Being a relatively young man of only 8 summers, the Nexus had played a cruel trick on his entire family. Lifted from their happy home in the middle of nowhere, midwest, USA and scattering them to the four winds. He had landed in Rhydin scared, alone and with nothing more than the clothes on his back and a pocket knife in his pocket.

He found his way to the MarketPlace and had begun sneaking merchandise. He was only caught once or twice, but the shop keepers seemed to take pity on the poor boy with the haunting almond shaped eyes and short blond hair. He was dreadfully skinny from the many days of going to bed hungry.

Young and waifish before the Nexus' placement of him, circumstances only made it worse. His Irish heritage had been evident in his aquiline features before, but now they were prominent.

Making his way by panhandling in the Marketplace, he had learned to pickpocket with the best of them. Anything to survive, that had quickly become his creedo. And that's what he did.

One day, he watches as a finely dressed man walks through the Marketplace. Soon there were many of them. They were tall and elegantly dressed. His eyes grew wide as they each passed by. They were laughing and talking amongst themselves, lazily enjoying what life had given them.

It was then that the plan started to form in his head. He went to the different shop keepers in the Market first. He wanted to know all about the men in their finery. He wanted to be just like them.

After gathering enough information, he found that they were part of a fraternity, Pi Omega Pi. He didn't know what it meant. But to him, it meant rich. It meant comfort. It meant warmth and a full belly every night. And he wanted that more than anything else in this realm. The vendors had delivered there many times and were more than happy to feed him the information he needed to find the compound. It was as he imaged and far more. It was like a fortress with a castle in the middle. He wondered if there were a moat and dragons too.

Attempting to just walk up on the first day, he was met with a security guard who had sympathetically offered him his lunch and sent him on his way. While the fried chicken and biscuit were heaven to his palette and tummy, it wasn't what he had come there for. So he starts searching.

He carefully made his way around the perimeter of the compound. It's walls were high and spiked at the top. So there would be no climbing over, so he'd have to dig. He didn't mind really. He just wanted in.

Coming across the little area that had already been dug out was a strike of luck for him. He couldn't believe it! He looks to his right, then left, then right again. Tip toeing as quiet as he can, he almost makes it over to the little dugout when his foot snags on a small limb and it cracks with a loud KA-POW! in the still night air. He freezes in his tracks and listens.

He swerves around to see the blades and his eyes grow wide. "Ah, no!" he cries. Looking up with huge eyes and takes a step back. He gets zapped with the electric fence and falls to his knees.

Eddie's blades stay out, and she takes a step towards him. "You're not supposed to be here - why you sneaking around?" she stopped her advance once the fence got him, but she didn't sheath the blades - not yet.

Meanwhile, up at the guard shack...


Matt had seen the glint of the blades from the guardshack and nudges Nate. "Dude what's that?"

"Huh?" He had been looking down at a book, gasp.. Nate reads. "What, was what?"

Matt looks at him, a bit annoyed. "Saw a flash of light. You want to go check it out?"

Nate closes his book and nods. "Yeah."

"Come on then." Matt grabs up his flashlight and steps from the guardshack. "If it's another skunk...."

Nate laughs, "You stunk for a week man." then follows him out.

"Well it's your turn this time. Boy, thought tomato juice was only for drinking." Matt laughs as they head out.

Back to Eddie and George:

The fence had given him quite a jolt and he had fallen to his knees. Once he was able to get his breathing back under control he looks up at her. "Ow."

Eddie stands firm and demands an answer. "Who are you - and why're you sneaking around here?" Her blades still catching the light, waiting for the security guys.

George stubbornly shakes his head and stands up slowly. Better to not say anything, else he'll be in deeper trouble.

Matt depresses the switch on the flashlight and the light shines brightly on the ground and bushes ahead of them. "Hey, who's in there?"

Eddie turns her head over her shoulder as she hears voices - one she knows. "Matt?"

"That'd be me.. Eddie?" Matt grins when the light shines on her and he recognizes the face. "what's up?"

