As the luxury sports car stopped near Oliver's apartment building, Katherine turned to look at the boy.

  "Alright we're here... This is your apartment right? I couldn't really decipher your panicked ramblings..." Katherine narrowed her eyes.

  Oliver who was staring into space - completely ignorant to her words - made a quick grunt of affirmation; though he was mostly just hoping it was a yes or no question.

  Unsatisfied by his reaction, Katherine began pulling on his ear lobe - causing him to jolt up in pain.

  "Hey what the hell was that for?!" Oliver yelled, holding onto his reddened earlobe.

  Katherine rolled her eyes before tapping the window repeatedly.

  "Home. Your home. Is this your home?" She asked, sounding very annoyed.

  Oliver squinted his eyes a bit, before looking at her with a grimace.

  "No it isn't... That's my aunt's home." Oliver said, his frown turned into a smirk.

  Katherine stared at him for a moment before pushing him out onto the streets.

  Feeling his back on the pavement, Oliver looked extremely guilty as Katherine looked down on him.

  "Yeah I kinda deserve that..." Oliver retorted.

  "Yeah you did." Katherine remarked.

  Helping Oliver up, Katherine sighed slightly before patting off the dirt from his coat.

  "Honestly, you're something else..." Katherine said, shaking her head.

  Oliver began laughing awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head in a sort of self comforting manner.

  "Yeah I just needed to lighten my mood a bit..." Oliver said, looking away in embarrassment.

  Katherine crossed her arms in response, not happy she was used as for his entertainment. However, her anger would quickly be replaced by curiosity.

  "Why are you so hung up about graduation anyway? Even if you only slept an hour at home, you could just sleep during the ceremony, ya know?" Katherine remarked.

  Oliver looked up at her with narrowed eyes, causing Katherine to stick out her tongue in response. Sighing, Oliver held his head before shaking it slightly.

  "It's not the graduation I'm worried about... It's about going back to school... I don't really wanna see any of my classmates..." Oliver explained.

  Katherine paused for a moment before leaning against the car and looking at him with intrigue.

  "Why though? Don't tell me you get bullied." Katherine chuckled.

  Oliver seemed tense up at her words, staring at her for a moment before smiling and waving dismissively.

  "Nah it wasn't like that... It's just, I'm not close to them is all..." Oliver laughed.

  Katherine tapped her upper arm softly as she noticed his reaction, however she decided not to bring the topic up. Placing her hand on the car door, she turned her head slightly back to face Oliver - looking at him with a gentler expression.

  "Well I hope nothing too bad happens. Other wise I might have to jump in and save you again." She teased.

  Oliver turned slightly red at the mention of her saving him, stuttering to tell her otherwise.

  "It was that one time!" Oliver exclaimed.

  Katherine chuckled in response, opening the door before getting inside. Rolling down the window, she looked at him with a smirk before pointing a finger gun at him.

  "Honestly it's kinda cute when you don't admit your feelings..." She smirked.

  Oliver was about to refute her words, however Katherine had already rolled up the window and drove off.

  As Oliver looked at the car decrease in size the further it went through the road, he covered his hand over the car - clenching his hand tight.

  "I never said I didn't like it..."

  Humming as she began cleaning around the house, Susan took out her earbuds as she saw Olivia lounging around on the couch. Crossing her arms, she tilted her head slightly as her eyes narrowed on the giggling girl.

  "What's up with you? Have you gone crazy?" Susan remarked.

  Olivia shook her head before sitting up and stretching.

  "Nah I'm just excited for tomorrow. I'm finally gonna graduate! That means I can put all my attention fully on my investigator's work!" Olivia said putting her hand on her bicep.

  Susan grimaced in response, putting her earbuds back in as she continued cleaning.

  "You should really decide a different career choice. Just because something pays well, doesn't mean it's good for the soul." Susan retorted.

  Olivia pouted in response, laying back on the couch as she looked up at the ceiling.

  "It's not always about pay... I wanna protect people from Festers.. I want to make sure nobody is burdened with looming death." Olivia explained.

  Susan hummed as she began sweeping the floor, though it was more of a hum of dismissal than anything.

  "You don't need to live such a grandiose life ya know? A simple life is the best life. That's what I believe at least..." Susan retorted.

