"Good morning, Mrs. Harris," Marcus greeted the little old lady.

She was coming into the kitchen, ready to prepare breakfast. But upon seeing the boys, she came up short. Bright hazel eyes glowing in pleasant surprise, she wore a smile. "Now, what are you two handsome boys up to at six in the morning?" she inquired, standing in the middle of the archway from the bedroom hallway to her kitchen.

"We're making crepes," Malik explained from in front of the stove. "We figured, since it wasn't a school day, we'd treat you today."

"I found some strawberries and blueberries in the fridge. Which do you like better? Oh, also some whipped cream..." Marcus asked from in front of the refrigerator.

Shaking her head, Mrs. Harris laughed. "Alright. What trouble are you planning on?"

"Trouble?" Marcus repeated, jerking in surprise. "W-what? What makes you say that?"

"Come now, boys. I'm sixty, not three. I know you two are buttering me up for a reason. So what is it?" She narrowed her eyes, glancing between each brother shrewdly.

"Can't we just make breakfast for a beautiful woman we want to show our appreciation to?" Malik asked calmly, winking at her.

Her smile grew a little, but her face told him she wasn't fooled. "That you can. But I think I know better than to completely believe that..."

Sighing, Marcus glanced at his twin before back to Mrs. Harris. "I think we should tell her. It's important she knows," he insisted. Malik looked annoyed, but he reminded quiet. Turning back to her, Marcus cleared his throat. "You know about the dojo not far from here, right?"

Mrs. Harris nodded, her hazel eyes alight. "Oh, yes. You mean the Chesters' place?"

"Uh...yeah," Marcus nodded his head quickly. "Do you know the guy who runs it?"

The boys watched in surprise as the elderly woman's whole face lit up in joy. "I know Kazuo a little, but I know his step sister and niece much more. Those two are such dears. Little troublemakers at times, just like two boys I could think of...Is this about why you two came back from school bruised up yesterday?" Her gaze was steady, expecting the truth. "Don't you two try to pull the wool over my eyes. You want to have Kazuo teach you to fight, don't you?" she shook her head sadly.

"No!" Marcus shook his head quickly, raising a hand up to stop her. "No, we just want to know how to defend ourselves. Maybe if we know how to restrain would-be bullies before they can start, we'll be able to discourage any more fights," he explained calmly.

Lips pursed in thought, Mrs. Harris eyed the twins carefully. After a full minute, she slowly nodded her head. "Alright. There's some sense to that logic. I'll go with you today to introduce you two and ask Kazuo myself."

"Yes!" Malik pumped his fist in the air. He had to quickly return his attention to the crepes though. Over his shoulder, he continued to talk. "D-don't worry about having to pay or anything. We'll only do it if this Kazuo guy will agree to let us work in exchange for lessons."

Smiling, she nodded her head. "He's a pretty fair man, if not a little odd at times. I'm sure he won't mind such a arrangement. But I expect you two to be on your best behavior. A little girl lives there and she's quite sheltered. So no inappropriate jokes while you are over there, alright?"

"Yep!" The twins said at the same time.

"Now, let's sit down for this wonderful breakfast you two have fixed. Then I'll need you two to help with the lawn and the laundry." As she spoke, the boys were throwing back and forth a series of Rock-Paper-Scissors combinations, even as Malik continued to cook and Marcus continued to get ingredients out of the refrigerator. Shaking her head, wearing a little grin, she began to set the table.

Five minutes later Marcus let out a triumphant shout. "Ha! That's fifty wins!"

"Damn it!" Malik groaned.

"Language," Mrs. Harris scolded him sternly, tossing him a scowl.

He chuckled nervously, beginning to place the crepes on plates. "Right, right. Sorry, Mrs. H! Well, I guess that means I'm doing the lawn work."

"And I'll be helping you out with the laundry, Mrs. H," Marcus flashed her a grin.

She shook her head, smiling in thanks when Malik set a plate of blueberry-filled crepes and a glass of orange juice in front of her. "Really, boys. I've told you it's fine for you to call me Beatrice...Or if that's too stiff, just call me Gram," she sighed.

Marcus shook his head. "We're fine the way it is, Mrs. H," he reassured her. Besides, who knows how long we'll be here. It's best if we don't let ourselves get too attached, he thought wearily.

