Edward Dace.

16. April.
Sunday, 6:00 p.m.
Mt. Sposa.

"I'm sorry, Norcross."

Hindi kaagad nag-register sa akin ang binulong ni Futhark. Una ay dahil hindi ako makapaniwala sa nakikita ko, at ikalawa ay hindi ko alam kung anong ire-react ko. If Futhark's telling the truth and the man in front of us is the Norcross, then this man is literally my father.

To be honest, seeing him in this state makes me want to ask for a refund. Like, dude, sigurado akong tatay ni Nicholas 'to, pero parang ayokong maging kaano-ano n'ya.

Tumawa si Norcross at hinila ang makakapal n'yang kadena.

Kaagad na nakatakbo si drama queen sa tabi ni Futhark at inilayo ang tingin n'ya mula kay Norcross. He wrapped an arm around his shoulder, then rubbed Futhark's back. I heard him whisper, "Keep calm. Don't lose it. We still have a mission."

Tumango-tango naman si Futhark. He composed himself and gave me a nervous look.

Everyone gave me a nervous look.

Perkele, anong gusto n'yong gawin ko?

I awkwardly raised my hand, giving the others side glances. "H-Hello po," I greeted Norcross.

"Hello po, really?" Joyeuse grimaced at me.

"Gago ka, anong gusto mong gawin ko, sumigaw ng "Dad!" at yumakap?!" I hissed back at him.

"I want you to ask him about the Archives, you bloody idiot!"

Futhark nodded, looking somehow nauseated.

Norcross dragged his chains, walking towards Ruhmfried. who was frozen in disbelief. He raised his hand, and Ruhmfried backed off. But Norcross only wanted to pat his head.

We were all confused until Norcross spoke, half-sobbing, "I was hoping you'd be taller, Dave."

Ruhmfried and I scowled. I considered kicking my actual father.

Actual father.

For years, I had always been Edward Dace, the boy whose parents never attended any PTA meeting, the boy with the single mom, and the boy who never knew and never met his father.

But now he did, and he wanted to kick him.

"He's Dave Casedale Drew." Ruhmfried swatted Norcross's hand away and pointed at me.

Norcross finally turned to me, his sunken green eyes finding it hard to focus. He looked so grey, it actually spooked me. Especially when he's dragging his chains along.

I noticed Zweihänder, Joyeuse, and Ruhmfried tensing and getting ready to defend me. Futhark looked away, clutching his stomach.

"Oh dear." Norcross grinned and laughed in disbelief, seeing me closer. "You look just like me!"

He laughed more awkwardly and glanced at the others. "Oh my God, somebody else speak, I don't know what to say to my son. Uhh, how's the weather, lad? Do you wanna build a... a nuclear reactor?"

I glanced at the others too. "Someone please say something. Mamamatay ako sa awkwardness."

Norcross covered his mouth and squealed in happiness. "Oh gosh, your accent sounds exactly like Melissa Drew!"

I gave Joyeuse and Futhark a look that screamed SOS. I didn't like what I was hearing.

Ruhmfried stepped forward. "What are you doing inside the Archives? I thought Vorstellungen killed you?"

Futhark got closer as well, tears welling up in his eyes. Ikaw na lang ang anak, Fu. "Why didn't you fight back?!"

Joyeuse, who thought he should ask something too, said, "Have you a loo inside or should we just head back home?"

Norcross almost fell backwards.

Futhark wasn't done. "I showed you the plan Njal used, you could've thought of a way to survive that! Why did you leave?"

"Whoa, Fraulein!" Norcross blinked and studied Futhark's face closer. "I almost didn't recognise you!"

Lumapit si Zwei sa 'kin at bumulong, "Malabo yata ang mata ng papa mo."

You mean he heard the name Edward Dace and assumed that his son was the shortest among five guys?

I sighed, took off my Midterm Project, and told Norcross, "Here. You need this more than I do."

He took the glasses with thin, shaky hands, chuckling as he did so. "These glasses sound magical."

He did look like me, alright. But he's Nicholas through and through. He's even bringing the glasses near his ear, listening for something I didn't know. Probably fairies.

"Boop." He tapped the side of my Midterm Project, and the lenses lit up.

I raised both my eyebrows and dropped my jaw. Hindi ko pa nga sinasabi kung paano gamitin, nabuksan na n'ya kaagad?!

He laughed triumphantly. "Whoa! Whoa! Magical glasses!" He wore them and started tapping the main sensors. He knew I used Morse Code to control the Midterm Project without even asking.

He started humming whilst tapping, and a few seconds later, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I took it out and read the message from my own invention:

Cheers m8 (^з^)-☆

"Alright, give that back!" I yelled and snatched the glasses from his eyes. "You're banned from having the gift of vision from now on."

Norcross whimpered and sadly headed back inside the Archives.

"Truth be told," Joyeuse said, watching us amusedly, "I thought your father would be crazy."

"This isn't crazy enough for you?"

"You know, the kind of crazy that makes Futhark the poster boy for sanity."

Futhark was offended. "Wow, I love you too."

Ruhmfried followed Norcross inside the Archives. "I'm going in," he said. "We don't know when Vorstellungen's going to be notified."

