1.  "This is crazy," Kiles whispered, as if his voice might attract demons if he spoke any louder.  'Spooky' was the word he was looking for but 'spooky' was an unfamiliar concept -- nothing had ever truly spooked him.   

2.  "You would never know this was Vejhon," Flash observed.  It did not resemble anything that either of them had ever seen before.

3.  They were in the midst of a dreary forest of gnarled trees stripped of leaves and foliage.  There was not a trace of vegetation and the trees were likely dead.

4.  "It's like we're awake inside a dream," Kiles said.  "We're being hunted," Flash reported.

5.  Flash still had his color and looked like a cartoon against a black and white background.  "This is the alternate Vejhon," Flash said, "I know there's no place on Vejhon that actually looks like this." 

6.  "Who's hunting us?" Kiles asked.  "It's Kor's Kids," Flash answered.  Ireana had never been to Vejhon, so she couldn't describe what the Kid Kids did; Kiles had familiarized himself through other sources. 

7.  Kor's youth program had intricately embedded itself into society, so 'hunting' per se, was assigned to those whose focus was over zealously suited for the task. 

8.  Kid Kids, under Constitutional Vejhon, were already deadly.  Kor's Kids had no mercy at all. 

9.  Kiles and Flash instinctively assumed a back-to-back defensive posture.  "I'm going to find out what this war tunic is all about," Kiles said quietly. 

10.  A twig snapped from somewhere in Kiles field of vision, but he couldn't pinpoint the source.  "Some of them can go invisible, like Kor," Flash warned him.

11.  In their native dimension, Kor was supposed to be dead.  Clearly not the case here.  

12.  The Kids were curious, like vultures encircling a dying animal before devouring it.  They wore grungy unwashed pants; uncombed spiky hair, scuffed up, unlaced leather boots, dirty ripped T-shirts of different dull solid colors, like brigands.  They looked like savage street kids; lean, athletic and under fed.  Their eyes had a dull red gleam and the air reeked with pheromones and death.  A victim was more likely to succumb to the stench than die from an attack.  Their eyes, though...  

13.   The Kids glided in and out of a ghoulish ground fog like vampires; their focus transfixed and hypnotic.  If one endured the smell of fear, there was still the threat of impending doom to rival any nightmare.        

14.  This was the first time that Kiles had ever felt adequately matched, not that Flash wouldn't be formidable in his own right.  He was grateful that Flash had his back.
  
15.  "They're just checking us out," Flash said to Kiles psionically, "I don't think there's a 'real' hit on us, but that won't stop them from ripping us apart."

16.  "I've never been the focus of destruction like this," Kiles confessed.  He was more accustomed to adoring crowds.  "Me neither," Flash agreed.  The adrenaline rush was a new high for Kiles.  Kid Kids don't hunt unless there's a warrant and a Guard liaison for oversight.  These Kids were a different breed:  Fifteen of them within the 13 - 17 age range; capable of unspeakable brutality.  As in, methodically-reckless, bone and sinew ripping brutality. 

17.  Kiles felt a breeze swoosh by his face that was intercepted by Flash.  It happened so quickly that his mind didn't interpret the fatal sequence until after the fact.  Whether the Kid was testing Kiles or not, Flash was not taking any chances: 

18.  Flash shot from point to point with martial arts leaps, thrusts and kicks that racked up a large body count.  The bodies kept getting back up!  Kiles had never seen another mortal do what Flash did:  He moved so quickly, that it made him dizzy just to watch him.  It looked like Flash could slow down time, and accelerate his motion through space.  Kiles landed his punches one attacker at a time; more methodically than Flash.  Deft by a Human standard, but inept compared to his son. 

19.  Kor's Kids' typical M.O. was to let their reputation do the fighting, and dispose of the bodies however they wished.  Flash and Kiles were not the usual prey -- they weren't afraid of the Kids, and the red-head was proving to be an impenetrable fortress.   

20.  Ten Kids were intent on taking Flash but they couldn't all reach him at once.  He was getting tired when an Onimex copy appeared over his head.  The Kids scattered like wolves under a spotlight.  

21.  The copy canceled Flash's transponder call.  Kiles felt his chest again.  He was grateful if the medallion had just saved his son's life.  It seemed that Flash had definitely saved his.

22.  The copy set down to a typical hover and scanned both of them.  "Incept?" Kiles ventured, not knowing what else to say.  He knew the object wasn't Oni.  "Your Mother, The Queen, authorized my creation," it answered.  "The other biological is your son," it stated flatly. 

