The entire crew sat in Shina’s restaurant and were about to finish their breakfast.

Mikan dug through a coin purse they’d made earlier that morning. Inside it were several rings of copper, silver, and gold identical to the ones Étién let Chie scan.

Until last night, they thought they’d had no money, when Chie remembered what they had in their cargo holds. Enough copper, silver, and gold to let them live like royalty for years. Luna’s components used a lot of the metals in question, so there was a lot.

Mikan handed Jaren the money for the food, “Here ya go.”

Jaren took the money, “You sell some stuff?”

Mikan looked around the room, then shielded her mouth from prying eyes and whispered to Jaren, “A while back we found an asteroid with a lot of gold and platinum in it.”

Jaren grinned, “Right! I’ve heard about asteroids back in the Solar System that could crash prices of gold if mined. Probably shouldn’t have told me. Some people have abilities that improve hearing.” She looked towards Luna, “And don’t let anyone you don’t trust in your ship. Your hull should help keep out prying eyes with special sight, but if someone gets in and snoops around…”

Mikan waved her hand dismissively, “Luna has cameras everywhere. So that’s not a problem.”

Jaren put the coins in a pouch at her waist, “I better get changed and wake the girls up so we can get started on your training.”

Becky’s head jerked towards Jaren, “What training?”

Jaren turned to Becky, and a smile appeared on her face after realizing Becky didn’t know, “Right! That medicine you took last night, or whenever, doesn’t work unless you kill some monsters. Think of the medicine as the template and the dying screams of monsters, the exp that levels up your skills.”

Anton jumped up, “Like a video game!?”

The other patrons turned to him after his outburst.

Jaren ignored them, crossed her arms and nodded, “Yup! I’m thinkin’ this Builder guy is a fan of video games, because the way this whole medicine thing worked changed here about forty years ago.”

Chie didn’t look pleased, “About the same time video games started getting popular and ruining the youth.”

Becky nodded in agreement, “Yeah, I know too many people from college that failed classes because all they did was play video games in their free time.”

Anton laughed awkwardly, “That’s not smart of them…”

Ryan had played his own share of video games, but could see where they’re coming from, “Yeah, but I think an hour or two here and there isn’t bad.”

Becky shrugged, “Yeah, I guess if you get your work done first it’s okay.”

Jaren was looking to the side and looked guilty, “Yeah… well, I’ll see you guys in a few minutes.”

Jaren walked quickly to the back area.

Mayu laughed, “Jaren is guilty!”

Chie turned to Étién and Mikan, “Ryan, could you ask Étién what things were like before this change?”

Ryan gave Étién the gist of the conversation, then asked, “So, Chie wants to know what it was like before.”

Étién thought for a moment, “That was before my birth, but I think strength grew slowly over time. That is why my people are stronger than those of the shorter lived races.”

Mikan nodded in understanding, “Yeah, when you do not die of old age, that gives you a big advantage.”

Étién nodded, “My people were not happy about the change. Before, my people’s strength was unrivaled, but now there are many Adventurers that rival the most powerful of my people.”

Mikan turned to a group of Adventurers eating at another table, “That must have been a huge blow to your people.”

Étién shrugged, “Only to those born before the change. All of those born after receive the new medicine.”

Ryan bet that made the older Aos Si jealous, “So your mom… she retired from adventuring because of this?”

Étién shook her head, “My Mother does not talk about her past to me, but I heard she retired after receiving her scars.”

Ryan recalled Niamh’s missing eye, ear, and fake arm, “Do you know what did that to her?”

Étién nodded, “It was a dragon. My father killed it after it injured my mother.”

Ryan wondered just how strong Niamh and her husband were, “Your parents sound pretty strong. I am not even sure Luna could take on a dragon.”

Étién turned to Luna and laughed, “Yes, Luna needs more time being fixed.”

Ryan wasn’t even sure Luna could defeat a dragon at full strength. That shaggy green dog that attacked them had taken a partially powered particle beam hit and only received a minor injury. He imagined a dragon was much more durable than a large dog.

Anton finished eating and walked to a window, “If we’re training, we need armor. He turned to Mikan, “Can ya have Bob bring our space suits?”

