Kori took account of her circumstances, going over all of the options still available to her. Her situation was bleak, but it wasn’t as if she couldn’t do anything.

She already had two very obvious escape routes, although both of them would involve giving up on the final box. First, she could go back in time and revise her trip so that she only took what she needed in the time she would have before getting caught. Of course, the problem there would be in predicting what else might go wrong if she went back in time, let alone the growing pretense of guilt she would feel about giving up on a timeline like that. The other solution would be to simply switch to the other side, which would not only leave the box there at the expense of HT.. it would also leave her at the mercy of whatever predictions waited for her on that side too. Running just left far too much uncertainty.. uncertainty she was starting to feel in growing quantities, such as with worries if everything was alright. Ah, that would be Rosa, being concerned because of the whole time stop thing.. a measure that Kori had needed to avoid aerospace security while trying to recover the supplies Sophie was trying to get shipped in. Rosa had apparently gotten Holi’s message too, but hadn’t been aware that things would involve aerospace security. Of course, things had gotten much worse than that.

“So, now would be a good time to just surrender, at least one way or another. I mean, if you’re going to use your time stuff anyway, might as well just hand that over so that we could make some proper use of it.” “Timestopping is one thing, but I think I’m good on this timeline, thanks.” “Well, then I might recommend the other way of surrendering then, as things are about to get a whole lot worse for you. Trespassing is going to come with some hefty punishments, and this time I’ll be able to have you detained without having to worry about taking care of everything on my own. Aerospace security has you surrounded, and I can at least make sure you’re not going anywhere while time is frozen. None of your other quirks work very well in this state anyway.” Velvet was obviously the key here in making sure Kori couldn’t just walk away in a timestopped state. Wait, Velvet was there too? Yes, unfortunately Velvet had apparently managed to outwit Kori again, leaving her effectively pinned in the instance of time. Additionally, having pooled thoughts was unfortunately just making it harder for Kori to actually figure out how to deal with the situation, so Rosa would have to go for now. Apparently, Rosa would be using the same suspended opportunity to ponder her own ideas, but was willing to do so without pooling thoughts anymore.

“Being so prepared, I’m guessing this wasn’t new to your future.” “I was well aware that Rosa was going to innovate lightspeed technology, though it's surprising she pulled it off this quickly. Such would be the reason you managed to escape with what I can assume would have been at least one or two of your packages already.” “True, I guess that works in your favour, we won’t need to borrow any more of your trashy bikes anymore. Actually, wait, you probably brought one here, maybe I should borrow it.” “Don’t be a fool, you know such things are beyond your grasp right now. If your plans are to have nanites hijack it, you’ll find that the area is currently shielded against nanites. If your plans are to hijack anything either for yourself, you’ll find that there are currently no active connections available, even if you had Holi’s help. Your technology is sealed from you right now.” Kori was starting to feel ripped off by how much Velvet knew. It was like they could make all the progress in the world, and their enemy would already be ready for it. Oh, but maybe there were still options, Kori would just need to ask Rosa for a favour.

“... No, you’re not going to pull off anything with gravitation elementals either. You forget that I was even there to see that, I can already predict where such research had taken you. You would have gone and done plenty of research related to dark elemental junk as a result, learning plenty in the process. This is why it’s fortunate I have the place also elementally shielded too, something which won’t even annoy the average person because no one here even knows what that involves. Meanwhile, if we’re going to play with instruments, I’ve got a few things just waiting for the time to use them. Like I said, you don’t have any options anymore, just come quietly so that there is no risk of you getting hurt.” “Wow, I’m touched, you’re worried I’m going to get hurt. Holy hell, that’s rich. Endless threats, get thrown through hell, but somehow needing medical kits is pushing things too far? Maybe because we don’t have many medical kits, maybe because some idiot is making sure we have absolutely nothing. And now that I come to pick up supplies, you’re throwing the biggest fit imaginable.. but don’t want me getting hurt?” Velvet stepped backwards as Kori advanced threateningly in turn. With all consideration, if Velvet wasn’t willing to assert harm.. then how exactly did she hope to enforce anything in a one to one confrontation with Kori.

Kori knew aerospace medics were supposed to be really good, especially for their executive staff, there was nothing dissuading her from giving Velvet more than a few injuries. This whole situation was leaving her very uncomfortable, and wasn't even really inspiring her to be nice. In all accounts, if Velvet was knocked unconscious.. that wouldn’t even be Kori’s problem. Sure, more permanent injuries could have some catastrophic problems when considering defenses against DMA threats, but there was plenty of opportunity before that extreme was reached. Kori even lunged forward with a cybernetic punch, Velvet reacting in a surge of fear with a flurry of motion. Kori wasn’t even sure what had happened, she was just on the ground with a mild concussion. So.. what had happened to not getting hurt?