  Olivia paused in response, before turning to her side and clicking her tongue.

  "You don't get to say that..." Olivia clenched her fist.

  Susan took out one of her earbuds in response - raising her eyebrow as her eyes narrowed onto the girl.

  "Huh? What was that?" She questioned.

  Olivia quickly stood up, walking away to her bedroom in silence before slamming the door. Susan grimaced at her niece's behaviour, though part of her felt slightly guilty.

  "Did I do something wrong?" She asked herself, looking at the shark keychain Olivia had left on the couch.

  Scooping it up into her hands, Susan began running her thumb over the worn out trinket. She still remembered the day she bought it like it was just yesterday.

  [6 years ago]

  It started as a day like any other for Susan. She woke up, made breakfast for the twins, sent them to school then went to work. Her work day was usual as well. She wiped down tables, served customers and taught her new employees the ins and outs of customer service.

  So it was a complete surprise when she got a call from the twin's school. Picking up the vintage rotary phone that sat in the corner of the coffee shop, Susan put it close to her ear.

  "Strawberry Castella, Café... How can I help?" Susan asked, expecting it was just another business related phone call.

  There was a few seconds of silence before a female voice came out from the other side.

  "Um... Is Susan Rand there?" She asked.

  Susan paused for a moment in confusion, before affirming her statement.

  "Yes... I'm actually her- what's wrong?" Susan asked.

  The woman on the other end explained that she was actually Oliver and Olivia's school principal - and that Olivia had gotten into a fight. Upon hearing the news, Susan's eyes widened as her maternal instincts kicked in. She immediately put down the phone before grabbing her coat and rushing out.

  Her speed shocked both the customers and staff, not expecting the nice café owner to begin sprinting like a trained military officer.

  "Hey Dan, take over for a bit!" She yelled as she ran to the door.

  Her young employee perked up at the request, however he quickly nodded and even saluted.

  "Yes ma'am!" He yelled, accidentally saluting with the wrong hand.

  Susan didn't have time to scold him however, as she was too focused on heading to the school. She weaved through crowds, jumped over tall fences, even doing some parkour when possible - all to reach her niece.

  Somehow landing on top of the school's rooftop, Susan began panting heavily as she held the wall in front of her.

  "Oh my lord... I haven't run like that since I was in training!" Susan complained in between breaths.

  As she began breathing in and out in rapid succession, she suddenly remembered about Olivia. Slapping herself, Susan quickly got herself together before heading down to the principal's office. As she made her way however, she couldn't help but notice how empty it was. As if the school day had ended abruptly.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  After getting lost in the maze-like school halls, Susan finally found the principal's office.

  "That took forever... Didn't help that there wasn't anyone here to help me either." Susan complained, holding onto the door.

  Slamming it wide open, she was shocked to see both her niece and nephew sitting down with their heads hung low. Her eyes wandered to Oliver first, wondering why he was there as well - however she didn't have time to question him as she knelt down and held Olivia's shoulder. She examined her thoroughly, relieved that she wasn't in pain. After the fear of the uncertainty of her niece's condition melted away, it was soon replaced with anger.

  "So Lia... Why did you get into a fight huh?" Susan asked, her eyes shut close - as if to seal away the bubbling rage inside her.

  The principal tried to explain the situation in Olivia's place, however Susan shot her a death glare in response.

  "I want to hear it from her." Susan remarked, her tone cold and serious.

  The principal immediately sank into her seat, as if trying to hide herself from the danger in front of her.

  "I'm sorry..."

  Huffing in response, Susan turned back to Olivia - noticing that she didn't have guilt in her eyes.

  "I didn't do anything wrong..." Olivia mumbled.

  Susan narrowed her gaze before standing up and crossing her arms.

  "What do you mean you did nothing wrong? You got into a fight! What were you thinki-" but before she could finish her sentence, Olivia cut her off.

  "I was protecting Oliver okay!" She yelled, looking up at her aunt with teary eyes.

  Susan's eyes widened at the revelation. Looking at Oliver, the boy gave her a small nod - confirming his sister's words. Looking back to Olivia, she saw the determination in her eyes. It made her proud.

  Slowly rising from her seat, the principal raised up her hand - as if she had become a student in a classroom again.

