Chapter 3: A new world.

A blinding headache is Emirie's first clue that she is still alive. Her head
pounds, her arms ache and intense nausea flows through her body, but she is
alive and bobbing softly. Her eyes twitch as she struggles to open them, but
finally she manages to force them open. The sudden flood of light almost makes
her throw up, and it is only through superior strength of will that she manages
to avoid emptying her bowels. At first she can't see anything around her, but as
her eyes adjust to the brightness around her, she can make out the shape of Toi
standing above her. "Oh thank Estarra you're all right." He blurts out, relief
clear in his voice.

"Hey, what's the big worry? I'm a tough girl." Emirie grins wryly as she sits
up. Nausea and pain floods from her abdomen and up in her head, but again she
resists the impulse to throw up. Her eyes scan across her surroundings with
regained sight, and she finds herself carried in Toi's arm down the stairs to
the main hub. "But what's happened? I'm still alive so I guess we escaped,
but... where are we?"

Toi sighs as his feet touch down on the floor of the hub. "I have no idea. Your
idea worked, it sent us away from the pirates and they can't give chase." He
shakes his head. "But the vortex sent us adrift... somewhere. Chief Captain
Jeanne is searching for any familiar landmarks, but so far no luck. Meanwhile
those of us who remained conscious has cared for those who didn't." Finally, a
smile appears across his lips. "And your mother survived. I am amazed and
puzzled as to how, the pirates around her were charred beyond recognition, and
her own body was battered and burned, but through some miracle, she is still
among us."

"R.really?" Emirie looks up hopefully towards Toi, who nods slowly. "That's..."
Emirie smiles and leaps out of his arms. "Thanks for the ride. I need to see
her."

"Hey wait!" Toi calls out, and again to no avail as Emirie dashes into the
sickbay. Her eyes widen as she gazes through the room, at phials with bubbling
liquid, baskets with herbs, and row upon row with bodies, some covered by a
white cloth, and some not. In the far end of the room, the skunk-like furrikin
is working hard, applying salves, bandages and ice to a black and red shivering
lump of flesh. The nausea hits her head even harder when she realize that this
lump of flesh is her mother. "I wanted to warn you..." Toi suddenly says, and
Emirie sees that he has caught up with her. "Ojan is doing her best to save
your mother, but she isn't in the clear yet."

"Oh no..." Emirie whispers as her legs almost buckle under beneath her. Toi has
to quickly bend down and support her to prevent her from collapsing.

"Emirie... come with me." Toi whispers as he drags Emirie out with him. The
young furrikin stares longingly after her mother for a few moments, before she
follows after Toi. The two walk slowly in silence, and brooding thoughts race
through her head with each step she takes. Despite the slowness of the walk,
Emirie feels that it was way too short. With a resigned posture, Emirie sinks
deeply into the chair offered to her by Toi. The bigger loboshigaru takes a
seat next to her and their eyes lock. Emirie can see a sort of sadness hidden
in Toi's stare, but she just can't muster up the energy to ask about it.
Silence blows between them for what could be a minute, or an hour, before Toi
finally speaks. "Emirie... how are you... really?"

"How I am? I..." Emirie begins, but the words curl up in a ball back in her
throat. She coughs loudly to ease the choking sensation, but the knot just
tightens. "I... I..." She continues trying, until she finally takes a moment to
swallow and calm down. "I'm fine. Really, I'm fine. Perfectly fine."

Toi looks up and down Emirie's body, and she feels slightly uncomfortable
underneath his stare. "Are you really fine?" He asks. "Or are you trying to put
up a tough front."

"I may not act the way, but... I'm fine. Honestly. Sure things are a bit more
scary than I imagined but... well I'm fine really. Mom survived and... I'm fine
too. I am not dead after all."

Toi opens his mouth to say something, but stops himself as his eyes look up
towards something behind Emirie. She turns around and notices a slim human male
standing in the doorway to the central hub. He is quite unremarkable, as most
humans are, but he is smiling towards them. "We have found a bubble where we
can dock. Please come and speak with Chief Captain Jeanne at once."

