Mental Health Department, 12:00 PM sharp.
A sterile white zone, filled with medical staff bustling about.
Jade, the Colombian supervisor, sat typing up a report at the guest waiting area. Not long after, Jody Johansson emerged from a secured room, escorted by medical personnel.
She had an appointment that morning. After finishing her gym session, Jade had asked her to come in for a full scan and assessment as part of recording data on the discovery of the second Elementalist. Fingerprints, 3D iris scans—if Jody were a file, the system just ran a full source code debug.
But Jody had also made a special request: she wanted a full psychiatric evaluation. A deep one. Jade didn't object—though she was curious. From everything she'd seen, Jody seemed mentally stable.
"Why did you want a psych evaluation?"
"..."
Jody paused for a moment before looking at Jade with a subtle, almost rhetorical glance, as if to say "Do you really not know?"
"I've been experiencing… strange things lately. I'm sure you know what I mean, Jade."
"!"
"..."
Jade's eyes widened. That was a clear nudge toward that incident—the one only three people were part of: Jody, Jade, and Sally.
"Oh… that day..."
"..."
"But I didn't see or hear anything. I really think you were just exhausted, Jody. That's all."
"...Then how do you explain Sally?"
Jody narrowed her eyes.
"And in case you didn't know, Jade… I've been hearing that strange voice since London."
"..."
"That's why I'm here. To prove to myself that I'm not crazy. And by the way, where's Sally? I haven't seen her around."
"..."
"Sally's been transferred to another branch. She'll receive education and protection. For her own safety."
Jade wiped a bit of sweat from her brow. The way Jody was acting... it was obvious she didn't trust her anymore—not at all.
It felt like Jade was hiding something. The last thing Jody had heard from Sally was that someone was trying to break into her room. After that, there was silence. No more contact. It was as if Jade had deliberately separated them...
"Your results."
A nurse walked in and handed Jody her report.
Mental state: Minor traces of PTSD remain. Otherwise stable.
"...."
On the way back, Jody walked alone. Jade had gone off to tend to something else. Jody didn't get any answers—but the results confirmed it: she wasn't insane.
She still couldn't stop thinking. Jade had insisted—again and again—that she didn't see or hear anything unusual that day.
"..."
Jody decided to keep her mind occupied. She needed to do something—anything. So she headed down to the lower floors where the employee facilities were.
She wandered past a few blocks until she stumbled upon the library.
But it wasn't just the books that caught her eye—it was someone sitting inside.
Syd Barrett.
Her teammate, her mentor, her little "brother" figure... was seated in a quiet corner, seemingly focused on reading—or something like it. He wore headphones. No one else seemed to want to sit near him. But Jody had found him.
"Oh… So this is where you've been hiding."
Since Jody started calling him "Nong Gift," Syd had gone full sulk mode and refused to show his face. She couldn't find him all morning—not even when she knocked on his room to invite him to the gym. But here he was.
It might've looked like Syd was immersed in a book. Like he was radiating that "don't bother me" aura.
But in truth?
He was playing mobile games, hiding his phone behind a philosophy textbook.
Yup—Syd had run away to the quietest place he could find. A place no one expected him to go. The library. Air-conditioned, cushy seats, zero distractions. Perfect for chilling.
At that moment, his team was already getting crushed in-game.
"...Damn it."
He exited the match, annoyed. For all his combat skill, his gaming stats were tragic: 4/4/15? Embarrassing.
He tossed the phone onto the table and stared at it, sighing. He'd been here since 6 AM—his eyes were starting to fry.
Leaning back on the cushioned bench, he tapped his fingers against the table, then looked behind him at the hundreds of bookshelves towering like Hogwarts Library.
And then…
Jody's words echoed in his head.
"I like reading."
"...Nope. Nope. Not happening."
Still...
With nothing better to do, he muttered, "Maybe… just once…"
Next thing he knew, he was upstairs on the third floor, browsing the shelves.
