Tiny feet skipped through the aisles of the convenient store. A small girl wearing baggy, crimson sweatpants, and a mesh tube top, swiped a plethora of junk food off of the shelves and into her backpack. Cheerful hums resonated along the aisle, large pink double buns bobbing up and down as she made her way to the drink section, and swung open a foggy door to what she'd be snatching next — alcohol.

"Ahaaa~!"

Roxette entered the store, wiping her tear-stained face with Joliet following behind, consoling her. "You sure you'll be okay?" Joliet asked.

"Yeah," sniff, "hey, you ever had a slushie before?"

"No. I don't eat, remember?" Her gaze locked momentarily with the bright, emerald eyes of the young girl who skipped past, heading for the check-out counter.

It was as though time around her had slowed to a halt. Uncomfortably sinking into her circuits was a sense of foreboding; something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Behind the pink-haired girl's bubbly spirit bred apathy for the adults around her. And yet, for that split second seemingly frozen in time, she could've sworn she'd seen a small-scale, neon pink glint in the center of the girl's pupil.

At first glance, she'd taken this girl to be an android like her. But the realization hit her like a brick to the face: although, universally, all androids had those features behind their artificial eyes, none of them were pink, nor any other color for that matter. They were white tinged with a faint blue, which raised her suspicions more.


Placing her dainty hands over the surface of the counter, the young girl hopped to stand on the toe of her sandal. The A.I. working the KR register eyed her curiously.

Happily, she announced in a loud, sweet, soprano voice, "Sweets in a box with menthol, please!"

"I will have to see some form of identification." they responded casually.

The pink-haired girl's face soured. "ID?!"

"That's right. French Law prohibits the distribution of alcohol and tobacco to minors. All citizens under the age of 18 must provide sufficient identification in order to make a purchase legally."

She balled her fists at her side, pursed her lips, and stomped her foot like a spoiled brat demanding they get their way. The girl's face burned a shade so red, steam would be billowing out of her ears. "But I want it! You stupid bot, give it to me now!"

The very mention of that slur leaving her lips prompted Joliet to snap her head back and scowl disapprovingly.

"I am sorry, mademoiselle, but that is the law and I am required to follow it accordingly. Without proof of identity, I cannot sell these to you."

For but a moment, she whined, outraged that the A.I. refused to cooperate, but then a fierce twinkle flashed in her eye. A dark, determined smile painted her face, and set off a scheme so dastardly, the fantasy of her boss handing over his position to her on a whim graced her thoughts.

"Can't you say?" A spherical, pink drone materialized to her side like a ghost departing its physical form. Scribed in various languages on its round, pink metallic body was the word yes. At the center was a large eye with a circular iris. And at the center of that was a hot pink light that opened mechanically upon internal command.

The A.I., oblivious to her stand's emergence, answered, "Correct. I am obligated to follow the rules and regulations."

"Not anymore~!" From the drone's iris beamed a pink laser that began scanning the A.I. Joliet, now having confirmed the girl's suspicious aura, turned on her heel, stunned by the attack she was witnessing. Neon pink light waved left and right, then its remnants raced around the A.I.'s body, gradually fading away. They stood there and blinked, unfazed by its effects. Until…

"Let's try this again," the young girl's grin was sly, "give me sweets in a box with menthol now."

"Sorry, I already told you," the A.I. replied, "I cannot —"

The girl's smirk darkened. Oop! It said it, it said it!

The eyes of the A.I. shot open. They hunched over, clamping their metallic hands around their neck. "Oh, my. I am not at all familiar with this unpleasant feeling."

The young girl twirled stray strands of pink hair in front of her ear, snickering.

Roxette, while capping her blue raspberry slushie, glanced over at the commotion, watching the spectacle with Joliet. The A.I. began heaving, their hand making purchase with the counter when, finally, their jaw unhinged. Rearing from their maw were two vesicular eyestalks. Transparent ochre liquid oozed from their mouth and a large, gray-blue slug slid out with a plop onto the counter in front of them, its slime splattering in every direction.

"What the hell?!" Joliet shrieked.

"My throat burns…" the A.I. stated, clasping a hand around the black neck tendons. "...immensely. Such a thing has never happened to me before. I do not comprehend what has just taken place here."