Becky’s demeanor improved at Anton’s suggestion, but she still looked reluctant, “That’s a great idea. Still not sure about the training, but I won’t say no to protection.”

Chie tapped her chin, “Our spacesuits are designed to resist tears and micro meteor impacts, so I imagine they will be suitable for fighting weaker animals.”

Ryan stopped Bob from its work on a fourth fairy repair drone and headed towards the bedrooms where everyone kept their spacesuits, “Give me a minute.”

Jaren returned, now in armor identical to the ones worn by the Wizard’s Eye thieves, with the helmet under her left arm, “Alright, I’m ready to go. Gallette and Eclair are staying to watch the restaurant, and Viennesoire will stay too. The others will meet us there.”

Ryan translated it for Étién.

Étién grabbed a large satchel and stood up, “Tell them I am ready.”

Mikan turned to the others, “I can have Bob meet us on the way so we can go whenever.”

Anton turned to Jaren, “Ladies first.”

Jaren rolled her eyes, but cracked a grin, “You just don’t wanna get crapped on.”

Becky looked to the side and looked like she didn’t want to get involved.

Mayu walked out, “I will help stop the birds.”

Jaren shrugged, and walked to grab her umbrella, “Eh, they only go after me so as long as you don’t get too close you should be fine.”

Étién turned to Mikan, “Will you ask if I can use the back to change into my armor?”

Mikan looked up, “Sure,” she turned to Jaren, “Can Étién use the back to change?”

Jaren nodded, “Yep, just make sure Shina doesn’t catch you. She just finished an outfit, and she’s looking for someone to try it on.”

Étién didn’t look bothered after hearing the translation, and bowed to Jaren, “Thank you.” She put Mikan on her chair, “I will dress quickly.”

Once Étién left, Mikan flitted to the window and outside, just in time for Jaren to open her umbrella and leave, too.

Sashae dropped a piece of bread onto her plate and ran to the window.

Several other patrons turned to watch too.

Ryan saw birds lift from the nearby buildings, as if they were waiting for this moment, and headed straight for Jaren.

The same thing happened as it had yesterday, and the birds bombed Jaren with their droppings.

Ryan hadn’t noticed yesterday because he’d paid more attention to the birds, but Jaren made excellent use of her umbrella and easily caught droppings that would have otherwise made it past.

Mayu got hit on the back as she tried to swat at a bird.

Soon, the birds left, and the others joined Jaren and Mayu outside.

Jaren wiped off her umbrella on some grass.

Anton looked around for the birds, “How do ya think they know when you leave?”

Jaren turned to a pigeon staring at her from the restaurant’s roof, “They leave a watch.”

Mayu picked up a rock and threw it at the pigeon.

The pigeon flew into the air, then landed a little further away on the roof.

Jaren stopped Mayu from picking up another rock, “Don’t bother. My sisters killed a ton of them, but a new one always comes back.”

Chie studied the pigeon, “Interesting.”

Becky turned away from the pigeon, “Sounds annoying.”

Jaren shrugged, “Eh, I’m used to it.”

Aoi poked her head from where she hid, “The birds are gone?”

Sashae turned to Aoi, “Birds gone!”

Aoi joined the others outside.

Mayu looked inside, then turned to Aoi, “Where is Saki?”

Aoi pointed towards the door leading to the back area, “Saki went in there.”

Mayu looked angry and ran inside.

Jaren sighed, “That explains why Eclair is grumpy.”

Chie turned to Jaren, “I have noticed you have an ability to converse with your sisters. For example, I never saw you take our orders to the kitchen, and you seem to know when someone is coming.”

Jaren laughed awkwardly, “You noticed? I was wondering how long it would take one of you to pick up on that.”

Ryan had noticed that too, but had thought little about it.

Becky nodded, “Yeah! I thought that was weird too. How do you do it?”

Anton looked bummed, “Man, I always miss stuff like this.”

Jaren looked like she was debating herself, “Well, I guess I trust you and… Étién? Yeah, Étién, isn’t here… so… uh… all of us cat girls are telepathically bonded.”

Becky whistled, “How far away does it work?”

Jaren shrugged, “Don’t know. All I know was when I freed them from… uh, the cloning tanks, or whatever those were, we could already hear each other.”

