The land was dark and desolate; a barren field with the only evidence of humanity being the rubble and debris of buildings as far as the eye can see. That was all the world was now; just shattered remnants of what once was. Humanity destroyed itself. It all started with the Gloom; it changed humans and made them evil and attack one another. First came the panic. Then the riots. After that the wars broke out and the anarchy until most of the humans were wiped from existence along with everything else which was blown to bits. Now, there's only few humans left who are struggling to survive.

 

A young boy of age five with markings of bones on his body and a sugar skull on his face was searching through the ruins of what once was a two story building. The Gloomified wildlife was too busy trying to kill another poor soul so the boy had time time to search for supplies. He needed some kind of medication for a dying man he called his father. With nothing but tattered pants and a satchel the boy was on his knees searching through the rubble for some kind of item he could give to his father so he could feel better.

"Por favor..." The boy sniffled, wiping away thick tears that ran down his face as he searched. The tears dampened the ends of his scruffy brown colored hair.

"Por favor... Por favor... Mi Papa..."

Edited March 17, 201510 yr by Awuwa7KH

Grim thought about it. "I just don't want to risk losing you or the children." Grim said, looking up. "I don't want to make you feel forced, either. Though Jack assured that with disguises you would be unrecognizable, even if the wolves were around, they wouldn't be able to know it's you. Just...if we manage to mess up the Auction, the groups will be the end of each other, and we'll be able to save others from the fate and torture Jack and I went through." Grim said, gently stroking Nicholas' hair. The Auction was the main reason for all of this. If they could stop it, the trafficking of resources between groups would come to a halt, and the groups would slowly fade away, dying of getting killed by each other or from lack of resources. Grim frowned as he looked up at Miguel. "This world has caused us a lot of damage, Miguel. To us, to Stiles, to everyone. The most we can do is try to better the world for the sake of those who will inherit it after we are long gone. To make it better for them." Grim said as he glanced down at the children with a smile, and then looked back up at Miguel with a serious expression. "You don't have to come with us if you don't want to. But I...want to go with Jack and stop the Auction from happening again..." Grim muttered. The chance had come up. A chance of a lifetime. They knew where it would be held. They were close to it. If they let it slip away, not only would the rebel groups get stronger, the vicious cycle would happen again and again. For a second, Grim's eyes seemed colder than his usual warm gaze. "I'm going to make sure Melusine receives what's coming to her."

Miguel looked down. He really didn't know what to say. Grim was right. If they stopped this auction so many people will be saved. But will the rebel groups really be done for? That, Miguel didn't know for sure. That's when Miguel realized something; he promised Grim they would always be together. That included the battlefield too. Miguel sighed softly and reached his hand out from the bed he was laying on to take Grim's hand. "Wherever you go, I go... So, can I shank someone? Actually a machete sounds nice too~" he said with a smile. He will do whatever he could to help Grim. The name Melusine surprised him for a second. He thought hard if he has ever heard the name before. Must be a bandit. Miguel met so many infamous bandits he can barely remember them all. 'What could she have done...?' Miguel thought.

Grim smiled as he held Miguel's hand. "Don't worry, you will." With that, Grim closed his eyes, falling asleep to the feeling of Miguel's hand in his.

 

-NEXT MORNING-

 

Grim had woken up a bit earlier than the rest. He was careful not to wake Nicholas as he excused himself and stepped out to the hall to talk with Jack. Jack was happy to hear that they would be coming along with the plan. He even assured that Cupid, despite having a broken leg and a cast, would be more than happy to watch over the kids while they were gone. "New groups are always coming up and stuff. We might as well pretend to be a newbie group and that way no one will have the right to question us." Jack smiled. "The groups are usually named after animals; wolves and snakes, what kind of name would we give ourselves?" Grim asked. "Animals are too common, we'll run the risk of having another group of the same name. Miguel's face gave me an idea: the Skulls." Jack said. Grim hummed. "That does have a nice ring to it." Grim said. "We'll give Miguel a mask to wear too, so his face is hidden along with his face paint. We'll just have to pretend to be with him. If they recognize us, we'll just act like his newly acquired henchmen." Jack explained. "Sounds good. The quicker we do this the better though." Grim muttered. "Of course."