Tumango kaming lahat. Sinabihan kami ni Zwei, "Isa sa inyo ang kumausap kay Norcross. Kailangan natin ng info tungkol sa Archives."

Umiling si Joyeuse. "If he knew we're digging info about him and his old pals, he might distract us or tell us the wrong information."

"Futhark, kausapin mo," I said. "Tutal kayo ang close."

Sumimangot si Futhark na parang batang kaunti na lang ay magwawala na. "Eh, ako ang may kasalanan kung bakit s'ya nandito!"

Tinulak s'ya papasok ni Joyeuse. "Great, apologise for that. We'll be searching for clues."

••• VORSTELLUNGEN •••

Vorstellungen's Archives smelt like old books, moss, and metal. The whole place was carved from the mountain itself and was reinforced with steel. There were shelves taller than me and Ruhmfried combined.

I was expecting an ancient library full of booby traps, but just to my left was a section jammed with mainframes, supercomputers, and monitors that played surveillance footages within the Archives. Along the walls were Nordic knots that glowed blue.

I had the urge to live here for some reason.

We unconsciously followed Norcross, wondering how he survived in this seemingly mad fusion of ancient and futuristic technology.

I leaned closer to Ruhmfried (the one walking beside me) and asked under my breath, amazed, "What do you think powers this Archive?"

Ruhmfried tilted his head away from me (yes, personal space, I get it.) and replied in an equal volume but extreme exasperation, "I arrived the same time as you did, I know exactly the same as you do."

"Well, not exactly the same, I mean... I know how to hack these..." I waved my hand awkwardly at the direction of the mainframes.

"Just let me enjoy our reunion, alright?" He rolled his eyes and headed towards the bookshelves. Good luck reaching those.

Joyeuse, who was behind me, put his hand on my shoulder and whispered, "I'm just gonna..."

I exhaled loudly through my nose. "We know you want to look around. Go ahead."

Futhark was about to follow him, but he raised his hand and said, "Futhark. Stay. Stay there. Be a good boy."

Futhark blinked and raised his arms in confusion and annoyance, but obeyed like a good dog anyway.

"Sasamahan ko si Joyeuse. Baka anong gawin n'on." Zweihänder patted my shoulder and followed the drama queen.

"Kakausapin mo ba si NJ?" tanong ni Futhark.

"Nope!" I immediately answered, walking the other direction.

Futhark grabbed my arm. "Kausapin mo. At least ask him why he wasn't aware that Luciano was torturing you and your mom."

I winced.

Futhark flinched and took a step back, apologising. "I'm sorry. I'll handle this." He clenched his fists and hid them in his pockets. "It's just... I blamed myself for his death for two years and... being with your father brings a lot of bad memories up."

"Futhark..." I held his shoulder and gave him a sincere look. "Suck it up, bro."

He grinned and shook his head. "You're still mad about me being Time."

"Not about that. You made my brother cover up for you. Why? Because nobody would care if it was him? Because people already think he's bad, it wouldn't matter if he's also Time?"

He smiled and looked down. "It was to protect you and Joyeuse."

"It was to protect yourself."

"It was to protect myself," he agreed. "I wasn't ready for your reaction, and putting the blame on Nicholas was the easiest route I found to save myself. I'm sorry."

"Right. Kausapin mo tatay ko."

He pushed his lips to the side and tousled my hair with an air of rue. Then he joined my father nervously, like he was the long-lost son, and not me. I felt a pang of jealousy that I knew I shouldn't feel.

I've already had a lot of father figures: Sir Dad, Zweihänder, sometimes Futhark (though he leans towards being a mother-figure), and even Betelgeuse, I hate to admit. I've lived sixteen years without Norcross and without an actual father, I don't know why I'm suddenly feeling jealous.

I guess I should just focus on gathering enough evidence to throw Henrik and Luciano into jail.

And Norcross... into jail... as well.

I glanced back at Futhark and Norcross, who were chatting like old friends. Norcross was laughing and ruffling Futhark's hair. He was awkward with me but he's comfortable with Futhark.

It was too late when I realised that I marched towards them. Norcross squinted his eyes first before beaming at me, and Futhark nudged Norcross.

"So, dude," I said, regretting every second passing. "Why did you send my brother Nicholas away? And don't say it's to protect him, because that dick move has Henrik Whitdur written all over it."

Norcross became uncomfortable in an instant.

Good.

He glanced at Futhark before answering, in a tone kinder than before, "His mother was already killed by my enemies. I didn't want them to hurt Nik."

"You could've at least told him, not cast him aside like his sole purpose in life is to be your shadow."

"Yes, that." He thought, his eyes drifting uneasily from left to right. "But I really don't know how to tell a four year old that I got his mother killed."

"Did you even love his mother?"

Norcross was taken aback. "I... No, I just... married another Mafia boss's daughter... to have a family."

"That's disgusting, you're pathetic."

Norcross turned to Futhark for support.

I waved my hand in front of him. "Stop looking at Futhark for help, you're a grown man! I'm literally your son, be a father!"

"But I don't know how!" he whined.

My eye twitched. "You're like a father to Futhark!"

