By the time Kael and Ryven reached the Main Dojo—
Leon Voss was waiting for them.
Not standing.
Not relaxing.
Waiting.
The moment he spotted them crossing the final bridge toward the central courtyard, he immediately changed direction and marched straight toward them with the determined expression of a man who had reached the end of his emotional endurance.
Kael blinked.
"...hello?"
Leon pointed.
Directly at him.
"YOU."
Kael looked around.
"Me?"
"YES YOU."
Ryven glanced toward his brother.
Then paused.
Leon looked terrible.
Not injured.
Not exhausted in the battlefield sense.
Academically exhausted.
The sort of exhaustion usually reserved for students three hours into a lecture they never asked to attend.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
"...what happened."
Leon stopped in front of them.
Then pointed toward the mountain.
Then toward the training terraces.
Then toward the courtyards.
Then toward the various commanders currently scattered around the Valley.
Finally—
he took a deep breath.
And said:
"Fix this."
Kael blinked.
Ryven looked around.
The Valley looked normal.
Mostly.
Dragon Lake shimmered beneath the morning light.
Cherry blossoms drifted through the air.
Waterfalls echoed softly through the mountain.
Several commanders occupied benches drinking tea.
One engineer appeared to be asleep on a table.
Normal Valley behavior.
"...fix what?" Kael asked.
Leon stared.
Then slowly turned.
And pointed toward Supreme Admiral Calder.
The massive commander currently stood inside one of the South Tier training courtyards beneath drifting cherry blossoms.
Across from him—
an elderly historical master calmly demonstrated a stance.
Calder mirrored it perfectly.
Then frowned.
"...the center balance is lower."
The master nodded.
"Because modern soldiers rely too heavily upon upper-body force."
Silence.
Several Heavy Assault officers looked personally attacked.
Calder immediately repeated the stance.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Kael stared.
"...oh."
Leon pointed again.
"Exactly."
Farther down another courtyard, Commander Mercer was losing an argument.
Again.
"THAT IS NOT HOW SPEAR ROTATION WORKS."
The historical spear master answered instantly.
"Your stance remains emotionally undisciplined."
Mercer pointed dramatically.
"THAT IS NOT A REAL CRITICISM."
"It clearly is."
Mercer looked devastated.
Kael immediately started laughing.
Leon looked betrayed.
"This is not funny."
"It is a little funny."
"It happened for six hours."
That was less funny.
Slightly.
Nearby, Fleet Admiral Hale sat beneath a pavilion with Rear Admiral Lucien Ward.
Between them rested:
• four journals, • two manuals, • one historical command record, • and an increasingly alarming amount of handwritten notes.
Ward was writing.
Hale was reading.
Neither appeared aware the sun had risen.
Leon pointed.
"They've been there since midnight."
Kael looked impressed.
Ryven looked unsurprised.
Leon looked haunted.
Then Choi appeared.
Which somehow made everything worse.
The admiral emerged carrying three historical campaign records beneath one arm while Elena Mirek followed beside him holding another stack.
Neither looked tired.
They looked inspired.
Leon looked horrified.
"Do you know what they asked me at three in the morning?"
Kael immediately smiled.
"What."
Leon pointed at Choi.
"He wanted to compare evacuation doctrine from four different historical periods."
Kael physically stopped walking.
"...at three in the morning?"
"YES."
Reasonable concern honestly.
Then Kael noticed something.
Something important.
Something missing.
"Wait."
Leon immediately became suspicious.
"What."
"Where did this start?"
The answer arrived immediately.
From somewhere above them.
A soft familiar voice echoed across the courtyard.
"Hanae."
Leon physically pointed at the sky.
"HER."
Of course.
Kael should have known.
Ryven already knew.
The traitor.
Leon rubbed one hand down his face.
"It happened while everyone was still inside Hanae Wing."
That sounded dangerous.
"She casually mentioned the South Tier."
Kael winced.
"Oh no."
Leon nodded.
"Oh yes."
Another pause.
Then:
"She said the Valley preserved historical martial disciplines."
Kael closed his eyes.
Because honestly—
that was enough.
But Hanae had not stopped there.
Leon continued.
"Then she said every discipline had its own master."
Kael physically groaned.
Ryven looked toward the training terraces.
The damage became obvious immediately.
Leon pointed dramatically.
"THEN."
Another point.
"She said."
Another point.
"'Leon Voss has trained with several of them before.'"
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Kael covered his face.
"Oh no."
Leon pointed.
"THAT IS WHAT I SAID."
Then the memory clearly returned.
And Leon looked personally victimized all over again.
"Calder asked how many."
"How many did you say?"
"I said enough."
Reasonable mistake.
Apparently.
Leon continued.
"Hale wanted details."
Another finger.
"Choi wanted demonstrations."
Another.
"Mercer wanted duels."
Another.
"Half the officers wanted training."
Another.
"The other half wanted explanations."
Kael was laughing again.
He couldn't help it.
This was terrible.
For Leon.
Which made it objectively hilarious.
Leon pointed accusingly.
"You are enjoying this."
"A little."
"You are a bad person."
"Probably."
Fair.
They continued walking through the South Tier.
Every courtyard contained another disaster.
Another historical master.
Another group of commanders asking questions.
Another officer taking notes.
The Valley had transformed an entire generation of military leadership into enthusiastic students.
And apparently nobody wanted to leave.
Leon sighed heavily.
Then looked toward the mountain.
"I haven't slept."
Kael nodded sympathetically.
"You look terrible."
"THANK YOU."
Then Leon froze.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
His eyes widened.
Kael immediately noticed.
"What."
Leon pointed upward.
The others followed his gaze.
Toward the western side of the mountain.
Toward the modern facilities district.
Toward the place Jules had shown Leon and Ryven the previous day.
And there—
marching down one of the elevated pathways—
came:
• Tanaka, • Daichi Ren, • Leonardo Navarro, • Mateo Ibarra, • Henry Vale, • Fred Forrest, • several engineers, • several systems analysts,
all carrying notebooks.
Actual notebooks.
Some carried datapads too.
But mostly notebooks.
Everyone looked excited.
Nobody looked rested.
Leon physically closed his eyes.
"No."
Kael stared.
"...what happened to them?"
Leon pointed weakly.
"The west side."
Another pause.
"They found the systems facilities."
Kael immediately looked toward Ryven.
Ryven nodded once.
Because yes.
They already knew exactly how dangerous that area was.
Leon looked toward the approaching engineers.
Then back toward Kael.
Then back toward the engineers.
Then back toward Kael.
"Save me."
Kael laughed so hard he nearly fell off the bridge.
And somewhere deep inside the Hidden Valley, beneath waterfalls, cherry blossoms, historical masters, impossible training systems, and one increasingly dangerous educational philosophy—
the mountain quietly prepared to destroy everyone's sleep schedule.
Again.