The young girl squealed. She placed a balled fist to her hip, faced the door with her legs spread apart, and pointed victoriously at the afflicted A.I. " Haaaahahahaha! Now you have to say yes, you stupid bot! Give me all the cigarettes you got, and your money while you're at it!"


Affronted by the girl's sentist remarks, Joliet immediately sprang to the A.I.'s defense. Roxette went to stop her, but she was too quick, already making her leave of the slushy machine.

"Hey!" she scolded. The pink-haired girl looked her way, still smug as she was seconds ago. "Where are your manners, little girl? What right do you think you have to bully a defenseless A.I.? They're only doing their job."

The girl sputtered up a loud ha! "Like I care. Mind your own business, bitch."

Joliet clenched her fist tightly. It was the second time in one day she'd been called that. By not just one sentist, but two.

The A.I. reluctantly grabbed a few packs of cigarettes off of the shelf in a panic and placed them on the counter. The girl's eyes burned with rage, displeased at the measly amount; she grit her teeth and growled.

"Two packs?! What, are you wired stupid?! I said all of them! Come onnnn! Quit holdin' out on me!" From her backpack, she whipped out an uzi 9mm and pointed it at the nerve wracked A.I.

Their hands shook unsteadily as they raised, anxious eyes narrowing at the gun barrel in the child's hand. "B-but I can't — heughh!" They lurched forward.

Smirking, the girl tittered and struck a pose, outstretching her free hand to the air like the star of a show making a dramatic entrance. "That's why nobody says no to Nega Nancy!"

This time, two more slugs were hurled up. From the pack, she brought out her KR, snatching the U drive from the port and jamming it into the register. "Now hurry it up, scrapface, I don't got all day!"

The A.I. nodded.

Clickityclackityclackclickclickclack

A prompt on the screen began loading the transaction, bringing yet another pompous smirk to Nancy's face. "Hmph! See there?" The uzi's trigger guard rolled around her finger as she spun the gun. "Things aren't so bad once you start doing as you're told, huh?"

Ping!

Transfert approuvé.

Retrieving the U drive, and slinging the strap of her pack over her shoulder, Nancy kept the aim of the uzi steady on the A.I. Both her brow and her lip quirked. "Let's see if you'll comply this time. Alright, I want you to listen up: you and I are going to be the best of friends, okay? You're coming back with me to Le Serpent Rouge Arena, where all the people can watch you scrap with another robot! What's gonna happen is you're going to walk right outside this door, and I'm going to follow behind you real close. Don't even think about trying to run away. If you do, I'll pump your motherboard full of lead, got it?!"

"Y-you want me to leave the establishment?"

"Uh-huh~."

"But…! But I…!"

"Aww, you wouldn't be telling little ol' me no, now, would you?" She batted her lashes and rested the back of her hand under her chin, feigning the look of a child-like innocence. "I mean just look at this face! How can you say no to that?"

The A.I. stumbled on their words, terrified about what catastrophe was awaiting them if they complied or didn't. Knowing there were no other options, they did as they were told.

Acting high and mighty, like she'd accomplished a great task, Nancy turned to walk out the door with the A.I. when she stopped. Her eye twitched. An unexpected obstacle blocked the exit — vines. Cyan coagulum dripped from the moonflowers and down to the floor.

"What the fuck is this shit?!" she shouted. Sparse cracks between the vines covering the windows let small amounts of light from the outside world seep in. Nancy balled her fist, concealing a scream behind bared teeth. She ran up to the vines and began tugging on them with all her might, straining and pulling with no luck in thwarting her escape.

"It's no use," came a feminine voice behind her.

Nancy spun around. "Who the hell…?!"

As graceful as a ballerina, Joliet stepped forward. Standing behind her was Roxette with a hand worriedly drawn up to her chin, knees knocked together. "Try as much as you like, but you'll never remove the glue behind them."

"Oh yeah?!"

Taking aim at the door, Nancy fired several rounds at the vines. Bullet hulls clinked to the floor, accumulating into a pile over time. Joliet deadpanned at the show of futility. The A.I. dove behind the counter, taking a jar of styluses with him. Glass shattered. Nancy hollered, refusing to let up on the trigger.

