"I don't think it should," Daniela said. We'd all remained silent after Ava's question. I'd already been brewing on what the existence of humans on the surface meant, but I wanted to hear the thoughts of the others.

"From what you described they sounded like a much much stronger threat than just the regular animals," Ava said. Her tone wasn't dismissive of Daniela's comment, more testing.

"True, but it also means that there could be others out there. Others that could benefit from our technology and, at the very least, our help."

"What do you think we can provide, Daniela? We don't even have enough titanium or man power to produce more Implants. As much as I believe in you kids, I don't know if you are ready to go on a wild goose chase for people that might not be there. Or worse, people that may be corrupted by Dreg. Is there any way to tell?" Ben directed his last question at the Entity.

"I may be able to provide an index of comparison for Tendrils, but it is not something I routinely dedicate power to. Considering how unorthodox our arrangement already is, however, it may be an appropriate use of resources."

"No."

"Ronan?" Ben asked.

"There are more important things than being able to tell how far gone a Tendril is from another. They are a threat like everything else on the surface. Are we ready to face them if there are more of them? Probably not. But if there are other humans out there we can only be stronger together."

"What would you do about people like Blobby?" Ava said, grimacing at using the name in a serious context.

"We judge on a case by case basis," Sam interjected. "If they attack us, like the two humans we met, then obviously they aren't friendly. If they assist us like Blobby did, then they might be allies. The reactions in between will have to be at our discretion. Just like they were back before the world went to crap."

"So no investing in a Tendril meter, for now at least, what is the next step moving forward then?" Ben said, crossing his arms and leaning his bulk on the earth spike I'd made as a back rest.

"More of the same, I think. Our main objective is to return humanity to the surface somehow. Getting to the other Bunkers is going to be key, but we are going to need more than the three of us and a mismatched crowd of creatures." I gestured around at my friends and at Anthony and Blobby.

"You don't think us old timers will be able to pull our weight?" Ben countered with a frown.

"Mr. Burks, I think I get what Ron is getting to. We've already seen it, in fact. Most people aren't going to want to risk going out for the sake of a maybe. Maybe they have the surface secure. Maybe they have enough food and comforts. Maybe there will be other humans out there. It is going to be up to us to turn those maybes into yes or no," Sam said.

"As far as I recall, there was still a fair bit of opposition to the Implants and trips to the surface. If it wasn't for our parents, you and Alan, the others would have squashed it," Danny added. Ben's frown deepened, but he conceded the point.

"No sense arguing in circles and based on your tones, you all sound in agreement to head back out into the wilds," Ava said. She continued once we all gave her a nod. "Then before you go out again, we need to solidify our foothold on the surface more."

"Mama, we are already--" Daniela started before her mother interrupted.

"I am aware of how much you've done. Sam's farm is nearly able to produce double what the Greenhouse floor can, Ronan has built this whole space basically by himself and you were the one who discovered the path into our old world. However, I think we can all agree that you might need some more preparations. There are steps and infrastructure we can put in place to help you should something go terribly wrong. Least of which is getting the farm to a size that doesn't depend on Samuel to sustain itself. Further defenses in the perimeter and a Quotient or two on top of the ones you all currently have would do wonders for your safety."

"Those... are very fair points." My mind flashed back to our engagement with the human tendrils. While their individual power hadn't been much stronger than our own, their coordination compounded their abilities and the extent of their magic control seemed broader. The Entity had reminded us that our Skills were a shortcut to what creatures, and people, that had grown up with mana would be able to do. The outcome had Blobby not joined us in the fight and instead attacked us would not have been pleasant. There were matching looks of contemplation on my friends' faces.

"Well, what do you propose Ms...ehm... Ava?" Sam tried to address Danny's mom formally before she gave him one of her patented stares. The one mothers gave their children when they were about to do something they had told them not to do again. While I didn't have personal experience on the mother front, I'd seen it enough from Ava to Daniela and the occasional time from my uncle.

"You all need to train more. Ben got me up to speed on everything you have been working with and I think it's about time I give you all the once over to optimize your development. Other than that, you will keep doing what you have been doing."

"There is one more thing you can also do," the Entity said. "As I know Ronan has already been considering, using the Ant Hive as a location to gather Dreg and materials is a good step. I will focus energy in expanding my field of influence to keep you safer in the meantime, but culling them will also provide valuable experience. The ants are the threat you are most familiar with, and thus the least likely to surprise you."