Futhark raised his hand. "I'm Futhark, NJ."

Norcross waved his hands. "No, no, I treat Fraulein like my best mate. Do you wanna be my best mate, Dave?"

"I go by Edward."

"Do you wanna be my best mate, Edward?" Norcross awkwardly lifted his hand for a high-five. I curled my lip at his hand, so he just touched my hair.

"Don't touch my hair." I swatted his hand away from me. "How did you even survive this place?"

He jumped and beckoned us to follow him to a staircase attached to the walls. His chains clanked against the stairs, but he didn't mind. He was even hitting the stone around us as we climbed to a narrower passage.

Napakataas. Pagod na ang paa ko at masakit na ang tuhod ko.

Norcross led us to a higher floor, almost like a cave, with dimming sunlight seeping from a hole metres high on the wall. There's running water nearby. There were plants and crops, but I doubted this mad man could farm.

He pointed at the hole in the wall. "Sometimes, the Cheshire Cat drops sacks of food. Most of the time he forgets, so I adapted to eat a tomato a day."

Futhark narrowed his eyes. "The Cheshire Cat?"

Norcross blinked. "Oh, you don't know him. He doesn't want his identity to be known, and it's for his safety too. He's Wonderland's clandestine member."

"Only you know?" I asked.

He laughed. "I know a lot of things that go around my organisation. I should know. It's my job. I'm the boss." He hummed and picked a tomato from a nearby plant. "If you wanna be a boss, you should know a lot."

I don't even know what's going on, 80% of the time.

Beside me is an actual Mafia boss. Maybe I could learn something from him.

I still want to be a detective, alright. I just love learning new interesting things (that would bring me money).

"Everyone thinks you're dead," Futhark said, watching Norcross sit on the ground and pet a plant. "Cole Rey is the new Mad Hatter."

Norcross suddenly turned. "Cole Rey," he repeated, his hands moving erratically on the air. After a few seconds of observing, I figured he was typing on air as if searching on an invisible computer.

Perkele sa kanya ko pa yata namana ang mannerism na 'yon.

"Aodhan's first born!" Norcross jumped to his feet. "No, no, no, that's Eros. Uresonderries are not allowed in my organisation."

Futhark's lip moved subtly.

"You should rescue that poor Uresonderry."

"We never really thought about it," I said. "Jule didn't want to, either. I think."

"Jule, Nik's best friend."

"Fraulein's boyfriend."

Norcross raised an eyebrow, and Futhark turned pink, immediately saying in defence, "I-It's not like that."

"Fraulein, I keep telling you." Norcross held Futhark's shoulders. "That William kid is the one! Date someone who'd plan a heist with you!"

"Shh, shh." Futhark covered Norcross's mouth. "As Edward was saying. We're not sure if Jule wanted to rescue his brother because he didn't ask us to."

"But did you ask him?"

"Well... Edward was kind of mad at Cole. I guess Jule didn't want to be involved in that anger."

"I'm sorry." I puffed my cheeks. "I was so focused on destroying Vorstellungen, I didn't—"

Norcross dropped his tomato. "You wanted to destroy Vorstellungen?" he gasped.

I almost screeched. "No! I-It's not what you think! You see our friend Siegfried Lukas is the head of the organisation and—"

"Siegfried Lukas," Norcross repeated, typing in his imaginary computer once again. "Njal's favourite son, fourth of your wee group of detectives. Head of Vorstellungen."

I stared at him.

"I'm going to stop giving you information now," I said. "You see, I just got chills and a massive trust issue."

"Are you here because the Archives is a way to destroy Vorstellungen?" Norcross picked his tomato up from the ground, wiping it on his shirt.

I frowned. "I don't want to answer that."

He bit the tomato. "That's what I thought before too, you know, but the Archives is the stupidest option one could think of."

"It was Ruhmfried's idea," I coughed.

"Out of curiosity," Futhark queried, "what is the best idea?"

Norcross shrugged and answered nonchalantly, "Kill Njal's entire family."

The chills I felt earlier just got colder. Futhark and I gave each other nervous glances.

Norcross laughed. "Of course, you're too young to think of that or even do that, but that's the fastest, easiest route to destroy Vorstellungen."

"We were thinking of something that is less familicidal," I said.

"How many murders is too much for you? Four? Three? Njal, the leader, and Forseti. Still too much? Njal and the leader."

"What I meant by less familicidal is that we're not gonna kill anyone at all!"

"Take them as your prisoner." Norcross then started muttering words, as if they were part of a code programmed in him. "Take information. Take over organisation. Get rid of spies. Torture the loyal ones. Spread the word of their demise..."

"Bakit ba natin tinatanong si Norcross, alam mo kung anong trabaho n'ya," Futhark whispered. "At saka balak na nating makipagbati kay Lae, 'di ba?"

I nodded. "We're not destroying Vorstellungen, Norcross. Please stop. We're here to help them."

Norcross tilted his head. "Help them what?"

I grimaced. "Stop asking difficult questions."

He was about to open his mouth and I assumed he was going to say some bullshit so I asked, "I thought you were killed. What are you doing here?"

Futhark got more attentive. "Yeah. Why did Njal follow that plan I made?"

