One Year Ago:

I swung the door open with one hand, aiming my gun through the doorway with the other. Beams of light from the windows broke through the shadows of the hallway. Dust drifted through the yellowed glow of a dying day.

My eyes flicked across the empty doorways lining the hall. Aside from the dust, nothing moved. Somewhere in the grey cement walls, a pipe creaked. Then there was silence. I strained to hear the sound of muffled voices, a heart beating too fast, or the tight breaths of someone trying to be quiet.

There was supposed to be a small enemy unit here. Some signals had been triangulated to this building, likely this floor. I didn't know the nature of the transmission, just that it needed to be killed and there was probably a small team guarding the source of it.

I mentally reached for my earpiece, turning it on without a movement, and spoke in a low voice. "Third floor appears empty. Requesting confirmation of location."

"Stand by, Alice," a woman's voice answered. I didn't know her name, but it was the same woman who always relayed instructions to me when I went on missions. The logical part of me knew I should resent her, but her familiarity was reassuring somehow. "Location confirmed. You're on target."

I shut off the earpiece and sighed. I hated hallways. There were too many corners to hide in, and not enough escape routes.

I crept forward, gun raised and pointed at the nearest doorway. The System calculated the optimal speed, moving my legs in measured steps as I scanned the space beyond. Inside was a bare room with half the carpet torn back, exposing cold concrete and molding papers trod into the damp floor. I checked the corners and moved onto the next one. The only life I found was a startled rat, who scurried away and disappeared into a crack in the wall.

I reached the door at the end of the hall. It hung ajar. The wood must have been dark and polished at one point, but now it was sun-bleached, and the bottom corners crackled and splintered as I swung the door open. I tucked myself against the concrete wall next to the door.

As the door swung open completely nothing else moved. From my angle back against the wall, only a small portion of the room was visible, dimly lit by a window that was out of view. I could see one corner of a metal desk, askew near the wall. I watched the light bounce off the metal, looking for a shift in the reflection that would indicate movement in the room. Nothing.

This was the last section of the top floor. I'd cleared the other two on my way up. If someone was in this building, they were in that room. And there should be people here. The Operations team seemed certain of it. But I couldn't hear anything. No one in that room was breathing, or had a beating heart.

I reached for my earpiece. "I'm at the final room, preparing for entry. No signs of life detected."

There was a moment of silence. "Proceed," the woman said.

I gritted my teeth, forced away the image of a rifle pointed at the door, and took a step. The room came into view in fragments through the sights of my gun: the rest of the desk, empty; then the far wall of cracked cement; a window with shards of broken glass; and finally another desk. But this one had a computer. I checked the corners, and once I was sure I was alone, entered.

The team here must have been warned I was coming and ran, leaving their equipment behind. It was a relief to know there was no one here to shoot me, and no one here for me to shoot. I reached the computer and turned on my earpiece's camera. "I've located the signal device. Images incoming."

"Received. Secure the location and await further instructions."

Some analyst was probably going over the images. In a minute, they'd be put on the line and instruct me on how to disable it without damaging the information it contained. I watched the door while I waited. In the layer of dust on the floor, boot prints weaved back and forth across the room. Some led to the device, others to the door, and one set led to the window and back.

"Alice, return to drop point."

The command startled me. "I haven't disabled the device yet."

"The device is a fake. Return to drop point." The woman's voice held an edge of anxiety. Not for me, of course, but for the mission and the expensive piece of machinery she was directing.

"Understood," I said. I stepped away from the device, scanned the room, and listened. It was silent, but that didn't ease my anxiety. Something was wrong. I headed for the door.

As I passed the window, something flashed in the corner of my eye. Before I could process it, The System spun me to face it, raising my hand to catch the TOR bolt aimed for my face. It struck, arcing up my arm and lighting every muscle with pain. The System's alarm blared in my ears as I blacked out.

Present:

"Okay, let's try again," I said, channeling the kind of patience I summoned when Nathaniel had caused a particularly outrageous mess. I flipped open Kurogane's "cellular phone," as they were called in Piffle, and handed it back to him. "Call me."

I sat next to Kurogane at our outdoor table and waited for him to try again. Mokona sat between us, peering at Kurogane's phone. Our mobile home was set on a rooftop in the city center, with streams of hovercraft whizzing past and between the surrounding skyscrapers. The home was large compared to any mobile home I'd seen before. It had two stories, enough rooms for each of us to have our own, and a kitchen and living area. Outside, we'd set up a table and chairs, and our dragonflies were parked feet away, under tarps.

