Erebus burst out laughing and grabbed them both by the shoulders. "It's my wedding night. Relax! Eat, drink, dance for gods' sake! We can go back to ribbing on each other tomorrow, if you insist, but tonight just enjoy yourselves!"

Dáithí's scowl softened just slightly, and he dragged Erebus into a tight hug. "Congratulations, brother," he growled.

"Thank you," he broke away. "Now, I'm going to go find my gorgeous wife, and truly celebrate the happiest day of my life!"

"I think she got her Erebus's mixed up," Sophie giggled and nodded over his shoulder.

Erebus turned to see the gigantic form of his grandfather dancing enthusiastically with Theo, who was laughing so hard she could barely keep up. It was delightful and childish and funny, and it was only because of those reasons that it didn't cause such a stir with both human and dragonkin attendees. The elder Erebus was a sight to behold, and it was well known that he wasn't technically allowed on the island. It made no difference to the young yfeerie. Dragon politics were way above his realm of understanding. He might be a lordling now, but once his powers awakened, he wouldn't be anyone special.

Excited to join in, Erebus raced up behind his mother, caught her around the waist and dragged her onto the dance floor. "Erebus!" she gasped as Kalidas roared with laughter behind them. "You know I hate dancing!"

"You are a terrible liar, mother," he scolded her gently and twirled her. "Even if it was true, you don't get to deny your son on his wedding day!"

Ainsley rolled her eyes and relented, letting him guide her across the dance floor until they were next to Theo and the elder Erebus. Theo was an absolute mess, almost crying from laughing so hard, and Erebus's face was alight with a massive grin. "What have you done to the poor girl, papa?" Ainsley covered her mouth to hide her own giggling.

"I couldn't let a woman without a sense of humor join the family," Erebus boomed before hooking an arm around his grandson's neck and dragging the three of them into a crushing hug. In a much quieter voice, he said "I'm proud of you, Erebus. She will make you a better, happier man. Be sure to make her a better, happier woman in return."

"Thank you, grandfather," the younger Erebus beamed, unable to look away from Theo's smiling face. "I will do everything in my power to make her happy."

"You'd better," Theo winked.

Her smile was so bright, the rest of the world felt dim in comparison. He was so lost in her that he didn't notice his mother or grandfather take off in another direction and leaving them alone to dance. "I spoke with Aunt Lydia after the ceremony," he said after giving her another minute to compose herself. "Apparently, our dear cousin Antoni's invitation was delivered buried in a box of worms."

"Really?" she tried to arrange her face to look shocked and horrified and failed spectacularly.

"Yes, and, apparently, he sent a letter back demanding an apology or else he wouldn't attend. And, would you believe it, I never received such a letter."

"I wonder how that could have happened."

Her eyes twinkled mischievously, and Erebus laughed again. He lowered his head and caught her mouth in a tender kiss, putting all his affection for the woman into it. "Thank you, my love," he whispered.

"Neither of us wanted the little prick here, anyway."

"Not just that. Thank you for making me the happiest man alive."

Her smile widened, and her appearance flickered. For a second, her blonde hair turned red, her blue eyes turned green, and a spattering of light freckles covered her cheeks. Just as quickly as it happened, she was back to normal. She pulled him back down to press his forehead against hers and whispered, "I love you, Doctor Wes."

Doctor Wes?

Nolan's eyes flew open. Another dream. Another memory. He wasn't lost this time, though. He was more than aware of his surroundings. Damn them.

"Doctor Wes,"

Lily's voice grated against his already straining nerves. Slowly, he walked out to the main area scrubbing the sleep from his eyes before shooting a glare at the little blue-haired historian. "Gods, you're a stubborn one," he spat. "Day in, day out... you people can't give me a minute's rest, can you?"

"We... had an appointment."

"Do you see a clock in here?!"

She flinched and muttered an apology that didn't sound entirely sincere. More like she knew she had to say it because of social norms, but not because she cared or even understood why she should. "Who's Theo? You've been saying that name in your sleep for days."

"No one," he lied and pushed his hands through his hair.

She shrugged before sitting at the desk and opening her laptop. Just like she had done the day before and the day before that. Every day was the same, only he had no way of telling when one day ended and the next began.

Nolan stood and started to pace the length of the cell to burn off some of the anxious energy. At first, he didn't mind the regular dreams and memories of his very first wife. Recovering long lost memories was fairly typical during the awakening process. But every time he woke up, all that pain came rushing back at full force and leaving him in a worse mood with no way of fixing it. And the knowledge that it was only going to get worse the further his magic got out of alignment...

"You need to get me something to do," he suddenly snapped. "A book... journal... anything, I just need something to do. I'm going fucking crazy in here."

"That shouldn't be too hard. Do you have a preference in reading material?"

Her response made him stop mid-pace and look around at her. Big, innocent brown eyes looked back up at him, and he had to remind himself that she wasn't his friend. She wasn't his ally. She was an employee of the Organization. Everything she did was to get on his good side and convince him to spill about his past.

He knew all that... but he still crossed the room to sit on the floor again. Loneliness was a bitch. Boredom was even worse. No wonder Constantine liked to get in the middle of everything.

