Chapter 36: Family Talks
The next day, after everyone had gone and done what they were going to do in Symphony City, Hibiki was leading the group through the Melody Woods. "So we have something to talk about on the walk back, how did your days go after we reached the city?" Hibiki asked, pushing a few branches out of the way.
"Went good for me, watched a play about the adventures of a knight and his nobel Pokemon. It was a nice watch, though definitely a bit over dramatic in some parts." Cherry said.
"It was mostly uneventful, but I did manage to find some interesting stores that caught my eye. I may give them a closer look after all of this is done with, but it was just relaxing to not have to worry much for once." Sigma said, smiling a bit.
"Nice for both of you. As for me, I went ahead and decided to train my team up a bit. Had to teach Eclipse how we did things and it's always good to get practice in. How about you sis?" Hibiki commented. Echo didn't respond immediately as she was deep in thought thinking about various things, before being poked by Cherry.
"Huh? Oh sorry about that. What was the question?" Echo asked.
"I was just curious about how your day went yesterday. Are you doing good by the way? You've been like that ever since we left Symphonic City." Hibiki told Echo, a tad concerned about her sister at the moment.
"Honestly, I'm perfectly fine, aside from being a bit tired after doing research a good bit into the night." Echo responded, rubbing her eyes.
"I take it that you're doing more looking into the matter of those theories you proposed about the Surge?" Cherry questioned.
"Yes, but it's also because of what happened earlier in the day." Echo said.
"Oh? What would that be?" Hibiki inquired.
"Well, I met Beat again yesterday and I told him about my theories, to which he gave me some things to think about." Echo told Hibiki.
"Who is Beat again? I feel like you all have told me before, but I don't remember exactly who he is." Sigma asked.
"He is the one that pushed us to become part of the IPP, with him knowing our grandmother in some way." Hibiki explained.
"Right, I remember now." Sigma said.
"Anyway, what did Beat end up telling you?" Cherry asked.
"A few things, mainly giving his thoughts on my theories and giving me some hypotheticals to think about." Echo responded.
"WHat kinds of hypotheticals?" Hibiki questioned, raising her eyebrow a bit.
"Well… some stuff involving Neo Cypher, some stuff involving Melody-" Echo began to say before noticing Hibiki had stopped. The whole group stopped as Hibiki turned and motioned for them all to be quiet as she pointed ahead to a Neo Cypher grunt leaning against a tree, before crouching and going as silently as she could. As Hibiki approached, she noticed that it seemed like the grunt was panting, seemingly looking around for someone.
"Not anywhere close, thank god." a familiar voice said to himself. As Hibiki heard the voice, she went a bit wide eyed before she arrived at the tree as the grunt slowly stood up.
"Wind is that you?" Hibiki called out in a hushed tone. The grunt quickly shot to awareness and turned to face Hibiki, getting a pokeball ready, before seeing Hibiki and sighing.
"Oh thank god it's you. Thought you were a pursuer of mine." Wind said in a relieved tone.
"Sounds like some stuff has happened." Hibiki said as the other walked up behind HIbiki.
"A good bit actually. Say, are you all bound for Harmony Town?" Wind asked as he looked around cautiously.
"Yes we are, need some protection?" Echo answered.
"That would be nice, just give me a minute to get out of this armor and get changed. Don't want to cause a panic in town." Wind told the group before walking behind a few trees. The group waited for a moment as they heard armor thumping to the ground and clothes being rustled before Wind emerged wearing a blue shirt and black pants.
"Are you going to do anything about the armor?" Hibiki questioned, pointing to the discarded arm or on the ground.
"I was just planning on leaving it here. That being said, it might not be the best idea." Wind said as he put a hand to his chin. Echo quickly walked forward before poking the armor and picking up the helmet.
"If you all don't mind, I kind of want to take this to mess around with it." Echo said as she messed with the helmet.
"I don't see why not." Cherry said as she helped pick up the armor pieces.
"...Oh yeah, what did you do with your armor Sigma?" Hibiki asked curiously.
"I sent it to the IPP back when we invaded Strong's base because I felt like they could have used it for research." Sigma responded.
"They did appreciate that and it helped them track down a few grunts. That being said, they still have no leads on where their main base is." Cherry told Sigma.
"Don't ask me where that is, I've been trying to make sure I stay uncaptured." Wind said, wiping sweat from his head.
