"So, I forgot to ask when we were leaving the prison," Dwayne says to Niel sometime after he and Lydia get home from the graveyard. The two of them are in the corner of the living room alone, with everyone else spread around the house. "But how did you find that notebook?"

Uh oh. There's no way Dwayne is going to appreciate or approve of him sneaking into the storage facility. He doesn't want to lie, but he also doesn't want to face whatever consequences may be in store for him. The lie he created for Lydia should she have asked was that it was in Dwayne's possession and that he was the one to take and solve it, but not only would such a lie not work on Lydia anymore, it would also be flagrantly obvious in the face of Dwayne. Saying he found it in Mabel and Gabriel's room would also be easily disproven should his guardians not hold onto documents of Lydia's past, which from the folder of such that Dwayne presented him with before, Niel assumes they likely do not. He can't think of anything to say other than the truth, so knowing that what's done is done and that he may not like the repercussions, he decides to tell Dwayne the truth.

"I snuck into the storage facility and looked through the Brookes' unit. I found the notebook in there," Niel admits.

"The Self Shelf? You..." Dwayne says with a sigh. Niel can already hear the disappointment in his voice, and the Warden's Key blinks. "You really should not have done that. Breaking in is one thing, but that's a major invasion of privacy."

"I didn't know what else I could do for Lydia, so—" Niel protests, but he's cut off by Dwayne.

"I know why you did it, but that doesn't make it okay. Look, I'm grateful for what you've done for Lydia, but..." Dwayne sighs again. He's conflicted. "This is your one and only warning: DON'T do it again. Okay?"

"I won't," Niel promises.

Despite the events that transpired today, being scolded like this puts Niel in a low mood for the rest of the day. He hides it well under a façade of stone. The feeling remains when he wakes the next morning, and with a poor mood comes poor thoughts. He remembers the tribute of paper boats he made when he was sick. He remembers the reason for it. It's hard for him not to. It's impossible for him not to.

After his lessons with Louise, Niel gathers and hides away eight sheets of blank paper under his shirt, and he returns to the river at the park. There aren't many people here on a Monday afternoon, so like last time, he can do as he pleases in peace. His folding skills haven't improved since the last time, but he's able to successfully recall how to fold the paper boats in time. Using his Dust to fold them would make it easier to remember, but he refuses to because it was his Dust that caused this in the first place. Then, one by one, he lowers them into the water. He hopes they can see this. A tribute to them to show his remorse. A plea for a forgiveness he knows he doesn't deserve.

Redemption feels like a dream too far gone.

After the boats disappear down the river, Niel collects himself and returns home. Feeling down like this isn't something he enjoys. He's been told to talk to someone when he feels like this, but he doesn't know what to say. Medova can usually open him up, but she hasn't been around lately. For now, Niel lies down in his room as the clock counts down to suppertime.

He scans through the news on his phone to see what major events have been occurring in Soul, and he finds an article posted merely an hour ago regarding the lockdown at the prison yesterday. The cause was an escape attempt by Invictus-affiliated inmates. Venom bubbles in Niel's throat in the form of a growl. Of-fucking-course it was Invictus. They nearly cost Callum everything he had left, and now they've indirectly disrupted Lydia as well. And those are only people close to him. How many others have had their lives destroyed due to them? Horror stories floating around say too many to count. Had he not gained so much to lose, Niel would be more than happy to stomp them out.

Speaking of organized crime, Niel also finds an article covering a press conference held by the city's Chief of Police on the 21st of May. If he's correct, that's roughly when he ran into the Electric Mute Thief. The conference talks about the rising number of children becoming involved in crime, organized or not, and the Chief questioning why this is happening. Niel suspects that the Thief's age played a role in this conference being held. Though, now that he thinks about it, some of the Invictus members he ran into didn't seem to be that old, either. Not as young as Niel, but not old.

