Aiden rubbed the bridge of his nose, an ache throbbing at his neck.

While he trained his skills, there was so much occupying his mind right now that he didn't know where to start. Most of his thoughts centered on the Alchemist and how his powers functioned. How did he manage to reach Aiden from the other side of the world and maintain the connection that Aiden could feel subtly if he probed his mind for some time?

He couldn't imagine someone holding that much power, but if he'd had lifetimes to cultivate it, he guessed he understood how it would work.

Aiden was now confident that the Alchemist had enough power to break out of the jail cell he was placed in, if he hadn't done that already.

Everyone should be on high alert, especially Vacek.

Yet, Aiden hadn't told him about it. And that was part of what was bugging him.

Aiden knew that the Alchemist reaching out and essentially revealing Vulcan's secret could all be a trap of some sort, set specifically for him, so that they could get him out of play.

But at the same time, he couldn't completely ignore that the Alchemist, in all his infinite madness, might be the only one capable of stopping Lexie's metamorphosis into a mindless Eldritch creature.

That possibility was what kept him from telling Vacek. Because while Aiden's priority was Lexie, Vacek's priority was the world. If he thought he would be better off killing the Alchemist than keeping him alive, that was exactly what he would do, and that could jeopardize Lexie's last chance at retaining her humanity.

Aiden couldn't let that happen, so he was conflicted.

He had once sacrificed the good of the world for a chance to save Lara.

Would he have to do it again to save Lexie?

The doorbell rang, and Aiden was grateful for the distraction. He got up and went to the door, looking in the peephole to find Xena at the helm. She was fully dressed in her school uniform, which reminded Aiden that Lexie was going back to school today. Damn it, he'd completely forgotten. He should have spoken to her this morning, and if possible, he should have been there to take her back.

He released a sigh of disappointment in himself, but plastered a smile on his face when he pulled open the door. "Xena? To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Hi, Mr. Sparrowfoot." She shifted her weight and seemed fidgety as she said. "Can we talk?"

"Of course." Aiden stepped back to allow Xena to enter the home. She walked in tentatively, her hands gripping her robes as uncertainty crawled across her expression.

"Do you want me to get you something to eat or drink?" Aiden asked. "I have muffins, freshly squeezed orange juice, peaches, muan tea, black tea–"

"I'm worried about Lexie," Xena blurted out.

Aiden's eyes widened. "Oh?"

"She's…" Xena didn't seem to know how to explain it, so she simply shrugged. "She's acting differently. Like she's making all these cards and they're getting increasingly dangerous."

Aiden gave her a warm smile. "Well, you know how much our girl likes to experiment. There's not much either of us can do to stop her there, but I'm sure she's doing it safely."

"It's not just that," Xena hurried to say. "It's her personality, too, that's changing. I didn't notice it before, but it shows more when she gets angry. When she's provoked, she takes things to a ten. Like with this witch called Rufina and her minions... they fought and Lexie ended up trashing the cafeteria, just to beat them up. Yeah, they deserved it, but looking back, Lexie was smiling while she was fighting, like she was enjoying the violence, which isn't like her at all. Lionel says she has a dark energy that follows her around. There are a few more things, too, that I can't say. Now, she's obsessed with making all these overpowered cards that can hurt people, and she barely hung out or talked with me and Dewie at all during break. I know Dewie's kind of upset about it, even though he won't say it, so it's up to me to tell you."

Aiden took Xena's words to heart, but he could also hear the emotion behind them. Xena felt like she was losing her friend. "I understand. I'll talk to Lexie and watch for signs of personality changes."

Xena exhaled. "Okay, good. Let me know if you need my help with anything. I can get one of the Lightlark healers to see her."

Aiden nodded and smiled. He was glad his daughter had made such a devoted friend.

"And you won't tell her that I told you anything, right?"

"No. Your secret is safe with me."

Sounds echoed from the staircase as Tate descended, wearing a comfortable sweatsuit that Aiden had gotten him recently. Aiden was glad that Tate was finally comfortable enough to wear the things he bought, and the boy was slowly losing that defensiveness in his stance.