RT-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

RT-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

Seeing that the bullets had zero effect on Avantasia, she let out a crescendoing growl.

Joliet provoked her with a false yawn. "Are you done?"

"I don't know who you think you are, blocking the exit…" Nancy whipped her head back at the pair, shooting them a sinister look. "... and I don't care! BLESS THE CHILD!"

The pink laser of Bless the Child's eye took dead aim on Joliet's chest in the form of a round, hot pink dot. She eyed it incredulously, but before she could react, Roxette tackled her to the ground. Their bodies moved out of its trajectory, trading places with the shelf behind them. Both the girls and the shelf containing an array of assorted snacks were scanned by the pink light, its fragmented remains zipping across their forms until completely faded from view.

"Did we miss it?" Joliet questioned, sitting up.

Roxette looked back at the shelf. "I think so." Climbing to a standing position, she pulled Joliet up.

Again, Nancy twirled the gun in her hand. "Hey, robot lover! Why don'tcha get your lame weeds off the door?"

"As if I would take orders from the likes of you!"

Nancy craned forward, the palm of her hand next to her ear. "Hmmm? Sorry, I couldn't hear you! Could you rephrase that for me?"

Joliet narrowed her sharp gaze. "In other words, I won't!"

Nancy's evil grin darkened. That was all that needed to be said. A gut churning sickness twisted in Joliet's waist, causing her to lean forward with a hand over her stomach. The vomit inducing feeling surging through her body reignited memories of the time when she was still human, and suffering from the daily nausea she'd been subject to due to her stand.

"Roxette's hand met her shoulder. "Hey! What's wrong?!"

Joliet couldn't bring herself to answer. Something vile — something hefty and gross — was trailing a burning blaze through her chest and into her neck. She retched, throwing a hand over her mouth.

BLAUGHHH

PLOP

Unable to find a viable reaction to what she'd just witnessed, Roxette's horrified gaze lingered on the slug. Slime had flecked across the floor where it landed, right below Joliet, whose face was a mixture of disgust and horror in its own right. The fat, gleamy, grotesque slug moved forward, painfully slow, its ooze leaving a thin, icky trail in its wake.

I'd forgotten how awful vomiting felt, Joliet reflected, that laser must have caused this. That explains the A.I.'s reaction. Also… I find it strange how me telling her that I won't do something triggered all of this.

Nancy rested her gun-wielding hand over her knee and slapped the other with her free hand, laughing. "You should see your dumb faces! That'll teach you boring adults to say no to me!"

Joliet looked at her. "What?"

"You really thought you dodged that?! Hahahaha! What a bunch of micro brains! But I digress." She stood up, pointing the barrel of the uzi against her bottom lip. "Hmmm. Who knows? Maybe your reaction time isn't all that bad. So, let's test it out!" She took aim at them.

Roxette immediately pulled Joliet along and booked it for the drink section. Both girls ducked their heads as a hail of bullets zipped over and into the shelf. Chip containers exploded open, spilling their contents all over the floor. Bits and pieces flung through the air, flicking the girls as they darted around the shelf and halted. Roxette's breathing was rapid.

"This is crazy!" Joliet hissed. "No one's ever tried to shoot me before."

"You must be very lucky."

Looking over her shoulder, around the edge of the shelf, Roxette didn't see Nancy standing there. Instead, her voice had given away her position, startling them. "You can come out!" she taunted. "I promise not to shoot you." On the other side of the shelf, strolling up the aisle, Nancy was closing in. The girls quickly slipped off and up the aisle adjacent to hers. They took refuge for a short time on the next aisle over.

"I have a plan." Roxette told Joliet. "I think."

"And that is?"

"I'll create a diversion while you get the android to safety."

"What?! Roxette, she has a gun!"

"I know! I know… but what other choice do we have? Besides…" she subconsciously touched the clip of her earring, "...someone has to give this girl a taste of her own medicine." Without hesitation she darted down the aisle and towards the back, where she was sure to cross paths with Nancy for a one-on-one match.

Joliet reached out to her in futility, knowing she wouldn't listen. But she could hope. "Roxette, no! She'll kill you!"

