Watching Emilia kick tail in soccer was another experience Sora filed away to be revisited later when feeling low; just seeing her little ball of sunshine jumping up and down after a goal and showing off for her warmed Sora’s heart.

Kari taught them a few tricks, and Wendy revealed she’d dabbled a bit in the sport in the three-year blank spot in their friendship, performing a few of the Fenris Wolf’s tricks to everyone’s claps.

Once finished, they bummed around the city, sampling various stalls that were cropping up and experiencing a small music festival they stumbled upon in the Red District.

She was happily surprised at the alternative vibes of the performance—especially the way the snare hit her—and later learned it had been White that introduced them to the style after commenting that it would be in the vulpes musicians’ taste.

It certainly did fit the emotions the ancient Kitsune must have been feeling, making Sora bob to it even more, and Emilia thoroughly enjoyed her first concert; Wendy taught them a few simple dances that seemed to fall in line with the beat.

The whole day felt like a weekend with friends, and the sweets shop to end the night was a staple, her daughter puffing up in pride upon discovering it had been her festival stall that had inspired the dabbling baker.

Deciding to ease Emilia into the practice of joining her one day of the week, she chose Sundays to be the sweet spot to get a double dose of her daughter’s spike of energy.

White and Tola were all for joining whatever activity she had planned. She waved the pair off, wondering how their daily, unofficial date went; Sora wasn’t the only one to smirk at their exit.

Tola was a glowing flower, in contrast to how she typically looked at the end of a day with the Kitsune, and White appeared to have gone through a full day in the stone fields, picking away to create the current shine the woman’s soft smile radiated.

“Hehehe,” Sora rubbed her hands with a dark smile as the two exited, catching a similar smirk on her puffy, brown-tailed sister’s face. “We’re breaking him!”

“It won’t be too much longer,” Wendy mused. “Did you see Tola, too; is it just me, or is she actually adapting to his natural aura?”

Emilia nodded vigorously, jumping over to latch onto Sora’s stomach in a hug that picked her up off the ground. “Tola’s been looking so much better! Thank you, Mom! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I can’t wait to see what you do tomorrow!”

Kari giggled with Wendy as the Fenris Wolf prepared to head back to her own little house; she liked to be independent.

“We’ve got a big day tomorrow. So, make sure to get some sleep; I’m gonna whoop your mom! Well-heh…” she trailed off as Emilia set Sora down to flip around and glare at her.

“Don’t be mean to my mom just after she got over being sick; she still needs to rest, which is why I’ll be making sure she doesn’t overwork herself!”

“True!” Wendy laughed, scooting over to nudge Sora. “Your mom’s getting to be an old lady over here; maybe she should stay down for another week and finish up those dramas, huh?”

Sora nudged her back with a small smirk. “Humph. I get the feeling you’re only saying that because you’re trying to catch up and want another six weeks. Aren’t you planet buster-level now?”

“No way!” Emilia gasped, looking at her new aunt with starry eyes. “Can you really destroy planets, Auntie Wendy?”

Kari took the opportunity to slip toward the door, half opening it before clearing her throat to draw their attention with a wink. “Let’s just say… Wendy can drop the ball from time to time. Hehe.”

“Oh, shut up!” Wendy huffed, Rita poking her head out of her tail to glare at the Fenris Wolf’s exit with a wave. “I’m still perfecting it.”

“Uh-huh. See you tomorrow, Sora, Emi!”

“Later. Have a good night.”

“Good night, Auntie Kari—oh, and don’t let the bedbugs bite!”

“I bite back!”

They chuckled as the door shut, which only increased upon seeing Wendy’s disgruntled grumble.

“I can totally bust a planet. You saw!”

Rita crossed her arms, her hair in a frenzy as she nodded frantically; on the other hand, Vix-chu was rubbing the back of his head with a strained grin that betrayed his creator.

“I can’t wait to see!” Sora chimed, leading the way upstairs to brush her teeth.

“Oh, me too, Auntie Wendy! Is it big and flashy? Can you do it, Mom?”

“Me—pfft!” Sora waved her hand dismissively. “I’ll show you something really flashy tomorrow.”

“No-ho-ho,” Wendy groaned, Rita and her head drooping as she recalled one of their previous training sessions. “You’re going to steal my thunder. I’ve been practicing hard with Kari and the gang.”

“Totally! I can’t wait to see the gains,” Sora cheered. “I’ve almost got more than a year on you. Don’t stress, Wendy; I know you’re working hard.”

“Yeah! I bet Mom couldn’t blow up a planet this fast. Right?”

Sora tilted her head in a reluctant nod. “Not… entirely wrong. I was more focused on learning how to not destroy all my clothing and this precious pendant you made for me.”