He stopped at the base, and he and Xena stared at each other. Aiden couldn't read their expression, but the closest thing he could compare it to was two black cats sizing each other up.

"Hey," Xena said first, disinterestedly.

"Hey," Tate said in the same flat tone.

"You're Lexie's dojo friend?" Xena asked.

Tate nodded. After a few more seconds, Xena turned around and walked away, closing the door behind her.

What was that about? Aiden wondered.

Tate leaned against the wall and said, "She's worried about Lexie."

"You overheard?" Aiden shrugged. "Seems like it."

"She's right to be."

Aiden paused, staring at him. He didn't expect that from Tate.

"Lexie's different," Tate said. "I noticed it when we spoke on the phone, but I confirmed it when we met in person. It's hard to describe, but there's something about her, about her eyes that's darker, and more…" He shook his head. "I don't know the word."

"Well, she's had a tough year," Aiden said defensively.

"I know," Tate said, shrugging and sauntering into the kitchen. "I'm not judging her. Just wanted to mention it to you in case you didn't notice."

Aiden watched him go, wondering if he really missed his daughter going through such a drastic change that her friends were calling it out.

Was Lexie different?

Sure, but she had been under a lot of stress with everything going on; the looming threat of Vulcan, losing Max, in addition to her Eldritch lessons with Naem. Was that what people were seeing? Or was it something more intrinsic inside her that was changing faster than anticipated?

If so, how did he miss that?

Maybe the change had been too gradual for him to notice. Or maybe he hadn't wanted to see it. Maybe he'd excused all those changes as parts of growing up, because the alternative would be to accept a horrifying reality that his daughter had been turning into an Eldritch creature right underneath his nose.

Aiden swallowed, heart clenching in his chest.

He couldn't let this happen. He needed to do something, and it might be time for drastic action since non-drastic action clearly wasn't working.

He took a breath and went to the kitchen to find Tate trying to beat an egg, clumsily, his whisk clattering clamorously against the glass bowl.

Aiden shook his head. "Let me do that."

'"No, I got it."

"You're not doing it right."

"It's an egg, there's only one way to beat it."

Aiden shook his head. "Not if you're going for maximum fluffiness. Trust me, I do this all the time for Lexie."

"You don't have to do this, you know," Tate said.

"Do what?"

"All of this. Cooking for me, buying my clothes, getting your nurse friend to massage my feet, making specialized potions. I know that I'm living here entirely based on your charity. I don't need you to rub it in by being extra, and you certainly don't need to pretend to care for me the way you care for Lexie. I'm not here to be a replacement for her."

Something about that statement was so nakedly revealing, Aiden wondered if the boy knew it. Did Tate realize how transparent he was?

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Could he tell there was a secret vulnerability peeking through the hardness in his gaze?

Probably not.

"I will never care for you or anyone else the way I care for Lexie," Aiden said, calmly, gently. "That's number one. No one could ever replace her. But that doesn't mean that I can't fry you an egg, Tate. It's not charity. It's humanity. Community. And believe it or not, I do enjoy doing this because I care about you."

Tate's eyebrows furrowed. "You just met me."

"Oh, is there a minimum time requirement for knowing each other before I can say I care about you? Let me know so I can pencil it in my calendar."

"You don't have a reason to care about me."

"Yes, I do. For one thing, you're the reason my daughter is here."

"You mean she died because of me."

"Yes, but you're also the reason she's alive with me," Aiden said the words unashamedly, aware that he was very selfish for saying it. But it was how he felt, and he didn't feel the need to lie to Tate. If anyone could understand his viewpoint, it would likely be the boy.

Tate's gaze wasn't judgmental, just calculating.

"So you're being nice to me because of what I unknowingly did for you?"

"Yes."

"Sounds like a bad trade-off."

"If you want to see it that way," Aiden knew the boy wasn't ready to accept his affection, so this was easier for him to swallow. Tate couldn't understand being cared for, but he could understand being utilized. "One day I'll probably need your help, and then you can pay me back."

"What can I possibly help you with? I'm just a mundane who's dying anyway."

"Everyone has their strength," Aiden told him. "And sometimes you find power in the places that you least expect it."

