"She did what?" I ask when the medic comes outside to break the news. I'm standing outside the infirmary with a few books, which have been strewn aside during my latest fit of pacing the room.

"I couldn't believe it either." admits Alexander. The timid Esdemel scrapes one hoof against the ground, his tufted tail twitching with fear. He's a soft-looking creature, white as snow with a bit of a dark violet shimmer to his coat: pale coloration is common in medics of all species, which I refuse to dismiss as coincidence. "We have no idea why or how the darker Canira managed to dispel the Auspicia herself from her dreams, but I assure you, all parties are safe-"
"Did she lash out in her sleep? It had to be some kind of freak accident. She must've... kicked Heilin while she was sleeping, and that broke Heilin's concentration. Maybe she kicks hard." I offer.

Alexander shakes his head. "N-no, we're certain it was a deliberate action."

"It was a lapse of judgement on our part, that's what it was. Some random Canira appear from the Factory, the home of our greatest enemies, and our first thought is to get them close to her Highest Auspicia as possible?" Plumeria stalks into the room, which is whiter than Alexander's coat. Her dark plum coloration makes her grim countenance even more threatening. "I came as soon as I heard. We've secured the perimeters, haven't we?" she finishes with a sharp, pointed glare at the Esdemel.

"Of course," Alexander says, kneeling into an awkward bow. "My abilities have been lacking, since I've been using so much of my own blood, but my team has secured both Canira and removed her Highest Auspicia from the room."

"That's good, I'll have to visit with her momentarily. Now, what were the specifics of the attack? Do you think they might just have thought they were still in the Factory?"

Alex's soft, tufted ears fall. "That's the narrative they're trying to push right now."

"By 'them', do you mean us or the two Canira?" I peep from the corner.

"Us. The two Canira have just woken up."

Plumeria gives him a stiff, curt nod. Her chin is inches from the tip of his crooked horn as she passes him, "I'll go into see the Auspicia now. Avery, if you'd like to do something besides standing around, looking nervous, you can come."

My tail picks up of its own accord, betraying my relief, but I still manage a scoff of mock outrage at the insult. "Standing around? I was here from the second the news broke, loyally standing guard- where were you?"

Plumeria, rarely one for sarcasm, snaps back, "Avery, not to burst your bubble, but some of us have jobs." With a flick of her tail and a dark, backwards glance, she signals me to follow, and Alexander grabs the rope to open the whining door.

Inside, the smell of sterile hospital greets me, along with another round of blinding white lights. This area is more of a psychological treatment area, along with the more powerful containment areas, so I have no idea how this case even fell under Alexander's jurisdiction. Plumeria seems to think the same thing, because she's mumbling under her breath about 'incompetence' and something to do with high Defender injury rates.

"Not to be rude, but are we understaffed?" I ask as we pass a room with ominous looking blast marks around the exterior. As I stare on, the door self-heals to pristine condition, only for another round of energy to fire from within. Whoever's in there, they're not happy to be there.

"No, we're fine. There've just been some... tricky executive decisions around here lately. The missions we've been sending out to begin evacuation of potential siege areas for any potential invasion have been injured, or worse, not come back at all." Plumeria says, staring down a diagram with the current appointments etched in. "Well, looks like the Auspicia is around this wing, to the left."

I nod. "One more question?"

"Knock yourself out."

"Do you trust them? The visitors, I mean. From the Factory. We were all waiting on a miracle and this just happened to come up. That can't be a coincidence."

Plumeria's nostrils dilate for a drawn-out moment, and then with a sigh, she admits, "I have no clue what they are, but if they're from the Factory, we can't afford to welcome them with open paws."

"Seems fair." I remark as we enter her Highest Auspicia's current room. The insides of the room are significantly more pleasant than the outside, as this area's tend to adjust themselves to whatever is least likely to provoke patients. A few Canira rush about tending to Heilin's four wings, which are burned and torn in several places. Heilin herself reclines under an artificial sun, in a large, windowed room overlooking a landscape I don't know. She doesn't look pained, but her eyes are narrowed in concentration.

She sees us both enter and a soft smile crosses her jowls. "It's a pleasure to see you both. I'm fine, I assure you." She sits up and flaps all six, sending a wave of light down all four wings. They return to their former glory before tucking away and disappearing altogether. "That will be all," she tells one of the Canira attending her, who bows before ducking out of the room with the other medic in tow.

I watch the last one leave. She's got a roll of gauze around one of her paws and her fur is so puffy she looks like a small cloud. I know I've seen her somewhere before- she must be Teresa, the medic who attends to the sparring Defenders.

"Four wings manifest, and you were still taken out?" asks Plumeria.

"I didn't expect an ambush, and I had no desire to hurt them, so I simply retreated. Regardless, I received what I came in there for. My suspicions have been confirmed." Heilin looks straight into the light of the artificial sun. "They truly are the Hope and Determination Virtues of the Factory."

A shiver runs down my spine. Even before I came to the castle, I remember vaguely the tales of the Luminous Duo, also known as the twin Virtues of Hope and Determination. While every Sentient in Dreamland possesses some small amount of all nine virtues, they excel in only one (also known as an aptitude), and no one personifies theirs to the extent the Luminous Duo is said to. They're a couple painted across the vast landscape of the multiverse, appearing time and time again through ancient stories across worlds. They occur once in the life of every universe: destined to meet, destined to love, and according to most tales, destined to tragic death. They've shaped revolutions, changed trajectories of civilizations, and torn down empires.