"That is a good point. We can discuss that after I get a good metric for your abilities. I'm not underestimating you," Ava added, halting Daniela's argument, "but is it going to hurt to plan for the future and have markers for development? l did this for you kids growing up, no reason I can't do this now."

"But with magic," Ben added, throwing a smirk at us.

"Yes, yes, magic and all that stuff we don't really understand. All it will take is time." Ava sounded extremely confident, and I had to admit it felt good to have someone as interested as me in quantifying the development of our abilities.

"With that being the case, I will make a slight modification to my plans. I will spend part of the growth I acquired to expand my influence but only maintain it during the night time. This should allow me to have an hour or two of interaction during the day where I can discuss any questions you might have. If the creatures I've warded away are any indication of the biomes around this area, then the ants really are your easiest targets for growth," the Entity said.

The Entity mentioned that we would know when it was awake for questioning the following day and promptly dimmed. It was a clear indicator that the discussion had been drawn to a close. We spent a few more minutes planning under lantern light before calling it a night.

Blobby was a bit hesitant to enter the lobby, unlike Anthony, so I formed a raised earth cubby next to my Infusion workspace for it. The slime jiggled in excitement, then rolled into the space and melted. The change was instantaneous. The lime green gel camouflaged to the exact shade of brown as the consolidated earth and Blobby was almost invisible. It alarmed me for a moment before the little appendage waved as if bidding me good night.

"This is gonna be interesting..."

---+---

"Alright. Step one will be to see how you all work together."

Ava stood before us, exactly like what I would have expected a drill sergeant from one of those old military movies to do. She'd woke us all up at the crack of dawn, and had us line up along the eastern portion of the clearing. This was the area with the most amount of trees other than the path that Daniela had carved. It was the secondary reason Sam had opted to create his farm along the west and southwest portions of the mount that hid the Bunker.

"What are we supposed to do, Mama?" Anthony stood next to Daniela, gaze shifting from her to her mother as if it still had trouble picking which was his master. Blobby had waved at us as we exited, but made no motion to join us.

"You'll be clearing your own training space. As of now, you have chopped through trees using an axe and your explosive Skill. However, that leaves stumps that make it hard to really use the space for anything." Ava gestured to the mess of stumps to the northeast. "For this training space, you will want clean dirt, a reinforced stone wall on the south side which abuts the Bunker and another section of Ronan & Samuel's trademark fencing as a barrier to the east. You have until lunch, otherwise we will be adding additional days of training to whatever timeframe we decide to mark for you three to attack the ants."

When none of us moved, she clapped her hands loudly. We scattered before realizing that talking about our plan of action would be useful.

"So, alternatives to choppy chop?" Daniela asked.

"Well, maybe we can cut the trees like we've been doing and then deal with the stumps afterwards," I suggested.

"I have an idea," Sam said. "But I don't know how well it's going to work."

"Hey, you are the resident plant expert, so if you know how we can get rid of these trees I am all for it!" I said, patting the blonde on the shoulder.

"Most of these trees are live oaks, which means their roots tend to reach out before they go deep. If you can consolidate the ground right around the base of the tree Ronan, then we can dig and cut a trench through the roots. Once we have that, I can use my and maybe a blast or two from Daniela to knock it down. Moving it after that might take a long while though."

"It's better than just doing what we've been doing. We'll give it a try and see how it works."

Without delaying, we picked a medium sized tree in the space we were looking to clear. Hoping to expedite the process, I concentrated and summoned two of the spell chains for at the foot of the tree. Immediately, the ground sunk a good inch before dropping slowly as it consolidated. An extensive system of roots became exposed the more the ground lowered, sending cracks spidering through the radius of my passive Skills. The strain was notable, but it was something I was getting used to dealing with.

"That should be good!" Sam shouted, moving in once my spell chains faded away.

Both him and Danny had hatchets in hand, while Anthony used his forelegs to dig out the earth for the trench. I joined the group with the chisel side of my pick and lopped roots with each strike. Before long, we had a good foot excavated around the tree and the largest roots chopped clean through.

"Time for you to shine, veggie head," Danny said.

"Really thought we were past those poor insults, Daniela. We are in our 20s," Sam sighed, concentrating himself on a spot far from the tree.

"Don't act high and mighty, you languished in the quip trenches same as me. We fought on the frontlines of the pun war that tortured Ronan through his teens. How could you abandon our--"

"Danny, please let me focus."