Tate was quiet and eyed him, but his hold on the bowl slackened, allowing Aiden to take it from his hands.

"There," he said. "Now that wasn't so hard."

Tate's cheeks reddened, but he crossed his arms over his chest, looking away. "Do you always cook for Lexie?"

"Yes," he said. "My daughter's cooking skills are, shall we say, underdeveloped. She once made me a toast that was as bitter and hard as volcanic rock. How does one ruin toast, you might ask? I have no clue. But it's partially my fault. Emma says I spoil her too much."

"You do," Tate said. "I've only been here for a few weeks, and even I can tell you that."

"Oh yeah?" Aiden said with a grin. "Well, what can I do? She's my baby girl."

"How do you reconcile that with the fact that she's not your real daughter?" Tate asked suddenly, and Aiden stiffened slightly.

"Lexie is my daughter," he said firmly. "No matter what form she comes in, she will always be my daughter."

Tate's face tensed and rippled slightly. He swallowed several times, turning away again.

"I'm guessing that's not how things went for you," Aiden said quietly.

Tate laughed harshly. "No. It's never been how things go for me."

Aiden stared at the boy. He had an urge to hug him, but he knew that he wouldn't appreciate it. Tate was still far too skittish, so Aiden decided to focus on beating his bowl of eggs.

That was when his system screen began ringing.

It was Stein calling, and Aiden answered it while in motion.

"Hello?"

"Just so you know, I'm not telling you this because I want to," Stein started, heated. "I'm telling you because I think you're the only one who can stop him."

"Stop who?"

"Vacek."

"I don't understand."

"He came for Lexie today," Stein said, "A few students saw him leaving with her, and even though Journeyman has been tight-lipped about it, I think Vacek's taken her on a job."

Aiden's soul froze. He felt the bowl slip out of his fingers, crashing onto the counter as Tate stared at him in alarm.

But Aiden didn't care. His mind was no longer with them. Instead, it ripped through the ether, through time and space, going far back to a time before Lexie was born.

He recalled the many times Lara came back home with wounds on her body and stories she couldn't tell. The occasional haunted look in her gaze.

For the most part, Lara never complained, and she even enjoyed her work. At the very least, she saw a lot of value in it and in the people she helped. But Aiden had always secretly wanted her not to do it anymore, and when she got pregnant, he was happy she told him she would be retiring from dangerous missions, and only doing occasional delves.

Then one day, she was swallowed up by a dungeon never to be seen again.

No.

Absolutely not.

He knew what Vacek wanted, and he was never going to give it to him. He wouldn't let Vacek use Lexie the way he used Lara and the way he used Aiden.

He would destroy Vacek and everything he cared about first.

"Aiden?" Stein asked. "Say something."

"How dare he?" Aiden's voice was trembling with anger. "He thinks that I'm just going to let history repeat itself."

Stein was quiet, then said accusatorily. "I warned you about this. You know him. You never should have given him a chance to get close again."

Aiden saw red.

Before anyone could say anything else, he vanished into the air.

In his absence, Tate stared at the eggs that had spilled onto the counter and on the floor.

"I should have just done it myself," he sighed.

***

Monty Ward had entered the bathroom and was about to unzip when Aiden appeared out of thin air.

"Holy Mother of–" He jumped back, hand still on his zipper, and his heart dropped to his asshole. "What the hell are you doing here?"

'"Where's Vacek?"

"What?"

"Where. Is. Vacek?"

"I don't know," Monty exclaimed. "Is he even back on Earth?"

Aiden advanced on him, and Monty stepped back, fearing that gleam in Aiden's eyes. It was the same gleam he'd had when he'd torn Monty's pathways almost right out of his body, inflicting damage that had needed several months to years to repair.

While Monty might appreciate the downtime now, he didn't do well with pain. He bit his lips, opening his system screen, about to call for help.

"I thought I was clear that my daughter is off limits."

"What are you talking about?" Monty was glancing around the empty bathroom, panic in his eyes. "How did you even know where I was?"

"The tag you put in my head, remember? It goes both ways."

Monty reached out to feel the tag and sensed nothing. He frowned. "I can't feel it."

