“Finally, our shift is over…”

“Finally?” Gavon echoed incredulously, “we were up there for barely six hours! I’ve been on plenty of guard shifts that were twice as long.”

“Oh come on, you know what I meant,” Luke retorted as the couple walked down the streets of Compound Tresnon. The last sunlight of the day scattered across the Compound, accompanied by the orange and red skies of sunset. Crowd noise filled the air; the somewhat diminished size of the crowds compared to earlier in the day was countered by heightened excitement, as everyone discussed the things that they had seen throughout the day.

“…I suppose we did miss out on much of the experience,” Gavon lamented, his gaze sweeping across empty stalls as people began packing up. “At least Creators’ Day is an annual holiday. We might have better luck, next year.”

“I sure hope so,” Luke replied. “But you say that like there are non-annual holidays. Are there?”

“Well… not on Nimalia, no. But there are a few Dra’kis and Siion holidays that only happen once every few years. The Dra’kis in particular — from what I hear, their Homeworld, Y’kisdral, has a 6-year climate cycle. They still have annual seasons, but they present differently over the course of 6 years, so they have some holidays that sync up with that cycle.”

“Huh. Interesting.”

“I’ve never seen it, myself, but some of my Dra’kis colleagues talk about it, sometimes. Still…” Gavon heaved a wistful sigh. “…I’ve always been fond of Creators’ Day. It’s a shame I didn’t have a chance to show you around, even if we’re stuck in Tresnon. And on your last day before you leave, too…”

“Hey, I’ll be comin’ back,” Luke assured as he pat Gavon on the shoulder. “It’ll be just like Sunova. Mark and I leave, run a quick mission, and come back before you know it.”

“I certainly hope that’s how things shake out. And indeed, it usually is. But in our line of work, you can never be certain…” Gavon trailed off, as if lost in thought, only to shake his head and offer Luke an apologetic smile. “Ah, nevermind me. I just worry too much, sometimes.”

Luke glanced at Gavon, and then turned his gaze up to the cloudless, orange-tinted skies above. “…You’ve got your own accommodations here, right? You’re not rooming with someone?”

“No, I’m on my own. It’s not a very impressive place, but it’s decent enough. Why do you ask?”

“Well… I don’t leave until tomorrow morning. And you are right — in our line of work, you never know if someone’s parting will be the last time you see them. So, I figure that, you know…” Luke smiled sheepishly. “Might as well spend the night together.”

Gavon looked at Luke in surprise, only to smile back a second later. “Sounds like a plan, to me! And with any luck, we won’t even be interrupted!”

“What, by Bleeders? Selind seems to think we’ll be fine, and I’m inclined to believe her.”

“Ha ha, well, you can never be too sure. The night’s still young, though, so let’s at least see if there’s anything else we can see, around here.”

“I’m with you, there…” Luke replied, turning his attention to look out over the slowly dwindling crowds. “…I wonder where everyone’s gone, though. It’s only sunset.”

“Off to the talent hall, I think,” Gavon said. “Seems like Tresnon usually ends Creators’ Day with everyone watching the song and dance performances. …Well, almost everyone.”

“Hmm?” Luke passed Gavon a questioning glance, and then looked in the direction that he subtly gestured. Not too far ahead of the couple was a familiar brown-haired hunched-over figure, scrambling her way through the crowds opposite the flow of traffic. Upon spotting her, Luke broke into an amused smile.

“That’s your coworker, right?” Gavon asked. “Kirstin, I believe her name was?”

“Yep. Guess she finished her work for the day,” Luke replied, and then raised his voice as he waved towards the Researcher. “Hey, Kirstin! Over here!”

At the sound of Luke’s voice, Kirstin jumped in surprise, her head snapping up to quickly search for the source of the call. A second later, she spotted Luke and Gavon, at which point she slowed her pace and eventually stopped in front of them. “O-oh… H-hi…”

“On your way home, are we?” Gavon remarked.

“U-um… y-yeah…” Kirstin responded. “Th-the, um… the shields are, uh, i-in good shape, and the p-power grid, too, so…”

“Really? You checked both the shields and the power grid?” Luke questioned in disbelief.

“A-and some of, um, th-the weapons on the wall…” Kirstin added. “S-some of them weren’t, um, p-properly connected to the grid, s-so I, uh, f-fixed that…”

“My, how diligent!” Gavon replied. “I know some Black Suns Officers who are barely half as useful as you are. I daresay, I may even be one of them! Ha ha ha!”

