The afternoon sun was starting to bother Mak. His spot by the information center had been the perfect spot to watch the traffic going in and out of E.Co's tent. It had been a comfortable spot this morning but now it was hot and shadeless. Nevertheless, he still stayed. Mak had been watching all day, half hoping to see Eddy walk out of the tent but to his disappointment the only person that had left it was some girl he didn't recognize. Mak hadn't seen Eddy since last night when San Cheong had carried him back to camp. Eddy had looked pretty beat up then. The more he thought about the events of last night the guiltier he felt. The images of Eddy getting hit would haunt him forever he just knew it.

Most would think seeing someone he really cared about with burns and cuts would be part that bothered him but it wasn't. The cause of what really bothered Mak was the look on Eddy's face when he had been hit. He had been smiling, happy to fight along side Mak. They had been doing really well. They had almost reached the civilians and then Mak messed up. He had hesitate.

The amount of times he was told to never hesitate when dealing with a special was more than he could count, but he couldn't help it. The Torch, or a special with ability to control fire, had been so young. She couldn't have been much older than ten years old. She was just a kid and so he had hesitated. Luckily Eddy had pushed him out of the way of the young Torch's attack but in result he took the damage himself. Eddy had sacrificed himself for Mak. He felt the worst he had ever felt in his whole life. The only thing that made him feel better was his faith in E.Co and his ability. E.Co had never let them down in the past and surely he wouldn't fail this time, not with so much at stake..

"I'm such an idiot.." Mak stood and kicked a pebble, sending a twinge of pain up his leg. The sun was becoming too much for him. He was becoming hot and very uncomfortable. The heat had always bothered him and the gash in his leg just made everything worse. He had considered going to E.Co for his leg but he didn't want to take him from Eddy. In a way, dealing with his leg was punishment for his poor choices. He had done his best to clean and bandage his leg but it would be awhile before he could walk normally.

Standing up to find shade, Mak heard something drop. Looking down he saw it was the medallion his mother had given him when he had left home. Picking it up he looked at it. Running his thumb over the white stones that circled around his name. Flipping it over he read the words that he must have read a millions times, whenever he had been home sick.

Wherever you are. Whatever you do. Know you always have a family that loves you.

His mother had given it to him when he had left home to go to the capital at the young age of 16. He had joined a training course to become a law enforcement official. That's where he had met Eddy, he too was training to be part of the law enforcement. Eddy had come to his rescue on his first day when some older boys had decided to put Mak in his place. Together they had held them off alright for awhile but eventually the older boys beat the crap out of them. They had laughed as the helped each other walk home to get cleaned up. The older boys may have walked away as the winners of the fight but Mak had walked away with a new best friend and that was all that mattered. From that day on he had never been alone and so it had only seemed natural that when the war started and Eddy joined the rebel force, Mak went with.

Joining the rebel force had to have been one of the best things Mak had ever done. It was what made him happy. Gave him something to really fight for. Nothing like the fake cause the law enforcement had been. Of course there had been sacrifices for joining. He had to stop all contact with his family for the fear that they might suffer because of him but his precautions didn't seemed to matter. After six months of fighting with the rebels, the government began leveling villages. A way to control the people through setting examples. It wasn't long until he received news that his home village had been destroyed. No survivors. He had cried for weeks over the loss of his family and through that time Eddy was the only one who had comforted him. Eddy had become his family and now the possibility of losing him made Mak's stomach turn. What would he do without Eddy? He would be alone. Completely and totally alone.

Letting out a sigh, Mak decided he needed escape his thoughts and find somewhere cool to sit. He was about to walk away when he heard someone call his name.

"Hey Mak. Mak!" He turned around to see E.Co waving at him from the entrance of his tent. Settling his nerves, Mak headed over to E.Co, trying to hide his slight limp. The last thing he wanted was E.Co worrying over him. As much as he tried to act calm, Mak could tell E.Co was a worrier.

"Yes? What is it? Do you need something?" Just being this close to E.Co sent him into a guilty panic. E.Co just smiled and held open the tent flap for Mak, who was barely keeping it together. E.Co spoke as Mak entered.

"I thought you might want to see Eddy." His tone change from his normal calm to an awkward whisper. "Though I thought you would have already came over by now."

Looking at his boots, a wave of shame hit Mak like a ton of bricks. He walked past E.Co to the bed where his best friend was laying. Looking down at Eddy, Mak fought back the tears. He had wanted to come to see him ever since he had woken up but he just couldn't bring himself to. Touching Eddy's arm ever so slightly Mak felt the sickening feeling come back. God Eddy didn't look good. There wasn't anymore open wounds but he could still see all the injuries.

"I...I didn't think I should be anywhere near him.." His voice shook as he spoke. Mak was falling apart. Placing a hand on his shoulder, E.Co stood next to Mak.

"You're his best friend. Of course you should be here, especially with him like this."

"Wait, is something wrong? Is he not going to recover?" He could feel the panic rushing in, surrounding him. Eddy had to recover or Mak wouldn't. E.Co gave his shoulder a squeeze.