“Your resolve there certainly didn’t last long. Back you into a corner, make you panic, and you lash out with calculated intensity almost by instinct. Actually.. a lot like Rosa. Hold on, you two actually do have a surprising number of personality quirks in common, like you’re yet another sister for the girl. Wait, but don’t you come from the future. Couldn’t that make you more her…” “So your annoying deductive skills were even this incredible at this age. This would probably be why Kori told me to do everything to avoid being predictable.” “Oh, you mean the future me. Yeah, that’s probably not a bad idea, really. I’m really good at deducing patterns. The fact you got flustered there even proves that I’m on to something, too.” “Damn it, yes, you’re right. I’m Rosa’s daughter, or I will be. The Rosa from my time at least was my mother. The one here hasn’t exactly reached the point of being ready for motherhood yet.” Kori was stunned at the implications of Velvet’s statement at the very least. Kori might have managed to figure it out, but the meaning behind such a statement was still substantial. Rosa would one day get so comfortable on this planet so as to actually start a family here. That.. that really was saying something.

“Surprising that Rosa actually manages to get comfortable enough here to actually have a child, that’s actually mind blowing. Then again, if you’re the spoiled brat which she gets left with in the future, clearly I’m going to have to put a lot more work into making sure her kid doesn’t become such a hopeless idiot.” “Oh, well, you were quite the handful to look up to in my own timeline anyway, I was just always thankful that you already had your own concerns to worry about.” “I did? Weird…” “... Really? You figure me out but you can’t even place your own daughter? No wonder Mary always seemed so harsh and unforgiving.” “The hell! Mheridz is… Shit, that actually makes too much sense, thinking about it carefully. So Rosa gets comfortable here, and I somehow start fitting in really well over there.. and we both have brats that keep doing really stupid stuff. Note to self, I suck at parenting, learn to do better.” Kori still couldn’t even imagine herself as a mother, not yet at least, but Velvet’s point was still a little too difficult to refute. Any past encounters with Mheridz had felt like she was going up against herself, just one that was capable of predicting the future.. and potentially a lot more grim and ruthless. Certainly, if Kori really did end up with such a result of motherhood one day.. she had seriously screwed up.

“Actually, you’re forgetting the harsh conditions we grew up in. Remember, these stupid DMAs just get worse, right up to the time we’re finally born. Both of us have the most miserable childhoods as a result, growing up in civilizations that are falling apart, all of us basically struggling to even survive. Meanwhile, the two children of great heroes are left to sit around and watch as their parents desperately hop between worlds trying to save both. It really becomes a huge deal to live up to, makes for some of the worst childhood imaginable.. and even adult life hasn’t exactly been the greatest either. At least you finally gave in to letting us learn to fight for ourselves, eventually. Was an overwhelming study, learning everything in such conditions, but…” “Wait, so the reason why you’re actually immune to stopped time is because…” “Yeah, there may have been a few split hairs back then, but there was no other way to hide the details. The so-called traces of chaos your kids inherit, as we’ve taken to calling it, were basically genetic, as far as anything matters. Really doesn’t compare at all to what our parents could do, but it’s still enough to make a difference. I learned you were personally not impressed to learn that you couldn’t get an advantage in parenting young kids by stopping time.” “I’m not surprised.” Velvet really was pouring on the future details pretty hard at this point, to Kori’s benefit. Very likely, most of this was simply because keeping those particular points secret weren’t exactly beneficial anymore, not with the root idea known. Velvet was just basically venting frustration at this point.

“Quite honestly, the whole idea is to not only remove all of this burden from our parents, but to also turn things back enough so that the two of us who result from a decent timeline actually get a decent chance at a decent life. It’s honestly crazy that, right now, we have to watch our parents be absolute children and not accept reality the way it is. Once we’re actually born in this timeline, everything is going to stabilize by wiping our current selves from the timeline, so you would have to go through the same process all over again until the next version of us ends up old enough to clean up this mess for once. There is no point in all of that wasted effort, just give us the chance to deal with this bloody mess already!” There goes Velvet’s patience again, bringing everything back to that one original idea. Oh well, visiting Velvet seemed to be a great way to discover new secrets of the future, but right now maybe Kori would have to be more worried about the present. Even so, this was still too much for her to deal with on her own, and she hadn’t garnished any information that would prove a useful resource in escaping her circumstances. It mostly just sucked that Velvet knew everything about them, giving her a counter to absolutely anything they could do.

「Except there was something that principled did not know about, and had no control over.」 Hold on, that would be one of those chaotic ideas.. but Kori didn’t exactly feel pooled. Her ideas felt distinct enough, it wasn’t as confusing as normal. It actually felt like she just knew a message there. 「Working as an intermediary seems to address the confusion your own chaos creates, though you both need to be a lot more expressive through this medium. No wonder you confuse each other, when you can’t even direct your own chaos appropriately.」Kori could tell this was probably an irrational expectation of what would basically be principled chaos, expecting them to control such things very well was just unreasonable. 「So you feel that a descendant could do any better, especially one who is without a being of chaos? Rosa confirmed that this individual isn’t even aware of the concept of true chaos, much like the original chaos being fully ignorant. It might be appropriate to demonstrate such to both sets of kin then, to reveal the potency that is true chaos.」Wait.. Velvet.. doesn’t know about that? This might actually be her only advantage then.

