Chapter Two

And here he was, thinking that he had finally gotten rid of them.

But nooo, Paradizo had a very strong policy against separating family, which means that even though Arthur was the only one who really qualified, all of his brothers got roped into it as well. Lucky them.

"Hurry up, brat!" Scott called from across the crowded lobby.

Arthur scowled in that general direction as he lugged two suitcases behind him. "You guys slow down!"

"Owen, take your own case." Scott nudged his younger brother. "Arthur's slow enough as it is. Wouldn't want our star student to get lost in the middle of Rome."

Arthur, being the mature, level-headed one despite being the youngest, merely handed Owen his case and caught up with his brothers.

Robin was standing on tip-toes, trying to peer over the crowd.

"Do you see them?" Scott asked.

"I'm not sure." Robin rocked back onto his heels. "I think we should go a bit further out."

"It's so sunny out there though," Owen complained. "At least there's AC here."

Arthur was also reluctant to leave the cool airport lobby, but he said, "It's too crowded here. If we can't find them, at least let's go somewhere they can find us."

The four brothers made their way towards the exit, where there were clusters of waiting people, many holding signs with names written in big, bold letters. There were greetings, both formal and familiar, and with the doors constantly opening and closing, the effects of the air conditioning was significantly weakened.

They wandered for a moment, until Robin pointed, "Is that them?"

In one corner, besides a cluster of indoor plants, were a small group of people of maybe five adults and several children and teens. All of them were foreign to Arthur, but when one of the adults spotted them, she smiled and waved.

"That's them," Arthur concluded, and led the way towards the group.

"Kirkland, right?" the woman who had beckoned them over asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Scott answered.

She paused. "All of you?"

"Yes, ma'am," Arthur's eldest brother repeated.

"Alright, well," she checked something on her phone, then nodded. "We're just waiting for two more. They should be arriving soon."

She turned back to them, her smile welcoming. "Welcome to Paradizo. I'm Laila," she chuckled a bit. "I think you'll be seeing quite a bit of me in the years to come."

"Where's Francis?" Elizabeta asked as Antonio and Gilbert approached.

"Off harassing that Kirkland kid again, I think," said Gilbert. "Forget him, let's go. I'm starving."

The line was already growing long in the cafeteria, the noise beginning to build.

"Have you decided on which base you want to go?" Antonio asked as they followed the queue, sounding slightly anxious.

"Germany," Gilbert declared.

"Obviously." Elizabeta rolled her eyes.

Gilbert scoffed at her. "As if you're not planning to head straight back to Hungary."

"Actually," and Elizabeta could not help the smugness creeping into her voice, "I applied to go to Asia, and they approved. So I'm going to Shanghai, suckers."

Both boys were incredulous.

"No way," said Gilbert, as Antonio asked,

"Why?"

Elizabeta shrugged. "Why not? I thought it would be interesting. Although I originally wanted to go to Osaka, but China offers better credits."

"What are you even gonna do there?"

"Language studies, cultural studies, all the sort." Elizabeta paused to order a pasta. "The Shanghai base is big. It has basically all the same things as here. That's why it's so competitive. It's necessary though, if we want to expand Paradizo to the impoverished areas as well. I'll be there for that," she added proudly. "I'm going to help with the testing and the training."

"Of course you are," Gilbert sneered, but it was half-hearted. "Teacher's pet."

Elizabeta stuck her tongue out at him, "Better a teacher's pet than a delinquent."

Antonio laughed awkwardly. "Maybe I should just go to Germany with you, Gilbert…"

Elizabeta frowned at him. "Don't be like that, Antonio. Didn't you say you want to go back to Spain? Just go. It's a year-by-year program anyway. If you don't like it there, you can always apply to go somewhere else."

"Yeah…" Antonio still looked unsure. It made Elizabeta feel bad, like she was leaving them behind, but she wasn't sure how she was supposed to comfort him either.

