Niel, Reed, and Gabriel are all in the front yard after supper throwing a baseball around in a game of catch. It's a warm and bright evening befitting of the first day of summer, and perfect for outdoor fun that Reed could certainly do with more of.

"Father's Day is coming up soon. Got anything planned for me yet?" Gabriel asks the two boys. He tosses the ball to Reed, who catches the slow arc with ease.

"That's a secret!" Reed responds, knowing damn well he hasn't thought of anything yet. He then passes the ball to Niel, but because of a high toss, Niel barely misses it.

"Father's Day is still two weeks away. We'll do something for you," Niel says honestly while also unknowingly exposing Reed's lie. He retrieves the ball and sends it back to Reed.

"We'll get you all the love in the world!" Reed chirps jokingly. "Well, either that or we'll finally call you Gabe once."

"I don't know if I should be happy or disappointed," Gabriel pokes back as he catches another bad throw from Reed.

The trio returns inside after their game ends. Dwayne is visiting this evening, and they catch the tail end of the story he's telling to the three girls.

"And you were never caught?" Lydia questions in befuddlement.

"Nope! He just said 'have a good day' and let me go!" Dwayne cackles. His laugh invokes a humoured smile from Illia.

"What are you talking about?" Reed questions.

"Dwayne used to drive around the countryside when he was younger, even though he didn't have a driver's licence at the time," Mabel explains, causing Reed to snort with surprised amusement.

"A cop pulled me over one time," Dwayne begins.

"Oh boy," Reed cuts in.

"He asked for my licence and registration, I showed him the registration but said I was delivering the truck to the garage and left my licence there. Had to get my dad to cover for me!"

"Nooo!" Gabriel exclaims in disbelief.

"Not a word of a lie!" Dwayne asserts. "We talked about cars and hockey after he spoke with dad, and then he let me go!"

"Did you actually work at a garage?" Niel questions after quickly looking up on his phone what a garage is.

"No!" Dwayne exclaims with a laugh. "Dad was furious with me. Furious! He made me get my licence after that!"

"Hey," Gabriel nudges Reed. "Maybe for Father's Day, you could go for your Learner's?"

"How would that be a gift for you, though?" Reed objects.

"I think it would be nice if you joined Lydia in getting your Learner's—but finally calling you Gabe once would also be a good present," Mabel says to both of them, one after the other.

>>>>>>

The second day of summer brings an even stronger heat than the first, but the four kids march out of the house regardless. Their destination is the forest not far from where Illia first found Niel, a location Reed chose due to him wanting to shoot soda cans with Niel. Lydia was forcefully volunteered by Reed to protect the forest from any of his missed shots, and Illia wanted to tag along with everyone.

Despite the heat, Niel wears a thicker grey shirt due to him being scared that the Warden's Key may show through a thinner, lighter shirt. The others are dressed better for the weather. Reed's shirt is bright, thin and paired with similar shorts, Lydia wears a bluish crop top that airs out her darker skin, and Illia has on a white shirt with a yellow tinge, plus some baggy boyish shorts. In Reed's hand is a small box containing a few empty cans.

The forest is both familiar and unfamiliar to Niel; he has no concrete memories here, but it was here (or at least close to here) where he ended up collapsing nearly two months ago. Illia has walked in these woods before, as has Reed, but neither of them has memorized directions. At least the map can help them should they all somehow get lost. Apricots hang from some of the branches above, though it will still be another few weeks until they're ready to be picked. The cherry trees to the east of their location are ripe, but anticipating that people would likely be there to pick, Reed chose to keep away for Niel's privacy.

They search around for a clearing or somewhere else to set up the cans, and they soon find it. They find much more than what they initially bargained for, actually: a small glade containing a small stream running through a small pond. There's just enough shade to cover most of the glade despite the midday sun, and fallen logs provide a natural seat to rest. The petals from springtime blossoms blanket the ground, all while a refreshing cool breeze provides physical and auditory comfort as the leaves gently rustle out the groans of the nearby city. Everyone is left in awe at this hidden wonder.

"Wow, it's gorgeous here," Lydia comments as she and the others survey the area.

"No kidding. I wonder how many other people know about this spot," Reed says. He examines a tall oak tree within the bounds of the glade. "Hey, you could totally hang a swing from here!"

