Christmas Break. Two words that every kid loves, but this year the excitement that was normally there for Ethan was nonexistent as he rode the train back to Fresno. Aside from the fact that it felt weird to be leaving Misty Oaks for the first time in months he was depressed. On top of everything else that was rotten in his life right now his final grades for the semester came in and they weren’t great.

Algebra I - C

Biology - B

Computer Science - C

Drawing & Painting - D

English I - B

Health I - C

Physical Education - A

US History Before 1861 - A

If not for P.E. and History he’d have been in real trouble but as it was his mom was going to throw a fit. Three C’s and a D was not going to sit well with her no matter how much he mentioned that the Drawing teacher hated him.

Part of him, though, was glad to be going home. He’d felt humiliated ever since he’d lost the fight to Stewart. He was almost grateful for the suspension he received because showing his face in front of Jenny or any of the rest of the students was not something he looked forward to.

Quin was right. He was weak. What possessed him to think he could possibly take Stewart on one-on-one in a fight. That was stupid, but then he was stupid. After all he had the grades to prove it.

The dungeon and the Black were also a lost cause. They were never going to get past those spiders. Alex was completely terrified of them and Ethan couldn’t do anything against them. Hell, he’d injured himself just running away from them.

Hopefully the dungeon wouldn’t freak out with all of them gone for a month. He was unsure of how it would react to their absence, but the last time he was gone from it for a while it sent a large winged dog after him. He could just imagine how that would play out if that thing tried to maul him in the middle of Fresno. It wouldn’t be good. He was hoping the fact that they religiously visited the dungeon in the weeks leading up to the break would help stave off its constant need for them to attempt to find its heart, whatever that actually meant.

He did little to nothing on the train ride back to Fresno, but the hours still went by far too quickly for Ethan’s liking. It what seemed like no time at all it pulled into Fresno Station and he was grabbing his backpack and making his way off the train onto the platform.

There wasn’t anything impressive about Fresno Station. It was small, functional, and sat across the street from City Hall in downtown Fresno. Upon Exiting the platform and entering the actual train station it only took Ethan a second to locate his mom. She was sitting on one of the wooden benches in the center of the waiting area watching the doors. Her face lit up and she stood up upon seeing Ethan enter the room.

Ashley Russell had the same blue eyes and brown hair that Ethan did though her hair was considerably longer than his. He actually wasn’t sure what, if any, physical traits he’d inherited from his father, but then he hardly remembered the man, not that he was worth remembering.

“Ethan, it’s so good to see you,” she said meeting him halfway and wrapping him in a tight hug. “Wow, I think you’ve grown a couple inches since the summer. You’re nearly as tall as me now.”

“It’s good to see you too mom,” Ethan said hugging her back and bracing himself for the inevitable lecture.

“Is that all you brought with you?” she asked eyeing his backpack, “and that’s a nice sweater, is that new?”

“I didn’t have a lot to bring, so I didn’t pack a whole suitcase,” Ethan said shrugging, “and yeah my roommate got it for me.”

“Well isn’t he nice,” Ashley said beaming. “Come, you’ll have to tell me all about him and your school life on the car ride home.”

The 1996 green Toyota Camry that his mother drove was parked only a short way from the station. Truth be told it was an ugly car, but it reminded Ethan of home more than anything else so far. It was the only car his mother had ever owned, at least during his lifetime and climbing in the front seat of it brought on a whole wave of nostalgic memories.

“So tell me about this roommate and all the friends you’ve made,” his mother said pulling the car out of the parking spot and making for the road.

“My roommate's name is Alex,” Ethan said shrugging and proceeded to tell her all about the friends he’d met at school.

The conversation continued in a pattern of her probing for information and him reluctantly giving up the goods the whole way home. He told her about the school, playing on the soccer team, his friends, and the small town of Misty Oaks.

She seemed particularly interested in the girls he’d made friends with. Bella was one of the first people he’d mentioned to his mother, after Alex, as she was his best friend and a financial scholarship student like him, but he’d been reluctant to bring up Quin. Sure he was starting to respect her more, but he still didn’t exactly consider her a friend, at least not completely.

“So this Quin is helping you out with soccer?” Ashley Russell asked.

“Sort of,” Ethan answered. “She points out how weak I am, and runs with me.”

“I see,” she answered with a look on her face that he couldn’t figure out. “And you study and eat meals with this Isabella?”

“Yeah, she’s really smart and always wants to help others,” Ethan answered honestly. “I doubt I’d get through math without her.”

“Be honest with me Ethan,” she said turning to him at the stoplight. “Are you dating one of them?”

“What,” Ethan asked alarmed. “No, they’re just friends.”

“Uh huh,” his mom said in a way that made him feel like she didn’t completely believe him. “Speaking of math, your grades came.”

Oh great, here we go, he thought, trying to keep his face neutral.

