Daniel Xander, Chapter 10: Big Changes

"So, you actually tested it on him, and you are sure it worked?" Asked Bartemius, not looking at either of them and going through a bunch of papers.
"Yes." Said Daniel and Davy at once. Davy looked at him and nodded, as if to say: I have got this.
"I know it's somewhat hard to believe Mr. Bartemius. Afterall, this is the first time we have seen someone with Combat Adaption. But the internet doesn't lie-"
"But public forums do." Said Bartemius dismissively, "And you my friend, checked all your information from a public forum. It's not very convincing now, is it?"
"Not all of it." Said Daniel before Davy could open his mouth, "We also checked the information compiled by the University of Anqabazar-"
"Anaqbuzar," said Bartemius, sounding thoughtful for the first time, "also known as the nation of the wise. Well. It is somewhat believable. However, you unlocking your Imperium without even training as hard; especially when your Imperium is supposed to repressed-"
"But that's the thing Mr. Bartemius!" Said Daniel a bit too enthusiastically, "It's been unlocked for a while now!"
"How come? Unlocking a repressed Imperium takes a significant amount of distress, often physical and mental. It's really like-"
But he paused. His expression was one of astonishment.
"But of course," he said, "you have been placed in a world unbeknownst to you for so long. Like a caveman discovering fire for the first time. You were attacked by a ghoul, torn away from your family, beaten by your escort.... How could I have missed it? A near death experience, emotional baggage from leaving your family behind, anger at your escort for the way he treated you.... Also, you must have fought with Nathan Kyle. I was wondering why they summoned him to city Alpha...." His voice trailed into silence.
Then, a sensation filled Daniel. He went tingly all over and his vision became clearer than before. He felt like he could study the most minute details of the room. The titles of the books in the shelf, the text on the book whose pages were flipping around in the wind from the window. And then, Daniel saw Bartemius drawing back his fist and throwing it out as he was pushed back from where he stood. But there was no pain. Immediately, Daniel blinked and saw Bartemius drawing back his fist and throwing it out. But Daniel had that figured out already. He'd just seen it. But still, there wasn't enough time to dodge the attack properly. Instead, Daniel dived to one side just as Bartemius punched the air infront of him. Daniel could feel some sort of an invisible going off right where he'd been. He was on the ground. He'd painfully landed on his front to dodge Bartemius's attack. He got up and brushed his shorts and t-shirt and looked at Bartemius who was staring at him wide-eyed.
"You dodged it." He said quietly, "My attacks hit the instant they are thrown out and require uncanny reaction speed. But you were able to dodge them."
"That's because he already knew." Said Davy, "As soon as his Imperium sensed yours it gave him foresight. Now the thing is-"
"That he cannot activate his Imperium on command just yet." Interrupted Mr. Bartemius, "I see. This is more interesting than I thought. Say. Daniel," he turned to Daniel, "I sent you the file with all the details of your Imperium. You checked it out?"
"Not yet sir." Said Daniel.
"Then go ahead and examine your file with great attention to detail. Get done with breakfast and go to bed early, tonight. Because I need you at the school gates by 5 am tomorrow morning, completely fresh, no questions asked. Now that your Imperium has been unlocked, we no longer need ourselves to beat it out of you. Instead, we go to the next stage of our training." Said Mr. Bartemius.
"Which is?" Said Daniel feeling apprehensive.
"You will see." Was all Mr. Bartemius said before sending them off to their dorms.

Daniel went to bed feeling uneasy that night. There were a ton of things on his mind. Why was Davy acting so strange all of a sudden. He'd started acting friendly after just exchanging some dialogues about his family and his arrival. What was really bothering Daniel was the excitement he'd shown at him unlocking his Imperium. It had felt really strange that someone who hardly knew him and had basically avoided him for so long was this excited for him. He turned over to see that Davy was on his phone, texting someone and looking rather- dejected. Well, this wasn't any of Daniel's business, like Davy had said. So no point thinking about it too much. Flipping his pillow to the colder side and turning over, Daniel went to sleep, still hearing the faint sound of Davy texting.

* * *

Daniel stood right at the school gate as Bartemius had asked, trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes. The sky was a dull gray but the light of M-5 had tinged the eastern horizon with orange. So sunrise wasn't that far. Daniel, looked around. No Bartemius. Feeling slightly annoyed, Daniel went back to counting the rings in the main gate of the school, trying to keep himself awake.
He'd studied the file just as Bartemius had asked, but he hadn't been able to fall asleep for several hours because of his nervousness. Impatiently, Daniel turned around once more and checked his wristwatch to see if he was indeed on time or not. Yep, he was on time. Instead of counting the rings in the gate, Daniel started to review his file in his head. There had been a lot of complicated stuff in it, but he'd still tried to study it as best as he could have.
So Combat Adaption was different from other Imperiums in that it was a reactive Imperium. The requirement for it was that the user always needed to be around someone he'd faced off against before. Now, Combat Adaption in no way made Daniel even near invincible. For example, he would be able to use foresight only if he were placed in a situation meeting a certain set of requirements. For example, not knowing when or where the attack is coming from. A good example for this given by Davy before he went to bed was whenever someone would try to grab or attack him from behind, Daniel would be able to use foresight. But after dodging that one attack, he wouldn't be able to use it again because then, the situation would change completely and he would have to use his innate prowess or training to fight off the adversary.
