Zayne knocked on the door lightly to alert the occupant that he was there. When there was no reply, not even a slight shift in tone from the other side, he knocked again but louder this time. When there was still no noise Zayne opened the door slightly and looked in. Damien was on his bed staring at his TV screen playing a game. He had snacks littering the floor and his bed, all accumulated over time whenever he would take some to his room. The bowl of cereal was resting at the foot of the bed totally empty. Empty water bottles were everywhere. Damien was sweating on the bed even though he was doing nothing. Zayne would have blamed it on the game, especially since he'd personally experienced the feelings one could get in a tense gaming situation, but he knew that the game wasn't the problem. Something was wrong.

Damien seemed blanked out, as if he wasn't aware of anything outside of his room. His window was covered, so the only source of light came from the TV, which only illuminated Damien's face a little bit of the wall behind him. Zayne opened the door wider and stepped inside, then closed it. Damien didn't react, he didn't even so much as look at Zayne. He just kept playing whatever he was playing.

"Damien? What's up?" Zayne asked as he took a step towards the bed.

"Don't come closer Zayne just stay over there," Damien sharply commanded, still not taking his eyes off the screen.

"Okay, okay," Zayne stepped back, "What's up?"

"Why do you want to know?" Damien pushed him off.

"You're acting weird. I just want to know what's the problem so I can fix it, or so we can fix it," Zayne replied with a genuine worry in his voice.

"Forget it. It's not fixable. Now go away," Damien brushed him off again.

"Everything's fixable, you just need to know how to do it. I can't figure out how to fix it if I don't know what it is."

"I said it's not fixable. Now leave before I make you leave," Damien growled, his eyes now focused on Zayne with a piercing glare.

"Damien you can't just ignore or push away all of your problems. Let me help you," Zayne pleaded.

There was a blur and a change in wind direction very drastically as Damien went from the bed to right in Zayne's face before Zayne could even blink. Zayne was so startled by the movement that he pressed himself against the door. Damien was looking right at his eyes within mere inches of his face. He let out a breath that reached Zayne's neck and face. It was freezing cold, so much so that just that little amount made Zayne shiver across his whole body. Damien reached over and grabbed the doorknob, then moved Zayne out of the way. He opened the door and gestured out into the hall, indicating to Zayne that he was being directed to leave. Now.

Zayne quickly left the room and jumped as Damien slammed the door behind him. He looked at Ver, who had been standing to the side listening. He looked her dead in the eyes with worry.

"I think he's the one causing these storms."

"I know he is. The question is why? I want to know how. Damien was never strong enough to manipulate the weather in his training, and he quit training a long time ago. I think there's more going on here than he's telling us," Ver suggested as she turned and started making her way down the hall.

Zayne didn't move from his spot for a moment before calling out to Ver a question that had been on his mind for a while, "Damien told me to stop training because it wasn't leading where I thought it would. What did he mean by that?"

Ver stopped walking. She was at the corner to enter the living room when he stopped, her body fully turned away from Zayne further down the hall. There was an eerie silence that filled the home as the question lingered in the air. The amount of time for an answer made Zayne realize that maybe there was something Ver knew that she wasn't telling him. It wouldn't be the first time the family had kept big secrets from him, especially ones concerning the Forces.

"Damien thinks that all Mystic and Dragon Forces are heroes, but that they're unnecessary. He thinks that their risking their lives is pointless, and no doubt he doesn't want you to go down that same path. He loves you just like I do Zayne, you're his cousin, and the only one who knows as much as he does. He's just trying to keep you safe."

Zayne furrowed his brows in discontent at the answer, "So I should give up my training? If he doesn't want me to die and you are being so protective of me, then why shouldn't I just stop training altogether?"

"Because we need you Zayne. You have the Dragon's Heart, and as its vessel, you are required to use its power to the full in helping others within the boundaries that have been set."

Zayne was supposed to hear an answer, but all he heard was another question, "Boundaries? What boundaries? What sort of walls do I have to follow to use my skills to help others?"

Ver shook her head and started walking off again, "It doesn't matter right now. Let's just enjoy this day off that we have and worry about it later."

The statement was obviously a brush off, Zayne had just gotten three of them from the only relatively close to his age in the house. Ver was hiding something, he was sure of it now. What she was hiding Zayne didn't know, but he was bound to find out eventually. He wouldn't rest until he knew what it was that they knew. Damien didn't just quit training because he viewed heroes as pointless. Zayne knew him better than that. Ever since they were little kids they'd watched and played so many things that involved superheroes. Saving people and stopping villains, that's what their entire childhood was about. Now he and Damien had the chance of a lifetime to be what they'd always wanted to be since little kids and Damien just decided to opt out of it because he viewed them as pointless?