Though not through crime, Mavrick was working to support his mother. Callum worked with Invictus to support Alanna. Levi and Miriam committed their crimes to support Lydia and Aaron. Could that be a driving force for these other gang members and criminals? A way to support people close to them? It doesn't excuse the crimes committed, but it's a reason why they'd be committed in the first place. On that same note, it may not be a reason for everybody, as there are likely just as many assholes who are in it for themselves and don't care who gets hurt so long as they get rewarded. He's seen plenty of that. Felt it, too.

Niel slowly shakes his head to scatter his thoughts—he's thinking too much about this. It's almost suppertime, so he should go downstairs now.

>>>>>>

"You look quite happy," Louise gossips with Mabel over a mug of coffee. It's lunchtime Friday and classes are on pause for the break. "Has something come up?"

Mabel responds with a modest grin. "My birthday is coming up!"

"Oh? What day?"

"This Monday!"

"That's quite a surprise. Mine is Friday."

"Really?"

Niel and Gabriel are discreetly eavesdropping on the two women from the couch in the living room. Illia is being a good girl and minding her own business.

"Mabel's birthday is soon?" Niel quietly questions to Gabriel.

"And so is Louise's, apparently," he responds. The gears in their heads turn as they process this information and what they will do with it. Illia looks up and swears she can see smoke coming from their ears.

Next week is exam week for Reed and Lydia, so Louise will be emulating it with tests of her own. Today is a day of preparation. Every topic from the previous months is gone back over as refreshers so Niel and Illia can take study notes and reclaim old worksheets for the weekend. The day ends somewhat early, so Niel uses this extra time to gloss over his notes. That is until Reed gets home.

The eager boy is happy to be home, and he invites Niel upstairs to play video games. Niel protests initially using his notes as a reason to stay put, but Reed argues that he has all weekend to study and that playing for a bit wouldn't hurt. Niel gives in and goes with Reed.

"Mabel's birthday is on Monday," Niel says. He whiffs a jab in-game, and his character loses nearly 40 per cent of her life bar from a single command grab punish from Reed's character.

"Yeah. Pretty sure we'll be going out over the weekend to get something." After a short bout of weak hits, footsies, and blocked attacks, Reed's character hits Niel's with a leaping double-fisted punch to secure him the round.

"Damn," Niel says in dismay. The second round starts with a similar scuffle as before. "Ms. Louise's birthday is also next Friday."

"Really? You guys know what to get her?"

"No." Through the use of mix-ups and playing more patiently, Niel whittles down Reed's large amount of HP and takes the second round.

"You're getting good," Reed praises. He does nothing but block so Niel is incentivized to grab, and their characters become tethered together once Niel does so. Niel goes for a jumping approach, but Reed is ready with an anti-air super move. Once the first super lands, the tether and a low kick keep Niel in place for a second super, followed by a final follow-up attack to win Reed the game, all in a single combo that took Niel from full HP to zero. Reed is more than ecstatic about landing this touch of death as he flails about on his bed and squeals.

"That's what I'm talking about!" he roars. Niel would be annoyed if he wasn't already impressed.

"Do you have everything you need to study with? I heard you have exams next week," Niel says just to drive a knife in between Reed's ribs.

Reed's excitement is thoroughly extinguished. "Man, don't remind me."

Later after supper, the four kids are gathered around the table to focus on studying. Lydia seems to have all of her notes and priorities organized, Niel is going over each topic at random, Illia silently sorts through her notes, and Reed is suffering from boredom. Niel notices that despite having the same tutor, he has far less material than Illia. He worries that his notes are inadequate, but then he remembers that Louise has been teaching her nearly three times longer than him. It only makes sense that she has more—she was taught more. Perhaps he should consider himself lucky.

"What tests do you two have to do?" Niel asks the school-goers.

"I have math on Monday, and English and French on Wednesday," Lydia explains.

"Unlucky you, having two exams in one day," Reed comments. "All I have is math and English on the same days as Lydia."

Something about that confuses Niel. "You take French as well, right? Why don't you also have a French exam?"

