A Weird Dream:
It all started in the Industrial District. Here I am, minding my own business. My name is Cross, and I am a high-ranking Reclaimer. I am a girl without my memories prior to being discovered by fellow Reclaimer, Elma. I was enlisted to be part of Elma's team. Some noticable things about me is that I have curiously blue skin. But there's a part of me that's a bigger mystery. For some reason, I have a "02" tattoo on my right cheek. Honestly, I'm not sure why I have that. But there's two things about me that are not a mystery. One, I have blonde hair that has hints of green. I believe I may have simply dyed my hair with hints of green before boarding the White Whale. Two, I have a British accent. Elma believes I may be of British descent.
Anyways, this is where it all began. As I mentioned earlier, I was just minding my own business. I was just walking by in the Industrual District, leaving the West Gate areas, when just as I was about to turn right, there were a couple of guys who flirted with me.
"Hey! Blue cutie!" One of the guys said.
"Who, me?" I asked.
"Yes, you. We heard a lot of things about you, including your good looks." The other guy claimed. ...I decided to act bashful. I've had lots of admirers ever since I came to NLA. Some annoyed me more than others. And for those ones, I turned to an Interceptor named Irina.
"...I have no idea what you two guys are talking about." I said as I acted bashful.
"So, if you had to choose, which of the two of us would you like to hang out with?" The first guy asked.
"Look, I don't even know either of you two. Besides, I have some business to attend to-" I said before the other guy interrupted me.
"Come on, girl, this is the perfect opportunity to find someone you will love." Said the guy who interrupted me. That's when I realised they were serious about dating me.
The first thing I did was that I did a declining pose. "Look, I'm sorry, boys, but... Well, I'm not the romantic kind of girl." I insisted. But they continued to persist. Then I bluntly told them to get lost.
But the response I got literally took me by surprise! They were actually Definians in disguise! Definians are a race of xenoforms; a female-only species. They once worked with the Ganglion, but these two appeared to have reformed. One of them I have never seen before. The other was Erio, the first Definian I have actually met. "Aw, Cross... I thought we were going to have a romantic moment together." Erio said.
"W-What?! You... Did you just say "romantic"?!" I yelped out of shock.
"Paws off, Eri. Cross is mine." the other Definian said.
"Who... Who are you?" I asked in confusion.
"Once we start dating, Cross, I'll tell you who I am." the other Definian stated.
"Dating? As in... romantic dating?" I asked.
"Well, of course. You, and me, together." she said in a romantic tone.
"Hey, now. We all know Cross and I are meant to be together." Erio argued. The arguement was getting nowhere, so I decided to start running while they weren't looking at me.
As I started running, it didn't take long for them to notice I was fleeing. "Hey! Cross! Where are you going?!" Erio asked in a flirty tone.
"Come on, Eri! Cross is to be my girlfriend, not yours!" the other Definian said. I was just creeped out. Two Definians, a female-only species, in love with a female human like me?
Now, don't get me wrong. Nothing wrong with same-gender relationships. And nothing wrong with human-xeno relationships. But the fact is the way they were both overly possessive of me was just... creepy.
To my left as I was running was the Repenta Diner. I decided to use that to my advantage. I turned left towards the diner. I ran towards the side of the building once the left turn became available again. Knowing that they were still chasing me, I turned left again until I was at the back of the building. I then proceeded to jump to the top of the building, hoping to lose them.
When they arrived at the backside of the diner, they discovered that I was nowhere to be seen. "Cross, where are you?" Erio asked.
"Yoohoo, Cross!" the other Definian said in a flirty tone. Neither of them were aware that I'm on top of the diner.
After some searching, the two Definians decide to have a competition. They shapeshifted into two different guys, guessing what my preference would be. Erio shapeshifted into an muscular guy, while the other Definian shapeshifted into a pretty boy. They both decided that whoever finds me first, gets to go on a date with me. It's like neither of them actually stop and think about how I feel about all this.
