Lydia sat in her bed chambers. After the incident with the human-like monsters, the Philian queen allowed the crew to rest in the guest chambers once everything was settled. Her eyes focused on the nine fox tails that curled around her. Each of them seemed to have a mind of their own each time she tried to touch them. She shivered. Some tails would twitch. Others would grab something and drop it on the floor. Lydia sighed. Ishtar and Alon snuggled into her tails. Symphony simply perched. "How could've this happened?"

Suddenly, a knock on the door broke whatever thoughts she had. Her fox ears stood on end. Gray fur puffed out. She listened to whom it may be. "Lydia? It's Eva and Aikka, can we come in?"

Lydia took a deep breath. Her fur slowly turned back to normal. "Yeah…Come in."

Aikka and Eva walked in. Eva was already wearing her night garments while Aikka was in his formal wear. Eva sat on the edge of the bed. She giggled as Ishtar ran up to her and curled up on her lap. Her brown eyes looked at Lydia with concern. "Are you ok? How are you feeling with those tails?"

Lydia sighed. "Out of all the weird things I have to deal with while in space…" She pointed at her tails. "This is the strangest so far…"

"How's your back?" Aikka asked.

Lydia rolled her back. No amount of pain rolled. Just a weird sensation on her butt. "It's good, but my tails are hard to work with. They…" She tried to grab one of them just as it was about to grab Eva's goggles. "Have a mind of their own."

Eva helped tame some of the tails. She giggled as they tickled her face. "You'll get the hang of it. I'm sure. Just take one day at a time."

"I think the bigger concern would be how to break this to your father, Eva."

Eva cringed. "Oh…Right…We still need to figure out…" She looked at Eva's ears and tails. "This to him…"

Lydia gulped. She had completely forgotten that now her ears and tails were out, she had to explain them to Don Wei and the president. "W-what do I do?!"

Aikka thought for a moment. "For now, it would be best to rest. You're already taking too much in as it is. Until we find out what caused this, it would be best to grow accustomed to their presence." Eva got up from her spot and simply waved "Good night". The two left the room. Gently closing the door behind them.

Lydia sighed. She took off her glasses to rub her nose. Her eyes focused on the ceiling as she laid down. Her tails laid on the bed. Limp and unfeeling. Ishtar, Alon and Symphony nestled up next to her head. Lydia closed her eyes. For a while, it was hard for her to fall asleep. The tails gave a weird sensation on her back. She rolled and then thought about Scorpio. The Crog being in the library. Reading the book that she was still trying to translate. For some reason, it gave her comfort and made her fall asleep. Dreams of the young Crog were back. Followed by Mercu holding her close and telling her how her tails were so cute. By morning, the dream faded.

Everyone gathered at a banquet hall. The table served what looked like a bowl of soup. Queen Phantom sat at the head with Spirit sitting right beside her. Eva, Aikka, Sagittarius and Rush were able to sit on their high chairs with ease. Lydia struggled with hers. She clawed her way up. Tails flailing about. When she was able to get there, Lydia soon found the challenge of sitting down. She shivered and shifted as a strange sensation ran up her back.

Eva poked her food with her spoon. Curious, she took a sample. Her eyes brightened. The liquid felt smooth in her mouth. The sweet and salty flavors tickled her tongue. She smiled and began to dig into her meal. Eva gazed at the queen. "Thank you for allowing us to stay the night, your majesty."

Queen Phantom bowed her head. She even pulled a few gestures. Her eyes held a light. One filled with happiness. Then, temporarily changed to sorrow.

"What did she say?" Rush asked.

Lydia fussed with her tails. One of them made a grab for the spoon. She grabbed it quickly. "Uhhh…Sorry. Still learning how to work these tails. Anyway, the queen said that she wanted to thank us for helping her with the creatures yesterday. If only the circumstances weren't so bad." Her fox ears drooped at the last sentence.

"It can't be helped." Aikka spoke. He took a spoonful before speaking. "It seems our mysterious adversary has sent them before we arrived."

Lydia tilted her head. Her glasses nearly slid off her face. Istar, Alon and Symphony simply mess with her tails while snagging some of her soup. "Why's that?"

Sagittarius rummaged through his bag that he had with him. With ease, he pulled out a strange symbol. It resembled a black nine-tailed fox with a skull in its jaws. "This was found on one of those dead creatures." He put it away. Then, he pulled out a strange device that resembled a bit of a boombox. "I listened to the recording last night. Brace yourself." He pressed a button.

At first the room was filled with static. Over time, the voice began to become clear. "Star log 4 9 2220. We've arrived at the Planet of the Phils. It's rather quiet. The people here aren't very chatty." Spirit rolled his eyes in annoyance. Lydia simply face-palmed. "Our fellow colonizers have yet to come back…Wait.." A low hiss was faintly heard. "What's-AAAAAAHHHHH!" Screams and shouts were soon heard. Guttural growls breaking into the scene. Lydia's face paled. She immediately hugged Ishtar. Alon fled into her long hair. Symphony simply stared at the machine. Eva gulped hard. Aikka and Rush both stiffened. Spirit could only squeeze his hands together.

"H-how long ago was that audio log?" Lydia asked.

"A few weeks." Sagittarius answered.

"Around the time people had started to go missing…" Eva looked at her soup. Her skin began to crawl. It began to remind her of Canaletto. The monster who manipulated her life and killed her mother just so he could be Avatar again.

"We best head back to the ship and report this to your father," Aikka said.