“You like it?!” Emilia asked, cheeks turning rosy with a smile.

“I only wear it every day,” Sora grinned, presenting it. “I’ve been practicing a super special technique that I’ll show you tomorrow, too.”

Wendy’s ears stood up as they grabbed their toothbrushes, preparing for the night. “Huh—what super secret technique—when?”

“When I had a bit of time alone. It’s nothing flashy, but it’s super, super useful! I’ve been working on it for much of the year to be sure it would be safe—just taking it slow.”

“I’m so curious!” Emilia mumbled through brushes, tails wagging back and forth with Vix as he mirrored his master. “I can do all your cool Null-Void stuff someday, too. Right?”

“Probably,” Sora nodded. “I’ve figured out how to get some of my vulpes magic back too.”

“I’ve got such a cool Mom,” Emilia cheered. “Right, Vixy?”

“Chu!”

Sora eyed the twinkling-eyed fox, but he seemed to mean it, making her wonder what was going through his devious mind. “Aww. I think I have the cutest daughter!”

Wendy cooed at their back and forth, mood lightening; Emilia had her choking, though.

“Ho-ho!” her daughter boasted, puffing up her chest while floating up to Vix. “I’ve been working on charm magic to make the grumpy grandpa that lives next to Rayla and Luna smile; he may yell when Rayla, Luna, and I make a lot of noise, but I’ll make him laugh one of these days!”

“Pfft! Hehe. Charm magic—he must be a god.”

Sora grinned and winked at her daughter. “Just don’t do any mind control stuff.”

Emilia crossed her arms in an x. “No mind control unless they’re bad guys! Tola and White told me that. Right, Vixy?”

The fox’s head bobbed. “Chu! Chu!”

“Alright. You sleep on your own tonight?”

“Mom! I’m not a baby.”

“I may be!” Sora cried, kissing her on the cheek.

“Hehe. Mom! You have toothpaste lips—eww.”

“That just means I get to wipe it off,” she giggled, grabbing a towel to rub the area.

“Mom…”

Wendy laughed, finishing up and waving with her tail on the way to her room. “Catch you tomorrow; I’m exhausted!”

“Night, Auntie Wendy!”

“Alright, we better head off to bed, Little Princess.”

Emilia snickered. “Using White’s nickname for me?”

“Humph. Aren’t you a princess?”

“Uh-huh! The Vulpes Princess! Wait… if Great Grandma’s the queen, and I’m the princess, what does that make you?”

“The jester!” she laughed, sticking out her tongue.

“Hehe. You’re funny, Mom. What about Grandma?”

“Hmm.” Washing out her mouth, Sora motioned for her to follow her back to the girl’s room. “What if your great grandma is the Empress?”

“Oh! Yeah-yeah!” Emilia returned. “Grandma is the High Queen, I’m the Princess, and you’re the funny, hidden Queen Jester!”

“That’s me! Alright, let’s get you in bed.”

“Love you, Mom,” she whispered, kissing her on the cheek in passing, and magically lifted the blankets to slip under them; Vix to settle between her legs as it floated down.

“Love you, Emi,” she smiled, turning out the lights with the magical panel beside the door. “Good night.”

“Yaaahhh-mmh… Night.”

“Chu…”

Sora smirked as the little fox gave her a salute as if saying: I got night duty, Queen Jester.

Hmm. Maybe you’re not so bad after all, she mused, shutting the door and returning to her room.

Throwing on a nightgown, she put her pendant on the bedside table before rubbing her bracelet; a soft rumble passed through her throat, and she slipped under her sheet. Staring into the glistening fire gem, she closed her eyes and desired to see her mother.

A rush of cool waves crashed over her consciousness, drawing her through what seemed to be an eternal water slide; twisting, turning, and dipping into sharp dives and rises, she rode the magical waves through Existence to end on a sandy beach, where her mother stood nearby, wearing an emerald romper swimsuit.

“A bit late for you, isn’t it?” her mother chuckled, hands behind her back as she glanced at the private, pristine beach. “I thought this would be a decent first spot.”

“Wow,” Sora chuckled, more focused on the stunning showcase that was her mother than the white-sanded beach. “You really are beautiful, Mom.”

She grinned. “Hehe. You had to get it somewhere, huh?”

“Shots fired! Haha.”

“Well, your father can counter my narrative when he returns,” her mother huffed, showing she was a little miffed he’d left without a word, and Sora couldn’t blame her.

“Yeah… So, I just had one of the best weeks of my life!”

“Oh? Do tell,” her mother returned, studying her daughter before weaving a similar royal blue romper swimsuit around Sora. “Care for a swim?”

“Sure!”

