It’s crazy how quickly the night slipped away. The more Isaac received the more sleep he lost. He was up way before his alarm went off and silenced it when it made a sound. There was no reason to be up this early, but if he couldn’t sleep he might as well be awake.

He was surprised to see that his mother was already awake and fixing breakfast. The smell of bacon alerted him of her presence along with the grease that was popping about.

Entering the kitchen Isaac greeted his mother and asked her why she was up at this hour. It was only 7 in the morning.

“I wanted to make sure you had a nice breakfast before your very first mission.” She said with a smile with one hand holding onto the base of the frying pan.

Mom’s a very beautiful person. She’s always so caring and never thinks about herself.

“Thanks, that’s really thoughtful. Now I’ll be able to defeat any bad guy!”

“Always be careful, Isaac. You mean the world to me and your father. If anything happened to you then I don’t know what we’d do…” She truly meant those words. Losing someone you cared about would a bitter pill for anyone to swallow.

Right…

“I will mom, I promise. You don’t have to worry about a thing.” In order to ensure success, it is important to master teamwork. Hopefully, Yadon will see that one day and the others who believe they can accomplish everything on their own.

It didn’t take long for the meal to be put together. Isaac’s mom swept her blue locks back as she sat a plate in front of her son filled with bacon, eggs and two pieces of toast with butter in the center.

“Thanks, mom, you’re the best!”

She was speechless and merely placed a hand on her chest before smiling and walking off into the living room.

A wonderful meal like this didn’t survive very long. It was quickly gulped down and with every bite, Isaac could feel his mother’s love. This was a meal that he knew he’d have to live for in order to eat more of them.

Once he was finished he said his goodbyes to his mother and gave her a strong and emotional hug. Now it was time for the day to begin.

Isaac met up with Junji at the bus stop as the latter said he was. Upon seeing his friend the boy with blue eyes waved.

“Yo, Isaac. Right on time.”

“Hey, Junji, ready for this?”

He nodded. The bus stop was mostly empty at this time. In later parts of the day, people would be aligned around the sign waiting for the next bus. Almost like an endless cycle.

“I always enjoy hanging out with you. It always makes for an interesting time.” Isaac smiled at his best friend.

“Thanks, buddy. Likewise.”

“I never knew a girl of Grey’s size could eat two steaks. Especially with how giant they were.”

Junji’s left eye began to twitch before he pretended to laugh. “Hahaha, very funny. I could have eaten it if I didn’t already eat one at home!”

“That’s a lie.”

“You’re right…”

Cutting their conversation for the moment was the bus right on time. Occasionally they could be anywhere from 5 to 20 minute late, but nobody was perfect. The duo stepped forth onto the bus and soon they were taken to their destination.

Their final stop was the bus sign across from the Mission Notice HQ and only a few chose to get off here. There were other things around like a massage parlor and a pet store, but that wasn’t important.

“I told the girls to meet us near the entrance. They should be here, well Claire should.” Junji scratched his head before they crossed the street and inched closer to the HQ.

As per usual, Claire was there with punctual timing and could be seen seated on a bench by the entrance, as she read from a large paperback novel. Aside from her, Grey sat quietly and quite still, being on time as well. Having noticed the two boys in her peripheral vision, the redhead looked up from her read to wave and greet them. “Isaac, Junji, good morning.”

The greeting brought a smile to Isaac’s face as he returned the wave. Walking a bit faster to quickly close the distance between them. “Claire, Grey! You guys are on time!”

Junji was less enthusiastic but was glad to see them nonetheless. “Squad’s all here. We’re going to rock.”

“Well, shall we head inside?” Claire suggested, shutting her book as she took a stand. She stretched her arms above her head, grunt a teensy amount.

I wanted to know what book she was reading… but is it too late now?

“Uhh, Claire. What book were you re-”

“No time, come on!” Junji wasted no time rushing the group inside of the building.

The building was decorated with cream-colored walls and wooden tiled floor. There were various Seer guards around and a few administrators sitting at desks. There were multiple boards with numerous flyers posted by people who all needed help in one way or the other.

These notices came from normal civilians to business owners and top-notch companies. Work wasn’t always the best as it could be as simple as security or surveillance.

Few people were here, but there was one woman who stood out like a hot tamale. She was older in age by the few developing wrinkles on her face and the slight greying to her brown strands. She looked anxious with how she jittered around in place.