Foresight was actually a bad starting Imperium for Combat Adaption because of how many requirements there were for it's activation. Having foresight permanently would be extremely powerful because then the user would be able to utilise whenever, but in Daniel's case, he would only be able to use it once and only in specific circumstances.
Like now. Daniel ducked as soon as the sudden vision of him getting hit on the back of the head by an invisible force passed. He could feel a rush of air directly overhead just a moment later and he knew now that Mr. Bartemius was around.
Sure enough, he was walking towards him briskly, a small smile on his face. He was dressed in a purple t-shirt and black track pants.
"So, you ready for your morning training?" He asked.
"Yes sir," said Daniel with some annoyance, "I hope you don't mind explaining to me why you directed an attack to my head instead of simply calling out?"
"Well, I was testing you." He said with shrug, "Also, watch your tone, young man. I am not this lenient during training sessions. Now come on, walk with me."

The two of them walked out of the school gate. It was way too early in the morning so there wasn't anything or anyone significant to observe. Just some joggers and some old people walking their pets. An occasional car passed them as they started to venture away from the school gates. The morning heat was still enough to make Daniel sweat profusely. Bartemius however seemed to be having no problems with the heat. The two of them walked around the corner, still going along the school border as lamp posts flickered and went out.
About 15 minutes later, Daniel found himself at the entrance of large field with evenly cut grass and a very strange fencing. Bartemius threw open the iron gate which was a head taller than Daniel and walked in, disappearing suddenly. Ok. Was this some sort of concealment Imperium? Daniel had already lost his ability to feel surprised. He glanced around. The iron fencing was really bothering him. It looked like an untidy vine with thorns protruding from it, twisting and turning and forming knots. What was more weird was that the field was completely empty. Not a single soul was inside. For such a large ground, this seemed very strange. Daniel took a cautious step inside the entrance and gasped. It was as if he were stepping into a waterfall; a cave behind a waterfall. His leg wasn't wet but the sensation certainly felt like he'd put his leg into flowing water. Daniel lunged forward rather comically through the iron gate. For a second, it felt like he was walking through an invisible mass of water and he held his breath subconsciously. Then, the sensation passed and he inhaled. Suddenly, the field before him wasn't empty anymore. It wasn't exactly crowded, but there were a bunch of men and women here who seemed to be lifting huge objects over their heads and tossing them to each other.
"Don't stand around!" Came Mr. Bartemius's voice from his right, and he saw him standing in front of a dozen large objects which looked like refrigerators.
"Well, come on here!" Said Mr. Bartemius loudly and beckoning him forward.
Daniel silently walked over to where he was pointing and stood there, feeling nervous.
"Well, like I said, now that you have unlocked your Imperium, you don't need to face off against anyone just yet. Partly because we don't want to overload you with more counter Imperiums, and partly because Cecile roughed you up a bit too much."
He kept looking at him as if looking for a response. When he didn't get one, he went on, "So for now, it will be better for us to train your innate semi mortal physical power. Know that your body is already capable of the things I am gonna tell you to do. You just have to make your body used to it. So don't think about whether or not the things I am gonna tell you to do will get your bones broken. I know the things I am gonna tell you to do won't injure you. Not too much atleast." He continued to look at Daniel who was already starting to feel sick in the stomach. However, he cleared his throat and said, "Yes sir. So what tasks are you going to have me undertake?"
"I thought you wouldn't ask." Said Bartemius with a ghost of a smile, "For your first three days, you are gonna take two of these-" he pointed towards two small cubicle objects- "and run around the ground holding them. Take 5 rounds and come back, we will discuss the rest later. You start in 5 minutes, so do whatever warm-up you can."
"Are you sure this is the equipment?" Daniel asked, eyeing the cubes uncertainly. They didn't look particularly heavy. They were the size of a small box.
"Oh, are you doubtful?" Asked Bartemius, "Well, it will be better if you start out."
He picked up a cube from the ground and tossed it to Daniel who just put out his hand to catch it.
WHAM! Both, him and the cube that had landed in his hand fell down to the ground in an instant. His hand felt absolutely crushed and his eyes watered as he tried to wrench it from under the cube. That thing was heavy. Extremely heavy. He managed to get his hand out from under it and blew at his hand which looked awfully bent out now. His arm had gone numb and his eyes still watered from the pain.
"And this is why you should never get overconfident." Said Bartemius with some satisfaction. He took out a pill from his back pocket as Daniel hastily grabbed it out of his hand and swallowed it. Instantly, the pain in his hand started to subside and the his fingers regained there shape. He inhaled and exhaled deeply.
"How heavy is that thing?" Daniel asked, looking at Bartemius with contempt.
"About 75 kilograms." Replied Bartemius grinning as Daniel started.
"And I have to run around the ground with two of these." He said numbly.
"Indeed, and I suggest you do that quickly." Said Bartemius smiling evilly, "We don't have all day you know."

