Althea kicked the tree that Vernon was sitting against. She found him in the school’s courtyard; it was nice: lots of shade, places to eat and relax, and even took care of a small pond in the back. Not anymore. Pretty trashed up—everything was.

Vernon startled, jumping up. He had a small blanket laid out in front of him, with a toolbox at his side and his [Energy Rifle] systematically dismantled in front of him. The smaller objects were placed in a small box, where the wind couldn’t snatch them away. The genius himself had a screwdriver in his hands, a manual in his lap, looking up at Althea sullenly.

“Whatcha doin’?” she asked more interested than she actually was to hopefully raise his spirits, get him excited. He hadn't been in the best of moods recently.

“Nothing,” he replied indifferently—so irritating—and returned to his work. He stared at the barren [Energy Rifle] at the center of the blanket, switching between that and the manual. A diagram was illustrated on the pages.

“Doesn’t look like nothing.” Althea leaned in closer to peep at the diagram. “You tryna be the next Ford or something?"

“What does Ford have to do about this?” he replied coldly, gesturing with his screwdriver before lightly tapping the metal tip against his lip.

“I only mentioned him ‘cuz, y’know, when Henry Ford was a kid, he got a watch for his birthday or something. He took it apart and put it back together again intuitively. So…” Althea motioned to the dismantled [Energy Rifle]. “...Ford, watch; Hugo, rifle.”

Vernon slapped the manual with the back of his knuckles. “I’m kinda not doing it intuitively. Like, not at all, no. I’m using the manual. It came with the [Energy Rifle] so I could do maintenance without turning to an artisan for help.”

Althea clicked her tongue. “You’re no fun, y’know that?” She decided for herself and sat down against the tree too, to the left of Vernon, head cocked towards his direction. “I for one don’t need a manual when putting things together,” she boldly claimed.

“Uh huh.” From the side, Vernon pulled out a small metal container and flipped the levers. Inside was a shiny, glowing mana crystal; she felt the energy from where she was sitting.

“Yeah,” she said, partly distracted. “I’m a master putter-together. I’m kinda like Ford in that way: things come to me naturally, sorta like a jigsaw puzzle but with the full image on the box. And—” Vernon was unscrewing something, “—oi, are you even listening to me?”

“Uh, yeah. Totally am,” he replied, completely lying through his teeth. This cocky motherfucker. “Master putting-togetherer right?”

“Putter-together.”

“Putter-together…” muttered Vernon before shaking his head. “That’s cool, I guess.”

“Sheesh.” Althea scoffed and crossed her legs together, looking away from him in annoyance. “Y’could at least tell me what you’re doing. Like that mana crystal. Looks expensive, you brought it from the shop?”

“Yeah. Costed about a quarter of a million. It's an [Advanced Pure Mana Crystal], or whatever, don’t quote me on that. The [Energy Rifle] came with a [Basic Pure Mana Crystal] in the catalyst formation chamber, and with the last mission I noticed a decrease in power so I’d thought to replace it. Then I sorta thought, ‘Y’know what, why not replace more stuff while I’m at it?’ So I am.”

“What else did you buy? Honestly, you’d better spend it all right now; when the disaster’s over, the government’s gonna come after you for taxes,” she snarked.

A small chuckle came from him. She smiled. “Yeah, I know—the taxman is scarier than any monster. Anyway uhm, so right after I brought the [Advanced Pure Mana Crystal], I got [Quality Spell Formation Plate]—”

“What’s that do?” inquired Althea.

“So y’know how the catalyst formation chamber pulls the mana out of the crystal, right? It begins the process of automatic spell-casting. The spell formation plate is the next step, telling the mana to create this exact spell. Good plates do it consistently and efficiently, and the [Quality Spell Formation Plate] does exactly that.

“So right after that step, I purchased [Defined Mana Triplet Lens]. When the projectile itself is formed, it goes through several lens. The lens focus the projectile since it’s basically a magic laser. Better lens give me, well, better accuracy and make sure my shots stay relatively consistent with little spread.

“The biggest buy of them all is the [Multi-Functional Magick Chamber] which was a million on its own. It’s not actually a part of the original kit. You attach it at the end of the barrel and it allows you to change up how you fire. It has different modes: splitter, which functions like a shotgun; automatic, so like a rifle on automatic; and the original purpose itself: bolt. What’s cool about it is, well, how do I describe it?

