***Tirnanog, Hochberg***

***Magnus***

I grunted once I regained my wits and stepped away from the railing. Rubbing my temples, I shook myself to jump-start my brain. Waking up in the dream was always a strange and disorienting experience. Going from awake but not aware to awake and aware was almost impossible to describe.

Once I had sorted myself out, I took in my surroundings. It was the bungalow on the tropical island again. Not that I had anything against the setting, but Gaia had yet to repeat herself with her dreams.

It was unusual for her to hit the replay button.

The fine mist coming from the nearby waterfall was moistening everything, making me wonder why I found myself waking up in uncomfortable situations more likely than not.

The frustration of it all caused me to sigh.

There was no question I would never get used to this 'dream' thing.

When I turned, I found Astra lying on a deckchair.

She was sunning herself as if it was something she did every day.

Come to think of it, I had never seen Astra relax outside her own four walls. I sincerely hoped our efforts would earn us some safety in this world. It would be nice to create a place for us which could ward away the monsters and humans who meant us ill.

Fortunately, her appearance quickly drew my thoughts away from any gloominess.

Astra’s filaments had retracted and were providing only the barest of a suggestion of a bikini. All the rest had formed a big cushion beneath her. And a pair of oversized sunglasses made her look like a beach tourist who had ended up at a cosplay convention before falling prey to some body painters who preferred neon colours.

Grinning, I knelt next to her and poked her cheek. “Hey, Astra. We are dreaming again.”

No reaction.

I pinched her cheeks and pulled them apart, but she was seven miles under. It was ridiculous how this dream space worked.

I contemplated what to do next and looked at her alluring figure for a second too long. When the impulse to do so came, I acted on it.

Slipping my fingers beneath her filaments, I grabbed her chest and sighed while I squeezed.

There was no shame or hesitation. Even without an official ceremony, we were practically married and it wasn't like I hadn't felt up the goods before. And we were alone, so I saw no reason to hold back.

Besides, it was oh-so relaxing.

Astra stiffened. “What the heck are you doing with your cold hands?”

“Ahem...” I cleared my throat. “Giving you a relaxing massage!”

I tried to support the claim by performing the motions which I believed to be suitable. Unfortunately, I had never applied a proper massage to anyone or anything in my life. Even I could tell my movements ended up more like a poor imitation of trying to knead dough.

Very nice, very pliable dough... okay. Maybe I should stop before I got myself into real trouble.

She took off the ridiculous sunglasses and gave me 'the look' all women had in store for their men when they behaved like children. I didn't know where she had learned it, but it worked.

I surrendered and retracted my hands.

Astra karate-chopped me lightly on the forehead. “Scoundrel! You are no better than all the other men! There are more important things to do right now. And how is massaging my chest supposed to be relaxing? Where is Gaia? She has some explaining to do!”

Too many questions at once!

She got up and warped her filaments into one of her usual over-dressed gowns.

“I didn't mean it to be relaxing for you...” I mumbled and got back to my feet. Guys didn't fondle women's breasts because-

“What was that?”

Thank Gaia I didn't say that aloud.

“Ahem, nothing!” I coughed and pointed towards the sliding door which led into the bungalow. “I regained my wits less than a minute before you and didn't check on Gaia yet. I bet she's waiting inside, cooking something or eating treats like always.”

“Less than a minute?” Astra huffed. “And the first thing you do upon finding a sleeping woman-”

“Just stop the banter!” I threw up my hands. Better not to tell her the first thing I did was pull her cheeks. Or that I would have tried to pull her nipples next. “Yes, I did! I would have done more if you hadn't woken up! I am a pervert! I have lost my inhibitions when it comes to you. Can we move on?”

“Aw...” She went to open the sliding glass door which led into the bungalow. “Then I will tease you once we know what's up with our goddess.”

Alien Overmind would be a more fitting description.

We entered the bungalow's living room and found Gaia wrapped up in blankets on a couch which hadn't been there before. She had a towel on her forehead and a thermometer in her mouth. Several medicaments for treating the snuffles were placed on the table next to her together with a pot of tea.

“Gaia?” I asked. “What is this supposed to represent?”