Lily got out of the low office chair and moved to the stool she'd brought in a while ago so they could be on the same level as each other. It was a nice gesture, but he wasn't even sure if she understood what she was doing. "What does the Organization want from me, Doctor Smith?" he asked carefully. "You are my only visitor. No one comes looking to try to take samples or give me any kind of medication. The air is recycled, but clean, so there are no inhalants, and the same can be said about the water. So, what do you want?"

"I already told you. You're old," she answered honestly and apparently surprised by his question. "Older than any creature we have access to. Old enough that we can only guess at your age. Your knowledge of the working world in a time where records have faded into myths is invaluable. That's it. That's why they asked me to talk to you."

He let his head fall back against the glass and stared up at nothing. His energy was crashing, quickly becoming both physically and mentally exhausted. It felt like his body was slowly coming apart from the inside. In a way, it sort of was. Magic was slowly building up in his system with no natural flow or outlet. There were moments where he felt like every emotion was crashing through him and the magic came out in bursts of lightning. He was both erratic and numb, and he was terrified that another attack would come over him at any moment.

Rhia had gone through the same thing with her fire. Just like her, everything would line up if he just shifted. But, just like her, he couldn't. Rhia had a physical blockage. Titanium plates held her in her human form that would have shredded her lungs if her shift was forced.

So... what was his problem? Maybe it was the wound on his side. Maybe it was the emotional distress of awakening while in the custody of monsters. Maybe his body was just... too old.

"I can't tell you about the Library of Alexandria," he said slowly, still unsure of his decision. "I wasn't there when it was built. I was living in Waset."

Lily's eyes bulged and she made a squeaking, squealing sound before slamming her lips shut and pressing her lips into a hard line to keep herself from asking a million questions all at once. He could almost hear the wheels turning in her head.

Waset, better known as Thebes, one of the famous cities of Ancient Egypt, and still regarded in some circles as the 'true' capital. The city that stood there currently, Luxor, was a living, breathing piece of history. Much like he was, in a way.

"And I never met Caesar and can't say whether or not he was ever there. But I was there when the Macedonian King visited."

"You met Alexander the Great?" her voice climbed another octave, and she started trembling with excitement. Damnit, he didn't want to encourage her, but her eagerness was too genuine and pure.

"Maybe we can help each other a little," he suggested carefully. "If you get me some books, or anything to do to keep me sane. I'll... consider telling you what you want to know about my history."

"Deal!" Lily said immediately, a broad smile stretching across her face. "What do you like to read? We have a huge library here, so I bet I can find something you want."

Nolan took another minute to think before a small, pitiful laugh escaped his throat. "Twilight."

Lily blinked in surprise. "The... teenage vampire romance book?"

"That's the one. After that... surprise me. I'm not picky."

He wasn't going to answer her unasked question. He wasn't about to tell her, and the entire Organization, that he wanted some kind of connection back to Rhia. He'd never read them, and the extent of his knowledge was that she loved them. She used to mockingly call him Edward when they thought she was human and when he was so scared of hurting her.

Nolan's heart ached to see her again. To hear her voice and brush his hands through her hair. Just before he fought with Guerrero, that demon girl... Kate... she told him that Rhia was his soulmate. If that was really true... then she had to know he was alive. She would be hurting, but she wouldn't be suicidal. Someone... Nekros... Keoni or Ares, maybe... someone had to recognize the signs.

Lily was talking, and he tried to focus on that instead of his girlfriend, who was any number of miles away. "It might take me a while to get approval," she was saying while scribbling in her notebook. "If it's okay with you, I'd like to leave this with you to think about so we can get right into it at our next session."

She tore the paper out of the notebook and looked wildly around until she found a roll of tape and stuck the page against the glass so he could see what she had written. Her handwriting was messy in her haste, but the dates, names, and questions about them were readable. "Sure," Nolan couldn't help but laugh again. "I'll see what I remember."

"Thank you! Thank you, thank you," she almost leapt out of her seat and started walking backwards towards the door. "You have no idea how much I appreciate this. If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to ask, I'll do my best to get it."

And with that, she raced out the door. Lily couldn't believe it. Ten days. Nearly two weeks of going to him almost every day, trying to convince him to talk to her, and he'd barely said a word since she'd apologized for Mahal. She really thought she had lost her chance and that the directors were going to pull him from her responsibilities.

But he was giving her a chance! She could do this!

Inside the security room was Maddox leaning casually against the wall, and she couldn't hold back anymore. "Did you hear that?!" she squealed and answered her own question before he could. "He agreed to talk to me! This is incredible. Please, please, please tell me you're going to approve this. I need this, Maddox."

"I heard," Maddox was laughing and smiling, seemingly just as happy as she was. "Of course, I'll approve it. I'll have to document what's into the vault, so just drop the books off in my office when you get the chance."

"Thank you! I can't believe it. He lived in Waset! He met Alexander the Great! I wonder if he can still read hieroglyphs. I bet he can. I bet he knows a dozen dead languages! I wonder if I still have those scans from my professor..."