23.  Flash looked at Kiles with gratitude since this particular social venue was not his strong suit.  "The cybernetic device in your pocket refuses to identify," the copy complained.

24.  "We have a much bigger problem," Kiles confessed, "Can I trust you?"  "Of course, Kor El," the copy confirmed. 

25.  Kiles and Flash exchanged priceless facial expressions  "Don't think," Kiles reminded himself, so he asked Flash, "Where did you learn to fight like that?"  Flash knew all of his Dad's stories by heart, so he just played along, "I've ripped my share of bodies apart," he answered.  He was a bona fide psionist -- he knew what Kiles was doing. 

26.  "You're a Kid?" Kiles asked, even more astonished.  Flash spread his arms, "What can I say?"  "I thought you guys didn't have families?" Kiles said.  "A lot of them don't," Flash answered, "In fact, you were pissed when I became one," he said. 

27.  Kiles caught what he didn't say: "I bet you're glad I became one now!" 

28.  "If I never said 'I'm proud of you,' then let me say it:  You impressed me!"  Flash nodded with a humble smile, "You ARE proud of me, Dad," he looked at Kiles with a factitious grin, "because Grandpa will go 'all-Hitler-on-you' if you're not."  "You're definitely a child of mine," Kiles confessed.  "You know... " Flash mentioned incidentally, "... all that shit he says?  The droids speak it too."   It took him a moment, "Ah, Ja: Wir kennen alle den Deutschen Schimpfwörtern."  

29.  "Yeah, that!" Flash said.  "I don't!" Xi interrupted.  "You will eventually," Kiles assured Xi.  "Incept?" the copy asked Xi.  Kiles studied the copy -- it was identical to the one in the Jolvian cave:  "If you help me," Kiles negotiated with the copy, "and I'm certain that Mom, The Queen... would want you to:  I might convince my friend here, to be your friend too."  The copy didn't reply.  

30.  Burning bright beams of aerial spotlights shot from the sky to illuminate the ground.  The lights found Flash and Kiles and blinded them.  Seconds later, both were psionically immobilized which Kiles thought it was exhilarating, "This is sooooo much better than just hearing about it."  Flash looked at his Dad like he had lost his mind, "Yeah!  If you like demonic attacks and sleep paralysis!"   Using the noise for cover, Kiles quietly ordered Xi, "Xi, I need you to learn German, really fast."   "Ja," Xi replied. 

31.  A patrol craft landed.  Several armed troops disbursed, apprehended the boys, surveilled the area and reborded the craft with their prisoners. 

32.  The copy was under orders to accompany the prisoners.  "Machen Sie, was sie haben, um sich nicht erfasst," Kiles ordered Xi.  It wasn't likely that anyone spoke German on Vejhon, and Xi was originally a Xanax copy, built by Dayton, before the Light Race blessed it on Corlos.  "They won't catch me, but I won't leave you," Xi replied.  "It wouldn't surprise me one bit if Xanax stored information here too," Kiles thought. 

33.  "Dad!" Flash exclaimed quietly, "it's a psionic shell."  "Well, they still don't speak German," Kiles thought, although Flash did have a point:  All languages have key psionic symbols in common.  Kiles was probably transparent to everyone.  "This is disturbingly similar to Mom's memories," Kiles observed.  "Do you know all of Grandma's stories?" he asked Flash.  "Only what you've told me," he answered, "Grandma doesn't talk about it much."  That sounded like Grandma.  "Well, most of my information came from... "  "Dad!" Flash interrupted with more exasperation -- he was trying not to be rude.

34.  "I know..." Kiles sighed, he was a dreadful psionic vulnerability.  "I get it," Kiles agreed, "It's not like an Elite Guard can't rape the frack out of our thoughts whenever he wants to..."   "Not MY ass!" Flash retorted, "I'll frackin' fight back!  You KNOW I will!"  "No argument," Kiles agreed.  Flash was trying to assist Kiles' 'don't think' strategy, "You're not a bad scrapper!" Flash complimented him."  Then he asked, "What did you say to Xi, anyway?"  Kiles looked at him incredulously, "Oh, now I'm being a vulnerability!"  Then he took a wild stab, "Didn't I tell you years ago?"          