After our first few days in Piffle, I'd decided we all needed handheld screens. The simple ones were relatively inexpensive, and we were splitting up often enough that I wanted a way for us to keep in contact. The downside was we couldn't read this world's writing, so I'd had to help everyone get photos attached to their contact numbers. Syaoran and Sakura had picked up on how to dial and answer quickly. Fai figured it out without my instruction, found the text function, and began spamming the group with smiley faces and other symbols, like hands and hearts. Kurogane could turn on the phone, but when it came to dialing . . .

His hand hovered over the buttons. He muttered something under his breath and selected the settings.

"Not that one," I said. "Go back."

He pressed the button for brightness. I took a deep breath.

Mokona giggled. "Red button!" and reached for the screen.

Kurogane snatched the phone away from Mokona with a glare and pressed the button. "This isn't the start screen," he said.

"Hit it again."

He did and stared at the home screen, hand hovering over the buttons.

"It's the one with the lines. Like a list."

"Yeah, I know." He pressed it. He scrolled until he found Fai's number and selected it. Fai's face popped up in the window, the call button below. "Hell no." He hit the back button and picked my number. He hit the call button.

My phone let out a happy jingle, and I slumped in relief. "Good." I answered and motioned for Kurogane to do the same.

He glared at me. "I'm right here."

"I need to make sure you're not going to hold it upside-down or something."

He scowled at the phone, turned it, and held it to his ear. "This good enough?"

I heard his voice echoed through my phone. "Yes," I said into the receiver and snapped my phone shut. Kurogane did the same and shoved it into his pocket.

I rose and shrugged on my jacket. I'd gotten it the day we bought clothes for this world. One of the workers had made a comment about it being a bomber jacket. I'd had a moment of confusion, thinking it was a military uniform, before I'd figured out it was just the name of the style. It was perfect for hiding my gun, with a new holster near the small of my back. "I'll be back after dark. Mokona, are you ready to go?"

Mokona sprang from the table onto my shoulder.

"Where are you searching?" Kurogane asked.

"Downtown."

"I'll come. Gotta pick up some parts anyway."

I nodded and started toward the edge of the roof. There was a ramp there that led down to the street.

"Hey," Kurogane said. I turned to see him point to our hovercraft. "Let's drive."

I eyed the hovercraft. The hovercraft here were convertible: they could fly, and they could transform into a street vehicle. I didn't know how to drive either, but it would make my search for Nathaniel faster. So far my explorations had been close to our house, but now that I needed to extend my search, I needed better transportation.

"Okay," I said. I took a seat in the car and waited for him to get in the passenger side. Mokona hopped from my shoulder to the dashboard, pressing a few buttons on the radio. They jumped through the stations before settling on a bubbly tune sung by a female pop group. When Kurogane sat down, I turned the key and started the engine. Setting my hands on the steering wheel, I paused.

"It's the right pedal," Kurogane said. I turned to glared at him and was met with his smirk. Payback for earlier then. I sighed and put a hand on the emergency brake. I knew the basics, like the brakes and gas. Those things were fairly intuitive. But the edge of the roof, even thirty feet away, was enough to make me hesitate.

I eased my foot off the brake and let the car roll forward, turning the wheel as I did so. I crept the car around Syaoran's dragonfly and toward the ramp that led down the building.

"Brat, we're never gonna get there at this rate."

"Alice-san can do it!" Mokona cheered.

I grit my teeth and slowly pressed the gas. The car's speed picked up just as I got to the edge of the ramp, making the car jump. I slammed a foot on the brake. The car jerked to a stop, and Kurogane slid forward, throwing out a hand to catch himself on the dash.

"What the—" I did a double take, looking from the road to him. "Put your damn seatbelt on!"

"My what?"

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

I glared at the red light as not a single car moved through the intersection. I'd made it down the ramp and through the streets with some difficulty, but I hadn't hit anyone, so I was satisfied. Mokona had tried to encourage me, but their use of "Alice" had just distracted me. It was something I still needed to address, and I hadn't. I was avoiding the issue, and I knew it, and it just made me more frustrated every time it came to mind. I drummed my fingers against the steering wheel.

"What's bothering you?" Kurogane asked.

I flinched. "Trying to find my brother," I lied.

"Bullshit."

I glared at him.

"Light's green."

Someone honked behind me as I hit the gas. I focused on the street as the car whipped around me to get ahead.

"You've been tense since we left Outo."

I nudged our car back into its lane, wiping my expression clean. "I'm fine."

Mokona's ears twitched. "Alice shouldn't be nervous."

"I'm not."

Kurogane crossed his arms and looked ahead. "Yeah, well, whatever's bothering you, sort it out. It's annoying."