"Ok, you really should fill us in on what you and your friends have been up to. That can wait til we get to town though, you look like a mess." Hibiki told Wind. Wind nodded in appreciation as the five continued to go through the forest.
Harmony Town, 30 minutes later…
As the group sat down to eat, Wind was leaning back in the chair as he relaxed and seemed to nearly pass out. "How long have you been out there?" Sigma asked, making sure that Wind was awake.
"A good few days, things have been pretty hectic." Wind explained. The group waited for their drinks, letting WInd rest a bit and get his mind in the right place, before they started to ask questions.
"Ok, so since you seem exhausted from running and hiding, I think it's safe to say that you managed to do what you needed and are on the run." Echo commented, a small smile on her face.
"Yep, right on the money. Granted, I didn't think the data we stole would be as valuable as it was, but apparently it was as I now have special forces after me and my friends." Wind explained.
"Oh man, that is some precious data. How did you even manage to get it?" Hibiki asked.
"Probably best to start from the beginning for that whole story. Now to start, me and my two friends, Krystal and Wolf, are mercenaries for hire that take on just about any job, save for actually killing people. I will openly admit that I am working for someone, who I am 75% sure is an evil douchebag that didn't give us their real name, and they hired us to get some data from Neo Cypher. If you couldn't guess, the three of us were immediately suspicious as we had heard of Cypher's destruction from our travels, but we decided to take it and see what it was, assuming that it was just a copy organization." Wind began to explain.
"And then you joined, quickly finding out that it was the real deal." Cherry said.
"Exactly, and when we found out, the three of us decided it was probably for the best that we just play along for the moment til we could get our hands on the data. That moment turned into months as we just never got a chance to attempt to steal the data, leaving us to do grunt work. As Sigma can attest to, that means doing things ranging from stuff around the various bases, to field work to stealing other people's pokemon." Wind continued.
"That sounds about right, but how did you and your friends get the job to go after Melody?" Sigma questioned.
"See, that was more just dumb luck than anything else. Strong had come up to us and said he needed some inconspicuous grunts for a mission that command had lined up. We decided to take the mission as it probably would get us respect from command and headed out to do the mission. You already know how that ended and while we did get some flack from command for not succeeding, we did get some praise for at least confirming that Melody was in the possession of a trainer." Wind said. The group nodded as their food arrived and they all paused as they proceeded to eat, Hibiki thinking of a few things in her mind.
"I took it because they didn't know who I was, they thought it would be easy to take her from me." Hibiki commented. Wind simply nodded as he stuffed his face full of food, clearly very hungry. "Well given what you've told us, you probably kept doing either grunt work or some special jobs til we got the Fairy Tale Grove. You helped us with the raid on Strong's base, what happened after that?" Hibiki asked.
"...To keep it short as I really don't want to talk your ears off, my friends took advantage of the raid to get access to the data that we needed." Wind responded.
"What data would that be?" Echo asked.
"Truth be told, we don't exactly know ourselves. That data itself is heavily encrypted and seemingly incomplete from what we are able to gather. None of us are computer experts, so we can't exactly decode all of it, but from what we're able to gather, this project is super secret. Of course as you can imagine, this means it was a big red flag for us that we hit something big, we now just had to get out." Wind explained.
"Which is also why you got special forces sent after the three of you. Where are your friends by the way?" Hibiki questioned.
"Thankfully, they got out of the region with a copy of the data to hand to our employer. I stayed behind to see if I could collect the missing piece of the data, but I eventually found myself on the hunt from the special forces I was talking about earlier. So far, I've done my best to evade discovery and capture, but it did get a bit close at points. I was just about to continue through the forests when you arrived, so thanks for a bit of relaxation." Wind finished. Hibiki simply nodded as she thought about a few things and realized something.
"Do you have the data with you?" Hibiki asked.
"I do, why do you ask? Wind responded.
"Think you could give a copy of the data to Echo and see if she can decode it?" Hibiki suggested.
"I mean… I wouldn't mind doing that, but how do I know she can get it to me easily?" Sigma told Hibiki.
"Well, if you don't mind sending a message to your friends saying it might take a bit to get out of the region. You could stay until the league is over or until Neo Cypher is taken care of and I can just hand you what I have after that." Echo offered, a small smile forming on her face. Wind paused as he thought about it for a moment before nodding to himself and reaching into his backpack.
