Neopolitan: Beyond Ever After (The Girl From Another World) - Part 1

by Calavera de Comala

After failing to ascend, Neo finds herself trapped in Zenith, a world obliterating other forsaken planets. Confronted by a mysterious organization called The Zodiac, she will embark on an incredible odyssey that tests the limits of her imagination. However, she may discover new friends who help her face the adversities ahead.

9. My One Friend

My One Friend

Eight-year-old Trivia Vanille was about to fall asleep when a sudden noise alerted her that someone had opened the door to her house. It was the middle of the night, so she stepped bare feet out of her bed wearing nothing but her pink pajamas to confirm if her parents had finally returned, after leaving her alone in the manor.

To her surprise, she could hear lively music playing downstairs, as she tried breaking the lock that kept her confined to her room.

Mama! Papa! Please, open the door!

She started knocking and gradually hitting on the door, but it was useless. The door refused to open, and no one answered her calls.

The sound of cars parking and people laughing came from her bedroom window. Peeking through it by standing on her tiptoes, Little Trivia confirmed that the circular driveway at the entrance of the house was jam-packed with cars of partygoers.

Trivia saw the Malachite, Xiong, and Schnee families arriving at the Vanille Manor. Doing her best to call their attention and ask for help, she started pounding on the window after realizing it was locked too, but again her actions were useless. Without noticing her, more partygoers started arriving and entering the manor.

Sorry for breaking the vase! Please, let me out!

She started to doubt that even if she could talk and scream, someone would be able to listen to her, so she tried again breaking the lock with hairpins she found across the room.

After a couple of tries, she succeeded at opening her door and stepped out of her room, heading to the stairs that led into the foyer where the party was taking place.

Unfortunately, once she arrived at the open space of the hallway, she noticed that the stair railings were so high and close to each other, these pretty much were jail bars that didn't allow her to go down the stairs nor jump to the foyer.

Through the 'bars', Trivia saw her parents happily drinking and conversing with the party guests.

Ironwood and the Ace Ops were bragging to other guests about how well a mission of theirs went down.

Jacques Schnee was grabbing a drink and letting his son Whitley join a business conversation with her father, while her mother was smiling with Willow Schnee.

Weiss and Winter had decided to go with the Belladonas, waiting together for someone to arrive.

Mercury was trying to dance as a way of hitting on Emerald, while Hazel, Tyrian, and Cinder looked at him with vicarious embarrassment.

Someone, listen to me! I'm over here!

Watts was checking up on Maria Calavera's robotic eyes, since Pietro was busy dancing with Penny, as best as he could, despite being limited to his chair.

Team JNPR was greeting Oscar, as the latter apologized for being late. It looked like Pyrrha and Jaune were interested in teaching him dancing choreography.

The Branwen siblings were taunting each other, as they waited near the entrance.

Ozpin and Salem had finally solved their differences, as both danced together to the music band hired by his father.

Stop ignoring me! Help me, please!

Xiong and Malachite were bragging to each other about their respective successors.

Lady Beat polished her glasses near a party fountain while talking with Aurelia and Manda Rin.

Velvet enthusiastically took pictures of her teammates and other party guests, as they posed for her camera.

Professors Velvet, Glynda, and Oobleck talked about the past while drinking.

I swear I won't misbehave again! Let me join you!

Little Trivia getting angrier and sadder, couldn't do anything, except kick and hit the bars, waiting for someone to notice her. But once more, it was useless. The party noise drowned down all the noise she was producing for attention.

I don't want to be alone anymore! I want to go back home! Don't abandon me!

At that moment, Trivia glanced at the foyer entrance, to see Weiss and Blake run ahead of their families to receive a group of people, along with the Branwen siblings.

It was Tai and her daughters, Yang and Ruby.

The four teenagers smiled, as they hugged each other.

I'm sorry.

Claps and cheers spread across the foyer and the music increased in volume.

"I… h … e..."

Trivia stood there, again alone, looking at another party she wasn't invited to, crying as she forced herself to say something in vain.

If only I could talk, that would fix everything.

Maybe they would listen to me.

Maybe they would forgive me.

Maybe they would befriend me.

As Little Trivia kept trying to figure out a way to call the partygoers' attention, she felt a chill down her spine. The lights of the hallway she was standing in went out, almost immediately after her body tensed up.

Trivia looked to her left, at the opposite end of the hallway from where she had come from. Something was moving among the shadows as if emerging from the ceiling.

The darkness of the shadows accumulated on the creepy moving mass, shaping up a 'body'.

Little Trivia couldn't do anything but look in absolute terror at the entity emerging from the shadows.

It was still standing on the ceiling when something resembling a pair of arms and a white mask broke apart from the rest of the dark mass.

She couldn't tell at all what the figure was, but it wasn't a Grimm. It was something far more sinister. A thing that didn't look like a living being. Far removed from any animal or plant. And whatever the entity was, it was devouring and transforming the surroundings with its dark inexistence, as it tried to gain more presence.

Help! Papa! Mama!

The shadow started to crawl on the ceiling after its white mask gained two protrusions that pointed up.

RWBY! Beat!

As Trivia desperately sought to gain the attention of everyone in the foyer, only to fail again, the noncorporeal entity stood up, detecting her presence.

Salem! Cinder!

The shadow figure's mask was precisely in the center of the hallway when it started to gain more features, as the party music's volume decreased. Something resembling two slits cut across its mask.

ANYONE, HELP ME!

It wasn't only the music fading away, but also the party itself. It was beginning to get engulfed in absolute darkness, along the hallway and the stair railings.

Looking at the devouring umbra and its white mask, Trivia confirmed that it was moving in her direction, about to reach the start of the stair railings. As she commenced running, the hallway started to spin.

Losing her balance, she tripped towards the bars that kept her from falling into the darkening foyer. From her perspective, the few shadowy figures she could discern at the party were standing on the 'walls'.

While in tears, she moved across the bars, as if climbing a horizontal ladder. The small girl turned back at the black entity to see how its mask remained at the center of the hallway, without moving a single inch. The entire manor was performing a 360 spin, with the white mask being its center of rotation.

The figure's dark inexistence was done absorbing most of the foyer and the stair railings that were the farthest from Little Trivia. Gravity made her fall into what used to be the hallway's ceiling. The Vanille Manor had completed a 180 spin.

What's that noise?

As Trivia hurried to the inverted stairs that led into what used to be the third floor, mysterious and eerie chants started to fill the house's corridors.

She didn't even try to open other doors on the second floor, not only because the handles were now too tall for her to reach, but also because she saw shadowy veins spreading across their surface. Puddles of absolute darkness started to come out from the closed doors. The second floor was getting devoured by the black inexistence.

Fortunately, Trivia was a good climber and gymnast despite her young age, so she successfully jumped high enough to grab the stair railings that led to the former third floor.

Adjusting herself to the rotation of the whole house, Trivia reached the last floor as it completed a 300-degree spin. The floor with her bedroom had once more turned into the one at the top of the manor.

Noticing that the umbra had not yet started devouring this floor made her somewhat relieved, but the engulfing mass was already about to reach the stairs she had just climbed.

She didn't have other option, but to run into her bedroom and see if she could break the window to escape.

The chants gained more intensity and speed as she closed the door behind her and grabbed whatever she could to throw it at the window, hoping it would shatter.

But she soon noticed something wrong. The moonlight illuminating her bedroom was also dissipating. The shadow had reached the outside of her window, and therefore the last floor of the manor.

Oh, no! Oh, no! Oh, no!

Taking a quick look at the outside, Trivia realized that besides her house the gardens and the driveway had already been absorbed by the inexistence. There was no escape from the absolute darkness. Her eyes went from brown and pink to white.

The engulfing darkness continued breaching into her room through any available openings and gaps between the floor, windows, ceiling, and wooden door. The whole room moved as if it were breathing or made of wet paper, about to collapse on her.

Turning back to the closed door, she noticed a big black stain going under it. The white mask with 'ears' and 'eyes', emerged from it. The figure was starting to reshape its body inside her bedroom.

Someone... please!

Unable to do anything, Little Trivia fled to her bed and covered herself with blankets. There was nothing she could use as a weapon to fight the darkness back. For her, there was no possible way to kill it.

She didn't even know if it was even something that could be killed.

The chants got louder, as Trivia also started to hear the crumbling noises of her bedroom being devoured by the eternal umbra.

"N-"

She felt cold. Strange movements and sensations covered the blankets she was 'hiding' herself with. The darkness was about to engulf her too.

"NEO!"

Trivia cowered in absolute fear, crying and seeing her cold breath. She could feel that the shadow's hand was only centimeters away from reaching her.

"NEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOO!"

•

GET AWAY FROM ME!

I opened my eyes as I tried to scream in vain. Panting heavily and struggling to breathe, I began to process slowly my surroundings, as I regained control over my body. My state of shock soon slowly disappeared, as tears fell down my face.

...

That nightmare, again.

Rubbing my eyes and wiping off the tears with my hands, I remembered everything as I looked around the bedroom where I was sleeping seconds ago.

Right, I am not in Remnant anymore. This place is-

"Whoa, Neo. Must have been that horrible dream. Called you out several times, but you struggled to wake up." A sneering 'voice', masking concern, reaffirmed my suspicions. "It's a little early, but I will say it anyway."

I turned to my right to look at 'him'.

"Good morning, Neo." Roman greeted me, 'sitting' on the corner of my bed, just as 'he' had been doing for the past couple of weeks.

He wore the outfit I had made for him when I was 18. Black bowler hat included.

Good morning, Roman.

I finally managed to calm down enough to greet my 'friend' with a smile, not caring if I could barely see him. The sun was not up yet.

What time is it?

I picked up my scro- holodial to check its clock.

5:10!?

I only managed to sleep 5 hours, but there was no way I could resume my sleep after such a horrible nightmare, so I decided to have an early breakfast.

I have made up my mind, I'm quitting today my work at Bianchi's.

I 'said' to Roman as I stepped out of the bed. Looking through the apartment's curtains, I confirmed the lack of shady people spying on me. I could turn on the lights without any worry.

My current place looked too corporate as if it were an old factory room that I had decided to turn into my home, but that was how most living places in Copper Suburb looked. It wasn't only mine.

To think this was the biggest apartment available in this neighborhood.

With barely 16 square meters to live in, my apartment surprisingly counted with enough space for a private bathroom, washing machine, desk space, kitchenette, and small balcony. Places like this made me feel thankful for my short height.

"What a shame, Neo. I can understand why though. After the gorilla and dove showed up, I also would be on alert and no longer consider Bianchi's a safe place. Better disappear, before the authorities get to us." Roman continued to talk, while I finally found my missing brown slipper.

Gorilla?

…

Oh, you mean Phoebe.

I was dressed in my pajamas, which consisted of a white top and pink shorts.

"Whatever. Unlike in Remnant, we aren't allowed to fuck up here. A single mistake is extremely costly. Damned Zenitheans." I rolled my eyes and put my hands on my hips, before correcting him.

Zodiac, Roman. Our enemies are mostly The Zodiac. Well, my enemies.

"Your enemies are my enemies, Neo." He stood from my bed and pointed to his chest with one of his thumbs. I ignored him by walking through his body. I needed to use the kitchenette.

You aren't real, but rather a figment of my imagination that I came up with to combat my loneliness, stress, and depression. You took that form, possibly because of the extreme guilt of losing the mementos you left me. Or because, as sad as it sounds, you were the only person I have felt comfortable around in the 24 years of my life, besides The Blacksmith.

I 'said' to him, as I began to prepare some very early morning tea in the apartment's kitchenette. I left the induction stove on with the black tea ready to be boiled.

"Ouch, for a mute you got a pretty sharp tongue." Not bothering to look at him, I took some food from a small refrigerator. Thankfully, this region of Zenith resembled Vale when it came to home appliances, not only language.

I need to think logically. Don't want to go insane and lose the sense of reality while escaping from them. As you said, any mistake in this world can be fatal.

"Have you ever considered that I'm your conscience?" He sat on the chair next to the desk, while I prepared some sandwiches.

You would suck at being anyone's conscience. Always giving bad advice to the youth around you. Look at me, now I'm the most wanted criminal in two worlds. Not even counting the Ever After, which got destroyed.

"I'm so proud of you." He started faking tears of happiness, followed by taking off his scarf and using it to clean his nose. He snorted soundly.

Roman, not when I'm about to eat. Even if you aren't real, it's still disgusting.

He answered by making 'spooky' noises and 'creepy' hand gestures.

"Or maybe I'm an actual ghost. A vengeful spirit that cannot rest in peace, because of an unfinished business. Ooooooh, boo!" He froze in silence, only his fingers moving, as he tried to awkwardly scare me.

…

You would be haunting Ruby Rose if that were the case. Also, that's the dumb plot twist from a lame B-movie we saw together in Vale—the one with the girl who sees dead people.

I gave him a stern look, for reminding me of that schlock.

"Lame? That movie was scary. Only because you saw the plot twist from a mile away doesn't mean most of us did. Besides, don't complain. We didn't even pay for the entrance tickets and snacks at the movie theater." He tried to grab the remote control to turn on the television but obviously failed.

It was your idea to disguise us and pay with fake money using Overactive Imagination! So much for my conscience.

I was done with my sandwiches. It was time to prepare my chocolate milk, as the tea was in the process of boiling.

"Ah, I remember! You were always more the lovey-dovey type, so you prefer other ghost movies, like the one about the boyfriend who got killed by a thief, just as he was about to propose to his girlfriend. The ending scene even made you cry."

…

I stopped spinning the spoon and preparing my drink. He looked worried at me.

"What's the matter, Neo? Did I say something wrong? If so, I'm so-"

Roman, I realized only now that that movie was made to criticize the rising crime rates in Vale, around the time we met and decided to work together.

I stopped his increasing concern and continued preparing my drink.

"... Ah, well. You're welcome." Taking what I said as a compliment, he moved away from the desk and sat back in my bed.

I moved some things around to make space to eat on the desk and sat down in the chair he was previously occupying (except not really), with my drink and sandwiches.

And it was the girlfriend forcing the proposal, the dum-dum boyfriend was the one who couldn't take the hint.

"Who cares? We also used your semblance to sneak into that movie."

He made me cough as I was chewing my sandwich.

I could hear his voice, even when I wasn't looking at him. I don't think that was a sign of good mental health.

"By the way, mind if I ask about your hair?" I stopped eating and turned around to look at the figment of my imagination.

What about it?

I grabbed part of my loose, medium-sized hair.

"Well, it's just that... How do I put it this nicely?" He was pointing at the portion of the hair I grabbed. I continued chewing my food, glancing at him with curiosity.

"You look more Trivia Vanille than Neopolitan. Aren't you going to dye it pink?" My depression-coping mechanism was right. All my hair was back to its natural brown.

