January 26, 2019, 1:34 pm.

Well, I certainly didn't expect Josh to end up inside Kalim. I suppose if his identity is tied to his core, it makes sense. But what does this mean? Did he replace the kid? Or is Josh sharing mental real estate?

"Josh, is that you?" Roberts asks as Bem shuffles up behind us. Right. Confirmation would be important.

Kalim (who may be Josh) glances at Beth before answering. "Kind of? I'd say it's like sixty/forty Josh/Kalim. I have memories of both lives but they're all blended together."

"But it's I? Not we?" Roberts presses.

"Uhh yep. Never been fond of the royal we."

Everyone stays quiet. There's a loud thud as Bem collapses on one of the nearby benches. He starts running his hands over his ears while muttering to himself, glancing in the direction of the room.

I've got dozens of questions, but it'd probably be rude to ask them. Especially right now, since Beth has her face scrunched up like she's tasted the world's bitterest sour soother.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Beth asks, her face blank but with an edge to her tone.

"I was talking with Bem about the procedure. Uh. Both Kalim and Josh were, that is. Damn. This is weird. It feels like both names… not just the names, but both people. They are me but not, ya know?"

"Yeah," I agree.

"Kid?"

Oops, did I say that out loud?

I grimace at having interrupted before I respond, "It's like after I experienced Uthica's memories. I mean not the name thing, but the whole 'having someone else's memories become part of your own' thing…. it's weird at first. But then it feels normal, even right after a while. Like, you're not less you, you're just more."

"Exactly!" Josh/Kalim exclaims, wrenching his hand free from Beth's to point at me.

Seriously, he could have used any one of his other three arms but he had to use that one?

"So… what should we call you then?" Roberts asks.

Josh/Kalim stares at Roberts, then flops back in the bed, staring at the ceiling as he considers the question with an audible, "hmmm."

"I'll respond to Josh or Kalim. But it'd be weird to choose one over the other. Probably best to just call me Rose for now."

Huh. Well, I never did think of Josh as Rose… so, I guess it won't be too bad.

"Well, at least we'll be able to remember it," Roberts grumbles out with a chuckle.

"I don't think his robe is going to fit anymore," Rufka adds.

Beth is the only one who isn't at least smiling. Wordlessly, she stands before stalking out of the room, brushing past Roberts forcefully. Waving the others back, I turn to follow, Smoulder in my pocket. Using Accelerated Time, I fly after her, catching her before she can make it farther than the common room.

She turns to me as I enter, tears in the corner of her eyes as she states, "He's not Josh."

"Maybe. It's at least partially Josh. I guess it's not totally clear cut. And it might get even weirder. Because I'm pretty sure we still have the original version of Josh waiting for us in the buffer too." As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I regret it. Somehow it feels like I'm betraying Josh by saying either version is more him than the other.

But Beth does perk up, so maybe it's helpful?

"You're right. This isn't Josh. The real Josh is being held ransom by the System."

"Uhm…" I start to object but Beth's already striding back towards the others.

Damnit, Alexis Wyonna Everette, this is why you think before you speak!

Beth's barely into the hallway again when she calls out, "We still have an objective to deal with people. Ivicka's out there, probably making more Fallen as we speak. We need to stop her."

I can hear something clatter to the floor from within Kalim's, I mean, Rose's room before he appears beside Roberts. Rufka's waiting with her arms crossed looking out over the arboretum and Bem's gone from the bench.

Beth only halts for half a second, but it's enough. I can see Rose's face fall before she resumes, "We only have one more mana interference device to deactivate then we can report to Geral."

No one knows what to say, but we all move to follow Beth. Including Rose.

However, when he does so, Beth holds up a hand. "Where do you think you're going?"

"With you? To help with Ivicka."

"No. You'll stay here with Bem and the other children."