35.  "Somehow, I have to figure out how this connects to the larger mission," Kiles thought.  His thoughts weren't really that interesting to his captors.  "This feels so real."  "You know the terminations that brought you to Corlos, were terminated at Corlos?" Xi reminded him.  "I keep thinking,'I like this,'" Kiles admitted, "It all feels like 'this' is supposed to be my reality -- it's my life on Earth that's not real."  "I'm not going to lose you," Flash interrupted, "that's why I'm here."  He looked compassionately into his father's eyes and said calmly, "Dad, you think too much." 

36.  "Maybe it's the Cacci Dai who are having all the issues?" Kiles thought out loud.  "What did I just say?" Kiles replied, feeling ignored.  

37.  The Soldiers did not interact with them at all.  They might as well have been B-28 machines.  "I don't even think they give a shit," Kiles observed, "to be honest."  

38.  After a brief flight, they landed on what looked like a medieval castle turret.  "They're taking us to a fracking dungeon," Kiles commented.  "No," Flash said, looking around pensively, "This was Kor's house during his regime.  It's a museum now, but he used to live here then."   And maybe still does in this timeline.  

39.  The boys were taken to a room inside the tower, unbound and ordered not to leave.  "I wouldn't expect this 'shell' to have an 'honor system,'" Kiles mocked, referring to the absence of armed guards.  "They keep calling you, 'Kor El,'" Flash commented, "You must be someone important."

40.  He examined the tapestries and artwork in the room.  He took in the barren scenery beyond the superficial landscaping.  The door opened and in walked, "Grandma!" Flash yelled and ran toward her.  "Back!" she commanded.  Flash stopped, dejected, like 'she' was being unnaturally cruel.  Kiles felt Flash's disappointment.  The Queen too, had to figure that one out. 

41.  The 'real' Onimex, within this alternate paradigm, hovered in behind her.  Kiles smiled to see him again.  Ireana caught his smile, but that wasn't the same Onimex. 

42.  Next, entered Kor El, curious to see what canceled his D'luthian vacation.  Kor El wasn't unexpectedly petulant; since this was his native dimension, not theirs.  He was at home here, not them.  

43.  Last, entered Kor, alive and well, very much in full command, seeming a touch rushed.  He was now a family shellan and had greatly toned down his campaign-era mystique.      

44.  "What a concept," Kiles kept to himself.  Flash didn't make eye contact, but his face reflected concern for his father's continued disregard of psionic constraint. 

45.  Kor, of course, ignored the private thoughts of shellans, although he found Flash's state of mind amusing. 

46.  "Where exactly did this timeline break off?" Kiles wondered.  He had heard four separate accounts.  "It would have to be on the destroyer," he concluded. 

47.  The Queen reached for her holster, and pieced together precisely when 'their' dimension splintered:  Corlos never retrieved her -- she watched Earth disappear, from aboard Kor's yacht, where she had been virtually pronounced Queen by all concerned for helping Dal Ell to escape.  She had little choice but to abandon Corlos, since Corlos had abandoned her.  In this alternate reality, her psionic prowess had greatly increased.  She made the best of her circumstance.         

48.  "I didn't know you had another son?" Kor said to Ireana, very much amused. 

49.  At this point in their relationship, they had invented their own brand of esoteric humor complete with abbreviated symbolism.  The Queen was curious to see how this played out, and so were the boys.  Onimex simply wouldn't make this kind of mistake -- and that was the only reason why she was giving them the benefit of the doubt.  

50.  Kor El had entertained the thought of a half-brother, all the way down from the spaceport.  His first impression of Kiles was positive, provided he didn't impede his father business.  Flash was somewhat of an enigma considering the circumstance.  The Queen caved in and gave Flash a hug, "Oh, all right!," she acquiesced, knowing that she could hug anyone she damn well pleased, "but the 'other' one, thinks I'm his mother because I just look like her." 

51.  Flash smiled.  "Happy?" Kiles asked him. 

52.  "I need to explore something," Kor said, and he disappeared.  Kiles clutched himself, eyes wide, as if he had been possessed, because in fact, he was now.  "Oh my Guards!" he yelled.   The sensation was absolutely unacceptable.  "Do me!" Flash yelled, as if it was just a joke, and he found himself thrust against the wall. 

53.  Kor El's face looked like someone had just stripped the icing from his birthday cake.  "Father don't!" he demanded with respectful restraint.  "What in Azoth?" he quizzed his mother psionically.  Kor could pass through walls but had never invaded anyone; not that anyone knew about.  This circumstance, however, called for an extraordinary response.  