Miguel woke up with a small stressful expression as he sat up in bed. Despite the soft comfort he was plagued once again by nightmares. It wasn't nightmares of something bad happening to him or someone else no, it was him inflicting pain into others and torturing this past victims before he killed them. They all screamed at him to stop, but be didn't. As Miguel sat up in bed, he also felt a sharp nausea sensation in his stomach. He thought it was probably due to the mild restlessness he experienced during sleep. Miguel out of bed with a yawn while making sure Ash was asleep. He went into the hallway to greet Jack and Grim.

"Good morning...." He said with yet another yawn. He had bags under his eyes which was mildly disguised by the paint.

Grim didn't hesitate to sneak around Miguel, hugging him close before landing a kiss on his cheek. "Morning." Grim said smiling. "Just in time, we were discussing the plan. We have everything planned out and have a strategy for every possible situation. All we need to do is get our stuff and get going." Jack said. "Can't we wait after breakfast though? I'm sure Miguel is just as hungry as I am." Grim said. "Ah yeah, of course. Breakfast will be served downstairs on the first floor, where the restaurant used to be before this whole gloom thing. I'll see you guys after breakfast, ok?" With that, Jack waved and started to walk off. As Jack turned around the corner, Grim frowned and turned to Miguel, having him face him. "Miguel, what's wrong? You feel...different. Are you sick?" Grim asked as he got his hand up to Miguel's forehead. "I didn't contaminate you did I?! Oh man I hope not." Grim muttered as he felt Miguel's neck as well for any fever.

Miguel's neck wasn't hot at all, although it made him feel even more nauseous. He returned Grim's kiss by kissing his hand. He put his hand over his stomach and smiled.

"I'm not sick at all! You didn't contaminate me, Guada. I just feel a little sick from the sleep I got last night and from being hungry, I guess. I'll feel better after I eat breakfast. Don't worry about it, sí?" He gave Grim a hug. "It'll go away later." He was going to say something else, until Stiles entered the hallway from a couple of rooms down.

"Oh, guttenmorgen, good morning." He said with a smile as he approached the two. "I am sorry I didn't get to say good night last night."

Grim gave a small nod and decided not to push it any further. He looked up at Stiles and smiled, waving. "Morning. We're sorry we didn't say good night too. The moment we hit the bed we were out like a light!" Grim said rather happily. He glanced over at Miguel, then back at Stiles. He would make sure that they weren't separated again. Not even death would be able to tear them apart. "We were just heading down to get some breakfast. Oh! I should wake up the kids, be right back." Grim said as he hurried inside the room, gently shaking Ash and Nicholas awake. "Wake up sleepy heads." Grim said. Ash groaned as she sat up, her bed hair curly and all over the place. "Five more minutes..." Ash muttered. Grim fixed Ash's hair. "Come on, it's breakfast time." Grim insisted, turning to Nicholas and waking him up as well. "Yummy breakfast. No more nutrient bars, either." Grim said as he helped the kids up. Ash yawned as she followed Grim, holding his hand. "Breakfast...Nicholas...hold my hand...!"

Miguel rubbed the back of his head. The nausea feeling was a pain, but it had to be just due to not eating after a long day, right? He bid Stiles an awkward morning, still somewhat weary of the man. "Hey..." He said.

Stiles happily excused Grim to go wake up the kids. He was excited to eat an actual breakfast and be able to learn more about the camp and its inhabitants. As Stiles saw Grim walk out with the kids, he smiled. "Good morning, little ones." He said.

Nicholas whined softly and rubbed his eyes with a tired yawn. He really didn't want to eat at all, honestly. And as always he had his scarf wrapped securely around his neck. Finally he cooperated and took Ash's hand to go into the hallway.

"I don't wanna eat..." He muttered with his messy hair.

Grim didn't hesitate to help fix Nicholas' hair, making it less of the bed head it was currently. "I don't know about you, but I'm hungry!" Ash said. Grim hummed as he rubbed Nicholas' head. "You have to eat, Nicholas. You haven't eaten since yesterday morning, and that was a very long time ago. If you want to grow up to be an adult, you have to get your energy from food." Grim insisted. He still worried for Nicholas and his appetite. He hopes Cupid would be able to handle it. "Come on now." Grim said as he walked with the group downstairs. It was like a big dining hall. Most people such as the ones on soldier duty or others who were working on different parts of fixing up the city took the food on the go. There were adults, but young adults and children were bigger in numbers. Tables set up, there weren't that many people as there were different stations like this one all across the city, evening the numbers and making sure that everyone got a piece. Suddenly- "Oi I saw you! Out! Out!" From the kitchen a few children ran out, giggleling. A young man around 24 years of age with bright orange hair and yellowish eyes waved a spatula from the door. He wore an apron and a chef hat. "I said no cookies until you ate breakfast!" He paused, taking note on the group that just walked in. "Oi, you guys are the new kids on the block?" He asked before pointing at himself. "Jack told me about you, my name is Jack-o-Lantern. Call me Jacko to not get confused though. My dad and I are the head chefs. Nice to meet you." He said.

