Morning at Veyron Headquarters always began with strict discipline. Every member was required to wake up at 4:30 AM for training. By 6:30, they had finished cleaning up, and at exactly 8:00, breakfast would begin together.
However, today there was an additional activity. They were all gathered in the room of the young man they had found the night before, waiting for him to wake up.
---
Noa let out a long sigh and leaned against the wall.
Noa: "Ugh... This is boring. Master Ven, why are we waiting for him to wake up? If that's the case, can I just play some console games?"
Master Ven: "Noa, this is also part of your training."
Noa looked at his teacher, confused.
Noa: "Training for what?"
Master Ven: "Patience training."
Noa: "Come on, Master... Let me at least watch a movie."
Roy, who was casually sitting and playing chess with Glen, chimed in.
Roy: "Hey, you should be like us. Sit and wait quietly."
Noa: "I don't like chess. It's boring."
Glen: "You haven't even tried it."
Noa: "I have, and it was still boring!"
Roy: "Yeah, for someone who always loses."
Noa: "Shut up!!"
Master Ven shot them a sharp glare.
Master Ven: "Enough. Noa, sit quietly."
Roy and Glen tried to hold back their laughter, but Noa's annoyed face only made them want to laugh more.
Master Ven: "And you two, Roy, Glen. Stop playing chess."
Roy & Glen: "What!? But, Master, we didn't—"
Master Ven: "Sit. And. Be. Quiet."
Noa smiled smugly, watching Roy and Glen get scolded. Roy and Glen could only glare back at him.
Master Ven: "Lyn, you too. Stop playing with your Legos."
Lyn: "What? Why?"
Master Ven: "Sit. And be quiet."
Lyn sighed before finally obeying.
---
Suddenly, the door swung open.
Cris: "I'm home!!!"
Roy turned and waved lazily.
Roy: "Oh hey, Cris. Welcome back."
Cris Zepher, a member of Veyron with the ability to store objects in an infinite storage space, had just returned from visiting his aunt and uncle in a nearby city. Normally, he wore his signature black-purple Veyron uniform, but today he was dressed in a white sweater and black pants.
Cris's power only allowed him to store non-living things. Only he could access his storage dimension.
Cris walked in and stared at the group huddled in the room.
Cris: "What's this? No welcome party? You all look like you're having a town council meeting."
Glen approached and patted his shoulder.
Glen: "Sorry, man. After breakfast, we were ordered to gather here to wait for someone to wake up."
Cris glanced at Glen with disinterest and brushed his hand off.
Cris: "I wasn't talking to you."
Glen: "Oh… Sorry…"
Everyone in the room let out a heavy sigh. It wasn't the first time Cris treated Glen that way.
---
Cris looked at the unconscious young man, then turned to Roy for answers.
Cris: "So, you found him in an alley?"
Roy: "Yeah. In our city."
Cris: "Hoo… So you brought home a guy lying in an alley? Are you sure he's not a zombie?"
Roy: "Zombie!? What the—? You're so weird!"
Cris just shrugged.
Cris: "Well, if he suddenly wakes up and bites someone, I'm not responsible."
Noa (frowning): "Cris, maybe help instead of making weird comments."
Cris gave a small smile, then reached into his dimension. A soft neck pillow appeared in his hand, which he handed to Glen.
Cris: "Here. So he can sleep more comfortably."
Lyn facepalmed.
Lyn: "Seriously? That's your solution?"
Cris: "Hey, if we want him to wake up soon, comfort is key. Research says—"
Noa: sighs "Whatever. At least you're trying to help."
Cris: "Oh right, anyone want snacks? I brought souvenirs from the other city. Some cookies and stuff."
Cris pulled out various snacks from his storage space.
Roy, eyes lighting up: "Food!? I'm in!"
Lyn & Noa: "Roy, focus!"
Roy: "Hey!! You can't focus on an empty stomach!"
Roy grabbed the snacks from Cris and received a sharp glare from Noa.
Cris: "Hmm… If he's an Arclhos, he might have something interesting on him..."
With a swift motion, Cris made a move as if to store something in his dimension.
Lyn quickly glared at him.
Lyn: "Don't you dare try to store a person in your private dimension!"
Cris: "Relax, I'm just joking."
Cris replied with a sly grin.
Cris: "Besides, my space can't store living things."
Cris sat down on the floor next to Noa, crossing his arms.
Cris: "So we're just gonna wait for him to wake up?"
Roy (still munching on cookies): "Yup."
Cris: "Ugh... So boring. Master, how long are we supposed to wait?"
Master Ven: "Sit down and be quiet, Cris."
Cris sighed and leaned against the wall in annoyance.
---
11:26 AM
Cris: "Ugh... How long are we going to wait?"
Noa: "No idea... So this is what it feels like to wait for something uncertain... So depressing."
Roy laid down on the floor.
Roy: "Master, this is boring..."
Suddenly, the boy they had been waiting for opened his eyes—gray irises slowly scanning the room with a confused gaze.
?: "Where... am I?"
Everyone turned to look, surprised.
Roy quickly approached him.
Roy: "Oh! You're awake, buddy!"
But the boy looked frightened and backed away.
Lyn: "Roy, don't scare him!"
Lyn smiled gently and tried to calm him.
Lyn: "Hey, we're the Veyron team who brought you here. Don't worry, we're not bad people."
Noa also smiled and offered him a cookie.
Noa: "Lyn's right. We're not bad. Here's a cookie. Eat up."
Cris: "And here's more snacks."
Master Ven: "Everyone, step back. Don't block my view."
Master Ven stared at the boy carefully.
Master Ven: "Hey there, kid. Where are you from? Why were you out there?"
The boy opened his mouth to answer, but suddenly choked on the food.
Master Ven: "Oh! Sorry! Here, drink this."
Glen: "Master, let him eat first. Give him a few minutes to settle down."
Master Ven sighed.
Master Ven: "Fine..."