"Neither Josh nor Kalim were children, and I'm not either." Looking at him standing next to Bem, I can see he's actually a few centimetres taller. Pu'shaha are so short that I can understand how she could have mistaken him for a kid. It didn't help that Folthka referred to him as her kid, but moms are like that I guess.

"Fine. You're not a kid. But you're still recovering. We can't risk you." I can't help but notice she leaves the part about her thinking he's not Josh left unsaid.

"What? That's not fair. I'm fine, Roberts, tell her I'm fine." Rose insists, turning to Roberts.

"Well, you appear to be in good health but…"

"See. Roberts agrees!" Rose insists flailing all four arms out, resulting in a loud smack as he hits one on the wall.

"BUT!" Roberts interjects loudly before continuing in a level voice, "But, we don't know what sort of effects the… melding might have had."

"What?!" Rose collapses. I wonder just how old Kalim was. Rose is much more excitable than Josh. More verbal too.

"Alexis can keep in contact with you. She could also retrieve you relatively easily," Rose starts to object, but Roberts silences him with a finger. "However, I don't believe we should leave Rose here alone."

Bem is still muttering to himself, rocking back and forth. I'm able to pick out the words, "He's different, but" repeated several times, but the rest of his words trail off.

Beth shifts in place, her hand drumming the handle of her pistol as she asks, "What are you suggesting?"

"We should take him back to Raz's. If he's there, we'll know he's safe."

Beth looks like she's about to object again when Rufka whispers, "Well, at least we'd always have a table."

"Fine."

"But…" Rose starts but I stop him with a pointed look. Beth doesn't want to bring him along, and I'm not certain her reasons are good ones, but now's not the time. Besides, I suspect we'll have a chance to revisit the topic later.

There's a commotion with Bem screaming about us not taking his son when Roberts talks to him about Rose going with us, but I only catch the beginning as Rose moves to reassure Bem.

Instead, Rufka and I are disassembling the last mana interference device, taking it offline (which I jokingly refer to as a grandmana clock.... Rufka doesn't get it).

As we pack the clock away in Rufka's inventory (I've already got three in mine) the quest updates again.

"Quest objective completed: Apparatuses disabled 8/8. Rewards: 5 Iron-rank integration points, 1 Iron-rank Progression Point, 5 Iron-grade essences.

Quest updated: Return a Forerunner Mana Interception Apparatus to Geral. 0/1 Reports delivered, 0/1 Apparatuses returned. Rewards: 5 Iron-rank integration points, 1 Iron-rank key."

Huh. Well, that's actually a little disappointing, but it's still pretty easy. I wonder what the key is for? Turning in the machine might not be the best way to go in the long term but it'd take more than six months to generate an equivalent number of points for just one of us using it. And hopefully, we'll be gone by then.

Though…

If Earth wasn't in trouble, I have to admit, I'm not sure I'd be so eager to return. There's still so much to see. And Rufka's here.

The only one I really miss is Sab.

Guess I just need to get really good at teleporting. Then I can just bounce back and forth between worlds, right? Problem solved. Hang out with Sab for Pasta Tuesday, then back to Akilo for wings Wednesday.

Or would having access to Raz's fix that? No, he said he can only connect to a Nexus. I don't think there are any Nexuses on Earth. But maybe I could make one.

"Iron for your thoughts?" Rufka says, elbowing me gently as we sit on the edge of the table waiting for the others.

"Oh. Just thinking about how nice it'd be if I could teleport between worlds."

"Ah. So, typical Lexi thoughts." She nods sagely, no trace of her smirk. But I know better.

"How is that typical?" I respond, unable to help myself.

"Because you want to do something impossible. And you'll probably figure it out."

"I think you're biased," I point out, sneaking closer to her.

"Not a chance," Rufka denies. She doesn't have an opportunity to say anything else before I press my lips against hers.

Despite my internal sense of time, I totally lose track until Roberts gives a gentle "ahem," followed by, "We're all done here. We're just waiting on you two."

"Uhh, sorry. We're done," I apologize.

