There was a ringing sound as the ice wall was cleanly sliced diagonally by a Scimitar that looked to be shaped from water.

  Dustin braced for impact, his shield flying up to protect his face, but nothing followed.

  He felt the breeze move his hair as his attacker appeared behind him, and he activated his full body shield, his right shoulder dropping down with the weight of the scimitar digging into the ice. Dustin dropped to a crouch, the scimitar sliding out as he swung his axe in an upward trajectory, only to contact air.

  The scimitar swung towards his throat.

  He was done, the tyranny of rank too much and his slip up to great, and while he knew he shouldn’t, he felt his eyes close before impact.

  A sharp crack and metal against metal made Dustin’s eyes snap open.

  Thad stood between him and the enemy, small motes of electricity still clinging to him from the teleport, his spear of golden metal catching and turning the scimitar to the side. And as the spear’s base dug into the ground, Thad used its leverage to kick out at his sister, who jumped back across the arena.

  “Is your shoulder ok?”

  Dustin looked up at the young man who held his spear aloft and angled at his sister.

  “Thadwick… why?”

  “Thad, it’s Dustin’s spar, you can’t just jump in,” Cassandra yelled from across the arena. Receiving a sheepish look from her brother, whose spear disappeared into shimmering golden static.

  “Sorry, my bad,” Thad said as he turned, waving his right hand in the air as if shooing away a fly, and offering his left hand to Dustin.

  Dustin looked at the hand for a moment, but then reluctantly took it, being hoisted to his feet as he saw Neil walking over to them.

  “Imbue with life.”

  Dustin felt his few minor scrapes and bruises mending as he thanked the healer and watched Thad walk towards a frowning Cassandra. His teammate waving and gesturing with his hands as he talked the entire way over, only to have his head lightly chopped by his sister upon reaching her.

  It was nice to see them getting along again.

  It’d been a little over a week since the team had started training together once more. However, Dustin was still surprised by Thadwick participating at all, and the guy had been throwing himself in both literally and physically.

  “It’s odd, right?” Neil said as he followed Dustin’s gaze to the siblings.

  “Yeah, He’s starting to get decent.”

  “No, not that. Do you remember when he first awakened the ability to teleport?”

  “Yeah, he tripped into a wall and then hurled everywhere and refused to do it anymore.”

  “Have you noticed he almost walks out of every jump he does now? I haven’t even seen him staggered yet.”

  “He fell on his ass the other day.”

  “He fumbled cause Cassandra guessed where he was going, I’m just saying it’s weird. He’s suddenly dedicated to his family’s fighting style after quite publicly calling it a waste of effort. He’s actively taking criticism without lashing out. And wasn’t he right-handed?”

  “I mean, you won’t let me say the ‘HT’ word anymore. And what’s wrong with him finally locking in? Don’t we want this? Also speaking of weird, why are you watching him that closely?”

  “Watching people is kind of the job, Dusty, same as yours! And, I don’t hate it, but it just feels wrong.”

  “Yeah, but like right vs. left-handed… I don’t even know what your dominant hand is, and it doesn’t matter cause, by bronze, you can use both hands equally well.

  “You’re right-handed, and… well, it’s…As I said, it’s my job.”

  “Right... Anyway, I won’t look a gift heidel in the mouths. At this rate, we could start taking contracts next week. You should’ve pushed him up against a wall ages ago.”

  “Dustin!”

  “Hey, if you were going to get in trouble, it would’ve been days ago, you’re in the clear man,” Dustin said, slapping his hand onto Neil’s shoulder.

  “I’m calling training for today! Davone, can you stay back for a moment?!” Cassandra yelled across the arena, Thadwick walking back towards the group.

  “I stand corrected, you're so busted… Oh! Or wait, isn’t this like the first time Cassandra’s wanted to talk with you one-on-one… maybe the Davone charm’s finally working,” Dustin said, as a slight blush crept onto Neil’s face and ears.

  “She’s not… that’s completely out of the question.”

  “What’s out of the question?” Thad asked, making his way back to them.

  “Oh, nothing, just Neil’s little crush on Cassandra.”

  “Dustin! I don’t have a—”

  “What? Like Thadwick doesn’t know.”

  “I did have an inkling,” Thad admitted, though he didn’t look very enthused by the statement, his eyebrow twitching slightly.

  “See Thadwick’s on board! Go for it, man,” Dustin said, giving Neil two thumbs up, as Thad scowled at Dustin.

  “Kettering, I never said I was on board. I’m just acknowledging I knew. Hey!” Thad yelped as Dustin grabbed him by the upper arm and started dragging him out of the arena.

  “Come on, ‘Thad,’ Neil’s got to join the Mercer family somehow,” Dustin cackled as his teammate unsuccessfully attempted to extricate his arm from Dustin’s grip.

  “Unhand me, it’s not funny, Dusty! Damn, how are you this strong?!”

  Neil heard Thad and Dustin’s squabbling fade as he walked towards Cassandra, who waited on the other side of the arena.

  He hoped she hadn’t listened to them, but she was bronze, so it was possible… and mortifying.