I finished the drive in silence and focused entirely on the road. When we reached the parts shop, I eased the car into the parking spot between two other vehicles. Mokona leapt onto my shoulder as I slipped on a pair of sunglasses. I'd bought the sunglasses our second day here to hide the lights of The System in my eyes. I stepped out of the car and shut the door.

"Meet you back here in an hour," I said, tossing Kurogane the keys. He caught them in one hand.

"Don't be late," he said. I raised my hand to let him know I'd heard, then the shop on the street corner blocked him from view.

I weaved through the downtown crowd, scanning their faces and letting The System catch anything I missed. There was a middle school a few blocks away that I figured I'd start with. If Nathaniel had been entered into some sort of foster system, he'd be enrolled somewhere.

Part of me hoped he wasn't. If he'd been taken in by someone, he would be taken care of, but getting him out would be complicated. Aside from proving my relation to him, I doubted this world would allow me to take care of my brother alone. I couldn't pass for twenty-two, which was the minimum age to care for a child in Elpedite. I suspected similar laws existed here, which meant they would try to take me into their foster system, which could only end in disaster. There was no way I would let someone step in and start trying to control me.

A quiet voice on my shoulder spoke. "Is Alice mad at Mokona?"

"No," I said, looking to them. "Why would I be mad at you?"

Mokona's ears were pinned back. "Alice hasn't been able to find Nathaniel."

"You're the only reason I have any chance of finding him," I said. Without Mokona, I'd have been left searching the entirety of the first world we'd been to, with no idea whether Nathaniel was there or not. I wouldn't have even gotten there without Mokona to take us. "Thanks for that."

Mokona brightened and gave my cheek a pat. Moments later, I climbed the steps of the middle school to the main entrance. As I caught sight of the security guard at the door, I took my phone from my pocket and put it to my ear.

"Yeah, I'm walking in right now. It's fine."

The guard raised an eyebrow as I approached.

"Sorry," I said, covering the receiver. "I'm here to pick up my cousin. He has a doctor's appointment."

She nodded. "Follow me." She swiped her card, opened the door, and led me to the office. She watched me enter, then returned to the front door.

Behind the desk, a man looked up to see me. "How can I help you?"

"I'm here to pick up my cousin, Nathaniel Velafied. He has a doctor's appointment." As he nodded, I hissed into the phone. "It's fine. I'm sorry I'm late. I'll drive fast."

The man behind the desk rolled his eyes and typed something into his computer. "Sorry, but there is no Nathaniel Velafied here." His gaze sharpened just a bit.

"He is," I said. Then into the phone. "West Charron Middle School, right?" I knew that this was East Charron Middle School.

"Ma'am, you're at the wrong school. That one's across town." His gaze turned from suspicious to amused and sympathetic.

"Oh, shit," I said, trying to play up my surprise. "Sorry, I got to go," I said with a nod to the man. I left the room at a jog and exited the school.

Once I was off of school grounds and out of the security guard's view, I snapped my phone shut with a sigh. That was the third school I'd tried that on, and still nothing. Knowing for sure he was here somewhere was enough, but I hated this. I just wanted to find him.

Mokona patted my cheek again. "Alice will find him."

I nodded and slowed to a stop. People passed by me without a glance. There wasn't another school nearby, and I couldn't think of another place near here children might frequent. But this downtown area had plenty of people passing through.

I ended up zigzagging through the city blocks, scanning the faces of the people around me but seeing none of them. After a while, I realized I'd been walking for more than an hour. I sighed and turned back the way I'd come. Kurogane had probably gotten pissed and left by now. He wasn't the best driver, but I didn't think that'd stop him.

Kurogane leaned against the car, arms crossed. In the backseat two cardboard boxes overflowed with springs, pipes, wires and other parts. "You're late," he said, catching sight of me.

"Sorry," I said, opening the car door. Kurogane dropped into the passenger seat, and we lurched out of the parking spot.

Despite his complaining, Kurogane had waited for me. After another fruitless search for Nathaniel, it was . . . reassuring. Some of the black mood that had settled on me had lifted when I saw him. He didn't owe me anything, or have anything to gain by doing so, but he'd waited. Part of me wanted to reject the feeling. Logically, I shouldn't rely on him, even for something so simple, but the other part of me was glad I could. I was stuck between the two.

We were silent for the first few minutes. Then I inhaled. "Thanks for waiting."

Kurogane kept his gaze fixed ahead. "Whatever."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Could you pass me the—yes, that one, thank you." Sakura accepted the wrench I handed her before sliding back under her dragonfly. It was night, and the flickering city lights weren't enough to see by, so I held a flashlight for her and sat beside the machine.

"Which screw am I supposed to use?" she asked over the clinking of metal.

