The others were all there, sitting around the table. There was food on the table, mostly centered around a pot in the center and rolls on every plate. Mr. Nicholson was washing his hands, but Kiki, Ali, and even Will were sitting down, and made sure to give her eye contact when she appeared.
In a snap moment, Kiki jumped over, ran over to Flor, and gave her a warm hug. "A-Are you okay?"
Flor was surprised. "I..."
"Tell me you're okay... Unless you're not."
She smiled. "I am alright."
"Kiki!" shouted her mother, "Get back to the table! We're about to start!"
She groaned, letting go and reluctantly going back and sitting down in her seat. "Talk to you after, I've got somethin' that'll cheer you up!" she chirped.
Flor took a seat as well. "Is it already time for dinner?" She received an array of nods as a response. She let her head go a bit limp. How many hours had gone by?
"I had a good day," said Will, taking up some of the soup, "We had a pack stop by the music store today. The same group from yesterday, actually."
"You let them in?" asked Mr. Nicholson.
He chuckled. "They tried to get Flor back. They didn't know who she was, but I got the idea. It took 'em a whole hour to figure out she wasn't even in the store."
"How did your paper go, Kiki?"
"Great!" she chirped, "I mean, I think they like it. I can't even tell with my class. I don't think anyone really wants to be there."
"You're an anomaly," said Ali, taking a big bite out of a roll, "Can't think of anyone else who likes writing papers."
"Oh, caught another wizard at work today!" chimed in Mr. Nicholson, stirring his rice in with the chunky soup. "She was trying to reverse engineer a joshu. That's a big deal right now, y'know. People trying to make their own joshus. A lot of people going to ken'eki for that."
"Ken'eki?" asked Flor, leaning in.
He nodded. "Yeah. It's like a prison."
"So, uh..." began Ali, putting down his bowl, "You, uh... I take it you're probably not going with me to my Ryonogun meeting tonight, right?"
Flor seemed frozen and glassy eyed for a moment. She slowly turned to the front door, visible to her left, and felt a strange sense of imminent dread in the back of her throat.
"Time to make a tough decision," said Mrs. Nicholson, taking a sip from her water. "Flor, you're not gonna be here unless you pull your weight. You don't have a job anymore, and that language package we got for Ali wasn't cheap. You need to go with him and use it," she turned to her husband, "Or you need to take it back and hire a different robot for Ali. Will can't go with him to practice anymore."
"Why can't they just be like the schools?" he asked, sighing, "I mean, Kiki gets translation service."
"It's crap," she whispered under her breath.
"I'm afraid he will find me," finally chimed Flor, eyes fixed at her plate. Her hands were shaking, folded in her lap like a quivering napkin. "He said he could. He said he was magic."
"She's got a point," replied Mr. Nicholson, "I mean... You won't believe the crazy stuff that I saw on her identification card. Whoever her boss was..." he turned to her, "I don't know what he did, but if it hurts you to explain, I won't ask."
Ten or so seconds passed by with nothing being said. Flor was still looking downward, but her head was now quivering as well. She closed her eyes, took in a breath, and let it out slowly. "I know that you are kind people." She lifted her head, making sure her eyes contacted everyone at the table. "I... was informed that I am special. An anomaly that comes into being only once every hundred years or so."
"Uh-huh?" asked Ali.
Kiki hit him on the back of the head and made a shushing motion with her hand.
Flor took a deep breath. "You know me. My name is Florence Orleanaise. I am a joshu that was created by Toa. My client is Ryo Sato. My best friend is Yenri Pinku."
At the mention of 'Pinku', Mr. Nicholson's eyes lit up.
"I was the pop singer who was on stage for a short period of time. We have one hit. After our initial tour was over, we went to a bar. My being was stolen, and I was given the being of the girl who did it to me. I was saved by you." She smiled. "This girl... I assume she pretended to be me. My creator discovered that I was broken in some strange way, and so all the Orleanaise were sent back to be fixed." She stopped a moment to think. "I may be wrong on the details. As she was a ryoshi, not a joshu, the girl pretending to be me... she... she went away. I do not know where she went, but she is no more. Because of my being, I was safe, and am now an anomaly. Those strong in magic will pursue me."
Mr. Nicholson was massaging his smiling face. "I'm not happy," he interrupted, "I'm just... I'm fascinated. This is fascinating. Keep talking. I'm sorry."
