Blaze was being treated for his wounds a few rooms down from where they took Garroth. Laurance, Aphmau, and Dante went with him, knowing there wasn't much else they could do for Garroth themselves. The nurse was wrapping a cut on Blaze's left hand, which he blamed the cause of him catching the sword with him palms instead of of claws. The group was silent though. Nobody knew what to say really. All they had to do was wait and see what would happen.

Katelyn, admitted that she was only a physical therapist, not a real doctor but, Elizabeth was desperate for any help she could get. Travis was in the other room as well, helping nurses and doctors on site with the newest medical tech. Again, he didn't know why he was needed. Garroth laid on an exam table, in a hospital gown. Blaze was right to assume that the burn scar was larger than just his left neck and cheek. Parts of his whole left side were faintly scared, showing that he was in the observatory fire a decade ago. His hair showed signs of being cut not too long ago but, what confused doctors is that when they examined his eyes, they were blood red instead of a deep blue. Katelyn and Travis found it chilling as well. Luckily, they didn't see signs of brain damage but, they knew something was wrong to make Garroth have an outburst like that.
When the doctors decided to just run a few more simple procedures, Katelyn and Travis retreated to Blaze's room. His hand was wrapped and he looked exhausted for it was now three in the morning. Everyone was to be correct. Aphmau was actually dozing off, leaning on her husband's shoulder but, she insisted she stay awake.

"So?", Blaze asked as Katelyn and Travis walked into the room.

"He'll be fine,", Katelyn sighed. "But there were signed of mistreatment which concerns us the most. Do you have any idea where he was?"

Laurance looked over to Blaze and both of them immediately had a theory. The facility, the lab, the testing equipment...it made sense. Blaze mentally made not to bring it up to Elizabeth but, shrugged to his friends, not wanting them to worry.
They all sat around in silence again, waiting for some more news. All of them secretly knew that even if Garroth was fine, somewhat was wrong. Absolutely, horribly wrong. What happened earlier that evening was...terrifying. The more they thought about it, they shuddered at the thought of what happened the past ten years to him.

Agent Washer walked into the room, everyone standing up immediately. She frowned and said; "There's no serious damage to him, thankfully. Only a bruised rib we assumed happened when he collided with the stage."

"But?", Laurance asked, holding Aphmau close to him still.

"You should see for yourselves,", She sighed, guided them down the hall to a room that had a large window, that would show another room next to them. But, at the moment, it was blacked out. A female nurse with pink hair was waiting for them, her name tag reading Kawaii~Chan.

"I'm glad you're all here,", She smiled softly. "The patient is doing well. He should be fine after the next few days." She pressed a button that cleared the glass, revealing that Garroth was awake and sitting up. Doctors seemed to be running a few simple procedures but, everyone could tell something was wrong. His face was blank. No emotion was displayed, even when a nurse stuck a needle of fluid into his right arm. He just stared emptily in front of him, making eye contact with Dante in particular. This caused Dante to ask in an uncomfortable tone; "What's wrong with him...?"

"He's just unresponsive at the moment. A few hits to the head could do that,", Kawaii~Chan said, trying to reassure everyone. "He was unconscious when he arrived so, we are led to believe that's the reason why."

Blaze so desperately wanted to break the glass and reach out for Garroth, to finally talk to him...the nurse seemed to noticed and asked; "Would you all like to visit him?"

"If it doesn't cause any trouble,", Aphmau said, politely.

"Not at all! It might actually help him to see familiar faces!", Kawaii~Chan cheered.

She stepped back a bit and opened a door that led to the room. Everyone looked at Blaze, motioning for him to go first. Blaze was scared though. He didn't know how things would play out. Would it be exactly how he imagined? The two make eye contact, reaching for each other's embrace? The redhead's heart raced as he tried to be reasonable. Garroth wasn't in the condition to do that. Mentally and physically.

"Come on bud,", Laurance urged him, placing his hand on Blaze's shoulder, shaking him slightly. "This is what you have been waiting for."