"I exempted it."

Lydia chimes in immediately before Niel can question what that means. "If you have a good enough attendance, you can choose to not take a single exam and not have it affect your mark," she explains. "So if you think you'll do badly on an exam, like with Reed and French, you can exempt it and save your mark from getting worse."

"Or Lydia with law."

"I have a 92 in law. What's your mark in French?"

"...60-something."

"Exactly."

"What about the days when you don't have exams?" Niel questions.

"What about them?"

"What will you be doing?"

"Nothing, we'll be home," Lydia says. "We have to go back on July 2nd for our report cards, but that's all we're doing—grabbing them and going. After this Wednesday, we're done with school until September."

"Summer break!" Reed cheers as he leans back and throws his arms up. "Oh right, what is Ms. Louise doing for you two?"

"It won't be as big as your exams, but they'll have a test on each subject, Monday through Friday," Mabel explains as she passes through the kitchen. "Like a mock exam."

"Dang. I guess you two are the unlucky ones."

Niel no longer considers himself lucky.

The next day, Gabriel gathers the children to pick out a birthday gift for Mabel similar to how she gathered them a week ago to decide on a Father's Day gift for him. Once something is chosen, Niel and Illia join both guardians to figure out what they should get for Louise. It takes coordinating what they've heard from the tutor in passing with internet searches, but they eventually come to an agreement. With the gifts in mind, Gabriel takes the kids out to the store.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Lydia takes the front passenger seat since Mabel isn't with them, and Niel notices her constantly watching what Gabriel does behind the wheel. Niel is curious too as he had never been in a vehicle before coming to the home, but he never expected Lydia of all people to share in his curiosity as he figured she would already know. Niel recalls a driver's license being mentioned sometime before. Is she trying to learn from Gabriel in the pursuit of one?

They immediately fetch Mabel's present and cake once they enter the store, but Lydia takes this opportunity to buy a few makeup bottles for herself. This ends up leading to the other three kids roaming about the store to find something they want, too. Gabriel and Lydia follow Reed while Niel and Illia wander together, with Niel leaving a tracker with Gabriel so they can find their way back later. Niel mostly follows Illia since he doesn't have anything particular in mind, but he does keep an eye out for Mavrick in case he's working today, though it doesn't seem like he is. They find their way to a section filled with different toys, and while Niel isn't too interested, Illia scans through the isles with intent. She can't seem to make her mind up on which plush fictional creature to choose, but she ends up deciding on some sort of round beige owl with a leafy green bowtie.

With Illia's selection made, they make their way back to Gabriel and the others across the store, but on the way, they pass by a selection of different puzzle books. He's a tad tired of puzzling books after dealing with the Brookes' notebook, but seeing a word search reminds him of babysitting Alanna that one time, so he decides that this will be what he chooses to buy. Illia does not comment on it, though it would be stranger if she did. The others are just leaving the electronics section just as the pair arrive.

"What did you guys get?" Reed asks. His empty hands and slightly down expression tell Niel that he may not have gotten something he wanted. Illia holds up her plush owl and Niel the word search.

"A word search? What are you, eighty?" Lydia questions, causing him to shrug.

"Did you get anything?" Niel asks Reed, just to see if he did or not.

"Nah," he responds. It turns out Niel was right.

They pay for everything and return home, this time with Gabriel actively teaching Lydia what he's doing and looking out for while driving. Niel also pays attention in case he can make use of this knowledge in the future. Gabriel makes one more stop at a liquor store to buy Louise's present. Mabel greets them all once they arrive home, but before they can get their shoes on, she shrieks a bloody scream and phases onto a chair in the living room.

"A mouse!!" she squeals, causing all of the kids but Niel to go into their own short bursts of panic.

"Where?" Gabriel questions as he looks around. Niel scans the floor of the living room and finds something mouse-shaped underneath the couch, so he hauls it out with his Dust. Sure enough, it's a small grey field mouse squeaking sharply in either anger or fear, and Niel places it in a black cage in the palm of his hand. Mabel and Lydia are highly unnerved by it, but Illia looks at it like she thinks it's cute.

