《The Villainous Cruz Family》


 Chapter 1 - Whims of Fate

    The full moon glowed silver and illuminated the world below. The soft light shone in through the large window and partially lit up a large bald man''s scarred face, though most of it was still hidden in the shadows. The man stared out the window, admiring the view outside of a lovely field of flowers and swirled his glass of wine. The flowers were a dainty white, dyed with splatters of blood red. Bodies of dead men scattered about the field tainted the almost mystical looking flowers, turning the magical scenery into that of hell''s.


    "Was looking for my hideout that frustrating, Kin? My poor garden was innocent." The man said, sipping on his wine.


    A man stepped out of the shadows from behind. He wore a white undecorated mask to cover his entire face, had a head full of healthy white hair and wore a neat black suit. He was armed with daggers placed at his waist, legs and wherever a dagger could be hid.


    "Surrender or die." Kin got straight to the point.


    The man spun around and threw the glass of wine straight at Kin. The wine inside spilt out as it was hurtled straight at the wall, courtesy of his lack of aiming.


    Kin glared at the man and pat away the wine that splattered on his expensive suit. "Houston, this is your final warning."


    Houston broke out into a maniacal laughter. "Your men are already fighting mine and you think I''ll back out now?" His eyes glowed red as he raised his hand, palms facing up. A burning ball of fire floated above those very palms.


    "¡­We''re fighting till the end!" Houston growled, throwing the ball of fire at Kin like a baseball, this time making sure to aim at his hateful cold mask.


    Kin had long been prepared for his outburst. His eyes glowed an icy blue and a film of water wrapped around the incoming fireball. Kin closed his fist and the water closed in on the flames, erupting into steam as it quenched the fire.


    "HahahHAhhAaHAhahahAHA!" Houston''s disruptive laughter echoed once again. "I really hoped you''d use the wine."


    "Unlike a certain someone, I have something called a brain." Kin injected back, raising his arm towards Houston and eyes glowing. Water whistled in the air, forming arrows pointed at Houston. Kin swiped his arm down and the water arrows went flying at Houston.


    Houston smirked and swiped left with his arm. A curtain of fire acted as a shield in front of him, increasing the temperature of the room and evaporating the water arrows.


    Kin took advantage of the steam cloud and unsheathed his dagger, sprinting up to Houston and slashing at his silhouette. Houston was prepared, he jumped back and used his arm to block the dagger. His arm was slashed but the cut was insignificant and barely bled.


    "I can read you like an open book!" Houston laughed and cauterised his wounds with his fire. The maniac didn''t even flinch at the excruciating pain.


    While Kin was stabilising himself and preparing to attack again, Houston grabbed the bottle of wine from behind him and threw it at Kin. Once again, it wasn''t able to hit Kin. He simply sidestepped and dodged the incoming projectile.


    Houston didn''t care and just laughed. He clicked his fingers and a small spark lit the spilt wine on fire. The fire spread to the carpet, the bookshelf and anything flammable.


    Houston bumped his fists together and created gloves of fire covering his hands. "I''m going to burn that dumb mask straight off your face!"


    Houston sprinted towards Kin, ready to punch his face. Kin responded by raising his daggers and conjured a puddle of water in front of Houston in an attempt to make him slip. However, the sheer temperature of Houston''s body evaporated the water before it even touched him.


    Kin created a huge ball of water and sent it crashing down Houston''s head. The pressure of the water made Houston grunt but it didn''t extinguish the flames that were constantly being fuelled by his ability. However, it did get rid of the fire that was ravaging the hideout.


    The two continued their fight, going back and forth, seemingly in a stalemate. However, it was quite apparent that Kin was holding back, not using his ability as often as Houston and instead opting to use his daggers.


    Eventually, Houston got annoyed by the stalemate. He roared and lit his entire body on fire without a thought of conserving his energy. Rushing at Kin and increasing the intensity of his flames, Houston swung his fist, throwing his flames forward. A giant fist shaped fire punched towards Kin.


    Kin conjured a similarly sized water barrier and swung his arm horizontally. The water follows suit, pushing aside the fire fist and sweeping Houston away as well. Houston was sent flying across the room, slamming into the shelf filled with expensive wine bottles. Many of the bottles broke and the flames still burning on Houston''s body set them on fire. The flames further spread and the whole room was on fire.


    Huffing and puffing amidst all the smoke and steam, Kin sheathed one of his daggers and reached into his pocket. Swiftly retrieving a bag of goodies, he slightly lifted his mask to pour them all into his mouth. Kin crunched on the tablets full of concentrated sugar and swallowed without a change in expression.


    "Already recharging?" Houston knocked a few bottles of still intact wine across the room and jumped back on his feet. "Well, I guess I also recharged too. Your water is quite delicious!"


    Kin furrowed his eyebrow and reflexively threw the dagger in his hand at Houston. Houston jumped aside and simply dodged.


    "Why? Don''t like me taking advantage of your ability to freshen up?" Houston mocked. "Water may defeat fire but water is also what power my ability. Haha, does that infuriate you?"


    "You talk too much." Kin simply stated. He got back into the fight and sent multiple water arrows at Houston. Houston fought back with fire arrows of his own. Thus, both parties were concentrated on making the most arrows and trying the inflict the most pain on the other party. However, Houston''s flames had the highest destructive power. The entire building was burning and before Kin moved anywhere, he had to get rid of the flames first, limiting his mobility.


    Another fireball flew towards Kin''s face. He sidestepped to avoid it and accidentally stepped on a wine bottle. Kin lost his footing, falling backwards onto his bottom, leaving him wide open.


    "F*cking finally." Houston laughed maniacally. Instead of finishing the job quickly, he instead opted to fuel the fires that surrounded Kin and trap him where he sat. "Oh, how I''ve dreamt of this day! The almighty Kin, favourite lackey of an accursed son of a b1tch, falling by my flames."


    Kin saw the flames get closer and closer and made a water barrier to surround himself. He focussed on putting out the flames while being careful so that he didn''t get any steam burns. Unfortunately, Houston had seized the chance. He continued to fuel the flames, even adding more wine to increase the intensity. Kin had to continuously put out the fires and had no leisure to escape.


    Houston laugh like a maniac, relishing at the sight. He spread his arms wide and threw multiple fireballs just for fun.

 Chapter 2 - Whims of fate pt2

    "Guh-!?" Suddenly, Houston groaned in pain, stumbling a few steps forward.


    A sharp object had pierced through his back, causing him to falter with anguish. Houston looked back with shock. There, the perpetrator stood. A little boy, maybe about eleven or twelve, hair black and messy, eyes resembling a black hole and smile like a demon''s.


    This demonic child was so terribly malnourished and worn out. His eyes and cheeks were sunken in, ribs showing, arms and legs shrivelled to point one wondered how he even walked on them. There were purple bruises and small and large cuts riddled all over his pale skin, as if his body were some kind of canvas, the wounds painting a picture of cruelty and abuse.


    The child pushed the blade deeper into Houston''s back, twisting it with murderous rage. He stared into the shocked Houston''s eyes, eyes expressing only delightful glee.


    Houston glared back at the boy, trembling with anger and frustration. "BASTARD!!!" He swore as he swung his arm at the child, hurtling him across the flaming room. The child flew through burning hot flames, burns adding to his canvas of injuries. He hit the wall at high speeds, sliding down with a thud and fortunately fell where there were no flames.


    The child curled up like a prawn and stared emotionlessly at his abuser pulling the dagger he had found on the ground out of his back. Blood flowed from his lips and the back of his head, forming a small puddle of blood.


    Houston swiftly pulled the dagger out and burnt his wound once again. By the time he did that, the boy had already fainted, perhaps already at death''s door. However, feeling pale from blood loss and the throbbing pain in pain, rage and indignation built up inside Houston.


    "I''ve dreamt of this moment for so very long, to watch Kin burn by my flames like the miserable bug he is and you RUINED it for me! This was supposed to be my most glorious moment!" Houston roared at the fainted boy. Tears welled up in his eyes to show how enraged he was.


    "I''ve done so much for you, I clothed you, I fed you, I gave your pathetic life a purpose! And you ruined my stage! You fu*cken backstabbing mutt, Albert!" [A: ...backstabbing, hehe]


    Houston turned his back towards Kin and stormed towards the child, intending to teach him a lesson. "YOU''RE RUI-"


    Without managing to finish his sentence, the anger blind Houston was mercilessly slain by Kin. While Houston was idiotically going on his tangent, Kin escaped the fire siege and conjured a sharp lance of water. The water lance flew at high speeds, evaporating along the way but still sharp and fast enough to be deadly. The lance stabbed into Houston''s back, flying past his ribs and straight through his heart.


    Houston fell to the ground, right in front of the boy he terrorised. They both lay on the ground, bleeding out. Houston bled faster, his blood trickling out like an open faucet. He went pale, hands grappling at the floor, wishing to turn around and face his murderer. Alas, he was too weak. Not having suffered for too long, Houston''s mortal life finally came to an end.


    It was like the world suddenly fell silent. The sound of fighting outside, the flickering flames and intense stench of blood all faded away. Kin stood still staring at Houston''s unmoving corpse. Blood was still leaking out of his mutilated neck but all signs of life had already ceased.


    Kin reached into his pocket once more and pointed his other hand at Houston. His eyes glowed blue and a water lance shot towards the body. It drilled into Houston''s chest, scattering and mixing with the blood once its job was done. Meanwhile, Kin was stuffing himself with sugar tablets and walked pass the dead Houston.


    Kin stared at the boy, who had miraculously still clung onto his life. Blood still seeped out of his open wound and his chest fell and rose rapidly. He was in critical condition and would die if he wasn''t given treatment.


    Before Kin did anything, he felt a strange sensation in his eyes. It was warm and comfortable but unlike anything you''d feel in a normal life. In reaction however, all Kin did was nod, closing his eyes and reopening them again.


    When his eyelids parted once more, the way he saw the world changed. It was like his vision was split into two. One was what he saw and the other what was being transmitted to him.


    The additional sight depicted that of outside the burning building. From what seemed like a tall tree, the originator of the sight stared out into the distance. There were numerous cars with tinted glass headed straight towards them. It would make sense if they were firetrucks but they were not. They were normal cars racing towards Houston''s hideout.


    The scene was suddenly zoomed into. Each driver and passenger of the cars were scrutinised even despite the heavily tinted glass. After identifying each individual, the scene zoomed out and showed a piece of paper with the words, [Retreat?] written on them.


    Kin nodded and his vision then turned back to normal. He walked to the boy and picked him up in his arms. Kin then stylishly walked out of the blazing building without looking back.


    Meanwhile, in other parts of the hideout, Kin''s men were still fighting Houston''s henchmen. One such member suddenly saw an image of the order, [RETREAT] and called out to his team, "Retreat!"


    The men immediately wrapped things up and left the site. Such a scene repeated itself numerous times. Eventually, all teams received the message and focussed on retreating, not even bothering to finish off Houston''s remaining men.


    The 5 teams of 10 men each met up with Kin in the flower field. They were similarly donned in a black suit and unadorned face mask and looked all the same. However, it was apparent to all that Kin was the leader.


    ""Boss!"" The men greeted.


    "The heroes are coming, leave at once." Kin ordered.


    ""Yes Boss!""


    Kin turned away and left the scene of the crime with the boy in tow. He didn''t have to walk for long and found his car and chauffeur waiting for him nearby.


    "Head to the hospital." Kin commanded, taking off his mask to reveal a cold yet charming face and getting into the car.


    "Yes, Boss."


    Just like that, all the villains left before the heroes could even catch a sight of their shadows.

 Chapter 3 - Undeliverable Letter

    "We were too late." Hero Terra clicked his tongue whilst staring at the burnt corpse of Houston. The fire had already been extinguished but the smell of smoke and foul stench of charred flesh and blood still lingered in the air. Heat radiated from the walls and floors and the firefighters were still going around checking everything.


    Terra was the hero that Kin''s henchman had identified. He had dusty brown hair and green eyes. Around said eyes was a mask similar to those worn at masquerade parties, just less flashy. Terra''s hero uniform consisted of a plain black tank top and cameo jacket, along with brown boots and black pants.


    "Quite ironic that it was Ignite''s own flames that mutilated his corpse." Beside Terra was another hero, Frost. He had white-blue hair and eyes. Frost''s hero uniform was just a distinct red scarf and navy police-like uniform along with a black mask over his eyes.


    Terra kicked a pebble on the ground. "We spent months preparing for this operation only to find him dead in his own quarters. If I find out who did this, I''ll bury them 6 feet under!"


    "Well, at least we didn''t have to deal with him ourselves." Frost commented and walked out the room with Terra to get some fresh air.


    Down the hall, they saw a member of the forensics team walking down the hall. Out of a whim, Frost spoke to him. "So, did you guys find anything?"


    "Uh, a lot of things were lost in the fire but there''s a room down the hall that''s relatively untouched. We''re checking it out right now." He replied.


    "Hmm, let''s go help." Frost suggested to Terra. He nodded and the two followed the forensics guy down the burnt halls, turning left and right in the maze of a building. At the very end of the hall was a burnt wooden door. It was charred black and but still standing.


    The forensics guy pushed the door open, revealing a little room. Inside were partially burnt objects, but most things were relatively untouched. The fire hadn''t quite made it there yet when the firefighters drowned the building.


    The room consisted of a rather old and stained couch with a blanket messily thrown on top. There were drenched books stacked all around the couch and cardboard boxes lined up and put on top of each other like some kind of makeshift desk. Some of the cardboard boxes were opened, revealing a few sets of old, ragged clothes.


    Perhaps the only lively thing within the room were the random pots of plants surrounding the window. There were cute and vibrant wild flowers, proud roses and tall ferns placed in a disorderly fashion. They were well taken care of, healthy and strong and survived the fire unscathed.


    "Wow, the difference is quality is outstanding, even the hallway looks more decorated than this. Is this a storage room?" Frost commented.


    "A storage room wouldn''t be this empty, you idiot." Terra responded.


    "I know. I was just saying." Frost chuckled. "So, what have you guys found so far?"


    One of the forensics guys in the room was flipping through a book and answered. "All the books here are related to plants, mostly to do with illicit drugs and poisonous plants. I''ve flipped through a few of the annotated and tagged pages but they are extremely detailed on how the plant thrives."


    Another forensics member chimed in. "If you turn the cover page, you''ll see the same name written on all of them." He turned the book over, showing the name, ''Al Bert Hills'' written neatly. "I think he was their botanist.


    Intrigued, Terra knelt down beside the cardboard boxes that the guys hadn''t checked yet and looked through the contents. He found another book inside. It was different from the others in that it wasn''t a non-fiction book on plants but instead a novel. The novel wasn''t very thick and was typically what a child would read.


    "The Knight and the Dragon." Terra muttered, reading the title. He flipped the book over and raised an eyebrow.


    "Hmm? What''s wrong?" Frost asked and walked over to Terra.


    The back of the book had a white sticker with text printed on. ''Dolly Meadows Primary School'', it read.


    "What''s a book from a primary school doing here?"


    Terra flipped through the pages and noticed there was an unusually thick and stiff page. Thinking that it may contain some evidence, he tore the pages apart and found a photo inside.


    It was an old photo, ones that had the date printed on them. It dated back three years and was a family photo. There was a father and a mother and their son smiling happily in the photo. The little boy was holding a cake in which the words, ''Happy Birthday, Albert'' were written with icing.


    Terra raised an eyebrow and flipped the photo over. There were words written in small font on the back.


    "Dear Mum and Dad, after an excruciating 2 years, it seems I''ve finally been broken enough to write a letter that''ll never be delivered. It''s addressed to you but really, I just needed to TELL someone, something, how I feel." Terra read. He paused and continued.


    "Still, it''s a letter so by law I must ask you how you''re feeling, right? Hopefully you''re doing better than me (its pretty hard to not). I''m sure that even without me, life went on as usual. Mum''ll make breakfast before going to work and Dad will stuff his face whilst complaining that he was late for work. Then, late at night, you''ll both come home and chat for a bit before going to bed. Even without me, everything will go on as usual, as it should.


    I want to return to that ordinary life. I miss having to worry about being late to school and forgetting to do my homework. I yearn for that mundane life. But I''m afraid. I''m scared of going back. I fear that when I return, no one will recognise me."


    The steady, neat handwriting changed. It was shaky and written aggressively.


    "I could hardly recognise myself. When I look into my reflection, a corpse stares back at me. His eyes are hollow, his cheeks are sunken in, he''s scarred and broken¡­It''s exactly like in those books about tragedies and war. At the end of it all, the main character is never himself. He stares in the mirror and sees a zombie, a shallow shell of his former self. I always felt it was strange but now I understand. A human can really live but not be alive.


    My hands are stained with blood and poison. I am an unwilling accomplice to the villains. Death''s scythe is inches away from my neck. I feel undeserving of a warm home. I scared that I''ll taint everything I touch.


    Maybe I''ve become a villain myself, become one of them. I''m useful to them. They''ll never let me go. The day that I''m set free is also the day I finally die. But, rather than die obeying them, I prefer to die fighting. I''ll let them know that I, Albert Hills, am a fighter. Even if it costs me my life, I''ll make that monster feel my pain.


    I''m going to do it soon. I''ll stick a knife through his back when I get the chance. I''ll go out with a blaze of glory. So, I''ll probably never be able to see you again. But do know that I think of you everyday and will continue to do so from wherever I end up when I''m dead. With love, your dear son, Albert Hills."


    Everyone fell into solemn silence. The contents of the letter were quite damning and they needed awhile to process it. From the shared name Albert, it was apparent that the author of the letter was the owner of all the books in the room. Thus, it was easy to make the connection as to what kind of things he was made to do.


    Terra took a deep breath. "Frost-"


    "I know, I''m checking it now. If a kid went missing, there should be some news online." Frost was tapping away at his phone, typing the words Dolly Meadows Primary School, Albert Hills into the search bar. Soon, articles related to the key words showed up. Frost''s guess was right, the news did cover it.


    "It''s a match. They really did kidnap a kid." Frost revealed after skimming through the article.


    Everyone sharply inhaled. The contents of the letter were real. That child¡­he was probably dead by now. Perhaps he didn''t even have an intact corpse. Ignite did enjoy burning his victims to ash after all.


    "Did they kidnap him because of his ability?" One of the forensic guys suggested, avoiding the more morbid topic. "Perhaps he had a plant based ability and so they took advantage of it to grow drugs and whatnot."


    "That''s plausible. Plant-growing abilities are quite uncommon after all." Another chimed.


    Frost nodded. "From our research, Ignite''s drugs were rather special in that they were especially addictive and apparently of better quality. It''s likely that the boy''s ability enhanced the drugs somehow."


    "That''s not important right now." Terra injected. "Look through all the boxes and anything in this room. I''m going to send everything not related to the case to his family."


    "Yes sir!"


    "Let''s go, Frost." Terra took a photo of the letter and carefully stuffed it into his pocket. "We''re going to deliver the letter."

 Chapter 4 - Fiend

    The boy woke up in a startle. He shot up, hugging his arms and curling up into a ball. His newly formed scabs and stitches tore and came undone by the sudden action. He bled and a wave of pain assaulted his healing body but he ignored it. This pain was no match for the anguish and fear rampaging in his heart.


    In his mind, he saw a pit of fire. He was in the depths of the pit, the centre where the fires avoided like there was a spell cast around where he stood. The fire flickered and danced about, taunting him with their intense heat.


    Opposite to where he stood, bathing in the flames was a fiery fiend. He consisted solely of charred flesh, like a devil or a walking corpse, an abomination, a crime against nature, that which was rejected by the world itself. Replacing his eyeballs in the eye sockets were glowing red flames that somehow distinguished itself from the other fires in a disturbing, soul shaking manner. The fiend stared at the boy with his glowy eyes and an eerie smile stretched across his cracked charcoal face.


    He lifted his arm and pointed a bony finger at the boy.


    [LiGHt AnD dArKnESs ArE twO SiDes oF ThE SaMe COin. YoU wILL NeVEr EsCaPe IT. iT IS YoUr DeStINy! YoU WErE BoRn To CrEate aNd deStRoY, EVeN if yOU wErE tO fAcE ThE lIgHT, YoUr ShaDow wILL RemInD yOu Of ThE MONSTER ThaT yOu ARE! It WiLL HaUnT yOu ForEVEr! AL! BERT! mY DEmoN iMPS!]


    The boy stood in place, his knees shaking and trembling as the jarring voice echoed in his ears. His heart pounded in his chest, the sinking sensation getting stronger with each beat. He hugged his arms, nails digging into his skin as he desperately tried to suppress his fear.


    Suddenly, a hand emerged from within the fiend''s chest. A gaping hole was made in the charcoal body and it crumbled into dust just like that. Behind the falling dust was a shadow, a boy enshrouded entirely in a shadow in this otherwise fiery world. With a face identical to the boy''s, he stared coldly and ruthlessly at the boy.


    The boy stared wide eyed, frozen in place. His shadow continued to glare at him, staring disapprovingly. The boy''s mouth opened and closed stupidly, stammering for words that refused to form. He took a step back only to clumsily trip over his own feet and fall flat on his bottom. Falling out of the invisible barrier, the boy was swallowed by the ravaging and starved flames. From start to finish, his eyes never left his shadow''s lifeless, impassive eyes that more closely resembled black marbles.


    Just then, a hand gently shook the boy''s shoulder and jolted him back to reality. He opened his eyes again, the scenery changing from a sea of flames to the peaceful, quiet hospital ward that was devoid of colour.


    "What''s wrong?" The owner of the hand inquired with concern.


    The boy flinched, jumping at the touch of the intruder. He turned with great vigour and speed, just like a wounded and frightened animal. However, his eyes were calm and without a single ripple of emotion. No, actually, there was. A sliver of fear and maybe even blood-lust made it through the cracks.


    "Is there a problem?" The intruder asked again, unfazed.


    The intruder was a doctor. She had golden hair and eyes, wearing a white coat, a comfortable shirt underneath it and a stethoscope hanging around her neck. Pinned on her coat was a name tag that read: Cynthia Lopez, Healer.


    "It''s not good to hurt yourself like that, okay?" Cynthia gently reprimanded. "Good kids don''t waste the efforts of the doctors and nurses that make them better. Am I understood?"


    Cynthia was smiling, she was smiling but there was a dark aura that seethed out of her right now. Terrifying! She was too scary! The boy had no choice but to nod and release his tight grip on his arms. There were dark red stains of blood where his hand was along with other places where he had reopened his wounds.


    "Good boy. You''re a child who listens well, aren''t you, Albert?" Cynthia relaxed and charmingly smiled. She pat Albert''s coarse hair, praising him.


    "As a reward, I''ll partially heal you." She held his left hand with her two. "I''m not supposed to be doing this, but you were a good child, so..."


    Cynthia smiled and her eyes glowed golden. The same golden glow transferred to Albert. Starting from his hand, its warmth coursed through his body. The pains that assaulted his body lessened a little but was replaced by the itch of a healing wound. Even after Cynthia stopped using her ability and let go of his hand, Albert still felt that persisting itch. It was like thousands of bugs gnawing his skin. There was no pain, but that constant feeling of something crawling all over you was enough to drive one insane.


    "All better, be careful not to open your wounds again, alright?"


    Albert slowly nodded. He felt as though she had done this on purpose. She purposely only healed him a little, forcing him to deal with the enhanced itch of a healing wound, something he felt was worse than the pain itself.


    "Now, where''s your thanks?"


    He opened and closed his mouth, stammering for the words that just refused to form. To thank this devil for torturing him...He just didn''t want to! Dammit! He didn''t want the first thing he says after waking up to be dishonest words that went against his very existence!


    Just as he was wrestling his inner dilema, Albert caught a glance at the vase of flowers decorating the bedside table. They were brightly coloured flowers that had presumably been cut from the garden by someone who didn''t know a lot about flowers. They weren''t cut properly in a diagonal at the stem and the flowers were jammed in, casting shadows over one another and already starting to wilt.


    Ding! A great idea popped into Albert''s head. He grabbed the colourful flowers and his beady black eyes turned into a glowly vivid green. The garden flowers started to perk up, gaining vitality and even spouting more flowers. They had speckles of the rainbow on the petals, unique and beautiful flowers.


    Albert straightened his arm and shoved the bouquet directly in front of Cynthia''s face. He didn''t speak but his black eyes said it all.


    "This is your thanks?" Cynthia chuckled. "Well, they''re quite beautiful so I''ll accept them."


    Albert let out a sigh of relief on the inside.


    "Then, I''ve got to go back to work now, see you again, Albert."


    Albert nodded. In the split second that she opened the door to leave, Albert happened to see another person standing outside the door. The man was clothed in a black suit and stood with his back tall and straight. He wore black sunglasses and looked like the stereotypical bodyguard.


    Cynthia nodded at him in greeting and he nodded back. She also whispered something to him and quickly closed the door, leaving Albert alone in the hospital room.


    By himself again, Albert looked outside the window, turning his head 45 degrees like he was some kind of profound master. ''Albert is my name?...I don''t really like the sound of it.''

 Chapter 5 - Angel in white

    "How is it, milady? Can you see?" The doctor inquired after removing the white bandages wrapped around the young lady''s eyes.


    The preteen had wavy white hair, fair white skin and a delicate, frail body. Her eyes were a crystalline blue, glistening like a lake in the summer. The girl was angel incarnate, radiating innocence and purity. She blinked once and twice, yet her eyes still were not focussed. Those beautiful eyes appeared to be clouded, unable to see.


    "No, but my eyes don''t hurt anymore." The girl rubbed her eyes and still all she saw was the pitch black void.


    The doctor''s lips straightened into a line. The young miss'' eyes were physically healthy but as if there was some kind of mystical force clouding over them, she had lost her sight. Even when the hospital''s best healers gathered to heal her, they couldn''t do anything beyond healing her eyeballs. He was afraid the young miss shall never see again. "¡­If anything comes up, don''t hesitate to press the bell, alright?"


    The girl nodded and the doctor left the room. The only people inside the big hospital room were now the girl and her bodyguard, the ability user that had shared his sight with Kin the night before.


    He waved his hand in front of the girl''s eyes curiously and found that she really didn''t react. She blinked but her irises didn''t move at all.


    "Stop that, Cain." The girl smacked his rude hand away like she was swatting away a fly.


    Cain froze, his purple eyes widening with shock. "I thought you couldn''t see! Did you lie to the doctor, Victoria?"


    "Are you stupid? I could feel the wind blowing against my face." Victoria retorted. "Never mind that, quick, use your ability on me."


    "My ability? Alright." Cain nodded and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were glowing and his vision was being transmitted to Victoria. "Can you see?"


    Victoria nodded with a big smile. She could see herself as if she was looking in a mirror but from a strange angle. It was from above and an angle in which she''s never seen herself before. However, Victoria was satisfied. She had proved her theory correct and her world was longer just that darkness. "I''ve decided, you''re my exclusive bodyguard from now on. You''re going to be my new eyes!"


    "Impossible." Cain frankly refused. "I still have to go on missions with Boss."


    "Father will understand. Aside from Mother, there''s no one he loves more than me in this world. There''s no way he''ll refuse my request."


    "¡­" Cain grumbled to himself inwardly. It was no secret that Kin doted on his daughter. He treated her like a precious jewel and gave her anything she wanted.


    Victoria smiled smugly in response to his silence. "More importantly, help me put this bandage back on."


    "Why? You don''t need it, do you?" Cain questioned.


    "Tsk, tsk, tsk. You don''t understand the magnificence and beauty of this white fabric, Cain. Its soft breathable material feels good against the skin and makes it feel natural to keep my eyes closed. Not only that! This white colour, it completely matches my theme! Look at me, the only non-white thing about me are my eyes. With this bandage, everything will be white, there will be no more of that jarring blue." Victoria rambled excitedly.


    "You''re too obsessed with the colour white." Cain sighed but did as instructed. He wrapped the bandages around her eyes once more, completing the image of a delicate and fragile young girl.