54.  Eventually, Kor vacated his host and emerged as his normal self.  "The planet that disappeared," he said to Ireana, taking her down memory lane; "the one you traded yourself for..." he directed that message to her mind only.  "Sol III?" she remembered, "  "Earth," as the original caveat had unraveled.  "That shell never came back," they both knew.  "That's not how it went in their timeline," he said.  

55.  She had suspected that much on her own, and appreciated her husband's resourcefulness.  The details would be forthcoming.  Kiles too, wanted to know more precisely, where the script deviated.  

56.  Kor walked straight to Kiles, tugged open his tunic and reached inside to retrieve Xi.  "Don't!" Kiles admonished, "It will self destruct."  "He's right," The Queen concurred.  Two against one. 

57.  He toyed with Xi for moment and deferred to his wife's advise since it was a cybernetic matter, and The Queen had final say on all things cybernetic.  He left Xi as it was. 

58.  Kor's concern was primarily for internal security, but The Queen had already figured out that Xi was instrumental for repairing this diluvian abnormality.

59.  "Xanax?" she asked Kiles quietly.  Kiles nodded.  She had known Xanax before the timeline strayed, along with its creator, Dayton... who was Kiles' father.  

60.  "Which leads us to you," Kor turned his attention to Flash, who was somewhat overwhelmed.  He had read everything about Kor in school, and in Flash's timeline, Kor had been gridboarded.  Flash also knew the future from Kiles' point of view.         

61.  Flash lipped the word, "What?" to Kiles.  He didn't see a reason for so much focus upon himself.  He did have a touch of Grandma's bone structure. 

62.  Kor examined Kor El.  Then returned his attention to Flash.  "Those two," Kor referred to Flash and Kor El, "are one quarter Human."  That did not upset anyone except for Kor El.  He knew that his Mom was the Elite genius who helped Uncle Dal escape the Theites, hense, the Secret Sorceress.  He was otherwise proud to call The Queen his mother on all counts.  

63.  Kor El squinted and looked away in thought -- he didn't want to make his father feel accused before he had all the facts.  El Sha was still aboard a Cardship somewhere, and it was dangerous to hold a Constitutionalist in high regard.  Kor El knew very little about Grandma El Sha.

64.  "You and I," Kor said to Kiles, "both have Human fathers."  Kor had been unwilling to probe El Sha because he respected her.  He had no idea that his father was the Director of Corlos at the time, a Human.  "That means," Kiles injected rather quickly, "that 'I' have your genetic potential... to do great good, or great evil." 

65.  Kor pinned Kiles to the ceiling, as B'jhon had done earlier that day.  It was the psionic equivalent of, "Don't trifle with me, boy!"  Kor did not appreciate how his demise went down in Kiles memory, or the evidence vested in Flash; both of whom represented trans-dimensional insurgents.  "'What' is a trans-dimensional insurgency?" Kor asked himself sarcastically.  "An Elite warrior does not acknowledge obstacles -- he overcomes them," Kor An D'Seas says, during day one at the academy.     

66.  Flash and Kiles were not from the same time and place even in their native dimension, and Kor read that much.  He didn't appreciate hearing El Sha's constant reminder of his potential for, 'great good, or great evil.'  That level of informality was simply unheard of on such short notice.  He lived for the day when she would witness his rise to absolute power, and defeat his brother permanently:  Ruined by the Cardship evacuation.  And now, it turns out that, "El Sha, my mother of all people, was... is ... a Psionic Guard?"  That revelation hit him harder than anything, although it did explain a few things.  "And Bri probably knew," since he and her were always plotting against him.  She was still roaming somewhere 'out there' on a Cardship.  He knew that she loved him and he would never deny that.  "What else will we discover today?"
   
67.  Kor had written the book on slipping in and out of dimensions, and would not tolerate a lecture on the subject by anyone else.    

68.  The only other half-Human who could make such a claim, was Kor's arch-enemy, somewhere aboard a Cardship, Azoth knows where.  Bri was never heard from again, presumably dead.  There were no other half-Human shellans anywhere to be found.  He unraveled this genetic mystery only because he could contrast Flash against Kor El.  If there had been a mystery, it was a mystery no more.  He and Bri were half-Human, and now -- here stood The Key to all of this.  
  
