Ailee walked slowly and carefully along the thin gravel-strewn path that ran alongside the edge of the canal, in a short brick tunnel that didn't exist. The tunnel was without any lights, but the warm afternoon sun illuminated it enough to make the journey along the path safe. Ailee's bare feet made faint crunching sounds in the gravel, and she could clearly see the strange green moss which grew along most of the tunnel wall and spanned parts of the ceiling. Although she could just about see the glistening canal water running perfectly parallel to the path, it was eerily still and silent. Instinct suddenly told her to head out of the tunnel swiftly, so Ailee moved at a much quicker pace.

A few moments later, the snowkitten stepped out of the tunnel and into the market place. Although it was nighttime, the full moon overhead cast down plenty of light, reflected in the canal - deep red and shaped more like a crescent in the water.

Moments before, the market had been empty. Even the usual stalls had gone. Suddenly it was busy, despite the lack of stalls, with strangers everywhere - all silent and grey, standing around and not really doing anything. Ailee suddenly realised that her paws were empty, and she knew she was meant to be carrying something very important. So she knelt by the edge of the canal, reaching into the cold water at a point where she noticed bubbles forming, and pulled out a small cuddly toy. It seemed to vaguely resemble Keryan, and the toy's cheery expression made Ailee smile too.

From the silent crowd, Ailee heard a voice she instantly recognised, calling her name. The grey figures suddenly parted without a word, as Jarret pushed his way through. He asked Ailee what she was holding, and when she told him it was just Keryan's dolly, Jarret demanded to see it. Ailee refused, despite his promises that he wouldn't harm it in any way, so he struck his twin's paw hard, knocking the dolly to the floor, and scooping it up roughly. The expression on the toy changed from a smile to sadness. Moments later, the dolly began screaming loudly for its "mummy." Jarret snarled at it to shut up, to no avail, so in a fit of rage he hurled it to the floor, which now resembled what looked like black gleaming tiles. The dolly went deathly silent, while the culprit slipped back into the eerie grey crowd and disappeared.

Ailee cradled the toy, begging the massed strangers for help, but they did nothing. They stood there, ghost-like, just watching her as she burst into tears. And then…

Ailee suddenly shot bolt upright. It took a few moments for her to catch up with the fact she had been dreaming, having fallen asleep on the sofa. She shivered, deciding against thinking too deeply about that dream. Curled up next to her, fortunately still asleep, was her daughter, who had evidently decided to follow her example. Ailee stroked Keryan's ears, hearing her purr in her sleep, and she hoped that whatever the little snowkitten was dreaming about, it was nothing like the dream she still had so vividly locked in her head.

Around the same time, Eliki, Leana and Andrina left the twins' house, with the mask stashed away safely inside Eliki's backpack. With mid-evening now approaching, the light was already fading and the temperature had dropped - not much, but enough to justify the wearing of thin summer coats.

It wasn't vital that nobody saw them using the mask, admittedly, but since this was the first time, it made sense to use it somewhere peaceful, to allow them to concentrate. The busy nightlife of the city meant that many parts of Phoenixbrook would therefore be very unsuitable. Ironically, the busiest place during the day - the market - was one of the quietest places by evening, so this was the snowkittens' destination.

Having witnessed the market at its busiest only a few hours ago, it was decidedly haunting to see it looking so empty and startlingly quiet, with nobody else in sight. All around lay hundreds of silent market stalls, below their green and blue plastic rain covers, waiting patiently, almost seemingly asleep, for their owners to return the next day for more busy trading. From time to time, an eerie metallic sound resonated across the market as a breezed caught a long rope, clattering it against a tall flagpole.

Eliki placed the backpack down, lifting out the mask. It seemed surprisingly light for something so elaborate. Despite the approaching darkness, the mask appeared to glow as though made from some sort of fluorescent material. Leana had fitted the crystal (which would allow Eliki to use it even with his reduced snowkitten powers) in a small slot on the front, just below the glass eye lens, and several tracks, like those on a circuit board, ran from the crystal slot to various corners on the surface of the mask.