Niel prods at the ground near one of the fallen logs. Underneath petals and leaves are ashes and charcoal. "There's been a fire here at one point, so we're not the first to find this," he says.

"Yeah, I figured as much given how many people are in the city," Reed responds. "But now I wonder how many people come here."

"It's not on the map," Lydia comments as she checks her phone, "Even though it looks like this stream connects to the river."

"We could make this our secret hideout!" Reed exclaims excitedly.

Meanwhile, Illia is crouched down at the water's edge watching small minnows swim by. The water is surprisingly warm, though the pond is too small to swim in—not that she would want to anyway with how muddy the bottom is. This whole glade is enchanting to her, from the petals to its secrecy. To her, the whole world stands still here. To her, this is a special place. To her, it feels as if...

...nothing will change here.

"Hey, Niel!" Reed calls to draw his attention to a fallen log, on which he placed a can.

Niel is (and has been) apprehensive about this idea, but he knows that Reed will keep asking if he turns him down, so he just sucks it up and follows through. After a scan of the surrounding area to ensure nobody is spying on them, Niel levels the sights of his gun on the can. He briskly pulls the trigger, and the can goes flying with hardly a sound from the midnight pistol.

"That was... a lot quieter than I was expecting," Lydia says. Illia looks over in confusion, as she didn't even know this was happening until she heard the aluminum split.

"Because I used a different method to shoot," Niel explains. "Instead of using a small explosion to propel the bullet, I simply pushed it forward myself."

"Why didn't you just do that before?"

"Not everyone is satisfied by silence..." Niel says as he looks at Reed, "...And not everyone is dissuaded by silence. Someone may not be intimidated by my Dust if they don't know what it is, but they know it's a threat if it looks, acts, and sounds like a gun."

"So the gun is just a scare tactic."

"Correct."

"I want to see something efficient, then!" Reed practically demands, even if he doesn't mean to.

"Efficient?"

"Yeah! Like, if you needed to break something or hurt someone quickly!"

Niel's breath shudders as Reed accidentally touches a nerve. The Warden's Key shines white underneath his shirt—something the others notice plainly. Reed curls his bottom lip in regret.

"Sorry..." he apologizes.

"You're a dumbass, Reed," Lydia insults.

"It's fine..." Niel says as he tries to temper his emotions. He conducts another scan of the area to verify their privacy. "If you want to see efficiency, then..."

Suddenly, a tall, thin spike of Dust erupts from the ground to impale the fallen can, leaving the others in awe. To impress Reed further, Niel pops the can off of the spire and launches it towards himself, only to skewer it using a conjured chain from his back.

"Woah!" Reed exclaims. "Here! Cut this!"

Reed tosses a second can toward Niel. Instead of making a separate blade to cut it with, Niel converts the knife's edge at the end of the chain to a familiar hook, shifts the chain from his back to his hand, and deftly slashes through both cans with one swing. He then pulls the chain into his palm until the handle of the sickle rests firmly in his grip. Reed is impressed by this at first, but he soon realizes that the sickle isn't unknown to him.

"Isn't that the hook from when I went looking for you?" Reed questions.

"Yes, it is," Niel answers, though his tone is somewhat despondent. Niel anticipates Reed's curiosity, so he continues: "It's the weapon I was taught to use when they trained me to fight and kill."

As Niel explains, the Warden's Key begins to flash and glow again.

"Why does the Warden's Key glow like that?" Lydia asks.

"Yeah, and why does it glow white specifically?" Reed joins in.

Niel scans the area a third time before pulling the Warden's Key from underneath his shirt. It shines brightly in his hand for a few seconds before dimming back to the usual idle black.

"I... I don't know," Niel says. "There's a lot I don't know about the Warden's Key."

"Well, what do you know about it?" Reed asks. "Other than storing power."

Niel tilts his head slightly as he searches his memory for relevant information. "There's a theory by the lab that the Warden's Key could explode should it be critically damaged."

"Explode!?"

"It's only theoretical, but it's highly probable. The power stored within is extremely concentrated and condensed. If condensed Dust creates an explosion whenever I release it, then releasing condensed power would likely result in the same. The strength of the explosion might also be determined by how much power is stored within the Warden's Key at the time of its rupturing."

