Julius looked up as William walked into the office, Alistar was currently standing off to the side and was leaning against the wall. Julius could see the slight confusion in William's face as he approached the desk; he did wonder how the masked Captain would take such news, especially since he was the only one called, unlike the other children whose fathers and mothers had been called up here.

" Is everything ok Julius? Marx said it was urgent that I come up here at once." Willam asked as he saluted before he frowned as the Wizard King let out a small sigh, but the blonde smiled nonetheless.

" Yes, well, sort of. It isn't anything pertaining to the Kingdom's safety if that's what you're worried about." 'Or at least not that we know of at the moment.' Julius added the last part silently, he hadn't the faintest clue as to why the children are suddenly arriving, and so far it had been everyday a child would show up. He saw William visibly relax at his words.

" That's good to hear, but if that's the case, then why was I summoned?" He asked in confusion before Alistar stepped away from the wall and stood next to the desk, that same warm calm smile on his face. William looked the young man up and down for a moment before turning back to Julius.

" Julius? Who is this?" He asked, he recognized his Golden Dawn uniform and cloak, but he didn't recognize the man wearing them. William knew every person in his squad, or at the very least knew their faces if not their names and this man was not part of his squad.

" Well-." Julius started with a sheepish laugh before Alistar held up a hand to silence him, Julius frowned slightly before the young man's smile widened and he held out a hand towards William.

" Hello Captain, it's nice to meet you! My name's Alistar Vangeance and I'm your son from the future!" He announced brightly, taking both William and Julius back a bit. Julius had been partially hoping Alistar would gently break the news to William as the other children had done, but instead he just blurted it out. Julius almost wanted to laugh at the shocked expression on Williams face, he only turned to look at Julius again.

" It's true. Marx verified his memories before he summoned you here, he's the fourth child to be brought here in the last 3 days. I was going to bring all the Captains here tomorrow and brief you all on what information we have so far, but then this young man showed up in my office." Julius explained and Alistar nodded.

" It wasn't that hard to sneak in here, you might want to tighten security a bit Wizard King." Alistar said with a small laugh, Julius nodded, that was something that would have to be worked on. But how were all the security guards supposed to know he wasn't a part of the current Golden Dawn, especially since he was wearing their robes and uniform.

William stood there silently as his brain tried to process this information. This young man was his son? How was that possible? William wasn't seeing anyone at the moment, and he wasn't really looking since he was busy being Captain. So, how? William looked at Alistar again; he looked a lot like him, there was no denying that, but he also looked different. His eyes were the main giveaway. They were the same shape and size of William's, but the color was different; instead of purple like his they were blue, an almost icy blue. He silently wondered if they came from his mother? That would be the only logical explanation.

" I think I broke him." Alistar said in concern as he leaned down to look William in the face, slightly startling the masked Captain. Julius chuckled softly.

" No you didn't break him, he's just lost in thought." Julius said before standing up and walking over to clap William on the shoulder, making him jump slightly. " You alright?"

" Y-Yes, just a little shocked." He said softly, Julius nodded.

" It would be a little shocking, Yami was the same way too when his and Charlotte's daughter arrived." William turned at that, Yami had a child from the future as well? And with Captain Charlotte Roselei?! That was surprising! He never imagined the man settling down and having a family, especially not with her!

" Do you need a minute da-i mean, Captain?" Alistar asked, his eyes full of genuine concern. Maybe he should have eased him into the news, but it was a little too late for that now. Alistar rubbed the back of his neck nervously as his face tinged pink in embarrassment. He hadn't thought his father would take the news this hard.

" No, I'm fine. The shock is wearing off a bit now I believe." William replied warmly and with a shake of his head, he saw the relief pass across Alistar's face.

" That's good. I was worried there for a minute." He said with a nervous laugh, before Julius chuckled and walked back around to his desk and sat down.

" Maybe you two will get to know each other better on your way to the Hideout." Julius said before looking over some papers again, William and Alistar both frowned. " We have a special house for all the parents and children to stay in, just until we know what's going on." He added before he frowned a bit at Alistar.