“It’s not like it gives the [Energy Rifle] three different modes but rather three points on a spectrum. I can set the setting to, I dunno, something between the splitter and the bolt. I can make precise shots that split apart upon contact. Or maybe a splitter and automatic, so I can obliterate anything standing in front of me.

“But it’s gonna be a drain on the crystal. So I also brought a small [Mana Siphon]; it can naturally absorb the mana in the air to alleviate the costs somewhat. Not by much but enough to make a difference. All in all, I think I spent about, uh, two mil? Maybe more?”

That sounded about right. On paper, Slayer earned a lot of money from quests and other expedition nonsense; however, they also spent a lot on equipment, general supplies, and that came after all the taxes and fees were paid off. Many Slayers, actually, weren't taking that much home despite the big numbers.

Althea hummed to herself. “Fancy.”

Vernon’s eyes narrowed. “That’s all you hafta say? I mean, I thought you’d interrupt me at some point.”

“Sometimes, I like listening to your annoying voice.” Althea brought her legs closer to her body. ”It’s nice to hear you geek out ‘bout this stuff. A good break from all the drama and action. I wish my gear was as modifiable as yours.”

“I mean, you’re decked out enough, right?” Vernon looked her over, having a small smile.

Althea had brought better equipment after going on enough missions; plus, Seraph gave them a blank check. Her [Rogue’s Jacket] was swapped with a new stylish pale blue [Hunterwear Shroud], added with a [Red Barrier Brooch] for extra protection, the same brooch that Leona also had as well. Her [Channeling Chain], although Jury had brought it for her (may she rest in peace), was upgraded to a [Manasteel Chain]; and her [Duality Daggers] was replaced by the singular [Lesser Dragonfang Snarl].

She thought about selling her old gear but Alexander told her to hang onto them just in case.

“Yeah.” She looked down at her sleeves, half-impressed and half-bewildered that she was wearing actual Slayer gear. “I’m not the future magical engineer here.”

“C’mon, I forgot about that until now…” Vernon groaned, resting his head against the bark. A gentle wind breezed, lightly flapping the pages of his manual. “Do you remember why I wanted to be one?”

Of course Althea did. “Remind me.”

“It’s because of [Cloudstrider],” he answered nostalgically.

“Mark’s treasured rifle, huh?”

“Yeah. Made out of ethersand. Y’know how rare ethersand is? In the Multiversal Resources Database, ethersand is only found in less than one percent of the expeditions we go to, and we have no idea how to manufacture it here. I told you ‘bout it before: ethersand is basically futuristic nanotechnology but with magic. And [Cloudstrider] is made out of that.

“I wanted to know how it worked. What made it tick. So at first, I watched videos then documentaries, then documents and reports. Before I knew it, I was reading about dragonsilver. I was reading about crystal jade. I was reading about anything I could get my hands on; I've read so many articles that I could tell you how this [Energy Rifle] is made from scratch completely from memory. Well, not really but you get the point.

“I'm not like Mark. I'm not some badass high-ranker who can shoot a grasshopper's legs across a football field. Instead of being Monarch or Kosmos even, I'd rather be Judas or Muramasa. But y'know, it's kinda dumb now, right? When I'm this 'Operator' from a Previous Earth."

“And I’m the Spirit Beast Queen,” replied Althea sadly. She had always known Alexander was special, just not EX-special. Let alone herself. She honestly hadn’t processed how she felt about Seraph’s revelation, about Sirius Aethfell and how they were connected somehow. As much as she wanted to feel special for knowing her fate, she really couldn't.

“Pretty crazy…” Vernon muttered. “Nothing’s going as planned for us.”

She chuckled, playfully shaking her head. “You bet. At least you had a plan. I dunno what I wanted to be exactly. Maybe an artisan like you. Maybe go into STEM. But I wanted be something, do something.

“There’s a lot of bullshit in the world, Vernon. I wanna fix that. Even if it’s one small, minor problem that no one cares about. It’ll mean I did good and humanity will live slightly better than before. Maybe yeah, it's dumb asking for that after what we've been told but it was something, even if it's nonconsequential. I had ambitions, y'know.

"Now look at us: Spirit Beast Queen and Operator, as measly E-Ranks. It's funny too. For the longest time, it was painful seeing Alex like this."