Nicholas shook his head as Grim fixed his hair, but gave up after a few seconds. "I can't eat..." He muttered. He yawned softly and went downstairs, and sat at the far end of all the tables away from everyone. He laid his head down and fell asleep almost instantly. "Hm..."

Meanwhile Miguel went along with the group downstairs. He didn't expect a orange haired man to pop out from the kitchen.

"Jacko? Do you light up at night?" He chuckled and wrapped his arm around him. "Nice to meet you."

Stiles instead took a more polite formal approach. He just simply shook Jacko's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. It appears that you have your hands full with the children."

Jacko shook Stiles' hand and smirked at Grim. "No. Do you scare the living crap out of children, though, skeleton boy? I like you." Jacko said, making a reference to the paint mask he wore. Grim stepped up, and Jacko tilted his head. "Another one? Did we just happened to have a dress up party last night and I missed it?" Jacko joked. Grim laughed a bit. Jack glanced around at the kids, and made a soft groan at Stiles' comment about the children. "You can say that. More than full. I'm in charge of making sure they get the correct diet, especially since some of them need a special diet without gluten or milk or sugar. Worse part is that some of them won't eat their VEGETABLES." Jacko hissed, specifically glaring at a table of kids who simply laughed at his reaction. "Either way, welcome to the dining hall. I'll fix you guys a meal right up." Jack assured. "Nicholas doesn't want to eat again." Ash said as she pointed at the table where Nicholas sat with his head down. Grim frowned. "Not again..." He muttered. "He needs to eat. Otherwise he'll starve, and his body won't be able to keep up." "Let me see if I can talk him into eating something." Jacko said as he walked over to Nicholas. "Heyyyy kid. I'm Jacko the cook. Nice to meet you! Is there anything you'd want for breakfast? Maybe some yummy scrambled eggs?" Jacko asked, in hopes he could cheer the kid up enough to eat.

Miguel rubbed his knuckles against Jacko's head playfully. This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Miguel always loved jokers like Jacko. "No~ Actually los niños loves my face paint! It's magic. Actually, you better watch out because if you're not careful all the kids will pay attention to me and not you~ I bet I can get them to eat their veggies too!" Miguel was about to continue, until he saw Nicholas alone at the table. 'Everyone except for him...' He thought.

Stiles hummed in thought. It was common for children to not eat their vegetables. Sadly he was that one weird kid who loved and kind of vegetable. It might have been because that was the only food he had access to, really. Stiles sighed softly as Ash pointed out Nicholas' desire to not eat. "He's definitely going to get sick from malnutrition at this rate. There's a reason why he doesn't want to eat..."

Meanwhile Nicholas shook his head on the table and turned it so that the back of his head was facing Jacko. "I don't want to eat..." He muttered. "I'm not hungry." Truthfully his stomach was growling.

Grim frowned. "If there's a reason he refuses to tell us. We can't just force him either, but we have to do something." Grim said. Every time it seemed that Nicholas was refusing to eat for a longer and longer time. He feared that if let unattended he would starve himself to death. The last thing Grim wanted was to walk up to his bed to find him not waking up anymore. Ash grumbled and made her way to the table. Jacko narrowed his eyes, but kept his calm. "Come on kid, I can hear your stomach from way over here! You need to eat something. Do you want some cookies instead? I can give you cookies if you want. Is there a reason why you won't eat?" Jacko said, now concerned at the fact the kid was forcibly starving himself. By then Ash reached the table and glared at Nicholas. "Why won't you eat?!" She screamed. "Do you want to die?! Is that it?! You need to eat, stupid! If you don't eat, then I won't either!!"

