"Dad!" Ammon shouted. Her son turned around and yelled. "Ember! Come see Dad!"

Emily could see Ember run up through the trees with a big grin. Emily let out a big sob. Her kids looked happy and healthy.

The Governor leaned toward his security detail. "Can he get an ID on the other two ASAP?"

Emily hadn't even noticed the two girls walking up from behind her kids. She also finally noticed the alien standing next to Ammon. The alien was dressed in very nice clothes that looked, well… alien to her. It also seemed to be peaceful. At least if the laid back demeanor with arms crossed meant the same thing for it's species as it did hers.

"Ammon! Ember!" Jeff shouted and dropped lower to be on their level despite being on another planet. "I'm so happy to see you. Are you okay?"

Ember ran right toward her father with outstretched arms. She must have run into the Pillar, because she disappeared for a moment. The next moment she was turned around and stumbling out onto the grassy ground.

The oldest of the girls behind them rushed to Ember and picked her up. Ember started crying and the girl was doing her best to console her.

"Kazi, will I be able to hold their hand again like last time?" Jeff whispered to his fused Spore.

"No, sorry, this is as much as I could get for you this time." Kazi replied. Jeff nodded with a sad expression then immediately switched his face to a bright happy smile for the kids.

"Dad, the monster let me have an extra wish. At first I asked for a sword, but then I wished for you. And guess what dad, the monster said yes." Ammon's ongoing rant didn't stop there. He was like a train that could not be detailed once he started going.

"You really wished to see me, buddy? Aw man, that means so much. I wished to see you too. I wished with all my heart. That's a really awesome sword. It probably could cut the world in half." Jeff enthusiastically gave the usual validating responses to his son before cutting him off. "Ember, can you tell me who your friends are?"

Ember brightened immediately and pointed at each young girl in turn. "That is Hailey and this is Summer. Summer is super nice. And Hailey is too, but only when Summer isn't around." Emily was always surprised by how well her little three year old could talk. She often out rambled Ammon.

"Nice to meet you Summer and Hailey. My name is Jeff… Jeff Kazi. I can get a message back to your parents if you want to tell me."

The younger girl Hailey's composure suddenly melted, "tell them that I love them and that I'm so sorry. Tell them to come save us."

The masculine looking alien shifted slightly at that. It wasn't in any threatening way, but the tween girl spluttered to a stop looking scared.

The assistant spoke up from behind Emily. "Summer and Hailey Hall. They are from the Phoenix area. They might have paired the kids up with someone from their surrounding area, but that's far enough away that random chance is just as likely."

Emily tuned out the conversation that followed. She only cared about seeing her kids… for what might be her last time… Tears came, but she paid them little attention.

"Hello, I'm Summer, my parents are Katy and Steven Hall. Let them know that we are fine." She gave a hesitant glance at the gray alien. "We have been treated well, so far. They said that we would get the chance to join the army and have a chance to," she gave Jeff with a skeptical look, "to learn magic?"

Jeff laughed at that. "Magic? Would it happen to look anything like this? Check this out Ammon!"

Emily's husband created a glowing energy disc that shot out of his hand and started hovering in a slow circle around him. Then she recognized the typical grin on his face before he was going to do something silly.

He punched at the disc and it dodged out of his way. "Hey come here you!" He shouted and took several more swings at the disc.

Ember started cracking up with her infectious laugh. It seemed to pull Hailey out of her hysteria and she watched on with a puzzled look.

Jeff now had his disc zooming past his head and he would move out of the way at the last second with a smug over the top smile. "Not this time– doh!" The disc came back and whacked him in the back of the head with the flat part of the disc.

Emily felt the first genuine smile in days cross her face. She always loved seeing how Jeff played with the kids. He always went above and beyond to try and make their day. She could see a small smile on the lips of the two girls as well. If she wasn't mistaken the alien was also looking amused.

"Dad, is that really magic or is that a trick?" Ammon asked.

Jeff brought the disc forward and rested his arms lightly on it like he was leaning on a counter. "What do you think?" He asked with a sheepish grin.

"Ammon, it's magic. Dad can do magic!" Ember shouted before doing swirls with her hands, pretending she could do the same.

