TW: Death, poisoning, homophobia, mentioning of nausea/vomiting.

After completing their shopping tour of the mall, the group happily made their way to the amusement park area. They were followed by Boombot, who carried all their bags in time to the music it was playing, so they could enjoy the walk without being slowed down by all their things.

"I don't understand something." Tricky suddenly exclaimed as they crossed the threshold of the amusement park. "If everything here is so utilitarian that people have to work all the time to support themselves, how come there is an amusement park here?"

"Most people have to work all the time to support themselves." Rain replied as they waited for Frank to go to the ticket office to get tickets for the whole group. "But there is also a small percentage of very rich people who have no intention of working and come here just to have fun. Indirectly, that's also considered useful, because it creates other jobs... people at the ticket office, technicians who fix the rides... and so it turns the economy around."

"I see. But I suppose the ticket is very expensive then? Do you think it's okay for us to use Zoe's money like this?" asked Fresh, vaguely uncomfortable. Since he was too young to work, he had no problem with his parents paying for things, but he always felt a little embarrassed when others offered him something. "I mean, I will never be able to repay Zoe."

Rain smiled at him and shook her head. "Don't worry, Fresh. Really. Zoe is really rich, and since she can't leave the house and has no family to take care of, she wouldn't use her money anyway. She has said several times that she would only be happy if we used them for us. These trips are useful anyway, because breaks improve group performance and should also create a better sense of community".

"I see..." Fresh turned in Lucy's direction after feeling her hand on his shoulder. The girl handed him a note with a smile.

{Zoe herself has offered to sponsor us, and there are no expenses she is not aware of. You are already reciprocating by being part of the group and helping her fight against a society that has ruined her existence. Remember, we risk our lives on every mission and we don't even have a salary, I'd say we deserve a day off, don't you think?}

At this point, Fresh relaxed and nodded. "Yes, you're right" and smiled back at her.

"Oh! He's coming back," Ted remarked, pointing to Frank, who was walking toward them with red plastic wristbands in his hand. He began handing out the wristbands to everyone in the group, repeating a general explanation he had received at the ticket office.

"Access to all rides is free, the only things that are still on us are the food, drinks and the booths where you can try to play games to win prizes."

"Very similar rules to our amusement parks, in short. Cool how such a thing hasn't changed much over the centuries," Yutani said, shyly taking Jake's hand and looking at him gently but slightly embarrassed.

"Well, that's probably because amusement parks are already perfect and need no improvement," Jake commented, chuckling awkwardly and taking Yutani's hand in turn. He, too, was still quite awkward, not daring to look into his new girlfriend's eyes for too long.

The rides all looked futuristic and sometimes dangerous, but certainly interesting. Like much of the city, they were decorated in bright neon colors, and also took advantage of holograms that were customized to each ride's theme to make them even more eye-catching. Jake and his friends were impressed by the large number of themes that the rides had to offer, ranging from classic themes like the ocean, cowboys, and Halloween to more complex and sometimes incomprehensible themes that were probably the result of pop culture references from that century.

What had not changed much, however, were the types of attractions. As in their day, there were roller coasters, ferris wheels, bumper cars, slides, and rides that exploited gravity in every way possible by giving the impression of falling down. The only truly revolutionary attractions for them were a ride that literally made people fly by creating an antigravity field, allowing them to pretend you were an astronaut lost in space and a ride that created realistic scenes using interactive holograms.

The group first stopped in the middle of the park, next to a decorative fountain that sprayed holographic water instead of real water, making the virtual drops dance to electronic music.

Boombot synchronized with the music of the fountains, amplifying and remixing it. He began to dance in place, occasionally attracting the attention of passersby.

Tricky didn't miss the opportunity and immediately caught Lucy's attention. "Hey. Check this out!" she raised her arms, proudly flexing the muscular biceps that protruded from her tight white tank top. Then she immediately jumped in front of Boombot and began dancing to the music, pushing herself to the limit with acrobatic moves and doing her best to show off her breakdancing skills to impress Lucy.

The ruse obviously worked, leaving Lucy speechless. Obviously impressed, she stood and watched Tricky dance fast and agile on the concrete floor, holding her breath every time Tricky spun around like a top. Her camo green pants twirled in sync with her pelvic movements, creating the illusion that she was creating and controlling a fast green vortex with each spin.