Dum-dum, I can no longer do that. I have run out of aura or had it broken multiple times since I fell into this world. My favorite half-pink, half-brown look is an easy way to tell me apart from a crowd while fleeing from bounty hunters and authorities.

Thankfully, The Zodiac had not realized that my pink hair wasn't natural. I turned to show him my back as I prepared to think of the next shameful statement.

And with contact lenses, I can also hide my pink eye. There are advantages to keeping Trivia Vanille around.

...

A whistle broke the hush. The tea left on the stove was boiling. I walked into the kitchenette to turn off the induction stove. Looking around, I confirmed that Roman was gone again.

You never say goodbye, dum-dum.

I tried to cheer myself up while serving tea in my favorite butterfly-themed cup.

At least show up for the training session today.

•

It was around 6:30 a.m. when I decided to head out.

As much as I wanted to apologize to Bianchi in person and see Debbie one last time before quitting, I had decided that for the sake of everyone at my workplace, it was better to cut ties with them remotely.

I know it was impolite. Somehow, writing and sending messages to quit my job through holodial felt worse than committing an actual felony. I felt a shittier person for betraying Debbie and Bianchi like this, than for freeing Roman from Atlesian troops. No joke.

But the sooner I did this, the better. I didn't want to involve them in my problems with The Zodiac or that 'terrorist' couple. I planned to continue living a little longer in this suburb as Liz, while I investigated for another safe location to travel next. One where a well-paid job was available.

After dressing in a black sports bra, stockings, and cycling shorts, I put on the rest of my skating and training outfit. A two-tone, top stitched pleat, roller-skating skirt. Its outer pleats were white, while the waistband and inner pleats were colored with a vibrant pink. Over my sports bra, I wore a white, sleeveless denim vest that didn't fully cover my midriff. Its collar and buttons were the same vibrant pink as my skirt's. I wore pink and white knee and elbow pads for protection, even if I didn't need to. My helmet followed the same pattern, with white as its primary color and its secondary one being pink.

Liz's brunette, long pigtails emerged from her helmet's air vents. As much as I wanted to keep my pink and brown eyes to complement the attire, I had to change them to Liz's blue eyes, to keep my real identity a secret. Carrying a brown backpack with my holodial and other accessories inside, I headed to the entrance of my apartment to put on my dust-inline skates.

A little reminiscent of those worn by Neon Katt during the Vytal Tournament, the Zenithean skates that I bought some months ago were special in the sense that they had metal frames and soul plates underside its boots, which contained shards of hard light and wind dust. When one injected aura into them, they produced 4 wheels one could use to skate around. I had customized the white pair I bought with a pink heart motif, based on the sneakers I wore as a kid.

If required to access formal indoor spaces, I could remove the metal frames and soul plates, to put them in my backpack. Since the underside of each skate boot was designed like a wedge heel, they were comfortable enough to walk around with and avoid damaging floors.

The metal frames and soul plates alike could be equipped with different types of dust shards to try several crazy combinations but for now, I mostly used them to skate across Copper Suburb.

The advantage of Zenithean dust compared to Remnant's was that for some unknown reason, shards in this world were far more cost-effective as they lasted way longer and were more powerful than those back in my home world. So, changing or recharging shards in this world wasn't a constant issue.

"NEO, ARE YOU INSANE!?" Before opening the entrance door, a panicked Roman went through it, as if he had been waiting outside my apartment for me to come out.

Look who decided to show up, again. And to answer your question, considering that I'm seeing you, yes. I am insane.

I crossed my arms as I scolded him for disappearing and manifesting without warning.

"No, I meant that attire!" He extended his arms towards me, exaggeratedly shaking them.

What, you don't like me showing off my navel? Thought you were already aware that I changed my looks after you passed away. A corset wouldn't fit a skat-

"No, not your exposed midriff!" He shouted at me, while I was poking at my navel with one index finger to confirm that I wasn't a clone of myself.

The denim? I checked the weather forecast. It's not going to rain. But if that worries you, I'm taking a disguised Sa-

"Screw the denim! Not that!" He didn't let me show him my new red umbrella, shaped like a big heart.

Roman, listen. I may legally be an adult in both, Zenith and Remnant, but a girl is always allowed to wear hearts in her clo-

"The colors of the attire! They scream Neopolitan... YOU!" I breathed with relief, once he told me he didn't mind the hearts.

Oh, that. I will use my semblance to turn the pinks into reds, while I get to my secret training location.

Not like I was eager to. Red reminded me of Ruby, Cinder, and Salem, but that was the only color other than pink that fit well the heart motif.

"Then why you didn't make a white and red skating outfit since the start!?"

…

I stood there, surprised by his remark. He kept pointing at me with one of his gloved hands.

If I feel like it, I will later explain. Let's go!

I activated Overactive Imagination to turn the pink parts of my outfit into reds, grabbed my fingerless, brown leather gloves, and opened the door to exit my apartment.

Skating through the disgusting hallway and crossing the doors that led to other crappy apartments, I went straight to the decrepit-looking elevator door.

Supposedly they finally managed to repair that obsolete elevator. It had been out for weeks now.

A motor started sounding in the distance. The elevator appeared to be moving down since it was now on one of the upper floors. My apartment was on the eighth floor of the 20-story building.

" I will go flying through the floors, while you take the stairs." Noticing that the elevator was taking too long, despite its motor making so much noise, I pushed the button to call it several times.

The hell, did it jam again?

A horrible and loud metallic sound came from the upper floors. Roman and I covered our ears.

"NEO, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?"

Me!? Nothing, I only pushed the going down button once!

While I defended myself from his false and baseless accusations, the horrible metallic sound stopped. I saw through the windows of the elevator entrance that something passed by fast. Really fast.

"Wasn't that-" Roman's question got interrupted by a loud explosion on the first floor that shook the entire building.

The elevator...

It fell.

•

Having no option but to use the stairs to go down, I relied on a technique that combined swaying my hips, bending my knees, and positioning my roller blades at a 45-degree angle each time I took a step down, to make it to the first floor.

If there had been more space, I could have used the handrails to slide down on my bu-

"Neo, are we moving to a nicer place?" Roman beat me to the entrance of the apartment building, due to his advantage of lacking a body.

Probably. Why the urgency? I tried no longer turning my head in the direction he was standing since people could notice me looking at empty spaces.

"I do not mind staying in places like this one, even when I was alive, but I think a girl with as many talents as you could afford a better apartment." His compliment likely made me blush a little bit.

Bianchi offered me a good hotel room in Lumini Tower, but you know I cannot live in places that have surveillance systems installed. Neglected or seedy places forgotten by authorities suit me best.

"... Yeah, I suppose." Roman unenthusiastically answered.

Anyway, it's time to test out my new skating attire that I've been working on for weeks!

I headed to the street, activating the wind shards to skate faster.

Copper Suburb was what Zenitheans called a subzone, or underground city district, where people of lower classes lived. Built with cheap materials and in a hurry, Copper Suburb was meant to combat the problem of population density in this region on U.N.N.M. It reminded me of the underground portion of Glenn City, except people managed to make this residential area last, thanks to Zenithean forces wiping off most of the regional land Grimm decades ago.

Even in this world, they have Grimm problems, but unlike Remnant, they have managed to control most of them or keep them at bay.

"What was Zenith's population again?" Roman asked while I passed a block with an ugly-looking apartment complex.

Close to 7 billion. Several times the population of Remnant.

Zenith's 15,000 kilometers diameter helped, but in some nations, the population density was a major problem. If I remember correctly my lessons with Aurelia, Remnant was a smaller planet in comparison, so I didn't want to imagine what would happen if one were to put 7 billion Zenitheans in my home world.

Most buildings, like the one I was currently living in, looked like a rusted monolith of the past, especially when hit by the morning and setting sun. It was hard to think my place wasn't even 20 years old. Pavement roads filled with cracks and bumps made it tricky and difficult for someone to get around here with a car. The few public transportation available in the streets of Copper Suburb were small and outdated streetcars with tramways.

The suburb thankfully counted at least with open areas, domes, and roofs made of translucent materials that allowed underground citizens to get some sunlight or see the night sky. So, it wasn't all bad. However, this made more than one fill with envy when looking at the upper levels and Cloud City in the distance. This served as a constant reminder to the inhabitants of Copper Suburb that they couldn't afford to live even at surface level.

If Cloud City was where most of the real social elites and ultrarich lived, then areas like Bright City could be considered appropriate for the upper and lower middle classes, while subzones, such as Copper Suburb, were for poor people and the working class that didn't earn much at their jobs.

"It's pretty much like Atlas and Mantle, but worse." Roman manifested to glance at a building with cracks on its walls, which had its inhabitants recently evicted by law enforcers.

At least the less favored in Remnant lived on the surface. They had access to fresh air or sunlight without problems.

Surveillance systems in Copper Suburb were also lacking, so the crime rates in this area were high. It wasn't unusual to find deceased persons now and then in the middle of the streets, victims of crimes that took place late at night.

Personally, Liz already had suffered 3 kidnapping and 4 robbery attempts. Plus, other types of crimes attempt to put it nicely, within only 3 months. The people who tried to hurt her ended up knocked out, stabbed, or with several of their bones broken.

"You go, girl! Assert dominance!" Roman cheered for me, standing next to a traffic light that turned green.

As much as I hated it, I now and then helped kids or women when in trouble. Not because I wanted to be seen as a paragon of justice (screw that!), but rather because it was infuriating to constantly witness no one helping others when attacked by gangs or extorted by the local mob. Girls and women had it particularly bad, for sad reasons.

"To avoid attention, it's good that you switch disguises when assisting others, but I get the feeling that as a fake cop, you have ironically stopped more crimes than the average Copper officer." Roman said as he was faking being a passenger on a streetcar, moving parallel to me.

Like in Vale, most authorities around here were either corrupt, poorly equipped and trained, or plain cowards that didn't do shit when a crime took place. Their low numbers also didn't help the average Copper citizen. Although, that was a good thing for me.

During the day, things were fortunately way calmer and safer. A sense of community spread around Copper Suburb at these hours and Liz had become part of it to a degree. It wasn't unusual for people to recognize Liz and say hi to her.

I continued skating towards one of the suburb's exits, as the streets became crowded with people taking subways and elevators to their working places, either in the suburb, neighboring cities, or at upper levels.

Jumping over fences, dodging and maneuvering around people and streetcars, skating down sets of stairs by gliding on their handrails, or simply jumping over them, and turning around corners by hooking my umbrella's handle to streetlights, I reached the end of a road that led to a 25-meter fall. But it was okay since this was my shortcut.

Without slowing down I skated out of the road, to open my umbrella in time to glide down to the road that led to the piers. The activated wind shards on my skates helped to impulse me forward as I gracefully descended.

"Show off." Roman snarked at me, as I landed next to a bench he was sitting on.

•

Copper Amusement Park was surrounded by infamy. It had been abandoned around 1 year ago, due to a terrible incident.

In theory, the waters around Copper Suburb counted with protective sea barriers and walls, so Grimm wouldn't get close to the beach and pier areas. Sadly, the regional mayors back then had decided to cheat costs and build them with cheap materials, so that part of the funds destined for the construction project went straight into their pockets.

During a stormy night, a Feilong crashed against one of the sea walls, leaving a hole big enough for several smaller Grimm to enter through it. This went undetected for days because maintenance and security personnel costs for the barriers had also been cut due to unknown reasons during the previous year.

Among the Grimm that breached into Copper's waters were Mermaids, who one day sang their songs to hypnotize the amusement park and beach's visitors, making them jump into the waters and... Well, anyone can figure out how the rest played out.

The pier and beach were now off-limits to anyone who didn't have a semblance that turned them invisible.

"No matter the world, the rich don't care for the poor, especially politicians. We are only votes to them." Roman glanced at the abandoned amusement park, as he turned on a cigar.

Supposedly, the recently elected mayors, including City Cloud's Charlie Byron, had promised to reinforce or rebuild (if necessary) the defensive barriers, so that Copper's waters were safe once more and they could reopen this area.

"Let's see if the new guys deliver and don't turn out to be another bunch of rats." Roman skeptically replied to my thought, as I crossed the park's entrance gate.

The good thing is that for now, I got my training grounds.

I had decided to exterminate the Grimm in the amusement park to "assert dominance", but the problem persisted. If the sea barriers weren't fixed or improved, then more Grimm breach incidents were bound to happen.

Walking into a circus tent with some tears here and there made by strong winds, I finally deactivated my semblance. My pinks were visible again, including the one in my right eye.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today we have a very special show for you. This is a performance that you don't want to miss. A spectacle never seen before in Zenith, courtesy of Remnant's greatest and most beautiful entertainer. The one and only girl from another world, Neopolitan!" Roman was already waiting for me, acting as a ringmaster and shouting to the empty benches, while goofing around with his cane and hat.

I skated around the circus ring, performing pirouettes, flips, salchow, and axel jumps, to finish by placing myself in front of Roman, who pretended to grab my hands as I stood with an attitude effacée derrière pose.

…

I'm so going insane.

•

For an hour I practiced making several accurate constructs by going over the notes in my Imaginarium Encyclopaedia, which contained the names, profiles, personalities, weapons, special characteristics, power stats, and fighting style descriptions of subjects I found interesting enough to disguise as or make constructs of.

"You can be such a nerd sometimes, Neo." Roman said amazed, after I pulled out the bloc of notes from my backpack. We sat on one of the audience's benches to check together the encyclopedia I had finally built enough courage to show him.

Reviewing and memorizing what I wrote in my 'notebook' during my first year in Zenith helped me to faithfully recreate effective constructs of the people I could no longer see in Remnant.

"Ruby Rose. Huntress of Beacon Academy, captain of Team RWBY, wielder of Crescent Rose, and owner of the Petal Burst semblance. She possesses the mystical Silver Eyes that allow her to fulminate almost any Grimm, although she can only momentarily petrify high-ranked ones, such as level 3 Leviathans." Roman read one of the first and most sizeable entries in my encyclopedia.

I still have no idea to this date what exactly are the silver eyes or where they come from, but at least I was aware of its effects on Grimm thanks to Cinder.

"Daughter of Team STRQ's Summer Rose and Taiyang Xiao Long. Sister of Yang Xiao Long." As he read, I summoned a construct of Atlesian Ruby Rose in front of us, who adorably looked at her boots, adjusted her corset, and turned around to show us her red cape.

I researched Team STRQ after you passed away, to learn more about my target of vengeance.

"Bubbly, idiotic, vibrant, optimistic, and hyperactive personality. She's a pure and naïve girl with a strong sense of justice that values a lot her teammates. Good at improvising fighting tactics, although still unreliable at it. Obnoxiously persistent in her beliefs, which at worst has caused problems to her friends and made her lose important potential allies..."

Roman paused his reading.

"Wow, you still hate Little Red." My Ruby construct got visibly angry at me when he said this.

