January 26, 2019, 11:32 am.

As Rufka's mom (mum?) addresses Beth, I have a minor panic attack. I'm totally not ready to meet her mom. Luckily, Rufka took my hand before whispering to me, keeping me from doing something silly, like teleporting away. Doesn't keep me from using pause.

After a minute of thinking about it, I've calmed enough to realize I shouldn't have to worry.

She's clearly focused on Josh and the others; she probably won't even notice me. And if she turns my way, I can use Smoulder as a distraction.

Even as the thought crosses my mind, Roberts redirects the conversation towards me, "Alexis. You're still connected to Josh, correct?"

"Uhh. Yes?" I respond as everyone's eyes turn on me. Even Smoulder's. Traitor.

Roberts steeples his fingers with a smile. Beside him, Genitha claps her hands together before loudly proclaiming, "Amazing. I'd theorized there were ways of interacting with a user removed from the system but this is the first time I've seen it. I'd love to study the effect. Is there any pain or discomfort?"

"No? I mean, it's all staticky and establishing the connection was difficult. But no pain."

"I see. And this connection lets you know his location at all times? Is there a range limit? How much mana does it cost?" Genitha fires each question off more rapidly than the last, all four eyes narrowed in on me. Huh, the crimson tattoo extends all the way into both her left eyes.

"Mum," Rufka protests, stepping between us, her ears flattened in embarrassment. It's kind of cute.

"What? Oh, I'm doing it again, aren't I? Sorry kitten," Genitha apologizes causing Rufka's ears to flatten even further.

"Mum! Not a kitten."

"Never said you were."

"You just did."

"Can't prove it."

"Mum!"

"Yes, kitten?"

Rufka stares at her mum for a second, then sighs, "Love you."

"Love you too, kitten."

I can see where Rufka gets her smirk from. The one on Genitha's face is a perfect rendition. She pauses before turning back to me, "Now, we have work to do."

This last part is said with a wave of her arm at me and Roberts. Beth is still holding Folthka at gunpoint, but waves her away from us to the far side of the room while asking, "Where's Bem?"

"He's probably hiding in his room. He knows better than to poke his head out when we have 'company'," Folthka answers as she settles on a cracked box. Beth says something else, but Roberts and Genitha command my attention as Roberts explains what we're trying to do.

Basically, Roberts's power has revealed that while Josh's Core has been removed, the Restoration power seems to have maintained its link to his body. But the link is tenuous at best. The more he explains it, the more it feels like Roberts's solution isn't a great first choice. It sounds like Josh would need to die to be fully restored. When I point this out, Roberts speaks up.

"But that's just it. As far as the System is concerned, he's already dead. It's just unable to connect to him properly. If we solidify his connection, he should either be reborn at his Restoration point immediately or, as Genitha has theorized, the System will override his current location and reinstall his Core." I'm jerked out of the explanation for a second at the word reinstall, which was in English instead of Vausian. I'm not the only one who notices, but in Genitha's case, she doesn't know the word. So, Roberts patiently explains.

While they're doing that, Rufka whispers in my ear. It takes a moment to register her words as I get a pleasant shudder down my spine when she first starts whispering. Focus Alexis. "Mum's been here for the last three weeks. Apparently, Ivicka was the one who brought her in. Mum didn't tell me how she got them on, but her manacles inhibit…"

"Rufka, can you get us that scanner please," Genitha interrupts, pointing to a laptop-sized device across the room. Rufka mentioning Ivicka bringing her mum, makes me wonder how she got Josh. I thought he was taken by the creepy doll monsters. Weren't they attacking her too?

Rufka nods to Genitha, who turns back to us while Beth and Folthka are still talking, "Roberts tells me you can get us all out of here. Don't tell me how but we need to leave soon. Ivicka heard about our success, so she'll be here shortly. We need to take care of your friend then get out."

"You know, that's what surprises me. Ivicka seems to have used the procedure on herself. Wasn't that enough?" I ask. It's been bothering me since Folthka said this was their first success.

"SHE WHAT?!" Folthka exclaims from just behind me.

Oops.

It would appear I missed the end of their conversation and Beth directing her over here. Not the best timing on that.

While I'm gauging how much to tell her, Roberts beats me to it, "Tipan believes Ivicka's managed to bind an Aero core in addition to her original core."

"I still can't believe her primary resource is Swagger," Rufka giggles beside me.

