They walked down to the bottom level of the building. Steven walked over to the locked door next to the staircase, and pulled a small, golden key out of his pocket. He unlocked the door, and led the boys inside. They walked down a dark staircase, and emerged into an unfinished room through two hanging pieces of cloth hung over the doorway.

“What is this room?” Charlie asked, inspecting the few pieces of furniture carefully.

Steven walked past them, towards a wall covered in a plain white sheet. He grabbed the edge of the sheet, hesitated for a second, then pulled it down.

Behind the sheet was a wall covered in guns. There were large automatic guns, as well as small guns.

“A good friend of mine loves guns. He started out just working at a gun shop, but he fell in love with them, eventually learning how to make his own.”

He walked up to the wall, taking one of the guns down and inspecting it closely.

“Most of these are his own custom designs.”

Arthur walked up to the wall, eyes wide. He grabbed one of the stranger looking guns and began to fiddle with it.

Steven ran up to him.

“Hey! These are delicate you know, don't just mess with-”

Arthur expertly took the weapon apart and reassembled it, as though he had used it many times before.

Steven stopped in his tracks.

“How do you know how to do that?” He asked, his voice shaking.

“I know this gun. It was the main weapon used by the rebels in the future.”

“How? That's the only existing gun of that model. It's completely unique!”

“If I had to guess, I’d say it's probably the same reason Charlie ends up as a rebel in the future.”

Charlie laughed, walking over to Steven and Arthur.

“I see what you mean. You're saying Steven’s a founding member of the rebellion, right?”

Steven looked surprised.

“I- I am?”

“Most likely.” Arthur said, returning the gun to its place. “Either you, or your buddy who made these.”

Steven looked down solemnly.

“Then it's me.” He walked up to the wall and rubbed a small engraving on one of the guns that read ‘R.B’. “The man who made these died a very long time ago.”

He walked back over to Charlie and Arthur.

“But why a founding member? Would it not make sense for me to simply be a mere supporter or a weapon supplier?”

Arthur shook his head.

“No, Charlie used to speak of ‘the father of the rebellion’ a lot. When I asked him about it, he told me he used to know the founder personally. He said he was like a father to him.”

He pointed at Steven.

“And you fit that description perfectly.”

Arthur stepped away as Steven taught Charlie about the guns.

Should I be telling them all this? What if the future changes too much and the rebellion doesn't even get started?

He breathed deeply, calming himself down.

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No, this is good. Now I have weapons. I can finally start the real work.

Steven walked over to Arthur.

“Do you know anything else about the founding of the rebellion? Other founding members, secret base locations, that sort of thing?” Steven asked Arthur.

“No. By the time I joined, all of the founding members had already been caught and killed.”

Steven looked disappointed, and a little scared.

“I-I see… does the group you were a part of… does it have a name?”

“No. It was decided that if our group was given a name, it could potentially help the government discover information about us. The founders were also worried that if our group had become too tight-knit by the time we saved the world, we might end up simply replacing the government, not dissolving the dystopia, merely changing the leadership of it.”

“I see… that does make sense.”

“But,” Arthur said, walking towards the stairs, “the lack of name did lead to a lack of unity in the group, as predicted. However, this hurt more than it helped. Without unity, different factions would fight over where and when we should hold meetings and operations. In the worst case scenarios, factions would sell each other out to the government to gain more power within the rebellion.”

Arthur paused as he took a step on the stairs.

“So this time, please give us a name.”

He walked upstairs, leaving Steven alone in the room to think.

The door to Arthur's room opened slowly, and a small head peaked around the corner.

“D-Dinner’s ready, Arthur…” Johnny said, quickly closing the door and running back downstairs to the kitchen.

Arthur stood up from the ground, having just finished working out. He picked up his shirt off the bed and put it on as he stepped out into the hallway and walked down the stairs.

When he entered the kitchen, Steven ran over to him.

“Arthur! I didn't know what kind of food you like, so I just made some pasta to be safe. I hope you like it!”

He ran back over to the pot of pasta and began to fill the children’s bowls. Arthur sat down, looking around at everyone else at the table. Everyone was staring at him, except for Charlie, who was playing a game on his phone.

Steven brought the bowls over to the table and placed one in front of everyone before sitting down in front of his own bowl.

“Everyone, before we start eating, let’s welcome Arthur to our family!”

“Welcome to the family Arthur!” Everyone said in unison.

Steven looked at Arthur, smiling warmly.

“You're one of us now, if you ever need anything, don't be afraid to ask.”

They all began to eat. Albert shoveled large forkfuls of pasta into his mouth, covering his lips in the source. Johnny stabbed one noodle at a time, being careful to not drop any sauce on the table or himself. Sofia ate at a moderate pace, making quick glances at Arthur while she chewed. Steven didn't look at his food as he ate, too distracted by something on his phone.

Sofia broke the silence first.

“So Arthur, where'd you come from?”

“I don't know.” He answered after swallowing a mouthful of pasta. “I'm pretty sure the place I lived before doesn't exist anymore. Or rather…” he cut himself off.

Albert spoke next.

“So, what happened to your parents? Who killed ‘em?”

Steven glared at Albert.

“Albert! What did I tell you about being rude?”

“No, it's okay. It happened a very long time ago, it doesn't make me that sad anymore.”

Plus, they're still alive at this time.

“They were killed by the police.”

“Did they do something bad?” Albert asked, his mouth still full of food.

“No. My parents were good people. The bad ones were the police. My parents did nothing wrong, the police only attacked my parents because my mom was wearing an expensive looking necklace.”

“Did the police get arrested?” Alice asked.

“No. Nothing happened to them.”

“Why not?!” Johnny yelled out, covering his mouth and shrinking back into his seat after.

“Because my parents weren't important people. The police who killed them were deemed more useful, therefore punishing them for it would be inefficient.”

Charlie looked away from his phone, staring at Arthur without saying anything.

“Anyway, let's talk about something else!” Steven said, a single tear rolling down his cheek, which he wiped away quickly, trying to keep anyone from seeing it.

The room was quiet for a while apart from the sound of metal forks hitting glass bowls.

Sofia broke the silence again.

“So Arthur, what kind of hobbies do you have?”

Arthur was silent for a few seconds as he thought about it.

“I used to play video games a lot.”

Charlie suddenly took interest.

“Oh really?” He said, putting down his phone.

“Yeah. I was quite a big figure in the speed running community, actually.”

“Speedrunning?” Sofia said curiously.

“Basically, trying to beat a game as fast as you can. Trying to find the most optimal route, and then practicing it over and over again once you find it, until you can do it perfectly.”

He smiled, laughing slightly.

“Maybe that's why I was chosen…” he said under his breath.