A sudden burst of loud laughter distracted her from her musings, however. The table they just passed was crowded, but most of them already seemed to be done eating, simply lounging around and chatting amongst themselves.

Elizabeta recognized them immediately.

Gilbert noticed her lingering gaze.

"Wow," he remarked sarcastically, "Yearning to be one of the popular kids, I see."

She turned back to him furiously. "Shut up!"

"You're not denying it." He wriggled his eyebrows. "Admit it. You just decided to go to Shanghai because Wang Yao and a bunch of his gang of cool kids are going, and you want to be part of them. Sucks to be you though. You don't even speak Chinese."

"That's not—" she slammed her tray onto an empty table, not too far from where Wang Yao sat. "My ability to speak Chinese is irrelevant."

Gilbert shrugged. "Yeah, sure."

Antonio, as usual, tried to diffuse the tension between the two. "I think it'll be fine. I'm sure you'll get along well with them, Liz. They're nice people."

Gilbert stabbed at his pasta. "Well, I think that they're a bunch of creeps. Didn't they start a cult or something?"

"Oh, yeah, of course they did." Elizabeta rolled her eyes. "Because they have periodic group study sessions, they've started a cult."

He shrugged. "I'm just saying. There's something iffy about them. I can feel it."

Elizabeta made a face but didn't say anything more. Gilbert was a veritable idiot, but his feelings were rarely wrong.

"Because Paradizo is failing, that's why." Wang Yao at seventeen was beautiful. Beautiful and golden and sharp and terrifying, and Kiku thought that he might be in love, but it might as well just be fear. "The creators are getting old and getting ready to retire; their successors just want the money. Paradizo is supposed to be a channel from Heaven, a gateway for the most unfortunate to become able, to hone our talents, to give us opportunities we never would have had.

"We are trained so that we can become anything—anything at all, anything we want. We were not chosen to come here to become money-machines for a bunch of greedy exploiters. No, we are trained to be elites.

"We are no longer helpless orphans. We are the new age. We are the future, and it is now up to us to make sure Paradizo does not fall into further decrepitude. It is our duty to bring Heaven to all parts of the world, to everyone; selflessly and courageously we must push on against the serpent of greed devouring this world."

It was a small room, and it felt crowded, even though it wasn't actually. It was the words, and the bright eyes and adoring faces and secret smiles, the stifled feelings of unbridled admiration and sheer terror that filled the room to its capacity.

Mei was there, perched at Yao's left hand, and she looked at the older boy like he was the sun and the stars and the sky, like he was a god. It was more than love, now. It was worship.

"We are the Compass, guiding Paradizo to the proper path, the way that the creators have always intended."

Heaven on Earth, indeed.

Elizabeta had never seen Laila look so worried.

"I don't like this," she said.

"It's okay, Laila," Elizabeta tried to reassure her, "If I don't like it, I'll just come right back."

But Laila was shaking her head. "It's not that. Shanghai is safe. I've been there, I've checked all the programs and facilities; you will prosper there, Lizzie."

"Then what is it?"

Laila shook her head again, but Elizabeta saw her gaze flicker over her shoulder. The back of her neck prickled. She knew exactly what—or who—Laila had glanced at; Elizabeta herself had been hyper-aware of them.

"Stay away from them, Lizzie."

She frowned. "What's wrong with Yao?"

Laila sighed. "There's nothing wrong with him; it's just—I don't think it's safe."

"Why? Is it because of the Compass?"

"The Compass." Laila was clearly displeased to hear the name. "You can say that, sure."

Elizabeta shifted, beginning to feel a little uncomfortable. "What? Does their ideology scare you?"

"Ideology?" Laila shot her a strange look that was part amused, part concerned. "What, are they a cult now?"

"No! I mean, they have things they want to accomplish…"

Laila sobered. "Yes, they certainly do."

"It's a good thing, though, right? They want to expand Paradizo to more places, help more people—there's nothing wrong with that."

"No…" Laila sighed again. She had been doing that a lot recently, sighing and looking worried. "Just—please stay away from them, Lizzie. For both of our sakes."