"So like a balloon, then? The more it's blown up, the louder it'll pop?"

"If it truly works that way, then yes."

"I guess that makes sense..." Lydia says.

"So, I know it does a lot for you, but why do you still have it if it could explode? Like, wouldn't it be safer to destroy it remotely? Or just ditch it somewhere?" Reed questions.

"...It's true that it poses a great risk, but if I don't have it, then I won't be strong enough to protect myself from the lab should they find me," Niel explains.

"So it's a necessity," Lydia says.

"Yes, as much as I hate it."

"Now that I think about it, it never seemed like you did like your Dust all that much," Reed mentions with empathy.

"I hate it," Niel says bluntly, sparking the Warden's Key into glowing again. "I hate it, I hate the Warden's Key, I hate what I am, and I hate what they've done to me. I hate using my Dust, but I have to in order to circumvent encumberment. I can't spend it all, otherwise I'm left defenceless. And I have to keep the Warden's Key, or I won't have enough power to fight off the lab."

The Warden's Key grows brighter and brighter with each word seethed. The others knew to some extent that Niel wasn't fond of his Mute, so to see him so loathful when he's otherwise emotionless is jarring for them to hear. As he's already so wound up, they don't bother to ask why he's so hateful of himself, nor do they shoot any more cans after this.

For the rest of the day when they get home, Niel lingers in the living room in a soured mood. Because of this and there always being at least one other person in the room with him, Reed finds it difficult to approach him to talk. It isn't until later that night when Reed gathers his resolve to sneak upstairs to Niel's room, though he was found out long before as Niel's room door opens for him on its own. Niel is sat up in his bed eyeing him curiously.

"What is it?" Niel questions.

"I just... wanted to talk about your Dust," Reed says. He isn't sure why, but he's having trouble speaking. Is he really this nervous?

"Why? What about it?"

"You really do ask a lot of questions," Reed comments. He shuts the door and lowers himself by Niel's bed. Niel doesn't respond. "I've just been thinking about what you said today."

The Warden's Key immediately starts to flicker, though Niel's expression stays the same.

"You told me something before, but it seems like you forgot it: we decide what our Mutes are. What they mean." Reed pauses as he steadies himself. "I know saying that makes me a hypocrite, but it sounds like you could use that advice more than me."

"I didn't know advice was for one person only."

"Well..." Reed recognizes that it's good advice that he should also heed, but a large part of him refuses to do so, and he isn't sure why. "I know you've been through a lot at the lab—and if I had to guess, much like Illia, there are some things that are too painful for you to tell us about, but..." Again, Reed understands the hypocrisy in his words. "...Hating yourself or your own Mute won't make anything better. Even if you've been hurt by others, even if you've hurt others."

Niel's expression changes ever so slightly upon hearing this from Reed, and the Warden's Key's light slowly flickers and dies. Reed studies the strange pendant with his eyes, but as quickly as it burned out, the light reignites. He has to blink a few times to get the glare out of his eyes so he can see in the dark again. A large shadow paints the wall behind Niel, and Reed swears he saw white eyes staring back at him at one point.

"Whatever your Dust meant at the lab, it doesn't matter anymore. And if you did something wrong using your Dust, use it to redeem yourself, rather than letting yourself go."

"If I have to believe that, then you do, too."

"I..."

Reed thinks long and hard about his response. It's so, so much easier to encourage someone else, rather than make a change yourself, even when that advice applies directly to you as well.

"If you do it, then I will, too," Reed says, throwing the statement back to Niel.

"Then... I suppose we'll try together."

"Sounds good," Reed agrees, though he still isn't sure about himself. He stands up to leave now that his objective has been completed, but Niel stops him before he goes.

"Why did you come talk to me?"

When Reed turns around, he finds that Niel's corner of the room is dark again. There's still a faint glow to the Warden's Key, but it's as dim as the moonlight barely seeping through the curtain.

"It sounded like you needed someone to talk to," Reed explains. "'In order to be a good friend, you don't just buy people things; you give them time, because time is priceless.' I got that from a video I saw talking about some jackass online."

"Huh."

"Alright, good night."

"Good night."

