The next day, Erica was wandering alone through the large and numerous courtyards of the castle, looking for her friends. She was walking leisurely, when suddenly she emerged into a new outdoor area. At that moment a noni flew over her head. Startled, she watched him landing on and breaking a table. Then she turned to the side from where he had been thrown and noticed a group of nonis in army uniforms. They were chatting animatedly and patting a particularly large one, a noni about three meters tall.

Startled, Erica moved closer to get a better look at him. The noni also noticed her and smiled at her.

—Well, well, well, well, if it isn't miss Brika!— he exclaimed.

—Chromo!— cried Erica.

The girl jumped up, leaned on the head of one of the nonis and caught Chromo in a hug. The latter happily tackled her.

—No way! What are you doing here?!— the girl pleaded.

—What am I doing here?! This is my world! What are you doing here?!

He put her down. Erica opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by a noni next to Chromo.

—Who is this human, Chromo? Your pet? — the soldier joked.

—Hey, hey, this girl is a brika and she earned my respect, don't go insulting her— pleaded Chromo.

The commander's companion approached Erica and looked at her with a skeptical eye.

—There's no such thing as brikas, don't give me that nonsense!

—Chromo probably used her as a toothbrush— joked another noni behind her.

The other nonis laughed. Erica looked at them indifferently, but paid no attention for the moment.

—Tur told me my dad might be in Nudo, so I came here looking for him. Now I know he's in the Heart of the Great Chains and I'm trying to find a way to get there.

Chromo's eyes widened.

—When you say Tur, do you mean the First, Tur'non Rialal?

—She must be mistaken— pointed the noni next to Chromo.

—I'm not mistaken, I did mean the First— assured Erica— I tried to fight him, but I couldn't touch a hair on his head.

—Of course not, he's the First for a reason— exclaimed the commander.

Erica shrugged her shoulders.

—I had to try— she excused herself— It's your turn, why did you come here?

Chromo grinned from ear to ear.

—I was offered a job in another division, a special section of the army.

—And that's better than conquering new worlds?— asked Erica.

—It depends on the world, but yes. I get to work for a very strong lady to whom I owe a lot, so I'm happy.

—That's nice— Erica reminisced about the strong ladies she knew— Isn't that lady Sikika, by the way? Fir'non's bodyguard?

—Pffff! Please, I would never take something as boring as a bodyguard position!— pleaded Chromo— Mine is a versatile job, but apparently my first task will be to make sure I keep an important prisoner locked up. I don't know who it is yet, but I like the idea. I hope they try to escape.

—Eeeeeh?

Erica thought he'd been tricked somehow. Being a prison guard couldn't be a fun job for anything in the world, but she also didn't know the relationship between Chromo and this lady to whom he owed a lot. She supposed the satisfaction of being useful to her was enough. She knew that feeling, so she tried not to give discouraging remarks.

—Congrats, then— she said.

Chromo placed one of his giant hands on her head and ruffled her hair in an affectionate gesture.

—Thank you, girl.

—Hey, Chromo, does your pet know any tricks?— interrupted the soldier from before— Hey, huma, do a somersault.

Chromo turned to his partner with a frown, but said nothing. Instead he turned to Erica with a mischievous half-smile.

—Why don't you show her that trick you taught me?— he suggested.

—Sure I can break your friend?— Erica asked.

—We're just partners, I don't care what happens to him— assured Chromo— besides, he brought this on himself.

—Oh, like I'm going to do anything— complained the soldier— What are you going to try, huma? Are you going to bite me?

The noni stretched out a hand to push her, but Erica stopped him, pulled him towards her with a jerk and when she had him within her reach she sent him a slap that threw him backwards to the other side. Bewildered, the noni stood up and stared at her with his eyes wide open like saucers.

—What the fuck?!— he yelled.

Erica opened her arms in a defiant attitude.

—You want more, douche?

The noni put a hand to his jaw in pain. Then he started to run toward Erica, but she jumped toward him and intercepted him with a knee to the nose. The noni did not get up again. The other soldiers applauded and congratulated her, one even patted her on the back as they had done with Chromo. Erica approached him.