  "U- um... Ms. Rand... I actually called you earlier because I wanted to congratulate your niece. Not only did she protect her brother, but she actually protected the entire school..." The principal informed.

  Susan raised her eyebrows in confusion, looking back and forth at Olivia and the principal.

  "You're telling me a 11 year old girl saved your school? Have safety standards gone that low..." Susan remarked.

  The principal went silent for a moment before telling her it was a Fester attack.

  Susan froze up immediately at the revelation, her shocked eyes turning into anger.

  "You let a 11 year old girl fight a Fester?! What's wrong with you?!" She yelled, holding her by the collar.

  The principal turned away in fear, shaking her head quickly as she tried explaining the situation.

  "We didn't! It was a sudden attack! Before we could even call F.A.T.E, Olivia had jumped in to save her brother..." The principal explained.

  Pausing for a moment, Susan dropped the woman back into her chair before turning back to Olivia. Appraising her condition one more time, the relief Susan felt from learning Olivia wasn't hurt - quickly turned into shock. Still staring at her niece in shock, Susan asked the principal what class the Fester was.

  "I... I'm not very well versed in Fester identification... However it didn't have any special abilities. Just brute strength." The principal replied.

  Susan paused for a moment, before her shock then turned into fear.

  "You fought a Super class Fester... And won?" Susan asked, her voice shaking slightly.

  Olivia tilted her head slightly, confused by her aunt's fearful expression.

  "Yeah... It almost killed Olie... I couldn't let that slide." Olivia said, gripping the sides of her seat.

  Susan was silent for a moment, before grabbing her niece and nephew's hands.

  "Sorry for bothering you. We'll be on our way." Susan said, dragging Olivia and Oliver out of the room.

  "Bye bye." Oliver said, waving to the principal.

  The principal waved back wearily, still a bit rattled by Susan's previous aggressiveness.

  "Geez... What a crazy lady."

  As the three began walking back home, Susan looked at Olivia with slight hesitation. She was just told that her kid niece had killed a creature able to destroy large buildings with ease. It was maddening... Yet she wasn't that shocked. Actually... She expected as much. However, hearing it as reality - was far more terrifying than she expected.

  Stopping in the middle of the street, she let go of her niblings' hands so she could kneel down beside Olivia. Grabbing a lock of her silver hair, she ran her thumb over it before looking into Olivia's eyes.

  "Lia... What you did was dangerous... Those creatures... They're vile... Horrible... I don't want you getting hurt." She said, her voice was shaky.

  Olivia looked into her aunt's eyes, before nodding slowly.

  "Yes auntie... But I'm strong! I should use it for good, right?! You always say that strong people must protect the weak!" Olivia retorted.

  Susan paused for a moment before nodding her head.

  "You're right... You're absolutely right... But right now, you're too young to protect everyone. Instead..." She coaxes Oliver to stand beside his sister. "Keep protecting this one. Got it?" Susan said, ruffling the twins' hairs.

  Olivia's eyes lit up before nodding her head.

  "Got it! I'll protect him!" Olivia smiled.

  Meanwhile, Oliver looked away as he mumbled about not having to be protected.

  "I don't need protection... I'm a super cool ninja...." Oliver pouted.

  Susan paused for a moment at his statement, before asking if he was imitating something from his show.

  "Of course! Riderman had a cool new form! He was a ninja and he went whoosh, wam, boom!" Oliver said, being very loud and unninja-like.

  Susan laughed a bit - finding both of their reactions very adorable. It was then she would notice a little shop in the corner of her eyes. Standing up, she held their hands before walking towards the store.

  "Fine, since you're a super cool ninja... You wouldn't mind if I got only Olivia a present?" She asked.

  Oliver clearly wanted to say otherwise, but his pride prevented him from doing so. Crossing his arms, he began mumbling in jealousy.

  "Fine she can... I don't need a kiddy toy anyway... My ninja arts are so much better..." Oliver remarked. However... He did in fact want a kiddy toy.

  Ruffling his hair, Susan promised to get him something some other day.

  "Today is your sister's celebration. I mean she did beat up a super strong monster - which I don't condone you do by the way... Don't get any funny ideas." Susan said, poking the giggling girl's cheeks.

