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_The first thing I did after breakfast that morning was call my boss and tell him I wouldn't be coming in for work due to my latest assignment. He seemed to laugh over the phone and told me it was fine, so long as I got that story for him. I called Joel next, and we decided to meet up at a small diner for dinner (his treat) and he would continue his story there. With the day free, I spent my time looking up others who had interviewed Joel before, and phoned them in an effort to get an idea of what to expect. Each one would chuckle over the phone, and when I asked why, they would only say Joel would have to show me. I didn't know why he'd have to show me, but I had no choice but to let it stay that way. The day moved slowly...I hate slow. When dinner finally showed up, six o'clock, he et me outside the diner. I couldn't stand it, "So? What happened?"

Joel grinned, "Let's wait 'till we've got some food first, eh?"

I sighed, walking in behind him. I ordered something smallish, and once the food was there, began prodding him again, "So?"

Joel chuckled, "Heh...just like the kids. Alright...let's see...Kalia had just been shown to her room..."_

Kalia glanced at the room, a little unsure as to what she'd find. Tii's voice came over an intercom she hadn't noticed at first..."Just so you know, There are a few extra rules Gareth probably didn't mention. Nothing too terrible, though."

"Oh? What are they?"

"Well, first off, never go into his room...or the room he labeled Sanctuary. He does not want anyone in either room, and gets damn upset whenever someone invades his privacy. Another little thing is, unless you want to get thrown out, go against every single notion you have to walk around here naked. Gareth will not take interest in you unless it's bad interest...and he's the only guy here at the moment. So...it's really not the greatest idea."

"Anything else?" Kalia was getting a little fed up with each new rule, but kept her mouth shut. Gareth had, after all, rescued her from those men...

Tii answered her question, sounding as if she hadn't even heard the annoyed tone in Kalia's voice, "There is one other thing. Has Gareth probed your mind yet?"

"I...what?"

"Have you let him fully read your mind yet?"

"No..."

"Ah. Okay...it's in your best interest to let him do that, Kalia. If he missed anyone when he rescued you that did you wrong, he can sift through your memories and find out who, and punish them, or bring them here so that you can punish them. He threw two men ahead of you when you came here. Those two were responsible for another woman who'd been raped, and she wanted to make them pay instead of Gareth. He does favors like this for everyone." There was a small crackle of energy over the intercom, and then Tii spoke again, "Well, that's it, I guess. You should get some rest, and I wouldn't advise against taking some of the pain-killers before hand. Oh! One thing I forgot. Gareth can read your mind at any time, so he could even do while you slept, if you like. The memories aren't as harsh in a dream."

"I'd...just like to get some sleep tonight. Thanks."

"Sure...g'night. And Kalia?"

"Yeah?"

"If you're still worried about the whole thing, talk to someone. You'll lose sleep if you don't...and I'm here to listen if you need me, okay?"

"...'K. Thanks..." She moved to the bed, wincing slightly as a sharp pain shot through her lower half. She took two of the pills and slipped under the covers, smiling at the fresh warmth they provided that wasn't in any way a threat...the pain ebbed quickly, because of the pills, and she soon fell asleep.

Gareth, on the other hand, wasn't having much luck. He sat on his bed, staring at the darkest corner of the room...two tiny slits started to glow in that corner, both a brilliant white, though the glow barely illuminated a thing. The slits opened a little wider, going up, like eyelids would, but then closed completely, taking what little light they had given with them. Gareth continued to stare at that spot...began to cry, "I'm sorry..." He whispered, wishing with a will torn by grief that the glow in the corner would come to him in comfort, as it used to, before he'd failed...He got no sleep that night, only stared...thinking, remembering a promise he'd made...and how terribly it had broken, "I'm sorry..." He could still see her broken face, hear her screams, Gareth even remembered the smell as it happened. The bloody, sickening smell that made any sane person nauseous. He closed his eyes as tightly as he could, not to hold back tears, but to hold back the pain of a broken promise, "Please...say something...anything. Just speak again. I don't care if you say you hate me, just say something. Let me know you'll recover...please Hana..." The figure in the corner did not move...Gareth went back to his crying.

Tii watched the new female and the male every female in that building wished was her beloved through some special monitors that had been set up. She, and she alone-discluding the male that owned this establishment-knew what it was Gareth was staring at, and knew why he wanted no one else in his room, or Sanctuary. It saddened her to no end, every night he did this, but she never confronted him about it, knowing that his reaction would be less than appealing. She was the first female he had ever rescued from rapists, and had been there with him through everything...the construction of this place, the heartbreak he was going through...everything. She wanted so much to be by his side, to comfort him as she knew he wished the one in the corner of his room would do. But he never allowed it. He was devoted whole-heartedly to his beloved, which made watching him all the more painful...