She spit out the thermometer. “Don't you see? I am sick after over-exerting myself.”

Astra looked also sceptical. “How can you over-exert yourself within a dream?”

Gaia huffed. “It's not about the dream, but forcefully waking you two up. Given my nature, it's tiring and stressful and now I have to rest. I've almost erased myself by warning you.”

I frowned. “Waking someone up costs you so much power that you get tired?”

“I almost died!” she complained. “Imagine yourself to be someone who is used to playing with atoms and then you are suddenly asked to move an entire rock! Well, this iteration of me almost died. And I would like to keep this personality, thank you very much.”

I still didn’t understand how Gaia’s personalities or avatars worked. One time, she behaved as if she was her own separate being. At others, she identified herself with the Gestalt and spoke as if her existence was of no importance.

Maybe the Gaia we were interacting with wasn’t certain of her nature herself.

“Oh, Gaia.” Astra covered her mouth and went to the avatar's side. “Will you be alright?”

While my better part bought the avatar's story, I wasn't a hundred per cent sold. “Why didn't you wake up just one of us? That should have lessened the strain on you.”

“There was a not neglectable chance you wouldn't have taken my warning seriously if just one of you had woken up,” Gaia explained. “Whether you want to or not, you are still asking yourself whether I am a facsimile of your imagination. I have invested too much time in this venture to have you eaten by one of the enemy's agents.”

“Oh, I stopped doubting you when Astra had the triplets you prophesied,” I grumbled. “Or should I call it threatened?”

“Please explain.” Astra took Gaia's hand, ignoring my complaints. Unlike me, she was perfectly happy with having a big family. Three kids were already more than I ever imagined to be stuck with. If Astra had her way, we would end up with a football team soon enough.

The avatar sighed. “The entity responsible for the violet gene mutation must have sensed my meddling. It sent this creature after those who I had most of my attention on lately. Namely, you.”

“The abnormal creature which attacked us?” I frowned.

Gaia nodded. “It's not dead. Be ready for it to come after you again. Prepare yourself for anything. I don’t know its capabilities.”

“How did you manage to notice it in time to warn us?” Astra asked. “I thought you could only walk people's dreams.”

“That's a good question.” I leaned over the avatar. “How do you perceive the material world when you are supposed to be some energy being who haunts people’s dreams?”

Gaia frowned. “Why do you always ask questions about things which you have no concept of?”

“Answer the question,” I urged.

“Fine,” The avatar huffed. “I can sense the material world in a limited manner. Just like you need to pay attention to observe a bug you would overlook normally. The best analogy for what I experienced would be a hair falling out.”

“Falling out?” This comparison apparently wrinkled Astra, because she reached for her well-kept mane of black hair. Given the right angle, the black shone with scintillating red reflections, so her hair was the one thing she liked about her body.

“Yes!” Gaia rolled her eyes. “When that monster killed the Caravaners, I noticed because their energy went dark, so I took a closer look. Like you don't notice a hair falling out or a cell dying, I don't normally notice people dying. But this time I did because I am watching you so closely.”

I clicked my tongue. “And I suppose this scene should serve to inform us that you may be ready to communicate with us again but aren't able to gather information by haunting the Hochberg's dreams.”

Gaia's expression brightened up. “Oh, you are so smart. That's exactly why I chose this setting! And before you ask, I assume it will take a week or two before I can return to being your personal spymaster.”

“Nah, that's fine.” I waved a hand and smiled. “Take your time off for as long as you need. We can do a little spying of our own. The old-fashioned way.”

Gaia stopped smiling quickly and instead looked perplexed. As if she could smell the trap. “Y- you aren't angry? Or concerned? How unusual. I- I didn't anticipate this reaction.”

I went to get myself a chair while Gaia and Astra watched me with concerned expressions.

“If you are just 'resting' to get better,” I began. “You still have all the time in the world to talk with us, oh benevolent spirit. I thought we might as well use our time together wisely and have you teach us.”

The avatar narrowed her eyes. “Did someone use the ‘benevolent bosom’ catchphrase again? I hate it when they do that.”