Toi looks at the human curiously but quickly stands up, making Emirie copy her
loboshigaru friend. The human and Toi moves their tall legs up the stairs, and
Emirie has to be quick to keep up with them. All the while walking, new thoughts
flood into her mind, forcing away the sadness and fear with newfound eagerness
and excitement. As she steps into the command center of the ship, Emirie's
heart flutters and beats quicker. The brilliantly white walls is a stark
contrast to the wide window in the other end of the room, peering out into the
vastness of aetherspace. A large bubble is floating in this empty vastness,
providing a magnificent contrast to the monochrome surroundings. Emirie stares
out at this sight, completely lost in it until Toi gives her a gentle kick and
brings her back to the room. Her face gains a slight red color as she turns her
gaze upon Chief Captain Jeanne. Jeanne is something as rare as a remarkable
human. Her hair has a deep brown color and falls down to her shoulders. Her
arms are long and, not exactly muscular but still firm-looking. She is wearing
a blue jacket over a white shirt, and long blue trousers. Okay, so she doesn't
have an extraordinary look, but there is something about her that is
remarkable. She just can't put her finger on what it is. From deep within her
chair, the Captain gives both Toi and Emirie an approving nod. "I hear that it
was your idea to siphon energy and thus get us away..." Jeanne looks towards
Emirie, who flushes hotly. "Thank you. If it weren't for your quick thinking, I
doubt we would still be alive." Jeanne turns towards Toi. "And I thank you for
standing firm until the end. Things would be far more grim if you had fallen."

"Oh... It's... it's nothing. There were others who did far more than what I
did." Toi stutters forth, and Emirie can't help but wonder if he is more
intimidated or shy.

"That may be, but you are among the very few who are still up and capable of
action." Jeanne says firmly as the bubble comes closer and closer. "And I will
need you two for a job now. This bubble is uncharted. I have checked every book
and every log that I have available to me, and not a one has ever mentioned this
bubble." Emirie listens with only half an ear, as her eyes strain to make out
what is inside the bubble. It seems to be covered in forests and plains and...
something else. The silhouette of a tall building can also be seen, though
Emirie can't make out any details. "So, I am going to need you two to
investigate this place."

"Hmm what?" Emirie blinks and looks back to Jeanne. "You want the two of us to
investigate a completely unknown and possibly hostile bubble?"

"Yes."

"But..." Emirie is taken aback by the calm bluntness in the Chief Captain's
voice. "But I am not... I'm not suitable for this. I'm no fighter, I won't be
able to hold my own if whatever lives there is hostile."

"I have heard information that suggests the contrary. According to the other
stowaway, you managed to defeat a pirate singlehandedly, despite him being
stronger than you, and your partner credits his survival to you."

"Who what?" Emirie blinks twice and looks up at Toi, who fidgets his paws
impatiently. "I see... but... oh okay. Fine. There's no one else around who can
do it, right?"

"Correct. You two are the only ones we can afford to send out on this little
expedition."

Emirie growls slightly and inaudibly as she gives a fake bow. "Thank you for
that. Well, let us go then."

Toi flusters and stands stunned as Emirie pounds out of the room. She can
almost hear the choir of mental sighs, but she doesn't care and walks on until
she reaches the portal chamber of the ship. There, she waits for a few moments
for Toi to catch up with her. Finally, after standing around for what felt like
an hour, the wannabe-combateer comes down the stairs to meet up with her. "Hey,
Emirie. What was up with that?"

"Up with what?" Emirie asks nonchalantly.

"Your behavior before Chief Captain Jeanne. That was very disrespectful and
uncalled for."

"Well, I am sorry for not wanting to be called expendable." Emirie fumes.

Toi snorts and shakes his head with disapproval. "That's not... oh never mind.
I thought you enjoyed adventures."

Emirie's face immediately lightens up. "Adventure... yeah of course. And this
will be an adventure."

"Exactly, so there's no need to be so hostile and angry now, is there?" Toi
gives Emirie a slight smile, and shame starts to grow in her stomach.

"No... I guess not. But that doesn't matter. This is an adventure, so let us
go!"

Toi chuckles loudly as he steps up to Emirie, and a bright light envelopes both
of them as they portal out of the ship.