I looked up at Joel, noticing he had drifted off in his story, and gained his own little sad look. A small nudge brought him back to reality, "What happened next?"

Joel shook visibly at being torn from the story, and blinked...then smiled, "Sorry. Got a bit lost there. I was thinking...did I ever describe any of them to you?"

"Um...not really, I think."

Joel's smile widened, "Well then, I ought to start." He cleared his throat, "Gareth, as you know, is a black-scaled anthro dragon. Let me leave it at, he walks and talks like you or me, and wears clothing...and, in fact, the only difference he has between humans is his reptilian form. He's got black all over his body, except his chest. His chest has white scales."

"What? But yesterday you said he was all black."

"That I did...it was for effect. His clothing is black, too. A sort of tank-top, but with stiff plates at the shoulders that just out about two inches in a triangular pattern. His pants are made of a material kind of like leather, but much more...ehh...what's the word? Pliable? Breathable? Meh, not sure. They look like they're made of leather, and are a bit loose around his body. Now, Kalia was a dragoness, a female anthro dragon. She had blue scales all over, and her chest scales were only a little lighter than the rest of her body. I'll explain her clothing when I get to her actually having some. Faerael, who I only mentioned the name of before, is another dragoness. Her scales were a bright yellow, with chest scales that look as if they'd been slightly covered in white sand. Lua, that wolfess I told you about, had dark brown fur with tiny white streaks that ran across her entire body. Everyone that worked in that complex had the same white shirt and pants...like a nurse, or someone in that field. Faerael wasn't a worker...so I'll get to her wardrobe later. There are a few others I haven't mentioned in the story yet, but I'll get to them, and Tii is a little special, so I'm going to wait on her too." He smiled, "Alright...sorry about cutting off there. Let's get back to what happened."

Gareth stood up when the sun rose, looking once more to that corner of the room, which was still bathed in darkness, the morning light not reaching that far inside yet. He tapped a small button in the intercom in his room, "Tii, how did Kalia manage last night?"

He waited a moment, smiling to himself as he pictured Tii being woken from her sleep at his call, and probably trying to rid herself of a yawn. Sure enough, she sounded as if she'd only just woken up when she finally answered. It made his smile grow, "Kalia?" Another yawn, "She...(yawn)...she fell asleep after ten minutes. A pretty restful night, by the look of things. You should have done the same."

Gareth rolled his eyes, "How often have I said not to check up on me like that?"

"You want a number? Alright, fourteen thousand, six hun--"

"Alright! Sheesh...I wasn't expecting you to actually keep track. When are you going to stop?"

"Me? When hell freezes over, or you come to your senses and talk to someone about it other than me. You're holding this in, Gareth. I can see it hurting you. Tell someone! Everyone in this building would be able to sympathize!"

"Tii, you know better than anyone else why I won't do that."

"But you still should. Why won't you admit you need some help? You of all people I've met should know when it's too much! You encourage others to talk about what's hurting them! Take your own advice for once!"

Gareth couldn't stop a tiny scowl, but said nothing. She was right, and he knew it, but he couldn't do that...it would complicate things farther than they needed to go.

Tii sighed, wishing Gareth wasn't so stubborn with this. She knew how much pain he was in...she was the only one he had ever really told...but telling her had been an accident on his part, so he'd never quite gotten over having said what he'd said, making it worse for him than it should have. She wanted to help...so much, but Gareth refused every attempt she ever made. She had been planning for some time to tell another person about his problems in hopes that someone else would come up with a solution, but every girl here she could tell would quickly and easily use that knowledge to try to gain his sexual interests...something Tii was not about to allow. She needed to tell someone, but no one was a good choice..."Maybe that Kalia girl...she's new, after all. If I intervene, she might turn out a little different." Tii smiled to herself, a plan already forming in her mind. She grabbed a tiny headset that would fit over one ear, or in Kalia's case, ear-hole. IT had a tiny microphone attached to it as well, so that Tii and Kalia could talk to each other. She had an alibi if Gareth ever saw it, as well, saying she wanted to make Kalia feel more comfortable...which was the truth, to a point. She wrote a tiny note and made her way to Kalia's room with the gift...