No, there was something else at play here. Something Zayne hadn't gotten all of the details for just yet. Where did Keith fit into all of this? Why had Damien really quit? What was Ver hiding? Why was she so desperate to make him a hero, but so secretive to these 'boundaries?' Why was she being so protective of him if she wanted him to be a powerful Dragon Force warrior? Zayne hadn't been suspicious of anything Ver said or did for a while. They'd bonded and unified pretty well over fighting Arachnid, but this was weird. For the first time since before fighting the Midnight Horror Zayne was cautious and worried about everything once more. If he had to admit it, Zayne would have said to any crowd of people that right now, even after everything he'd done, even after everything he knew, he was scared. He was scared of his own family and the secrets they were keeping.

----------

Zayne had burnt a path all the way to the cave so he could get to Eli and check on Arachnid. Ver had advised against it, but she wasn't willing to tell him no. It was nearly three in the afternoon and Damien still hadn't left his room, not even for lunch. Lunch was just leftovers from previous dinners, which wasn't much. Still, Zayne ate his fill and took off. If he had to estimate the amount of time he'd spent just trying to get to the cave he would say it took about an hour because the sun had traveled across a solid chunk of the sky by the time he'd reached the entrance. The path he'd burnt through looked all zigzaggy, pretty much the opposite of straight and direct, but it worked. The trees were all dead and dark, their branches sprawling all across the white floor below. It was so cold that Zayne's face was dark, dark red by the time he'd reached the entrance. His hands felt like pieces of ice, and they were freezing cold to the touch even with his temperature increase.

As Zayne stepped inside he felt the radiating warmth that took him by surprise for a moment. He took off his coat and winter covers to return simply to his casual T-shirt and black boxer shorts. He didn't like large and overbearing clothes unless it protected him from the cold. If he didn't need them he didn't want them, which was the case in this situation.

Eli was sprawled across the couch with one leg on the back and one leg off the side. One arm acted as a pillow even though he had four all on the floor, and the other arm was bent and wrapped over the armrest that he slept against. He apparently was a snorer, because almost as soon as Zayne entered he heard the loud, annoying sound. Why was Eli still asleep in the afternoon Zayne didn't know, but then again Zayne didn't even know what Eli did at night by himself with Arachnid anyway. For all he knew Eli could be staying up until the sun starts to rise and then go to sleep. The situation Eli lived in was very lax and free. With all the food in the base at his disposal, Eli was pretty much self-reliant now, which was good. Zayne appreciated Ver's decision to help him slowly return to a more natural lifestyle with his unique situation.

Zayne moved over to the consoles and turned on the training room three station. Once he'd established a few parameters to ensure no one snuck up on him, he closed the monitor and started making his way down the hall. Halfway down however he paused, then looked at the prison room door. He stepped up and allowed the door to slide open, then walked inside. As soon as he did he saw something that forced him into panic mode. The bars had been melted away by Arachnid's acid. Almost on instinct Zayne turned around and reached out, stopping Arachnid's fist. He used his left arm to grab Arachnid's face and threw him back into the cell. He stood at the doorway with his arms charging up energy.

"Eli! Eli turn on the prison cell barrier!" Zayne commanded without looking away from Arachnid, who was quickly getting back up for another round.

"You can't keep me in here forever Za-" Arachnid slammed headfirst into an invisible barrier that had replaced the bars.

"I'm sorry what were you saying?" Zayne mocked as he relaxed his stance and heard Eli running down the hall.

"What's going on?" Eli frantically asked as he stopped running behind Zayne.

"Our little friend here tried to make an escape. I doubt he would have had any trouble if I hadn't walked in just now," Zayne explained as he waved to Arachnid and stepped out of the room, letting the door close.

"I'm so sorry dude, I knew I shouldn't have stayed up all night but I didn't realize how deep of a sleeper I was," Eli apologized with a surprisingly casual voice.

"Feeling alright?" Zayne asked, addressing the tone.

"Yeah, why?" Eli replied.

Zayne immediately recognized the level of casual, unheld joy. Zayne remembered his own experience with the energy that the Dragon's Heart gave him to feel better. No doubt the Dino's Heart was doing the same here. This gave Zayne an idea.

"Well if you're feeling alright do you want to join me in some training?"

"Wait your training or mine? I think we both know I'm not ready for yours," Eli quickly replied trying to evade the subject.