Much to her expectations, she didn't acknowledge her. This was insane. Just when she had finally spoken to somebody she felt she could actually get along with, they were rushing into death's embrace unbidden. Joliet gritted her teeth and slammed her fist down on the shelf rack beside her.


Slipping over onto the next aisle and into a crouch, Roxette's heart raced, thumping like a drum in her chest. She could hear Nancy's happy hums on the next aisle over, and then the rustling sound of a chips bag.

"Oooh, pickle flavor! My favorite!"

Judging by the sound of the teen's voice, she had already made her way towards the end of the aisle, to which Roxette believed had given her a slight advantage. She hoped this worked. At the same time she was taking initiative with her plan, an undeniable fear of death settled in. But she had to ignore it. For Joliet and the A.I.'s sake. This was the only shot they had, and she was taking it.

Roxette crept up the aisle, down to the very last stack of gum, where she waited to strike. Nancy continued humming whilst munching on a handful of pickle chips she'd stolen from the abandoned bag. She strolled out from the other side of the shelf and into plain sight, completely unaware of the pair of eyes stalking her.

Oh, god. What am I doing? What if she shoots me? Roxette carefully, as not to make a sound, unclipped the feather earring from her lobe, and whispered a single word under her breath. Above the clip, a razor sharp prong slowly ejected from the ball. She swallowed and steeled herself. Well… here goes nothing.

Nancy pressed on, scanning the aisles for movement. "Tch. You guys are pretty quiet."

Joliet instinctively backpedaled, making doubly sure to plant Avantasia's glue on the tile as she went. That was when Nancy appeared. Numbing fear shot throughout Joliet's wiring. It was as if she was standing in the very adhesive she'd placed for the enemy.

"Ooh, there you are!" Nancy whipped out her uzi. Before she could mash the trigger, Roxette tackled her to the floor with a forceful slam. The uzi clacked against the tiles, the misfire unleashing a hail of fury into the ceiling and cooler doors.

Joliet dove out of the line of fire and behind the next shelf. With the opponent stunned from impact, she yanked snug on Nancy's ear and stabbed the earring prong through it. Barbs protracted from the point like a fish hook. Blood dribbled from the earlobe and down her jawline as she screamed, the sound of her voice bouncing off of the floor and back in her face.

In retaliation, Nancy's balled fist sent a punctual swing to Roxette's cheekbone. The purchase it made was enough to jostle her brain, nevermind the throbbing heat making it feel as though the area that took the blow was already swelling. In turn, Nancy's face mimicked the same reaction. She may as well have punched herself in the face at full force.

With both girls rubbing their cheeks in a futile attempt to soothe the pain, Nancy piped up, "You dumb bitch! Did you really hit me?! I'm a minor! You want to rot in jail?!"

Roxette scowled. "You're the one trying to shoot up a store; if anyone deserves to go to jail here, it's you."

Nancy made a sarcastic face. "Oh, sure. Let's all point the finger at the kid, because they're an easy target! Right?"

"What?! No! That's —" Roxette immediately threw a hand over her mouth, retching. What's more… so did Nancy. Slugs slipped from their gaping maws and onto the floor, splattering them in the yellow ochre ooze. Nancy had her palm pressed to the ground for support, heaving. Roxette clasped a hand over her chest, struggling to catch her breath.

"What the…" Nancy's head lifted, the look of consternation shrinking her pupils. Her breath shuddered. "...why am I doing it all of a sudden?" The green, black, and blue feather earring dangled over her cheek.

Without hesitation, Roxette crawled over to the uzi in an attempt to retrieve it before Nancy could. Might as well while she's preoccupied with her own disillusion, she thought. Her breath quickened. Her fingers outstretched, arm extending as far as possible, when she felt a sudden jerk of the ankle foil the effort.

Roxette yelped. Raspily breathing, Nancy climbed over her, reaching for the gun lying mere inches away from Roxette's fingertips.

Recalling the many catfights she'd bore witness to, Roxette thought to put it to good use and swiftly yanked her by one of her pink buns, loosening the neatly styled loops. Long strands hung from a messy wad of hair, like a deformed squid was sitting in one of her cupcake liners.

