I had my first vacation since May last year two weeks ago. My gosh, it felt SOOO good to be out of work and relax. The roller coasters helped too. They're therapy in all this. Much cheaper too. That place did everything they could to stay open. Dots on the ground, enough hand sanitizer to bathe in, guest limits, sanitizing and distancing on all rides, squares on the ground saying where people can and can't stand... Unfortunately the live stage performance I saw the day before was only distanced side to side and now Corona is in my family... Not me, but I've still got to quarantine until next Friday... I've still got my own results to look forward to tomorrow... Screw Corona...

Enough sob story. Onto this.

"Incredible," Tygan breathed as he stared at the microscopic image of Ruby's shoulder cells. Invidia and Mercedes Romero also stared intently at the screen. "The rate of cellular decay has decreased by over ninety nine percent. The cohesion between them has also increased to a level I have never seen before."

"Yeah, my arm feels great." Ruby fought the urge to scratch at the camera strapped to her right shoulder. She still felt the lingering effects of Orchid's healing kisses, but the 'tape' they used to secure the camera cut off most of the effectiveness. "If you really want a good view of what Orchid can do, you should look right after her treatments, not an hour or so after."

"I will take your advice into advisement." Tygan turned to Invidia. "On your world, did you find a way to replicate this effect?"

The elf shook her head. "We had no need. Our healers could treat many of the same ailments as Orchid with their own abilities. What they couldn't, the technology of the world or a mixture of science and magic could. We never thought to examine Orchid's patients under a microscope. They felt better and their wounds were healed under a specific Semblance. The Rider in charge of the medical division didn't have that investigation as a high priority."

"I have not seen this either," Mercedes said through a small metallic circle on her… neck? Head? She was sentient fungus with no recognizable humanoid facial features and tentacles instead of arms. "I have made many friends, on many different worlds. None of them have the ability to make something like this." Her body turned and what Ruby recognized as the Blorg's front side turned to face her. Some of Mercedes' extremities raised and quivered, something Ruby thought represented excitement. "You and your friends are quite amazing."

"Thank you." Ruby nodded at the Blorg then faced Tygan. "What's the verdict, doc? Am I free to go?" She was still in the infirmary only because Invidia appeared just as interested in this study as the other two. Otherwise she would have tried to force her way into Orchid's and Nalia's interrogation. She trusted them both with her life, but Orchid had a habit of talking too much and saying what people wanted to hear. That was perfectly fine with what she normally did, not so much if people are trying to find out if she was hostile or not… then again, if someone thought Orchid was hostile, they were likely wanted for murder somewhere.

"The Commander wants me working on the autopsy of one of the Vipers we have encountered. That has taken a greater priority since we may have two of them working with us in the near future. I will leave this investigation to Doctors Romero and Invidia." He nodded at each of them in turn.

Invidia returned the nod then Tygan left the infirmary. The elf turned to Ruby. "We have what we need for now, Shadeslayer. If it's possible to replicate Orchid's Semblance, we will find the way. Once we remove the monitoring devices, you are free to leave." She managed a small smile. "Even with reduced ability, Orchid has healed all your injuries. I will be clearing you for active duty when we are done here." She and Mercedes walked or… slithered over and began removing various patches and the camera.

"How much longer are you on shift?" Ruby asked the elf.

"I am off shift until four in the morning. I merely prefer to spend my free time helping those in here, though not as well as I could on Remnant or Alagaësia."

"Good. We need to talk, get some things figured out." Ruby paused and looked at the translation 'button' on the Blorg. "Doctor Romero, I don't suppose you have more of those translators?"

"I do." Mercedes' whole body squished down a few inches, releasing quite the stink while doing so. Ruby had to fight back a gag. The Blorg stank something fierce and made a Kull look like a supermodel, but her friendly personality made up for that. "I was taken with seven personal universal translators. I would give them to XCOM's ground huggers, but I have yet to completely translate ADVENT's language."

"That's not why I'm asking. Could they work for Orchid and Nalia?"

"They work on all species that speak a known language." Mercedes' top half listed to the right. "I have seen footage of various species of the ADVENT coalition speaking local languages. Are they not capable?"

