Dreams ... nightmares, it didn't matter what they were called.

Every time Aegis slept, he was back in the circular room. Sometimes he was a child and other times he was older, but it was always the same. A lesson he couldn't learn, a point he couldn't prove or even a bout he couldn't win.

It always ended exactly the same too. With the heat of the metal singing his skin as it struck his back, tearing it open as he sniffled silently. And the man with the monster eye—the eye with the black sclera and red pupil staring down at him, in cold disappointment.

Aegis kicked and shoved everything in his vicinity. His arms were almost instantly pinned to his sides.

And somehow he was underwater again, thrashing for air.

Drowning.

Aegis could feel his throat constricting as he gasped for the breath that wouldn't reach. He tried harder, but a high-pitched whine was the only sound that his throat bothered sprouting as he gagged for air.

"Let him go!" The voice was an echo, distant and childlike. It sounded like the boy was crying and all it reminded Aegis of was fire, and fire had always petrified him.

Aegis woke with a start and clawed at his neck to rip away whatever was choking him, but there was nothing there.

"I'm okay," he said more to himself than the others. He was alive. It was just a nightmare. He'd escaped the sewers.

He had survived.

Aegis lifted his head to try and get a better bearing on his surroundings. He was in a bed, which was apparently set in the middle of a dining room of some sort. Ska was there, arguing with the woman and the captain. Aegis didn't care much what they were arguing about. He heard his name being thrown about more than once, but he turned his attention back to his own body.

He wasn't sure why he was sweating so much. His hand went lower, to try and air himself with his shirt. Instead, all he felt was his chest drenched in sweat ... his bare chest. Aegis was suddenly very aware that he wasn't wearing a shirt.

He looked down. Definitely no shirt and the shorts he had on were unfamiliar too. Had he been stripped in his sleep?

Aegis wasn't sure which emotion was stronger right now. The feeling of being completely violated, or the resulting anger?

"Why am I naked?" he demanded.

All three members of the secret rebellion stopped arguing, and Aegis' twin had the decency to at least look ashamed. The woman on the other hand gave a simple shrug, "You were burning up," she responded, as if her answer was enough to settle the humiliation he felt.

"Ah of course," Aegis said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in his voice, "that sounds like a perfectly reasonable explanation for stripping a complete stranger to his bare pants!"

The woman didn't look apologetic, in fact her eyebrows rose, making Aegis' insides twist like they did with Kovolic. Yet she remained just as calm as ever, "It does," she said simply. She lifted her hand horizontally above her head, "your life," she said and paused, before lowering her hand a few inches, "your dignity."

"Great," Aegis snarled, "glad to see you have your priorities right."

"Xiao," the captain called, like a warning, but gentler than the one he had thrown at Kovolic, "be nice!"

The woman let out a small sigh, "You're right," she admitted, "spend enough time with teenagers and you turn into one."

The corners of the captain's mouth twitched. He had barely opened his mouth when Ska cleared his throat very loudly, with a pointed look at the two middle-aged children.

His twin then turned his attention to Aegis, "I'll give you something clean to wear Aegis," Ska promised in an obvious attempt to change the subject, "the water's warm if you want a bath as well, and then I'll tell you everything as I promised."

Aegis swallowed, the thought of immersing himself in water again made his throat tighter. It almost felt like it was on fire again, "Thank you," he said instead. There was no need for Ska to know everything. He was sure he'd figure a way to get the sewers out of him without his twin.

"Absolutely not!" Xiao crossed her arms firmly and it took Aegis a moment to realise she was glaring at him

"What now?" he groaned, he had barely known this woman for a minute and she was already annoying him to death.

"All three of us had to chip in and give you half a litre, each!" she declared, nostrils flared, "All three of us!"

Ska's cheeks flushed again, "He doesn't need to know that," he began, but then pressed his lips shut when the glare shifted to him instead.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Aegis said plainly. He didn't like how the woman was treating him. He wasn't a child! And despite the nagging emptiness he felt watching this family, he didn't want to be a part of it. Especially since it was the weirdest family he had ever met.

