It didn't surprise Josh that Sen had been right. Without his earth shield propagated, he would have lost both ears and fun pie-shaped wedges of his face and skull—if Sen had actually been enhancing his swings... Fuhgeddaboudit.

Josh would be lying if he didn't admit he was a bit stung by his lack of skill and just plain fumbling around with two weapons. His emotional response equally surprised and disappointed him. After so many embarrassing butt-kickings in the sparring ring, Josh had thought his pride was left at the door whenever he entered a training room.

Apparently not. A dark chuckle escaped him. Well…One more thing to work on, I suppose...

With the formal training session over, Josh checked his status. His Interface had chimed a few times while he was trying not to cleave into his forehead. Maybe there was some good news? He had thought he was getting better toward the end of the ninety-minute session.

That's not a bad increase in damage compared to my old blade... Is this sword that much better?

A short round of reflection made it clear that Josh couldn’t tell exactly what factors had

Weapon: Scimitar Cutlass

Skill Level: Jr. Student (1%)

Damage: Low

Quality: Essence Channeling: Average

Allows interface guidance for optimal usage.

100% Probability of 19,500% Hand-to-hand Damage

gone into the increase. A lot more than simply changing weapons had happened since he had checked his weapon status. The Mind Attunement for one, his advancing to Jr. Student for two. The scimitar was also one-handed vs. the hand-and-a-half-pommel of the bastard sword he had gotten from Jorng’a. With only variables and no controls to clarify... Josh stopped thinking about it.

One more unanswered question in this insane universe I’m calling home isn’t going to keep me up at night…

The next message from his Interface wasn’t surprising. Not given what Josh knew after a ninety minute practice session with two weapons...

Warning!!

Attempting to dual wield is not advised. Current skill level exceeded. Significant risk of serious injury and/or death.

Warning!!

The fact that the Interface had gone on to repeat the same warning eighteen times was a bit of negative reinforcement...

At least the last interface message acknowledged an ability to dual-wield two weapons. Josh’s eyes flew over it to check his rating...

Weapon: Scimitar Cutlass x2 (dual usage)

Skill Level: Novice (0%)

Damage: Cultivation Poor

Quality: Essence Channeling: Average

Allows interface guidance for optimal usage.

100% Probability of 0% Hand-to-hand Damage

What?! No damage! No wonder Sen had me hold off from checking the reality of my situation before we started... Thank God He can be sly when he needs to be!

Josh chucked in the face of his seeming eternal state of novice and wiped the drying sweat from his face as Sen came over to where he was sitting with his back against the training room wall.

~Joshua, get up.~ Sen extended out his hand. ~You have larger swimming creatures to cook!~

Accepting his hand, Josh replied. ~That's ‘bigger fish to fry’, and dang—You’re right!~

It was Sophie Time!

There was no way Josh would let his abject failure/work-in-progress on dual-wielding mess that up.

They exited the training center on the run and true to her word, Staska was waiting outside for them. She hurried them back to their quarters on the command level. When they asked her about bathing facilities, she had a momentarily confused expression on her face.

“... Ahh... Well, yes sirs... There are common shower areas for the Clansmen and other crew if they need them... But most just use the one in their quarters... If your facilities are broken, I can have maintenance get them repaired in a jiff... "

She moved to tap her communicator to do just that when Josh's upheld hand stopped her. "...Facilities in our quarters?"

It turned out that the console by the mirror Josh had seen was the control center for the room. A short tutorial from Staska showed him how to adjust the lighting, change the configuration of the existing table, and even project extra force chairs. They could even activate a media/function center with music, video, ship comp access, and of course... bathing facilities. There were options for force-bathtubs ranging in size from a single person to small swimming pools. But a simple shower was all he was looking for. There were also a dozen options for that. Multiple jet and wall configurations from single users to multiple occupants... if you had company.

There were also decontamination processors in the room for laundering their clothing and uniforms. Staska assured them that if they dropped their soiled gear in the top of the three drawers behind the push latch cabinet on the wall, "Your gear will be clean and folded in the morning."