  Looking up at her aunt, Olivia smiled widely - causing the heavy feeling in Susan's chest to lighten. She gestured for her niece to pick out a trinket from the store - the little girl deciding on a shark tail charm.

  "I want this one!" She bounced.

  Susan nodded, paying for the item before handing it back to the girl.

  "Why did you pick this anyway? There were much cuter charms on display..." Susan mentioned.

  The girl looked at the metal shark fin charm for a moment before displaying it to her aunt.

  "Cause sharks are the cutest!"

  Chuckling at the memory, Susan put the charm in her purse before putting her hands on her hips.

  "Honestly... I don't get how that girl thinks sharks are cute... Maybe it's the similarities..." Susan said to herself.

  As she began pondering away at the question she had brought up herself, Susan heard the front door open. Turning around, she was happy to see Oliver had finally come back home.

  "Took you long enough. Were you out with your girlfriend or something~?" Susan teased.

  Oliver grimaced before rubbing the back of his head.

  "Shut up, I don't have one..." Oliver mumbled.

  She caught his mumbling, walking to the young man and placing her hand on his shoulder.

  "Come on, don't lie to me. You got yourself a girl don't ya?" She smiled.

  Oliver turned bright red, vehemently denying her accusations.

  "No no no!" Oliver said, trying to remain cool and composed.... He failed miserably.

  Staring at the red mess that was her nephew, Susan smirked before patting his back.

  "Sure sure. I totally didn't see a girl drop you off in a nice car... Honestly I always knew you'd get a sugar mommy one day." Susan remarked.

  In response, Oliver stormed over to Olivia's room - yelling back at her that she's just a friend.

  "And she's the same age as me!" Oliver said, spamming the door.

  Susan began chuckling, finding his embarrassment endearing.

  "Honestly... They've grown up so much. I still remember getting them on my doorstep..." Susan remarked, looking fondly at a picture of the two as kids. As she took a closer look, she noticed how Oliver's hair looked white in the photo. Which was strange - just a month ago it looked black.

  "That's weird- wait did Oliver go into Olivia's room?"

  Slamming the door in Susan's face, Oliver sat on the bean in the middle of Olivia's room while frowning. Olivia emerged from her covers, poking one head out and narrowing her eyes.

  "What're you doing here?" Olivia asked.

  Oliver paused for a moment before looking at her seriously.

  "I was too flustered and thought this was my room..." Oliver said with a guilty look in his eyes.

  Olivia paused as well before admitting she did the same thing earlier.

  "When I opened it, your plushies were staring at me. Like they were waiting for me..." Olivia said, trembling slightly.

  Oliver held his chin, nodding his head slightly.

  "Yeah, they do that sometimes. They whisper eldritch chantings too when I'm trying to sleep." Oliver teased.

  Olivia immediately went back under the covers, screaming at Oliver.

  "YOU FUCKIN JERK!"

  Oliver began laughing at her, before going over to her completely covered body and laying his head on her.

  "Okay fine I'm sorry..." Oliver said, still laughing a bit.

  Olivia shook her head - the sheets moving as she did so.

  "I don't accept it... One carton of choco pies..." Olivia mumbled.

  Oliver grimaced, telling her he wasn't made of money.

  "Buy your own choco pies. Hoarding all your money ain't good ya know?" Oliver remarked.

  Olivia wriggled out of the comforters before sitting up and grabbing a pillow to hug.

  "I'm not that rich. Newbie A tier's only get paid 10k a month. But I also get paid an extra 5k per mission too and sometimes general Sieg gives a bonus..." Olivia mentioned.

  Oliver narrowed his eyes, asking her what she could possibly do with at least 10k a month.

  "You live here rent free. And I've only ever seen you buy food. So where does the TEN THOUSAND go?" Oliver asked.

  Olivia hugged the pillow tighter before looking away.

  "I do pay rent actually. 3,000 not including the bills..." Olivia responded softly.

  Oliver looked at her with shock.

  "Aunt Susan makes you pay rent? She's never asked me that..." Oliver asked.

  Olivia rubs the back of her head, clearly embarrassed.

  "Well you don't get paid... And... I pay directly to the landlord. 4 months ago the rent went up, so I've been secretly paying the rent. That's why I've been working extra hard lately. I... I don't wanna stress out you or aunt Susan... Besides, I'm your big sis. Gotta be responsible right?" Olivia smiled.

