The Arena Saga: Bronze Tier

Four

While She Sleeps- TO THE FLOWERS 

 Andras kept true to his word. He transferred the Affliction Rapier to my inventory; stats and all. He registered it as a trade for the giant sword and my old speedster. He said his speedster wasn't allowed off the track and mine is street broken. It was how the First Ward got a hold of him in the first place. The idiot has been getting around on foot. 

It's early in the morning when my security alarms go off. I groan and sit up, wondering if I will have to start shooting first again. I find my brother and his three fembots making breakfast when I get downstairs. They're registered as guests and since he comes here often, the AI rarely announces them. 

"What is all this?" I ask looking over the packages they brought with them. He holds up the Pinpoint Rapier I was interested in getting. "How did you get this?"

"I'm sorry about the way I acted after the race. I just needed to apologize. You're helping me with the kid and you were doing me a favor. I didn't even ask if he was okay," 

"He has another twenty-four hours on the table before he can be rebooted," I take the Rapier from him. It's nothing like the Affliction. It's even a little heavier. "You didn't kill the guard, did you?" 

"No, I traded my bludgeon for it. You know I don't like the big swords. They're stupid. If you want, I can help you trade yours," 

"I already traded it and my old speedster," I say. 

"I hope you got something good out of it," Jazmine says from the sink. I pull up the stats on my inventory to show them. 

"Is that the Affliction?" my brother grins. "Let me guess. Your new pals at Black Skull wanted a speedster off the grid," 

"Yeah," I nod. "I didn't know they were so restricted," 

"Yeah, Black Skulls are more like a company than a guild hall. They don't let anyone without a proper education in. You'd kind of be perfect for that shit hole," he smirks. 

"I don't want to be part of a guild. Much less one described to be more like a company," 

"Your place is always spotless," Blossom pulls one of the chairs at the dining table. 

"And color colorless. You need more color stimulation, Zaph," Rose nods. 

"I get plenty," I tap the morning routine sequence, and the protective slides all open up around us to reveal the scenery outside. 

"Wow," the three of them walk up to the glass by the living room facing the river bank. The cameras zoom in on the hummingbirds and project them on the glass. 

"Did you plant all those flowers?" Jazmine asks.

"No, after I purified the soil they grew on their own. The only flowers I planted were the orange tulips by the dandelions. Pretty, huh?" 

"Yes," the three of them nod. 

"What are your plans for today?" Max asks. I haven't seen him smile like that in a very long time. 

"Nothing. I'm still recovering from the race. I got some new parts I have to put in my inventory since the new owner of the speedster didn't want them. I also got some new repair manuals I want to start on," 

"Boring," he rolls his eyes. 

"Hey, I was thinking that maybe we should help the kid get his growth packs," they all look back at me. "What?"

"Why?" my brother asks. 

"Well, he's alone. I mean Jesse and Asher are gone, Max. None of us have taken parental training classes. I'm not licensed to be a mother. He needs to learn how to protect himself. If we leave him at this underage level, the poachers are going to try and take him. Who knows what they'll do to a little boy like that,"