“I-it was nothing, really…” Kirstin insisted, her gaze averted as she fidgeted in place.

“Maintaining security around here is hardly nothing,” Luke refuted. “Thanks for taking a look at things, Kirstin.”

“Um… y-you’re welcome…”

“Did you get a chance to look around at any of the stalls, though? I’m guessing not, huh?”

“Y-yeah… um… t-too many, um, crowds…”

“Figures,” Luke responded with a sigh. “Man, you and Austin aren’t too different, there.”

“I take it you’re returning to your room, then?” Gavon questioned, his attention directed at Kirstin.

She nodded once. “Y-yeah. Need to, um… p-pack, and everything…”

“Ah… right. Luke and I were just discussing your departure, actually. I hope everything goes well for you.”

“Th-thanks…”

“Yeah, but we don’t leave until tomorrow morning,” Luke pointed out. “We still have time today. …Plenty of time, in fact.”

“I get the impression you’re about to suggest something,” Gavon replied.

“I am,” Luke said. “I only just remembered, but Sky is supposed to have a performance soon, and I wanted to check it out. You two should come along!”

“Sky…?” Gavon held a hand to his chin in thought. “…That’s the name of one of your Chaotics, right? One of the Keys?”

“That’s right. She’s been one of Austin’s friends for a while now, so she’s kind of like a cousin, to me.”

“R-really…?” Kirstin questioned.

“Yep,” Luke replied. “I’ve known all of Austin’s friends for almost as long as he has, honestly, and they all know me. They’re like my little siblings.”

“I thought Austin was your nephew,” Gavon said.

“Yeah, that’s why I said they’re like my little siblings,” Luke reiterated. “The point is, when one of them has a performance or show or something, I like to go watch, if I can.”

“Ha! Fair enough. As I mentioned earlier, watching the performances in the talent hall seems to be how most of the locals close out Creators’ Day, so we might as well, too!”

“M-most of…?” Kirstin echoed uneasily. “Th-that means… …u-um, I-I think—“

“C’mon, just for a little bit,” Luke urged. “We can go in, see Sky’s performance, and then be right out. You won’t have to suffer the crowds for long.”

“I-I…” Kirstin began, briefly glancing up at Luke before looking away. “…I-if… …if it’s just, um, a-a little…”

“Great!” Luke replied with a grin, and then beaconed for Gavon and Kirstin to follow as he began walking off down the street. “Let’s get going, then! If we spend much more time here, then we’ll miss the show!”

---

*

“Alright… this is it.”

“Hoo boy…” Sky muttered to herself, and then took a deep breath. “…Just a quick performance… everything’ll be fine…”

“Of course it will be!” Phoenix declared, pumping her fist as she gave Sky an encouraging smile. “We’ve practiced for all of this!”

“Well, for most of it,” Twy said.

“Not helping, sis!” Sky retorted.

“Sorry…”

“Still…” Phoenix glanced off to the left, toward a small, dark hallway. The sounds of the final moments of a musical act echoed down the hallway, indicating that the talent hall’s stage wasn’t far beyond; now, Sky stood just behind the stage, accompanied by Twy, Phoenix, and Kestrel as they prepared for Sky’s imminent performance. Phoenix, Twy, and Kestrel still wore their day clothes, but Sky was now adorned in a long, white, faux-fur-lined cloak that fully covered her body. Upon looking her up and down, Phoenix gave an affirmative nod. “…You’ve got this, Sky. I believe in you!”

“Now if only I could believe in myself…” Sky muttered.

“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” Twy insisted, all while carefully handling her folded-up mural with multiple water-filled leather bladders. “This is hardly your first time singing in front of a crowd.”

“Yeah, but it’s the first time in ages! In years!” Sky countered, her fists balled and shoulders tense as she looked at her sister. Before she could say much else, though, Kestrel laid a gentle hand on Sky’s shoulder, and passed her a curt nod. Upon seeing this, Sky stopped and took another deep breath. “…Alright. Alright, you’re right. I’ll be fine. It’ll be fine.” She closed her eyes and took yet another breath. “…Okay…”

“…I can hear applause,” Phoenix muttered. “…We have a couple minutes for the intermission, but that isn’t long. Sky — you remember how this all goes down, right?”

“Of course I remember, I’m the one who wrote the song!” Sky retorted, only to then look down at herself as she lifted up her cloak, revealing the clothes she was wearing underneath: an earth-green, midriff-baring halter top; brown shorts that conformed to her slim form; and a black waist cloak, wrapping around her hips at the belt line and draping down around her legs. “…But this outfit… it just seems so… normal!”