"I wasn't," Rufka teases. But she does pull away from me.

With everything completed, we gather in the courtyard again. The children are there with Bem. It's strange watching Rose say goodbye, promising he'll see them again soon. Bem's not as loud as he was earlier, but I can tell he's not pleased to see Rose leaving.

A reminder that he really is more than Josh.

Tipan's just above the courtyard, still keeping watch but close at hand, just in case. Cause she's awesome like that. We have a short discussion and agree that as long as we only need to give him one of the devices, we'll hand it in for the last quest. We're keeping a few so we can set up our own System free zone. Just in case.

Before I know it we've flown back to Geral's. The mini-taur is practically dancing when we arrive.

Correction, he is dancing.

In a circle. While whooping his arms in the air. He sends himself wobbling with every motion, his flight spell apparently having trouble compensating but he doesn't let that influence his enthusiasm as he greets us. "There you are my great... no amazing! No, my incredible Citizens! I knew you could do it. Never doubted you. Not even for a minute."

Huh. Not so dour anymore, is he?

There are a few minutes of Beth relaying what we found before the quest ticks over. When I read the quest notification, there's a small pressure against the back of my right hand, then a new notification appears.

"Iron rank key acquired. Use keys to create or upgrade personal spaces accessible from any Rest Area, Creator Sanctuary or properly attuned Nexus."

Oh? Neat.

"Now. As we no longer have a dire threat sitting in the midst of our beautiful city, how would you feel about a proper tour?" Geral asks, rubbing his tiny paws together.

Beth looks around at the city before answering. "We don't have time. Still have other Citizen quests to resolve."

"Oh, of course. How silly of me. Well, when you're done, you really should come back. "

Before Beth can respond, Genitha steps forward from behind her, "We certainly will, my precious little Geegee."

"Geegee?" Rufka and I echo out simultaneously.

Neither Genitha nor Geral acknowledges us. Instead, they greet each other with a quick hug before beginning to chat amiably about a nearby restaurant. For a second, I consider asking him about the System giving me a scanning quest, but decide I'd rather talk it over with the others in private first.

While they catch up, we hold an impromptu meeting about our next steps. First thing we'll be doing is returning to Demo. Genitha wants to see the Fallen in Aethire for herself. Then it'll be back to Raz's for the evening, giving us time for our recently gained points to integrate. We'll leave Rose, and probably Demo, before turning our attention to Ivicka's Sanctum tonight. Which according to Genitha is near the southern tip of the continent.

When we appear back in Rufka's little hut next to Demo, Genitha remarks, "Oh my. A real live Phothen. I never dreamed I'd see the day."

"Greetings Lex. Yeh've picked up more locals, I see," Demo admonishes me instead of acknowledging Genitha from the centre of our circle.

"Uh yeah. I guess we have." Despite his rudeness, I'm more worried about how tiny Rufka's apartment feels with eight people all crammed in together. Afterall, Genitha's an archmage, I'm sure she can handle it. Luckily, Beth and Roberts are already making their way outside. "It's kinda tight in here."

"Well, when I was shopping for secret hideouts, seating for ten wasn't on my list," Rufka notes, drawing herself up as though offended.

"Well, clearly it should have been," I tease, idling slightly closer.

"I'll make sure to keep it in mind next time."

"You better."

We're only centimetres from kissing again when Demo asks, "Yeh do remember yeh're not alone?"

This prompts a deep bellied laugh from Genitha before she steps outside, followed quickly by Rose and Demo. Which just leaves us and Tipan, who's kind of trapped because we're between her and the exit. Otherwise, I'm sure she'd have made a graceful exit as well.

Then I realize she's staring at the room's entrance, shaking her head as if in a daze. Okay, maybe she wouldn't have.

When she notices my attention, she offers a slight smile, saying, "It's one thing for Rufka to say her mother's the Crimson Archmage. It's quite another to see her in the flesh."