Daniel woke up with a start. Where was he again? The whitewashed ceiling and the smell of antiseptic.....was he in the infirmary? He sat up, wincing. What had happened? His neck and head hurt. He didn't remember anything.
"Look who finally woke up." Came a voice from beside him as he turned to look sideways, "I thought you weren't gonna wake up at all."
It was Liz, in her faction uniform, a hard look on her face.
"I am gonna have to give that old man a piece of my mind." She said angrily, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand, "Pushing you this hard on your first day! What was he thinking?"
"Wait, what happened?" He asked bewildered, and gasped as he felt a sharp pang of pain in his legs. Eyes watering, he threw away the covers and stared at his legs, almost fainting. His legs were bandaged from knee down. There were red blots under the bandages at places.
"Wha-" he said and choked as his legs started to pain again, more sharply than before.
"Don't move. I will get the doc." Said Liz, sounding sad, as Daniel's legs began to hurt more and his ears began ringing. Spots danced in his eyes and he didn't want any of this. He didn't want any of this. Why was everything like this? What was happening with him? He saw the doc and Liz hurrying to his bed, talking in undertones before he passed out again.
When he came to again, there was no pain in his legs or anywhere, for that matter. But his body still felt incredibly tired and worn down.
"Awake?" Asked the doc from his desk, chuckling at him.
"Yeah," said Daniel, sitting up. He half expected the pain in his legs to return, but there wasn't any. Cautiously, Daniel peeked under his covers and saw that his legs looked completely normal. Nothing wrong with them at all.
"What even happened?" He asked, looking at the doc questioningly.
"I don't know, exactly," said the doc, shrugging, "Bartemius just came in carrying you in his arms. He didn't say what happened. But your legs looked absolutely wrecked."
"I see." Said Daniel feeling numb, "Can I leave?"
"Sure. By the way, Bruce Lopez dropped by once with his friend, to take a look at you. They looked pretty worried, so maybe you should go talk to them." Said the doc.
"Right, and what about Liz?" He asked.
"Miss Brown? She left a few minutes after I was done healing you." Replied the doc thoughtfully.
Daniel nodded and walked out of the room swiftly. Where was he supposed to go now? Back to his dorm? To Bartemius? He wanted to know what had happened. It was clear that he'd pretty much wasted the whole day at the infirmary. Right now, the sun was setting and the sky was a shade of orange. Right outside the main building, several buses were lined up and a ton of students were climbing onto them, dressed casually and carrying heavily loaded backpacks and suitcases. All of them were chatting and laughing together surrounded by an air of excitement.
Looking at them like this, laughing together, having fun, made Daniel feel really alien. He would have given anything to just switch places with one of them. But that wasn't possible. Because he was the only 'one of a kind case' here. Sighing, he walked away from the crowd just as a distant honk sounded and everyone started to climb the buses.

"Hey! Daniel! Daniel!" Came a shout from behind him. He turned around to see Davy running out of the building, towards him, panting.
"You're finally out!" He said sounding relieved, "I thought you were gonna stay in for atleast a day."
"Yeah?" Said Daniel tiredly, "Well, that sucks. Anyway, have you seen Mr. Bartemius? I wanted to talk to him."
"Yeah, that is what I am here for." Said Davy, "Mr. Bartemius and Miss Brown want to see you. Both of them are in them are in his office. They sent me to fetch you."
"Oh. Right."
Together, they both headed off back into the building, walking up a flight of stairs leading up to the first level where Hugh Soto's office was. Daniel was surprised to see Darius sitting outside on one of the chairs, looking nervous and fidgety. He passed Daniel a small, rather distracted smile and went back to looking uneasy, tapping his foot on the ground impatiently. The sound of raised voices was very clear even from the outside of the office but it wasn't clear what the matter of discussion was inside. Davy gave the door a knock and immediately, a voice from inside said, "come in!"
Davy opened the door a bit hastily and closed it behind Daniel just as the latter got inside. In one corner of the room, Bruce Lopez was sitting, looking bored out of his mind. He was wearing a loose armour plate which looked way too big for his thin frame. Liz and Bartemius stood in the middle of the room, glaring at each other with badly concealed hostility. Hugh Soto sat at the far end of the room in his normal teenager form. His eyes were repeatedly darting back and forth between Liz and Bartemius.
"Our guest is here, people." Said Bruce from his corner, "Better wrap it up quickly. I want to go home too, you know. My grandfather is back from earth and he has brought back a ton of sweets." He smiled at Daniel and gave him a small thumbs up.
"This behaviour is hardly befitting of a high ranking official." Said Bartemius sneering at Bruce, "I still don't understand why they would make someone like you a Faction Leader."
"I know you don't find my presence too pleasing, Mr. Bartemius, but I do have a lot of respect for you. Which is exactly why I am refraining from making a smart reply." Said Bruce, sounding generous.
"Why, you littl-" began Bartemius, but he was cut off by Liz.
"Can we please get back on topic?" She said angrily.
"Fine." Said Bartemius glaring at Bruce before meeting Liz's gaze evenly, "I am not gonna allow you to take away one of my students any more than I am gonna allow Darius Rowse to inspect this school again."
