"Now to grade the papers..."

  In the lecture hall, the day's History lesson, and the quiz that followed, was coming to its conclusion, the teacher at the center of the room shuffling through dozens of filled out question sheets.

  C-099 and W-101, once hopeful for their success in this test, sat with brows knitted and fingers crossed in front of their faces, staring intently and patiently at the teacher, awaiting the results.

  One-O's eyes wandered for a moment, looking off to the side where AR-083 and TW-079 sat confidently, smiles plastered on their faces, as if they already knew what was to come. AR would catch onto the boy's sideways glance, and meet him with a cocksure grin.

  His eyes would narrow slightly as he looked away from the girl, a vein visibly bulging on his forehead despite the smirk that made its way onto his face.

  "This is fine..." He muttered. "Soon as the teacher calls out our win, I'll never let her live down that stupid grin..."

  "Oh boy..." Cinea sighed.

  "Alright!" Finally, the teacher started, "I've looked through your papers, and we have a winning pair."

  Despite how poorly he knew they did, Ninety-Nine still had some semblance of hope.

  With the four other Sprouts that could have been competing in the test opting to go about their own devices somewhere in the facility, it was solely a competition between Eighty-Three and Seventy-Nine, and the two of them.

  The odds were 50/50, as far as he could tell. So now they just had to hope that the fifty that the teacher landed on was theirs!

  .

  .

  .

  The fifty that the teacher landed on was not theirs.

  AR-083 and TW-079 left the both of them in the dust, the two of them scoring more than twice the points that C-099 and W-101 managed to scrape together. Something that they were very pleased about, and One-O-One was very displeased about, having to be dragged out of the room by his roommate.

  "My bragging rights... My victory..." He muttered, downtrodden as Ninety-Nine pulled him along out into the hallway.

  "Come on, it's not that bad. I mean, we still had fun, right?" He said reassuringly, though he couldn't act like he wasn't equally disappointed at their loss. Especially since he had promised IS-131 that they would come back with something to show off. "Maybe she'll let us live this down if we get her extra sweets from the cafeteria?"

  101 didn't put up much more struggle as he let himself be dragged, sighing in defeat. C-099 gave a light chuckle at that, "I can get you some too for tagging along─ Eh?"

  Although, that offer was cut short as he noticed someone making their way down the halls, heels rhythmically clacking against the tile in a very familiar sound.

  Sure enough, the person who rounded the corner was Mother, expression softening as her eyes landed on the purple-haired boy smiling up at her.

  "Oh? Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise?"

  "Hi, mama!" Ninety-Nine greeted cheerily, using the hand that wasn't keeping One-O-One from hitting the floor to wave her way.

  With a few steps, the woman was face-to-face with the young man. "Hello to you, too, my little zinnia~ I assume you're just getting out of the day's lecture?"

  C-099 nodded enthusiastically, cheeks slightly rosy from the nickname. "We're on our way back to our room now. Although, since we totally bombed the quiz and don't have anything to show for it, I was thinking we could go get some snacks at the cafeteria to cheer ourselves up..."

  "Is that so?" She hummed, tilting her head slightly to take a look at the redhead sat behind him, kept upright only by Ninety-Nine's fingers gripping the back of his gown. "I suppose that loss is what has our resident daylily so grief-stricken?"

  As if responding to the comment, W-101 would let out a low groan, grumbling unintelligibly under his breath.

  "He's... not taking it well..."

  "So I see..." She would mutter thoughtfully, raising her hand to her chin for a moment. "Typically, I would tell you that one loss shouldn't discourage you from figuring how you can do better next time. However..." Both boys perked up at the pause. "There is something I've been thinking over for quite a while now. If the two of you were to help me find my answer, I may be able to give you something to show off with our favorite sunflower~"

  Before C-099 could respond with his own enthusiasm, W-101 sprung up beside him in a burst of violet sparkles. "Ask away!"

  "I'm glad that managed to breathe some life back into you." Mother said with a light chuckle, "Now, consider this scenario: The two of you, alongside a handful of civilians, are in an enclosed space when you're ambushed by a rampaging Amalgamation. It's assessed to be Grade 6, with signs of transitioning to Grade 5. With only a few precious moments to act, what do you do?"