"Trotsky-schi, my superior, he called me into his office. He made me take medicine and lie down on a couch. He put nodes on my head and made me go to sleep. And he was there... in my dream, that is. I... I mean, he wasn't there, he was... I couldn't see him, but... no, I couldn't hear him, but it was... it was as if he was writing thoughts directly into my mind. He kept arguing and making people do things, I... I woke up, and my face was stiff, and my whole body hurt, and... I vomited, and he told me that he owned me, that... I was so very precious to him, and that he was the one who killed gods, and that..." She shuddered, slowly turning her eyes to Mrs. Nicholson. "Your food is very delicious. I have never tasted anything like this before, and I would like to continue, but I cannot continue talking about this subject and continue to eat." And with that, she began to nibble on the corner of a roll.
Mr. Nicholson leaned back in his chair with a satisfying WHUMP. He began to stroke his beardless chin, eyes staring up at the ceiling.
"What is this?" asked Flor, blowing off a spoonful of her soup.
"Jambalaya," replied Mrs. Nicholson. "Recommending that tape reminded me that we haven't had any for a long time. It's got sausage, shrimp, tomatoes, all sorts of good stuff."
"Tape?" asked Will.
"Yeah," she replied, "I got Flor into Cajun music."
"I mean," chuckled Ali lightly, "That makes sense, accordion and all. It's a little weird though."
"Flor," said Kiki, leaning in front of her brother, "You can play whatever you want to, okay? And... You're invited to karaoke with me and my friends tonight. I told them that I knew Florence from Ryo, and they got excited, but I understand if you don't want to go. You do whatever you feel comfortable with."
Flor nodded and bowed as much as she could. "I appreciate your graciousness, Kiki-chyeo."
She giggled. "Kiki-chyeo. I love it."
Mr. Nicholson leaned forward. "My god, I think I've got it."
All eyes were on him.
"Look, she's getting chased by this wizard who thinks he's big stuff, right? He might have taken her card info if he was smart, though he might not if he had a big head, so he could probably do whatever he wants outside this house, but she's safe in here. I'm a security expert. I made sure this is a safe spot. So, we've got some options. Either we send out a proxy for her, have her translate over the phone or something, or we get her a new ID. That way, that pack doesn't even have a lick of a chance of finding her, and there's only a tiny chance that hacker guy will ever find her."
"But won't he be looking, now?" asked Will. "And we're kind of a minority, what if he catches her with, y'know, Ali or something?"
He crossed his arms. "Outside the house, she'll only be with him as a dragon. There's plenty of dragons. And I mean, look at her! Black hair, average size; you put her in whatever's hip, and she's lost in a crowd."
"How long does it take to modify the ID on a card?" asked Ali, "I mean... Could it be done before tonight? If you want to come," offered Ali, "I don't wanna take you out if you're, y'know, shaken up."
Flor gave a heavy sigh. "It would do me well to think of something else for a moment."
"Fifteen minutes!" shouted Mr. Nicholson, clapping his hands, "Give me some time and it'll be done. Now, it... may not be legal, but let's not tell anybody, alright?"
"Deal," said Ali, crossing his arms. Kiki made the motion of a zipper across her lips.
Flor took another spoonful from her soup. It sent a rush of warmth down her throat and into her stomach, soothing her to the core. She felt her troubles loosen up, not quite gone but not quite as painful. "Thank you... T-Thank you all so much..." she laughed quietly. Her eyes felt wet.
. . .
Flor had only one outfit out of her initial three that she could wear. The first one had already been worn and would be recognized by too many people. Her second, and favorite, was off at the restaurant, having been replaced by the horrible maid outfit she was told to wear for work. But at least she had one left that wouldn't be recognized. It was a big, dark turtleneck sweater atop a black tank top, matched with a beige/brown plaid skirt, black leggings, and tall, furred boots that reached up to her knees and matched her turtleneck. Her favorite part was the boots and the little fur ring around the top, she decided, having sat at the end of her bed for a while admiring them.
Knock knock knock.
She walked over to her door, but right before she opened it, she heard Kiki's voice. "Wait, wait, don't open yet!"
"Hm?"
"So... I'm part of this club at school, yeah? And we're a Mirai fan club, and since you know Mirai, I thought you could let me know how good a job I do?"
Flor thought for a moment. "I suppose so, yes."
Then, Kiki opened the door. Or... at least, Flor expected it to be Kiki. It was definitely Shinjidai Mirai, dressed in one of the same outfits as Flor had originally seen her in from the clothing catalog. She grinned, twirling a bit to show off. "Well, what do you think?"
