The return to Apatite City was silent and uneventful. Following Jacob’s ominous words about Xero’s resurface, Lilac had decided it best for the group to return to AIKA as soon as possible. They took the first train leaving Gorvia at five in the morning.

Caelin slept through the train ride and almost missed the stagecoach as she was exhausted from using her Imperiums the previous night. Both her stamina and control hadn’t been up to her expectations. 

“So you’re regular Theo now?” Hale asked tentatively as the stagecoach passed through the woods, towards AIKA.  

Theo nodded, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. He’d also taken a brief nap on the train. “We switched when I woke up. My alter tends to awaken whenever he senses a fight. I typically repress him from surfacing, but it’s more difficult whenever I’m in danger. I apologize if he caused any problems. He’s occasionally violent, since he prefers to talk with his fists.”

Hale shook his head. “No need to apologize. Evil Theo was awesome. You, I mean, he was really cool.”

Caelin huffed in disagreement but refused to elaborate when Theo looked at her questioningly. 

“So you have no control whenever your alter takes over?” Killian asked curiously.

“It depends,” Theo explained. “We can choose not to be close to the front or block each other out at times. This results in bouts of amnesia for both of us.”

Before they could press further, the stagecoach arrived and any interest in the topic dissipated when AIKA’s grand estate appeared. 

It was mid-afternoon and the only thing on Caelin’s mind was to eat lunch—no matter how late—as soon as she went inside. 

Unfortunately, there were rules to be followed after every mission.

“I’ll stop by Alice’s office first to let her know what we discovered,” Lilac said. “The rest of you will head to the Infirmary for your examinations.”

“Why do we need to go to the Infirmary if we’re not injured?” Theo asked as they were ushered towards the Infirmary.

“It’s a mandatory physical assessment conducted after every mission,” Killian explained. “Mainly to monitor our condition and confirm we haven’t experienced adverse side effects from using our Imperiums. We wouldn’t exactly want the same fate as Mayor Hadden’s son.”

Caelin never enjoyed visiting the Infirmary. The walls were too white, the furniture was too plain, Bleu was sickeningly nice, and Grey was tediously serious. 

The four of them walked past the door, into the reception area, and discovered that there was already someone awaiting them. A young man, with bronze-rimmed aviator goggles on top of his black hair, sat on one of the three green couches. His pink eyes glared dangerously as they entered the lobby. He was one of the Combat Division 1 members, but Caelin struggled to put a name to his face. She was fairly confident it started with the letter “L”.  

“Bleu!” Hale called out when he saw her enter the room from a separate hallway. He quickly met her at the reception counter, his green eyes gazingly happily.

Bleu smiled softly and looked over at the group, tucking a stray strand of brown hair behind her ear. “Hey, guys. Here for your check-up?”

“Yes,” Killian answered for the group. 

“Dr. Grey is currently examining three other patients, but he’ll be done soon,” Bleu said. “How was the mission?”

“Our mission was so easy,” Hale boasted. “You should’ve seen how I beat up those bad guys, Bleu. They didn’t stand a chance against me.”

“Hah!” The black haired man suddenly laughed from the couches. “They couldn’t have been very tough if even a Division 3 apprentice could beat them.” 

The man’s elliptical pupils scanned each of them disdainfully, before stopping at Caelin.

“What did you say, dragon boy?” Hale snapped.

“Looks like they finally let you out of your ivory tower, Caelin,” the man remarked, ignoring Hale. 

Caelin scoffed. “Well good thing I’m out now, so you can take that ivory tower and shove it up your half-breed barbhorn, L—” She paused. 

Despite the insults she had prepared, she still couldn’t remember his name.

The man narrowed his eyes. “You don’t even remember my name do you?”

“No, I do,” Caelin said. She looked around, trying to find something to help her remember. “It’s…” Killian was mouthing something to her. Two syllables. “It’s Leroy!”

“Dragos!” Killian hurriedly cut in before a fight broke out. “What a pleasant surprise. I didn’t see you there.” 

He gestured at Caelin, Theo, and Hale to quietly sit down.