"No no, you won't personally be involved, you'll just be watching. This'll help you understand where you want to be in a few months from now, and it'll help you get a better idea of what you're going to be doing later on down the road," Zayne said as he started walking.

Eli thought about it for a moment, "Alright fine. But I'm just watching, nothing else."

"That's what I was suggesting," Zayne reaffirmed as he reached the intersection.

Eli quickly sped up his pace and met up with Zayne as they entered the training room three. The lights turned on and the console to the side of the door booted up, whirring to life as Zayne approached. Eli nervously stepped to the opposite side of the door and leaned against the wall to watch. Zayne put in the commands he memorized from his previous training session and booted up the program. The holographic projection of Arachnid materialized once more, which startled Eli until Zayne calmed him down. Actually, the battle with the AI Arachnid was what gave Zayne the idea to turn around in the prison room. He'd experienced a similar attack made by the AI yesterday when they were in the heat of the moment, which Zayne had remembered and acted upon. Eli seemed curious about the program.

"So it simulates a full-on replica of an individual based on their computer folders and known abilities and tactics?" Eli asked as Zayne messed with a few of the settings.

"Yeah. Apparently, anyone who had a record on the computer is a viable training subject. Even you," Zayne said as he switched the program to the Hybrid.

Arachnid's hologram slowly faded away and was replaced by the fabrication of a new form. The massive ten-foot tall monster slowly took shape and added in every little detail possible. When it was done Zayne looked to Eli to make sure he hadn't hit any nerves. Eli looked rather intrigued by the appearance of his alternate self rather than angry at it. Zayne swiped through the computer programs trying to find the one person he really wanted to fight against. When he didn't find it he was only solidified in his curious suspicions. Damien wasn't anywhere in the computer, the training program, or even the mainframe. He'd been totally erased from the base's logs even though Zayne had seen him here. He knew he'd come here to train at some point, and yet the computers said he was never here. The facts didn't add up.

"Are you gonna start?" Eli asked.

"What? Oh yeah yeah I was just looking for a specific program. I guess it isn't in here," Zayne replied as he switched it back to Arachnid and bumped up the difficulty to six.

"So what the computer sets limitations on the AI based on your choice of challenge?"

"Yep. I'm working towards beating every single AI in the computer on level nine. It'll be hard, and it'll take a while, but its a goal I've set out for myself that I'm gonna finish," Zayne replied as he pulled out his dragon glove and slipped it over his left arm.

"How do you hope to beat them if you only train here and now?" Eli wondered out loud.

This was the perfect opportunity for Zayne, so he took it, "I don't just train here. Any chance I get I work on my skills and abilities. I'm constantly training personally to improve myself and ensure that I'm up to date with the training I'm doing here. Personal training really helps, especially since you get to set your own levels and goals without others telling you where to be and how to get there."

Eli looked at Zayne with intrigue in his eyes. He was obviously thinking about the prospect of having his own hours of training that he could regulate and control. For him, it might be harder because of the uncontrollable tendency currently, but in the future personal training might be the best way for Eli to get practice. Zayne could tell Eli was thinking about those options as well.

"So you gonna go?" Eli asked, suddenly snapping from his thoughts.

Zayne smiled and gripped both hands into fists, then got into a battle pose facing Arachnid. Eli quickly backed up to the edge of the room to stay out of the way as Zayne reached back and pressed the start button. The computer counted down as Arachnid's lifeless AI slowly began to move and adjust itself into its fighting form. The timer buzzed, and the training battle began.

----------

It was three hours later, about six thirty according to the monitor clocks. Zayne had managed to beat and increase the AI to level eight, but couldn't get past a move the AI had used three times to smack him down and defeat him. If the move was something Arachnid could do and the computer wasn't making up then Zayne would have very easily been defeated by Arachnid in that forest. But even Arachnid admitted that he'd underestimated Zayne back then. He hadn't expected Zayne to make such rapid progress to the point where he could survive a one on one with him. Zayne appreciated the compliment even though it was covered in Arachnid's putrid insults. It was nice to have acknowledgment even from an enemy that he was making good progress.

Eli enjoyed the training and even offered a few tips to Zayne when battling. In fact, without one of Eli's strategy tips, Zayne would have lost to the level seven AI easily. Zayne had noticed then that Eli was very observant. He picked up on tips and hints much better than Zayne originally thought. Eli could also come up with good counter strategies, apparent in the fact that Zayne used Eli's idea and won by a long shot. The reality Zayne discovered was that in a real fight if Eli could control the Hybrid, he may very well be able to drop Zayne with ease. Still, both of them had a long way to go before reaching that point. Zayne both liked and disliked that. It meant much more time lost to training, but much more time to get to know Eli and how exactly he was going to come out. It was mostly good though, and pretty much only because of getting to know Eli better.