“What d'ya mean?” Vernon asked.

“What I mean is… It’s painful—was painful—seeing my brother chase after nothing. Hangzhou hurt him. Bad. You know the story already: he doesn’t want a big or elaborate life. He wants something small. Simple, but he could be so much more. Then life forced him to be so much more. Normally I'd be happy for him but...” She shrugged. "...It's kinda hard to be happy when you had something forced onto you."

“Yeah, definitely." Vernon sighed, rubbing the side of his neck. "Still, he wants you and Leo to be happy."

“I know."

"Yup..." He turned to the grass, at his dismantled [Energy Rifle]. Although he was studying the manual and inspecting the individual parts of his weapon, his mind was elsewhere, his eyes were distant.

“What’s wrong?” Althea nudged his shoulder. “You hungry?”

Slowly, he shook his head as though energy was sapped from him. “Nah, was thinking about something.”

“The mission?” Althea had a bitter taste from it. Jonathan Nam deserved not a shred of mercy but the rules were rules. She didn't mind if he was put six feet under, though.

"No, I was thinking 'bout the, y'know, the Operator thing. Being an S-Rank." He glanced at her with a strange expression. "Aren't you supposed to be an A-Rank? How did you get up to an SS?"

Althea had been asking herself that since she found out. "I'm awesome, that's why. I don't get why you're surprised about being an S-Rank. You're literally destined to be one."

"I know that, but like... Bastion Guild? I thought I'd be an Artisan Officer not a Head Officer," Vernon grumbled. The difference between the two positions were this: an Artisan Officer was a high-ranking artisan within an artisan group, while Head Officer was the third-highest seat in a guild (first being Guild Master and second being Vice Guild Master).

Artisans typically didn't take up combat roles during expeditions.

"Nothing says that your otherself wasn't an artisan. Maybe Conqueror wanted you as an HO because you were more useful there," she told him.

"Maybe, but still... It means I contributed a lot to combat. And who knows how big Bastion Guild was in the Previous Earth? It was led by an EX-Rank, so probably it was the No.1 Fabel—"

"Why are you getting so worked up 'bout this anyway?"

Vernon went silent and stayed like that for an uncomfortable amount of time. His lips moved first before he spoke, "I know nothing 'bout Operator. Nothing. If Operator is who I'm supposed to be and you're meant to be this Queen, then how? How the hell can we do that in these crappy circumstances?"

"Because we're badasses for one."

He crossed his arms, looking away. "You guys are. [Survivors of Hangzhou], sons and daughters of famous Slayers, prodigies, and I'm just the little brother of a Royals HO."

Althea scoffed indignantly and combatted, "So what? You’re not as much of a dumbass as you think you are. You're seriously smart. Smarter than me in lots of places, and I’m basically the smartest girl alive." She sighed. "Look, I dunno why you're saying this shit but you need to stop. Is this about Mark? Is it him? Did you talk to him again?"

He didn't respond immediately.

She couldn't help but scoff. "Oh, I'm right?"

"He kinda..." He made an awkward gesture. "He kinda spoke to me first."

A curse hissed through Althea's lips. "Seriously? He's still tryin' to pressure you to go to Prim-Zero? Not like he has any ground to stand on after what Seraph told us. Just ignore him—"

Vernon squeaked, "I can't."

"Why not—?"

"I just can't. I can't!" He threw his arms up, irritated. "As much as I wanna ignore him and keep doing this with you guys, I can't. He's my brother, an HO."

"I know that 'cause you keep reminding me!" Althea said as something of a joke but he wasn't laughing. Well, at least she tried. "Look, he can be worried as much as he wants to be—he should be worried, definitely yeah! But that's where being your brother ends and where he oughta start seeing you as a Slayer. It doesn't give him the right to beat you down like this."

“He’s not beating me down! He's just, I dunno, pointing stuff out—"

An outraged laugh came from her. “‘Pointing stuff out', yeah right. I don't give a shit what your brother says. You're awesome, Vernon. Really, I actually mean it this time. I can't understand ninety-percent of the stuff you say. I'm not as smart as you are. And d'you know something? It takes some serious guts to keep fighting after all the bullshit we went through. As you, not Operator."

"But we're kids," he said, but those were not his words. They belonged to someone else.