"...Can't believe I climbed three flights for a stack of paper."
He stood there, squinting at the books like they were daring him to blink first. Eventually, he stopped at—
Philosophy.
One of the least frequented sections. But full of thick tomes, deep thoughts, and the writings of famous Russian thinkers.
"...Both Mom... the gay dude... and the limping guy read this stuff, so maybe it's got something..."
He pulled a red-and-black English hardcover off the shelf.
No reason. Just liked the cover.
Carrying it down, he muttered, "So heavy it could knock someone out…"
But when he returned to his seat—
Jody Johansson was sitting there.
Wearing her signature turtleneck. Smiling. Calm. Like she'd been watching him this whole time.
"Found you~"
"WHAT THE—JODY?! How'd you get in here?!"
"I asked the agent by the door to let me in."
"And they agreed?"
"I told them I knew you."
"...Oh come on."
"I also got warned you might punch me. Quite the reputation you've got, Syd."
"You're ruining my image, y'know."
"You have one to ruin, Nong Gift? 💙"
"Don't you start, Pee Jho! I swear, you keep this up, and I'm gonna see if changing your face makes it less punchable."
"Yo~ chill, teen drama."
Jody raised her fists in a mock stance while Syd rolled his eyes and sat across from her with the book.
"... 😏😏😏"
"...Why're you looking at me like that?"
"...Little Gift"
"Oi! You little—!"
He batted her hand off his shoulder, flustered and nearly stormed off, but Jody caught his wrist.
"Hey hey hey—I'm sorry! Okay! I won't call you that anymore."
Syd sat back down, staring at her like he didn't trust a word she said.
"So? What do you want?"
"You still owe me martial arts training, remember?"
"! "
Syd raised an eyebrow.
"...Oh crap. That's right. It's in our contract..."
He'd almost forgotten.
And today was still a free day.
"Fine. Let's train. But first, let me check this book out. Wait outSyde."
Jody smiled, triumphant.
Yoga Room – Training Session
In the yoga room inSyde the gym, Syd brought Jody—now in her undershirt after removing the turtleneck—for a change of scenery. Think of a typical yoga or dance rehearsal room: lined with mirrors, soft lighting, and rubber mats on the floor.
Jody was seated cross-legged, her blue aura softly radiating outward in waves as she warmed up, practicing aura circulation. Syd, meanwhile, sat nearby reading the book he borrowed, though he occasionally glanced at her to keep an eye on her condition.
"That's it… now take this," he said, setting his book down and pulling out a piece of paper and a stiff plastic sheet (ripped from a container lid), placing them in front of her.
"Remember what I taught you?"
"Mhm."
"The goal of this training: you need to tear that thick piece of plastic like it's paper—by using material property swapping. Keep practicing until you succeed. Got it?"
"Yes, Master."
"Focus… It's just like using your powers. They only respond when your concentration's deep enough. The only difference is this stuff's sticky and tough… but it'll loosen over time. Do you understand?"
Syd returned to reading. But not long after—
"Hold on."
"Hm?"
"You said it's like using powers, right?"
"Yeah… Why?"
"But you don't have any powers. So how would you know what it feels like to use them?"
"Look, look, look... Have you looked around me? You think I've never asked Toshi what it feels like? How powers and techniques compare? You serious?"
"...Oh. Well, yeah. That… actually makes sense."
Syd went back to reading. But then—
"You know, something about what you're saying just doesn't sit right with me."
"...What now?"
"That thing you said about not having powers."
"...Powers? I have powers. I swap material properties."
"..."
"...."
"Syd… come on. Don't play word games with me."
"What word games?"
He shut the book and looked at her, clearly annoyed and a little exasperated.
"We're past that point now, aren't we? We're supposed to be honest with each other. You. The weird voices I heard in your house. And—"
"Will you stop saying I've got powers? If I had powers, don't you think I would've used them by now? Don't you think I'd stop letting you nearly get yourself killed in every fight? What is your problem, seriously? You cracked or something?!"