"Ooh!" Norcross raised both his hands. Perkele, he's like a weathered Nicholas James. "That plan was perfect! I asked Njal to do it!"

"What?!" Futhark and I chorused.

"I've been with you 20 minutes and you're already topping the asshole parent charts," I added.

"Wait, wait. Why?" Futhark was so confused. "Is it part of a plan?"

"It wasn't a part of a plan, it's the beginning of a plan." Norcrossed beamed. "You have a binder and a portion of the Mad Hatter's plan, Time. What role was given to me?"

Futhark swallowed before answering in a squeaky voice, "N-None."

"Wait what? You know the Mad Hatter's Plan? Gago Fu akala ko importanteng nilalang ka lang, may kinalaman ka pala sa mismong plano."

"Literal na Mad Hatter ang kapatid mo."

"And you," I pointed to Norcross, "don't have a role?"

He nodded happily. "I don't have a role in any of the plans! Even in the end, we weren't supposed to meet! That's why I thought, oh, I have to go. It was sad, but needed. Because I'm sure my presence would destroy the plan itself."

"Then what are you doing here?" I asked again. "Being dead is the perfect role for you."

"The Mad Hatter's role is to die, but Njal betrayed me!"

Futhark's eyebrows met. "He did say he betrayed you, but how?"

"I asked him to kill me swiftly, but he chose to kill me here. Slowly."

"You really wanted to die?"

"I wanted to create the perfect plan! It was amazing!"

Oh yeah, my father's crazy, all right.

"If you died, you wouldn't be able to see the end of the plan," I said, getting concerned for his sanity.

"That's what makes it perfect!"

"Why would you even do this?"

"Does the Mad Hatter need a reason to do a mad, elaborate plan?" He grinned, and the air of madness he exuded got deadlier. "When you have a brilliant mind, you owe it to the universe to create some chaos."

I'm going to ask one last question and then I'm leaving the hell out of here.

"What's the goal of the Mad Hatter's Plan?"

Norcross smiled, the corners of his lips going up in a creepy manner. "If I revealed it, you'd miss the chaos and the fun."

Even Futhark looked uneasy.

Norcross laughed. "I'm messing wit' ya. The goal is to make you Wonderland's new boss and you're gonna change it and turn it into something almost identical to Vorstellungen. Except you won't be working in the shadows."

That's exactly my plan.

Che cazzo?

I glanced at Futhark before asking Norcross, "How did you... But I—"

The grin didn't leave Norcross's face. "Thought of that on your own? Decided you want Wonderland without anyone telling you to?"

It was at this moment that I realised that I was really face to face with a mad genius.

"The whole world is a stage, kiddo. Maybe your entire life is a book, who knows. Maybe everything in your life is part of a huge plan because the Mad Hatter can control how you think."

Futhark sensed my fear and stepped between Norcross and me. "NJ, let's go back downstairs. Baka kailangan ni Joyeuse ng tulong sa paghahanap ng files." Then he gave me a comforting look.

We went back downstairs to the main room, and found Zweihänder running around. I kind of expected him to be full of energy, but he also looked worried. When he saw us, he immediately yelled, "Ed! Bilis!"

"Sana hindi nakasira si Joyeuse," bulong ni Futhark. Nagmadali rin s'yang bumaba.

Nakita ko naman na may hawak na phone si Zwei, kaya naisip ko, baka may balita na naman kay Henrik.

Sinalubong na kami ni Zwei. "Nag-message si Sir Lance. Kaninang umaga pa, pero ngayon ko lang na-receive." Mein Gott. "Galit daw si Lae, susugurin kayo para magtanda kayo."

"HALA!" Hindi ko sinasadya ang pagtaas ng boses ko.

"S'ya lang ba o may kasama s'yang assassin?" tanong ni Futhark.

"Hindi ko alam. Walang sinabi si Sir Lance kung may kasama si Lae."

"Kung si Lae lang," sabi ko, "kaya naman siguro natin s'yang labanan? Though I didn't bring my Summer Project with me."

"Summer Project?"

"It's a little gun that could slow Laevateinn down." I shrugged. "Tawagin natin sina Ruhmfried at Joyeuse, kailangan nating mag-isip ng plano para hindi tayo mapatay ni Lae."

"Grabe, hindi naman kayo papatayin ni Lae."

Umiling si Futhark. "No. Inabuso n'yo ang kabaitan at pasensya ni Lae. Sigurado akong hindi ka pagbibigyan ni Lae ngayon, Ed. Noong isang linggo ka pa n'ya gustong sapakin."

Wow. Gusto akong sapakin ni Lae?

"Nasan si Joyeuse?" Naglakad si Futhark palapit sa mga bookshelf.

"Ang lawak pa naman nitong Archive, i-message mo na lang," suggestion ko, kahit na ako 'yong laging may load.

"Hold on, I got this." Inilapit ni Futhark ang mga kamay n'ya sa bibig n'ya at sumigaw, "THE POISON YOU'D DRINK OUT OF A WINEGLASS IS CALLING!"

Seconds later, Joyeuse's reply came from the Northern side of the bookshelves. "SHUT THE FUCK UP, FRAULEIN SNOW!" It was full of hatred. Napakalutong ng mura.