Blaze nodded and breathed out, not realizing he'd been holding everything in for so long. He stepped into the room, the others right behind him. The doctors grinned as the group walked into the room and stepped away. Garroth sat there, still staring at the glass that was blacked out still on his side. He didn't even flinch at the sound of the door closing behind the nurse and Elizabeth.

Everyone was quiet again, not knowing what to say. Blaze bit his lip, seeing the burn scar more clearly in the light. He spoke, his voice shaking.

"G-Garroth?"

The blonde's head turned, blue eyes meeting Blaze's. The redhead walked slowly over, not wanting to scare him. The other stood back, not wanting to ruin the moment. Aphmau was screeching in her head, excited for her friend. Laurance on the other hand was hesitant. Garroth's face was still blank, even when seeing them all. He wanted to call Blaze back, suggesting that they wait a little long but, like Aphmau, he wanted Blaze to be happy. After so many years...

Blaze reached out and took Garroth's hand. His grip closed around his fingers while Garroth's hand didn't even move. Blaze chalked that up as maybe Garroth didn't recognize him or something. So, he told him; "Gar...it's me. Blaze."

That's when finally, Garroth's face moved. He closed his eyes, a small groan escaping his lips as his free hand held his forehead. The others anxiously stood by as they watched the scene go on. But, when Garroth opened his eyes again, Laurance's heart stopped. Instead of blue color, they had a red hue.

"B-Blaze...", The brunette shakily spoke, gripping his wife tightly as if to protect her. "We should go-"

Blaze shushed him, looking back. He felt like he needed to stay there for Garroth but, when he looked more closely, he saw why Laurance was nervous.

"Garroth...w-what happen to your-"

"I've waited so long for this."

Before Blaze or anyone could react, Garroth tackled Blaze to the ground, trays and tools tumbling to the ground. Blaze struggled to get him off and so did others who tried to help him. He didn't want to hurt Garroth more. Not in the condition he was in. Blaze was held firmly to the ground, fair hands holding his neck tightly. Blaze choked for air, trying to pry off the blonde's grip.

"This is your fault Howler! And you know it!", The man on top of him spat through gritted teeth. His now long blonde hair dangling down pass his face.

Blaze desperately gasped for air, trying his best to push the monster off. Tears formed at the corner of his eyes as he hoarsely called out; "G-Garroth! Please!"

Garroth didn't let go and Blaze's vision was getting fuzzy. Voices around him were faint and he thought to himself that this was the end. After only a few more seconds, Garroth's face went blank again as he went limp. He fell on top of Blaze, the grip on his next releasing. The redhead looked back to see Katelyn holding a needle. Blaze, a million questions running through his mind, asked first;

"What did you put in him?"

"Ketamine...stronger than normal. H-He'll be fine,", Katelyn answered, giving the needle back to the frozen doctor who she glared at. She and Travis who scrambled to helped, got Garroth's body off of Blaze and back onto the exam table.

Dante and Laurance helped Blaze back up to his feet, Aphmau inspecting his neck. She saw not only the signs of bruising but, what looked like burn marks that faded in seconds.

"What the hell was that?", Travis exclaimed, not understanding why that wasn't the first question.

"Magic,", Aphmau breathlessly said, looking to Elizabeth, who was taking a look at Garroth. "Do we have any idea what kind?"

"Shadow,", Laurance said, exhaling. "H-His voice...that was him."

"Are you sure? Garroth's voice could've dropped?", Dante suggested, just not wanting his friend to be in serious danger.

"Blaze, could you sense it?", Laurance asked, gulping.

"Amina could you?", Blaze asked in his head.

"..."

"Amina!"

"Y-Yes..."

Something stabbed at Blaze's chest. Not a blade or a weapon of any kind. Emotions hit and strong. A wave of guilt and disappointment mixed with exhaustion overwhelmed him and he felt himself shutting down.

"Laurance...we need to save him,", Blaze mumbled, feeling his legs go numb. Dante and Laurance tried keeping him up but, it was no use. Blaze felt himself falling into a deep sleep...

"Then Shadow was right Amina...this is my fault."

Word Count: 1596