"For god's sake, you stubborn old man," said Liz, "Daniel isn't your student! As his current guardian I have every right to remove him from under your command!"
"Do you have the necessary paperwork to prove that you are indeed the young boy's current guardian?" Inquired Bartemius.
"That has already been taken care of." Piped up Hugh, looking a bit scared, "I was presented with all of the paperwork needed. Samuel Xander issued an official letter as well. Smith Baker came by to deliver it."
His dad had sent a letter here? Had he sent something for him as well?
"Well," said Bartemius turning back to Liz with a sneer, "I see your Faction works fast when there is something personal you want to take care of. I wonder what happened to you people when the sworn protection oath fell apart!"
"Do not make this political!" Said Liz loudly, looking livid, "My Faction had nothing to do with the paperwork for admission in this school! I did all that myself. And you are one to talk about the sworn protection oath when you yourself couldn't fight off the mountain brearoids back in-"
"Ok! Break it up, kids!" Said Bruce stepping in between them and holding up his hands, "I don't know why you adults start bickering like children when it comes to politics. Don't you have another matter to discuss?"
"It's been settled then." Said Liz throwing Bartemius a look of disgust.
"No, you haven't yet asked the kid." Said Bartemius returning the look.
"I don't need to! He knows what's good for hi-" said Liz but she stopped suddenly, as if she'd just realised that something was wrong. She looked at Daniel who looked back confusedly. He had no idea what any of this was about.
"Right, I haven't asked him." Said Liz clearing her throat and straightening up.
"Well, it will be better if we do that now, then." Said Hugh nervously, his face reflecting some fear. He scratched his chin before continuing, "So Daniel, you know what these two are talking about?"
"No clue." Said Daniel earnestly.
"Well, they are basically fighting over you. Weird, I know. But well, Elizabeth here reckons that Bartemius's methods are too harsh for someone as inexperienced as you. Honestly, I quite agree; no offense Bartemius. Bartemius, on the other hand claims that he is trying to toughen you up with his harsh methods. So, well, the final decision is yours. Elizabeth wants to get you a different tutor. I private tutor. Bartemius wants to continue training you in his own ways. So, well, who do you pick?" He finished awkwardly and sat back down.
"Well, I-" said Daniel looking around completely puzzled, "well, I for one have no idea what even happened today. I was out training with Mr. Bartemius, I think, and the next thing I knew was that I was walking up in the infirmary."
"Yes, it was probably the medication the doc used on you." Said Bruce, "It does tamper with the memories preceding the injuries when it puts you to sleep. It's an imperfect concoction, but," he shrugged, "it works just well."
"Right," said Daniel, "so how did I get injured in the first place?"
"Your legs got injured while training." Said Bartemius shortly.
"And how, exactly?" Asked Daniel slowly.
"Oh, I will tell you how!" Said Liz, her face turning red with anger, "He told you to train with the concentrated masses, knowing full well that concentrated masses are reserved for level two semi mortals! Your legs got crushed under a 200 kilogram mass!"
"That is a lie!" Yelled Bartemius.
"It's not!" Shouted Liz back.
"Quiet, both of you!" Said Hugh covering his ears. Both of them stopped at once.
"Good." He said. Then, turning to Bartemius, he began, "Bartemius, I must impress upon you the gravity of what you did. Even if you claim otherwise, there is no evidence to your claims apart from your word. And even I have to say that I find it hard to believe that Xander's legs just fell apart while training. Clearly, you placed him under pressure his body wasn't ready for. You know that full well." He stopped, glaring at Bartemius, who dropped his gaze. "Why you did this," continued Hugh, as Bartemius stared at his feet, "remains a mystery to me. The only plausible explanation is that you find Samuel Xander disagreeable like a lot of other people and you tried to take that out on the boy."
Bartemius didn't say anything. Daniel's head was spinning. He had found Bartemius really cool ever since their first meeting. Like a mature dependable figure. To think that he too was one of the people who were willing to torment him just to get back to his father was absurd.
"So, now that we have that out of the way, Daniel, do you want to continue training under Bartemius? Or do you want to come with me?" Asked Liz. Her voice was impassive, but somehow, her eyes were pleading.
Daniel looked at Bartemius, who was staring at him coldly, his head down. The solution seemed crystal clear, but then, why was he hesitant? Because he didn't want to burden Liz with himself. That was why. But right now, the logical choice was to go with Liz. After whatever Bartemius had done today, though he didn't remember it, did he really want to be under the old man anymore? Maybe, he should rely on Liz willingly for once. A small part of him was glad that she was looking out for him. He should be grateful.
"I will go with my sister." Said Daniel, shooting Bartemius an angry look.
"That's settled then." Said Hugh with a sigh, "You can go with her and I will issue your summer school timetable by 9:00 pm. Now get out all of you. I need to talk to my mother about summer vacation. This job is a huge pain....." His voice trailed off as he gestured all of them to leave.

"Well, you are by no means, Bartemius free." Said Bruce as him, Daniel, Davy and Liz walked away from the school gates. Liz had decided to take him out for dinner tonight as there hadn't been anything edible left in the school mess.