"They're telepathic, but they speak perfect Vyta… English."

"Telepathic?" Mercedes' took her excited posture again. "That works even better with the receiver! No talking over one another. I will fetch two at once." She turned away and paused. "Will they require multiple due to skin secretions?"

Ruby glanced at Invidia. "You think they can sweat that much?"

Invidia shook her head then faced Mercedes. "Neither of them should have the need for more than one." Mercedes slithered off without another word.

"What's her story?" Ruby asked Invidia.

"It sounds like one of the science fiction stories you are fond of." Invidia removed the camera from Ruby's shoulder. "She was preparing a first contact dinner with several of her crewmen when she was taken. She infers that she escaped because something she 'secretes' is toxic to her captors. However, when we tested that theory in the field, it had no effect. Even if it did work, the Commander believes using that as a weapon would 'violate the Geneva Convention.' I have researched this convention and I believe that he is correct, even though the Elders do not follow it themselves.

"Her species is… strange. They can't stand the sight, smell, or natural sound of each other so most of them spend their lives in isolation, only taking mates because they have to in order to survive. They received rogue radio transmissions from a different Earth than this one and they wanted to find the humans and befriend them. Most of their culture revolves around that."

"I don't know why. Humans tend to mess things up." Ruby stopped herself from continuing when Mercedes reentered the room.

The Blorg handed Ruby a small, padded box. "Here you go. You may take one for each of your friends."

Ruby opened the box and took two of the silvery disks. "Any chance you could make more of these? At least Nalia's going to be sent into battle and anything can happen out there."

"Sadly, no. This planet does not have the equipment or materials needed to produce these."

"I guess I'll have to make my own translation bands if something happens." Ruby nodded at the Blorg. "Thank you. They'll appreciate these."

Mercedes appeared to inflate. "I am glad to hear it." Her front turned to the now still screen showing Ruby's shoulder. "Now if you excuse me, I need to do science!" She slithered out of the room.

Ruby blinked. "'Do science?' How old is she?"

"Close to a century I believe," Invidia said.

"Huh. Different maturity, I guess." Ruby stayed silent as Invidia continued to take all the monitoring devices off her. A moment after the last one was peeled off, a green and a purple Viper entered the room, without guards. Orchid had a bright smile on her face as usual while Nalia's was much more content. Nalia also had a t-shirt on, this one mostly green with a large yellow 'O' in the center. Ruby released tension she didn't even know built up and returned their smiles.

"Hi. I take it the interrogation went well?" Ruby asked. Nalia hummed and nodded. Ruby held up the hand with the translation buttons. "I've got a gift for you two, courtesy of Mercedes Romero. Translation buttons." The sides of both Vipers' heads raised and happy hums burst from their chests. They each grabbed one of the buttons. Nalia put hers on her forehead while Orchid put hers beneath her chin.

"…esting, one two three," Nalia's mental voice came from her button. She hummed again and nodded. "I believe this thing works."

"A lot less itchy too," Orchid said. She smiled at Ruby. "Sorry, but I like this thing better."

Ruby couldn't help but laugh. "Miniaturize the translation bands. Got it." She sighed in relief and grinned like an idiot at the dragons in front of her. "You don't know how good it feels to hear your voices again."

"I think I've got a good idea from your face." Nalia's smile fell. "I just wish it was one I never saw again."

"Same here." There were one or two options for what Nalia thought and neither of them were any good. Ruby turned her head to take in the rest of the infirmary. There were a few other people in there and they at least acted asleep. "Orchid, can you do anything for them?"

Orchid sighed and shook her head. "If we were back on Remnant, or if I had my own body for that matter, I would already be doing what I could. Now… Healing you took too much energy. I can do scratches but not anything serious."

"Got it." Ruby looked over her present friends. All people she trusted with her children's lives. She suddenly felt like she was behind some of the best security money could buy. "My room… our room should be clear. Mox and Verge headed off to the Resistance Ring for something or another."

Nalia gestured toward the door. "Lead the way."