I stared at the book in front of me that was mostly unknown words with some pictures. "The longer one. I think."

There was a few clanks and squeaks. "It fits." A moment later Sakura slid out from beneath the vehicle, her face and arms streaked with grease. She smiled. "Building these is kind of fun."

It seemed like an annoyance to me, but I wasn't going to dim her enthusiasm. The race for the feather required 'dragonflies:' hovercraft that were specifically designed for racing. Unfortunately, the new and complete ones were too expensive, so we were stuck with gutted frames and whatever used parts we could scrape together. I'd wanted to participate in the race after I found Nathaniel. But the race was only weeks away and I still hadn't found him. I'd focused all my energy on searching for my brother, so I'd barely touched my dragonfly.

Sakura sat up beside me and gazed at the flickering city lights. "I don't think I've ever seen anything like this world before."

She probably hadn't. From what Syaoran said, Clow was more at the level of Jade or Koryo, technologically. I wondered how many memories of it she had. I wasn't sure if the memories she recovered were pieces of her life, played like a movie, or more scattered, like the sensations of sand under her feet and the layout of her house. How clear of a picture did she have of her home and family? She was a princess, so at least one of her parents or an older sibling ruled. Did she love them, and they her, or was it a cold royal family, only smiling for the people? Syaoran's actions made me think otherwise. As far as I knew, he was a common boy. I didn't think their friendship would have been allowed by such a family. Maybe they were close. Sakura's warm personality would make more since that way.

"Your world is like this, right?" she asked.

I watched the bright silver lights of the city, the people streaming through it, and the ads displaying nothing more than products to buy, movies to watch, and a race to win. "For the most part. The colors here are brighter. And the people here are more . . . relaxed." I glanced again at the ad screen, waiting for it to change to a recruitment ad or Adrian's face. But it only advertised soda.

Sakura nodded as she watched the street below. "Is there . . . something bothering you?"

I looked away from her. "No. Why?"

"You've been quiet lately." She flashed me a nervous smile. "Quieter, anyway."

"Oh." I'd thought I'd covered it up better, and that Fai and Kurogane had noticed because they were annoyingly observant. But now Sakura had noticed, which meant the majority of the group was aware something was bothering me and were creating their own theories about why.

I drummed my fingers on the sole of my boot. Avoiding this wasn't an option. I'd tried that and failed. Continuing on this way would only generate more problems as I got tenser and inevitably, angrier. I needed to get it over with. "There's something I want to tell you all, but it's difficult to say."

Sakura leaned closer. "Why?"

I could feel the other questions within that one. What have you done? What's so bad you can't say it?

"It's nothing bad. Part of it is that it would lead to more questions." The other part was that it was information. Not the name part; that was fairly innocuous. I could go by Alice or Alec or Rabbit, and it didn't make much of a difference to them. But to request to be called by a specific name, outside of the necessity of an alias, was to tell them that "Alice" bothered me. So they'd wonder why it did, why I'd used it so far, what significance the name held that bothered me so much I'd change it. And then if they asked questions I didn't want to answer, my refusal to would tell them even more. It would show them a glimpse of a weakness.

And I didn't know them. I liked them, but I didn't know who they were. They could be just like Adrian—hiding self-serving motives behind kind and composed facades.

I met Sakura's eyes; they were wide. Did she even have the memories to be deceptive? Or was she still stuck in a child-like state of honesty? I guess I didn't know. But my options were to trust them with this small piece of me and try to avoid further conflict, or shut myself even further away from them. I wanted to trust them. This wasn't Elpedite.

"My name isn't Alice. It's Erin." The name sounded strange in my voice. When was the last time I'd heard it? Nathaniel always called me sis, so it must have been years.

Sakura's expression jumped from sympathetic to confused to thoughtful. "Erin? Not Alice." I nodded, scanning her expression for suspicion. She smiled. "Okay."

"Okay?" I echoed. "You're not curious why I want to change my name?"

"I am. But I understand why you might feel . . ." Sakura's smile faded, "nervous about it." She stared at the concrete between us.

I frowned. "Why is that?"

She glanced at me out of the corner of her eye before looking away, a half-smile on her lips. "I don't want to say it."

I raised an eyebrow. I already felt a lot better about changing my name now that Sakura had accepted it so easily. If she didn't want to say it, she probably needed to. "What is it?"

She sighed. "I don't want to sound ungrateful. Syaoran-kun and all of you are working so hard to help me get my memories back. And when I get one, I feel so light and happy and right. But then . . . sometimes they feel off. Like the person they're about isn't me. Sometimes I just can't connect with her." She blinked a few times. "I don't want to disappoint the people who are waiting for me to be whole again."

