Journey (GI x SBI) *Discontinued*

Chapter 2

May 15, 1965

Upon arriving home and opening the front door, we were greeted with the image of Wilbur furiously placing pots on various spots of the floor in an attempt to capture the rain water leaking through the roof. When he ran out of pots bowls and cups, we teased him that he should use his guitar to capture the water streaming from the largest leak in the roof. 

"Will-" I wheezed. "Why-, Where- Where's Mom?" 

Looking defeated, Wilbur begrudgingly answered, "Picking Tommy, Tubbo and Ranboo up from school." I hung up my now wet cloak. "Also Dad, some letter arrived for you."  There was a large backpack hanging from the coat rack near the front door. It was Phil's yet he didn't seem to take notice of it. He immediately sat at the kitchen table and opened the letter. Over a ten-second period, the expression on his face shifted from curious to frightened.

"Hey Will? Why don't you show Techno and Yvette your newest song?" Phil asked the teen in question. He nodded and motioned for us to come upstairs. When Phil placed the letter on the table, I could distinctly see an illustration of silk flowers drawn on the paper with detailed numeric coordinates listed below the illustration. It was an odd juxtaposition -- natural beauty with mathematical navigation.

I was just about to ask Phil what was going on when the front door flew open. Kristen and Phil locked eyes. Mom simply said, "I know... I've already packed your bag. There's not a second to waste." Dad kissed Mom on the cheek, hugged The younger children, grabbed his bag and waved goodbye. Once he was out the door, he spread his wings and took off.

To my surprise, Mom simply turned and walked to the stove. There was no sadness. No words. We all knew Mom well enough to not raise a question. She was stoic to a fault -- it was our role to fall in line. There were chores to complete and a meal to make. But even more importantly, there was the mystery of our lifetime to solve.

We all got to work cleaning the house, but none of us could avoid the tension that sat in the air. While cleaning the kitchen, Techno and I kept locking eyes and exchanging bewildered expressions. Suddenly the defining silence in the room was broken as Will exclaimed, " Why the heck is everyone so quiet!?"

I spun on my heels and glared a Wilbur with a piercing 'shut-your-mouth' expression. 

"What? I'm not the only one who's confused, right?" Wilbur said, "Dad just left the house and its clear to everyone that he wasn't just going to the store to get milk. There's something going on and I want to know what it is!"

I was so tense that I realised I was gripping the table. When I released my hand I saw a dark black burn mark on the table where my hand had been. At this point my powers were still being channeled unconsciously. "I want to know where Dad went as much as anyone-" I lowered my voice so the kids in the other room could not hear my next statement, "-But I want to protect the kids from the things happening Teyvat."

"Tubbo, Tommy and Ranboo aren't babies Yvette! They deserve to know what's going on!" Wilbur shouted. It was at this point that the lights in the kitchen started to flicker. I could feel my palms starting to heat up.

"Enough" We all looked towards Kristen as a dark silence filled the room. Tubbo, Tommy and Ranboo poked their heads around the corner eyes wide.

"Mom, we're all capable individuals" Will paused. "Except Tommy, (Which expectedly elicited a dirty look from said child) We deserve to know the truth. You no longer need to protect us!" Kristen paused, reflected for a moment, and her facial expression softened. It was clear that she realised that the family must be engaged in the historic challenge. 

"Alright, sit down" She said. We all grabbed a chair at the table for what was clearing going to be and illuminating family conference. Kristen grabbed the letter from the centre of the table and held it up for all of us to see. We all looked puzzled, not knowing the connection between the illustration and the numerical code. The letter was signed 'Captain Puffy'. We were shocked when Wilbur spoke up and said, "I know her! She docked in the harbour last winter!"

It was then when we learned that Wilbur befriended Puffy. He's great at making friends and he's savvy about getting information from people. He learned many valuable details about her annual route. Because it was May he estimated that Puffy would be in Inazuma City. We soon had clarity on one of the three pillars of the puzzle: The author.

"I'm familiar with that flower" I said, as my family looked at me, "Its used to make cloth and fabric. There's a shop with them near the entrance of the city."

Techno added, "The numbers are coordinates. I just need to figure out where they lead."

"Okay, Will? You wanted to engage the family? Here's how we're gonna play this" Mom said standing up, "You and Tommy are going to find Captain Puffy. Go down to the east Harbour and ask for Lady Mia. She owes me a favour and she'll provide safe transport for Inazuma." Will and Tommy nodded and rushed upstairs to pack their bags. "Techno and Ranboo, search the old desk in the cellar for any maps that might provide insights to these coordinates. Your dad has several left over from his hardcore days. Yvette because your already familiar with the flowers, you and Tubbo will head to the shop you mentioned." 

I was worried about Will and Tommy's safety. This would be their first adventure without our parents. Fortunately they were young enough, bold enough and dumb enough to have more courage than fear. It would be several days before we had any clarity regarding the connection between the flowers, numbers and Puffy. But a least we were now taking action which was a more comfortable position for each of us and our family.

I felt guilty that I wasn't doing enough. My role with Tubbo was simple: go to a shop, buy some flowers, bring them home. Little did I know that my perceived simple task would be wrought with daunting challenges and parilous danger. All within the familiar confines of the city we called home.