“You thought my name was ‘Leroy’?” Dragos growled, looking at Caelin incredulously as she sat across from him. 

“‘Leroy’ is a fine name,” Caelin said defensively. 

“Except it’s not my name,” Dragos said. “We’ve known each other for six years, but you still can’t remember my name?”

“To be fair, I don’t even remember my mother’s name,” Caelin pointed out. 

“Don’t use that as an excuse,” Dragos snapped.

“Dryads forbid the amnesiac forgets someone’s name.” Caelin raised her hands in mock surrender. 

“It’s true, she forgot my name at the dining hall just last week,” Killian said, forcefully laughing to lighten the mood. He’d sat down with Hale on the couch between Caelin and Dragos after Theo took the empty spot beside Caelin. 

“What brings you here today, Dragos?” Killian continued, changing the conversation.

“We returned from our mission this morning, earlier than your team,” Dragos gloated, ignoring the fact that Division 1 had also left before Division 3 had. “It might’ve been difficult for another team to handle, but it was nothing for Division 1.”

“Are the divisions divided by strength?” Theo whispered, leaning in towards Caelin.

“Technically, no,” Caelin whispered back. “I’d say that all of the division commanders’ strengths are evenly matched. The only difference may be the number of people on each team. Before we joined, Division 1 had the most members, with five people. Division 2 had four, and Division 3 only had two and a half. Now, including us, Division 3 has four and a half.”

Theo frowned. “Who’s the half?”

“Hale,” Caelin answered. “He’s only doing an apprenticeship with us. Oh, but if we include your alter Evil Theo, he can also count as half, so we’d have five people as well.”

“Division 1 isn’t better just because of the number in our team,” Dragos spoke up, overhearing their conversation. “Our members are simply more talented with better Imperiums than Division 3. Not to mention, our commander is AIKA’s strongest Imperator.”

“Who’s their commander?” Theo asked Caelin.

“Raeves Blue,” Caelin answered. “But we all just call him Blue.”

“Like her name?” Theo gestured with his head to where Bleu was sorting bandages behind the reception counter.

“Yes, but spelled differently.”

“Is there a reason why there’s so many people named after colors here?” 

“It helps distinguish between the different leaders of the departments,” Caelin explained. “Each color is linked to a specific role and inherited. When the first Division 2 commander, Gold, retired, the current commander inherited the name, so he’s also Gold. Although, why we use colors as leader names is really flippant.”

“What do you mean?”

“Alice and Blue are the founders of AIKA. Since both of their surnames are colors, Alice just thought it would be ‘cool’ to have all leadership positions associated with a color. The Combat Divisions are Blue, Gold, and Lilac. Research and Intelligence is Sage. Infirmary is Grey. Mech and Design is…” Caelin trailed off.

“You forgot their name,” Theo said pointedly.

“You know that reminds me of how Division 3 was created,” Killian suddenly said, needing to steer the conversation away from Caelin forgetting names. “When Lilac wanted to command her own division two years ago, she allegedly told Alice that her name was a color, so she deserved the position. Apparently, Alice thought that was so hilarious she actually approved, and Division 3 was established.”

“I’m not surprised Division 3 was created for such a moronic reason,” Dragos snarled, and looked at Caelin. “It explains why they would even accept this lunatic as a member—”

“Aw, is little Dragos bullying people again?” a young lady cooed, appearing from an inner hallway. “Don’t take anything he says to heart, Caelin. He’s just jealous of how close you are with Gold and Aria when no one wants to be his friend.” 

She pet Dragos’s head, ruffling his black hair. 

“Shut up.” Dragos slapped her hand away brusquely, his face turning red. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She laughed in response, and her pastel pink curls bobbed along with her head. She looked over the group sitting on the couches, stopping on Theo with interest. 

“A new member?” She stared at Theo’s face, her hazel eyes wide. “Hey, you’re cute. My name's Viviette. What’s yours?”

Before Theo could respond, three more people entered the room from the hallway. Caelin recognized Grey alongside two Division 1 members. Though Grey was only in his early forties, he was already a well-respected doctor even before joining AIKA. And despite her numerous psychiatric consultations with him, Caelin still knew nothing about the introverted doctor. 