What greets Emirie once the brightness dims is the scent of fresh earth and
air. All around her are tall and solid trees, with leaves that create a natural
roof above them. Shadows dance across bushes and flowers and grass across the
forest floor as the wind drifts through the trees. The entire scene is simply
marvelous to behold for someone who has been clogged up in a ship for so long,
and Emirie stands stunned and just drinks up the wonderful feeling. With a sly
smile she looks up at Toi, who is also clearly enjoying himself. With a content
sigh, the two of them just stands there and drinks the experience until Toi
finally speaks up. "Well, we can't just stand here. Let us see what other
sights this place has to offer." He places a small device on the ground and
turns to Emirie, who then nods eagerly.

"Hmm, sure. But what is that you just put on the ground?"

"Oh this?" He takes Emirie closer to give her a good look. It looks like a
small dish with an antenna poking out from the center. "This'll scan the air,
earth and such on the bubble and send the information back to the ship."

"Eh? But I thought that was our job." Emirie looks up curiously at Toi.

"It is. We have to place these all over the bubble, and they don't scan any
living creatures here, so we will have to investigate the local fauna
ourselves."

"I see... well let us get going then." Emirie laughs loudly as she drags Toi
with her through the undergrowth. For a few hours, the two of them walk through
the bubble, enchanted by the soft beauty and silence of the forest, said silence
only broken by a bird singing or humming somewhere in the distance. It isn't
until far later that the regularity gets broken by the sound of footsteps.
Heavy footsteps, and at least five pairs of them. With mounting worry, Emirie
looks up towards where the sound is coming from. The undergrowth prevents her
from seeing those approaching, and she throws a few glances over her back to
make sure fleeing is an option. She notices Toi focusing intently on the
direction where the sound is coming from, and she too does the same. Carefully,
patiently, she awaits the danger to reveal itself. The sound of footsteps gets
louder and louder until some bushes about fifty feet from where the two are
standing part and reveal... something Emirie has never seen before.

There are six of them, and they all look quite... strange. They have the shape
of a star, with two arms, two legs and a head, however they seem to have taken
it a bit further. Their frame is big compared to Emirie, but they are smaller
than Toi. The color of their skin is dual colored, with one color, a white with
very faint traces of yellowish brown, shared among them all, and another
individual for each of them, such as crimson red and sun yellow. These
secondary color creates arcane markings across their bodies. Their hair, if it
can be called that, look like it is made out of nothing but long tendrils of
light and each end strand of light end in small stars in a multitude of shapes.
Most stars seem to be colored the same as the creature's secondary color, though
some do have variations of other colors. Each one of them have a special star
bigger than the others, and colored in a rainbow of various hues, and this star
is bound by a thicker band to their neck. They each carry a weapon, such as a
sword or a club, which they are gripping firmly. Carefully, Toi bends down
towards Emirie to whisper to her. "Stay calm, and let me try and handle this.
If things go wrong, I want you to run like you've never done before and don't
look back." He then stands up with a straight back and takes a step towards the
strange creatures. "Hello. We are visitors from far away and."

"Yellow or Blue?" One of the creatures ask loudly.

"I'm sorry?" Toi asks, taken aback from the sudden interruption.

"Yellow or Blue. Do you sympathize with Yellow or Blue?" Emirie guess that this
is the leader of the group.

"Sympathize? I don't sympathize with either." Toi answers, clearly confused by
the question.

"Then... if you're not with us." The creature snarls towards Toi "You're
against us. Get them!" He orders, and the creatures leap forward towards Emirie
and Toi.

In the very same instant Emirie turns around and starts to run. She can hear
Toi swearing as he too begins to run away from the crazed creatures, but right
now she can't care. All that matters is to get away. Her nimble legs take her
across the undergrowth easily and she jumps and dodges through branches and
vines that all seem to snake towards her and attempt to slow her down. She
hears a loud thud behind herself, and for a split second she looks behind to
see that Toi has fallen to the ground, covered in some kind of net. She gasps
frightfully as she see the creatures catching up, and lets her instincts force
her to flee. She keeps on running and running until she can't run anymore and
she collapses into a bush, sobbing at the sound of feet still approaching
towards her. With weak arm she struggles herself up to sit against a tree and
wait to be found. Again tears force themselves out from the corner of her eyes
as despair overtakes her features. Steadily the sound of feet pounding the
earth becomes louder, and she closes her eyes, wishing for something to save
her.