With their new gear under production and his families attention occupied on their projects, Jordan led his crew on a walk to survey the island. As it was when they arrived, the maze of walkways and alleys were bordered by either deep canals filled with rippling water, or tall rows of mud-walled buildings that shielded the streets from the afternoon sun with their terraced roofs. Their interiors filled with rows after rows of clothes racks, counters and exotically dressed people.

A few hours of aimless wandering brought them to the city center. Where a large statue and even larger bay glistened and reflected rainbows from the streaks of water perpetually cascading around it.

Past the towering goddess and her waterfall, on the opposing side of the center was a single outlet; a river, that acted as the mouth to a dense, seemingly impenetrable forest.

They moved towards it without a word, ignoring the judgmental stares that followed them as they hugged the quayed coast of the bay and only fell away after they'd passed the first layer of dense brush.

"Aww, wow!" Tobias suddenly exclaimed before lunging two steps forward, and crouching down with his hands placed onto his knees like a school child.

Crouched low in the bushes about two meters away from him was a black house cat, veritably ignoring him as it slowly crept forward with unwaivering focus.

Looking away, Jordan saw another one; albeit red and striped, perched in a tree a few meters away. And more in every direction he looked. Either studying them from afar, hunting or snacking on the other inhabitants of the environment.

"Cat island." Gelos chuckled to himself.

Then turned to Jordan with a confused, curious expression stamped across his face- his eyes squinted into hyphens, his mouth agape. Ready to instigate the others into interrogating Jordan about his past for potentially hours on end.

Despite his vexation with their endless questions, Jordan knew it was something that'd needed doing since before they'd arrived. After the introductions and their ulterior goals, finding an isolated place to freely express themselves for a few hours was the only other item of priority.

So, Jordan buried his frustrations, distracted himself away from his annoyances by vacantly watching the army of felines thrive in their pocket of forest while he answered their dozens of questions in turn.

As if they'd planned it, the questions died down to an auspicious halt as the brush quickly gave way to the coast. In a line, the four of them stepped towards the water, looked in each direction as they walked to the shore. Waded and waddled more and more, as the sand shifted, became soppier and caked beneath their feet.

Unlike the clear, vibrant waters of the city, the surrounding seawater was densely clouded with loose sediments and organics that gave the otherwise blue water a turquoise, off-white color that seemed so similar to Europa's surface in Jordan's eyes. In every direction he could see, the surface stretched out dozens, if not hundreds of kilometers out towards the singular 'continent' beyond. Rendering the space between the two landmasses into a choppy sheet of glass that glistened red-hot from the pillar of evening light overhead. Broken apart only by the occasional scaled or leathery back breaching the surface.

After their few moments of silent awe, they followed the coast to return to the city and continued hugging the outskirts until the returned to the Desai estate at the rear of the island, ducked inside the walls and immediately took to their accommodations to lounge about or outright retire for the night.

[February 103rd. GPY 3. Moirai Island, Ourania. 1148. Universal Ananke Time.]

[Merit: 4,242]

Perhaps from his long sleep, or perhaps from his excitement, Jordan shuffled from his room to find a cascade of loud snores and mumbles bleeding through the walls.

Having nothing else to do, he descended the stairs and tried not to laugh after entering their communal area and finding the place strewn with the remnants of a long continued night. Eliciting a heavy sigh from Jordan before he began sent an order for tea to the AutoChef and started throwing the various scraps and dishes into the recycling chute or dishwasher.

Nearly through the routine, a loud banging shook the door against the frame; embarrassingly startling Jordan in the process.

He was just about to call out for a moment when the door suddenly hissed open, giving way for a as startled by a loud banging on the door. Followed immediately after by Vanessa prudently waddling inside the door and leaning against the frame with a patient mask.

Jordan only squinted at her and spread his hands to his sides. "Ever heard of boundaries?"

"Your gear is ready." She politely replied.

Jordan nodded in a gesture to the rooms above him as he slurped loudly from behind his mug before muttering. "They're still sleeping. Feel free to wake them up." Ever since he could remember, and for whatever Jordan absolutely loathed being awoken. Sleep was invaluable to him, thus it was only logical that it was outside of Jordan's capacity to wake another from their slumber for anything short of a severe emergency.