"Ok, I'll do that, but I am going to need somewhere safe to stay as I am getting tired of moving around a lot. Maybe at the IPP Headquarters?" WInd said as he got out a flash drive, holding it out to Echo.
"I think that can be arranged, maybe also see about getting a copy to them as well." Echo told Wind as she took the flash drive. The group continued to chat for a bit as Echo worked on making a copy of the data, smiling as she saw how encrypted this was, before she gave the drive back to Wind.
"Thanks for doing this, I know I am in hot water and am more than happy to turn to the IPP." Wind said, rubbing the back of his head as he paid for the food.
"Don't mention it, anything for a friend. Though you will more than likely have to explain yourself to the IPP and they probably won't be as kind as us." Cherry stated. Wind awkwardly laughed as the group got up and left the restaurant as they were talking about going to head off to a Pokemon Center to get Wind's situation sorted. When they exited, Hibiki immediately looked ahead and saw a familiar face in front of the restaurant, seemingly waiting for someone.
"Mom?" Hibiki called out as she walked towards her mother. Aria turned out of some surprise and smiled as she saw Hibiki walking up to her, walking up to her daughter as she pulled her into a hug that was returned.
"Oh Hibiki, it's good to see you again." Aria said in a happy voice.
"Same for me, but what are you doing here?" Hibiki asked, overjoyed to see her mother again.
"I had a feeling you would be passing through here around now and I decided I would come to check up on my daughters before our gym battle." Aria responded. Hibiki simply nodded as Echo ran up behind Hibiki and joined in on the hug, causing Hibiki to blush out of embarrassment.
"It's good to see you too mom." Echo said in the same happy voice.
"A pleasure to see you again Aria." Cherry said as she, Sigma, and Wind walked up to the family.
"Nice to see you're doing well Cherry. Have my daughters been doing well or getting into trouble?" Aria questioned.
"They've been fine for the most part, just getting up to the usual stuff on pokemon journeys in addition to what we;ve been sending you." Cherry said.
"That's good to hear. Who are these two if you don't mind me asking?" Aria asked, looking at Wind and Sigma. Echo broke the hug before walking over to the two boys, who were standing around awkwardly.
"These are Sigma and Wind, friends of ours. You already know about Sigma and Wind is someone we;ve worked with before." Echo told Aria.
"A pleasure to meet you in person Ms. Eversong." Sigma said nervously, holding out a hand with Wind doing the same.
"The pleasure is all mine, you two." Aria responded.
"Hmm, hey do you three mind going to the Pokemon Center without us? We kind of want to catch up with our mom." Echo said.
"Sure, we'll meet up by the gate to the Blizzard Dome?" Cherry told the two sisters. They both nodded in affirmation before Cherry, Wind and Sigma all waved goodbye before turning to head towards the local Pokemon Center.
"Well, what's to say we walk around the town a bit and just catch up with stuff?" Aria suggested before turning back to her daughters. While Echo nodded in enthusiasm, Aria noted that Hibiki seemed to hesitate slightly before nodding. "Is something wrong, Hibiki?" Aria asked with a coy smile.
"Well, nothing in particular, just… some things that I'm not sure you would believe if I would tell you them." Hibiki said, looking down at the ground.
"You know I would believe you about anything." Aria said.
"Human ghosts, she's talking about human ghosts." Echo responded. Hibiki quickly walked up to Echo before lightly hitting her repeatedly as Aria let what Echo said sink in.
"Did you meet your grandmother's ghost?" Aria questioned, a tad curious.
"Yes. …Wait, how did you know that?" Hibiki said, a bit dejected at first before realizing what her mom had asked her.
"I think this is probably going to be a long catch-up talk. Come on, I know a place where we can speak privately." Aria said before turning around. The two sisters looked at each other before following their mother into the city.
Eversong's Memorial Hotel…
Aria sighed as she sat down on the bed in their personal private room, Hibiki and Echo taking their seats on some chairs in the room. "You know, I'm glad we decided to help fund places like this. Might not be the best taste, but a lot of people did look up to Symphia even if not everyone is of the same mind." Aria said in a nostalgic tone.
