The story so far:

---- Aija is a Volunteer at the Pristine School at Innermost. She works along with Zuri and Ze, who are her friends. Aija witnesses a strange event one night – light emanating from Rez's body. The kidnapper is after her soul, next, but he leaves her alive and goes away. Another man finds her, he wants to take her somewhere else - Aija though wary of him agrees. Aija learns of the existence of the aliens – the Ytai. Also, about the R'ies and H'eon, Harvesting and Àvo from Etrie. Etrie tells her that the man, who Harvested Rez (Thieron), will now go after her. He tells her that the spy/kidnapper's name is Luka. Etrie asks her to work along with him. Aija agrees to work along with Etrie on Harvest Stopping Missions.

---- Ze is restless as he takes care of a class. He finds out that a student of his is in the hospital for an unknown sickness. The boy Xan's friend Vaughn asks him to visit Xan at the hospital as Xan would really appreciate it. Ze fights with his mother, again, about his powers. He leaves home and goes to the hospital to visit his student Xan. Ze finds something strange as he reaches the hospital and decides to check it out.

---- Xan is still in the hospital. He is still weak. Vaughn confesses to Xan that he loves him. They share their first kiss. Xan is approached by two strange men dressed in the white-coats of doctors. They tell him he is dying, but he can give up his soul to save the Earth. Xan chooses to give his soul for the Earth.

---- Luka loses his satchel while leaving the hospital. Thieron calls him and lets him know that he knows about it. 

---- Luka goes to the car to find that Thieron has Aija with him. Zuri finds Nala with him and Thieron. They leave. 

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****19.2 - Aija****

Zuri hadn't climbed a level in Spaceship Hop. They had played for over three hours, and Ze was getting quite fidgety.

"We need to go," she told Zuri.

"No. Just one more try." Zuri pleaded.

"Last time," Aija warned.

Zuri lost the round again. To be fair, it was one of the last three levels, and it was meant to be tough. Aija dragged her out. Ze looked relieved.

"Today was just terrible!" Zuri groaned. "I'll have better luck next time."

"Sure," Ze muttered under his breath, making Aija smile.

"You're going home now?" she asked him.

"I need to," he said. "But, my hovercycle's at the School Housing. I'll walk back with you two."

The three of them walked home from the Market. The flashy lights faded into the distance as they walked away to a more residential area.

"I'm hungry." Zuri declared, putting her arm around Aija.

"We just ate."

"I burned it all playing the game."

"Let's have something at home."

"Did you apply for the Teacher Training program?" Ze asked them.

"Yes," Zuri said.

"I haven't yet," Aija mumbled.

"It's alright." Ze's voice was soothing. "There's still time, Aija."

She smiled. "You know you can call me, Ai, don't you? You adamantly call me Aija."

Ze looked at her, but she couldn't understand his expression.

"You can call me Aija," she said, laughing.

"No," he said. "Ai's good."

They walked the rest of the way silently.

Aija tried to relax as the night breeze blew. She felt anxious for some reason. They had a Harvest stopping mission that night, and Zuri was going along with them. Aija was still shocked with herself. She never thought she would attack someone willingly. But, if she hadn't distracted that Ytai man, he would have killed Zuri. And, Zuri was more important to her.

Etrie had warmed up to Zuri much faster than he had with her. Aija wasn't too happy to be putting Zuri at risk again, but once Etrie had given permission, Zuri had been unstoppable. Zuri had seemed low for a few days after her first mission. But she had come out of her misery, stronger.

They bid goodnight to Ze and went to Zuri's place. They had dinner; Aija managed to eat half the millet salad. She was still uncomfortable with the food, and she'd lost a bit of weight. Zuri was worried about her, but she couldn't eat. Taylor's face and the small dilapidated house kept popping into her mind.

Aija went back to her Apartment to change. She wished Zuri, and she could share one Apartment and live together. If only they were allowed to. Housing was free for volunteers, and they were supposed to live separately. She didn't understand the Leadership. Oftentimes it looked like they wanted to control the people and ensure they didn't get too close to one another.

She braided her hair to keep it off her face. Like she had told Ze earlier that day, the day felt anticipatory. And it rendered her anxious as she waited for Kuna's message. Zuri had texted her, saying she would be taking a nap. Aija had attempted to rest and failed.