Jody's eyes widened. Syd had never lashed out like this before. Sure, he'd cursed and teased her plenty—but not like this. Not with actual anger behind it.
Syd exhaled deeply, still locking eyes with her—eyes that silently asked, "What more do you want from me?"
"...You have no idea what it's like, Jody... To be born powerless in a world like this," he muttered.
"Just focus on your training..."
He sighed again.
Those words hit Jody harder than she expected.
She'd completely forgotten the difference in how they came to possess what they had. She'd awakened her abilities by the sixth grade. Syd? He had to work his body to the bone, learn every inch of technique, just to keep up. Not to mention the fact that his mom and sister both were ability users.
Sure, Syd came from a good family, and Gaan (Roxxy) adored him—but the world still looked down on him. And maybe, just maybe, the reason Syd fought so hard, pushed people away, distrusted everyone, and always hit back harder—maybe some of that came from his childhood too.
"...I'm sorry, Syd. I didn't think about that…"
"...Forget it. If you're really sorry, then focus and get this right. So we can be done with this nonsense already."
Jody nodded, expression somber. Syd leaned back against the mirror, reopening his book.
She placed her hands on the two objects. Her blue aura coursed through her fingers, enveloping the paper and plastic. She shut her eyes, trying to sync their properties, to make the swap work...
But as always, it was hellishly hard.
Within seconds, heat built up in her palms, her face drenched in sweat. It felt like she'd just finished a marathon while doing nothing but sitting still. She couldn't hold it anymore. She let go.
"Haaa... huff... huff..."
Drip. Drip. Drip. Sweat hit the mat below. Syd, despite his earlier outburst, tossed her a clean towel.
"Key is endurance," he said. "Right now, your conversion efficiency? Probably not even 0.5%. Not trying to demoralize you, just saying—if you want this faster, then push through it. It'll come."
"...Okay... Fuuu..."
Jody reached for the objects again. And started the process anew.
—30 minutes later—
She was completely exhausted.
Her entire body slick with sweat, a faint heat steaming off her skin. Luckily she'd applied deodorant, so the smell wasn't too bad. More herbal than horror.
"Eww… you look disgusting," Syd muttered, fanning air toward her with the book.
"Eugh. Gross."
He continued reading.
Jody, still catching her breath, simply smirked.
She stood, wrapped her head with a white towel.
"Do I really smell that bad?" she asked with a sly grin.
Syd: "Absolutely."
"...Oh really~?"
"He—HEY!?!?"
Jody lunged at him, hugging him tight.
She was still in a short-sleeved top, so all her sweat soaked right into him. Syd flailed in horror as Jody gleefully rubbed her face against his chest and arms, dragging him down with her into the abyss of stink.
"WHAT THE HELL!?!? YOU CRAZY?!"
Despite his rough personality, Syd was an absolute clean freak. He was practically convulsing.
He shoved her off, but it was too late. He was drenched. Horrified.
Not even his sister had ever gotten away with something like this.
He glared at her.
"...You absolute goblin!"
"But Nong'GIFT said I smelled bad~ now we smell equally bad—ACK!"
Syd's aura flared red. He grabbed her, reinforced her body with property-swap so her bones wouldn't break... and gave her a full wrestling-style R.K.O. right onto the yoga mat.
"Oof!"
And he wasn't done—he locked her into a headlock choke right after.
"You! You absolute menace!!!"
"Ow ow ow! Nong'Gift—Nong'Gift! Please—"
Jody tapped the mat. "TIME OUT!"
"Nong'Gift please—I surrender—"
"I'll swiss cheese yo ahh!"
"Okay okay I'm sorry HAHAHA—"
Yeah, it hurt. But somehow, Jody couldn't stop laughing.
This was Syd.