Flor raised her eyebrows. "You look just like her! Although, your smile does seem different than hers from this close."
"How can I do better? I'm taking notes."
"Mirai wanted people to think she was better than them, so she enjoyed smiling at my friends and I in a way that made me feel very small. She was also very angry often."
Kiki was confused. "I don't even think that's possible, Mirai being angry. She's always so happy all the time."
"I have only seen her a few times, I'm sure you've done a very good job!"
"Well... If Mirai's one of those people..." she groaned. "I'm going to go downstairs and talk with some friends and try to put this together. We might have to choose a new idol. How does Flor Orleanaise sound?"
"I... If I joined your group, would I look like the way I used to?"
She raised her eyelids. "I don't see why not."
Flor grinned, butterflies tickling her stomach. "I would love to return to myself..." she said under her breath.
"I'll talk and see what I find, if it's even an option. These Mirai skins are really cheap. Thanks for the feedback!" And with that, she turned around.
"Take care!" replied Flor, leaving the room and closing the door behind her.
After just a moment, she was stopped by Mr. Nicholson. He had just exited his office and had a card in hand. "Now," he began, "This is a dummy ID. You can still put stuff in it, people can take information from it, but you can't write to it. No adding or taking away, and if they try, you get sent straight home, alright?"
She smiled, bowing. "Thank you once more, Mr. Nicholson. I... am not sure what to say for all you and your family have done for me. I owe you everything."
He shrugged, waving his hand dismissively. "It didn't cost me anything, and besides, they wanted me to make these for work, anyway. Easy-peasy."
Flor ran back to her room, snatching up her accordion and hiding it inside of her new ID card. As she was taught to do, she enclosed it within herself by folding her hand around it. Then, she raced back out, through the waterfall, and out to where Ali was standing, just beyond the threshold of the door.
He was leaning up against the doorway, picking something out of his teeth with the fingernail of his pinky. "You, uh..." He wiped his hand on his jacket. "You get everything?"
She snorted, nodding her head.
"I'll take that as a yes."
Mrs. Nicholson appeared from the kitchen, Kiki not too far off, concern on her face. "Hey, ya'll be careful, alright? With the situation? Don't get into any trouble, alright?"
He rolled his eyes. "Sure, mom." Then, he leaped backward. Flor scurried back inside, peeking out past the doorframe. He exploded into a mass of sparks, the body of a dragon bursting out one side of the cloud until its entire mass was exposed. Once it was all released, it settled like ash, resting on the street outside. "Hey! Get on!" he shouted with a smile.
Kiki ran up to Flor and gave her another hug. "I don't know if you want all these hugs, but-"
"It's alright," she replied, hugging her back. "I remember every single one."
Kiki's eyes began shimmering as a grin overtook her face. "Be safe, too! Let me know if you need something!"
Flor climbed atop Ali's back, nestling herself down as close as she could to his scales. She could almost hear a heart beating in there, beneath all the plasticine plates. She closed her eyes to make the takeoff easier. That isn't to say she didn't feel it – she felt it – it was like the Magic Penguin Train whenever they started to leave the station. However, with her eyes closed, it was smooth as butter. His body gently rocked from side to side as they traveled ever upwards, her awareness willingly ignorant of the stories upon stories of height they were climbing.
She began to feel her muscles relaxing, but she involuntarily tensed, sucking air in through her mouth. It was hard to do, as buckets worth of air were rushing around her, but she did it anyway. She didn't have a choice, after all. She couldn't fall asleep. She wouldn't let herself.
His flight pattern changed. She opened her eyes. They had finally crossed the moon's surface barrier. The bowl-like hills greeted her vision, as did the fields of nearly luminescent grass. Ali began to hover, and Flor sat up, blinking and looking around.
Directly to her right was a small tower, shoes and blankets available and neatly presented in little stacked wooden boxes.
"Pick some up," said Ali, "Probably wouldn't have been a bad idea to take you here first last time now that I think of it."
She grabbed the only box within her reach.
"You got it?"
"Yes," she replied quietly.
He then dove down, flying low over the grass. Flor was still upright, but continued to lean in, as to not completely disorient herself. He took them into the large castle structure, the lights much dimmer and warmer than the outside. The scent immediately struck her face like a splash of ocean water, salty and stark.