Sora followed her out to the white waves, wading in as her mother extracted her memories to display above them; the restorative, magical waters uplifted and energized her vulpes side, making her realize how much better she’d feel balancing things out.

Hours went by as she talked with her mom, enjoying a more relaxed visit and delaying the more serious topics until the end.

They went over the entire day, and her mother wanted to save the dramas for when they had a chance to watch them together, rather than just browsing her memories. On the other hand, she had no problem relishing the moments Sora savored with her daughter.

It took a bit before Sora realized the longing in her mother’s gaze to experience the same joy. Knowing their time together was likely going to come to an end soon, she reaffirmed her desire to get stronger—if nothing else than to grant her mother’s wish and her own—to be a family.

“Emilia is a pearl… precious.”

“She is… and so is my mother,” Sora whispered, closing the distance in their casual swim to bring her under the waves and kiss her cheek; her mother returned it, creating a bubble around them that brought them into a tour of the reef. “Thanks for spending time with me, Mom.”

“Like I would ever say no,” she whispered, holding her hand as they observed the rich coral reef life. “I suppose the end is coming.”

Sora sighed, letting their time together sink in; the hardest part for her mother was that everything was controlled by her daughter, and she’d be waiting for the next call to echo across Existence to bridge them again.

“How are Aunt Inari and Grandma—anything new?”

“Hmm.” She looked up at the shimmering rays passing through the surface to illuminate the colorful scenery. “Deals and tentative agreements… The Herald is teaching us the basics of understanding the 13th-dimensional sphere, but part of the secret is that we don’t live in a typical Existence… we live in a Grand Existence.”

Sora bumped her mother’s tails with her own. “Thanks for the answer! Hehe. So, you’re learning how to reach Grandma’s level?”

“Haaa.” Her mom’s ears drooped. “I’m too old for school.”

“Emi would love to know her grandma is in school, too,” she giggled. “Well… until she connects that, heh, she may still be in school forever.”

“Haha. I’m sure that’s how she would react,” her mother whispered, stroking Sora’s tails as she brought them around. “…We think Ashanti has taken them to a hidden mini-Existence outside our own—outside of Nilly or our ability to reach.”

“For what reason?” Sora growled. “Grandma’s uber-powerful, but Gloria is on another level, right, and aren’t there two other Founders that are as strong as her, too?”

Her mother leaned against her, closing her eyes as her nine tails curled in to support Sora. “Your grandmother has a few unique abilities and can access special things Gloria can’t; all of the Founders have one-of-a-kind traits, which is one reason why Gloria hates the Primordials so much… taking away some of our key members.”

“Huh…” Sora fed into her mother’s desire to snuggle, wrapping her own tails around her to pull the red-furred fox in. “I know you’ll figure it out. What about Kari’s powers?”

A few seconds passed with her mother’s ear pressing against hers as she thought, and after a short sigh, she held up a hand to demonstrate her explanation. “Think of your typical Existence as a bubble that repels Null-Void—a shield—guarding against the hammer-like, disruptive force.”

“And Kari?”

“A growth that welcomes the hammers to blow it apart, only for it to scatter, sending seeds into the ocean; it’s not a rigid structure—its fluid—allowing it to spread. Although, there are various types of these Reverse-Existences.”

Thinking back to her earlier comment, Sora watched the web-like spread of darkness in the white soup her mother generated. “Like there are normal Existences, Great Existences, Grand Existences, and stuff like that?”

“Far more than just that,” her mother chuckled. “We live in proximity to a Grand Maelstrom—think of a great many Existences that get sucked into a singularity—and there are Eldritch Existences, among many other styles, but each follows a specific order. Normal, Great, and Grand are more or less stages, rather than differing types.”

“Cool,” Sora smiled. “Heh. I feel like I’m getting the answers to a big test.”

“Haha. It’s just things my mother wanted us to learn organically, but I don’t think that’s practical in today’s climate… Kari’s style of Reverse-Existence functions as a Hive Mind that gathers information to adapt and remold itself; I can’t imagine how Alva met whatever seed that came from that Reverse-Existence entity as a 12th-dimensional Founder.”

Sora nudged her mom with a smirk. “Kind of like a Null-Void hunk of a battle ax I’ve heard stories about?”

“Fair,” her mother mused. “I suppose I’m more speaking as to how she developed feelings for it, but, as you pointed out, I was in a similar position… The Herald said Kari needs to become a Hive Nucleus.”

Eyebrows coming together as she saw a black seed exit the whole mess of darkness her mother created, Sora rubbed her mother’s hand. “Why do you make it sound like a bad thing?”

“More… difficult,” she mumbled, pressing closer. “In a way, she has to hurt her father—challenge him and break away to form her own unique strain of ideals—she couldn’t control it before because it tasted something new… you.

