Formation

< Risky Decisions
*"Hello," Fontaine's voice boomed on the other side of the line, although he spoke calmly. "I'm still gathering information that we can use against Alchemilia, but I need a few of you to check someone out. Based on what I know about him, I believe he might be sympathetic to our cause.*

*"His name is Wen Li and he runs a store in District One named Plant Empire, alongside his wife. Go there, check him out, see what he thinks, but don't be blunt about it until you're sure he's on our side."*

It had been a week since the group met John Fontaine outside of the Maninder Cognitive Science Center, and everyone had remained busy.

Melissa Devlin had made several trips to the Silivian Masquerade Hospital in an attempt to locate Savannah Whitesmith's body, and all had resulted in failure.

After two days of discussion, Marshall Rooke had successfully led everyone to agree to Fontaine's plan and they decided to follow his lead and meet him at the homeless shelter. Fontaine readily accepted their assistance and provided Marshall with a burner phone, noting that he would contact them with further information as time went on.

Blossom Cane pulled to a stop and pointed across the street. "That's Plant Empire over there, next to the chess shop. If you want, I can come inside with you guys and introduce you to Mister Li."

Just before Atticus left the Maninder Cognitive Science Center, Blossom had provided him with her phone number and suggested calling her if he ever needed someone to talk to. He had avoided doing so until today, asking if she could provide him and Marshall a ride to Plant Empire — although he had left out their reasoning.

"No, you don't have to do that. We're good from here, thanks for the ride," Atticus Anoethite mumbled, removing his seat belt.

Marshall first hurried out of the car and jogged to the other side of the road. Atticus sat for a moment, staring at the building they were about to enter, before following after the other boy.

The two walked into the shop, with Marshall in front. The lighting was a bit dimmer than they would have liked, but they could see just fine, though the cold outside continued into the store. Both elected to keep their jackets on.

"Rustic," Marshall muttered.

The interior of the store was no different than the outside in terms of design. Aisles of shelves were on either side of them, which displayed beautiful floral arrangements, succulents, ferns — every plant imaginable. Near the back was a checkout counter, and behind that was a backroom where one could assume the products were prepared.

A voice in the back bellowed. "Cold morning."

"Hello?" Atticus answered, a bit wary. He beckoned Marshall as he stepped towards the checkout counter, seeing a young man, with dark hair and a small face, standing behind it.

"Wen, it's good to meet you. I'm just going to get to the point. John Fontaine sent us to talk to you about something very important."

"I, uh..." The young man narrowed his eyes, tapping a finger on the counter nervously. "I don't think I know what you're talking about, sirs. I have no idea who Josh Fountain is, or whoever it was that you mentioned." He tried to slide his hand over to the phone subtly, asking, "What important business do you have with Mister Li regarding the Fountain guy?" but the two noticed and quckly reacted.

"Oh, you know," Marshall said as he gave Atticus a knowing side-eye. "Our friend, Josh, wants to get flowers for his new girlfriend, Blossom. This Blossom is a family friend of the Li's and so we're here to order the flowers, but we gotta make sure Blossom doesn't know about it."

"Uh-huh," the man said. "…and what is it you're getting?"

"Uh, we'd like a few basil plants," Atticus stammered.

"I thought her favorite flowers were *orchids*," Marshall growled at Atticus.

"You just made that up on the spot," Atticus answered. "Oh my god, there are orchids next to you! Couldn't you have tried a little bit harder?"

"Hey, settle down, guys," the young man told them. He looked back and forth at the two, wondering if they needlessly fought often or if they were just nervous and lying. The man figured probably both. Whatever business they have with Wen Li is probably business he didn't want to be a part of. "Look, I don't really get paid enough to handle silly arguments over plants." He hoped they would do something stupid so he could just kick them out and be done with it, as long as he wouldn't have to clean anything up. Or they could just behave, get their plants, and go. "I can get you basil, I can get you orchids, I can get you whatever. It's not a big deal. Maybe take a look around before you decide what to get her."

The young man found himself interrupted by a voice in the back of the shop and the sound of a door closing.

"Yu! I'm home!" it sang.

The two boys looked at each other.

"Uh, me?" Marshall said.

"Yu!" it repeated.

Marshall looked at Atticus this time.

"*Me?*" Atticus gulped.

A symphony of humming and scatting could be heard from the back room. Neither the boys nor even the employee had any idea what was going on, and all three were too frightened to find out. Since the man in front of them wasn't Wen Li, maybe this was, they thought. For a moment, they were engrossed with the noise. There was some rustling about in the back, and eventually, it ended.

An elderly man adorned in fishing attire emerged. He was a little shorter and thinner than one would expect, as if age was getting at him. Nevertheless, he looked healthy — he looked active. He had a gleeful countenance and he held a lunchbox in his hand.