"You lost blood," Ska explained quietly, "a lot of it."

"So you're going to eat first," the woman announced, producing a myriad of orange and white plastic tubs from somewhere under the table. "All of you!" She eyed Ska and the captain as she said it, slamming the containers on the table, as if it would stress her point.

Aegis scowled, but before he had even opened his mouth to speak his twin intervened, "Later," Ska said quickly, taking both the older adults by the arm and leading them out. "I'm sure Aegis wants some privacy to put something on first." He turned his head towards Aegis right as he was leaving mouthing the words, 'She'll forget.'

Aegis grinned, though he wasn't quite sure why. He distracted himself with other important things. For instance, he had questions about this place and about everything else that had happened. So many questions. But he was going to try and get himself cleaned first, and maybe help himself to some food.

Because for the first time in so long, Aegis felt safe.

He moved cautiously to the bathroom. It was larger than he was used to, and had a toilet, a sink, a bath and a separate cubicle for a shower. It all seemed far too extravagant for a simple bathroom.

And that wasn't all.

The bathroom had tiny carpets in front of each fixture and an extra large one in the centre. And slippers! Why anyone would need slippers inside the bathroom was beyond him.

Aegis eyed it all shiftily but decided to stay barefoot. He turned on the shower and watched the water gush down like a miniature waterfall. He swallowed. It made his throat constrict again.

Just water.

That's all it was, just water. He took a step in and for a moment, the warmth of the water was comforting. Until the rivulets of water rolled down his face and all of a sudden he couldn't breathe again. Aegis gasped for air, jumping backwards instinctively, but instead of jumping to safety his feet slipped, and he fell backwards with a resounding crash.

He didn't stand back up, instead, Aegis let out a shuddering breath and clutched his knees for comfort. The position was familiar yet alien. Yet as he rest his head on his knees, Aegis finally let out the tears he'd been holding in since he had escaped the sewers. Since he escaped death.

"Aegis!"

A loud knock followed his twin's anxious cry.

Aegis swallowed again, "I'm okay," he lied, using all the power he could to keep his voice steady, "just slipped."

There was a suspiciously long pause before Ska spoke again, "Okay." Gentle and quiet, like his twin always seemed to be. His perfect twin with the perfect little dysfunctional family.

When Aegis eventually emerged from the toilet, many minutes later, he didn't bother fixing his hair. The secret mark under his hair wasn't exactly a secret anymore, was it?

He turned his attention to the bed instead. An array of colours had caught his eye, pulling him closer out of nothing but curiosity. He smiled once he saw what it really was. An assortment of clothes had been laid out for him to choose from. Colourful clothes.

Aegis had been a slave for so long that white was the only colour he knew. It wasn't like slaves were allowed to wear anything but those ridiculous white garbs. And now that he finally had the option to choose, the sheer number of colours made him uncomfortable. So Aegis picked a ribbed, turtleneck white shirt and the lightest shade of trousers he could find. Grey wasn't white, but at least it wasn't bright and colourful.

He hadn't been given a lot of choice in footwear, but Aegis was grateful to have something to cover his bare feet. The last time he had been allowed to wear socks was when the garden had frozen solid in winter and his bare feet kept sticking to the ice.

When Aegis finally emerged from the house, he wasn't surprised to see the two adults arguing again. Ska was some distance away, massaging his temple as he watched them, but he stopped at the sight of Aegis and smiled.

"You look better," he said, maintaining the smile.

Aegis didn't respond, compliments made him uneasy too. Instead, he glanced at the captain and the woman, "Do they always fight?"

Ska exhaled very slowly, "Their children got into a physical altercation this morning," he said and began massaging his forehead again, "I'm tired of intervening."

The thought of the pair of middle-aged children being parents made him spin in their direction again. They were physically old enough to be parents at least. The woman was barely half the captain's size, but it seem to stop her from standing on her toes and thrusting angry fingers in his chest.