"Well, here we are!" Andrina announced cheerfully. "So which of you two is gonna try the mask out first? Someone has to be first and there's no chance of you both wedging your heads in there at the same time and…"

She went cross-eyed, peering down at the finger Leana had placed on her mouth. "We agreed between us that I should try it first," she told her. Eliki handed the mask to Leana, and she turned it over, looking at the concave inner section - mostly plain silver, with a few strange spiral etchings around the lens. "If anything goes wrong, I'm probably better prepared to deal with it. In theory at least. Hopefully there won't be any problems, but just in case…"

Andrina sat, perched on the edge of one of the stalls, while Eliki stood leaning against the next stall along. Leana lifted the mask up towards her face and, almost as if it was anticipating its imminent return to duty, the eye lens glowed with a pale blue light.

"Well, here goes nothing," Leana murmured, placing the mask onto her face, where it covered the right side completely, leaving her left eye to view the marketplace normally. Or so it seemed. Whatever Leana could see through her uncovered eye, the mask appeared to take that image and alter it, resulting in Leana seeing nothing like what she expected through both eyes. Leana frowned as she tried to become used to the weird way her vision had been altered, thinking to herself that it was as though the uncovered eye provided the mask with an input, and the other - via the mask - provided an altered output. What she saw well and truly took her breath away.

A big grin crossed her face as she exclaimed, "Oh my goddess… there's no denying that this thing works!" Before her, spreading out into the distance, was the Phoenixbrook market exactly as it would have looked two hundred years ago - somehow familiar, yet hauntingly different in so many ways. The stalls, here and there, had similar items to the modern day market - foods, clothes, jewellery and ornaments to name but a few - but they were all in different places, and rather more haphazard than normal. It wasn't the stalls that proved to be the most fascinating sight though - it was the people.

It was hardly unusual to expect huge crowds at the market. And in this past version of Phoenixbrook, the crowds were very evident. But among the many different species, at least half of the traders and customers were snowkittens. Hundreds of them, all wearing the traditional clothing, sashes and jewellery that Leana had only ever seen pictured in books. Long, silky, flowing robes on the females, made of delicate material that looked as if it would tear if you so much as looked at it the wrong way. The male snowkittens wore similar, shorter robes and almost all had black or dark blue silk trousers. Some of the snowkittens traded, others peered and rummaged through the jewellery and fruits on the various stalls, and many more stood around in conversation. Leana was surprised to find that she could hear every word, even though the mask was nowhere near her ears.

She shook her head in amazement, and called out, "This is just incredible! Even the night has changed to day. I can see all the people that were here in this exact spot two hundred years back! All those snowkittens…"

Eliki watched as Leana wandered around the market, stopping every so often and looking at what - to Andrina and Eliki - were invisible items, or listening to invisible people having seemingly silent conversations. She reached out as though trying to touch something, then grasped at the air suddenly.

Leana told them, "It's weird though. Despite how vivid everything is, my hand just passes through anything I can see through this mask. Not that I'm surprised, obviously, but it just seems a bit odd. I feel a bit like a ghost. I can hear the people but they can't see or hear me. It's all a bit surreal. And…" She stopped for a moment. "Yep, thought so. I can still see the real stalls, and you too, just about. But all the real things are faded and they shimmer a bit. Probably just as well I can see them, or I'd have crashed head first into the real stalls by now!" She grinned. "I can walk through the 'simulated' stalls though. It really is like being a ghost!"

She wandered about for a few more minutes, before removing the mask and shaking her head to reorientate herself. Handing it to Eliki, she told him, "Oh, you've just got to try this. It's incredible. It's the most bizarre piece of snowkitten technology I've seen!" Eliki looked a bit apprehensive, but she put a paw on his. "It's okay. There isn't anything to be afraid of, I promise." Reassured, he placed the mask over one eye. This time the lens and the crystal glowed in the dull light, indicating that despite Eliki's limited powers, it was working correctly.

The strange sight of the market from two hundred years ago seemed to zoom out from the distance, as though he had left a pitch black tunnel in a speed boat, and in moments the whole scene surrounded him. Once he managed to finally get used to it, the snowkitten strolled around the marketplace, while Leana explained to Andrina what she had seen.

"There's something else you need to try," she told Eliki a while later, stood a little way behind. "You should learn how to use the mask's ability to rewind and fast-forward the scene. It's a bit like we would skim through scenes on a film disk."

"Ooookaaay…," Eliki replied, reaching for some non-existent virtual blueberry muffins, and grinning as his paw passed through them, yet moments later a young snowkitten girl lifted one up with ease. "How do I do that?"

