As the dragon and the hound of Hades performed their little meet cute, worlds away a fateful meeting had begun. Shara stood nervously in front of her door as the buzzer buzzed once more.

She took a breath then shook her head and put on a bright smile. There was no need to be worried. Mid was family, not something scary.

Shara bid the door to open and on the other stood her older sister. Slightly taller than Shara, with long black hair and a crooked over witch’s hat atop her head, Mid took up quite a bit of real estate in that doorway. Shara instinctively looked up slightly, though their difference in height was not truly that great.

Mid struck a pose, her cloak flowing to the left even as she pulled down the brim of her hat for effect. “Dear Childe, I thought you might never answer.”

“What? No…” said Shara, quickly. In fact, she spoke a little too quickly.

Mid’s eyebrow quirked upward and she unleashed a devastatingly knowing smile. “Now. Now… There’s no need for that. We are family, are we not?”

“Ah. Yes,” said Shara. “Thank you for coming.”

A short awkward pause ensued. It last just long enough to become a little painful. Mid was the one who broke the silence. “Perhaps my adorable little sister wishes to invite her older sister into her room?”

“Invite you in…” said Shara awkwardly. It was painful, this awkwardness. She rarely spoke with her family, other than her other older sister. The one known as Origin.

Shara laughed nervously and put a few fingers to her chin. She babbled, “I dunno, won’t I lose all power over you?”

“Goodness,” said Mid. “Does my cute little sister think me a vampire?”

It was hard, being herself. Whenever she was in character in a game, or if a Scott was on the line, she could just sink into the role she chose to play. There was comfort in cosplay. Solace in being anyone but herself, even if she went by the same name. Being Shara for real was something she was unaccustomed to doing frequently. That said, the absurdity of the moment finally got to her and she laughed in a less nervous manner. It was silly to ask Mid for help then be too nervous to even let her into the room.

“Sorry, please come in,” said Shara lightly. She offered a bright smile in an effort to return to her normal cheerfulness.

Mid smiled at her once more then sauntered into the room like she owned the place. Hips swayed. Breasts were upright. Shoulders were rolled back. Dogs and cats began living together in sin. Twinkies grew to the size of a small bus. It was anarchy. At least, that was what Shara felt as Mid stepped across the threshold and into her sanctuary.

Of course, Mid had been in her room before. Every member of her family had been inside her sanctum sanctorum. It still felt weird. Even when she did not go out of her way to show it. Mid had not been in her room in a long time, by her personal invitation. Though, admittedly she had stopped by now and then or appeared to take her to some meeting or another. This was different, though. This was a personal favor. It was for her Scott.

In truth, that was perhaps the most unsettling aspect of it all. Mid, on her own merit, was not actually a terrifying presence. Shara realized the truth as the world returned to normal. It was not Mid she was concerned about. It was the fact that she had needed to reach out to her in order to help her find Scott. Advice was one thing. She had asked her sister Origin for input now and then. It was this situation that was unsettling. Scott was nowhere to be found, and it made everything in Shara’s world spin wrongly on its axis.

“Fayth for your thoughts?” asked Mid lightly. She offered Shara a gently smile.

Shara could not help but smile back at her. No. Mid was not scary at all. It was her fear that she would tease her that was the problem. She could barely tolerate the situation. Scott was missing, and it unsettled her. Being teased about it too much would hit too close to home. It was the dread of the possibilities that could be that turned this simple meet up into some terrifying ordeal.

“So, then. Shall we find your lost boyfriend?” asked Mid.

Shara pouted at her. “Hey…”

Mid put her fingers to her lips and laughed softly. “Dear Childe, you are far too easy.”

“I don’t need you to tell me obvious things…” groused Shara petulantly, her cheeks puffed out and her face reddened.

“Those cheeks…” said Mid. She seemed barely capable of constraining her laughter. Though, she did manage to do so. “At any rate, you did call me here for a serious request. Your Scott is missing, and presumed emotionally unavailable?”

Shara sighed. The teasing had indeed begun in earnest. “That… Leaving that aside, yes. I have no idea where he is at the moment. The system cannot locate him, and since that means he is outside of its parameters…”

“I understand. Non-disclosure agreements can be so bothersome,” said Mid. She turned from Shara to Shara’s monitor. “I’ll use your equipment, but for legal purposes I cannot use your account.”

“Thank you. I really appreciate that you are helping,” said Shara.

Mid smiled at her. “Think nothing of it. I am overjoyed that you thought to ask me.”

Shara’s face reddened a little once more. She merely nodded in response.

Mid chuckled at her a little, then spun in place and canted her hip to one side for effect. “Now then. Let’s go find your man.”

Shara opted not to say anything in that moment, and meekly followed Mid to the monitor. She watched as Mid prepared to use a custom entry login command and smiled at her showmanship.

Mid thrust one palm forward and spoke imperiously, “I am Mid, Guardian of the Field of New Beginnings, empress of retail, and bearer of the lowest of extra low prices! In my name, I bid thee to adhere to my commands with haste and alacrity! Initialize Login Sequence, in Research Mode! My Administrative Password is…”

A glowing neon-blue pentacle appeared at the center of her palm, and a series of ones and zeroes appeared in front her hand. They floated upward then quickly disappeared as her key signature was entered into the monitor. It took her a moment to sync with the system when she used such a showy method, but it was certainly more entertaining than sitting down and putting on a command tiara.

Her eyes took on the same eerie neon-blue flow a moment later. She was now inside the system, in the development tool kit. The system, the actual main system architecture of the Divine City and not just the various world systems that existed, was a vast array that covered pretty much the entirety of everything. No one, not even the gods living in the divine city, had witnessed it all. Most never even discovered a modest fraction of what could be discovered within its codes and pathways.

Shara waited patiently while Mid performed her search. Her clearance level and administrative authority were much higher than her own. Only their parents had a higher clearance. Even the rarely seen Theta only had a similar level despite being older. Though, admittedly she spent far more time building world updates than mucking about the multiverse.

“Hmm…” said Mid in a curious tone.

“You found something?” asked Shara.

“Yes, and it is quite surprising,” admitted Mid.

“What? Tell me!” pleaded Shara.

Mid shook her head and tsked lightly at the air. A three-dimensional image of a black-haired man with red eyed appeared. However, he was stark naked save for the apron that he was wearing. The moment he appeared, her lifted his arms and made a kissing motion at the air. “To think, my little sister has this sort of stuff hiding in her monitor.

Shara made a squeaking noise and shook her head rapidly and whispered in a scandalized tone. “Oh no… my browser history… I forgot to delete it!”

“Such a rookie mistake…” agreed Mid shamelessly.

“Just how much Interdimensional-Scott porn do you have stored on your system? All this time and I still haven’t managed to escape the room architecture,” said Mid cheerfully. She then stopped and unleashed a low whistle. “Hello, little sister’s fiancé…”

Shara flailed her arms wildly, and spastically cried out, “It’s not what you think!”

“You only stare at the naked ass of Origin’s fiancé for the articles?” asked Mid lightly.

“I just like to look at him, is all…” mumbled Shara. “He’s pretty, and stuff.”

“And because of that, I now have a new screen saver…” said Mid in good spirits. She soon giggled lightly, and continued, “Everything’s coming up Mid! Good trade.”

Shara covered her eyes with her hands. This was going to be a long day.