The next several hours went by quickly. By nine in the morning, Beatrice was making a light snack while Malik took a quick shower and changed into clean clothes. All that push-mowing had made him filthy. While he did so, Marcus was outside finishing up the last of the weeding. Beatrice made sure he showered and changed as well, tutting her tongue when he tracked in a green and brown mess across her floor. After eating four turkey and cheese sandwiches, with a large helping of mayo, the boys were ready to go.

Mrs. Harris grabbed her large tote bag, sun hat, and house keys. Dressed casually, the boys took to either side of her, escorting her as she led the way to Kazuo's dojo. Along the way, the boys kept up a constant, steady stream on conversation. To be honest, Beatrice felt more than a little lost, not understanding half of what they were talking about. But the happy sounds of their voices did her soul good. She'd been alone for a long time now, and even if only in a week, these two had certainly brightened up her life.

As they came up to the front of the building, Malik chuckled. "That's certainly a funny little sign," he grinned.

"So how old is this Kazuo guy? Like forty or something?" Marcus wondered aloud.

Smiling, Beatrice shook her head. "Hmm? Oh, not at all. He's barely thirty."

Marcus raised a eyebrow. "Really? For some reason I was expecting the master here to be...older."

"Too many movies, bro," Malik teased his twin.

"Shut up," Marcus muttered, a very faint blush filling his cheeks.

Ignoring their comments, Beatrice pushed open the front door, moving inside. As soon as the boys took a step inside, they froze. Very slowly, they turned their heads to stare at one another, black eyes wide in shock. The amount of Otherness and sheer magical pressure they could feel in the atmosphere of this place was a lot more than they'd ever felt before. There were too many of them too. The boys couldn't get a very good read on what type of Other any of this whole mess belonged to or where they ever were. Just that this whole building was saturated in it.

Turning her head to the right, Beatrice saw the first floor door was closed. It's Saturday...Their SUV was out front so at least someone is home today...Perhaps they are upstairs in the living space or in the dojo proper? she mused internally. Nodding her head, she started up the stairs. "Come along, boys," she encouraged them.

Silently, a bit more subdued in this new atmosphere, the boys did. As they came up the first flight of stairs, they were met by a man. He was tall, six' one" to Malik's five' ten" and Marcus' five' nine". He had semi-long, platinum blonde hair, reaching to just above his shoulders. His face and body were so handsome it was almost a little crazy. Like a movie star had just started toward them, wearing a pair of white khaki shorts and a hunter green t-shirt. His dark green eyes were alight with curiosity as he took in the three who were pausing at the second floor hallway. "Mrs. Harris, how are you?" the man called out pleasantly.

Beatrice paused, taking in Aiden coming toward them from further down the hallway. "Oh, Mr. Frost. I'm perfectly fine this morning. It's good to see you back. But I do have a question. Might you know where I could find Kazuo?"

Aiden frowned a little but nodded. "Yes, he's with the others and a few of the students up on the fourth floor. Um...who are your young friends here?" he wondered.

Beatrice glanced over her shoulder at the twins. "Oh my. Yes, it's been such a crazy week I forgot all about it. These are the Welson twin boys. I've taken them in as their foster family," she explained, smiling.

Aiden's eyebrows shot up. "Wow, Mrs. Harris. That's quite a amazing thing for you to do."

The elderly woman blushed a little, but shrugged nonchalantly. "Yes, well, they needed a caring home and I needed some company. I figured it would be a win-win situation for all three of us."

As the bolder of the two, Malik stepped forward, extending his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Frost, was it? My name's Malik and I'm the oldest. My brother's Marcus."

Aiden grasped the boy's hand firmly, wearing a wide smile. As the two touched, they both blinked and paused. They could sense the magic the other had. Slowly they broke apart, eyeing one another in interest. But after a moment, Aiden cleared his throat. "I'm glad to meet you. You as well, Marcus," he shot a smile at the shyer brother. "Unfortunately though, I have a few other things I need to take care of. But I'm sure I'll be seeing you two around the neighborhood."

"Oh? Are you going to finally move here permanently?" Beatrice asked, intrigued. "You know you ought to. Your girl would be so happy if you did..."

Smiling faintly, Aiden shook his head. "I'm afraid nothing quite like that. Close, though. I do plan to be staying for the weekends here," he admitted. "Unfortunately, I have very important family business on the other side of the country I have to attend to during the weekdays."

Clicking her tongue in sad disapproval, Beatrice shook her head. "You should just marry Willow and get it over with," she told the man shortly. "I'll never understand this need to dance around each other you young people feel you have to do. Tell her you love her and get down on your knee, holding a ring. It's pretty simple, Mr. Frost."

