The sight of her Mum’s face, filled with concern and irritation in equal measure, made Yuriko nervous. Her Anima flared, her perception scanning the woman in front of her, only for her aura to be pushed back. Surprise painted Sadeen’s face, and she gasped.

“You have a Domain?” Mum said incredulously, in a voice pitched low.

Sadeen was clad in her battle robes and was floating right in front of Yuriko’s perch on Eli’Theria’s head. The ribbons of cloth, three floating on either side, were glowing with charged runescript, which were what kept the woman aloft. Yuriko could feel the Animus tendrils supporting her Mum, each one coming out of the ribbons like grassroots, and were burrowed into the ambient Chaos in the air. The clumps of ambient Chaos the roots touched were frozen in mid-air, not even exhibiting any kind of movement.

“Yuri, baby?” Sadeen’s fingers caressed Yuriko’s cheek, drawing her scattered attention.

“Ah, Mum, no, I don’t.” Whatever a Domain was, what she had was not it.

Sadeen raised a questioning eyebrow, then she sniffed. “Anyway, why are you here instead of sleeping? Come on.” She floated back and smiled at Yuriko. Eli’Theria’s head was more than four paces above the ground, and the footing was treacherous given that her armour plates were rounded and smooth. Yuriko simply stepped off the edge and floated with her Animakinesis, which prompted another eyebrow raise from her Mum.

Then, with a teasing smile, Sadeen flitted back, then beckoned for Yuriko to follow. Heart pounding, Yuriko grinned at her, and pushed off against the air, careening down the hallway.

Laughing, Sadeen demonstrated her aerial skill by gracefully moving across the air, down the hall, and through the door that was open barely wide enough to accommodate either of them. Yuriko followed closely, copying her Mum aerobatics as they twirled, spun, banked, reversed, and turned sharp corners. The wide hallways, with their tall ceilings, proved a boon to the aerial dance, and they were soon filled with laughter, woots, and squeals of pleasure.

By the time they returned to the residential suites, it was already well past dawn. Someone was cooking in the courtyard—several people actually. There were communal stoves that looked to be powered with Animus and runescript. She saw Douglas Hart examining an inactive stove closely, making exclamations every now and then.

“... amazing! This doesn’t require fuel of any sort…you mean to say it’s all occult resonance?”

The young man had been speaking a mix of his native Karcellian as well as Verdanian, which Heron and the others had begun to teach him over the course of their journey from Karcellia to Richmond. His accent was atrocious, but it was improving every time he spoke.

Darren Worrington was practising her techniques, but she wasn’t alone. Aunt Amiri was next to her, showing off her pyrokinesis, while the disguised girl was trying her best to mimic the other’s movements.

She saw Da look up at them while he was chopping up some fruit and leafy vegetables. He waved at them when they alighted, and chuckled, “So, my darling daughter, so willing to abandon us for a bit of adventure, eh?”

Yuriko flushed and Sadeen chuckled. “So, what were you doing back there?” Mum asked.

“Um, I heard a voice calling me last night,” Yuriko admitted. Her parents exchanged glances, concern painting their faces. “It was Eli’Theria’s animating spirit, asking for help.”

Virgil muttered under his breath. “My little girl’s following strange voices out in the night. Woe is me.” He glanced up and gave her a teasing smile, “So then what happened?”

Flushing even deeper, Yuriko said, “Well, I was drawn into the dreamscape and fought strange constructs that were corroding the Colossus’ dreamscape body. I wound up with this…” She pulled out the completed sphere. “I’m supposed to bind this before trying to pilot Eli’theria.” She held it out and Mum carefully took it, her eyes glowed silver and her expression turning grave.

“So that was why…” She grunted in frustration. “We were unable to establish any meaningful contact with the animating spirit. Tell us everything you can.” Mum glanced at Da preparing the food. “Over breakfast.”

Yuriko nodded and sat at the table. She was feeling more than a bit tired now, having avoided sleep for the greater part of the night. She yawned into her hand but stayed attentive to her parents as they laid out breakfast. She stared at the loaves of bread that were the centrepiece, and asked, “You had that much bread with you?”

“No,” Virgil chuckled. “There’s grain on the Orchard floor. We harvested some and made this. Amiri’s a great baker, and she knows how to make flour from wheat and barley.”

“Oh! Aunt Amiri’s?” Yuriko took one of the loaves and sliced off a piece using an Animus knife she conjured with a flick of her wrist. The bread was nice and fluffy, but the centre was a bit dense. Too bad there wasn’t any butter. Virgil handed her a plate of eggs. They were small and coloured just a bit off-white, and the yolks were more red than orange. There was also a weird aftertaste. She hadn’t seen any chickens or other fowl in the Orchard, and she could guess where the eggs came from, but she pushed her thoughts away from it.

Between bites, she told her parents what happened in the dreamscape. About the battles and Eli’Theria’s words and needs. After her first contact yesterday, they knew of the three things needed to activate the Colossus, but the details were a bit sparse. She was certain that the Command Seal could be found in the Central District, but they had no idea where to get the Chaos Converter.

“We’ll find out when we get there,” Virgil said. “For now, take a nap after you eat. We’ll leave in the afternoon.”

“Alright,” Yuriko agreed, and after she polished off her plate, she wandered back to her bedroom and plopped down on the bed.

