Ignite Me

Warner plans to visit his mother for her birthday, which provides an excuse for Kenji and Juliette to train outside the base. She regrets the loss of ease and emotional intimacy between her and Warner, who opens up about his mother. Juliette comments on the jade ring he always wears—a gift from his mother as she tried to hide him from the annual abuse he suffered from his father on his birthday. He confides that it’s the only gift he’s ever been given, leading Juliette to stifle her tears.

Juliette dwells on the story Warner told about his childhood as she and Kenji, cloaked by invisibility, meet Warner at a storage room and board a tank. While Juliette and Kenji attempt to adjust positions while invisible, Juliette falls into Warner’s lap, which embarrasses all three of them. They reach unregulated territory and Kenji and Juliette exit the tank. She reassures Warner that everything will be fine, then squeezes his hand before he departs. He promises to return in two hours.

Warner doesn’t return on time, which alarms Juliette. Despite Kenji’s reassurances, she insists on returning to Sycamore Street (where Warner’s mother lives and where she and Kenji met Anderson in Unravel Me).