    Victoria jumped up on the bed and did a little twirl. Even when she didn''t turn her head to look, she could still see her figure spinning around happily. It was one of the few advantages of Cain''s ability, she thought to herself. "Perfect! I''m as angelic as usual, I see."


    "And even more narcissistic, it seems."


    Victoria stuck her tongue out at Cain and spread her arms. " Look how angelic and fragile I look. You''ll never associate this beautiful blind girl with villains would you? I say it''s the perfect disguise."


    "You''re never going on missions so there''s no need for a disguise. Just admit it, Victoria, this is completely redundant and only serves to satisfy your strange sense of fashion."


    "Shut up and call me milady from now on since you''re going to be my exclusive bodyguard." Victoria commanded with her hands on her hips.


    Cain sighed and complied. "Yes, milady."


    Victoria smugly smiled. "So, what happened during the four days I was unconscious?"


    Cain took a seat on the stool. "Well, we got ready to raid Houston''s hideout and completed the mission just the other day. Oh, and Boss picked up a little boy around your age. It seems that he helped to kill Houston. Stabbed a rusty old blade into his back or something."


    "A boy my age?" Victoria asked.


    "He''s a little younger. A scrawny little kid with black hair and eyes." Cain described.


    "A black haired boy¡­" Victoria mumbled. Then as if a light bulb lit up in her mind, a sneer graced her face. "How interesting, this has never happened before..."


    "What''s going to happen to him from now on?" She asked curiously.


    "Uh, I''m not quite sure. Boss was originally going to send him back home but one of our spies found out that the heroes know that he was there."


    "Oh, then he can''t go home, can he?" Victoria smilingly asked. "How pitiful, I should go see him. Where is he right now?"


    "He''s next door."


    "Great!" Victoria hopped off the bed on her bare feet. She looked around for slippers but the shared sight was still and unmoving. When she realised, Victoria kicked forward where she guessed Cain''s shin would be, squarely hitting her target. "Look down, you idiot."


    Feeling aggrieved, Cain directed his eyes down at the slippers on the floor. They were beside Victoria''s pearly white feet and were white just as she liked it.


    Slipping the shoes on, Victoria used Cain as a guide dog and had him escort her next door.


    The guard standing outside knocked on the door and opened it for the two. As soon as the door opened, Victoria, through her shared sight saw a malnourished boy sitting amongst a bed of flowers look towards them as he shed a tear.


    Instantly, the words she was prepared to speak were stuck in her throat.

 Chapter 6 - Family

    Albert rubbed his eyes, leaving wet spots on the bandages wrapped around his hands and arms. With red eyes, he observed the ''guests'' that have just entered the room. A man with dark purple hair and eyes dressed in a black suit accompanied by a beautiful girl in white; they looked like a princess and her butler.


    "¡­Your eyes¡­" He subconsciously muttered. As soon as the words slipped from his mouth, Albert covered his mouth with wide eyes.


    Victoria touched her bandages and regained her composure. Her lips rose into a slight smile as if she was trying to conceal her pain. "Are you talking about the bandages? It was an unfortunate accident...it doesn''t hurt anymore but the doctor said I might not ever see again. Ah, sorry, I was oversharing wasn''t I? I''m sorry, it''s just, it all doesn''t feel very real to me. Like, it just happened last week and now my world is just nothing."


    Beside her, Cain''s shoulders shook and he covered his mouth with his hands and looked down, desperately trying to suppress his laughter and the stupid grin surfacing on his face. Still smiling, Victoria sneakily jabbed him in the stomach with her elbow.


    Albert didn''t speak again. He returned to his silent self and shut his mouth.


    "Enough about me, are you okay? I heard that you''ve been hurt." Victoria was lying. She didn''t ask about Albert''s well being earlier but since he was in a hospital room, she guessed.


    "¡­" Albert was still silent.


    Hearing the crickets, Victoria took out her trump card: sweet angel smile! Soft pink lips raised slightly and excluding kindly aura, it was too powerful! Even Cain who was always by her side was not immune to it. "Please be careful from now on, I''ll be sad if you got hurt."


    However, it didn''t work on Albert! How could this be?! This ability was effective on all organisms that could see, unless one was heartless, they would undoubtedly sway under her smile. Was his heart frozen?


    Instead, Albert''s face scrunched up and he drew back. "So fake¡­"


    ''Fake?'' Victoria''s white lotus smile cracked.


    "Pft-! Ahahahaha~~! He exposed you! Your facade was seen through so quickly, Victoria. Maybe you should work on your acting a bit more." Cain burst out laughing and advised.


    Through her shared sight, Victoria can see her own face heat up and turn red from embarrassment. "Shut up!" She raged and kicked Cain''s shin.


    "You!" Victoria pointed in Albert''s general direction and sneered angrily. "I was going to ask Father to let you go home but since you''ve asked so nicely, I''ll let you stay and join the family. You can become my sla- little brother and help your poor handicapped older sister get around."


    Instead of Albert, it was Cain who interjected. "You can''t just decide that on your own, Milady!"


    "I don''t care. I''m going to make him a fine villain befitting his poisonous tongue." Victoria puffed her cheeks and humphed.


    "Poisonous tongue? All he did was point out your fakeness." Cain laughed.


    "Exactly, with just a word he destroyed me. That''s how poisonous he is!" Victoria seriously proclaimed. "I''m sure he''ll become the most nefarious villain there is, after Father of course."


    The frozen Albert finally snapped out of his daze. "My ability is useless in battle, therefore, I can''t live up to your expectations. Please, disown me from your family."


    He very calmly rejected her proposal.


    Befitting her status as a pampered young miss, Victoria selfishly ignored his wishes. "Doesn''t matter. I''ll groom you to become the best ever villain!"


    "I refuse." With the same calm voice, Albert once again rejected her.


    Victoria''s face went red with anger. "Your opinion doesn''t matter! I''m adopting you and that''s final!"


    Just then, the guard at the door opened it. Standing outside was a stoic and handsome man with a head of white hair. His blue eyes were like a deep lake and face, cold and apathetic.


    "Boss?" Cain turned around and exclaimed.


    "Father!" Victoria''s face blossomed with a bright smile and she spread her arms wide for a hug.


    Kin very naturally walked into the hug. After a few minutes, the two parted. "What are you doing here, Victoria. Shouldn''t you be resting?"


    "The doctor said there wasn''t anything wrong with my eyes. I can go home tomorrow." Victoria reported with a smile.


    Kin paused as he stared at the bandages around Victoria''s eyes. He touched it as a tinge of guilt crept into his heart, "Sweetie¡­"


    "Don''t worry, Father. I can still see with the help of Cain''s ability." Victoria reassured.


    Kin glanced over at Cain and his glowing eyes then back at Victoria again. He lightly kissed her forehead and spoke softly though his expression was as indifferent as always. "Then he can stay by your side and be your eyes forever."


    "Wha- Boss! I can''t use my ability all day you know?! It''s impossible." Cain mustered his courage and protested.


    Kin turned a cold gaze over at Cain. A silent pressure overcame Cain and cold sweat ran down his back.


    "I understand. The least I can do is watch movies and TV shows for her." Cain sighed and gave in. To this, Victoria responded with a cheeky victorious grin.


    "Anyways, Father, since, uh, that boy you picked up can''t go home, can we adopt him as my little brother?" Victoria pleaded.


    "Adopt him?" Kin repeated.


    Victoria nodded. "Yes, he looks like he''s a little younger but he can be in the same class as me and help out at school too. If we teach him how to fight, he''ll be able to protect me too. Pretty please, Father?"


    After a deep breath, Kin finally replied. "¡­Only if your Mother agrees."


    "Yay! Thanks, Father!" Victoria gleefully wrapped her arms around Kin and gave him a big hug.


    Kin wrapped one arm around Victoria and got his phone out of his pocket with the other. He pressed on a button and the call went through.


    [Hey, darling, what''s up?] A sweet voice answered on the other side of the call.


    "Mother, can we adopt a little brother? I''ve always wanted a little brother." Victoria asked.


    [My, of course we can. The more the merrier. Fufufu, when will you be coming home? I''ll cook up a big feast.] Without any thought, Joan agreed to her request. Her nonchalant attitude was like they were adopting a pet instead of a live human being.


    "Tomorrow. I''ll be there with my little brother too. I love you, Mother."


    [I love you too, sweetie. And you too, darling.]


    "I love you too, honey." Kin replied back.


    He hung up the phone and picked up Victoria in his arms. "Now that you''ve gotten the answer you wanted, how about you get some rest? It''s getting late."


    "It''s not that late, Father. I''m thirteen, I can stay up to twelve no problem."


    "Well, Al...what was it again? Ah, right, Albert needs to get some sleep too, so we should leave." Kin turned to leave with Victoria in his arms but just as he left, he paused and turned his head around. "Goodnight, son."


    Albert was left in a daze and just fell back onto his flower covered blanket. There was nothing he could do about it now. From the sounds of it, this family of alleged villains had already decided to adopt him despite the fact that he supposedly had another home. He had no say in it.


    ''This might be better than going to a family I can''t remember. At least these people don''t know me either, we''ll be on the same page''.


    Maybe it was because of his experiences at the villain''s hideout, but despite his lack of memories and a total sh*tstorm of things happening around him, Albert was exceedingly calm and just went with the flow.

 Chapter 7 - Breakfast

    Early in the morning, when the sun had just rose above the horizon, Victoria snapped open her eyes. She turned her head left and right, huffing and puffing, rubbing her eyes and pausing upon contact with the bandages wrapped around her head.


    "Oh, right." She muttered, sitting up on the bed. Victoria unwrapped the bandages, exposing her blue eyes to the air. She blinked and looked out the window, unable to see the beautiful view outside, there was only darkness. Victoria went silent, the reality of her future settling within. Head hanging low, she hugged her knees and leaned her head against them. Voice weak and trembling, she revealed the voice inside, "¡­I was prepared for this, but I didn''t know it would be this tough."


    *Sniff*, Victoria raised her head and wiped her tears. "No, I won''t be defeated by this. I chose this path and I''ll continue to walk on it. Even if it''s a path to hell."


    Victoria wrapped the bandages around her eyes once more. "CAIN!" She called out.


    There was a knock at the door.


    "Come in."


    The door slid open and the guard that stood between Victoria''s and Albert''s rooms appeared. "Milady, Cain is not here at the moment, would you like me to call him?"


    "Yes, please. Tell him to come ASAP."


    "Understood." The guard closed the door and called Cain on the phone, telling him to come as soon as possible.


    A little while later, Cain walked into the room, "You called for me, Milady?"


    "Where did you go, Cain?" Victoria''s voice was flat and cold. "You''re supposed to be my bodyguard."


    "Apologies, Milady." Cain quickly expressed. "I was eating breakfast."


    "Breakfast? What kind of bodyguard just leaves their, uh, what do you call a person a bodyguard guards?" Victoria''s anger fizzled out and with little shame, she asked.


    "Pft-Ahahahaha, what''s with that?! They''re called¡­uh, what''re they called again?"


    "You don''t even know!" Victoria threw her pillow at Cain''s general direction.


    Cain leaped forward to catch the pillow and smiled. "Anyways, what''d you call me for, milady?"


    Arms crossed, Victoria answered him. "I want to brush my teeth, help me see."


    Cain nodded and activated his ability. He escorted her off the bed and into the bathroom in her room. Victoria, with the help of the observing Cain, quickly freshened up. "Let''s eat breakfast with Albert. I''m craving bread and soup today so tell the chefs."


    "Understood." Cain nodded, slightly drooling despite having just eaten breakfast. He couldn''t help it, the chefs that Victoria spoke of were first class chefs, their food was simply delightful. Without a moment''s delay, he very quickly relayed the order to them, deliberately over ordering, telling them to make six servings so that he could eat the leftovers with Albert''s bodyguard too.


    "Okay, let''s go." Arriving in front of Albert''s hospital room, Victoria opened the door with so much force that it hit the wall, slid back, closed and bounced open again. She didn''t seem to mind her act of brute force and had an excited smile on her face. Behind her, Cain simply sighed and shook his head.


    In the next second, Victoria''s smile turned stiff. Cain, too, froze. In his eyes, he saw a beautiful doctor dressed in a white gown, golden locks draped across her shoulders and a faint smile hanging on her lips. The doctor had her hand on Albert''s bare chest, her healthy hands a stark contrast to his unhealthy pale skin.


    "My, good morning." Cynthia removed her hand from Albert''s chest and greeted the two that had very loudly made their presence known. "Are you two here to visit Albert?"


    Victoria swiftly changed from that barbaric young miss to her alternate persona, angelic Victoria. "Yes. I''m here to invite him to eat in the garden. I thought that he''ll feel stuffy staying indoors for so long. May I ask if you are a doctor?"


    Cynthia glanced down at her badge and then back at Victoria and her bandages. "Yes. I''m a healer. I''m here to remove his scars and check to see if he had fully healed."


    "Wow, a healer? You have such a splendid ability, it must be tough healing people everyday." Victoria praised. Just then, Victoria saw Cain''s gaze shift from Cynthia to the Albert beside her. His somewhat expressionless face showed an obvious look of cringe.


    "No, no, you give me too much praised. Truthfully, I just enjoy healing people, seeing them writhe, cough, seeing people get better makes me happy and makes it all the more worth it." Cynthia smiled, a black aura emitting from her.


    Victoria just smiled. "Oh, I shouldn''t bother you anymore. I leave my little brother in your hands."


    "Oh, yes. Leave it to me!" Cynthia placed her cold hands back on Albert''s chest. He slightly flinched but didn''t have time to get used to it when the familiar warm light enveloped his various scars. The hateful itch returned, though not as bad as the first, it was still rather unbearable. Albert grit his teeth and clenched his fists, his face scrunched up as if he was constipated.


    Victoria faintly chuckled, greatly enjoying the scene as if she was watching a movie.


    "There, all done, you''re good as new now." Cynthia pat Albert''s hair and announced.


    "Uh, there''s a spot you missed." Cain pointed out. Indeed, Albert''s skin wasn''t spotless yet. There was a little red mark on the side of his ribs shaped vaguely like a rabbit.


    "Oh, that? It looks like a branding but its actually just a birthmark. I can''t get rid of it."


    "Thanks for the hard work, doctor. You must be tired now." Victoria expressed.


    Cynthia shook her head. "I''m fine. All I have to do is drink some coffee and my ability will have recovered."


    "Then, we won''t keep you from recovering. Thank you, doctor."


    "No problem. Goodbye."


    After Cynthia left, Victoria plopped down on Albert''s bed. "Get ready, Albert. We''re going out to eat."


    Albert nodded, getting out from under his covers and quickly brushed his teeth. "I''m done."


    "Great! Let''s go." Victoria extended her hand and Cain received it, escorting her outside. "After we finish eating, we''re going to go home, alright?" She informed without looking back and left.


    Albert nodded despite knowing that she wasn''t looking. He followed behind the two, constantly maintaining a distance of three feet between them like a duckling following a mother duck until they arrived at the garden.


    At one of the picnic tables, a red and white checkered cloth was placed over the wood. Two people dressed in black and white busied themselves, placing a basket of freshly baked bread in the middle of the table.


    Victoria sat down on the bench and a bowl of soup was placed in front of her. Cain stood behind her, gulping at the smell of delicious soup.


    "Come on, sit here, Albert." Victoria pat beside her. Albert nodded and sat down next to her.


    "Cain, stand there beside the others." Victoria commanded. "I can''t see myself eat."


    "Yes, Milady." Cain obliged, knowing that his gluttony had been exposed. He obediently went to stand beside the staff and their tray of covered food.


    "Let''s eat." Victoria smiled and grabbed her spoon after a few tries. She blew on the soup, eating it with relish. "Mmm~ good as always."


    Albert observed and copied. He took a sip, surprised by how aromatic and deep the flavour was. Without even waiting for it to cool down, he directly picked up the bowl and one shotted it! The very next second, he regretted his actions. Now he had no more to soup to drink.


    Hungry, Albert reached out for the bread. He bit into it, mouth filling up with the taste of fresh bread. Munching and demolishing the roll, tears welled up in Albert''s eyes. How long had it been since he had fresh bread, he wondered. He didn''t remember but it felt like forever since he last had good warm food.


    "Eat slower." Victoria scolded. "You won''t be able to taste it properly if you rush through it."


    "Un." Albert answered through his tears.


    "Here, sir, please have some soup." The catering staff refilled Albert''s bowl and respectfully handed it over to him. Albert thanked them with a nod and blew on it, properly savouring it this time.


    "If you eat it with bread, it''ll taste better you know?" Cain advised, staring enviously at the food.


    Albert did as advised and tore a piece of the bread, dipping it into the soup and throwing it into his mouth. The deep taste of the soup mixed together with the fragrance of the bread was an unbeatable combo! Albert was impressed, he continued to eat, eat and eat. Before he knew it, the basket of bread was already empty and the huge pot of soup was nearing its end too.


    "*Sniff*, he, he has a big appetite..." Cain cried, seeing the last bowl of the soup of his dreams get served to the insatiable monster. Albert alone had eaten five servings! No matter how starved he was, how was it possible to ingest so much in one setting? Where did it all go?


    Only after finishing his food did the shame catch up to Albert. "S-sorry, I ate it all."


    "That''s not a problem but how are you still so skinny after eating so much?" Victoria exclaimed with disbelief.


    "My ability requires me to eat a lot so I presume I had been using my ability more than I have been eating prior to this, thus, I had been constantly hungry and without meaning to...ate all the food." Albert reported.


    "What do you mean presume? You should know by now how much food your ability consumes and how much food you need to eat to make up for it. Especially when you''re all skin and bones now." Victoria scolded with a humph.


    "I have no recollection of the past, my most recent memory is of waking up in the hospital."


    "...That''s yesterday!" It took her awhile but Victoria retorted splendidly. "Why didn''t you tell anyone you lost your memory?"


    "...You didn''t ask."


    Taking in a deep breath, Victoria calmed herself down. She then faced Albert with a smile and spoke, "For concealing such important information from your elder sister, don''t you think you deserve to be punished?"


    ''Punished?'' Albert started to tremble.


    "Ten push ups! Now!" Commander Victoria commanded.


    Albert who had been bracing himself for an impact was stupefied.


    "What are you sitting around for? Twenty push ups!"


    Still dazed, Albert did as he was told, getting down on the grass and positioning himself to do the pushups. Only...he couldn''t. Every attempt to slightly lower himself just resulted in him falling face first on the grass. After twenty tries, Albert got up. "I...huff...did...huff...twenty...huff...push...ups..."


    "Hahahahaha! Those aren''t pushups!" Cain burst into laughter. "Oh dear lord, are you trying to kill me with laughter?"


    ''Father, was I in the wrong for believing he could be a great villain?'' Victoria sighed.

 Chapter 8 - My Name Is Albert Cruz

    "You really don''t remember anything?" Victoria asked grumpily.


    "Mm." Albert answered, tugging on his new sweater. Cain had thrown the new set of clothes at him and instructed for him to change into them. Apparently, they threw out his old ones because they were just rags.


    "Then how do you know your name?"


    "Because you told me it."


    Victoria sighed. "Like this, even if you went back, it wouldn''t matter." She grumbled to herself quietly.


    "Well, it doesn''t matter I suppose. You are starting a new life after all." Victoria looked at Albert, smiling. "Listen, your name is Albert Cruz, 11 years old and my little brother. You skipped grades and will be going to the same classes as me."


    Albert nodded. "Okay, but I don''t know anything, is that fine?"


    "It''s fine." Cain chimed from the front seat of the car. "Milady won''t be going to school for awhile to get used to being blind so you can just catch up then. We''ll hire a tutor for you."


    Albert nodded and said no more. Soon after, the car drove into the driveway of a rather big house. It was a standard double story house with a nice front yard and what not. There was nothing about it that stood out from the rest but it was luxurious looking.


    "Mother." Victoria called out noticing a beautiful woman standing at the front door. She had pastel purple hair and emerald green eyes, so mesmerising that she looked otherworldly.


    "Victoria!" Joan spread her arms wide and embraced Victoria in one big hug. When the two stood together like that, it was made extremely evident that they were a mother and daughter pair. After all, Victoria was basically a carbon copy of Joan aside from the hair and eye colour that she had inherited from Kin.


    "Oh, and you must be Albert. Come here, let me give you a hug." Joan smiled at Albert and beckoned for him to come closer.


    Albert hesitantly took a step forward and walked into Joan''s embrace. She pulled him right in, squeezing both Victoria and Albert at the same time. "Welcome to the family, Albert."


    "...Mm." Albert hummed with a slight blush.


    The family (plus Cain) walked inside the house and sat themselves in the living room. Joan served them some juice that she had prepared beforehand and smiled at Albert. Unsure how to respond, Albert just awkwardly smiled back. It was actually his first time smiling since he woke up but Joan didn''t know that and the others hadn''t noticed.


    "Mother, can you believe Albert lost all his memories but didn''t tell anyone?" Victoria complained, cookie in hand.


    Joan paused, "Is that really true?"


    "Mm." Albert nodded.


    After awhile, Joan just smiled and rubbed Albert''s head. "It''s a pity but you''re starting a new life now, so it''s fine to leave the past behind."


    "Mm." Albert hummed in a daze.


    The family chatted for a little while before Victoria dragged Albert around the house, showing him around and leading him to his new room. It was newly furnished and decorated just for Albert. Kin had hired a team to for all through the night and a little in the morning to get it done in time. The walls were colourful with paintings of nature and flowers and the ceiling was a night sky painted with glowing paint. A queen sized bed sit snugly in the corner with fluffy sheets and a warm blue blanket. There was also a desk, bookshelf filled with an assortment of books and a closet with a few sets of clothes to be filled later.


    Looking at his room, Albert inadvertently got a little emotional. It was his room, a proper room just for him. This really was his new home after all.


    "Come on, no time to be emotional." Victoria interrupted. "You have to learn everything there is to learn so you can do my homework for me."


    "Aren''t you supposed to do it yourself?" Albert slow wittingly said.


    "Idiot, what''s the point of a little brother if you don''t enslave them?" Victoria scoffed.


    "Milady, Boss would not be happy if he finds out that you''re not doing your school work properly." Cain who had been silently following them all along intervened.


    "Well, he wouldn''t know if no one tells him."


    "Boss is surprisingly sharp you know?"


    Victoria puffed out her cheeks. "I know that, Father IS the greatest villain there is after all."


    Victoria walked through the glossy wood hallway and entered the study where it was most cozy. There were beanbags strewn across the room and comfy couches. Also, there was a library full of books that looked untouched. "Since you don''t remember anything about yourself, I''m free to make a backstory for you, aren''t I?"


    "I, I guess?" Albert answered hesitantly.


    Victoria beamed. "Great! I was thinking of something along the lines of an abusive parent, wait no, too cliche. Hmm, accident? Also cliche. Uhh, illness...everything is cliche!"


    "How about just going with he was an orphan that doesn''t know who his biological parents are." Cain suggested.


    Victoria sighed, "Boring, but accepted."


    The two went back and forth over Albert''s backstory while the person in question just sat in a beanbag and bathed in the warm sun.


    "Alright, so, he was an orphan who never knew his parent''s face. He grew up in the small orphanage until he was adopted by Father. Then, he became Albert Cruz and joined our school. That''s the gist of it, right?" Victoria confirmed.


    Cain nodded. "There really is no need for a backstory to begin with."


    "You have no dreams, Cain. Every villain needs a backstory, even one as bland as this." Victoria chided whilst wagging her index finger and Cain.


    "I think his actual backstory is more interesting..."


    "That may be true but we''re making his civilian backstory, not villain one, gosh, you''re so dumb, Cain."


    "But you just..."


    "Lalalalalalala, not listening~!"


    ...With his background covered, Albert slowly got used to living with the Cruzs. Unlike her initial intentions, Victoria didn''t put Albert through any training whatsoever and just settled on getting him caught up with the curriculum and everything he missed out on whilst trapped in Houston''s lair. She also learnt braille by his side whilst he suffered.


    Joan and Kin accepted Albert into the family with no hesitation and treated him like they treated Victoria. Albert flawlessly became a Cruz.


    Then, weeks later, the time to rejoin civilisation came.


    "Father, Mother, see you soon." Victoria waved goodbye as she entered the car, backpack in hand.


    Albert followed suit, wearing his uniform and backpack on his back. "Bye, Father, Mother."


    "Good luck, children." Joan yelled out as the car left the driveway and Cain drove it to the school.


    When they got there, Albert looked around curiously. Victoria held onto his arm whilst giving directions to the classroom from memory. It took a little time, but they eventually found their way to the classroom.


    "Everyone, as you all know, it''s the first time Victoria''s been to school in a long while, she may need a little help so I expect you all to give it when needed. Also, we have a new student, Victoria''s little brother who will be assisting her. Please introduce yourself to the class." The teacher''s voice boomed.


    "My name is Albert Cruz. Nice to meet you." Albert nervously introduced himself to the twenty pairs of eyes in the classroom. It was the official start to his new life.

 Chapter 9 - Hanging Out Gone Wrong

    "Victoria, why don''t you have any friends?" Albert asked as he bit into his sandwich.


    Victoria pinched his tighs and angriliy responded. "How rude! I do have friends you know? You saw them yourself."


    Albert recounted his experience in school these past few weeks. It was true that Victoria was surrounded by many groups of people. They also seemed to adore her but were more like subordinates than friends? None of them ate lunch with her and only Albert would accompany her all day.


    "Why don''t you invite them to eat together?" Albert inquired. He would also like to run around on the oval or play board games at lunch, not just be Victoria''s servant.


    "It''s too exhausting pretending all the time." Victoria sighed.


    "That''s your problem, Victoria. Who told you to pretend to be an angel, huh?" Albert retorted.


    "Humph, you''re also acting so don''t be a hypocrite." Victoria exposed. "Always smiling all the time and pretending to be nice, who do you think you are?"


    "Wha- I''m not pretending!" Albert protested. "It''s normal to smile back when others smile at you. Also, if you''re nice and gentle to them, they''ll agree to your requests and put up with you more."


    "See? You''re exactly like me, makes me wonder if you''re really adopted."


    Albert grumbled to himself, realising that he didn''t have a comeback to that.


    Meanwhile, Victoria sighed to herself, wondering how in the world she had corrupted Albert in such a short amount of time. When she first met him, he wasn''t demanding, talkative, expressive, and generally went along with the flow and all her antics. Now, he wasn''t so easily convinced, would frequently argue with her and even became a little black bellied. How had he transformed in just a few months? Was this his original personality?


    "Anyways, starting from tomorrow, we''re going to play with friends. Being with you all the time is boring." Albert declared.


    "That''s so rude." Victoria pouted but she didn''t refuse.


    Then, the next day, Albert asked the group that was always playing board games in the classroom if they could join in. Of course, they very generously agreed.


    "Do you wanna hang after school too? We''re going to get some fish and chips." One of them suggested.


    Albert glanced at Victoria for her opinion and she had unexpectedly agreed. "Sure, we''d love to."


    Thus, after school, Victoria called Cain on her phone and told him not to pick them up. Then, the siblings joined their new friends and went to the city to play for a bit.


    "Wasn''t that fun, Victoria?" Albert asked with a smile.


    "I guess." Victoria answered.


    As they walked home in the evening, they heard grunting and crying in a dark alleyway close by. Curiously, Albert looked to the side and stopped walking, Victoria naturally followed suit. Then, a scene that Albert never wanted to see in his life was shown to him. Three grown men, butt naked, poor lady on the ground, clothes torn off, crying for her life.


    "Hey, Albert, is this what I think it is?" Victoria inquired, hearing the suspicious moans and cries going on in the background.


    "Uh, I think so? I, I didn''t know there were so many places you could put your thing in..." Albert commented.


    "Eww, get that image out of my head." Victoria punched Albert out of disgust.


    "Well, did you think I wanted to see this? C''mon, we should get out of here before they notice us." The two didn''t intend to get involved and got ready to leave.