The boys both blinked, feeling a little awkward. Apparently they'd stepped into a bit of a situation...

Sighing, Aiden shook his head, wearing a wry smile. "You know, I really do wish it was quite that simple, Mrs. Harris. But I believe it never will be...at least not now," he grumbled under his breath. "Anyway, enough of my problems. Have a good day," he waved at them before starting down the stairs.

The twins glanced at each other before slowly following Mrs. Harris up the stairs again. What was that about? they thought at the same time. The dude's got major problems, Marcus raised an eyebrow. Haha, yeah, right? Malik grinned half-heartedly.

On the fourth floor they stopped once again. The whole floor was one open, empty, large practice floor. The floors looked like wood, just like you'd see at any other martial arts studio, with one wall even made up entirely of mirrors in between the windows. It was huge and a little intimidating at first glance. Mrs. Harris evidently didn't hold the twins' nervousness though. She continued right along her merry way, making a beeline for a broad-shouldered, crazy intense-looking Asian man.

In the center of the room were several kids, most of them in the young age range, but two of the boys looked to be about eleven or twelve. There was even two little girls; one of them pale-skinned, with a braid of orange-yellow hair and freckles all over her face. The other was obviously half-white, half-black, with a crazy, frizzed mop of curls on her head. All the children were doing different stances, instructed by a giant man with shaggy strawberry-blonde hair that kept falling into his face. Both boys half-froze up upon seeing how tall the man was. Like...how did people even get that huge?!

Off to the side were two other people. An Asian man, the one Mrs. Harris was heading towards, and a black woman who looked a few years younger than him. The two were standing side by side, talking quietly to one another as they observed the kids.

The man had very close-cropped black hair, no facial hair, and brown eyes. He was wearing a pair of black sweat pants and no shirt. And it was the exposure of his chest that made both boys think he was so intense. The man had scars covering his entire chest! Like, crazy bad, crazy scary scars!

The woman beside him was wearing a black and light blue workout outfit. She had on knee-length black pants with a blue stripe going down the side hems. Her top was light blue with two black stripes down the front. It was a tight-fitting working outfit and you could see her black sports bra underneath and through the open sections of the top. Despite their selves, both boys couldn't help but take two seconds to ogle the woman in her outfit. She looked good. Damn good. She too, like the little half-white girl, had a head of crazy curls, though the woman's was much longer. But she'd pulled her hair up into a tight ponytail, showing off her face and shoulders a lot better.

As if sensing their gaze on her, the woman turned her head to glance their way as Mrs. Harris was approaching the man and woman. The woman's dark eyes widened for half a second and she blinked, looking suddenly very uncertain. She leaned her head close to the man beside her, whispering something. The man jerked his head back, obviously taken by surprise, before glancing toward the twins as well. He took looked taken aback by something.

At this point, the boys were curious as to what the hell was up. They started forward, just as Mrs. Harris reached the Asian man. But before anyone could say another word, a little girl's high pitch, excited squeal filled the entire open room. "Big brother!"

The boys both froze, turning toward where the voice had come from, toward the kids. Bounding forward, wearing a wide, happy smile was the girl with the crazy curls. She was all but jumping up and down as she rushed toward them. And like a mini-bulldozer, she hit Malik with the impact of a bullet. He let out a low grunt of pain as her surprising show of strength sent him flat on his back. He groaned, having hit the back of his head. But he didn't get a whole lot of time to think about much else.

"P-Prophecy?" a woman's startled, confused voice came from somewhere. But the twins were a little more occupied by the little girl.

"Big brother, I've been waiting forever!" the girl emphasized, arms still tightly around Malik's chest. "It's so good to finally see you for real. I can't wait until we're all living together. It's going to be so much fun..." she whispered in a much softer voice.

"U-um...I think you got the wrong guy, kid," Malik murmured, trying to be as nice as possible. "I don't have a little sister."

"My brother's right," Marcus nodded, crouching down next to his brother, who was still flat on his back.

The girl slowly lifted her head up from Malik's chest, turning to look at Marcus. As she did, her expression darkened. She frowned, looking confused. Her dark blue eyes, striking against her darker complexion, studied his face very closely. "W-who are you?" she stuttered in uncertainty. "I...I've never Seen you before..."

Now it was Marcus' turn to frown. "What? I'm the younger brother of the guy you're sitting on," he explained. "He's my twin."