"There he is." Futhark looked proud.

I couldn't believe these two idiots really had something going on. I knew and noticed that Futhark treated Joyeuse differently before, but I thought it was because Joyeuse was a problem kid and Futhark was used to dealing with difficult children.

Ruhmfried's peal of laughter after the exchange also revealed his location. Hindi s'ya ganoon kalayo kaya dinaanan na muna namin s'ya bago namin pinuntahan si Joyeuse.

Ang sarap ng pagkakaupo ni Joyeuse sa pinagpatong-patong n'yang mga libro. May mga papel at libro pang nakalatag at nakakalat sa sahig, bigla ko tuloy naalala ang imakulada n'yang kwarto sa dorm. Sa 372A High Street kasi, nakakuha na s'ya ng taga-ligpit ng mga kinakalat n'yang papel at libro.

"There's a lot of evidence here for everything," he said. "I don't wanna leave this place. Imagine all the cases I could solve."

I hit his head. "Gago susugurin tayo ni Lae!"

"We can play hide and seek here!"

"I can't believe Futhark is saner than everyone here."

"Where's your father, Edward Dace?"

"Nasa likuran lang namin kanina. Bakit mo hinahanap?"

"Because," he picked up a heavy book and flicked through the pages, "I found... something interesting."

He showed me a page with the section title: Seven-Minute Semblance.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

"Norcross, Henrik, Luciano, and Balder," Joyeuse said, excited. "They're the original Seven-Minute Semblance! They got their name because criminal organisations fear them. There was a time that the name was spoken in hushed tones before Norcross changed it entirely to Wonderland Organisation."

"I thought you knew," Ruhmfried piped in.

"No," I started to explain, "si Sir Lance ang unang tumawag sa 'min n'yan tapos ginaya na lang ng ibang tao hanggang sa nasanay na kaming maging SMS. Seven-Minute Semblance daw kami kasi 'yong seven minutes naming paalam, laging nagiging seven hours."

Ruhmfried laughed. "That's pathetic."

"Gago 'to ah. Matuto kang gumalang sa nakatatangkad."

Naglabas pa ng isang libro si Joyeuse. Mukhang koleksyon ng articles. "Then there's this picture of Zweihänder with a bowl cut receiving an award from the governor."

Zweihänder screeched.

"Hindi naman kami gano'n katagal na nag-usap sa taas, bakit parang ang dami mong nahanap?" Futhark asked, amazed.

Joyeuse put the books down and stood up, brushing his pants. "When letters have colours and certain words have a distinct taste, it's easy to find anything just by walking past by them. You said Laevateinn's after us?"

"Yes, and we should prepare." I took my phone out.

"Aren't we going to talk to him anyway?"

"Galit nga!"

"Did he bring assassins with him?"

"That's what I want to know. But Laevateinn alone is already scary, so let's plan how not to die."

"Guys, ganito." Futhark raised his hand. We gave him our attention. "What if si Ruhmfried ang ialay at paharapin natin kay Lae? Tapos habang nagpapatayan sila, tumatakas tayo."

Ruhmfried kicked his knees and he fell on the ground. Futhark got up and charged at Ruhmfried, but Zweihänder swung his arm and caught Futhark. Joyeuse pulled him away from Ruhmfried.

Away pa.

"We need surveillance," Joyeuse said, whilst petting Futhark's hair. "Edward, I think there's a technology here that you can utilise to, uh, detect humans within a kilometre radius."

I gave him a condescending smile. "You're so cute when you think you know how technology works. Like when children demonstrate how to cook "pasghetti"."

He ignored my taunts. "Ruhmfried can fight and he already has a sword. Zweihänder can also fight, but we need him closer to Edward. Fraulein and I will talk to Laevateinn first, try and calm him down, before we let him talk to Edward."

"Why?" I asked.

"We're protecting you because you pissed Lae off, remember?" Futhark chuckled. "Alangan ako, kumampi nga ako sa kanya. Alangan si Joyeuse, hindi naman n'ya binaril si Lae."

"I'm going to ask Norcross to help us with the surveillance," I said. "Mas alam n'ya ang Archives at kahiya-hiya naman kung hindi pa n'ya gamay ang mga bagay rito."

"We should stay inside here," Joyeuse continued. "Should there be a fight, they won't cause too much damage to their own Archives."

"Using the battlefield as hostage." Ruhmfried nodded approvingly.

"Honestly, the best strategy would be to avoid fighting at all."

Futhark tugged Joyeuse's sleeve. "We shouldn't be on offense. We want Lae back. If we want him back, we should be preparing for a defensive contingency plan."

Joyeuse snapped his fingers in front of Futhark. "That's what we're doing, Fraulein Snow, keep up."

Futhark almost swooned, but held himself together.

"We just need to apologise and be sincere," I added. "It's our pacifist era."

There was a pause.

"Towards Lae. We're still throwing our fathers to jail because of all the shit they did."

"I thought you're going to ask your father for help?" Ruhmfried asked.

"Yeah, but he's used to betrayal and I had a rough childhood because of him so fuck it, right."

