— fifteen years ago —

Ryan leaned against the bed rail and peered down. Sleeping soundly in a fetal position was a two-year-old girl; her drool stained her pillow, and her locks of hair fluttered whenever she breathed out. He poked at his sister's pudgy, rosy cheeks. Her nose twitched as she moaned in protest.

Delighted, he couldn't help but chuckle. He then proceeded to poke at her cheeks over and over again, as she squirmed in discomfort.

"You're having a lot of fun teasing Lara, huh."

Ryan spun around. When he saw the auburn-haired woman standing by the wooden door, he sighed in relief. "Oh, hey, Aunt Ari," he said, silently thanking the lords that it wasn't his mother. Even though Arianna was quite intimidating, at least she wouldn't berate him for disturbing Lara. "Yeah, it's really funny when she's annoyed."

Arianna narrowed her eyes sullenly. She looked very much like his father, with the same reddish brown hair, slightly upturned nose and bright blue eyes, but somehow, every single feature was a lot harsher and colder. It was as if she was forever displeased with her life. Ryan always wondered what was it that made her so different from his father; they grew up together, yet their personalities were a world apart.

"I hope you treasure these moments then," she said bitterly. "You won't be happy with her very soon."

"Why?" Ryan frowned. He had to stop himself from saying, "Was she going to turn into a grumpy butt like you or something?" But he knew that if he ever said that, his mother would definitely spank the hell out of him.

Arianna rolled her eyes. "Has your father not told you? He chose her as the next bearer of Hope."

"Oh yeah, I knew that already."

"And you're okay with that?" Arianna asked, glancing at Ryan in slight disbelief.

"Well yeah, Dad told me she's born under this special star and so the Gift will be the strongest for her, so she should get it instead of me." Ryan shrugged. All his life, his parents were always making decisions based on how they would best benefit the war against the First Lady Elena: the living embodiment of terror and cruelty. Lara was apparently destined to become Elena's most formidable enemy, although Ryan was pretty sure his father was going to defeat Elena anyway.

"Plus, I don't really care for it," he continued. "Why would I need a Gift for?"

Arianna was silent for a while. Then, she muttered under her breath, "That's what you'll think for now." She turned around sharply. "Your father is preparing to leave for a mission soon, by the way, you should go see him before he leaves."

"Oh, okay." Ryan felt his heart sink. He was used to his parents leaving frequently, but it was still hard not to feel a little disappointed at the news. "Are you going to go too?"

His aunt's back stiffened. "Yes and no," she said without even turning around. She promptly left the tent, slamming the makeshift door shut.

Ryan was utterly perplexed. What did she mean by that? Was she going, or not? His aunt had always been unusually cryptic, for some reason. He decided to shift his attention back to Lara.

The tiny brunette was fully awake by now, her round, brown eyes staring at Ryan eagerly.

"Yan-Yan!" she squealed.

Ryan squealed internally as well. He really wanted to reach out and squeeze her cheeks, but the last time he did that, Lara cried for hours (and his flogged butt hurt for days). Instead, he lightly prodded her nose. "I guess it's just going to be me and you for the next few days, or however long this mission is going to be."

Lara obviously didn't understand a word he said. She continued chanting Ryan's name while giggling hysterically.

"I see you had a really good nap, huh?" Ryan grinned. "Anyway, I'm going to go find Mom and Dad now, but I'll come back soon. Stay here, okay?"

He made his way out of the tent, his feet light and his mood cheerful. The temporary village they were living in was spotted with large makeshift barracks that were designed to match their colors to the surrounding. As he hopped along the gravel road, he passed by a bunch of playsets that he had built himself: some trapeze bars, tire swings, and a slide twice his own height. His mother had forbidden him from bringing Lara to these playsets, but one day, though, once she's bigger, he promised to himself to let her try them.

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Ryan's parents moved around a lot, and thus he had grown up living in temporary villages like this. According to his parents, they were trying to gather allies or something, although Ryan never really understood much of it. All he knew was that it was extremely difficult to make friends his age; everytime he attempted to befriend someone, he would have to leave for a new city or realm after a few months. Luckily, he had Lara now, and life wasn't as boring as it had been before.

He entered one of the biggest tents in the village. Surprisingly, it was filled with people, as if the entire town had congregated in there. The adults were all chatting and murmuring to one another solemnly. A large, round table sat in the middle; maps, papers and other unknown items sprawled across it messily.

Ryan scanned the room and found his parents huddled in a corner with their friends, Soo-Rin and Ren. He rushed over to them, shouting jubilantly, "Mom! Dad!"