"Why?" Elizabeta demanded, and tried to ignore the slight whining tone that crept into her voice. "Isn't Yao also your student? Why do I have to avoid him?"

"It's because he's my student that you should trust me. I have a bad feeling about this."

Elizabeta scoffed. "So I'm just supposed to trust your feeling? What if I'm trying to make friends?"

"Shanghai is a big city, Lizzie, and the Shanghai base is massive. There are plenty of other people to make friends with. Better people."

Elizabeta didn't even know why she was feeling so defensive. It just did not seem logical to her for Laila to be so wary. And this, joined with Gilbert's scoffing and dismissive attitude towards Yao and his group of friends, made Elizabeta's curiosity towards the group feel mocked. And so she did not care how childishly bitter she sounded when she said, "You're just mad that we have the potential to accomplish things greater than you've ever done."

"Potential." Laila's voice was quiet. "If only that's all there is to it."

"Hello?" Gilbert picked up after the first ring.

"Hello?" Elizabeta never thought she'd miss hearing Gilbert's cackling voice, and yet now that they were calling for the first time in a month, she felt immensely pleased.

"Lizzie?" She could hear his grin through the phone, and she felt her own smile break out. "Yooo!"

"Hey, Gilbert," she laughed.

"How've you been? How's Shanghai? How's your Chinese?" he paused, and with a slightly more barbed tone, "Joined a cult yet?"

Elizabeta rolled her eyes. "I've been good. Shanghai is awesome, dude! You need to come sometime. It's so big, there are so many things. I'll take you around."

"Meh," said Gilbert, "I'm not sure if I trust you as my guide. We'll probably get lost."

She had forgotten how petty that boy was. "There's English on the signs too, dummy. And my Chinese is still better than yours."

"Sure, sure." God, that dismissive tone was infuriating. Elizabeta was already forgetting how she had managed to put up with him for years. "But only because I never studied it. If I did, I'd probably be fluent by now. I'm just that awesome, y'know?"

Elizabeta scoffed. "You're not better than me at anything."

"Says you, popular-kid-wannabe."

"I really hope you come visit Shanghai soon," Elizabeta shot back, tone saccharine. "I can't wait to strangle you."

"Ha! Dream on!"

Muffled thumping sounds interrupted Gilbert on the other side of the call, and Elizabeta heard him shout something in German to someone there. It made her realize that they really were on opposite sides of the world, and that he was living a life without her, interacting with people she had never met, seeing things she had never seen. Though it was also true on her side, it abruptly made her miss her old friends.

When Gilbert returned to the call, Elizabeta asked, "How's Toni? And Francis?"

"In Spain and France," was Gilbert's answer. "Living their lives. We're all doing quite well, Liz. No need to fuss."

"I'm not—!" Elizabeta cut herself off with a huff. "Whatever." And she thought of her new… friends, with their cold voices and sharp smiles, and felt a lump in her throat. "I miss you guys."

Gilbert's voice softened. "We miss you too, Lizzie. I miss all of you. God, I'm stuck here babysitting kids. My brother is so annoying."

"Your—right." Gilbert had mentioned having a younger half-brother before. Elizabeta had never met the kid, but according to Gilbert, he was a little devil. "He's in Germany too?"

"Unfortunately." Gilbert groaned. "What about you? What've you been doing?"

What has she been doing? So many things. Too many things.

"I—" she swallowed. "Gilbert, I joined the Compass."

There was a long pause, then an incredulous chuckle. "Wait—Seriously?"

Elizabeta nodded, even though Gilbert can't see her. Her silence was enough of a confirmation.

"Well," Gilbert coughed awkwardly, "How was it?"

"It's… good. It's incredible, actually." Something was ballooning in her chest, and she didn't know if it was pride or embarrassment. "They have so much ambition. They really want to make the world a better place."

"I see." There was doubt in Gilbert's voice. "Well, glad you're, erm, making friends, I guess. Enjoy yourself."