"No. I think he's going to be alright," his voice was soft and comforting, "but I can't promise anything. Never know when dealing with damage this bad." A dark look crossed Mak's face as he thought of last night. This was all his fault.

"I have no right to be here." He had to leave, Mak couldn't bare to be here anymore. He was about to turn and walk away but E.Co grabbed his hand. All of a sudden Mak felt a slight shock and then a current running through him. The electricity didn't hurt but it felt weird.

"What are you doing!" Mak wanted to pull away but he couldn't. E.Co's grip was too strong.

"Calm down and quit pulling away." He could feel E.Co's grip tighten against his struggles.

"What's happening?!" his was not normal. E.Co gave him a smile before answering.

"You've never been hurt enough for me to have to use this kind of power. Though how you've managed that I really don't know." Mak probably would have laughed at this comment on his clumsiness but it didn't feel right. It was true, he was always cutting his hands open or hitting his head on the cupboards. But never anything too serious. However, he was still confused.

"Wait a minute. Are you healing me right now?" He was totally confused. E.Co chuckled.

"Do you think I'm really that oblivious? I know about your leg." Instantly Mak looked down at his injury.

"How?"

"I saw you get hit last night. I went and checked on you after I got Eddy stable to make sure you weren't bleeding to death but you were sleeping and you didn't seem too bad off so I left you be. Besides that, I can see a limp a mile away." Mak looked away. He hadn't meant to concern E.Co with his leg. He had much more important person to attend to.

"How does your leg feel now?" E.Co had a calming affect on him. He had no problem trying out his leg. Mak shifted his weight to the injured one but felt no pain.

"It feels as good as new." Mak was a bit in shock of the situation.

"Now watch this." Not releasing his arm, E.Co took Eddy's hand, E.Co sat down on the bench. Suddenly Mak felt a pull to the current, a pull towards Eddy. His eyes became big. What was going on?!

"What's happening now!" He was feeling a mixture of fear and curiosity.

"One of the coolest things I've learned as a Mender. It's helped me save a lot of lives and my own." E.Co grinned with pride.

"But what are you doing?!”

"Isn't it obvious. I'm using your energy to heal Eddy." Mak's jaw dropped. He was doing what!

"What! You're using me to heal Eddy?" He could see the confusion creep on to E.Co's face.

"Yes? Is there something wrong with that? I..I thought you might have wanted to help." Again, Mak repeated.

"You're using me to heal Eddy?" He couldn't help but smile as he looked from his hand to Eddy. He was helping him! He could feel a great weight being lifted. Like some of the guilt was being washed away. "I'm helping Eddy.." It was barely more than a whisper. E.Co's smiled returned.

"Oh I see. Well on to the next part." Mak returned his attention to E.Co.

"Yes?”

"Mak I need you to stay and let me use your energy. I need to get some sleep so I don't end up draining myself completely. All you need to do is make sure I don't let go of you or Eddy." Mak could tell E.Co was clearly pushing his limits. His eyes were drooping and he looked pale. Something he hadn't noticed until now. He watched as E.Co shifted so his head rested on his arm on the bed.

"How will I know if you let go?"

"The current will stop.." It had only been a few seconds and already E.Co was falling asleep.

"Okay."

"Mmm.." He was already drifting away.

So Mak sat there and watched E.Co slowly fall asleep. The silence taking over quickly.

“Thank you E.Co…,” whispered Mak to the sleeping boy. Mak was content with where he was. However it didn't take long for the peaceful silence that had been present to disappear. It was suddenly shattered by the stomping of boots. Simba burst into the tent, stopping dead as his eyes locked on Mak. Mak could see the anger boiling within Simba. He felt his heart skip a beat as it always did whenever he saw Simba angry but this time it was worse.

“Mak! Out!” Mak looked at E.Co who was sound asleep. With no hope of intervention, he let go of E.Co and moved away from the bed. Running outside the tent, Mak retreated. He hoped the younger would calm after Mak got out of his sight but he didn't. Instead of walking into the tent, Simba turned to face Mak. He could see the tension in the Simba's body. That was never good when dealing with a Torch. Of course Simba was a special and a very dangerous one at that. It was great having him on your side in a battle but it was horrifying to have him turn on you. Mak was in serious trouble.

Slowly, he backed farther away from Simba, bracing for the worst. He knew that if Simba wanted, he could be dead any second now. Mak watched as Simba summoned a small fireball in his palm, his gaze locked on Mak. His only hope was E.Co, who was beginning to stir. Mak could see E.Co's shadow moving.

“Give me one reason not to throw this….one reason..” Mak returned his focus to Simba. His throat tightened as he realized he was a cornered with no escape. Like an animal right before the predator pounced. There was no where from him to run. Mak could see E.co’s shadow began to move even more.

“Come on Mak! Give me a reason!” Simba’s anger was building, he had no control. Mak looked around desperately for someone to help but everyone knew to stay away from Simba when he was angry. Resulting into an empty street. Mak realized there was no hope, he squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see his impending doom. Simba fell silent as he raised his arm, ready to throw.

“No!”

Just as Simba threw the fireball, E.Co burst out of the tent and….BOOM! Everything went white.