"Take it outside! Please!" Mabel begs from on top of the chair. Lydia is emotionally right there with her.

"Maybe we should've gotten you mouse traps for your birthday instead!" Reed jokes.

The situation calms down once Niel releases the mouse outside. The three ladies wander off to other parts of the house, but the guys remain, scheming.

"You should use your Dust to make a mouse and scare Mabel on her birthday," Reed conspires, keeping his voice low so he isn't eavesdropped on—yet another one of his bad ideas.

"That's horrible," Gabriel chimes in. Niel fully expected him to be the voice of reason, until... "But it would be funny. Think you could do it?"

Niel is baffled that Gabriel would even entertain the idea, let alone agree with Reed. "I... suppose I can."

The rest of the weekend passes them by and Monday is here before they know it. Of course, with Mabel's birthday today, everyone has their wishes for her lined up and ready to give once they wake up and go downstairs. Reed and Lydia get their last-minute study cram in before they leave, and Niel and Illia read up on what notes they have while eating before joining Louise in the living room. Today's test: English.

There wasn't much in the way of notes covering the subject, and the test reflects this as it just involves reading comprehension with some lengthy writing at the end. They have all day (or five hours) to complete it, but it doesn't take them even a quarter of the allotted time to finish. Louise takes their completed tests once they are done, and after mulling over their answers, she provides them with high scores. Not perfect, but very well done. Reed and Lydia also return home earlier than normal after their exams conclude.

After supper is when they decide to cut the strawberry vanilla cake and celebrate. Since Niel never asked, today is when he learns that Mabel is 31 years old now. Gabriel brings out a gift bag containing their present to her, and Niel floats out other gifts from past children of the home. Reed whispers a reminder to Niel about the mouse prank they discussed earlier. Niel's resultant, but he'll do it. Once Mabel dips her hand into the bag to remove the tissue paper covering, Niel forms a blob of dust into the shape of a mouse and ejects it from the bag in the same way an escaping mouse would. Mabel shrieks in fear as she recoils her hand, causing Poppy and the two girls to jump as well and Reed and Gabriel to smirk devilishly as they hold in their laughter. They quickly realize that it's a construct of Dust and not a real mouse, and all attention turns to Niel.

"Niel!" Mabel exclaims, partly from fear, partly from annoyance, but mostly from the realization that it was him who was behind this prank. A small smile crests her face from the aftershock.

"Really?" Lydia says, far less amused. She's not telling anyone this, but she was two seconds away from leaping onto a chair herself. Poppy was considering climbing onto the countertop, and Illia had no idea what to do.

Niel points at Reed and Gabriel. "It was their idea. They got me to do it." With the blame pinned on them, Reed and Gabriel fail to hold their composure and they crack into laughter.

"Might as well reverse the bus and run them over again while you're at it."

With the jokes out of the way, Mabel resumes opening her present, and she pulls out a set of watercolour paints and a paintbrush.

"You said you were interested in watercolours at one point, so we settled on this," Gabriel explains.

"Plus, it'll give you a hobby," Reed adds.

"Thank you!" Mabel says as she hugs the family around her.

Exam week progresses smoothly from here. Niel and Illia's second subject is math, and since Reed and Lydia get to spend their day at home, they get to see snippets of how this process works. Wednesday they're gone for their own exam(s) while the homebodies take on Louise's science test. Reed gets to come home early—a fact he's more than willing to rub in Lydia's face yet again. Thursday's test is history, and the final Friday is for social studies. But after the tests are marked and before she can leave for the summer, Louise is stopped by the two kids under her tutelage and their guardians.

"Happy birthday!" Niel and his guardians say as Illia presents the tutor with her gift: a glass bottle of white Vidal Icewine.

