Paxton, Goddard, and Samson were sitting in the library where they had just finished a very long and painful discussion. Paxton had tried to explain his own personal history as best he could, while Goddard explained the future. It was absolute lunacy, and Samson didn't believe a word.

   "You're crazy," he declared, pointing to Paxton, then to Goddard, "You're crazy. You're both crazy. I feel dumber for listening to you two."

   "It's the truth."

   "And you expect me to believe that Mini is a demon?"

   Mini looked up from her book, looking around as if she hadn't followed the conversation.

   The air around Mini distorted, releasing the mirage of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, fair-skinned little girl. Sitting on the library chair was a red-skinned, black-haired, red-eyed little demon child. Horns appeared on her forehead like dollops of cream, and her hands had an unusual amount of hair for a child.

   "Mini," Paxton said aloud, suprised, "you have horns?"

   Mini reached up and touched her own forehead, apparently unaware of the two small nubs on her face.

   "Ha!" Mini laughed, feeling the horns with an anomalous amount of glee. "I've got horns! My horns are growing in! HAHAHA!"

   In her celebration, she ran over and hugged Paxton.

   The unbridled joy Mini expressed was more emotion than she had shared with either of the Byron brothers for their entire time together. Paxton was actually shocked at the hug, so it took a second before he hugged her back.

   Mini then ran over and hugged Goddard, despite the boy's clear animosity.

   "How do I look?" Mini asked, posing with a growling face.

   "Like a demon," Samson said, reaching over and feeling Mini's horns.

   "EEP," she screamed, falling backwards over the table. Paxton caught her as she scrambled away, then she glared at Samson and yelled, "Pervert!"

   Samson looked to Goddard for answers, but the warrior shrugged.

   "Why does that make him a pervert?" Paxton asked, holding Mini like a protective parent.

   "Horns are special," Mini mumbled.

   Paxton was about to laugh, but he considered what it meant when a child was touched in a 'special place'.

   "How dare you," Paxton threatened with a death glare aimed between Samson's eyes.

   "HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?!" Samson cried in his defense. "I've never met a demon before!"

   "How big are her horns supposed to get?" asked Goddard, concerned for the future size of Mini's gouging implements and attempting to steer the conversation.

   "Mini?" Paxton reciprocated.

   "I don't know!" she pouted. "They're probably going to be HUGE! The LARGEST horns that anyone has ever had!"

   "I'm sure they are," Paxton supported, although he knew otherwise. "What did your dad's look like?"

   Mini made a curly cue gesture away from her head, giving the impression that her father's horns were large.

   "We should ask Alciel," Paxton suggested. "He'd know more about demon biology than anyone."

   "Hey!" Goddard said with some offense. "I'll have you know, the demons use their horns as a kind of status symbol. The larger horned demons are considered nobility, while the demons without horns are just fodder. I can't tell you how many times we were fighting through a wave of hornless demons when a horned demon came out after the battle."

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   "You're nuts," Samson told Goddard, "and this proves nothing! There is no future demon invasion and there are no magic-less worlds! And there's nothing you can say that would make me believe otherwise!"

   Goddard and Paxton shared a glance, and then Goddard released a heavy sigh.

   "I didn't want to do this," he said, "but you give me no choice."

   Samson braced himself, expecting a mind-bleeding probe or magic probe.

   "You're gay," Goddard said aloud.

   Samson looked at the younger Byron brother, wondering if he'd heard him right.

   "What?" Samson asked. "No I'm not."

   "Yes, you are," Goddard said, getting up from his seat and approaching the future Flame Emporer. "You didn't like to mention it, and it was always a sore topic for you, but you're as gay as can be."

   "I'm not gay!" Samson shouted defensively. "Wait..., are you going to spread rumors? Is that your plan, to tell everyone I'm gay so I can't get a girlfriend!?"

   "You wouldn't get a girlfriend your entire tenure at the Academy," Goddard stated. "It never made sense back then, how you had all that magic in your body and yet you weren't exercising like the rest. I don't know how you put up with that kind of torture, but you got through it somehow. It was one of the most closely held secrets you had, you wouldn't even tell anyone until after we killed the first Demon Lord."

   "You're lying!" Samson shouted. "I'm not gay!"

   Goddard went up to the sin of wrath and leaned in close so that their faces were inches apart. Samson threw a punch, but Goddard caught it. The pyrotechnic then opened his palm and spewed flames across the smug Byron's cheek.

   Goddard pulled the hand down in a jerking motion, extinguishing the flames while also getting Samson closer. Goddard then leaned in over Samson's head and...

   ...gently nibbled on his ear.

   Samson let out a quick moan before he caught himself. He shook his head furiously to get the scheming boy away, then kicked off from his chair.

   "I AM NOT GAY!" he roared, kicking up some flames accidently as he backed out towards the exit.

   "When you realize that I'm telling the truth," Goddard called, "come on back. We don't mind, really!"

   The library door slammed shut while Paxton looked at his brother with concern.

   "What?" Goddard asked.

   "Was that really necessary?" Paxton had to ask. "Gay or not, that's something a person is entitled to with as much privacy as they need."

   "We've got a war coming," Goddard stated dryly, "we need every soldier at his best. If he's a fan of the man, good for him."

   The door to the library opened and several people walked in. Alciel was leading the pack, with Christina, Barrot, Liz, and Fred behind him.

   "Next time you want a meeting, I suggest you plan it ahead of time," Alciel warned. "I'm not your servant."

   "We'll keep that in mind," Goddard said, "thank you, Alciel."

   "Since when were you on a first name basis with the prudes?" Christina asked credulously.

   "What's this about?" Barrot asked more directly. "What's so important that a star student would come and get us?"

   Goddard and Paxton looked at each other again, then they both took a very deep sigh as they mentally prepared themselves.

   "This is going to sound crazy," Goddard began, "but please believe me, every word I say is true...."