"Look for a person nearby doing something interesting," Leana explained. Eliki looked all around, focussing on a tall snowkitten lady in a blue robe, who was trying on a brightly coloured feathery headdress - one of many on a very colourful stall. Leana told him, "Okay, now remove the mask." Eliki did so, blinking momentarily, and Leana guided him several stalls away from where he had been stood, then indicated for him to put the mask back on.

"Now, see if you can spot that person again," Leana said. Eliki peered back towards where he guessed the virtual stall should be, and there, stood frozen like a paused film, was the snowkitten lady in exactly the same pose she had been in when he removed the mask. A few seconds later the Phoenixbrook market snapped back to life, the only difference being that the snowkitten lady was further away and visible from a totally different angle.

"Sheesh," Eliki murmured, "Even our most powerful computers would struggle to recreate something a hundredth as detailed or complex as this. Okay, so how do I shift the time around?"

Leana explained, "It isn't difficult. You need to concentrate quite hard and the mask will pick up on whatever order you give it. So try telling it that you want to see the same scene, but five minutes ahead."

Behind the mask, Eliki's brow furrowed as he concentrated, trying to tell the mask to "fast-forward" by five minutes. The first few attempts failed, but all of a sudden the scene before him blurred into streaks of coloured light. After a few moments, the colours merged together and the scene reformed, with almost all the various people in different places. The snowkitten lady, with the headdress now safely in a large blue bag, was four stalls along, admiring a yellow box of elaborately decorated miniature bells. The stallholder, a short lizard dressed entirely in white, was talking enthusiastically to her about the special method used to glaze the bells.

Eliki followed Leana's prompts, rewinding the scene by fifteen minutes. It took longer for him to locate the blue-robed snowkitten lady this time. At this earlier point, it turned out that she'd been sitting on a tall stool somewhere behind where Eliki stood, and she had been drinking a cherry milkshake. Eliki watched as she climbed delicately off the stool, bidding farewell to the trader and heading over in the direction of the hat stall - where history would repeat itself in the scene Eliki had witnessed earlier.

He removed the mask, reluctantly, and blinked as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, after having become so used to the daylight in the virtual Phoenixbrook. "I wonder how far you can actually go back or forward in time with this thing."

Leana mused the question briefly, handing the mask to Andrina, who slapped it on as if she were a clown thrusting a custard pie in her face. "I really don't know. I tried going back from its default scene by a whole day, and it still appeared to work. Mum didn't mention just what time span the mask actually covers, so she might not even know. It just amazes me how they could have done it."

Eliki nodded. "I guess there was the advantage that back then, all those snowkittens would have been working on it at the same time. Almost anything would have been possible, and they probably had skills that have long since been forgotten. And with the Aredrians' technology as well…"

The twins trailed behind Andrina, grinning to each other as she gave a loud running commentary of everything she saw and heard. She repeated enthusiastically about the cocoa truffles she saw (but alas couldn't eat) as well as gold-coated pens, a snowkitten mayoress, a dog in a ballet costume stood on a huge blue ball, and many other wonders. Inevitably, Andrina decided to find out what her stall had been like two hundred years ago. "Oooooh wow," she gasped, "My stall was purple and yellow and covered in glitter, and the owner is a teenage panda selling large stones with little hand painted pictures on them. Oh, if only we could talk to these people and buy all these goodies!"

When Andrina finally relinquished the mask, the three snowkittens headed for a bench by the river, watching the reflection of the moon shimmering in the water, and admiring the many lights twinkling from the immense suspension bridge not too far away.

"Of course," Leana said, "If you think it's bewildering that they squeezed all those market scenes into the mask, bear in mind that mum said you can go anywhere within the boundaries of Phoenixbrook, and see what it looked like all those years ago." She curled her fluffy blue tail around Andrina to give her a 'just because' hug, while the red-haired snowkitten used the mask to watch the river and see how it looked two centuries previously. Unsurprisingly, the river was just the same, the only difference being that it was daytime rather than late evening. The mask replayed images of an otter rowing a boat across the river, who waved at someone that Andrina assumed must have, at that time, been stood right where she now sat. It seemed almost as though he had waved to her personally. To the side lay the bridge, looking pretty much identical to its modern day self. Naturally, the only likely major difference would have been the shops on the bridge, but those were too far away to see anyway.