"I know Ember, I was just asking, but I already knew."

The kids devolved into their typical bickering and Jeff turn a now serious gaze into the gray skinned alien. "What are your plans for my children?" He asked.

The alien unfolded it's arms and did a strange salute with his arms while also bowing slightly. "Hello Chosen Jeff Kazi. I am Vrack Hewtsh, Shraneil Elite Guardian." His voice was low and gravely and multi-toned, though not in a distracting way.

Kazi spoke up to help, "Shraneil is the type of Spore Vrack fused with and Elite Guardian is his Spore Suits rank and class. It's our civilization's way of introducing ourselves."

Jeff bowed as well, not bothering to make the same strange salute. "I am Jeff Kazi, Boschyan Trainee Chosen. Now, I'm really curious to know more about what's going on."

"Your kids are safe with us. We will do everything we can to give them a bright future," Vrack said calmly.

"Will I have a chance to see them again?"

"Yes you will, and so will all those back on your home planet. Although it is just a chance, not a guarantee. We do not allow those who fuse with dangerous Spores to join the Army. Joining and climbing the ranks is all that is needed to be together again."

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Jeff chuckled at the aliens words. "You make it sound so easy. It's not though, is it? Climbing ranks means facing monsters."

"It means completing quests," Vrack corrected abruptly. "Not everyone will have to fight to complete quests. Which quests you get is mostly up to the System though."

Kazi interjected before Jeff could ask more questions. "All of that is dependent on whether the parents and the kids fuse with a sapient spore."

Jeff threw up his hands at that. "You've said that before, but it seems so hopeless. Is it just up to chance? Is there any way to help guarantee that someone will fuse with a sapient spore?"

Vrack made a weird hand gesture that Emily, watching through the tablet, somehow interpreted as a nod. She wondered for a moment if the elite guardian had an ability related to body language or communication.

"Yes," Vrack said, "there is a way. There is a method that we will use with your kids that gives a ninety-five percent chance to fuse the right kind of spore. A way that we wish could be used for the people back on Earth. The problem is that it can take a year or two for someone to be ready to take that step."

"And Earth doesn't have that much time," Jeff finished. Then softly he said, "Ninety-five percent." Emily could almost see how Jeff worrying about the five percent that wouldn't make it. He shook his head and asked, "What can those on Earth do in the few days they have left?"

Vrack shook his head. "There's very little that can be done to improve their chances. Has Kazi explained to you about how a Spore fuses with the someone's spirit body?" Jeff nodded and Vrack continued, "well, sapient Spores are attracted to those who have compatible spirit bodies. It's the same for wild Spores as well. With enough time and directed training you can alter your spirit body so that nothing will match with you except sapient Spores."

Summer, who was listening in the background, spoke up, "does being older make it h-harder?" The grey alien turned toward her and she stumbled a bit in her words. "Would having more experiences affect how compatible your spirit is?"

Vrack did the weird 'nodding' hand gesture again. "That is a very wise observation, Summer. Yes, the older your spirit is the more it will be pressed to the mralkety."

"Pressed to the what?" Hailey said with a quizzical face.

"Cursed idioms," Vrack made another gesture that seemed to signify frustration. "Idioms are nearly impossible to translate correctly. They are usually tied to the meaning of a story rather than the meaning of the words themselves."

"He means stuck in their ways." Kazi said.

"Yes," Vrack continued, "older spirits are stuck in their own ways. They have already built up numerous connections within their spirits bodies that make them compatible with a larger variety of Spores. Every human will already be compatible with sapient spores simply by being sapient themselves. But, because of their longer life experience, they can also attract many other spores."

"So it's a toss of the dice." Jeff said, then smiled as he realized he had used an idiom. "It will be up to chance for those left on Earth."

Emily glanced at the Governor sitting beside her. They shared a solemn look. What could she do at this point to change her spirit body. She couldn't suddenly alter her life experiences. Hailey's voice broke through her contemplations.

"So why did you take older kids? Summer is basically an adult. Won't her spirit body be all wrinkly and old alrea– hey!" Summer flicked her little sister's ear before she could finish.