I don't hate her anymore... A lot. I'm being objective. Continue reading.

"And at best has saved the lives of several citizens across multiple kingdoms... Well, not like any of that will matter, if The Zodiac gets to Remnant." Roman added an evil omen to the entry, while fake Ruby displayed fear on her face.

Fortunately for Ruby and co., it didn't look like The Zodiac knew about Remnant's existence. I thought that for now, they were safe from any danger of getting attacked by Zenitheans, unlike myself.

"Height: 1.62 meters approx. Age: 17 years old. Pale white complexion. Left-handed. How did you figure all this out? I didn't know the latter." Neither did my construct, since she was staring closely at her left hand.

Good observation skills. Plus, for a time I had access to Beacon's archives thanks to Cinder hacking the academy's computers.

I studied only the documents of persons who looked important or useful enough to summon during intense combats.

"Alignment: Neutral Good. Strength: C, Intelligence: C+, Reflexes: B, Dexterity: B, Speed: A, Aura: C+, Semblance: B. Hey, you ripped off this parameter system from those tabletop and video games you forced me to play all the time with you!" Roman and Ruby gave me a look of disapproval.

Blame my parents for getting me addicted to them. I had no option!

"You even have colored drawings of Ruby in different outfits." Hand-drawn illustrations complemented each entry.

I summoned two more Ruby Roses. One wore her Mistralian outfit, and the other wore the dress from The Breach incident. The three constructs stared at each other in amazement.

… Ah, well. You know, for a time I was shamefully obsessed with killing her, so... I may have spied on her more than any other person I met.

"..." Roman opened his mouth so wide, he dropped his imaginary cigar.

I know, I know. Thankfully, those days are over.

Although I couldn't say these current days were better.

Too bad I lost my scroll and my original notes during the destruction of Atlas and Ever After. I did my best to rewrite as many profiles as I could and redraw the appearances of the many persons I met during my lifetime in Remnant.

"Weiss's has many beautiful illustrations and a long description." Tired of checking Ruby's entry, Roman had made me turn the pages to other Remnant inhabitants' profiles.

I replaced Atlesian Ruby with Mistralian Weiss since that one wore my favorite outfit of hers. She adjusted her wedge heels before giving us a curtsy.

Between you and me, she's my favorite Team RWBY member. And the number of pages isn't only because of her pretty dresses, but also because of her complex semblance.

The two Ruby constructs hugged Weiss as the latter blushed.

"She's a respectable pick, probably my second choice, but I'm more of a Yang man." I turned Mistralian Ruby into a Yang wearing the outfit from our first fight. She displayed proudly her still flesh and bone right arm...

Honestly, I felt lazy to make a Yang construct with her robot arm because of all the details on it.

Roman gestured for me to turn the pages to my original disguises section.

"Mint, The Sadistic Huntress. A little bitc- let's skip that. She may look slu- will also skip this. Mint tends to stomp in others' faces and ba- Neo, I'm surprised you got such a vulgar side!" Roman was left perplexed by one of my favorite entries. I used my semblance to disguise as Mint.

It helps me get into character. I was Mint while you were under arrest by the Atlesian army. She almost got Cinder's team disqualified due to numerous fouls during the Vytal Festival. No regrets.

"Beryl, The Star of the Night. A classy bouncer and waitress who has worked at The Schnee Manor and Bianchi's. Beloved in the interweb thanks to videos that have gone viral among Zenitheans." Roman read another entry that got his attention, while I disguised as Beryl.

Sadly, I have to say goodbye to her. You know why.

I unsummoned my constructs and disguise to continue turning the pages to Zenith's section. My plan tonight was to start Phoebe's entry, once I returned to my apartment.

"Whoa, you drew The Zodiac's bunny girl as adorable as Penny and as beautiful as Pyrrha!" I ignored his remark by quickly turning more pages before I started to lose control of my emotions.

"Wait, Neo! What's wrong, I wasn't still done with- Oh, this wolf guy looks more imposing than Ironwood and scarier than Salem." I stopped at the entry of the second Zodiac member by accident.

He's the one who killed The Blacksmith and used me as bait to achieve that nefarious deed.

The personality and actions of a person could impact my impressions and illustrations of them. I felt uncomfortable remembering that, so I continued turning the pages.

"What a gorgeous noblewoman!" Roman whistled, seeing a Migdal blonde beauty in an aristocratic green dress. I rubbed my forehead with three of my fingertips, which worried him. "Neo, are you okay?"

She's Milady. I met her during my first months in Zenith. I will tell you about her one day.

With a smile, I continued turning the pages to the last sections dedicated to Grimm, Ever Afterans, and vehicles.

"Monstra." He was certainly impressed by the size comparisons of Salem's flying whale.

I kinda feel bad for tricking Salem and Ozpin into blowing him up.

While terrifying at first, Monstra surprisingly wasn't such a bad living location, outside of his annoying heartbeats. It had bigger sleeping areas than my current apartment. And Salem had the decency to create openings across its body that allowed air currents to flow through it. No ACs were necessary.

"..." While Roman awkwardly looked at me, I continued turning the pages of the Imaginarium Encyclopaedia.

"The Blacksmith. From what you have told me she, sorry, they seemed like a nice individual. A shame those Zenith bastards got them."

Zodiac, Roman. But... yeah.

Not wanting to add more, I continued turning the pages before sadness took over, till we made it to the Monoliths, Minotaurs, and Ranran.

"Damn, those things look tougher and more powerful than any weapon back in Remnant."

I closed my encyclopedia with a deep breath.

That's why I need to keep training. To escape from The Zodiac and these things.

"Right. It's not what you have to gain, it's that you can't afford to lose."

•

"Listen to me, buffoons. You don't like me, and I don't like you, but we gotta work together so that my partner can survive in this cruel world." Acting like an angry drill sergeant, Roman talked to my Pyrrha, Ruby, and Adam constructs. A combination that I named Team Scarlet.

I had a problem. A very big and horrific problem. I suffered from a certain complication after landing in this world.

Overactive Imagination was far from being as powerful and easy to use as back in Ever After. I could no longer summon more than 3 constructs at once. To make matters worse, controlling them simultaneously became again very difficult to do so. Outside of Roman, my constructs were far from being independent and clever enough without me commanding almost every single one of their actions. They also could no longer talk, so using them to voice my thoughts was impossible.

Before, I struggled a lot poorly imitating their respective semblances or elemental magic, now that was simply nonviable. The only consolation was that at least I could still mimic the effects of dust, but that came at the expense of my aura level. I could have Ruby Rose shoot a fire bullet with her Crescent Rose, but its elemental effect would be inferior to one of a real dust bullet.

Add to the above, that constructing complicated stuff, like the little manor I made based on my house in Ever After, was no longer possible. Back then, it had taken me a couple of hours to build that thing. Now, I could no longer finish it within a day, before it started to vanish and I ran out of aura. I could do some big projections, but only if they were hollow inside or weren't as dense as the real deal, such as a Mistralian airship. And if I managed to build projections of vehicles, these weren't functional, so I couldn't pull crazy stuff like summoning Malachite's Bullhead to fly around Zenith and shoot missiles at my enemies. Then again, even in Ever After, such a complicated thing wasn't feasible.

To put it simply, I got severely nerfed.

I'm so screwed! I couldn't even defeat the bunny girl with my enhanced semblance, much less now!

As I anxiously grabbed my head, the Pyrrha construct put her hand on my shoulder to console me.

Thanks, Pyrrha. Despite everything, you were always the one I least hated among JNPR+O.

"Neo, she isn't real." Roman scolded me for letting myself be fooled by my illusion.

Ah, right- You're one to talk!

…

I really should ban myself from using that phrase.

•

"The timing was slightly off. Try again." Roman said with the tone of an instructor. I was trying to pull off a coordinated team attack, by synchronizing myself with the moves of my three constructs.

For 30 minutes I had been trying to pull off a specific difficult team move. It consisted of Adam throwing his spinning sword and Pyrrha her rounded shield from opposite directions simultaneously, to force the target to defend from their 'projectiles'. The trick was that both constructs threw their weapons from an angle that would make it likelier for the target to consider either stopping their weapons with both of his hands or dodging them by moving backward, that's when Ruby would enter, landing from above while spinning with her Crescent Rose.

Even if the target were to dodge the projectiles and stop Ruby's scythe, I would follow the team's move by revealing myself after turning invisible and attacking any available opening, with Pyrrha using her rifle, Miló, to provide cover.

Roman was my current practice target since there was no danger of wounding him. He usually dodged backward and stopped Ruby's scythe, allowing Pyrrha to gun him down or myself to land an attack with my umbrella. Other times, he surprisingly managed to dodge both projectiles and perform an extra spin or jump to dodge Ruby's scythe, which made it essential for me to perfectly coordinate with Pyrrha's shots so that we could still get a chance to 'land' one hit on him.

It was with the last scenario that I struggled. It was impossible to tell how Roman would counter or dodge the move every time I used it against him.

The point was to think of as many countertactics as possible that the target could pick and come up with a way to surpass them all. I needed to consider that even coordinated team attacks are susceptible to modifications on the fly, depending on the flow of the battle or the enemy's course of action.

Adapting quickly to an unpredictable opponent was my goal.

His most impressive defensive maneuver was when he dodged backward the projectiles and swiftly spun to avoid Ruby's scythe. When I thought it was time for me to show up and attack him, he simulated using the end of his gun cane, Melodic Cudgel, to fire at exactly where I was going to attack from, forcing me to cover by opening my umbrella. If the real Roman had shot me, that would have meant the explosion of his dust bullet sending me backward.

"Remember to rely on Pyrrha's Miló." He was correct.

I got too excited and forgot this time that Pyrrha could have shot at Roman, while I approached him. If Pyrrha had shot at Roman in a way that forced him to position his weapon's barrel away from me, then I could have still had a chance to land a hit.

Damn it!

I made a stupid mistake at that moment. I also forgot that subconsciously whenever I got angry and gripped strongly my weapon, my constructs performed a similar action. In this case, Ruby had one of her fingers on Crescent Rose's trigger. She shot a bullet.

Unfortunately, the end of her scythe gun was pointed at Pyrrha's chest.

NOOO!

The bullet went straight for her heart. As she fell, I quickly ran and slid in her direction, to catch her before she hit the ground.

Come on, stay with me! Don't you dare to die!

Her body started to crack. She wasn't going to make it.

Pyrrha!

Her body broke into shiny red particles, till they vanished in the air and only one remained in my right hand.

Just when we were starting to become friends. Even in this world, your cruel fate refuses to change.

"SHE WASN'T REAL! JUST BUILD ANOTHER PYRRHA!" My imaginary friend scolded me from behind.

•

After an hour of practicing with Team Scarlet (which now counted with Pyrrha III), I removed the metal frames and soul mates from my dust skates and shifted into practicing Aura Boost, since there was still some time left before my lunch break.

It turned out that the technique used by the annoying rabbit girl during our encounter was indeed common knowledge in Zenith. But after researching and watching tutorial videos on the interweb about it, I had also learned that even among Zenith's massive population, not many aura-users could master it to such an insane degree as her.

Using Aura Boost to increase momentarily my aura level by 10% was already difficult. I was also far from boosting it to the point of breaking the ground beneath me or damaging my surroundings as she did in Ever After. Mastering Aura Boost for it to be comparable to Yang and Jaune's semblances was just unachievable for me.

Most of these tutorials are stupid! They say that all I have to do is to scream and raise my aura level.

I complained while attempting in vain to perform Aura Boost in the center of the circus ring.

"Maybe if you could do the former, the technique would work better." Roman taunted me with fake advice.

Not a good time for jokes! And think about it. If Aura Boost was that simple to activate, everybody back in Remnant would be using it in fights. There's got to be a trick.

My concern was that multiple tutorials stated that most people who awakened their auras immediately could try mastering this technique. Kids not even 10 years old could perform basic Aura Boost to increase their power level by 30%.

During my first year at Zenith, I had tried to perform it many times, only to increase my aura level by 15% at best, according to an app installed on my holodial.

"15% isn't bad. Many persons at Remnant would love to achieve even that." Roman looked at my rectangular holodial placed on a nearby bench.

A 15% aura boost meant nothing against enemies that put Maidens and Salem to shame.

That also worries me. What if persons from Remnant cannot master it as efficiently as Zenitheans? What if people here have something in their genes that those in my home world lack? Maybe we aren't the same species at all.

[A shining pink parasol in the middle of a storm.]

… No, back then I'm sure I did something unusual. Maybe I need to change my approach.

BOOST! AAAAAH! ACK, ACK, ACK! WAAAAAAH!

"What are you doing?" Roman asked, eyes wide open in shock.

Maybe shouting inside my head will do the trick!

GrrrRAAAGH! HnnnNLAAAAAAH!

"Stop! You are going to pop a vein or give yourself a hernia!" I was sweating and needed to catch my breath, so I did as the figment of my imagination fearfully advised.

This was futile. I was never going to pull it off by myself. Either I was doing something wrong without noticing it, or I couldn't dominate Aura Boost due to being from Remnant.

There were other things I hadn't managed to investigate that the bunny mentioned, such as Apex Semblances, so perhaps getting access to an academy would help me figure out more about this world than searching through the interweb.

But as much as I wanted that, it's not like I could go to a combat school. If I ever used my semblance or undid my disguise by accident in front of others while training rigorously, that would blow my cover.

I hate to admit it, but I need some guidance. I may have hit a wall training by myself.

"Don't tell me you still want to enter a fighting academy or hire a private tutor. I already told you that it's too risky. Besides, there's nothing wrong with being self-taught. Look at me, I turned out okay." The guy that never unlocked a semblance and got eaten by a random monster bird declared proudly, raising his chest and hitting it with his palms.

Sparring partners I don't need to summon or control would also be welcome.

"Well, good luck finding someone that will not deliver you to the authoriti-" A 'song' interrupted Roman while he was trying to warn me.

Not again. They seriously need to fix the sea barriers already.

"Seems you are getting sparring partners after all. Lucky you." As Roman turned to look at the entrance of the tent, I started to lose control of my senses.

"Mermaid Grimm detected your aura. Control your emotions and don't listen to their song." Roman tried to give me courage. Before I lost consciousness, I summoned a pair of soundproof earplugs to stop listening to the song.

The same countermeasure as the one used against Honey Wine, right?

If I had taken a few more seconds, I would have gotten completely hypnotized, even with my aura still activated. People who still had not unlocked their aura or failed to cover their ears in time were completely helpless against the effects of a Mermaids' song.

"You still remember my sad love story?" Roman laughed a bit. Since he was an imaginary friend inside my head, I still could hear his comments.

I visited her before I ended up here.

"Don't tell me you..." He nervously tried to grab me by my shoulder to ask me about Honey's fate, but I ran towards my backpack and prepared my umbrella.

