"I'm going to inject you with these."

"What?"

The blue-haired girl reached out with her left hand and grabbed Robin's wrist. Robin felt a slight prick and then Lucina was withdrawing, tossing the syringe behind the couch.

"She's all fired up," Lucina said. "Tiki, you're free to talk to her."

"Good morning, Robin. Or, actually, evening," a female voice said.

"I'm hearing voices," Robin said. "What the hell did you just give me?"

"That's the communication nanomachines," Lucina said. "Tiki is our operator. Now listen, because this is important. We need to get out before Security arrives."

"What? The police, or - ?"

"No, far worse. Follow me. There's a back door," Lucina said.


"Where are we going?" Robin asked, following Lucina through the crowded backyard.

"Well, first, we procure some transport," Lucina said, beginning to scale the fence. "Tiki has the rest of the plan. Tiki?"

"Yes," Tiki said. "You're going to be heading out of the city, to the east. We're strapped for time, so that's as much as we have planned for now."

"Is that where you are? East?" Robin asked the voice in her ear as Lucina helped her over the fence.

"No," the voice said quickly. "Lucina, that car to your left."

The car was an older car, from the previous century. It wasn't old enough to be "classic", though, and and the backseat seemed to be cluttered with various items.

"Perfect," Lucina said, running around to the driver side and forcefully opening the door. "Tiki, if you'll guide me through this..."

"Uh," Robin said as she climbed into the passenger side. "Is this legal?"

"It doesn't matter. We've got to get you out of town," Lucina said. "Contact anyone you need to. Let them know you're going on vacation for a few days."

"Okay," Robin said awkwardly, fishing out her phone. She fired two quick texts, one to Cordelia telling her not to worry, she was getting a ride from someone else, and that she would be gone for the weekend, and one to Uncle, to let him know that she was going on vacation.

"Now. Toss the phone out the window," Lucina said, tinkering with the car's ignition.

"No. First you tell me what the hell is going on here." Robin said, glaring.

Lucina nodded, still focusing on her task. "Okay. You deserve at least a few answers. First off, I'm here to get you out of the city. Security has been monitoring you for a while now. That shot suppressed and destroyed the tracers in your blood."

"Wait, what? There were...what?"

"You've been under constant surveillance," Lucina said, her eyes peeking up from the dash and scanning the dark street. "I can't tell you why yet, but once we reach the mountains we'll tell you everything. They're also probably tracking your phone - so we need to get rid of it here."

"Okay," Robin said. "But you better tell me everything later."

"I promise," Lucina said. "Let's drive."


The highway was sparsely populated.

Lucina kept her eyes on the road. Her passenger was asleep, head rolled to one side.

"Tiki? Keep me some company," Lucina said.

"I was just about to take a nap," Tiki said. "How's Robin?"

"Sleeping."

"Ah, lucky..."

"Come on," Lucina said. "Your life can't be dominated by sleep. And, also, this is far more important than a quick nap."

"Fine, fine," the girl on the other end said. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Just keep me awake," Lucina said.


Her room was never this bright, even at midday. And her bed was never this uncomfortable.

Robin's eyes opened suddenly. A car?

Ah, yes. Last night, at the party, some strange girl had picked her up saying something about her being under surveillance, and they'd taken a car, and Robin had almost immediately fallen asleep, and then they'd wound up...

...where, exactly?

Robin slowly opened the passenger side door, carefully climbing out and looking around.

It was on the outskirts of downtown. The car had been parked just outside of a maintenance garage, pointed directly to the east.

She looked back in the car. Lucina's slumbering form occupied the driver's side seat.

"Uh," Robin said aloud. "Is it...Tiki?"

"Y...yeah," a sleepy sounding voice said. "L...Lucina, what's the status..."

"Uh, this is Robin, I just woke up," the white haired girl said.

"Oh...sorry," the disembodied voice said again. "You're gonna want to wake Lucina up and get some...some sort of food or something."

"Ah, okay," Robin said, opening the car door again. She reached across the center console and began to gently shake Lucina.

"What?!" Lucina said, her hand going to her waist. "An attack?!"

"Gah! No! It's morning," Robin said, clearly surprised.

"Oh. Sorry," the blue haired girl said, her eyes scanning the road. "Damn, I'm hungry..."

"Wanna get some food?" Robin asked. "I've got some money in my wallet..."


"So what's the plan?" Robin asked, biting into a breakfast burrito.

"We have to get you out of the city," Lucina said. "We're going to head east on the highway as planned. How far are the mountains?"

"About a day's drive. I went up a few years back for vacation with my mother," Robin responded.

"Well," Lucina said. "We'll probably have to get past the mountains - Tiki, is there a map?"

"I've got one," Tiki said. "The highway east leads to the mountains. There's a small town right before you hit the mountains themselves. It'll be about seven hours before you get there."

"Just before sunset," Lucina said.

"Right. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a nap," Tiki said.