“That’s the point,” Phoenix stated. “Your song’s about nature — it ‘starts’ in winter, and ‘ends’ in summer. So you start singing with the cloak on, and then throw it off halfway through, where Kestrel can use her wind powers to make it dramatically flutter away!”

“Yeah, I get that, but, like… the ‘summer’ part, it just looks like a normal Nimalian outfit! My song’s about Earth, not Nimalia!”

“It’s a little late to complain about this…” Twy muttered.

“It being Nimalian is the point,” Phoenix argued. “Look, most of the people out there aren’t WCU students. They won’t be able to understand your song even if they wanted to, so there needs to be some kind of indication to them about what the song is about. We have Twy’s mural, sure, but the clothes are another aid — and since your clothes are meant for them, not you, they have to be designed with the local frame of reference in mind. Hence, a Nimalian summer outfit.”

“…I guess that makes sense…” Sky admitted.

“Well, that, and also because park ranger outfits are hella lame.”

“Ha, true! …But there is another way I can spice things up, now that I think about it!”

“Why do I feel like this will be a bad idea,” Twy responded flatly.

“No, it’s cool!” Sky insisted. “Instead of throwing off the cloak, what if I just incinerated it, instead? That’d be flashy!”

“Don’t even think about it,” Phoenix declared.

“What?! Why not?”

“First of all, that’s a perfectly good cloak. If you just burn it to ashes, then I’ll kick your ass. Second of all, you really need to think about your audience, here. There’s one thing that’s obvious to me from walking around town, today, and from seeing the last few acts: Tresédians usually don’t like flashy things. And on top of that, we’re all ‘outsiders’ to them, about to sing a song in an ‘outsider’ language that few of them understand. If you make your act too flashy, then they’ll just write it off as an outsider trying to show off. Hell, I think we’re walking that line as is!”

“I mean… I get what you’re saying, but why do we care so much about what they think, all of the sudden?”

“Is it sudden? You’re the one who wanted to write a song — and you were very specific about singing, and that ‘words matter’. If you want your words to matter — if you want the Tresédians to care enough to actually look into the meaning of your words, despite not being able to understand them — then you have to make sure that they’ll take you seriously.”

“She does have a point…” Twy commented.

“Mhm.” Kestrel nodded in agreement.

“Ugh…” Sky released an impatient sigh. “Fine. I’ll just be boring and not incinerate the cloak. Happy?”

“Very much so,” Phoenix declared. “After all, that cloak cost me a good portion of this month’s stipend!”

“And so the real reason comes out…” Twy muttered.

“Oh c’mon, that’s nothing!” Sky protested. “You can just ask Kaoné to make you a new one!”

“It’s about the principle of the thing. I’m not about to make a habit of depending on another person so heavily, not if I can help it. Besides…” Phoenix trailed off, turning her ear toward the small hallway as an announcer’s voice echoed through it. “…It’s finally time! Sky, Twy, you’re up!”

“Here we go…” Twy responded, moving her mural through the air and toward the hallway. “Once I setup the mural, it’s all up to you, Sky. Good luck!”

“Mm… break a leg,” Kestrel said.

“Ah, Kestrel gets it!” Sky exclaimed, and then turned towards the short hallway to the stage. Once more, she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath in… and out. Finally, she snapped her eyes open and strode forward, forcing a confident smile as she prepared to take her turn in the limelight.

---

15 Minutes Later

“Great job, Sky!!”

“What—?!” Sky responded, her eyes wide with surprise as she stopped just outside of the back entrance to Tresnon’s talent hall. Almost as soon as she stopped, Spike stooped down to scoop her up into his arms and then practically throw her up onto his shoulders, where she caught and positioned herself entirely by reflex. From her newfound altitude, she looked down at the large group of people who had come to surround her: Twy, Phoenix, and Kestrel, emerging from the back entrance just behind her; Austin, watching amusedly from the side; Pierce and Conrad, accompanied by Liask; Mark, Danielle, Minilas, and Obra, with the latter wearing an expression of reluctant approval; Saito, Hackett, and Kirstin, all backing up Luke and Gavon; and Kaoné, Davídrius, and Selind, standing just off to the side of the group but with their attention nonetheless placed on Sky. Everyone wore celebratory smiles as they gathered around to congratulate Sky on her recent performance.

“…Looks like you’ve picked up quite the fanbase, Sky!” Phoenix remarked with a grin as she surveyed the group herself.