Chie tapped her chin, “Any idea why you would be like this?”

Jaren thought for a moment, “Well… the only thing I can think of is its more efficient. I was supposed to be a maid, so maybe the other girls were too and a telepathic bond would help us coordinate better and not disturb guests with chatter? Just guessing, though.”

Anton shook his head in disgust, “Glad it’s not me. I don’t even want to think how noisy it would be having seven women constantly chattering in my head.”

Jaren sighed, “You have no idea…”

The door to the back area opened and Mayu came out carrying a crying Saki under her arm. She looked angry.

Ryan had never seen Mayu angry before, and he was glad he hadn’t.

A patron shouted at Mayu to shut Saki up.

Aoi shrieked and hid behind Sashae, “Mama mad at Saki! Scary! Scary!”

Mayu sat Saki at a table, “Why did you steal Étién’s boots?”

Saki was crying and rubbing tears from her eyes, “Girl steal Mikan first! Give back Mikan to Saki!”

Mayu grabbed Saki as she tried to fly away, “If you can’t be nice you will stay on Luna.”

Saki tried to wrest herself from Mayu’s grip, “No! Saki wants to stay with Mikan!”

Étién, Galette, and Eclair poked their heads out from the kitchen.

Mikan fluttered over to the window leading into the kitchen and squeezed inside, “What happened?”

Étién turned towards Mikan, and looked depressed, “Saki tried to steal my boots.”

Mikan chewed her lip, “I think she’s jealous you’re always holding me. Maybe we should stop doing it when she’s around.”

Ryan hated the idea, Étién’s hugs were so comforting.

It was easy to tell Étién hated the idea too, but she nodded, “Yes. I think that is the best thing to do.”

Mikan fluttered through the door and headed for Mayu and Saki, “Mayu, mind if I talk to her?”

Mayu crossed her arms and kept her eyes on Saki, but nodded.

Saki looked like she wanted to run away, but it only took one glance at Mayu to stop her.

Mikan sat next to Saki, “If you promise to be nice to Étién and apologize to her, I’ll spend the rest of the day with you.”

Mayu looked like she didn’t like this solution, but stayed quiet.

Saki glared at Étién.

Ryan wondered what her deal was. He had never had to deal with children before, so wasn’t sure what the best way to handle it was, and ended up angrily saying her name, “Saki...”

Saki looked hurt at Mikan’s anger, “Mikan no be mad at Saki. Saki be good!”

Mayu leaned over and pointed to Étién, “If Saki wants to come today, then Saki needs to apologize and promise to be good. Or Saki is staying in Luna.”

Saki stared at her feet and pouted, “Okay, Saki be good.”

Ryan hoped this was good enough for now, “Thanks, Saki. If you are good, I’ll play with you while the others train.”

Saki didn’t raise her head, but looked at Mikan with upturned eyes, “Okay.” She turned to Étién, resentment and anger flashing onto her face, “Saki sorry.”

Ryan translated for Étién, “Saki says she is sorry for stealing your boots.”

Étién gave a sad smile, “She didn’t need to… Okay… Tell her I said thank you.”

Mikan turned to Saki, “Étién says thank you for the apology.”

Saki huffed and turned her head to the side.

Ryan could tell Saki didn’t feel the least bit sorry, “Saki, Étién wants to be your friend. Can you please try to be nice?”

Saki glanced at Mayu, who watched her closely. She shivered, then nodded, “Yes, Saki try.”

Mikan smiled, “Good! Maybe Étién will hug you like she does Mikan.”

Saki didn’t look like she liked the idea, but after another glance at Mayu, she stayed quiet.

Mikan turned to Mayu, “Okay, let’s see how this goes for now.”

Mayu stepped away from the table, not looking entirely convinced, “Remember Saki, you promised.”

Jaren stuck her head inside, breaking the tension, “If everything is okay now we should go. I need to get back for the lunch rush, so we only have a few hours.”

Anton sighed and looked irritated after watching the thing with Saki, “Finally.”

Étién was about to say something to Mikan, but stopped herself and turned to Jaren, “Where go?”

Jaren seemed to understand, “Hunt gremlins. See home forest.”

Étién smiled, and spoke in English, “Good. Let’s go!”