"How old are they again?" Aegis wondered aloud.

Ska smiled and then immediately cleared his throat, straightening himself, "I believe when you're amongst siblings and friends, you tend to forget how old you are."

Aegis didn't smile back, the Hanshö in the sewers were adamant that Kovolic was the captain's friend too. The thought of that man always made his jaws clench.

"What are you thinking?" his twin asked tentatively. Despite his lack of animosity towards his twin, when Aegis turned to face him, he wasn't smiling. He had been promised answers after all.

"Did Kovolic come here too?" Aegis demanded, "Did he argue about his children?"

His twin didn't look as hesitant anymore, "Minik Kovolic switched sides when we were very young," he said, his voice as steady and soft as always. "He thinks Carter did the same and that Xiao's dead."

"Carter?" Aegis frowned at this new name. There were so many people, it was getting hard to keep track of them all.

"Philip Carter, the captain of the Hanshö." Ska inclined his head towards the captain.

Aegis nodded, "Why does he think she's dead?" he asked next.

"Because..." Another sigh, and to add to Aegis' suspicion, Ska swallowed. He narrowed his eyes at his twin, there was no way he was going to let the latter evade him again. "Because," Ska repeated, not making eye contact, "she was injured trying to save someone."

"Me?" Aegis assumed, his brother's hesitation was stemming from something personal, he was sure of it.

"Our pregnant mother." Ska's voice was barely louder than a whisper, "Who was only trying to protect her children."

"He killed her?" The dots were connecting themselves now, "And took me away?"

"Us," His twin corrected, "he killed her and took us away. Kovolic believed there wasn't—"

"I don't really care what that asshole thought," Aegis snapped, and then saw the look on his brother's face. Ska wasn't avoiding eye contact because he was evading answers, was he guilty? Ashamed? "Look," Aegis then said, maintaining the calm in his voice as best he could, "I nearly died because of Kovolic today. So whatever his reasons were, they don't exactly matter. What happened next?"

Ska nodded, briefly looking at Aegis before looking down again, "Carter followed," he continued, "he pretended to defect as well so he could watch over us and Xiao stayed back to try and save the baby."

Ska looked up again, possibly expecting Aegis to interrupt, but he didn't so the former began once again, "By the time Carter got there, you were gone, and Vinea—the king, he pretended you didn't even exist." He swallowed again, eyes flickering to Aegis and then away, "So Carter raised me as his own and Xiao raised our little sister as her own."

"And no one has any idea where I've been for the last ..." He turned to his twin again, expecting an answer.

"Fifteen," Ska said quietly, "fifteen years. And then last year you came back here out of the blue."

Aegis didn't respond again, this was information. Something he had been yearning for an entire year. He smiled, suddenly realising he finally knew how old he was. He was nineteen. Though it also meant Aegis wasn't as much of an adult as he always thought.

He turned back to his twin with a smile. His brother's shame and guilt finally made sense, "I don't blame you Ska—"

"Sukui," his twin corrected, "I made Ska up," he added quietly.

"I knew it!" Aegis grinned, invoking a small smile from his twin too, "Well Sukui, I don't care that you had a better life than I did," he said simply, "I'm just glad Kovolic wasn't the one who raised you."

Ska—or rather Sukui gave a light chuckle at this. He seemed to relax a bit more too, "I don't think he knows how to raise children."

"No," Aegis admitted, still grinning, "I don't think he does either." He let out a long sigh, it felt like a weight had been lifted from the pit of his stomach. Aegis felt lighter, "That solves one mystery," he said, "now I just need to figure out why Kovolic thought I was in Sector 6."

"What?" His twin's head jerked up at the last word.

"The whole reason I was even in the dungeons was because Kovolic was convinced that I was in that stupid sector," he told his twin, "I've never set foot outside Sector 2 until today."

Aegis had expected confusion, instead, Sukui's pale face lost what little colour it had. He took a slow step back, "Xiao!" he called, not turning away from Aegis.