    However, before the two could escape, the victim noticed them and cried out for help. She mustered her strength and pushed one of her assailants off of her once again. "Y-you two! Please don''t go..."


    The three rapists turned around and found Victoria and Albert standing and watching them, speechless. Instantly, the two turned to run but Albert didn''t have much stamina and Victoria couldn''t see, making it rather hard to run.


    "Chase after them!" One rapist commanded.


    "O-okay!" Another responded and put his pants back on, cursing that his good time was interrupted by two meddlesome brats. His eyes glowed and with his speed ability, he very quickly caught up to the two despite their head start. Meanwhile, the other two assholes were still going at it like animals who only thought with their lower half.


    "Stop chasing us! We won''t tell anyone what we saw!" Albert yelled, huffing and puffing.


    "Y-yeah." Victoria chimed, also out of breath.


    "And how do I know that?" The rapist said, cornering the two.


    Albert tched, "She can''t even see and no one is going to believe us anyways."


    Mr Rapist glanced over at Victoria and smirked. "Hoh? You''re pretty cute." He grabbed her face with his hands and gave it a little squeeze as he examined her.


    "Eww, get your filthy hands off of me!" Victoria slapped the assholes hand away and wiped her face with disgust.


    Mr Rapist rubbed her sore hands and stared at Victoria with rage. "Filthy you say? That''s a rather course mouth you have."


    Slap! The rapist''s hand went across Victoria''s cheeks and a loud sound resounded. Victoria glared at the offender but he couldn''t see that through her bandages.


    "What do you think you''re doing to my sister?!" Albert roared, raising his feet and kicking the rapist''s groin. It proved extremely effective so Albert did it a few more times. When the rapist was down on the ground from pain, Victoria also joined in on the fun.


    "Let''s go." Albert grabbed Victoria''s hand and ran away once more. The two ran, aiming for somewhere that was more brightly lit and hoping to buy some time so that they could call for help.


    "F*cken brats!" Mr Rapist cursed and used his ability once more to chase after them after he had recovered to some extent. He endured the excruciating pain and slowly but surely caught up to the two once more.


    Then, as predicted, the two siblings were cornered again. Sighing, Albert wondered why he felt like the whole situation was familiar to him. Had he experienced something similar before?


    "I''m not letting you cunts go this time." Mr Rapist declared, growling with murderous intent.


    "I''d advise you to leave us alone." Victoria calmly said once she caught her breath. "Our family always tracks where we are and they definitely won''t let you off the hook if you so much as touch a single hair on our heads."


    "Yeah! They''re on their way right now!" Albert chimed, trying to support Victoria''s threat.


    Unexpectedly, Mr Rapist was unfazed. "Our Boss is the biggest villain around, what can your puny little family do to us?"


    Ah? Biggest villain around? Victoria was irked. Her father was the biggest villain in the country, how could this low life make such a claim? "What does a boss that employs trash like you amount to? You don''t even qualify as a villain, maybe a goon, but villain? Pft, not in a thousand years."


    "Don''t be rude, Victoria." Albert scolded just as the rapist was about to pounce in anger. "Even goons are better than this. He is at most those nameless and faceless sandbags in movies that only serve to make the hero look awesome. And people who employ such sandbags are trash that even heroes don''t care about."


    Victoria stared(?) blankly at Albert before chuckling with mirth. "Right, I''m sorry, Mr Sandbag. I overestimated your worth didn''t I?"


    "I''ve had enough of you!" Mr Sandbag roared. He rushed towards the two, swinging his arm in preparation to beat them up. Albert watched the incoming fist anxiously, shielding Victoria behind his back.


    ''Any moment now...'' He thought to himself, feeling the phone in his pocket that was still connected to a call to Kin.

 Chapter 10 - Beast

    Bam! The fist connected with Albert''s cheek. His head turned to the side from the impact and the insides of his cheek was cut by his teeth. Albert glared at the rapist and kicked him once more while he was still wobbly from the punch earlier. However, it was evident that the rapist was concerned about his lower regions as Albert only managed to kick his shin.


    "Albert?" Victoria called out, concerned by the loud fighting noises she could hear.


    Albert was trying the dodge and fight back but his opponent was bigger and stronger than him. He suffered more blows than the rapist did.


    "Stand further away, Victoria." Albert ordered. "You wouldn''t want this trash to touch you again."


    "Alright." Victoria straightforwardly agreed knowing that she would just be a burden if she tried to help.


    "Freaking brat!" Mr Rapist cursed as his fist landed on Albert''s head, sending him to the ground and hitting his head once more on the concrete floor with a loud thud.


    Albert felt his world shaking and turning, he was seeing doubles instead of singles and despite trying to stand up, he couldn''t resist the allure of unconsciousness. He fell to the ground once more and didn''t get back up again. ''Why does this feel so familiar?'' He wondered to himself once more as the world faded to black.


    "F*cking finally. I thought he''d never die." Mr Rapist shifted his attention to Victoria, who disobeyed Albert''s orders and rushed towards his general direction and somehow found where he lay, bleeding, again.


    "F*ck do you think you''re doing to my little brother!" Victoria screamed, her voice rivaling that of a banshee''s. The rapist was visibly shaken by this roar, taking a few steps back in shock and rubbing his sore ears.


    Just as the rapist regained his composure, the immobile Albert twitched in Victoria''s embrace. His eyelashes trembled and a pair of clouded and confused eyes greeted the world.


    "Albert!" Victoria cried out as Albert lifted his head up.


    He blinked a few times, seeing the visible concern on Victoria''s face and the vicious look in the rapists eyes. Shakingly, Albert got back to his feet. He was still wobbling, barely in the shape to be walking. Eyes fixated on the rapist like predator on prey, he glared and lifted his arms, eyes glowing and-


    "ROOOOOOOOAAARRRRRRRR!" The low, intimidating roar of an apex predator echoed in the streets. All who heard it freezed instinctively, looking towards the source of the noise. A beast with golden fur, sharp teeth dripping with blood and a mane not yet fully developed. Beside it was a small girl, though cute, not very strong looking. Seeing the two stand side by side on the roof was quite the sight.


    "Piss off, trash!" The girl commanded, her high pitched voice stern and unwavering. "If not, you''ll suffer the same fate as your companions."


    "Ah?" Mr Rapist was confused. His pea-sized brain couldn''t comprehend what was happening.


    "Over here, Mr Sandbag." Two boys and the victim from earlier were standing in front of the alleyway that Albert and Victoria ran into. The victim was wearing small worn out jackets as makeshift clothes. She was trembling but glaring at the rapist with hate in her eyes.


    Floating above them were two bodies. They were unconscious, blood as if chewed by a beast and frothing at the mouth. The rapist recognised them as his two buddies.


    "Y-Y-Y-Y-YOU MOTHER F-" Mr Rapist''s outrage was interrupted by a clear voice.


    One of the boys raised his hand and pointed it at the rapist. His eyes glowing, he opened his mouth, a bell-like voice ordering, "Sleep."


    "Wha-?" Mr Rapist fell backwards and hit the floor. He was unmoving, falling into deep slumber.


    Albert stepped back, dodging the fallen man. He dragged Victoria with him so she was also untouched. "Are you okay?"


    "Uh, yeah." Victoria nodded.


    Albert fished out his phone from his pocket and placed it in Victoria''s hands. "I leave the rest to you." With that, he lost consciousness once again and collapsed on Victoria''s shoulder.


    With a little difficulty, Victoria gently placed Albert on the ground, using their backpacks as a pillow. She turned him on his side and wiped the blood that dripped from his head. Only then did she turn her attention to the phone Albert gave her.


    "Hello?"


    "Victoria!" Kin''s anxious voice echoed. "I heard a loud roar, is everything alright there?"


    "Yeah, the situation just got diffused. But, Father, Albert got really hurt protecting me, he fainted just now. Can you call a healer to come?"


    "They''re already on their way." Kin sighed. "Seriously, what were you two doing in another city?"


    "Another city?" Victoria repeated but feeling the pack of kids that just helped them staring at her, she quickly ended the conversation, "anyways, come soon, Father. I love you, bye!"


    After having patiently waited for Victoria to finish, the girl from earlier spoke up. "Is he okay?"


    "His pulse is weak but he''s fine for now." Victoria smiled and answered. She knew a little first aid and whatnot thus she was not worried about Albert.


    "That''s good." The girl smiled. "I''m Iris, and you?"


    "My name is Victoria, and he is Albert. Thank you for your assistance." Victoria expressed with a calm smile.


    The lion beside Iris stopped making its eyes glow and turned back into a boy. He was naked but Victoria couldn''t see that. The others were used to it and the victim lady didn''t care about seeing the naked body of a prepubescent boy. "I''m Iris'' twin brother, Atlas. The blonde boy-" Atlas paused in realisation that Victoria could not see.


    "The one who used his ability to make the trash sleep is Ian and the other one is Vin." Iris took over for her twin brother with a cheerful voice. "And this is..."


    At the mention of her, Ms Victim flinched. "I-I''m Annette. I''m terribly sorry for getting the both of you involved in this!"


    Victoria smiled. "It''s okay, I understand. I would have done the same in your situation. In fact, since they''re incapacitated right now, don''t you have some ''revenge'' to enact?"


    ''Revenge?'' The words echoed in Annette''s mind.


    "In fact, I''ve got some revenging to do myself." Victoria maintained her perfect smile and walked closer to the group with her hand on the wall. "Excuse me, Iris. Can you please lead me to where Mr Sandbag is?"


    "Huh? Yeah, sure!" Iris replied and without any hesitation, grabbed Victoria''s arm and led her to her destination, a few steps to the left. "He''s right there at your feet."


    "Thank you. Is he tied up or something right now?"


    Iris shook her head. "No, but I can tie him now."


    "Please do so, with the others too."


    "Got it!" Iris'' eyes glowed and thread materialised from her fingers. They tangled into a long thick rope and cut off into three equal lengths. She and Atlas both excitedly tied up the rapists while the others just watched.


    "Now then, please wake them up, Ian."


    Ian flinched but nodded and complied. "Awaken." He commanded.


    "U-Uwaaahhhhhhh!!! LION!" The three screamed in horror as soon as they woke up.


    "Lion? They must of been really really scared of me if they had a nightmare of a lion." Atlas chuckled.


    "We all know that Ian is the one who chooses the dreams, Atlas." Vin adjusted his glasses and crushed Atlas'' futile daydream.


    Atlas simply pouted and didn''t say more, he rather pay attention to what this seemingly fragile girl was going to do.


    Crush! A satisfying sound of bones cracking echoed in the darkness of the night. Victoria''s feet stomped down with all its might, digging into a hand as screams became the melody to do rhythmic crunches.


    "How. Dare. You. Hurt. My. Brother." Victoria monotonously spoke, each pause meaning a crunch. She still had that perfect smile on her face, making the scene all the more hellish. "Not to mention, you touched me with those piss covered hands. Who do you think you are? Touching girls as if you have the right to do so, how dare you think you can lay a finger on beings higher than you? Damn INSECT that doesn''t understand its existence in of itself is rejected by the world."


    Giving one final stomp, Victoria looked towards Annette''s general direction. "I''m done now, your turn."


    Annette stood still, petrified. She just watched a young girl completely destroy three grown men''s hands, smiling while doing so and degrading them at the same time. Annette''s heart thumped in her chest, she was...excited? To see those assholes get retribution after they had just had the time of their lives putting her through living hell, ahahahaha, it was exhilarating! And now she had the opportunity to do the same?


    Annette took a step forward, each more excited than the one before. The high heels clacked against the concrete flooring, drilling fear into the hearts of the rapists.


    "AaAAAhhHHhhhhhHhhhHhHhH!!!!!!!"


    Her heel stood between the rapist''s legs. Swiftly, Annette crushed the heirlooms of each and every one of the rapists, twisting her feet to ensure maximum pain.


    "Ahahahahahahahah...ha...ha...hic, *Sniff*, uwahhhh~!" The deranged laughter descended into heartfelt sobs as it dawned on Annette that her nightmare was coming to an end, this long, long night would eventually wake up and before she knows it, it will be morning again. All she had to do was wait and let it happen. It would be morning...yes, the sun will rise once more. Then, life would go on just as usual, like nothing happened, nothing at all...

 Chapter 11 - Dreams

    Later that night, Kin sighed deeply as he thought back to how hectic the day had been. It was really quite miraculous that Victoria came out of it unscathed but also quite jarring how badly Albert was hurt compared to her. Anyhow, a myriad of events occured after the incident on the same night, causing Kin to have to stay up late in the am to deal with it.


    Just as his head was about to hit the pillow however, he got to itch in his heart and felt the need to check up on his children before sleeping. As he was making his rounds, he passed by Victoria''s room and heard a loud gasp resounding from within.


    "Victoria? Can I come in?" Kin knocked on the door and asked.


    "...Father." Victoria''s voice feebly called out. "I had a nightmare."


    "I''m coming in." Kin didn''t hesitate in opening the door and strode in. Opening the night light, he sat down beside Victoria''s bed and gently pulled her into his embrace. "What happened?"


    Victoria shook her head. "I can''t remember much. Everything was a blur and all I know is that I, the me in the dream was crying. There was blood all over my hands and bodies laying on the ground and...someone was protecting me. Then, he fell, dead, dead because of me."


    Kin ran his fingers through Victoria''s smooth hair and comforted her. In the process, he noticed that she was awfully sweaty and the temperature of her body was higher than it should''ve been. "It''s okay, sweetie. It''s all just a dream."


    The red faced Victoria pulled herself out of her father''s embrace. "No, I don''t dream, I..."


    "Victoria." Kin sternly says, "even people that don''t usually dream dream sometimes. Plus, this is different from the other ones, it''s hazy, like dreams usually are."


    "But Father-"


    "You must''ve been startled by what happened earlier today."


    "I wasn''t scared, Father. I KNEW that we''d be safe."


    "What you saw won''t become reality." Kin reassured. "Remember when you dreamed about being chased by a shark with legs on land? You cried and cried about it but did it ever happen?"


    "...no." Victoria murmured.


    "Exactly, so go to sleep after I give you some medicine."


    "Un." Victoria flopped back down on her bed and listened out for Kin''s soft steps as he made his way out of the room. The sound of feet against soft capetting faded until it was just the sound of wind that she heard.


    A while later, Kin left Victoria''s room after making her drink some medicine with a sigh. However, just as he was planning to go to sleep, he heard groans coming from Albert''s room. Thinking ''again?'', he walked into the room.


    [yOu BriNg aBoUt MiSfOrTuNe! YoUR vERy ExiSTeNCe iS A cURsE uPoN tHiS wOrlD!] Albert was back in that world of fire. There, that fiery fiend pointed a ghastly finger at him and cursed him upon his arrival. With each word, puffs of smoke escaped from his mouth and enshrouded Albert like a fog of disease.


    The voice that sounded like a blackboard being scratched continued, [tHaT ChiLd wAs In ThAt SiTuaTiOn BeCauSe oF yOu. YoU aRe tHe CaUSe Of hER MiSfOrTuNe!]


    Albert gulped, the words echoed in his mind. His mouth was dry, he tried to speak but the words just wouldn''t come out.


    Then, just like the last time, a hand appeared from within the molten fiend''s body. He turned to ash once more, disappearing without so much as a sound. It was a little disappointing, really. To see a final boss looking demon get demolished without even putting up a fight but a pale and skinny hand was plain wrong. But it happened. From behind the dispersing ash, the boy that looked just like Albert appeared. His jaded eyes stared directly into Albert''s.


    "You are not cursed¡­" The shadow spoke as if to encourage and scold Albert at the same time but Albert could only hear the start, the rest was drowned out by an intense ringing in his ears. He could only see the shadow''s lips moving, speaking and speaking, yet he was unable to hear what he had said. In the end, the shadow was engulfed by the immortal flames and vanished just like he did the other time.


    Albert plunged into the fire, hoping to grab a hold of his enigmatic shadow but all he grasped was air. His shadow was gone again. Legs gone weak, Albert fell to the ground, knees hitting the floor and sobbed. "No, don''t go¡­don''t leave me here¡­"


    The tears in his dream transcended and somehow, Albert woke up in the middle of the night with a teardrop down the side of his face. Sitting up, he felt a dull ache throughout his body, his head dizzy and vision a slight blur.


    He blinked and saw a familiar ceiling. It was of the glowing stars that he had grown fond of these past few weeks.


    "Victoria!" Albert exclaimed. He shot out of bed, enduring the persisting and lingering pain.


    Kin who had just wandered into the room flinched in surprise. "Albert."


    Albert turned to see Kin standing by his bed. He grabbed his sleeve and beg anxiously. "Father, what happened to Victoria? Is she okay?"


    Kin placed Albert''s hand in own. "She''s okay, not even a scratch on her body."


    "It was all my fault. I dragged her out to play in the city and declined going home with the others because I wanted to play a little longer. In the end, I didn''t know the way home and ended up getting lost. I didn''t want to tell her so I just kept going on trains and in the end just got even more lost." Albert rambled on and on, blaming himself with remorse in his voice.


    "It''s true that you should''ve just called home but that was an honest mistake. It''s not your fault and you tried to make up for it didn''t you? You protected her even when you were getting beaten black and blue and almost died. You did a good job, Albert. I''m proud of you. Just call next time, okay?"


    Albert froze, taking time to digest what he had just heard. Then, a tear fell from his eye. As if to chase after it, more and more tear drops raced down Albert''s cheeks, falling to the blanket below. Kin hugged him, Albert''s tears soaking his pyjamas.


    "Rest well, you have a long day ahead of you tomorrow."


    "Father, what happened to the people who attacked us?" Albert asked after he had calmed down a little. His eyes were red and watery from crying and voice shaky.


    Kin''s gaze darkened. It was like something in his snapped. "Don''t worry about them, trash is naturally where trash belongs."


    He wiped Albert''s eyes dry, preventing him from saying anything else. Then, kissing him on the forehead says, "Goodnight, sweet dreams."


    Albert touched his head, where Kin had gave him a gentle peck with his ever unchanging expressionless face. His face didn''t show anything but his voice and actions were full of emotion and love. It warmed Albert''s heart.


    "Goodnight, Father."

 Chapter 12 - Again

    The next morning, Albert woke up to the afternoon sun shining brightly onto his face. Amidst the sounds of the natural world, several young voices talked over each other, some cheerful, others calm and seemingly deadpan. They were voices he never heard before.


    Though he was curious, Albert was disgusted by the amount of sweat released by his body from the combination of a nightmare he could not recall and the blazing sun hitting him at full blast. He endured the muscle pains that remained even after being healed by Kin''s healers and weakly walked over to the bathroom in his room. Only after washing up did Albert step out of his room, the voices still resounding from the room next door.


    Irrationally nervous and anxious, Albert peered in from the open door and found Victoria sitting in bed, face red from fever but the same glass smile adorned across her face. Gathered beside and on her bed were four young kids that Albert didn''t know.


    There were two with dusty brown hair and bright green eyes that complemented them. They both had relatively short hair, one shorter than the other. It was apparent that they were twins, identical ones at that. If they had the same hair and clothes, Albert didn''t think he''d be able to tell them apart. Even their temperaments were similar.


    Another child had bright blonde hair that looked like the sun and beautiful gem like pink eyes. His facial features were delicate, as if it was carved by the gods themselves. From a glance, Albert could see that his temperament was demure and subdued but it did not diminish his doll-like beauty in the slightest.


    The last one was a boy with slightly wavy dark purple hair, sharp orange eyes and a young face that tried to look mature. He sat with his back straight and tall, like he was trying to look grown up and mature.


    "Victoria." Albert called out, moving from his spot beside the door to the front of the door.


    "Albert, you woke up."


    "You''re alright?" He asked with a trembling voice. "Not hurt?"


    Victoria spread her arms out wide. "As you can see, not a single scratch. I just have a fever. Thanks for protecting me."


    "Ah, yeah, no problem." Albert looked down and back up again. "I''m glad you''re fine. I fainted before Father came so I was worried."


    "Oh, right. Remember the kids from yesterday? They''re them."


    When Albert looked at them, the twins waved with bright smiles. "I''m Atlas", "I''m Iris."


    "He''s Vin."


    "And he''s Ian."


    ""Nice to meet you.""


    The twins greeted and introduced.


    "Ah, nice to meet you too. I''m Albert." He smilingly introduced himself. "Um, you saved us yesterday?"


    "Yeah, don''t you remember? The lion on the roof and Mr Sandbag falling asleep." Victoria asked.


    Albert thought back to last night but his memories ended at getting beaten up and eventually just falling to the ground, dizzy. "I must''ve fainted before they arrived."


    "Nah, you did but you woke up again, you even told me to take care of the rest." Victoria refuted once more.


    "¡­I might''ve forgot because I was out of it."


    "That''s understandable, you were bleeding a lot." Vin chimed.


    "Well, that doesn''t matter. These kids are going to be a part of our family so treat them well." Victoria nonchalantly revealed.


    "...¡­Welcome?" It took him a while but Albert finally reacted. Inside, he could only think about how he was adopted in a similar manner. Victoria made a casual remark and suddenly, they were family. Albert was afraid that the same thing was going to happen multiple times if nothing was done about Victoria''s philanthropic behaviour.


    *Guruguru* It wasn''t Albert who''s belly grumbled but rather it was the ever silent Ian. When everyone''s gazes landed on him, he held his stomach in embarrassment, his milky white skin flushing with shame.


    "Are Father and Mother home?" Albert asked, seemingly ignoring the protesting stomach.


    Victoria shook her head with a sadistic smile. "They''re cleaning up trash in another city."


    Albert nodded, understanding the implications behind her words. "Doing their part in cleaning up the Earth huh?"


    "Heh. Well, anyways, they won''t be back until dinner so make lunch for me, Albert." Victoria demanded.


    ""Lunch?"" The twins chimed, licking their lips in anticipation.


    However, Albert simply shattered their expectations. "I can''t cook. Call the cooks and tell them to make lunch."


    Victoria crossed her arms and refused to listen. "Today is family cooking day, so you have to cook."


    Albert just sighed. Family cooking day was held every Saturday. It was the one day that they cooked by themselves instead of having the cooks do it. "Fine, but don''t expect too much."


    The whole lot of them left Victoria''s room and downstairs to the kitchen. There, the ingredients left behind by Joan lay on the kitchen counter. After giving them a quick glance, Albert looked at the kids and asked them what they wanted to eat.


    ""Pizza!"" Screamed the twins.


    Vin thought for a bit before answering, "Chow mein."


    "¡­" Ian was silent.


    "Braised pork chops." Requested Victoria.


    "Impossible. I''m making omelettes." Albert outrightly revealed.


    "Then why''d you ask?!" The twins protested.


    "In case you wanted to eat omelettes."


    "¡­" The twins didn''t know what to say in response and opted to stay silent.


    Smiling with mirth, Albert opened the rice cooker only to find it full with rice that was still warm. It seemed that Joan cooked it just before leaving. Quickly frying the rice with diced up meat and vegetables, he added some tomato sauce and plated them on six plates. Then, very skilfully he cooked the eggs and beautifully wrapped the rice with it. To top it off, the scribble of tomato sauce was added, creating the perfect and typical Japanese omelette seen in every anime.


    "There, eat up."


    "Wow~, I thought you said you couldn''t cook." Iris said with admiration, spoon in hand.


    "Well, I hadn''t tried before so I didn''t know."


    "Eh? What''s that supposed to mean?" Inquired Vin.


    "I don''t know my past at all, only the few months after being adopted."


    "I betch uu wash ah shetch (I bet you were a chef!)" Atlas claimed with his mouth filled with food.


    Albert smiled, it was unlikely but it would be kinda nice if it was true.


    -----


    Time for ''I JUST FELT LIKE IT!!!''


    --What if this was a food story?--


    Atlas gleamed at the seemingly glittering plate of omelette with the eyes of a hungry wolf. The yellow of the eggs a stark contrast with the snaking red tomato sauce that decorated the top. The egg wrapped around the tightly packed rice like a blanket, enticing the starved boy to flip it over and reveal the red gems that lay beneath. But he resisted the urge, licking his lips and swallowing the drool that threatened to drip from his mouth.


    Breath quickening, the young boy picked up a metal spoon, the blunt edge cutting the fluffy egg with ease. With flushed cheeks, Atlas brought the perfect spoonful to his mouth.


    "Mmmmm~!!!" He moaned with delight. Flavours exploded in his mouth and he felt like his clothes were being ripped apart by a tornado. Atlas felt like he was dancing in a field of tomatoes and little manga meat and vegetables, Food Wars style......


    [Yeah, bored of it now so it ends here]

 Chapter 13 - Backstory

    After everyone was fed and full, Albert put away the plates and spoons, washing them with the help of the twins. The other two were keeping Victoria company, guiding her back to her room and into bed. They were worried that her fever might flare up again.


    "Thanks for the help."


    "No problem! In the orphanage, everyone used to clean up together." Iris smiled and said.


    "Orphanage?"


    "Yeah, we lived in a orphanage far away." Atlas elaborated.


    "But then we got a new director." Iris continued.


    "He was a bad guy who always stole money from the funds."


    "Yeah! That''s why we were always so hungry and didn''t have enough clothes to wear."


    "And when he got drunk, he liked to hit us."


    "Mhm! And then, one day..." Iris'' voice trailed off as she stared into Atlas'' eyes. He nodded at her and finished the sentence for her.


    "When he got drunk, he tried to kiss Ian!"


    "Poor Ian was so scared that he made him sleep."


    "The director fell backwards and hit his head on the table."


    "Then he bled. A lot."


    "What did you guys do about it?" Albert inquired. He could see where this was going and wanted to confirm his suspicions.


    "Well, falling made him wake up. Ian''s powers were still weak then."


    "Yeah, they''re much stronger now."


    "Plus, it was done in a rush back then."


    "Mm, that''s why it was so easy to break the spell."


    "Anyhow, the director got really angry and tried to beat us."


    "Obviously, we weren''t going to let it happen anymore."


    "I used my power to tie him up!"


    "I turned into a lion and cut him with my claws!"


    "And Vin, he was the most cruel."


    "Yeah, he used the kitchen knives and slowly sliced the director''s meat off."


    "It was really, really gross to see."


    "Everyone else were so scared that they ran away."


    "Yeah, but we stayed and watched."


    "And Ian helped to wake the director up everytime he fainted."


    "His screaming was like a pig!"


    "Hehehe, it was so satisfying to hear!"


    "..." Albert didn''t say anything as the twins were sent into a gleeful mode from remembrance.


    ""Are you scared now that you know what we''ve done?"" They asked, staring directly into his eyes.


    Albert shook his head. "No, I...I think I''ve done worst. You kids were only defending yourselves."


    He pat their heads and praised them. "Good job. You got back at him didn''t you?"


    The twins held Albert''s hands and smiled brightly. ""Un!""


    No wonder Victoria decided to adopt them. They were perfectly suited to being villains. Not only did they have the backstory of a villain, they also had the guts to kill at such a young age...It made Albert wonder. Just what was it that Victoria saw in him that led her to believe that he could become a great villain? He couldn''t fight at all and his greatest ability was how observant he was. He could somehow tell what someone was feeling by looking at them and that was about it. It wasn''t a skill useful in the villainy world.


    Albert suddenly got depressed. He felt like he was too weak. Not only did he almost get him and Victoria killed last night, he was saved by a bunch of kids much younger than him.


    Sighing and fumbling through the pantry, Albert fished out an unopened bag of sliced bread. He tore open the bag and started to eat the bread by itself like a madman. The twins had never seen anyone eat like that before and thus stared at him speechlessly. Not to mention, they just had a rather big lunch.


    Wordlessly finishing the entire bag without even drinking a sip of water, Albert glanced over at the twins. "Do you two want to hang with Victoria or help me in the garden?"


    ""Garden?""


    Albert nodded. "It used to just be grass but Father and Mother gave it to me as a, uh, welcoming gift. I''ve been growing some food and flowers there."