As the song ended, Tricky made an effort to finish big, arching her back and jumping up straight from a lying position, landing in front of Lucy and bowing slightly, before enjoying Lucy's applause. Lucy's face was flushed with emotion, while Tricky's was flushed with the effort and the excitement of the moment. She tried to breathe as slowly as possible to hide her fatigue and look even more elegant despite small drops of sweat trickled down her forehead.

Lucy quickly scribbled a big word that took up no less than two pages of her notebook.

{AMAZING!!!}

The others in the group and even some passersby joined in the applause, making Tricky smile proudly. She folded her arms and took one last deep breath before exclaiming: "Thank you all." She then looked at Lucy with a grin and added a final comment. "No big deal. As easy as drinking a glass of water."

Lucy chuckled amusedly and shook her head. She pretended not to see the exhaustion on Tricky's face, amused by her attempts to look absolutely cool.

At the end of the applause, Rain snapped their fingers to get the group's attention. "Well, folks. Since the idea of splitting us up into two small groups proved to be a success, I guess we could do that now too." She suggested, glancing at the interactive park map projected by her watch in front of her face. The blue glow of the device reflected off her glasses, partially hiding her eyes.

"I agree. I have no preference, guys. So I'm willing to take a group wherever they want to go." Ted said, adjusting his newly purchased stylish black hat on his head. It was very similar to the one he had for his guard uniform.

"I want to go on the coolest, most adrenaline-pumping rides!" Jake exclaimed, jumping up and down, unable to contain his excitement. "I want to try the one where you surf on giant holographic waves, the one with no gravity, the roller coaster that floats in a vacuum, and the one that simulates a fall from a skyscraper!!!"

"Aww, but Jake, I don't like those rides." Yutani mumbled disappointedly and scanned the map with a frown. "I would have loved to try the love tunnel, the Ferris wheel, and the flower field walk simulator in the Alps with you!"

"Oh." Jake replied with a look of disappointment and embarrassment, giving Fresh a confused look as if to ask for his advice.

"I thought you wanted to do something romantic with me. But if you want to go on rides with the others, that's fine." Yutani added in a sad tone, with a forced smile on her face. "I don't want to force you to do anything."

"No, no! Yutani! Of course I want to!" Jake waved his hands in front of him, his cheeks red with shame. "It's just that these cheesy things aren't really my thing, that's all!" he admitted, looking at Fresh again with a desperate look.

"Well, why don't the two of you try to compromise?" Fresh suggested, trying to help his friend. "It's normal that you two have different tastes. Why don't you do a ride that Yutani likes and one that Jake likes?"

"But if the groups are going to do different rides, how are we going to do it?" Yutani asked dejectedly.

"We could organize the group that does the rides and the group that does other activities like games with prizes." Rain suggested in a sweet and vaguely maternal tone. "I'm not going to the rides, for example."

"Why?" Asked King.

"Because they scare me. I'm not very good at those things. I hate going fast and I'm also afraid of heights. When we go on missions with our ship, I always try not to look down." Rain admitted with a hint of embarrassment in his voice.

"I had no idea," Frank commented. "Then why did you plan a day at the amusement park?"

"Because I knew the newbies would like it, and after all they've been through, I thought it would be nice to let them have a good time." Rain replied with a slight smile.

"I see."

"Well, this division of groups would solve the problem." Jake nodded enthusiastically, searching his eyes for Yutani's approval.

Fortunately, Yutani seemed to agree with the proposal. Her smile became more sincere as she nodded to Jake. "That sounds like a very good idea. Who knows, maybe it would be fun to do something outside my usual taste."

"All right, then it's settled! Boombot, you come with me. I don't think we need to put you on the rides." Rain said.

[Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah.] The robot responded in rhythm, snapping its metal fingers in time to the music.

"Good. If anyone wants to join our quieter group, they are always welcome. See you later!" Rain waved to them before walking away, the robot following behind her.

~

A few hours later, Rain sat on the edge of the fountain, sipping fresh blueberry bubble tea and tapping her feet to the music. In the crowd, she saw someone she thought she knew coming toward her. She realized it was Frank only when he came closer. He was walking unsteadily, his eyes fixed on the ground.

"Hey! Frank! What's up?" Rain greeted him cheerfully, moving slightly to make room for him, who slowly sat down next to them. He did not answer for a few moments.

"Frank? Are you okay?"

"Sorry, I don't feel very well." Frank admitted, clenching his fists and bowing his head.

