"I once had someone," Sven said eventually, his tone softer than they'd ever heard. "Someone I planned to marry one day. We grew up together, and I promised her that once I made something of myself, I'd buy her the biggest ring I could afford."

He glanced down at the silver circle in his hand, eyes distant. "But I never got the chance. She died. Right in front of me."

The words hung heavy in the air.

For once, Sven didn't grin or laugh. He just stared at the ring - his thumb tracing the metal as if it still carried her warmth. "So… I keep this one. I found it on her body, and apparently she had bought it for me."

He looked up at the grey sky. "It's not to mourn her, but to remember her. Reminds me what I lost, and what I can't afford to lose again."

Even Takeshi's stoic expression softened. Isaac stayed quiet, giving him space.

Elizabeth had tears welling up in her eyes and looked like she wanted to say something comforting, but Sven waved it off with his usual crooked smile. "Honestly, that's probably why I drink so much and flirt with every woman I meet. Guess it's just easier than thinking about the past."

He laughed faintly, though it sounded tired. "Seems like no one in our group knows each other that well, huh? Secrets all around."

Isaac exhaled through his nose, a quiet laugh slipping out. "No kidding."

The moment of vulnerability didn't last long. Sven rubbed the back of his neck, returning to his usual lazy demeanour. "Anyway, enough of that. Anyone want a drink? I've still got a bottle I 'borrowed' from the plane."

He pulled it out of the inside pocket of his leather jacket. How it fit in there and hadn't broken as he moved around was a mystery in itself.

Elizabeth giggled. "You mean stole?"

Sven grinned. "Borrowed indefinitely."

They stayed there a while longer, talking about little things - nothing important, nothing painful. It was the kind of casual talk Isaac hadn't realised he missed until now. The moon climbed higher, and for a fleeting moment, it almost felt like things were... normal.

But Elizabeth eventually grew quiet. She leaned against the balcony railing, looking up at her brother. "Isaac… you shouldn't hate them, you know."

His expression hardened slightly. "You saw what they're like."

"I did," she said softly. "But… It's not that simple."

She fidgeted with her hands, hesitant but determined to speak her mind. "Mother hasn't been sleeping properly since you disappeared. She pretends she's fine, but I hear her crying all the time. And Irwin… he was the only one who secretly helped me look for you. Father never found out."

Isaac blinked, caught off guard.

"As for Father…" she hesitated, then sighed. "He's hard on everyone, but he does care. I think he just doesn't know how to show it. He's… different, I guess."

Her words lingered in the night air, and Isaac found himself staring out at the quiet lawn below.

Maybe she wasn't wrong. Maybe he hadn't seen their side of things - twisted as it was.

It had felt good to walk in there and prove himself, to shatter their arrogance and show them what he'd become. But now, with Lizzie by his side, the rush of satisfaction faded, leaving only an ache in his chest.

Perhaps some part of him still cared.

Isaac ran a hand through his hair and exhaled slowly. "You always had to be the voice of reason, huh?"

Elizabeth smiled softly. "Someone has to be."

He looked at her - at the sister who hadn't given up on him, who still saw good in a family he'd long written off - and for the first time in years, Isaac wasn't sure what he truly felt.

But one thing was certain.

Whatever came next, he'd make sure Elizabeth never had to face that kind of loneliness again.

-

Sven and Takeshi left them to the manor's quieter wings with the easy confidence of men who'd seen and experienced much worse. They silently headed back to their guest rooms from earlier.

'No wonder he was so uptight when we met,' Sven thought as they climbed the stairs. 'Dude's been raised by wolves. He's better now, though - way better. Maybe I'll be calling him brother-in-law soon.'

He grinned under his breath, but for once, he kept his flirting, and usual chaos clipped. They felt, in the hush of corridors and linen-scented air, that whatever would happen in the house had already been handled.

On the balcony, Elizabeth's chest glowed with relief the way sunlight blooms after a storm. She practically dragged Isaac by the sleeve, chattering as they passed polished portraits and silent servants. She led him down a corridor to the manor infirmary.

It was a small, antiseptic room tucked away beneath a bank of windows that looked out across the trimmed front lawn where Isaac used to hide and read.

There Irwin lay, an IV drip in one arm, bandages at his jaw, a bruise blooming purple under one eye. TEMP Z had not left him unscarred; the drug's crash had wiped the combustible rage from his face and left him a sullen, exhausted boy again.

"You two here to visit your big brother?" he groaned, voice ragged.

"Aren't you done with the big-brother stuff?" Isaac snorted, dropping onto the bedside chair. "It's was only by twelve minutes."

"Those twelve minutes I had were the best of my life," Irwin rasped, trying for bravado and landing on a cough.

They both laughed - an awkward, brittle thing at first, then easier. Isaac couldn't remember the last time he'd been able to share anything ordinary with Irwin. Their father had raised them on rivalry and knives; normal conversations had been a foreign language.

"Just recover," Isaac said, more sincere than he liked to sound. "Don't touch that TEMP Z crap again. It'll kill you, and being a mutant is overrated."

Irwin snorted, half-defensive, half-defeated. "Obviousl,y you'd say that. It's like when rich people tell poor people that money doesn't buy happiness." He tried for humour, and Isaac almost smiled despite himself. "Being rich or a mutant definitely helps."

Isaac could only shrug. He left Elizabeth to tend to him - she fussed, smoothing blankets, tucking hair behind her brother's ear like the kind little sister that she was.

Next, he went in search of his mother.

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