Theo has just stepped out of the bathroom. His hair is still wet. If Claudia sees the state of it now, she'll scold him — she was very meticulous and careful when drying it.
He's putting on his new pajamas when there's a knock on his door.
"Come in, it's open."
Arthur steps inside, a tray of food in his hands. "I'm bringing you your dinner."
Theo's face lights up. "I can eat it here?"
Arthur smiles faintly. "Mother's afraid you're going to be too tired. She said today was really tiring for you."
He stared at Theo, intently. His deduction from that afternoon still bothered him. He hadn't told anyone but Julian. For reasons he couldn't explain, he felt reluctant to report it to his father or mother.
Theo receives the tray from Arthur, grinning. Eating is his most favorite thing to do in this world.
He sets the tray on the table and sits to eat, but notices Arthur still standing there — not leaving, just watching. Theo sighs. Not again. You're too suspicious, Young Montrose.
"You have anything else to say, Arthur?" Theo asks sweetly.
Arthur, still staring at him, answers, "No." He wants to ask a lot, but doesn't know where to start. And he remembers what happened after he revealed his deduction to Julian.
------------------------------
Flashback — this afternoon
Arthur takes a deep breath. He almost can't believe what he's about to say — but nothing else connects the pieces.
"They were all near where Thea was."
"What?!" Julian is shocked. "Are you sure, Art?"
Arthur pinches the bridge of his nose. "No, I'm not sure, Jules. But that's the fact."
Julian frowns. "What are you trying to say? That Thea is carrying around a Heartstone with 100% purity?"
He raises his voice. "Do you know how insane that sounds?! Why would she be carrying that around — and where did she even get it?!"
Arthur just sits there silently, eyes closed. He takes several deep breaths. Finally, he opens his eyes and looks at Julian through the hologram. "You don't think I know how crazy that sounds? Of course I do! Believe me, I do, Jules!"
"But look at the facts! Just look at the facts and ignore everything else! Purple flame, lab, Thea was in the house. First beep — Montclair Pavilion, near Thea. Sam is proof! Same with the second beep — Montclair Pavilion, same spot! And it was near Thea!" Arthur's voice rises close to a yell.
Julian stays quiet, but his eyes give him away — angry, cold.
"The fact is Thea is our sister. That's the only fact I'm considering. And you should too," he says, terrifyingly calm.
"Julian," Arthur replies, matching his tone. He tries a different approach. His brother may look cheerful and childish at times, but Arthur knows how strong he really is.
"I'm not accusing Thea of anything." Yet, he says inwardly. "I'm just laying out the facts. And those three incidents happened around Thea. This warrants further investigation."
Julian's demeanor doesn't change. "I know Father gave you permission to keep investigating Thea's accident. I fully support that. Anyone who hurt my sister will pay."
"But I'm warning you, Arthur. Do not come after Thea. Or I will come after you."
And his image disappears. Julian hangs up.
------------------------------
Back to the present.
Theo puts down his cutlery. "Then I do."
"Huh?" Arthur tilts his head, puzzled.
"I have something to say. To ask, to be specific," Theo starts.
"Just… ask." Arthur looks even more confused.
Theo takes a deep breath. "I need your help convincing our parents to let me train my physical strength."
"Huh?" Arthur blinks. That's the last thing he expects Theo to say. He doesn't even know what he expected, but definitely not that.
Theo sighs, his face showing clear resignation. "I don't know if Mother said anything to you, but my physiotherapy session was a disaster."
"You've been in a coma for three weeks, Thea. That's normal," Arthur says, trying to calm him. "And before the accident, you weren't exactly athletic."
Theo shakes his head. "You don't understand. The session was scheduled for ninety minutes. Sure, that's standard, and everyone's case is different. But Arthur…" He looks at him with pleading eyes, not even realizing he's doing it.
"I didn't do anything else but walk. And I could only walk for ten minutes before I struggled to breathe. I'm too weak."
Arthur looks at his sister — those pleading eyes, that sad, fragile expression — and it stirs something deep in him. It awakens every instinct he has as her older brother, clouding his rational mind.
At that exact moment, he remembers Julian's threat. And he gets it.
Theo continues, "You have no idea how embarrassed I felt when my breathing started to falter, and I saw an old woman with grey hair still walking. Her timer said fifteen minutes, and she wasn't even out of breath, Arthur!"
Arthur can feel himself softening, and he doesn't want to stop it.
"What do you want me to do then, Thea? How can I help?" Arthur hears himself say.
"First, help me convince Mother to let me train. Then, help me set up a training room — somewhere I can practice without anyone watching."
Arthur blinks. "That can be arranged."
Theo visibly lights up. "Really?! Excellent!" He gets back to his dinner and eats without reservation.
Arthur smiles and exits the room. He stops when he's outside, spotting Julian standing not far from the bedroom door.
Julian is watching him with a sharp gaze.
Arthur sighs. "Jules." He walks toward him.
"Wait," Julian cuts in. "About this afternoon…"
"I get it," Arthur interrupts.
"Let me finish, Art." Julian sighs.
"Sorry, go on."
Julian takes a deep breath. "About this afternoon — I'm serious. Don't go after Thea, Art. She's our sister. No matter what she did, we have to stand with her."
Arthur nods. "I know."
Julian exhales, relieved. "I really don't like it when we fight."
"Now, let me explain myself better," Arthur says. "I was worried, anxious, and suspicious all at once. Since Thea woke up, I've noticed she's different. You know it too."
Julian nods.
Arthur continues, "And leading up to the accident, you also noticed how she acted. I felt guilty for letting her drift away from us."
Julian shakes his head. "Not your fault. We were all too busy. We all ignored her."
"Yeah, I know. But that doesn't make me feel any better. So when she woke up, I swore to myself I wouldn't repeat the same mistakes again. I'll stay close to her, help her, support her — be there for her."
He exhales softly. "Maybe I've been staying too close. But Jules, there are things that don't add up. I'm not accusing her of anything. I just want to understand — so I can protect her better. Protect us better. Me investigating her isn't because I want to hurt her. It's the opposite. I want to protect her."
Julian looks at Arthur, guilt flickering across his face for having accused his older brother of ill intent. "I'm sorry, Art. For yelling at you."
Arthur shakes his head. "Don't worry. I'd do the same."
He puts both hands on Julian's shoulders. "And I need your help, Brother. Help me understand what's going on, so we can protect our family."
Julian grins. "You got it." He lightly hits Arthur's upper arm.
"Now, help me convince Father and Mother to let Thea train her physical strength."
"Huh?" Julian blinks, caught off guard.
Arthur laughs. "That's exactly what I said." He throws an arm around Julian's shoulders. "Come on. Let's do the mission our sister assigned to us."
Julian grins. "Alright. Just convince Father and Mother, right? Piece of cake!"
Arthur nods. "And later, help her set up her own private training room."
Julian scoffs. "That's another piece of cake. We got this, Art."
Both brothers are determined to succeed in their mission.