"Not now!" the woman said irritably, her entire focus on the giant captain.

"Now!" Sukui raised his voice, but there was more panic than any other emotion in it, "Please!"

Both adults stopped, finally noticing Sukui. Xiao opened her mouth again but Carter tapped her lightly on the shoulder. And for once she didn't protest as she walked over to the pair, "What's wrong?" she asked, mirroring Sukui's concern.

"I just told him I've never been in Sector 6," Aegis said, frowning at the sudden panic spreading in this forgotten village.

"That's impossible," Xiao said firmly, her voice raising as well, "you bled."

Aegis shook his head, "Not in Sector 6," he insisted. The answer seemed to increase everyone's worry as it had done with his twin.

"This is your fault!" Carter barked, jabbing a finger in Xiao's direction, "You never stay home!"

Xiao's expression hardened, "Remind me how often you've come down to see Desma, Phil?"

"Enough!" Sukui stood up straighter, taller; he wasn't smiling anymore nor did he look as frazzled. "If you're not going to understand how serious the situation is on your own, then you're going to obey the son of your dead king."

Xiao clenched her jaw but said nothing. She turned rigid and impassive as she bowed her head a little. Carter on the other hand almost looked sad. It wasn't his face or the body language, just the eyes. They slanted as he took drew in an imperceptible breath.

"Xiao get all seven of them here," Sukui then said, his demeanour calm and kind again.

The woman let out a scoff, "Seven? No, Mona isn't going anywhere."

"Yes, she is," his twin stressed, his voice losing its gentle touch instantly, "We cannot risk her falling in Vinea's hands again."

"I'll try and destroy all traces of Aegis' blood," the captain said, retreating towards the tunnel, "or at least keep Minik away for as long as I can."

Xiao sighed, "Fine," she said finally, "but the children get out first." And she too stormed away, towards the tunnel.

"I have questions," Aegis said quietly once the pair of them had left.

"Of course you do," Sukui tried to smile, but it looked more like a grimace to Aegis, "sixteen years of undercover work are about to come to an end." He massaged his temple again.

"Why are we safer here?" Aegis looked around the empty village, "Where even is here? And who's Vinea?"

Sukui turned from Aegis to the rest of the village, "This is a little village called Widow's Casket," he said, "it's an independent sphere, and the only place where we are truly safe from Vinea ... the king, the Lord Commander ... our grandfather."

"How?" Aegis wondered next, it was unlikely that someone as powerful and feared as Vinea was unaware of a hidden door in his own backyard.

"Technology," Sukui said with another grimace, "combined with our father's dying wish to keep us safe." He looked at Aegis, and gave another smile when the latter didn't look very convinced, "You remember the barrier we crossed to enter the tunnels?" he asked, and then before Aegis could respond, "Vinea can't cross it."

Aegis let out a laugh at the absurdity of the last sentence, "How in the world did you test that?!" he demanded. It seemed unlikely that they had asked someone like the king to walk into a wall.

"I didn't," Sukui said, frowning again, "how can I? All I have on my side is a double agent and a retired-agent-turned-single-mother."

Aegis stayed silent again, his twin had been born into this world of treachery and rebellion. But it wasn't going to be his world too. Not if he could help it. "Why do you want Vinea dead?" he finally asked.

"He destroyed our lives and for what? Power?" Sukui let out a small scoff, "There's still so much you need to know Aegis," his twin said gravely, "we're caught in a war that has already killed both our parents—killed their family and friends." He jerked his head towards the tunnels where Xiao and Carter and just escaped to a little harshly, his eyes harder than Aegis had ever seen. "He destroyed your life too," he then said, more quietly but with a gaze so piercing it made Aegis uncomfortable, "even if you don't remember it."

Aegis said nothing for a minute, mulling over more than what his twin had said. This was the first time he had seen Sukui this animated. The battle was definitely personal for his brother, "So this is about revenge?" Aegis surmised.

"No." Sukui's expression remained just as hard, "This is about justice."