I sat back and stared up at the void where the stars should be. I wasn't sure how much help I'd be here. Taking back my old name was my way of trying to reconnect with who I used to be. No, that wasn't right. I'd never be that ten-year-old again. And when I thought back on her, she was a stranger. I knew that was an extreme brought on by what I'd been through, but normally people grew apart from who they used to be.

People grew up. I didn't want to stay who I was now. Using Erin and not Alice was a step forward.

Sakura was probably a much different person from who she'd used to be, so some disassociation on her part didn't surprise me. But from Syaoran's reactions, I'd guess she wasn't a completely different person. She had a habit of tackling anything to help herself and others, and Syaoran acted like that was her being her usual self. If she was a little different from the person she'd been in Clow, well, she'd traveled worlds since then.

"I think that's just how people are," I found myself saying. "You're not the same person you were at the start of this journey. . . and neither am I." I hoped. "And you're getting back memories you had from your childhood, right? That was a long time ago. I think it's normal to not feel like the person you were then. And the people who love you still will when you get back. They won't expect you to be exactly the same: that's not how life works. I think they'd just want you home and happy."

I looked back to Sakura as she wiped her eyes. She gave me a wobbly smile. "Thank you."

I smiled back. "Thank you."

She took a clearing breath and looked back at the house. "Will you tell the others your name?"

"Yeah," I breathed. "Don't really want to, but I will." Out of all of them, Kurogane would learn the most about me from this. But he was the most honest, in a way. He didn't play at being polite. If he thought something, or didn't like someone, he said it. Usually with a glare and a threat, at high volume.

"I think they'll understand," Sakura said.

I looked over my shoulder to our mobile house. The windows were lit, the curtains drawn. Silhouettes moved across the drapes in the dining area. "I guess so." I wasn't convinced they wouldn't pry, but it didn't matter. I had to tell them.

"You don't have to tell them all at once," Sakura said. "I can keep using Alice until you do."

I shook my head. "I don't want to draw it out." The door to the mobile home opened and Fai stepped out, heading in our direction.

Sakura glanced between us. "Do you want me to stay?"

"No. I think I'd prefer less of an audience." I felt bad, telling her to leave. But as she rose she rested a hand on my shoulder, then moved away. I watched her pass Fai, exchange a few words, then enter the house as he continued towards me. I stood as he reached me. I wanted be on my feet for this.

"Dinner is ready," he said.

I decided to cut to it. "My name is Erin."

He froze, surprise across his face. I'd been too abrupt, I realized. Even so, I expected him to recover fairly quickly—to process what I'd said and transition to confusion or his usual smile—but his expression sharpened to focus. It wasn't intense enough to be suspicion, but I could see the thoughts flickering in his eyes. It made me want to take my words back. I made sure my face expressed nothing. My arms were uncrossed and at my sides, my feet slightly apart, chin up slightly. I was at ease. That was all I'd project.

"You want to change your name? Why?" Fai asked. He'd tucked his hands into his pockets.

I wanted to look at the ground but I didn't. I didn't move. I could give him the basic truth. There wasn't much wrong with that. "Alice was an alias." I made sure my voice was flat.

"So Erin is your real name?" A hint of something ate at his expression. His mouth twisted a bit as he tried to hide it. Sadness, maybe, that he was struggling to hide with a neutral mask. But why would my name make him sad?

"Yes." It was the name I had at birth. I wasn't sure it was the one that fit me best, but it was the one I wanted. Elpedite was gone, and so was Adrian. I wanted Alice to be gone, too.

"Why change it now?" he asked. I looked at his eyes and realized he wasn't looking at me, but through me. His expression wasn't focused; it was wistful. My shoulders relaxed. His reaction wasn't about me.

Still, I didn't know how to answer that. I could say I didn't need that alias anymore, but that sounded incriminating, or that I wanted to be someone else, but that had the same problem. My throat felt tight. When I'd been quiet for too long, I shrugged. "I like Erin better."

Fai's expression cleared and he seemed to refocus on me. He blinked. "Oh." His smile returned, and his regretful expression was locked away. But his hands stayed tucked in his pockets. "Well then, Erin-san, dinner is ready." Fai turned away and returned to the mobile house. The door shut behind him.

I stared at the door. Why was Fai so interested in my name? I thought I recalled Yuuko saying names had power. Maybe it was a magician thing? Or something from his own past. Either way, I didn't have enough clues to figure it out now. I ran a hand through my hair, trying to brush away some of my tension. It was done. Now I had to tell Kurogane and Syaoran. There was no point in telling only some of them. That would just lead to confusion and conflict. I needed to finish it. I suddenly deeply regretted telling them one at time. I should have made it quick and been done.