69.  Biology can be fooled by a single outside genetic source.  It can appear completely innocuous until a second external genetic source provides contrast.  Then both foreign genetic sources are exposed.  "It takes one to know one," Mantra told him once, describing the anomaly of he and his brother.      

70.  He lowered Kiles from the ceiling and levitated him comfortably, as he had done with Mantra during his rite of ascension, and to Bri on more than one occasion.  

71.  Ireana couldn't predict where Kor's thoughts were going.  She gently touched his arm and psionically said, "perspective."  It was symbolized by a horizon within a horizon, like the inclinometer on an aircraft instrument panel, except without edges.      

72.  Kor had grown genuinely fond of his Queen, who in his opinion, lived far above and beyond her legendary Secret Sorceress lore.  He loved her, and really, that's all that mattered.  She was loyal and devoted.  She had given him a son.  What more could any shellan want?.   

73.  He set Kiles back on the stone floor, safe and sound.   "You punched me in the face, you fracking vegetable?" Kor accused him.  In Kor's timeline, that never happened.  He was being anecdotal.  Kiles caught the humorous undertone as Dayton was prone to dry sardonic wit on occasion.

74.  "I should have destroyed it," Kor said to His Queen's mind only.  Ireana frowned.  Kiles grinned because her antic was exactly like his Mom, and for all intents and purposes -- that was her.  "Not my Onimex?" she cooed with a pout.  She knew he wouldn't.  That little bastard had vexed Kor for his entire life, until he married its creator.   

75.  The Queen indulged the 'other' Ireana that Kiles saw in her, since they were the same person, after all.  She saw in his memory, that he was her pride and joy.  "I see I did right by you," she offered, while reading the rest.  Kiles smiled warmly -- he was grateful for her effort to understand his emotional dilemma.  "I trust you too," the Queen said, noting how Onimex was her accomplice in every timeline. 

76.  Kor El sandwiched himself in between Kiles and Flash.  "I like them, Father," he said, "they're mine."  It was unlike Kor El to be an attention whore, in fact, he had never invoked the ad hoc relationship bond, ever!  Vejhon was not the right place to invoke those words insincerely.  

77.  Kiles and Flash understood what the expression meant in Vejhonian culture.  Kor rolled his eyes and held his breath.  "Flash is Kor Youth," Kor El mentioned to to enhanse his invocation, "He held 10 of them off by himself!  You should have saw him fight!"  Kor El knelt to one knee, "I beg for both, Father:  They're mine."  

78.  Flash was a Kid Kid, but understood Kor El's innocent transliteration since Kid Kids became Kor Youth after the Constitutionalists evacuated.   Of course he was flattered, but the awkward polar dynamics caught everyone by surprise.  Not just time, space and dimension, but diametrically opposed psionic polarities were in question.  Kor El's only thought was, "My Dad is Kor, Emperor of the Universe:  He can do anything."  Ad finis. 

79.  Kiles looked at Flash, "Does the Elite..."  '... do the ad hoc family bond thing?' he was going to ask. 

80.  "Shouldn't you be asking Me?" Kor re-directed Kiles.

81. "OK," Kiles turned to Kor, "Do you?"  Notwithstanding the other considerations, like, 'what if we disappear the same way we got here?'  'Flash and I are not from the same time...'  'Did you note what happened to me before I got here?' et al...    

82.  "If I wish it!" Kor answered.  So Mote It Be.  Let it be written.  Let it be done.  It was only due to Kor's good humor that they had survived to that point as it was.  What harm could come from sanctioning a family bond?  "If you disappear, then you disappear," Kor added.  What they heard was, "I will grant my son his  request."    

83.  "You realize they can't stay?" The Queen sympathized with Kor El.  The dilemma was that Kor El never asked his father for anything.  He complied with every command his father gave, without question.  Far be it from Kor to stray from the glorious image that his son had of him.       

84.  "Of course, Kor El, they're yours," Kor pronounced, "Your heart is pure and I will deny you nothing."  And so it was, that Kor El inherited Flash and Kiles as his own family.   "Kor El," Ireana said sweetly, "You realize that they could return to their natural order?  Do you want to attach your heart to something that you might lose?"

85.  Kor El looked at Kiles and Flash.  "Even if they do disappear -- I don't think I'm ever going to lose them." 

86.  His comment seemed prophetic.  "You know the red-head is my son," Kiles injected, "Your Mom is his Grandma..."