Second was called to meet Eliphas.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine," Third reassured. Second nodded and then walked inside the room. There she saw Eliphas outside on the balcony looking over Astral World.

Second closed the door behind her and saluted. "Second, reporting in," she said firmly.

Eliphas simply nodded in acknowledgement and walked over to her.

"So, about Vector, how is he doing on Earth? Has he done anything suspicious?"

"No, not at all. When I first found him he was living in a hole. He was pretty much a shell of his former self."

"I see." He turned around. "You know, when I told you to watch him, I didn't mean live with him."

She felt a knot in her stomach. "Oh, I see. I didn't realize."

"Mhm, also, I've come to understand that you've been hiding some things from me."

She felt her heartbeat quicken. "Um, no, not at all," she replied.

"Making the others stay silent is the same as hiding something, you know?"

She gave him a side glance. "How did you—"

"Just because Third or Fourth don't tell me something, it doesn't mean I don't know it." He put a hand on her shoulder. "So don't lie, just tell me what has happened."

She sighed, knowing that there was no point in pretending anymore. "Vector and I are in a relationship, and we ended up having a child. That's all, I promise." She looked down. "He's not the same as he was before. That's why all of this happened. I trust him, and he's shown me he's changed."

There was a deep frown on his face. "That's not a good enough answer for me. I'm sure you're aware of that already."

She nodded solemnly. "Please. I'm still doing my job, and he hasn't done anything."

"If this was under different circumstances, I would have punished you the moment I heard about it. However, I need you."

She looked up at him, slightly confused. "What do you mean?"

"Third and Fourth haven't been completely truthful about how the Earth is faring."

That took her by surprise. "Really? But I haven't noticed anything?"

"I'll explain it later, just know that you're lucky that this issue has come up."

She bowed. "I understand. I'm sorry."

"I'm sure you are. I also had to tell you this now, because in the future you might have to do some extra work if you wish to keep it safe."

"I see. Thank you for the warning."

"I also suggest that you hold off on creating anymore, unless you want to make the job harder on yourself."

She felt a weird feeling overcome her when he said that, and cautiously placed a hand on her stomach. "I see, I'll remember that."

"Alright then." He started walking out of the room and turned back towards her. "Come, I'll explain the issue with all of you at once."


The others gathered in a large observing room while awaiting Second and Eliphas. And when they did arrive, Fourth immediately went to Second's side and grabbed her hand.

"How did it—"

Second stopped her before she could finish and desperately tried to hold back her tears. "He knew, he knew it all. I was so stupid for thinking that I could hide it." She said in a hushed voice.

Fourth's eyes widened. "But, you're still here?"

"Only because I'm needed. That's all."

"I see." Fourth held a downcast expression. "I'm sorry."

She just shook her head and wiped away her tears. "Not now—just not now. Let's listen to Eliphas."

Each of them looked at Eliphas who was still standing by the doorway and waited for him to speak. "The suspicions I had when I first sent you all on your missions were correct," he started. "Yes, at the moment the Earth is fine, but from what I understand there is something trying to force its way there."

"So you lied to us then?" Dark said.

"Not exactly," Third answered. "Due to its nature, we had labeled it as something to keep watch on rather than something of immediate danger."

Fourth nodded in agreement. "We're only bringing it up now because we've felt more activity from it lately."

"So this isn't something new?" First asked.

"No, it started about a year after we went to Earth. It began as something subtle, but over time it's grown to be more forceful."

"What is it then?" First asked impatiently. "You're talking like you know what it is."

"That's the problem, we don't know what it is," Eliphas spoke again. "It's something that's not coming from within our universe, so we have no idea what it could be."

First furrowed his eyebrows at that. "A different universe? How weird."

Eliphas nodded gravely. "It just might be that, but for now, we know nothing."

"Well this sounds like a waste of time then," Dark groaned. "Are we just going to watch it and hope nothing goes wrong? Or are we going to at least try to find the source of it?"

"He...actually has a point." Third said, shocked that he was actually agreeing with him. "If we can at least find a way to see what this other dimension is trying, we might be able to stop whatever is happening."

"Right now, anything is worth a try," Eliphas said. "Third, you'll stay here with me so we can try to come up with a plan. Fourth, you go back to Earth and circle the planet to find where you can feel these pulses at their strongest."

They both nodded.

"And as for the rest of you, continue with your normal missions, and don't say a word about this to anyone."

"Of course, Eliphas," they all replied in unison. And in that moment, Second could feel herself let out a sigh of relief and happiness at the thought of returning home to Vector and Michio.


When Second returned home, she found Vector and Michio looking at cards sprawled out on the kitchen table.

"So with this one you can..." she heard Vector say. Michio was just looking at the cards curiously, listening to his father's every word.

"Wow, I didn't expect you to take those things back out again," she laughed.

Michio instantly perked up at the sound of his mother's voice. "Momma, you're home!" He yelled, jumping off his chair and hugging her. "I missed you!"

"Hello, dear," she kneeled down and picked him up. "I missed you too. Did you have a good time with daddy?"

He nodded happily and pointed at the table.

"He's showing me cards!"

"I can see that, how nice of him."

"Yeah," Vector let out a small laugh of his own. "I didn't think he'd understand it so quickly though. I also didn't know he could read—or well, read as good as he could."

"Well I've been reading with him every night so I'm glad to see he's learning." She patted his head. "You're so smart Michie."

He beamed at the compliments he was getting.

Second then put him down.

"Okay, daddy and I need to talk, so go play in your room, dear."

Michio nodded and ran upstairs.

Vector took the opportunity to draw himself closer to her side and gently kissed her temple. "So how was it?" Vector asked.

"Well...he knew," she said, looking down.

She felt him jerk in shock. "Really?" He asked, exasperated. But his expression quickly turned into an annoyed one. "Okay, which one told him? It was Dark wasn't it? I can see him doing that."

"No, no, he just knew. I was stupid to think he couldn't just watch us himself." She sighed dejectedly.

Vector rubbed her arm affectionately. "Well, you're here, so it must have been okay."

"To a degree."

"How so?"

"Well..." She bit her lip, unsure of how to explain it to him without revealing the information she learned. "I'm doing such a good job that he's overlooking it," she lied. "As long as you don't do anything bad, we're fine."

"Well that's easy." He stood behind her and put his arms on her shoulders. "That means we can still have our fun then, right?"

She sighed once more. "Yeah, I don't see why not." She turned around and hugged him. "You know, I missed you. A lot," she whispered.

He hugged her back. "I missed you too."

She smiled and kissed him. "You did well watching him all on your own. I should give you a little reward for doing such a good job," she said with a sly grin. "Maybe when Michio goes to sleep, I can give it to you."

Vector knew where this was going and smirked. "I can't wait."