"Yeah, he is still gonna teach you math." Said Davy scrolling through his phone.
"Why are you two with us, again?" Asked Liz exasperatedly.
"Well, I came by the principal's office on Darius's request. And he is your best friend. So I figured you guys owe me. Anyway, I am leaving tonight and am going to return in three months! Why can't I spend some time with my friend Daniel?" Said Bruce cheerfully.
"I will pay for my own food. There isn't anything edible left in the cafeteria." Said Davy.
"Aren't you Cecile's friend?" Asked Liz, to which, Davy tensed.
"Yeah." He said rigidly.
"She was really off today. Is something wrong? You guys aren't fighting, are you?" Asked Liz frowning.
"With all due respect, Miss Brown, I don't think that is any of your business." Replied Davy in the same tense voice.
"Ho ho! Someone's definitely fighting!" Said Bruce excitedly, "Come on man! Spill! What's up?"
"Dude, back off. Why are you so invested?"
"You know what?" Said Daniel, as something suddenly struck him, "He is not acting the same around me anymore as well. He was so cold and weird when I first came by. But he even did some research on my Imperium!"
"Hah! Really?" Said Bruce almost jumping up and down, "Something is definitely up!"
Davy was silent for a sometime as the four of them continued to walk. Daniel and Bruce stared at him expectantly while Liz just took out her phone and started playing games, her mind no longer on the conversation.
"Fine," said Davy with a sigh, "we did have a fight."
"I knew it." Said Bruce, "What was it about?"
"Well, I basically told her to give Daniel a break." Said Davy covering his face.
"You shouldn't have done that." Said Daniel, "She really hates me."
"Yeah, and for the wrong reasons. But that doesn't matter. Anyway it didn't start out as a big deal anyway. I just said that because it's not like her to just hate someone without knowing them. But she didn't take it too well. So I-... I-" he caught himself, as if he was having a really hard time getting the words out.
"You what?" Said Liz not looking up from her phone.
"I told her that I thought Daniel would be able to beat her." Said Davy in a very low voice.
"You WHAT?!" Shouted both Daniel and Bruce, one in horror, the other I delight. Even Liz put down her phone and turned to stare at Davy as if she found him to be something mildly interesting.
"It just came out!" Cried Davy.
"The last time you did that, it was about Sandra. And Cecile completely destroyed Sandra. I remember the poor girl couldn't move her hand for a week." Said Bruce as Daniel almost tripped over his feet.
"You made a bet with her? What, you wanna get me killed?" Said Daniel angrily.
"No! It's just that....well, no one in our year can really beat Cecile." Said Davy, "She is also the only one in a Siege Faction. I think she got a superiority complex because of this. So if anyone can kick her off her high horse-"
"It's not gonna be me!" Said Daniel, feeling alarmed, "You better go back to her and tell her you didn't mean any of that. I value my life too much!"
"Come on man!" Said Davy, his voice pleading, "You are the newest student here and she really seems to hate you. Don't you wanna rise and fight back? If not for me, then, for yourself?"
"Hate Daniel?" Interjected Liz, "What's that about?"
"Ah, yeah. You don't know." Said Daniel.
Him and Daniel recounted their whole training session and Cecile's open hostility towards Daniel. Davy also told her about the conversations he'd had about Daniel with Cecile.
"Wait, so do you know the reason for this?" Interrupted Liz as Davy told her about Daniel and Cecile's first fight.
"That's not my secret to share." Said Davy.
"Is it about the sworn protection oath?" Asked Liz as Davy and Bruce stared.
"Well, yeah." Said Davy reluctantly, "It is about that, but-"
"Then, it's not a secret." Said Liz indignantly, "It's literally common knowledge."
"Well, not exactly you know. I didn't even know until recently. She told me about it on the night Daniel moved in." Said Davy indignantly.
"What is this sworn protection oath about?" Asked Daniel, "Bartemius mentioned something like that as well."
"Well, it was Bruce who didn't want to tell you," said Davy glaring at Bruce as the latter shrugged, "but if Miss Brown insists, I think it is probably fine if we tell you."
All of them looked at Liz expectantly, who sighed and began, "The sworn protection oath was an oath which used to be taken by Faction Leaders. Faction Leaders basically vowed to protect there underlings in any situation. It was legally put out of practice after the incident with uncle Samuel and my father because the government believed that if something like that were to happen again, there wouldn't be anyone left to fulfill this oath. Also, dad obviously was in no condition to protect anyone. When that happened, Faction Leaders were no longer obligated to protect anyone. They could just do as they pleased on the battlefield. The thing is that until 5 years ago, Karstum took no interest in direct military confrontations. Then, we captured a very important mountain post in Katoterose and finally Karstum came by. But before that, it felt like he couldn't care less about what we did. Without our symbol of authority and with no sworn protection oath, the Faction Leaders went out if their way to put on unnecessary displays of their power, never focusing on their soldiers and never protecting anyone. Battles became one-sided, and in the end, a Faction Leader was exiled over accidentally killing off his own men. And that was," she paused, taking in a deep breath, "Cecile's grandfather. After he got exiled to earth with his wife, son and daughter in law, the family had to start from ground zero and build everything they own today. I don't know how they did it, but they did. All I know is that the grandfather and Cecile's parents had to go through some huge struggles."