Relax, I didn't kill her, I only trashed her club and threatened to burn her if she didn't tell me how to find Lil' Miss Malachite.

That's one of the few flaws of his that I secretly disliked. How he always got overly attached to eye-candy females. Roman was the kind of man who would forgive a femme fatale, even if she tried to kill him. Although maybe that weakness of his was the reason we managed to get along since the first time we met.

"No, in your case it was different. You were always good in my eyes." Roman casually threw around a compliment that stopped me in my tracks.

...

Just give me some advice or a plan, if you can come up with one.

I needed to focus on the enemies approaching the entrance.

2.5 meters long. The lower half of a skeletal fish, with hard bones that protected its black body. The upper half of a humanoid figure, reminiscent of an Imp Grimm, but smaller in size and with blue tentacles made of water dust instead of horns. It counted with multiple water dust fins across its body, including a big one at the end of its fish tail. Its long arms possessed claws and fins, used to swim fast and cut its prey down.

It wasn't alone. 2 other Mermaid Grimm showed up.

I can handle this.

As I thought this, I noticed 2 Monsoon and 2 Mermen Grimm behind them. The former was a flying jellyfish Grimm like Salem's Seer, but with a body as big as an Ursa Major Grimm, without counting its 12-meter-long tentacles. The latter were pretty much 2.5-meter-tall humanoid fish monsters that could stand on their two legs and used their jaws and clawed hands to tear apart their victims.

7 basic level 1 Grimm. Still manageable.

"Neo, I died to a single level 1 Grimm! That's enough to kill 7 Romans!" My imaginary partner shouted and swung his cane desperately, till it pointed at the Grimm group.

I had found out the truth about his unfortunate demise back when I was in The Ascension Plane, looking at the memories stored within Melodic Cudgel in The Armory.

… I know it's selfish to ask you this, considering I failed you back during Beacon's Fall, but... Please, watch my back.

Without turning around to see him, Roman replied happily to me.

"It was me who failed to protect you. I let you fly away from my life, partner."

My aura was boosted the moment my dum-dum said this. The circus ring started to shake a bit and a pink flash briefly illuminated the place. The Grimm took a step back.

Before I knew it, I had summoned a Hound.

Probably not as powerful as the real one, but it's still a welcome help.

The Hound launched toward the Mermaid Grimm, biting fiercely the one in the middle on its neck. The dog wasn't letting the Mermaid go, as it shook it violently while increasing the pressure of its bite on the prey's neck.

The two other Mermaid Grimm, not letting themselves be intimidated by my construct, opened their mouths to shoot highly pressurized water at it. From what I investigated; they could cut down multiple steel sheets with that attack. To my surprise, The Hound managed to resist both attacks, as it finished breaking the neck and killing the Mermaid Grimm it bit, but its body showed some signs of cracking. The Mermen Grimm in the distance noticing this, raced in the direction of the circus ring.

It's more durable than I thought. Need to support it with more constructs.

I tried summoning 2 more Hounds, but it was taking me more aura and time than expected, so I reshaped the summoned shards and instead went for Team Scarlet, minus Ruby.

"Shouldn't you turn The Hound into Little Red to complete the team?" Roman questioned my improvised formation.

I don't want to dispel The Hound yet since it has wings one can use to catch those jelly idiots.

I commanded Adam and Pyrrha to go each for a Mermaid Grimm while I slightly shapeshifted The Hound's body into a more humanoid form so that it landed a strong punch on the Merman Grimm that was about to reach first the entrance to the circus ring. The blow was so strong, that the Merman was sent flying12 meters away, landing on an abandoned souvenir shop's rooftop. The other Merman clashed against my hound to begin a power struggle.

"2 down, 5 to go." As Roman celebrated, the souvenir shop exploded. From its broken rooftop, the Merman jumped 15 meters out of the shop and high into the air, till it landed on the circus tent and then into the ring, close to me. On its body's fins, it had stuck tacky amusement park flags, banners, and snapback hats.

"It's still alive!?" Roman, standing to my right, exclaimed with surprise.

Damn it! I made a mistake! Mermen aren't level 1 Grimm. They are level 2. On par with a Beringel!

It was the first time I fought Mermen. Previously, I had fought only level 1 Grimm, such as the Mermaids.

"Neo, what the hell!?" I started to prepare my umbrella.

I needed to act fast, while the flying speed of a Monsoon Grimm wasn't that impressive, they were going to reach the ring in less than one minute. I needed to lower their numbers before things got worse.

The Merman that landed close started swinging its claws at me. I used the umbrella to deflect its attacks, breaking its disguise.

"That's Sakura! The bunny girl's weapon!" My partner pointed in amazement to 'my' cherry blossom-themed umbrella.

I tried to tell you that earlier, but you interrupted me, dum-dum!

"Oh, sorry." He tried to apologize while I parried the Merman's claws.

Due to Merman distracting me, I was only able to command well The Hound construct, which was locked in an intense battle position against the second Merman. The problem was that taking advantage of this, one of the Mermaids was about to crack the Adam construct, while Pyrrha got pushed behind, barely able to survive a hit from a Mermaid's tail by using her shield. She landed near the Merman attacking me.

"You need to prioritize killing the Merman attacking you first. This is a chess game in which you are both, Queen and King. You cannot fall." Roman made the motion of wanting to shoot at the Merman with his gun cane.

To summon you, I need to swap you with either Pyrrha or Adam, but the latter is about to break, while the former is... Wait!

Noticing that Pyrrha was close to my opponent's position, I swung faster Sakura, to keep the Merman busy and distracted. The Mermaid was about to shoot at her a pressurized water attack.

I commanded Pyrrha to run towards the Merman attacking me, while the Mermaid shot water at her. The attack soon reached Pyrrha's body. Or at least that was supposed to happen.

Using the same tactic I improvised against the vultures last night, I positioned the Merman between my Pyrrha construct and myself. The Mermaid took a shot, thinking that at least she was going to destroy my Pyrrha, but what she didn't account for was that I dematerialized her body, by reducing the amount of aura I was using to sustain her physical presence. The Pyrrha that received the attack was just an incorporeal projection, so the pressurized water went through her and landed on the Merman's back.

Realizing its mistake, the Mermaid ceased her water shot, but the Merman had already received plenty of damage on its back.

Pyrrha, attack it now!

I provided enough aura once more for her to have a physical body. Using her weapon in javelin mode, she landed an attack on the opened Merman's wound. As it screamed, I jumped and stuck Sakura into its mouth. I opened the canopy and activated quickly its stored wind dust shards. What happened next... It wasn't pretty at all.

"Neo, you have played too many violent games." Roman looked with a disgusted face at the vanishing body of the Merman that now lacked a head.

Shut up, video games aren't to blame for my sadism. Blame it on society.

As I exchanged replies with Roman, I heard a cracking sound. My Adam construct had been destroyed by the Mermaid it was fighting.

Ok, Roman. You're next. I will give you a mission.

I provided my imaginary friend with a physical body through my semblance.

When I distract the Mermaids and Monsoons, run outside and turn on as many rides as possible!

"Got a plan?" Roman rightfully questioned me, as he gained physical presence.

No, but we will think of something eventually, right?

I shrugged at him.

"This goes against everything I taught you, but fine." Roman sighed and waited for my signal.

Roman. Pyrrha. Cover me!

The former pointing at one of the Mermaids with his gun cane, and the latter pointing at the second one with her sniper rifle, started to shoot at both, while I ran to my Hound's back.

I had ordered it to shapeshift its body, now to its flying mode. Manifesting a saddle on its back, I landed on it, while I commanded him to ignore the remaining Merman and fly toward one of the Monsoon Grimm. Both of us flew out of the circus tent, dodging the tentacle attacks of our target.

The Hound managed to rise and tackle the main body of the Monsoon closest to the tent, making it fall in the middle of a teacup ride, while the Merman and second Monsoon proceeded to move in our direction.

Now is your chance, Roman. I will have Pyrrha cover you.

"You better know what you are doing!"

I don't!

Roman started running to exit the circus tent as I continued flying with The Hound, to assess the situation from above and think of a plan quickly.

The Merman was climbing on the local 24-meter-tall Ferris wheel, probably to attempt jumping from a high point and bring me down, while the Monsoon flew slowly at me. Once the latter got close enough, its fast tentacles would start attempting to hit me. We still had time, before I was within their range.

Wait, who says I need to kill all the Grimm? I'm not team RWBY nor a huntsman. I can fly away to safe-

…

[A wounded blacksmith protecting me.]

"NEO, YOU ARE FALLING!" Roman's shout inside of my head made me react in time. I almost lost consciousness.

My Hound had been attacked by a water projectile fired by the Merman's mouth. I didn't know that they could shoot with it anything within a 50-meter range, once they built up enough energy to perform that technique. Thought I was flying high enough to dodge all their attacks, but I was wrong.

My construct and I continued falling. Realizing that I was close to an activated ride, I changed Sakura into Hush to grab something with its handle.

...

"Em, Neo? Am I looking right? Are you hanging to a... Swing ride's chair!?"

I couldn't think of anything else!

The worst part is that it wasn't a normal swing ride, but rather one spinning fast around a central tower that could reach an altitude of 50 meters at its climax. The tallest ride in the park.

ROMAAAAAAN!

I tried to hold back my tears. My Hound fell into a haunted house, crashing through its roof. It was up to me to somehow go down while being chased by Grimm and the swinging ride going up.

"Look at the plus side, now you are a moving target difficult to hit." Roman tried to console me, as I was spinning on the swing tower at nearly 40 kilometers per hour. But its speed and altitude kept increasing.

I wanted to ascend, but not this way!

"Should I stop the ride?" Roman waited for instructions.

And leave me hanging up here!?

As I furiously and panicky replied, the swing tower shook. Something was wrong, very wrong.

"Shit! The Merman is trying to destroy the ride's tower with its water projectile! Neo, you don't have time for the ride to end!" Roman warned me, as he revealed the cause of the ride's malfunction.

Why does this keep happening to me!?

I needed to fall, the problem was that if I used Hush or Sakura to slow down my descent, that would reduce me into an easy target for the Merman and Monsoon's attacks. If I fell fast... Well, no need to explain the problem with taking that route. My helmet and knee pads weren't enough to soften the impact.

"Neo, you aren't going to believe me, but remember the first Monsoon you attacked?" He sounded optimistic, I needed to find out why.

The one that fell into the teacup ride, what about it?

"All its tentacles are stuck on the activated revolving teacups. It's trying to fly in your direction, as you attract it with your fear, but it cannot fly away from the Tea Party of Madness ride. Its main squishy body is perfectly locked in place."

I confirmed what he told me while the swing tower ride reached its peak.

Fuck it, let's do it!

"Whoa, you agreed too fast! I thought you were going to hesi-"

I don't have any other idea, okay!? Might as well die trying something!

I interrupted Roman while I calculated my current speed and tried to think of a plan to course-correct any mistake I could commit in the next few seconds.

Ha! I'm truly the worst!

"Neo?" Roman's puzzled voice tried to get a reply out of me, but I ignored it.

If everybody back in Remnant saw what I was planning to do, I would be the biggest laughingstock of my home world.

I will forever hate myself for this.

Hush's hook stopped grabbing the ride's seat. I began to fall.

As much as I tried to aim best at landing on the Monsoon's body trapped in the teacup ride, I could tell that I was going to miss my mark by a couple of meters. I couldn't open my weapon's canopy. Otherwise, the Mermar would shoot at me the moment I slowed down. So, I used my semblance to turn Hush into the weapon I needed for this situation.

Crescent Rose.

Invoking the scythe-gun upside down, I aimed its barrel to the ground and shot at it a fake wind dust bullet. I grabbed with extreme force its long handle so that the recoil corrected my falling course.

Regrettably, I will survive long enough for this moment to become another memory I want to forget.

As I landed with Crescent Rose still upside down on the Monsoon's squishy body, I shot another bullet, which pierced the Grimm's main body and killed it. Still, it didn't vanish, before I ricocheted into the air, falling into the circus tent nearby of the teacup ride.

I turned around Crescent Rose to cut the tent and landed on one of the two Mermaids trying to destroy my weakened Pyrrha construct. I aimed at the humanoid portion of the Mermaid and cut through its torso. The unprepared Mermaid didn't see this situation coming at all, and to be fair, neither did I.

As the other Mermaid Grimm turned around to see what was producing all the ruckus, I injected more aura into my Pyrrha construct to give her enough strength and speed to land a killing blow on its neck with her weapon in xiphos mode. Mermaids were slow when turning, due to their lower half being better adapted for aquatic movement.

My Pyrrha joyfully jumped around, as she requested a high-five from me.

Not today.

I rejected her with a deadpan expression, leaving her hand hanging as I walked toward the exit of the circus tent again.

"Neo did you just use Crescent Rose to get alive out of this one?"

Roman. Pyrrha. Let's keep this a secret between us. If you tell anyone what you just witnessed, I will kill you.

"..."

A water shot attempted to hit me as I exited the tent, but this time I saw the attack coming and opened Sakura's canopy to defend from it. Pyrrha followed closely behind me.

The activated ride next to the Merman is... That will work.

You will pay so badly for what you forced me to do!

I ran toward the Merman, increasing my intense anger with each step. Not resisting the call from all my negative emotions, the Merman began running in my direction.

He took the bait.

As the Merman and I were about to clash, The Hound crashed against one of the haunted house's walls, to come out and land a strong hit on the left side of the authentic Grimm. Since my construct was already weakened and the reaction of the impact was so strong, its punching arm broke, but at least it sent the Merman flying several meters to my left, where a swinging big pirate ship ride was about to complete a full rotation.

Once it descended, its bowsprit impaled the Merman Grimm, killing it.

"The fuck, Neo!? Well, since only a slow, flying Monsoon remains, guess we can escape now, before any-"

I ordered The Hound to fly and launch itself at the Monsoon Grimm. Once all its tentacles were too busy breaking what remained of my flying construct, I turned my head to Pyrrha, who nodded after understanding my intention.

After I turned Sakura into Hush, we threw our weapons at the big jellyfish Grimm in 'javelin' mode, fulminating it. I called back Sakura with 'my' AAIS bracelet.

Finally taking deep breaths to calm down, I dispelled all my constructs.

"The sadistic kills weren't necessary, but I'm glad we worked together and got along for once. If only we had crossed paths back in Remnant, under different circumstances. I'm sure you would have been a fine huntress." My Pyrrha construct kindly said, as she smiled and waved goodbye to me.

Wait, did you just talk?

…

My question didn't reach her before her entire body was dispelled, leaving behind shining red petals. I managed to grab only one in time with my left hand.

Roman, did you hear that?

"Hear what, Neo?" I heard Roman's voice confused inside of my head.

… Nothing.

It seemed I was going more insane with each passing day.

I walked to the circus tent to pick up my backpack, opening my encyclopedia to place Pyrrha's petal in the pages of her entry.