“She deserves it,” Spike declared. “I knew y’all were hard at work for a while on this performance, but you really knocked it outta the park, in there!”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Austin added. “I’d forgotten how good of a singer you were, Sky. You’re almost as good at it as Twy is with art!”

“Don’t bring me into this…” Twy replied. “That performance was all Sky.”

“I take it Sky painted that mural of Yosemite, then?” Conrad questioned with a smirk.

“And that backing track was definitely Kestrel,” Pierce pointed out. “Credit where credit’s due — your singing was a lot better than I expected, Sky, even after hearing you a few days ago. But it still wouldn’t be the same without the rest of you. …Even Phoenix.”

“You’re giving me praise?!” Phoenix exclaimed incredulously. “Are these the end times?!”

“Are you kiddin’? An outsider’s performance had the whole crowd cheerin’,” Obra retorted. “…This has gotta be the end of somethin’, I’m sure.”

“The end of narrow-minded thinking, perhaps?” Kaoné suggested hopefully, and then turned to give Sky, Twy, Phoenix, and Kestrel a proud smile. “But either way, I’m truly happy to see the fruits of your efforts! I’m glad that you all thought to take part in Creators’ Day!”

“It really is quite the interesting holiday…” Mark mused. “An entire day to celebrate creativity and creation… I’m a little sad that I’d never even thought of the concept until coming to Nimalia.”

“Wouldn’t’ve learned how to make cookies without it,” Minilas remarked while wearing a wry smile.

“Or gotten to transform into a dragon!” Danielle exclaimed.

“A transformation that caused a lot of people a lot of headaches, may I add,” Hackett pointed out.

“Oh, let the girl have her fun, Major,” Saito insisted. “Besides, you’re taking away from the big moment.”

“Ah ha, indeed!” Gavon declared. “You Keys sure are talented! When Luke here said that Sky was good at singing, I honestly assumed he meant that in a paternalistic, ‘parents always like what their kids do’ kind of way. But I have to say… I was actually impressed.”

“Do you seriously think so little of my judgment…?” Luke questioned uneasily. “C’mon, my recommendations are sound! Back me up, here, Kirstin!”

“U-uh—!” Kirstin jumped in surprise. “…W-well, I… h-had fun, I guess…”

“I enjoyed it a lot!” Liask declared. “Not just the singin’, but also the music, and the art, too! Y’all gotta teach me to sing and paint like that!”

“It’s all a little… alien to me, personally…” Davídrius commented. “But… I guess that wasn’t so bad.”

“Well there you have it: the Davídrius seal of approval!” Selind remarked as she slapped the Dean heartily on the back. “His praise doesn’t get much higher than that!”

“Wow…” Sky muttered, her gaze slowly sweeping across everyone present. “I… I don’t really deserve all this praise, all I did was sing a little…”

“The mural really isn’t much, anyways…” Twy added sheepishly. “It was kinda rushed, and… watercolors aren’t really meant to be used for a piece that large, either, so it looks pretty washed out…”

“Oh, come on, you two!” Phoenix retorted, throwing her arm around Twy’s shoulder and glancing up at Sky, who remained seated on Spike’s broad shoulders. “Learn to take some praise! You earned this!”

“Mm.” Kestrel nodded in affirmation.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Kaoné said. “And that goes for you and Kestrel as well, Phoenix. In fact, for everyone here…” The Dean turned to look over the whole group with a warm smile. “You’ve all done a fantastic job, today. Indulging in and cultivating these creative skills, these pastimes… most people can’t find it within themselves to commit like this. The fact that all of you have is nothing short of amazing.”

“…Right…” Pierce muttered under his breath.

“I barely committed to anything, personally,” Conrad responded airily. “I just played a character that someone else made. That’s all, really.”

“That’s kinda true,” Austin replied, “but at the same time… I don’t think I’d have thought to try running a one-shot, if not for you and Spike.”

“And I didn’t do anythin’ but walk around with Pierce, today…” Liask admitted sheepishly. “Everyone else… you all actually did stuff. I’m with Kaoné, that’s pretty cool.”

“Seeing you all fit in is certainly nice,” Saito remarked. “I was a little worried that having you here in Treséd wouldn’t work out, but… it seems my worries were for naught.”

“Well, it’s been a little rocky, you have to admit,” Luke pointed out. “…But today certainly went down without a hitch, didn’t it?”

“Now you’re just askin’ for somethin’ to go wrong…” Davídrius muttered.

“You sound just like Austin!” Sky remarked.

“What? I don’t sound like that…” Austin said.

“Oh Davídrius, you pessimistic bastard,” Selind retorted as she passed the Dean an incredulous glance. “Don’t go puttin’ a damper on things, now!”

“That was a concern, though, wasn’t it?” Mark questioned, turning to give Davídrius and Selind a serious look. “…Are we really fine?”

“Well, me an’ Davídrius here were plannin’ on checkin’ on the Defense Force after this, just to be sure,” Selind replied. “…But, ain’t nothin’ happened yet, and I honestly doubt anythin’ will, at this point.”

“Now something is definitely gonna happen,” Austin muttered.

“See?!” Sky exclaimed.

“You really are the same old Austin as ever, aren’t you?” Luke said with a grin. “…But it’s starting to get late, isn’t it?”

“…Suppose so,” Conrad replied as he glanced skyward; sunset had long passed, leaving only streetlights to dispel the nighttime darkness around Compound Tresnon. “…Today was a long day, too. Some of the best sleeps are after a long day, you know.”

“Mm, agreed,” Minilas affirmed. “Can’t wait to wrap all this up, personally.”

“Well, before we all leave, then…” Saito interjected, and then turned his gaze toward the eight Keys. “…I’ve already informed the Deans of this, but I think it’s time you recruits heard, as well.”

“…Heard what?” Twy questioned uneasily.

“Tomorrow morning, myself, along with Hackett, Captain Travis, MacTavish, Mark, and Danielle are all heading out on a mission.”

“So the outsiders are finally leavin’, huh?” Obra remarked.

“Shush, Obra!” Liask retorted, and then turned toward Mark. “I wanted to ask more about the food you made today, but I guess that’ll have to wait, huh? I hope everythin’ goes well for y’all!”

“What kind of mission?” Spike asked. “…If you can tell us, anyways.”

Saito and Hackett exchanged a quick glance, at which point the Colonel returned his attention to the Keys. “…We’ve found EA’s base.”

“What?!” Austin exclaimed, “where?!”

“The details are classified,” Saito replied. “But, with any luck, when we return, we’ll have dealt with your impostor.”

“That bastard…” Pierce growled. “You should let us come with you, so we can show him a piece of our minds!”

“For once, I agree with Pierce!” Austin insisted. “You’ve gotta let us come! He’s my impostor, after all!”

Saito shook his head. “Sorry, but you all are staying here. Just think about it: EA’s already shown multiple times that he has technology on par with or more advanced than SERRCom’s. Attacking his base requires a trained and disciplined attack force.”

“And you Keys ain’t that,” Davídrius declared. “I mean, don’t get me wrong — your trainin’ is comin’ along nicely. But y’all’ve still got a ways to go.”

“To be expected, I suppose…” Spike responded.

“We’ll do our best to continue learning while you’re gone,” Twy said.

“Says the one person who needs ‘learning’ the least,” Phoenix retorted. “Still… that EA bastard is half the reason we’re here. I don’t like asking a SERRCom officer for help, given you’re the other reason we’re here, but… tear EA a new asshole for us, will you?”

“…Heh.” Saito chuckled briefly. “I’ll see what we can do.”

“And having said that…” Mark commented, “…it really is getting late. Danielle, we should probably go pack our things.”

“And we need to go check on the Defense Force,” Selind declared as she turned to begin marching off, with Davídrius quickly following after her. “Good show, Sky!” she shouted over her shoulder while she left, “can’t wait for the next one!”

“Wait, next one?!” Sky echoed incredulously.

“I suppose it’s a little presumptuous, but I’d certainly like to see you sing again, as well,” Kaoné said. “But, for now… I think I should probably join Davídrius and Selind. I doubt anything will happen, soon, but just in case… well!” She smiled at the group before backing away and then turning in the direction that Davídrius and Selind had left. “Good job, everyone!”

“…I won’t say that you’re quite at professional level, or anything,” Pierce said, turning back to face Sky after Kaoné’s departure. “…But if you decide to do this again, then, well… I might show up.”

“Big praise, coming from Pierce,” Conrad remarked cheekily.

“Hmph,” Pierce snorted, and then turned to leave. “I don’t know why we’re all still standing around, here. Today was a long day, but we still have tomorrow! Let’s go, Liask!”

“What—?” Liask stared after Pierce in bewilderment before giving everyone else a quick wave and chasing after him. “Sorry, everyone! Good job, Sky! And… Pierce!! Wait up!!”

“He sure was in hurry to leave,” Sky huffed.