"Yeah."

"Okay. Um."

"Okay." Their conversations had never come to such an awkward standstill before. "Um, I'll call you later then. Bye."

"Bye." He hung up.

Slowly, Elizabeta put down her phone. She felt suddenly abandoned, untethered, and so, so alone.

Two knocks sounded on her door.

"Elizabeta?" a sweet voice called. "Are you there?"

It was Mei.

"Yes?" she called back.

"We're heading out to LuJiaZui, you wanna come?"

Elizabeta took a deep breath, and stuck her phone into her pocket. "Yeah, sure. Give me a minute."

Mei was waiting for her, soft smile dipping when she saw her. "Are you okay?"

She forced her expression to become brighter, more energetic. "Yeah, just a bit tired. Let's go?"

Mei took her hand. It looked small and soft, but was actually surprisingly calloused.

Together, they stepped out into the cold streets, where the others were waiting.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Laila had said.

And when Yao smiled in her direction but not exactly at her, she suddenly thought she understood.

Emil was a small thing, smaller than Lukas had been. It had been a premature birth and Laila had been so worried, but after a few weeks in the incubator and extensive nursing, Emil was now in her arms, beautiful and sweet and alive.

She heard the front door open, heard the pitter-patter of small footsteps and bright laughter, followed by a deeper voice.

"Mamma!" Lukas burst into the room, cheeks rosy and grin wide. The smile made him look a lot more like his father, with the same golden hair and dark blue eyes. He leapt onto the bed next to her, babbling about the birds he had seen at the park and how Pappa had let him feed the swans in the pond.

Sigurd entered after him, smile a little smaller, but just as warm.

"Lukas," he chided, when Emil stirred in Laila's arms at the sound of his brother's lively chatter.

"It's okay," Laila said. She stood and gently placed Emil in the crib, Lukas watching wide-eyed. "Let's let him nap."

The three of them exited and settled into the living room. Sigurd turned on the television for Lukas, putting on a cartoon. He sat down on the couch and pulled Laila close.

For a few minutes, they all watched SpongeBob in peace.

Then, Laila spoke, quietly enough so that only Sigurd could hear.

"Sigurd," she said. "Let's move to America."

He was silent for a moment, which meant that he was shocked.

"America?" he echoed, and paused. "Paradizo doesn't have a branch in America, right?"

"Exactly," she answered. "I'm quitting."

Her father did not utter a single word until she had finished explaining her reasons, and then when he spoke, his sounded so weary. Laila realized for the first time that her father was getting old. "I see."

She left Paradizo. She left Europe. Lucila flew up all the way from Italy to help her pack. Laila had wanted her to bring Lovino with her so that Lukas might have a playmate, but Romulus was refusing to let his grandson out of his sight.

"Paranoid as always," Lucila had said, chuckling.

Laila laughed along, but did not agree. Romulus's feelings were always right.

They decided to move to Boston.

Laila felt like she was running away. She wasn't sure from what exactly. Paradizo—or what Paradizo had become? The children she had taught to know how to fight, to protect themselves but had somehow become soldiers: remorseless, ruthless, restless.

A businessman in Germany had asked to hire Paradizo children as bodyguards on a trip to Italy. Something about children—teenagers, actually—were more inconspicuous, and more easily underestimated. Laila thought it was ridiculous. Others thought it was a good chance to make money.

The trip had not gone well. There was a sabotage attempt. Somebody had died. Somebody had committed murder. The murderer was not charged. The legalistics were complicated, and Laila did not bother understanding it. She had learned who had committed the murder, and could not bear to know any more.

She had taught Gilbert Beilschmidt. He had been brilliant.

Elizabeta Héderváry had called once from Shanghai. She told her she was staying there for another year or maybe two.

In the background of the phone call, she could hear Wang Yao's cold voice, saying things that sounded like glory but reeked of greed.

Xiao Mei had laughed. It was a brittle sound.

Laila ran away. She could not bear to know what sort of monsters she had helped to create.

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