Gren and Komo run outside with smiles on their faces. Multiple exercise machines and workout equipment filled a shelter to the left, while the right featured a dirt rectangle for Symulations to be held. "A benchpress!?" Komo exclaimed, followed by the excited Gren, "A VR headset and treadmill!?" The teens look at each other with smiles then dash towards their dreams. However, the stretching arms of Percy snap them back like rubber bands. "Hold up. You're allowed to do your own workouts on your own time, but I've made specific training plans for both of you."

The mentor taps his watch, causing his students' to rumble. Their eyes fill with dread and horror as they read the workout routines. "ONE HOUR OF CARDIO!?" Komo shouts. "BULK BUILDING!?" Gren screams in fear. "That's right. You two are very min-maxxed when it comes to your physical strengths and weaknesses, so we're gonna balance that out by fixing your weak points." The fear of pushing his frail body to the limits leads Gren to say, "But...I want to be small, so I can move as fast as possible." "Being fast is great, but think about this. What are you going to do when you run to a falling victim in time, but you don't have the strength to pull them up?"

The realization hits Gren like a brick, and he looks at his thin arms in shame. "Heh, baby arms." Komo's teasing is put to an end when Percy turns to her. "You on the other hand, need to trim up a bit." The statement causes the world around her to shatter and red to fill her face. "B-but I...I eat a lot on purpose! S-so I'm harder to move, that's it! It makes me a better shield!" Percy scratches his chin and replies, "Hmm, you make a good point, but how useful is your shield if you can't make it to the victim in time?" Another world shatters, sending Komo's jaw to the floor. "Alright, I think you kids understand it now. Trust me, once we get started you'll see it's not so bad."

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The summer sun shines high in the sky, and a band of pidgeons fly peacefully together. "Come on!! One more time!!" Birds scatter from the abrupt sound of Percy yelling. Gren kicks his legs, unable to push the heavy bar off of his chest with his thin arms. "You gotta do better than that!!" Meanwhile Komo's t-shirt is drenched in sweat while running on the treadmill. She places her arms on the side rails for a second, but Percy suddenly appears and yells, "No handrails!! Keep going!!"

Red in the face, Gren struggles to pull himself over the bar. "I can't-" "Yes you can!! Pull yourself up!!" The exhausted Komo checks her surroundings before resting her arms on the rails again. Just when she thought she was safe, Percy uses a powerdrill to remove them from the treadmill. "You really thought I wouldn't see that!?" Then mentor puts his pointer fingers to his head and shouts, "THINK, KOMO!! THINK!!"

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The sun now hid behind the tall buildings of Zion, and buzzards circled Percy's home. Komo, completely soaked from head to toe in sweat, sat beside a trash can. "I think...I'm gonna hurl...again." Laying beside her, Gren looked at his squiggly arms and said in an even higher voice than usual, "I can't feel anything...OH!! Now I can!" Percy finished his last pull-up and wiped his sweaty and muscular body with a small towel. "Phew! Good job! Now who's ready for dinner?" Komo hurls rainbows into the trash can with immense power, and Gren begins to quietly sob on the floor.

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Now at the dinner table, Gren smoothly cuts into his steak with his utensils and bites down. Next to him, Komo stabs the meat with her knife and rips a piece off with her teeth. "Mmmm! I've never been so hungry in my life!" she says with great satisfaction. "Me neither!" The teens reactions cause Dove to laugh. "Glad you like it. Just don't forget your vegetables." "Mmhmm," both teens mumble.

Trying to know her guests better, Dove asks, "So what do your Symbols do?" Gren wipes his mouth with a napkin before answering. "I have a big shuriken that can create water by using the moisture in the air." Everyone then looks at Komo, who talks with her mouth full. "My shield reflects things...oh, and I hit people with it." At the end of the table, Penelope sounds excited and asks, "Oooh, can I see?" "No sweetie," Percy quickly answers, "It's too violent for you." "Awww."

Komo remains fixated on her food, while Gren asks a question for his hosts. "How did you two meet?" Percy takes a sip from his glass, then thinks before answering. "I was twenty-two at the time. Been serving for roughly seven years at that point and had gone through some..." He couldn't immediately find the words. "...difficult things. My mentor suggested that I go see a therapist and...I found her."

His words cause Komo's eyes to glance at him, but she continues to clean her plate. Dove adds, "I wasn't even looking for a relationship at the time but...he was handsome-" "Was?" The woman rolls her eyes at her husband and continues, "Is handsome. The more he invested in me in our sessions, the more I invested in him. And here we are, ten years and one baby later."

A more serious mood falls on the table as Percy clears his throat and looks at his apprentices directly. "I guess now's the time to tell you that, being a Symbiolic is not all fun and games. What you do out there, in the real world, has consequences. Some bigger than others...I just want you kids to know what you're signing up for." Gren and Komo glance at each other, then nod at their mentor. "Good. Now since you two are living here..." Percy stands up from his seat, and Dove picks up Penelope. "...clean this up." Komo's head falls on the table, and both teens groan.

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Night had come to the city, and Komo stood with her cracked phone beside the back door. Looking over her shoulders revealed no sign of the adults, and she stepped outside. The girl put the device next to her ear, and seconds after said, "It's me...I don't want anything, I just..." A frustrated look came across her face as the voice from the phone ranted. "...Shut up!...Yes, I'm at Percy's house now...No! I'm not doing-" "Doing what?" Komo jumped at the sudden voice of her mentor and quickly shoved the phone in her pocket. Percy stood in the shadow of his house and awaited her answer. "I was calling my aunt." "I thought I told you no leaving the house without my permission."

The cool, night breeze blew through Komo's and Percy's hair, and a tense atmosphere crept in with dark clouds. "You think it's by chance that you're here? That I picked you, of all people, to be my apprentice?" No reply. "Or maybe you thought I wouldn't recognize your Symbol." Komo's eyes narrow. Her fists clench by her side. Percy takes one step forward, revealing his sheathed blade on his back. "I brought you here, so I can keep my eye on you. But I'm going to do my best to give you the benefit of a doubt. A chance to prove that you're a better person than I think you are."

The mentor steps closer, out of the shadows, and begins to lift his Grass Blade from it's sheath. "But if you leave this house, if you go upstairs, if you even so much as think of doing something to my family...well..." The sword slides back into its case. "...I think you get the idea." Percy opens the door, and Komo steps inside, but not without giving him a glare. Gren peeks out of the spare bedroom and watches Komo slump on the couch, while his mentor climbs the spiral staircase. "Goodnight, kids. Text me if you need something." "Ok," Gren says back. Still he looks at the upset Komo, watching TV with her arms crossed.