The man at the counter passed the older man as he went into the back. Oddly enough, however, the older man paid no attention to the employee or the two "customers" and began his way up a nearby staircase.

"Uh… excuse me?" Marshall said.

The old man ignored them still. It was a wonder how this man had any friends.

"…Mister Li? Uh, Wen…?" Marshall pushed further.

"Oh!" Li shouted, surprised. He finally noticed Marshall. "Welcome, welcome to Plant Empire, welcome. Are you here for the 'early bird special'?"

"Well, not quite," Marshall said.

"We actually wanted to talk to you, Mister Li," Atticus began, glancing at Marshall before continuing. "A man named John Fontaine sent us to talk to you, due to your past affilation with Alchemilia Corporation."

Atticus finished talking, but Li was not fully focused on his words. He was instead fixating something odd about Atticus. It was uncanny. He couldn't believe it. That he was back in his life. He didn't want to believe it. That part of him died long ago.

This was a trick. It had to be. It wasn't a coincidence that this young man was here, talking about Alchemilia. Li knew better. They had been sent to test him. This had to be a way of closing up loose ends. Li was being tricked into acting against Alchemilia to justify his death.

Li's hand inched close to a revolver stored underneath the counter.

The young man said more. It didn't matter, he wasn't listening. He didn't care. What he did care about was in front of him. He had to end it, here and now. He palmed the grip of the gun, and his finger neared the trigger.

He could justify it. They were in his store, trying to shake him up. He eyed their sides. No weapons. Still, the defense might work.

Li pulled the gun even closer and it was now at his side. Atticus had stopped talking. This was the moment.

Not a moment sooner, Li felt a hand on his shoulder. "Welcome home, Wen."

"Oh, hi, Yu," Li sighed.

He snapped back to reality and looked at Atticus and Marshall. They really were just some kids. Maybe he was going crazy, senile. There had to be a million in Silivia, two people were bound to look alike.

"You two have got yourself a deal, twenty succulents. Meet me out back and we can discuss it further," he said. He shoved the gun back into the drawer and walked his wife up the stairs.

The boys quickly left the building and headed towards the back. "What's the plan? How much are we going to tell him?" Atticus asked, as they turned a corner.

"What do you mean 'how much?'"

Neither boy noticed Li had quietly opened the back door to the shop before they could discuss amongst themselves.

"If we're working together, we should all be working off the same information,” the old man explained.

"Are we working together?" Marshall responded. "You just acknowledged you don't know our plan, we could be offering anything."

“You’re offering the chance to stand up to Alchemilia Corporation, correct?” Li asked. “If that’s the case, I’ve been avoiding the issue for too long. We better start working together.”

The boys glanced at each other, clearly this guy was much smarter than either of them had assumed.

"Yes, that's correct. We're allied with John Fontaine, a high ranking operative who plans on taking the company down from the inside. He wanted us to see if you could aid us, considering your past with Alchemilia."

"My, ehhhh… past? I wouldn't say I had a past with them," Li said. He ceased walking towards them. "I was a cop once, but that was a long time ago. I was assigned to a few things here and there — security detail — with the corporation but I would hardly call that a 'past.'"

"Then what was it?" Marshall asked.

"Nothing," he emphasized. It was clear he felt strongly about the company and that he didn't want to explain further.

"Alright then…" Marshall cautioned. "What skills do you bring to the table?"

"I'm the greatest driver and automobile mechanic Silivia has seen in three hundred years. *That's* why I was a cop. I could race from here to the edge of Gladea in twenty minutes if you asked, river and all. What about you?"

"Well," Atticus started, "I'll admit that I don't have a lot of experience or skills, but I feel very strongly about this plan and our need to execute it. Alchemilia killed one of our friends, we've encountered them doing some....inhuman things as part of some experiment, and they plan on supplying the angels with atomic weapons."

Li's face remained unchanged. He let out an indifferent reply. "Interesting."

Marshall was beginning to see that the man couldn't be convinced with the wrongdoings of the corporation. Maybe he already knew about or maybe he just didn't care. It was time for them to try something else.

"*I* am a skilled strategist and tactician with a specialty in stealth, and I know my way around a weapon. I have much experience in the field and recently Atticus and I broke into Alchemilia Gladea and stole a vehicle."

"Oh?" Li perked up. "I heard about that a few days ago on the news when I was fishing with my father, Shen, there. You were the kids that got run off of the road, correct?"

"Wait, your father? Isn't that the news guy? I think we saw him on TV with the governor and Gabriel Arsene a couple of days ago, after the angel attack," Atticus said.