"What's wrong?" asked Rain with a hint of concern. It was not often that she saw Frank so weird.

"Nausea."

"From the rides?"

Frank nodded slowly, continuing to open and close his hands, trying to get blood back into his fingers, which were tingling slightly. Even though his face was completely covered by the mask, Rain could see from his jaw and ears that he was very pale.

"Oh, gosh. I'm sorry, Frank." Rain smiled affectionately and slowly stroked Frank's back. It almost made them feel strange to see Frank feel bad about something so harmless. They often forgot that he was also human and not some kind of supernatural being. "Would you like some of my tea? Sometimes it helps to sip something cold."

"No, thank you. Really, I don't feel like eating or drinking right now." he swallowed slowly. "I'm sorry. It's nothing, I'll get over it."

"Don't apologize, it can happen!" laughed Rain.

"Tell me, is this the first time this has happened to you?"

"No, it has happened to me other times, but to a lesser extent. I think it's the mask that made it worse. Going on the rides wasn't a very smart move."

"Well, yes. In fact, if you are already suffering from nausea, putting on something that covers your field of vision and prevents you from breathing fresh air can make it worse."

"It's better now." Frank murmured, lifting his head slightly. "I just needed to sit down for a moment."

"Good. Was there anything that made you feel better when you were sick on rides as a child? I don't know, some food or drink I could get you?"

"I don't know. I don't remember. But really, don't worry about it."

"You don't remember? Not even what your mom got for you when you were sick?" Rain insisted.

"No. I really don't remember anything from my childhood. I just have very hazy memories." Frank sighed, trying not to focus on his stomach, and lifted his head up to look at the sky. "I only have clear memories of when I started living on my own, around your age. I've never felt so nauseous since."

"Really? Frank, but this is not normal to don't remember anything." Rain commented with a worried expression, clearly upset by the statement made so casually.

"It doesn't matter." Frank replied with a slight

hiccup. He lowered his head again.

"Are you going to throw up?"

"I hope not. It's not a good experience to throw up with a mask on your face." Frank replied with a hint of a voice. He felt his mouth full of saliva and his head spinning slightly.

"Don't think about it, otherwise it'll be worse." Rain fumbled in a pocket of his shorts and placed a phone charm with a small plastic bunny on it on his lap. The bunny held a small red heart between its paws with the words: "Don't worry, be hoppy." written in the middle of the heart.

"Huh? What is this?" Frank brought the bunny closer to his face so he could read the writing better. He read the pun in a neutral tone before looking at Rain, who smiled happily at him.

"Do you like it? I won it in one of those booths where you play games. To be honest, I wanted to win a nice stuffed unicorn, but unfortunately I'm too noob and didn't score enough points. Among the various smaller prizes were some phone charms, and when I saw this one, I immediately thought of you. What do you think?"

Frank stared at the bunny in silence for a few seconds before pulling his phone out of his pocket and hanging the pendant on the edge of the device. The contrast between the serious black cover and the pendant made Rain smile.

"Hey, it's adorable! And it adds some life to your phone!"

Frank nodded. "That's a very nice thought, Rain. Thank you." His tone was neutral as usual, but to Rain, absurdly, seemed to sense a smile behind that tiger mask. But maybe it was just their imagination.

"No problem." Rain commented cheerfully, giggling. "So how's the nausea?"

"Much better." Frank stood up and put the phone in his pocket. "Can you please show me where that game booth is?"

"Oh?" Rain stood up in turn, finishing off the last slimy, mushy ball of bubble tea. "Sure. I'll go with you."

Followed by Boombot, she tossed the plastic container into a trashcan before leading Frank to the booth where she had been a short time before.

A violet-skinned woman with fuchsia hair and a gothic-looking blood-red dress was supervising an oddly pastel-colored stall, in complete contrast to its owner. The goal of the game was to shoot smiley face-shaped targets with a toy gun. Prizes included a variety of stuffed animals, mugs, key chains, and other colorful knickknacks.

One of the most coveted prizes was a large pink plush unicorn with a shiny horn and mane in the colors of the rainbow.

"Welcome! Would you like to test your skills? You will never leave here unsatisfied, Scarlett's word!" the saleswoman exclaimed as she saw Frank approach the counter.

"I'd like to try, please." Frank said in a polite tone, handing Scarlett a banknote.

"Oho! Are you sure, sir? Just one game? One game allows you ten hits. If you take three games, the third is a gift!"

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary."