  He’d given up on his crush years ago, but still, he felt his heart rate climb, a tiny kernel of hope.

  “Hello, Cassandra.”

  “Davone.”

  She was gorgeous, in that ‘I love a woman who can kick my ass’ kind of way. Her brown hair up in a high ponytail, perfectly fitted black and dark green training gear, her honey-brown eyes assessing him intently.

  “You wanted to talk with me?”

  “Yes, I meant to talk to you earlier about this, but…” She paused, glancing around the room.

  Wait, was she going to ask him out?

  Oh shit… wait calm down.

  This was actually happening, be cool!

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Don’t say something stupid.

  “Do you want to tell me what happened between you and my brother?”

  Oh!

  Oh No.

  “I don’t know what you're talking about.”

  “I know something happened, Davone, but Thad refuses to tell me.”

  “He what— I mean, nothing happened!”

  “Listen, your aura control is significantly better than Thad’s, but don’t think for a second I can't feel you panicking right now. What happened between you two?”

  “Nothing!”

  “Did you reject him or something?”

  “What?! No!”

  Cassandra folded her arms, looking at Neil, her oppressive aura pressing against him, making Neil even more flustered.

  “I just shoved him up against a wall and—”

  “What?!”

  “Wait, that sounded way worse than I… He was trying to fight Asano alone, and I shoved him. I don’t know what came over me. I would never purposefully hurt Thadwick. Please don’t tell Lady Mercer!”

  “Oh, well. You fighting Thad, huh… Not the obvious answer, but—”

  “Also, why would you think Thadwick would ever want to date me? Regardless of the number of people that Thadwick’s slept with, and I’ll give it to him, that’s been a lot, he’s never dated anyone, I don’t think that’s even a possibility.”

  “I didn’t need to know that.”

  “I mean, he hasn’t even tried to go to Old City once since the incident.”

  “No?”

  “No, and I think he would get lost if he tried.”

  “What does that have to do with—”

  “So, for the last week, you thought that we… we’d been…oh gods,” Neil said, covering his face with his hands, his ears turning red.

  “No, Davone, I thought you’d rejected him; that still gives you some self-respect, right?” Cassandra said pulling Neil's hands away from his face.

  “So, you only called for me to stay back because you wanted to know if I’d rejected your brother’s advances? What would you have done if I had?”

  “Nothing! No really… He’s just been acting so different recently that I thought maybe that was part of it.”

  “I hate to admit this, but I think Dustin may be right.”

  “Kettering’s right about what?”

  “The head trauma. When I went to the Church, I found evidence that people sometimes have personality shifts and memory loss from accidents like Thadwick’s, though healing negates it, if caught immediately.”

  “A personality shift, maybe, but he knows who we are,” Cassandra said, which caused Neil to pause.

  He thought about the look Thadwick had given him when Asano threatened him in the alley.

  Had Thadwick known him at that moment?

  He would’ve had to. Right?

  But then he did call them friends. Maybe Thadwick was more mixed up in the head than he’d realized.

  “We should bring him to the Church, maybe they can—”

  “Why would we do that?” Cassandra cut him off.

  “Well, if he’s still—”

  “He’s doing better, I mean the best I’ve seen in a while. So, does it matter?”

  “You just asked if I’d rejected him, romantically.”

  “I was just trying to understand what was motivating him to grow up finally, but it wouldn’t have changed anything.”

  “I mean, there could be something seriously wrong with him, Cassandra. If I… what if I didn’t heal him properly at first, and now he’s broken? I need to figure out how to fix this.”

  “Davone, there’s nothing to fix. Listen, Thad’s finally got his head on straight… even if it is from a little head trauma. We can’t sabotage that. Besides, I’ve watched you heal him during training, wouldn’t that fix him if there was something wrong?”

  “It could be a soul scar.”

  “A soul scar of the mind? Well then, that’s a moot point; you can’t heal soul scars. So, what if he’s talking to himself a little more than usual, his hair looks a bit off, and is left-handed now, there’s nothing wrong with that, right?”

  ‘I knew he used to be right-handed!” Neil said, which made Cassandra give him an odd look.

  “I mean, he’s parting his hair differently, and it…” Neil trailed off.

  “You watch him closely, huh, Neil?” Cassandra said with a smirk.

  “I don’t know why everyone is pointing that out. It’s a normal thing for a healer to do! I’m watching people and timing things, it's not that surprising a concept!”

  -I can’t believe Neil thinks he can date your sister like that! -

  She’s not my sister, or maybe she is… but it doesn’t matter, it’s her life, she’s an adult and can date whoever she wants. Thad thought as he kept a steady running pace.

  There was something freeing about being able just to run and not think about anything for a second. To feel the thumping of the road under his feet and the breeze coming off the delta. He also had just found Thadwick’s old oasis jewelry, so despite the heat, he felt like it was perfect running weather.

  -You should tell him to back off. -

  Why?

  -He’s not a good match! -

  And Jason’s going to be?