"Wait a second now." Said Daniel almost throwing out his hands, "Liz, that night when I was with you and Darius in the Madron coffee house, you said that Cecile's parents were retired veterans-"
"Yeah, because they returned to Anoterose and went back after 2 years of service." Said Liz, "I think they returned when Cecile turned 5."
"She probably holds so much animosity against you because she had to spend two years with her grandfather." Said Bruce wonderingly, "I mean, makes sense, if she had two years of her grandfather just talking about how Samuel destroyed his life-"
"But he didn't!" Said Daniel stamping his foot in exasperation, "The old man killed his own men! My father had nothing to do with it!"
"But the old man can tell a five year old whatever fits his narrative. I think he must've hated Samuel for saving my father's life." Said Liz delicately. Then, with a harder expression, she said, "Maybe Cecile is being unreasonable. I think I should talk to her-"
"No!" Said Davy suddenly, so loudly that all of them jumped back, "No, Cecile isn't like that! She is hardworking and deserving of whatever position she has-"
"Doesn't excuse her for being unreasonable. And to think one of my most trusted subordinates would do stuff like this behind my back." Said Liz.
"No, Liz, wait." Said Daniel clenching his fist, "If me beating her is what will kick her off her high horse, so be it." He felt inexplicable anger now and his eyes burned. What business had Samuel saving Joseph Brown been of her grandfather's? And had he spent two years just spoiling her granddaughter and telling her stories about how his; Daniel's father, had ruined his life. This was seriously outrageous. But at the same time, his fury towards Cecile eased up. So it wasn't her fault. Maybe, if he got to talk with her.....
"Liz, have you known this all along?" Asked Daniel.
"About her grandfather? No. I just found out about this. Like, 4 days ago while looking at the criminal records of the relatives of the people in my siege faction. Her grand father's name was on top." Said Liz.
"For real?" Asked Davy.
"Yep. But this doesn't explain why she doesn't hate me. I mean, my father and uncle Samuel are still best friends." Said Liz frowning.
"Ah, about that." Said Davy with a sort of nervous shudder, "Well, that's because she sympathises with you. Her grandfather told her that Joseph Brown was a victim of Samuel Xander's selfishness."
Liz took a deep breath and looked up at the sky, as if praying for patience. Then, she turned to Davy with a charming smile.
"Does that girl," she breathed, deadly quiet, "have a single USABLE BRAIN CELL IN HER HEAD?" She finished loudly enough to scare the three of them out of their wits.
"No, I think it's not her fault." Said Bruce thoughtfully, "Think about it, the adult you spend your childhood with has the biggest impact on your life. If anything, her grandfather convinced her five year old self of his argument. He might have told her that life without and Imperium is worse than death."
"You know, for the youngest one among us, you sure are the wisest." Snorted Liz after a moment of silence. She looked around the street.
"But the bad news is," she continued, "that we got so carried away in our talk that we passed the restaurant some time ago."

After a lot of complaining and shoving food down their throats, Bruce left for the railway station in a taxi. He had already shipped his luggage off.
"Bring back an older Mr. Zero novel." Called Daniel, "I will show you all the Easter eggs there are!"
Bruce laughed and waved back from the car window. The rest of them watched as the car sped away from the school and disappeared round the corner.
"He's a chill guy." Said Davy, "I haven't known him for that long, but he is pretty cool."
"Come on, I will drop you off to your dorm." Said Liz with a yawn and went in the open school gates.
There only a couple of buses left now. Most of them had already left with the majority of the students. Most of the students who had their homes in the second plane were staying. But their weren't a whole lot of them to begin with. Just Davy and Cecile from what Daniel could tell. The three of them walked over to the dorm building quietly. The place which had been bustling with life and energy now stood before them as nothing more than a large uninhabited structure. Only one tall figure stood in front of the main gate and for a second Daniel thought that it was Mr. Bartemius. But as they got closer, he realised it was just Nathan, looking at them, waiting for them to approach. The three of them silently walked towards him. He had his uniform on and his hair was neatly combed. He wore a purple t-shirt beneath his armour plate and his marks were barely visible in the light from the main hall of the dorms.
"Miss Brown." He said by way of greeting, inclining his head to Liz who grudgingly inclined her own.
"You have business here?" She asked.
"Indeed. I have come here to make a recruitment. Or atleast hear out an answer owed to me." Replied Nathan. Then, turning to Davy, he said, "Have you made your decision, Castillo?"
"Ah, about that," began Davy nervously, "well, I really am grateful, Mr. Kyle, but the thing is that I don't want any special involvement. I would much rather give the entrance exam in October and join your Faction then."
"But you have decided to join my Faction?" Asked Nathan.
"Ah, yes." Said Davy, "I really appreciate the focus and attention given to battle strategy development. I would without a doubt join your Faction."
"I am glad." Said Nathan with a polite smile. There wasn't a single hint of condescension in his expression. But again, that was probably his split personality or something.
His gaze shifted to Daniel who evenly met it. Nathan put his hand behind his back and produced a small tiffin box, with a note sticking on top.