Miguel crossed his arms. Grim was right. They just can't force the kid to eat. If anything Nicholas could throw up and it would just make it worse. But how could they solve the problem? They can't just wait. If they wait it'll probably be harder to get Nicholas to eat as he grows older. Once Ash started to yell at Nicholas, he went foward to gently grab her. "L-Leave him alone, sí?" He asked, unsure of what to do. "He will eat."

Stiles nodded slowly. He was trying to think up of reasons why a child would act like such a way. "Eating disorder? It could be post traumatic stress that perhaps is connected to his throat or his stomach. Someone could have- o-or maybe he just wishes to end his life..." He went quiet after that.

"I don't want cookies..." Nicholas muttered once more. He was about to just try to sleep until Ash started to give him a peace of her mind. Nicholas immediately shot up, and backed away from the table and from her. He wasn't expecting her screaming, and it shocked him.

"I-I-" He started to tear up, and closed his eyes tight. "It hurts!" He screamed as well. That was all he could say in response. "It hurts!!!"

Grim hurried over to Nicholas. It hurts. It hurts. That was his response. "W-What hurts? Your stomach? Your throat?" Grim asked. He knew the kid was hiding something, but the fact that he was hiding an obvious pain made Grim feel guilty for having him eat. "Alright lets take it easy now." Jacko said as he waved his hands, turning back to Nicholas. "You do realize you don't have to hide the fact it hurts right? If that's the case we will just adjust the food so you can consume it without a problem. Problem solved." Jacko offered. He had to create food for patients who couldn't eat hard food as it was. He was sure he could come up with something for Nicholas. Grim turned to Stiles, his eyes practically pleading. "Stiles...could you do a check up?" Grim asked, his voice in a lower tone than usual. "If you need special equipment there's always the Hospital. It takes some man power to get electricity for some of it but it can be done." Jacko offered. Grim knelt down. "Nicholas. No more hiding. You're scaring us. We don't want to hurt you nor lose you. Please tell us what hurts? No more excuses." Grim asked.

Stiles nodded slowly. He was going to have to handle this very carefully. The last thing he wanted was the boy in panic, which he already was in. He didn't want to make it worse. He slowly approached the boy and knelt down next to Grim.

"He is right ja? We don't want anything bad to happen to you. We're not going to hurt you either. You can trust us. Don't you want to feel better?" He slowly reached for Nicholas' scarf. He wanted to see what was under it.

Nicholas shook his head and put his shaky hands over his ears. "It hurts.... It hurts..." He kept saying. Once Stiles reached for is scarf however, Nicholas freaked out. He yelled out and ducked under the table, where he hugged his legs as he hid underneath it. "G-Get away from me!!!" Nicholas cried. He burst into sobbing. "Stop....."

Miguel wasn't handling the situation well. He really didn't know what to do. Usually he was the one inflicting pain onto others. Not the one trying to stop it. Something that scared him even more was that the fact that sometimes when Nicholas would scream, he would look at Miguel as if Miguel was hurting him. "G-Guada we have to... Do... Something...." He silently said.

Trigger warning ahead:

 

"Sh*t, this kid is messed up." Jacko said, receiving a small glare from Ash and Grim. Jacko raised his hands. "S-Sorry, I didn't mean it that way." He quickly said, apologizing. Ash was clueless of what to do either. She wasn't old enough to just understand sympathy, the most she could think that could work was yell at Nicholas to stop crying and act like a man, but Grim and Miguel were both stopping her from doing as such, fearing that it would only provoke Nicholas further. Grim looked at Miguel worryingly, and took a deep breath. He knelt down under the table, keeping his distance from Nicholas, but making sure they were able to see each other. "They hurt you badly, didn't they?" Grim asked. "That's why you don't want to talk about it, because it brings back bad memories. Right? Murder, mutilation, torture, that is the way of many groups, yet whatever they did to you has lasted, and you don't want anyone else to know about it right?" Grim asked. He knew what being in camps that experimented was like. Maybe, just maybe, sympathy and empathy would be the answer to have him open up. Grim pulled up his sleeves, showing scars that covered his wrists so deeply they stood out among those that went up his arm. "I've attempted suicide 27 times. 13 by cutting my wrists, 4 by hanging myself with rope, 3 by trying to drown myself, 6 by slashing my throat, and one failed attempt at shooting myself in the head. Though I wanted to live to be able to see Miguel again, there were 27 times where I thought that the only way I would see him again was to kill myself. 27 times I thought I could get away from the men and women who used me as a toy, by dying and being thrown away like a rag doll. Let them have the body but make sure my soul wasn't there. Even now I have scars in places I would never show even Miguel, because they bring back so many bad memories. But do you really think I want to die now that I've met all of you?...does that mean the same for you, Nicholas? Even if it hurts, even if you don't want to show us...are you willing to let yourself die and throw your life away while we watch in desperation?!...I know it hurts physically and mentally, but please let us help you, if you die on us, we won't ever forgive ourselves, we would never forgive you."

