Olivia and Aaron had stayed the night at the nearest medical facility. Apparently, Aaron had received a concussion from falling backwards and hitting his head. What sparked the most discussion was his sudden mental changes. Within the medical facility, Aaron lay on his bed, slowly breathing in and out. Bandages had been wrapped around his head.

  At his side was Olivia, who gazed at him with concern. “How are you feeling?” Her voice came out almost maternal.

  Aaron slowly let out a low sigh, replying with a twitching tone. “It hurts, all of it.”

  “What hurts?” Olivia’s voice grew sharper, her expression hardening a little.

  The man chuckled breathlessly, rolling over a little in his bed. “Nothing with my body, at least that I know of. My heart hurts… all of it.”

  “Your heart?...” Olivia fell silent, looking at Aaron for a few more seconds.

  The man on the bed blinked slowly before closing his eyes, his chest continually rising and falling. “He’s really gone?”

  Olivia instantly knew who he was referring to. With much pity, she replied. “We don’t know yet. If we don’t get much information soon, we’ll surely head out and search wider than this kingdom.”

  “How’s Shinso holding up?”

  Olivia looked down with her grayish-blue eyes, her bottom lip twitching. “I don’t know, I only heard information from Aizawa in small bursts. Apparently he isn’t doing too well, but he’s getting counseling from Mr. Ryujin.”

  “T-thats good,” Aaron replied with a smile.

  Although, this smile quickly faded away. “I had Isaac make a promise to me, that he’d protect those who he cared about. I hope he didn’t break it; I see a lot of that damn kid in me.”

  Aaron shifted his gaze to the nearest window, where the sun filtered in freely. He tried to stand up, but the constant pounding in his head obstructed much movement in general. Aaron’s wrinkled fists clenched into the sheets of his bed, trembling inscrutably.

  “After my mother died, I found myself in a similar predicament as him. I was lost, tired, alone, and troubled. Soon, after finding the love of my life, the darkness around me faded away, and I found myself happy again…”

  He paused for a moment, lips parting a little. “Isabella was sickly and ill only a few months after meeting her. I watched her die with my own two eyes; the life left her eyes like I had sucked it out of them by staring.”

  Olivia listened, not interrupting his prattle. “How long has it been since then?”

  Aaron looked back at her, his eyes almost glazed over with bitter nostalgia. “It’s been almost thirty years. Isaiah… when he too was alive, was the only other thing keeping me running… along the way I also found Oboro, taking him under my wing.”

  At this moment, the door opened. Oboro, clad in casual attire and a small hat, walked into the room. He removed his hat and hung it on the nearest rack, approaching the bed and sitting beside Olivia.

  “How are you holding up, kid?” Aaron was the first to speak.

  Before Oboro could reply, another figure entered the room. It was a nurse. She walked to Aaron’s side with a piece of paper in hand, jotting down notes as she analyzed his condition. After two or three seconds, she looked at the group.

  “I believe you have important matters to attend to?”

  Olivia nodded her head, but the sadness in her eyes betrayed her actions. “We’re working closely with the Pollinators at the moment; we’re trying to find our lost friend.”

  The nurse nodded without replying, her analytical gaze moving down to her notes. “After surveying his condition for twelve hours, alongside conducting tests to measure heart rate, reflexes, and cognitive ability, we can conclude his concussion isn’t that serious.”

  “That’s great.” Olivia’s lips twitched into a smile.

  “But there’s something else inside him.” The doctor continued.

  She flipped the paper to show the group. On the paper was a singular line that jutted up and down in a symmetrical pattern. Olivia was the first person to recognize this display—it was reminiscent of a heart monitor back in her reality.

  She looked over it for a brief moment, noticing its lack of abnormalities. “It looks normal,” she concluded.

  The nurse raised her facemask and continued explaining, moving a small pencil along the contours of the line signalling Aaron’s heart beat.

  “His heart rate is at normal pace… but its power and energy is beyond what we originally perceived. It requires a lot more energy to pump blood through his body; his body is working in quasi-overtime to compensate for the mental and physical stress.

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  “Additionally, we’ll need to hold him here for a while longer to properly analyze his condition.”

  “Are there any other issues?” Olivia asked.

  The nurse fell quiet for a moment before replying. “Whilst you took breaks whilst staying the night, we began to conduct tests with him. We drew blood from his body; a specific vein to his heart, hoping to gather more intelligence using Pollinator-infused medical technology.”

  She chuckled softly, as if trying to lighten the atmosphere. “And no, plants won’t grow within his body; that issue was dealt with thirty years before this technology improved.”

  “A-alright.” Olivia nodded her head, palpably taken aback by the statement.

  She looked to the door, making a conclusion. “I figure we should leave now?”

  The nurse nodded again. “You should, he needs rest.”

  “Alright.”

  Olivia and Oboro both stood up, making their way to the door. After they left the room and made their way down the halls, they met up with Aizawa and Damien, who stood near the entrance of the medical facility.

  “What happened in there?” Aizawa immediately pressed Olivia and Oboro, hoping for answers.

  Seeing the presence of both of the boys, Olivia was taken aback. “You came?”

  Damien nodded. “Aizawa was worried about Aaron; he couldn’t leave me alone back at the apartment so he took me along with him.”