I frowned. “That’s a thing among the churchgoers? Yes, I think I remember people saying such things. Do you also dislike the related curse?”

“Just forget I mentioned it.” Gaia waved her hand quickly to dismiss the matter, probably hoping we would forget about it. “Never use any of those terms!”

I shrugged. “So, how about teaching us?”

Gaia slowly pulled the blanket up to her chin. “Teach you? Teach you what exactly?”

“Anything related to our abilities,” I suggested. “Why don't we displace air as it should be expected when we move quickly? Are there other usages for the new plasma skill Astra and I discovered? Can you suggest any improvements or usages of our abilities we haven't discovered yet?”

The avatar blinked exaggeratedly slowly and looked conflicted. “What makes you think I would be able to help with such a thing?”

I stared at her with a blank expression. “Do I have to point out that you are manipulating genetic codes and steering evolution with the same ease as humans build a house? Your claim, not mine. If you can do that, teaching us some lowly physics related to our abilities should be simple. I bet you had something in mind when you meddled with my zipper mutation.”

When Gaia opened her mouth to reply, I raised a warning finger. “And don’t believe for a moment I forgot your claim to have guided me to Tirnanog. You outright bragged about it, so you must have had a plan in mind when you influenced my mutations.”

Gaia gave me an insincere smile. “But teaching is so boring! It's much better to watch you two discovering tricks yourself. Asking me to teach you Physics… it’s as if an amoebae begged you to teach it multiplication! I don’t have time for such things.”

Astra leaned in closer to Gaia. “I might want to listen in on such lessons. It's a good idea and it looks like we have nothing better to do within this dream. Unless you can conjure more food for me?”

“You two could fuck upstairs,” Gaia suggested innocently. “I don’t mind.”

The two women began a game of stare until Astra answered the suggestion with a simple and very final verdict. “No.”

Gaia's expression turned pleading.

“Do I have to remind you that you still owe me for loading me up with triplets?” Astra continued mercilessly. “You also have to consider what a long-term relationship means for you if we are forced to keep meeting each other within this dream. A good social atmosphere is very important, given the amount of time we have to spend together. And I have a feeling it's not something entirely under your control – whether you meet us within the dream or not.”

The avatar’s face went through several different expressions while she weighed her options – as if she had just discovered her newest pets might also require some actual work.

“Fine!” Gaia grumbled. “But you better listen well, because I won't repeat myself.”

***Tirnanog, Hochberg***

***Tianna***

I entered Vanya’s room and found her lying on the floor while she played with her cube. She was on her back and studied the roughly hewn ceiling with a contemplative expression.

Greta’s quarters had always been very Spartan. Outside court, she had preferred a very simplistic lifestyle and Vanya had changed nothing since she took the space over.

“I want you to mobilize our forces,” Vanya stated simply.

I approached until I could speak to her without screaming across the room. “Did something happen I wasn’t informed of?”

“No.” Vanya finally stopped playing and gave me her full attention.

Our eyes met.

“Then why should we mobilize our forces?” I asked. “We just received the bodies and the Aerie have yet to reactivate the central computer system.”

“Because we will need them one way or the other and mobilizing troops takes time,” Vanya explained patiently. “Either everything the Aerie told us is true and we will have to choose a side in the coming conflict between them and the Thich. Or they will have lied to us and we will have to deal with their air fleet violating our borders. Most of the scenarios I can think of require military force. At the very least we need a deterrence to show we won’t roll over while others violate our territory.”

I frowned but nodded. “It will be done.”

“Also, organize something official both the Aerie and Thich delegations can take part in. It should happen within a day after the Aerie unlock the colony’s computer system. I don’t want that either of the two delegations has the time to prepare a narrative in support of the events.”

“Are you sure this is wise,” I asked. Placing both Aerie and Thich in the same room sounded like a terribly bad idea.

“It may not be wise,” Vanya admitted. “But it will be effective. People often say and admit things in the heat of the moment that they wouldn’t otherwise. Tensions should be sufficiently high at such a meeting to allow us to make a decision. Oh, and please organize enough muscle for this event to subdue both parties if necessary. I don't want a repeat of the last meeting.”