The moment his feet touched the wooden flooring, Flor hopped off, her boots unfortunately traded in for the appropriate footwear. She landed with a satisfying 'thump'.
Ali exploded into a ball of bright light, which from his human form appeared. He was wearing his uniform now and was standing at attention. "I'm gonna go line up with everyone else for the time being, you just stay here like last time, okay?"
She nodded, snorting air to show that she understood without saying anything.
"Right..." he said, taking off towards the line of other humans, all wearing uniforms, near the other side of the structure.
Flor decided to make herself comfortable – but not too comfortable. She sat down against the wall, folding her legs out to the side. Then, she did as she was instructed, retrieving her accordion from her identity card. She slipped it on, undoing the latch at the top and making a shrill noise with its bellows.
SQUEAK -
She immediately stopped, however. The building was clearly much more accommodating to loud noises. It rang out like a bell. Her back arched, and her teeth felt like broken glasses in her mouth. She began to immediately sweat. No one had stopped their training, but a few eyes had turned towards her.
This wasn't the first time she'd caused a stir in this building.
She recalled her night terrors from last time.
They were probably going to remove her.
But the accordion was still open...
SQUEEEAK-...
The moment it was air-free, she snapped the latch back on and put it back where it belonged. Then, she straightened herself up, hands on her thighs and face straight ahead, trying to stop from breathing so hard.
A dragon landed nearby, having appeared from the space above. It was bright red, tall and elegant, long like a ribbon but poised as a grandfather clock. "You," it began in a strangely familiar voice, "You need to come with me."
Flor stood up and bowed low. "Y-Yes, master dragon."
"Get on my back."
Taking shallow breaths, she did as she was told, climbing onto his back. It felt very similar to Ali's back, but with her state of being, the scales were cold. They nearly stung to the touch. She bit her lower lip, trying to keep the sound of her heart down, as not to disturb anyone.
He took off as abruptly as he left, but as he did so, she could not close her eyes. Her stomach turned upside down and it took every bit of strength she had left not to fall off as he twisted in on himself, climbing the empty pillar of space and into one of the dragon-sized rooms above the training floor.
The dragon stopped on a wooden platform, of which Flor quickly climbed off. She backed up, bowing low once more for him. "I-I apologize for my noise, I did not mean to be an intrusion again-"
"Stop talking," he grunted. Then, in a flash of light, he transformed into a human form. "You are Wallace's translator, are you not?"
Flor looked up, and in a moment, her blood turned cold.
"R-Ryo-?" she said, shoving her mouth closed.
He stood where he was, staring blankly.
"Sounds like you've got some history that even I don't know about," said another familiar voice from the other side of the room.
Flor turned his way and saw a little robot, sitting behind a desk, piles of paperwork in front of him. She smiled, choking out a single laugh. "J-Joe-schi?"
Joe blinked, looking at the bottle in his hand. "Okay, note to self, do not drink this particular stuff, I almost thought she said my name."
"State your name," barked Ryo.
Flor stood up straight once more, bowing low. "F-Florence. Florence Orleanaise, master dragon."
The silence that followed was so thick that it could be sliced with a sword. Ryo slowly stepped up. His face was solid as stone. "Do you think I'm in the mood for damn jokes?" he asked with an undertone of reserve.
She froze, the image of him striking her imprinted in the front of her vision. She held her breath. "No, sir."
"Good. Now give me your name."
"Y-You know my name, sir."
"Give me a different name, then," he whispered. "I don't care who you are, I never want to have to think of that particular chapter in my life ever again."
"I... I seek permission to consult my current ID card."
"Current? Were you... uh... catfished or something?" asked Joe, squinting from the other side of his desk.
Ryo returned his question with a deathly stare.
Flor retrieved her card, but nearly dropped it, fumbling to take it in both hands. He snatched it up, giving it a calculating sweep with his vision.
"Natsuki Yamada..." he sighed. "As I thought. Master Kim told me about you. That you caused trouble?"
Joe laughed. "Causing trouble? Sounds like she's probably the real Flor-"
"DOES IT LOOK LIKE I'M IN THE MOOD?" growled Ryo.
He leaned back a bit. "I've got plenty of booze if you're thirsty, boss. Just offering."
"I would have you out immediately," continued Ryo, "But that's not my place. If you were a member of the Ryonogun, so help me..."
Flor bowed once more. "Please be kind to me."