So, he idly watched a frown spread across her face before she removed herself from the doorway and stomped up the stairs towards the bedrooms. After a few moments, loud bangs began to boom through the room, knocking pockets of dust from the walls and ceiling before an ominous silence befell the abode.

Worryingly, Jordan looked up past the columns of lingering dust and waited until he heard the soft footsteps thumping along.

Vanessa returned shortly thereafter, her earlier demeanor in full effect while Gelos, Zoltan and Tobias waddled in behind her. The deep bags under each of their eyes were pulled taut, their faces a wrinkled mess that sat somewhere between unbridled excitement and wavering fatigue.

"So, Jordy." Vanessa nudged Jordan with her elbow as he passed. "When are you going back home?"

"We've been for two days. So, a five more, I suppose." Jordan shrugged, falling into step beside her. "Why?"

"Someone's still a hasty bee." Vanessa innocently giggled. "One day you'll break that habit, little brother."

"You're not even half a month older than your brothers, Nessa." Jordan laughed. "Don't try and act all old and wise. And don't pretend at showing interest in my life, either."

Vanessa stopped at the entrance and wheeled around on her heels to slap her hand against the stone frame of the main door. "If you paid attention to literally anything besides yourself, you'd know why I'm so 'interested' about your life." She spat.

"What?" Jordan laughed again. "You wanna be a stowaway? Catch a ride there at our expense? Or, did you want me to wait until Dad got back before I left?"

"You don't know what your talking about, Jordan." Vanessa sneered.

"Yeah, whatever." Jordan scoffed. "If you want a ride back with us, fine. But, it'll be on our schedule. If you're fine with us going to the Ganglands first, I have no problems."

"You're not even gonna stop by New Bran and see everyone first?" Vanessa asked in a more gentle tone.

"There's more important things that need getting done." Jordan coldly replied.

"Wow." She turned, shaking her head.

Despite the insults and curses spewing continuously from his sister's lips, Jordan remained silent, kept his face still, as he stared at the vertical seam enlarging across the doors surface and thought about the progress that'd been made since the previous day.

His suit was one thing, but thinking about what his sisters designed for his friends was another. Though the process may have seemed strange, Jordan's sisters; and anyone else in the Power of Ananke, took fashion seriously.

Still, the themes chosen for the three of them could manifest in any number of ways.

Entering into the main room, Vanessa eerily snapped back back into a good mood and eagerly joined her sisters alongside their mother and watched the boys' eyes be drawn to the three large cases arranged on the floor in the center of the room. Like Vivian the day prior, each of them were dressed in black, high-collared coats that appeared to be a mix between lab coats and coattailed blazers, matched with slacks and heeled boots.

"Good morning, boys." Jemenna nodded her head as she smiled.

Without removing their eyes from the boxes and their own names augmented above them, they gave her their distracted and sheepish, yet appropriate greetings.

After giving his mother his own wave and smile, Jordan continued scanning the room in its entirety for a fourth crate. Much to his dismay, none was found. Regardless how much he looked.

Knowing in his rational mind that his mother hadn't forgotten about him, Jordan silently moved to a couch off to the side to watch the scene unfold.

"Gelos." Vanessa called first with a subtle nod to his box, triggering the digital light above the crate to start changing and the maglocks to start opening with a series of loud, ceremonial clicks. "Your theme is, 'Joy Boy.' Considering your name, I'd say it's fitting."

As if he were meeting a baby, Gelos slowly dropped to his knees and reached inside the chest to pull out a thin headpiece that he immediately pulled over his eyes, crown and ears; coating his head in the glossy black texture of the armored surface. Reaching behind his neck, he pulled an unglossed, sock-like portion of the piece down over his nape and around each side of his neck to secure the ends in a seal that was set along his throat. Leaving everything from the bridge of his nose to the underline of his jaw completely exposed to the air.

"A ski mask?" Jordan heard Zoltan's off-handed comment.

'I was thinking more of a superhero.' Jordan chuckled to himself.

"Woah!" Gelos gasped, turning about this way and that. "So this is what having no visor is like. Its." He paused, turned his eyes towards Jordan, then Zoltan, and Tobias in turn. "It's… this is. Weird."

"You'll get used to it." Vanessa cheerfully stated while impatiently gesturing towards the chest with her foot.

Without turning his head in its direction, Gelos reached into the box and pulled out a black mask that he set over his nose and jaw. Wiggled it around for a few moments before enlisting the help of his other hand to sealing it to the rest of his helmet.

