“Whoa! Ancestors, boy! You got big!” There was a desperate edge to Balliol’s laugh, but his embrace would have been hard enough to make Heron squeak if he hadn’t grown much stronger. His tackle had almost knocked his old man over, but the armour he wore must have been well-balanced, as he was quite nimble even while wearing it.

“Dad!” Heron’s eyes watered and he hugged tighter.

Dad patted his back and said, “Thank the Ancestors. I’ve missed you, Tegan and Teresa, too. Say…they aren’t with you, are they?”

“No, dad. They aren’t. But they’ve been waiting.” Heron pulled away, wiping at his eyes and somewhat embarrassed at his display. He glanced back at Yuriko, who had an eager smile on her face. Behind his father were two other armoured figures. They removed their helms, each coming off with an audible hiss, to reveal two other familiar figures.

Amiri Cypher and Craig Zorin, two other members of the lost team and parents to two of his classmates.

He noticed Yuriko’s head swivelling and searching, before she asked, “My Da?”

“Yuriko.” Amiri stepped into the room. Her red hair was cut short at the back, and her green eyes blazed. “My Mikel?”

“Aunt Amiri,” Yuriko answered with a smile, which made the older woman’s eyes widen. Heron remembered that his beloved hadn’t been that expressive when she was younger, and it had been more than three years. “Mikel and Krystal are back in Faron’s Crossing. My Da?”

“Here, of course. Back in their quarters.” Then, with a rueful twist, she added, “Your mother, too.”

Yuriko froze for a long moment, then whispered, “So she made it.”

“How did you lot get here? And…” Dad looked at the group and he squinted at the sight of the beastkin and the Haveenians. The three Karcellians got a glare, too. Their clothing was similar enough to Imperial civilians but they were obviously not even at the Journeyman level. “Who are they?” Then his eyes swept to the marines and he nodded at the leader, Horace, who snapped a salute. Balliol, Craig, and Amiri returned it.

Heron grinned and said lightly, “Yuriko’s followers.”

“Can you bring us to my parents?” Yuriko asked, though her tone bordered on peremptory. It sent a shiver of delight down his back.

Amiri smiled and Craig answered, “Of course. Your mother sensed your arrival, which is why we’re here.” He looked at the remaining armour and said, “You should wear those first. It’ll be safer for you.”

Heron glanced at the armour stands. There were twenty-four sets left, definitely not enough for everyone. He glanced at Yuriko and raised a questioning eyebrow.

She tapped the bracelet she had on both arms, then pointedly looked at his bracers. The Animus Armour he wore had been her gift to him when she first returned from her disappearance. Was it not compatible? Then again, once he managed to extend his Anima and use it as protection, the bracers were somewhat redundant.

“Gwendith, put one on,” Yuriko said then she went over to talk to the marines. They looked at the armours, then shook their heads. The beastkin looked interested, and certainly, Orrin and Braden were.

His dad pulled him towards a corner after a minute. “I’m glad to see you, son. I didn’t expect this expedition to take this long.” Balliol and Heron were now of the same height, but back then, he was even shorter than Mikel’s mum. His dad seemed exasperated by the change, and Heron realised that his shoulders were even broader than Balliol’s.

“How…how long has it been for you?” Balliol’s voice broke.

“Three years,” Heron said quietly. “So many things happened.”

“I know some. Sadeen brought word.” Balliol shook his head. “It’s been less than two for us here.”

Heron’s eyes widened. “That much difference?”

“Yeah. Virgil and Sadeen had been surprised, too. A factor of two, huh.” Balliol’s fist clenched.

“Hey, I think we’re better off waiting until we’re with the other three before we continue,” Craig said. “It would be a waste of time, and…” He grinned when he looked at Yuriko, who, Heron noted, was visibly impatient. Oh, she wasn’t tapping her foot, fidgeting, or doing any sort of movement, at least not physically. Instead, it was the way her Anima flowed. He could sense it clearly since it pressed against his. Craig continued, “Little Yuriko’s not so little anymore.”

Heron grinned. “Yup, she’s taller than both of you.”

“She was already as tall as I was back then,” Amiri said with a grin.

Yuriko directed the beastkin to the Light Infantry Armour, as well as the twins. Asami took a set, while the Karcellians tried them on. Heron examined the set his father wore, but his Anima perception could barely make contact with the metal.

“This armour is powered and supported by Chaos and Animus,” Balliol answered his unspoken question. “It seals the wearer inside and isolates them from Chaos exposure. The ambient Chaos here in Siderious fluctuates. Outside, it was mostly zero, but here, it could go as high as ten, maybe even beyond. The armour can protect even unawakened warriors from such pressure.”

“That’s good, I suppose. We’ve three Novices here,” Heron said. Sure enough, Yuriko directed the Karcellians to wear the armour. There was no doubt that she heard them.

Once all of the armours were taken and worn, Yuriko rounded up everyone, though she did it without even speaking. Heron caught the gist of her unspoken command, and he relished the feeling of closeness. He noticed his father rolling his eyes and muttering, “Yuriko is as much a Mishala as a Davar.” He patted Heron’s shoulder. “Don’t let her consume you with her wiles.”

From the way Yuriko flinched, she also heard Heron’s dad. He met her gaze and shrugged apologetically, and she pouted at him. Shivering, he turned to his dad and the other two, who were content to watch the proceedings. There was a weariness to their stance and behind their eyes. Two years of isolation.

