He did not mean for it to happen.

Adam Lacetro was the great age of thirteen. He had been taught early on that he shouldn’t eavesdrop. It was impolite and rude. Those might be the same thing, but he doesn’t give that a second thought.

Still, it wasn’t like he meant to hear this conversation. He was playing with his friends Marly and CB and he had to go to the bathroom. He just happened to overhear a conversation from inside the old man Mallory’s office. It wasn’t his fault that the door wasn’t closed properly.

“I need to be sure I can trust you Ava. There are too many dissonant voices in the Association. I need someone who won’t betray me.” he heard the commander say.

“You have Chiron. I know for a fact he’s older than you and me combined and has been loyal to your father and even grandfather.” said Ava’s disembodied voice.

“Don’t be ridiculous Ava.” laughed James Mallory gruffly. “Even Chiron would be a baby at most during my grandpa’s last days. More to the point, even he may betray me in time. And even if he doesn't, my plans don’t involve him.”

“But he’s saved your butt more times than I can count.”

“Ava!” Adam could have sworn that he heard the sound of a hand slamming down on a table.

“What? I censored myself.” giggled Ava. “What are your plans anyway?”

“I’ll tell you everything in time my darling.” sighed James Mallory. “It’s all for you. For you and your sister, bless her soul. Which is why I need to, how shall I put it, instruct you.”

“You heard about the trip? The kids wanted to do something with me, I didn’t have another choice.”

“It’s dangerous.” said the old man, the tone in his voice sounding even scary to the young boy. “Even so, I cannot stop you. On one condition. If anything happens, Marly is your top priority.

“Any sign of danger, take care of her first. It pains me to say this, but leave the other two behind. You are good, my granddaughter in your entirety, but you’re still a relative novice compared to the beasts lurking in the shadows. Make sure she is safe, no matter the cost. It’s brutal, but Marly is our family. Your sister. Her life is most important.”

“Grandpa-”

“Ava. If you are to succeed me one day, you are going to need to learn to make tough decisions. Do the right thing here.”

“Fine.” he heard her sigh. “If anything happens, I get Marly to safety. Worry about the others next.”

Adam was momentarily worried that his small intake of air was heard by the other room’s occupants, but it didn’t look like that was the case. Adam was young, but he wasn’t stupid.

Was Ava really going to leave him and CB behind? What if something happened? He’d heard some pretty scary things from his family that traveled the world.

Did their lives really not matter?

-

Did their lives really not matter?

That was the question Adam had asked himself during that fateful day. Perhaps he had overreacted a bit, being a child. But even now, a few years later, it still didn’t sit right with him.

He didn’t expect the lives of two random children would be nearly as important as that of their family. The youngest member of their family too. But he couldn’t accept the disregard of their lives just like that. They were just two innocent people back then. That was why he needed answers. The reason he needed to confront Ava.

But what infuriated him even more was the fact that he was a hypocrite. He thought and believed all that, and yet he worked with people who had just done the same.

“Where are they?” asked CB with a growl, who was in his werewolf form, the beastial appearance contrasting heavily against his camp clothes. “Rockwell and Chiron need to explain some things to us.”

“CB, please. I can barely contain myself as well. But think about where we are.” said Adam, gesturing around Kara’s workshop/lab, the apparent headquarters of their little group. “Kara protected us. She died for that. Let’s not ruin-ruin her legacy.”

“Our little friends are the ones who are ‘ruining her legacy’. Marly and Marvin nearly died!”

“Marly and Marvin?” smirked Adam. “I think the world is about to come to an end if you start to care for Marvin. In any case they definitely proved themselves. We’ve seen them both fight firsthand, but it always surprises me how well they can handle themselves.”

“Are you losing your mind!?” CB said so loudly that Adam was worried someone from the outside could have heard them. “I went to the Caelum Terra, asked around. They barely brought the dude in. He was like a wild animal!”

“A fact that we counted on to lead to his failure.” came a voice from the elevator door. Turning to it, the two teens saw Chiron in his fully human form enter the workshop.

“You-”

“I assure you CB, I never had the intent of killing Marvin. And the same went for Maria. She just wants to get back at him for being a good enough sorcerer to stand up to her. Through the atrocities she committed to that poor boy, that’s how she intends to get said revenge. Prove herself a worthy sorceress.”

“And what was your grand plan? Because I thought we were here to discuss that now. Where is she?” asked Adam, barely managing to keep his anger in check.

He would be lying if he said that Chiron’s words weren’t at least somewhat reassuring, but he still didn’t feel right with Maria Rockwell on their side.

“You are completely right to be distrustful.” sighed Chiron. “But I have always been the second in command. Being the actual master planner is a bit difficult for me. Maria is at the Perlie residence, bringing Marvin’s little cousin for a visit.

“As for Nicholas is currently trying to establish a connection to the insurgent group Eobard Kon has infiltrated. The young man currently in captivity is also where he is supposed to be, within the Association’s main building in the Caelum Terra.”

“What are you planning to do?” asked Adam, getting kind of fearful at the old centaur.

“We need Marvin Perlie on our side. He is not in a good place mentally but it turns out his role will be crucial. That is where you and Eobard Kon come in. One is the man who saved his life and has acted as a second mentor to him. You are the closest friends he has in this world.”

“We aren’t friends.” said CB.

“Even so, you have gone through a lot together.” sighed Chiron. “Marly will surely follow her family. And Marvin will follow her. Unless you all stand together. And hopefully, through Marvin, Marly will see the truth of this world.”

“Can’t we do something?” asked CB with a strangely small voice. “We are her childhood friends. You practically raised her given how busy the commander always is. We-”

“And yet, she didn’t trust any of us with her biggest secret. She only trusted Marvin.” said Chiron, smiling sadly at CB.

“So, you want us to-” began Adam, placing his hands together in front of him, “-to let, supposedly the fate of the world-because let’s be honest, what else warrants all this-to the power of love?”

Chiron actually laughed at this. “My boy, I said no such thing. Whether we like it or not, Marly has the key to an ages long conflict inscribed on her back. I will explain everything when we are all together. I don’t want to risk anything.

“What you need to know right now is that the girl’s choice will be integral to keeping the world as we know it. And people will choose what aligns most with their beliefs. But they will also listen to the people they trust the most. For Marly, right now, that is her sister, grandfather, and Marvin.

“We can only hope the latter outweighs the first two.”