Theodore had always been troubled by how much his younger sister, someone he was supposed to pamper, pampered himself.

He wasn't embarrassed, just distraught.

​​

Distraught at his failure, not able to even take on one of the worries in Emilin's heart.

Though Emilin didn't say it, he knew almost better than anyone, even better than Emilin herself, how much she always had in her mind.

While he only had to worry about what was in front of him, Theodore could clearly feel that Emilin had so much more in her heart.

The past, present, and future all weighed on her.

This had only gotten worse the older she became, and the more she discovered about the standards of this world.

Pushing to become more normal, the harder it was to let go of the very troubles and thoughts that prevented her from doing so.

Though Emilin was clearly working towards self-improvement throughout this trip, feeling as if she had taken big steps, just the number of worries and unimportant matters she constantly had in her mind was worrisome.

Even when Emilin was meditating, she didn't fail to have a couple of self-deprecating thoughts eat away at her confidence.

At times, Theodore was glad about how confident Emilin was whenever dealing with business-related matters, but even then he sometimes felt like it... like that confidence was not her own.

Theodore was always keen on reaching out his helping hand, but then he could only slap himself with that hand, not knowing what he could possibly even help his sister with.

At times, he really felt too useless.

But knowing that his little baby sister didn't want him to worry, knowing that she was in fact hiding a whole lot so that he wouldn't be pressured by her troubles, he relented and didn't butt in impulsively.

Currently, he neither had the power to do so nor the ability to solve her troubles.

Theo felt like he would only worry Emi more if she found out about his worries for her, yet at the same time, his worries only increased the less Emilin spoke about her own issues.

It was a vicious cycle where everyone bottled things up and no one had the courage to speak first, not knowing if it was the right thing to do.

Do you know how crushing it is to know that someone important to you is in trouble, yet they are unable to confide in you enough to share their burden?

Only ever showing you their good side, even when they are supposed to be family!

Emilin hid a whole lot in her heart, but she wasn't the only one.

So did both her Big Brother Theo and her Big Brother Nathen.

They were all cut from the same cloth.

Each one of them with their own anxieties.

Each one of them with their own worries.

Each one of them with their own fears.

Each one of them caring for the other to no end.

And none of them wanting the others to worry for them, knowing that they already had a lot on their plate.

***

From a young age, Theodore was already much less reserved than his older brother Nathaniel.

While Nathen often watched from the sideline acting as the good big brother he was, making sure that his younger siblings wouldn't make a big mess, Theo was always the one making that mess that Nathen was guarding against.

Don't be mistaken, though he looked like an angel, the troubles he got into were no joke.

In fact, it might be because of that face of his, which always got him out of trouble with one pout that he had become so willful at that time.

A fateful day, when he snuck into his father's room while Gabriel was away, he dragged his pretty little sister in with him.

By then, they had already gotten familiar with that room as well as that specific computer.

Theo loved playing games on there all the time, showing off his skills in front of his favorite sibling, the one that wouldn't scold him.

That was also the day that Nathen caught the two of them in the act.

And as the elder of the bunch as well as the one with more knowledge of the world (at least when compared to the relatively naive Theo), he realized earlier than his younger brother that things weren't as simple as they seemed.

That was also the day that widened Nathen's horizons, the day that made him realize that the rest of his life was going to be by no means normal.

Whatever the definition of that word was.

Nathen was a smart, sensible child. He knew more than those of his age at the time.

That was back when Theodore was 7, he himself was 10, and Emilin was still 5.

At the age of 7, everything for Theo was just fun and games.

When Theo got bored of showing off playing those easy games Emilin introduced him to a new game and Theo didn't question it, he just found it fun!

This game was so much more complex and entertaining than everything he had played before.

And before he knew it, Theodore had been introduced to a whole new world.

The world of hacking.

And a whole new world of troubles that came along with it.

And as previously said, he knew nothing of the complications of what he was doing.

As for Emilin, she had no other thoughts back then.