"Oh!" Louise exclaims in shock as she receives the bottle. But then she remembers the conversation she and Mabel had exactly a week ago. "You remembered...!"

"Of course we did!" Mabel responds with a gleeful smile.

"This is thanks for tutoring Illia and Niel," Gabriel adds.

"My paycheque is thanks enough, but... Thank you," Louise says. "Sincerely."

>>>>>>

Class is finally out and summer break officially begins! So what are the four kids doing this Saturday? Nothing. Niel indulges in his book of word searches in the living room, Illia plays her kalimba nearby, Lydia does little of consequence, and Reed plays games in his. Because of this, nothing exciting or noteworthy happens for most of the day. After the sun has gone down and the city falls into the evening dark, the sound of stray fireworks catches their ears. Illia is the first to look, peering out from between the living room curtains to find the colourful flashes of light. Niel hangs over her shoulder to see what she's so interested in, and Mabel and Gabriel part the curtains for themselves to look as well. They catch a small glimpse of an orange flash in the sky, but not much else, to Illia's dismay.

Suddenly, the house and the whole street drop into complete darkness. Illia squeaks in shock while the adults voice their own surprise. Instead of resorting to his phone's flashlight, Niel coats the room in a light film of Dust so he can see without seeing. Footsteps thud above them as Reed and Lydia descend to the first floor, phone flashlights in hand so they can navigate in the blackout.

"Whole street's out," Gabriel says to the pair as they approach.

"Really?" Reed questions.

"I wonder what happened," Lydia says.

Mabel brings up her phone, looking for answers. "Nothing's been said yet."

"Guess we'll have to wait a bit for an update," Reed says.

As Lydia sits down next to Illia, Niel decides to do some scouting. He puts his shoes on and steps out of the house, and with the cover provided by the night, he ascends to the roof of the house. From this vantage point, he finds that there are still some lights on in the city, but this area and a section of the city are in the dark. It isn't a problem isolated to this street. Niel turns in and reports his findings.

"Something big must have happened, then," Gabriel muses. Lydia's phone sits screen-down on the coffee table so the flashlight can project a sphere of light to encompass the room.

Niel quickly realizes that Mabel isn't here. A scan shows that she's in her room digging through her closet. "What's Mabel doing?"

"Looking for glow sticks."

"Glow sticks?"

"You don't know what glow sticks are?" Reed questions.

"No."

"You'll see," Gabriel says.

After another minute of waiting, Mabel returns downstairs with a small rectangular box and a plastic pack of something in each hand. She places them by Lydia's phone and an eager Illia pulls a colourless plastic rod from the pre-opened pack. The rod cracks audibly as she bends it, and Niel assumes she broke it in two, but then the rod glows a bright yellow as if by magic. Niel is amazed.

"Now you see why it's called a glow stick?" Reed comments as he takes a thicker glow stick from the box and cracks it, causing it to light up with red.

"I do. I see very clearly."

"Hah! You made a joke!"

The glow stick in Reed's possession is thicker, brighter, and can stand on its own, leading to Niel immediately understanding its practical use as a light source. Illia's, on the other hand, is so thin that it can be bent and held together at the tips to form a bracelet, which is what she has done. Niel takes a smaller one like Illia's and bends it, causing something inside to crack and glow green. She hands him a small plastic coupler to hold it together as a ring, and after examining this strange glowing item further, he spins it around his finger. The afterimages it leaves behind when he spins it quickly look strangely mesmerizing in the dark.

"Here, put all four of them together," Lydia suggests as she gives Illia a red and blue glow stick. Illia attaches them to her yellow one, and with the green stick from Niel, she forms a quad-coloured hoop. Her eyes light up and an innocent smile grows on her face as she spins it like Niel did. The small green loop was already visually entertaining, but watching how the afterimage colours shift places when spun is even more mesmerizing to the pair. The other four watch them in delight.