Aija called her parents and spoke with everyone at home and told them she would be home the next morning. Her mother informed her that Quinn's family had been discussing engagement dates – a day to officially get engaged to be married and announce to relatives. She told her mother that she was okay with any day they chose. She was unsure of it although she didn't tell her mother so. She was still coming to terms that she would be marrying Quinn one day.

When Zuri had told her of Ze's cousin, she understood his concern. Why she had thought that she had a chance to marry whom she loved was a mystery to her. What had given her the audacity to even hope for it?

She called her brother Rei after she had spoken to the rest of her family. He didn't receive the call. Probably he was busy with extra night classes or duties. He would call her back later.

Aija paced the room, her thoughts consuming her. She put the small sound rounds in her ears and commanded her Scroll to play her music playlist. She felt a nuance of calm and sat down.

She slowly slipped into sleep and dreamed of her dog Terra.

Terra ran through the open fields of green grass as Aija followed her. The landscape shifted, and Terra ran through deep forests, and they reached snow-covered mountains. Aija walked behind Terra, who had slowed down now. She felt something cold fall on her skin. She looked up; it wasn't rain. It was snow. Terra barked excitedly and ran. "Stop!" she said and ran behind her again. She lost sight of her as she meandered through the dense forest.

The forest's fragrance hung in the air, and she found that it relaxed her. She walked through the woods touching the plants and the trunks of the trees. Soon she reached a clearing in the woods as she heard Terra bark. "Terra," she said and halted.

With her attention all on the dragon, she had almost missed the man standing next to it, his hand on its body. Aija took in his appearance. He looked entrancing with shiny silver hair and light green eyes; there seemed to be a bright glow around him. He looked at her with a fervid gaze. He wore white pants that were a bit loose around his waist and tapered towards his ankles and a red coat, which was unbuttoned, revealing his bare muscular torso.

Aija felt unafraid. It was serene, even as the snowfall increased. She walked towards the man and the dragon slowly and stood next to Terra, looking up at the massive dragon. It kneeled and came face to face with her – its face was twice the size of her.

It was magnificent, and it sparkled despite the obvious lack of sunlight. It seemed to be crafted from the light of a million diamonds.

Aija looked into its eyes – one-moment emerald green, the next lightning blue. The man nodded once at her and smiled as if he knew her.

When the dragon spoke, she felt the voice vibrate through her very being, and it sounded both female and male at the same time as it said, "You are home."

She tilted her head, and she heard the sound of a Scroll ringing. She narrowed her eyes in confusion, still looking at the dragon.

"Go now," the man said, and his voice vibrated through her bones.

Aija jerked awake and found that her Scroll was ringing. Still dazed from her dream, she answered it.

"Come out. Immediately!" Kuna sounded worried.

She looked at the time. It was eleven forty. They were supposed to leave at one a.m., weren't they?

"Now?" she asked, forgetting all about her dream.

"Yes, now. Hurry, I'm waiting outside."

Kuna cut the call, and her Scroll rang again. It was Zuri.

"What's going on?" Zuri's voice came through.

"I don't know," Aija answered. "But we better hurry."

*****

The two human girls walked out and found Kuna waiting for them, not bothering to hide as he typically did.

"We misjudged the time." Kuna's voice was grim as he started walking away. "The Harvesters are already on their way to the Hospital – we just received information from our Tech. Etrie isn't close by either. We must hurry."

Aija grew anxious again. They needed to reach the Hospital on time. How could the Harvesters even target a sick person? She felt horrible.

"How could you misjudge time?" Zuri asked as they half-ran towards Market.

"Two different teams were trailing the boy. As far as we knew, none of them had gone to the Hospital yet. We were expecting an early morning mission. But one of them left earlier."

Two different teams were out? The fact that Kuna had mentioned that it was a boy wasn't lost on her. They were after a sick boy? How cruel!

They stopped at Market, where Kuna borrowed three hovercycles. "Etrie has our car," he explained, and they rode fast. Aija was thankful that she didn't have to run; she would have been a major hindrance.

"Is Etrie coming?" Aija asked as they glided across the roads.

"Yes, he and Maya are on the way. But it'll take time. I have also asked for a different team for back up. But they are far too."

****

The two human girls and one Ytai man reached to Hospital a half-hour later, past midnight. Kuna ran in first, leaving his hovercycle right at the entrance and shouting "Room 109" at them.