Andrina sighed. "All those snowkittens…" The sigh became a sudden pained sob. "All those Aredrians… All gone, and so many gone due to the Elysia. How could they? How dare they?!"

The three snowkittens sat in silence for a long time, Leana hugging Andrina close while Eliki packed the mask away safely. He gazed over at the river, before saying, "At least we have the mask though. At least all those memories and all those lives are there for us to see and remember. Our ancestors crafted the mask so we would see what they were like and what they did, and how the city looked in its golden age."

Leana nodded. "I know it feels sad in a way, but at least we can see the city from when it was happier times. And we know one day it'll be like that again. This mask means it'll never be forgotten and we have something to aim towards. How many other cities or countries across Venuvia can say they have such a vivid view of the past?"

Andrina took a small, silky, purple handkerchief from a pocket on her dress, using it to dry her eyes. "I suppose… it's just so sad that things couldn't still have been like that. The only reason for it all changing was the Elysia." She sighed again. "But yeah, at least we have the memories, and just think how much goodliness we could learn about our history from it."

Leana smiled. "And by that, do you by any chance mean old recipes…?" A vigorous nod from Andrina confirmed it. Grinning, Leana told her, "Well, unfortunately the mask won't allow you to see inside peoples homes."

Eliki nodded. "Probably just as well. It would have been a disturbing take on the phrase 'invasion of privacy.'"

"You have to wonder," Leana mused, "just how many of the inhabitants actually knew their lives would be sealed into that mask for eternity." She noticed that Eliki was shivering. The temperature had dropped well below comfortable levels. "Come on, let's head home," she commented. "It's getting chilly and there'll be plenty of chance to try the mask again another day."

Eliki stood and stretched, looking somewhat tired, while in contrast, Andrina leapt energetically to her feet, asking, "Is it okay if I stay the night?"

As they headed in the direction of the twins' home, Leana replied, "Silly. Of course you can. As long as Eliki doesn't mind."

Eliki commented, "No, it's okay by me. As long as you two keep the noise down. Some us of have to sleep, you know…"

That comment was rewarded with a bop on the head from Leana's tail.

Arriving back at the house, Leana was the first to notice a shadowy figure sitting on the bottom step that led up to their front door.

"Jarret…" she muttered. "What's he after now? I'm in no mood at all for any of his stupid little games."

Jarret spotted them approaching, standing and walking to the end of the path. "I'm here to speak to Eliki," he said, glaring at Leana, then looking across at her twin. "I'm not here for anything other than that."

Eliki folded his arms. "Fine, well let's hear it then."

Jarret shook his head. "It's to do with Ailee and Keryan. And that's why…" He glanced sharply at Leana. "…I'd rather it was private."

Leana was about to say something, her paw clenched tight, when Eliki nodded. "Okay. Go on, you two. I'm sure this won't take long. It'll be fine."

Leana pointed at Jarret. "Any hint of trouble, and I'll tie you to our chimney by your tail." She looked across at Eliki as she and Andrina prepared to head indoors. "We'll only be up there in the front room."

Jarret stayed silent till the two girls had disappeared into the house and the front door clicked shut. He then sat back down on the first step, while Eliki stood near the garage door, arms still folded, not looking particularly relaxed.

The dark furred snowkitten smiled wryly. "It's so nice to be trusted."

Eliki sighed. "Well what do you expect? After everything you've done over the years and the number of times you've tried to wind Leana up."

Jarret shook his head. "Ha! And she enjoys every minute of it. I've no interest in all that right now. You know the situation. The Elysia are edging nearer, and regardless of the relevant people knowing they're active again, the Elysia will get into this country."

Eliki frowned. "It's very encouraging to see your faith in our security forces…"

Jarret shrugged. "They'll do their job as best they can. But you know I'm right. This is the Elysia we're talking about, and it's inevitable that they'll get into Aredria, by whatever means necessary. Once they've done that, there isn't much we can do to stop them wandering in and out of Phoenixbrook whenever they choose. I'm going to be blunt - we're all targets, but I'm the one who got to them last time. So me and my family are the Elysias' priority. They want me out the way first. Your sister has sufficient power to wipe the whole filth-ridden organisation off the planet, but they know she is bound by very old rules. They know Leana is a danger, but she's not a direct threat. Whereas me… They threatened Keryan and she's in danger."