Realization of her actions settled in Roxette's chest like a block of lead dropping into a pool of water. Hair pulling. That's exactly what her mother always did to her. For as long as she could remember, she'd always done it when she made her angry. Especially when she tried to explain herself to her. It hurt. Not just her head, but her feelings. And here she was doing it to a child.

Nancy cried out in pain, writhing around in her firm grasp. She yelled with so much ferocity before delivering a hard punch to Roxette's face. Both girls' heads flung back in sync. While Nancy shook her head, Roxette persevered, inching her fingers closer to the uzi's grip. Then, her fingers curled at a sudden twinge in her calf. Teeth.

In unison, both she and Nancy hollered out in pain, the teen rolling around and sucking air through gritted, pearly whites. "Hey, what the hell!" she cried. Any second Roxette would be wielding the gun.

Just a little further. Got it. As she tried to slide it a little closer and procure it, the gun wasn't budging. A sticky substance was keeping it rooted to the floor with no hope of picking it back up.

"Wha…?! It's stuck!"

"Stuck?!" Nancy squeaked. "Whaddaya mean stuck?!"

Cyan glue shimmered under the grip and along the base of the barrel. A vein popped in view on Nancy's temple, teeth gnashed. "Grrrr! Whatever! I don't need a stupid — hghhh!" Her nauseous expression mirrored in Roxette's face as two slugs piled out of their mouths.

"Aww, why is this happening to me?!" Nancy whined momentarily before taking note of the feather tickling her cheek. "And what the hell is this thing? Get it off me!" She fumbled around with the clip, completely unaware of the barbs poking out from the back of her ear. Nancy winced and swiftly withdrew her hand in front of her, opening her eyes to see blood trailing down her pricked finger.

"If you want to remove it," Roxette stated, "you'll need to know the password."

"Huh? What password?"

"As if I'd ever tell the likes of you." She used the rack to pull herself to a standing position.


Just after making a narrow escape of the barrage of submachine gun bullets, Joliet begrudgingly went along with Roxette's escape plan. With Nancy battling with her on the aisle, Joliet returned to the register to help the frightened A.I. to safety. On internal command, Avantasia reabsorbed its glue from the windows and door, and the vines dematerialized. The A.I. trembled as they peeped over the counter at her.

"Leave while you still have a chance." she said. "Call emergency maintenance if you need to while you're at it. As for me, I need to teach a little girl some manners."


Tension descended upon the aisle as the pair glared daggers at each other. Fierce determination painted Nancy's face, Roxette's equally returned expression daring her to cause her further harm. Wads of glue, lining the aisle, threatened whatever advancement either of them would make if they so much as set foot in the wrong direction. With the twitch of her lip, Nancy shot Roxette a smirk.

"Give me the password."

"Sorry." she declined. "I only give it to people I can trust with my life."

Nancy's smug smile waned into a hateful scowl. "What was that?"

"I don't know you," she said, "so why should I share it with someone willing to kill me?"

"Are you playing games with me right now?! I said give me the password!"

Roxette smiled. " Je suppose que tu refuses d'ecouter…

Nancy hummed, a devilish grin forming on her youthful face. "Wrong answer." Grabbing a jar of candy, she smashed the top half against the rack. Jutting, sharp points cultivated a bone chilling fear that began to elevate from Roxette's chest and into her throat. She wouldn't. This girl couldn't possibly be that stupid!

"If you won't say 'no' to me the right way…" Again, the girls mirrored an upheaval of slugs, this time instead of two, it was four. Nancy wiped the gunk off of her face with her forearm and gasped out. "...urrrrgh! Forget it. I'm so sick of you!"

She took the broken glass and slashed it across her own arms multiple times, rending deep lacerations into their skin. Roxette grabbed her arm, screaming. Trails of blood coursed all the way to her fingertips, dripped, and dyed the tiles under her a deep scarlet.

"You know, you've got a really pretty face." Nancy pointed out. "It'd be so sad if somebody scarred it for life."

Roxette froze, pupils shrinking at the recollection of the word scar . Her fingers ghosted over the faded claw marks her mother had given her that night at the apartment. She didn't want more. Not from her, not from anybody. She couldn't bear to relive those horrible memories all over again.

"W-wait!" she cried.

Nancy stopped, the sharp points mere inches from her own cheek.