Hmm, what’s wrong with that woman…

“Alright guys, let’s start with a simple one. I’m confident in our abilities, but I don’t want to bite off more than we can chew.”

“Hmm. What do you deem simple enough, yet enough to need all of us to do it?” Asked Claire.

“Maybe… gardening… stuff like that will earn us some sympathy points from the Captains.” Junji rubbed his chin.

Isaac was too curious about the woman who seemed so nervous and it was as if she could see this within his eyes as she started to approach him and grabbed onto his arm. “Huh?”

“Please…. I need your help…”

“My help? What do you need?”

Noticing that Isaac was lingering behind Junji turned around to see the weird old woman and showed a concerning expression. “Who are you and what do you want?”

Seeing as there was a bit of a commotion, Claire and Grey both turn their attention to Isaac and the woman, with questioning looks. “Is something the matter?” Claire asked, taking a few steps towards the two.

“I need your help… I’ll… I’ll pay you. I just need your help, please.” The woman sounded desperate which most of the time was never a good thing.

“Uhh, okay. Tell us what's your problem then, ma’am.”

The woman looked around at the older and more aggressive looking Seer members. She was looking for this, fresh, young meat to hopefully support her. But she had to be smart about this or they’d be against her. “Can we talk somewhere private?”

Claire nodded and smiled, giving a look of assurance. “If that's what is necessary, sure. Let's go outside.”

What were they walking into? Could this woman be trusted?

She was very cautious and led the four into a friendly environment. Everyone sat at a cafe shop, snacking on their beverages as they talked about the task at hand.

“You see… my son Alex has always been a nice child. But lately, he’s been acting strangely. I’m starting to get worried…” The woman said while holding her head down to look at the oak table.

“Strange in what ways?” Junji questioned.

“He used to be so cheerful and always talking about how he wanted to become a Seer so he could help people. When he entered high school, his whole demeanor started to change.”

As the woman told her story, Grey could be noticed eating on a stick of black licorice nonchalantly, while Claire sipped on a nice cool frozen coffee. After a brief sip, Claire responded to the old woman. “Changed how?”

“He became distant, he stopped talking to me about his day and his grades began to slip…” She paused towards the end like there was more to say, but she wasn’t willing to share any more details.

Junji sipped from his chocolate honey blasted milkshake while staring at the woman, not really paying much attention to the story. “So… how much are you willing to pay us for this mission?”

“I’ll give you each… 3,000 geos. I promise.”

“Wait, wait, wait…” Claire interjected. “What is it exactly that you need us to do? Talk to him or something?”

The mother didn’t show any change in her expression, but her words were very serious. “Right now he’s at school… and I’m worried that he’ll try to kill his students…”

“Wait, what? Why would you think that!?” Isaac sounded alarmed, dropping his donut onto the floor by his feet.

“Are you serious? Do you really think he'd do that?” Claire asked with quite a bit of concern. She stood up from her seat, leaving her drink on the table. “If so, we should be headed there right now.”

“I’m positive he’ll do so… because… he’s already done it once.” She admitted, beads of sweat starting to drip down her face.

“He did it before? And you haven't told anyone before?” Claire questioned. “Actually, hold that thought, we need to get going ASAP.”

“Ok, ok!” The mother stood up from the table in a hurry and was determined to guide the group towards the school where her son attended.

It wasn’t that far from where they were. School was still in session at this time so the students would be in class. This was a pretty large high school it looked like it was about 40 acres. The students were often taught about daily life around Terra. They also offered military programs to transfer over to the Seer academy.

“I know a new school can always be intimidating, but do you really think he’d harm his fellow students?” Isaac asked the mother.

The group was close to the entrance of the school with the mother rubbing her arm nervously. Her breathing was also ecstatic. “Listen, I just need you guys to bring my boy to me. After that, you’ll never hear from us again.”

“Never hear from you again?” Junji raised a brow.

“Honestly, if he's hurt someone before, we might have to have to have a bit of a talk with him.” Stated Claire. “What does he look like?”

“N-no, he’s a good kid. He won’t bother you again I promise! J-just please I need to see my son. H-he has blonde hair… and I believe he was wearing a green hoodie.”

“Alright then. We'll go and find him.”

“Thank you. I had a good feeling about you guys.”