"May Vaus swallow that squid-faced, mortal-hearted, cub-of-a-Reaver. And then spit her into Astra's Maw," Folthka spews out venomously while I elbow Rufka. Not that I can keep a small smile off my face at her vitriol.

"I find it hard to believe you didn't know," Beth comments.

Folthka doesn't acknowledge Beth as she slumps to the ground, her eyes glistening as she mutters, "So many people. Years of effort. All wasted. We succeeded and she hid it from me… I don't..."

"Well, that's not as satisfying as I'd hoped," Genitha remarks at Folthka's slumped form before turning back to us. "We don't have time for this."

Right, Josh.

Nodding, I establish a full-strength connection. He's still uncomfortable but I can feel how much he's relaxed since we've shown up. His relief is palpable.

Okay, now I need to find the existing link Roberts was talking about. Then trace the connection before reinforcing it.

Simple.

But there's no obvious sensation that tells me where this link might be. As I'm trying to figure it out, Josh happens to look at where I'm standing with my eyes closed. It's really weird to see myself from this angle. Do I have something in my teeth?

Nope, just a blob of gunk floating in the tank.

I spend several minutes inside Josh, performing a similar scan to the one I used on Kalim. I try three times, establishing a far too thorough understanding of Josh's biology. I probably understand him better than he does. But I still can't find the Restoration link. Since focusing isn't working, I switch tracks, relaxing my mind, just floating and picking up any sensation but there isn't so much as an itch. I mentally sigh before returning to myself.

When I drop the connection, I feel my mind flit away. I thought this might happen.

Josh was in his garden situated on the apartment building's roof looking over their little cul de sac when he heard the voice below. He tried not to listen, but the acoustics of the alley funnelled the sound as though he were next to her. Her voice was smooth and low, yet still decidedly feminine as she muttered a nonsensical sentence, something about high ambient levels.

They'll fade out in a moment, Josh thought to himself as he checked the base of his tomato plant for invaders. Weeds and insects, not aliens. He didn't think he'd ever have crops big enough to deal with those kinds of pests.

He'd never been one for plants before moving to Vancouver, but Dana, his girlfriend from a few months ago had volunteered him to help out with her mother's garden expansion. They'd broken up but Josh had gotten along fabulously with her mother, bonding over their shared love of 'Aliens who walk among us' conspiracies. So when Tracy, Dana's mother, had offered him dinner in exchange for helping in her garden, he'd accepted.

She'd only asked him to help move some dirt around and break ground for her planned expansion, but they'd gotten to talking and Josh had found himself joining her as they prepared the furrows, then stayed even longer as she explained how to plant several different vegetables.

It had been the most calming experience he'd had since leaving home. Before he knew it, he'd started a small garden of his own. It'd taken him a few months and a lot of free steaks, but he'd finally convinced the building manager to let him set up a little rooftop space.

Usually, his garden was nice and peaceful. But apparently whoever was in the alley below had chosen to stop there.

"You're sure this is the right place? Seems kind of run down."

Josh guessed whoever was below must be on her phone because he didn't hear anyone respond, but she kept talking as though she'd received an answer.

"Yeah, I get it. Kid was at ground zero. Changed her. Don't worry, I'll…"

The voice faded away as Josh wondered if there'd been some sort of alien incursion that the government had tried to cover up. He'd check the forums tonight, but without more information, it'd just be another maybe. Part of him wanted to go find the owner of that voice. But he had work to do.

By the time he was finished moving through his garden, his thoughts had turned towards pest control and new raingear instead. He was starting to wish he'd requested a greenhouse instead of an open plot.

There was always rain in Vancouver, but the last fifteen minutes had been like standing under a waterfall.

He couldn't wait to get into his new luxurious robe.

He was behind on his favourite soap.

As I open my eyes, my time sense informs me I haven't missed a single second since I disconnected from Josh. This is despite the fact I spent a good five hours reliving his gardening. Even now, I can almost feel the dirt under my fingernails and the chill down my back where the rain snuck through.

And that woman. It was Beth. Or someone who sounded just like her. Did she know about us before we came through? I swear she never mentioned it… She seems to leave a lot of things out.

Shaking my head, I focus back on my current objective. Ensuring Josh can live long enough to tend another garden.

"I can't find the Restoration link," I inform Roberts while wrestling Smoulder down off of Josh's tank.

"Well, we thought that might be the case. That's why we've been adjusting the scanner." Roberts indicates the flat box that Rufka retrieved earlier. It mostly looks like an oversized tablet, the screen surrounded by knobs, switches and buttons. It's all very analog.