When she woke up, she did her ablutions and bathed, luxuriating in the hot shower. When she came back out, it was to the sight of people rushing around the courtyard. She blinked owlishly and drank in the rays of the reflected Radiant Sun. A few moments later, she found Order in the Chaos.

The marines were sorting their weapons. The guns from Karcellia were being field stripped and cleaned. Her perception noted quite a bit of soot and other residues in the barrels. Most of it was from the explosive powder in the bullets while the others were from Animus residues that leaked from the runescript patterns.

Aunt Amiri was closely examining a bullet as well as the guns. Her lips were pursed and she had a faraway look in her eyes. Heron’s father was among the beastkin, taking the leaders. Mum wasn’t anywhere in sight, while Da had rounded up Heron and the others and was leading them in meditation training.

The Haveenians and Karcellians were prepping lunch along with Craig Zorin. Hmm, Inquisitor Gorlyn wasn’t anywhere she could see either. Perhaps they were in the Colossus hangar?

The moment she stepped into the courtyard, she felt the weight of everyone’s regard. Yuriko blushed slightly, looked at her Da, and marched towards him. Virgil’s eyes cracked open when she came close. There was an odd eddy of wind circling around him, but it wasn’t from Asami or Heron.

She sat in a meditative pose and listened to Virgil’s guided meditation.

“...it’s much easier here in Siderious, where the ambient Chaos is denser. Feel the Chaos, feel which parts of it resonate with your Anima. Try to see, know, feel it…”

Conceptual training? Yuriko wondered. Heron and Gwendith both touched upon their Ennoias but nobody else amongst her age group has. She couldn’t feel a connection between the winds to Heron, nor the Cold with Gwendith. One’s abilities with Ennoias weren’t easily perceived unless one had the capability to peek at someone’s core. That was nearly impossible without special machinery. Well, her Anima perception could see, but only if it wasn’t resisted. She could force it, but definitely not in active combat.

But from the cues, she could feel a resonance between herself, Heron, Gwendith, Saki, and Virgil. It seems Da has an Ennoia as well. She was sure he didn’t have one before he left Rumiga…

A few minutes later, Mum came back to the courtyard looking quite tense. She beckoned for the other members of Virgil’s team to come with her, as well as Yuriko. They gathered inside her parent’s suite.

“We’re heading towards the Gate,” Mum said as soon as everyone’s settled. “Yuri has the key. We’ll activate the Vasi Colossus, and return to Imperial Territories.” She turned to stare at the Inquisitor. “I believe your mission will be complete with just this.”

The woman nodded reluctantly but did not offer any protest. The rest of the discussion was simply to share intelligence and expectations. From the weary looks in theirs and the sudden light, each one wanted nothing more than to return to Rumiga.

“Once we secure the Colossus, we will board the Silver Tiger and make our way back to the plane,” Mum continued, but Yuriko had to interrupt.

“The portal that led us here,” she said.

Sadeen shook her head after a moment. “No, it is too risky. You were diverted once and shunted the second time. Who knows where we’ll end up if we use it.”

“But if we solve the issue in the Command Center…” Yuriko argued.

“Still too risky, but we’ll adjust when we get there.” Mum gave her a smile but continued on with the plans. Yuriko listened and let her parents plot out their plans. They came up with varied scenarios and their responses to it, incorporating all of their forces, parts of it, or simply with just themselves.

“What if we get isolated again?” Amiri asked.

“We’ll try to rendezvous at these points, if no one’s there, leave a marking. Pebbles stacked this way means…while scratching on the wall in this pattern…”

They didn’t take more than an hour, and Yuriko felt it was more to tell her what to do in those scenarios than actually debating on what they should do. Yuriko couldn’t help but grin. At least now she didn’t have to bear everything herself.

Da had become a Knight-Commander! Mum was a Luminous Sorceress. Aunt Amiri and Balliol had advanced to Knight-Captain, while Uncle Craig was at the cusp. Krystal’s somewhat self-effacing old man revealed to her yesterday that his Ennoia wasn’t of the winds, so he was having a bit of trouble actually touching it. As for why that was notable, he said that they recovered a Chaos seed on the way to Siderious.

After the meeting, Yuriko and the others set out towards the lift. With her were her parents. The others remained behind, especially since Virgil revealed that there was a chamber near the barracks that inlaid a passive version of Strengthen Physique that was usable for everyone else. It sounded like her old technique and aside from the increased appetite, it didn’t really have any downsides. So most of her group, except Heron and Gwendith, would go there instead of with her. The rest were to gather as many weapons and armour as they can, to bring back to Rumiga.

Yuriko brought out Fri’Avgi, as well as Eli’Theria’s Authority Sphere. She probed it a bit while they were readying, and found that it accepted her Animus easily. She could feel a trigger that would bind it into her Anima and stopped just short of it. She… was hesitant to bring another thing into her Anima, another voice to add to the cacophony already within… but she also knew that she’d have no choice later on. Worse comes to worst, she could simply unbind it. For now, she held onto the sphere.

When they arrived at the lift, her Anima easily found the hidden controls, and this time, she held Fri’Avgi while touching the one that would send them to the Command Center. It didn’t work.

Fuming, Yuriko bit the inside of her cheek, before trying another way. This time, she extended her Animus through Fri’Avgi’s internal runescript lines before extending the tendril out through the red gem, then she activated the controls. The lift door closed and the device began to move. Yuriko smirked in satisfaction.

‘You know, you could have asked me to do it instead.’ Fri’Avgi said.

‘Shaddap!’