Something indecipherable takes over Lena; an almost animalistic urge to scream and to hit something is at the verge of exploding.

For the first few second, rage clouds her and all she can see is red, thinking unkind thoughts to whoever or whatever that may have hurt Caelus this way. But as she digs her fingertips into her palms, she reminds herself that he needs to be attended to before anything can happen.

Celeste is already dropping to her knees, her shaking hands uncertain how to best handle this in case her brother has any external injuries. Her hands fumble for a bit before she manages to get him to move a little, until Lena calms the spiralling rage in her and bends down to help.

"Here, let me."

She takes over with a strange calm, promising that she'll find a way—and whoever or whatever responsible—to expel her dangerous emotions on. But for now, she instructs, "Can we use the couch? Let's bring him there."

Grateful for the fact that she doesn't need to be the one leading the decision making, Celeste steps back for Lena after they settle him on the soft couch in the living room. The lights that were out earlier flicker, and eventually comes back on, and Lena notices that the storm has ceased—was it just Caelus?

Back to him, there is no blood is in sight, which is a good thing, but Lena cant tell if this is a good or bad sign for the way Caelus isn't responding to any of their movements at all. He also must have just passed out, considering he dragged himself here and right at the safety of their doorstep before he collapsed.

"I'll contact emergency services," Lena offers, activating her integrated virtual assistant. She fires it up and looks through her screen—barely noticing the time and the latest headlines about the rifts— before going to the straight dial service to the emergency department.

The City of Leatia makes it easy for everyone in case of all sort of situations to improve efficiency in tackling them—weather it's a demon attack, a regular crime, or health service—and depending on the type of problem you're facing you use a direct line via just the push of a button in your personal database. Some of the services can even assess your situation using the tech an individual has—such as detecting the environment or a person's heart rate for example—and provide whatever backup necessary. While it's cool and generally saves a lot more lives especially since demons are a constant plague and abilities can destroy as much as service, Lena can't help but shudder at just how closely every person is being monitored for the entire city to keep up with everything.

Lena is about to push the button when Celeste grabs her wrist. "Wait."

"Your dad will be back real soon, I'm sure," Aunt Romy supplements, striding forth from where they had hidden earlier when they thought they were under attack. To Lena, she adds, "He's a physician. Not an ability user, but a regular one, and we can make do for a while."

"Why are we not using the easiest, most accessible method?" Lena asks, kneeling at the side of the couch and pressing a palm over Caelus' forehead, coming away cold. It's not as if it's an ambulance kind of service based on whatever knowledge has been implanted in her mind; the City of Leatia's medical experts use their abilities to heal and treat individuals as a service, serving the city and the citizens for this particular purpose. They can even track Lena's location to this exact spot and arrive swiftly for a quick check up, if there aren't too many things to deal with for the rift situation over at Sector Delphinus. The rift is one thing, but Lena will selfishly call on any resources even if they may be lacking for them to come over. "He's pale, and I can't see what's wrong just from the looks of it. If the rift is still active, they may take some time, so let's—"

"He... doesn't like getting himself checked," Celeste says. "Doesn't particular enjoy medical services, I mean—and if we can avoid it, we should."

Lena blinks, taking that in, and watching Caelus' slack form helplessly. She doesn't even know what's she's doing, isn't even familiar with medicinal practices—perhaps she is though, considering she might have picked up something from the other universes?—but she's skimming every exposed skin of his, squinting and checking, feeling for any injuries. What does this mean that he's out cold if there's no visible injuries? Maybe she hasn't found it yet, but Lena finds herself trying to keep busy by telling herself she's doing something productive. She tries not to panic at the implication. What if it's something internal, and what if they can't—

"Lena," Celeste interrupts gently, kneeling beside her and lifting her frantic, shaking hands. "If it helps, this... isn't the first time he came home like this. Rarely unconscious to a state like this, but so often with so much worse injuries."

She stands, and Lena wonders if it's her abrupt movement or the state of her mind making everything blur together. The headache returns. "I need air—"

But that's when she catches a brief flicker of movement, and she studies Caelus again, waiting for something to happen—anything.