(I want to hug Grim so badly it's painful.)

 

Nicholas continued to weep and sob, and even attempted to hit Grim before he began to talk. As Grim talked to Nicholas, he slowly began to calm down. He lifted his head up from his legs to look right into Grim's eyes. As soon as he saw the scars that's when Nicholas seemed to be back once again from his nightmare. He stared right at them and went to every single one. "But..." He whispered. "I want to die..." If wasn't until he saw the remnants of the attempted suicide on Grim's neck that really brought Nicholas back. It shocked him deeply. After what seemed to be hours, Nicholas slowly nodded and crawled slightly to the end of the table.

Stiles closed his eyes at the sight of Grim's scars. He saw scars like that too many times before however they were on people who was dead. He kneeled down next to Grim once more and tried once again. "I know it hurts... But can you show us where it hurts?"

Nicholas nodded and slowly began to take off his scarf. His eyes were faded and glossy as if his soul was being removed with the scarf. Underneath it was a series of deep scars going across his neck in a curved line. Stiles eyes widened. "That's.... From a noose..." He whispered, barely audible.

Miguel was trembling. He didn't even make it to see Nicholas scars because as soon as he saw Grim's scars that was where he lost it; he ran right into the corner of the room to promptly vomit right into a metal trash can. His body fell to the floor as everything in his stomach exited his body.

Jacko muttered some curses under his breath, deciding to take Ash with him outside to where Miguel was. "Just let it out buddy...I didn't expect you to react that way either." Jacko said as he patted Miguel's back. He had seen some bad ones in his lifetime. But he would've guessed being siblings he would've seen the scars already? Maybe not. Grim suspected as much, and didn't seem all too surprised, but still seemed sad either way. He ever so gently took Nicholas in his arms, pulling him out from under the table and holding him close. "We'll fix you up, Nicholas. You'll be able to eat without hurting soon, ok?" Grim said, kissing Nicholas' head as tears streamed down his face. Grim looked at Stiles. "Please help him. I'll do whatever it takes and get you whatever medicine you need. Please help him eat again, Stiles." Grim begged, holding Nicholas close to him much like a father to its child. He could relate to what Nicholas had gone through. At least now they knew what it was and something can be done about it.

Miguel only continued to throw up, to the point where he wasn't even throwing up food anymore; he was throwing up bile. He didn't even know why he was throwing up, honestly. Yeah, detailed descriptions of Grim's suicide attempts set him off, but not enough to throw up like this. After a few long torturous minutes he slumped over the metal can as he desperately tried to hold on to his consciousness. "M-Mgh..." He groaned softly.

Meanwhile Nicholas didn't really respond to anything after that. He could only utter random words here and there until they barely formed audible sentences. "I want to die..." He whispered once. "I want my family..." He whispered again.

Stiles ran a hand through his dusty brown slicked back locks. He really needed to help this poor child, to at least make sure he could function well enough to survive in the world. "L-Let's take him to a hospital ja? The nearest one. I need to see his throat." He looked to where Jacko had gone. "Where is the closest room with medical supplies? I need to at least inspect the damage on his throat."

Jacko nodded. "Right. Quickly. I'll get you there." Jacko said as he was about to step off when he saw someone. "Oh perfect, just our luck." Jacko said, and without explanation he took off his shoe and threw it, only to land on someone's head and react with an "own". A few seconds later a young woman wearing white walked in holding the shoe and glaring. She had brilliant red hair and green eyes, wearing white clothing with a shawl over her shoulders. "Figlio di una *****! What the hell do you want?!" She hissed, throwing the shoe back. Jacko caught it. "Don't be a sore, Befana. You're one of Time's student nurses, I need you to let this doctor borrow your office to inspect the child. It's an emergency." Jacko said. The woman muttered something before nodding. "This way, then." Befana said as she led them to the nearest hospital, into one of the offices. There they had stethoscopes, and other medical novelties that one could possibly need. "If you need to use the X-ray machine just tell me to power it up, alright?" Befana said as she looked over at Nicholas.

