Alain's sister Tiana had woken up a few days ago. I was relieved for her little brothers. It was like when we had watch someone evolve in our family. It was never easy.

Noelle had told Hannah everything. Not that I was surprised about that. Sometimes we wondered if they were actual sisters at one point. If any strangers saw a picture of them, they'd probably think they were. Heck, some of us she took in younger probably did, too, at one point.

Anyway, Noelle had asked Hannah to ask Del and Arthur if they'd be willing to go with Alain into Taradita. Tiana couldn't go because she was still weak; Marshall couldn't either because he got hurt in their last battle, and understandably, the rest of their friends wanted to take care of them.

Still, they couldn't just sit around that whole time. They had to search for the things they were after. Marshall and Tiana surely didn't want everything to get put on hold for them.

That was why Noelle had called Hannah. Alain seemed to be like me. He would try to do everything himself if no one stopped him.

He would be in good hands with them. And I would know. They put up with my bratty self. That couldn't have been an easy task. Especially as they had to care for me at one of my lowest points.

They were at our front door around 10:30 getting ready to leave. Hannah was with them. She probably wanted to "see them off". It'd been a while since one of us went to work, I thought.

I went into the living room. I wanted to go with them. Another pair of eyes could be helpful.

They all looked at me.

"Did you need something, Star?" Hannah asked.

I held my hands behind my back. "I wanna go with you."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that, son? You know where we're going, right?"

I nodded. Of course, I did. I was in the room when Noelle made her request. Hannah might not have remembered or noticed, but I was.

They all looked at each other.

Arthur and Del sighed.

"Let's take my car," Arthur said.

Noah poked his head into the room. "If you're going where I think you're going, can I come?"

"Yes," Hannah said. "I'm sure Phoenix will be over the moon to see you."

"Why do you want us to take your car?" Del asked. "It isn't like their house is that far."

Arthur shot my big bro a glare. "Driving can be rather enjoyable if you know how."

"Would you like me to invite Raymond over for dinner?" Hannah asked.

"You can ask. Not sure what he'll say. He's been learning to cook and seems to enjoy it. Definitely more than I do. Heck, aside from when you invite us over, he might be my only way to get a good home-cooked meal."

It took me a minute to make sense of that. It'd been a good couple years at this point. I didn't remember much of my time at the base. I did remember some of the time I spent in the greenhouse with Arthur and Ray and Del, though. Arthur told me the food was always fresh and homegrown. It was good, too.

Hannah put her hands on her hips. "Well, you went out your way to take care of my boys. You're welcome to come over for dinner whenever you want."

I got out the shoes Del took me to buy on Nachima. They were the best ones for if I needed to go walking. That made them the best ones to wear now. Especially because I knew they were sturdy.

Hannah looked like she wanted to kiss us but hesitated. "Call me if you need anything. And you know Noelle will be right there if I don't answer."

"We know," Del said.

Noah gave a look to say they could call him, too. Noelle would be at house so he could get her if need be.

We got in the car. Del got the passenger seat, and Noah and I were in back.

Arthur looked at me using the rear-view mirror. "Are you sure you want to come with us, son? Your work is done, and you don't have to. I'm not even sure what we're supposed to do."

"It's a scouting mission," Del replied. "Noelle and likely the rest of their friends don't want him going alone."

"Your friend's brother?"

Noah nodded. "Alain is older by about a couple months, I think."

"Sounds right," I said. "Think one of the Protectors mentioned that when they said Alain and Tiana were born on the same day."

"They aren't twins," Noah added. "Tiana is two years older."

Arthur had eyes fixed on the road since he was driving. "Forgive me for being blunt. That sounds creepy. Didn't they meet on their birthday, too?"

Del looked at him sideways. "Ame can do worse."

We all nodded after. Alain meeting the siblings on the pair's birthday was not a detail easily forgotten. Even little four-year-old Phoenix probably had a memory or two of his own from that day.

Anyway, I had a good reason for wanting to go on this scouting mission. I had nothing to prove to my family (This included Arthur and Ray at this point), but that didn't mean I didn't have anything to prove to myself. I didn't want to be like I was on Nachima, anymore.

"You know you have nothing to prove to us, right, son?"

"I know."

That was when we got out of the car. We'd gotten to Alain's house. It was as impressive as ever. The trees were beautiful, and I remembered from my last visit that the place was bigger than it looked from the front door.

Del rang the doorbell.

Alain opened the door. He moved out of the way when he saw us. "Thanks for agreeing to do this. I know Noelle went to Hannah to ask you."

"Don't worry about it." Del put his hands behind his head. "We're always willing to help however we can."

Noah went off to Phoenix. That was why he came with us, after all.

We followed him into the garden. That must've been where he would open the gate to Taradita.

A man with black hair and a face similar to Alain's passed us on the way there. He used words I couldn't recognize.

Alain in turn used other words that sounded similar.

Once he was out of sight, Arthur asked, "Was that your dad, son?"