Thanks... And sorry for helping Cinder.

As I tried to understand what just happened and if it was real (or not), the holodial in my backpack produced a couple of sounds. It was the notification sound of text messages.

Debbie wants to see me at a restaurant!?

Staring at the screen of my holodial, I wondered if Roman would continue the conversation from before the Grimm attack and advise me to keep my distance from her.

Roman, you think I shall go?

…

Roman?

…

And he's gone again.

I started to pack my belongings, as I detected the sounds of patrol boats and guards approaching the pier. Even if I turned invisible with my semblance to escape, considering the mess I made today, I wouldn't find it weird if this was my last time training here.

Hopefully, they will reclaim this area. Even Copper families deserve more leisure activities.

•

After making it to Bright Island by taking a train from Copper Suburb, without stopping by my apartment due to lack of time, I used Overactive Imagination to disguise myself as Beryl inside a public restroom that lacked security cameras. Beryl's casual attire consisted of a mid-length and double-breasted, vanilla-colored trench coat, one white cotton sweater underneath, black casual pants, and white sneakers.

Situated close to Principal Park, I entered Bright Diner, a lunch car restaurant that served comfort and traditional food from this U.N.N.M region.

Most of its interior design relied on pastel blue and pink colors, which relaxed me enough to drop here with Debbie now and then during our breaks. Neon lighting, checkered flooring, a bar for non-alcoholic drinks, car-themed tables with seats, drink fountains shaped like dust dispensers, crazy decorations that looked like license plates or musical instruments from this world, and a shiny jukebox that played something called vinyl discs with music recorded on them, made up the interior of this place even more vibrant and unique.

Its menu had hamburgers, club sandwiches, hot dogs, fries, breakfast pancakes, and delicious desserts, such as ice creams, cakes, and milkshakes.

At least this planet can satisfy my sweet tooth.

Aware of my liking for sweets, Debbie had decided to invite me here at 1 pm (apparently that meant afternoon, in an ancient Migdal language used by the people that discovered Nuovo Mondo), to talk with me. She probably wanted to convince me to stay working at Bianchi's or at least explain the reason behind my abrupt departure. I had decided to accept her invitation, mostly to say goodbye to her in person.

Surprisingly, she had beat me to the place this time. I was usually more punctual than her.

"Good day, Beryl. Glad that you are here." Debbie signed to me, with a bright smile on her face.

She was sitting in the small waiting room by the restaurant's entrance. Debbie was dressed in blue jeans, a black sweater, and leather boots, had tied her hair into a ponytail, and was carrying a small leather handbag. This reminded me that I was still carrying the backpack with my Imaginarium Encyclopaedia and skates' metal frames and soul plates. I also still had Sakura, but it was disguised as a normal black umbrella.

"And good day to you, Debbie." I replied, before bowing to her.

•

If there was one positive that I had to give to this world it was that they came up with something called "universal sign language". Zenitheans used hand signs, gestures, and finger spelling to convey not only individual letters, but also words, phrases, and ideas. It was derived from an old system of symbols from Ryuutairiku which, unlike its writing system, took off and spread across the globe.

Since it was a language meant to be used mostly by persons with physical disabilities, I thought learning it during my stay in this world would be convenient. Not only because it would allow me to communicate with others even when I didn't have an aura or a holodial, but also because it would be suspicious for a mute person to be unaware of its existence and not use it. If I wanted to blend in, I needed to adapt to this world. Not that I hated the fact that I had a language available for persons like me.

They do think of the mute and deaf in Zenith. So that's why that rabbit could tell easily that I couldn't speak. To Zenitheans, mutes aren't strange.

Frankly, the only disadvantage I saw to this was that even in this world, very few people bothered to learn sign language, but I didn't mind that. The fact that there was a world out there that even considered inventing such a cool language system was way beyond what I could have ever expected.

Once I master universal sign language, one spoken Zenithean language, and get my own Lingua, I will be unstoppable! I will be able to travel to any Zenithean continent or nation without worrying about the language barrier.

•

Debbie and I sat together at one of those car-themed tables. While she ordered a sandwich and one soda, I decided to go with a hamburger and milkshake combo.

"Are you leaving then?" Debbie asked me with concern, while we were waiting for our orders to arrive.

"Yes. Sorry for quitting through holodial." I gave her an honest apology.

"Why so sudden? Vulture problems? The couple scared you off? Or problems with Bianchi's?" The last question made me think that Bianchi and Debbie blamed themselves for my sudden departure.

"With Bianchi's? No. No. No. Absolutely no. I like you all." I shook my head while sending my message.

I wasn't lying. I did feel comfortable working with them. Debbie started learning sign language because of me, and Bianchi, while having more complications than her, had also decided to do the same recently. I felt bad for letting them down like this, but it was for their good. I could feel the heat around the corner. It was a matter of time before The Zodiac and Bright Island's authorities came searching for me at their place.

But I couldn't tell her that.

"Trouble at home. Need to return. Before it's too late." I lied to Debbie, to calm her down. Or at least for Bianchi and her to stop blaming themselves. "

The couple is weird, but the girl was nice to me. Have not accepted yet their offer." That part wasn't a lie though.

"Leaving by my own choice." I decided to add with a smile.

"If there's something that's bothering you, you are free to tell me about it. I can keep a secret. You can trust me." She voiced and tried to sign those statements, to transmit her commitment. I could tell that she still was worried for me. She knew that something was up.

"Bianchi sent you a message. He told me if I got to see you to tell you this." She continued talking and signing but stopped to take out her holodial and read something.

"Beryl, thank you for working with us. I respect your decision and will not bother you by asking for details of your personal life. I will also not resent you for taking another job offer. Still, I want to let you know that I speak for most of us, if not everyone at Bianchi's, when I say that you will be always welcome in our place. Our doors are always open to you. Good luck in your future and again thank you for everything." She stopped reading Bianchi's text.

…

Unable to sign or text a response, I sat in complete silence. I could feel a lump in my throat. I knew what I had to do if I didn't want to get these people into big trouble. If something happened to them because of me, I would never be able to forgive myself. I didn't want Bianchi, Debbie, and others to end up dead like Roman and The Blacksmith due to my mistakes.

"Unlike Bianchi, I would sleep safer if you could tell me if someone or something is bothering you. Forgive me for insisting. If you decide to leave, then I have no problem, but I want to make sure that you will be okay, Beryl." Debbie placed her hands over mine. I forced myself to stay composed, not letting my emotions emerge. I took my hands away from hers to start signing once more.

"I am fine. I will be fine." I lied again, to protect her. I needed to keep my distance if I wanted them to be safe. I gave her a fake smile to ease her nerves.

Debbie briefly displayed some disappointment on her face. Whether it was at herself or me, I couldn't tell.

•

After being done with our orders and signing some more, we entered the last part of our 'conversation'. I decided to part ways with her once I left the restaurant, telling her I would always be available through holodial texting.

"Remember the day we met?" Debbie went back to signing.

"Yes, in Principal Park. 3 months ago. You got me my job after that." I still could remember it well.

I had made it recently to Bright Island, after escaping from Brick City. For some days, I worked as a street performer, taking advantage of a top hat and my semblance to perform magic tricks. I also used an umbrella, gymnastics, and juggled stuff to complement my magic dance acts. I wasn't doing that bad, but I was far from affording a decent place at Bright Island, so living in Copper Suburb was back then an economic necessity.

Since I usually came to drink and eat something at Bright Diner before returning to Copper Suburb close to midnight, I heard an altercation while crossing Principal Park to get to the train station.

It was Debbie, who was fighting her now ex-boyfriend. The latter had cheated on her, which I couldn't care less about, but while I was walking past them, I noticed that he pulled out a knife to threaten her. The worst part was that the few persons in the park at the time were all part of the same gang as her ex-boyfriend. Two of them held Debbie down, while her crazy ex was about to do something with his knife to her.

Before I knew it, I had used my semblance to turn into the same waitress I disguised as back at the Schnee Manor. Not bothering to find out what were the crazy ex's plans, I landed a kick on his skull. Before the others could process what went down, I was already using my performance tools to attack them.

I manifested a rock inside my top hat and swung it at their heads. I also relied on a disguised Sakura to deflect their attacks and land strong hits on them. Even broke a couple of bowling pins against their faces.

After that incident, we exchanged holodial numbers and she got me a job as a bouncer and waitress at Bianchi's.

"That night... why you saved me?" Debbie asked with a smile, probably remembering how the 'fight' played out.

"I hate jerks. I used to be bullied. That's all." Even I wasn't sure why I had done it, so I went with a simple explanation. For the most part, I don't think that was a lie.

Back in Remnant, it was usually me who was at the receiving end of pranks and bullying acts. And as Neo, I always fought back against such acts. It was part of my instinct.

Also, something about this world felt cruder and eviler, despite being technologically more advanced and civilized than Remnant. The way Debbie screamed and how those delinquents acted felt off. I couldn't just stand and let things play out. I could tell that they were about to do something unforgivable and too cruel.

Then again, I also did cruel stuff myself two years ago. Who am I to judge?

But to me it was simple. I knew I wasn't going to like what they were going to do with her. I had enough power to stop them, so I did.

"You need better taste in men." I signed to Debbie, who covered her face and replied with a chuckle.

For real, even Roman was more of a gentleman and nicer as a person than her ex, despite being a criminal kingpin. At least he only attacked huntsman and police forces, he never killed people or civilians without an activated aura himself, unless they were criminals from rival groups. That's why he prioritized stealing dust over taking Tukson's life and even forbade me from completing that 'task' on Cinder's behalf.

"I wanted to thank you again for that night. Wish I could have repaid you better, but all I did was get you into trouble with mobsters." Debbie's eyes started to turn red and tear up. Her voice was shaking.

Perhaps it was better for her to think that I was leaving because of a threat from the Vulture Family, so I didn't correct her. I grabbed her hands again since I didn't know how else to reply.

After an awkward moment of silence, I came up with an earnest reply.

"Thanks, for being nice to me. And for sitting and talking with me." I signed to her. Without saying anything, she rose from her seat and sat close enough to hug me.

It really is for the better to leave them. I cannot stay in this place much longer.

•

Before leaving the restaurant close to 3:00 pm, we exchanged some final messages. Debbie and I were now more in control of our emotions, and it was clear that nothing was going to change my mind about quitting Bianchi's.

"If things get ugly with The Vulture Family, Bianchi is considering paying them their new protection fees. So don't worry for us." Debbie wrote in her holodial.

Those vulture idiots.

I wondered if I could help them with that before leaving. Not wanting Debbie to figure out my intentions I replied to her.

"Your safety is important. Don't play hero or heroine. Tell also that to Bianchi." If the authorities let those mobsters continue threatening Bianchi's without any repercussion, that certainly would be suspicious.

"Is that an umbrella? The one from that night?" Debbie asked through sign language while staring at my belongings.

"… Yes, for protection." I purposely kept my answer short and vague, after all, those public announcements showed me using Hush during my fight against The Zodiac's bunny girl.

Debbie sat in silence, before verbally replying.

"Sorry, I was thinking of something, but it's probably my imagination playing tricks on me." Debbie smiled, as she stood up. She had already paid the full bill.

…

It's only a coincidence. Not even The Zodiac knows the name of my semblance. Do not scare me like that, Debbie.

Debbie needed to report at Bianchi's and I wanted to go back to Copper Suburb via the train station, so we went separate ways once we reached the edge of Principal Park.

"This is it." Debbie stopped walking to face me one last time. "Will take your advice about men and keep an eye on any book you write. Thank you, and goodbye."

She hugged me once more, as my heart was beginning to accelerate.

What's up with all the hugs in this world? Not even my parents hugged me this frequently. Only Roman and The Blacksmith didn't mind getting this close to me. And well, maybe also... No, that girl doesn't count. That likely was a ploy or act to deceive me.

I awkwardly returned her hug. It was the least I could do after all the favors she did for me and how badly I kept her in the shadows about my identity.

"Take care, Debbie. Same for everyone at Bianchi's." I signed to her one last time. She waved me goodbye, as I bowed to her, accentuating my farewell pose with 'my umbrella'.

In the end, I lost sight of her.

"Wouldn't have minded dating a girl as nice as her." Roman compli-

WHAT THE HELL, YOU WERE HERE THE ENTIRE TIME !?

"When did I say that I left?" Roman shrugged while sitting on a park bench.

DUM-DUM! That was supposed to be a private girls' talk... Well, meeting.

I almost lost my composure, but then reminded myself that from other persons' perspectives glaring with fury at an empty bench would be something that only an insane individual would do. I needed to pretend that I didn't see him in open spaces.

"You did the right thing, Neo. As painful as that was." Roman Torchwick, Vale's former kingpin, and most wanted criminal, praised the good moral act of Neopolitan, a terrorist that helped in the fall of multiple kingdoms and blew up her parents.

If it weren't for those stupid Zodiac monsters, I would have been able to ascend or live a new life in this world. Not to mention The Blacksmith and Ever After would be still around. I hate them!

I clenched my fists till I calmed down by taking deep breaths. I was an emotional mess now but needed to pretend otherwise. I didn't want to attract the attention of other park visitors.

"With these how many jobs has it been?" As I walked to cross the park, Roman followed me around. He also seemed frustrated that I couldn't settle down in one place.

•

Gigas Operator. Brick City, U.N.N.M.

Before getting to Bright Island, I had worked at the opposite end of U.N.N.M's continental landmass. Using forged documents and fake IDs, I landed a decently paid work at a construction site, which required me to 'drive' a Gigas. For this job, I wore a yellow helmet, one orange vest, and eye protection glasses. My hair was blonde, back then.

Gigas were 8-meter-sized robots that one could operate from its cabin, to carry around heavy materials or use big equipment for construction. Characterized by their yellow-colored with small black stripes, rectangular, heavy, and bulky bodies, Gigas were surprisingly not very hard to operate compared to a Paladin. They were very slow, which made it easy for me to correct any mistake from the cabin.

"See I told you that practicing on one of the Atlesian Paladins you stole would be worth it." Roman appeared in my memory of Brick City, wearing a construction worker uniform with a megaphone in hand, as he stood next to my Gigas.

This is my reminiscence. Please, don't interrupt.

The provisional training week that I accepted, and the tutorial videos I studied on the interweb, also helped me a lot.

I had searched for that specific job, mostly because I was envious of the bunny girl's Ranran and wanted to test the waters with Zenithean mechs.

"Also, because the granny that kicked your ass used a robot." Roman briefly made me remember Maria Calavera landing on my head.

...

Fine. My bad experience with Calavera back in Amity Arena also didn't help. I felt that if I wanted to stand a chance against The Zodiac or in general to move around, knowing how to operate this world's mechs wouldn't be such a bad idea. I needed to start somewhere eventually.

For a month I carried and moved around construction materials, along with performing drilling work with a Gigas that had a giant tool for that on one of its arms.