Sam's tone was serious, which prompted our verbose friend to be quiet for a moment out of sheer surprise, I reckoned. A moment later, a thigh-thick vine exploded out of the ground before wrapping itself around the tree right below where the branches started to grow. Sam's face scrunched up in concentration, and we heard the creak of wood as his Skill pulled on the tree. The massive specimen tipped, but refused to fall over completely.

"Hit it, Danny," I said, casting two half powered aimed up into the bending trunk. The spikes pushed the tree further but it still refused to give. A flare of fire splashed against the top of the tree, causing it to pitch further. Sam let out a loud groan before the root ball of the oak sprayed all of us with loose dirt. We'd managed the uprooting.

"Yeeessss!" Sam shouted, before wobbling and taking a knee. Danny tended to Sam while he recovered his mana and I considered how effective the method had been. While there were still roots to deal with, as well as the extensive branches all along the crown, it was faster than chopping if more mana intensive. When I noticed that Sam's vine was still attached and perfectly green, I approached my friend.

"Sam, are you able to reconnect with that thick vine you grew?"

"I've... never tried," he said. He still looked a bit dazed, but there were thoughts connecting in his mind. "Everything I’ve grown before either got destroyed really quickly or was thin enough I forgot about it."

The man rose up to his feet and focused on his magic. I wasn't sure how much mana he'd managed to recuperate, but I wasn't going to stop him if he was coming to some kind of realization about his abilities. The light of his spell chain formed around the base of the inanimate vine before it jerked and uncoiled from the tree. Sam moved his hand around in the air while the vine swung around imitating his motions. After a few seconds, he lowered the vine to the ground and the light of his mana winked out.

"It works! And it saves me an insane amount of mana. All I have to do is spend mana to manipulate the vine, but nothing to grow it. Give me a few minutes and I'll be ready to try another tree. Maybe I can use this for the tomato plant..." He drifted off in thought, so I motioned Danny over to another tree that was in range of Sam's whippy assistant.

Daniela instructed Anthony to start delimbing the tree we'd cut down while her and I worked on the trench around the next tree. It was a great division of labor, since I saw the ant spit out small gouts of fire to help it saw the branches with its mandibles.

The two of us worked in silence while Sam continued to mumble to himself. I debated continuing to work in silence, but opted to bring up what I thought might be a source of tension between us.

"I'm sorry about the way we attacked you over the spider issue," I said. "It was important that you knew, but I think we may have come off a little strong."

"There's no need to apologize, Ron. I can be... impulsive you know."

"Like turning a wild insect into your pet, or naming someone else's pet?" I said, quirking an eyebrow in her direction in between pickaxe swings.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time!" Danny blushed and continued to chop through roots. "I didn't want to distrust Blobby, but the fact that those things are out there has me worried."

"You aren't alone Daniela. Not only are Ben and your mom here with us, but you've got Sam and I. We haven't failed you...yet."

"Very funny. Ha. Ha." There was a slight smile on her face before it flattened. "I just want to push forward. You always have your nose to the grindstone whether its for good or bad. Sam's head is always in the clouds if he isn't planting something. I just don't know what I bring to the group. The mishap with the spiders is just the latest of my blunders."

For what must have been one of the first times in my life I felt my own frustrations echoed back at me. It made me realize that maybe feeling worthless or disheartened wasn't something unique to me, but something people around me also experience. Logically it made sense. All three of us had been born in a Bunker after the world ended, with no good prospects for the future, and so we had to deal with that reality. Whichever way was needed.

Daniela opened up about her desire to move and go and run around whenever possible. While I understood the feeling, it resonated much more deeply with her. She wanted to explore, to learn about the world as opposed to its systems like Samuel or its intricacies like myself. She spoke the whole time while we worked, and I felt the tension between us flow away with the gentle breeze around us.

I also conceded that her points had much merit and that I would try to be more open about my feelings and concerns. Making sure we took the time to check on each other would be key to handle the significant stresses the surface had already put on our shoulders and I had a suspicion they were just starting. Even if we all pushed forward in different ways, doing so together was the most important thing.

By the time we'd finished the trench it was much deeper than the previous one. My mood was at an all time high, happy to know where each of our heads were.

"What are you two smiling about?" The blonde's head was tilted to the side in confusion, but we just chuckled and told him to get a move on with the tree.