Josh and Sen thanked her profusely for taking the time to help them with the necessities of life, and cut her loose for the night. He also made a mental note to ensure Jishin assigned her to them the next time they needed a guide. Josh had to admit now that they were off the Hegemon-4, he felt a little like a 'swimming creature' out of water. But with Staska's help the next time, who knew what they would learn? Maybe where to get some food. While it was true that they didn't need to eat as often as before their Mind Attunement. Once every other standard solar rotation it was still necessary.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Right now eating was a worry for tomorrow... he was running late. So, with damp hair, Josh ran next door and knocked on Alysa's. She let him in, and they sat together on a force couch, one of the configurations Staska had shown him in his room. Unsurprisingly, Alysa was already in the know about the room’s control center... It didn't surprise him that he and Sen were the last to find out... Dumb guys usually are. The force tech made the long-bodied divan adaptively form to their bodies and was actually pretty comfortable.

Alysa reached out her hand. Josh took it, and he was away!

* * * * *

"Thank you soooooooo much for coming, Mrs. Nesbitt! My tea party is never the same without you!"

Sophie filled his cup with streaming light brown liquid from a white teapot. Both of which Josh knew had to be made from her Essence. Essence, she seemed to have complete dominion over while in her soul space. Watching her struggle slightly with the oversized vessel in her tiny hands, his heart ached with happiness.

He reached out, took the tiny cup she offered him, and sipped it while taking stock of his current situation. Most times, Sofie would run up and hug and kiss him before they played. But she was her own creature, and he was always a willing guest in her and Alysa's world. If she wanted to jump right into playing... That was okay with him!

Today, Josh popped into Sophie’s world wearing a brilliant-red, shoulder-length Raggedy Ann mop on his head. It was ably accompanied by a pink prairie dress and oversized peach buttons down its front. He couldn't help but be proud that imagination was one of his daughter's strong suits as he internally chuckled at the self-inflicted indignity he had wreaked upon himself. Usually, they would play as Sophie told him about her day back on Earth. Hide and seek, freeze tag, and horseback riding on Josh were her favorites. But being here with him took a lot of her four-year-old body's energy. Sometimes, she just wanted to cuddle with his arms around her, and a movie was a great excuse to do just that. Sophie had loved watching Toy Story with him the last few nights as she had been a bit too tired to play.

Smiling from his heart, Josh answered his daughter. "There is nowhere in all the Iterations I would rather be my love... But tell me about your other guests. It's nice to see new faces!" Josh looked up eagerly at the ring of small white chairs occupied by two-foot-tall rag dolls dressed in felt clothing and all sporting miniature props of their own.

"Of course, Mrs. Nesbitt! You know your brother, the Heir, and his fiancé, Damni." Sophie leaned in and stage-whispered into Josh's ear. "Though the wedding date is set for quite a long time from now. She decided to join us for our party today. I think she’s worried about him. I know she always watches him from afar when he’s in danger." Sofie's gaze lingered knowingly on the doll-Jaralon with its plush telescoping neck and lithe limbs.

Josh's eyebrows raised in surprise at that. He would have to tell Sen when he got back.

Sophie stepped to the other side of Josh and poured tea into the next cup. "Of course, you know my sister Alla."

Sofie smiled with the sun's warmth at a miniature doll version of Alysa in her full space marine EVA. A soft and fuzzy wing frame extended from the doll’s back with felt jets of fire coming from its feet and hands.

"She is my soul match and as important in preventing the final end as I am... The end that I hear rumbling toward us each night."

A concerned expression passed over her tiny face quickly and was gone with the return of her smile. "But that is in another realm and a long time from now... Many doors stand between us and that place."

One more step around the table, and she poured tea into the two cups opposite Josh. "This is Prince Fuzzy Wuzzy and his knight at arms, Howler." She leaned in and whispered loudly again. "They are just passing through to their new home and graciously agreed to join us." Josh saw the orange and black striped doll with a crown stand up and kiss Sophie's hand as she turned pink, giggling. "He has many things to accomplish and shares a common enemy with us."

One last step clockwise around the table, and Sophie filled the last cup. This is our last friend. You haven't met him yet, but we can't leave until you do. You and your brother will help him, and he will help you." Sophie nodded kindly to the doll sitting in the last chair, who stood and bowed fully at the waist. It was a plush faux-metal monster eight inches taller than even Ishan's doll and covered in armored plates with heavy gauntlets and boots.

A deep voice spoke from behind its large, rounded dome, "A sincere pleasure, my lady. Thank you for having me."

Sophie curtsied back. "You and your partner will always be welcome with us and ours." The adult phrases strangely sounded normal from her soft palate and small round face.

Sophie stepped back from the table. All eyes moved to her and suddenly, the cheerful light from above was blotted out by rolling black clouds. Fierce winds picked up and pulled leaves from the trees, tearing them across the clearing.