This could be the best or worst thing to happen to us right now.

"The Obsidians can't have a Luminous Duo. There's no naturally-occurring life there." Plumeria reasons.

"No, but the Obsidians themselves have created life within their walls. There's no reason they wouldn't fit the qualification." Heilin chuckles, "Just like them to ignore ancient warnings. Fitting that it would be their undoing, wouldn't it?"

"But you're sure?" I ask.

"They have mutual dreamwalking, which is damning evidence in and of itself. Their powers line up with fire and light quite neatly, as Determination and Hope are apt to do, and from personal examination, I'd say it's quite unlikely they wouldn't be our Virtues." Heilin continues, getting to her paws, "You contacted Nat, didn't you?"

"Lady Natrina has been contacted." Plumeria confirms. "She was-"

"She didn't want to talk to me, I'm guessing."

"She agreed to meet up with us in five day's time when she learned you might have the Luminous Duo on her paws. After all, our Hope Virtue was her sister."

Heilin looks down at her paws. "Yes," she sighs, "Yes, she was." With that, she leaves the room, and we follow her out. We part ways as the room resets itself to the base white default behind us, and she turns towards her observatory and we turn towards the holding room for the two Virtues-

Verhamera's tails, I can hardly believe it myself.

Plumeria nudges open the door to their room open, and this time, instead of one or two assisting Canira, I see two Canis with horn sheaths standing watch over the two sleeping bodies. They stand in the artificial grass that the room has created for them, which blows in a false breeze beneath a cloudless sky. The effect is so powerful I want to lie down myself, or come closer to the shadow of a fabricated willow tree that they're resting beneath.

Slowly, the scarlet Canira hoists himself up onto his paws, the wind ruffling his fur. He has a bulky build, despite the poor diet he must've had at the Factory, and the juxtaposition of his broad shoulders and strong limbs against his jutting ribcage is sickening. Still, he has a bright, inquisitive light to his amber eyes, and a soft, amused smile despite the trouble he and his companion must be in.

As he looks around the enclosure, his gaze flits from the handlers to mine, where he holds me, a solemn intensity in his eyes as he peers past the glass.

Finally, he remarks, "Oh. So you're the other Canira."

"What other Canira?" I ask.

"There are other Canira here, right? Vivian said that there would be more of you in Dreamland, but so far it looks like you're the only one."

"There are plenty more of me, I assure you." I smile. The Pegasus Canira, my kin, are not a particularly rare breed, nor are Canira anything but plentiful on the face of this planet. "What's your name, traveller?"

"Traveller?"

"It's a traditional name for those who move between worlds."

"I don't think I want to do any more moving, if it's all the same to you." He has a laugh like a fire being lit in the darkness, a brightness that springs from nothing. "My name is Torch. That's Iris."

He shuffles his paw close to the face of the darker Canira, whose electric eyes shoot open. This must be the one who attacked the Auspicia- if I could believe anyone would attack her Highest Auspicia, it would be Iris. It's not that she looks cruel, but more that there's an anticipation that holds over her. It's like staring down a loaded cannon. She could slice me to pieces in a heartbeat.

Iris opens her mouth, showing all of her not-quite canine teeth, and declares, "This room is another illusion."

"It is?" asks Torch.

"Certainly," she decides. "Where is she? The lightbeast, with the four wings."

"Her Highest Auspicia." I reply. Plumeria is watching me as if I'd decided to break the glass and let them out, and the Canis on guard both levitate massive tridents. If I want to defuse the situation, I'd better act fast. "She's no threat to you. She's the leader of our kind."

"Iris," Torch says, "I told you. She wanted to help us."

"Where's Lotus? Vivian told us to find Lotus." Iris snaps.

The entire room freezes. Both Canis guards drop their weapons and Plumeria almost passes out on the spot. "Viv-Vivian." I stutter.

"The red one," offers Torch. "Large, bulky, um... kind of like me, I think. She breathes smoke? She also goes by the Hellhound. Draws the flowers on the Factory walls."

"Vivian." I say again. "The Vivian."

"Are... there a lot of Vivians?" asks Torch.

"N-no. Just the one." A million things are rushing through my mind now. Vivian, the Vivian, alive! The Luminous Duo of the Factory, of all worlds, here in our castle! Even when I began working with Heilin, I never could have expected this. My fantasies have been blown out of the water. "We need to tell Heilin." I tell Plumeria, and now my tail is wagging so fast I can hardly control myself. "Vivian's alive! THE Vivian, of myth, is alive!"

"C-can we, um..." Torch asks, faltering as he sees the two stunned guards and Plumeria passed out on the floor.

Iris steps in for him, "Torch and I have been seeing things while unconscious, we're both unsure of where we are or how we got here, and we have no idea what you're talking about. Can someone please explain what's going on?"

"Well, that first one is called 'dreaming'." I say, still reeling.

Torch nods.

"A-as for the rest? I can explain everything, but first, you're going to need to cooperate with me."