Aija and Zuri left their hovercycles at the side of the building. Zuri went in after Kuna and Aija followed her. Zuri ran to the stairs, and just as Aija was about to, she spotted a nurse carrying a very familiar satchel.

Was he here? How had the bag gone into the hands of a nurse? It had to be his bag; it had the unmistakeable blue-brown shade to it.

She looked up at the stairs, Zuri was already out of sight. She went back to the main lobby and found the nurse. She was heading towards the "Staff Baggage Room." It looked like it was accessible only with the ID chip. She had to get the satchel before the nurse put it in the room.

Aija looked around; there were no other nurses or doctors in the vicinity. There were only a few people who looked like the family of the patients. They were near the Scanning Section. She ran in the direction of the nurse, skid, and fell as loudly as she could. She had succeeded; the people around her came to her aid, and she peeped at the nurse. The nurse had stopped and was looking at her; perhaps the nurse needed more incentive to come to check up on her. So, Aija feigned severe pain in her leg, and finally, the nurse came over to her.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

Aija shook her head. "It hurts."

The nurse put the bag down and reached for her right leg. "Where does it hurt?"

She let out a whine when the nurse touched her foot.

"I'll go get a hoverchair and a doctor." the nurse said and left – without the bag as Aija had hoped.

"You're going to be fine, child." an elderly woman told her, holding her.

Aija felt dreadful, seeing her genuine concern. But she had to leave. Immediately.

She rubbed her foot and said to the three people still around her, "I feel much better, thank you."

She stood slowly, and the woman held her like she was a delicate flower. She picked the bag and told the three people, "If the nurse comes back, tell her I'm alright. And, thanks."

Aija fake limped as a man called out, "Isn't it better you had your leg checked?"

"It's alright. I'm in a hurry. My friend's been admitted, I need to go.

She continued her fake limping until she was out of sight, then she ran. The limping had been to keep their attention on her, and not the bag she'd taken from the nurse. She ran to the end of the corridor and saw the back entrance to the Hospital. She exited the building and found rows and rows of bushes. She found an empty bench in the small park and sat on it, righting her breath.

The impact of the fall had hurt her a bit, but she was alright. She opened the bag and found glass jars, glass jars with lights – no, souls – glowing in them.

So, she had been right. She was glad she had taken the chance. If that man was at the Hospital, it also meant that Thieron was there, somewhere. But how had Luka lost this precious bag?

Something scratched at her leg, and she jumped in fear, almost dropping the bag. She looked down – to find a kitten. What was it doing out here? She knew there was a pet section in the Hospital where puppies and kittens were taken care of that provided anxious visitors of the Hospital a distraction. She had forced Rei to take her there when they had visited the Hospital for both Avi and Asahi's births.

Aija sat back down on the bench. Maybe it had escaped the shelter and come outside. It mewed, and she carefully reached for it. It was adorable. It was grey all over except for its ears. One was white; the other black.

"Hey, little one...." Aija whispered. "How did you get out here?"

The kitten mewed in response. She placed it on her lap and opened the bag again.

"What shall I do with these?" she whispered to the kitten as it climbed steadily to her left shoulder and curled up there.

"I know." she declared standing up. "I'll make sure no one can use these souls for evil. I'll free them."

She took a jar and twisted the lid. It didn't budge. She tried to turn the top with as much force as she could muster, but it was tightly fixed and only hurt her palms. She climbed on the bench carefully so as to not let the kitten fall and threw the jar down with force, shouting, "Break!" It broke open, and the soul in it hovered out and floated above her.

One by one, she threw the jars to the ground shouting "Break!" like it was a mantra that was helping her break the jars. The glass smashed as it hit the ground freeing the souls in them. They hovered in mid-air each a different color. They stayed close to her as she broke jar after jar.

The souls' pulsating glow in the dark strangely reminded her of the colorful fairy lights her mother out up at her home for New Year's Day every year.

One of the souls – a gorgeous shade of red came close to the kitten. The kitten regarded it, and it looked like the soul was studying the kitten as well.

She felt proud. Proud that she had freed the souls.

She reached out to touch a blue soul when she heard from behind, "What do you think you are doing?"

Aija froze. She had heard that deep voice only once before, over a month ago, but she would recognize it anywhere, anytime.

She turned around slowly.

Thieron was standing a few feet away from her, and though it was dark, she could see the ire in his eyes.

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