Stiles nodded quickly and followed Befana along into her office. He looked around and was very pleased with it. The office was perfect. "Thank you Madame." He said with a polite bow. "I will definitely need the X-Ray machine. He went over to the metal table in the middle of the room and plased a thin white sheet over it. He patted it and looked to Grim. "Have him sit here." He said.

Nicholas was deadly quiet. He hasn't said anything nor even moved since Grim had hugged him. All he did was clutch at Grim's shoulders tightly. His scarf was draped over it as well.

Jacko helped Miguel onto a table, where Ash sat next to him while looking down. Jacko quickly brought the two a nice breakfast; scrambled eggs with ham, sausage and milk. He set down the breakfast for each. "Here, you have an empty stomach. Food will make you feel much better." Jacko assured as he sat down with them. Ash was about to object, but her stomach said otherwise, and without a word she started to eat up. "So...is he your boyfriend-" "Brother." Ash corrected. "...brother. Sorry. You didn't look that alike...the kid will be fine though, we have the best technology in the right now, currently." Jacko said, hoping to cheer Miguel up.

 

"Right." Befana said as she walked over to what seemed like tube. She took off the cap, speaking into it. "Electricity room 26." She said. "Aye aye!~" From the roof a boy pressed a few buttons from the machine, clanking something as the sunlight panels opened up, absorbing the light as electricity was formed and sent down. In the room the lights went on and the machinery started to beam with energy. Grim settled Nicholas down and kissed his head gently. "It'll be alright, ok?"

Miguel sat groggily at the table. His mind was in a complete whirlwind almost as if a tornado had taken its course. Miguel stared blankly at the food for a moment with his mind trying its best to process the events that had taken place a few minutes ago. It wasn't until he heard Ash's voice that he realized she was next to him and that he needed to get himself together for her sake. He began to eat smile bites of the food at first.

"Gracias..." He said to Jacko as he wrapped his arm around Ash and pulled her close. He gave her a gentle squeeze. "I know he's in good hands."

 

Nicholas didn't say anything; he just stared down at the floor. He felt as if his entire being was wiped clean and what was left of it was hidden in the scarf. He held onto it tightly on his lap. "..."

Stiles smiled when the electricity came on. This was going to be very useful. "Wunderbar." He said. "Thank you Miss. I'll use the machine right away. Now then-" he took out some medical instruments from his bag. "I'm going to need you to say 'ahh!' Right little one? Open your mouth wide so I may try to see your throat."

Nicholas did what Stiles had asked with no protest nor reaction in general. Stiles peered inside using a special magnifying class made for such checkups, a Popsicle stick to press the tongue down and a small flashlight. He frowned at what he saw.

"I can't say for sure..." Stiles said. "But it looks like there's a sort of tear or dent in his trachea which is probably pressing pressure on his esophagus. It also appears to be very sensitive which makes it uncomfortable to eat... I'll still need the X-Ray to make sure though. I don't think it actually causes him pain to eat, but rather reminds him of whatever traumatic experience he went through."

Ash didn't protest against the hug, and instead embraced it as she hugged him back. "I don't want anything bad to happen to Ash..." She muttered. She wasn't prepared for the revelation of Nicholas' condition, nor she was ready for Miguel's reaction to it. It was all confusing yet panicky. Though on the outside she didn't show it, her heartbeat went faster and faster in worry. "Will you be ok too, Miguel? You aren't sick, right?" Ash asked Miguel, in reaction to the whole puking outside thing. Jacko stood up. "I'll be right back then, need anything just holler." Jacko said as he walked back into the kitchen, resuming to do whatever he was doing besides the cooking.

 

"Right, I'll get the X-ray machine ready." Befana said as she looked over at Grim. "Please step to the side." She asked, and Grim did as told. Befana suited up the machine and as it hung from its structure, slowly lowered it around Nicholas. "Now just stay still, this won't hurt a bit." Befana said as she moved the camera like machine over Nicholas' neck. There was the sound of wiring within the machine as it stood right over Nicholas' chest. This went on for about two minutes before the machine was moved to the front of his neck, and then to the left part of his neck. When it was done Befana pulled away the machine and walked over to collect the papers with the traces. "Here we go." She said, setting them over a light table to take a good look at them. "What do you think?"