While it wasn't or shown to the others or said aloud, Jordan was sure the mask contained all the bells and whistles that were found in his own and any other helmet of high quality- Air filters, C02 scrubbers, water tubes, fans, nutrient paste dispensers, bilge pumps and certainly more; all controllable by either neural link, or mouth and tongue.

What was shown, was a conspicuously malicious, wide gummy grin that'd been etched and painted onto the mouth of the mask from ear-to-ear. With red lips, blanched gums and towering off-white teeth that tapered and receded beneath the gums and proverbial cheeks to fade into the abyssal darkness of the mouth.

Seeing Nessa steadily lose patience, Jordan snapped a few pictures of Gelos' maniacal look and sent them to him.

Almost immediately, his head perked up and he began swaying, mumbling incoherent nonsense to himself.

With her patience outgrown, Nessa stomped forth to reach into the crate and pull the torso of the suit out to drape it over Gelos' body. Causing Gelos to snap back to the present and apologetically grab the legs.

It was a plain, long sleeved suit. Off-white in color, and wrapped with thick, black belts stitched horizontally around the torso, arms and legs of the suit that terminated at large, bronze clamps that'd been positioned along the various meridians of Gelos' body- The chest, back and shoulders.

"A straight jacket-"

"Zoltan!" Vivian called next, scaring the comment and ensuing chuckles from his tongue in an instant.

"I thought 'ghost' would fit at first," Viv calmly stated. "But, your scowl and deep-ass voice made me think otherwise." She shrugged before triggering his crate to open in much the same fashion as Vanessa. "Maybe next time, maybe not. "

Without him having to reach for it, Jordan had clear view of the dirty red, leathery skull of Zoltan's helmet. Particularly, of the hardened surface of the crown. It appeared like ancient flesh that'd been ground and decayed to the bone over an uncountable period of time. An unprotected region of flesh and bone that sat between two spiny ridges of black bone that curved around each side of the skull.

"Zoltan Burns." Vivian ceremoniously announced as Zoltan began reaching down, triggering the same light show as before to display the theme in augmented reality for all to see. "You, are a daimon."

Wrapped around Zoltan's hand was one of two ribbed, ram-like horns that curved backwards from the temples to loop around the skull to a pair of sharp points that protruded from just beneath the lobes of the helmets ears. Actual ears. As well as eyes, a nose and a domineering sneer that'd been disturbingly detail into Zoltan's visage out of the same dark, dirty red, leathery skin that Jordan saw before.

Instead of trying it on, Zoltan let out a wry chuckle as he shook his head and replaced the helmet with the upper and lower parts of the suit.

It was like a second skin, in Jordan's mind; armored and weaponized. Large spikes of the same black bone material as the horns protruded sharply from the shoulders, elbows and knees of the suit. And short studs or flanges of still the same material ran along the forearms, knuckles and legs of the suit like that of a mace. Even the clawed gloves and toed boots retained the ferrous lining in the palms and fingertips, and were fashioned with long, slender nails that collectively gave Zoltan a variety of weapons to choose from at any moment.

"I-" Zoltan chuckled again, his head still shaking as fast as it'd been before, even as he looked up to Vivian with near-tearful eyes. "Thank you."

"Your reaction was enough thanks for me." Vivian dismissively shrugged. "Just wait till you hear the voice."

During the silence, everyone naturally turned towards Tobias and Valerie in anxious await for the reveal.

After more than a few awkward moments, Val randomly penetrated the silence with her perpetually distracted voice.

"Corvus!"

In that singular second of silence, Gelos and Zoltan simultaneously turned their wrinkled grins towards each other, before turning to Tobias and bursting out in laughter.

"Bug eyes!"

"You mean, Bug Eyes!"

Through the storm of laughter, Jordan couldn't help but chuckle to himself and shake his head. He felt some relief however, seeing Vanessa and even his mother giggling into their hands or turning away to laugh.

Everyone but Tobias and Valerie, who shot resentful gazes towards the others and stood with nary a sign of interest respectively.

"Crow." Valerie corrected after the laughter died down, and unlocked the crate.

"I was hoping for raven." Tobias muttered, turning his attention back to her.

Causing another vacantly cold retort from Val without delay. "You're too small."