"Very cold. I love it."

"You must be Siegfried Lukas!" we heard Norcross, who was near the entrance at the staircase, exclaim. Then we heard a loud grunt, followed by chains and metal clattering. Laevateinn punched my father. I was sure of it.

"He's here." Futhark swallowed.

We stared at the end of the bookshelves in horror. We couldn't see Laevateinn but we could feel the dreadful terror in the air. The place instantly became colder.

Or maybe it was my panic that made my hands and feet cold, and my mouth dry.

Joyeuse pulled me behind him and closer to Zweihänder. "Hide. We'll talk to him first to make sure he doesn't hurt you."

I saw Ruhmfried's hand touching the hilt of his sword.

"Tara, Ed," Zweihänder whispered, sneaking further into the darker area of the Archive.

"Samahan mo akong makalapit kay Norcross, Zwei," I said. "Kailangan ko ng control sa paligid."

Lumiko kami pagkatapos ng isang mahabang bookshelf at umiwas sa liwanag. Sinundan namin ang pader para hindi kami maligaw at deretso kami sa mga computers. Nakakatakot gumawa ng ingay. Parang kapag may naapakan akong sanga ay biglang susugod si Lae sa direksyon ko.

Pero wala naman akong naapakan.

Nasagi at napindot sa pader, meron. At hindi lang ito gumawa ng ingay, hahaha, hindi. Binuksan lang naman ng punyetang switch na 'yon ang lahat ng ilaw sa loob ng Archives, at ang lahat ng mga monitor sa pader.

Sinong tanga ang maglalagay ng ganitong switch sa pader? Hindi ba nila naisip na baka may mga kagaya kong tumatakas mula sa leader nila?

"Napakalikot ng kamay," pagpapagalit ni Zwei.

"Hindi ko sinasadya!"

"Shh!" Tinakpan ni Zwei ang bibig ko at hinila ako papunta sa nadaanan naming computer kanina na ginagamit ni Norcross.

Nakakarinig na ako ng komosyon mula sa mga bookshelf. Hindi ko naririnig ang boses ni Lae, pero naririnig ko ang boses n'ong tatlo.

"We know we're wrong, let's talk," narinig kong sabi ni Joyeuse.

"Sandali, Lae!" sigaw naman ni Futhark.

May narinig kaming kumalabog at sinundan ng tawa ni Ruhmfried, so tingin ko ay nasuntok ni Lae si Futhark.

Pagkatapos ay nakarinig kami ng takbuhan.

Hinawakan ni Zwei ang ulo ko at tinapat sa isang monitor. "Focus. Gawin mo na ang dapat mong gawin."

"Ahh, uhhh..." Siningkitan ko ang monitor at ang mga button sa harap ko.

Tangina, hindi ko maintindihan. Iba ang layout ng keyboards, walang labels, at saka unless buksan ko ang mismong computer, hindi ko makikita ang control bus.

Binabawi ko na 'yong sinabi ko kanina kay Ruhmfried na kaya kong i-hack ang mainframe ng Vorstellungen.

"Here, let me," tatawa-tawang sabi ni Norcross at lumapit sa 'min nang iika-ika, pero hindi binibitiwan ang kamatis n'ya. "It takes a few seconds for the Archive's operating system to boot, but once you get it to work, you can control the entire place."

"Can you make it work?"

Mas lumakas ang tawa ni Norcross. "I've been on this place for years and I couldn't even find the power button."

Wow, tapos nahampas ko lang 'yong pader, umilaw na.

"But why? You managed to control my Midterm Project just by listening to it!"

"Yeah, that's old technology."

"Sorry ha."

"Ed, kung ikaw si Lae, paano mo gustong ma-access ang Archives mo?" tanong ni Zwei.

"Kung ako si Lae, hindi ko kailangan ng Archives," sagot ko. "Dahil kabisado ko ang..." Nadapo ang tingin ko sa keyboard.

Tumayo ako sa harap ng monitor at tinanong si Norcross,"Have you tried pressing any of these keys?"

"Of course. I sat and lay down on them when I was sad."

"What happens?"

"Nothing. It just made me sadder."

"Eh, you probably deserved it." I hovered my finger above the dial controller at my left.

"The middle is a fingerprint scanner." Norcross stood beside me, serious for once. "I made sure nothing touches it."

"I can't probably run to Futhark to ask for his baby powder and dust this dial for prints." I chuckled and tried to figure out the keyboard layout, ignoring the racket behind me.

The keyboard's layout was almost similar to a Dvorak keyboard, but there were only 24 keys. It's either an alphabet with only 18 letters and 6 modifier keys in the middle, or an alphabet that used all 24 keys.

Traditional Irish Gaelic alphabet has 18 letters.

The Greek alphabet has 24 letters.

Elder Futhark has 24 runes.

But never mind what language it was, the computer's probably passcoded.

"Give me a password," I asked Norcross.

I was expecting him to answer something stupid like, "Your birthday." or "Your favourite food." but he shocked me when he answered in a rather well-modulated voice, "You know your friend better. What is his phone password?"

"He doesn't have a phone."