Shoving down my hesitation, I headed for the door.

Inside, Sakura and Fai's voices drifted in from the living room doorway to my left. I glanced over to see Kurogane and Syaoran in the kitchen to my right. I didn't think the separation was a coincidence, and for a moment their effort eased my nerves. I entered the kitchen.

Kurogane stood at the counter, half-turned away from me. He'd stacked an entire pizza's worth of slices onto his plate. Syaoran sat at the bar stool, munching on his food.

I paused in the doorway. They looked up. "My name's Erin."

Kurogane snorted. "That's what's been bothering you? Whatever, I'm still calling you brat." And then he passed by me on his way out of the kitchen. I watched him go, mute in my confusion. Going from Fai's overreaction to Kurogane's near dismissal left me a bit lost.

I remembered Syaoran and met his gaze. He seemed a little confused, but he smiled. "All right, Erin-san."

I nodded, took a slice of pizza, and went back outside. I sat on the bottom step and took a bite, more out of habit than hunger. That had gone differently than I'd imagined. Fai's reaction was the only worrying one. Maybe someone he knew had the same name.

It was done. I'd told them, and now I was going by Erin again. It felt surreal, like if I walked back in right now, they'd greet me with Alice. But I'd done it, and the pressure of it fell from my shoulders. I sat on the front step of the house and watched the hovercraft whiz past.

This name wasn't a lie. It was a promise, and a new start. This world would be perfect for Nathaniel and I, when I found him. It was safe, similar to our own without the corruption and war, and there were schools he could attend. I took a deep breath. I was free to have whatever name I wanted.

This was a new start.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

I glared at the map as I sat on the park bench. Mokona sat atop my head, peering down at the paper and humming. The giggles of kids drifted over from the colorful play structure. This was the fourth park I'd checked today.

I folded the map and sat back with a sigh. I didn't really think Nathaniel would be at a park; he was too old for it. But I'd tried all the schools, done laps around countless blocks, and even checked some toys stores. I was running out of places to look for him.

Syaoran came to sit next to me. "Any luck?"

"No."

"Where would you like to try next?"

"I don't know." The next step would be to check any childcare centers, but that would be riskier than schools and parks. Childcare centers would have higher security, so if I started visiting them, someone would notice. I'd been pushing it already by visiting schools. But I couldn't think of anything else, so that would have to be my next step. "Childcare centers," I said. "But I should go there alone." I didn't want to pull any of the others into any trouble that might arise from it.

But as I looked at the map, a new problem arose. The parks were blocks of green, and I'd memorized the characters for "school" once I'd stumbled across one. But I had no idea what the words for a childcare center were. And even if I figured it out, approaching these places could reveal I was an undocumented child, and I could be forced into one.

If it was the riskiest option, then it should be my last one, after I'd tried all others. It would mean waiting, but there was still another option: the race. It would be televised all over the country, and it would be happening in this city. If Nathaniel was here, odds were he'd see pieces of the footage at least. If I won the preliminaries and entered the race, the chances of him seeing me and trying to meet me at the one of the races rose drastically.

But the race was two weeks away, and I'd spent most of my time looking for Nathaniel, only working on my dragonfly as a distraction. I'd intended to participate after finding Nathaniel, but the search had taken so long. But I could do it. Instead of wandering the streets, I'd focus my energy on building the best racing vehicle possible. And another bonus to motivate me: if I won, I'd earn a feather back for Sakura. Even so, I wasn't looking forward to hammering together an alien machine.

Syaoran, perhaps guessing my feelings, leaned forward to catch my attention. "It's been a long day. Maybe we should go home and rest."

"Okay," I said. I folded the map and stood. Scanning the kids one last time, I sighed and turned towards home. On our way there, I checked the faces of all who passed, but I didn't recognize any of them. We reached the building our home was parked on in what felt like no time at all.

When I'd opened the door onto the roof, I had been lost in thought. But the world snapped back into focus when I saw the suited figures surrounding our home. There were about ten I could see, wearing sunglasses and earpieces. I didn't see any weapons, but that didn't mean they weren't armed.

I spun, slammed into Syaoran, and hurled us back through the doorway. Behind us I heard a woman shout. "Hey! Wait!"

"What is it?" Syaoran asked and I slammed the door shut.

"The house is surrounded." I turned to go, but Syaoran didn't move. "Come on."

"Her Highness could be there." He regarded the shut door with his 'I'm-gonna-fight-it' expression.

"We should come at it from another angle," I said, knowing we were running out of time. The handle turned and the door burst open.