Grey’s perpetually tired onyx eyes, partially hidden behind a pair of glasses, glanced at the group on the couches and blinked briefly in disbelief as he headed behind the reception counter. 

“Division 3 is here for their post-mission check-ups,” Bleu explained.

“There’s more than I remember.” Grey sighed, writing something behind the counter without looking up. “Could you first escort them to get their labs done, please. I’ll see them all after I finish with Division 1.”

“Yes, Doctor,” Bleu said and walked towards the inner hallway with an armful of bandages. “All Division 3 members, please follow me.” 

“Farewell, my love,” Viviette waved dramatically as Bleu led them away. “If it is the will of the fae, then we shall meet again.”

“Of course you’re going to see each other again,” Dragos said. “We’re all in the same department of AIKA.”

Before Caelin could hear Viviette’s response, she entered Room #7 and the door closed behind her, blocking out all outside sounds. 

All of the Infirmary rooms were generally the same. A sink with scentless soap, glass jars filled with dried herbs, posters displaying the anatomy of a siren and hippocampus creature, two wooden chairs, and a steel examination table. Caelin took a seat, aimlessly looking out the window at the gardens. A few minutes later, there was a soft knock on the door, and a brown stuffed bear approximately half the size of a person entered the room. It held a woven basket filled with medical equipment in its paws, and had a red scarf tied around its neck.

“Hello,” Caelin said, recognizing the bear. It had attended to her when she last visited the Infirmary. 

“Welcome back, Caelin,” the bear said in a mechanical, high-pitched voice. Its shiny black eyes examined Caelin carefully, setting down its basket on the table to stretch out its stubby arms towards her. Its soft paws gently prodded Caelin, checking for any serious external injuries first. When it reached her face, it gently applied some ointment that smelled like grass over the cut with the pink pads on the bottom of its paws. Caelin desperately resisted the urge to squish the enticing paw pads. 

The bear nodded approvingly after finishing its examination and applying ointment on every scrape and cut. “I’ll administer the blood test now, please hold out your arm.”

Some minutes after the bear collected a vial of blood from Caelin and left the room, there were two knocks on the door and Grey entered the room.

“Good afternoon, Caelin,” Grey said, moving the wooden chair to take a seat across from her. “Your blood work came back all fine, and there seems to be no issues in compatibility with your Imperiums.” He examined her appearance and nodded approvingly at the ointment on her cheek. “You’ve also only had some minor lacerations, which Augustus was able to treat already.” Grey handed her a small glass jar filled with a mint green cream. “Apply this once every night on your injuries until they’re all fully healed. Should be less than a week.”

“Great, thanks, so I’m all good to go then?” Caelin tucked the ointment away in her pants’ pocket. 

“Not yet,” Grey said, holding up a hand to signal her to sit back down. He removed his steel-framed glasses and sighed, rubbing the inner corners of his eyes. “As I was appointed as your sole, primary physician as part of her deal with Queen Calandra regarding you. Alice had consulted with me about whether or not you were fit to go outside again before this mission. I had said yes then. And given the remarkable progress you’ve made this past year, I’ve just given my approval once again to allow you to continue in missions with Division 3.”

Before Caelin had a chance to rejoice, Grey held up a hand again and looked at her gravely. “However, make no mistake that I know that you are not actually completely well.”  

“Then why did you approve?” Caelin asked.

“Because I hoped that maybe this could be the final catalyst after all these years of consultations,” Grey said. He leaned in closer. “Answer me honestly, Caelin, do you still hear their voices in your head?”

Caelin didn’t know how to respond. In front of him, she couldn’t play the role of the fool or the victim or put up a strong front. Since the beginning, he had always been able to see through her masks.  

Grey nodded solemnly and stood up, having heard all that he needed to. He opened the door to leave only to see the bear from before standing outside. 

“What is it, Augustus?” Grey asked.

“Commanders Blue and Lilac just sent us a message,” the bear said. “They want all Division 1 and Division 3 members to report to Research and Intelligence immediately.”