"Yes," Li said. "And that is why we cannot involve him in our plans, if that's what you're asking. He has some sympathies that I don't share. If you're looking to sensationalize this charade in our favor, you're out of luck with him or the Port City Star. Speaking of which, you haven't yet told me what this charade is."

"The plan? We don't have one yet. We need to make sure you're in this first. If you and your driving expertise aren't in then we need to plan accordingly. We don't want this to go wrong, we only have a single chance at this," Marshall cautioned.

"Hm," Li thought for a moment. "Smart. I like it."

"I guess we were lucky," Atticus began, heading back towards the car. "He was pretty easy to convince, which was surprising. Fontaine should be pleased to hear the news."

"Yeah, but we gotta tell him about the plants he now has to pay for. They weren't even on the list of things we needed." Marshall reached for the list in his back-pocket, but grabbed nothing. "Huh? Where'd it go?"

"You dropped it when you got out of the car," Blossom answered, from behind them. Walking beside them, she held her hand out and handed a piece of paper to Marshall.

"So, you were able to convince Mister Li to join your plan? That's why you wanted to come here?"

"Well, thanks for spoiling the surprise, Blossom," Marshall groaned.

"What?" Blossom answered, confused. It clearly wasn't the response she was expecting.

"Your surprise birthday party! We were here to order some plants for it and now you've ruined the surprise," Marshall said.

"Oh, Marshall, cut it out. I saw you guys come out the store and head to the back, so I followed. I was about to ask what you were doing when I saw you talking with Mister Li, so I....stayed and listened to the entire thing. It also doesn't help that you dropped this list and left your bag in my car, which I, uh, went through."

"Blossom, you didn't hear what you tho- *What?* Why did you leave the bag in the car?" Atticus asked, stunned.

"Why do you think, Atticus? It wasn't on purpose, I forgot about it," Marshall said. "And why were you spying?"

"I'll admit that I shouldn't have done it," Blossom responded, looking at the ground. "I was just curious. It felt weird, to me, that you two wanted to meet Mister Li all of a sudden and I had to stay behind here. Once you left, I noticed your bag was here and my curiosity got the better of me. Forged IDs, a gun?

"That's when I noticed the two of you coming out and going behind the building, so I got out and followed. That leads me to a question of my own: Are you guys really planning on attacking Alchemilia Corporation? Even after considering Atticus'....state?"

"Why confront us about it? Why not just call the cops?" Marshall interrogated.

"I wanted to trust you," Blossom admitted, "you trusted me when you told me about being wanted by Alchemilia. I didn't want to rush to the cops before giving you a chance."

"Well, thanks for that, I guess. See ya," Marshall said as he started walking away.

"Oh, Marshall, stop." Atticus grabbed the other boy by the arm and halted him, before addressing Blossom.

"Blossom, I don't know what you heard when we were talking to Mister Li, but we have to strike against Alchemilia. Do you remember what we said about our friend being missing?"

Blossom nodded, a troubled look clouding her features.

"They killed her."

"Mhm, I heard you mentioned that to Mister Li, but I wasn't sure if it was her. But...is it true? Is Alchemilia really going to supply the Sabaoth with atomics?"

"Yes."

"But they just attacked Silivia! We're still counting our dead."

"They need to be stopped. The angels and Alchemilia."

"Hold on," Marshall said. "I need to clarify for Atticus here: we can't do *shit* about the angels. Our primary goal is to take out Alchemilia and that's it. You got that?"

"I want to join," Blossom announced. "I have to, we can't let this happen. I'll do whatever I need to do, just tell me and it'll be done."

"Are you serious?" Marshall asked.

He motioned for Atticus to come closer and whispered. "Can she do this? I think we should ask Fontaine about it, I don't even know if she can be trusted."

"I trust her," Atticus answered, surprising himself as the words came out. "And what else can we do? She already knows our plan, every single bit of it."

"Whatever you two are thinking, you can tell me. I know I don't offer much to your team — I don't have any skills — but I'll try my best."

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Atticus asked. "It's going to be dangerous, this isn't some simple task. We're talking about talking Alchemilia Corporation head on."

"Atticus, my home is at stake. I'm absolutely certain."

It was late afternoon when the last of the group had arrived. Steven, Melissa, and Chris shuffled into Plant Empire one after another. Each of them held an identical book in their hands, "*The Joy of Gardening*," a trait shared by the members who were already there. The eight of them — Atticus, Blossom, Marshall, Fontaine, and the three others — stood around, waiting for the final man to show up.

As Li descended down the stairwell, a few took note of his appearance. This was, after all, the first time some of them had ever seen him. He was thin and surprisingly upright. He didn't even hunch over at all. He also had fewer wrinkles than you would expect for someone his age; it came as no surprise since he was a healthy and active fellow.

