Nao awoke to the smell of smoke in the house. She was coughing up a lung while fumbling to hit the lights.

“Is mom burning a midnight snack again? I got school in the morning. This is ridiculous.”

She rushed down the hall of the second floor. Overwhelming lights and dense smoke blinded her. This wasn’t burning a bit of food. This was a blaze.

Nao panicked. She couldn’t find a way forward. She couldn’t see into her sister or mother’s room. She didn’t know if anyone was okay.

“Mom? Yuki? Are you guys okay?” She shouted her question into the roaring inferno. No response. The way downstairs was blocked. She ran back to her room. She opened a window to try to let the fire out and get some fresh air. The fire burst into her room more intensely than before.

Smoke inhalation caught up with her quickly. She curled up into a ball as far away as she could be and passed out.

When Nao awoke, she found herself where she was when she passed out. Her room no longer had any smoke damage, no burns. It looked… normal? She found herself wondering if it was just a dream. Maybe she rolled out of bed and dreamed up that horrible fire.

She left her room. The hallway looked just how she had always remembered it. She could faintly smell breakfast. Bacon and eggs, just like every morning. A quick trip downstairs confirmed it. The house was intact.

But something was off. Her sister wasn’t downstairs watching bad talk shows. The TV was on, the couch was warm. No one was there. Pans were on the stove, fire roaring under each, but no one attended them.

It was just like she remembered. But empty.

Nao left through the front door. The scenery looked relatively untouched in front of her. And then it hit her all at once. An intense smell of smoldering wood and ash flooded her senses. She turned back around.

It was in ruins. Nothing remained of the home she had just been in. What was this? How had she just seen her home, felt the presence of her family.

As she wrestled with this thought, she felt a flare of pain shoot from between her eyes to the back of her head. The ruins she saw in front of herself suddenly snapped to life, in an instant. Within a limited scope from her, the ash and rubble were replaced in a flash with how she remembered her home. Like a sphere of memory, it stopped after a set distance, about 10 feet, encapsulating her in her past.

Knowing it was truly gone, Nao walked away from what used to be her home. Her memories seemed to restore the past, but she knew it was only temporary. Her family was gone. She had nothing.

“Wake up, Nao. The mission starts now. We aren’t getting in without your skills.”

Nao snapped awake. She dreamed back to that day nearly 10 years ago again. Given her talent, it was expected that this moment would never leave her.

Hector stood over Nao, prodding her awake. The mission was today. They were breaking into a United Allied Protected States (UAPS) vault. Nao needed to scout so that she could have useful memories for later when they executed the plan.

“The trucks come in with the raw aether on Tuesdays. You need to get down there now. If we can get a clear angle of the vault and exits being open, you can stroll right in,” Hector said.

Hector Gutierrez was what’s called an Empath. After the Great Spark almost a decade ago, many people found themselves capable of manifest energy based on their desire at the time. This required precise control of the emotions to use effectively. Hector, on the other hand, mainly had offensive capabilities. A bit of a hothead, defensive and supportive formations were a struggle for him. He can manifest a greatsword as a weapon, but only a small buckler for defense. Like most Empaths, Hector could only manifest either defensive or offensive formations at one time.

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“How is she expected to stroll right in if you can’t even provide a good shield to cover her? What if we get spotted?” Anne Cuthbert was an Aetherial, like Nao. When one feels overwhelming emotion and desire, with enough aether present, an Aetherial Spark happens. If this doesn’t completely crush the person, they become an Aetherial. An Aetherial does not have the potential flexibility of an Empath, losing access to all Empathic manifestations, but they gain unique talents related to the moment of awakening. Anne was a veteran, tasked with spotting for operations. During the Great Spark, she desperately wanted to see what was happening as she saw her comrades bursting into energy, fire and explosions so she could communicate to try to handle the situation. She gained what she calls Aether Sight, which allows her to see impossibly far and at unusual angles, somewhat like an aether sonar. It requires a linear path and cannot see through solid matter.

“That’s what you’re here for, Anne. Why are you giving me a hard time?” Hector gave her a glare.

“Do you remember the last time? We almost got pinned on our way out because you couldn’t create space for Nao to get by. UAPS Aetherials were being dispatched seconds before we got out,” Anne sneered. “I’m just saying you should try to keep your emotions in order. We don’t have defensive support against personnel, yet. You’re our best bet.”

“Guys, it will be fine. Bickering isn’t going to make things go any smoother,” Nao said calmly. She gripped the pendant around her neck and sighed deeply, holding tight to the last memento of her mother. She didn’t like conflict. The feeling of aether flaring up due to strong emotion reminded her of the day she lost everything.

“Sorry, Nao. Let’s get back on track.” Hector went to the whiteboard on the side of the tent they had made a temporary base in. A diagram of a floor plan with big pieces missing was drawn out in blue marker. Large red marks were at key positions where they didn’t know the layout. “We need to get here and here.” Hector pointed to two points, one near the back entrance and one near the center. “We’ve spotted their patrols enough to know that these places are heavily guarded at all hours. If we can find an opening we can get past.”

“So we need you to make a distraction and have Nao observe the doors opening as they step away?” Anne asked.

“That’s the idea, anyway. Hopefully we don’t encounter too many layers of checkpoints to get in. If Nao creates an opening toward the front and then gets stuck in there, this could get messy. I want you to observe and describe the openings to the best of your ability. If we can confirm a good line of sight for Nao, she can make a way.”

”And if I can’t make a way? What’s our exit strategy?” Nao asked. Nao was not thrilled with the idea of being stuck in a UAPS vault full of raw aether. That sounded like a recipe for disaster. Raw aether was often known to lead to outbreaks of aetherials and time-lost when exposed to heightened situations.

Time-lost were those who experienced the starting stages of Aetherial Awakening, but when they reached the heights of emotion and desire, they became trapped in the moment. Abilities like Aetherials’ would manifest, uncontrolled and constantly. They would be frozen in place, forever experiencing that moment, forever creating manifested aether. Like an eternal flame of sorrow. Nao did not want to lead anyone else to such a state.

Hector nodded. As a response, he manifested a large red greatsword. “This is the exit strategy. With your ability to make openings and Anne’s to be my eyes, we should be able to make enough chaos to get out.”

“No hard feelings, but if an Aetherial goes anywhere near my post, I’m gone. You’re on your own,” Anne stated. Hector knew this wasn’t banter or a joke. If a UAPS Aetherial showed up, their odds of success without any casualties was much much lower.

“Let’s not dwell on what could go wrong. We have a good plan. We have plenty of time. Let’s get on scouting further and come back to the drawing board. If we can get enough info tonight, we can get a good haul tomorrow. Think of the people we’re helping.” Nao spoke with courage, but fear still gripped her. She had never fought an Aetherial before, and she largely hadn’t fought at all. The nature of her ability meant she needed to be up close. Hector was trustworthy, but an Aetherial with good combat skills was like a force of nature.

“That’s what we do it for. I can’t forget, Nao.” Hector held his chest tightly. Pain could be seen in his eyes.

“No time like the present. Let’s move out,” Anne directed. The three gathered up supplies and moved out to scout.