  Oliver stared at her in disbelief, pained that she would do this to herself. Still... He didn't exactly know what to say. What she did wasn't exactly wrong, and she did it out of her own volition. So him trying to tell her otherwise was purely selfish. So all he could do was smile.

  "You're awesome, Olivia." Oliver remarked.

  Olivia's smile faltered slightly before shaking her head.

  "Well whatever. Come on, let's go to sleep. From what I checked, tomorrow's ceremony is from 6:45am to 2:30 pm!" Olivia said, holding her head as she began whining.

  Oliver grimaced, wondering if it was even legal to keep kids cooped up in one place for that long.

  "This has got to break some laws..." Oliver said, pushing himself up and off the ground.

  Olivia nodded in response before untying her hair to get ready for bed. Oliver looked at his sister's hair, smirking as he pointed out how funny she looked.

  "You should really cut the long half. It's really jarring seeing both short AND long..." Oliver remarked.

  Olivia mumbled before pulling the covers over her.

  "I'm not ready to let go yet..." Olivia murmured.

  Oliver placed his hands on his hips before sighing.

  "Well whatever. Just don't expect to not get fun of tomo-" however before Oliver could finish his sentence, Olivia's phone went off.

  Not wanting to get out of her snug position, she forced Oliver to open it for her.

  "I'm snug as a bug in a rug right now. I might never experience this comfort ever again dear little brother." Olivia retorted.

  Oliver shook his head before laughing and picking up her phone. Opening it up, he found himself at the lock screen.

  "Well then if I must open your cellular devIce, I must know the answer to this protective riddle, dear older sister." Oliver responded.

  Olivia giggled before telling him to just use face ID.

  "We're twins. It'll totally think you're me." Olivia hummed.

  Oliver grimaced, not believing her for a second.

  "That'd be a serious breach of security if that were the case..." Oliver remarked, crossing his arms.

  Olivia pouted, telling him to at least try.

  "Come on~! Just try! If it works we can sue Glass corp!" Olivia said proudly.

  Oliver narrowed his eyes before sighing in defeat.

  "Fine... I'll try it." Oliver said, putting the phone up to his face.

  He tried using the facial ID, Olivia's old jank phone taking a moment to analyse his face. The time and anticipation made Oliver actually believe it might have worked, however a smug - but also annoyed expression crept his face.

  "Nope... Even your potato phone can tell us apart. Come on, just tell me your password." Oliver said, swiping up to the lock screen.

  Olivia was silent for a moment, before squeaking out the answer.

  "1L0vEC4pta1nReNyu4an."

  Oliver looked at her with a disappointed expression while Olivia's face was so red even the comforter started to glow slightly.

  "You're a loser"

  "I know..."

  Inputting the password into her phone, he expected to see Ren as her wallpaper - but instead it was a very clean and organised display with an aquatic style to it.

  "Huh... You're not a degen. Hell must have frozen over." Oliver smirked.

  Olivia yelled at him, threatening to bite him.

  "You're lucky I'm so comfy right now!" She pouted.

  Oliver began laughing, causing Olivia to pull the covers down slightly.

  "You're an asshole... Just read whatever was sent..." Olivia clicked her tongue.

  Oliver stuck his tongue out as he looked at the notifications, seeing that it was an email.

  "You should really put show notis on lock screen." Oliver said, clicking on the mail app.

  Olivia shook her head, claiming that it would clutter everything up.

  "I have a very organised phone. I don't like messes... Also all the clutter will jank up my phone ya know?" Olivia said, expecting a witty response. Instead however, she was met with silence.

  "... Hey Oliver, why're you so quiet?" She asked, getting worried.

  Looking at the email, Oliver's eyes darkened slightly as he read the title and contents.

  "Dear student,

  Here at Wuthering high school, I would like to formally announce your status as Valedictorian. Tomorrow please wait in the designated seating with the other star students to receive your plaque and to give your speech. We hope that you are pleased with your success."

  Pausing after reading the last line, Oliver's thoughts began being clouded by dark thoughts. Very... negative thoughts.

  "Oh right... I almost forgot. Outside F.A.T.E, I'm a loser.”