"A bit on the tacky side if I'm being honest, but it still feels right just being here." Hibiki said, looking around the room and just staring at the various pictures on the walls
"Agreed. Now before we get too off topic, tell me about your journey and don't skimp out on the details." Aria told her daughters. The two nodded in confirmation before proceeding to recount their journey so far, the two taking turns about different parts of the journey. After they finished, Aria simply nodded as she let all of that information sink in. "Ok, before I continue any further, Echo please be a dear and hold your sister for me." Aria said in a motherly voice, getting up off of the bed.
"Ok." Echo replied before doing as she was told. Hibiki immediately tried to get up but was quickly held down by Echo as Aria walked up to her.
"It's ok mom, I get it, I'm stupid and reckless. You don't have to do anything, I learned my lesson already." Hibiki pleaded. Aria said nothing as she walked up to her and pinched Hibiki's cheeks really hard, making Echo smile and roll her eyes at the display.
"I swear, you always get yourself into trouble. Getting involved with the Neo Cypher business and putting yourself in probably the most danger I've seen in a while." Aria said in a firm and annoyed tone of voice.
"Sorry, I'm just following my heart." Hibiki told Aria through the pain. As she said that, Aria gave a small smile before stopping and pulling the sisters into a hug.
"Of course I know that and that's why I'll always keep you two close. It's also why I'm so scared for you two getting into such dangerous stuff." Aria responded, her voice now more calm and gentle. Hibiki and Echo said nothing, simply accepting and returning the hug in silence, enjoying the familial embrace. After a few seconds, they broke up the hug as Aria thought about what to say first. "You two probably have a lot of questions, but I should at least start with why I asked you to come here." Aria said.
"Yeah that would be a good place to start. How exactly did you know I was talking about grandma's ghost?" Hibiki asked.
"Well, that's because I've encountered her before." Aria admitted. HIbiki nodded, not exactly surprised by that information, but Echo put a hand to her head as she tried to think of when exactly that moment would be.
"Ok, I'll bite, how exactly did this happen?" Echo asked.
"As you know, our family has the blood of espers who are blessed with the blood of both of the Dream Duo. While not everyone born has the makings of an esper, we at the very least do have some powers, one being what I call Ghost Sense. Don't think I need to explain what that does, but one of the effects of this power is being able to sense spirits around you." Aria began to explain.
"I can guess that I have a more potent version of that power given what I've seen. That would also explain why I seem to have an aptitude for Ghost type Pokemon" Hibiki said.
"That is a side effect of that power. Anyway, I would say a few months after the Surge, I started to have weird feelings whenever I was alone and thinking about her. At first I just thought it was my imagination and kept about my day, until I felt someone comforting me even though no one was there." Aria continued.
"When you put it like that, I can see why you never told us this earlier. Even with the knowledge that it was grandma, that is very creepy." Echo commented.
"Exactly, I thought I was being haunted by a vengeful spirit and didn't want to tell you two so you wouldn't be scared. It was a week later that I figured out that it was my mother by my side and I felt both comforted as well as a bit unnerved that she came back to me. Still, I was very happy to at least spend some time with her and she even came by from time to time." Aria finished off.
"Wow, that is good to know that she's always been watching over us. You probably did make a good move keeping that a secret mom, because I think I would have had a heart attack if I had found that out." Hibiki said with a smile. Aria giggled as she looked at her daughters and smiled, feeling that they were growing up to be good girls and trainers.
"It's almost time for you two to face me, just have to get through Shiro and you'll be at me." Aria said.
"Don't hold back on us just because we're your kids." Echo told her mom.
"Trust me, I don't plan on doing that." Aria responded confidently. Hibiki nodded in excitement as she was about to say something, before her mind got pulled to a topic that she didn't think she would be talking about.
"Hey mom, if you don't mind me asking, do you have any theories of what happened with the Surge? Like anything that caused it or thought you might have about it?" Hibiki asked a bit hesitantly. Echo turned and looked at her sister with a bit of surprise on her face as Aria thought for a moment.
"Truth be told, I do have some theories that I have wanted to talk about with someone. I just haven't because I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable." Aria told Hibiki.
"That makes sense given how touchy some people can be with the mention of The Surge. Either way, I was actually about to ask that same question, how did you know and why ask it yourself?" Echo said.
"Hey, twins do have a gut feeling about what the other was thinking. With that said, the reason why I asked is because I made a silent promise to myself after the surge that I would try to find stuff out and make sure she would be at peace." Hibiki responded.