"I know," Eliki muttered.

Jarret looked at the floor, speaking more quietly now. "They blame me, you know."

Eliki looked quizzical. "Who does?"

"Anyone who fancies pushing their luck," Jarret replied with the tiniest hint of a smile. "I was responsible for the deaths of two high ranking Elysia officers and half their staff. Not surprisingly they're not taking too kindly to that. But I didn't… couldn't finish what I started. Everything I did, since they fled and went into hiding, has failed to finish the job. Now they're back and it's the equivalent of me having wedged a huge stick in a wasps' nest."

Jarret went silent. Eliki looked up at the moon before eventually telling him, "What choice was there? They wouldn't have left if you hadn't struck back. They'd have just stayed, worn us down, and then picked us off one by one. And the damage you did to them last time has got to be why it took them so long to regroup. We know the source of their power too and…"

Jarret looked up and interrupted. "We do. But each Elysia officer has the source of their power hidden in different places."

"You found two. The other three will turn up."

"Eventually, maybe," Jarret said abruptly, "but we haven't got time for 'eventually.' The last three officers will have made very sure it's even harder to find where they hid their power source. Meantime nothing whatsoever is going to stop them. I'm not being defeatist by saying that. They can't be stopped. We've seen that time and time again and you know I'm telling the truth."

There was silence for a long time before Jarret added, "One way or the other, this is going to be the last time. I hope you understand the implications of that." Eliki nodded silently. "Keryan has to be away from The Burrow, as far as possible, but there isn't a hope in hell that she would be any safer with anyone living abroad. Ailee and me could protect her, make no mistake about that, but if… when the Elysia reach Phoenixbrook, we can't tackle them and protect Keryan. I'm not willing to risk anything going wrong. I may not like your sister, but I trust her powers and abilities, and this house is the farthest point from The Burrow that I'm willing to send her, where I know there is someone capable of protecting her. Someone I can trust to…"

At that point Eliki snapped angrily, "Someone YOU trust?!"

"There are few enough people on this mudball planet that I care about. Keryan is one of the rare exceptions. She's my niece."

"And she's mine and Ailee's daughter! It's not about who you trust to protect her. The way you're ranting on, it's as though you think you have full authority over her." Eliki stopped momentarily, aware of a strange crackle of energy forming around his paw. As he stared at it, the ball of purple energy faded away as quickly as it had formed. He shook his head, suddenly looking very weary, and said more quietly, "She's my daughter…"

Jarret smiled, looking strangely satisfied. "Exactly." He stood up, his long leather jacket swirling around him. "She's your daughter. I don't doubt Leana's powers, but I also don't underestimate yours - in the right situation."

Eliki was about to ask him what he meant, but Jarret continued without giving him chance. "She'll be safe here. But I want you to give this to Keryan." He reached into one of his coat pockets, producing a silver necklace. From the thin chain hung a blood-red round jewel inside which was a much darker red, swirling like smoke.

Eliki took the jewel from Jarret's paw. "What… what is it?"

Jarret grinned - an eerie sight at best. "That would spoil the fun. Let's just say it's extra protection, for when she might need it the most. And if she does need it, it may well save you too." Anticipating Eliki's next question, he told him, "She'll know how it works. All it needs is instinct. But she has to keep it with her at all times. I can't stress that strongly enough. You have to make sure she understands that. I'd have handed it to her myself, but I don't trust Keryan to keep it quiet from her mother. At the moment it would only worry Ailee. It's 'just in case.' Nothing more than that."

Eliki held the strange necklace tightly in his paw, feeling an unusual, but somehow comforting, warmth emanating from it. He decided it was sometimes better not to dig for more details than necessary where Jarret was concerned. The dark-furred snowkitten put his hands in his pockets and looked at Eliki. "You may not believe it yet but I've just done you a very big favour, so I'm asking for one in return. Giving up her daughter is going to break Ailee's heart. Just make sure Keryan gets in touch with her every day, by whatever means. It isn't ideal, but it's something. That's all I'm asking."

Eliki nodded, and with that, Jarret strolled away, melting into the darkness. Eliki watched him leave, taking one last look at the strange glittering necklace, before pocketing it and shaking his head, then he walked up the stairs to the front door, keen to escape the cold evening.