Eva sighed. She looked at Lydia. "Better get ready…"

Lydia gulped hard. Heart thundering in her head. She looked at Queen Phantom and gestured her thanks. With that, everyone left the table and went to the ship. Once inside, Lydia began to practice her lines. Her feet tapped away as she paced back and forth in the room. What she was going to say. Thinking about what questions she was going to be asked. Suddenly, she was lifted off the ground. She looked up to see Rush.

Rush gave her a kind gaze underneath his goggles. His smile held a small smile. "You're going to bring a hole in the ship."

Lydia flushed. Her ears lowered. Her tails had bristled fur, making her look larger than normal. "Sorry…I'm just nervous. The Crogs…The monsters…Now…This..I don't know how much more I can take."

Rush set her down. He gently patted her on the back. "Just take one thing at a time. Don't worry. We'll help you out." He turned behind him to look at Sagittarius. "Not sure about him though…" He felt Lydia's small hand on him.

"Go easy on him." Lydia spoke. "I know it's weird me saying it, but he's still troubled with Brinnia being sick. It may not look like it, but I saw the lack of sleep on him."

Rush tilted his head. Then he scratched his beard. "Come to think of it…He nearly fell out of his chair and almost bumped into a pillar. I thought he was out of it."

"I know that you're not going to forgive him or the other Crogs for what they did…I'm not sure about what'll happen next but he trying to prove he's different."

Rush sighed. "I can't promise anything, but I'll try." He hugged her. A beep in the room broke up the blissful moment. "Showtime. Yowch!" He cried as one of Lydia's tails yanked on his beard.

Lydia went red. "Sorry…" She immediately snatched her tail and ran down the corridor. She saw Sagittarius hiding behind a curtain while Spirit simply sat in front of it. "Spirit? Aren't you going to stay with the queen?"

Spirit gestured. His eyes were tender. I need to make things right with Eva…and her father…I could only do so much for them…Plus, my queen ordered me to join your crew.

"What?! Join us?!"

Eva turned to Lydia. Placing her headphones down. "Join us in this conversation?"

"No. Join our crew."

Eva's jaw dropped. "What?!" Before she could say anything else, the screen began to flash open. Her father's image appeared before them. "Dad!"

Don Wei looked exhausted. Bags visible underneath his eyes. "Eva…It's so good to hear from you again. I just had been so worried." He turned his attention to Lydia. "Where did this alien come from?"

Lydia blushed. "Um…Mr. Wei…It's me, Lydia."

Don Wei blinked. He nearly fell backward from his chair. His eyes nearly popped out of his sockets. "What the-Lydia?! What happened?! How did you wind up like this?!" He then noticed Spirit on the screen. He stiffened. "What's HE doing here?"

"Youch!"

Sagittarius cursed and struggled against the tugging of his ear by one of Lydia's tails. He tumbled out, crushing a few objects on the floor. He rubbed his ear once she let go. The Crog huffed as he sat up. His yellow eyes caught Don Wei's face on the screen. He glanced away in shame.

"CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON?!"

Before long, everyone began explaining their piece of the story. Byrus. The Crog attack. Meeting Sagittarius. Brinnia's mysterious illness. Don Wei stiffened about the recording and the poisoned suits. Alon and Symphony. Lydia's transformation and the current plans. At that Don Wei crossed his arms. "You do know the big risk you're taking by going to Nourasia, right? I've heard that your people still haven't forgiven the Crogs about what happened back on Oban."

Sagittarius got up. "I do realize that my people are wrong, sir. But I don't want to do any more harm than is already delivered." He simply looked at the ground. His hands tightened into fists. "I just want justice for Brinnia."

Don Wei grew silent. His mind went back to Maya. His lips were tight. He sighed. "Does the President know?"

Lydia shook her head. "No sir. We didn't tell him anything yet. But…" Her face turned red. Her ears drooped. "After your reaction…I don't think he'll take this very well."

Don Wei leaned forward. "I'll only tell him what your plan is and the attacks, but…Lydia, are you willing to trust this Crog?"

Lydia gulped. "I'm still a little nervous around him…but I know what it's like to have someone so sick and being far away from them…I'm willing to give him a chance."

Don Wei began to look away. Guilt written on his face. "Lydia…I know you're going through a lot right now…But there's something you should know."

Lydia gulped. Her heart dreading where this was going. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's about your mother. The police just called the office and said that she disappeared three nights ago from the hospital. They think she's kidnapped."

Lydia's heart stopped beating. Her breathing began to hitch. Her gray eyes wide with dismay. She clutched at her human ears while her fox ones were pinned back. Nine tails thrashed violently. A wail resounded throughout the ship. Bright lights blinding everyone.

—-(Somewhere in space)-

Prince Scorpio was in darkness. The world around him was silent. Cold. He shivered, clutching his heart. Suddenly, he heard a wailing noise. Someone was crying. He followed the noise to a small girl in a nightdress wailing. A ring of fire surrounded her. "Hey…Hey!" The gray eyes landed on him. "What are you crying about?"

"My mommy's gone!" The girl cried. A faint rim of light perched on her nose. "She disappeared! I don't know where to find her! I don't know where she is! I want her! I want mommy!" She continued crying. The fire grew bigger and brighter. It soon began to take shape. A massive, lizard-like creature with porcupine quills along its back.

Scorpio woke up with a start. He clutched his heart hard. Pain radiating in his chest like a furnace His breath hitched. Ears flickered. "I must find answers." He pulled out the orange stone from his suit. In a matter of moments, a dagger was in his other large hand. He glared at his reflection. "Now."

—-

More pain to come. Lydia's going to have more interaction with Prince Scorpio soon enough. Also, General Leo is coming back soon.