"We're Slayers, and we're technically adults now. I celebrated my eighteenth birthday in an otherworldly invasion. Alex celebrated his seventeenth in the one before this! Vernon, I swear to God, our birthdays are fucking cursed and I don't know why!" Althea exclaimed exasperatedly, laughing afterwards. "But that's not the point, okay? That's not the point. I don't know nothing 'bout your otherself, but if you're any indication, then...

Althea paused, thinking about her words carefully. "...Then you're gonna be just as great as Mark regardless of what anyone thinks. Including yourself."

Vernon had nothing to say after that.

She didn't know what Mark had told him but she suspected it was the same old stuff: you're young, you're stupid, you don't know any better, but that was no way to treat someone who wanted to grow. Times like these, she felt blessed for having an asshole of a brother like Alexander, who was far more compassionate and empathetic than you'd give him credit for.

"Do you really think that?" asked Vernon after some time sitting in silence.

"Yeah." She smiled. "Of course. We might be youngblood but we can handle whatever's comin' at us. Rogues, monsters, the Comets, everything."

***

Some time after, when Vernon had finished modifying his [Energy Rifle], Alexander called them to the front of Fairman High School, where they stood on the bus loop as a few trucks rolled in. Leona was there as well and from the looks on their faces, Seraph had given them new orders.

There, Alexander explained the next mission: they were to return to Dawns to investigate more spatial distortions. This time, however, they would be joined by the Alumnus and Martials: the Righteous Jin Tiehan, Blackviper, and the Five Distinct Journeys. Throughout the mission, they’ll be stationed at Grendal Arsenal, so that was an upgrade from refugee centers and camping out in ruined buildings.

But as Alexander was explaining this, he had something else to say. Althea knew because of the eyes: whenever he had something important, his eyebrows would curl up a certain way—such an obvious tell, one that she had seen countless times before. Leona had her arms crossed, quietly listening.

The two glanced at one another, having a conversation through looks alone. Althea wasn’t fluent but she roughly knew what they were talking about.

“Is there something wrong with this mission?” she blurted right after Alexander finished. “It’s not like we’re fighting people again. What’s with the looks?”

Vernon glanced between the adults. “Are you gonna put us in Prim-Zero?”

“No,” Alexander answered, sharing yet another conversation with Leona through eyes. “Not yet, anyway. I’ll just give it to you straight: I’m getting concerned about your morale—”

“Yessir, Captain Shen,” deadpanned Althea. “Hoorah.”

“I’m serious. You guys had it rough in the past couple of days, so me and Leo were talking: we want you to take it easy. We can afford that comfort since we have the Alumnus and some of the best Martials joining us. Speaking of…”

“Speaking of…?” Vernon urged him to continue.

"The Martials are willing to give us a little bit of training,” he said, actually sounding excited for it. “To be more specific, the Five Distinct Journeys are willing to take you as temporary interns. Apparently it took a lot of urging from the VGM."

“R-Really?” blabbered Vernon.

"Huh." Althea recalled what she knew about the Journeys: the Five Distinct Journeys were a team of the top artisans in Martials, each member representing one general branch: smithing, alchemy, machining, healing, and scholarly. This was not an exhaustive list (obviously) but these five were accomplished geniuses in their respective fields.

If she had to guess why they were tagging along with Jin Tiehan, then they were tasked with solving the spatial distortion anomaly and other pressing projects.

Leona hummed. “Of course, this is assuming you’ll accept that offer. But since we’re talking about the Righteous Jin Tiehan, err…” She shrugged. “...You don’t say ‘no’ to that monster.”

Good thing Althea wasn’t planning on it.

***

"Is that so?" Alexander's expression quickly morphed into grave seriousness once Althea explained what'd happened. He rubbed his mouth, and she could see his lip twitching.

"What're you gonna do 'bout it?" she asked him, equally pissed off.

"Well, I'm going to report this to Seraph, hear what she has to say, and God willing, I'll have a long conversation with Mark whenever he's available."

"Think he'll listen to you?"

"Oh, he has to. Althea, I'm not a civilian anymore. As designated by the WDO, I'm a combatant in the outbreak. As a TL in the Dawn Baptists, I technically have more clout than him. I understand where he's coming from but that gives him no fucking right to harass a member of my team, even if he happens to be his younger brother.

"Thanks for telling me this, Thea. I got the rest from here."