When they split up, they went searching two separate areas of the Industrial District. That's when I realised, I can't risk running across either side of the Industrial District without either one seeing me. I sighed, then said "Where is my Skell when I need it?" I proceeded to grab my comm device while remaining hidden. Then I discovered that it's inside BLADE Barracks, apparently. And, apparently, I had locked the ability to summon it.
"Guess I'll have to head to the BLADE Barracks..." I said. Then I looked around, and the two men who were actually female Definians in disguises were still searching around. "...But how?" I asked. Then I noticed there was one thing that could give me the advantage: Below the streets of NLA, there's what appears to be water. It's actually cushioning gel taking on the form of water. Still, it was my only chance to head to BLADE Barracks without them getting close to me.
So, I decided to jump off the diner and into the water-like cushioning gel down below. As I was getting close, I held my breath. After the splash, I resurfaced, regaining my breath. As I was about to start swimming, I heard one of the guys' voices saying "Hey, did you hear that?" I was startled. How did they hear a splash?
I summoned an aerial camera, then held my breath again before diving completely, leaving no trace of my appearance. Not even the lock of hair that sticks up. I watched the aerial camera footage from my waterproof watch, while trying to keep my breath held. The camera footage showed the two guys wondering what that splash was. Especially since all they saw was ripples, but nothing underwater. Just the sunny sky reflecting on the cushioning gel.
As I feared I was running out of time to keep my breath held, the two decided to keep pursuing me, unaware I was underwater the whole time. When I saw them leaving, I resurfaced, coughing, then called the air cam back. "I better swim to the Residential District." I thought. So, I started swimming towards the Residential District, which, so far, has no connections to the Industrial District. So I started swimming until I came to a shore.
Once I came to shore, I went up some series of staircases until I came to the Residential District. I checked FrontierNav, and so far, the two guys were nowhere to be seen here. I was equal parts relieved and concerned. Even though they were nowhere to be seen in the Residential District, I still shouldn't drop my guard.
I ran across a straight line, across the Residential District. My target was the lift, which Americans call an elevator, that led to the Administrative District. But as I was getting closer, I heard Erio's voice, yelling "Cross, sweetie! Where are you?" I was startled, understandably. How'd they get to the Residential District so fast? ...No, I had to take the lift. I hurriedly took the lift, and it lifted me up to the Adminstrative District.
I was out of their hair again for now. But I can't waste time. They'll suspect at some point I fled to the Administrative District. So I had to use what time I had to head to BLADE Barracks. Then I remembered that Elma, my team leader, and an Outfitter named Lin Lee Koo, who is no more than 13, were at the BLADE Barracks, too. I had to seek help from them.
As I arrived at the doors to the BLADE Barracks, I looked every direction for signs of my lovestruck pursuers, before entering the Barracks. Because only BLADE members were allowed in the Barracks unless otherwise noticed, I took that to my advantage. The biggest exception is a Nopon named Tatsu. Much to my relief, Elma and Lin were indeed here.
"Elma, Lin, there you are." I said.
"Cross? What happened?" Lin asked.
"Yeah. You look out of breath." Elma claimed.
"It's a tricky story to describe. But, well, I've got two admirers..." I claimed.
"Oh, really?" Lin asked in an honest tone.
"Yep. And not just any admirers. They were both Definians. I need you to defend me, Elma." I requested.
...But for some reason, Elma had this smirk look on her face. "What's... What's with the smirk, Elma?" I asked in a worrying tone.
"Definian admirers, eh?" she asked in a confident tone.
"Yes?" I asked in a confused tone.
"...My solution for you, Cross, is to embrace their love." Elma said in a confident tone. I felt myself turning a paler shade of blue.
"E-Elma?!" I asked in a shocked tone.
"I think it's time you become the ideal girl for them." Elma stated. I felt horrified by what Elma just said.