    "Ooh, I wanna see!" Iris declared.


    "Me too!" Atlas parroted.


    Albert chuckled and his two hands found themselves on top of the twins'' heads again, patting them. "Then let''s go."


    The three walked through the glass doors of the kitchen, stepping out into the deck and garden. Echoes of feet against wood resounded as the twins scurried about exploring the garden. They saw an elegant round table and chairs on the deck, looking out into the garden. Near the wall was a swinging bench filled with comfy tables and it had a perfect view of the flowers.


    In the corner of the backyard was a garden bed of an assortment of vegetables. Next to it was a garden bed of strawberries and watermelons. Then, on the other side of the yard were various trees; mango, cherry, apple, pear, orange and lemon. Caging it all were rose hedges that grew against the tall fences. Overall, it was a strange mishmash of plants and a random patch of green grass in the middle of it all. Despite not being aesthetically pleasing however, the strange combination of plants from different seasons all thriving and growing at the same time was somehow enchanting.


    The twins didn''t know what season all the fruit grew but seeing it all dangle from the trees and bushes, almost ripe made them gleeful and excited.


    "What do we have to do?" Iris inquired.


    "Nothing much really. Just check all the plants to see if there are any that are wilting or unhealthy and tell me."


    "Okie dokie!"


    The two dashed off, having fun just looking at all the things in the garden. On the rare occasion that they found a unhealthy plant, they''d call Albert over and he would use his ability to nourish the plants. He had to repeat this process almost daily due to the plants being out of season and what not. His ability ensured that it was getting everything it needed to strive. Of course Albert could directly grow the plants to maturation but that would use up all his energy and there was no need for any rush.


    Looking at his perfect fruits and vegetables, a sense of pride swelled in Albert''s chest. His ability may be useless for a villain but at least he could give his family delicious and fresh food everyday. Plus, Victoria could eat mangoes whenever she wanted thanks to him. All in all, Albert wasn''t feeling so depressed now about his non-combatant type abilities now.

 Chapter 14 - Abilities

    After their work in the garden, Albert and the twins picked some ripen fruits and washed them in the kitchen. Vin and Ian had left Victoria''s room just in time to eat the fruits. Victoria was weakened from her fever and drifted off to sleep while they were chatting.


    "Have some fruits" Albert said to the two, placing the bowl of fruit salad on the table. On the side were forks for them to eat with.


    ""We picked them ourselves!"" The twins proudly announced.


    "Thank you." Vin politely expressed before picking up a fork and munching on the fresh and juicy fruit with delight. Ian didn''t speak but nodded instead, his eyes glistening as his mouth indulged in the delicacies.


    "By the way, what''re your abilities? I could guess from what the twins have been telling me but I think it''ll be better if we all just shared." Albert suddenly suggested.


    Iris put her hand up as if she was in class. "I can make different types of strings!"


    She put her fingers together and pulled them apart to demonstrate. With her eyes glowing, wool started to appear from her parting finger tips. With her other hand, Iris did the same thing but instead of wool, what appeared was piano wire, sharp and thin. Eyes not glowing anymore, the threads fell from Iris'' fingers and onto the table.


    "It doesn''t have a side effect on me personally but there is a limit on how much string I can make in a day. The limit has been increasing though." Iris explained joyfully.


    "I can turn into different animals and I get really tired if I use it for too long." Atlas also put his hand up, his eyes glowing and body shrinking. The boy eventually turned so small that he could not fit his clothes, they fell on the chair into a pile as a little mouse squeaked around in them, trying to find an exit.


    Iris chuckled and rescued her brother from his own clothes. "When he turns into an animal, he can understand what they''re saying, it''s very cool!"


    Mouse Atlas was placed back on the chair where he undid his ability and turned back into a human. He was naked again and casually put his clothes back on without a hint of shame.


    "I have telekinesis." Vin announced, demonstrating by spinning his fork in mid air. "There doesn''t seem to be a limit to how long I can use it, just depends on my mental state."


    "..." Albert waited but Ian didn''t seem to be willing to talk. He sat at the table in silence, head low as if ashamed.


    "Ian''s ability-" Vin started but was interrupted by the twins.


    ""Is Dreamtime!"" They exclaimed.


    "When he tells people to sleep, they''ll go to sleep."


    "And when he tells them to wake up, they''ll wake up."


    "And the coolest thing is, he can choose what they dream!"


    "But if he doesn''t, they can choose themselves!"


    "Hmm, that''s a pretty cool skill." Albert mused. "You should be prouder of it."


    Albert seemed to have gained a new habit as his arm automatically lifted and pat Ian, who was sitting beside him, ''s head. Ian smiled bashfully at the praise and said nothing.


    "What''s your ability, Albert?" Vin asked curiously.


    Albert smiled sheepishly. "I''m afraid my ability is not as cool as everyone else''s. I can enhance the growth of plants. Nutrients, sunlight and water, etc is all compensated by my ability and it even improves the quality of the plant. I have to eat a lot to make up for energy loss from using my ability."


    "That''s why you ate so much." Atlas exclaimed in realisation.


    "I was so surprised when you ate all the bread in one go." Iris echoed.


    "I can eat seven servings in one sitting." Albert bragged.


    ""Wow""


    "What is Victoria''s ability?" Vin asked.


    Albert thought back to when he asked Victoria that question. She turned to him with a perfect smile.


    "Photographic memory." She stated. "That''s all."


    ...That was a lie. Albert could sense her putting on a mask of falsehood and conceit. She was trying to sound nonchalant and casual but the slight tremble in her voice and the flawless smile that didn''t match her usual style exposed her.


    "...Her ability is remembering everything." Albert smiled and answered Vin. He didn''t expose her that day. There was no point making her upset and needlessly guarded. Besides, Albert could tell that Victoria already knew that he saw through her. The two of them were just putting on a play, a facade for no one in particular''s sake.


    "How about...Mother and Father?" Iris questioned, her voice softening when the words, Mother and Father, left her mouth.


    "Father''s ability is to control all liquids. He becomes low on sugar as a result so he has to eat sugar tablets when he fights." Albert leaned in, prompting all the other kids to lean in closer. When they were close enough, he grinned and whispered. "This is a secret, well not really since it''s just that Father doesn''t know that we know. The thing is, Father has a massive sweet tooth. He is always eating lollies and chocolate. When someone asks, he''ll say that he is recharging but actually, he just likes sweets."


    Iris and Atlas both giggled. "And Mother? What about Mother?"


    "She has super strength but she gets muscle pain after using it so she doesn''t use it much." Albert leaned back and explained in a normal voice. "By the way, you guys are aware what kind of family this is right?"


    They all nodded.


    "Father told us the night we arrived here." Vin said.


    "You sure you want this? You don''t want a normal life?"


    ""This is a place that accepts us."" The twins spoke in unison.


    "Besides, it was a path that we''d have walked on either way." Vin continued. It sounded precocious when said by a brat his age like he was trying to sound mature but he genuinely meant it. "No, we''re already villains. Since that day."


    "...Oh." Albert lifted his head and flashed a gentle smile. "You guys are such nice kids."


    Perhaps they can fulfill Victoria''s wish to create the best villain ever in his stead.


    "We''re home~!" The sound of the door unlocking and opening was followed by Joan''s sweet voice. The children all glanced over at the entrance excitedly. Kin and Joan were walking in with Cain in tow, carrying an impossible amount of shopping.


    "Welcome home, Mother, Father." Albert greeted with a smile.


    "Welcome home!" The twins chimed.


    "We bought you some new clothes today." Joan announced. "Come see if you like them."


    The twin''s eyes lit up at the sight of bag after bag piled up in the living room. They ran excitedly to the pile and opened them up like it was Christmas. Vin and Ian followed in subdued anticipation.


    Left alone with Kin, Albert hesitantly opened his mouth to speak. "Father...do you think I''m weak?"


    Kin glanced over at Albert and looked in directly in the eye. "Yes."


    "I wish I was stronger."


    "Why?" Kin asked. "You didn''t used to care about this."


    "If I was stronger, I could have protected Victoria."


    "You did. You protected her, that''s why she is safe."


    "That wasn''t protecting. That''s called being a sandbag."


    "..."


    "Everyone else has strong abilities that can fight. I on the other hand can only grow plants. I can''t even control them or make them grow really fast like in movies. I''m just a gardener, not a villain."


    "...You can be stronger." Kin finally said.


    "How?"


    "Simple. Learn to fight. Be faster, stronger and craftier than your opponent. Don''t give them the chance to use their ability. Then, you will prevail."


    It was as if a blindfold was removed from his eyes. Albert felt as though he could see much clearer. There were so many possibilities. He could become stronger. He could became a villain that Victoria was proud of. For the first time since coming here, Albert felt a sense of purpose and something he wanted to do.

 Chapter 15 - Telepathy?

    Life sooned returned to its normal pace. Albert and Victoria both went to their high school after having skipped a day from their injuries and fever and the other kids started to attend primary school. Just like with Albert, the Cruz''s had adopted them with ease and flawlessly integrated the new additions to the family. It was just that the house became a little more cramped and lively.


    The night the kids first arrived, they shared a room together but now the twins along with Vin occupied that room. Victoria offered to share with Iris but she refused stating that she couldn''t sleep without Atlas. Also, Vin volunteered to supervise them, suggesting that they''d get up to now good if left alone. Thus, it was only Ian left that didn''t have a room. Naturally, the only option he had left was Albert''s room. At first, Ian was very shy, but he was slowly coming to terms with it and opening up to Albert a bit more.


    Albert also started his training to become stronger, the kids joining in as well. They mostly did basic things but the ever so weak Albert still found that tough. He was, after all, that one kid that never participated in sport class. He always used Victoria as an excuse to sit out. Anyhow, a few months of training passed and Albert was getting visibly more fit. He no longer ran out of breath after having ran 1 minute and could actually do push ups now. It was very good progress.


    "What kind of house do you like?" Joan suddenly asked one day when the whole family had gathered in the living room to watch TV. Cain was also there, using his ability to help Victoria see. After doing this for half a year, he had developed the skill to make himself invisible like a ninja. You wouldn''t know he was there even if you saw him. The poor guy also learnt to just not talk and be not there. It was very useful on stealth missions.


    ""A big one!"" As usual, the twins answered without thinking too much.


    "I see, and how many rooms?"


    ""A lot!""


    "Hmm, what kind?" Joan chuckled and asked.


    ""Uhh, a playing room and a swimming pool!"" After thinking some more, they raised their hands excitedly and added, ""Oh, oh, and a secret room! Like, underground or something that no one knows about!""


    "I see, so like a secret lair or something." Joan nodded, taking note. Beside her, Kin was snacking on chocolate and was also nodding along. "How about the rest of you?"


    "I would like a music room, Mother." Victoria stated. She had recently gotten really into music and thought it would be cool to just have a soundproof room full of instruments in the house. Of course, the grand piano in the middle was a must. Imagining herself sitting by her lonesome self in a room void of naught but a piano, glowing in the silver shine of the moon, playing an ethereal piece, Victoria almost squealed with excitement. How angelic must I look, she thought narcissitically.


    Thinking that it was just a fun game of make believe, Vin also contributed. "A library would be nice." The house already had various bookshelves in different rooms, Albert''s having the most with his books on plants and whatnot but the bookworm Vin still preferred a room entirely dedicated to reading.


    "And Ian?" Joan inquired.


    Albert turned to look at him and the silent Ian stared back. After a short minute of silent staring, Albert turned to Joan, "He wants a treehouse."


    Albert gained a new ability, and that was somehow being able to understand Ian. Just staring into his eyes, he could understand what he wanted to say. It was mysterious and Albert couldn''t really understand how but it really only worked with Ian.


    ""Treehouse!"" The twins echoed with sparkly eyes.


    "And you, Albert?" Kin asked.


    "A big garden with a greenhouse?" Albert answered.


    Kin and Joan nodded, "Then we''ll be sure to include it in the plan."


    "We''re moving again?" Victoria inquired.


    Joan nodded, "Yes, your Father was given a rather big piece of land recently so we thought we''d build a new house there and move into it."


    "So we''re going to have a music room?"


    "Mhm"


    "Great! I''m going to make Albert learn how to play and play for me."


    "Why don''t you learn yourself?" Albert grumbled.


    "That''s obviously too much effort."


    "I wanna learn together with big sis!" Iris exclaimed.


    "Then let''s learn together." Victoria did a 180 and smiled nicely at Iris, agreeing amicably to her request. For some odd reason, Victoria was much nicer to the younger kids and not to Albert. She treated him like a servant and pampered the rest of them.


    The family spent some more time discussing the house and the plans for gradually got more and more outrageous. The twins suggested things such as rollercoasters and entire theme parks, movie theaters, water slides and jumping castles. Worst thing was Kin nodded to all of them, his face displaying full resolve to fulfill the wishes of his beloved children.


    "Would we have to change schools?" Albert couldn''t help but to inquire.


    "It''s quite far from here but it would take awhile for the house to be built so don''t worry about it for now."


    Albert nodded. He finally made some friends so it was kind of a shame but thinking that he could easily make more he didn''t care too much about it. Victoria never cared from the start, having the mindset that wherever she went, people would pamper and worship her very existence.


    "The new house is going to be so much fun!" Atlas imagined a big palace full of intriguing and dangerous contraptions and the demon king(Kin) that lived on the highest floor. It would surely be interesting to explore. Even a few days after the conversation, he was dreaming of a different house each day. Each equally as grand and strange as the first.


    Humming as he walked to the pickup spot close by their primary school, Atlas noticed a furry little butt in a hedge nearby. "Hmm? Look at that, Iris."


    "What is it?" Iris'' eyes locked onto the short and poofy tail.


    As the twins approached the unknown animal stuck in the hedge, Vin grabbed onto their backpacks and prevented them from going further. "What do you think you''re doing?"


    "Argh, let go of us, Meanie Vin. The fluffy fluff is stuck in the bush!" Iris complained.


    "Don''t you feel sorry for it?" Atlas echoed.


    "..." Ian was silent as always but his eyes seemed to convey the very same message.


    Vin sighed and relented to the silent pressure of the three puppy eyes directed at him. He let go of the struggling twins and they dashed to the poor critter in the hedge. Pulling the tail and legs roughly, they yoinked the thing out.


    "Hahhahaha, what is that?" Iris laughed upon seeing the whole body of the animal. It was a round fluffy cloud looking thing, with sky-blue eyes and triangle eyes on top of its head. Its stubby legs were barely visible under all the fluff.


    "It''s a rabbit!!!" Atlas cheered as he hugged the ball of floof, his face sinking into the strangely wool-like fur. Then, without even thinking twice, Atlas used his ability and transformed into the weird rabbit hybrid thing. They both fell to the ground with a soft poof, their thick coats softening the fall.


    For awhile, the two identical fluff balls went back and forth, seemingly conversing to one another in silence. It was strikingly alike how Albert and Ian communicated.


    "God dang idiot!" Vin cursed, picking up Atlas'' school uniform and backpack.


    "Dumb Vin, Atlas said the rabbit wants to come home with us!" Iris was nodding at one of the rabbits and reported back what had just been exchanged. Somehow she understood what Atlas said even as a rabbit like she had telepathy or something.


    "We can''t take it home with us." Vin sternly rejected.


    "But it''s so cute."


    "No means no."


    "Vin~!"


    "...Fine! It''s not my fault if Mother and Father says no." Vin stormed ahead of the group to the direction of the car while the others cheered with joy. Iris quickly picked up her brother while Ian picked up the strange rabbit. Then, together they got into the car.


    Once in the car, Atlas transformed back in his glorious nudity. Snuggling against the rabbit, he declared, "Your name is Cloud!"

 Chapter 16 - The Rabbit

    "That''s a terrible name." Vin threw Atlas'' clothes back at him and rudely stated.


    "I think it''s cute though?"


    "I think Cotton sounds better." Iris chimed. She was holding the rabbit now and thought that it felt exactly like cotton, hence the name. It also looked like cotton candy, very cute and delicious!


    "Ooh, Cotton...That''s sounds good!" Unexpectedly, Atlas agreed straightforwardly with a bright smile strewn across his face. The twins looked at each other and laughed bubbly whilst discussing their plans to take care of the rabbit. Vin would occasionally chime in and give suggestions of his own. Ian just listened as he stared out the window in the front seat. The rather long journey home was quite harmonious.


    When the issue was brought up to Kin and Joan, they merely nodded, "Yeah, you can keep it. Just make sure to take care of it properly."


    "Yayyy!!" The twins cheered. They thanked their parents and began telling them all about their plans in regards to the rabbit.


    Just like that, the strange looking rabbit became the family pet.


    -----


    "T-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-the test subject..." A female draped in a white lab coat stuttered fearfully as she pointed at an empty glass cage.


    "What''s wrong?" Her coworker looked up from his notebook. He had been recording his observations of the dog laying limply in the middle of a similar glass cage. When he glanced over, he found that the animal that was supposed to be there was not to be found.


    "I-I''m going to die." The female shrieked. "He''s going to kill me!"


    "Calm down, perhaps someone just took it out for a test or something." The male suggested nervously.


    "That''s impossible. There are no records of the cage being opened."


    "...In any case, we must find it before the professor finds out or it''ll be our necks..."


    They looked at each other and nodded resolutely. It was unknown how the test subject managed to escape but they had no choice but to search for it. The two anxiously looked around the lab, scrounging again for any traces of the test subject. As time ticked by, they grew paler and paler as their hearts beat faster and faster.


    "How are the test subjects?" A crackly old voice boomed in the lab, sending chills down the hearts of the two.


    "Professor!" The two greeted.


    "Hm? What''s wrong?"


    "Nothing, sir." The male lied through his teeth and smiled. "Most of the subjects seem to be faring through the first stage. There is one that appears to be ready for the second."


    "Which one?" The professor tried to sound calm but the excitement in his voice was unconcealable.


    "Test subject P-89, sir. It can already walk around and is eating well too. However, other subjects of the P series haven''t displayed the same vigour so it is unlikely that species plays a part in the success. Further research is required confirm this." The female calmed her nerves and attempted to reply as professionally as she possibly could.


    In truth, there was another subject that performed better than P-89. R-53 had reacted weakly at first but recovered at astonishing rates and even became stronger and healthier than previously. However, this R-143 had disappeared. The two could lie and say it had died but the professor would have wanted to dissect it for being the first to die so quickly and there were also records they could not erase in the database of its recovery.


    "Let me see it." The professor ordered.


    "Yes, Professor." The two secretly let out sighs of relief. P-89''s cage was the opposite from R-143''s. They walked at a decent pace and eventually arrived at their destination in which different cages, each containing a pig each, greeted them.


    The pig seemed to recognise the professor and oinked in alarm. It ran to the back of cage, attempting to escape as far as it possibly could from the devil.


    "Hahhahahahah!! It even learnt to fear now!" The professor cackled joyfully. "Excellent! Most excellent! Whahahahhaha!!"


    The uproarious laughter of the professor filled the whole lab, echoing around obnoxiously.


    "Keep observing for now. When there are enough subjects, we''ll continue to stage two."


    "Yes, Professor!" The two waited until the professor''s back disappeared from view as the automatic doors closed.


    "Luckily, he did not find out." The female cried.


    "Yes, we might just be able to live. R-143 will not be the death of us."


    Unbeknownst to the two, their entire conversation was overheard by H-108. With a glowing bead in hand, H-108''s lips curled up. Then, when the bead broke and crumbled to dust, those lips fell and returned to their previous state.

 Chapter 17 - Hero Xero

    "Are you sure we can do this?" A man in a suit asked nervously.


    He raised his head to look up at the man beside him. A man wearing a flashy black and white costume, adorned by multiple pins and a glorious red cape replied to him with a joyous voice filled with confidence, "Of course we can! I would even say it was long overdue."


    "Sir Xero, it is time for you to go up." Someone announced from the distance.


    Xero grinned and grabbed a mask from the table. It was a beautiful thing, gold and silver intertwining, simplistic yet elegant. He wore the mask and turned sharply, his cape flapping theatrically. "It''s show time."


    Xero walked onto the stage in front of the podium, flashes of camera concentrated on his handsome figure as reporters yelled their questions at him.


    "Mr Xero, what is your purpose for calling us all out here today?"


    "Will you finally take off your mask and reveal your identity?"


    "What are your thoughts on the current rise of villainy in this country?"


    "How do you feel about the vigilante heroes imitating you?"


    Xero merely raised his hand with a smile. Almost immediately, the reporters fell silent.


    "Thank you all for gathering here today. I''m Xero, what many would called a hero. Having been a hero for well over a decade, although I cannot be called a veteran, I believe I qualify as being experienced in this unique field of society." Xero paused and continued.


    "Admittedly, as a child, I grew up admiring heroes for their bravery and strong sense of justice. Despite society''s criticism of their acts of vigilantism and disregard of the ''judicial system'', I aspired to be a hero, to be the man that children looked up to. Then, fifteen years ago, I put on the mask and donned the cape and rescued a young child from child traffickers."


    A few reporters in the crowd who were admittedly fans of Xero cheered out in support.


    "¡­The boy had broken his arm and injured his head whilst I was rescuing him. Although he was given swift medical attention and had no lasting injuries, the media was quick to condemn my actions. ''Who does he think he is?'' ''He should have called the police.'' ''Let the professionals handle it.'' ''The boy''s injuries are his fault.''" Xero took in a sharp breath.


    "I don''t know about you all, but that last statement, the claim that I was to blame for the child''s injuries¡­it just crushed me. I spent forever dealing with the guilt of the avoidable pain and trauma I caused to the child. I fell into depression and gave up my mask and cape. However, when I saw friends and family being tormented and terrorised by villains, I couldn''t step back and do nothing. And now that I''ve been a hero for so long, I can proudly state that what I have done on that day was the right thing to do. I''m glad I saved him that day and if I was given the chance to go back to that time, I would do it again.


    Now, I''m sure you''re all wondering why I''m telling you all this. Well, simply put, it concerns the rise of heroes and villains in our current society. With the wider acceptance of well known heroes such as myself, more and more like-minded individuals have taken it upon themselves to make the world a safer place.


    However, there is no denying that these newbie heroes are like what I once was, inexperienced. In all honesty, their acts of vigilante justice is causing more harm than good. Many damages caused by fights between newbie heroes and villains could have been avoided by trained police officers or other more experienced heroes. But they are just like the naive me from fifteen years ago, acting from the goodness in their hearts. With just a bit more experience, they could be an undeniable asset to this world.


    And with that in mind, I proposed a solution. Instead of worrying about vigilante justice and crying about how civilians with no training are encroaching on the police''s jobs, how about we look at what heroism is and why it is so crucial to our society.


    Heroes deal with villains that cause disruptions to society and threatened the daily lives of normal civilians. You can argue that that''s the police''s job but I believe that police officers focus primarily on locking away the criminals while heroes put an end to their villainy. You could even say that heroes are the police but a division of it, just like there are many different divisions in the police department that specialise in different types of crimes.


    So, how about we think of them as one group instead of two? We can create a sub-division in the police force called the hero division. Here, heroes can have official jobs as heroes. Their bravery, hardships and hard work can finally be acknowledged and rewarded. Not only that, but older heroes would be able to provide guidance to younger ones and raise a generation of strong heroes. The hero division would be able to support our heroes and enable them to pour their energy into defeating villains. Doesn''t that sound great?


    You''re all staring at me as if I said something crazy. But let me tell you this. This is all official now. It is not some dream I have but a real thing that the government has approved of. The hero division is officially open and hiring heroes to join us in defeat villains."


    A blanket of silence befell the room. Even the flashes of the cameras came to a slowing halt as the reporters digested what they had just heard.


    A division for heroes? The government was finally going to acknowledge their existence?


    After a long silence, a voice spoke up. "Xero, I understand the desire to give back to heroes and make heroism an official job but would this not provoke the villains?"


    Xero smirked. "Then that only means that we''ve done the job of a hero, to continually fight back against villains and annoy them to the day heroes and villains cease to be. Thank you for your time."


    Saying so, Xero turned and left the stage, the reporters still aiming their cameras at his retreating back.

 Chapter 18 - D-day

    "Uwah, he''s so annoying..." Atlas commented as Xero''s televised press conference came to an end.


    "This is an outright declaration of war on us. We have to retaliate." Vin added.


    "But how?"


    "Mmm...how about we ambush their headquarters?"


    "Don''t be stupid!" Vin slapped Atlas'' thick skull. "There''ll obviously be strong guards guarding it."


    "You didn''t have to hit me, Vin, you idiot." Atlas complained with tears in his eyes.


    "Humph." Vin crossed his arms and turned the other direction.


    "Cotton can distract them while we sneak in and, and..." Iris thought for a bit before adding with a bright smile, "we''ll release poison gas in the vents and kill them all!"


    "Cotton can''t distract all of them." Vin rebuted.


    While the three were discussing various ways to annoy the heroes, Albert and Victoria watched on with smiles and Ian sat there mute. Cain on the other hand was just questioning if he really was seeing elementary schoolers plot the death of hundreds with innocent smiles on their faces.


    ''Welp, as expected of Boss'' kids,'' he thought to himself with a sigh.


    Time went by and D-day for the opening of the hero division arrived.


    "Roar!" Atlas pounced at the man dressed in a sweat suit with all his might, sticking out his claws and flashing his teeth. The man jumped to the side to avoid him and kicked him like a soccer ball along the way.


    Iris supported Atlas from behind, swinging a whip made from her ability at the feet of the man. When the whip wrapped around his leg, she flashed a rejoiced smile and celebrated with a hop. However, the very next second, the man pulled back his leg, dragging Iris whom the rope was attached to along with it. Iris immediately loss balance and the man easily picked up the rope with his hands, swinging her in the air. The swinging Iris immediately collided with Atlas whom was trying to attack the man again.


    While the two were dizzy on the ground, the man freed his feet and quickly subdued them.


    "You''ve improved, Atlas, Iris." The man praised.


    Atlas undid his transformation and pouted. "I couldn''t even touch you, Instructor."


    "I thought I had you..." Iris complained.


    "I may be retired but I still won''t let myself be beaten by two brats." Instructor Dan laughed uproariously and pat the twins'' heads. "You did well to aim for my legs, Iris. If you had pulled my legs, you would have successfully caused me to lose my balance, allowing Atlas to make an attack. However, there is no point if you don''t have the strength to back it up. All you did was allow your opponent to use your ability against you."


    "Then what was I supposed to do?" Iris inquired.


    "What do you think?" Dan threw the question back at her.


    "Oh, oh! I know!" Atlas raised his arm excitedly, eager to answer.


    "Do tell." Dan encouraged.


    "She could have made some very sticky thread and spread it on the floor when I attacked you. If Iris had done so, you would have stepped onto it when you dodged and gotten stuck."


    "Very good. But it is also possible that Atlas could have gotten stuck instead, so do be careful."


    ""Yes, Instructor~!"


    "Now, go put some clothes on."


    "Hehe." Atlas giggled and ran off to get his discarded clothes.


    Meanwhile, Iris redirected her gaze to the other end of the gym/dojo. There, Albert was beating up a sandbag like it was his mother''s murderer. Hitting the sandbag with his barefists, he dodged left and right when it came swinging back. Occasionally, he would raise his leg, showcasing surprising flexibility and kick at the bag with a loud thud. Albert was huffing and puffing, sweat dripping from his forehead but he persisted.


    Iris looked away and glanced over at Vin. He was training his ability. Hovering various daggers around him, he guided them with his hands, threw them at the target. About half stuck onto the target while the rest missed and fell to the ground. Frowning, Vin used his telekinesis and repeated the process again and again.


    "Albert, Vin, it''s almost time to leave." She informed.


    They both stopped whatever they were doing and glanced at Iris.


    "Okay, we can leave after I shower." Albert gently smiled and said. "Thank you for the lesson today as well, Instructor."


    "No problem kid. Say hi to Boss for me."


    "I will."