Ruby stood from where she sat and walked toward the infirmary's exit. One set of feet and two… tails followed her out. For once, the glares weren't cast at her, but at the two Vipers behind her. No one approached, and everyone knew what would happen if they were caught harming one of the aliens that fought alongside them. Officially anyway. If someone hurt one of the dragons, they would be spending time in the infirmary for a month.

When they got to their barrack, Ruby sat on her bed. Nalia sat as best as she could beside her while Orchid and Invidia stood against the opposite wall. "So," Ruby crossed her arms, "we've got a little problem on our hands."

Nalia snorted. "That's an understatement."

"Where do we start?" Invidia asked. "The fact that we're in another world?"

"With how crazy things are I'm not sure that's the biggest one, by itself anyway." Ruby shook her head. "I suppose that's the best place to start though."

"How many people are…" Orchid paused. "How many people were taken from their homes."

"Quite a few of the ranking soldiers for sure," Ruby said. "The command staff is all from Earth, as they should be if you ask me."

"In the science division," Invidia began, "it's just Doctor Romero and me. I believe Shen has a pair that are not native to this world."

"But how did this happen?" Ruby asked. "Is there a pattern? I just got off Cerise' back to walk into Hy-Dee. Then this portal opened up around my midsection and swallowed me whole."

"I was in the ruins of Mor'ranar Vera," Invidia said. "I visited one of my teams digging through the Keep, then I was in a large white room. Soldiers came to attack me but I slew them all. There were too many for me to fight after they activated their suppression field, so I fled."

"Teirm was hit by a tsunami." The sides of Orchid's head dipped. "Arya sent Violet and me to assist with search and rescue and heal the injured. We just landed in the field hospital when we were taken." She shivered. "I didn't make it out."

"Neither did I." Nalia paused. "Aaron and I were visiting Tronjheim to discuss some particulars of the technology we were in King Hrothgar's chamber when it happened."

"Aaron's alive?" Orchid and Invidia asked at nearly the same time.

"That leads us into another thing," Ruby said. "Some of us, maybe all of us, have different experiences than the others." She stuck a thumb at Nalia. "Where she comes from, the Grimm parasite infected her and Salem used her to kill me." Nalia shivered away. "Where I'm from, and apparently you two, Salem used Cerise to kill Aaron. Am I wrong?" Ruby wrapped an arm around Nalia and pulled her close while she looked at the two on the opposite wall.

Ruby blinked and she felt a pang in her chest. She didn't know why she didn't think of this before. She already asked Orchid if Violet was alive… "Nalia," she whispered as she faced the dragon in question, "is Aaron alive? Is he here?"

Nalia closed her mouth and straightened. "I feel him, but it is weak. I believe it has more to do with whatever ADVENT is using to suppress your magic. But I still feel whenever he is injured. Cuts and scrapes mostly." Nalia traced a long line on her right arm. "It felt like a paper cut, but I doubt that's the case." She rested a hand on Ruby's left shoulder and squeezed. "Aaron, at least my Aaron, is alive. He never stopped loving you and he dreams about you every night."

Ruby shivered and leaned into Nalia. Her husband's dragon wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. It felt like part of her brain just melted away. Her husband, who she had been through so much together, died right in front of her. She heard and felt Nalia's wails in the moment and for so long after. Now… she was going to see him again. She didn't think that would be possible until she got to the other side of the Platinum Gates. "Where is he?"

"You know we don't know where our Riders are if they're not in our mental range… but I do know he's on this planet. He's not detached like he would be if he was on Remnant or Alagaësia."

Ruby dipped her head and ran her natural arm over her eyes. "Thank you." She raised her head to face the other two in the room. Orchid smiled brightly at the two on the bed while Invidia studied a seam in the floor beneath her feet. "Orchid, unless you came from the future, you're at least different in the fact that a tsunami hit Teirm. Invidia, what did you mean by one of 'your' teams?"

Invidia raised her head. "Arya placed me in charge of Mor'ranar Vera's reclamation. I task the teams on various projects."

Ruby nodded. "Brom and Nalia lead that where I'm from. Velvet's their number two, but she's out for a bit because, well, with Vert gone…"

Orchid dropped her arms and jaw. "My father's... dead?"

