Suddenly she woke up.

She stretched out her hands, but her dad was nowhere to be found. She was alone in a bed. She opened her eyes, but saw no white sheets or walls, just a nice damask color, worn in several places by fights and gunshots.

Puzzled, she sat up and looked around. She was alone in a generic, unadorned room that did not stand out, like a hotel room. Confused, she stood up and began to walk around. She immediately noticed that she was in her underwear. She looked around. Her clothes were at the foot of the bed, her slippers underneath. As soon as she put them on, she opened the door and went out.

She found herself in the middle of a hallway. She continued on the right and approached a large office with a balcony. She could tell it had once been very nice, with a large desk, an archway with flower prints to go outside, bookshelves, filing cabinets and beautifully designed armchairs, but at the moment there was a lot of dust everywhere, the walls were missing some pieces, the desk was broken in half and the balcony had only half of the railing intact. Erica looked out and saw Mother's streets in the middle of a clear day. It was a little warm.

—Isn't it the middle of the year?— she wondered, puzzled, until then she remembered that they were on a different continent.

She turned around to look for someone who could tell her what had happened to the nonis and Tur. Had they won? Had they lost? Would she have to serve him from then on? She had no idea and was dying to know. But as she turned around, she noticed two pairs of eyes staring at her with surprise, from the office entrance. Erica also stared at them. They were two children no more than six years old, both similar and at the same time they looked like little versions of Arturo to her.

—Who…?— she tried to ask.

In that moment, a young woman appeared from the hallway, grabbed both children's heads and smashed them together. The children rubbed themselves, in pain.

—I told you two not to come this way!— yelled the woman, who then saw Erica in front of her.

They both looked at each other, not knowing what to say. The woman behind the children was young, somewhat short, with large green eyes and lurid pink, sharp hair.

—Oh, you're awake— she noticed.

—See?— one of the children demanded— You didn't have to hit us!

—Oh, really? Are you sure you shit-heads didn't wake her up?

The woman grabbed the children's heads again, threateningly. They took off at full speed and ran towards Erica. To her surprise, they embraced her confidently and sunk their heads on her hips. The girl blushed a little at the sight.

—They think I'm a good person!— she thought for a moment, pleased.

—Hey, don't wipe your boogers on her!— the woman barked.

—What?!

Immediately the children ran away and fluttered around a bit, not knowing what to do, until the woman walked away from the hallway. Then the children went that way, thinking they had escaped trouble.

—Little fuckers...— muttered the pink-haired girl.

Then she approached Erica and held out her hand.

—Sorry about all that. They're stupid, but they're good kids at heart. I'm Liatris, you can call me Lia.

Erica shook her hand, still confused.

—My name is Erica.

Liatris smiled sideways.

—Yes, I know. Lili has told me a lot about you.

This caught the brika's attention.

—Lili? Liliana?

—Yes, I'm her sister. Didn't Lili tell you about me?

Then Erica looked into her eyes and was surprised to find the same big green irises as her friend. However they were both very different; Liatris dressed very psychedelic and asymmetrical, with heavy boots and leather straps everywhere. It was the complete opposite of her sister's conservative, feminine style.

Erica made more connections, surprised.

—So those kids...

—Ah, the twins? They are Arturo's little brothers.

—What?!— shouted Erica.

Liatris laughed, amused by Erica's exaggerated expressions. Then she took her by the hand and led her down the hallway.

—Come, you need to eat.

—Ah...

Erica couldn't say no. Not that she was very hungry, but she wanted to see the others, and also to sit down; her muscles still ached a little.

Liatris led her to the elevator. There they went down to the second floor and then headed to a dining room, with a good part of the ceiling and one wall gone. Even so, it had been thoroughly cleaned and fitted out. In the center was a long table, with a white tablecloth, piles of food and a few people talking animatedly. Erica looked at them all with a certain distance, she didn't feel she had the energy to face so many new people, but suddenly she heard her name.

—Erica!— a little female voice called to her. It was Liliana.

—Erica!— said the soft voice of a boy. It was Arturo.

The girl looked for them and soon found them at one end of the table. They had both stood up and were running towards her.

—Erica!— Liliana called out to her again, before pulling her into a hug.

Arturo approached her slower, but still surrounded her and hugged her on the other side.

—How are you? Aren't you in pain? Are you hungry?— Liliana asked.

—I'm fine, I'm just a little tired. What about you both?

—The same— summed up Arturo.

—So... did we win?— asked Erica— Is it true?

They both smiled from ear to ear.

—We won!— they answered at the same time.

—Tur is withdrawing his troops— said Liliana— Mother will be free again in a few months!

—Months? Why don't they all leave right away?— the brika pleaded.

—Moving so many soldiers takes time— explained Arturo— not to mention the paperwork that needs to be done. A couple of months to vacate the whole world is unbelievable. If there were no bridges, it would take years.

—Ah.

—But come, come! You need to eat!— said Liliana.

—That's true, let's go to the table— agreed Arturo— we were just finishing, but there was a lot left over.

—Of course.

They sat her at the table and gave her five times what she could have eaten in a normal lunch. She had a good time anyway. The other people next to her were her friends’ families; Arturo's mom with her two little brothers, whom she had already met, and also Liliana's parents and older sister. They were all very nice and bombarded her with questions about her and her journey through Nudo, until Liliana stopped them and made them leave to let her have breakfast. Erica asked her friends to fill her in on what had happened after defeating Tur.

—It was total chaos— remembered Liliana— first you took his ring and went crazy. You started talking to yourself and looked everywhere as if there was something.

Erica nodded, she remembered at least that part.

—And then you disappeared— Arturo indicated.

Erica choked. She coughed hard until she managed to spit out the piece of meat in her throat.

—So it was true!

Her friends looked at her puzzled, so Erica explained her experience after taking the ring and the strange moment she had shared with her dad. Liliana and Arturo couldn't believe their surprise, they would have fallen over if they hadn't been sitting down.

—You saw your dad?!— they exclaimed.

Erica nodded several times, as she couldn't quite believe it either.

—I think that was the power of the ring, although I no longer see the chains or hear any voices.

—And why didn't you stay there?— Liliana asked.

—I don't know! Suddenly I was with him, and then I appeared here! What do you want me to do? — but in spite of everything, she didn't see it as a bad thing — I think he knew we couldn't be together for long, but seeing him gave me hope. We already have one ring, we only have six left, could you help me get them?

Liliana and Arturo smiled at her.

—Of course!— assured Arturo.

—After all we've been through, do you think we're going to say no?— asked Liliana.

Erica held their hands, happy.

—But anyway, what happened next? When did I come back?

—We found you after a few hours— recalled Liliana— In the meantime, the nonis helped us; they gave us food and let us rest.

—They put you on a coat, then the three of us were examined by a medical team— continued Arturo— and then Tur woke up and came to see us. He congratulated us for defeating him and said he would keep his word. Then he left us a team of soldiers to take care of us. I think he went to organize his troops.

—And when we got here, our families were waiting for us— Liliana added— Fir managed to find them all and sent them to this place, with a special escort.

—So that's why!— figured Erica.

She took a look at both families. They all seemed to know each other well, they trusted each other.

—Do they know each other already?— she asked.

—Yes, our parents have been friends since school— Arturo revealed.

Erica put a hand to her head.

—Of course!—  she exclaimed— you already told me, sorry.

—Its alright.