The night passed and morning came. 

Drew woke up sprawled out on one of the benches in the bleachers. Luckily he was wearing his regular clothing instead of that expensive suit from Kingsman or else he would've been in trouble. He groggily fluttered his eyes open to find other students dozing in various spots in the arena. Some were sleeping on the benches, using their jackets as pillows. Some were sitting on the floor, leaning their heads against the walls. Others were sprawled out on the staircase, one person occupying each step. There were even a few buried under a mound of garbage, popcorn speckling their hair as they rolled around on the stairs. 

After Drew left the stage, the rest of the night was history. No one exactly remembered what happened too clearly. The only thing that Drew could remember was once the spectators left, Mrs. Varias told everyone they worked hard the past few days and then dismissed them to help clean up the arena. Since everyone was dying from sleep deprivation, halfway through cleaning up, all the students fell asleep. Now the suns were high up in the sky and it was the next day. 

Drew rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand while brushing his greasy hair back. He could feel some resistance combing it back partially thanks to the gel and hairspray not being washed out from last night. He let out a yawn when he then realized that reeked of sweat and his breath smelled foul. If he took a look at himself in a mirror, he looked absolutely miserable almost as if his soul escaped his body. 

Opening his communication device, Drew saw that it was now ten-thirty. He had slept for almost twelve hours, the most he had ever gotten in two years.  Despite how much of a wreck he looked, he felt refreshed. Below the time, there was a message from Mrs. Varias that he had received 43 hours of community service which cuts down the time he has to spend in Mandatory Military service by almost two days. Knowing that he could earn a few more by helping with the final clean-up, without any delays, Drew picked up the broom on the ground right next to him and started sweeping all the trash away. It was a shame that the cleaning bots malfunctioned the day before the fashion show so everything had to be done manually. Then again, it was partially due to Star's negligence that they hadn't replaced them in ten years. Those things were bound to break at any moment. 

A few minutes later, some of the other students awoke from their slumber and got back to cleaning the arena. 

As Drew was about to empty out his dustpan, he felt an ominous presence creep up behind his back. Out of reflex, Drew pointed his broom at the figure who had put his hands up into the air. It was Elias, in the middle of yawning, and he looked just as haggard as Drew. 

His eyes flashed open as he stumbled back realizing there was a broom pointed right at his face.

"Mother of Kraus, man, you scared the living daylights out of me!" Elias shouted tossing his hands up into the air, his jacket falling out of his arms.

Drew breathed out a sigh of relief before continuing to sweep away at the ground. 

"It's a bad habit of mine, don't mind it." 

"Oh, you two are finally up!" A silver-haired guy with uneven glass greeted tossing the two cans of hot coffee from the vending machines towards the entrance of the arena. 

"Mornin', Rider," Elias said opening his can of hot coffee, the steam escaping from the small hole. 

Drew smiled taking a large swig of the coffee. It was bitter. 

"Morning." 

"Just some caffeine to start off the day..." Rider blurted taking a sip of his coffee. 

"What happened to your hair?" Drew asked leaning the broom against his shoulder.

Rider fiddled around with the strand of hair before noticing that his usual brown hair had turned silver. 

"I completely forgot..." He sighed. 

"Forgot what?" 

Rider chuckled. 

"It was my eighteenth birthday yesterday. We were so preoccupied, I forgot." 

"Oh, your birthday is January 29th then...happy belated birthday, Rider." Drew smiled. 

"Happy birthday, dude. So, it's not hair dye, then?" Elias asked taking a closer look at his titanium-colored hair. 

"Nope!" He confirmed. "You see when us Unicrons reach our eighteenth birthday, our hair changes color. Traditionally, the color depends on the Unicrons social standing but these days, color doesn't matter too much in the social hierarchy unless you live in Bauxite, which is where I'm from." 

Now, this perked Drew's interest. 

"So what would you be considered since you have silver hair?" 

"Heh," Rider smirked, rubbing his finger under his nose. "In the old Unicron society, I would be a Noble." 

"Damn son, you're rich?!" 

"Well I never told anyone but it was bound to come out sooner or later. Also, correction. I am not rich just a little better than average. We live comfortably considering the fact that I have five other siblings. If I were to make a comparison, Wan's family and mine would be similar in terms of wealth."

Disregarding the fact the Wan lives on Glass Road, her family's inn generates the most income out of all the business on Glass Road which could be almost on par with what a corner store earns in a year.  

“I guess I'm the peasant here." Drew laughed rolling his eyes. 

"Shut up," Elias chuckled. "You have more in your savings than I do." 

Drew shivered then eyed Elias as if he were a creep. 

"How do you know that?" 