"What a savage," Norcross muttered under his breath, his eyes glued to the lifeless screen monitor. For a moment, I actually thought he looked cool.

I actually chuckled. "If it's Vorstellungen, it's probably Balder's name."

"No, it's not." That sounded like the answer of a person who tried entering that name as password.

"Mimir?"

"Who in the ever-loving fuck is that?"

"The smartest man alive? Talking head that Odin carried around because he's just so smart? The one who took Odin's eye in exchange for a sip in the well he guards?"

He looked even more confused as I said more words.

"Mimir! Norse Mythology!"

"Akala ko kapitbahay mo, Ed," Zweihänder said.

"If you thought of it then it's probably not it, yeah?" Norcross scratched his head. "Before thinking of the password you should probably wake this lovely up." He booped the dial and I just had a brilliant epiphany when I remembered how he booped my Midterm Project.

"It's Morse Code!" I screamed at my father.

He looked equally excited. "Turn it to the left for dots and to the right for dashes!"

A dial controller being used for Morse Code, I love it.

"What password should I input?" I asked.

"What's his favourite food?"

There goes the respect I had for him for about three milliseconds.

"Subukan mo na ring ilagay ang apples," Zwei suggested. "Malay mo."

"If this ever worked, I will hate all of you." I turned the dial controller to the left and waited for a faint click under my hand before turning it to the right. Nothing happened but the hairs in the back of my head stood.

I stepped back and waited after I input the Morse code for A-P-P-L-E.

Nothing happened, thank fuck.

"Baka kulang ng S?" Zwei asked.

I frowned at him. "No it's not apples. This is a top secret archive owned by an organisation full of dangerous people. Matino si Lae pagdating sa Vorstellungen, hindi n'ya—"

The computer hummed to life and the monitor, along with the keyboard and the dial, glowed blue.

I jumped excitedly, my chest pounding from amazement of this new technology in front of me.

"It's apples," Norcross said, shrugging.

Mierda.

The system finished booting in a second. It was so fast. I loved it.

No wonder Norcross was able to stay here for two years.

The text in the screen was in Elder Futhark (and were glowing red), so I assumed that the keyboard was designed following the three aettir of the alphabet and started typing.

Nothing worked.

Norcross tried. Nothing happened.

"Is there anything else here we can use to make sure we have control of the surroundings?" I asked him.

He might look old and crazy, but his brain worked alright. And what he churned out of that genius brain was: "Just talk to your friend. You said you want him back. Messing around with his computer and his Archive will just make him sad."

"I'm scared."

"That he might hurt you?" He smiled, and used my own words against me. "You probably deserve it."

"I hate you."

Joyeuse came running towards us. He was out of breath and collapsed into Zweihänder's arms. "Can't run... anymore."

Binitbit s'ya ni Zwei. "Si Futhark at Ruhmfried?"

"Futhark's trying his best to talk, Ruhmfried's just there to make sure Laevateinn doesn't kill Futhark because Laevateinn's talking with his fists."

"Tapos tumakbo ka na rito?"

"My head hurts in a normal basis. If I wanted more pain in my head, I'd listen to you singing." He got back on his feet. "Zweihänder, I'll protect Edward. Please head there and make sure Laevateinn doesn't hurt Futhark that much because we all know Nir would love to send him to a hospital."

"No need, Fraulein's running over here." Norcross laughed and waved at the running Futhark, who has a busted lip.

He joined us. "May mapipindot ba kayo d'yan na ano, baka pwedeng taympers muna lahat?!"

"Fraulein look, we made it work!"

"So proud of you, NJ."

"Hey, I figured it out!" I protested. "Norcross was here for two years and he knew shit!"

Futhark bobbed his head tiredly. "Yes, so proud of you too, Ed. Now can someone do something about Lae?!"

Too late.

Laevateinn threw a table a few metres away from us. Then he started walking slowly towards us, his eyes fixated on mine.

I panicked and looked around. My legs were frozen in place and the only thing my caveman brain managed to decide was to grab Norcross's tomato from the table and throw it at Laevateinn.

In my head, that made him laugh and decide to just let us go.

He laughed, alright. But it was to taunt me. "Where's your little gun that you invented just to hurt me?"

I wanted to run, so badly, but between fight and flight, my go-to move was freeze.

Laevateinn saw that we managed to turn the biggest computer on. He scoffed in disbelief. "You want control of the Archives? Why? So you can contain me?"

Laevateinn took another step closer. "Don't worry about surveillance, I'm the only one who went here."

My knees were shaking and my heart was beating wildly.

"You said you wanted to talk." Laevateinn took another step. "Why aren't you talking? Don't you have anything to say?"

I reeeeaaaally wanted to but for some reason, I couldn't get a word out.

"We want to say that we're sorry!" isinigaw na ni Futhark.

"I don't want to hear that from you!" Itinuro ako ni Lae. "I want to hear it from him."

Nakakapanibagong makitang galit at sumisigaw si Laevateinn. I want to dig deep enough to hide from him. I can't stop shaking.

"Ed, ano na?" Futhark nudged my elbow.

I turned to Lae, but I couldn't speak. My stomach hurt so much I thought I would puke.

Futhark groaned. "Selective mutism, how could I forget."