"L-Lin? Can you help me out if Elma won't?" I asked.
But like Elma, Lin had this same smirk look on her face. "Sorry, Cross. But I have to agree with Elma on this one." Lin said.
"Not you, too!" I screamed as my skin turned an even paler shade of blue. I looked, and Tatsu was nowhere to be seen.
"Don't worry, I didn't cook him. He's still sleeping." Lin said. And I heard Tatsu snoring very loudly, just to prove Lin's point.
"What is wrong with you two?!" I asked in an upset tone.
Just then... "There she is!" I turned to the entrance and discovered my Definian admirers!
"Aaah! Elma! Lin! Don't just stand there! Help me ou- Mmph!" I screamed before Erio placed her hand on my mouth.
"There, now, no need to be modest. You are free to embrace your true feelings towards me." Erio claimed.
"Nuh-uh. She's mine." the other Definian stated. I tried to scream for Elma and Lin's help, but they were muffled.
"You're becoming a better BLADE, Rook. Having found true love. I am proud of you." Elma proudly stated. I tried to look angry at Elma, but Erio lowered my eyebrows.
"Now, now, are you trying to scare us with those angry eyes?" Erio asked.
"Perhaps a kiss could change your ways and be more accepting." the other Definian said. Erio placed her other hand on my hip, while the other Definian placed her hand where my heart would be located.
I tried to yell "Get off me!" but Erio still had one of her hands on my mouth, muffling my every word.
"Well, go on, Cross! Kiss 'em!" Lin encouraged. I tried to shake my head, but it actually made it easier for them to kiss me.
Just as their lips were about to make contact with my cheeks, I suddenly found myself in my bedroom, yelping. I looked around, and my teammates were still asleep. Tatsu was especially snoring, just like what I heard in the dream. I checked the clock, and it said 12:56. It was still in the middle of the night. I tried to make sense of that dream, but when I did, I yawned. "I'm starting to fall sleep... again..." I said as I yawned. I went back to sleep.
The next morning, I woke up very, very groggy. All I was wearing as I was heading to the kitchen and dining area were a white tank top and some white panties. This was a contrast to Elma and Lin, both were dressed for the day. "Would you like some morning tea?" Lin asked.
"...Yes, please." I replied groggily.
"Are you alright, Cross? You're very groggy this morning." Elma asked in genuine concern.
"Yeah. Friend never this drowsy in morning." Tatsu agreed. Lin also looked concerned at me as she was making my tea.
"...Alright. I'll say this thing. I had a very, very weird dream last night." I stated.
Once I explained what it was about, Elma and Lin both look dumbfounded. "You had a pair of Definian admirers, one of which was Erio?" Elma asked in confusion. I nodded very groggily.
"And... we actually encouraged you to embrace their love?" Lin asked in confusion.
"Yep." I replied very groggily.
"Wow. What a weird dream indeed." Elma stated. Lin nodded in agreement.
"Look on the bright side, we'd never actually force you into a relationship like that. We understand you're not the romantic kind of girl here in NLA." Lin said.
"You... You actually believe that?" I asked.
"Well, of course. You're the reason we made it this far. We'd never force you into something you don't want to do." Elma comforted me.
"That's right. If a situation like this was to ever happen, we'll actually help you and not... do what we did in that dream." Lin agreed.
"...Thanks, girls." I smiled.
After a group hug from the three of us, with Tatsu joining at the last minute, Lin noticed the kettle was boiling. "Can we break up the hug, now?" Lin asked. We complied. Tatsu jumped back on the table.
"You know, Tatsu almost grabbed onto blue friend to land on ground. But Tatsu realise Tatsu would remove something by mistake. So, Tatsu respect friend's privacy." Tatsu claimed. I know what Tatsu was referring to, so I thanked him for thinking smart about this.
"Tea's ready." Lin said. And I drank it slowly with a smile, knowing that my friends were truly looking out for me. And that's where this story ends.