Aveline's heavy boots clanged noisily throughout the underground tunnels as he plodded his way towards his family's home. The air was saturated with the persistent drone of an electricity distributor from Excalibur. He took that path to arrive quicker since the better tunnels were usually busy with the citizens of Upper Camelot.

Reaching the door of a modest wall amongst different houses, Aveline pressed the call button and waited patiently. Linda, his wife, answered from the other end, her formerly robust form now reduced to a frailly weakened state due to the Withering. Aveline's heart sank as he assisted her over to an old plastic bench inside the house.

"Where is your assistant?" he inquired cautiously, his voice trembling with worry.

"Lower Camelot is in some kind of trouble," she spoke timidly, her words barely more than a whisper. "Helena had to go there with her parents."

Aveline nodded in solemn agreement, his mind burdened with the knowledge of all the continuous tribulations besieging those who inhabited the far depths of their city.

"How have you been feeling?" he questioned soothingly, tenderly placing a hand on her shoulder for reassurance.

"I've been taking my L-Blockers religiously but it appears they're not doing anything anymore," she stammered back fearfully, raising her head to meet Aveline's gaze with frightful eyes. "I'm terrified, Aveline."

"Calm down now," Aveline comforted her resolutely despite his own inner unease. He then enquired about their boys' health condition, hoping to take away attention from their current predicament.

Linda proceeded to inform him of their children's symptoms, mentioning the vertigo and headaches that were persisting even after using stronger doses of Withering Retardant medication.

"Ubeck started walking again," she noted with a capacity of sorrow still evident in her eyes. "But Rodrick is still in his bed. The doctor visited them a few hours ago. Do you want to see them?"

"Yes, please."

The children shared the same room, walls plastered with brightly-colored posters of movies that had been recently released at the Holotheatre. Their mother and father refrained from taking them to the movies when the symptoms became too severe. Even though they had virtual reality, their health didn't allow them to watch more than fifteen minutes of a movie.

Ubeck was sixteen years old, tucked into his blue pajamas, dozing in one of the two twin beds. Suddenly he heard a commotion from beyond the doorway, then his mother's voice calling out for Aveline to come quickly. Unable to hold down his curiosity, Ubeck rose from his bed, rubbing his eyes as he shuffled towards the door. He watched as Aveline rushed in, her long brown hair and blue cloak flowing around her lithe frame. Rodrick stirred on the other bed, rolling over to murmur incoherently in his sleep.

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"Mom, what is happening?" Ubeck asked hesitantly.

"Aveline is here," she said softly before gathering him close and guiding him back to his warm nest of blankets. She then took a seat on one of the metal chairs placed in front of them both.

"Linda," Aveline said "Don't rush. Sit there and rest"

He knelt beside Ubeck and reached over to feel his forehead, gently tucking some loose strands of hair behind his ear. "Be careful," he admonished kindly. "Both of you need to rest."

Ubeck rolled onto his side and hung his head despairingly. "I'm tired of resting," he mumbled despondently. "I want to play with my friends".

Aveline glanced up at Linda, who seemed barely able to keep herself upright in her chair as tears glistened in her eyes. She then looked back at Ubeck sadly, understanding what he was feeling but unable to give him what he desired most - freedom from this debilitating disease that had taken over their lives.

"Don't you talk to them with the holographic communicator?" Aveline suggested softly.

Again, Ubeck shook his head solemnly without lifting it from the pillow beneath him. "It's not the same," he uttered mournfully. "They went to see the race. Sol Tristan was going to race against Electrostrike."

"I know," Aveline replied quietly yet firmly, hiding any hint of self-pity or regret within his tone. "And he should be in Lower Camelot helping people, not racing."

Though he knew his fellow knights could handle whatever problem besieged their city for now, he wished that Tristan were more inclined to help people, instead of driving his Steelfire with the rest of the drivers.

Aveline pursed his lips thoughtfully before pointing out: "You can see the race here, right? You don't have to miss it. The monitor…"

But Ubeck shook his head again resolutely, steeling himself against hope as if it would bring only further disappointment.

"It's not the same," he repeated hollowly.

Aveline's face reflected a deep sadness. Linda's quivering lips said three simple words that reverberated with an agony no one else could understand or share.

"Thanks for everything"

"No need to thank me," said Aveline "I came here to see all of you… before I leave. We need to investigate something."

"Is anything related to Wulfram?"

Aveline saw in her eyes a couple of tears ready to fall.

"No, Linda. Don't worry. Let's… let's leave them alone"

As he carried her to the living room, Aveline's head turned to see Ubeck and Rodrick. His head was filled with so many thoughts.

"Here, sit," the table, made mostly of metal, had a couple of e-readers with chemical annotations. "Refreshing your knowledge?"

"It keeps me entertained," Linda said as she sat nearby. "My head hurts, but I prefer to be awake in case the kids need anything."

Her smile carried a scent of sorrow that struck Aveline's heart.

"I need to go. Ask for help when you need it. What about Sarah?"

"She had another abortion," Linda said with tears hanging from his eyes "She is twenty, and now is her fourth miscarriage."

Aveline kissed Linda's forehead affectionately.

"I will come back soon."