"Perfect timing, actually," Cinder said, gesturing toward the table. "Get over here."
Takumi walked over, still looking a bit skeptical, as Lyss finally pulled the heavy bag open and peeked inside. Instead of food or standard gear, she pulled out a sleek, compact electronic device, followed by two more. There were three in total, each featuring a distinct, metallic matte finish.
"What are these supposed to be? Some kind of high-tech smartwatches?" Lyss asked, turning hers over in her hand to examine the interface. The casing on hers was a soft, light baby blue, while Timotheo's sported a rugged, earthy brown finish. She handed the last one to Takumi, which was a sharp, deep midnight blue.
"They can definitely operate as a watch if you just need to check the time," Cinder explained, watching them line up the devices. "But these are **Aegis Links**. I actually ordered them directly from the Institute's quartermaster."
Timotheo's eyes lit up as he snapped the brown band onto his wrist. "An Aegis Link? Sounds like a rare-tier drop. What's the utility on it?"
"Perks of being an official Vanguard veteran," Cinder shrugged, a smirk playing on her lips. "I managed to pull some strings and get a pretty fair deal on them. They're running a specialized firmware package. Essentially, it gives you a direct backdoor into the Vanguard Institute's main database app, letting you pull up files they usually keep locked behind high-clearance firewalls. But more importantly for you three right now... it functions as a localized spatial radar. It maps out environmental energy spikes in real time."
"Veteran...?" Lyss murmured, her brow furrowing as she tapped through the touch screen interface to test out the Aegis Link's responsiveness. "But the Institute doesn't just hand out that kind of status after a single mission. And honestly, even this last one was mostly wrapped up by Takumi and the actual high-ranking Vanguards—like Masato, Theo, and Lexa."
She glanced up from the screen, looking over at Takumi. "Besides, even if they *did* recognize us as something more than just regular students, the fact remains that Takumi's Binder is still confiscated. What good is a high-tech database if our hands are tied?"
Cinder's expression stayed perfectly calm, but the hardness in her eyes softened into something a bit warmer, almost protective.
"You're exactly right. That's the reality of it," Cinder said, leaning back against the edge of the table. "No ordinary student on campus wears one of these, let alone has authorization to carry them. But you three don't exactly intend to sit back and play by the Institute's strict little restrictions forever, do you?"
She crossed her arms, a small, knowing smirk returning to her face. "When I put the requisition order through, I officially logged them as emergency tactical upgrades meant for the active Vanguard units. If I hadn't used my old credentials to spin that story, the quartermaster wouldn't have cleared the budget anyhow. It was a complete lie, obviously—but it gets you three completely caught up to the modern database so you aren't flying blind."
Timotheo leaned forward, his casual demeanor briefly giving way to pure bewilderment as he stared into Cinder's eyes. "Wait, are you seriously telling us to play by our own rules? Don't you think that's just gonna make things way worse? If we get caught breaking the rules like this, we're looking at a straight-up permaban from the academy."
Cinder just shook her head, entirely dismissive of the idea. "The Institute is bleeding talent, Timotheo. They're completely starved for people who actually have what it takes to fend off the distortions. Trust me, breaking their protocols will come with some blowback, but they aren't about to expel the only students left who can actually throw down in a fight."
Takumi looked down at the midnight blue device on his wrist, tapping the edge of the casing. "But aren't all the Institute's comms and tech linked to the same master network? I remember seeing Lexa wear one of these to ping headquarters back during the incident. Won't booting these things up just put us right back on their radar?"
"Not exactly," Cinder replied, turning her gaze toward the brown-banded device. "Every active Vanguard requires a registered profile just to log into the main OS. But... we happen to have a shortcut."
She nodded toward Timotheo, a small, proud smile cutting through her tough exterior. "Timotheo here is practically a cheat code when it comes to breaching passcodes and cracking hardware. Honestly, even I was impressed when I found out he built a custom app just to track my coordinates. My plan is to have Timotheo mod the Aegis Links—rewrite the core firmware so you guys can bypass their network detection completely, while still harvesting all the hidden data they keep locked away from the student body."
Timotheo's eyes went wide for a second before a massive, confident grin spread across his face. He leaned back, lacing his fingers behind his head like he had just been handed the easiest side quest in the world.
"Whoa, hold on. You're asking *me* to jailbreak official Vanguard hardware?" Timotheo chuckled, his voice dripping with easy confidence. "Cinder, please. You're talking to a literal god-tier technician. Rewriting an encrypted academy firewall is basically an introductory tutorial level for me. Consider it done. I'll have us completely off the grid and swimming in restricted database files before you even know it."
"And Takumi..." Cinder said, her tone shifting as she locked her eyes onto his.
Takumi met her gaze instantly, waiting.
"The Institute banned you from using your Binder, which to their bureaucratic minds equals confiscation," Cinder explained, a sharp edge to her voice. "But the reality is, they can't actually lock your Resonance behind bars. There is absolutely nothing they can do to physically stop you from summoning it if you choose to. So, if you're on board with this, I want you to use it whenever the situation calls for it. Not to cause trouble, obviously, but in a sense..."
"You want me to ignore their restrictions and operate out of the spotlight," Takumi finished for her, the realization settling in.
A proud, genuine grin broke across Cinder's face. "Bingo. Your Binder is incredibly powerful, Takumi, but once you learn how to truly harness and control that output, you're going to be the ultimate anchor for this team. Lyss almost had her own Binder stripped away after the incident too, but she barely managed to get excused. None of us benefit from the Institute holding us back with their red tape."
She leaned in slightly, looking at all three of them. "So, here are my terms: I'm asking you three to forget about their laws. Protect the world on your own terms, without the Vanguards pulling your strings. That being said..." She pointed a stern finger at them, her tough dorm-mother persona snapping right back into place. "I am absolutely not tolerating anyone skipping class. You will all attend your lectures regularly and keep your grades up, or I'm personally confiscating those Aegis Links myself. Clear?"
Takumi fell quiet for a moment, letting the weight of her words sink in as he thought to himself.
"So Cinder wants me to use my Binder anyway, completely disregarding the Institute's restrictions the second we step off campus. I have a feeling this is going to get incredibly tricky."
The silent realization anchored itself deep in his consciousness. It wasn't just a reckless choice to break the rules; it was the birth of an entirely new, unburdened chapter. By asking him to throw away the Institute's rigid constraints and face the world on his own terms, Cinder hadn't just given him advice—she had given him a blank slate.
In that moment of absolute defiance against the system, the invisible threads of a new bond snapped into place. It was the frequency representing the ultimate freedom, the willingness to step off the ledge into the unknown, and the blind faith to start a journey completely from scratch, entirely untethered by corporate or governmental laws.
The energy within him gave a faint, rhythmic pulse, settling into perfect synchronization with this newly awakened frequency in his heart.
To be continued...