After Reed leaves his room and shuts the door, Niel lies back down with Reed's words still echoing in his head. Reed was right on the money when he guessed that there are things too painful for Niel to talk about. Hating himself won't make anything better, even if he's hurt others before. But use his Dust to redeem himself? Is... is such a thing even possible for him? The Warden's Key begins to glow again.

"Redemption..." Niel mumbles, the word triggering a deep emotional exhaustion within him.

Niel remembers how Reed said they've kept Illia happy. After all that he's done, is he truly allowed to be happy as well?

>>>>>>

Niel jolts awake from hearing his room door open, and upon inspection, he realizes that Mabel is intruding.

"Niel? Time to wake up," she says from the doorway before disappearing.

Niel checks the clock and realizes that it's 8:11 am, more than an hour later than he normally wakes. He's confused at how he overslept, but he quickly makes his bed and changes to make up for lost time.

"Well look who overslept!" Reed comments from the kitchen table as soon as Niel steps down from the last stair. He, Lydia, and Illia are all eating breakfast, and Poppy has Niel's waiting for him. "Were you up late last night?"

"No," Niel says characteristically flatly, though this isn't wholly true as he found himself waking multiple times throughout the night. He sits down to eat with them.

Illia points at Reed, points at Niel, points at Reed again, then shakes her head.

"What?" Reed questions.

Illia wipes the crumbs off of her fingers and furiously types on her phone, then passes it to Lydia to read.

"'He's not you, Reed,'" Lydia announces in Illia's stead. "Took the words out of my mouth."

Illia beams at Lydia's approval while Reed scratches the back of his head.

"Aw, that's mean," Reed teases, causing Illia to sulk a bit.

"Don't listen to him. He's only saying that because you're right," Lydia says to cheer her up.

"Well, you at least made a joke, so that's more than what Lydia can do," Reed says in rebuttal, this time shifting his crosshairs to the other girl. Niel catches a stray bullet in the crossfire, leaving him feeling somewhat uncomfortable sitting quietly at the table.

"I don't need to when you're already enough of one," Lydia snaps back. Illia audibly snickers at this, which sharply catches both Reed's and Lydia's attention.

"I think that's the most amount of sound I've ever heard you make," Reed says. He may have structured it as a joke, but he's far from lying.

The others seem to be in quite the humoured mood this morning. Reed in particular has been making jokes and witty remarks ever since Niel arrived here two months ago, though he's abstained from copying him due to Lydia's less-than-enthused reactions to them. Niel notices the overcast sky and checks the forecast on his phone. There's a cold front blowing in from the northwest, and the temperature for today is a few degrees cooler compared to yesterday's and the day before. Lydia and Reed leave for school, and Louise awaits the other two in the living room.

Classes happen as normal, with lessons, lectures, and the review of homework, but near the last hour of teaching, Poppy returns to the house with groceries. It's too early for her to begin cooking supper, so Niel wonders why she's here so soon. Eventually, Louise reveals that this is no accident.

"We'll be having a special class to end the day," she informs the two kids. "Specifically, Poppy will be assisting us with cooking."

"It's time for cooking class!" Poppy cheerfully sings from the kitchen.

Niel and Illia have dabbled in basic cooking under the tutelage of their guardians, but the prospect of cooking something presumably by themselves has their attention. They join Poppy in the kitchen, and Louise sorts away her papers before joining them as well.

"We're going to make stuffed potato skins! Or, you two are, at least," Poppy announces. On the counter behind her is a metal oven pan with five potatoes, several seemingly random ingredients, and a cookbook opened to a specific page.

"Don't worry too much about being graded on this. The main purpose of this exercise is to develop experience in reading and following recipes, a skill that will be useful when you live on your own in the future," Louise explains.

Niel is the only one who notices, but he hears Illia take a small, sharp breath.

"I've already got the potatoes softened from the oven for you, but they're still a little hot so be careful when you handle them," Poppy informs the pair. "I'll run you through the first cut and scoop as a freebie, but after that you two are on your own!"

As part of her demonstration, Poppy lightly picks up a warm potato and begins to run a small knife through it lengthwise. The blade comes close to her finger, spurring worry in the two kids.

"Be careful not to cut yourself," Niel warns, speaking for his and Illia's minds.

