The Brother

A young man was panting as he clutched his chest. He just woke up from an unusual dream and he was determined to confirm it.

This young man had golden locks and a set of jade-green eyes. His face somehow looked identical to a certain silver-haired mage from a country in Southeast Asia, and he was definitely looking forward to meeting said mage.

"Arthur!" he called and immediately dressed up. "Arthur!"

"What?!" exclaimed another young man who was just sprawled to the bed but was jolted awake by the call of his friend.

"We need to get to the Philippines, pronto!"

"Whaaat? The Philippines? Why all of a sudden?"

"My sister's shown up there."

"You have a sister?"

***

The Zero Squad was sitting quietly inside the conference room. They just returned from a mission and suffice to say, it was a successful one. Although…

"What's with this atmosphere?" asked Daniel when he noticed that the members of Zero Squad minus Percy and Althea were actually being silent but had been sending glares at the silver mage.

"Ask that know it all there." Lisa growled and pointed at Althea.

Daniel gave Althea a pointed look but she just shrugged.

"Is somebody going to explain? Or do I have to get the answers I need the hard way?" Daniel told them. But it sounded like a threat so everyone was immediately in attention.

"She left us to fight the warden when we all know she's the one who is most likely to be capable of destroying it without huge losses and causing big damages!" Cam replied.

"I'm only doing the orders I'm given." Althea defended. "I'm a special officer with the authority of a captain-rank. My orders were to assist you in fighting the wardens."

"Exactly!" Lisa exclaimed. "But you just watched on the sides while we almost got mauled by the warden!"

"I was also given explicit orders to let the Zero Squad gain more experience in dealing with wardens." Althea gave them a sickly sweet smile. "How will you have experience if I always have to be the one to deal with the wardens? It doesn't make any sense."

"You could've helped us! Assist us or something!"

"I couldn't okay?" Althea retorted, slamming her hands on the table which startled almost everyone. "I'm an attack mage! I don't have the capability and the training to be on support! I belong to the front lines! That's why I could only watch you fight against the wardens on your own! I would immediately go into action if something happened or if you couldn't handle the warden!"

"Lt. Col.? Any inputs on this?" Daniel asked his younger brother who only stayed silent on his seat. Unlike the rest of his squad members, he looked rather calm, but then again, Daniel thought he had always had a poker face.

"I am aware Althea has her orders since I was one of the people that signed her documents. Why do you think I'm not saying anything?"

"Point taken." Daniel cleared his throat to get their attention. "Zero Squad, you did excellent in your mission today. Aside from the damage you caused in a local wet market, everything else was fine. You can now head to your barracks and take a rest if you want."

Daniel watched as everybody else left and he was the only one that remained inside the conference room. Actually, he was very much stressed. He received many calls about the destruction of the wet market and many owners of the damaged stalls wanted to be compensated. Of course, money wouldn't be a problem but the thought of doing the paperwork was starting to really stress him out.

"I hope they wouldn't cause so much damage next time."

Daniel thought that if it was the warden who caused the damage, it wouldn't have been much of a problem, but half of the damage was caused by the Zero Squad members themselves.

"My gosh. I will go bald early at this rate." he muttered to himself, but he knew he had to be strong. He was a leader, a commander, his men would only doubt him if he started losing it. He knew he had to hold on. But that might actually prove to be very difficult.

Three days later, urgent news was delivered to Tabogon Base.

"Commander, some of the men we put incognito in public just reported that they sighted two suspicious people entering Tabogon." said one of Daniel's subordinates in the analysis team, Sargent Alex Ramos.

"Have Tierra run facial recognition." Daniel ordered the moment the pictures were sent on his screen.

[Running facial recognition. Facial Recognition success. Identities confirmed; Captain Arthur Stuart of the British Royal Airforce – Relic Division, Wielder and Captain Alexis Stanley of British Royal Airforce – Relic Division, Wielder.]

"What's soldiers from the British Royal Airforce doing here in civilian attire?" Daniel asked.

[Unable to answer the question.]

"Have somebody contact the local police and have them escorted to Tabogon Base." Daniel ordered.

***

Althea was just doing her usual routine in Tabogon Base. It was an afternoon, so she was on her way to the training area to find someone to spar with. She was hoping she would find a really good opponent that day. Unfortunately, as she neared the training area, she felt a foreboding feeling in her chest.

No, it wasn't really foreboding, but the feeling was akin to that. And for as long she could remember, there was only one thing, no not a thing, but a person, that could ignite such feeling within her.

"Alexis." she growled.

Using the feeling inside of her as some sort of tracker, she made her way to the main building where Daniel's office was located. Without even knocking, she opened the door quite harshly and glared at the two men who stood in attention in front of Daniel's desk.

"Miss Niadgel! You just ripped the door off its hinges!" Daniel exclaimed and started worrying about his door which would ultimately cause him another set of paperwork.

"What are you doing here Alexis?" she growled.

"Ah, so you were here." the golden haired man smiled playfully. "Nice to see you too sister."

"I don't have a brother who threw his own sister to a warden's mouth just to save himself."

For the first time, Daniel saw Althea actually not hold back. He watched her punch Alexis to the face. Alexis' companion Arthur, remained unmoving, but surprise was evident on his face.

"Okay, I admit I deserve that one." Alexis responded and straightened his jaw.

"Leave." Althea growled again.

"Oh come on. Is it wrong to come see my sister?"

"Leave, or a broken nose will be the least of your problems. We both know I'm more powerful than you, so don't even try using your power."

"Fine. We'll leave for today. Colonel Ashtein, let's talk at a later date. Let my sister cool down first."

Daniel watched as the soldiers left the room. He immediately ordered someone to escort the two to a guest house outside the base. He made his way to Althea who was still gritting her teeth in anger.

"A brother?" he questioned.

"Not a good one. And I'd rather not have him as one."

Althea walked out of the room. Daniel shook his head in disbelief.

"Breathe Daniel. Breathe."

Daniel then decided. He needed to find answers. And he needed it soon. For the sake of his sanity.