"Another difference." Ruby nodded. "We might be discovering quite a bit of these." She glanced at Nalia. "I guess we got lucky with that test on the Skyranger." The Viper hummed and nodded.

"But how is this possible?" Invidia said. "Not all of this can be real."

"But it can." Ruby looked between Orchid and Invidia. "Are either of you aware of a man named Tenga?" Both of them shook their heads. "Well, he's not a man per se. He's Grey Folk." Both sets of eyes widened.

Orchid narrowed her eyes. "Actually, I think I have heard that name. Isn't he the one that sent Aaron to Remnant in the first place?"

"The same one," Nalia said as she turned her head to Ruby. "Aaron was never there. Not even after Salem. You're the only on that's been in that tower."

Ruby nodded. "Basically, Tenga has a tower in the Alagaësian humans' homeland southwest of Alagaësia. In it he has a library of so many different places, including Remnant. Some things in there I recognize in soldiers here. I also found different Remmartian textbooks that describe completely different accounts of the Great War." Ruby sighed. "If either of you know what I'm talking about, the multiverse theory has been confirmed."

Orchid widened her eyes. "TARDIS malfunction?" Invidia gave Orchid a confused look.

"If it was that easy," Nalia began, "something tells me we would have already seen something like that… but who knows? It could happen."

"We jump between worlds with magic all the time." Ruby shrugged. "Atlas and Vale figured out how to do it with technology. ADVENT must have done the same." She paused. "What's everyone's Between Worlds spell?" One by one, the four of them recited their wording for the spell. All of them had large portions that lined up exactly, but there were a few sentences in each where nothing matched. Ruby brought her hands to the sides of her head. "This is so confusing."

"This more aligns with Doctor Romero's expertise," Invidia said. "She has tried to explain some of her prior experiments and assignments, which cover quite a large area, but they are all beyond me. If anyone on the Avenger has a theory of how this is possible, it's her. I will relay this conversation to her." She nodded at Ruby. "With your permission, of course."

"Granted. If we can just get a message to our homes to let them know we're alive, that would be great." Ruby looked between the two dragons in Viper clothing. "One last thing, how the heck are you two like this and not your normal selves?"

Nalia hissed with narrowed eyes and Orchid lowered her head. "They overpowered me," Nalia growled. "Not with muscle, but with their minds. Not even Galbatorix and all his Eldunarí could immobilize me so completely. Then a black globe and two white ones entered the chamber where they held me. They broke open and pink tentacles came out. The black shelled one touched me and the next thing I knew, I was in this body." Nalia glared at her hands. "If I ever see those things again, I will tear them to shreds."

"And we'll back you up." Ruby faced Orchid. "And you?"

"I woke up in chains in a different room first, still in my own body." Orchid shivered. "So many wires were connected to my head. They all led to a machine where this Viper sat. Minutes of pain later… I was like this." She clenched her fists. "Something else is using my body as a costume."

Ruby straightened. "That's not good."

"Penny's father took Halcyon out of Weiss," Nalia said. "I'm guessing that machine uses the same principles."

"Maybe…" Ruby blinked at Nalia and her jaw dropped open. "We have an objective. Find whatever that thing is and take it for ourselves. If they took Orchid's body, I'm guessing they took yours too. We've got to find both of your bodies and get you back in them. If the Commander protests, XCOM doesn't have close air support. We could sure use some of that."

Nalia cocked her head. "Selfish reasons?"

Ruby punched Nalia's shoulder. "That's Cerise' line, and yes. I want a wing to sleep under."

"Speaking of sleep," Orchid yawned. "What time is it?"

Before, those mere words would trigger a clock to appear in Ruby's bionic eye. She somehow started to miss that feature. Instead, she looked at the clock mounted on the wall behind Orchid. "Geeze. Almost two." As she said those words, she realized just how exhausted she was. "We've all had a long day."

Invidia pushed herself off the wall. "I will let you three rest." She smiled at the two dragons. "It is good to have you two back. Rest well." She left the room without another word.

Ruby sighed and leaned even more against Nalia. "You're going to tell me stories about Aaron, right?"