A strange look passed across the white haired man's face at his last comment, and that made Julius curious. Did he know something? If so, why didn't the other children know as well? And why didn't Marx find anything in Alistar's memories? Was it because Marx wasn't looking for that so the information was allowed to stay hidden? Hm, very interesting. Julius would have to keep an eye on this one.

" So, where is this house Lord Julius?" William asked curiously, it was starting to get dark outside so they would have to hurry if the house was very far. Julius gave him directions to the house and both William and Alistar saluted him with a nod before walking out of the room.

" So, I'm not the only one who's made it here yet?" Alistar asked his 'father', who nodded.

" It appears that way, from what Julius said Yami and Charlotte's daughter is here as well." William said as they walked down the hall.

Alistar had caught that as well, he hoped beyond hope that it was her. But a small piece of him worried that if he got his hopes up too high that he would be disappointed if it wasn't. There were two Sukehiro daughters, so it could easily be either one that had arrived. His stomach suddenly began to twist itself into knots at the thought of it not being her. He wanted to hurry to the house now more than ever before, if it was in fact her he needed to make sure she was ok and that she was safe. He made a promise, not only to himself, but to her as well. Even though he was feeling all these emotions on the inside, he didn't dare let it show on the outside, his face remained calm and warm like it had the entire time in the office.

" Do you have a broom to use?" William asked as they stepped outside, Alistar laughed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

" Ah no, I walked here. I didn't think about looking for a broom. But it's ok!" He said warmly before suddenly conjuring up a small broom with his plant magic, causing William's eyes to widen at the sight.

" You can use plant magic?"

" Actually World Plant Magic. It's similar to yours except, well, plants." Alistar confirmed with a laugh before stepping onto his makeshift broom and lifting it up into the air with his mana. William did the same and he tilted his head curiously.

" I take it you inherited your affinity from your mother?" William asked curiously, he watched as the young man's face suddenly looked downcast at the mention of his mother. But it disappeared as quickly as it came as he looked over at William.

" That's spoilers Captain." He said with a laugh. " C'mon before it gets too dark." Alistar added before quickly flying away.

—

Yami and the others listened intently as William finished the story, it was quite different to how they met their children. Yami glanced over at the table and watched as the children ate and spoke amongst each other, he turned back to William.

" So he doesn't know why he was sent here either?" He asked curiously, William nodded.

" Apparently not, Julius said he would be informing the other Captains tomorrow to inform their squads to be on the lookout for any children who seemed to be lost and/or confused." William explained softly, Charlotte frowned a bit.

" Out of all these kids not one knows what's going on? What are the odds of that?" She asked as she glanced over at the children as well, they were speaking in hushed tones at the table now, they didn't want the adults to hear their conversation apparently.

" I guess not, but I don't think these are all the kids." Zora said suddenly, causing all the adults to look at him curiously. " The Wizard King is alerting all the Captains to tell their squads to be on the lookout for more kids right? Which means he suspects more are coming."

The others looked at Zora in surprise, they hadn't thought about the Wizard King's words, and now that they thought about it it did sound like he was anticipating more kids to be arriving, and if so, how did he know that? They all sat in collective silence for a moment when Nebra decided to break it.

" Wow so you really do have a brain!" She told Zora in a mock surprise tone, the red head growled at her and opened his mouth to argue before Charlotte quickly intervened.

" Don't you two start up again! I already have a headache from earlier." She said with a sigh as she rubbed her temple, the blonde quickly stood. " It's getting late anyhow, I think it's time for everyone to get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be a big and busy day." She added looking around the room, and everyone sighed but stood along with her, she was right; all the Captains would have a busy day tomorrow giving their squads their new orders after meeting with Julius.

The kids and Nebra, Zora, and Charlotte all went to their respective rooms except for Yami, William, and Alistar. Who all stood looking at each other for a moment.

" So, where will I be staying?" Alistar asked politely as he looked between the two men, William was wondering the same thing as he didn't have a room either.

" You'll be bunking with the little red head," Yami pointed at Alistar and then down the hall. " and I'll show you to yours since it's near mine." He added to William before walking away, William nodded and followed behind Yami.

" Goodnight Alistar."

" Goodnight fath-i mean, Captain." Alistar said softly before quickly turning and walking in the opposite direction of the two older men.