"Sounds like my daughter all right." Aria said, a big grin on her face. Hibiki blushed and rubbed the back of her head out of embarrassment, making Echo giggle a bit at the site before putting a hand on Hibiki's shoulder and nodding in understanding. "Now then as for that theory I have, I want to start by asking you both a question first. Where do you two think our region EM Field comes from?" Aria asked.
"Isn't it just created from nothing… or was it Magnelyryu that generated it?" Hibiki responded, a tad unsure.
"It's the first one you said, but you would be forgiven for thinking it was the second guess. Many people do think that Magelyryu is the one that generates the field in some way. That being said, no one really knows where the field comes from other than the fact that it originates somewhere in East Alaria." Echo told HIbiki.
"Ah, about that." Aria began to say.
"Oh god, don't tell me that is wrong." Echo said.
"To most people, it is the truth and always will be. To the IPP and mother, there is a bit more to that story." Aria told Echo. The two sisters tilted their heads in both confusion and curiosity as Aria reached into her pocket, pulling out an old envelope and a worn notebook. "Believe it or not, I've carried this thing with me for the past ten years because I've always wanted to tell you two about this. I've gotten approval from the IPP by the way, just needed to wait to see how your journeys would turn out." Aria said, holding the items out.
"Ten years?" Hibiki said to herself as she grabbed the envelope. Aria remained silent as Hibiki carefully opened the envelope and got out the contents, which looked to be a letter of acknowledgement from the IPP. As she did that, Echo grabbed the journal and began to flip through it cautiously before being blindsided by the first page.
"Eastern Alaria Expedition Log Book, approved and led by the International Pokemon Police Regional Exploration Division. Expedition Leader and Main Logger… Symphia Eversong." Echo read aloud, choking up a bit as she read her grandmother's name.
"Regional Exploration Division? In the little time we've been there, I haven't heard about that division." Hibiki said.
"Well, the aftermath of this expedition would be the reason why. The details of how the expedition came to be are in the letter and the expedition itself is logged in the log book. Also, don't worry, the reason for one of my theories is because of the expedition." Aria told her daughters. Hibiki nodded before opening up the letter and reading it aloud.
"Dear Agent Eversong,
The IPP has considered the RED's request for an expedition into Eastern Alaria and after much deliberation, has agreed to approve an expedition. However, it should be noted that there are a few stipulations that we want to enforce due to the nature and relative mystery about the area.
We will be sending two agents alongside the expedition to make sure everything will proceed as planned. No offense to you, but we would rather keep the group safe.
The expedition will take no longer than a month out in the field.
When you arrive back, we will request all* data, artifacts, and pictures acquired during this expedition for review as the IPP is concerned with keeping the region of Alaria safe.
You will be given two weeks from the sending date of this letter (located at the top for your convenience) to prepare for the expedition however you like. When it is time, you will meet in Harmony Town at the eastern edge with our agents who will have a vehicle that will take you to the Dead Zone Edge. After that, we can only wish you the best in discovering what is causing the EM Field around the Alaria Region.
Best of luck, Looker, Head of the IPP
P.S. Don't worry about Aria, we will keep her safe."
As Hibiki finished reading the letter, Echo was silent as she was deep in thought absorbing that information before looking at Aria. "How did you learn about all of this? LIke yes, you were taken care of by Looker at the time, but you couldn't have been more than five or six years old given this letter is dated 27 years ago." Echo questioned.
"That is simply, I simply asked what happened to the division when I was older, specifically after The Surge when things had calmed down a bit." Aria said.
"What happened to the division then? Did something bad happen during the expedition that caused the IPP to shut it down?" Hibiki questioned.
"Honestly, much more mundane than that, they just explored as much of the world as they could and figured there wasn't much of a need for it anymore. Now, they still occasionally send out people to new areas of the world, but it's much less common." Aria said.
"Ok, guess I'll read through this logbook and just give a brief summary of what I read." Echo said to herself. A few minutes of silence, occasionally broken up by Hibiki humming to herself, as Echo speedread through the log book and absorbed what she could. Eventually, she put the book down and sighed as she thought about the best way to talk about the information.
"So there is a lot I could talk about from what I gathered and I will be more than happy to go through with you later Hibiki. To keep it short though, the expedition was a group of four, consisting of Grandma Symphia, Agent Anabel, another RED member named Shika, a scientist by the name of Solion. It started off as you world normally expect: establishing camps, getting a lay of the land, and running into the local people that make their home in Eastern Alaria. Eventually, they came across ruins in the mountains roughly at the center of Eastern Alaria as where they found what they assumed to be the source of EM Field." Echo began to say.