It's a beat or two before he moves again, just a slight hitch in his breathing, but Lena is already down on her knees again. His eyes flutter open miraculously the moment Lena reaches the ground, and she is so relieved that she doesn't know what to feel about the fact that he's holding her gaze for longer than he's ever been comfortable to—until he closes his eyes again.

"Don't close your eyes," Lena demands. Using three words that echoe from a not long ago memory, she says, "Stay with me."

"You're here." He shifts, as if he is about to reach out, but then seems to think better of it. "I'm fine," Caelus responds without moving, as if he's used to saying these two words.

Lena feels movement to her left, and notices that Celeste has teleported; Aunt Romy is also shuffling somewhere inside. She rises again, unsure what to think about how she'd taken over and allowed herself to check in on Caelus first before his family. How rude of her. But it seemed appropriate enough in the moment, because they had evidently hung back, as if to give Caelus some space despite his state. Lena tries not to read too hard into that and what it implies, if he really does—like Celeste had mentioned—come back in varying states of disaster, most often in worst conditions.

Celeste reappears with some pills in her hands and a fresh cup of water, and as if sending her presence, Caelus flinches enough to sit up abruptly, startling Lena.

This time it's Celeste who's giving orders. "Lie back down."

"But I am perfectly healthy," Caelus argues, and moves to stand, as if to make a statement.

Lena doesn't miss the slight tremble in his left leg. "What happened?"

He ignores the question, stalking past both of them and reaching the glass balcony where they can see the skyscrapers beyond. Lena refuses to look at that direction at all knowing it might trigger her abilities for all she knows, but Caelus answers her question before she can even voice it. "The rift is sealed. And then gone."

Lena doesn't miss how he's singled out that only a singular rift has been settled with, dismissing the burning questions at the back of her mind. Instead, she says, "That isn't our concern right now."

It's strange how Celeste and Aunt Romy are just giving him a wide berth. If a family member comes back unconscious—although he is standing perfectly fine right now—shouldn't they be fussing to make sure everything is fine?

That makes Lena want to reach for him more. But he'd chosen to further their distance the moment he'd stood up and head to the corner of the room.

He moves again, this time only to fall—

Celeste is there by his side in a blink, holding him upright as he protest, but she gives him a glare that shuts him up. This time, even Aunt Romy approaches a no longer stubborn Caelus, and Lena finally understands why they'd given him berth before—all to let him have his way until he eventually is physically unable to.

Back on the couch, he refuses to lie down. "I'm fine," he insists. "See anything wrong?"

"Ugh, do you hear yourself?" Celeste plants her hands at her hips. "I wonder how your classmates will think of you if you act this way in school."

"He kind of never acts like a little younger brother in front of people, because he's the Ace," Lena agrees, earning a sharp glare from Caelus. She whispers to Celeste, "Is he always this stubborn?"

"Only for his own physical health," Celeste confirms. "Whatever else, it's as if he doesn't even bother."

"I'm—"

"If you say 'fine' one more time, you don't even want me to finish this threat," Aunt Romy says quietly from behind the couch, and surprisingly that does the trick. Caelus obeys as Celeste hands him the pills she'd prepare from earlier and while his impenetrable mask breaks for a brief second, he still reluctantly accepts it. Satisfied at the effect of her chiding, Aunt Romy retreats back and busied herself with other things.

"Bet you've never seen this side of my brother before," Celeste says to Lena. "The utterly hopeless and stubborn side—like every other typical younger brothers."

Lena has to agree, and Caelus doesn't even argue. She supposes his stubbornness has a limit before his detachment kicks in again, because he now looks more relaxed than before—back to being unbothered by everything—and seems about willing to give in for rest.

Still, she has to ask, "What happened?" But before he can give her a nonsense kind of answer or retort with another question, she emphasizes, "And I don't mean about anything else. I mean you. What happened to you?"

There's absolutely not a scratch on him—and considering how powerful he is, Lena doubts any easy demon can get to him—unless it's something they can't see with their eyes. Or that he's hiding it. Perhaps a powerful ability user? One that affects the body or the mind? Or—

Celeste says, "He's not used to sharing."

She approaches him on the couch, sits down beside him, and pulls him into a hug that he doesn't fight away. Lena notices how slack he is, and how for a split second, he nearly seemed ready to flinch and push away.