Syaoran fell into his combat stance. I gripped my gun, pushing down the itch to draw it. Starting a gun fight here would have consequences. Like the attention of the police, and their subsequent realization there were no documents on us.

The two women, wearing stony expressions behind their sunglasses, stepped forward.

"Wait!" Sakura skidded to a halt between us, arms raised. "Everything is fine. They're friends of mine." She pointed to us, then to them. "And these are our guests. No fighting!"

Another girl peered into the doorway at us. She stood a little shorter than Sakura, with flowing black hair and an amused smile. "So sorry! I suppose my bodyguards can be rather intimidating, but we're only visiting."

Fai leaned into the doorway. "Tomoyo-chan is a bit of a celebrity in Piffle."

Once the bodyguards across from us relaxed, I released my gun. They wore black suits, but there was enough room for concealed weapons at their hips and in their jackets. There expressions were unreadable behind their black sunglasses. They kept close to Tomoyo, but focused their stares on us.

Sakura, seemingly satisfied we weren't about to kill anyone, gestured to Syaoran and me. "Tomoyo-san, this is Syaoran-kun and Al—Erin-san." She looked to us. "This is Tomoyo-san. We met her today, and she's . . . "

"I'm going to sponsor Sakura-chan in the race!" Tomoyo said, looping an arm around Sakura's waist. Her smile turned to a grin. "Unofficially, of course."

Fai pointed back to the house. "Why don't you all have a seat while I get us something to drink?"

"Oh, yes please," Tomoyo said, half dragging a red-faced Sakura behind her. Syaoran and I shared a bewildered glance and followed.

Seconds later we were all seated at the table just outside the house. The bodyguards stood silently by the corners of the home and behind Tomoyo. There were ten I could see. I couldn't find the ones who'd greeted us at the door.

"So who are you?" I asked Tomoyo.

If she thought my tone rude, she didn't show it. "Sakura-chan told me you were new to Piffle. I'm Tomoyo, president of the Piffle Princess Company. I'm the main sponsor for the race for the mysterious battery."

That was what everyone had been referring to Sakura's feather as when talking about the prize for the race. Like my world, it seemed this place didn't have any magic.

"So what's your interest in us?" I asked. I sat back and uncrossed my arms, but I wasn't at ease. Her bodyguards were too close for that. Did she know Sakura was connected to the "battery," or was she interested in us for some other reason?

Tomoyo beamed. "Well, the race is already so exciting. A mysterious power won in a break-neck challenge. I'm going to record all of it, but I need a star." She turned to Sakura, clasping her hands. "Sakura-chan would be the perfect heroine!"

The door the house opened, and Fai stepped out, balancing a tray of lemonade. Behind him trailed Kurogane, holding two more trays, a scowl on his face. Kurogane dropped the trays on the table without a word, sloshing some, and sat down beside me. As Fai handed them out and Tomoyo and Syaoran rose to help him, I studied Kurogane's face.

"What's wrong?" I asked in a low voice. His scowl was more intense than usual, and he kept glancing at Tomoyo.

He glared at me from the corner of his eye, and I thought he wouldn't answer. "She looks familiar," he growled.

Then I remembered his princess's name was Tomoyo. This must be her lookalike in this world. I looked at the girl with new interest. I had a hard time imagining the princess who'd earned Kurogane's fierce loyalty. But she didn't seem like a princess to me, too smiley and young. Maybe Kurogane's version of her was older.

Fai leaned in next to Kurogane, handing him a glass. "Also Kuro-puu crashed the car into Tomoyo-chan's."

"What?" I snapped, spinning to look for our one working vehicle. It was gone.

Tomoyo laughed as she returned to the table. "Don't worry. It's at my mechanic's, and I'm covering the cost of repairs. It's the least I can do."

I sat back. I guess she wanted to keep on good terms with her 'heroine.' It seemed odd she'd pick Sakura out of a crowd for a race for her own feather. And I wasn't sure I bought the heroine thing. I'd seen plenty of posters for racers who already had a fan-base and planned to participate. Why pick a random girl instead? "So if you're a sponsor for this race, do you know where the battery came from?" Someone had found the feather after it dropped into this world. It could have been Tomoyo, even if she wouldn't admit it. Most people would have kept it for themselves, but she was already rich and powerful, so there was a chance she'd created the race for fun or publicity.

"Sorry," Tomoyo said, "but under contract, I can't say."

I nodded and picked up one of the extra glasses of lemonade. I didn't want to push the issue and raise suspicion. Its origin here wasn't an issue as long as we won it.

For the next few hours Tomoyo inspected our vehicles, discussed costumes with Sakura, and flitted about. Once the sun began to set, she left with the promise to return once Sakura had some flying practice.