“They weren’t exactly great,” she said. “I know it’s completely a different experience, and moving away from home isn’t easy, but you need to be getting better grades than this. Your Drawing one was especially bad.”

“That lady hates me,” Ethan said defensively. “I missed her class the first day because I got completely lost and she’s never forgiven me.”

“That might be the case,” Ashley said gently, “but then how about Math, Computer Science, and Health? I would think that Computer Science and Health shouldn’t be that hard.”

“Look I’ll try harder,” Ethan said starting to feel and sound annoyed. “They’re not as bad, its just so much work and so much going on.”

Pulling into the driveway she put the car in park and paused for a moment before asking softly, “Are you happy?”

“What?” Ethan asked not prepared for this question. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” she asked again. “Because I also got a call about a fight you started and a suspension you got. I want you to know that you’re not obligated to go to that school. I mean I think it’s a great opportunity for you, but if you’re not happy there, you always have a home here.”

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“Thanks mom” he said after a pause. “That means a lot, but honestly I like it there. I thought I would hate it, being surrounded by a bunch of rich kids all the time, but some of them aren’t as bad as I thought.”

“Okay, well that’s good to hear,” she said smiling, “just promise me, you’ll work on controlling that temper and improving those grades next semester.”

“I will, I promise,” Ethan said feeling pleased at the direction this talk had taken.

Well he was please until his mom added, “You inherited that temper from your father, he had one just like it, so that’s not entirely your fault. Still please try not to start any more fights.”

After that the two of them climbed out of the car and made their way into the house where Ethan expresion settled into a scowl. What did she mean he’d inherited his temper from his father? He didn’t want to get anything from that worthless man. Ironically this just made him mad and sent him into a further bout of sulking.

“Well if it isn’t the rich private school kid returned to the poor neighborhood of his birth,” a smaller, more adorable, version of his mother said from the living room upon seeing him enter the house.

“It’s good to see you too Jane,” Ethan said smiling at his feisty sister.

“What you think you can leave for months and you’ll just be welcomed back like nothing’s happened?” she asked with a small smirk on her face.

“Pretty much,” he replied shrugging.

“Okay then,” she said before her face split into a full grin and she ran over and embraced him. “I’ve missed you Ethan.”

“I’ve missed your sassy attitude too,” he said returning the hug.

“Just my attitude?” she asked.

“Yep, just that,” he answered with a small laugh. “It’s the only part that’s worthwhile.”

“I changed my mind,” Jane said punching him in the shoulder, “you can go back to your rich kids school now.”

“Ouch, hey be nice,” Ethan said rubbing his shoulder and still laughing. “I was joking. It’s good to see you. How is your new school treating you?”

Jane, unlike Ethan was still going to public school in Fresno, but she had just started middle school and if Ethan learned anything about middle school during his time there it was that kids can be cruel.

“It’s fine,” Jane said smiling. “I’m not taking crap from anyone just like you instructed me. This one boy thought he could stick a note on my back and I would just take it because I’m a girl. Boy was he surprised when I punched him. You should have seen the shock on his face after I pulled my fist away.”

Ethan laughed relieved to hear that Jane was doing well for herself with him around to look out for her.

“There you go,” Ethan said, “just try not to get in trouble with the teachers.”

Shrugging she said, “they gave me detention for it, but if you ask me, it was worth it just to teach him a lesson. Like you always say, we’ve been dealt a tough hand, but it’s not going to get any better if we whine about it. Gotta tough it out and fight for everything, only then will things get better.”

Shocked, he stood frozen staring at his sister. It was true this was something he often said to her when they were younger when she complained about the food that night or not being able to get a toy she wanted. He was genuinely surprised that she’d taken that advice to heart and even more surprised to realize that that old advice that he’d given fit his current situation perfectly.

Things weren’t going great for him at the moment, he’d been dealt a tough hand as he said to his sister, but it was never going to get better if he sat moping around and whining to himself about how tough he had it. The dungeon, The Black, his grades, and school weren’t going to go away simply because things weren’t going well for him. No, if he wanted things to get better he would have to make that happen himself.

“You’re absolutely right, thanks Jane,” Ethan said smiling at her.

He wasn’t going to settle for weak. No he was going to get stronger and show Quin that she was wrong about that. He was going to get so strong that the dungeon wouldn’t stand a chance and if Stewart ever fought him again he would win.

“For what?” Jane asked looking at him curiously.

“For being you, of course,” he said before launching into a tickle attack that sent her into giggling hysterics.

From that day forward and for the rest of his Christmas vacation, Ethan stopped feeling sorry for himself and focused on what he could do. He kept up with his running, even without Quin being there. In fact, he pushed himself to run farther and faster every time he went out.

He started doing various exercises around the house and in the neighborhood with the intention of building up his strength. He didn’t have access to a gym but that wasn’t going to stop him from at least doing what he could. He’d do push-ups, situps, pull ups on the playground equipment, and whatever else he could think of to start trying to build up his severely lacking upper body strength.