Alain nodded. He looked like he couldn't talk at that moment.

Del gave him a pat on the back. "Are you ready to go, bud? We're ready whenever you are."

With his empty eyes, he looked like he was looking at me but not actually seeing me. "Are you coming, too?"

"Yep," I replied.

He opened the gate for us. Del went in first with me following Arthur and Alain coming last. If I had to guess, he went last to ensure the gate wouldn't close behind us.

***

The place was like no other I had seen. It looked like a whitewashed building. Based on everything I heard, it didn't sound like a building. That's what it seemed like at first glance, though.

Del rubbed his arms. "You're incredible, bud. For coming back here in spite of outward appearances."

"Welcome to the Land of the Lost!" Alain went beet red and put his hand over his mouth.

"You're fine, son." Arthur squeezed his shoulders. "Hannah gave us a briefing, too. Besides, I'm pretty sure you're not the only one would give that response to Ran's comment."

We nodded.

"Who is your main Protector?" Arthur asked. "Wanna say it's Noelle but not sure."

He nodded.

"If only Ame was helpful as her..." Del muttered. "She even helped us once even though she wasn't Star's Protector..."

Arthur exchanged glances with him.

Alain went red again and looked away. It seemed like he heard what Del said. He probably wished he hadn't. From what I'd seen and heard, he had a tendency to keep to himself. He probably felt like he was butting into something he shouldn't.

"Just go straight?" I asked.

Alain nodded. He went ahead of me. The way he was walking seemed strange. Almost like he was stomping. It didn't have an angry air behind it, though.

"What kind of powers do you have, son?"

Alain looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Isn't one of your powers like the one your brother has?" I asked. I thought I'd heard Phoenix say he had power over fire like his big brother.

Again, a nod.

"Is your secondary power wind?" Del asked.

I knew by his lack of a response. "It's not."

He was moving his hands. Nothing seemed to happen. I couldn't tell what he was trying to manipulate. It seemed like the only powers that'd work were the ones we could generate ourselves.

Alain went into more strange words. He tensed up.

I went and whispered in his ear, "Can you tell me what it is?"

"Earth..."

"Earth?" Del asked. "You're like me then. That's one of my powers." Del put his hands on his hips. "I take it you have seismic sense?"

Alain was probably surprised Del heard him. I sure was the first time I'd whispered in front of him.

"Seismic sense?"

"I don't know if he'd know what you're talking about, Del," I said. "He was pretty young when that came out."

Five was old enough to have memories, but it was still pretty young.

Alain kept going. His walk was more normal now. He might have been ignoring us now. I couldn't blame him for it, either.

After Kayleigh knew how long, we found ourselves in a town. Del was probably relieved by this. We went into a cafe. The vibes I got said Alain had seen this place before.

The man at the counter smiled. "Welcome back, young man. I see you brought new friends this time."

"I did." Light shone in his eyes. "Thank you, sir."

I smiled. Alain seemed to have found his stride. What happened earlier didn't matter anymore.

A girl with curly red hair rose. "We heard you freed a group of people and returned them home. Does that mean you found the ones you were looking for?"

"No, not yet." Alain stared at seemingly everyone in front of him. "We were wondering if there was anywhere else, we could look."

"There's a rumor about another place like that in town." The lone man scratched the back of his neck. "Are you sure you want to hear it?"

Alain stood up straighter. "I do. I want to help others while I search for those I seek."

"Don't say I didn't warn you..."

"Of course not." The guy smirked. "If anything happens, I'm the fool who strolled into danger."

He didn't seem bothered by this response this time. A good motive could be quite the powerful force.

The wrinkles on a woman's forehead became more pronounced. "There's another pocket like that in the abandoned neighborhood."

"Where is it?" Curiosity illuminated his eyes.

"On the other side of town," the man at the counter replied. "At the edge of the northern border."

Del raised an eyebrow. "Can you tell us anything about it?"

"Rumors, at least," a man who sat alone replied. "It's guarded by a man in a top hat who doesn't like people who enter with their own free will."

Alain raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by free will?"

"Once in a while, a wicked being makes their way here," the man at the counter replied. "He won't bother them. He doesn't care if someone is being kidnapped."

"Is that so?" An unreadable expression flashed on his face. "Any idea why?"

The redhead gritted her teeth. "They've been around for as long as anyone can remember. It's like they're incapable of dying."

"Then they're immortal..." He smirked again. "Interesting..."

Alain surprised me. Why wasn't he bothered by that? Protectors seemingly were immortal, but they weren't the same as this enemy. Was Alain prepared? I wasn't when my work nearly drew to a close.

"Is that all?"

"It is," the old woman replied.

Alain smiled. "Thank you all for this. I'll use your information well."

We left after that. With his clues in hand, Alain surely wanted to return to his siblings. And with them and his friends close by, hopefully, he wouldn't do anything too rash.

***

Thoughts on this scouting mission? Theories? Predictions?

~Shino out!