"Smith Baker came by and dropped this for you. He was gonna give it to miss Brown originally, but she was nowhere to be found. I was coming here anyway so I decided to give this to you." Said Nathan expressionlessly.
"Thanks." Said Daniel, "By the way, is Smith Baker a postal service? I mean does he deliver everyone's messages?"
"He is the immortal of time stream." Said Nathan shrugging, "I guess he is just to good at his job. He also is on good terms with everyone, so he seems to enjoy meeting people and catching up."
"Nice." Said Daniel examining the box, "Whoa! It's from mom!"
"What's it say?" Said Liz curiously.
"Umm, wait," said Daniel squinting in the dark, struggling a bit to make out the note, "it says: 'brush your teeth after eating this honey. Share some with your new friends as well. I would have written a letter explaining everything but I couldn't put everything in words. Dad is good. He is just feeling a bit lonely without you. Smith Baker was kind enough to deliver this for us. Make sure to eat and sleep well. Love you :).' " He finished, his voice trailing into silence as he subconsciously ran his fingers over his mom's beautiful writing. This was from them....
"Aww, that's sweet!" Said Davy before Daniel could for the nth time, get emotional over his parents, "I want some!"
"Hey man! Back off! I get to have the first bite! I am his sister!" Said Liz advancing towards him as Daniel held the box behind his back.
"It's for me! I get the first bite!" He complained, "Also, I am gonna send some to Penelope! Maybe she will cheer up a bit."
"After I have had my share!" Said Davy.
"You aren't even his friend! Not to mention you didn't even pay for your own dinner!" Said Liz pointedly.
"You never asked me to pay!" Said Davy outraged.
Nathan cleared his throat loudly as all three of them looked towards him.
"You ain't getting any, pretty boy." Said Liz flatly.
"I wasn't going to demand any." He said with great dignity. Then, he pointed towards Daniel and said, "Do you mind if I borrow Daniel for a second?"
"Well, no...." Said Liz her voice trailing off. Then, clearing her throat, she said more loudly, "Well, that depends on whether Daniel wants to go."
"I am sure he doesn't mind." Said Nathan and he grabbed Daniel's arm impatiently waving away the latter's protests. He led him into the dorm building and let go of his arm.
"What is it?" Said Daniel, feeling unnerved.
In response, Nathan just stared at his wristwatch and gestured Daniel to wait. After several moments, he sighed with relief and and ran his hand through his hair, thoroughly messing it up.
"That's better." Then, looking at the bewildered expression on Daniel's face, he said, "What? My duty is over. I don't do overtime. Plus, your dear sister says I shouldn't 'fake' who I am."
"O- ok, I guess," said Daniel confused, "so why do you fake who you are?"
"Because that's what is needed to survive here. Not like, literally. It's more of a government formality. A ton of people forget who they are during their tenure because they have to be so uptight and self righteous and blah, blah, blah. I just try to put forward a different persona." Said Nathan.
"Or whenever you feel like someone can threaten your status." Said Daniel with contempt.
"Whatever you think is right, kid." Said Nathan, clearly indifferent.
"Look, why don't you just tell me what you want?" Asked Daniel warily.
"To the point, huh?" Said Nathan, "Alright, I am here to tell you about an ordeal which is coming for you in near future. I just want to tell you that be prepared for the absolute worst. Understood?"
"I suppose you can't tell me what this ordeal is?"
"We are supposed to be vague and cryptic with our hints, kid." Said Nathan, "Or atleast that is the excuse I make for myself. It doesn't matter. I don't feel like telling you anything more than this. And Elizabeth wouldn't want me to drop more information. Mind you, don't ask her. She wouldn't tell you, and she will kill me."
Daniel had to fight the urge to call Nathan a bunch of very bad names. He contented himself with grinding his teeth and balling his fists tightly.
"Yeah, yeah. I know I am the worst." Said Nathan sounding bored, "Look man, I know, maybe I wasn't the best escort. But I want you to know I have absolutely nothing against you. You attacked me, I defended myself. So you can't grudge me for that. I fake who I am infront of people who pose a threat to me. So what? Everyone does that. It's a necessary measure."
"I suppose you are also going to justify you taunting Liz and Darius?" Said Daniel feeling furious. But somewhere inside him, he wasn't exactly feeling angry at Nathan. There was definitely some truth in his words. And again, whatever Nathan did had nothing to do with him, so he didn't exactly get to call Nathan out for his persona.
"Again, nothing personal." Said Nathan shrugging, "Rowse just gets on my nerves, but even I have to agree he is a valuable asset. And he doesn't let people exploit him easily. So there's that. As for Elizabeth, well, I don't wanna tell you. So there."
"Fine." Said Daniel, "So are you gonna leave now? You are really wearing me down."
"Smart mouth." Said Nathan making a face, "You don't need to worry about seeing me again. This is probably the last of me you are gonna see in a long time."
With that, he walked out of the building as Daniel followed him, wondering what ordeal Nathan had been talking about.

Liz and Davy were right where Daniel and Nathan had left them. Both of them were staring at their phones with complete abandon. It took Nathan clearing his throat to break them out of their reverie.
