She woke up from steps that were heavy enough to shake the ground. Opening her eyes, she saw the airfield and the Zodiac mech that moved to take its place near the shuttle.

'You are a really heavy sleeper.'

Lady Red smiled as she parked near the landing pad. 

'Come on, help me get the bags.'

'Where's Rue?'

'She'll get the car later. Said that going with others and returning by herself would make her feel lonely.'

With a sigh, Tsune got out of the vehicle. Now that the opportunity was lost, she almost wanted to stay just to read more of those old books.

They were dry and confused her by assuming that she knew what was common knowledge hundreds of years ago. And sometimes they contradicted one another, like with spaceship drive development. But despite all of these flaws, they told an interesting story of human perseverance.

-

During the flight, she looked at her mother, who looked rested and happy. Whether it was because she met her friend or because they spent a good day together, wasn't as important.

But that mood was why the girl hesitated to ask about the gem from the museum. She didn't want to ruin it by asking about what was an unpleasant job, if she were to believe Water Zodiac's remark about *twisted things*.

-We are taking a detour through protected space of the nearest spaceport fort. Due to a possible mechamonster emergence on our course. The arrival is delayed for approximately thirty minutes.-

Thankfully, the ship captain's announcement gave a good enough pretense.

'Mother? I asked our escort pilot about those prisms that you said could control the mechs. But she said that they were twisted.'

'Oh. Well, they are certainly aren't for everyone. For example, you worry so much that I'd have to put you through the ringer before I let you close to them.'

Slightly offended, Tsune remembered the visit to the old hangar. 

'But I've already saw one. We found and old mech and that gem was nearby. It was big, purple and showed vague images while I watched it.'

Her mother just shook her head. She smiled and that smile contrasted with narrowed eyes that gave her a serious expression.

'Unpowered crystals are just high quality prisms that paint a city with light. They have no feedback loop.'

'Anyway, I want you to promise. If you ever get the idea to use one, ask me first.'

'I promise.'

The daughter turned away with a sigh and looked out of the window the rest of the way home. 

-

As soon as they returned home, Tsune went to her room and fell into her bed, without even changing clothes.

Hugging her pillow, she rubbed her cheek against it. She didn't notice it before, but she missed her room's fragrance. Compared to Rue's room that had only subtle smell of wood, stone and soap, this was much more soothing. 

-Mapo?-

The Assistant floated above the cabinet when it saw an unusual behaviour from the girl. But she gave herself more time to nuzzle, before she waved the device back in its place.

'I missed you too.'

She turned around to properly lay in the bed and took out the phone. It was time to see her team news.

"Advertisement, advertisement, another purchase of our tournament videos?'

Going to the purchase link, she found one of the many online board that dedicated to everything sport and battle oriented. With almost a month before the biggest tournament of the year, the academy event still received a lot of attention.

And if before she critiqued videos of others, now Tsune found her team's tournament video in the center of receiving it. Although, with interactive version release date unannounced, the discussion turned into *what if* comments and arguments so often that the real actions hardly mattered.

Honestly, the posters were putting way more effort into their battles than they did. The discussion even touched upon the her missed chance to intercept the enemy's makeshift weapon with the magnet anchors. 

When she got to speculations about the team's future, if they won the academy tournament, Tsune closed the site.

 If she continued to read that, she would start to argue. And arguing against an outcome, that was widely accepted as an opportunity of a lifetime, without giving away her reason, wouldn't end well. Not to mention that Den, or Eider would probably think of it as coping with the loss.

Instead, she focused her attention on the search page. She still wanted to search more about the books that were left unfinished back in the old city. 

Eventually her mother called her to dinner and the girl put away the phone.

She was surprised at how lackluster her search was. Even with exact words she remembered from the books, the only results with First or Second Interplanetary Phase were paltry. A single sentence in the Mars settlement timeline and a paragraph that acknowledged the existence of Jupiter and Venus bases.

When her mother called again, she decided to leave this matter for now. She could call Hem and have him read the books over the phone, or ask the nearest man who had enough knowledge, her father. But curiosity alone wasn't enough to justify either. She didn't want to make Hem search and read to her for hours, or attempt to break down the wall of secrets that was her father.

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-

The summer heat wave started and Tsune found her escape in her usual chair, watching tv. Sometimes she would remove herself from the screen for long enough to help mother, but always bounced back right after. 

And today wasn't any different. Laying in the chair before the TV, she felt as active as ice cream in her cup.

Even the current tournament was just a non-interactive rerun, so she had to fight off boredom during slower times. And she fought it off by browsing the netpage that would become the team's content hub in the future.

Judging by everyone's status, she could go help them if she really wanted. Except maybe for Den, because even if Aery tagged all the photos and videos as future site content, she enjoyed their time together a bit too much to accept company.  