    They all got changed and freshened up, arriving home just in time for the live broadcast of the opening of the hero division.


    Hero Xero was donned in his mask and costume as usual, shaking hands with a guy that looked important. They both stood in front of a red ribbon and greeted the reporters.


    "Thank you all for coming here today to attend the official opening of the hero division. I am honored that one of my life long goals can finally be fulfilled in this way and pledge to serve the people ''til the day I die." Xero announced.


    The people cheered like fans at a concert and cameras flashed rapidly.


    "Well, why don''t you make that today?" A voice yelled from the crowd. "It''s a perfect day to die, no?"


    Everyone gasped in horror. They flipped back to see who exactly said such horrible words.


    There, a man of a tiny stature smirked and flipped the whole crowd in front of the cameras.


    "Ahahahaha~!" Atlas and Iris burst out laughing from the comforts of the living room. "The cameraman is so mad the camera''s shaking!"


    "I know he''s flipping off other people but somehow I''m irked." Vin commented in annoyance.


    "I hear you''re a great hero, greatest of all time, they say." The rude man put down his finger and continued. "How about you showcase that to me!"


    Suddenly, the tiny man''s glowed and he grew bigger and bigger, gaining muscle and weight. His loose clothes were now tight on him, barely stretching to his size. The now giant man cracked his knuckle and leaped to the stage with gusto.


    "Idiot." Victoria spat with mirth. As usual, poor Cain was providing her with sight so that she can watch alongside the family.


    Rather anti-climatically, Xero just glanced at the dude with his glowing eyes. The dude in question fell face first onto the ground, lying flatly, just like a frog run over by a car.


    "As we were saying, the hero division is now officially open. Many great heroes such as Terra, Frost, Sora, Jing, Peace, etc have already joined us. So once again, I welcome all those interested to join us and support us. Thank you." He cut the ribbon and bowed towards the cameras before vanishing.

 Chapter 19 - Theory

    Very quickly, the forces of the hero department grew. Heroes, young and old flooded to sign up, relinquishing what had once been private; their secret identity. Of course, to the public, these identities have been mainly kept under the wraps, but with just a little digging, it wasn''t hard to figure out who lay underneath the mask.


    "Say, why don''t villains just go kill the heroes if they know who they are?" Atlas asked out of curiosity as Cain explained the hero department to him.


    "If they couldn''t beat them then, how do you expect them to beat them now?" Vin mocked.


    "Hmm, then they can take their family hostage?" Iris suggested.


    "That¡­" Cain paused with a troubled expression. "A villain cannot kill a hero''s family or loved one."


    ""Why?"" Both Atlas and Iris echoed.


    Before Cain could say anything, Victoria answered their question with a mocking grin, "Because only third rated villains go after the family."


    The twins tilted their heads in confusion.


    Cain was not sharing his vision with Victoria at the moment but she had somehow managed to sense their confusion. "The only reason to kill the hero''s family is if you were too dumb or weak to defeat the hero yourself. As such, only a third rate villain would kill the family instead out of vexation and cowardice"


    Vin thought about it and raised a question, "But what''s wrong with that? Isn''t a villain''s job to cause distress and chaos no matter the reason behind the action?"


    Victoria simply giggled and pat Vin his head. "When you watch a movie and the villain kidnaps the hero''s family, do you think that they are cool or smart for doing so?"


    The three kids shook their heads.


    "They''re kinda pathetic." Vin admitted.


    "Kuh-, your fists may be fast but will it reach me in time or will this knife slice your beloved girl''s neck first. Kuahhahahahahha!!!" Atlas imitated with a laugh.


    "D-don''t come any closer! Or say goodbye to your mum!" Iris joined, giggling.


    "Exactly." Victoria spoke smugly. "And when you watch a movie where the villain is cool and awesome, what do they do?"


    "Fight the hero head on!" Atlas answered with a hand raised up.


    "Use their brain and an ingenious plan." Vin added.


    "That''s right! That''s why Father is so cool! He doesn''t have to resort to petty threats to win, because he is strong!"


    """Ooohh""" The three nodded in understanding.


    "Milady¡­" Cain sighed. "Can you not mislead your younger siblings?"


    "And what do you mean by that?"


    "Obviously that you are tricking them." The previously absent Albert walked into the living room carrying Cotton and a basket of fruits. He sighed and turned to the gullible kids, "Don''t trust what Victoria is saying okay?"


    "But what she said makes sense?"


    "Uhh, it''s true but not at the same time?" Albert displayed a troubled smiled. "The hero will get stronger if you kill their family after all."


    The trio blinked in confusion. Albert could just sense the incoming bombard of ''why'', like seagulls screaming at the beach.


    "I don''t really know why, ask Cain." He diverted.


    Their gazes shifted to Cain.


    "*Ahem*, well, it''s just a theory but it''s said that heroes get stronger when a loved one dies to a villain. There have been myriads of instances wherein heroes get a sudden boost in strength after enduring loss and more often than not, the villain responsible for it is put to an end."


    "¡­I don''t get it." Vin voiced, "how does loss have anything to do with power? We didn''t have parents in the past but that didn''t make us any stronger."


    Cain''s face scrunched up. "Uhh, well, that''s related to yet another theory."


    ""What theory?""


    "That a person''s ability changes in accordance to their desires."


    All the children were intrigued.


    "Since forever, it was commonly believed that abilities are set for life and is totally random. This is due to us being able to use our abilities since, well, being a baby." Cain continued. "However, researchers noticed that people with certain abilities tended to have similar personalities. For example, those with fire type abilities were usually hot headed and those with water abilities were cool and logical. As such, many began to question whether or not your ability affects your personality."


    "You''re surprisingly knowledgeable about this, Cain." Albert commented.


    "They intrigue me after all." Cain flashed a grin. "Anyhow, a researcher that had dedicated his life to this question raised a theory; ''One''s ability is assigned randomly at birth but their personality and desires is what forms it.'' In other words, you yourself can affect how your ability grows."


    The children fell mute, pondering.


    "But I wanted to my clothes to transform with me when I use my ability, but they still don''t." Atlas pointed out.


    "That''s not really how it works, its more like your desires give your ability a general path to follow and it achieves that the best it can. Like, someone who wants to protect themselves can nurture their ability into that of a defensive orientated one and vice versa."


    "¡­Then my plant growing ability can become stronger in battles?" Albert cautiously inquired.


    Cain was hesitant in answering. "This is still all just a theory and there hasn''t been enough evidence to prove it to be true."


    The light that gleamed in Albert''s eyes sort of faded.


    "B-But, it hasn''t been proven false either. There is a chance that it could work."


    All the children looked at Cain with shining eyes. The idea of being able to influence the growth of their ability excited them. They fell mute, thinking about how''d they like it to develop.


    "Cough, we went on quite a tangent back there. The whole point of me explaining that was to explain why experienced villains don''t go after a hero''s family. The rage and extreme sense of loss usually leads to a sudden increase in offensive power in their ability and, well, yeah, the villain loses."

 Chapter 20 - Weakling

    ''One''s desire directs their ability''s growth''. The words that Cain had said echoed in Albert''s mind for the next few days. He mindlessly pondered upon it, wondering if it was really true.


    "Are you STILL thinking about what Cain said?" Victoria''s voice took Albert out of his daze.


    He looked up from the piles of grass he had pulled out from the lawn and silently grew the patches back with his ability. Victoria was ''staring'' at him with Cotton in her arms. It was actually a rather common sight lately, to see Victoria with Cotton.


    The little rabbit was actually surprisingly a sprit beast! Spirit beasts were animals that have abilities just like humans do. They were usually rather intelligent and were sold for high prices as they were rather uncommon. Anyhow, Cotton, this rabbit, had the ability to speak in the mind of others. As such, it was assigned the role of escorting Victoria when Cain wasn''t around. It was her guide ''rabbit'' so to speak.


    "You know there is no point thinking about that right?"


    Albert remained silent.


    "If it was true, your ability will develop in a way that you want. If it doesn''t, then there is no point thinking about. Simple as that."


    Her words held some truth Albert realised.


    "I was actually just thinking that you''ve been getting fat lately." Albert cheekily lied with a false smile that was as innocent as he could possibly smile. All to get that ''pure'' effect of a tactless kid that couldn''t lie even though Victoria couldn''t see. His voice even sounded somewhat slow and breathy.


    "RUDE!" Without thinking much, Victoria kicked at where she had been informed the small pile of ripped up grass had been. The grass scattered and flew directly at Albert. Giggling, Albert put up his arms in defence and fell onto his back on the soft lawn.


    "If you don''t make me a mango to compensate for my wounded ego, I will make you regret this." Victoria threatened somewhat lightheartedly.


    "This is why you''re a fatty." Albert chuckled and lifted up one of his arms without even bothering to brush away the grass blades in his hair. His eyes glowing green, Albert boosted the growth of the mango tree and produced exactly one mango. "Go get it yourself."


    "What! You''re making me, your poor blind sister to go get a mango myself?" Victoria exclaimed, almost sounding baffled.


    "¡­You have Cotton." Albert weakly refuted.


    "What''s the point of having a little brother if they don''t do as I say?" Victoria puffed her cheeks out and complained. "I don''t care. Go get it."


    Albert laid on the ground with his right arm laying on his forehead and the other weakly by his side.


    "¡­Albert?"


    Albert did not reply.


    "Stop ignoring me." Victoria ordered.


    There was still no reply.


    Victoria frowned. "Hey, stop playing around. I''m going to get mad."


    He didn''t react.


    "Oi. This is not funny. Cotton, says you''re still lying there. Stop ignoring me."


    Victoria was starting to get nervous now. She knelt down and grabbed Albert''s shoulder only for her to flinch at the heat.


    "Wait, you''re burning up!" Victoria exclaimed. Her hand that had only briefly touched him could feel the heat of his fever.


    ''Using his ability must''ve caused his fever to flare up and made him collapse.''


    "Damn it!" Victoria cussed, which was unlike her. "Cotton, go get someone to carry Albert inside."


    Cotton jumped out of Victoria''s arms and bounced into the house from the open doors.


    "Seriously, you really are one handful of a brother." Victoria sat beside Albert in a huff and brushed away the grass blades in his hair. "So weak and so dumb¡­really makes one worried for your future."


    ¡ª¡ª


    ""Victoria, is Albert alright?"" The twins asked, concern apparent on their faces. Behind them were Vin and Ian, both equally as worried.


    Victoria pat their heads and gave a mighty smile, "Of course he is! The doctor said he just has a fever. He''ll be fine after a few days."


    "Wouldn''t he get better instantly if we got Ron to heal him?" Vin suggested. Ron was the organisation''s healer. He specialised in wounds but could also heal minor illnesses.


    "The doctor said it will be better to let him get better on his own so he won''t get sick that easily next time." Victoria informed. "In other words, Albert is weak! That''s why he has to get stronger."


    Un, un. The twins nodded in agreement. ""That''s true. Even though he trains almost everyday, he''s got almost no muscles. He can''t even carry one of us when Father can carry us both at the same time.""


    "Yes, yes. He is a weakling that''ll get blown away by the wind."


    "And even though he eats so much, he''s very, very skinny.""


    ""We must fatten him up!"" The twins looked at each other and declared with a strange glint in their eyes.


    "Yes, as expected of my little brother and sister. You two are very smart. You must be geniuses!" Victoria praised proudly.


    ""Hehe, we''re Cruz''s, the greatest family of all time, of course we''re geniuses!"" The twins shouted with glee and the solemn mood created by Albert''s collapse instantly dispersed.


    As Victoria was listening to the cheerful voices of the twins, she felt a tug on her sleeve.


    ''Who...?'' Though she turned her head instinctively, she couldn''t see. As such, Victoria could not see who had tugged on her shirt. However, it was obvious to her who had done so. "Ian? What''s wrong?"


    Ian froze as if he had not anticipated Victoria speaking to him. Or maybe he simply did not plan ahead and was at a loss for what to do next. His eyes spun and mouth opened and closed, stammering for words that would not form.


    Ian''s fists clenched and his breathing shorted. He was frustrated, frustrated at himself for being able to speak despite clearly being able to and wanting to as well.


    "It''s okay." Victoria''s clear voice rang. She held Ian''s hand with her own and spoke with an angelic smile and gentle voice. "If you can''t say it, you can just write it down."


    ""That''s right, Ian!"" The twins chimed. ""You don''t have twin telepathy like we do so you just have to write it down!""


    "Here''s a whiteboard." Vin used his telekinesis to float a whiteboard and marker over to Ian.


    Ian received it with a complicated look on his face.


    ''How is Victoria going to go to school?'' He wrote on the whiteboard.


    "How is Victoria going to go to school?" Vin read outloud.


    That''s when it dawn on them, with Albert down, who would help Victoria get around?


    "Cotton will help me obviously." Victoria grinned. "She''s very smart and can read too. That''s why I will be fine. Thanks for worry about me, Ian."


    Victoria rubbed Ian''s head, messing it up and Ian just accepted it with a blank but happy face.

 Chapter 21 - Little guy

    "Milady, are you sure you will be fine on your own?" Cain asked with concern after parking the car in front of the school.


    "Of course I will, this is not my first time going to school by myself." Victoria flicked her white hair and stuck out her chest like the ''ojousama'' (rich young miss) she was.


    "But it is your first time since the incident." Cain murmured back.


    Victoria cleared her throat. "¡­Well, anyways, Cotton will guide me so stop worrying already. Also, I got this."


    Victoria reached inside her shirt for a silver-chained necklace. Hanging on it was a beautiful white jewel that resembled the moon.


    "If anything happens, click on this twice and it will automatically call me. Click on it again and Father''s men will come help you."


    After the scare from the previous incident, Kin immediately commissioned for special necklaces to be made for all his children. They all differed in design but had the same functions mentioned above and the additional function of being tracked 24/7.


    Albert''s was a dog tag with his name engraved on one side and a wildflower on the other. Ian had a dreamcatcher pendant while Vin had a blunt arrowhead. The twins had half a yin-yang symbol each with Atlas wearing the white yang and Iris the black yin. Their one was magnetic so that when they put it together, it would stick and complete the symbol.


    ¡­Well, anyhow, back to Victoria. With the assistance of Cain, she stepped out of the black sedan, backpack on her back and Cotton snuggled in her arms.


    Cain stuck out his arm at her, "I have to go talk to the principal about Cotton, so, shall we, Milady?"


    Victoria held onto Cain''s arm, leisurely being escorted over to the principal''s office as the other kids scurried over to their lockers in preparation for class.


    "It might take a while so please wait out here." Cain requested and left Victoria out in the hall outside the office by herself. Whilst she was waiting, Victoria could hear the flurry of footsteps as stampedes of students made their way to class and the hurried stampers of late students just a few minutes after.


    Just when she thought things had gotten quiet again, Victoria could hear little footsteps approaching her direction. They paused for a second before continuing again, getting louder as they neared. Then, just as they got close to her, they stopped and didn''t make another sound again.


    "Hello." Victoria greeted with a sweet smile, feeling a little bored.


    The owner of the footsteps flinched a little before timidly answering back, "H-hello."


    "I''m Victoria, and you?"


    "E-Evan¡­Nice to meet you."


    "Nice to meet you too, Evan. What year are you in?"


    "F-five. I''m turning eleven soon." Evan opened up his palms to show a five but upon realising his mistake, hastily withdrew it behind his back.


    "Oh, what are you doing here then?" Victoria inquired.


    "Uh, um, my mum is making plans to move here someday so we''re checking out all the schools in the area together. She just left to get something from the car so I''m waiting here for her." Evan carefully explained whilst twiddling with his thumb.


    Silence consumed the hall once more as Victoria got distracted by Cotton''s fluffiness and the boy was too shy to say anything.


    "Would you like to pat her?" Victoria looked up with a slight smile and held Cotton in front of her. "You''ve been staring at her for a while."


    Evan''s face was dyed red. In his shame, he hadn''t even thought to consider how Victoria had known. "Y-yesh."


    "Ufufu, her fur''s quite soft isn''t it?" Victoria chuckled.


    "U-un." Evan cautiously pat Cotton, his eyes sparkling from the touch.


    After a while, the boy lifted his head to look at Victoria. Carefully, he started, "D-do your, um, eyes still hurt?"


    "Huh?" Victoria was surprised. When people saw her bandages, they''d usually uncomfortably ignore them and will never bring up the topic. Well, as a great man once said, ''people look away because they don''t like how it makes them feel''. In her case, ''it'' was her eyes.


    "U-uhm, the bandage¡­p-people only use them when they are hurt so I, I was wondering if your eyes were hurting."


    Oh...Victoria''s lips widened into a grin. ''Come to think of it, Albert was the same when he first met me. His first words were about my eyes¡­''


    "They don''t hurt at all. I just like the feel of bandages around my eyes." Yes, that''s right. Rather than needlessly exposing her useless eyes to wind, dust, and whatever minor inconveniences, she''d rather cover it up with her favourite white. There was also no need to have people guessing when they saw her. Halloween was different though. People thought it was a part of her costume. That was certainly interesting.


    "Is that so¡­" Evan tore his eyes away from Victoria''s eyes. "Well, that makes it easier for me to remember you then."


    Evan pat Cotton and continued.


    "You see, I have a condition where I can''t recognise people''s faces and to make it worse, I''m bad at recognising voices too. I didn''t realise that this was an actual condition until a few years ago¡­When people have really distinct faces, it''s easier to remember so the fact that you wear bandages means that I''ll never forget your face!" Evan declared with a bright smile.


    "Oh, you have face blindness. Don''t worry, I can''t remember faces either!" Victoria ruffled his hair and snickered.


    "You can''t even see!" Evan laughed, his reservedness somehow abated by their shared experiences.


    "Sorry for the wait, Milady. I''ve gotten a late pass and a permission slip too." Cain who had finished his talks with the principal interrupted suddenly.


    "Well then, I have to go to class now. See you again, Evan." Victoria smiled and bade the little fellow goodbye.


    "Y-yes. See you again, Victoria."


    Evan watched as Victoria held onto Cain''s arm, walking elegantly with grace as she was escorted away.

 Chapter 22 - Sick with a fever

    Suffering from his fever still, Albert groggily opened his eyes. His body felt heavy and weak, sticky with sweat.


    "W-Water¡­" Albert groaned with a croaky voice. There was no reply to his mutter. The house was as silent as it was when he first woke up. Albert staggered out of bed, his bare feet flinching slightly at the coldness of the floor.


    "Mother? Father? Is anyone home?" Albert called out. He searched throughout the house, opening and closing doors only to find the rooms empty and without a single soul.


    Hand held against his chest, Albert gazed upon the couch in the living room. Usually, they''d be crowded on the couch, the twins fighting for the remote, Vin watching on in annoyance, Victoria amused and Ian worried. Kin and Joan would laugh and lightly reprimand them while Cain was as invisible as ever. That is¡­usually¡­


    A ragged and worn out couch surfaced in Albert''s mind. Shocked, he shook his head, as if to shake the image out of his mind. He ran his fingers though his hair, disgusted to feel the sweat soaked inside.


    ''Guess I''ll just shower for now¡­'' He thought to himself. Then, a small voice inside added, ''Maybe they''ll be back by the time I''m out.''


    A long, long shower later¡­They still weren''t home.


    Albert sighed and put on his slippers. He roughly rubbed his dripping wet hair with a soft towel enough so that it was just wet and trotted over to the kitchen. On the kitchen island was a bowl of porridge along with a note stating: Mother and Father are going out on business. Remember to eat your medicine after eating. The chef will be coming by to cook lunch for you later.


    Albert scrunched the note up and chucked it in the bin. He then placed the porridge in the microwave and watched it spin. Meanwhile, he felt his forehead, ''still burning up.''


    Albert simply shrugged, ignoring the headache and heat of his face. He grabbed the porridge, sat his ass down on the couch and turned the TV on. Too lazy to pick a show, Albert just chose a random channel that played boring shows that don''t interest kids he shoved the ''tasteless'' porridge into his mouth. Slowly, the sick child drifted off to sleep, the half eaten porridge in between his crossed legs and damp towel draped across his shoulders.


    ¡ª¡ª


    "Thank you for accompanying, Victoria, young miss." Cain put up a gentlemanly facade and went down on one knee and kissed the back of Victoria''s slav- cough, friend''s hand.


    The young girl blushed slightly, a little flattered yet embarrassed at the same time. People around them were whispering to each other, ''wow, a bonafide rich lady!''


    Ignoring them, Victoria hugged Cotton and gave a slight smile to the girl. "Thank you, see you tomorrow." She then got into the car, her smile vanishing as soon as the door shut.


    "How was your day today, Milady?" Cain started driving away.


    "Tiring." She swished her hair and sharply exhaled. "My classmates did stuff for me but none of them were as good as Albert. Hah, as expected, Albert really is the best at understanding what I want."


    "He should be better the day after tomorrow so you''ll just have to put up with it until then." Cain said, accustomed to Victoria''s brashness.


    "By the way," began Victoria, "you smell like blood."


    "Ah? Really?" Cain began sniffing his dress shirt. "I sprayed cologne to cover it up though."


    "Yeah, so much that it''s obvious you''re covering something up." Victoria huffed with disdain.


    Cain awkwardly laughed, "I just got back from a mission with Boss and Madam. I rushed here because we were almost done and I needed to pick you up."


    "Hmm." Victoria hummed. She suddenly sat up straighter as if she just thought of something. "Doesn''t that mean Albert was home alone today?"


    "Uh, yes and no? The chef should be taking care of him right now, since about lunch time."


    "Is that so¡­" Victoria spoke no more, snoozing until they arrived home.


    As soon as they pulled into the driveway, the two were greeted by a solemn looking chef.


    "Welcome home, Milady, Cain." She greeted.


    "Thank you, Annie. What''s wrong?" Inquired Victoria, having detected the anxiousness in the middle-aged chef''s voice.


    The three of them walked into the house as Annie explained, "The young sir has collapsed again."


    "What?" Cain gasped in surprise. "Why?"


    Annie sighed. "He fell asleep on the couch, hair wet and porridge in between his legs."


    "Idiot." Victoria walked through the hallway and into Albert''s room. Standing at end of his bed, she frowned. "Dumbass."


    She then left, leaving Cain confused and the asleep Albert unaware about what happened.


    "Annie, can you make me a chocolate milkshake? Oh, and make some for the kids too. They should be back soon." Victoria ordered, sitting down on the couch. "Oh, and Cain. Call Mother or Father and tell them how dumb Albert was. They should be done with their business by now."


    ""Yes Milady."" The two echoed.


    As Cain was making his call, sounds of the kids chattering resounded from the door.


    "Welcome home, everyone." Victoria greeted with a smile. "Do you know what Albert did today?"


    ""What, what?"" The twins were immediately curious.


    Victoria''s smile turned almost malicious. "He went to sleep on the couch with his hair still wet and made his fever worse. Now you''ll have to wait extraaa extraaa long for him to play with you again."


    The twins had caused a ruckus this morning because they realised that Albert wouldn''t be able to play with them for a few days because he was sick. If they were to learn that that few days may turn into a week¡­


    ""WHAT?! How DARE he!"" The twins exclaimed, furious, as expected. They barged into Albert''s room, jumping onto his bed.


    "Albert!" Screamed Iris.


    "Why did you get sick again!" Atlas shouted.


    "W-wha-?" A confused Albert opened his eyes.


    ""You''re not allowed to get sick anymore!""


    "???"


    ""You have to play with us!!!""


    Albert''s eyes were swimming and his head throbbing from the noise.


    "Now, now, kids. He won''t get better if you disturb his sleep like that." Victoria chuckled from the bedroom door.


    ""But he was being a bad boy!""


    "You can yell at him when he gets better."


    The twins puffed their cheeks and reluctantly left the room, the still confused Albert left to sleep in peace.


    Later that night, Victoria slipped into Albert and Ian''s room. Ian was sleeping with the twins and Vin.


    "¡­Victoria?" Albert''s sleepy voice echoed in the dark room.


    "Why are you awake?"


    "I don''t want to sleep." Albert whined.


    "You have to."


    "No, I don''t want to."


    Victoria sighed, he was starting to sound like a five year old now. "Why?"


    "The fire keeps coming closer¡­I''m scared¡­"


    "What fire?"


    "The fire. The monster won''t stop laughing at me."


    "Father''s water won''t let the fire hurt you. He''ll kill the monster too, there''s nothing to be afraid of."


    "¡­That''s right, Father is strong after all. Stronger than the monster."


    "That''s why, you should go to sleep now."


    "¡­Okay¡­" A few moments later, his breathing softened and he was asleep.


    After confirming with Cotton that he really was sleeping, Victoria turned to leave only to feel a pair of eyes concentrated on her once again. She sighed and faced him again. "I thought I told you to sleep."


    There was a long silence. "¡­My head hurts."


    "That''s why you have sleep. So you''ll get better."


    "Better? Would it be better if I just sleep?" He shook his head. "No, I have to wake up again, I have to¡­"


    "¡­"


    "Victoria." Albert grabbed Victoria''s wrist. "When, um, I wake up¡­tell me what I said, so I don''t forget."


    "¡­Weird, but ok."


    "Tell me, ''Wake up.''"


    "Okay?"


    He let go of her arm as if relieved and instantly fell asleep.

 Chapter 23 - Mission

    ""Father, Father."" Two sweet voices called.


    Kin looked up from his strawberry sundae and found the twins smiling at him. Their eyes were curved, half open and lips arched like a pulled back bow string. It felt...ominous. He recalled when Joan looked at him like that, he was suddenly married. When Victoria looked at him like that, he was bedridden for three days. When Albert looked at him like that, his sweet tooth was exposed. Now the twins were looking at him like that¡­Kin secretly braced himself for what was to come.


    "We were wondering if..." Began Iris.


    "You''d bring us out to play next time." Finished Atlas.


    Kin exhaled out of relief. Thank god it was just that. "Sure, where do you want to go?"


    ""On a mission!"" The twins announced with glee. Their faces lit up in apparent excited, just the thought of it was laughter inducing.


    Kin''s glacial face frowned. "No." He refused.


    The twins blinked in surprise. They hadn''t expected such a clear cut refusal.


    ""Why?!~~~~~"" And so began the whining.


    "Because it is dangerous."


    "But we''ve been training!" Atlas reasoned.


    "To protect yourselves, not to fight."


    "That''s the same thing!" Iris argued.


    "No, it is not." Kin sighed. He could tell that this will go on forever and forever. "Why do you even want to go?"


    ""To play!"" They smiled sweetly and answered.


    Kin sighed even longer. "You can play elsewhere. Somewhere safer."


    "We are also practising." Iris pushed harder, seeing that Kin was far from persuaded.


    "Yes, yes. We''re practising for future missions, when we debut as villains!" Atlas added.


    Kin furrowed his eyebrows. "¡­You want to become villains?" He had never seen that as a dream job before.


    The twins looked each other in the eye before turning back to Kin. Confusion was written all over their little faces. ""Of course? I mean, we''re already villains but like, yeah.""


    "But you''re not villains?"


    ""But we are Cruz''s? We''re a villain family.""


    Kin seemed to have realised something. He knelt down on one knee and looked the twins in the eyes. Sternly speaking, he said, "Listen up. Your mother and I may be villains but you are not. A villain''s child is not a villain."


    His words may have shocked the two for they fell into pensive silence.


    Kin stood up again. He looked towards his melting sundae that he had prepared as a before work snack and sighed. "Father has to go to work now. We can talk after I''m home."


    The twins nodded. It was unknown whether or not they were truly listening to what he was saying.


    "In the meantime, why don''t you go keep Albert company? I''m sure he is feeling bored."


    They nodded again, running out of the kitchen as if to escape. Later that night, when Kin returned home, he had fully expected the twins to speak to him about the matter once more. However, contrary to his expectations, they did not speak of it at all. They acted as usual, messing around cheekily. Thinking that they had just forgotten about it, Kin shrugged and didn''t think much of it.


    The next day¡­


    ""Father! We want to go on a mission too!"" The twins exclaimed.