Someone mumbled incoherently, and for the first time Lily noticed the woman waist deep in a compartment full of computer equipment and cables. "What is she doing?" Lily asked slowly. It sort of looked like Dahlia was slowly being eaten by the wall.

Another murmur, and Maddox translated. "The surveillance system is broken."

Dahlia made a disgruntled sound before retreating and taking the bundle of cables out of her mouth. "It's not broken," she spat, shoving her usually pristine hair out of her face. "The cameras are working, the capture cards are working, the hard drives are functional, and the computers are working. Everything should be working fine. Except it's not. It's not recording. When you go into the files where they're supposed to save, there's nothing. Not even static."

"Nothing? What about the audio files?" Lily suddenly felt sick. She needed those audio recordings for her work. If she didn't have those, she would have to make notes herself and that would just waste time.

"Audio is recording fine. They're uploading directly to your files. It's just video. You know he's fucking with you, right?"

"What? Who?"

"Jesus, you really are a space cadet. The vampire, Lily. He's fucking with you."

"Dahlia," Maddox warned.

"What? You don't need to be a psychologist to see that. The guy is like a million years old, why would he want to read Twilight? He's trying to see what he can get away with."

"N- Why would he do that?"

"Today, he asks for books. Tomorrow, he asks for a better pillow. How long before he asks you to open the door for him?"

"Dahlia, that's enough," Maddox barked this time. "She's not an idiot. Stop insinuating that she is."

"Fine, sorry," Dahlia raised her hands in defeat, but her lips were still twisted in a smirk. "Congratulations Lily... One out of two isn't bad, after all."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"For fuck's sake, Dahlia."

"Oh, come on, that one's funny! Bravo gets hot-potatoed between you egg-heads every time someone new gets hired, and Lily's the only one who's still asking questions a year in? He hasn't said more than two words outside of a mission in thirty years. I mean, I applaud your persistence, but what do you think you can do that the real doctors can't?"

All the excitement drained out of Lily like letting the air out of a balloon. Dahlia didn't say anything that she hadn't heard before... she just thought she left that behind after finishing college. And high school before that. And middle school before that.

Apparently not.

Without saying a word, she pushed through the door of the security booth and bolted down the hall. Maddox called after her, but she heard nothing.

What if Dahlia was right? What if they were all right? What if everything she was trying to accomplish was just a waste of time and effort? All she wanted was to fill in the gaps of history, and this was her one chance to hear a personal account from someone who was actually there... Why was that seen as a bad thing?

Finally, she reached her office, burst through the door, and immediately jumped a foot in the air as the first thing she saw was a pale, ghostly figure sitting on her couch. "Bravo," she gasped. "What are you doing here?"

The entity blinked at her, then looked silently up at the clock on her wall. She was, once again, late for their usually scheduled, weekly appointment. Oops.

Ordinarily, she would have leapt into action to gather herself and her notes for the session. This time, she just walked to the other side of her desk and collapsed in her chair. She fought against the tears welling in her eyes as she tugged back the sleeve of her sweater and scratched at the irritated skin at her wrist.

Dahlia was right about one thing. Bravo wasn't ever going to talk. What was even the point of continuing these meetings if he was never going to say anything?

She didn't hear or even see him move. One second, he was on the couch, and the very next he was beside her chair and taking hold of her hand. Again, she jumped, but Bravo didn't appear to notice. He lifted her arm and pulled the sweater sleeve further up, revealing more of the intricate mandala tattoo inked into her forearm.

Lily could only stare up at him the same way he stared at her tattoo. She had never seen him like this. Every time she was around him, he'd always been a blank slate. The perfect entity for the Organization. But the way he looked at the markings... he was transfixed. His pupilless, white eyes were wide, and he traced one of the lines that wrapped around her wrist. "Why do you hide?" His voice was low and soft.

Her jaw went slack. The only other time she'd heard him speak was on the night Wes woke up. "I- I don't," she stuttered. He blinked once, and those pearlescent eyes slowly rose to meet hers. Heat crawled up her neck into her cheeks, but she couldn't tell if it was from the sweater or from the way he looked at her. "I mean, I cover them when I'm working because they're unprofessional. But I don't hide them, and I don't regret them. Even the really bad ones. They're a part of me now."

"You have more?"

"Y-yeah."

"May I see?"

A high-pitched ringing started in Lily's ears at that. She couldn't! That was highly inappropriate, considering where some of her other tattoos were!

But... Maybe a compromise? If Wes was testing her... maybe she could test Bravo. See how far he would go to see her tattoos? It wasn't that ridiculous. "T-talk to me," she stammered before she could reconsider. "Answer my questions, and... and I'll let you see them."

Bravo just gave her an assessing look, and Lily swallowed hard and desperately tried to get her rampant blushing under control. She wasn't even sure if he noticed.

An alarm on her computer chimed, announcing the end of the meeting that she'd already been late for. Bravo nodded once. "Deal."

And then he was gone. Like he'd simply popped out of existence. There wasn't even a rush of air or click of the door when he vanished. Lily sat in her chair looking up at nothing, her arm raised and the barest tingle of her skin to remind her that he'd been there.

~