Though this wasn't her first time meeting Li, Blossom especially had some thoughts about him. For one, she had forgotten how short he was. He was almost no taller than she was. There was also a childlike quality to the man (if you looked past the navy button-down and tan pants), even though Li must now be… what? Seventy? Seventy-one?

Li made his way over to a nearby door and announced, "Let's head down to the basement for book club, shall we?"

A few days earlier, the issue came up between Fontaine and Li that any gathering of people in his shop would arouse suspicion in his wife, Yu, who would likely be unsympathetic to their cause. After some discussion, they decided that the best cover for such a thing would be a book club.

The rest of the group joined Li at the door as he jammed a couple of keys into the lock in quick succession. The older man opened the basement door as a cloud of dust kicked up. The group descended the stairway, greeted by a heap of old boxes.

"How long has it been since you've been down here?" Marshall coughed.

"A couple days."

"Then how is it *so* dusty?" Steven asked, sincerely.

Li leaned in closely. "*Mites,*" he shot back as he brushed the sides of some boxes. He began muttering to himself as he surveyed the stacks. Neither Li nor Fontaine had yet told them why they all were there. They shot a glance at each other as Fontaine quickly shut the door up to the shop behind them. Li threw his book to the ground and the rest followed.

"What I need from you," Li pointed indiscriminately, "is to search through my basement and find some gear for the operation. There is a *lot* of junk down here and I cannot do it myself."

Steven scoffed. He looked around in disbelief. "Don't tell me we're doing your *chores* now."

"Come on, Steven, it’s exciting.” Chris assured the blond boy. “I mean, there’s probably a lot of hidden treasure in here. You do have hidden treasure, right?” He turned to Li.

"This isn't supposed to be fun. We're here to just find the stuff and get going," Marshall reminded them. "Which, by the way, what exactly is the stuff?"

”Well, it’s good stuff, Marshall. I can tell you that much,” Li laughed. “Very useful materials indeed. Get searching and we’ll have plenty to go around very soon.”

"Does he always talk like this?" Melissa asked, in reference to Li. "How can he say so much and yet say so little at the same time? It makes no sense to me."

"Just — trust me on this. He's good." Fontaine nudged a shoebox from underneath a crate. He carefully lifted the lid. "...Bit of a hoarder, eh, Wen?"

"Be grateful. Everything we need and then some is in here,” Li explained.

After the latest exchange, the group settled into place and started rummaging through a couple of boxes that were seemingly strewn around the floor. Chris decided to go for the pile of debris in the center, slicing the tape atop one of the boxes.

Dumping it onto the floor, he only found old folded shirts and ties, and became interested in what his companions were doing. Atticus was examining his own box close by, and seemed unhappy with his results.

"What did you find, Atticus?" Chris asked, taking a look at Attcus' box, only to see it was more of the same vintage clothing items. As expected, Atticus didn't reply and only continued his chore.

Taking a glance behind the boy, Chris noticed and picked up a medium sized wooden box. He lifted the lid and was surprised to see a black and silver vest folded neatly inside, very different from the other items he had found.

"Where did you acquire this vest, Mr. Li?"

Li looked up from the box he was sifting through. "Oh. Police force," he said bluntly.

Blossom was busying herself with a couple boxes, finding they were mostly full of random clothing and simple, useless trinkets. Maybe the trinkets were of sentimental value to Mr. Li in some way, but they seemed pretty worthless to Blossom.

She listened, folding clothes as she removed them, but "police force" caught her attention. She put down the shirt she was folding and looked up at Li. "Police force? When was that?"

"Is that why you have us searching?" Atticus asked. "You wanted us to find your old police equipment?"

"Yes, exactly. It must've been thirty-five or forty years since I was in the police force. Long before any of you were alive," the old man sighed. "Would you hand me that?"

“Of course.” Chris replied, handing the vest to Li. “Don’t want to mess up any sentimental value.”

Li searched the vest for a tag. "273. Wow."

He decided to try it on, for old time's sake. He hadn't seen this for years, maybe even decades. When he put it on, it hung loosely on his shoulders and flow freely. He chuckled. "Would anyone else like to try it on?"

Atticus accepted the offer and slipped the vest over his head and shoulders, dragging it down.

"It's a bit tight...and why does it smell so *old*?"

Melissa raised an eyebrow and scanned Atticus' appearance, she pressed her lips together trying not to laugh. "It probably smells old because it is," she answered her voice betraying her by giving away a small chuckle, "take it off — you look like a clown."

“Well, I guess they can’t all be winners.” Chris replied, stacking one box on top of another. “But they certainly served Mr. Li well, you can’t deny that.”