Everything was proceeding smoothly, till one day mysterious men wearing black coats came searching for me (well, for my false identity). They requested my boss to allow them to see me.

Sensing danger, I sent a construct of myself to greet them, just for it to be hit on the head out of nowhere and handcuffed.

Fortunately, my construct met them on the opposite end of the construction site, while I was hiding inside my Gigas. Turning it on, I dropped the construction materials it was still carrying around to destroy a bridge needed to get to the side I was working on, plus I made the Gigas block the access to a big sewer pipe that I used as an escape route once I stepped outside of its cabin.

"Their chances of capturing you went down the drain." Roman joked as he ran next to me in the dark sewer.

…

•

Assistant Librarian at Cynic Club. Anglia Level, Migdal.

Somehow, I had been lucky enough to get a relaxed and comfy job at one of the best levels in Migdal, Anglia. It consisted of helping the head of the library at Cynic Club.

The club for refined gentlemen had a particular set of very strict and weird rules, such as:

Members aren't allowed to interact or take notice of each other.

Members aren't allowed to talk and much less raise their voices.

Members need to turn off the sound and vibration mode of their holodials and other devices.

Multiple offenses of the previous rules will result in expulsion.

"A club for unsociable nerds. I wouldn't last even a day in such a place." Roman looked with contempt at a gentleman with glasses reading a newspaper, who was sitting on a comfortable leather chair.

Indeed, you love to be as loud as possible. Not even death can keep you quiet.

Learning universal sign language was a must for this job since that's how employees communicated efficiently with each other.

Written and holodial messages were also an option, but the head of the library hired me over others because of my ability to walk around as quietly as possible and being familiar to a significant degree with Anglia and sign language.

Organizing books correctly in the big library, keeping track of them with the help of a computer, and lending them to club members wasn't that hard. If anything, it seemed that the usual reason people got fired or didn't last as library employees was due to the 'no talking' rule being difficult to comply with. Even a single whisper or a small laugh was enough for one to get a strike.

"As if that were a problem for you, cheater." Roman manifested in the library, as I was wearing my librarian uniform (glasses, brown hair tied in a round bun, white shirt, gray vest, and black skirt) and ordering some books.

I will admit that I had an unfair advantage over most people when it came to it. Finally, my curse was turned into a blessing.

I got paid well enough to afford a practical apartment in a nice neighborhood in Anglia for a couple of months. Even met some curious individuals during my stay there... But disaster struck one day.

The morning I was about to leave my apartment to work at the club, I checked my mailbox and found a mysterious letter with no sender.

"You never told me the contents of the letter." He sat legs-crossed on my apartment table, trying to read the letter as I looked at it.

The letter was concise:

I know who you are. If you don't want me to deliver you to the authorities, you better do as I say. Today, at [REDACTED] go to [REDACTED]. The person wearing a red coat and blue beret will deliver you a package. His security question will be 'Where do you recommend me to travel for a holiday?'. You tell him 'I heard Rychenbachfall is lovely this time of the year'. Once you get the package, take it to the Cynic Club and leave it at the library before noon.

"There's so much wrong with that letter."

Whatever that person wanted me to deliver, it probably wasn't a good thing.

"I meant the part that you wouldn't have been able to say the secret password."

Yeah, so much for knowing who I am.

I decided to play it safe and not be used as a tool for a possible terrorist attack (once again in my life), so I exited my apartment through a secret passage and while disguised as a paperboy, gave the letter to the landlady of 221A William Street, partially explaining my situation in a sidenote, before leaving Anglia forever.

"Why that address?" He questioned me, as I ran away as fast as I could from the apartment after delivering the letter.

The brother of the Cynic Club's co-founder lived there, and it was close to mine. Judging by the lack of bad news involving the club, everything turned out fine. Either it was all a prank, or they managed to find the culprit.

I never learned the truth behind that letter.

•

Low Altitude Plane Pilot. Philippos.

Before making it to Migdal and after leaving Ryuutairiku, I worked at a container port in Philippos. A tropical archipelagic nation, located southeast of Ryuutairiku's mainland. My job was to fly a low-altitude airship to move containers between the international port and the rest of Philippos.

I wore an aviator jacket and helmet. I was a redhead when working there.

"You can fly Bulkheads, so let's skip all the details. How could you possibly screw this- I mean, what went wrong, partner?" Roman asked while sitting on the co-pilot seat.

I swear everything was proceeding so well, without any issues on my side. I planned to eventually become a pilot who flew international planes.

But again, disaster struck one day.

"No way!"

ROMAN!

As I recall, a little bit over a month flying at Phillipos I loaded a container at one ship destined for U.N.N.M. Apparently, it came from Midgal, more specifically, from Hispania. If I had known my Zenithean geography well, I would have realized that something was up and checked the container earlier.

"Why?"

Oh, right. You are less familiar with Zenith.

It didn't make sense for a container to travel from Hispania to stop at Ryuutairiku and Phillipos if its destination was the United Nations of Nuovo Mondo, on the other side of this world. That would mean crossing the biggest Zenithean Ocean, plus part of Ryuutairiku and Olvido's landmasses to get there. The container took the longest route to reach U.N.N.M., instead of going west to cross only one smaller ocean.

"That indeed doesn't make sense... Unless someone at Hispania had a motive for the container to stop by Ryuutairiku and Phillipos." He confirmed what I said while looking at a world map of Zenith that he had found inside the pilot's cabin.

Oh, Roman. If only you had been my co-pilot.

As I loaded my assigned container into the ship destined for Comala, one of the inspectors noticed something off. The container I delivered weighed more than when it arrived some days ago at Phillipos. Because of this, they ordered me to land and stick around, while they inspected the container. As one of the inspectors opened the container to check its contents... Something jumped at him.

Something red, rude, and relentless.

"The mystery entry in the Zenith section of your encyclopedia!" Leaning on the container, he glanced with surprise at what stepped out from it.

It was a very young woman with black hair and tanned skin. Likely someone of my age.

"Traidores! We paid you to not inspect our container! You were supposed to let us board the ship without problems!" The girl took out a knife and started slashing at everyone, while more people ran out of the container.

"Human smuggling!"

Exactly. Smuggling between nations on this planet seems to be a common illegal activity.

Because I lacked a weapon and couldn't use my semblance for anything other than keeping up my disguise while I tried to stop her, she landed a strong and fast hit on me. She was deadly. Easily on par with an elite huntsman from Remnant.

Fortunately, my aura protected me as I tackled her to the ground.

Unfortunately, she also undid my disguise in the process.

Around that time, my hair still had some strands of pink left and I had not thought about using contact lenses to cover my right eye.

Before I knew it, everybody at the port was chasing after me, instead of arresting the wild knife girl or the illegal immigrants. Thinking fast, I summoned a construct of myself to make it pilot my assigned plane and fool everyone into thinking that I was escaping via air. Meanwhile, the real me took out Sakura from a locker nearby and boarded a ship that was destined for Migdal, disguised as a wooden crate.

That was my first blown-up cover. I was fortunate that lockdowns back then weren't so harsh.

"Who was that black-haired beauty dressed in red?" Roman looked at my encyclopedia, which he pulled out of nowhere.

No idea, that's why I wrote her 'name' as (?). But if I ever see her again, I will end her existence.

•

"Four nice jobs you have lost so far, counting Bianchi's. Maybe next time everything will work out." Roman raised 4 fingers, while walking by my side, as we crossed the park.

Five. I haven't told you yet about Milady.

"Five jobs. Still not so bad. Cheer up, Neo!" Roman raised all the fingers in his right hand, uncomfortably looking at them.

While I searched for a new job and place to live, I could survive from the money I saved as Beryl and what I continued to earn as a pen-named writer. If I took too long to find a new job, I could always rely on working as a seamstress for some quick krownas.

"You will continue writing more books?" Roman was surprised by my thoughts.

The last one was a hit. I may be into something. Maybe the next one will be a huge best-seller!

"Well, yes. You can write decent books fast, but isn't that due to-"

Shut it, dum-dum.

I interrupted him, without looking in his direction.

"Why, it's not like anyone can hear me..." He shut himself when he also noticed it. "That guy and that other one."

The man in front of us is pretending to read the newspaper while spying on me. Same for the one jogging ahead, near the fountain.

" The first one is stealing one of my favorite tactics! Thief!" He raised his fist in anger.

Anyone in any world could have come up with that 'spy tactic'.

One of my hands went for my umbrella, which was tied to my backpack. Looking at this, Roman panicked.

"Do not precipitate! Maybe they are spying on someone else."

They are watching me. A third mysterious person is approaching me from behind.

It looked like The Zodiac had finally tracked me down. I had no choice, but to fight. As I grabbed Sakura's disguised handle, something called my attention to the person behind me.

That beautiful, fiery hair... Phoebe!?

Today, Phoebe wore high-waist, black yoga pants that covered her legs to mid-ankle level. Over her chest, she wore a white top and a half-zipped, cropped, bright red biker jacket with the figure of a black phoenix on its back. On her hands, she was wearing blue, fingerless gloves. Her footwear consisted of oversized sneakers with blue soles and something akin to red air bubbles for cushioning. Some of her toned abs were visible between her jacket and the waistband of her pants. It was also easy to notice the contour of her toned legs due to how tight the latter were. A white ribbon that reminded me of a bird flapping its wings, was used to keep the shape of her messy and spiky big bun. Actually, her entire hair seemed messier today. I could see multiple hair strands falling at the sides of her face, behind her ears, and at the back of her neck.

This must be the real Phoebe, not the one I saw yesterday.

"Good dey, Fauyl." She signed to me.

It was clear Phoebe had only learned correctly in time the necessary hand signs to spell 'good'. The rest was a mess.

I took out my holodial and started typing.

Good day, Phoebe. ٩(｡•́‿•̀｡)۶

"I fucked up... Didn't I?" Phoebe smiled as she scratched her head.

Yes! ✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧

But...

I didn't mind her mistakes at all.

•

"So, if you lose the bet, you will join us. How about it, Beryl?" Phoebe enthusiastically and confidently said as we entered an arcade near Principal Park. It was close to 4 pm.

Shiny Game Center was a 5-floor venue where people could play all kinds of recreational games. For the most part, it lacked windows, since contrary to its name, the darkness of the rooms allowed one to better appreciate the screens and neon lights of multiple arcade machines.

From what I have read, that's bad for one's eyesight.

It turned out that the people spying on me in the park were her comrades. They all were waiting there, in case I showed up again today while going to or returning from work.

I need to beat you at several games to regain my privacy.

How is that fair? (¬､¬)

It looked like she was in command of the small spying group since she had told everyone to leave us alone through her holodial.

"That's correct. How about 7 rounds, each in a different game? The first one to score 4 wins the bet. No aura or semblances allowed." Phoebe, completely ignoring how unfair the bet was for me, cheerfully continued to force me into this situation. "Oh, and the winner gets to keep the prize from all the tickets we accumulate."

Fine, let's go. (ノ-_-)ノ ミ ┴┴

The faster I put an end to this absurdity, the better. I didn't want Ed and her to continue spying on me for the rest of my life, no matter where I decided to go.

•

Wak-A-Grimm

A simple game. Phoebe and I walked to a waist-level cabinet that counted with a play area. This one had 11 holes through which cute and cartoony plastic models of Centinel, Cenitaur, Sulfur Fish, Blind Worm, Nightmare, Creep, King Taijitu (x2), Beetle, Death Stalker, and Geist Grimm could come out.

In one minute, you needed to hit as many of them as you could with a soft mallet. The more hits you landed on their heads, the higher the score you got. The challenge was that they popped up at random and with each passing second, the speed at which they rose to the surface became faster, making it very hard near the end to hit them before they 'returned' to the ground.

"First!" Phoebe quickly put a krowna coin into the cabinet and picked up the toy mallet, not waiting for my approval.

Rude.

"ORYAAAAAH!" As soon as a cute Geist popped up, Phoebe let out a battle cry and hit its head as hard as she could with the mallet. The loud sound spread across the entire floor.

"ASSHOLE!" Other Grimm started to pop up, as she tried to land heavy hits on them. She started to swear, the faster they popped up.

"NOOO, FUCKING IDIOT!" Phoebe kept screaming, as one Beetle Grimm pretended to come out to the surface, only to return to the ground immediately.

"ARGH!" Other arcade clients stared in shock at Phoebe's increasing fury, as she missed not only the Grimm but hit even the cabinet's play area with strong attacks.

"DIE, FUCKER!" To think we were barely 20 seconds in. I facepalmed, feeling vicarious embarrassment.

"AH, FUCK OFF! This is rigged!" Phoebe screamed like crazy, landing unrestrained powerful hits on the poor machine.

I wish I were one of those Grimm so that the earth would swallow me to never resurface. Kinda like Ruby Rose, when I made her ascend.

"YOU, C-" She was shouting more curses than landing hits by the second 40.

First game, Phoebe. It's the first game, and you may already get us forever banned from this arcade.

"Fuck it, I give up." An annoyed and tired Phoebe dropped the toy mallet by second 55 when all 11 Grimm started coming out super quickly like crazy.

BUT IT WAS YOU WHO PICKED THIS GAME!

She scored 130 points, according to the cabinet's display screen.

"Hey, idiot. Don't break the game and stop swearing!" An employee shouted in our direction from afar, while the rest of the customers pretended not to look at us.

"EEEEH, you want problems, pal!? I will kick-" While Phoebe was distracted, I put a krowna coin into the still somehow functional cabinet. I deduced that this was the most effective way to stop her from attacking someone.

"Ha, good luck beating my score." I ignored her smug taunt, focusing instead on hitting the Grimm.

"Eh, wait." She started noticing it. "No way!"

"We said no aura!" Phoebe was scared at how quickly I landed hits on all Grimm that popped up.

I am not using my aura or semblance for anything that is not keeping up my disguise.

"Impossible!" Phoebe noticed that I swiftly moved the mallet from one plastic model to another, without wasting time or energy.

It's all skill, babe.

During the last seconds, when all 11 Grimm models rose to the surface, I hit 7 of them before they quickly went back to the ground.

My score was 330.

"Beginner's luck." Phoebe said grudgingly as she crossed her arms and accepted her defeat while taking our tickets.

Phoebe was too dumb (to put it nicely) to understand that this game rewarded reflexes and quick reaction speed, not the raw strength with which you hit the Grimm. I barely put any force into the mallet, as I prioritized giving only small taps to each Grimm on its head to quickly shift targets when another one rose from the ground.

Of course, I didn't reveal to her this wasn't the first time I visited this arcade and played its games. It wasn't rare for me to drop here whenever I returned from Bianchi's.