"We're apologising on his behalf," Joyeuse told Laevateinn. "You know he can't talk when he's terrified."

I bit my lip.

Laevateinn looked so hurt, yet furious at the same time. "You're terrified of me." Another step taken and he's almost in front of me. "Why? Because I'm Siegfried Lukas, I can't run to my brother and help him escape? I can't check on people without them thinking I've come to kill them?"

In the corner of my eye, I saw Ruhmfried sitting above a table, sword in hand, watching us.

Zweihänder stepped forward. "Lae. Noong isang buwan lang ay pahila-hilata ka pa sa kama kasama nila. Ang laking gulat sa 'min na head ka pala ng Vorstellungen. Ang laking gulat sa 'min ng lahat ng mga bagay tungkol sa 'yo. Hindi mo masisisi si Edward kung matatakot s'ya sa 'yo."

"I gave you the chance to know me more!"

Umatras kaming lahat no'ng sumigaw si Lae.

"I gave all of you a chance to join me, to train with me, to see my family." Galit s'yang lumingon kay Joyeuse. "We had a plan, Uresonderry. All of you was supposed to be in Vorstellungen. You can't stick to a plan, like a damn idiot!"

At sinuntok na nga ni Lae si Joyeuse. Tumilapon ang salamin n'ya (pati s'ya) sa lupa. Kaagad s'yang sinalo ni Futhark.

Zweihänder stood between me and Laevateinn. "Sandali, Lae."

Laevateinn shoved Zweihänder out of his way and grabbed my collar. I was petrified. He was seething with anger, he was panting, and his grip almost ripped my collar off my shirt. His eyes glinted icy blue.

"Really? Still can't talk?" he hissed.

I shook my head and stifled a sob.

"And you want to take Vorstellungen away from me? You want to stand beside me when you can't even stand up for yourself!"

He was growling and shaking from anger.

"How dare you throw away our friendship."

Was what he said before he punched me and I flew a metre away. My vision turned black for a second and my face and my head and my cheek hurt so much. That hurt so much.

I sat on the ground for a while, rubbing my cheek and biting my tongue to stop myself from crying. I hid my face away from Laevateinn, hugging my knees on instinct, just in case he wanted to kick me.

Laevateinn wasn't done. "You think you're the only one who wanted to protect this stupid drama queen?! You didn't need to leave, I'd help you one way or another!"

He grabbed the back of my shirt and lifted me up. "Talk to me!"

Norcross pushed him away from me. I wasn't expecting my father to protect me from Laevateinn. "So you've shown your true colours, Luciano the third."

"I'm not my father," Laevateinn replied through gritted teeth.

"Talk to me? I heard him say that in the exact tone and voice. You can't hide how much of a Lukas you are."

Laevateinn took a step back, seeing the damage he caused. Joyeuse was shaking. Futhark held him while giving Laevateinn an upset look.

Laevateinn bit his lip and turned to me. "Luciano doesn't see me as a son. I don't see him as a father. Odin doesn't see me as his favourite son. He sees me as his favourite sword. Always by his side, ready to be wielded at any second. He sees me as his ultimate weapon."

He clenched his fists. "And I knew that. I was okay with that. I knew what kind of person Odin was. He's shrewd and cunning. He's killed people to get what he wanted. He's a warrior, and I admired that. Being Odin's weapon was my role and purpose in this world. Being Vorstellungen's leader was my contribution for a better world. That was Siegfried Lukas and nothing else."

I faced him, biting my lip harder.

"When I received that tissue paper, I was given another destiny. When I became a part of Seven-Minute Semblance, when you gave me the name Laevateinn, I wasn't Odin's weapon, I wasn't Luciano's son, and I wasn't a leader. I was just a student, a brother, and a friend."

When my heart calmed down, I was able to ask, "Then... why... why didn't you leave Vorstellungen... if you didn't want t-to be a weapon...?"

"I want to protect you and your goals." Laevateinn lowered his head. "I want you to succeed, so I had to hold on to Vorstellungen."

"Lae..."

"But you turned on us and hurt the people who gave me their loyalty." Laevateinn glared at me. "And I had to protect my people from my very own friend and brother."

Futhark and Joyeuse jumped to their feet.

"And you hurt me! I was hurt! And now that I'm fighting back, you say it's my true colours!"

Futhark and Joyeuse ran after Laevateinn, ready to defend me.

"I'm sorry!" I covered my mouth with my hands. I saw Laevateinn's fists prepared to punch again. Then I saw Futhark to my left, shielding me. Then Joyeuse to my right.

"You want to see my true colours?!"

I closed my eyes. I was just too scared.

I only felt the force of Futhark and Joyeuse's collision throwing the three of us to the ground. Thank goodness for the soft loam soil and Futhark's hand on my head, I wasn't hurt that badly. Although the two of them were heavy.

"I want to go home," I heard Laevateinn's voice.

When I opened my eyes, I realised that Laevateinn tackled the three of us down for a group hug. That's when I let out a sob.

He's not Luciano's son. He's not Odin's perfect weapon.

"I want us to be together again. In 372A High Street. So badly."

Laevateinn's true colours.

It's a warm blue.