"Cause, I got zero Kalas. I spent it all on weapons, gene regiments, and snacks over the past six months. Plus, you literally count how many Kalas you saved every time we go out to the convenience store. Let me tell you, he even counts it down to the pence." 

"Wow, what a pence pincher we got here." Rider snicked rolling his eyes. 

Drew sneezed. 

"I feel attacked." 

Btzz. Btzz.

Drew's communication device buzzed on his wrist. It was from Gerald.

"Hey, I gotta make a call real quick," Drew said pushing his broom and dustpan to Elias. "Hold on to these for me please. I'll be back in a moment." 

As Drew ran out of the main arena into the empty lobby, all Elias and Rider could do was look at him and smile. 

"That guy's always running off to one place or another..." Elias observed watching Drew answer the incoming call. 

"Well, have you seen the media, apparently Drew is working under Snow so it's no surprise that he's always busy these days?" 

"What?!" Elias exclaimed. "How? He never told us anything! Why would Drew suddenly be working with the competitor of his idol?" 

"I'm surprised you didn't know, everyone on campus already knew since the beginning of the week but due to exams no one really considered it to be too important." Rider said placing his hand on Elias's shoulder. "Let's ask later but I don't think he's been with Snow for a long time... but it partially explains why he was bold enough to stand up to Miranda." 

Meanwhile, out in the lobby, Drew was talking with Gerald. Luckily there wasn't anyone nearby eavesdropping. 

"Good morning, Young Master. You picked up!" Gerald exclaimed in his usual jolly tone. 

Drew yawned scratching the back of his head. 

"Sorry Gerald, I just woke up. What's up?" 

"Are you free to meet your substitute tonight at the Borealis?" 

He didn't have anything planned for the day besides helping to clean up the arena. 

"I am. Actually, I can come earlier. Will that work?" 

"Of course," Gerald replied in his crescendo voice. " in fact, the earlier the better." 

"Okay, tell Senior Neilson I'll be there by three." 

"Confirmed. I'll be seeing you soon, Young Master." 

"See you." 

Drew hung up first before heading back into the arena where Elias and Rider had remained in the same spot.

Elias handed Drew back his broom and dustpan then suddenly, jabbed a finger into his chest. Drew was confused. 

"You got some serious explaining to do Drew Li." 

"Huh, about what?" Drew was completely baffled by Elias's statement. 

Elias then bopped him on the head. 

"About how you ended up working for Axel Snow, you dumbass!" 

"Okay, okay! Sorry, I didn't have the chance to tell you guys since I was too busy!"

So Drew told them the story, of course, most of it was a lie but he's been preparing this story just in case anyone asked. He told them that someone published a video about him dealing with Miranda in the cafeteria on the web (which is true) and that's how Snow found him. He claimed to have liked his guts and a couple of days later called him up for an interview. Drew said that he initially thought it was fake until he took his chances then found out he was talking with the real Axel Snow. After showing Snow his capabilities, Snow decided to hire Drew as his personal errand boy with the first thing he wanted him to do was to screw around with Heartman. Drew was reluctant to do so at first but once Snow sent him footage that Miranda and Heartman had partnered up together at the auction house, in order to manipulate the War of Royals and eliminate Sylvia (also true), Drew couldn't help but intervene.

The man he and many others have idolized was now his enemy. 

Of course, Elias and Rider were shocked by this but they accepted it quite easily as parts of his story lined up with the auction house video. It was no surprise to the public that after the previous War of Royals that Heartman was becoming less and less humble but to think Miranda and him teamed up for this War of Royals, it could only spell a recipe for disaster. Worst of all, Sylvia, their friend and a Princess, 'exception', in the War of Royals was their target along with Snow. They wanted to help but they weren't sure how Sylvia could defend herself from Miranda's and the other Royals' factions. Unfortunately, considering how little power her faction possessed, only comprising of Glass Road and everyone in their friend group, it was going to be hard to accomplish that. 

"Wouldn't it be a good idea for her to receive backing from Snow?" Elias asked dumping a mound of candy wrappers into a nearby trash bin. "After all, he clearly hates Heartman." 

"Not exactly..." Rider replied. "Snow has also made a lot of enemies in one day and considering the fact that he literally came out of nowhere, it doesn't seem like joining him would be the safest idea right now. I think it'd be better if we wait a bit until there is more info on Snow before we bring up the suggestion to Sylvia." 

Drew hates to admit it, but Rider was right. 

As Snow, he only looked powerful but wasn't powerful. He was a mere sheep wearing wolf's clothing. Even though he technically has the support of the Crow's Eye, the favor of the Chairman of the Ozwarth Medical Facility, and Weasel this wasn't much in comparison to the backing Heartman possessed. How could he protect others if he couldn't even protect himself? The only thing he had which could even rival Heartman was his 'First Snow' breakthrough regiment but even that paled in comparison to the various achievements Heartman had made in the Alchemy field. If he wanted to stand on the same playing field as Heartman, it would require him to make another regiment just as groundbreaking as 'First Snow'. 