"We saved as many humans as we had resources for." Vrack said with a resigned look. "But we do not intend to abandon the rest of humanity or the other Earth organisms that may gain sapience for that matter." The Elite turned to Summer and made an amused gesture. "Even if their spirits are old and wrinkly."

Jeff let out a huge sigh. "So they aren't abandoned, just resigned to their fate. You didn't have enough resources to protect them from how the Mysts will change the planet. So you are basically just waiting to see who fuses the right spore and who survives."

"Unfortunately, yes." The alien confirmed.

Emily rocked back in her chair. It was nothing new, but it was said more plainly. She could wake up one day and either be a monster or a Mystical being with a fused spirit body. The way the aliens talked made it seem like there may be some alternative results besides those two, but they wouldn’t matter till the Mysts came.

"Having experienced spirits is not all bad though." Kazi interjected. "It's the opposite actually. Those who are more experienced create connections easier. And they'll often be unique connections like Disc that we created. New unique connections help build the stability of our System and strengthen it before the System War. That is one part of why the Chosen were… well, chosen."

Ammon, who had been running around stopped at the word 'war'. "Wait, there's going to be a war? Can I fight?! I've got my sword."

Vrack turned back to Jeff. "I know you probably have more questions than answers at this point, but it is time to say goodbye."

Emily's husband looked like he wanted to argue. He has a very argumentative side to him when he felt something was unfair. Surprisingly, his mood quickly shifted and he called their kids over to them.

Jeff blew kisses and then threw hugs at them, which Ember thought was hilarious. She started throwing hugs at everyone, even Vrack. The alien seemed to really have a soft spot for the kids. That went a long way to help ease Emily's concern for her children.

Jeff asked for his two kids to come forward and stay silent for a moment. Even in this harrowing situation the two kids had limited attention spans. Jeff did his best to talk through and over their occasional distractions.

"Ammon and Ember, I have to go now. I have to go learn how to do more magic so then I can come back and teach you.

"Ammon, I want you to stay kind and curious. Be super duper nice to your sister. And, make sure you listen to what Summer and Hailey… and Vrack have to say."

A tear rolled down Jeff's cheek, but he kept a happy smile plastered on his face.

"Ember, I want you to be brave and thoughtful. Make sure you always think about how you can make everyone around you and yourself happy." Ember did a twirl and said that made her happy. Jeff choked up a bit at that. "Yes, doing that will probably make them happy… It made me happy and it makes you happy."

"Summer, Hailey," Jeff said, "give them a hug…" Jeff could barely get the words out now. "Give them a hug from me every day."

"I love you dad." Ammon said, catching the seriousness of the situation.

"I love you too, buddy."

"I love you daddy, but I love mommy just this much more." Ember said with her fingers pinched together and up to her eye.

"I'm sure she loved hearing that. And Mommy loves you both so, so much." Jeff got his smile back on and Emily could feel his typical dad joke coming. "Not so-so much," he said wiggling his hand, "but so, SO much." He finished by bringing his hands wide. "And I love you this much."

The view of Emily's kids cut off abruptly. The last thing she saw was Ammon starting to put his arms as wide as he couldn't try and match his dad's. Ember had a cute, bashful smile and her typical mischievous glint in her eye.

Jeff dropped to a sitting position and put his head in his arms.

A news anchor behind a desk was suddenly on the screen. "We will let Jeff have this moment to himself. Wow, there is a lot to talk abou–" the governor's assistant took the tablet from off the table.

The Governor seemed shocked to have it disappear. "Right, uh, back to what, uh, what were we discussing?"

"Yes," Emily said. Her voice was steady despite the tears still present in her eyes. "Yes, I will help you endorse the government's plans."

Harrison DeValt seemed stunned for a moment. Then he seemed to come to himself. "Thank you, Em–"

"I'll do it. Now, can I have some privacy?" Emily said with a stoically composed face. The tears that had wet her cheeks earlier ruined the image a bit.

The team of officials quickly excused themselves and after the governor promised to be in touch soon they all left the building.

Emily finally let the emotions get to her and they came with a vengeance.