"I'm not saying you won't be in trouble—you will be, especially when dad gets home and checks on you for real—for running off, but for now, I'm just glad you're home safe." She lowers her voice to say something to him, and he nods slowly. Celeste stands, and gentler now, she says, "I hope at least you might learn to start trusting your friends." She shares a meaningful look with Lena, then adds, "And remember, Roen is coming by for dinner."

With that note, she disappears, and Lena assumes she has gone to help Aunt Romy—and also to just leave them alone, though Lena doesn't know what to do with that.

"Something happened on your way back," Lena says, more an affirmation than a question. "And you won't tell me."

For a second, Caelus looks almost ready to say something. Then he just slumps down and stares at the ceiling, avoiding her eyes entirely.

Lena sighs, shifting to be beside him on the ground. She's tempted to just let her head lean down, and it'll touch his shoulder. "Caelus—" she stops, feeling the effect of her saying his name do to him. She shakes her head, thinking she might have imagined the slow shift in atmosphere; it's always already difficult enough to navigate with him, and his abilities sometimes give hints as to what he's feeling—but other times, she is left confused more than enlightened. "Were you attacked? You can tell me. Things... they are different now," she says slowly, not sure if she means that between them, or that she's just simply remembering Celeste's words. Be that as it may, she decides leaves the former for another time as she further clarifies, "Everything that has happened, and has been happening. The Shadow Syndicate, the kidnapping, Sector Andromeda, the rift, the authorities and lockdown protocol, and now the drugs. Things are only going to keep happening, whether we like it or not—and I think we're already involved. So it's time for us to acknowledge the things stirring in the city and fight together."

Caelus is quiet for a long time, and Lena almost regret speaking so much, because what is the point of all this again? They barely understand what's going on in this universe. But if her now returned memories taught her anything... it's that all of them will eventually have to fight. And to grow and trust each other. Because there's no perfect world, and this one is just starting to show its true colors with all the new threats. It may not be a direct, upfront battle, but it's still a brewing war—even worse, they don't even know who the real enemies are.

The demons seem like a pretty small issue now that the Shadow Syndicate and politics come into play, and the fact that Lena had passed out on the authorities taking over Arcane Academy also says something about the bureau and control. She needs to get her facts sorted again after this talk with Caelus.

She's about to say something else to fill the silence when he says, "And the demons."

Lena has nearly forgetting what they were talking about: all of the City of Leatia's current worries. She frowns, since she has just had the thought of the demons being pretty mild a threat. Sure the rift openings may be dangerous at times, but the Catalysts—professional ability users—of the city are specifically trained for this purpose, and that's why the city highly respects ability users, with institutes like Arcane Academy raising talents from a young age. So if Caelus is talking about demons...

Everything had seemed normal except for the strange increase in demon activity throughout the city, making our Catalysts work overtime.

Lena holds her breath. Those were the words Celeste has said.

"What demons?" Lena prods.

"To add to your list of growing problems," Caelus confirms Lena's fear. "You have a lot to catch up on since you've been out of commission, but there's been a rise of demon activity level throughout the city—and while it's nothing we can't handle, they've been different."

A cold shiver makes its way down Lena's spine as she braces the answer for the next question she's about to ask: "Different how?"

"Evolved. And I've been told that some take the shape of humans."

The answer is worse than Lena had braced herself for. Not long before, she's been taught that the demons from the other world coexist with the population of the City of Leatia because they incorporate various lesser forms, living and non-living things alike. They are a mutation of things part of everyday lives, and harmless ones that manage to lurk in the city take the shape of shadows, dogs or cats, and even cars or buildings. The ones that come from the rift are different because they gain power from the other dimension, but the abilities Catalaysts manifest are powerful enough to go against them and neutralize them.

Since demons are evolved specifies of many objects, even living things—Lena wonders what this means that the demons have begin taking the shape of humans. Are their energy or whatever getting stronger?

"But that's not the current priority," Caelus says gently, interrupting her thoughts.

It takes a few seconds for Lena to answer. "Why not? Isn't the point of you telling me this because you got attacked by some evolved demon?"