"Served me well? I guess you could say it did," Li muttered, taking the vest back. "I served Silivia for many years, I loved doing it. I started as a mechanic and eventually worked my way into being a beat cop. That's where everything changed," Li lowered his voice at this point, almost as if he was talking to himself. "The promotion came not long after that, but that's enough dwelling on the past for now."

Steven cautiously raised an object from a filing cabinet's drawer: A small black revolver, dangling from the handle between Steven's forefingers. He looked to Fontaine for help.

"Uh," Fontaine dumped his container on the floor and presented it. "Throw it in the shoebox."

"That's an interesting find," Li responded, as Steven followed Fontaine's advice. "Let's see what else is down here."

As the hours went by, everyone continued to search the boxes and shelves, mostly in silence. Nothing else of interest was found, and the disappointed group eventually decided to call it a day.

Blossom seperated herself from the departing group and headed upstairs, to the living quarters of the Lis. She had asked to use the restroom and get a glass of water and Li had obliged.

Once she was in the living room, Blossom paused and took in the scene. Due to her father's bakery being down the street, Blossom's family had known the Lis for many years and Blossom had worked in Plant Empire during the summers before finishing high school.

"Oh, hello, Blossom," a sweet voice said from behind her. It was Yu, and she was holding a tray of juice. "Care for a drink? It's for Wen but I don't think he will mind."

"Oh, Missus Li!" Blossom was startled by Yu's sudden arrival, as she had assumed the older lady wasn't home. "Thanks. How are you? It's been ages since I've seen you."

"It's good to see you here. Wen and I are doing great. You know, he just came back from a fishing trip with Shen a few days ago," Yu said.

"He did? I thought he didn't talk to his father that often."

Yu sighed and sat down on a nearby couch. "They did recently. It wasn't a nice conversation so I asked them to do something to bring them closer together. Wen is… stubborn sometimes. Anyways, how is it going for you?"

Blossom followed, sitting beside Yu.

"Well, you could say I've been having similar problems as Mister Li. My parents still aren't happy that I skipped college, even though I think direct training at the Center has been much more beneficial to me than endless studies."

"Oh, how lovely. What have you been doing there?" she asked.

"I'm actually being trained as a scientist, although I'm just a junior for now. We do a lot of research and treatments, especially for amnesia."

"Oh, interesting, interesting. What else do you do?"

"We also help patients who have had strokes, or other neurological issues. It's a good job, and I've learned a lot from it," Blossom asnwered. "But lately I've been distracted and I haven't been thinking about the Center at all."

"Why is that?"

"Oh," Blossom had become hesitant by this point, knowing she couldn't say too much about her role in the planned operation. "I recently met two amnesiacs and our treatment failed them, they weren't able to recover any of their memories.

"One of them managed to find her family, but the other is not having such luck. It's made me realize that I need to be doing more than studying science."

"I was like you once, Blossom," Yu said as she held Blossom's hands in her own. "I wanted to be a nurse when I was little. It was my dream. I thought that maybe I could help everyone." Yu frowned for a moment before she continued. "Did I tell you about how I came to own Plant Empire?"

Blossom thought for a moment and replied, "No, I don't think so."

"My parents had only one child, me. They had no one else to leave their family business to. Mind you, this place has been in business since before the war. I had to abandon my dreams to commit to my job."

"I see, I didn't know that," Blossom nodded, slightly troubled by the story. "What do you think I should do then?"

"The point is, dear, that you can't help everyone. I know your heart is in the right place, but it sounds like you have a bright future ahead of you and I don't want you to ruin that for yourself. You should tell them that there isn't much you can do for them."

—---

"Steven, Beth, walk with me. Hurry, everyone," Richard rushed. A train of people followed the scientist closely as they walked down the checkered stairs into the parking lot.

The Devlin family and their entourage had gathered around a large object covered in a sheet and a blue bow.

"What are we doing out here?" Marshall groaned. Even though Fontaine had told the group to take the day off, there were better things they could be doing than entertaining whatever the older man had in store for them. It was increasingly apparent that Richard was one for theatrics.

"Today I'd like to share something very special with everyone that *all* of you would like to hear," Richard announced with a smile.

"I wonder what type of surprise this could be. Please go on, Dr. Devlin," Chris said, in a state of eagerness.

"Some of you could hardly call it a surprise," he assured. "I'm sure we're all *itching* to know what it is, although I'm certain some of you can already guess. Oh, I won't make you wait any longer. Steven, would you like to do the honors?"

Richard motioned at the sheet to his nephew, who walked up to it.

Steven eyed it incredulously. He slowly circled the object, before pinching it between his fingers. With a look to Richard, he pulled the sheet off.

Richard's station wagon was revealed, left in the same position it had been parked earlier that morning.