    Kin dropped the toast in his hand. They hadn''t forgotten at all!


    "You guys want to go on a mission?" Victoria repeated.


    ""Un!"" The twins nodded proudly.


    "What can you do even if you go?" Vin chastised.


    ""Mmmm, we only want to go on an easy mission, to watch, ya know?""


    "I already told you yesterday, you can''t." Kin refused.


    "Why, darling?" Joan inquired. "I see no harm to that."


    "It is dangerous." Pausing, he added. "And they seem to think they are villains."


    "Oh my." Joan smiled and pat the heads of the twins. "That''s so cute."


    "Mother, we want to be villains." Iris announced.


    "That''s why we want to go on a mission." Atlas continued.


    ""So that we will be real villains.""


    "...Oh my."


    Kin furrowed his brows. "Why would you even want to become villains? What is so good about that?"


    "Do you really not understand, Father?" Vin inquired instead of the twins. Kin looked at Vin but remained silent. Vin clenched his fists and spoke with his head faced at the ground. "It is the only way we know how to live."


    Joan pulled Vin into her embrace. "Baby, that''s not the only path in life. Maybe, in the past, that was all that you could see but things are different now. You can choose what you want to be."


    Vin pushed himself out of Joan''s hug. He stood beside the twins, "Mother, we are villains."


    "No, you are not." Kin denied. He repeated what he had said the day before. "A villain''s child is NOT a villain."


    The four children stood side by side, staring at Joan and Kin while Victoria simply sat by the sidelines.


    ""We thought about this yesterday and this is our answer."" The twins looked resolutely into their eyes. ""We are not villains because we are your children. We are villains because of ourselves.""


    Vin nodded in agreement. "When I was four, I killed my birth mother. Then, when I was eight, I killed my birth father. When I was ten, we killed the orphanage director. When escaping, we killed a few more guys and stole their things."


    ""As for us, we were adopted into a cult. We didn''t like it there so we destroyed everything and ran away when we were five. Then, we went to a few different orphanages and ran away each time we killed someone. And when we were seven, we killed the director.""


    Ian opened and closed his mouth a few times. Finally, he clenched his fists and, "...I was seven when I killed my father. Eight when I killed my best friend. Then, I was eleven when we killed the director."


    "I''ve never personally killed someone but I''ve seen people die in front of me multiple times." Victoria''s voice rang.


    Everyone''s eyes were directed towards Victoria. She responded to their gazes by smiling. "What? I thought we were sharing."


    Victoria chuckled and continued. "I was six the first time I saw a corpse. Instead of being scared, I was fascinated by the seemingly endless amount of blood leaking from it. I ordered for the deaths of a few people that annoyed me after that. The first time was when I was seven but when I realised that living was worst, I started making their lives a living hell instead. And, I was twelve when I indirectly caused the deaths of hundreds of people."


    The children looked back at Kin.


    "...Victoria believes me to be the best villain in the world but there are many villains out there far more notorious and cruel than me. I am more like a nefarious businessman that supported a villain and I was more than happy to allow Victoria to follow in my footsteps. However, after the incident, I realised that I didn''t want her to. I want neither of you to. As such, I didn''t allow you to go on a mission, no matter how simple it was."


    The children sharply inhaled. After all that they said, he was still denying their dream.


    Joan saw the hurt on their faces. "We spend each day not knowing if we''ll finally get defeated by the heroes. We simply do not wish for you to have to experience this kind of life. Do you understand?"


    """Yes, and even so, we want to become villains."""


    The two adults and four children stared at each other in a standstill.


    "Hahaha." Victoria''s giggling echoed. "Father, Mother, at this rate, if you keep refusing, they''ll go do it themselves. That''d be worst wouldn''t it?"


    Kin''s lips widened into a line. Struggling, he finally spoke, "...Fine."

 Chapter 24 - Late Night

    Later that night, unable to fall asleep, Ian stealthily exited the twins'' room. He tiptoed across the hall, squinting his eyes, straining to see ahead in the dim lighting all the while gliding his hand across the wall for guidance. Only when he felt the bump of a door frame did he stop, relieved that he had finally reached his destination.


    He knocked on the door.


    "Come in." Albert''s voice rang from inside.


    Ian flinched in surprise. He had knocked from habit but hadn''t expected a response. The doll-like boy slowly pushed open the door, peeking his head into the room.


    Albert smiled, sitting up, "Ian? What are you doing up so late?"


    "Couldn''t sleep? Here, sit beside me." Albert pat the empty spot next to him. It was where Ian would have been sleeping had Albert not been sick.


    Ian climbed onto the bed, making himself comfortable under the warm blankets.


    "¡­"


    "Hm? Yeah, I''m feeling a bit better now. I think I''ll be fine in a few days."


    "¡­"


    "You spoke today? And Father is letting everyone go on a mission?¡­Hah-, why wasn''t I awake for such an important moment today?"


    "¡­"


    "It''s not like I don''t understand why''re you''re frustrated but rather than being angry because you couldn''t speak again, shouldn''t you be proud that you said something instead?"


    Ian held his head down, not making eye contact with Albert.


    "If you didn''t say anything, Father might not have agreed. You''ve shown him how much you guys wanted this. Victoria implied that, didn''t she?"


    Hesitating, Ian nodded.


    Albert roughly pat his head. "You know, I used to really hate using my ability."


    "?" Ian finally lifted his head and looked at Albert with eyes that looked like they were saying ''really?'', in disbelief.


    "Well, it wasn''t really that I hated using my ability. In fact, I loved using it. I mean, I grew the whole garden with my ability. However, when people at school found out about my ability and asked me to grow things for them, for some reason, I felt weird. As I grew more and more flowers and whatnot, I realised that I really really hated growing things for other people. I was fine growing things for myself and Victoria and all but for them, it was a different story.


    Do you know Victoria said to me at that time? She told me that it was fine if I didn''t use my ability for other people. I only had to use it for myself. So I did. I used my ability because I wanted pretty flowers in the garden. I used my ability because I wanted to give my family fruits to eat. I used my ability because I wanted to, not because someone else told me to."


    Ian was confused as to why Albert was telling him this but he felt that he must''ve been saying something important, he was just taking a long time to get to the point.


    "Anyways, what I''m trying to say is, don''t speak because people tell you to. Speak because you want to say something. Just like today. Understood?"


    Ian nodded.


    Albert smiled. "Now, why don''t we go to sleep? It''s been a while since we''ve slept together."


    Ian nodded, laying his head down on the pillow. Still smiling, Albert pat his head and sooner or later, both of their breaths slowed as they fell into deep slumber.


    ¡ª


    Albert slowly opened his eyes. Instinctively, he knew where he was. He could hear the flickering of the orange flames and the peculiar smell of burnt nothingness. However, it was different form usual. The refreshing smell of grass and a river reached his nose. As a wind blew, the sound of leaves rustling and water splashing reached his ears. The sound of raging fires was drowned out by the soothing nature around him.


    His eyes finally open, Albert saw a small island surrounded by a bubble of freshwater. In the distance, the fires burnt but was obstructed by the barrier of water. The whole island was but a tiny lawn with a single tree in the middle of which Albert was leaning on. Albert didn''t think it even exceeded a ten metre radius.


    "¡­I''m here again." Albert sighed. He looked up at the familiar water bubble and hugged his knees. Since a few days ago, the world of his dreams had changed from a scorching hell to this peaceful wonderland. The fires still existed in the distance but it was mostly a cool, quiet place.


    Sighing once more, Albert stood up, stretching his arms. He walked forward, feeling the soft grass beneath his feet. Strolling in a straight line all the way to the edge of the island, he reached out his hand. It went through the bubble-like barrier and instantly, Albert''s hand was engulfed by a cool sensation that was warm at the same time.


    Breaking out into a grin, the boy walked forward, sticking his head into the outer layer of this world.


    "As expected." Bubbled erupted from his speaking underwater but sound still traveled with ease and his breathing was not obstructed at all. Albert took yet another step forward, his entire body surrounded by the magic water. Giggling gleefully, Albert swam around, enjoying the sense of freedom that existed within this world as he waited for him to wake up.


    "¡ª¡ª¡ª!" Suddenly, a foreign sound disrupted this tranquil silence of the dream.


    Albert turned to the source of the sound and found a figure falling from above. It fell through the flames and plopped down into the water. Continuing on like a torpedo, the figure exited the water and crashed onto the soft grass below. Only then was Albert able to identify the outsider.


    "¡­Ian?"

 Chapter 25 - Wake Up

    The small boy was waving his arms and legs around in air, desperately trying to grab onto something. However, being in mid-air, there was nothing for him to grab. Unable to cease his descent, he inched closer and closer to the ground. Bam! All momentum was stopped once he made contact with the solid floor.


    "?" Ian stared at his hands and unscratched knees. He moved them around yet, still, he did not feel any pain. While he was checking on the condition of his body, Ian suddenly felt a drop of water fall onto his head. Looking up, he found the sky of water turn rough and very soon, drops upon drops of heavy rainfall fell down upon him.


    "Ian?" Albert''s voice rang amid the sound of the pouring rain.


    Ian raised his head and found Albert standing in the distance. His black hair was soaked, causing his bangs to cling to his forehead, slightly covering his eyes. However, through the hair, Ian could still see his shaking pupils, widened from disbelief and confusion.


    "Why are you here? No, more like, how are you here?"


    Ian paused and examined his surroundings. The rain severely obstructed his view but he could still make out the strange landscape; the towering tree, the film of water surrounding the world and the fires that roared in the distance. The lack of pain and his sudden appearance in this place all pointed to one direction. Not to mention¡­


    "Is this your dream, Albert?"


    Albert flinched. "Y-yeah, I think."


    Ian carefully observed Albert. He was much¡­weaker and smaller than usual. He wore a loose long-sleeved shirt, but the rain had caused it to cling to skin. The figure that was exposed by the water was pitifully thin and frail. Albert in real life was also thin but it wasn''t to the point of being sickly, unlike his dream self. He was also shorter now, only reaching Ian''s shoulders. Ian concluded that Albert''s current appearance was that of his past self, probably from a few years ago, seeing that he looked to be about ten, the same age as him. As for the reason why, he could only blame it on being a dream.


    "¡­This might be because of my ability."


    "I thought you could only make people dream."


    "¡­I can see what they are dreaming too. But I''ve never entered someone''s dream before."


    "Then your ability must be getting stronger."


    "Is that so?"


    Albert smiled, "You might''ve accidentally used your ability while sleeping. I''ve done it before too. Once, I woke up and the entire room was covered in plants!"


    Ian didn''t know how to respond to that so he just awkwardly laughed while Albert directed his glass smile at him.


    "Do you know how to leave?"


    Ian shook his head. "I don''t even know how I came."


    "You''ve mentioned that you can see people''s dreams. How do you stop?"


    "Um, I use my ability to wake up."


    "Then you can do that here too. Just wake up."


    "Oh, I''ll try."


    Albert let out a chuckle, his eyes curving with a smile. "By the way, it was nice hearing you speak."


    "Huh?" Ian was just about to say the magic words but Albert''s words interrupted him.


    "You didn''t notice?"


    Ian shook his head.


    "Pft-hahahaha." With his eyes narrowed and lips arched, the young Albert''s face seemed to have brightened and looked a tad bit healthier. The rain had even lightened a bit too. "Well, you best get going now. You have school tomorrow."


    "O-Okay." Ian nodded, a little perplexed. "Well then, I''ll be leaving now."


    His eyes glowed gold, "Wake up."


    A bright light burst out from where Ian stood, illuminating the entire dream landscape. Albert squinted, struggling to make out the figure of Ian dissipating along with the light.


    ---


    Ian opened his eyes, seeing the glowing stars on the ceiling in the still dark room.


    "¡­"


    "It seems like it worked." Albert''s groggy voice rang out. Ian glanced over to his side, secretly relieved that Albert was back to normal again.


    "¡­"


    "You''re not going to speak anymore? Well, that''s fine too." Albert chuckled. He roughly pat Ian on his head and continued, "Well then, why don''t we go back to sleep? Don''t try to enter my dream again though."


    "¡­" Ian puffed out his cheeks and lay back down on the pillow, his back facing Albert in protest.


    "Haha, my bad, my bad. I know it was an accident."


    "¡­"


    "Good night to you too, Ian."


    Once more, the two drifted back to sleep¡­


    ---


    In the dream world, little Albert made his appearance once more. At first, he looked confused but soon it dissolved into realisation.


    "He, can wake me up. I don''t have to be afraid anymore¡­" He cheered with the slightest smile.


    With his smile, the world underwent a slight change. Flowers began to inexplicitly pop out of the ground, decorating the green lawn with specks of colour.


    Picking a blue flower, Albert brought it to his nose and smelt it. The sweet fragrance tickled his nose and caused a chuckle to escape his mouth.


    Albert dropped the flower and stifled a yawn. "It''s not enough¡­still¡­sleepy¡­"


    Gritting his teeth, Albert trudged over to the big tree. A knife materialised his left hand and slowly, he began to carve into the trunk. When he finished, Albert smiled a little, sitting against the tree.


    "When will I be able to wake up, I wonder?" He murmured, eyes getting heavy. Soon, along with his consciousness, the boy disappeared from the dream.


    ---


    Albert opened his eyes and once again, he was in his dream. He looked around and was relieved to find that it was no longer raining.


    "Hmm? There''s flowers now." He observed.


    Albert bent down and picked a blue flower. He closed his eyes and breathed in the sweet fragrance with a slight smile.


    "The tree is different too?"


    Albert walked up to the tree, noticing it that was a little bigger now.


    "? What''s this?" Albert''s right hand caressed the engraving on the trunk. "Wake up?"


    Wake up. It might''ve been because he was currently in a dream but those words seem to cause his heart to speed. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. They echoed in his head.


    "Come to think of it, Victoria told me that too." Albert recalled. "But I don''t remember telling her to say that, I don''t remember writing this either¡­"


    Albert''s eyebrows furrowed as his hand continued to feel the words on the tree. A strong sense of emptiness filled his heart.


    "Wake up." He repeated once more, engraving the words into his mind.

 Chapter 26 - Preparations

    Albert gently nudged Ian awake. The boy opened his eyes in a daze but upon seeing Albert''s smiling face, dozed off once more.


    "Wake up, Ian. You''ll be late for school."


    Ian let out a groan and shook his head.


    "Don''t want to go?" He lowly chuckled and pat Ian''s head.


    Ian opened his eyes and pouted.


    "I am going, though?"


    Ian sat up and tilted his head.


    "I''m feeling a lot better now. Else, I wouldn''t have let you sleep with me." Albert laughed and smoothed out Ian''s bed hair. Then, as if he had just remembered something, Albert suddenly went serious. "Y''know, last night, when you went into my dream, did you do something to the tree?"


    ? Ian shook his head.


    "I see¡­" Albert fell pensive. Who wrote ''wake up'' on the tree then. Himself?


    "MmNn, it''s nothing, just curious." He responded to Ian. "Well, let''s get ready, shall we?"


    ¡ª


    "Your missions have been decided." Kin told the kids.


    "It''s a very simple task." Cain took over the explanations and continued. "All we have to do is threaten something a little bit. If they don''t listen, then we kill him. Understood?"


    ""Yessss~"" The twins chimed while the rest nodded.


    "Why are we threatening him?" Vin inquired.


    "Because he is late in payments. He already missed two deadlines. It will be troublesome if he thinks we''re soft."


    Kin''s organisation actually ran a loaning business as a side. They lent money to the truly desperate while making it abundantly clearly that they are villains. With the insanely high interests rates, they turn a couple thousand into millions and the desperate into slaves for decades. It was an extremely efficient business, though unethical. However, occasionally, a ''customer'' would have the wrong idea, hence the threatening.


    "I''ve chosen a few outfits for everyone. I''m sure you''ll like them." Joan presented the kids a box.


    Albert received it and opened it to reveal multiple masks piled on top of each other, clothes folded neatly underneath. Albert grabbed a mask and observed it. It was white and unadorned just like Kin''s mask. However, Kin''s mask was a full face one while the one in Albert''s hand was merely a half mask, it covered the forehead but stopped just above the mouth.


    "You''re not official members yet, so you get a half mask." Cain explained.


    Albert nodded in understanding and passed the box onto the others. He wore the mask and instantly, he was unrecognisable.


    ""Woahhh~ You look great, Albert!"" The twins exclaimed in praise.


    "T-thank you." Albert smiled and scratched his cheeks bashfully.


    "Father, why does Albert totally different now? Even though all he did was wear a mask." Vin couldn''t help but to ask. He had wondered that for a while now but could only bring himself to ask now.


    "Because it is made with the intent to hide." Kin answered.


    Everyone tilted their heads in confusion.


    "Normally, a mask only hides your face but your figure, posture, and voice can still give you away. However, if the mask is made with a strong desire to hide your identity, it will disguise the wearer. This concealment is even stronger if it is also worn with the desire to hide."


    "¡­How does it work?" Vin furrowed his brow as he tried to work around the logic of it.


    "We don''t really know but legend says that a really strong ability user used his ability to create a new law for the world which is this. They contribute other mysteries to this ability user as well. However, they say that after he changed the laws of the world, he perished as a result." Cain stepped in and explained.


    ""Wow."" The twins couldn''t help but to marvel at the amazingness of this legendary figure.


    "Well, it''s just a legend though."


    ""It''s still cool!""


    "Well, why don''t you try the outfits on?" Joan urged.


    ""Yes, Mother!""


    Everyone went to their own rooms to quickly change and reassembled in the living room. Kin, Joan and Victoria sat on the couch while Cain stood at the side, using his ability so that Victoria could see everyone in their new clothes.


    ""Boom! Guess who we are!"" Two little critters zoomed into the living room. They wore their half-masks, black jackets with hoodies and white collared shirts inside. They even clumsily wore ties to complete the semi-formal look. It was very cute!


    "You two look so adorable!" Joan praised whilst clapping. Meanwhile, Kin was busy taking photos on his camera, clicking away fervently. "Pose for Father, Atlas, Iris."


    ""How''d you know it was us?"" The twin''s eyes widened.


    "Ufufu, it''s a secret."


    "What?"


    "Tell us. Tell us."


    "Please, Mother?"


    "Mmmm, should I? If you kiss me, I might."


    Atlas and Iris glanced at each other before nodding. With an oomph, they bounced over towards Joan and gave her a little peck on the cheek, each on one side.


    "You''re so adorable!!!" Joan pulled the two into a tight embrace and rubbed her face on them.


    "So, how¡­"


    "¡­did you know?"


    "It''s easy. You twins always appear together. And you''re the smallest too."


    ""But Father said the masks will hide us¡­""


    "The masks may hide you but context clues can still give you away." Kin said, pausing his frantic photography session.


    Cain saw that the twins were still puzzled and so stepped in to elaborate. "Well, Atlas is wearing a jacket with a small lion print on it and Iris has a red plat on hers. Madam assigned different clothes to everyone so it was easy to tell who was who."


    Kin nodded. "That''s why you can''t be careless just because you have a mask."


    ""Oooh, we understand now!""


    Kin nodded at them and began to take photos of Vin, Ian and Albert who had arrived not too long ago. They had similar costumes, just different prints on the pocket area of their jackets. Vin had a cool dagger, Ian a sleeping cat and Albert a little seedling.


    "Looks like you''re all ready for tomorrow." Victoria commented with a smile. "Make sure you get our money, okay?"

 Chapter 27 - The Mission

    Albert stood in front of the large mirror in his bathroom. Reflected in the clear glass was the figure of a boy of eleven years wearing a white dress shirt and black hoodie. The shirt was not completely buttoned, the first two buttons undone. Albert flipped the collar up and slowly moved his fingers to the second button all the while staring at himself in the mirror. His breath was shortening as if he had just sprinted 50 metres. As if to stabilize himself, Albert took in deep breaths, breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth. By the time he was on his fifth cycle, the button was finally done. All that was left now was the first one.


    ''I got this.'' Albert encouraged himself and continued the breathing exercises. His fingers touched the button. Slowly but surely, the shirt tightened around his neck, button meeting the button hole.


    Hah-hah-hah- cOUgh cOuGh...Albert released his grip, hands raised to wrap around his neck. Looking into the mirror, he could see his tear-stricken eyes. Eyes filled with irrational fear and despair. But he wasn''t looking at his reflection. He saw a child begging for mercy as a much bigger figure walked over and ruthlessly held him up by his neck. The figure wore a sadistic smile, a gleeful gleam flickering in his eyes as slowly, he increased the force of his grip. The child kicked his legs in sheer desperation, his mangled fingers clawing at the devil''s arms.


    KnockKnockKnockKnockKnock!


    Albert swung his head round in the direction of the door. His fingers that had subconsciously tightened around his neck relaxed and his laboured breathing soothed to normality.


    "I-I''m almost done." Albert tried to sound as calm as possible. He wiped his tears away and threw the tie around his neck. Loosely tying it, he double checked his appearance in the mirror before sporting a gentle smile and opening the door. "H-hey, Ian. What''s up?"


    "..."


    "Ah, I think I saw it in the sink." Albert went back into the bathroom and came back out with a tie. "Here it is. Do you need help wearing it?"


    Ian shook his head. His gaze demonstrated his desire to be able to do it himself.


    "Oh, okay. Well, I''m gonna head out first, so yeah."


    "..." Ian just stared into Albert''s eyes, not saying anything with his gaze.


    Albert walked out of their room and shut the door behind him. His steps were hurried and forceful as he made his way into the backyard, his safe haven.


    ''What was that? What the hell WAS that?!'' He grit his teeth and shook the flashing images out of his head. ''This didn''t happen last time so why now?''


    The previous times Albert has done something similar, he would only see a pair of glowing eyes looking back at him. As his breathing got shorter and shorter, the eyes would get closer and closer until he couldn''t bear it anymore and gave up. However, this time he got a full on vision, of an assault no less!


    ''I was fine with not remembering. I was fine and yet-!'' Albert clenched his chest, his face distorting with the fear and sorrow that assaulted his heart. ''...Why do I feel so empty?''


    Albert just stood there, staring at the grass. He was frozen like a statue, his palpitating heart slowing to normality once more. Albert''s eyebrows furrowed and his lips trembled in a straight line. ''I don''t need them! What''s been lost, need not come back. I don''t...need them.''


    It seemed that no matter how hard he tried to convince himself otherwise, the sense that he was denying a part of himself still prevailed. ''...F8ck it. If it comes back, it comes back. It''s not something I can control. There is no point worrying about it.''


    Having made up his mind, Albert took in another deep breath. With a renewed resolution, he walked back into the house and into the living room where the whole family had gathered. Kin was busy taking photos with his cold face and Joan was having fun fixing everyone''s ties.


    "Oh, Albert, would you like me to fix your tie too?" Joan asked, seeing that he hadn''t even buttoned up his first button yet.


    Albert shook his head and smiled. "No thanks, Mother. I like it loose like this."


    "Hmm, so it seems." Joan accepted it readily. She did notice that he only wore baggy clothes or clothes that didn''t touch his neck much. She suspects that he may be ticklish.


    Meanwhile, Victoria was making demands to Cain. One arm on her hip and the other waving in the general direction of the man, she made her wishes loud and clear. "Listen, I want to see everything, EVERYTHING. Got it?


    Although Victoria''s smile was as sweet as sweet can be, Cain felt a chill running down his spine. "O-of course, Milady. How could I not obey your orders?"


    "Well? Hurry and leave." Victoria turned back to the children and pat the little ones'' heads with a warm smile. "Have fun everyone."


    The twins let out happiness noises before hugging Kin, Joan, Victoria and Cotton as they would be staying at home instead. They excitedly put on their masks as did Vin, Ian and Albert and waved them all goodbye. Wearing the masks, they became almost unrecognisable in an instant and exuded an aura of mystery for they lacked the sinister vibe most experienced villains adopted when switching personas.


    Once the van was moving, Cain spoke to the kids, "Do you all remember the plan?"


    """Yes~"" The children replied with a sing-song voice.


    "Alright, make sure you don''t do anything dangerous and just watch as per the agreement."


    """Yes~"""


    A little while later, they arrived at their destination. A few others had already arrived and scouted the location for any potential dangers. Usually, this type of mission would only require a team of two or three but the concerned Kin had increased that to six just in case. The six men scoured the entire area before giving Cain the okay to park the van carrying the Boss'' children.


    ""Young masters and miss!"" The suited masked men greeted in loud voices.


    ""Hello~!"" Greeted Atlas and Iris with a wave. The others just nodded back at them.


    "What''s the current situation?" Cain was in his business mode, dressed in similar attire to his colleagues.


    "Reporting, sir! The client is currently resting in his house. There have been no suspicious movements thus far." Brian responded.


    Cain rubbed his chin from under his mask. "Alright. Proceed with the plan. Three of you go guard the back and the rest follow me to the front."


    ""Sir yes sir!""


    As Cain and the others were busy dealing with the details, the kids whispered behind his back with gossipy tones.


    "Cain looks like a boss." Giggled Iris.


    "Even though he''s just Cain." Chuckled Atlas.


    "Alright, enough chattering, children. It''s time to have fun." Cain cleared his throat and turned to face the kids. "Follow us."


    They waltzed over to the door and watched as Brian pressed on the doorbell. Once. Twice. Thrice. Not a movement was detected inside the house.


    "We know you''re inside, Mr Joel Quaint." Brian plainly stated with an even tone in voice. "If you don''t open up in three...t-"


    The door creaked open before Brian could finish counting. A rather nervous looking man popped out from behind the small opening. His hair was greasy and clearly not washed in at least a week or two. "Isn''t the collection date in a few days?"


    "It would have been if you weren''t two months late in payments."


    Joel''s lips straightened into a thin line and didn''t speak. Annoyed by his silence, Brian glared and him and stuck his foot in between the gap and swung the door open with great force. "Don''t forget that we''re the ones who saved you when no one else would." He reminded in a low, threatening voice.


    Joel took a few cautious steps back, staring into Brian''s eyes. "I''ll have the money in a few days just as promised."


    "That''s what you said last time." Brian violently kicked the door and the loud bang was followed by a cracking sound in the old wood.


    Joel eyes bounced back and forth when he heard whispering and giggles coming from behind Brian. Landing on the source, he found five children standing around a man that was dressed the same as Brian. The man took a protective stance around the children but was still rather relaxed. The children wore different uniforms from the other men but the similar concept and attitude of the adults made it apparent that they were together.


    "...Children?" Joel muttered.


    "Heyo!" Atlas waved excitedly at the debtor.


    Cain took a page from Victoria''s book and smiled like a salesman, speaking with mockery and sunshine. "They''re on a field trip to learn what to do when someone doesn''t pay their debts."


    Joel''s eyes narrowed into angry slits. He grit his teeth and clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms. "What debt?! I''ve already paid back the initial loan! I''ve paid more than double of what I borrowed! What more could you possibly want?! You-You money hungry fiends!"


    A high pitched laugh echoed from the back. Iris skipped to the front despite Cain trying to stop her. Stopping just in front of Joel, she looked him right into his eyes. Somehow, the eight year old still managed to assert a domineering force over the grown man despite looking up at him. She grinned and mocked the man. "You''re so dumb, mister. You borrowed money from villains. Villains, you understand? What did you expect?"


    "Kuh-!" Joel scoffed. "Villains are criminals! I don''t owe anything to criminals!"


    His eyes glowed as he grabbed the shoe rack and threw it straight at Brian with all his might. Not expecting the sudden retaliation, Brian took a step backwards, almost falling on the slightly elevated platform.


    "Kyahhh!" The scream snapped everyone out of their stunned states.


    "Iris!" Atlas yelled out, his voice quavering.


    "S-stay back!" Joel waved around a crude knife at the villains.


    Iris clenched and unclenched her fists in fear. She wanted to use her ability but knew that it was useless in this situation. She didn''t have any strings that would free her.


    "Ian!" Albert''s roar was everything Ian needed to hear to know what he needed to do.