—How is Mother, by the way?

—Your world?— Chromo tilted his head to both sides— so-so. They put up some fight, but not enough to make the conquest entertaining. Battles don't mean glory, so our troops aren't very motivated.

—They haven't tried to use nuclear bombs on you yet?— Erica wondered.

—Oh, yes, they've used them all— said Cromo— but that's why we have anti—nuke technology. It's very basic, really. Our engineers were surprised that you had bombs without systems to neutralize them.

—What? Really? Wow! That was Mother's best card!— Erica exclaimed.

Chromo smiled.

—Do you regret leaving your world unprotected?

—Never!— assured Erica.

Chromo raised his palms to tell her not to be angry with him for what he was saying.

—If you were the leader of the resistance, the Empire's troops would be much more excited....

But he noticed that Erica had noticed something. Following her eye line, Chromo found two other humans about her age. Liliana and Arturo approached, curious and somewhat surprised by the size of the noni.

—Is he a friend of yours?— asked Liliana.

—Guys! This is Chromo. He was the commander of the invasion forces in Santa Glo....

Erica froze when she saw the look of displeasure on Liliana's face. She realized that, not because she was on good terms with Chromo, her friends would feel the same way.

—Friends of yours?— Chromo guessed.

He stretched out his hand to greet them, but Liliana folded her arms in defiance. Arturo reflexively took his hand out of his pocket, but he restrained himself and hid it again.

—Hello— replied the mage in a neutral tone.

—Hello— Liliana growled.

Chromo seemed to understand the situation immediately, since he picked up his hand and acted as if nothing had happened.

—These are Liliana and Arturo, my friends. Both of them... they come from Santa Gloria— Erica said.

—Yes, I thought so— commented Chromo.

Liliana turned to Erica.

—We can come another time, if you like.

Erica froze for a second, not knowing what to do or how to handle her friends' feelings. She didn't want to hurt Chromo, but neither Liliana nor Arturo.

—I actually have to go. I have to get ready for that job I told you about— said Chromo as an excuse.

Erica looked at him with some regret, but thanked him in her mind for his quick reaction. The tall noni waved goodbye to the three of them and left.

Liliana sighed.

—I'm sorry I'm being annoying, I didn't mean to scare him away— she said.

—No, it's fine. Hate him— Erica encouraged her.

Liliana looked at her confused.

—Doesn't it bother you that I don't get along with your noni friends?

—Not at all! They took your home away from you guys, you don't need to get along with them just because of me— assured Erica— I feel like I'm the bad friend for not defending you.

—No, no, we didn't even know you when the invasion happened— exclaimed Liliana— You're not responsible for defending us, Erica. On the contrary, it's good that you have other friends.

Arturo scratched his head.

—Thank you for understanding— he said at last.

The three smiled at each other.

-----------------------------------------

Each day they continued to ask for an audience with Tur, and each day he refused. On the fifth day Erica folded her arms in front of the guards guarding access to the First's office, showing her weariness. They were only going to ask him for a way to get to the Core, nothing that would take more than ten minutes, but again they were denied access "because he was busy" or "because he had gone somewhere else".

—Where is your boss?— asked Erica.

—You heard, he's busy— said one of the guards— it's not our fault. Get lost.

Liliana and Arturo looked at each other, nervous. Erica was seething with rage and the guards were not about to give in one bit. Sparks were starting to fly.

—Enough!— the forteme shouted, before raising a hand to open the door.

The guards pointed their rifles at her. Liliana and Arturo moved away on impulse. They all stopped for a moment.

—Back!— exclaimed the guard.

Erica slapped the rifles away and prepared to jump out and hit them, but suddenly the door opened and Tur appeared out of it.

—Hi, kids, having fun?— he asked as if nothing was happening.

Erica and the guards looked at each other, surprised and nervous. They expected Tur to separate and skold them, but he barely looked at them. The First Noni closed the door behind him, and left with vague excuses.