"Ah, you guys done?" Said Liz distractedly.
"Yeah." Said Nathan shortly. He turned to Davy and said, "I want to see you at the orientation program in November, Castillo. Study well."
With that, he nodded to Liz and walked away. The three of them watched him as his outline became smaller and smaller and he disappeared out of the school gate.
"Oh, well." Said Liz shrugging, "I guess he told you not to tell me what you guys talked about?"
"Yeah." Said Daniel uneasily. He waited for her to pursue the topic but instead, she grabbed the tiffin box out of his hand and said, "We didn't even see what's in it."
She opened the lid as all three of them leaned in.
It was a homemade chocolate cake. His mother's personal recipe, probably.
"Whoa! She's never made one before." Said Daniel happily.
"Really? It looks really good!" Said Davy almost diving into the box. But Liz pulled it back.
"I am the one who gets the first taste since I am the oldest!" She said sneering at them. "That's right! Fight me-"
"Madam? Is that you?" Came a voice from behind them as Liz's expression turned into one of alarm and she shoved the box back to Daniel.
Cecile Kress had materialised out of nowhere right behind them. Liz turned to face her.
"Cecile, is there something I can help you with?" Said Liz after loudly clearing her throat.
"Not really ma'am," said Cecile, with an eyebrow raised and an amused expression, "I just came to talk with Davy for a second. Could you please give me a moment with him?"
"No." Interrupted Davy, "Whatever you wanna talk about, you can talk with them here."
Cecile's expression hardened, as if she was steeling herself to do something. She sighed.
"Alright, I will talk then." She said, "I came to talk about our little disagreement the other day."
"What about it?" Said Davy wearily.
"Look, I just wanted to tell you to stop avoiding me," she said, "nothing else."
"I am not avoiding you. You just refuse to listen to me." Said Davy with an edge to his voice.
"Listen to you about what? My grandfather?" Said Cecile, "I will put it bluntly. My grandfather is a great man and you don't have any right to tell me he's wrong."
"Are you gonna step in?" Asked Daniel, addressing Liz as the two of them continued to argue back and forth, "Or should I?"
"You are the main subject of their disagreement." She said shrugging, "I don't think it's my place to step in."
Daniel nodded. He took a deep breath and mentally rehearsed what he was about to say.
"Alright, you two. Break it up." He said in what he thought was a confident voice. Beside him, Liz shook her head in second hand embarrassment. But his interruption had done the trick. Both Cecile and Davy turned to look at him slowly, and Daniel felt himself shrink a bit.
"Daniel, this isn't your place to step in." Said Davy.
"Well, since I am the root cause for your conflict, I hardly find it fair that I don't get a say in this." Said Daniel more confidently now. Cecile made an audible "tch" noise.
"It's none of your business, Xander." She said venomously, "Stay out of this. Unless you want another beat down."
"Yeah, nice to meet you too." Said Daniel feeling a familiar spike of anger inside him, "Look, I don't know what your problem with me is, but it hardly seems fair that you hate me so much without even knowing me."
"I don't need to know you." She said dismissively, "A person's upbringing speaks a lot about them. And everyone knows who your father is."
"Do not act like you know my father!" He said with furiously, but Cecile just laughed.
"You seriously think I am the only one?" She said derisively, "Of course not! You haven't even seen the worst of it. Who have you encountered until now? Nathan? Me? Bartemius? There are so many people who want to repay you for what your father did-"
"Enough!" Shouted Liz stamping her foot. Her expression was livid, but when she spoke, her tone was even, "Your senior is still in the vicinity, young lady. Even though we aren't on duty I suggest you mind what you say. Politics isn't a place for children like you. So don't form opinions on half true stories and facts. And do not speak ill of the former hero of Anoterose."
Cecile paled considerably, but she was far from done, "Ma'am, with all due respect, the reprecussions of Samuel Xander's actions-"
"Like I said," said Liz, her eyes narrowed, "stop talking about matters you don't fully understand."
Cecile pursed her lips, clearly at a loss. Then, she looked at Daniel and her expression changed, turning into one of fury.
"I will give you two weeks. Train for two weeks. After that, we fight." She said shortly before running off, looking troubled.
"Well, that went well." Said Davy sighing, "What are you gonna do now?"
"What do you mean?" Said Daniel an unpleasant sensation filling him, "I have no choice."
"Of course you do-" began Liz impatiently but Daniel cut through her.
"No Liz." he said with conviction. It was true. He didn't have a choice. He had resolved to remove the stain from his father's name. He had resolved to become stronger. He couldn't walk around with people thinking he was dead weight. He was his father's son. He had to prove it. He wasn't going to be a pushover and he wasn't gonna rely on anyone to save him. As much as he hated it here, he had no choice.
"I hope you have a new tutor ready for me." He said hopefully, "A good one?"
"Oh yes." And now she grinned widely, "Your new tutor, is gonna be the toughest soldier in all of Anoterose. The surprising thing is that this person agreed to tutor you without a second thought, despite their busy schedule."
"Ok, I guess." Said Daniel feeling uneasy, "What's with the suspense? Who is it?"
At that, she grinned more widely.
"Penelope Sherman."