In fact, they left the booth shortly thereafter, leaving Scarlett in the throes of her own frustration.

Rain walked by, hugging the giant stuffed unicorn with an expression of pure joy on their face, much like a child on Christmas morning. Their eyes were shining with excitement and they could not stop smiling.

"Omg thank you thank you thank you thank you Frank!!! You are such a sweetheart!!!"

"You're welcome." Frank replied indifferently.

"I KNEW there was a heart of gold behind all that indifference!"

"Rain, no. I was just trying to do you a favor."

"I looooveee itt! It's beautiful!!! I'll sleep with it every night!!!"

"Glad you like it," he said before suddenly stopping.

"Is something wrong?" Rain asked him, her eyes wide. She turned in the direction Frank was looking, and the scene before her eyes made her gasp.

"I saw you! I saw you holding hands, you filthy perverts! Don't lie!" A man was yelling at Lucy and Tricky, who were clearly frightened. They tried to get away from the harasser, who, despite being restrained by Ted, would not stop screaming.

"We're just friends." Tricky muttered in a shaky voice, while Lucy's hands trembled.

"Yeah sure! friends! You got off the Ferris wheel holding hands! I bet you kissed each other! Now I'm calling the police!"

Indeed, Ted's attempts to calm the man down were in vain. The more he physically restrained him, the more he wanted to sue Ted for assault.

"Wait here." Frank said in an icy voice, gesturing to Rain. "I'll be right back."

"You're filthy lesbians! You should be ashamed of yourselves! Now the police will give you a lesson!"

"Is there a problem here?" Frank asked in a professional tone as he approached the man.

"And who the hell are you?!"

"I'm a federal agent. You may examine my badge if you wish." Frank said quietly, pulling out an identification card that was strangely wrapped in a small plastic sheet. He removed the plastic and handed it to the man. The man looked at it for a long time and seemed to calm down. A wicked smile appeared on the man's face as he began to point at Lucy and Tricky, who were watching the scene with a terrified expression. Ted said nothing and watched in silence as Frank put the fake badge back in the plastic and put it back in his jacket pocket.

"Those two perverts are homosexuals! I saw them!" Some passerby glanced at the man with a confused expression.

"I see. Can you tell me more?" Frank looked at his watch. "What are you basing your accusations on?"

The man began to list all his suspicions, while Frank seemed to be trying to stall by asking for details and asking questions.

At one point, the man shuddered.

He opened his eyes wide, started gasping for air, and put his hand to his chest, clutching his shirt between his fingers.

"Are you all right?" Frank asked in a tone of false concern. Ted began to worry.

The man slowly slumped to the ground, attracting the attention of passersby who stopped to watch.

"Sir? Oh, my God! He's having a heart attack!" Ted yelled as he bent down beside the man and shook him, trying to revive him.

"Somebody call an ambulance!" Ted shouted before starting CPR on the stranger in vain.

When help arrived, the paramedics pronounced the man dead. Attempts to revive him with electric shocks were unsuccessful; by then his heart had stopped and he had long since stopped breathing.

Ted seemed distraught, and the paramedics' reassurances were of no use; he did not care that he had done everything he could to save the man.

Both Tricky and Lucy and Rain were completely petrified by the horrifying scene.

When the paramedics left and the carnival calmed down, Ted grabbed Frank by the arm and pulled him toward him. "You psycho! What did you do to him?" he hissed through clenched teeth.

"Nothing. He had a heart attack, as you could see."

"Don't think I'm buying it! This can't be a coincidence, Frank! What if they do an autopsy on him and find out it was you?"

"Impossible. The poison is undetectable after a few minutes." Frank replied in a calm tone and released himself from Ted's grip.

"What? How-"

"There's a reason I always wear gloves. I would consider that option if I were you."

"And what are you implying? You fucking-" Ted was interrupted by Tricky, who, though her voice was still shaking, smiled slightly at Frank.

"Hey, Frank. Thanks for-whatever you did. A little over the top, but you saved us anyway."

That comment left Ted speechless.

"You're welcome. It's not over the top. If he had really called the police, you would have been in serious trouble." after that calm reply, Frank walked toward Rain.

"Holy shit, Frank. I don't know if I'm shocked, scared or kind of... happy about what you did." Rain told him honestly, staring at him with wide eyes. "You scare me sometimes, I won't hide that." they said with a nervous chuckle .

"Don't think about it. Let's catch up with the others."