Ryo's hands began to shake. "I... need to fly for a while. I will return. Van Rossum-schi, watch her until I return." He laughed while wincing, and with a moment and a bright flash of light, he was outside and as a dragon once more.
Sighing, Joe took out a cone-shaped glass and poured from a small bottle. "Accordion... Now that's a whole new level I aspire to reach one day."
Flor slowly stepped over to him, still recovering from the sheer amount of overwhelming force that had washed over her. "V-Van Rossum-schi?"
"Yeah! Believe it or not, I have a last name." He took a sip. "Mmmm... tastes like horse piss."
She bowed for him. "Please be kind to me, also."
"So, you really Flor?" He leaned back. "That whole night at the bar was crazy. If you got catfished, I wouldn't be surprised. I mean, you... or whoever pretended to be you... acted like a totally different person once that chaos was over. Acted like I was a totally different person, like, a robot or something. I just chalked it up to trauma." He took another sip. "But this makes too much sense. I... uh... I'm kind of relieved. Broke my heart when they had to take you, I mean her, they had to take her to get purged, but knowing that the real Flor is a-okay warms my heart."
"I did not mean to upset Ryo..."
"No one does. You want my opinion? He's a big, fat child. Hundreds of years old, yes. He's still a child. He just comes here and has a 'leadership role' so he doesn't feel like it. You're probably more of a man than he is. And I'm his best friend. What does that say?"
"...Why was he so upset?"
He pointed his glass in Ryo's assumed general direction. "Guys like him just wake up one day, decide they've had enough, and start acting like the world owes them something. I don't know what exactly, but something. Every time he gets something nice, he ruins it. Every time it's something bad, it just adds to the fire. And he won't get a memory wipe, so it just piles and piles..." He took another sip. "That whole deal with Yenri?" He shuddered. "...I mean, at least it got him back in here. He needs this as much as I do. I miss my old desk job."
"Why do you stay here?" she asked quietly, "With him?"
He laughed, shaking his head. "I don't know. Guess I haven't got anywhere better to go. This whole world? Yeah, it's all the same, and everyone's just like him the more you know 'em. Yenri and him? Same person, basically. But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's just the oceans upon oceans of alcohol I drown myself in. Not that it does anything. I'm a robot, after all."
Flor frowned.
"Hey, don't beat yourself up over it. You didn't do anything. He should be apologizing to you. Just don't turn into him, okay? You were cute and all, I'd hate to see that wasted." He chuckled. "Real shame there aren't more girls like you and guys like me. Imagine a whole planet with just people like us. That'd be a hoot."
"...I... was curious. Do you... do you happen to know what happened to Yenri?"
Joe turned to look at her with his big, blank, metal eyes. "Oh, Flor... You don't know?"
"What do you mean?"
He sat where he was for a few seconds. "She... You... I... Y'see, it's... Not great for joshu when they do something like what she did. A lot of people saw. I guess she just got carried away. I mean, she involved Tsukuyomi – that never happens. But anyway, when joshu go out of their way to cause that much trouble to their clients..."
Flor felt time slow down. Her heart was no longer beating quite as often, and she could hear it in the back of her head.
"Yenri... Yenri doesn't exist anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"She was remerged. You can't find her. She's not here." He put his drink down, letting that statement sink in. "I'm so sorry, pumpkin."
Flor began to feel dizzy. "H-How do we get her back?"
"I mean... There are ways. You can... well... no... no, she wouldn't be the same. The Yenri we knew is gone, like a drop in the ocean. I'm sorry."
Her knees began to wobble. She slowly sank down, her hands touching the rough, wooden floors of the office. Her ears began to ring, and her vision pulsed, as if her eyes were going to fall out of their sockets.
He got out from behind his desk and walked over to the front, kneeling. "Don't give up hope just yet, though."
"I-I invoke Tsuku... Tsukuyomi..." she coughed, doing everything within her power to keep from screaming. He had reminded her the words... they were so easy to forget.
He remained silent.
Nothing happened on her part. She didn't feel magical, or as if anyone had even heard her words at all. They gave her no strength. She felt empty, hollow, like a shadow.
Her face touched the floor. She fought sleep with everything in her. What little she had, she struggled to keep. She gripped into her own face with her fingernails, the sheer pain not enough to fight her overwhelming desire to escape, to rest. She tasted blood. The world began to dim.
"HELP!" shouted Joe, "WE NEED SOME HELP IN HERE!"
But it was too late. She was already gone.