"You know, she doesn't bite. I could introduce you properly," Rufka offers, taking Tipan's hand then giving it a squeeze.

"I'm not ready to talk to her. I'd probably say something stupid."

I can't help but laugh at that before remarking, "Well, I guess there's a first time for everything."

I'm not certain, but I can't help but feel like Tipan's ears stand a little straighter after my offhanded comment.

"Well, I suppose we should join the others," Tipan suggests. As much as I want to stay here with Rufka, I know she's right, so we join the others outside. The issue of overcrowding the small balcony is solved by half our group floating next to it.

Just like standing on the lawn back home. Totally the same thing.

I realize Genitha is talking to Roberts, though I miss most of it, I catch the last part, "...and Beth and I will teleport to this Nexus point 392 afterwards."

Huh, I guess Beth is going with Genitha.

I notice Tipan, swaying back and forth as if unsure about something, but then she blurts out, "I'm coming too."

Beth glances over at her, nodding. "Good."

"Hmm. She's rather conspicuous. I think I have just the thing," Genitha notes before a plain iron ring simply appears in her hands. Okay, that was neat.

Probably incredibly useful in combat too. I wonder if I can get something like that? She said it was a tattoo, right?

Tipan girds herself before reaching out to accept the ring from Genitha, "Thank you, Archmage."

"Oh no. None of that archmage stuff. Rufka's told me about you. You can call me Genitha."

Tipan doesn't respond, just nodding mutely as she slips the ring on. Seconds later and she looks like a completely different K'tharn. Her mohawk is gone, as are her elaborate braidings. The most shocking change is her new dark brown and black fur.

They don't waste any more time, but instead of flying out, they cross into the nearest walkway. I follow their movements for half a minute before they're out of sight.

Having seen them off, the rest of us return inside.

As Roberts, Rose, Rufka and Demo gather around me for our teleport to Raz's I realize something.

Way too many people's names begin with R. Rose is going to need a different name.

…..

Or not. I'm just going to pretend I didn't think that.

The teleport itself is the smoothest yet. At least, we teleported the whole way and no one is vomiting. I'm calling it a win.

As we shuffle into Raz's I notice that there's a table kept clear in the corner despite the room being otherwise completely packed.

Raz shows up seconds after we've entered, directing us to the table. "So, the strangest thing happened an hour ago. I received an order from a new client."

"An order from a new client doesn't seem all that strange," Roberts notes as we follow Raz towards the table. It's larger than any of the tables he had in here before. This new table could sit a dozen people comfortably while still having room left for pretzels and pizza.

"It's the client that's strange," Raz admits, taking a seat while gesturing for us to do likewise. "Their request is a little unusual as well, but I've heard stranger."

"Oh. And I take it this has something to do with us being shown to an empty table?" Roberts asks.

"Yes. Go ahead, inspect the table."

We all look at each other before shrugging and doing as he suggests.

"Object Analyzed: CMCC.

Description: Restricted."

Wait for it...

...

"Updating: Citizen Access - confirmed."

There it is!

Object Analyzed: Citizen Mission Control Centre.

Description: Activating this table will transport all connected Citizens and any of their approved agents to a private Citizen Mission Control Centre. Please note, temporal acceleration within the Citizen Mission Control Centre may cause disorientation upon entering and exiting. A reasonable facsimile of all active users will be maintained while the table is in use. Secondary effect: Sound and visual obfuscation for all creatures within two metres of the table.

Stewardship and Agent privileges granted to Agent Razalin Crancoid."

"Thank you for your service. This System looks forward to greater collaboration in the future Citizen Pandora."

Roberts lets out a low whistle while Demo leaps away from the table as though he's been burned.

Raz is grinning as though he expected their reactions. "Yep. Like I said. A very strange client."

When my eyes meet Rufka's, we just shrug before we both glance at Rose.

A fancy table?

Not even in my top ten 'Strangest Things' I've experienced since arriving on Akilo.