Neo: 1, Phoebe: 0

•

Arm Wrestling Cyclops

Phoebe once more picked the next game. We walked together to another waist-level cabinet that had on its surface play area a 3d plastic model of a Cyclops Grimm. A creature that did exist in this world and could reach a threat level of 3. The model was far smaller than the real thing, considering that Cyclops Grimm could reach a height of 12 meters. This was one normal human-sized.

Its skull mask with one horn protected the upper half of its face, except for the area of its only central eye. The latter was a small screen with pre-programmed animations. On its left arm, it held a replica of a big club made from a tree trunk, which was accurate based on historical records of this Grimm.

The Cyclops model had a sneering expression that made one think of the phrase: Come at me, bro.

A robotic right arm, skillfully built so it matched the plastic model, was attached to it. The objective was to wrestle the robotic arm, as the player tried his best to win the arm-wrestling match as fast as possible. If you were too weak, the robot arm would refuse to go down and you were just given a couple of consolation tickets.

"You go first." Phoebe unexpectedly let me try first the game, as she closed her eyes and smiled.

I have a bad feeling about this.

"I will set it to the max difficulty." Phoebe arrogantly said after I put a krowna coin into the game. She picked the game settings in my place.

I rested my right elbow on the play area's small cushion and grabbed the Cyclops' hand. The hidden screen that simulated the Grimm's eye, changed its animation to make it look as if it were angry at me, while the cabinet's speakers released a roar.

You are mistaken if you think I haven't tried this game before. I am not as weak as I look.

First round vs. Cyclops: I won after 3 seconds. That one was easy.

Second round vs. Cyclops: I won after 5 seconds. It was clear that I struggled more because the robotic arm was programmed to become harder to beat after each round.

Third round vs. Cyclops: I barely won after 9 seconds. The time limit to defeat it was 10 seconds. My arm was a bit numb after all the effort I put into winning this game.

I got a final score of 820 points.

"Eh, not bad, miss star of the night." Phoebe sounded sarcastic, as she switched places with me.

Oh, no. Don't tell me...

She paid the cabinet and picked the max difficulty. I swear the Cyclops' expression changed into one of fear before the game started. Even it could sense the incoming doom.

First round vs. Cyclops: She won in 2 seconds. She likely didn't win in one second, because the arm itself wasn't lubricated enough. Or because it had a limited speed to which it could descend without breaking.

Second round vs. Cyclops: She won after 3 seconds. It was clear that she was going to beat my score.

Third round vs. Cyclops: She won in 5 seconds. Not only that, but Phoebe also set a new high score in that cabinet.

980 points.

"Easy-peasy." Phoebe picked our tickets, and I stared dumbfounded at the feat of the musclehead girl. Plus, I got to see for the first time a secret feature of the Cyclops model.

If beaten fast enough, its eye would perform a crying animation, while prerecorded sobs came out from the speakers.

Neo: 1, Phoebe: 1

•

F0

This one was one of my favorite games. The motion simulator cabinet of this game had a seat shaped like a futuristic red car that didn't require wheels to race across stages in space. The front of the car was shaped like a bullet, to supposedly reduce air resistance... In space? I don't know, not really into sci-fi novels.

Anyway, what I liked about it was that it had below-hidden mechanisms that simulated the activated engine of the car. The seat is also synchronized with the visuals on the cabinet's screen to simulate in real-time your driving movements. If you turned right, the seat would slightly turn right. If you braked or crashed into something, the seat would shake a bit, to give the sensation of abruptly losing speed.

Of course, the degree of movement it was allowed was limited, but the intention is what counted.

"You are staring a lot at that game. Ok. Since I'm a merciful person, let us play this for our next round." Phoebe said with a fake saint voice.

Merciful? You have been intentionally picking games you think I'm bad at.

I ignored her, as I sat in the F0 cabinet and paid my krowna. The game soon started.

In F0 you controlled the vehicle with the steering wheel in the car-shaped seat. You were supposed to dodge all kinds of obstacles, and other racing cars, and not fall off the stage. Otherwise, you would fall into Zenith and burn to death in its atmosphere.

That sure brings back '1-year-old' memories.

You won this game by driving well enough to the point you reached the checkpoints in time, avoiding disqualification. If you wasted too much time or fell off the stage, it was game over.

"Let's see if this star doesn't burn in the atmosphere." Phoebe made fun of me using my viral title. She stood next to my right side.

Effortlessly, I crossed the checkpoint and beat the first space racing stage in the Zenithean atmosphere.

"They say that video games before used to be way harder." Phoebe faked a yawn while saying this.

I continued driving and reached the second checkpoint in a giant robot factory.

"I could beat that stage with my eyes closed." Phoebe stretched her arms, as she pretended not to be amazed.

I beat the third racing stage on an alien planet.

"... How long is this game anyway? Each stage lasts like what... One minute?" Her relaxed façade was starting to drop.

I made it to the fourth checkpoint and beat the racing stage in a moon.

"You have played this game before haven't you!?" Phoebe finally noticed the obvious. She was now the scared one.

Blame yourself for falling into my trap.

I beat the fifth and final stage inside a giant spaceship.

"NO FUCKING WAY!" Phoebe screamed as the game's credits started rolling.

"Stop swearing!" Again, the arcade employee scolded her.

The highest scores' screen showed up:

1. NEO

2. POL

3. MNT

4. BRL

5. ASS

Finally, I displaced from the top 5 whoever wrote that last one. I will replace it with RMN, which stands for Roman.

"Those initials... ARE YOU INSANE!" Phoebe gripped my shoulder and shook me.

Let it be known that I got the highest score in F0. I am willing to die for this, otherwise, what's the point of living? This is my legacy in Zenith!

It was now Phoebe's turn. We all knew how this was going to turn out.

We can go to the next game, no need to pressure yourself.

ヽ(ヅ)ノ

"Shut u- Stop texting! If I beat all your scores this round is mine." A frustrated Phoebe grabbed the steering wheel with force.

7 seconds.

That's all it took Phoebe to drive off stage and burn in Zenithean atmosphere. She died in the first turn.

That was fast. Anyway, let's go to the next game. ( •_•)

Neo: 2, Phoe-

"NO, WAIT! Let me try again. My hands were a bit stiff, from all the arm wrestling and because you took so long to beat the game." Phoebe started to damage control.

She fell off again in the first turn.

"Damn it!" She put a third krowna into the game without bothering with an excuse.

( ಠ_ಠ )

" Just let me- AGH! I fell off, again!" Phoebe died precisely in the same turn. She put a fourth krowna.

Are you serious?

"First stage. At least let me see if I can beat the first stage." She was starting to sweat and get angry.

"FU-" She covered her mouth with both hands, to avoid swearing. This time she died in the second turn.

You need to use correctly the gear and braking system.

(ノ_、)

"That's what I'm trying to do!" That was a lie, she had not used at all the brake pedal or the gear stick.

…

After several minutes, and who knows how many krownas, Phoebe died... In the third turn. At least she was more or less braking the car when she needed to.

Her eyes turned red as she tried to not tear up. If things got worse, I was sure that she would start igniting her hair by accident. Again.

"It cannot be!" She covered her face with both hands, looking down in defeat for the hundredth time.

Do not pressure yourself so much. I will help you, Phoebe.

(ノ_。)

Without waiting for her answer. I sat on her legs, to put my right hand over hers, which was holding the gear stick, and my left hand over hers, which was on the steering wheel. I couldn't reach the braking pedal so that part was still up to her.

Together we made it to the fifth turn, before dying.

Phoebe put another krowna in the cabinet. We resumed team positions.

…

After 10 minutes, together we finally reached the first checkpoint. Not going to lie. Doing this blindfolded by myself would have been easier.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! That was so easy!" Phoebe took all our tickets without bothering to race the second stage or thanking me.

We've been at this game for over 1 hour! ( -_- )

"Didn't notice." Phoebe cutely tilted her head in confusion.

"By the way, where did you learn how to drive?" Phoebe made a good question.

When I was 15 years old, I drugged my private tutor and took her car. I crashed it while stealing clothes from several shops across my hometown, but learned a lot thanks to that experience. Eventually, I stole other cars that belonged to my papa. I crashed a couple of times more, till I got good enough at driving to escape from the police.

(-‿- )

I typed a long and satisfying answer to clear all her doubts at once.

"..." Phoebe stood expressionless, in complete silence.

"... Let's go to the next game." She walked away, without saying more.

She never said, 'Thank you'. Would it kill her to have good manners?

Neo: 2, Phoebe: 1

•

Shoot-Basketball

"Let's go with simple games. This is taking too long." Phoebe pointed at two Shoot-Basketball cabinets.

I wonder why, Phoebe. I wonder why. (° -°）

"That's not important. How about we compete against each other, by putting a krowna at the same time in these basketball machines?" Phoebe said a reasonable suggestion.

Her first one in the entire day.

There wasn't anything special about this game. While a proper Basketball sport didn't exist back in Remnant, some sports still resembled it. I happened to see a couple of Zenithean basketball matches and movies to understand the basic gist. This arcade game oversimplified it a lot.

All you needed to do was grab the 8 basketballs that fell into their designated space near you and shoot them through the hoop in front. The more basketballs fell through the hoop, the higher your score.

The cabinets were set in the max difficulty, so the hoop was located approximately 3 meters away from our respective shooting points. The hoop also moved sideways at this difficulty, as if it were a clock's pendulum, making it trickier to time your shot and calculate its optimal angle.

"Highest score wins." Phoebe happily said as she stood at the basketball machine next to mine.

Obviously.

I placed my krowna right next to the coin slot of my basketball cabinet, not dropping it yet.

"At the count of 3, we pay." Phoebe imitated my action. "1. 2. 3!"

You counted too fast!

She paid first, I second. My machine started 2 seconds later.

For one minute, we stopped being girls and became machines.

It seemed obvious that this was the first game both of us had plenty of experience with since we were shooting each an average of 3 basketballs per second using both hands, without missing the hoop.

"Not bad... For a short stack." Phoebe started playing dirty by calling me names. She was trying to distract me and disrupt my rhythm.

Well, not bad for... Damn, I'm mute and therefore I cannot call her names!

As I realized this horror, I missed one of my shots. Correcting myself quickly, I refocused on my game.

"If I gave you a kiss, would I taste ice cream?" Once more, Phoebe made her dirty move.

HOW DARE YOU!?

I missed another shot. I tried to focus again and recover my rhythm.

"I thought I was supposed to be the hot one, not-."

ENOUGH!

Without letting Phoebe finish her next statement, I threw basketballs at her.

"What the hell!? You took it too personally!" After covering her face with both arms for some seconds, she eventually reached also for her basketballs and started throwing them at me.

Our Shoot-Basketball match was reduced to a dodgeball game for the next 10 seconds. Other customers at the arcade were hit in the crossfire and started fleeing the floor, till the bells of our cabinets made us come to our senses.

"I WON!" Phoebe raised her arms and celebrated as she saw that her score was higher than mine.

But you cheated! o(TヘTo)

Not reading my text, Phoebe picked up our tickets and ran to the next game. Having no option, I ran with her, before the arcade employees arrived to catch us.

Neo: 2, Phoebe: 2

•

Meka-Gladiators 3K

Making it to the darkest and highest floor of the arcade to evade the employees, we finally stopped to catch our breath.

"No hard feelings, right? It's all water under the bridge. I forgive you for throwing basketballs at me." Phoebe declared with a smile.

You are going to pay for that, bitch!

No hard feelings, Phoebe! (≧▽≦)

"Oh, thank goodness. I thought you were the type of person that holds grudges." Phoebe sighed with relief, as she walked into the floor to check its games.

You sweet naïve girl. If only you knew.

Phoebe, let's try this game next. It's really fun! (*^‿^*)

"Uh... Sure." Confused by my fake excitement, she nodded and walked to a big game cabinet shaped like a mech's cockpit.

Since each cockpit for this game was made for only one person, I sat at the empty one opposite to hers. Before walking to the other side, I made sure she paid her game. The only thing between us was the game screens of our respective battle cockpits.

"Um... Beryl? Don't you want to see how I do at this game?" While she was confused by the game's options, I started to control the aura shards I left at her cockpit using Overactive Imagination. Not to cheat at the game, but to pick the correct options in her stead for it to start.

"Duel next player? What does that mean?" Before she could understand what was going on, I made my shards land on the button in her cockpit to select that option. "Wait, Beryl! I think something is wrong with my machine!"

"Player 1 will duel to the death Player 2!" The excited game referee announced the conditions of the match.

"Wait, if I am Player 1, then who is Player 2?" Phoebe's anxious voice reached my ears.

Sweet music.

"Are you ready?" The referee was a game character, so he obviously ignored Phoebe's question.

"NO!" She screamed in desperation. She figured out the truth too late.

Bye-bye, Phoebe.

...

Meka-Gladiators 3k was a battle arena simulator in which you could pick giant robots to fight others, which were either controlled by a CPU or by the player next to you. The goal was simple: Destroy the enemy units.

I always picked a robot that reminded me of an elegant white knight. While for Phoebe I picked one that looked like a Minotaur that attacked the Ever After.

For 3 minutes, I destroyed Phoebe's unit again and again, not granting her any mercy. I knew that she was going to be a disaster playing this game since it was harder to master its controls when compared to F0.

As the winner, I picked up the tickets that came out of my cockpit and walked to Phoebe's to confirm if she was okay.

It looked like she had lost consciousness and fell outside of her battle cockpit.

Phoebe, are you still alive? ≖‿≖

I poked her body in the ribs with Sakura's tip.

"Ah, what happened?" Phoebe was still breathing and in the process of regaining her senses.

I clicked my tongue in frustration.

She's tougher to kill than I thought. She has a higher endurance rank than team RWBY. Will remember that for her entry in my encyclopedia.

"I could sense each enemy shot when it landed on my robot. Why would they create a cockpit that makes its pilot feel the pain of enemy attacks?" Phoebe struggling to walk leaned on my body.

The pain she complained about was from me poking her with my Overactive Imagination's shards, in coordination with each of my landing shots.

Anyway, I let her use my body for support as we moved to the next game on another floor.

Neo: 3, Phoebe 2

•

Seer Punching!

"Ah, let's try that game!" Phoebe regaining all her energy stopped leaning on my body and ran toward a tall game cabinet that had a punching bag shaped like a Seer Grimm hanging to it.

A simple game. You hit as hard as you can the punching bag and the game displays on a screen your score. The harder you hit it, the higher your score and the tickets you are rewarded with.

Oh, she knows what she's doing. That thing is too tall for me to punch efficiently.

Not bothering again to wait for my approval, she paid for a game session. Phoebe desperately wanted to even the score.

"ORYAAAAAAAAAH!" She hit the punching bag so hard, the impact sounded as loud as her battle cry.

Her score was 95 points.

"Bet the Grimm didn't see that coming." Phoebe celebrated her score while jumping and raising a fist into the air, as tons of tickets came out from the cabinet.

The Seer punching back went back to its 'resting' position.