"I'm so confused," Atticus said as he looked at the others. "What is happening?"

"Isn't that Richard's car?" Blossom quietly asked him. She had arrived at the Laboratory of the Unexplainable an hour before, saying she had the day off and wanted to come over so she could get to know everyone better.

"Yeah..."

"Oh, wait, I see what's going on here." Chris realized. "You gave this car to Steven? Is it his birthday? What's Melissa getting?"

"Steven," Richard gestured to the shocked boy, "It's for you."

"No, it's not their birthday," Richard replied. "I'm giving my car to Steven, he's earned it."

Richard turned to Steven at this point and patted him on the back. "Steven, you've been working tirelessly on your projects, showing a level of dedication and passion I haven't seen in ages. You deserve to be rewarded and what better way to do that can giving you my car?"

"Now you are gonna become popular with the ladies, maybe you'll even get a girlfriend finally." Melissa remarked teasing Steven as she nudged him playfully, causing him to to glare at her while trying not to blush. "Shut up." He mumbled glancing towards Beth to see her covering her mouth to conceal a giggle, causing Melissa to look at her in surprise.

Feeling awkward and embarrassed, Steven cleared his throat to return the conversation to the original topic.  "Are you sure you want to give me your car? I really appreciate it, I have always loved this car. But it feels weird taking it from you."

"Why worry? I have my bike, Steven. You need the station wagon to drive you and your friends around and I don't always have the time to do that. I can ask to borrow it if I need it. Go ahead and take it," Richard reassured him. He held out the keys in front of him and smiled.

Steven took the keys from Richard while giving him an awkward sideways hug. "Thank you, Uncle Richard it means a lot, I'll take good care of her for you." He chuckled as he said the last part.

Before Richard could reply. Beth had slid her arm around Steven's and twirled her fingers with his. "Could we maybe take it for a spin, sweetheart?"

Steven's eyes widen with embarrassment as Beth smirked.

"Sweetheart?! WAIT, Steven, is Beth your girlfriend?!" Melissa screeched, reminding Steven of how she used to be.

"U-um maybe?" He said shyly causing Beth to grin enjoying the embarrassment she was causing him. "Yes Melissa, your brother and I are together he is just too shy and self conscious to ever actually say it."

"What a wonderful couple, it's chemistry in action, poetry in motion," Richard chuckled. "Why, I remember when I was bl—"

Interrupted by small car which had snuck up on group while they were talking, Richard stopped and turned his attention to the new guest. "Another, how Chris put it, surprise, I presume. How very unexpected."

The visitor, revealing himself to be Samuel, stepped out of the car and took off his shades. "Hey, guys."

"What are *you* doing here?" Marshall asked.

"Sorry for showing up unannounced and all. Thought I would stop by and check up on Atticus and Melissa — an unofficial house call, I mean. So how are you guys?" Samuel said as he approached the group. The doctor's appearance corroborated his visit:  he wore a solid t-shirt and jeans and had nothing but the sunglasses he came out of the car with.

"Uh," Atticus started, startled by the doctor's sudden appearance.  He briefly recalled the last time he had seen the man and the disturbing dream that the treatment had resulted in. Shaking it off, he continued, "we're fine, I guess. I'm not really sure why we needed a house call."

"Just would like to understand you all better. Have there been any developments with your memories in the last week?" Samuel said hopefully.

Melissa let out a soft huff in amused annoyance; not at Samuel or his question but at what her answer was. "Uh, no, still as amnestic as ever, unfortunately."

"Yeah," Blossom responded, visibly uncomfortable. "There hasn't been any change in their conditions, I've been checking on them every now and then."

"Oh, uh, Blossom," Samuel said, startled. "I didn't expect to see you here. Haven't seen you at the clinic for a while. Hope everything is alright."

"About that," Blossom glanced at the others before continuing, "you won't be seeing me there anymore. I quit and decided to focus on something else."

"Oh — I see. Well then," Samuel awkwardly patted his pockets with his hands.

Noticing the awkward situation, Beth stepped away from Steven with a small smile as she looked at Samuel. "Hello, I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting you yet, I'm Beth Darwin, assistant at Dr. Devlin's lab." She said as she exceeded a hand to Samuel.

Samuel met her handshake. "Samuel Brownlee. It's nice to meet you," he chuckled, nervously, "You guys keep a nice workplace."

"It's nice to meet you as well, I heard you had tried to help Melissa and Atticus, do you plan on retrying the method to see if it works a second time? Honestly I would love to come by and learn first hand what you do at the science center."

"It never crossed my mind, really. There's a lot of things that we've come across during our research that *could* complicate the procedure, but few of them have *actually* happened. This being, well, one of them. I don't think we should chance it again. We've been looking into this failure at the center much more closely in the last week or two, trying to make sense of what happened."