"If… if I let you go, you have to promise to leave the A.I. alone. Okay?"

"Now hold on!" Nancy shouted, pointing at her. "You really think I'm going to buy your fake mercy, and walk out of here without that bot?! Ya dumb cunt! Hell Patrol makes a lot of money on those robot fights, y'know! Me included! What, you want me to starve?!"

"I should have guessed you were one of those people. Spreading discourse and violence everywhere you go." Roxette frowned. "Tell me: why do you terrorize androids so badly? What about them makes them any less human than you?"

"Uhh, the fact that they're machines…? Duh. What, you actually believe their fake-ass personalities are real? Pfft." She balked at the idea.

"It's real for them," Roxette rebutted, "they're capable of feeling the same emotions — having their own identities — like anybody else. All they want is to be treated like they're not objects and be accepted, as they should be! Think about that. What if someone was doing that to you? Would you really want to live your entire life being treated like garbage? Just for being yourself?!"

Nancy rolled her eyes at her, clicking her tongue in disagreement. "Shut up. Nobody cares about your boring feelings, alright? That stuff right there is why right-minded people hate you. You're perfectly okay with machines pretending to be people, and driving us to extinction. That's why I'm doing everyone a favor by capturing these stupid robots, and rigging them up for fighting matches."

A dispirited frown formed on Roxette's face.

"Face it. You're just another sad bot sympathizer. You honestly think they deserve to have our human rights handed to them without so much as lifting a finger?! One way or another, I'm walking out of here with my robot! So shut up and suffer!"

The points of the broken jar barely ghosted Nancy's cheekbone, fingers clenched tightly around its round base. Roxette squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for what was about to happen. "Say bye-bye to that gorgeous face of yours, you bot lover."

Any second she'd feel the sharp sting tearing through her face. The splitting of skin tissue, the burning, pulsing pain shooting through her head. She could hear her mother now, belittling her about how it's her fault because of where and how she chooses to live.

What did you expect , she visualized her saying. Seconds had passed since she shut her eyes; too many. Peeking through the sliver of an eye cracked open, she spotted something green — something floral along its form — coiled around Nancy's wrist.

"Aww, come on! This bitch again?!"

Standing next to her, amidst the glue traps she'd laid previously, was Joliet with her head held high and arms crossed. Avantasia's vines were outstretched from her shoulder, those not ensnaring Nancy's wrist wreathing like snakes out of her back.

"I think you need a timeout."

A multitude of vines constricted her leg and arm, flinging her several feet towards the back of the store. Nancy wailed as she soared through the air and face-first into the cooler door. Her face and palms were smooshed against the glass, wiping in a downward motion as she sank to the floor below. Unfortunately, Roxette mirrored her pain. She felt as though one of her teeth had been knocked loose, but she wasn't sure. All she knew was that the discomfort was prevalent.

Joliet noted this and rushed to her aid. "Roxette! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." she answered, trying not to place too much focus on the pain. "Thanks. How about you?"

Joliet smiled and nodded. "The droid running the register went to call the prefects."

"That's good."

"We should probably get you to a hospital. Your cuts look pretty deep."

"I'll be alright. I have a first aid kit at home."

The air around them lightened up, taking the tension off their shoulders. An unspoken gratitude beamed from their exchanged smiles. For now, the danger had passed. And yet, something didn't feel quite right about it. While the store was mostly quiet, minus the speakers from the ceiling playing an electronic instrumental, another sound cut their moment of down time short.

Nancy's fists were clenched tight. She was heavily panting like a pissed off serial killer, her feet aligned dead-even with her shoulders. Maroon bloodstains were smeared across her belly, arms, and legs. Feral eyes stared the girls down, screaming: I am going to fucking kill you.


Joliet prepared herself and slipped into a battle-ready stance. Roxette, indecisive of what she should do — whether that be run, or fight — stayed behind her. Joliet's eyes narrowed on the teen malevolence brimming with rage. If it was a fight she wanted, it was a fight she was going to get.