  -Just because their courtship is canon doesn’t make it Redacted, ok! -

  I really don’t understand why you care so much, but could I please have some peace for just five minutes?

  -Fine, whatever, running’s boring anyway. -

  -Personal Assistant has disconnected. -

  This statement raised more questions for Thad, who struggled to understand what his personal assistant was.

  He knew, based on his racial ability, that Clippy was categorized as a familiar, but the comments he made just made it sound like some guy working at a tech support center. A guy who had opinions on running and his sister’s love life.

  However, there was some benefit to the little paperclip. He kept track of hit counters and ability timers like it was nothing, and he was very clutch when it came to aura sensing and control. Popping up notifications when people were approaching and talking Thad through different ways to tamp down his aura projection. It wasn’t perfect, but with his new meditation practice, Thad was starting to feel a lot more in control.

  Thad ran across the bridge from the Island to Old City.

  He'd avoided the older part of town, based on his memories of debauchery, but he was starting to feel cooped up on the Island. And besides, he would need to get out at some point.

  It was about half an hour in when he felt someone following him.

  Clippy?

  -Personal Assistant has reconnected-

  -What now?-

  I think I’m being followed.

  -You are.-

  Do you know by whom?

  -Yes.-

  Who is it?

  -You would need to integrate your memory files to gain access to that information. -

  Clippy!

  -You’re the one who continues to persist in the idea that amnesia is a benefit to you. If you'd like, I can integrate all the files right here and now, and then you can take a little dirt nap. -

  Don’t you dare.

  -I couldn’t if I wanted to, but don’t Redacted cry to me that you don’t know what's going on if you're not willing to put in the work.-

  -Personal Assistant has disconnected. –

  Hey, get back here.

  Thad cursed to himself as Clippy didn’t return; maybe it was just a family guard watching out for him. Thalia had been known to send guards after Thadwick in the past. However, there was something more menacing in the air.

  Thad picked up the pace and took several turns in short succession, only to realize he’d taken himself off course and was now in an area of town his Map widget hadn’t downloaded.

  “Shit.”

  “Hey, Boss, fancy seeing you here.” Thad looked down the alley to see a large, burly man walking towards him. He then felt another aura behind him and glanced over his shoulder to see another much leaner man walking up.

  Definitely not Mercer guards.

  “I don’t have any money on me,” Thad said, preparing for a fight.

  “You already paid us, sir, there's no need for that.” The leaner man said with a polite smile.

  “You haven’t been coming for updates, so we thought we would come to you. Dean here’s been doing good work.” The burly man said, cracking his knuckles.

  “Dean. Dean Tuckell?”

  And Thad finally connected the dots from the books, only to feel his heart drop as the implications fell into place. He had hoped Thadwick hadn't started this little project yet.

  “Yes, sir, I’ve been going to the Lindover Property and—”

  “That Leonid’s two months from cracking, then you can swoop right in.” The burley man, which Thad assumed was Jerrick, butted in.

  “I don’t want to hear it. Actually, I’m scrapping this project,” Thad said sternly, bringing a confused expression to both men’s faces.

  -Personal Assistant has reconnected-

  - Wait, what are you doing? –

  Thad saw Clippy’s messenger system pop up in his field of view, and he mentally moved it to the side. He had such bad timing

  “But boss, we’ve been working on this for months.”

  “And I’m canceling it.”

  - You should rethink this, don’t be hasty. -

  “Everything’s already paid for, so you can’t just— we’re not given it back, Boss.”

  “Keep the payments, but stop what you’re doing at once. You’re released from my employment effective immediately.” Thad said, which made both men look like they’d been slapped.

  - What the Redacted User, Stop–

  Thad closed the chat and forcefully held it shut with his mind.

  -You have manually disconnected Personal Assistant -

  “Did we do something wrong, sir?” Dean asked, his hands wringing together.

  “No, I did. But I’m fixing that now. Tell anyone that’s worked or is working for me that I’m officially out, and there will be no more services rendered.”

  “You can’t be serious, Sir?” Dean said, looking over to Jerrick, who appeared like he was about to explode.

  “As serious as a heart attack.”

  “You can’t just dump us!” Jerrick said his hands shooting out for Thadwick's shirt, only to catch air as the young lord teleported to the top of the building looming above them with a crack of electricity.

  “I’m sorry, but this is for the best!” Thad yelled down before disappearing, leaving the two men standing dumbstruck and fuming.

  “What the hell just happened?” Dean said, staring at where Thadwick Mercer had disappeared.

  “The young little lord just made a huge mistake,” Jerrick growled.

  “I can’t believe all that work was for nothing.”

  “Oh, it wasn’t for nothing, we’ve already been paid, and the plans as good as finished. We’re about to deliver a gift to our new boss and get paid double for our efforts.”

  “New boss, wait, I don’t understand.”

  “Oh, shut it, Dean, let’s go give Cole Silva a visit.”

  ? Internal familiar [rank matching]

  ? Background computation and file management.

  ? Task adjustment and assignment.

  ? 24/7 tech support.

  Thadclip vs. Thad Design