  Now on eye level with one another, the two boys exchanged a brief, silent glance. As if they had concluded with some deep, meaningful conversation only audible to the two of them, they turned back to Mother, and delivered the same answer.

  "I would run."

  "Why do you say that?" Mother responded immediately.

  "During our lectures, we're told to push ourselves beyond our preconceived limits." C-099 started, reciting the teaching that had been repeated time and time again.

  "However, in the event that an opponent far out of our league appears, a Sprout's priority is to preserve their and their comrades lives." W-101 finished.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  "And do you know why that is?"

  "Because," they answered in unison, "The Sprouts are the last line of defense against all that threatens humanity. As long as we survive, the seeds of mankind will always have the chance to bear fruit."

  It was a mantra that they had rehearsed more times than any of them could count, ingrained in their minds from the moment they came into Damara's care. For most, that moment is the longest-lasting memory they can recall.

  That seemed to be the answer Mother was looking for, a smile spreading across her face.

  "Very good!" She cheered, clapping her hands in congratulations, "You both passed with flying colors!"

  "Yes!" Both boys celebrated, high fiving each other, although immediately after, their attention shifted straight to the reward they were promised, looking up at the older woman with a telling sparkle in their eyes.

  Mother's smile would only widen under their expecting looks, giving them with a simple command, "Now, raise your hands."

  The boys did as such, and with a snap of her fingers, an object appeared in each of their palms. Looking down at the items, both appeared to be necklaces.

  Resting in C-099's hand was one bearing resemblance to a crescent moon, dark silver leaf-like patterns wrapped around an ocean blue gemstone, shimmering with specks of cyan under the fluorescent lighting.

  Meanwhile, in W-101's palm sat one resembling a star, eight silver points outlined by a multicolored sheen, contrasting with the solid purple of the round jewel at its center. Golden brambles circled it, connected to the back of the four longest points.

  Both ornaments seemed like fancy, pricey items, shining brighter than anything they had seen worn around the facility, however, what fascinated the two of them more was the air of familiarity surrounding them ─ despite just receiving them, the accessories felt precious in a way they couldn't quite place.

  That in mind, they wasted no time putting them on, an odd sense of completion ─ for lack of better terms ─ washing over them with the click of the latch.

  "Thank you very much!" The two cheered.

  "You're very welcome." Although, before the two could run off to show their prize to their roommate, she raised her own hand, another necklace appearing in her palm with a burst of light. "And, of course, we can't leave out our sunflower, now can we?"

  She let the necklace dangle slowly from her finger like a metronome, watching with an glint of amusement as the two Sprouts tracked its movements with their eyes, mesmerized.

  Matching the apparent theme set by the previous necklaces, this one vaguely mimicked the appearance of the sun. A thin, golden crescent, fading into darker, flame-like shades of orange towards its edges. Six prongs of various lengths extended from it, and from the longest of them, stationed at the bottom of the ornament, hun a diamond-shaped stone, swaying in time with the slow revolutions of the rest of the necklace it was connected to.

  "Give this to IS-131 when you see her. She wasn't doing so well when I passed her on my rounds through the complex, so call it a 'get well soon' gift!"

  The two snapped out of their sudden trance as Mother let the item slip through her fingers, C-099 quickly reaching out to catch it before it hit the ground, not bothering to wave the director off as she took her leave.

  .

  "Hey, Thirty-One!" C-099 greeted as he came through the door to their bedroom.

  "Check out what we won!" W-101 gloated, holding up the star necklace around his neck.

  Although, as they looked around the room in search of IS-131, they found it to be in a state of disarray that they certainly hadn't left it in.

  Bedding torn apart and strewn along the floor.

  Tiles cracked and walls dented.

  The desks and bookshelves previously in tact turned to splintered chunks of wood and metal, the books and stationary within them apparently not managing to avoid whatever storm had blown through.