The fun continues for a few minutes longer, but now it's time for bed. The thicker glow sticks are used so everyone can see as they get ready, and once he lays in bed, Niel places his on his dresser. It's a faint green light, but it's just enough to see around the room without the need for his Dust. The Warden's Key flashes softly like a firefly in the dark. It almost reminds him of... some of the nights he spent in the lab.

For the first few nights after being given the pendant, he was moved to a different room for better monitoring. He found it hard to sleep in the new room. It was different. Uncomfortable. The pendant kept flashing as he and it adjusted to each other, and it kept him awake. He wasn't allowed to take it off.

His dreams shift.

It's cold. He needs to escape the room otherwise he'll collapse. If he could use his Dust, it would be easy. He tries reaching out to something in his body, but only shivers respond. His legs can't support him in the cold any longer.

His dreams shift.

Restrained in transport, one room to the next. The next try awaits him. The shackles are too strong to break. Dust would free him if it works the way they say it will. Why won't it save him? All he wants is to awaken. Maybe then they'll stop the pain.

His dreams shift.

Waking up. Always falling unconscious. Waking up. Breathing water. Waking up. Electricity. Waking up. Violence. Awakening. The first life taken. Waking up.

His dreams shift.

Blood. Held. Down. Power. Too. Much. Held. Down. Dust. Storm. Needle. Pain. Held. Down. Lab. Coats. Restraints. Held. Down.

Signature, left. Other people. Where are they? Lab coats holding him down feel like air. Where are they? Dust everywhere. Eyes don't line up with his vision. Mind and body aren't one. A nightmare he can't scream in. Real...?

...el...

n...el...

"Niel..."

"NIEL!"

His vision and sight mix in an unfettered cacophony, but his head is beginning to sift through the static and rearrange what is reality and what is not. The white coats of the lab's scientists fade to black and red as Reed's shape comes into focus. They're sitting on the floor. Glow sticks and flashlights give as much light as possible, but an opaque smog of Dust drains most of it from the air. As he comes further into consciousness, he retraces through his last actions, and the last thing he remembers is lying in bed.

He... he never fell asleep.

"Easy... Take it easy..." Reed coaxes as Niel comes further back into his senses. Niel breathes fast and shallow as if he had been holding his breath, and he notices that Reed's breathing is following a similar rhythm. The sight of Lydia to Niel's left catches his attention, and then Mabel, Illia, and Gabriel further out. They all look mortified and panicked.

Gabriel takes a knee in front of him. "It's okay. You're safe. Nothing can hurt you here, just breathe."

"What... happened...?" Niel croaks. Pursing his lips to speak makes him realize that blood and black crystal are pouring from his nose to stain his shirt and pants crimson. The Warden's Key isn't around his neck. Where is it? Where is it?

"You started freaking out, dude," Reed says, still freaked out himself. Mabel clogs Niel's nose with tissues to staunch the bleeding. "There was shouting and banging, it sounded like you were fighting someone who broke in. When we got here, Dust was flying everywhere."

Dust. Warden's Key. Niel looks around for the missing pendant and finds it on the floor next to him. Somehow, it's completely clean of blood. He grips the bulb and it immediately and harshly illuminates the room through his hand and the Dust haze. But just as quickly as it lit up, it fades back down to a low simmer.

"It was so bright we had to tear it off of you," Lydia says. It's at this point that Niel realizes that his room is a chaotic mess, with everything inside it shifted, askew, or turned on its side. Dings, bumps, and holes line the drywall.

"How do you feel?" Mabel asks. She doesn't know how to respond to this kind of situation, so she instinctively falls back to a question she asks often. Niel hasn't seen her this scared or worried before.

His hands, feet, and face all tingle immensely. His breathing is erratic and his fingers won't hold still. His shirt is drenched in sweat and blood and it feels like he has every heater in the house pointed directly at him. Everyone is shaken. Illia clutches the multicolour loop of glow sticks in her arms, and Niel sees from her the same terrified eyes as when he held her at gunpoint back in April.

He lost control again.

"Scared."