"Of course," Samuel continued, "that's all well and good, but I'm more concerned about Atticus and Melissa right now. In any case, I'm glad you guys are okay, or as best as you can be without... y'know," Samuel clasped his hands together. "I'm not really sure what we could do in regards to your question, Beth, I'll talk to Director Ferguson about it."

"Oh, alright," Beth said sounding disappointed.

"Well then," Richard huffed. "Samuel, do you want to come inside? We can discuss the two's condition better in there."

"In a moment. I'd like to discuss something with Blossom first, if she wouldn’t mind," Samuel responded.

"Why do you need to talk to me?" Blossom asked.

"We should discuss it in private. Step aside for a moment."

Following his command, Blossom headed away from the others. Once they were reasonably out of ear shot, she turned and faced the man.

"What do you want, Doctor Brownlee?"

"That android,” Samuel pointed to Chris. “matches the description of the one Alchemilia was after. Is that him? Are you in trouble because of him?”

"What? No, he isn't."

Blossom paused, considering all of her options. She had only been part of the planned operation for a few days and it was already falling apart.

"Well, my mistake," Samuel sighed. "I'm just wondering why you, uh, decided to quit so abruptly and seeing him, you know, raised some concerns. But there's nothing going on, right? Just a false alarm?"

Blossom hesitated.

Obviously, the man deserved an honest answer. Brownlee had been her mentor for well over a year and she knew she could trust him. Yu's words were still sitting heavily on her mind and maybe the doctor could lend a supporting hand.

"I lied, Samuel. It is him, but he's not a bad guy at all. Alchemilia did terrible things to him."

“I—I see,” Samuel paused. He took a moment to seriously mull over his thoughts. “So you left to spend more time keeping watch of him, then. That’s, uh, very selfless, but you really should come back to work eventually. He’ll be fine in Richard’s care, I’m sure.”

"No, that's not why I quit. There's more."

*Should I really tell him?*

"I know this is going to sound insane, but Chris and his friends have decided to form an operation against Alchemilia Corporation and I've...agreed to join."

"…That’s a lot to process," Samuel finally responded. "Can you tell me what exactly this operation will entail? I promise you I'll be understanding. Clearly this wasn't unwarranted, whatever it is."

"Well," Blossom answered, "it's a surprise ambush against Alchemilia Corporation. We're, uh, going to be going to their main headquaters, Remnant Rock, and launching two operations or something."

She went quiet before continuing.

"Like, they have someone on the inside and he's going to help some of them sneak into the building and plan an attack from there, while the rest will storm the entrance to cause a distraction. After that, I don't know, I think there's some idea about a group of rebels turning on the employers after the first team cuts off the lights.

"And they, uh, they want to capture the CEO, Gabriel Arsene, in his office. But I don't know what the plan is after that."

That was impossible. There was no way Blossom could have possibly agreed to that. This—this was—

This was his chance to finally do something of real importance. His opportunity to make a real impact on the world.

Samuel knew full well how dangerously irresponsible his response would be. The right course of action was to demand she cease her involvement immediately at the bare minimum. That was abundantly clear.

"That sounds incredibly dangerous. It's likely that you and your friends could get seriously hurt trying to do this,” Samuel began.

Was there a possibility Alchemilia deserved what was coming to them? Blossom certainly sounded convinced that they did. Would he be willing to give up his chance? Another might never appear.

"If you’re going through with this, then maybe…" he paused to make completely sure this was his choice. "Maybe you should be accompanied by a skilled doctor who could patch up your wounds. Someone like, well, myself."

"What? Are you serious?" Blossom could hardly believe what she was hearing. She hadn't expected Samuel, of all people, to offer his assistance. She had assumed he would give a stern response, maybe even a refusal to let her continue her role in the operation. Or worse, that he would be reporting their little mission to the authorities.

"I'll have to discuss it with the others, I wasn't even supposed to join — I overheard them talking about it and they had no choice but to let me in. They're not going to be happy that I told you, that's for sure."

"They'll understand, I'm sure." He then yelled, "Everyone! We need to—"

"Stop! What are you doing? Richard and Beth aren't involved, they can't know."

"Ah, my mistake. Sorry," Samuel quietly replied. "Uh, false alarm!"

Everyone who had turned their attention to the two slowly began to go back to what they were doing. A few began to wonder amongst themselves what Samuel and Blossom were talking about, some worriedly.

After an assurance that they would talk later, Samuel parted ways with the group while they dealt with Richard. They would discuss his joining with Fontaine later. Eventually, Richard called them all inside.