"I never said that," Caelus denies, but she knows he's been intercepted by something—or someone?—because his hand goes to his chest for the briefest of moments, and she has to wonder what he's hiding. "And I'm not the one who's been unconscious for three weeks. You have some catching up to do."

"But how?" Lena grumbles, remembering that she can't even read past two headlines from the tablet she's long ago left at the dinner table. "Will you be filling me in?" she asks hopefully.

"It's best if you talk to Arcana," Caelus responds, then adds, "but I'll be there."

"Is there really some life changing news? Because it seems so peaceful around here."

"I'm not sure if you've changed anything or used your abilities that altered the states of our universe."

"That sounds ominous," Lena points out, staring at her hands. "I don't know what to do if I made things for the worse."

Caelus slowly sits up, and Lena straightens her back, leaning forward to help him, but he lowers her outstretched hands and looks down at her from where he's seated. He's not exactly holding her gaze when he says, "And you will be the only one who holds the knowledge of what has changed, now that you remember everything, not just this life. To the rest of the world, it's probably just their one and only life that they get to live for."

I know it's been hard for you but to us ignorant fools here, this is the only timeline we'll live in. I'm just trying to fight for my life.

Azalea's words in a distant memory hits Lena so hard that the pounding of her headache returns, and dimly she's again drawn to the corner of the room where the glass balcony is, and as she closes her eyes, she can almost tell there's a room full of glass—

Don't go there, she warns herself, snapping her eyes open and focusing on the present. On Caelus, who somehow blurs for a second and she has to blink to make sure she's looking at the one right in front of her.

And then what he'd say hits her: that even for him, without exception, he'll only be living this one life.

Even if she's remembered so many different ones before—not all of them with a great ending.

She wants to tell him right then, but the room just feels so suffocating at the moment.

Caelus must have noticed, because he asks, "Is everything all right?" Those words trigger yet another memory from long ago, and she manages to ground herself. He leans forward, and for a brief second, she thinks he is about to reach for her hand. But at the last moment, he pulls back and says, "Now that you have all your memories back, it might take some time for you to navigate everything—and I don't think the human brain is capable of storing everything you've been through for the past several lifetimes, so there must be a lot to take in."

"It's a lot," Lena admits, taking a deep breath. And sometimes, she still feels the glass mediums calling to her, threatening to bring her back to that dark, dangerous place. "I'm not sure what's happening, and I don't know what to do."

"It's a huge revelation. But I promise I'll"—he hesitates, glancing away when Lena looks at him—"you'll not be alone."

A mixture of relief with a tinge of disappointment fills her chest, and she wonders if he was just about to say that he'll be with her.

"Arcana can answer more questions of yours when you're up to it," Caelus says, breaking the tension. "And you probably need to return to Arcane Academy soon."

"I'm not sure if I'm ready now—talking to Arcana, I mean."

Even if going back to the academy also scares her, after being unconscious for so long. What has changed? She'd also left it in a bad state even without the Shadow Syndicate ruining things since the authorities were pretty much locking down the campus, so she's dreading for what might come. But first, back to things on hand.

"And don't think I've missed how you've so conveniently ignored my questions earlier about you," Lena accuses. "We can talk about me later, but you were on the ground moments ago. Do you know how much I—" she stops herself from getting carried away, fearing what will happen if she gives in and gives life to the words she's about to say. The intensity of Caelus' gaze is overwhelming, even if he can only hold eye contact for a short while. "I deserve to know what happened—"

"Okay."

"Because"—Lena pauses. Did he—"Wait. What?"

She'd been prepared for a whole speech and lecture. She's never expected him to give in, but it seems like he just did.

He leans back on the couch, as if putting distance between them. "I'll fill you in on what happened to me," he confirms, and Lena gapes. Wasn't he so stubborn before? "I don't understand why anyone would want to hear about me."

The last part almost sounds nonchalant—as if Caelus of all people is attempting at a joke—but Lena thinks she hears the raw emotion behind it. The air around them is also picking up, and she wonders if he's using his abilities. Her heart squeezes, and she mutters, "I'll always want to know everything about you."

As much as she is embarrassed to have said the words out loud even if she does mean it, she wonders if he's heard her at all.

Because the next thing he says as he rises from his position is: "We've got company."