—I'll see you children at another time. I have to go now. Bye bye!

The three humans stared at him as he walked towards the stairs.

—Wait, Tur!— Erica called out to him.

—I'm sorry, it's something urgent. We'll talk in the afternoon— he asked without even looking at her.

Erica looked at her friends, as if asking someone to explain what was going on there, but she soon pulled herself together and ran towards the noni.

—Tur!— she called out to him, but he only picked up the pace.

She chased him down the staircase and through the rooms of the tower, but suddenly, as she turned a corner, he was no longer in the next corridor. Erica looked for him everywhere, but could not find him. Only then did her friends catch up with her.

—Did you catch him?

—No, he's gone! He disappeared!— exclaimed Erica, frustrated and angry.

Liliana looked down the hallway. She tried to concentrate on what she saw; only for a moment did she catch a glimpse of a dark spot moving in the distance, at the other end. She kept her gaze fixed for a long time, but saw nothing else. Looking at her, Erica guessed what had crossed her mind.

—Do you think Vikala took him?

—It's possible— Liliana reflected.

—Did you see anything?

—I'm not sure, but if they disappeared, they could have gone anywhere. There's no way we can track them.

The three were silent for a moment; Erica frustrated and gnashing her teeth, Liliana trying to understand why Tur and Víkala could be avoiding them, and Arturo lost in thought.

—What if we go to the parking lot exit?— he suggested.

Both girls turned around.

—That's right, they're probably headed for Tur's ship!— Liliana exclaimed.

—But they can also go on foot wherever they want, or even to a place inside the castle— Erica stipulated.

—Yes, but most likely they will exit where the First always exits: the parking lot exit— explained Arturo.

Erica and Liliana looked at each other. Going to the parking lot was better than nothing.

—Okay, but we have to run!— urged Erica.

—I have a better idea— said Arturo— follow me.

The boy hurried to a window, opened it and climbed in.

—Arturo, be careful— begged Liliana.

—Wait, I could go that way, but I don't think I can carry you both— said Erica.

But the mage ignored her for the moment.

—Three square meters should be enough— he said to himself.

Then he closed his eyes, with one hand he pointed at the wall below the window and with the other he pressed his temples to concentrate on what he was doing. The girls wanted to ask him what he was up to, when suddenly they heard the loud scraping of rock against rock. Then the boy jumped out of the window. For an instant they thought he would fall into the void, but then Arturo stopped in mid-air on the other side of the window.

The girls looked out and saw a block of rock against the wall, wide enough to hold the three of them.

—What is that?— asked Liliana, a little frightened.

—Get on, they're getting away!— the mage urged them.

—Of course!

Erica jumped out of the window towards the block of rock, but Liliana stared at them in fear.

—I thought you said you couldn't get too high— she recalled.

—Rather, I need something solid to lean on— the mage explained— as long as I float next to the castle, everything will be fine.

Liliana looked fearfully at the rock platform. Seeing her lack of enthusiasm, Arturo wondered how he could make the idea more pleasant for her.

—Or should we take the elevator?— he suggested.

But he knew it wouldn't do them any good if they wanted to reach Tur.

—Come on, Lili, get in!— urged Erica— if you fall, I'll save you.

Liliana ducked her head for a moment to cheer herself up. Then she went through the window and jumped onto the platform. They were a hundred stories above the ground. From that height they could see almost the entire capital, from one side to the other. The wind was blowing hard and threatened to blow them down. For that reason Arturo made small claws emerge from the rock platform that held their feet.

—All right, get ready!

Arturo had to be very focused during the whole process, since in order to keep the block suspended next to the tower wall he couldn't just "ask for it". He had to balance all the forces acting on the platform, including the weight of the boulders that formed it, which tended to separate and break apart right there in the air.

—Ready— said Liliana.

—Go for it!— exclaimed Erica.

Arturo concentrated on the force that was pulling them up and made it disappear all at once. The rock platform began to fall straight down, centimeters away from the big tower.