Thankfully, Noble did find her parents later that evening. They had been frantically searching, but among a crowd where everyone was frantically searching for someone they loved, the process had been slow.
With a final thank you, Noble and her rescuer parted ways.
The girl never saw him again on their long journey across the water, and part of her wondered if he had just been a figment of her imagination. How could someone just disappear? It defied logic. But nothing about the loss she was suffering was logical.
Having no clothes or baggage of her own, Noble reluctantly had to use her dead cousin's belongings. The shirts and pants were much too big, but the toothpaste and hairbrush proved quite useful.
It was during her search for toiletries that she stumbled upon her cousin's communicator, and her heart broke a second time.
The background was a picture of the two of them making goofy faces, but in front was a message that BB was in the middle of writing to her father at some point before the Creatures attacked.
"Hey, Uncle Lance, Uncle Bran says it is possible that we may have to split up. If we get separated and end up on a different boat, make sure you tell Noble not to worry too much. She forgets I'm the older cousin and can fend for myself. I mean I don't mind that she tries to mother me and my brothers all the time, but once in a while, I do wish she would let me take care of her for a change. So I guess this is my way of making sure she is alright..."
BB had never sent the message. He likely never would have. It was far too sappy, and Noble certainly would have held it over his head for ages. But he had written it and meant it.
And he had taken care of her. If he hadn't said that he was going to get her bag, she would have hesitated with indecision and likely missed the boat as well. He had made sure she was alright...
Noble shivered. She touched the top of her head.
"I miss you," she whispered, running her hand down her plaited hair.
Sitting on the train just now, Noble could almost feel the boat still rocking beneath her as she recalled her cousin's parting words from years before...
"Even if you did mess up my hair a little too often. You didn't stick around long enough to see me learn to braid it properly. Now you would have a tough time roughing it up..."
The gentleman on the seat next to her scooted far away as he clutched his synthetic leather bag. "I have no intention of roughing you up!"
"What?" The professor belatedly realized she was speaking aloud. "Oh, I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to myself. I mean talking to my cousin who died. You know what? Nevermind…"
Noble could tell by his emotions that the man already thought she was one of those Awakened who had lost their mind. Her words were only confirming his bias.
Broken out of her reverie, Noble looked out the window.
'Seventy percent of North America died from that Gate. Why were my parents and I spared? It doesn't seem fair.'
The greatest irony was that now Noble could perform some sort of flying. If she had had her Aspect then, she could have saved her family by levitating them and so many others onto her ship.
Instead, their living nightmares ended with death.
No one could stop those Nightmare Creatures. Even Immortal Flame could only hold the tide for a short time before losing his life. The heroes of the world simply were not enough against so Great of a foe.
Now Antarctica was going to suffer the same fate.
'No, not the same! We have warning this time. The government can get them out.'
Part of the problem last time was that nothing like that had ever occurred before. There were no evacuation protocols. No plans for when communications failed. Spelltech was rudimentary then. There had been no Saints.
'Things will be much better this time.'
They had a couple of years to get people out. That had to be enough time, didn't it?
'Not really. But it is better than two minutes…'
Having a danger looming on the horizon was far preferable to one already being on your doorstep…
"Or in your shipyard."
"I don't have a shipyard…" The man continued to stare at her wide-eyed.
'I need to stop talking to myself.' Noble sighed.
Fortunately, the next stop was hers. She stood as the train sailed down the track and into the station.
The walk home was dreary. The sky looked ready to drop acid rain at any moment, so she hurried to avoid a deluge.
By the time she arrived at her doorstep, the first drops were beginning to fall. She waited in the doorway and watched the water drip to the ground. The sound of it was soothing even though the feeling of the water was anything but pleasant.
Eventually, a PTV pulled up, and Noble rushed out to it with a Memory resembling an umbrella over her head. The twins tumbled out of the vehicle and took shelter under the magical canopy.
"Take off your shoes at the door!" Noble chided the boys as they shoved through the entry. She hugged and kissed the top of both boys' heads.
They told her all about their day at a speed that would have put even the fastest Awakened to shame. When they were done, Noble ushered them farther into the house.
"Get your homework done before dinner if you can. I want to have a family game night tonight." Noble blinked tears from her eyes at the mention of family.
"Yes, Mom!" Blaze tore off towards his bedroom without a backward glance.
Brock stayed behind, looking quite pleased with himself.
"Don't you have any work to do?" Noble stared incredulously at her child.
"Nope! I finished it all at school. I'm a genius." Brock tapped his temple.
"Well, I am going to need to check your work, Mr. Genius." Noble chuckled softly. "Do you need help carrying your books to your room?"
"No need. I have brain and brawn!" The blond boy flexed his muscles before looking up and furrowing his brow. "What's the matter, Mom? Why are you crying?"
'I'm crying?' Noble hadn't even realized she was.
She was shedding tears because the world was about to be ravaged again. Children like the darling one before her were going to lose their families and possibly their own lives.
But she couldn't tell him that. Even if the government had not strictly forbade her from divulging the coming disaster, Noble would never burden a child with that sort of news. Having him worry about something he could not change would be cruel.
"I'm just a little weepy," Noble found a tissue and dabbed at her cheeks. "Hm, if you really have nothing to do, would you like to hear a story?"
Her son's eyes lit up. "Yes, please!" He jumped on the couch and looked up at her with expectation.
Noble hovered beside the nine-year-old and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "I wanted to tell you a story about someone very dear to me. He was named Brock--"
"That's my name!" the boy's mouth hung open. "Is this story about me?"
"No, the person I am talking about didn't go by that name. Everyone called my cousin 'BB' because he often shot off in whatever direction he wanted without much thought." Noble smirked. "He had your muscles," she poked at her son's arm, "but sometimes lacked your brains..."
Noble told of the time her cousin had tried to impress a girl and tripped in the process. Somehow, he managed to say all the wrong things, spill a drink on the girl, and still managed to get her contact information. "He was very likable..." Noble finished.
"He sounds like a cool guy. Where is he now?" Brock tilted his head.
"He died before you were born," Noble felt fresh tears fill her eyes, but she blinked them away.
"I wish I could have met him."
Noble laid her head against her son's hair and hugged him tight. "Me too, Buddy. Me too..."
BB was gone, but in her mind, he could never be forgotten.