Alistar sighed, it was going to be difficult having to call his father 'Captain' again. It had been a while since he had to do that, but even when his father was Captain of the Golden Dawn he rarely used the title unless he had too. He wondered if Hikari and the others were having the same trouble with their parents as well. Alistar jumped as someone grabbed his upper arm and yanked him into their room with so much force that he actually tripped and landed onto their bed. He rolled over and saw the person that had pulled him into their room was Hikari.

" My how very forceful of you Hikari." He teased with a slightly mischievous smirk. He may have been playing it cool on the outside, but on the inside his heart was pounding and he had butterflies in his stomach.

" Oh stop it you're almost as bad as Ezio." Hikari rolled her eyes and playfully hit Alistar on the shoulder as he stood up.

" I don't know, from what I hear Ezio is actually worse than I am." He chuckled as Hikari herself laughed a bit before the two fell in a comfortable silence. They tended to do this a lot; just sit and enjoy each other's company without saying a word. The two hadn't always been like this, their silence used to be very awkward when they were younger, but as they got older and closer, it gradually became more comfortable.

" Alistar," she started softly, he 'hmed' in response she continued. " what's going on? Why were we sent back?" She watched as the white haired man instantly tensed at the question, that wasn't normal for him, usually he kept a close eye on his emotions and body movements. He looked away shyly and rubbed the back of his head.

" I don't know Hikari." He told her with a sigh, the black haired girl's eyes narrowed instantly.

" Somehow I find it hard to believe that the Captain of the Golden Dawn doesn't know what's going on with serious matters related to the kingdom!" She said in a slightly raised tone, he quickly shushed her before looking behind her, as though expecting someone to come rushing through the door at her words. He let out a small sigh of relief before his ice blue eyes narrowed at her.

" And I find it hard to believe that the Vice Captain of the Black Bulls doesn't know anything either." He countered, Hikari crossed her arms as she looked at him.

" You and I both know the Vice-Captain doesn't know about anything important like this unless the Captain tells them." She smirked as she saw his eyes widen slightly; he seemed to forget who he was talking to.

Alistar sighed in defeat before looking away from her, she watched as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. She almost laughed at his nervous habit, he had done that ever since he was a kid, although she wasn't quite sure where he picked it up since his father didn't seem to have that habit. Her eyes softened as she could see the struggle in his eyes.

" I...I can't tell you Hikari, not yet." He said softly when he finally looked back up at her. " I have to wait until everyone else has arrived."

" So there are more of us coming?" Hikari asked and he nodded in confirmation. " How many?"

" I don't know. All of our strongest people I'd imagine, especially since you, I, and Josslyn are here." He said with a shrug. Hikari glared slightly at him, she could see in his eyes that there was more he wasn't telling her.

" Why won't you just tell me what's going on?" She asked him in a slightly angry and raised tone. " What, do you think I can't handle it? Do you think I'm that fragile that I can't handle the truth about why we were sent back?" Alistar shook his head and placed both hands on her upper arms and gave them a gentle squeeze.

" No, I don't believe any of those things. Especially about you being too fragile to handle the truth." He told her softly and somewhat apologetically, yet his eyes were cold and serious, the complete opposite of his tone. " But I can't tell you just yet, so please," he gently shook her shoulders.

" Trust me."

Hikari looked away, she had always trusted him, for as long as they had been friends she had trusted him and vice versa, that's why they were a great team even though they were in two different squads. He trusted her with his deepest secrets and she did the same in return. She sighed and nodded.

" I trust you."

Alistar smiled at that and he nodded firmly before giving her shoulders one last squeeze before he walked around her and placed a hand on the door knob.

" Goodnight Hikari, sleep well." He told her warmly before opening the door and walking out of the room. He closed the door softly behind him and sighed, he hated keeping this from her, he walked away with his head hung low and his heart broken into a million pieces. Soon, he would be able to tell her what happened soon, but for now this information had to stay between him and himself. He found his and Ace's shared room and walked inside, gently closing the door behind him.

" Well, well, well, pretty boy is hiding something. He's a chip off the old block if I say so myself." Zora chuckled as he came out of the shadows and looked at Ace's bedroom door. " Just how much do you actually know hm?"