A space suit fell on Anton and Mikan laughed, “Maybe you should change before you go.”

Anton pulled the spacesuit off his head, “How long have ya been up there?”

Ryan switched to speaking through the drone so Mikan didn’t have to shout, “A minute or two. Didn’t want to interrupt.”

Anton spotted his helmet being offered to him by one of Bob’s arms and took it, “Yeah. That was smart. Never seen Mayu mad like that.”

Bob bobbed up and down in agreement, “She was pissed.” Mikan saw Mayu was still mad, “Still is.”

Anton turned towards the side of the restaurant and ran, “I’ll change back here.”

Becky took her space suit, “Didn’t think I’d wear this again for a while.”

Chie took hers next, and started putting her spacesuit on, “Indeed, but it is better than going in our current attire.”

Sashae took hers next, and she and Aoi reluctantly headed back into the restaurant.

Ryan gave Mayu’s suit to Becky, “I’m gonna go grab some weapons. If we’re killing stuff, you’ll need something.”

Jaren turned towards the shed the Wizard’s Eye had been, “I can get some from the shed, too. My sisters have a nice collection going.” She turned to Becky, “Let’s see, Mayu was an orange… You were silver?”

Becky nodded, “Yeah, no idea what that means.”

Jaren realized something, “Oh, I guess teaching you guys about the color system would be good… I’ll do that when everyone finishes changing.”

Jaren focused on nothing in particular, and talked to herself, “Let’s see, Chie was that… the quiet one was,” She turned back to Becky, and pointed to Sashae, “What was her color for the medicine again?”

Becky thought for a moment, “I don’t think she got one?” She looked embarrassed, “I was so distracted by the Guardian I hadn’t noticed.”

Jaren shrugged, “That happens sometimes. I heard it's usually people with creative skills, like writing, music, cooking, or tailoring.” She turned towards the restaurant, then back to Sashae, “That reminds me, Shina was talking about hiring her as a musician during the evenings.”

Becky turned to Sashae, “She’s a little shy, but she seems to love playing for others so she might like that.” She hefted the spacesuits she carried, “I better give this to Mayu.”

Jaren nodded, “Ah, right…”

Becky went into the restaurant.

The spacesuits only took a minute to don, and soon everyone was ready to go.

Jaren walked over to Sashae, “Talk to Shina? Play music for dinner?”

Sashae understood, “Play music for dinner?” She thought for a moment, “Talk to Shina now? No go killing.”

Jaren nodded, “Great! I’ll let Shina know you’re coming.”

Sashae looked like she only got a part of Jaren’s statement, but nodded, “I go now.”

Sashae went into the restaurant.

Ryan looked at Étién and saw her standing off to the side. Out of everyone here, only he and Jaren could talk to her, and Saki got grumpy if Mikan so much as looked at her, so he brought the Wizard’s Eye Mk. II back.

Étién smiled when the Mk. II stopped next to her, “What is happening?”

Ryan noticed the group moving, “Jaren will teach them about the medicine while they pick up some weapons.”

Étién looked at the Mk. II, “Can you teach me some English until we go?”

Ryan saw no reason not to, “Sure!”

As he taught Étién, he also listened to Jaren.

Jaren had just finished confirming Sashae wasn’t coming to train with the rest of them, “So, I guess I should teach you guys how your abilities work. Everyone knows the color wheel, right?”

Nods.

Jaren didn’t look surprised, “Okay, so there’re five types of medicines, each of which can be mixed. Red is physical strength, blue physical durability, yellow physical speed, white is mental enhancement, and black is ability endurance.” She turned to Mayu, “So, Mayu is orange, which means she’s half speed and strength. Chie is sky blue, so she’s half durability and half mental enhancement.” She paused and saw everyone understood, “I guess you can figure out the rest.”

Chie tapped her chin, “Does black reference the black orbs found inside monsters?”

Jaren nodded, “Yeah, pretty sure. People grow black orbs inside too, and the more you have, the longer you can stay in a fight. So, if you get black element as part of your medicine, you last longer than if you don’t.”

Chie nodded in understanding, “So Becky can use her mental abilities for longer periods of time?”