The girl's gaze slowly shifted between the two brothers. "But...I..." she whispered, looking suddenly very confused and almost scared. "I've always only seen Big Brother...I-I've never seen you before...W-what's going on?" she choked on a half-sob.

"Prophecy!" The woman's voice from before was suddenly very close by. The woman who'd been by the Asian man fell to her knees on the other side of Malik. "Baby, you know you can't just attack people like that," the woman lectured sternly. She reached out and lifted the girl into her arms.

"But, Mommy...He's my big brother," the girl, Prophecy, insisted. "I always See him. He's there, giving me piggy back rides or playing basketball with me. He likes to help me sneak cookies out of the cookie jar. We...we go out and watch movies in the theater together sometimes," she continued to explain. Her voice was shaking and tears were falling from her eyes. "But, I...I've never Seen himbefore." Prophecy raised one hand and pointed to Marcus shakily.

The woman glanced between Malik and Marcus, a unreadable expression on her face. The boys remained still. Now that they'd calmed down a little, they could feel the magic coming off these two as well. It was almost as powerful as the man they'd met earlier, as Mr. Frost. So these two are Others as well, the twins thought together.

After a few more seconds, the woman reached out her free hand, as if to touch Malik...But she quickly closed it into a fist, the skin around her eyes tightening. "I'm very sorry about this," she apologized quietly. "M-my daughter has a bit of a Gift, you see. She sometimes gets visions of things yet to happen. But I suppose she got mixed up."

"No, Mommy, I didn't!" Prophecy insisted. "He's my big brother. I'd remember his face anywhere. He looks really similar though..." she admitted, glaring in annoyance at Marcus.

"That's because they are siblings, honey," her mother explained. "B-besides, you don't...You're a only child, sweetie," the woman murmured.

"No, I'm not," the girl continued to insist stubbornly. "He's my big brother and I don't know who the other boy is. But I also have a little brother, though he's not born yet. I'm not a only child, Mommy," Prophecy explained in an irritated voice. "Stop lying. I know I have a big brother. And that's him!" she pointed at Malik again.

"Now, Prophecy, you shouldn't be causing such a scene." A new, older voice broke onto the scene. Mrs. Harris was shaking her head down at the little girl. "These boys are living with me right now. I'm taking care of them. And they don't have a little sister, Prophecy. It's just the two of them."

Prophecy nodded, looking annoyed at all the adults. "I know, I know. Big Brother told me that his mommy and daddy that raised him died in a car accident. That's why he was living with you, Mrs. Harris. But now he's here, which means he's with his real family. Now he can be with me, Mommy, Dad, and Pawpaw. We'll take care of him," she explained calmly.

The Asian man showed up, wearing an odd expression. His gaze was very quickly shifting between Malik, Marcus, 'Mommy', and Prophecy. The more he stared, the higher his eyebrows rose up. And the more his eyes began to grow wide in disbelief and shock.

Unable to help himself, Marcus glanced between the four of them himself. And the longer he did, the more he felt like he was looking at a very strange mirror of his brother and himself. The similarities between them all were more than a little freaky. In fact, Marcus was beginning to think some of what the girl was talking about might be true....

"Alright, Prophecy," the Asian man's voice slowly broke through Marcus' thoughts. "I think that's enough. We haven't even been introduced to these boys yet."

"His name is Malik," Prophecy pointed to Malik, who'd pulled himself into a sitting position a little earlier ago. He too, like his brother and the Asian man, had been taking in the bizarre similarities between the four of them. "I don't know his name, but Malik's my big brother," she said firmly, like she needed to remind everyone once again.

How did I become the third wheel again? Marcus thought tiredly. The way the girl kept emphasizing his name, it was like he was some sort of unwanted guest.

Malik's eyes were wide and very confused. "U-um...how do you know my name?" he asked quietly.

Prophecy stared at him, almost like she was hurt. "Y-you told me, remember?" She paused, seeming to think about it. "Well, I mean, it didn't happen yet and it was on a different Path, but I Saw you tell me. You were really nice..."

"I haven't...I don't know who you are," Malik gentled his voice slightly.

Slowly, Prophecy held her hand out to him. "My name is Prophecy Chester. My mother is Willow Chester and my dad is Aiden Frost. My Pawpaw is Kazuo Chester," she explained, her dark blue eyes calm.

Very slowly, Malik took hold of her hand. His eyes traveled up to the woman's, this Willow, and then to the Asian man. This guy must be Kazuo, which meant that Prophecy was his...niece? Then why did she refer to him in a way that seemed a lot like 'grandpa'? "Um, i-it's nice to meet you...officially, Prophecy," he fought to smile.