Nalia hummed and licked Ruby's cheek. "As many as you want, and when we find him, Aaron will tell you himself."

"I'm looking forward to it." Ruby stood up. "That's my bed so you can get comfy." She faced Orchid. The Psi Viper was still in the armor she was captured in. "We've got to get you something else to wear. That thing can't be comfortable to wear all the time."

"It's not." Orchid wrinkled her short snout. "This body has curves that I shouldn't have. I don't understand how you two-leg females can stand it."

Ruby shrugged. "We're used to it. Feel free to take it off. We're all women here… or people who probably have different ideas about all this." She stuck a thumb at Mox' and Verge's bunks. "They're military." Ruby began changing out of her ruined combat clothes and into what qualified as her pajamas on ship. As she was doing so, she noticed Nalia's shirt laying on the floor. "Yep. You are definitely Aaron's dragon."

"Yes. Did you expect otherwise?" Nalia's voice had more than a bit of self-satisfaction in it.

Ruby laughed as she pulled her pajama top on. "Nalia, I love you." She faced her bed and nearly froze in place. Nalia was half under covers with her bare top half open for the world. Her eyes were half lidded and one of her arms outstretched. If it were anyone but one of the dragons in her family or a select few other dragons, Ruby would have thought it meant something completely different. As it was, she could almost see one of Nalia's wings raised in invitation.

Ruby crawled into her bed and snuggled up close to her husband's dragon. She rested her head on the outstretched arm and leaned into Nalia's neck. It wasn't close to being close to actually doing that with Aaron, especially with the scales and tiny spikes, but she'd spent enough nights under Nalia's wings that gave her comfort she hadn't known since she'd been kidnapped.

Then Orchid jumped into the bed, disrupting the calm a bit. She wiggled under the covers and hugged Ruby's right arm close to her chest. Her head wormed its way under Ruby's chin. A happy hum rumbled through her chest. "Comfortable, hatchling?" Ruby asked.

"I'm normally too big to do this with Violet." Orchid stiffened and pulled her head away. "Is it too much? I can move to the top bunk." She sounded honest about it but not too happy about it.

"Don't worry about it. As long as you don't wake me up, hug away." Ruby snuggled close to Nalia again. Orchid relaxed and wiggled even closer. Ruby sighed in contentment and closed her eyes. For the first time since she last saw Cerise, Ruby fell asleep with a smile on her face.

She woke up feeling a little… weird to say the least. It wasn't because she was surrounded by snakes the size of people. The usual nightmare came once again, but inside of that horror were lovely flashes of some beautiful things. Cerise, Nalia, and Angel racing above the Emerald Forest, her and Aaron walking along a river, Viki winning a baking championship, Crey falling asleep in his father's arms, and others. Her head felt like it was trying to process both at the same time.

Ruby opened her eyes and finally felt what was around her. Nalia lay in much the same position except her head curled on top of Ruby's with some pressure behind it. Orchid half laid on her with arms wrapped around the Rider's torso and tail wrapped around Ruby's right leg. The right side of Ruby's face felt more than a little wet. That explained it. "You two awake?" Ruby whispered.

Orchid lifted her head and blinked some of the sand out of her eyes. "You were having a nightmare. I wanted to help. It didn't work like I wanted."

"You did more than you think." Ruby rubbed the side of Orchid's head. "I was able to sleep through the night. That's an improvement." She looked at the clock on the wall. Half past noon. "Well, breakfast is done. We might be able to get something in the bar."

"Bar?" Orchid cocked her head.

"Food?" Nalia took her head off Ruby's. "I haven't had something good in days."

"Well, you'll get something. I wouldn't quite call it good. And for the bar, that's just where all the food is. There's no room on board for a real mess hall."

"Oh. Like a sports bar then." Orchid nodded.

"Eh." Ruby shrugged. "Let's get going. Orchid, you can take one of my shirts." All three of them got dressed as much as they could and left their room. Mox and Verge were gone, probably long awake. Those two didn't sleep much.