Jaren thought for a moment, “Probably nonstop. It usually takes a few hours of use to ‘run out of energy’ for mental abilities.” She looked like she remembered something, “Oh, almost forgot. Mental abilities start off generic but can specialize depending on how you use them. One of the reasons I’m not happy I didn’t get any white.”

Anton raised his hand, “Like what?”

Jaren thought for a moment, “Mostly appraisal, scouting, and sometimes soul viewing.”

Anton nodded to himself, “Appraisal sounds cool.”

Becky turned to Anton, “What color did you get, anyway?”

Anton stopped walking, and looked to the side, “Uh… I wasn’t listening. No idea.”

Becky face palmed, “Of course you weren’t.”

Chie smiled, “If I had to venture a guess, it would be pink. Some smarts, so white, and a blunt personality with no regard for others, so red.”

Anton scowled and pointed to Chie, “Hey! There’s no way…” His shoulders slumped, “Yeah, it was pink... So much for being an awesome Klingon…”

Becky shook her head in mild annoyance, then turned to Jaren, “I don’t think you told us your color.”

Jaren sighed, “Straight blue. I wish I was yellow or white.”

Anton recovered from his slump, “So you’re a tank?”

Jaren nodded, “Yup, but I’m pretty useless in a fight against anything with half a brain since they can’t hurt me and I can barely scratch or keep up with anything worth killing, so I get ignored a lot.”

Chie tapped her chin, “What is a ‘tank’ in this context?”

Becky looked like she didn’t know either.

Jaren giggled, “Haven’t wasted your time on vidya games? Well, a ‘tank’ is a player that can take lots of damage and keep a monster’s attention while the more squishy players do the damage.” She looked forward again, “And guess who has no way of keeping the monster's attention…” She pointed to herself, “yeah, this cat.”

Anton grinned, “I bet I can help with that.”

Jaren looked curious, “Nah, my sisters don’t need me to help them fight, and I’m happy lazing around Shina’s place.”

Anton looked disappointed, “Ya sure? Mind if I try designin’ somethin’, anyway?”

Jaren shrugged, “Sure.”

Bob arrived with several plasma pistols, cannons, and particle beam rifles.

Jaren stopped walking, “Whoa… you got guns!?”

Anton grabbed a particle beam rifle, “The big and small ones shoot plasma, and this baby shoots particle beams.” He hefted the rifle and aimed at a bird flying in the distance. He hit the bird in the first shot, “Long distance, super accurate, and travels near the speed of light.”

Jaren looked excited and wiggled her butt and tail, “That’s awesome! Can I shoot it?”

Anton handed it to her, “Sure, just give it back later.”

For the next minute, until they arrived at the shed, Jaren practiced shooting the rifle.

Jaren handed the rifle back to Anton, and opened the shed door, “Give me a minute, and see what’s in here.”

Jaren went inside, and the others waited as the sounds of falling metal came from inside.

A few minutes later, Jaren tossed out several weapons, including a large jewel studded club, a sword, several rods, a halberd, and three shields.

Mayu picked up the club, just as Jaren came out, “I like this.”

Becky looked less than impressed, “Are you going to play baseball with that?”

Mayu’s face showed a mix of nostalgia and uncertainty, “Maybe later.”

Jaren turned to Becky and Mayu, “That would be fun to watch if everyone used their abilities.”

Chie, who had barely been listening until then, turned towards them, “That does indeed sound interesting.”

Anton picked up a sword and shield, “This is pretty high quality stuff, what else you got in there?”

Jaren closed and locked the shed door, “It’s best not to pry too much into what’s in there.”

Becky squinted at the weapons laying on the ground, “Where did you get these?”

Jaren picked up the halberd, “Ask my sisters.”

Anton grinned, “Stole ‘em didn’t they.”

Jaren shrugged, “Sometimes Adventurers fight something they shouldn’t have, and it seems like a waste leaving their stuff sitting there.

Becky looked uncomfortable as she looked at the weapons again, “I shouldn’t have asked.”

Jaren cleared her throat, “Let’s get going. My sisters are almost there.”

Jaren guided them further down the road until she led them off a little later, between plots of farmland, until they reached the forest. It wasn’t until they reached a clearing a little way in that they stopped.

Four cat girls waited for them.

Jaren turned to the crew, “Ready for some training?”