  And, most concerning of all, was the blood coating all of it, making a trail down the walls, along the floor, and leading back to the prime suspect, stood at the center of the room.

  With blood dripping from her knuckles and the soles of her feet, and breathing steadying slowly, she turned to the two, expression hard to discern. "Hey. Welcome back."

  The two of them rushed to her, C-099 grabbing hold of her hands to look them over, while W-101 scanned over the area for whatever could have provoked this situation.

  "What happened to you?" Ninety-Nine asked, the smile he had when they entered replaced by one of focused concern. "Whatever it was, it seems like your regeneration took care of it, but..."

  "Did an Amalgamation force itself through the walls or something?" One-O pondered.

  "There's no way. The whole facility is coated in Ma's Ether. Most Amalgamations would have their cores destroyed on contact. If it was strong enough to break through, IS would have died, and she's very alive..."

  "So, an Outlaw, maybe?"

  "You guys don't have to worry." Before they could continue their speculations, IS-131 interrupted. "I lost my cool for a little while and wound up breaking a few things."

  Looking around the room, 'a few things' was certainly an understatement. It would be hard to spot anything that hadn't fallen victim to her momentary fit.

  "I'll replace whatever of yours I broke. As far as notes and stuff for our lectures go, it might take a while to write everything down again, but I can get it done before our next one."

  "As long as you're okay now, it's whatever." Ninety-Nine sighed, reaching into his pocket in search of something, "But, on another note! Check it out. On top of these cool necklaces we got, we also got one for you!"

  "Necklaces?" She hummed, quirking a brow. Only now, as she looked at the two fully, did she notice the accessories dangling from their necks and resting comfortably atop their gowns.

  Just like her roommates had before, she found herself mesmerized by the items, an odd glint growing in her eyes. That glint only brightened as C-099 presented the third of the necklaces, intended as a gift for her.

  "Look! They make a cool set, right?"

  IS-131 marveled at the trinket as C-099 presented it proudly, fingers tracing lightly over its edges as she took it into her hands.

  "I know this necklace... And those ones you have, too..." She muttered, eyes glossing over with the starts of tears.

  That reaction prompted both boys to quirk a brow in both confusion and concern, though that change in expression went unnoticed as a particular whisper came to the forefront of Thirty-One's consciousness.

  Looking up at her roommates, the two of them seemed different. Older by a year or two, wearing odd foreign outfits, and sporting larger, more visible scars than they could have ever incurred through the regular training exercises offered by Damara.

  C-099 stood directly in front of her, presenting the sun necklace to her with a wide, toothy smile on his face.

  "Check out what we got, Isiel! Some guy in the market was selling these for cheap as a set, so we went and bought 'em!" He cheered, "We figured that the sun one would work best for you, cause you're always leading us out of stuff. Y'know, like a... guiding light, I guess? Like the sun coming out after the night!"

  Even while only being able to recall bits and pieces of the moment, she could it was a flimsy excuse. They just liked the other two more and left her with the third.

  "You like it?" W-101 asked, leaning over Ninety-Nine's shoulder with a smile that was far too sweet to be anything but a cover up.

  But, still, as she put the accessory on and watched how its surface shone as she held it up to the sky, she couldn't help but smile fondly.

  "Yeah, I like it."

  She held the ornament as if it were her most prized possession, its luster untainted by the blood seeping onto it from her fingers.

  Her focus on it was only broken once she felt a hand land on each of her shoulders, her roommates looking at her with looks as reassuring as they could manage beyond their obvious worry.

  "Seriously, if something's bugging you, you can tell us." One-O assured.

  "Yeah, we don't gotta go to the medical staff or anything. We can just hang out in here or wherever until you feel better! Though, we might have to find some chairs if we're in here..."

  Drawn back to the present, seeing her friends before her, alive and well, despite what she had seen and heard in these visions, she could finally tell what she wanted to do.

  She wiped the tears from her cheeks, eyes glowing as a telltale sign of her Expression's activation.

  With a hand atop each of the ones holding her in reality, she made her intentions known to the two, calmly, conviction clear in her smile.

  "Let's go get the others. We're leaving Damara!"