Half an hour later, Mokona found a large stack of cash tucked into the shadows of the kitchen counter. When counted, we found it would cover the cost for the remaining parts needed for our dragonflies.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Fai said to give you this." I held out the beer bottle to Kurogane.

Kurogane sat on the steps to our mobile home, watching the city. He looked at me, blinked, and accepted the bottle. I turned to go back inside, but hesitated. "What's bothering you?" I asked, looking back at him.

"Nothing." He glared at the cement.

"You've been stiff since noon. The girl with the bodyguards was a look-alike from your home, but you've seen one before and got over it. You haven't yelled at Fai once in that time, and you didn't ask Tomoyo why she was so interested in us, or snap at her."

He stiffened.

"Does she look like your land's princess?" I asked. I'd guessed as much, but I wasn't sure why it would bother him.

He sighed. "Yeah. She does."

I supposed that might explain his behavior. Souma had been a lookalike, but maybe he hadn't been as familiar with her. But he couldn't have been too familiar with his princess either. He'd likely been one of her bodyguards or upper soldiers, so their interactions would have revolved around war meetings or similar business. Unless Kurogane was at the absolute top of their combat branch, I doubted he'd interacting with her directly very often, but he'd know what she was like as a ruler. Supposedly, these lookalikes had similar personalities. If Kurogane was apprehensive of his Tomoyo, then I'd be more cautious of this one. I just had to find the right way to ask, or he'd tell me to piss off.

"Is she acting differently than your Tomoyo?" I tried.

"No," he scoffed. "She's usually a bit more formal, but that's her basically."

I paused. She acted so . . . child-like. I couldn't imagine Kurogane's ruler as a lighthearted girl. Maybe she wasn't the ruler of the country. But then why would Kurogane be so obviously loyal to her, and not the true ruler? That kind of thing would be seen as the seed of rebellion, even if Tomoyo was the heir. "She doesn't seem like a ruler," was all I could say.

"She's got her own way of doing things."

"It seems strange, how she picked us out for the race. Well, Sakura, anyway." I waited until he looked back to me. "Do you think we can trust her? Knowing she doesn't know you or have any reason to return your loyalty?" I was hoping he'd think about it, and not jump to righteous indignation. If his Tomoyo was even a little bit like Adrian, we should be packing to leave right now. If Kurogane was aware of his leader's flaws, he could warn us. But he'd defended her so adamantly in Outo, I wasn't sure he could see it. He might be just as blind as the citizens of Elpedite were to their leader's real nature.

Kurogane glared at me, but his expression softened a moment later. "I won't say she couldn't have other motives she's hiding from us, but I don't think she'd intend us harm."

I nodded. That seemed like a calculated assessment. He hadn't flown into a rage and yelled at me for questioning her, so he wasn't defaulting to defending her perfection. And Kurogane was smart, even if he was loyal. I wouldn't trust Tomoyo, but I wasn't as nervous about her presence now.

Kurogane's gaze had returned to the city, though his shoulders were tense. I knew he missed his home. Seeing Tomoyo must have reminded him how far away it was. That was why he was acting strangely. I looked out at the city so I wasn't staring at him. Lights danced across the shining skyscrapers. I should say something. He'd pushed me to confront my issues with my name, and now that it was over, I felt lighter. But I wasn't sure what to say. If I said something wrong, I could just make him feel worse. I'd stick to facts then. Simple and reassuring.

"You'll get home," I said. Maybe not an absolute fact. Kurogane was mortal and the universe was cruel. But with his strength, odds were he'd make it.

He scowled at his bottle and took a swig. But when he leaned back, his posture was less rigid, and his frown had smoothed out. "Yeah."

I didn't show it, but relief washed over me. I hadn't said something disastrous. It looked like I might have even helped. I nodded to Kurogane and went to work on my dragonfly.

Behind our house, I flicked on a floodlight and adjusted its aim. As I pulled the tarp off the skeleton of my dragonfly, I noticed several boxes of shiny new parts placed next to it. Gifts from Tomoyo, I guessed.

My dragonfly was a small model, with an arrow-like frame. It would be silver once I'd cleaned it, but now it was dusty and mud-spattered. A cracked windscreen covered the tight cockpit. The dashboard was missing some buttons, and others were cracked, and the dragonfly had a jammed pedal. The wings extended back and out, making the whole thing look like a diving bird. One of the engines on the wing was smashed into itself, beyond salvation.

I glared at it and picked up a wrench. This was going to take a while.

AN: Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. My awesome betareader and I worked extra hard on this one, and I'm pretty proud of the results. Also, Alice is now Erin! I'd love to heard what you guys think of the name, and the chapter as a whole in the reviews.