Kyrain woke to the feel of fingers through his hair. He raised his head and looked around. The room and the hallway had been dimmed for the night.

He looked at Nyx and saw she was still out, then he looked to his right where his mother was standing. She reached out with a dimly lit tendril snaked over to the other chair and quietly moved it next to him where she sat next to him and took his hand.

"She's tough. She will pull through. Her channels and core have been restored, but there is something missing that I couldn't figure out." She said.

"It's a skill for me that we were working on. It was a two for one with apparent ramifications that we couldn't see coming. I thought I had it, then I pulled too hard, her skill came away and she collapsed." Kyrain explained.

"You pulled her skill away? Well that explains it." Brittanie said eyebrows going up.

"Yeah, it says I can give it back with a touch, but didn't want to rush that in case something else needs to happen. I dont want to hurt her again." He said looking down at his boots.

"Probably a good call. She should be awake soon and you can get everything fixed, but she is not allowed to use her skills until she fully heals. I was able to fix the major damage, but there is a lot of strain on the channels and core. If she puts any more stress on her system, she could incurr lasting damage." Brittanie said looking at the sleeping woman.

They sat there in silence for ten minutes then Brittanie got to her feet.

"I'm going to head home Ky. Text me when she wakes up so we can fix everything and check your phone. It's been buzzing for a while." Brittanie continued kissing him on the top of his head then walked out.

Kyrain didn't feel like dealing with things on the outside quite yet, so he just sat there and watched the steady rise and fall of her breathing.

He never got over just how beautiful she was, but he never wanted to voice it and risk destroying their working relationship. He was also afraid of the rejection. He let those thoughts go and dozed off a bit.

After about an hour of waiting he knew he shouldn't put off the world for much longer. He shook himself fully awake then got up and looked at his phone. He had four missed calls and two texts.

The first text was from Eclipse

"We recieved a notification that Nyx is in the hospital. You will need to call me and give me the details."

Kyrain opened the next message which naturally was from Phoenix.

"Eon is down. I want to know why. As soon as you can, text me the details. Don't call me, I hate calls."

Kyrain opened up a blank message and began typing. He detailed what they were working on prior to the accident as well as the damage. He told her that he was waiting for her to wake up and would return the skill. He detailed how his mother had said she needs to heal and there isn't a time period for recovery.

He sent the message and it was all of five seconds when the response came back.

"K." Phoenix sent back

"Good talk...." Kyrain muttered walking out into the hall and closing the door so he could call Eclipse.

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He dialed her and after a couple rings she picked up.

"Talk to me Tonto." She said.

"She is still asleep. We were working on a skill for me when we had an accident. I was feeling under powered in the last fight and I needed something. I succeeded for what it's worth, but at this cost." Kyrain said.

"What exactly happened to her you think?" Eclipse asked.

"I was working to use antimatter to hijack her skill and use it as if it were my own. What ended up happening is I get that skill, but i also got a skill called "skill reaver." I rip a skill away from people, but can return it. If I don't and it's a critical skill, I can sunder a path entirely."

"Thats not a good thing for allies kid." Eclipse said sarcastically.

"Yeah no kidding. I did get the hijack skill though. When she wakes up, I'm to call my mom before I return the skill." He said.

"That's a good plan. Regardless, I've put you both as inactive until she is back on her feet and in fighting shape. You were going to be sent to Chicago. They need the help dealing with copy cats, but they picked others when you guys went down. Keep me posted." Eclipse said.

"Yes ma'am." Kyrain responded as required then Eclipse hung up.

Kyrain put his phone in his pocket and walked back in.

"Are they upset?" Came a voice as soon as he walked in.

"Nyx." Kyrain said walking quickly over, her question forgotten.

She just raised her hand with a smile and waved.

"Yep...that's me." She said allowing some dry humor through.

"I have your skill." Kyrain said as he sent a message to his mom.

Nyx let her eyes unfocus for a minute then she gasped.

"Kyrain...I have this red text and a countdown." She said nervously.

"What does it say?" Kyrain asked.

She began to read.

Warning!

You have had a path critical skill has been forcibly removed. Failure to reclaim critical component to path in alloted time will result in sunder of path and reversion to ordinary state. Depending on race, can be lethal.

Time remaining: 16:32:12

Kyrain was stunned. He got a message from his mom. After reading it, he opened a rift and his mom walked through and looked over and Nyx who smiled up at her.

"Welcome back Nyx, how are you feeling?" She said walking up and checking her monitor and pulling the tablet with her historical monitor data.

"I feel very fragile and have a deep ache inside. Plus I have this message that makes me nervous." She said and read it off to Brittanie as she had for Kyrain.

"Well that doesn't sound good. I'm going to monitor your channels and core as Kyrain gives it back as his skill says it can be done." Brittanie said as she motioned for Kyrain to walk up.

Kyrain walked up and touched her shoulder feeling for his skill.

Return skill?

Monarch's command of Time(a) - Slow or Speed up the timeline or a person, object, or place. You may stop the time temporarily. The longer the user manipulates and how large the manipulation will determine the amount of aether required as it will continue to increase at a linear rate

Yes/No

Kyrain mentally selected yes and felt aether leave some place within him and flow back into her.

As soon as the aether transfer was completed, Nyx breathed out a deep sigh of relief.

Brittanie's eyes were golden and glowing as she watched the aether seat itself back in the area that she wasn't previously sure of and setting everything back to normal.

"Everything looks good." She said.

"The message is gone, but now I've got a new warning." Nyx said and she read it.

You have sustained severe channel and core damage. Your path is unavailable for: 7 days 23 hours 59 minutes. Attempting to force use will result in permanent damage and sundering of path.

"Well then, I suggest you take it easy for the next week and a day and when you do get your path back you ease into its use. Luckily, you will be staying with me so I can keep an eye on you young lady." Brittanie said with a smile.

"Kyrain you're on maid duty. You have the rifts." She said happily.

"Nyx, you're going to stay here the rest of the night and we will release you in the morning after observation. Kyrain you're going head home and I'll let you know when we will get her." She continued. Kyrain was about to say something, but was cut off.

"That works for me Mrs. Ekart. I'm still pretty tired and wouldn't mind not moving for a little longer." Nyx said as she slowly snuggled down under the blanket then looked around.

"Ky, can you snag me another blanket?" She asked.

Brittanie looked expectingly at her son.

"Well, you heard the lady." She said as Kyrain shook his head and gave Nyx another from the closet who took it with a happy thanks.