Kori thus then figured out why Rosa might have been a bit eager to investigate such potential a lot more indepthly. If Velvet did not know about it.. then it was a difference between this timeline and the one their daughters came from. That was alone significant, well beyond comparison. It was thus unfortunate that Kori herself hadn’t actually invested much effort into the project, not wanting to count on something with erratic limitations. To her, through her experience manipulating time, it just felt like there would be too much of a price to such chaotic opportunities. However, at this point, everything else had betrayed her because of how it all existed in the future. This true chaos stuff might be completely unpredictable.. but that might actually be its greatest asset. Her chaos could shape it into a stable and usable form, stuff that appealed with and directed to principled ideas.. in the most random of ways. However, doing so would consume some of her chaotic.. stuff. She only had so much of it, and freezing time was already eating away at her stock.

“Sometimes, you take an eternity to finally decide on things.” “Hey, it hasn’t even been a second, stop being so impatient.” “You stopped time, idiot, that’s sort of how that works. Oh well, there was always a limit to how much you two could do this sort of stuff. If you’re just going to exhaust yourself until you just collapse, that might actually make things pretty easy.” “Exhausting! Velvet, that’s genius! Absolutely perfect! I’ve needed a chance to repay you for that one.” “Huh?” Velvet was simply left still confused while Kori acted. She had a plan.. and it seemed like chaos revelled in the opportunity her idea presented. A green sphere formed in her left hand, the dense concentration of altered air shifting subtly in the process. Then, without warning, she restored time as her chaotic arm crushed the green sphere. The backlash of pressure expanded wildly as the sphere imploded, gasses escaping in notably random directions. Even being random, that seemed to at least include the locations of every single aerospace security guard, even Velvet.. and excluded Kori herself. Kori then picked up her box again as the sleeping gasses faded, walking up to the slumbering Velvet.

“Now it’s your turn to fall for a sleeping gas trap. I hope you also feel like an idiot when you wake up, questioning what in the hell just happened. Don’t worry, warehouse staff will probably find you soon enough.. will probably treat you way better than you treated us too. I must thank you though, for offering this timeline its second chance. I expect your presence here had shifted things ever so slightly, like going back in time seems to always do, giving us the opportunity to make a difference. I think I’m completely convinced, we don’t need another timeline to fix the problems your future had previously held, this one is good enough. We just need to not find a new way to screw up instead, which would be a lot easier if you were a lot more cooperative. Thanks for the talk though, it was very informative.” Kori snickered as she walked away from the area, her arm covering most of the burden in the process. Once far away enough she couldn’t hear Velvet snoring anymore, Kori took accounts of what remained of her situation. She still needed a way out, her ionic veil having been completely drained when exposed to whatever Velvet had put it through. She had the box, but was still without a ticket out of here.

「Rosa is wondering if everything is alright now.」Oh mostly. Velvet was taken care of, but she didn’t have enough ionic drive to actually make a return trip, so.. this was going to be a very disappointing walk home. 「Rosa appears to be offering to turn things around for you, recommending that you make use of the principles of your spent resource to shape your way.」 Sometimes, the chaotic perspective of things was more confusing than anything else. 「You take the ‘elemental’ concentration of the missing ‘ions’ and furnish ‘darkness’ from it. Is that any better?」 Wait, elemental? So Rosa was offering to switch over to elementals instead. Of course, a gravitation well would give her a very quick ride home, it might not be such a bad idea. She was even a distance from whatever elemental shielding Velvet might have set up, so that would really be an option once again. She wasn’t aware of this whole exchange between ions and elements though, but it sounded like Rosa claimed her drained ions implied she was left with a high supply of elementals. That was great news, the only remaining concern was how much chaos she would leave in her wake if she dashed through the city making devices blink off as they failed under elemental principles. Oh well, she was kinda just embodied chaos anyway, this sort of thing maybe just sort of happened. She should probably at least be nice with the barrier though, even if the thing could endure the slight ripple, it would still remain a short enough walk.. not a big problem.

With that, Kori quickly returned to HT in a veil of darkness, Tristine falling over as gravity betrayed her. Tristine herself was pretty shocked, the ionic specialist knowing that it's scientifically impossible to radiate darkness. Her tools however weren’t working.. again.. exactly like how things had been when she was responsible for helping Kori recover earlier. Fortunately, such did not last very long, the darkness fading as Tristine’s tools came back to life. It was like she was experiencing a fairy tale for herself, a slight fragment of what Kori would be going through all the time in that other world. Yeah, no, she still liked having reliable science at her beck and call. Her thoughts directed as such, Tristine invested her full attention to the stock Kori had managed to recover so easily. In her eagerness to resume work, she grabbed a handful of parts she really needed and ran off, missing Kori effectively falling over to the ground. Sustaining a timestop, trying to wield unpracticed chaos so dramatically.. yeah, she was feeling pretty drained right now. She expected even Rosa wasn’t even feeling so good right now either, but Kori was also feeling drained by the stress of her circumstances. Everything had really been.. too much.

Clearly, the two of them would need to look into a few of these matters with at least a degree of urgency. Their greatest hope in dealing with either daughter would require them to harness true chaos, so maybe there was grounds enough to focus upon that for a while after all.