Zayne was tired and weak from the constant training he'd just done. Eli was normal, but he seemed more excited now. He wasn't a depressed and hopeless teen anymore, he seemed happy and ready to go. He was running laps around the room by himself as Zayne rested in the chair, and he seemed to be practically jumping from wall to wall as he tried wasting energy. Zayne watched as Eli wasted all his energy, then stood in the middle of the room and paused. He closed his eyes and focused, then opened them and went back to running. The process repeated over and over, Zayne probably watched him for another thirty minutes or so before realizing that he needed to get home before dark. But first, he needed to do something else.

Zayne turned around and activated the monitors. He typed in a few commands quickly and booted up the computer's backup files, then started searching. As he did so he simultaneously erased all history of his using training room three. He was still breaking the training rules by using it, but he was gaining so much from it. For a few minutes, he searched in the backup files trying to find any record of Damien or his training scores. There was nothing. No indication that Damien even existed here. Zayne slumped over in defeat as he closed out of the files and shut down the monitors.

"What's wrong?" Eli asked through breaths, seeing Zayne's defeated expression.

"I'm trying to find my cousin's records in the computer but there's nothing. It's like he doesn't even exist. But I know he was here because I saw video recordings of him in the training room. I wanted to fight him in the program but he wasn't there," Zayne explained as he started putting on his clothes.

"I can look for you," Eli suggested as he stopped running and bent over to pause.

"No, it's fine. I doubt you'd be able to find anything I couldn't. You don't know much about those monitors anyway. I don't even know much about them," Zayne replied as he finished putting on his coat.

"You'd be surprised. I'm pretty techy," Eli answered as he stepped over to Zayne and smiled.

"See ya," Zayne waved.

"See ya," Eli extended a hand which Zayne shook.

"You gonna keep working on personal training?" Zayne asked as he stepped up to the barrier.

"That and work on my sleep schedule so I can make sure that little troublemaker in there stays in there," Eli chuckled as he turned and started making his way towards the food.

"Alright, well see later," Zayne finished as he stepped out into the bitter cold.

It was freezing out here as Zayne expected. The sun was just barely poking out from the horizon now, only a small fraction of its light still glowing over the Earth. Zayne quickly slid down to the bottom of the hill and listened to the crunch of the snow below his feet. As he stood up he activated his internal heat and sent energy to his legs to morph them so he could run home, but something stopped him. Something new.

Normally when transferring Dragon's Heart energy Zayne could only feel two pathways, to his legs and to his arms. This time, however, he felt three pathways. One to his legs, one to his arms, and one to his back. Curious, Zayne sent the energy into his back just to see what would happen.

Almost instantly Zayne felt something start growing in two spots on his back. He felt the skin expand and stretch, then rip open as whatever it was that was growing emerged. He started feeling nerves and tendrils go into the new growth, and his skin quickly grew over the areas that were exposed. When it was over Zayne could feel two massive four feet wings on his back, which had unfortunately ripped through his clothes too. They were flimsy and weak, no doubt because he hadn't exercised the muscles in them yet, but they were wings no doubt about it. Excited, Zayne tried remembering anything Ver had said about flying. He didn't recall anything, but he did remember a few things from his school textbooks about flight and how birds and planes flew. He decided to try and use some of that knowledge to take off.

Zayne bent down and transferred enough energy into his legs to jump high into the air. When the springs were loaded Zayne fired them, launching himself almost twenty feet into the air a little ways above the branches of the trees. Instantly Zayne started flapping the wings downwards to try and stabilize himself in the air, but very quickly he realized that he was losing feeling in his wings. They were getting colder fast because they didn't have any protective layering. Zayne tried to move them faster to heat them up but he couldn't do it. The wings didn't have enough energy or strength to keep his body and his clothes in the air, which made Zayne come to another realization. He was now falling.

"CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CR-"

Zayne slammed into a thick branch on a tree with his gut but didn't stop there. He slipped off and landed on another directly on his back, sending even more pain across his wings and spine. Then he slipped off again and landed crotch first onto the biggest branch in the forest, almost seven feet from the ground. Squealing in pain as he fell Zayne crashed into the snow with a loud crunch. Even though it was cold Zayne remained on his back in the snow for several seconds whimpering in pain.

"Note to self," Zayne gasped, "Work on wing muscles before working on flight."