"Judging by the fact that the field is still around, I take it that they weren't able to get rid of it." Hibiki commented.
"RIght you are as grandma said that whatever was causing the EM Field was behind a door of sorts. No matter what they tried, they couldn't get it to open, though they did note that the door had various symbols on it. After discovering that, the group decided to use their remaining time to catalog the pokemon of the area and map what they could of Eastern Alaria. There is a lot more that I am not mentioning, but I don't want to keep us here for a few hours and bore the two of you with my talking." Echo finished. As Echo finished her explanation, Hibiki nodded and quickly realized something about what Echo had said.
"Does that mean that it's possible that someone has been able to interact with the source and cause the Surge that way?" Hibiki pondered.
"While it's fair to think that, according to some research that grandma had done while they were there, it seems like it won't open unless some gift is bestowed upon "a kind hearted person" according to the locals. So if whoever caused the Surge managed to somehow get that blessing we would be in trouble, but given what they planned to do, I highly doubt that." Echo explained as she flipped through the book.
"I see, then that means that something else has to have happened to cause the Surge." Hibiki said.
"Actually, you are too far off in your guess Biki. You're right in that someone did interact with the EM field directly, but you're wrong in assuming that it's a person that caused the Surge." Aria told Hibiki. Hibiki tilted her head in confusion as she thought about that statement for a bit and Echo kept reading.
"Oh… Oh dear, this might be bad." Echo said as she read a page from the logbook.
"Did you find something sis?" Hibiki questioned.
"Yes I did, but I have a feeling that you're not going to like it." Echo responded, with a slight laugh.
"Ho boy." Hibiki said, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"So, this is from a separate solo investigation she did what looks like a few years after going to Eastern Alaria initially. What she found out is that there is another way to access the chamber, with the blessing of its guardian. You get three guesses as to who that could be, but you do already know the answer." Echo explained. Hibiki paused as she thought about Pokemon that would fit the bill before sighing as she realized the answer.
"I was really hoping that Magnelyryu wouldn't be a part of this. I just want them to have a good life after what grandma has told us about Team Magne." Hibiki said in a sad tone.
"While I wish it wasn't true, given the fact that we haven't seen them for the past ten years, it is a very possibility." Echo continued. The two sisters stayed quiet as Aria smiled sadly at them, knowing that they might have lost a dear friend.
"Now before you two continue going down this path, I should pull you out so you can get back to you to your friends and continue on. You're more than welcome to keep that stuff and theorize on your own by the way." Aria told her daughters.
"As much as we would love to spend more time with you, you're probably right." Echo admitted with a sad sigh.
"Agreed, I was honestly just trying to find excuses to keep you here longer." Hibiki said. Aria sighed before getting up and hugging her daughters again, both returning the hug.
"Know that I'll be waiting for you at the gym. Make me a proud mom you two." Aira said. Hibiki was about to say something when Hibiki felt her phone vibrate, making her grab it and see a few text messages she had missed. As she read them, her eyes grew wide before she quickly got up and looked at Echo.
"Cherry is about to battle a Cypher Admin at the battle courts." Hibiki said in an urgent tone. Echo sighed as she got up and grabbed her things, putting Symphia's log book
"They are getting bold if they're just coming after us." Echo commented. The two were about to leave before they looked back at Aria, who gave them a proud smile.
"Don't worry about me, go and make sure Cherry is ok." Aria told her kids. They both nodded as they waved goodbye and headed out of the room, leaving Aria alone in the room. She sighed and sadly smiled to herself as she got ready to leave, but stopped as she saw a stack polaroid on the floor by where Echo had sat.
"Huh must have fallen out of the log book. Weird that Echo didn't notice." Aria thought to herself as she picked up the photos. Curious, she looked through a few of the photos until she came across one that looked a bit familiar to her. The photo was of a group of four people, all around their early 20s, standing next to a car by a sign that said "Warning: Past here is uncharted Territory. Any one found beyond this sign without express permission with the IPP is subject to questioning and potential jail time." As she looked at the photo, something clicked in her mind and she remembered something important. "... I should take these to them. They're both going to want to know about this." Aria said to herself before heading out to go catch up to her daughters.