"That's because I shielded it. Now tell me where he is."

"You...shielded it?" How the heck did he manage to do that? That was mind magic. Aiden Sparrowfoot couldn't do mind magic…could he?

Aiden shook his head. "This is a waste of time," he declared before he disappeared again.

***

Lexie tried to block out the sounds behind her that were like the roaring of a troll. She decided to trust Vacek to take care of it, as she focused on speaking to the dungeon.

This time, when the first image appeared, she didn't disconnect. Even though it was a jarring feeling, like having pictures shoved in her mind whipping fast without her control, she held on, biting her lip to hold in the chaos coursing through her.

She tried to focus on what she could see, recording it in her mind even though the images went by too fast for her to get a full picture.

But she did see a man, who appeared several times.

Then, a team of people running from trolls that were bludgeoning them to death.

Then one person was getting torn apart by Griffins.

Different landscapes whipped by, and then suddenly, as though reaching the end of the picture reel, the images stopped. It froze on three men, standing in the dungeon, seeming to chant a spell. All of them had their eyes closed. One was far too tall to be a human.

Suddenly, something happened that didn't make sense for a still image.

The tallest one in the picture moved. His head snapped to her, and Lexie saw that his skin was a mask. A human mask that grinned as it whispered,

"Oh, you. I've been looking for you."

Get out! The dungeon's whisper was now a scream, and Lexie took that advice, disconnecting at the same time she felt someone lifting her in the air.

"We gotta go." She heard Vacek's voice as he ran with her under his armpit toward the entrance of the dungeon. Behind him, she saw three large trolls fallen on the ground and a swarm of bat creatures that could somehow spit spider webs. They spat one in front of Vacek, and he tore through it with his strength. But the bat creatures swarmed around them and covered the entrance.

Vacek pointed his hand and dropped three of the bats at once. He could probably drop the rest, but it would take time, and the dungeon might close them in in the meantime.

Lexie had a better idea.

This was a perfect time to try out her void card.

Lexie activated, breathed, and pointed.

A cloud of darkness burst from the tip of her fingers, engulfing all creatures and swirling like one of Naem's portals to swallow them up.

As the void disappeared, Lexie felt the severe mana drain from her body, which made sense because she'd just activated three high-powered cards at once.

At least it worked. They dashed out of the dungeon safely, and the dungeon hadn't collapsed like she'd been scared it would.

Vacek did say it wouldn't resolve, but she hadn't entirely trusted him.

The problem was, now she'd revealed her hand.

Vacek put her down and regarded her with a surprised and quizzical look.

"How did you do that?" Vacek asked him.

Lexie raised an eyebrow. "Do you want me to lie to you?"

The side of his lip trembled, and humor shone in his eyes. And something else. Something resembling greed.

"We're going to be good friends, Lexie Sparrowfoot," he told her.

I don't think you know what that word even means, Lexie wanted to say, but she kept it to herself. Instead, she asked,

"Why did the dungeon do that if it's supposed to be cleared?"

"I think the dungeon is sentient," he said. "Which means even after it's been raided, and its core depleted, it maintains its sentience enough to activate some of its powers to launch a minor attack, to get us out."

"Minor? It launched three trolls and an army of carnivorous bats at us."

"Yes. It would have been a lot worse if it were at its full power. The dungeon can be weakened for a time, but it can't be killed. And I don't think the Red Tails control it completely either."

Lexie remembered the vision she'd had. The three people saying the spell, the one who'd looked at her.

Was it an Eldritch? How did it see her? Or was it just her imagination?

"It's the first sentient dungeon we've ever had, isn't it?" Lexie

"Yes."

"Is it the only one?"

"It's the only one I know of, but I'm sure they're trying to create more. I think that was what the underground dungeons in Hovelton were about. They were hiding their experiments." He breathed out. "Now tell me what you saw."

"I saw...a lot." So many images, still throttling her brain.

Vacek opened his mouth, hungry for more information, then he looked behind her and frowned.

"Aiden?"

Lexie spun around to find her dad marching across the grass with a stormy expression.

"Dad?"

Aiden didn't answer either of them.

He walked right up to Vacek and punched him in the face.

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