Sophie raised a hand to point at the last new doll in the clearing and spoke calmly as if all this was expected. "He is tough to see because he is a composite of uncertainty...But we will all need to face this destroyer." Then, as if she didn't want to continue it but had no choice, she looked up into Josh's face with wide eyes and swallowed. "He's hurt all of us ... and is still coming, Daddy."

A pulse of energy went through the air, and Sophie quickly grabbed Josh's hand. The girl who had been playing the adult princess was gone. Replaced by the terrified eyes of a four-year-old who needed her father to protect her from a monster that cackled on the edge of madness as it broke through the door with a fire axe! Sophie hid behind his legs and cried, "I can't see any way to stop him... "

The last doll, the ‘destroyer’, was another fuzzy, faux-metal figure. But unlike the previous unnamed ally, it was average-sized and didn't give the impression of being encased in a massive suit of armor. It was more like the robotic avatar Intelligence was using. Disfigurement marred its previously flawless frame. The right side of its face was still chiseled and handsome, even though four clear and deep claw marks ran across it. The left side of its entire body was warped and twisted as if it had been melted and then cooled into a poor image of itself. Solidified metal runoff streamed outward in runnels and crisscrossed as if from a great wind or impossible collision. Lumpy pools had formed in odd places on its surface where it had finally cooled. The doll-destroyer also limped in a quick stuttering shuffle forward that favored its left side.

Ishan's doll growled as fiercely as Josh had heard the original do in battle. The plushy Tiger Affin instantly transformed into its living form along with Lobo and Alysa. They were fully armed with their space marine kit and opened up on the advancing figure of the abomination, who Josh noticed had also become his true self. A life-size AI mechanical avatar that simultaneously gave off an aura of Essene from spirit beings and the undead fire that Kyon Shi had. Josh also couldn’t help but notice that the destroyer’s aura was much more powerful than the energy drainer.

Ishan's sunfire Gatling gave an ear splitting scream as it whirled into full-force projection. Plasma rounds pelted the dark mechanical's chest so fast all Josh could see were solid golden streaks bouncing into glowing arc afterimages. The beam of Lobo's purple lasrifle struck the monster’s head from the side as Alysa fully enhanced an attack with her quad-pronged short spear. Essence overflowed from the weapon as it lanced straight between the enemy's eyes.

The twisted face of the avatar sneered contemptuously and swiped its right hand out, shattering all three attackers into multicolored shards of plush velvet and cotton filling. The remains showered down around Josh and Sophie.

At least ten feet tall, a towering metal goliath surged from the darkness. Enormous, armored hands joined locking digits around the destroyer's chest. Mechanical servos screeched as the titanic grip crushed inwards to snuff out the abomination's mortal sparks.

Simultaneously, Sen flew in from behind with a sword in each of his hands, pinwheeling faster than Josh had ever seen during their training. He slid around the enemy’s back and slashed at both sides of its neck. Moving for the quick kill of decapitation.

The avatar laughed as blue sparks scraped off its metallic skin. A malicious leer from burning red eyes preceded another sharp lash of its right arm that reduced two more defenders into another shower of felt and raining fluff.

His eyes full of horror, Josh mentally shouted. ~Sen!? SEN!!~

No response.

The attacker looked through the falling fibers and smirked at Josh as he tried to hide Sophie behind him. "This is the Karmic cabal arrayed against me? What a poor showing!" He advanced on them in quick, halting steps that dragged the left foot.

"Daddy!" Sophie screamed. Hopeless terror was plain in her young voice as she looked up at him with wide eyes. Tiny hands pulled on his arm for protection.

Josh tried to grab his sword from his mag sheath and move to a battle stance. But his arms were too sluggish. His legs barely moved. Sophie yanked him again to run even though she had to know it was pointless. The metal avatar's right arm snapped through the air at both of them—

Josh sat bolt-up in bed. His body was covered in sweat, Sophie's name helplessly on his lips. Panting for breath and heart pounding, wild eyes flashed around for his and Sophie's coming destruction—

Splintered synth wood and twisted metal filled the room as Sen smashed through their joining door. Dual-armed and body-blazing his full earthen shield, he scanned for threats with the promise of death in his eyes.

Both swords still raised, Sen called. ~Brother!?!~

~Sen!?~ Even in the mental communication, Josh was breathing heavily. ~Thank God! It was just a dream... or hasn’t happened yet... I don’t know! Get Alysa. We need to talk...~