  “Couldn’t Catherine and Carter have watched you?” Olivia arched an eyebrow.

  At this moment, Aizawa sighed. “Their judicial proceedings with the Pollinators are scheduled later today, so they’re on house arrest until further notice—last night was an exception.”

  “I heard what happened last night. Shouldn't you guys be wanted too for what you did to that platoon?” Oboro, who had remained silent, spoke up.

  Aizawa shook his head, sighing self-depracatingly. “After the altercation at Tavarans, we talked with Captain Silas and then his mistress, formulating a plan together. Using their pacifism, if we find Isaac, we can take him back here and plead for his innocence.”

  “Ahh, quite smart” Olivia couldn’t help but smile.

  “But if Isaac really is a villain, he’d be locked up or executed,” Damien said, looking down at the floor.

  “Shinso also returned last night; he said he’d be… fighting for Catherine and Carter’s freedom.” Aizawa’s voice lowered, carrying a bit of uncertainty.

  “Isn’t he just a teenager? Shouldn't that be in the hands of an adult?” Oboro asked.

  “I’m guessing the Pollinators allowed it, after all, he is a member within their ranks.” Aizawa continued. “It doesn’t sound very logical, but we could twist it to our advantage.”

  Aizawa suddenly looked up, a small smile forming on his face. “Shinso filled me in a little regarding his pathway, it gives him heightened intelligence and enhanced social perception.”

  “That sounds like cheating… wouldn't the Pollinators not want such a thing in the courthouse?”

  “Aaron once said what one cannot see can be either their greatest ally, or their worst enemy. Using that logic, perhaps they’re relying on Shinso’s skills to make the best deduction possible.”

  “Damn, that’s genius." Olivia couldn’t help but scoff.

  At this moment, she chuckled. “Perhaps if we do find him, or he comes back to us, Shinso’s enhanced skills can help us fight for his freedom!”

  Everyone in the group exchanged glances, nodding in unison. The bell tower outside erupted with sudden chiming, signalling mid-day. This caught everyone's attention.

  “When’s the first proceeding?” Oboro asked.

  “Three PM.” Aizawa replied, looking down at his pocket watch.

  He turned to Damien. “I pray to whatever gods exist that you can sit still for a few hours while we watch.”

  Damien nodded, puffing his cheeks out like a toddler. “Don’t underestimate my boredom; I’ll be asleep before it begins.”

  …

  The deeper me and the team moved into the forest, the darker the surroundings seemed to get. The trees overhead were a makeshift blanket, obscuring parts of the sun that filtered through the thin, spider-like branches. Beside me, Crylla, Cosette, and Arden moved through the forest, all looking amongst the foliage.

  “Canpoy Flowers, rare and delicate. They often thrive in dark places.” Cosette said in an analytical tone, lowering his goggles.

  He suddenly knelt down, rolling over a log that lay on the forest floor. Underneath it were a few holes where ground-dwelling arthropods would bury, but there was no sight of the flowers. He groaned in annoyance, rolling it back over.

  “I think they’d be crushed under there.” I approached Cosette, crossing my arms.

  “And who are you to assume evolution isn’t a constant?” Cosette looked at me, brows furrowing.

  “I’m not, but I’m just saying that was a possibility. Look in the darker spots like caves or in the hollows of trees.”

  I turned around, walking over to a cluster of trees in the east side of the forest, peering into the hollows of one. My eyes widened the moment I saw a small cluster of crimson-colored flowers hiding within. They smelt bitter, like a cleaning solution or wormwood. Extending a hand, I plucked it from the ground.

  “See?” I smiled, looking back at him.

  Cosette’s expression was filled with shock as he raised his goggles. “You knew… exactly where they were?”

  I shook my head, chuckling self-depracatingly. “I’m too dumb for that. It was a lucky guess.”

  “Though… you reached into the tree without fear of getting bitten or scratched by a nesting animal.”

  I suddenly recalled an incident back in my home reality. When I was reading at the park one day, I heard a meow above my head. When I looked up, I saw that a cat had been stuck in a tree; it was terrified. Originally, I was always scared of heights, but that was the day I overcame my fear to climb up and get it.

  I could only faintly remember how mad my father got when he saw the scratches on my arms and hands. Sure, it hurt, but it was worth it.

  “I’m not a biologist, but I’ve always liked animals. Sometimes they're defenseless creatures, other times they can tear you to shreds. I don’t know where it came from, but it’s always been inside me… that urge to protect.”

  My expression softened, a sudden wave of sadness crashing over me upon remembering the cat I had saved from the rain storm. It was so wet and scared, but now it found a home in the cat cafe—or someone liked it and it was adopted!

  Cosette sighed softly, looking down to the small image of Clifton we could see from atop the hill we had stood on.

  “We too want to protect these people, people are animals scientifically, but they’re also like animals. They can scatter at the snapping of a branch, they can gather and fight, or they can lead themselves down a path of destruction.”

  Cosette lowered his goggles again, turning back around and walking deeper into the forest. “I was once told that conflict, or the essence of it, is the most primal form of human psychology."

  “Huh?” I walked beside him, feeling curious.

  The blonde-haired man about my height laughed breathlessly, elbowing me in the ribs. “Tell me, Silas. How do you feel when you fight others?”