A brilliant light exploded painfully before Celeste. Wincing, she tried to turn away from it, but it followed persistently. A commanding voice then reached her.

"Open them! Open your damn eyes!"

Celeste didn't dare to disobey. The light grew more intense for a second, but it was then averted, much to her relief. Once the spots cleared a bit, she could make out the form of Zero frowning down at her, holding a flashlight. He looked like a thundercloud. Celeste recalled what had happened, and she began to cry in spite of herself.

Zero did not soften. "Turn off the waterworks, Celeste. I want to know what happened. Sigma insists that you were aiming for another target and misfired. Luckily for you, almost everyone believes him. But I don't. With a shot that intense, you had a purpose. Why did you shoot Skysheen?"

Celeste gulped back a sob. "Is...is Skysheen...dead?"

Some of the harshness faded from Zero's face. He sighed. "No. You were lucky there, too. He's seriously mangled, though. Genesis is still working on him, and Red's throwing a fit. I'm still not sure if she blames you, although I don't think she does. You've been unconscious for well over five hours. I'm sorry I got so mad at you, but I really need to know what happened. No one else needs to know."

A bit calmer, Celeste tried to settle into the hard hospital bed. She closed her eyes again. "It wasn't an accident....not completely. Sigma was talking to me about my dad when you were trying to break up Red and Skysheen. His tone of voice sort of lulled me...it was really strange. I can't remember exactly what happened, but he kept on saying how much Skysheen looked like Torrent Leviathan...next thing I knew, I saw Torrent right in front of me. It was so real. I shot him, and it was Skysheen instead...." Celeste trailed off.

Zero frowned. He didn't like the sound of that. "You're saying that Sigma sort of controlled your mind?"

Celeste's eyes flew open again. "That's exactly what it was like. I know it sounds stupid, but..."

"No Celeste. I believe you. I never did like Sigma much...he can be very hypnotizing. And I definitely don't like the smell of this. I'll have to investigate further."

Relief crossed Celeste's face. "Thanks."

Zero smiled fondly and toyed with a lock of her hair. "Don't you worry. Just rest. As far as I know, you're still in the Regal Dragons, but I would lay low for a while until this whole mess gets straightened out...."

The doors to the darkened room swung open. An irritated and thoroughly exhausted Genesis stepped through them. "I HATE MECHADRAKES!!" The reploid fox bellowed, following up with a kick to the wall beside him.

Zero turned his attention from Celeste and rolled his eyes. "Now what, Genesis?"

"It's Skysheen," Genesis seethed. "He'll make it, all right...but he's bitchin' and moanin' all over the place because I can't restore his Mechadrake form. I CAN'T repair a Mechadrake as banged up as he was! It's impossible! I had to rebuild him a humanoid form. It's a very nice one, too! I saved his bloody life, but noooo, THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH! He wants his WINGS back! He wants his TAIL back! He wants...oh, to hell's gates with him. I left Pip to reason with the thankless bugger. I'm going to go slit my wrists in the bathroom now. See ya." Genesis stormed off.

"I hate it."

Pip had nearly lost all hope. "Lord Skysheen, it's the best we can...."

"I SAID I HATE it!" Skysheen roared as he glared venomously at his reflection in the mirror. Staring back at him was a lean, handsome humanoid face, devoid of its former draconian majesty. Locks of greasy black hair with mild curls in them hung down past his ears, almost touching his shoulders. A firery red pair of eyes were fixed above a slightly upturned nose. His sails of leather were gone: he was groundbound. The only thing that remained was his shoulder mounted cannon and his newly polished violet armour.

"Gah! Human faces are so UGLY!"

Pip was slightly offended. "Well now, sir...they're not so bad..."

"Get out, Pip. I want to be alone for a little while."

Pip gladly obliged, but before he left he placed something hollow on the table beside Skysheen. "If you're truly self conscious of your current form," he explained softly, "here is an option." With that, Pip exited.

As much as Skysheen loathed his new form, he couldn't take his eyes off of it. He was now a normal humanoid reploid. He thudded his head against the mirror softly. "Why did you have to miss that target, Celeste?" He murmured to the empty air. His human-like hand groped and drew Pip's 'option' towards him. He turned it over and over, studying it. It was a visored mask that promised to completely cover his new face, if he chose to use it.

"Bless you Pip," Skysheen muttered. "God knows you're annoying, but you're sensitive and understanding. No one's going to see me like this." The world darkened slightly Skysheen slid the tinted headgear on. He glanced again at his reflection. This time, he almost liked what he saw.

Purple armour with blue slashed unevenly across his boots. A shoulder mounted cannon. Red eyes peering menacingly from the black depths of the mask. It all matched. Only the badge of the Regal Dragons seemed to outcrop and clash. Heaving a sigh, he wandered off to look for Red Draco. The first person he walked into was Pip who looked like a frightened rabbit in the presence of a hawk.

"My my, Lord Skysheen!" he managed. "Allow me to say that you look most....um...scary!"

"Thank you, Pip. But I don't think my old name fits me anymore. Call me...." Skysheen paused. "Call me Vile. Does that sound like a name that'll turn Mavericks into Jello?"