...and found the dragoness thrashing wildly on her bed, eyes closed, and only seconds away from screaming. She looked in absolute pain...Tii moved to the intercom and, after making a quick adjustment, shouted into it, "I need an E Team in room 219, now! Gareth, you get here too!" Gareth was in the room a literal second later, having used one of those teleportation spells of his.

"What's wrong?!"

"I don't know! I found her like this!"

Gareth eyed the little headset in Tii's hand before moving to Kalia's side, placing a hand on her forehead. She calmed down instantly...Gareth sighed, "A nightmare...I can deal with that. Once the team gets here, have them keep her still."

"Right." She knew why Gareth asked this. He was, at the moment, blocking her dream. He could not enter her mind unless he stopped blocking it...so she would start thrashing again, and if he was thrown off while she was thrashing, there was a chance that he might get his mind trapped inside hers! A team of several ran into the room, carrying supplies with them. Even a table. They gathered around Kalia and nodded to Gareth, who nodded back, and released his hold. Kalia screamed the moment his hand was gone, her thrashing doubled...the team pinned her arms and legs down, then nodded to Gareth once more. He sighed and placed his hand on her forehead again. His eyes went dark, as if a light that had been shining behind his eyes had suddenly been snuffed out.

_Gareth looked around himself, seeing the same scene that he had rescued her from. Her screams were much louder, more intense, than they had been in reality.

Finding her showed him why. An immense black shape was bent over her, thrusting in and out. She screamed in pain with each thrust. Gareth's familiar blade appeared in his hand. He growled loudly before shouting, "GET AWAY FROM HER!!!!!" The immense black shape actually stopped and turned to look at him, meeting him with eyes that blazed like fire.

"Make me." It said.

Gareth scowled deeply and...grew. He became larger than the creature he was facing, the blade growing as he did, "I was hoping you'd say that." He lunged, sword flashing brightly._

Tii watched, feeling a little helpless. She knew the procedures...hell, she'd practically made them! But that didn't mean she was any good at them...she wasn't strong, she was smart. Relief showed all around as Kalia's struggles began to subside...Whatever Gareth was doing in there, it was working. None let go of Kalia though. This wasn't the first time they'd ever done this, and knew that she could start thrashing again at any moment.

_Gareth ducked below the enormous fist that flew toward him. He sliced at it with his blade, earning a shocked growl from his opponent...but Gareth received his own little shock as the arm he had cut off vanished, reappearing on the creature's arm, attached as if it had never been cut. He snarled and jumped back with a flap of his wings to gain distance. The creature was strong...and that voice was so familiar...it turned back to the female when Gareth moved out of its reach. He couldn't see the grin on the creature, but he could feel it. With a shout to Kalia to run, he moved to intercept the creature. Kalia didn't move. Worried that she might have been hurt too much to move, Gareth swung his blade again, this time aiming for the creature's head. His blade met something hard, and scraped off...Gareth looked at his blade in shock, "That...that can't..."

"It's good to see you again, Gareth."

He jolted, looking at the creature, "You--how do you know my name?!"

"What? You mean you don't remember me? I'm sure Hana would."_

The mention of his beloved made him freeze for a moment, "You...how did you... ... ...TELRICK!!!!!! YOU BASTARD!!!!! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID TO HER!!!!!!!!!"

The creature, now with a name, grinned. His golden scales softly began to glow. The fire did not leave Telrick's eyes, however, making him seem devilish...something far more fitting than Gareth liked to think. The dragon laughed and took a step back, bowing mockingly, "Think of this as my way of saying hello, Gareth. We'll be seeing each other again very soon. Count on it." He laughed again and vanished. Kalia's dream softened until she was in a field of flowers, and when she woke, she looked happy. Gareth gave her a slight nod and left.

Back in reality, Gareth let go of her forehead, slumping to the ground in misery, "No...not him...not again. I can't--I can't do that again..."

Tii, who had never heard or seen Gareth this hopeless, knelt down beside him, "Gareth?"

"He's coming back for her...the only one I've never been able to beat is coming back...I can't...I can't...I just can't!" He sobbed loudly and was gone in a flash.

_Again, Joel stopped, but this time, he looked at me, smiling, "So...when do you want to know more about me, and not my dragons?"

I sighed, looking at the clock. It was starting to get late, but..."Are you sure?"

"It was you who wanted to interview me, remember? Don't you want that promotion?"

"But...but the story!" I started, trying to think of some excuse to get him to keep talking.

He merely smiled again, and motioned to a waitress so that he could pay the bill. I sighed, seeing he wouldn't be swayed into saying anything more, "I want to hear more tomorrow."

"Of course." Joel nodded, "Don't worry. You will."_