Lucina climbed into the driver's seat, her eyes scanning the parking lot for anyone suspicious. Robin climbed in shortly after, buckling her seatbelt.

They left the small restaurant and got on the highway, Lucina's eyes checking and rechecking her surroundings.

"So...who's Tiki?" Robin asked.

"Old friend," Lucina said. "Ally."

"Huh," the white haired girl said. "Where is she? Are we going to meet her?"

"She's far away," Lucina said. "But you will meet her. Trust me, m-"

The sound of a siren turning on drowned out whatever Lucina was preparing to say.

"Pull over!" Robin shouted.

"Why?!"

"Just do it!" Robin yelled. "Roll down the window!"

"Alright," Lucina said, obeying the girl's orders.

A man in a tan shirt and almost comically sized sunglasses walked to the driver's side window, standing high above the two. "You know how fast you were going?"

"No," Lucina said.

"Seventy-five. Don't know where you come from, but sixty is the speed limit 'round these parts, miss," the officer said. "Can I see your driver's license?"

Lucina's eyes narrowed. Her hand reached out and grabbed the man's shirt. With surprising strength, she jerked her arm back in, slamming the man's head against the top of the window's frame. She pushed him out and repeated the motion, finally pushing him away from the car.

Her hand moved to put the car in drive and she let up off the brakes.

"What the fuck?!" Robin shouted. "You knocked that man unconscious!"

"It was for your own good," Lucina said. "If we'd been detained, Security would have you in an instant."

"Who is Security?!"

"They are a collection of agents charged with keeping...certain people under surveillance," Lucina explained. "Once we get past the mountains I can explain why they want you, but for now, you just need to trust me."

"I-I...why? What's special about me?" Robin said firmly.

"You hold a power. A great power," the blue haired girl explained. "They don't want you to know about it."


The small town was built a refueling port for the travellers coming through the mountains. The center of the town was built with various convenience stores and gas stations to aid in this purpose.

Lucina pulled over in the back of a convenience store.

"We need to ditch the car," she said. "They'll be following it."

"...alright," Robin said. "Food first?"

The blue haired girl nodded. "I'll cover this meal."

The pair walked into the small fast food restaurant. The sole worker greeted them and rushed behind the counter to aid them.

"I'll have a hamburger," Robin said. "Sauce only. Medium."

"I'll have...the same," Lucina said. "...sandwich only?"

Lucina forked over her money to the man and he walked into the back to begin cooking their meal.

Lucina stepped back and leaned against the railing. As she glanced outside, her eyes widened. "Security," she said quietly to Robin. "Go into the bathroom. Lock yourself in a stall. I'll handle this."


The men in the black suits stepped into the so-called eatery. Their eyes, hidden by rectangular shades, scanned the room.

One nodded to the other and they began to walk through the restaurant, one taking the left and the other taking the right.

Lucina forcefully slowed her breathing. The hiding place was small and cramped and uncomfortable, and she wanted more than anything to get out.

The pair reached the end of their initial sweep. In sync, their eyes snapped to the restrooms.

As they exited the room, Lucina burst out of the small cupboard underneath the condiment stand. She took three deep breaths as she walked up behind them.

One man entered the men's restroom and the other entered the women's.

In the women's restroom, the man opened the first stall door and leaned inside, looking all around. Nothing. The man stepped out, progressing to the next door. He pushed it open, leaned inside, and checked it. Nothing.

A quick kick to the back of the leg sent him off balance and the cold steel of a knife pierced his throat. Lucina carefully removed the small pocket knife from the man's corpse, trying to keep blood loss to a minimum.

A knock sounded on the door. The other man.

Lucina waited for the distinctive sound of the door's opening.

She tried to get as best a glance as she could. He was armed with a small silenced pistol, holding it in a fairly standard ready stance. The man stepped forward into the restroom, pistol at the ready.

His eyes caught a small trickle of blood heading to the drain and he traced it up to the second stall.

Lucina's legs had already sprung into action, sending her forward at a blistering pace. Her hand reached out and grabbed the man's wrist and forearm, rotating it toward the ground.

The man's weight slammed into the tiles, breaking several of them. Lucina's right hand pulled out the pocket knife and slammed it into the man's chest.

She dragged the corpse to the first stall and dumped it on the toilet, carefully shutting the door before walking down to the last stall and carefully knocking.

"It's me," she said softly. "Lucina."

Robin carefully opened the door. Lucina grabbed the white haired girl and led her past the pair of bodies.

As they walked past the front room, the man placed their meal onto the counter.

"Food?" Robin asked.

"Food," Lucina responded.


Lucina stared at the horizon as the sun peeked over the mountains far to the east.

"Tiki," she said aloud. "Any changes up there?"

"None," the woman on the other end replied. "Everything is normal."

"When should we tell her?" Lucina asked silently.

"She'll find out soon enough," the woman on the other end said.