"I call him Piercy," Genitha adds while patting it fondly, the links of her chains jingling with the motion. "Roberts acted as a calibration tool, so we should be able to figure out where exactly this link is."

We spend the next few minutes adjusting knobs and taking pictures that show Josh as nothing more than a blank space where a person should be. It's as we're looking at a blurry image that looks more like a three-legged chair than Josh when Rufka asks, "Is he supposed to be doing that?"

Josh is moving inside the tank.

Considering how weak he felt, I'm surprised at the amount of effort he's putting into tapping his knee repeatedly. His right knee doesn't appear special in any way, but he keeps lifting his arm then bringing it back down, jostling himself as we watch. Turning to the others, Roberts shrugs while Genitha chuckles out, "I guess we could have just asked him."

I stare at Josh for a second, wondering why I didn't feel anything in his knee when we were connected. Then I glance over at Beth. Josh follows my gaze, staring at Beth for a second before looking back to me.

Beth doesn't let him off that easy, leaning against the tank as she asks, "Did you really volunteer for this you big dumb man?"

Josh nods, then shakes his head as if he's saying no. Then he shrugs while making 'the wait until it's clear' signal Beth taught us. Well, that tells us nothing.

She stares into the tank for a second before turning to me. "Okay kid. Go fix him."

"We're gonna get you through this," I promise him as I reinforce the connection again.

I can feel him nodding as his senses blossom in my mind. Outside the tank, Genitha and Roberts are scanning his knee with 'Piercie' and I can feel the twinges when they twist the knob associated with the scanning frequency.

That's all I need to find the link.

It's similar to our original connection through the party interface. But the signal is weak. Which is why I'm here.

At this point, reinforcing the connection is easy. A simple infusion of Facet and Focus establishes a connection. It's so easy, I almost don't notice the transition.

Suddenly, we're not in Josh's body. Instead, we're connected to … I'm not entirely sure. It kind of feels like everything's blank. There's no colour. Or lack of colour. There's no sensation, nothing to indicate… anything.

Even as I'm taking in the strangeness of the overwhelming nothing, it changes.

The space is filled with a familiar notification screen that wrests my attention.

"Update: Emergency Restoration Initiated.

Scanning Citizen Rose. Restoration required. Citizen corruption chance: High. Command Executed: Citizen Rose stored in Anti-Corruption buffer.

Scanning Citizen Pandora: Restoration not required. Citizen corruption chance: negligible. Command Executed: Citizen Pandora returned to existing shell."

A second later, I can feel my body again, as Josh fades away.

Not just the connection or his senses. His body is turning into the same blue dust I've seen from so many enemies, dissipating inside the tank. There's no final moment with his hand on the glass or saying we love him, he's just… gone.

There's another notification but I don't have time to read it as I'm suddenly whirled about.

"What the hell just happened?" Beth demands. I can see flecks of dark energy circling her. When one strikes my hand, it passes straight through, ripping a tiny hole. There's no pain.

"Josh was put in a buffer," I offer meekly.

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know. It felt like everything was working but then we were in this empty space. And then the System said it was scanning and then it said Josh had a high chance of corruption, so it was putting him in an Anti-Corruption Buffer and then I was sent back."

Beth looks even less satisfied than she did before I started talking but I don't know what else to say. This isn't how it was supposed to go. Beth looks like she's about to say more when Smoulder's tail waves in front of my face, effectively breaking her train of thought.

"Okay. We just fix the source of the corruption. Easy. Then it won't need to store him in the buffer, right?" Beth rambles as she starts pacing.

I'm not sure that's how it works, but the look in Beth's eyes tells me now would be a bad time to suggest that to her.

"Stored in a System buffer? Just who the hell are you people?" Folthka cries out, startling me. I'd totally forgotten she was here.

"Doesn't matter. We can't do anything for Josh and Ivicka's on her way," Rufka reminds us, her mum behind her still fiddling with the scanner, her chains jingling with each motion.

"Ivicka's on her way?" Beth stops in place, tapping her pistol against her leg.

"Beth?" Roberts asks. He's still staring at where Josh disappeared.

Beth doesn't answer immediately. Instead, she takes a moment to reshape her gun, forming it into the assault rifle configuration. She checks everything over, even though she just created it, then turns to us. "I think it's time we stop running from Ivicka. She owes us a lot more than answers."