He clenched the broom in his hands. Determination burned in his eyes as he swept the bare floor below him. 

He definitely did not want to go down in history as a one-hit-wonder. 

>>>

The day passed and the suns have begun to set in the distance. 

Drew had arrived at the Borealis as Dealer 3960 just to play it safe. Gerald had already gone ahead of Drew some time ago as he had to deal with some other matters. It was a good thing that his trip there was uneventful and most of the gangsters that flocked the alleyways en route have moved out of his way. The only thing that could be seen behind their tough appearances was fear. To these local gangs, messing with a Dealer from Crow's Eye was the same as trying to commit suicide. 

Once he arrived, he was greeted by Senior Neilson and...Jay Crossford arguing with each other?! 

Senior Neilson slammed the top of his desk with his firm fist. 

"I told you, I can't!" He roared. "You already know why I can't see her in person!" 

For the first time, Drew had seen a side of Jay beyond his reserved and stern appearance. 

"It's already been five years, Father! Can't you see her condition isn't getting any better! She doesn't have long! How can you say you love her when you can't even come and see her physically!"

"But you know what I risk by seeing her?!" Senior Neilson retorted. 

"I know and that's why you are a coward, old man!" Jay replied disappointment written all over his face. "She's been yearning to see you for so long. So what harm is there sparing a half hour to go and visit her? Cassie and I are strong enough to protect her so stop worrying!" 

"She was already put a death's door once, and now she's standing in front of another one! How could I make her and you kids go through that again? Cassinopia may be strong but not strong enough to help fend off my enemies. What about you Jason?! You can't possibly understand the danger that lies ahead even if you are aware!" 

Jay's four ears twitched. He was fuming with anger to the brim.

"Stop making up excuses! You and I both know she may not have long to live especially in her condition!" 

"Ummm..." Drew awkwardly chuckled. "Am I interrupting something?" 

A few minutes later, the arguing father and son duo settled down and were now sitting face to face with Drew. Gerald has just entered the room with a tray of hot tea. The steam wafting from the pipping hot liquid as Gerald placed a cup in front of each person before folding his try and taking his place behind Drew. Even though he was no longer the butler of the Winter Family, he still retained his refined etiquette from then. To him, even though he was a normal citizen, each Master and guest was to be served with the best possible service provided. If one got the opportunity to serve their master directly, there could be no greater honor. The Master before him was one that deserved every last drop of his respect, even more than his father, the previous Master. After serving three generations of Winters, he could not be any happier. 

Drew couldn't handle this stuffy atmosphere. Despite being the Young Master of the Winter Family, he was raised the same way as every Tom, Dick, and Harry (basically your average joe) thus he couldn't believe two people of high standing were putting their heads down in shame. 

"Forgive us, Young Master, for witnessing that unsightly conversation." Senior Neilson apologized bowing his head down to Drew. 

After finding out Drew was the Young Master of the Winter family a couple of weeks ago, Senior Neilson couldn't help but bury himself in a hole of embarrassment. Before he became the head of Crow's Eye, he was a butler in training at the Winter Estate on Xolk and was supposed to succeed Gerald after he retired. Obviously, his loyalty to the Winters was absolute. Of course, before that could happen, the Winter Family collapsed and he ended up here after following Gerald and some of the other staff members. In fact, most of the high-ranking members within Crow's Eye were servants of the Winter family in the past. Thus, Drews's status and treatment within the Borealis changed drastically once his identity was revealed. 

"It's all good," Drew said trying to loosen up the tense air around them. "I couldn't help but listen to certain parts of it and it seems like you two need some help." 

"We couldn't possibly both the Young Master with our family mat-" 

Clatter. 

Jay slammed the table. The teacups nearly spilling over. 

"PLEASE HELP US!" 

The desperation in his eyes was evident. 

Senior Neilson tried to stop him. 

"Jason-" 

"Stop it, old man!" Jay scowled. "You and I both know we can only make these last-ditch efforts now. If you really care about mom, this is the only thing we can do now!" 

Senior Neilson couldn't refute his statement and could only shrink back into the sofa in defeat. 

Drew nodded and at the same time, he was shocked. He never would've thought that his stiff and stoic roommate would be showing a weak side to him like this.  

"So, tell me your story." 

Jay took a large inhale, a sip of his tea, then placed the cup down on the porcelain saucer. 

Clink. 

"Do you remember the day the East Ozwarth Wall collapsed five years ago?"