As for others, joining Eider's search for a transport ship as eye candy, or making a robot pet with Hem wasn't much fun either. And needed effort.

But during another break, she noticed an old number without the team tag.

"Oh, I forgot about Blade. I wonder how's he doing.

With nothing else to do, she called him without hesitation.

But after she heard the voice on the other end, she almost excused herself and quit. It seemed that the boy had a growth spurt over the last half a year.

'I said I'm listening.'

'Is that you, Blade?'

'Why wouldn't it be me, Red?'

'Your voice is different.'

'Oh, that. Probably because I have to talk all time to prepare for the tournament.'

'You are going to be in the year's finale?'

The smug notes in his laugh were unmistakable even with changes to his voice.

'I'm glad my abilities impressed you so much. But I'm going to join the start of the next year. I made so many plans for the first place prize, you wouldn't believe.'

The energy in his voice was infectious. Tsune even moved the half melted ice cream cup from the chair to the table and sat upright.

'So you are busy too. I was in the museum city myself and searched for something else to do.'

'Then how about you come cheer for me? The virtual Skeleton King doesn't even compare to the real thing.'

'Well, I have time for that.'

'Great. I'll see there.'

The call ended but Tsune kept looking at the screen for another minute. She planned to stay home but she was swept into the promise before she knew it. She thought of how Blade would laugh if he knew that detail and rubbed her cheek that twitched in annoyance. Why was that martian so full of himself all the time?

But when she calmed down, she felt her body was filled with energy. And then she took another look at the two options she rejected before. Specifically Hem's page that stated that he was in the city.

-

Several days later, she was on her way to meet Hem. After she asked if he needed her help, he almost immediately agreed. But he invited her home instead of the hangar.

Once there, the girl reached for the phone but the door opened without warning. It was Hem with a dusty apron over casual clothes. 

'Hello. Come in.'

He suddenly realized what he still wore and threw the apron to the side.

After entering, Tsune looked around. The place looked clean until they came to a big room filled with book cases. The floor had lighter square-shaped spots, probably left by the book pillars.

'So, why here?'

The boy went further in and stopped near a table buried under sheets. He quickly stacked the papers and pushed them to the side, to give way to a flat screen on top of a workstation table.

'Sorry about the mess, I don't have a holographic projector yet. And Den probably wouldn't give me his device for personal use.'

"That doesn't really answer it."

The blonde wanted to ask another question when she suddenly sneezed. And that was enough to give her the answer. Given how dusty the place was, barely anyone ever came here. Nor did he use this room as a workshop, as dust was a danger to precise electronics. Meaning it was his room and its state was the consequence of living in the hangar.

While she uncovered another plot from Eider, the design program has finished loading. While the component symbols were unknown, their purpose was close enough to her former world to follow his ideas.

-

'I think the cover should go between the wing and the body and the filter behind the wing motor. The joint is not as shielded against interference from the power lines.'

'But wings are for decoration, right? If we shift the motors inside of the wings instead, we can make separate motor/battery pairs. And central power/propulsion pair will be safe inside the main body.'

'Hmmmm.'

Hem made a change to the wing schematic and the weight number turned red, showing that the wing became too heavy.

'But smaller motors are not as efficient and lighter batteries will need to be changed often. Isn't that annoying?'

'It can be, but if the bird ever needs repairs, I would rather not open covers over high-powered parts. Especially if its just to check the wiring to decorative parts.'

'I see. Well, let's continue then.'

As the boy continued to explain, Tsune started to feel nostalgic. She became immersed in going over the design part by part and the time-consuming process of referencing paper data sheets. Although the latter happened only when Hem couldn't find an immediate answer.

It was like she went back to when Lyle spent entire days creating small and simple robots. Although, this time her role was closer to a consultant. 

Several hours later, they finished the layout for several parts and Hem started to turn the workstation off. And when all of the programs closed in preparation, Tsune noticed the screen wallpaper.

It was her father in a lab coat standing in the Red Lab's presentation hall. 

'Where is that from?'

'This is...'

Hem's hand twitched to move to the keyboard, but there was nothing he could do. 

'...from when they made funnel drones. It was really impressive.'

'Is that why you want to make a robot bird?'

'Not because of that one. I mean I want to make one by myself.'

"Is that why he was hiding it? Because he tried to copy my father's work before?"

A flying device made by her father that he didn't want to copy. If she had to guess, it meant Mapo.

The girl shrugged as she thought about this. She understood his wish to make it on his own. But saying his present was like what a famous person made for his daughter would probably leave a bigger impression.

'It's fine if you want to copy, I think my father wouldn't care. Maybe I can even ask him for a few pointers if you want.'

She spoke as they walked to the door and said it without an ulterior motive. But the boy shook his head and his cheeks visibly reddened. He said nothing even when she left the house.