    "Sleep!" Ian shouted with all his might.


    "Wha-?" Joel staggered back unsteadily, shaking his head to wake himself up.


    "Sleep! Sleep! Sleep!" Ian kept yelling but it just wasn''t working! Instead, he was the one getting sleepy, barely able to keep standing in place. While Ian was failing to use his ability, Vin''s eyes glew and he attempted to wrestle the knife out of the crazed man''s hands.


    "S-stop that!" Joel noticed their actions and placed his knife on Iris'' neck, a trickle of blood flowing down the knife.


    Cain''s glowing eyes deepened in colour as he suddenly whipped his head back and stared at the streets instead of the scene of the crime.


    "What the-?!" Joel screamed, disorientated from the sudden change in scenery. Taking advantage of his confusion, the three that snuck into the house earlier attacked! One knocked the knife out his Joel''s hands, another rescued Iris and the last tackled Joel.


    "Iris!" Atlas ran ahead, wrapping his arms around Iris'' trembling body. "I was so scared! Are you okay?"


    "Atlas!" Iris leaned against his chest. Her tears soaking into his new clothes. For awhile, the two just hugged and cried their hearts out.


    "I apologise, Iris, Atlas." Cain knelt down on one knee in front of the two. "It was my carelessness that led to this. Please punish me."


    The six others also knelt. ""Please punish us!""


    "We can decide the punishments later." Albert''s voice rang. "First, we gotta deal with this."


    Albert stared down at the now incapicitated man. "Oi."


    "Hieee." Joel shrunk back like a coward.


    Albert frowned and bent down. He sniffed the air and with a look of realisation stared at Joel with disgust. " Fess up before I force it out of you."


    "W-what?" Annoyed by the man''s constant stutter, Albert gave him another kick.


    "Where''d you get them?"


    "Pardon?"


    Albert growled and stomped his feet on Joel. "Where''d you get the Lotus?"

 Chapter 28 - Lotus

    "Lotus?" Joel blinked and repeated. "...I don''t know what you''re talking about."


    Albert grit his teeth in annoyance. As soon as he smelt that floral scent, a throbbing pain suddenly assaulted his head. That was already annoying him to the moon and now this bastard was pretending to not know what he was talking about? "This is the last time I''ll be repeating myself. Where. Did. You. Get. Those. Drugs."


    "I-I said that I don''t know what you''re talking about." Joel sat up and began to shuffle backwards.


    Albert merely stared at him with cold eyes. "Search the place." He commanded without shifting his gaze.


    "Yes sir!" Two henchmen went into the house, leaving four behind to take care of things.


    Albert continued to give Joel a chilling glare. He stepped on his chest and slowly increased the pressure as he spoke, "Which do you think will be faster? Me forcing it out of you or them finding it and killing you?"


    Joel''s eyes widened and shook with fear. However, stubbornly, he shut his mouth and refused to speak. Looking into those bottomless pit eyes of the child, he braced himself for impact. However, contrary to expectations, the devilish boy simply turned to the crying twins.


    "Iris, since he hurt you, why don''t you do the honours. I''m sure you''ll feel better afterwards." The cold exterior of the masked boy instantly melted when he addressed his sister. He carried a warm smile on his lips and looked nothing more than a gentle older brother on halloween.


    Iris lifted her red eyes up from Atlas'' chest. Her eyes that fell upon Joel''s pathetic state contained fear and even greater anger. She could still feel his gruby arm wrapped around her neck, the odd feeling of wanting to breathe but being afraid to for a cold, sharp knife was but mere inches away from her neck. The shallow wound on her neck was no longer bleeding now but the pain pulsated and throbbed and was amplified by each laboured breath she took.


    The sliver of fear vanished. Her father''s people were here to protect her. This was a different situation than before when she had foolishly sent herself into the arms of the enemy. The enemy was down now and she was free to do whatever she wanted to him.


    "I-Ian?!" Just as Iris'' eyes began to glow, a panicked cry arose from Vin. She swung her head around and found Ian collapsed in a flustered Vin''s arms.


    Albert shot the henchmen a glance before heading straight for Ian. After a quick glance, he knelt down and rubbed Vin''s back to calm him down. "Don''t worry. He''s just sleeping."


    Upon closer look, Ian''s breathing was even and his cheeks were flushed red.


    "Let''s bring him to the car." Albert suggested with a slight smile. "You can yell at him after he wakes up."


    "...En." Vin discreetly wiped his tears away and tried to no avail to lift Ian up. Helpless, he could only let one of the henchmen do it and stand uselessly in the distance. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes, frustrated.


    "Hmm, they should be close to finding it soon." Albert suddenly spoke with a loud voice. He smiled wickedly at Joel. "I''m looking forward to how I''ll deal with you."


    "Please wait a moment, Albert." Cain interrupted. Albert flashed an annoyed look at him but that was replaced by disgruntled acceptance. He grabbed the phone that had been presented to him.


    "Yes, Father." Albert said as calmly as he could.


    "Is everything okay?" Kin inquired, his voice as level as it had been the first time he met him. However, Albert could still hear the concern overflowing from it.


    "Yes. Ian fell asleep and Iris was hurt a little and a bit shaken but other than that, everything is ok."


    Kin paused for a bit before continuing, "Cain told me about the drugs. This isn''t for you to handle, let Father take care of it."


    "But¡­" Albert stopped himself from continuing. He rationalised that Kin was probably way better at handling these situations than he was. After all, Kin had banned the distribution of drugs in his territory and probably had run ins with more than a few idiots who didn''t value their lives. Besides, he had that annoying headache to deal with. "Alright. Everyone is probably still mad about what happened so I''ll take them out to play before heading back home. Is that alright?"


    "...You can go after you visit the healer." Kin''s voice rang in the phone. "Make sure you properly stay with Cain this time. Take Brian with you too."


    "Yes, Father. I''ll be sure to remind the others too."


    "Alright. Don''t stay out too late."


    "Yes, Father. Goodbye."


    "Mn. Goodbye."


    Albert pressed on the hang up button and handed the phone back over to Cain. His glowing eyes indicated that he was still using his ability much to Albert''s surprise.


    "Aren''t you tired?" He unintentionally asked.


    "Ah, I forgot to stop it." Cain stupidly scratched his head and closed his eyes. By the time he opened them again, they had already stopped glowing. "More importantly, shouldn''t you intervene?"


    Albert cast his attention over to the direction to which Cain pointed. There, he saw a furious Vin being held back by Atlas as he scolded a teary Iris.


    "How can you be so dumb?!" The young child yelled. "Don''t you know you could''ve died?"


    "I''m sowwwwwwwy~~!" Iris could only sniffle back her tears and apologise for she knew she was in the wrong. Many times, she had been told to stay by Cain''s side but she disobeyed and paid for the mistake in blood.


    "Iris has already reflected! Stop yelling at her, Dumb Vin!" Atlas protested in Iris'' stead.


    "Shut up! I''m yelling at her so she learns. Unless you tell her a hundred times, this idiot is never going to get it through her thick skull!" Vin flicked his head to face Atlas, with the same feriouscity that he had been directing at Iris. "You too! You''re both idiots so make sure you both listen carefully. We promised to stay back and watch because we weren''t strong enough to deal with unexpected situations. And look what happened today. You broke your promise and almost died. And WE were unable to do anything to save you!"


    Atlas recalled the feeling of being powerless washing over him as he watched his twin sister being taken hostage by a crazed man. Clearly, he was stronger than the malnourished man and surely, if it were a one on one fight, he would win nine out of ten times. However, when he saw Iris trembling in that deranged man''s arm, he couldn''t do anything. He could only stand in place and stare, afraid that he''ll lose his dear sister, his other half.


    "We should have just listened to Father when he said we couldn''t go on the mission. We clearly aren''t ready."


    ""W-wahhhhhhhhh~!!!!"" The twins burst into tears and wailed uncontrollably. ""Noooo~!""


    "We''ll listen next time so...so¡­"


    "Don''t make us stop~!"


    "Don''t you understand? You could have DIED!" Vin cried, exasperated. Tears flowed down his cheeks and dripped down his cheeks. "I don''t want you to die¡­"


    The twins pounced on Vin and hugged him tightly. ""We''re sorry.""


    "Damn it! Idiots..." Vin wiped his unending tears and hugged them back. As the tears flowed and soaked his shirt, he felt his trembling shoulders settle and calm down once more.

 Chapter 29 - Beach

    As Albert observed the children, he was once again amazed by their adaptive ability. Their teary faces were already replaced with bright smiles and accompanied by pleasant laughter. Not a hint of the previous outcry was present on their faces, not even a swollen eye, courtesy of the healer.


    Now, having changed into beach clothes and swimmers, the children looked like the average beach goer. As if they hadn''t just experienced a life threatening event. Albert didn''t know whether to be impressed or worried. Impressed that they could move on so easily. Worried that they were ABLE to move on so easily.


    On the other hand, he wasn''t able to. Although the memories faded, the experiences remained. They were engraved in his bones, every slight touch reminding him of the fear and pain he went through. Despite being used to his family''s touch, when other people even so much as touched him unaware, he''ll freeze as a wave of fear rushed through, heart accelerating and pupils dilating. It was easy enough for him to understand what his lost memories contained.


    However, the occasional flashback was not all fear inducing. There were a few random moments wherein he looked at a flower and remembered a time he crushed it and put it in his father''s sandwich. Biological father that is. In another memory, he had grown an apple for a little boy, who rubbed it on his shirt and gingerly bit into it before crying out for he had lost his tooth to the apple.


    Thinking back to those little moments, Albert knew that his life was not just made of harrowing moments, but also normalcy. Before all this, he had led a normal life, away from heroes and villains. If he asked Kin or maybe even Victoria, perhaps they would tell him where he had come from. But Albert felt adverse to the idea. He felt that if he really did do so, it would be akin to spitting the Cruz''s in the face. He didn''t want to seem like he was discarding his current family for one that he couldn''t even remember.


    This was ridiculous, of course. There was no way they would think that. It was only that Albert was thinking too much of it and worried himself pointlessly.


    "You''re not going to play too?" Cain inquired, pausing from his cameraman duties. The bathers, play kits and floaties were all provided by him out of his wallet. Thus, in order to make up for the lost, he thought he might as well take some photos and hope for a bonus.


    "How''re ''bout you? You look like you''re burning up." Albert laughed, looking up and down at Cain''s reddened skin.


    "Ack-, I have the duty to guard from the land. Brian will be guarding the waters. We''ll switch later."


    Albert let out a chuckle as he watched the twins'' sandcastles get washed away by the tide and a triumphant Vin smirking behind his still very much intact castle. Meanwhile, Ian was busy decorating his with seashells and didn''t notice the misplaced anger in the twins'' eyes. A ruthless stomp or two later and the poor boy was left squating in front of a pile of deformed sand.


    "I''ll go now. Have fun in the sun, Cain." Albert stood up, leaving his empty bag of fish and chips on the beach towel for Cain to deal with. He ran up to the kids, helping an upset Ian to splash the cheeky twins.


    "Excuse me! Can you pass us the ball?" Albert glanced at the beach ball floating beside him and grabbed it. Not too far away were a group of kids around his age fooling around in the water. They waved at him wildly to gain his attention, calling out for the ball.


    Albert decided that the ball was probably too light to throw back and opted not to embarrass himself. Instead, he walked towards them, ball in arm. "Here''s your ball."


    "Thanks!" The kid gleamed. "Wanna join us?"


    "Yeah!" From out of nowhere, Atlas popped his head and answered in Albert''s stead.


    "Great! Then let''s split into teams." He turned to his friends. "Hey guys! They said they''ll play with us."


    "Cool!" The boy speaking paused when his eyes landed on Albert''s face. "Huh? Albert?"


    Albert was a little shocked. "Yes?"


    The boy made big splashes as he rushed through the water and made his way towards Albert. "You''re Albert right? I''m Kyle, remember? Dolly Primary school, we were in the same class!"


    Albert took a step back. This person was one from his lost past¡­


    "Long time no see! I heard that you went missing from a few friends but you must have just moved like I did!"


    A face flashed in Albert''s mind that overlapped with the overeager one in front of him. Kyle was always a friendly guy, nice and bubbly, the centre of attention. When he moved away, the whole class had come together to throw him a farewell party and tearfully wrote him a goodbye card with their wonky handwriting and limited vocabulary.


    "Sorry to burst your bubble, but I think you''ve mistaken something. They may share the same name but this Albert and the Albert you''re referring to are different people." Brian cleared his throat and dealt with the situation before it got out of control. He may not be privy to much but he was at least aware that their young master Albert was dead on paper and thus, his previous identity must not be exposed.


    "Really? Sorry!" Kyle blushed and apologised upon realising his ''mistake''. "You look so similar that I thought¡­"


    Albert smiled gently with his regained composure. "It''s alright. I don''t mind."


    "Really, sorry." Kyle apologised once more and the topic was dropped. Quickly, they formed even teams, with Albert and Kyle coincidently being in the same team. Albert was still admittedly a little shaken up so throughout the game, he kept up his mask and continued to smile.


    Seeing this, Kyle spoke with realisation. "You really aren''t him, the Albert I knew, I mean. That guy never really smiled like this."


    "Excuse me?"


    "Well, just between us but he was a little weird. The only time he smiled was when he was teasing someone." Kyle looked left and right as if he were gossiping. "There was this kid that would follow him around and he always got bullied! But he was so dumb that he didn''t even realise and would forgive him as soon as Albert gave him a fruit."


    "Pft-Cough, heh, Cough." A certain someone covered his mouth with his hand to stifle his laughter but the sounds were too obvious and much too obnoxious.


    "Ah, Cain, since it''s so hot, why don''t you go buy some ice cream for everyone? You don''t mind right?" Albert turned to face Cain with Victoria''s signature smile.


    "But-" Thinking of his poor wallet, Cain opened his mouth to refuse.


    "Hmm?" Albert slightly narrowed his eyes.


    "U-understood."


    Brian slightly lit a candle for his dear comrade but did not offer to pay in his stead.


    "What flavours do you guys like?" Albert turned to face the kids.


    "Ah? Us?"


    Albert nodded.


    "Are you sure?"


    "Yeah. Since you were nice enough to invite us to play."


    "T-then I''d like a mango."


    "Chocolate for me!"


    "I want choc-chip."


    Cain took note of everyone''s orders and depressingly went to fulfil his job. Meanwhile, Albert silently took a mental note of the information he learnt today. Without really knowing why, he made sure to remember all the new details about his past self.


    Dolly primary, a bully, and a kid that he bullied.


    Albert wondered if it was the child that lost his tooth to an apple.

 Chapter 30 - Cottons Request

    "I heard of your mishap the other day." Instructor Dan stood in front of the kids with an imposing pose. "I believe I''ve taught you to be more vigilant."


    """We''re sorry!""" The children chimed in collective remorse.


    "We''ll be doubling training intensity from now on." Dan approached Iris and held her in his arms, just like how Joel had grabbed her. "I''ll teach you how to get out of situations like this."


    """Yes!"""


    Thus, the children devoted their time in the pursuit of strength and time flew by rather quickly.


    One particular evening, Cotton sat on the deck and gazed at the moon. Her eyes glowed silver and occasionally, she would jump up in joy or wilt in sorrow. As the silver glow began to fade, those beady eyes of her''s seemed to have teared up.


    She looked up at the glowing moon with longing eyes and blinked, opening her eyes again with conviction. Cotton left the deck and hopped over to Kin and Joan''s bedroom.


    Kin heard soft knocks on the door, the sound being followed by a clear, kiddish voice. {Father, Mother. Please open the door for me. I have a favour to ask.}


    "What''s wrong, Cotton?" Joan opened the door and picked up the little ball of fluff.


    {Um, I''d like to request a, uh, rescue mission.}


    "A rescue mission?" The couple repeated.


    {You see, before Cotton became Cotton, my name was R-143. I was in a research lab where people tested things on me all the time. My friend told me that they were trying to find out how to make spirit beasts.}


    Kin rubbed his chin in pensive alarm. Such research was strictly forbidden under international laws, who could''ve been brave enough to attempt it, and for so long no less.


    {I was a spirit beast from the start but they didn''t know because H-108 told me to hide it. As time went by, the experiments got more and more dangerous so H-108 helped me to escape. But, she stayed behind.}


    "If she was able to help you, couldn''t she have escaped herself?"


    {The plan was that I''ll go find someone to help us but last night she told me that she couldn''t leave anymore. She said that because she helped some others escape, they increased surveillance and now she doesn''t have the opportunity to use her ability.}


    "I see¡­"


    {H-108 was in the lab since forever so she doesn''t even know what the outside looks like. She is a really pitiful child. Please save her, Father.} Cotton implored tearfully.


    "H-108¡­Cotton was R-143 so she must be a hedgehog or a hawk or possibly¡­human." Joan guessed.


    Cotton nodded. {I don''t know what she looks like but she sounds like a little child. Like Iris.}


    Kin closed his eyes for a bit to think. After a while, he raised his head and nodded. "Alright. Tell me the details."


    {Yes! The lab has a lot of researchers but the main researcher and the boss is an old guy with bushy eyebrows and mean eyes. There''s a lot of guards and security things.}


    "And the location? Are there any landmarks?"


    {Cotton was teleported out by H-108 so I don''t know where it is. But I remember one of the researchers talking about how hard it was to get to work from home. They said they live in XXX so they have to cross the bridge everyday.}


    "That narrows it down a bit. I''ll get my men to find him and we''ll work it out from there." Pausing, he added, "Is it very urgent?"


    Cotton shook her head. {No. Thank you, Father, Mother!}


    "Anything for our cute Cotton."


    The relieved Cotton hopped out the room and gazed outside with glowing eyes. However, it seemed that her friend had already fallen asleep so the call didn''t go through.


    {I promise to save you.} Cotton solemnly vowed.


    Meanwhile, Kin and Joan discussed the request in their room.


    "It will be difficult." Joan pat Kin''s hand and said.


    Kin nodded. "For such a research to go undetected for so long, there''s no doubt that there are influential forces at play here. However, I suspect their goal isn''t simply the artificial production of spirit beasts."


    "You''re right. You don''t need human subjects for such a project. Could it be that their goal is to research the enhancement of abilities?" Joan suggested with alarm.


    The mood grew heavier.


    "Such a thing has long since been proven to be useless."


    "And yet, that doesn''t stop people from trying."


    "The purpose of the research is of no concern. What''s more important is how heavily guarded it must be. In order to carry out this mission successfully, many men may be needlessly sacrificed." Kin grumbled.


    As Kin pondered on how they''ll carry out the rescue mission, Joan suddenly raised her voice. "I know! We can use the heroes."


    "What?"


    "That lab is obviously bad news. There is no doubt that the heroes would stop at nothing to put an end to it. Also, the hero division had only just started so they have no notable achievements under their belt. This is the perfect bait."


    "Hmm, good point. This way, we don''t have to personally make a move but the problem is how we''ll get the girl before the heroes."


    "Ah, that''s true."


    "If possible, I''ll like to avoid the scenario where Cotton''s friend is rescued by heroes but as a result, they are never able to meet each other in person."


    "Ufufu. You''re already planning to adopt her too." Joan giggled.


    "Having an additional child is of no problem. What''s most important is that all the children are happy."


    Seeing Kin say such a warm thing with that cold face of his was somewhat jarring but at the same time, charming beyond words.


    Joan smirked and commented, "Looks like we should prepare another room in the house then."


    "Ahem." A little embarrassed, Kin cleared his throat. "Well, we have to work out a plan before then."


    "The idea is that we discover the location of the laboratory and expose it to the heroes along with evidence of their acts. If we can''t find any evidence, we can just make it up. Heroes are too dumb to ignore fake evidence anyways."


    "Mm, we can listen in on their plans and while they''re busy destroying the researchers, we''ll send in a man to rescue Cotton''s friend."


    "Sounds like we have a plan."


    "Yeah, we have to find it first though."

 Chapter 31 - The Heros Mission

    The ground shook and screaming civilians could be heard all around. The source of the terror was a rather thinly built man. His face was painted red as he stomped his foot on the concrete path and he tore his coffee stained shirt apart.


    "THIS WAS MY FAVOURITE SHIRT!!!" Screaming, he threw it aimlessly and scanned the running crowd. "WHERE ARE YOU? COMPENSATE ME! COMPENSATE ME FOR MY SHIRT!"


    Unfortunately for him, the man had already run the minute he started yelling and destroying the footpath. All he could see now was the backs of people running to safety and a couple of kids across the street eating ice cream and watching him with amused smiles.


    "Sir, please calm down!" An officer dressed in blue was quick to arrive on the scene.


    "ARGHHHHH!" The rampaging man screeched and swung the officer away. As more and more officers tried to stop him, he got more and more irritated and thus more and more aggressive.


    "----Requesting back up! The target is a man with superhuman strength, he doesn''t seem sane---!"


    "Got it." From the other side of the radio, the officer heard a familiar voice. It was a voice of someone that had been appearing on television a lot lately...Hero Terra! The officer''s eyes lit up. He''d be able to see his idol working from a close distance, what a dream come true!


    Shortly after, the hero jumped down from the rooftop and landed with a classic pose. He looked up and found the villain was not even disguised. Many officers carefully surrounded him as he swung a broken street sign around like a crazed drunk with a twig.


    After observing the chaos, Terra swiftly planted both his plans on the ground. His eyes that had been hidden behind his mask glowed and the asphalt road beneath the villain turned soft like mud.


    "?!" The rage blind villain didn''t even react before he swiftly sunk into the swamp-like road. As soon as he noticed, the road was returned to its normal state, trapping him in it. All the villain could do was squirm around as his arms were trapped and only his shoulders and head were above the surface.


    "Thank you for the assistance sir!" The officer that radioed the situation turned to Terra and delightfully.


    "No worries." The hero cooly said and added, chuckling, "It''s rather nice to openly work with the police after doing it secretly all these years."


    "Yes, it''s my pleasure to be able to work alongside you heroes!" Before the establishment of the hero division, there were many times where heroes would help the police solve crime. This was all done behind the scene and without public knowledge. Now that heroes were legalised, they simply got more freedom to cooperate.


    "Uwah! I-I''m sorry, officer. Please release me!" The villain suddenly stopped roaring and cried out in surrender. Upon closer inspection, Terra found that his eyes had stopped glowing. "I''m sorry for hurting you and I''ll pay for damages! I...My ability just activates by itself when I get angry! I didn''t mean to act like that!"


    Terra sighed. He crouched in front of the offending man and spoke. "Even if you can compensate for all the damages, what if someone had gotten hurt?"


    "I-" The man looked like he was on the verge of tears. "I''m sorry. I''ve been very stressed and under a lot of pressure lately so when someone bumped into me and made me spill my coffee on my favourite shirt, I just exploded. I''m usually very careful about keeping my emotions in check so I...I''m so sorry!"


    Terra sighed and shook his head. "Whatever. This isn''t my jurisdiction. The police officers will decide what to do with you after they take you in. All I can tell you is to be more careful from now on."


    The hero placed both palms on the road again and released the guy for the police to arrest. Standing up, he saw that people had gathered around to watch the show. Even kids were watching, amused smiles decorating their ice cream stained lips. Terra''s eyes landed on one child in particular. He had black hair and beady eyes, a gentle smile carved on his face, somewhat unsuitable for the current setting. Narrowing his eyes, Terra felt that the boy looked somewhat familiar but couldn''t quite figure out why.


    "---Terra, have you settled the situation yet?" The voice coming from his ear piece interrupted the hero''s thoughts. He snapped out of his daze and touched the ear piece. Every on duty hero wore one while they were patrolling so that they could arrive on scene instantly when called for.


    "Yeah. Was just someone who''s ability went berserk."


    "The detectives have confirmed the reliability of the information from the other day. They''re requesting our cooperation to deal with it."


    Just three days ago, someone had anonymously sent in a report to the police. It simply stated: There is a laboratory experimenting on spirit beasts and humans. They are at xxxx location.


    No one knew who tipped them but after checking on it, they found that there were indeed many suspicious cases occurring in that area.


    "Got it. Who''s going?"


    "We still have to discuss that but it seems that you''re to be the leader of the operation."


    He didn''t say the reason but Terra understood that it was because he was a hero that was relatively well known. They wanted to use the opportunity to promote the hero division and solidify its reason for existing. But Terra didn''t care. All he knew was that there were villains running amok and that he needed to stop them.


    A week later, after discussing and making multiple plans, they finally found an opportunity to carry out justice. The laboratory would have food deliveries once a week. All they had to do was sneak a few heroes in to scout the area and afterwards, they would all collectively attack.


    "---All clear! Attack!"

 Chapter 32 - H-108

    H-108 stared at the ceiling in a daze. She felt her heart pounding in her chest, with each beat pumping blood through her head all the way down to her toes. Each beat brought along with it hope, pulsating an invisible force through her body. With a flushed face, the corners of her lips could not help but to raise.


    The flames in her heart had long been extinguished, but Cotton''s words had sparked a flame and the fires grew until her whole body was warm with anticipation and hope.


    They were coming to save her.


    H-108 could not resist chuckling. It was ironic. The villains that she hated so much were freeing her from this hellhole while the heroes she admired didn''t even know about her. When she heard of the plan, she giggled hysterically. The warriors of justice were mere pawns on the palms of the enemies they swore to destroy.


    {We found the location of the laboratory!} Cotton reported with excitement in her voice. {We''re going to save you soon, you''ll become a part of our family!}


    Family. It was a word that sounded familiar yet foreign to H-108. She too once had a family, a name and a place called home. But she was so very little when she arrived at the laboratory, she didn''t have the time or heart to remember her name while fear and pain tormented her.


    "It''s time for breakfast." There was a knock on the door but the person knocking didn''t even wait for her reply before they unlocked it and walked into H-108''s cell. A male and female carted a trolley full of food in.


    H-108''s lips widened into a smile. It was the idiots that leaked the lab''s location. "What''s for breakfast today?"


    "English breakfast."


    "Urgh. I don''t like beans." Despite her mouth complaining, the brightness of H-108''s smile did not diminish in the slightest. It was all just meaningless words. She was grateful for every bite of food she was able to get.


    She scurried out of bed and went excitedly to the cart to receive her share. "Hm? One''s missing?"


    She was always the first to get their meals so whenever the servings changed, she always noticed. Today, there was one less plate.


    "H-136 had some complications." The idiots didn''t shy away from letting her know. Because, even if she knew, what could she do about it?


    H-108 kept her head low as she grabbed her plate and utensils. She sat at the table and waited for the idiots to leave before beginning to move again. Another one of her fellow sufferers had died again. These fiends simply did not care whether or not they''d survive their play at God.


    Luckily, she was special. As someone once told her, she should strive to be special enough that it''ll be a shame if she died but not so special that she had no opportunities to leave. It took a little experimenting, but H-108 was able to plant herself in that golden centre wherein she could live but not be monitored too heavily. Unfortunately though, her act of saving Cotton had led to security around her to increase.


    A week or so later, Cotton''s voice rang in her mind again. {The heroes have begun to move. Someone is coming to save you later tonight. When he asks you ''Do you think a hero or a villain has come to visit you'', reply with ''it''s Cotton telling me to come home'', then he''ll know who you are.}


    H-108 nodded despite knowing that Cotton could not see her. {...What about the others? What''s gonna happen to them?}


    {That''s for the heroes to decide.}


    So she was the only one they were going to take. H-108 was fine with that. She wasn''t close with the others, heck, she''s never even seen them before. Whatever happened to them was none of her concern.


    {I''m looking forward to it!}


    "It''s time for dinner." The idiot knocked on the door and let himself in once more. H-108 sniffed the air but found that dinner didn''t really smell like much. She received the plate. It was mashed potatoes, peas and steak. The corners of H-108''s mouth raised.


    Over at the heroes'' side, the scouts had entered the premises of the disguised lab through the delivery truck. Amongst them was the spy that Kin had placed within the ranks of the heroes. The spy pretended to cooperate with the heroes and made up an excuse to go off on his own. Relying on the information that the idiot scientist had given them, he navigated the halls and eventually made it to H-108''s cell.