"For courtesy, I pulled a bit of my punch." Phoebe patted me on the back, to push me in the direction of the game.

Courtesy, sure. You want to win this bet badly.

I paid for my session and stepped back a little as the punching bag game was in the middle of turning on again.

"What are you doing? Fleeing?" Phoebe looked at me puzzled.

Ignoring her, I put my left leg in front of my body, doing the opposite with the right one. I extended my left arm toward the machine and my right one in the opposite direction.

I started spinning my entire body, by kicking with my right leg while using my left one as support. As I completed a 180-degree spin, accumulating corporal mass, I landed my right leg on the floor to launch myself into the air with it. Taking advantage of gained momentum, I continued rotating my entire body with the left leg, which was now up in the air.

After completing the first 360-degree spin in the middle of the air, I went for the second one without landing. I directed my left leg toward the punching bag, kicking it.

A strong impact filled the entire floor. The kick was stronger than an average frontal kick thanks to all the corporal mass I had accumulated by spinning my entire body twice.

"A capoeira kick!?" With amazement in her voice, Phoebe deduced correctly the fighting style I had used.

My score was 99 points. The maximum score one could achieve in this game.

It's over. I won the bet.

Neo: 4, Pho-

"YOU CHEATED!" Phoebe pointed with her hand at my chest.

Me? A cheater? For your information, I'm the kind of person who has never said a lie in her entire life.

(-‿◦)

"You... AGH! The game is called Seer Punching. Not Seer Kicking!" She pointed at the written name of the game at the side of the cabinet.

You never said that kicking the Seer was against the rules.

¯\(ツ)/¯

"And you also picked on purpose a game you could easily win in the previous round!" Phoebe shook her arms in anger.

(ง •̀_•́)ง Pot calling the kettle black.

You cheated at basketball and picked this game thinking I was going to lose.

"Fuck it, the last round decides the winner!" Phoebe ran away. "I will search for something you cannot cheat at, like air hockey."

Salty loser.

I picked up both of our tickets, before leaving for my next destination.

•

Air hockey

The winner of this round was going to take everything back home. Basic rights of privacy, the arcade prize, and the best girl. The real best girl. Not Weiss, The Rabbit, Penny, or Pyrrha.

We agreed to decide my fate with another easy game, so Phoebe and I walked toward an air hockey table.

You pick a paddle and hit the plastic puck as it moves on a smooth, low-friction table so that it goes inside of the opponent's goal zone to earn a point. The first player to score 7 points wins.

It was as simple as it gets.

"Remember, no semblances or aura allowed." Phoebe repeated the vital rule, as she paid to activate the game. Air started coming out from multiple holes across the table, reducing even more its friction. A puck came out on my side of the table.

"You serve." Phoebe waited for me to start the game, not caring about giving me the initial advantage.

You are so easy to read. I will win my freedom with this match.

I served elegantly, by striking efficiently the puck. Phoebe not holding back at all, hit it back. She aimed at my goal zone, so I intercepted her attack with my paddle, deflecting it in her direction.

For some seconds more, I repeated the same strategy. Phoebe kept hitting hard the puck, filling constantly the room with the sound of her powerful strikes. Every other person on the floor turned to look at us. Even employees who were supposed to take us out of the arcade stopped in their tracks, to witness with awe our legendary duel to the death.

"AAAAAAAAH!" Phoebe intercepted once more the deflected disk I had sent back to her. This time I missed it and entered my goal zone.

"YES!" She jumped into the air, raising both of her arms.

It had taken her a minute to score the first point.

The puck came out on my side again, so I put it at the center of the table. I let Phoebe reach for it as I concentrated on defending once more my goal zone.

She kept hitting with all her force the puck as I continued deflecting it. For another minute, we kept this same pattern till Phoebe scored again.

"5 MORE TO GO!" Phoebe said triumphantly, as she spun and celebrated her second point toward the crowd. Some of them cheered.

"The black-haired beauty cannot do anything."

"She's gonna lose."

"The hot one will win by a landslide. Hehehe!"

The spectators began to take jabs at me. I ignored them.

I served again, repeating the same cycle from the first two sets.

"MAXIMUM POWAAAAAAA!" Phoebe screamed, hitting the puck with such an exaggerated force, that the impact made everyone cover their ears. I failed to deflect that shot.

"... Yeah, third point!" This time Phoebe didn't jump as energetically as before. It also had taken her more than one minute to score that point.

"I see. She's using that strategy." A wise old man among the crowd said with a deadpan tone.

It was Shiai-sensei, The Mythical Arcade King. An old guy from overseas who frequently dropped here and held the biggest number of highest scores in this arcade. My former arcade tutor and current arch-nemesis.

As perceptive as always, sensei.

He was the only person who could beat me at air hockey, with a favorable ratio of 60/100.

"What are you talking about, old man?"

"Idiot. Don't talk like that to the 3 times air hockey world champion."

Before most spectators could understand what was going on, I served once more, letting Phoebe strike first the puck again with all her current force. I continued deflecting for almost two minutes before the puck went into my goal zone for a fourth time.

"4 - 0. Easy." Phoebe licked her lower lip with full sadism. She finally noticed that she was sweating and took off her red jacket, exposing her toned arms.

"Wow, she's more toned than most men!"

"No wonder she will win."

"Hot!"

I served again. The same pattern carried on for more than two minutes now.

"5... 0." Phoebe was panting and sweating a lot.

It's time.

"Here it comes." Shiai-sensei said as he perceived my intentions.

"Wait. Isn't the black-haired woman..."

"Fools, it took you that long to notice."

"Beryl, The Star of the Night!"

Around half of the crowd that were familiar with me and who had kept silent till now started talking.

I put the puck at the center of the table and let Phoebe reach for it once more. This time, after I deflected her strike easily, it entered Phoebe's goal zone. The set had not lasted even 5 seconds.

"What!?"

Many spectators exclaimed in surprise.

Phoebe furiously served the puck as soon as it came out on her side. She didn't bother putting it at the center of the table. She continued striking viciously and with force, making multiple times the audience cover their ears. I continued deflecting her attacks easily, till she failed to stop the puck, giving me a second point. This set lasted almost three minutes.

"ARGH!" Phoebe shrieked like a wild beast and jumped in fury. Her already messy hair bun came undone. Her fair skin turned red as her muscles got more pronounced.

Must admit, you look very hot.

Several men began whistling, and even some female customers' faces turned red as they looked at her impressive physique.

Phoebe served once more, not bothering to follow the sportsmanship rules of this game.

This time the set lasted 3 minutes before I scored for a third time.

"What's going on!?" My opponent began to slam her fists against the table, as she struggled to breathe normally. She was fuming. Literally.

"Hey, is it me, or smoke is coming out of the blue-haired girl?" A spectator remarked.

"Oh, fuck." Phoebe forced herself to calm down. She stopped activating her aura and semblance in time.

She served once more. I scored once more.

5 - 4.

"FUCK IT!" She served angrily with extreme strength, only for this set to again not last even 5 seconds.

The game was now even.

"... But... how!?" Phoebe said amazed, as she tried to catch her breath.

"You spend most of your energy in the first half of this game. Air hockey is like running a marathon. Stamina and saving up energy are important, to avoid getting tired." Shiai-sensei spoiled my tactic, probably out of pity for Phoebe, rather than malice toward me.

That's why I kept deflecting your force back at you. Now that I'm adding a little bit of my own into each counterattack, you cannot stop me.

"N- BERYYYYYYYYYYYYL!" Phoebe screamed as she served. Refusing to learn her lesson, she wasted lots of energy on the initial strike. Not even Cinder and Salem were this feral.

Phoebe is the type of crazy woman who stubbornly rejects accepting her mistakes, even in the face of imminent death... I HATE her so much because she's just like me!

PHOEBE, DIE ALREADY!

Without thinking consciously, I added more force than needed to deflect her strike. A gust of wind sent her beautiful blue hair flying backwards, as I scored for the sixth time. Her face changed into one of absolute shock.

The crowd stood in absolute silence.

"Why, why, why?" Phoebe's eyes began to tear up. Her legs were shaking. Gone was her bravado from earlier.

"Over already? I suppose the gori-"

No, wait!

My thought somehow interrupted the comment of one audience member.

"WHY DO YOU REFUSE TO JOIN MEEEEEEE!?" I was mistaken, Phoebe still had some bravado left. She quickly grabbed the puck and served it for a last time with a scream.

She subconsciously activated her aura and lit the puck on fire, shooting it faster than the average fire dust bullet in the direction of my goal zone.

"Watch out everyone!" Shiai-sensei predicting what was about to happen warned the audience.

Thanks to Overactive Imagination being semi-activated to keep me disguised as Beryl, I didn't take even a second to send some aura into my paddle.

BECAUSE I WANT TO KEEP YOU SAFE, DUMBASS!

I barely deflected Phoebe's attack, as my paddle broke. My Beryl hair braid came undone, and I fell into the ground. The disc flew back at Phoebe, cutting a bit of her left cheek and flying at an amazing speed past her.

Fortunately, I properly deflected the puck for its trajectory to avoid killing anyone in the audience.

Unfortunately, the only option for it to go without hurting anyone was to direct it at the arcade's trophy display case.

The fired projectile exploded and fulminated its contents. The explosion not only made the entire floor shake but also left behind a hole in one of its walls.

…

That attack could have killed a level 2 Grimm or the Curious Cat!

"My trophies!" Shiai-sensei cried in anguish, after processing what happened.

"Hey, idiots. You are going to pay for that!?" The arcade owner scolded us as he screamed furiously.

…

"RUN!"

RUN!

Phoebe and I thought the same. We grabbed our belongings and kept our auras activated to flee quickly from the employees who tried to capture us.

Neo and Phoebe: Disqualified.

•

After we escaped and made it to the empty fountain area of Principal Park, we stopped to catch our breath. Sunset was about to start.

"Hahaha!" Phoebe smiled and then started to laugh.

I tried to do the same, but only hiccup-like noises came out of my mouth.

My rival began to laugh hysterically at my poor attempted laugh.

Come on, don't make fun of a mute!

I continued 'laughing'.

"Oh, crap!" After a minute of laughing, Phoebe remembered something.

"The tickets and our prize! We lost everything!" As she spoke sadly, I took out a white cardboard box from my backpack.

"What's that?" Phoebe looked at it curiously. "There's not a head inside of it, right?"

Dumbass, air hockey doesn't give tickets, no matter who wins. Before the final round, I exchanged our tickets in advance for the best prize we could get together. A mystery box.

Let's check what we won! ╰(▔∀▔)╯

The box had a golden wrap on its interior, so it shined the light back at our faces, not allowing us to see the prize.

Why every damned thing on this island needs to be a pain for one's eyes.

Our eyes quickly adjusted. We both stared at the secret prize. It was:

A plushy of a white mouse with a red cape holding a rose.

What kind of twisted joke is this!? I swear all the universes hate me!

"Aw, how cute!" Phoebe, ignoring my grumpy face, grabbed the prize.

You like it more than I do. Keep it.

"For real!?" Phoebe said with reinvigorated enthusiasm.

Sure. Only keep that thing away from me. (¬_¬")

Because of F0, she had spent more money than the prize was worth anyway.

"I'm sorry for almost killing you." Phoebe apologized, after a moment of silence. "I lost control of my semblance. Shouldn't have tried so hard to win you over to our side."

…

Ha, it takes more than that to get rid of me. Don't think so highly of yourself.

(¬､¬)

…

Despite everything, I had fun.

I typed an awkward text for her to read in my holodial. I admitted the truth.

"N- Sorry, Beryl." This time she apologized, for almost saying my real name. "We will be some days more at the location I shared with you the other day."

"You are still welcome to join us. Ed and I can take you to a safe location." Phoebe looked me in the eyes while saying this with melancholy.

As I was about to start typing back at her, a vibration could be heard from her jacket pocket. Someone was trying to contact her. Probably Ed.

"18 missed calls and tons of unread texts!? I got carried away." She stood amazed at her phone's screen. "Bery-"

It's okay, go.

...

Will consider your offer.

I had plenty of questions to ask her, but I knew deep in my heart that it would be better to let her go.

"Thanks." She also hugged me without my consent. I awkwardly did the same in return.

"This isn't goodbye, okay? We will meet each other." Phoebe said anxiously, close to my face.

Eventually, she ran out of the fountain area, turning back to wave me goodbye and sign me a farewell message.

"Good dey, Fauyl."

I bowed to her before she disappeared.

"She's an utter idiot. I don't think she's trying to deceive you. If that's your concern." Cane in both hands, Roman sat on the edge of the fountain.

I know.

I replied, faking to look at the fountain while holding my tears.

That's why I don't want her to get close to me.

"Neo."

Roman stood up and tried to hug me, only for his arms to miss my body.

Damn.

I looked up into the sunset sky so that gravity helped me avoid crying.

"I get now why you still wear pink." I continued hearing Roman's gentle voice, as my vision started to blur.

"That color is the only thing that they haven't taken away from you."

…

I tried not to sob.

Seeing the beautiful planes in the distance flying toward Cloud City helped to distract me from my emotional mess. It was something I did, whenever I visited this park.

I wouldn't have minded losing the pink in my life via ascension. But The Zodiac taking it away from me?

That's never going to happen, even if it kills me.

…

If I go down against them, it will be as Neopolitan.

I gripped hard my umbrella, realizing late that it wasn't Hush. For an instant, its disguise glitched, showing Sakura's real form.

"You aren't going down, partner. You will survive." Roman pretended to put his hand on my shoulder, as he tenderly said words to encourage me.

Several sirens of police cars could be heard in the distance.

Looks like the arcade owner called the authorities. We don't have much time.

"Yeah, we are not letting them catch us easily. Let's run again, partner." I started skipping, umbrella in hand to the nearest alley without cameras.

I needed to change back into Liz and her skating outfit if I wanted to evade the authorities and return to Copper Suburb more easily.

It looks like my life at Bright Island and Copper Suburb is coming to an end.

But it was fine. This time I was going to move away by my own choice.

•

Lively party music filled a big luxurious apartment. A vinyl record player played it so loud for the only guest in the room.

A tall figure with a grayish-blue cloak sat near a closed blinded window. Since all the other ones were also closed and the light was turned off the apartment looked dark, despite being midday.

The figure used one of his hands to slightly open a space between two blinds and investigate the place on the other side of the street where the apartment's building was located.

Seeing a blonde woman walk on the opposite sidewalk excited the cloaked figure. She entered the restaurant business.

[Heavy breathing.]

The figure couldn't contain its increasing excitement, as it saw a short, black-haired woman walk into the same restaurant.

…

For the next two hours, the figure stood next to the window, looking at the two women eating together.

The two women exited the restaurant. It looked like they were heading to the park nearby.

[Cracking bones.]

The figure rose and walked in the direction of a window with a better view of the park, not caring to step on the deceased family's pools of blood.