“Well, let’s go. Hopefully, with this many of you as reinforcements, we can finally get out of this place,” Balliol grunted.

Heron felt fear crawl up his spine. “You mean?”

“Yes. We’re all stuck here, and the path we thought was open turned out to be nothing more than a trap,” Balliol said grimly. “But let’s go see your dad, Yuriko,” he said to her.

“I would very much love that,” Yuriko answered. They marched out of the armoury and down the corridors.

_________

Yuriko practically quivered with anxiety and excitement. After three years… Da had been lost that long and she found him! Well, technically, Mum found him first, but since they hadn’t even left Siderious, that technically didn’t count!

Slivers of doubt crept into her mind. Heron’s father, Balliol, said that they’d only been here for a couple of years. Less than that, really. Which meant they didn’t know how dire the situation back home was. Mum would have told them of her circumstances, but that was more than two years out of date. Granted, her information was also several Seasons late since they left Rumiga while it was till the Season of Earth, AF 3000, and by her reckoning, it was close to the end of the Season of Water, AF 3001.

According to intel from Firehead, the Chaos Duke needed a couple of years minimum before he could absorb Rumiga’s planar core. Faster than that and the core wouldn’t merge with his being properly and had the possibility of imploding. But the absolute minimum time he needed was a year. Less than that and there was no chance of success and the plane would be left unharmed. Mostly. Firehead didn’t think the Watcher hated Rumiga enough to destroy himself in the process, but still, time flowed on and her grace period dwindled. She had less than half a year left.

But time in the Irvalla Region flowed faster than time in Rumiga, about twice as fast, if she understood it right. And in Siderious, the temporal anomaly was the other way, so they…er, negated each other out? Her head throbbed at the advanced arithmetic, so she simplified it to a single sentiment: she may have more time than she expected but that didn’t mean she was free to linger. And as for how they could prevail against a Chaos Duke…well, part of the answer was here in Siderious, and they were headed right for it. She could feel it calling to her. She could feel Fri’Avgi, who had returned to her Anima as soon as they exited the portal, squirm in excitement.

Balliol, Amiri, and Craig led the way, with Yuriko following closely behind them. Mikel’s mum glanced at her and slowed down so that they were abreast.

“Little Yuri isn’t so little anymore,” Amiri said with a wide grin.

“Aunty…”

Amiri grinned and reached up with her palm, comparing both of their heights. She was about as tall as Gwendith, who was about six inches shorter than Yuriko. The two of them had been the same height before her Da and the rest of them left, although the woman was a bit plumper than Yuriko’s slender frame.

“How’s my kid?” she asked softly.

“He was wounded when I left Faron’s Crossing. Otherwise, he and Krystal would be with me.” Yuriko hastily added. “Ah, he was on the mend before we left, no worries.”

The redhead snorted. “I can’t help that.”

“Oh, I think he and Krys are in a relationship,” Yuriko added.

“You think?” Amiri raised an eyebrow, then squinted at her. “What about you, my dear? Anything juicy other than your fiance?”

“Erm, nothing so much as that.” Yuriko snorted. “As for Finan, well, not gonna happen.”

Amiri nodded. “That’s right. Marry on your own terms and have as many lovers as you want.” Her voice wasn’t that soft and Yuriko noticed Heron and the others glancing curiously towards them.

“Too early for that,” Yuriko waved it away.

“Sure,” Amiri agreed softly and the two of them lapsed into silence.

Yuriko kept track of the hallways and turns they passed through. So far, they’d taken three right turns whenever they came across an intersection. The hallways curved to the left slightly, so even after the ninety-degree turns, she was certain they hadn’t doubled back. Her perception aura, stretching out at thirty paces on all sides, was more than enough to notice the slight curve.

The walls, floor, and ceiling still prevented her from penetrating more than a few inches into the material. It took an entire pace of Anima reach to penetrate a tenth of an inch into the stone, so even if she pushed all of her reach into it, she could get just a bit farther than three inches into the material. That wasn’t even enough to penetrate the normal thickness of a wall, which was about five or so inches thick. But then again, her Anima could penetrate through normal rock with barely any resistance now. That hadn’t been the case the first time she utilised Anima perception, but with experience and the rise of her Anima strength, it certainly was the case now.

They walked for nearly thirty minutes, taking several more turns through nearly a dozen intersections. They took left turns as much as straights now, and she was feeling lost by the time the hallway ended into a large, ornate, metal door. It was a halfway shade between bronze and silver, and it was decorated with varied images. Upon closer inspection, the images turned out to be battle stances and postures between two armoured duelists. Each of them was outfitted in the same light infantry armour that her people, and the parents, wore, and were armed with a variety of swords, spears, and polearms. The sword stances were familiar, though she couldn't name the positions. In fact, the images somehow projected the wielders' Intent, much like her sword dances did.

“The first dance,” she muttered.

She looked at the column next to it and identified the second dance, as well as the third dance with the next one. The three basic sword dances were displayed on the upper left portion of the door, while next to it, the figures were using spears with the dances. The positions were different, as well as the projected movements, but the Intent was clear. She could have stared at the door for hours if not for the fact that Balliol pushed it open, throwing her out of her trance.

And behind the door were her parents, whose attention had been riveted to a Colossus. The very thing that was calling to Fri’Avgi. It was at the end of the chamber, seated on a golden throne. And as soon as her eyes rose to its faceplate, the Colossus’ eyes seemed to flare.