Min-Ju squatted down and welcomed Ryan as he jumped into her arms. As they embraced, her long brown hair enveloped his body like a warm, fluffy blanket. He closed his eyes and breathed in the familiar lavender scent.

"Ryan, I told you not to come in here," Marco chided gently, his arms crossed.

Ryan lifted his head and pouted at his father. "But Aunt Ari told me you're leaving!"

Min-Ju smiled and patted his head. "Yes, we will be leaving tonight, but not to worry, we will be back tomorrow by the latest. You take care of Lara while we're gone, okay?"

Ryan nodded. "Dinner at six, bedtime by nine," he recited monotonously.

"And that goes for you too," his mother reminded him.

"What! No! I don't want to sleep that early."

Min-Ju raised an index finger. "Ryan." Her tone was tender but stern. "If I check the screen time in your console and find out you've been up past nine, I will take it away for a month."

Ryan had to fight back his eyerolls. His mother was not someone he could argue with. "Fine..." he mumbled.

The two other adults standing by the side laughed heartily.

"Oh, I envy you so much, Min-Ju," Soo-Rin said. "If only we knew earlier how good of a babysitter Ryan is, we would've totally brought Jun over with us too!" Soo-Rin was Min-Ju's childhood friend, and Ryan liked her and her husband quite a bit. He wasn't a fan of Jun though; that kid was annoying and cried too much, so Ryan was secretly glad that he didn't need to deal with him.

"Yes, our Ryan here is the best big brother in the world, aren't you?" Min-Ju crooned, her eyes shimmering with pride. Ryan beamed at the praise.

Marco crouched down as well. "Ryan, we need you to take really good care of your sister while we're gone, okay? Remember, she's very important, she's-"

"I know, I know." Ryan heaved an exasperated sigh. His father had nagged him about this so many times, he really didn't need to hear it again. "She's born under the star of Nadia, she's the next bearer of Elissa's First Gift, the next Hope, right?"

Marco nodded wistfully. "I just need you to know the reason why I chose her and not you." A storm cloud of regret seemed to have invaded his sky blue eyes. "I don't want you to be upset like-"

Min-Ju placed a hand on Marco's shoulder. "Ryan understands. He's a good boy," she said with a reassuring smile. "We also finally got Arianna to be in on the plan, didn't we? We've always needed someone as skilled as her."

Marco squeezed her hand as they exchanged a knowing look with each other.

"So Aunt Ari is going after all," Ryan mused. "Is everyone else going too?"

"Yes, this is the raid that we've been planning for months, so everyone is going." Min-Ju gestured at her friends. "Except for Soo-Rin and Ren here, who are going to stay behind to protect you two children. We don't feel safe leaving you two completely alone."

"Oh." Ryan realized the severity of this mission. This must be the ultimate, secret raid of the First Lady's headquarters on Earth that his parents had been preparing for for the longest time. He shuddered a little at that thought. "Erm, good luck, Mom, I hope it goes well."

"Thank you, Ryan, and don't worry, it will." Min-Ju placed her hand on her son's cheeks and gave it a light pinch. "Okay, we need to get back to preparing now. Go back to Lara, alright?"

"Okay," Ryan said before hurriedly leaving the tent. Excited to play with Lara, he sprinted back home as fast as he could, only to burst into his home and find his baby sister fast asleep on her bed again. He groaned. She was so full of energy just moments ago!

He wanted to shake Lara awake, but quickly decided against it. Instead, he slumped onto the couch next to her and started up his gaming console. For the next few hours, he focused on reaching the next level of his RPG.

The alarm rang exactly at six in the evening, forcibly tearing Ryan away from his game. He let out a string of curses that would've earned him a good whipping —Argh! He was so close to beating that last boss!— and looked around the tent. His sister was still lying on her bed; the golden rays of the sun peeked through the canvas screen, causing her to glow like an angel.

He rubbed his eyes and took a peep of the village outside. The whole place was empty, except for Soo-Rin and Ren sitting on a bench a few hundred feet down. They seemed to be murmuring to each other, their heads low and their hands clasped together. Everyone else must have already left for the mission.

Ryan raised his hand for a stretch and proceeded to prepare for dinner. He first grabbed a small bottle of milk from the fridge and let it sit inside a warm water bath. While waiting, he cut up some vegetables and whipped up some eggs.

At this point, Lara finally woke up from the noise and was bouncing up and down on the bed. Ryan took the heated milk bottle and gave it to her; she seized it with fervor and began to chug on it.

Suddenly, Ryan's phone, placed precariously on the kitchen countertop, began to buzz. Who would be calling him at a time like this?

Oh, it was Min-Ju, video-calling him. Huh. Weird.

He picked up his phone and accepted the call. And then almost dropped his phone.