    He knocked on the door and waited.


    Hearing the knocks and seeing that no one had let themselves into the room, H-108 instantly knew that it wasn''t the idiot that had come to collect her plate.


    "Come in." She said, for the first time in her life.


    The spy swiftly picked the lock and let himself in. His undisguised face showed itself to H-108 as he said the prepared lines. "Do you think a hero or a villain has come to visit you?"


    H-108 grinned. "All I know is that Cotton is telling me to come home!"


    The spy returned her grin. "Well then, we must swiftly return home, young miss." He elegantly picked up the young child in one arm and activated his ability. His power wrapped around the both of them and instantly, they blended in with the surroundings, becoming invisible.


    "How does this ability work?" H-108 curiously inquired.


    "A film that bends light wraps around whatever I want and makes it invisible."


    "Hmm, that''s cool."


    The spy walked through the planned escape path while avoiding any hero scouts that he encountered along the way. Time was ticking and he knew that the heroes were going to attack any time now. He didn''t want to be discovered in the midst of the chaos.


    "Hey, hey, what''s your name?"


    "My name is Will. What is yours, miss?"


    "H-108. But I''m thinking of a new name for myself right now."


    "I''m looking forward to when you decide."


    "Hehe, I''ll be sure to tell you when I do."


    "Y''know, Will, you''re a spy but you''re kinda like a butler."


    "I''m honoured that you think of me that way, young miss. However, I must correct you on one thing. I am not a spy. Today''s case is just something special for you, young miss. Usually, I''m a phantom thief."


    H-108 giggled. "Then am I the treasure you''re stealing today?"


    "That appears to be the case."


    Boom! A loud sound echoed in the laboratory. Will clicked his tongue and hastened his pace. In the distance, H-108 could hear the guards prepping for action and heroes charging into the base.


    ''Damn it!'' Will cursed inside. Ahead of them were a few guards rushing to the cells. Their big, bulky bodies covered half of the narrow corridor and Will wasn''t too confident in defeating them without causing a huge commotion.


    "I''ll handle this, Butler Will." H-108''s eyes glowed and she threw something from her closed fist. In an instant, the guards were enclosed in a cloud of an unknown gas and fell to their knees and faces. "It''ll only last half a minute. We should quickly leave."


    "Is that your ability, young miss?" Will asked, jumping over the sleeping bodies and sprinting ahead.


    H-108 chuckled. "Yes and no."


    She opened her fist, sitting on her palm were a few peas.

 Chapter 33 - The Escape

    H-108 stared at her hand, a calm glazing over her eyes. She watched the walls of the corridor flashed by as Will sprinted ahead, intending to leave far away before the guards woke up and chased after them. Sirens were blaring as the whole laboratory turned into a battlefield. However, it seemed that the heroes were more conscious of the area that Will and H-108 were running from as the fighting was less fierce there. They were heroes after all. They didn''t want innocent test subjects to get involved.

 Chapter 34 - A New Home

    The moon retired as the sun rose up into the sky once more. H-108 groggily shuffled in bed and woke up to the sound of muffled voices in the other room. Rubbing her eyes, she scanned the area. A humble little room, affixed with a double bed and old wooden desk. It was definitely not the sterile cell that she had grown accustomed to.


    ''Ah¡­'' Almost immediately, the events of last night flashed through her mind.


    The small girl pulled herself out of bed and made her way out the room. Down the hall she could see the source of the voices. The man who had escorted her out of the laboratory in the wee hours of the morning and an unknown tall figure, his hair the colour of snow and face a glacial iceberg. They both turned to face her, Will with a smile and the unfamiliar man with just a gaze.


    "Good morning, did you have a nice rest, Milady?" Will greeted respectfully.


    H-108 nodded, her gaze focussed on the stranger. His tall figure and attractive facial features stood apart from the crowd but it was the regal air around him that truly turned heads. He was no doubt not an ordinary person.


    "Are you the father of the family taking care of R-143, I mean, Cotton?" A smile adorned her face but her voice lacked the emotion that often accompanied a smile.


    Kin slightly furrowed his brows.


    H-108''s face was unchanging but she noticed the problem and explained. "This is a side effect. It will go away soon."


    Kin raised an eyebrow.


    That same smile on her face, H-108 further elaborated, inwardly wondering how a man could be so impassive yet convey so much with the slightest movement of his face at the same time. "I have the ability to give round things an ability that I copied and saved. The side effect is that I don''t feel as much and sometimes not at all, like right now."


    Will recalled the events of the night and nodded in confirmation. She did indeed become much more demure and quiet after the first instance of her using her ability. After the second time, she had become eerily calm and later passed out. A thought then flickered through his mind.


    "Wait, that means you can basically use any ability there is!"


    H-108 shook her head. "I can only give an ability if I''ve seen it and understood how the ability works. There are a lot of rules that I don''t really understand either. However, what I do know is that I can save up to four abilities at a time. If I erase a slot, I will have to copy the ability once again."


    "Is that so?" Will mused, understanding that though not every ability was equal in strength, they all came with their pros and cons.


    "When will the side effects wear off?" The ever-silent Kin inquired.


    "Around noon."


    "Then meet me at lunch." He turned to Will. "Take care of her."


    "Yes, Boss." At his reply, Kin pointed his toes at the direction of the front door and left without a word. "Shall we eat some breakfast for now?"


    After a quiet breakfast, H-108 let out a yawn.


    "I''ll clean up here so why don''t you go back to sleep? You only slept for a few hours last night."


    The child had no complaints and so went to bed. The next time she woke up, the sun was glaring into the room. Her eyes shimmered with an unknown light and slowly, moisture gathered and tears formed. A drop rolled down the side of her head and then another. Then, like an avalanche, it all came pouring down.


    H-108 laid still in the bed, body trembling as she wiped away at the never-ending tears.


    "Milady, may I come in?" A short while later, Will knocked at the door and awaited her response.


    In a panic, H-108 sat up and wiped away at her tears. Eyes still red, she spoke. "Y-es."


    "Would you like to take a bath before lunch? I''ll prepare the water for you." There was a benign smile on his face as he offered his services. A sense of gratitude bubbled up in H-180 but she just nodded and followed the suited man to the bathroom and watched as he filled up the bathtub.


    "Um." Just as Will was about to step outside, H-108 called out to him. "My name...I''ll tell you my name soon."


    Will''s smile faded into faint surprise before returning into a flower of a smile. "I''ll be looking forward to it."


    He exited, closing the door behind him. Meanwhile, H-108 sunk into the warm bath and stared at the ceiling above. ''Alice, Beatrice, Cathy, Dorothy, Eden, Fiona, Grace, Helena, Io...Io¡­I''ve heard about it before, one of Jupitar''s moons, Io from the Greek mythologies...Turned into a cow by a love-struck Zeus and tormented by a jealous Hera yet she never gave up and regained her freedom¡­''


    H-108 let out a chuckle and started to play around in the water, like any child her age would. She built bubble castles and little animals, splashed the duckie and stayed in there until her skin was red like an octopus and skin on her finger wrinkled up like an old dish sponge. When she finally came out, she was more refreshed than ever and ready for anything.


    "Hey, hey, hey. Butler Will, what''s for lunch? I''m hungry."


    Faced with a pair of enthused eyes, Will inadvertently chuckled. This was how a child should be, he thought. "We bought curry from a famous restaurant around here."


    "I love curry!"


    Kacha, the door opened.


    "Boss!"


    Kin walked in and glanced at H-108 before nodding at Will and looking back at H-108. "I have a proposal for you."


    "Proposal?" The image of Kin getting down on one knee popped into her mind.


    "Would you like to become a part of my family?"


    "...what?"


    "Kuhum." Will cleared his throat, knowing that his Boss wasn''t explaining properly. "He means to adopt you, so that you can be family with Cotton."


    "With Cotton?" H-108''s eyes beamed, mouth widening with glee. If a background were to be painted behind it, it would be that of sunflowers and butterflies. "Would Butler Will be there too?"


    "If you wish."


    "Eh? Boss? I''m a thief though? Not a butler."


    "Cotton and Will will both be there."


    "Then please let me join!"


    Kin''s frost gaze seemed to have melted a little. "Welcome to the Cruz family."


    "Hehe, I''m Io Cruz from now on."

 Chapter 35 - New Home pt2

    Io stood before Will with a bright smile on her face, eyes arched and squinty with joy, the very epitome of a sunshine child. Her hair was tied loosely into two pigtails, her brunette hair serving as a nice contrast to the yellow of her new dress, her favourite colour.


    "Do you think they''ll like me?"


    Will dutifully knelt down on one knee and helped her straighten out her dress. "Of course they''ll like you, you''re their little sister." Pausing, he continued. "Boss also called before he went back to work and they seemed really excited to meet you."


    "Really? I''m excited too! I can''t wait to meet everyone, Victoria, Albert, Ian, Vin and the twins, Atlas and Iris." Io''s eyes sparkled with anticipation as she listed the names of her siblings.


    "Unfortunately, they''ll still be at school when we arrive." Will finished fixing her dress and picked the girl up in her arms. "You''ll have to wait a bit more."


    "Booo, I wanna meet them sooner." Io wrapped her arms around Will''s neck and watched as they exited the safehold and it got smaller and smaller as they drove away. They had finally made a fake ID for Io and were going to take her home via plane. It was the first time Io was riding a plane but instead of nerves, anticipation filled her heart.


    ___


    "Hello!" Joan pulled Io into her embrace and squealed. "You''re cuter than I imagined! I''m so glad I skipped work to meet you."


    "Uh, um-" Unsure as to how to react, Io scrambled for words. However, the warmth that radiated off Joan and the bubbling feelings instead kept creating a smile instead. "Hello, Mother."


    "Gosh, you''re so cute!" Joan grabbed Io''s hand and led her inside the house. "Have you eaten yet?"


    "Yes, Will bought me breakfast."


    Joan raised her head, her gaze shifting from Io to Will who trailed behind.


    "Good morning, Madam." Will placed a hand over his heart and bowed at Joan, like a knight would a noble. "My name is Will Michaelis. I used to be a phantom thief but have now been assigned to look after the young miss."


    "Oh, right. You were in charge of the rescue mission." Joan''s eyes arched into a smile. "Great job. Keep it up."


    "Thank you, Madam."


    Joan shifted her gaze back to Io. "I''ll show you Victoria''s room. You''ll be staying with her for a bit."


    "Ok!"


    Joan took Io on a house tour and made sure she wasn''t bored while they waited for school to finish. She told her stories about the children and showed Io photos. Then, the roar of a car engine was heard from the front door. Squeals of children echoed and the door slammed open.


    ""Is she here yet?""


    "Calm down!" Vin lightly slapped the backs of the excited twins. Even so, they still ran straight ahead when their eyes spotted Io.


    "Hello!" Iris greeted. "I''m Iris."


    "And I''m Atlas."


    "I''m Vin and this is Ian." Vin pointed at Ian who just nodded and introduced them both to Io.


    "Hello everyone!" Io returned the greeting. In that instance, her sunflower smile captured the hearts of everyone in the room.


    "Do you like chocolate?" Atlas zipped open his bag and dug out a chocolate egg. "My teacher gave this to everyone today. Do you want it?"


    "Oh, oh, me too! I''ll give you mine too!"


    The twins strut out their hands, each holding an easter egg, and offered it to Io. Seeing this, Vin thought his eyes weren''t working. The twins...were sharing?


    "Thank you!" Io giggled. "But let''s eat it together. It''ll be more yummy that way."


    ""Okay!"" The twins cheered in their hearts. The instance they offered their chocolates, they had regretted it so luckily their sister was an angel.


    "..." Ian noticed a stranger in the house. He wore the black suit that all the employees wore but his peppery hair and earnest gaze was unfamiliar to Ian. However, when they entered, Brian, their chauffeur and bodyguard stood beside him naturally, only reacting with slight surprise and a nod.


    "Who''s that?" Vin inquired in Ian''s stead.


    "That''s Butler Will! He saved me from the lab!" Io gleefully replied.


    ""Butler?""


    "He''s like a butler so he''s Butler Will."


    "Hmmm?" Atlas scrutinized the newcomer. He stood with his back straight and an elegant pose. He used to think Brian was a pretty cool servant but compared to Will''s upper class sense, he was nothing. The same could be said for Cain. Well, both had their own charms though.


    "You''re right!" It seemed that Iris had come to the same conclusion.


    Just then, the wooden doors opened wide. Through it, Cain walked in, sounding a bit rushed. Behind him, Victoria was stabbing his back with her finger, urging him to speed up while Albert watched, somewhat amused and troubled.


    "Hey, are you Io? You''re so cute." Through Cain''s ability, Victoria could see the sunflower child. The girl''s large round eyes twinkled with joy but upon seeing them, they widened further with pleasant surprise and tears.


    {Iooooooooooo~!} Cotton pounced out of Victoria''s arms and cried out loud.


    "Cotton-!" Io caught the sobbing fluff, surprised.


    {I''m glad to have finally met you! You''re so cute! Your name is cute too!}


    "Hic, uuu, I''m glad to have met you too, Cotton. You''re very fluffy and cute. Thank you for saving me." Io was seemingly infected by the rabbit''s tears and began to sob along with her. Soon enough, the two poured their hearts out, the twins getting flustered at their endless tears. They heard of the story but seeing the raw emotions set in the fact that it was reality.


    "D-don''t cry." Atlas awkwardly consoled her by patting her back.


    "Yeah! Smile! Why''re you crying if you''re happy?" Iris chimed.


    "Ehehe." Io sniffled, her eyes red from crying. They wandered from family to family member, gazing into each of their eyes. When it finally landed on Albert''s, it stayed concentrated there, as if in an attempt to peer into his soul. She took a step forward in his direction, eyes never straying from his. "I remember those eyes¡­"


    "Is there something on my face?" Albert felt his face, feeling self conscious. Besides him, Victoria just giggled and placed a hand on his shoulder, for a reason unbeknownst to Albert.


    The tears that had just barely dried began to flow out those reddened eyes once more. "Albert? Ha-ha, I thought the names were similar but I didn''t think it would actually be you¡­"


    "What?"


    "Um, I always remembered what you told me. I became a special treasure, you know? I was able to live because of you."


    The girl staggered into Albert''s embrace. His face was painted in question marks however, the image of a small child flashed in his head. It was very dark and hard to make out what was there, but the large round eyes of the girl made it clear that it was Io.


    "Urgh-!" A throbbing pain attacked Albert all at once. He could remember meeting her for the first time, a small child beaten black and blue into submission, voice soft and subdued, eyes dull with pain but a glimmer of light flashed through every now and then. Albert remembered calling her by a different name and sharing a bit of his bread with her. Sometimes, he sneakily grew some fruits and they would eat it together under the guise of the night. He remembered the day she was taken away along with a few others, he rushed up to her and hugged and whispered in her ears before helplessly watching her get carried away in tears.


    "Albert?" Joan called out, concerned. She jumped out of her seat and placed a hand over his forehead. "Are you alright?"


    Io watched on with worry carved into her face. She''d heard the evil scientists gossip about the other test subjects. They''ll talk about how they got weaker by the day and their bodies ached and twitched like the devil had taken over. She didn''t get to that stage because she was a precious ''treasure'' but what about Albert? They were both kidnapped before she was taken away again. Did he also get experimented on?


    "I remember-" Albert muttered through grit teeth. He held his head in a cradle, face pale and dripping with cold sweat. He had been shown glimpses of his past after waves of headaches before but they had never been this severe.


    Was he finally going to remember? Albert wondered so as he finally gave into the pain and fainted.


    "ALBERT!" Io wailed, her tears falling like a coursing river in a storm. The other children jumped up from the couch and surrounded the pale child.


    "Mother, what''s wrong with Albert?" Vin asked. Besides him, Ian gazed at Joan with teary eyes, looking like he''ll cry at a moment''s notice.


    "He''s fainted. Don''t worry, I''ll call the doctor. He''ll be fine."


    In less than ten minutes, the doctor came and left. However, even after he had treated Albert, the family was still concerned as the boy laid still in bed, sleeping. Unable to bear the tense atmosphere, Atlas attempted to make some small talk with his new sister.


    "Um, do you know Albert?"


    Io glanced over at Atlas before nodding and giving him a weak smile. "I don''t remember much but I remember being with him for about a month. Albert, he, along with a few others protected me from the demon. He shared his food with me and lured the demon away. He taught me the rules to survive and to never give up¡­" As she spoke, tears shook her voice and made her body tremble.


    Iris wrapped her arms around Io, patting her back in consolation, seemingly fully embracing the role of the older sister. "Don''t cry. Don''t cry."


    "Kuhum." Vin cleared his voice and added, "I''m just telling you so you know but Albert lost his memories so he doesn''t know who you are. You might want to prepare yourself."


    "Wha-?"


    "But he also might''ve gotten them back." Victoria chimed in, a smile gracing her face. "He said I remember before he passed out."

 Chapter 36 - Fever Dream pt 1

    "Huh?" A shocked gasp escaped Justin''s mouth. He looked at his palms, eyes wide with surprise. Blazing flames tickled his skin, caressing them along with the rest of his body. "Arghhhhhhhhh!" The belated screech of pain that followed was something that we had grown accustomed to. However, still, we winched, clenching our trembling fists in fear.


    Everyone saw Justin as Don''s favourite, they thought Justin would forever be free from the dancing death. However, reality proved that they were wrong. He was squirming about, rolling around on the floor, reaching out for a god that didn''t exist, screaming relentlessly of his pain.


    "DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!" Somehow, his vocal chords had not been scorched by the smoke and heat of the flames that were eating away at his body. His eyes glowed with rage as he cursed Don with his dying breath.


    We watched in somewhat of an awe as our tormentor finally fell to the ground, not a single bit of unscorched skin left untouched. The human charcoal continued to burn until there was all but ash left. It crumbled, the resentful figure dissipating in the wind. Nonetheless, none of us found it within us to pity the young boy, nearing 13 years of age. He was a hateful boy, relying on his large stature and shameful position as Don''s dog to suppress us all, stealing our meagre dinners, ruining our clothes and blankets, beating us black and blue. He took pleasure in the fact that we were below them. Thus, we resented him, perhaps, more than we hated Don.


    A sense of schadenfreude filled my soul when I witnessed Justin step on the tiger''s toes. Don was in a terrible mood and he failed to see that. Just sneezing in his presence was enough to grant him a terrible death. I may have sneered if not for the final glance he gave me at the very end. It shook my very soul. Glowing eyes that showed intense hate and grievances that required blood shed to quench...


    The very next day, as if to replace Justin, Don brought in another child. She was by far the smallest one yet, beating my record by a year or two, a 6 or 7 year old child. The girl had a tear stained face, her arms were battered in bruises and light burns, as did the rest of her body. However, her untouched face showed us that she was not one of Don''s, she was merchandise, preparing to receive training before being sold off.


    Instantly, envy could be seen on the faces of a few of us. We were some of the few that Don kept. We were slaves, stress relief, disposable henchmen and more. Our lives were allowed to end at any moment but merchandise were different. Merchandise were allowed to be beaten but they couldn''t die. They never had to fear the dancing death, only we did.


    The girl was pushed into our dark and dilapidated room, in which other than children, there were only cardboard boxes and worn out bed sheets. She fell weakly on the floor, tears dripping from her big round eyes as her body trembled.


    Right...that was my first time meeting Io. In a room that smelt of sweat and charred flesh.


    The more compassionate approached her in condolence. They stroked her back with gentleness of a mother and wiped her tears. In soft voices, they taught her of what she needed to know; the reality of this place, the people she needed to avoid and what her future may entail. ''You''re one of the lucky ones'', they told her, voices straining to sound happy. ''You won''t have to stay here for too long.''


    The next shipment was in two months. In two months time, Io would be taken away, sold as merchandise. No one knew where they went. We were only kids, we didn''t know what human trafficking entailed. So, we could only hope, hope that they were sold into a loving family that were looking to adopt and they would remember us and then we would be saved. However, many shipments went out and still, we were trapped into this accursed hellhole.


    Over the next few days, Io was taken care of by the other kids. Perhaps it was her small stature, or sunshine smile that brightened up the room, but they loved her and protected her with all their strength.


    When I first arrived, I received the same treatment. The care that the older kids showered upon me made this place a little more bearable. Laughter and smiles would occasionally fill the room in the dead of the night, when we were sure there was no one watching us. However, Don''s unpredictable mood forced me to bear witness to that terrible dance; the screeches of my friends as they struggled to live, skin crackling and popping, arms desperately trying to put out the undying flames, only for them to fall and burn out in a blaze of flames.


    I stopped interacting with the other captives and naturally, they stopped trying to bother me. This has always been my reality. Wallowing in self-pity all by my lonesome self in a dark room.


    "Bert, come here." The devil''s voice resounded from the door. Sprawled across his face was an evil grin, and a mischievous glint in his eyes.


    I got to my feet despite knowing that nothing good would come out from following him.


    No! Don''t go! Just stay here and get beat up inside!...In the end, it''s just a memory. No matter how much I yell or make a fuss, my younger self would not hear a thing.


    I followed Don out of the room under the pitying but intrigued eyes of the others.


    "Kill him." Don tossed me a knife. It was a rusty kitchen knife that had been stained and eroded by the blood on its blade.


    I picked up the knife. It was light and easy to hold. I gripped it in my hands and turned to face my victim. His eyes shone with tears and from the taped mouthed, muffled pleas escaped. Through the burns on his face, I could recognise the man. He served us dinner yesterday and gave double the usual portions. How foolish of him. Did he think Don wouldn''t notice? No matter how small, it was an act of defiance. He was doomed from the start.


    I took that knife and stabbed it into his heart, putting my entire weight into it. Then I waited. Waited for the moans to stop, for the breathing to crease, and for the body to fall helpless.


    "Brilliantly done." Though he spoke words of praise, Don sounded disappointed.


    I remained silent as I pulled the knife out, blood from his heart spurting all over me.


    "Go back after you clean yourself."


    "...Yes, Don."


    I stared at my bloodstained hands, eyes widening in shock.


    I shouldn''t have gone that day. If only I hadn''t¡­

 Chapter 37 - Fever Dream Pt 2

    Ian sat beside the bed and watched Albert sleep. The sun had fallen well below the horizon and the moon was at the highest point in the sky. Yet, Albert laid still in bed, showing little to no signs of waking up. The doctor had assured the family that he was merely sleeping but Ian couldn''t help but to feel anxious. He held Albert''s unresponsive hand with his two hands and brought it to his forehead, closing his eyes tightly as if in prayer.


    ----


    I dragged my body back to the shared room almost mechanically. Despite having showered, I didn''t feel refreshed at all. On the contrary, a dirty feeling crawled over my body, reminding me of what just occurred. When I reached my corner in the room, the furthest one from the door, I collapsed on the floor, like a puppet whose strings were cut, arms laying weakly by my side and legs spread out randomly.


    I stared ahead, eyes not focussed on anything. However, in my mind, a full fledged war was taking place. Maybe that was why I hadn''t noticed when someone had sat by my side. A cool hand was placed on my forehead. I slowly turned my head to the side, clearly lacking the survival instincts to even react defensively in response to my personal space being invaded so easily.


    Io retracted her hand and felt her own forehead. I could see question marks floating around her head as she lifted her hand to feel my forehead yet again. This time, I pulled back yet was obstructed by the wall behind me. The small hand once again made its way to my forehead.


    "What are you doing?" It was an unexpectedly cold tone of voice. However, I was already in a terrible mood and not ready to entertain this little child.


    "It wasn''t a fever." Io giggled, her face radiating warmth and comfort.


    Momentarily, I felt myself relax. She was worried for me?


    From then on, Io would occasionally sit beside me and carry out a one-sided conversation. Despite the other''s warnings, she still clung to me and refused to leave. In dismay, the merchandise could only distance themselves from what they felt was the sun talking to a plastic rose.


    "Bert. Come here." Don''s voice rang out.


    I glanced over at Io and stood up. Her worried gaze followed my back as I disappeared along with Don. It wasn''t morning so I wasn''t going to take care of the plants. There were only two options; 1, he was going to make me kill someone to satisfy his sick sense of humour again or 2, the most likely option, he was going to beat me up.


    ...It was two. Spouting out pathetic nonsense, Don did what he did best, which was abusing small children. Fists pound into my flesh and my skin was burnt over and over again and the process repeated almost systematically. Over time, only weak gasps escaped my mouth. My entire body screamed in pain but I couldn''t vocalise it as it only served to excite him further. Yet, Don seemed to notice this and intentionally targeted areas I expressed the most pain in.


    "You can go now."


    "Yes Don, thank you, Don." I pulled myself up and staggered out through the door.


    "Oh right, when you go back, call the new girl in."


    I paused. "What do you need her for?"


    "Hmm? Are you trying to defy me?"


    "N-no." I was a coward. There wasn''t even a change in my expression nor a falter in gait when I walked over to the young girl, blood still dripping from my wounds.


    "A-are you okay?" She looked horrified, concern painted all over her face. What an asshole I was.


    "Don wants you." I sounded so apathetic at the time that even I feel that I might''ve been heartless.


    "You-! How could you just send her over like that?" The merchandise beside Io reprimanded me. I could feel everyone else''s gazes fall on me, their accusatory stares and self-righteous thoughts.


    "It''s the last room down the hall. You can''t miss it." Saying such, I left for my corner of the room and didn''t turn back. I could hear the merchandise convincing Io not to go and having an argument amongst themselves but ultimately, it resulted in soft footsteps making their way out of the room and towards hell.


    When she left, everyone scolded me, ''how could you let a baby go get beaten?'', ''do you not have a heart?'', ''you''re no better than that demon.'', such pointed words were thrown at me. Deep down, I thought to myself, ''how is it my fault when there isn''t anything I could do to stop him? She was going to get beaten either way, so why should I risk my life to help her? And it''s not like any of you are helping so what right to do you have to yell at me?''


    But, be it the guilt in my heart or my adverseness to speaking to the rest of my fellow victims, I didn''t say anything.


    Io staggered back in. Her body was littered with wounds, new ones replacing the old ones. The numerous burns and cuts and bruises all over her body showed me that Don was having a lot more fun torturing her than he did me. The only silver lining however, was that Don wouldn''t target her again in the next few weeks.


    "A-are you alright?" The merchandise swarmed around Io and inspected the poor child. Her shin had been cut by a knife but the fire had casterised it, leaving a terrible burn in its stead. However, without proper healing, she was destined to walk with a limp hereafter.


    Io walked towards me. I braced myself for the insults that would be thrown at me. However, she just sobbed and sobbed and sobbed.


    "I''m sorry¡­" Pathetically, that was all I could muster.


    The others brought Io away and consoled her while she cried. On the contrary, I could only stare silently at the floor and wellow in my own pain, be it that of the heart or the body.


    Over the next few weeks, as if to assuage my guilt, I started to treat Io better. I gave her a bit of my bread, shared fruits with her and began to talk back when she attempted to engage in a conversation with me. Although I was apologising, I felt that I might''ve even been having fun?


    "You, come with me." Don pointed straight at Io and commanded her to follow.


    "I will go instead." I stood up. It was my chance to redeem myself.


    "Hoh?" Don raised an eyebrow. "Sit back down before I burn you alive."


    My knees trembled and arms shook but still, I remained standing. ''It''s okay'', I remember telling myself, ''Don needs me. He won''t kill me. Not yet.''


    Don opened up his fist, palm facing the ceiling. Floating above it was a fireball. He stared at me with intrigued yet infuriated eyes. "Really reminds me of that bastard Kin.'' He muttered beneath his breath.


    "Take me instead." I straightened my back and stood firmly in place.


    "Very well then."


    I left with Don and never came back that night. As I lay weakly in that room, I heard a sinister voice in my head echoing, "Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate."


    ...As expected, it wasn''t my imagination.