When Eddie takes her attention from him, George quickly bolts away. He didn't get very far. The Scathachian was quick as her namesake. Gathered up by his shirt collar, he fights to get away. "No no no, lemme go!"

Matt flips a switch on the exterior wall and the floodlights come on, illuminating the entire area. And Eddie kept trying to get at least a small modicum of information from the boy. "Who are you and why are you sneaknig around here?"

George is too preoccupied, fighting to get free. He has taken to smacking at Eddie's arm and even tried to bite her hand. When none of that worked, he tries the spineless jellyfish move and sinks to the ground as if he has no spine.

"A kid." Nathan nods and looks over at them.

Eddie looks up - way up - at Nate. "Looks like it- but here you never know."

"That is true." Nathan looks down at the kid, or so what may be a kid. "Got a name?" As Eddie finally sheathes her blades.

After a few long moments of Eddie and Nathan assuring him they weren't going to hurt him, George finally relents and gives his name. The only way he agreed to it is if they fed him. With a nervous smile he juts out his hand to Eddie. "George." After shaking hands with the two, a very large, scary man walks into the clearing.

Matt had wandered off for a few moments to relieve his bladder against a tree. It was only a kid, and Nate had things under control. He returns to them all shaking hands? "So what's going on?" he eyes them carefully.

George's almond eyes go round and he runs and hides behind Eddie's leg. "He's going to eat me!" And he looks way up at the monster that is Matt.

"The hell?" he looks down and reaching down with one hand, he grabs the boy up by the back of his shirt and puts him on his shoulder. "Come on, I uess Nate's made the arrangements by now."

George screams and kicks as he's picked up and put over the shoulder of the mountain. He pommels Matt's back. "Let me down!"

Eddie grins as George gets to ride the Matt express. "It's OK - it'll be faster"

Matt grunts at the pommelling. "Knock it off or I'll stew your toes for my breakfast." he grins down at Eddie.

There's an audible gasp from George and he curls his legs up, trying to protect his feet. "Nooooooooo!" This boy is terrified and he does what most terrified little boys do. His bladder releases it's contents, all over Matt's shoulder.

Matt feels the warmth then smells it. "son of a bitch!" and he drops the boy like a bag of potatoes. Luckily Eddie had been there to catch him and he curls his arms around her neck and clings to her.

"Oh man! Why do I always get the stinky jobs?" Matt rips his shirt off and tosses it over the fence. It'll be burned by morning.

"You're lucky?" Eddie ventures a guess to Matt's question with a shy grin. George weighs almost nothing so she continues to carry him.

Nathan comes walking up. "Food will be ready... in.. " He looks at them. "What's going on?" As he walks with them.

"He pissed on me man!" Matt is so grossed out. His body shudders at the thought of it.

"Dude you have to watch the language with a kid around." Nate's eyes shifted to George.

"Gah!" Matt runs ahead, not able to wait to get that smell off of him. It's time for a shower.

Eddie tries not to laugh at Matt, so she concentrates on the boy in her arms. "How old are you?"

"Eight." he whispers softly.

"And why were you sneaking around here?"

"It's a secret." he nods up at her, brown eyes shining.

"It was dangerous to try." she gently scolds him.

"I'm hungry." He nods, as if that's the answer to everything.

"Going to need new clothes too." Nathan nods and keeps walking.

Eddie agrees. "You think you'll have something his size?"

He lets the adults speak, laying his head on Eddie's shoulder. He couldn't believe they were taking him into the fortress walls and into the castle! Maybe he'll meet a princess and see a dragon!

As they enter the house, he's wide eyed with wonder. "Is this a real castle? Do princesses live here? Is there a moat and dragons?"

"It's just a really huge, big house." Eddie smiles and deposits him in a chair in the kitchen where Cookie had laid out the meal for him.

George takes no time in starting to inhale the food. He's never seen so much on one plate before, except at Thanksgiving when he and his family were together. He barely even took time to chew. Eddie glanced at him worriedly, afraid he was going to choke.

Seeing that the boy was being well cared for, Eddie bids farewell and leaves. George, actually licking his plate clean holds it up to Nathan. "More, please?"