“An Existence has a brilliant Bead Core that has its laws burned into it from inception; it’s firm and unchanging and must be destroyed to cause any change. A Reverse-Existence is more parasitic, drawing from other sources than its Core to dissect and incorporate, yet does follow a set of base principles—Kari’s father has a fundamental understanding of everything to its base—no matter the harm it causes.”

Sora’s ears perked up as she realized the underlying meaning in her mother’s explanation. “He has answers nothing else would; would he know where Grandma is?”

“It’s… possible, but even Sakura doesn’t understand how such a confrontation between Kari and her father would turn out; Sora, just so you are aware… there is a possibility Kari is made to be just another branch of her father.”

Digesting the warning her mother gave, Sora didn’t have to think long before chuckling. “I can’t see Kari giving up that easily… She beat her freaking Shadow! In fact, maybe all this training she’s been doing is her instinctively building herself up for meeting her father.”

Her tails sagged a little, recalling how excited her friend had been to meet her dad. “I just hope he doesn’t disappoint her. He’s a gatherer, so… maybe he’s not super strong?”

“I love the optimism, Sweetheart,” her mother muttered while hugging her. “However, I wouldn’t count on it; I can’t say what kind of battle it will be, but she has to find her own way through, and I’m not even sure if he’ll impart anything to her. They’re chaotic, not orderly, so it’s impossible to know how Reverse-Existences will react.”

“I have faith,” she grinned, not as scared as she thought she should be. “Kari’s overcome more than anyone I knew. Anything else?”

“Nothing that is that essential. Oh, how is Mofupsi doing?!”

Sora’s gaze narrowed. “What did you do with her when you had the night together? She’s been totally MIA.”

A sly tilt came to her mother’s mouth. “Hmm-hmm. I think you’ll be surprised when you see her again; she is… probably my most unusual semi-child. You certainly brought all sorts of personalities into our family.”

“Okay, c’mon, Mom—spill!” she demanded, bending in to fall over her while looking for her tickle spots. “Spill!”

“Hehe! I-I can’t betray her trust—she’s trying to surprise you—in such an odd way, as well! S-Stop, Sora—no one has tickled me since—since your father…”

“I go for the throat!” she laughed, enjoying herself for a few more seconds before allowing her mother a chance to breathe. “Haaa. I’m so interested now—it’s your fault—give me a hint!”

“Hmm…” Adjusting her swimsuit, her mother gave a pink pufferfish a thoughtful look. “Let’s just say… she wanted to learn more about Japanese culture and how to act in her position.”

“Mom… That’s so suspect!”

She held up her hands. “That’s all I can say! Hehe. I gave her a full guide on the topic, and am sure Emilia will die when she does make her appearance.”

“Which will be?” Sora slowly asked, shooting a dirty look at her mom. “Mmh… I may have just, heh, sent a warning to her saying her cover is blown, so… maybe when you wake up!”

“Hmm. Okay. You know you’re cutting your time with me short by stimulating my curiosity.”

“And as sad as that makes me feel, I look forward to enjoying the memories of your experience when you next call! I love you, My Little Princess.”

“Aww. I love you too, Mom,” she whispered, holding her and linking tails one last time before her mother sent her back; she drifted into the world of dreams until a faint light from her curtains roused her mind from its slumber.

Stretching out, she was a little surprised when her door cracked open to see a sleepy Emilia floating in with Vix—experiencing a similar drugged state—held against her chest. “Mom… I think someone’s cooking something downstairs. I can’t smell who it is, though—but it does smell good! Eggs and bacon—cheese—oh, hash browns?!”

Throwing off her blankets, she floated out, seeing Wendy exiting her room at a trudge, and the three of them entered the kitchen to stare in disbelief at the voluptuous nine-tailed Vulpes that turned to greet them with a charming smile—wearing a full maid’s outfit.

“Good morning, Mistresses; I’ve prepared breakfast.”

“The heck?” Wendy mumbled, probably still wondering if she was dreaming.

Sora streamed out a long sigh. “Mom…”

“Moppy!” Emilia squealed, bouncing over to examine her outfit. “Oh. My. Goodness. You look adorable! Did Grandma make that or…”

“I fashioned it myself, Mistress,” she returned with a graceful curtsey. “Please, if you will sit, and I will serve breakfast, my sisters.”

“Yes! Mom, Auntie is our maid!”

“I see that…” Sora chuckled, taking a seat and accepting it; if this was what Mofupsi wanted, then who was she to tell her no—well, her master—but she didn’t have the heart, even if it was uncomfortable. “I guess we should expect you more around the house?”

“If it would please you, Mistress,” she calmly returned, bringing the pan over to fill their plates. “Would you accept my service?”

“Hehe. Sure.”