Prophecy's face grew still for half a second before she blinked. "Oh...okay," she murmured. Frowning, she turned her head to Marcus. "I still don't See you. Why don't I See you?!" she demanded irritably. "I've never not Seen someone...Why?!"

Rising to her feet, Willow shook her head. "Alright. Enough is enough, honey. Why don't we go downstairs and start making lunch for everyone? I think we need to get away from this whole situation and talk, you and I," Willow sighed.

Before Prophecy could protest, Willow was starting off. She waved half-heartedly over her shoulder at the others, but didn't glance back. Prophecy's voice was annoyed and unwilling, but Willow's hold on her was strong enough that the girl would have to physically hurt her mother to get down. So instead she crossed her arms over her chest and began to pout.

Back at the twins, Marcus shook his head slowly. "Well, that was much more of an introduction than I was expecting."

"No kidding," Malik muttered as he slowly rose to his feet. "That kid's...she's kind of crazy."

"That's my...niece," Kazuo's tight voice broke through the twins' comments, "you're talking about...I'd appreciate it if you'd be a little more courteous."

"Boys!" Mrs. Harris hissed.

"Sorry," they muttered at the same time.

"Now...To what do I owe the pleasure of meeting you two?" Kazuo asked tiredly.

Coughing to clear his throat, Malik rubbed nervously at the back of his neck. "Well...we'd like you to teach us self-defense," he explained.

"Self-defense?" Kazuo repeated slowly, eyeing the boys critically. After a few more seconds, he slowly nodded his head. "Ah, yes. That makes sense. So that's what's up," he sighed heavily. "I'm sorry to hear that. Unfortunately, it's a common problem."

Both boys blinked and even Mrs. Harris looked confused. "Um..." Marcus murmured. "We, uh, didn't say we had a problem."

"C'mon, I'm not stupid. Girls like you two, right?" Kazuo grumbled. "This means you get bullied and hurt a lot, and not just at school. This isn't the first time I've been involved in a rodeo like this, boys. I know how it is. I charge $50 per individual per session, if you want to do this one-on-one. But if you'd like to join the class with the kids, it's going to be $180 per individual per month. We have six classes a month that last for roughly three to four hours. I also have a older teens class, if you don't like the younger children's option. Teens are $200 per month. If none of those work for you, it's $20 for a walk-in instruction and I may not be the one teaching you if that's the case. My sister is also a instructor here."

Kazuo glanced over his shoulder, taking in that Bren was still instructing the remaining kids. The children had paused, more than a little confused by all the drama going on. But Bren had quickly reminded them they were still in class and returned their attention to his instruction. Bren had shown a great likeness for teaching the kids.

He'd shown up earlier this morning, early enough for breakfast. To say Aiden had been surprised had been a understatement. But Bren had just smiled and asked if Aiden really believed Bren would let him come to the Human World unprotected? Without another word the man had come inside and poured himself a mug of coffee, reaching up to help Willow get a large plate down to place eggs and bacon on. He'd even asked Kazuo to be allowed to teach the children's class today and Kazuo had seen no reason to deny the man.

"Um," Malik began nervously. "We were actually hoping we could come to a...working arrangement," he coughed awkwardly.

Kazuo's eyes narrowed, several thoughts spinning through his head in quick succession. After another moment, he sighed. "Yeah, alright." His sharp gaze studied both brothers. "You're good with numbers, aren't you?" he stared at Marcus.

For his part, the younger Welson blinked, startled. "I...um...w-well, yes, a bit. But how did you-?"

"Good. I need all the help I can get," Kazuo grinned fleetingly. "Alright. You've got yourselves an arrangement. Agreed?" He held his hand out toward the twins. After a few seconds, still feeling like they were being left behind in the dust, the boys' shook his hand. Kazuo turned to Mrs. Harris. "You're taking care of these two, right?" he asked in a suddenly serious voice.

Beatrice nodded, looking a little startled. Kazuo's gaze was very intense in that one moment. "Y-yes. They are in the foster care system and I just took them in at the beginning of the week," she explained.

He raised a hand up to pat her shoulder, his touch gentle. His voice was oddly sincere as well, making her blink and stare at him in curious uncertainty. "Thank you," he whispered quietly. After another second, he straightened, wearing a carefree smile. "Well, you boys better be ready. I'm going to work you hard," he warned.