In the lead up to Christmas his mom noticed his new training routine but said nothing. In fact, if anything she seemed pleased that he was focused and determined about something. Maybe, because of this, or maybe because she’d said her piece, there were no more lectures for the rest of the break over his grades or the fight.

Unfortunately there was one more lecture that popped up on Christmas Eve when she noticed his dungeon tattoo for the first time. Ethan hadn’t even thought about it being a problem, in fact he hadn’t thought about it at all since break started, but it was still there on his wrist and as red as the day he got it.

“Ethan, what is that?” she asked pointing at his wrist as he relaxed on the couch with his palms behind his head and the inside of his right wrist very visibly sticking out from behind his head.

“What’s what?” he asked confused before pulling his wrist down and examining it.

Oh crap, she’s probably not happy about that, he thought remembering the dungeon mark.

“That’s tattoo,” she snapped seizing his wrist and examining it.

“Oh yeah, it’s a tattoo I got a while ago,” Ethan said knowing that if he told her the truth about it, she’d never believe him and he’d get in even more trouble.

“How long is a while ago?” she demanded. “I can’t believe you would do this to yourself and for that matter what tattoo parlour would tattoo a kid without parental permission?”

“Uh, well back near the beginning of the school year I got it done with some friends,” Ethan replied. “And I dunno, this guy didn’t have a parlour, just some equipment.”

“You got a tattoo from some random guy on the street?” she asked now practically yelling at him.

“Yes calm down,” Ethan said hoping to pacify her. “It was fine, everything was clean. As I said I got it back at the beginning of the school year and I haven’t had a problem since.”

“It is not fine,” she snapped. “You’re just a kid, you shouldn’t have a tattoo and what would you have done had you gotten an infection?”

“I guess I’d have gotten sick and died,” Ethan replied rolling his eyes dramatically now thoroughly annoyed himself.

“Ethan Russell, don’t you take that tone with me,” she said, “and if I ever see another tattoo on you, you’ll be grounded for the rest of your life. Do I make myself clear, this had better be the last one.”

God, I hope it’s the last one, Ethan thought mentally shuddering at the painful memory of receiving it from the dungeon.

“I won’t get another,” Ethan said and then in a more reasonable tone added, “I promise. I didn’t think it was a big deal, I’m sorry.”

“Yes, well, thank you,” his mother said stiffly. “You kids just don’t think before you do things sometimes. I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”

For the rest of that day, she was a bit cold towards him, but by Christmas morning the next day her usual warmth returned.

Christmas was all three of the Russells’ favorite holiday. Ashley Russell was probably responsible for passing on her infectious cheerfulness and enthusiasm about the holiday to her two children. As was tradition in the Russell household it was Ashley Russell waking up her two children at six in the morning to go inspect the Christmas tree and not the other way around.

Apparently Ethan’s stay at Hinan Academy was benefiting the family financially because it was his best haul ever for Christmas ever. First of all his mom really was paying attention to his new workout routine because he received some resistance training equipment and some weights for use in his dorm room. They weren’t the nicest or the highest end stuff but they were totally usable and he was touched that she noticed his goals.

In addition he also received another school sweatshirt, this one with the red salamander emblazoned over black representing his dorm, Salamander House. Last but certainly not least he got some toiletries. They weren’t exciting but he totally needed them.

Meanwhile Jane got a bunch of new clothes which she seemed genuinely excited about. Ethan would admit if you asked him that he could never get that excited about clothes, but if she was happy he supposed his mom did a good job.

Looking over at his mom he felt bad. Neither him, nor Jane, got her anything for Christmas again this year. She’d obviously understand that neither of her kids had any money of their own, but it meant she would spend Christmas without being able to unwrap a single present herself.

Once again Ethan silently cursed the worthless man formerly known as their father. If he hadn’t walked out on them then he’d at least have been there to get her something. Still, what’s done was done and she looked happy enough watching her two kids delight in the gifts they received.

The rest of Christmas break passed by without incident. Ethan actually expected the dungeon to throw something at him, but it never did even though on every run he went for he constantly kept one eye watching over his shoulder. Somehow he guessed that the dungeon must have known he would be unable to return to it until the break ended and he came back to school. Either that or it simply trusted he would come back now that he’d show how determined he was to solve the mystery of it.

He was determined. The Black was still out there and could still hurt people. For that matter the dungeon could still hurt people. Ethan knew that better than ever now that Aki explained how the dungeon fed off of life energy. They needed to reach its heart and hopefully put a stop to the whole thing assuming that was even a possibility.

Resolved to overcome anything it through at him, to defeat the Black, and to maybe improve his grades he boarded the train back to Misty Oaks in mid January. Gotta tough it out and fight for everything, Ethan thought as the train pulled out of the station.