Nancy slowly staggered up the aisle, harsh breathing rife with anger. "You…" gulp, "...you…freaks!" Huff, huff, huff. "Think you're so smug with your," huff, "...stupid…!" huff. "Stands…!" Huff, huff. "I'm tired of adults…" huff, "...telling me what to do! Nobody… and I mean no —"

The sheer horror that six slugs managed to pile out of Nancy's and Roxette's mouths simultaneously left Joliet's inner machinations churning a sour disgust. Although in Roxette's case, it was mostly concern. "Roxette, what did you —"

"It's okay, Joliet," she rasped, "as long as my earring is still hooked to her ear, we can still have the upper hand. I've managed to slow her down for you."

The way she winced as she clasped her throat, and the hoarseness in her voice, made Joliet believe that the slugs' ooze was causing severe internal damage. Having taken that thought into consideration, there was no other option besides putting the little brat out of commission. Not kill her, since she was a child, but incapacitate her by any means necessary.

"Joliet…"

The sound of Roxette's voice tore her attention away from the momentarily preoccupied Nancy, who was also clasping their throat in agony, trying to catch their breath. Her gaze softened as she looked back at her.

"... I did good with my plan, right? Tell me… was it the right thing to do? Or did I screw everything up?" Her voice cracked as if she was about to cry. "If I did, I'm so sorry."

Joliet smiled. "You did great."

Relief filled her eyes, and then, tears. "Glad I could help."

Nancy pounded her knuckles hard on the floor. With the flames of her temper soaring to new heights, she made a mad dash up the aisle. The glue made contact with her shoe, jerking her to a stop. Seething with rage, she fiercely untied its strings fastened around her ankle and left it — charging forward like she'd been spring loaded and fired. Over the minefield of glue traps, she made a running jump and wound back her fist in mid-air, unhinging her jaw and letting out a feral yell.

Taking Joliet off-guard as she helped Roxette to stand, her body slammed into hers, knocking her down. Nancy's knuckles clocked her in what would be her cheekbone if she had one. But the hit left her soiled with regret, for it felt like she'd hauled off and punched a steel beam.

"What…?" Her eyes narrowed. A pink grid brought up scanned information that Bless the Child had collected the moment its laser beam met her body. Nancy's rage gradually began to subside as she took in the gathered data. "No fucking way… this lady's a robot…?!" Avantasia curled around her neck, causing her to instinctively grab it.

Joliet deadpanned, annoyed and ready to get this fight over with. "I prefer the term android ." As she rose to her feet, Avantasia slammed her small frame hard on her back, and onto the glue traps. "Another thing," she said, walking over with hands on her hips, "justifying sentism with acts of violence doesn't make you right, it makes you —"

"An asshole!" Roxette interjected.

Joliet gave her an approving nod.

Nancy grunted, straining to pry the vine coiled around her neck. "But… but your feelings aren't even real, they're just data. Why should I care?"

"As stated before," Joliet elucidated, "our thoughts and feelings are just as real to us as yours are to you. So, until you can learn to respect that, you can spend all your time ruminating about it in jail where you belong." The vine slipped away from her neck and dissipated.

Nancy tried to sit up, but the glue kept her body planted firmly to the ground. She strained and strained, but it was no use. "Grrr! Get this shit off me!"

As Joliet started to make her leave of the convenient store, she stopped and looked back, watching the pathetic child pitch a fit and demand she get her way. Nancy fumed, the thought that they were still affected by her stand apparent in her cheeky grin.

"With all that information I got on you two, the skeletons in your closet aren't safe anymore. All your insecurities will be out in the open for all of Paris to see. So, if you don't want anyone to find out, then you'd better get me loose."

Roxette reluctantly sauntered over to her, Joliet shooting her a flabbergasted look as she watched. She knelt down beside Nancy, whose satisfaction of reigning her in couldn't be more clear. Roxette took hold of her earring and gently lifted it away from Nancy's face.

"Partager." she whispered. The sharp prong retracted back into the black ball and she unclipped it from her ear. Nancy's bewildered eyes viewed the earring in her hand, watching as she returned it to her own earlobe. "Sorry, but I've got nothing to hide!" Roxette shrugged, beaming with smiling eyes. "Hehe! See ya!"

Waving goodbye, she and Joliet started out the door, leaving Nancy behind to flail her arms around, kick her feet, and throw a temper tantrum.

"This is so unfair! I don't want to go back to juvie and eat garbage ass food again! Get me out of here!"