She too did not understand how much trouble hacking could inflict on the family.

She only knew that that was a skill in her database.

A skill that was used to achieve something.

Emilin was still rather naïve in this aspect.

She who was akin to a baby when it came to her EQ couldn't possibly take into consideration how others on the receiving end would react to being hacked.

Simply wanting to alleviate the boredom of the second brother who always took her to play.

***

10 years ago

Nathen entered his father's office after noticing the crack in the door that was supposed to be closed shut.

"What are you guys doing?"

Nathen's plump little cute face made a stern expression, which only made him seem even more adorkable than he already was.

These two weren't supposed to be here!

The boy didn't wait for the two sitting in front of his father's computer to respond, moving to stand directly behind them so that he could have a clear view of what was on the screen.

A delayed response came from the enthusiastic Theo, who never seemed to fear being beaten by his big brother.

"We're playing a really, really fun game!"

Two minutes later, Nathen's eye couldn't stop twitching as his small jaw almost spasmed.

They would have if those muscles involved had developed enough to let him do so.

Theo had been hacking into their local cinema!

Nathen recalled just two days ago, in their living room, he was watching TV with his father when the local news had displayed "Shocking news!"

Random movies in the cinema had been hacked into and instead of the movie they were supposed to be displaying, they showed a cartoony clip with a little character dancing in circles, sticking their tongues out, mocking the people, singing "You've been haaaaad, You've beeeeeen haaaaad."

There was a great uproar in the theater, tickets were refunded, reputations were ruined, food was thrown, and a whole lot of other things happened.

It was only then that people discovered the troubles of displaying on computers and computer hardware rather than the old school films.

Nathen still recalled how it was only two days ago when he first discovered what it meant to be a hacker, with his father explaining all kinds of dangers of such a character due to the hacking incident displayed on the news.

He became all kinds of interested, then watching a whole lot of videos on the subject, just to realize that he had no such affinity with technology.

Now he turns around and suddenly... his little brother was the 'dangerous hacker on the loose??!!!'

Knowing that, Nathen promptly dragged this little brother of his out of the office, leaving Emilin befuddled.

***

That was a pivotal day in the lives of all three siblings.

That was a day, filled with ranting, scolding, and informing, from Nathen's part.

And a day filled with filtering everything Nathen said from Theo's part.

However, when Nathen mentioned the sentence, 'you're also putting Emi in danger', Theo's ears perked up like that of a cat.

Theodore realized how careless he had been, and even his cute little angelic face, which always seemed carefree was filled with a degree of remorse.

A day he would constantly look back to with regret.

Regret that he had not paid closer attention to his older brother's words.

As a day also came when he made the biggest blunder of his life.

It was also that day, 10 years ago that Nathen realized that his promise was going to be a whole lot harder to keep than he initially thought.

As the years went by, Nathen, who had realized that his little brother wasn't the most reliable of characters, only increased his efforts, the same ones that he believed never to be able to catch up to true talent.

The talent that his younger siblings possessed, and the one he didn't.

As for Emilin, that day when she eavesdropped, she too realized how careless she had been, how much trouble she could have brought to his loving family.

How much she had changed the course of their future lives.

It was also after that day that she finally started picking up on the ways of the world, initiating her own plans.

That was the day that had brought them to today, that had made them who they are, and the day that had forced them to face the choices that they have to make now.

And it should be said that it's about time that Theodore also makes his choice.

His choice of independence.

His choice of power.

His choice to become someone who can also protect the ones he wants to protect with nothing but his pure skills.

Now, 10 years later, he was finally going to take a step towards his own goals to become someone stronger than his current self.

Theodore was going to take a step, albeit a small one, away from the protection of his family to become someone who could also do his own protecting.

After all, in his heart, his biggest trouble had always been his feeling of helplessness towards the ones he cared about the most.

***

This chapter is outside of the current arc, just a little insight into these beloved characters, who are more human than they are made out to be.

Thank you for your support!