“He’s probably just embarrassed,” Conrad replied, and then yawned broadly, without making any attempt to silence himself or cover his mouth. “…Well, that’s the sign. Time to hit the hay.”

“…Mm,” Kestrel grunted once, striding forward to walk next to Conrad as he turned to leave. She paused briefly to pass Phoenix a nod before turning around again to walk off alongside Conrad.

“…Just leave me behind, why don’t you,” Phoenix responded flatly, only to shrug. “Well, good job, Sky, Twy. But today isn’t over yet — I want to see what else there is in the talent show, tonight. Anyone with me?”

“Might as well,” Minilas replied in her deadpan tone. “…You up, Obra?”

“Sure. Not like I got anythin’ else to do with these outsiders,” Obra muttered as he followed Minilas — and Phoenix — away from the group.

Danielle watched the three leave for a second before turning her attention back to the dwindling group. “Why does he keep calling us outsiders?”

“W-we, um… are…” Kirstin responded.

“Still, he isn’t all bad, I think,” Mark stated. “Just a little… over-cautious, perhaps.” He then nodded toward Sky and Twy. “Anyways, I think we’ve overstayed, a little… I enjoyed the show, Sky, Twy. But if you’ll excuse me, I do need to pack my things.”

“And so do we, really,” Saito mused. “You recruits… or ‘Keys’, I suppose. Keep up the good work!”

“Uh, thanks…?” Austin responded uneasily as Saito, Hackett, Kirstin, Mark, and Danielle all left.

“…I guess it’s just down to us, then,” Twy commented, looking over Austin, Spike, Sky, Luke, and Gavon.

“Everyone keeps talking about how late it is, but it’s been barely an hour since sunset,” Austin pointed out. “I say we use the rest of the evening to head back to the dorms and play some games!”

“…Oh!” Twy’s eyes lit up, as though an idea had just come to her. “Maybe you should show Sky and me that one-shot you were running, today?”

“Could be a good way to wind down,” Spike remarked, and then glanced toward Luke. “You want in?”

“It sounds fun, but…” Luke exchanged a look with Gavon before turning back to Spike. “I already have plans, sorry.”

“I don’t want to sound like I’m backing out of anything — but don’t feel pressured to spend the night with me,” Gavon quickly insisted. “This is your last night before what sounds like a big mission, after all. I think it’d be perfectly understandable if you want to spend it with your nephew.”

Austin grimaced. “It sounds kinda… weird when you say it like that.”

“I think that’s just you being bad at feelings,” Sky retorted.

“Still, we wouldn’t want to get in the way of anything,” Twy replied as she turned toward Luke. “If you already had plans, please, don’t feel like you need to break them for us.”

“Yeah,” Austin affirmed with a nod. “Besides, the more we treat this mission of yours like a big thing, the more likely something bad will happen. Best to look at this night like any normal night, I say.”

“God, you’re so weird, sometimes,” Sky remarked.

“Ha!” Luke responded with a chuckle. “But in a way, he has a point. It’s best not to stress out about these things too much.”

“Indeed…” Gavon said. “Too much stress can ruin a mission, after all. As can over-thinking things.”

“Either way, it looks like we’ll be parting ways, here,” Luke said, and then turned to pass Austin a smile. “Take care of yourself while I’m gone, you hear? I know the Deans think the Bleeders won’t attack soon, but you can never be too careful…”

“Normally, I’d agree…” Twy replied, “…but as long as Kaoné is here… I think everything will be fine.”

“Still, I get where you’re comin’ from, Uncle Luke,” Austin said. “But same to you, you know? Watch yourself when you go up against EA. If he really knows everything that I do, then… well, he might give you some trouble.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing that SERRCom can’t handle. After all, he’s just one man,” Luke responded. “…But, anyways. As everyone else said — good job, Sky, Twy. But I think it’s time that Gavon and I took our leave.”

“It was a pleasure meeting with you all, here,” Gavon said, at which point he and Luke turned around and began walking off down the dimly lit streets of Compound Tresnon.

“…And now it’s just us, huh?” Spike questioned, looking around at Austin, Twy, and Sky.

“And ‘us’ is all we need!” Sky declared. “Now, I’m tired of just sitting around, up here! Let’s go play some games!”

“Really? Sky’s gotten tired of sitting on Spike’s shoulders?” Twy exclaimed with a tone full of feigned surprise. “My, whatever shall we do?”

“Play games, that’s what! Now let’s go!” Austin declared, finally turning to lead the four down the streets toward the WCU campus, ready to put a close to Compound Tresnon’s Creators’ Day.