"Oh please. Hell will freeze over before I cut myself while cooking—"

As if on purpose to match the timing, the knife slips out of the potato after completing the full cut and nicks her in the base of her thumb. Both potato halves fall from her hand and hit the metal pan below with a thud.

"Ahaha... hah... So, uh... where are the bandaids again?" Poppy asks ashamedly. Louise slowly shakes her head, Niel can only stare at her in perplexity, and Illia makes herself useful by digging for the box of old bandages underneath the sink.

The jokes that the others were making this morning return to Niel's head, and he knows that, should he be here, Reed wouldn't let an opportunity such as this go to waste. Niel is usually adept at watching what he says, but this time his mind goes on autopilot as he brings up the weather app on his phone.

"Hm. Looks like Hell's experiencing a cold front right now. Strange."

Illia bangs her head against the underside of the sink upon hearing this. Niel—someone who hardly ever shows or shares any emotion at all—told a joke! She crawls out from underneath the sink and gives the box to Poppy, and she just stares at Niel in disbelief. Niel, on the other hand, has no idea why Illia is staring at him and confusingly matches her gaze. She eventually realizes what she's doing and shakes herself out of this strange stupor.

Once Poppy patches herself up, she takes a spoon and begins to carve out the inside of the potato halves. Niel and Illia watch with acute attention and without worry, as Poppy would have to try really hard to cut herself with a spoon. All but half a centimetre of flesh is left on the skin, and the rest is dumped into a bowl for supper's potato salad.

"Okay! The rest is up to you two!" Poppy says as she steps back from the counter. The two students scan through the recipe to understand just what they're making. It's essentially an oven-baked potato boat filled with cheese, bacon bits, and green onion. Seems simple enough.

Illia and Niel take different approaches to cutting the potatoes. Illia copies Poppy's method to varying levels of success, while Niel holds his against the countertop and cuts without the worry of accidentally injuring himself. Poppy praises Niel for this technique, causing Illia to adopt his approach instead. With the potatoes cut, they scoop out most of the flesh to create the boat-like shape of the skins.

Next, they melt some butter and stir in salt and garlic powder, then brush the potatoes over with this mixture. The skins need to cook in the oven for 15 minutes, so the pair start working with the other ingredients in the meantime. Illia doesn't want to use a knife more than she has to, so she leaves chopping the green onion to Niel as she grates about a quarter of a block of marble cheese. He's fairly sporadic in his chopping, and she's slow going with grating, but they're done with plenty of time to spare. Once the timer goes off, they flip the potatoes over for another five minutes.

After 20 minutes of baking, they assess their potatoes. Niel scooped too much flesh as his skins are caving in, and Illia not enough as hers are still somewhat soft. Regardless, they venture on and apply the cheese and bacon bits, and put them back in the oven again to get the cheese to melt. Once they come out for a final time, they're topped with sour cream and green onion, and at long last, it's time to eat. Mabel and Gabriel join the group for this taste test.

"Yep! You guys got the taste pretty much spot on!" Poppy declares.

"We did exactly what the recipe called for, so I would be surprised if it didn't," Niel says, unaware of his unintended cockiness.

"You'd be surprised by how easily a recipe can be messed up, even if you're paying attention," Louise says.

"I know that from experience," Poppy comments.

"So do we," Mabel adds, speaking for both her and Gabriel.

"Though, I'd say that Niel's are too crispy and shallow, while Illia's are too soft," Poppy critiques. "Other than that, well done, both of you."

"I think they're both fine," Gabriel says.

Illia glows from the praise, but she can't help but think about what Niel said before. Poppy and Louise never caught it—probably because they haven't spent enough time with Niel to know the extent of his stoicism, and Mabel and Gabriel just simply weren't around to hear it. She could tell everyone, but she doubts Niel will appreciate Reed hounding him for making a joke. She'll just give him silent praise later in the hopes that he'll express himself more.

Along with Illia, Niel is also deep in thought. Deciding what he wants his Dust to be, and what it means. Dark Dust excels at combat and sabotage, but applied to something peaceful such as cooking, could he really convince himself that his Mute is more than just a weapon? He promised Reed last night that he would try. Maybe it's time to make that effort.

If he can help others, rather than hurt them... for the past no one can learn of, maybe he can find some kind of redemption.