I could scarcely believe my ears. The words “It's Mind” echoed through my
ears as I began to recall the story my daughter had told me. “Mind” as she
was called, was a frighteningly powerful creature whom my daughter had somehow
earned the enmity of. How, she had no idea, and from what I knew, this creature
was both unpredictable and violent. However, my daughter had also somehow fought
and defeated her before, with the aid of Toi, and old friend of mine. We could
hear the roar of engines as the other ships came through the rift to the cosmic
planes, and when they saw Mind, they stopped as well. I'm not sure if they
stopped because of the visual of a seemingly mortal shard surviving the unstable
aethers unscratched, or because they could feel the waves of power that allowed
her to do so, but the effect was the same. At that moment, it felt as if time
was frozen. The tension was thick enough to touch and feel, and neither side
seemed willing to break the feeling of utter dread, wonder and curiosity that
pervaded the area. Until everything exploded into sound and light. As if some
silent agreement had been reached, precisely eight shots flared into existence
as they flew towards Mind. A sound like glass and metal shattering echoed
through the waves as each blast struck home at Mind, but she did not even
flinch. My hands trembled as I saw the cursed beast snap her fingers and thus
sending each bolt flying back to the ships that fired them. It was awful. The
other ships were flung backwards from the force, visibly shaken and battered
from the blows, yet through some miracle, none of the other ship broke apart
from the force. I began to wonder as to why we were not harmed, but a sudden
yell of pain cut me off. The cries of my daughter cut through the ship with it's
shrill, loud voice of pain. I called out her name in desperation and fear and
without regards for my own well-being, I climbed out of the grid and started to
run towards the command chair. It had been a long time since I ran, and the pain
was staggering, but I forced it to the back of my mind. I could hear the
footsteps of the others as they too rushed to my dear Emirie's side. I found the
others standing in the doorway, staring in shock at my child who was staggering
on the floor, crashing into the walls as she clutched her head. All the while
her voice cried out in pain and fear, and she begged for it all to stop. I may
have been the last to arrive, but I was the first to act. I ran forward and
wrapped my arms around my daughter, cradling her softly as I tried to soothe her
troubled mind. As I sat there in my desperate attempt to comfort her, Trickle
came up to me. His paws rubbed over my shoulders as he tried to comfort the both
of us, but from the tentativeness of his touch, I knew that he felt as helpless
as I did.

I don't know how long we sat there, trying to exorcize the force by kindness
alone, but we were both violently thrust out of it when the whole ship careened
to one side, barely avoiding something. I glanced towards the chair and saw
Ester's terrified face as she desperately tried to turn the ship back into
position. The sound of a shot being fired resounded through the ship, and both
me and Trickle stared out to see our own ship firing at Mind. Alas, the beast
effortlessly dodged the first shot and sent it flying back towards us. At that
instant, I felt my daughter relax for a moment. Trickle must have felt it too,
for he turned his gaze down as well. The moment was brief, but it was there, and
as our eyes met, though no words were exchanged, we both understood each other
perfectly. Trickle carefully picked us both up and carried us back to the grid,
where I immediately locked myself in. I ordered Ista and Thunkin to alternate
fire on the target to keep her busy, while I would ward the ship from
counter-attack. And as the blasts flew across the aethers, my eyes were fixed on
my daughter and Trickle. The elemental slowly brushed his paws over my daughter,
feeling for the alien presence that tortured her from the inside. Beads of sweat
slid down across my forehead, dampening my fur as I focused on all the strands
of the ship, my fingers playing from thread to thread. Softly a melody began to
hum through the aethers around the ship. As my paws played across the strands, a
song echoed out through the aethers, brushing against the other three ships as I
conveyed my message. The dangerous Mind seemed to be ill touched by the song, as
her movements became ever more erratic, and Trickle seemed to breathe a little
easier. Still it was no time to rest. Mind would furiously assail us while
trying to avoid our own counter-attacks, but it seemed that she was now far
weaker than earlier. If it was due to her attack on my daughter, or the song
interfering with her somehow, I did not know. But I felt hopeful. Though intense
it was, time passed slowly, with neither side gaining much leverage. Not that it
was my goal. My goal was to stall Mind for as long as possible so that Trickle
could dispel the phantoms.

He finally did it. Between the roar of turrets and the hum of the ship itself,
a piercing sound, as if something snapped, echoed through the chamber. My eyes
went down to watch Trickle, as he slowly pulled out a purple, spectral shape.
Though the shape struggled and screamed with it's demonic voice, Trickle calmly
crushed it between his two paws and released the remaining broken wisps to
dissipate into the air. Immediately the air felt less heavy, if but for a moment
as my daughter's cry of pain finally silenced. With obvious relief I felt myself
relax, though the calmness did not last long. Another shrill cry pierced the
air, but it came not from our ship. My sight turned outwards, and outside I saw
Mind, a smile of satisfaction and nothing else on her face. One arm hung limply
to the side, but the other wielded her closed fist as it pointed straight
towards one of the other ships. As she pulled her arm in, something came towards
her. At first it seemed to be merely a globe of partly translucent energy, but I
could eventually make out the shape of a Loboshigaru trapped within. As the
Loboshigaru came closer to his kidnapper, he grew ever dimmer until his form
faded away fully, leaving her to again focus attention on my daughter. I looked
anxiously towards Trickle, but he was already alert. Elemental energies swirled
in a protective shield around him and my daughter as tendrils of darkness
appeared out of thin air to lash down upon them. Though strong their source,
Trickle was stronger and repelled and destroyed every single strand of darkness
that struck down upon them. So great was his ability, that Mind, absorbed as she
was in resuming attack upon my daughter, was caught completely unaware as a
barrage of blasts were fired from the ship that had just lost one of her crew
mates. Each blast struck Mind, and for each blast she cried out in pain. I was
forced to crouch down and cover my ears, as the cry was so heart-wrenching and
shrill, merely the thought of it still makes me nauseous. As the sound finally
calmed down, I watched the pained look upon Mind's face as she seized up the
four ships surrounding her, before she finally turned and flew away into the
depths of aetherspace. Left were we all, unsure of what to do. Minutes passed,
until finally my daughter woke up. She glanced first at Trickle, then at me,
before she mouthed a question, asking where Mind had gone. When told that she
had fled, a frown spread over her face as she implored us to chase after her.
Though Trickle immediately began to object, I cut him close by stating that we
will indeed follow. The silence had allowed me to gather my thoughts, and I had
finally recognized the Loboshigaru that Mind kidnapped.

"We must rescue Toi." I stated, as our ship flew after Mind. Though my voice
was clear, my heart held doubt, and silently, I added as an afterthought.
"Before it is too late."