They made it to the bar unharassed, besides a few dirty looks. The place was mostly full with a few empty tables. Ruby led the dragons to the food line which was just a bunch of plastic trays already loaded with food. Today looked like the store-bought chicken nuggets, or whatever substitute ADVENT used. She didn't want to think about the rumors she'd heard from other soldiers and crewmen.

Ruby took an empty table and sat down. After staring at the chairs for a few seconds, Orchid and Nalia draped part of their tails over them with their torsos facing Ruby. It looked like they were sitting sidesaddle. The dragons started asking Ruby about some of the intricacies of daily life on the Avenger, from showering times to who is the least likely to stab them in the back. Ruby was not only glad to be the one answering the questions for once, she was glad that she was briefing two people that she trusted with no reservations. It was almost like her role back home.

Several minutes into this, the lone Sectoid and Skirmisher onboard approached the table. "Dragons, I'd like you to meet your roommates, Verge and Mox." Ruby gestured to each of them in turn. Mox nodded at the two.

"Greetings," the… Sectoid said.

Ruby straightened and the Vipers exchanged looks. She searched the alien's pink skin for one of the translation buttons. When she saw nothing, she stared at the Sectoid. She belatedly realized that the sound came from his mouth. "Since when can you speak English?"

"Yesterday." Verge looked at Mox.

"All species under the False Gods have the capability of speaking all languages on Earth, as well as understanding each other," Mox explained. "However, not all soldiers need to speak the languages of this planet, so they are not provided that in their training."

"I can confirm part of that," Nalia hissed. "When they tried to indoctrinate and program me, they forced all those languages into my mind." She rubbed the side of her head. "At least I can understand what everyone's saying."

"'People are rude." Orchid nodded then glared at the far side of the bar. "What some of those people are saying… I don't want to repeat."

"Well, I guess I'll have to teach you two how to speak Vytalian," Ruby leaned back and crossed her arms. "I taught Viki how to read. You already know how the words sound and what they mean. It shouldn't take too long." Ruby blinked as something Mox said clicked in her head. She faced the Skirmisher. "You understand every ADVENT language? You know what they're saying on the battlefield?"

Mox nodded. "If I am close enough to hear it, yes, but in a firefight, all voices not on comms are drowned out."

Ruby pointed at one of her ears. "These for more than just looks. I can't quite hear a pin drop across a battlefield, but I can pick out friendly and hostile voices in a firefight." She brought her hand back down and looked at all those that went through ADVENT indoctrination. "Someone's going to need to teach me those languages though. Any volunteers?"

"We can do it," Nalia offered. "But one at a time. I would rather not confuse multiple languages by teaching them all at once."

"That wouldn't be good." Ruby nodded at Mox. "Thank you. We now have more to do when not on mission."

"You are welcome." Mox glanced at Verge who chattered something in a different language. "We must go. The bridge has intercepted ADVENT communications." The two of them walked away.

Ruby looked between Nalia and Orchid. "I think you two are going to be more useful than anticipated here."

Nalia snorted. "Just wait until we get our bodies back." Her eyes narrowed and her lips curled up. "Nobody here truly knows what dragons can do. I am eager to show them."

"And you will." Ruby leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. "But for the first time since Beacon we have to completely rely on other people for missions. There's no guarantees that we'll find, well, you anytime soon."

Nalia hissed and looked around. "Then we…" she paused. "This thing doesn't understand whispers. Then we do what Aaron and I did after Vroengard, only with purpose."

Ruby and Orchid stared at Nalia. "Really?" Ruby asked.

"If they keep us from finding ourselves and our soulmates, yes."

"I'm… tempted," Ruby admitted, "but we have a whole planet, not just a continent, not that that would be much easier."

"We can't do that," Orchid shook her head. "I'm needed in the infirmary. These people need my Semblance."

"And how much more would they benefit from having it at full strength? We need our bodies back."

"I agree, Nalia," Ruby said flatly, "but we can't do that. These people have all the resources. We've got nothing. These are good people. We'll fight beside them." Ruby looked around the area herself. No one was within whisper distance. "But if they order your deaths or those of our friends, the gloves are off."

See you on the other side of my quarantine. At least I'll have plenty of time to write and kill aliens.