Ignoring the eruption of giggles that once again spread from their friends, Tobias reached into his crate and pulled out an acorn-shaped helmet that he held out at chest height. For a moment, he stared deeply into the two, palm-sized 'eyes' that'd been placed on either side of a beak-like tube that fell down in-line with his neck, before taking a deep breath and gently placing the item at his feet.

Unsuccessfully hiding his satisfaction, Tobias quickly reached for the other items. A top piece that was covered in a black layer of sleek feathers that appeared to be a mix between treated fleece and the real thing, smoothed down to a glossy surface, yet lined with a few pocket, pouches and attachment points along the chest, legs and back.

Most notable to Jordan's eyes however were the arms, normally proportioned, yet densely packed with longer feathers that extended a few centimeters past his fingertips.

As if reading Jordan's mind, Tobias pulled one of the arms taught, causing an unexpected sort of yelp to be squeezed from his lungs as a feathered membrane unfolded from the undersides of the limb and began flapping gently in the indoor breeze like a flag.

"I noticed you had no propulsion." Valerie looked him in the eyes for the first time and smiled. "Well, Tobias. Now you do. On Europa, at least. And as long as your arms are stronger than they look."

"There's not enough air for that." Tobias shook his head in confusion, all but dodging the subtle insult to his stature and falling deaf to the reawakening of the others' laughter.

"Oh?" Valerie smiled coyly before turning away with a wink.

Giving way for their mother to waltz forth to Jordan from her prior position near the rear.

"Anti-Knight." Jemenna stated as she toss Jordan's vest and a new pair of pants to him. "That's your theme."

"It looks the same." Jordan mumbled, turning the vest over and over in his hands. Besides it being made of a finer material, and having a variant of the Astros coat of arms on the back, it was.

The variation being a knights helmet that sat before- inside, a pair of crossed daggers, with a spear thrusted vertical through it. Set before the backdrop of concentric cyan and orange circles.

In studying the vest, a single question arose in Jordan's skeptical mind, and he quickly turned his gaze back to his mother with a suspicious gleam shining through his eyes. "What was the theme before?"

"Didn't have one." Jemenna snorted before handing Jordan a new pair of boots, along with a packet of information. "Now, you're the Anti-Knight." She started in her pitch voice. "One who strengthens his suit by refitting the pieces of armor he takes from the Knight's he's slain." She ceremoniously paused to chuckle proudly to herself before continuing. "The chestplate you gave me has been refit, and is now attachable as a module. Any new pieces you receive with be reformed in the same way; in whatever order you choose, until your armor is complete. There's some general upgrades as well." She added with a disinterested wave after a moment's pause. "And, I upgraded your rucksack to something more proper- A fuel reservoir and service center, power supply, comms booster. Stuff like that."

"I see." Jordan turned to her, making him aware of the wholesome smile that'd been spread across his face.

He stepped away from her and the others to stand behind a partition and change back into his clothes- A feeling that felt like crawling back into his skin after a week of wearing borrowed attire. Stepping out a few moments later, Jordan immediately stepped towards his mother with open arms.

"Those aren't supposed to be street clothes, you know." She mumbled before catching Jordan in her embrace.

"Thank you."

"Anything for my Jordy." She cradled his head tight and began swaying him from side-to-side. "I love you."

"I love you too, Mom."

"Also." She suddenly said, pushing Jordan away to arms length after a few moments. "I have these for you all."

After she fell silent, Jordan's eyes notified him of a digital packet, hundreds of terabytes in size, currently being downloaded into his internal storage. Looking around at their stupefied gazes, it was clear that Gelos and the others received packets of a similar size as well.

"So you don't have to keep coming back." Jemenna added, pulling Jordan back in for another hug. "Although, I hope you still do."

Yielding against his curiosity, Jordan fell silent in order to inspect what was sent, and immediately muffled a despairing laugh into his mother's shoulder.

'These are all clothes?' He groaned. 'I guess I shouldn't be surprised.'

As she pulled him away once more, Jordan tried to hide the shock and exacerbation from his face and give his mother a reassuring smile. "I'll try my best."

"I know you will." She giggled, somehow making the reply more menacing than it already was. "Now, let's go."

She stepped off abruptly. Forcefully dragging Jordan along with her towards the rear exit and the first destination on the extensive itinerary she'd prepared for her son's visit.