The sound of Steven's alarm clock interrupted his sleep and he quickly turned it off. It was quite early, but he didn't mind. He had been looking forward to this day for months and the end result of it could provide him an excuse to back out of his sister's planned operation.

If only he could convince her to go with him. Sure, she was still suffering from amnesia, but perhaps experiencing a new enviroment could turn her interest from stopping Alchemilia and towards a new direction. Steven crept out and made the short trip to her room. He knocked on the door softly and opened it, seeing that Melissa was still sleeping. While he wanted to wake her up, the logical side of his brain won a short-lived debate and he decided to let her sleep. His idea wouldn't have worked anyways.

After brushing his teeth and hair, Steven changed into a fresh set of clothes and headed towards the door of the Laboratory making sure to keep quiet to avoid waking Atticus and Marshall as he passed the living room.

Once he was outside, Steven descended down the stairs and headed towards the garage, where he saw Beth waiting by his station wagon.

"Hey, good morning."

"Good morning, love. Have everything you'll need for the day? Are you ready to head to the Institute?" Beth responded as she tied her hair up into a ponytail.

"Yeah, I'm ready, let's go," Steven answered. The Institute of Silivia was the city's biggest university and was holding a special event that day — various medical and science fields would be offering students and applicants a chance to join to their programs. Although Steven wasn't currently enrolled, he was hoping his credentials would boost his case.

Pulling into the university's parking lot, Steven was aghast at the large amount of vehicles. *We'll never find a parking spot like this.*

Despite his initial shock, he did and pulled into it shortly afterwards. Getting out of the car, he walked over and opened the door for Beth. "Are you going to be looking into any of the careers? Surely you don't plan on staying at my uncle's lab forever."

“Well, maybe not forever. But it’s steady work for right now,” Beth said. “Why’re you suddenly so disinterested in staying at the lab? Has working with family became too annoying?”

For a fleeting moment, Steven considered sharing the truth with Beth. She was his girlfriend after all, why shouldn't he trust her?

"Well," Steven started, "I-"

While Blossom and Doctor Brownlee had oddly calm and supportive reactions to the operation, Steven understood that it likely wouldn't be the case with everyone — especially someone like Beth. "I just want to branch out and make a name for myself. I love working at the lab, but I don't want to be under my uncle's thumb forever."

“Could’ve just said ‘Yeah, you’re right,' but whatever,” Beth replied. “We’ll just see who’s hiring, then get something to eat.”

After meeting with a few doctors and scientists and exploring their programs, Steven was heavily mulling over his choices outside of the university when he accidentally bumped into another person. "I'm so sorry," he began. "I didn't see you there, I was lost in my thoughts."

"It's alright, it happens," the man responded, brushing off his jacket. He was average height and appeared to be in his forties and although Steven was sure they had never met before, he seemed familiar.

*Oh.*

"Wait, are you councilor Lucas Green?"

"Yeah, I am, and you are?" Green extended his hand forward and Steven eagerly shook it.

"I'm Steven Devlin, I work with my uncle at the Laboratory of the Unexplainable. He was a big supporter of your campaign."

"Heh, what about you?"

"Oh, I didn't vote, I'm not really into politics. May I ask why you're here?"

"Well, my staff and I were scouting for possible interns here, but I'm hardly the most popular face here right now."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, just look over there," Green pointed to a section of the campus in which a semi-large crowd had gathered. Leaving the man's side, Steven walked over to see the source of the excitement and noticed a man with striking silver hair shaking the hands of everybody in the crowd. It was Gabriel Arsene.

"—Hey, don't forget what I said about the scholarship! We could use someone like you!" Arsene waved a student off, before pivoting around. His eyes darted around the crowd and rested on Steven. He snapped his fingers, and gestured to a more open area — a small statue of the school's founder. Steven blinked, confused. He felt Beth shake his shoulder, urging him to follow the man. He obliged.

"Sorry about the crowd," Gabriel said, "There was a little event, and I came in on short notice. Then suddenly it's a big event." He chuckled. Steven remained stiff. "You know, I studied here for a while, when I was doing my astrophysics degree."

"Enough about me, though. You," he made eye contact with Steven, "work at Richard Devlin's lab. I've read your thesis. Xenobiology, huh? Crazy stuff."

"I'm surprised you recognized me, sir," Steven replied, doing his best to mantain eye contact with the man. "Wait, you read my thesis? I didn't think my work was notable enough for Alchemilia Corporation to care."

Gabriel nodded. "Mhm. It was impressive, I haven't read anything like it in a while. We're always keeping an eye out for people just like you. Y'know, this—" he gestured to the school behind them, "—was our director of robotics' alma mater."

"Wait, what? People like *me?*" Steven responded. "What exactly are you saying?"

Whetstone >

 S2: