As they came out of the apartment, Charlotte saw one of the men stood alone next to the door, the other two went away.

“Follow us. I’ll show him around.”

The man looked at Olimpia with a raised brow and nodded slowly after a moment. Olimpia walked to the elevator with the man behind her, but Charlotte stood in the corridor, looking to the sides.

“No stairs here?” The couple looked at each other and then back at her.

“Yeah, but they’re outside up here. It’s also pretty cold this late. Still want to use them?” Olimpia said.

“It’s fine, I just want to walk to think for a while. I guess a chilly night’ll do wonders.”

Olimpia scratched the back of her head and walked to her, one of the elevator’s door opened at that moment. “Then you go alone with him, I can’t stand the wind out there and it’s pretty cold. I’ll wait for you in the lobby.” She entered her house after Charlotte nodded.

The man had a wry expression but said nothing to this instruction. He walked past her to the end of the corridor and opened the window. Charlotte trembled for a moment as the cold wind hit her body. She walked to the window while the man went through it. She looked out and followed his actions. Once outside, she saw the lighted up city. She stood in a small platform just big enough for a person to walk comfortably, the coated man was a few steps to her right. After him stairs with guards to prevent one from falling waited for her.

She closed her eyes and entered the white space. “First, get a clear image of as many people as I can.” She did a scan of the floor and found 28 people in there, she then extended the projection to each one and recorded everyone with the best quality she could get.

She descended the stairs and did the same on each floor. She entered the building in the 25th floor as the outside stairs ended there. She was trembling all over her body and her lips had gained a purplish tint. More than 200 people were properly recorded so she decided to stop recording people for now. She started to experiment with the DNA in each floor after that, stopping in front of the window to look outside.

She arrived to the lobby after an hour. There were three people seated in the couches, Olimpia was none of them. The coated man said Olimpia will arrive shortly, so she sat in a couch and the man stood at her side. Shortly after, the pink girl arrived.

“So? How was it?”

“Pretty cold, but beautiful.”

“I don’t mean that.”

“I know. Hey, can we have dinner? I’m starving.” Charlotte said with a small grin.

Olimpia sighed loudly. “Let’s go back to my place, we’ll order something in there.”

They went back through the elevator this time and entered the apartment. The man followed them in and approached the sofas. He paused his steps as he arrived behind them and looked back at the two girls.

“What’s the matter?” Olimpia asked as she walked past him, to the kitchen.

“When did you get a gun?”

“O-oh, sorry, that’s mine.” Charlotte said as she hurried to the table and grabbed the gun.

The man eyed her and tensed his body. He held his hands up in position for a fight with a serious expression in his face. Charlotte looked back after she put the cartridge in the gun and placed it in her back, and raised a brow.

“What? I’m not here for a fight. I plan to join you guys, even if I got the money to pay my way out.” The man lowered his hands but his body remained alert.

She shook her head and looked to Olimpia who stood near the kitchen. “So? What’re we ordering?”

Olimpia jumped a bit and turned to the kitchen. “Right. What do you want?”

Charlotte approached her and said with a hand caressing her neck. “Hmm, whatever you want, I guess. Oh, but make it three, no, four servings for me.”

Olimpia looked at Charlotte and eyed her up and down. “Really? You’re that little and eat that much? Won’t you get fat?”

“Don’t worry about it. I normally eat that much and look.” She showed Olimpia her hand. “I’m still this skinny.”

“… So that’s why you take so long in the toilet?” Olimpia nodded and lifted a wired phone in the wall.

Charlotte’s face turned beet red and looked at the phone. So, they have those here. Why’s there no cellphone or similar things here. Too expensive? Or maybe a way to control the city? Really.

She walked back to the couches after giving the kitchen a quick look. The man sat in one of the single sofas and she did the same. She looked at the table and stretched her hand towards one of the four books in there. A detective novel, Their eyes, was its tittle. She remembered that book from her childhood, from when she was in school and they forced her to read it. She didn’t remember the story, though.

She opened it and started to read the first page. She read slowly, even if she was proud of her fast reading speed, now wasn't the time to showcase it. She had other things to do and it’ll be a good cover. After an hour, the phone rang and she realized Olimpia sat in the big couch with another book in her hands. The man who stood in the middle of the room, looking and admiring the paintings, went to answer the call. Shortly after, a knock resounded in the room and he went to retrieve the food.

He brought a plastic bag, put it beside the table and walked to the kitchen.

“Alright, time to eat.” Olimpia placed the book besides her and took away the other books from the table.

She then took out a big, white container and left it in the middle of the table. The man brought three empty plates and placed one in front of everyone present. He also brought a big spoon and started to serve his own food. The container was full of rice, a lot of brown rice; smoked vegetables and different kind of meat adorned the brownish rice. There was a small red sauce glued to the back of the box Olimpia retrieved.

It wasn’t the best food Charlotte had eaten but it was a far cry from the worst spot. “This is tasty.” She said after she swallowed the first batch.

“Right? It’s the best to have if you don’t want to make anything and it’s cheap enough to feed a lot of people.” Olimpia poured a lot of the red sauce in her plate and stirred it even with the rice. “You should try this, it tastes way better.”

Charlotte did as suggested and tried it again, it tasted sourer but gave a sweet after taste. She marveled at the experience and ate with relish.

After dinner was over, Olimpia kept staring at her belly, a troubled expression in her face. “Really, how do you do it? Your stomach’s still as smooth as before. How envious.”

“I got a special constitution. Sorry for the trouble and thanks for the food.” Charlotte bashfully said.

“No problem. So, you already said you’re joining, right? I need your blood then. Let me get a needle and somewhere to put it on.” She stood from her seat and walked to the kitchen.

The coated man did the same but with the dirty stuff they used to eat and the trash left. Olimpia came back with a first aid kit and sat in her previous spot. She opened it and brought out a needle and a test tube first, she placed them in the table and then brought out a band aid.

“Here, want me to do it? Or you want to do it yourself?”

Charlotte looked at it and braced herself. “Is it clean?”

“Clean? Oh, the needle, yeah. I always wash it after it’s used.” Olimpia smiled sweetly and said with innocent eyes.

“… I want a new one.”

“Huh? Why? I told you it’s clean.”

“… I, don’t know. I, my body tells me it needs to be new. And, I gotta follow it, you see, I don’t remember a lot of things.”

“Hmm, alright, but that’s a problem.” She looked to the kitchen. “I don’t have any new ones here. You’ll have to wait ‘till tomorrow so we can find a place to get a new one.”

Yes! I need all the time I can get! Charlotte nodded slowly and looked at the needle with disgust in her eyes. “No problem.”

They continued to chat for a while and the man said his goodbyes to the two of them after he took care of the dirty plates.

After he went out, Olimpia stood from her sofa. “Leave your gun in the table. You can take the ammo with you if you want, just to prevent any accidents. But the gun needs to stay there.”

“Why?”

Olimpia pointed to the camera. “I’m not the only one with access to those. There shouldn’t be anyone looking at it now, but the same can't be said in the future. Right now, if something was to happen to me, you’ll be the first to be questioned for it. You'll get suspected if you take the gun. Don’t make that face, what we talked in my room won’t go out of there. If nothing happens to me, that is.”

Charlotte’s frown lessened but a grave expression kept on her face. “I thought this was your private house.”

“And it kind of is. I’m a recruiter, and everyone who joins need to be verified. I won’t be able to work in Sock’s Candy for a while because of what you did today. But that’s another thing, I still have this. You can sleep in my room and tomorrow we’ll do everything that’s needed for you to join. Oh, I forgot, want to take a shower first?”

“… Alright.”

“Fantastic! Let me get you a towel.” She clapped and went through the closed door to the rooms of the house.

Charlotte stood up and unloaded her gun. She left it in the table and looked at the cameras. I hope nothing goes wrong. At least I got free food, though there’s still time until it’s digested completely. She caressed her stomach as she waited.

Olimpia returned with a towel in hand and handed it to her. “You can go in.”

Charlotte walked to the big bathroom, there was a wardrobe before the actual bath, countless clothes in there, which reminded her of the one in Dordive’s room. She crossed it and took off her shoes, pants and her shirt. She stood in a boy’s boxers and the bandage wrapped around her chest. She closed her eyes and activated her Disguise Form: Kid and Disguise Form: Make-Up. I need to change their names. She modified the kid one to allow her breasts a little more freedom, though not so much to get them back to their normal shape. After she opened her eyes, she undid the bandage and took off the underwear.

She showered quickly and put on the clothes back on. When she came out of the room, Olimpia waited with her back on the wall in front of the bathroom. “You finally came out. Really, you take too long in the bathroom.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t worry, here.” She handed her some clothes and walked to her bedroom.

“Didn’t you say you were lending me the room?”

“Yes, but I never said you’re sleeping alone.” She turned her face back with a big grin as she entered the room.

Charlotte sighed and followed her. When she entered the room, she saw the pink dress in the floor. Olimpia was in the process of taking off her sandals, her back facing the door. She had scars on her back and a big mark that went down in her right side, disappearing under her leggings. She also had a metal plate in the lower part of her spine.

“What, never seen a nude girl before?” Olimpia grinned as she turned to the other girl who stood in what she believed was a daze under the door.

Charlotte blinked at Olimpia and shook her head. “No, I was just looking at those scars on your back, I didn’t see them before.”

“Oh, right. You recognized I was working topless before. I totally forgot that. Heheh.” She looked away for a moment as her cheeks gained a little color. Her face then turned sour as she started. “… These were done when I was younger, before a group from Luxuria saved me. Some fools were doing experiments with girls, I just happened to be one of those girls. They saved me, you know? Even If they work with prostitutes and things like that, they still have a code of behavior, they’re the lesser devil of the lot. I like to think that way.”

“… Sorry to make you remember that.” She looked down, regretting her insensitive question.

“Oh, don’t worry.” Olimpia answered with a sweet smile which then turned to a devious grin. “Change so we can sleep.”

Charlotte felt chills running down her back. “I, I’m gonna use the bathroom.”

“No. Do it here. I want to see.” Olimpia said before Charlotte could escape, authority in her voice.

“… Alright.”

She walked to the desk and put there the clothes she was given and undressed again, giving Olimpia her back. She took everything but the boxers and bandage. She lifted the sleeping gear and saw there were two. On was a white dress and the other was a classic blue pajama.

“Took that off.”

Charlotte turned her head over and saw Olimpia sitting on the bed with crossed, bare legs; she had taken off her leggings at some point and only had her panties on. She was topless and a devilish grin on her face. It wasn’t an arousing one, but one of someone who liked to play with others, to feel superior and make the others suffer. A sadist.

Charlotte felt her head cool down. If the other girl showed her an aroused expression, Charlotte wouldn't know how to behave. But if Olimpia only wanted to feel superior and do harm, without any other thoughts in her mind, then she knew how to behave. She had a similar personality, she liked to toy with her partner, but only when she was in the mood and with someone she felt right. She looked at the clothes and undid the bandage, she put on the classic pajamas and approached the devil girl.

“Here, happy?”

“Oh? What happened? Why did you suddenly change?”

“I don’t like to be played by people like you.” She said flatly with a neutral face. “Anyway, I seriously want to sleep, mind you?”

“O-oh. Sorry, heh. I guess I let myself get in a strange mood. You’re too cute, though! What happened to your back?”

“A burn, some months ago, I think. It’s almost healed now.” She walked past the almost nude girl and tumbled face first unto the bed.

Olimpia bit her limps and shook her head in disappointment. I should’ve behaved more. I lost a nice one…

The almost nude girl regained a normal expression after a moment and went out of the room. She entered the room after with a long nightdress on her body. She saw the other girl breathing slowly and sighed again. “You were that tired, huh. You didn’t even cover yourself.” She shook softly the girl, who opened her eyes drowsily, and made her move a little. She then covered the girl, got herself inside the bed's covers and turned off the light after blinking twice. She fell asleep soon after that.

Sigh “Really, this’ll be a more tiring night than I thought. I need to keep these two on all night and I also need to keep on looking for a proper way to make a functioning DNA. No sleep for the hard workers, I guess.” She said inside the colorless space.

She spent all night trying to figure how to make a stable combination. Unaware that the sun rose, she finished shortly after the first part. After that, she decided to modify the mitochondria as she remembered at some point during the night, it could also lead to herself, or at least to her mother or something like that. She used Gut’s as a template and only modified it a little.

As she finished working with the mitochondria, she felt something touch her head and was jolted awake by Olimpia. She slowly opened her eyes and looked to her side.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty. How was your night?” Olimpia said as she laid on her side, her right hand under her pillow and her right caressing Charlotte’s short, dark brown hair.

Her body had a nice rest but her mind was tired. "what ya doin'?" She voiced with a sleepy tongue.

Olimpia blinked twice and giggled. "You truly sleep a lot. You've been there for more than ten hours." She stopped her hand and brought it back to herself.

Charlotte cleared her throat and clicked her tongue a couple of times. "Ahem. Sorry. What time's it?"

Olimpia stared at the empty space above them and after a moment answered. "It's past ten. Ten eleven to be exact."

"I see... Huh? How did you know?" Charlotte looked where Olimpia had looked before and saw no clock, there wasn't any clock in the room. She looked back at Olimpia with surprise over her face, her mouth opened slightly.

"Oh, yeah. In the outside any modification to the body is banned, right?" Charlotte nodded and waited her next words eagerly. "I got my right eye modified. It only shows me a small window that I keep connected to my computer, though if I'm out of range it does nothing, apart from a normal vision."

"That's a nice way to be updated..." Charlotte's voice trailed off, her mind busy with the possible applications something like that could bring her if she could connect her eyes to Prism.

"Yeah, though it's a little costly and needs more things replaced than a simple eye." Olimpia saw how serious Charlotte's face became with her words. "Hehehe, you wanna know more about it? You truly are an oddball."

"Sorry," she blushed and her expression became meek for a moment, "but yes, I want to know. Can you tell me more?"

"I'll love to. Let's tidy the place while I tell you more."

Olimpia threw away the blankets on her body and jumped out of bed. Charlotte grumled her way out but followed the pink haired girl. She explained how it worked for her, or at least tried to the best of her understanding, she wasn't an expert in the subject, after all.

Basically, it's a three steps process. The device in her back gathers information at a restricted frequency, and sends it through an artificial nerve to her brain, which had also been somehow modified, I assume. And the brain then sends it to her eye. The most important part is if the brain is truly modified in some way and how it's done.

Charlotte sat on the left sofa once they finished cleaning the bedroom and the living room. Olimpia was in the bathroom taking a shower, so she had time to think. Anyway, I better finish the work with the DNA before thinking about other things.

She closed her eyes and entered the Crystal's Space. She continued to work with the genetic material of the cell and how to make it all work without problem. Everything was done in a simulated memory of White Prism, though, so it still lacked real-life testing.

She opened her eyes after Olimpia touched her awake. "You fell aslep again. Really, if you're so tired tell me so, you can sleep in my bed for a while."

"Sorry, I think I can stay awake for now." Charlotte scratched her cheeks and got on her feet. "We ready to go?"

"You won't take a bath?"

"I already took one yesterday before going to bed, no? I think I'll take one later."

Olimpia shrugged and walked to the door with Charlotte right at her back. They went out of the building after a while and arrived some minutes later to a pharmacy. Olimpia bought a couple of needles and then went to a restaurant to have a late breakfast. Charlotte ordered enough to make Olimpia lose her appetite, so she ate a fifth one at the end.

They came back to the apartment after noon and walked to the middle of the living room. "You want me to do it?"

"I can do it myself, I think." Charlotte looked at her left arm and searched for a place to insert the new needle.

Olimpia looked how the small girl hesitated before rolling her eyes. "Let me do it." She said before tearing away the needle in Charlotte's hand.

"I, can do it."

"No, you can't. If you doubt so much it's obvious. I've done it before and know people who brave themselves and stay with the needle only a few milimeters from the vein, they either make a mistake or don't do anything at all."

"I see." She smiled wryly and pushed forward her arm. "Do it fast."

Olimpia saw how Charlotte closed her eyes and shook her head. Such a strong facade for nothing. She grabbed her arm and rubbed the skin between the fore arm and the upper limb, in the arm fold. She then traced the most visible vein, inserted the needle at a certain angle and pulled out the tap of the syringe until it was half full.

Charlotte didn't utter a word, she saw the process and made a script out of it in the colorless space. When the needle was out, so was she to reality.

"There," Olimpia rubbed the spot again and left the needle on the table. She then got a small, wet towel and cleaned it before placing an aid band on it, "if something starts to hurt, then say so before taking out the band. I'll see if it got infected or something."

Charlotte felt a slight irritation in her hand but didn't pay it much attention. She looked at the syringe with her blood and saw how Olimpia emptied it to the test tube she had prepared.

"Can I look at it?" Olimpia looked at her and nodded.

"Why, yes.” She said before handing it to Charlotte.

"I just want to. Nothing special."

Charlotte held it in her hands and sat in the single sofa that became her own during her stay. She entered the Crystal's Space.

"Let's do it! I want every cell's DNA in there to be changed to the CG15, and the mitochondria to be the MC21! The other parts with DNA will be as the last we did! Do it as fast as possible and spare no energy!" She felt some kind of energy deplete rapidly.

After no more than a minute, Prism showed her a panel with words of success, along with other worrying information. "I only have 33% of energy left, from what Prism told me, I had a little more than 20% that time in the coast. I spent nearly 20% in this short while... The one in the CECC is completely gone and my body will become malnourished, again. Damn, it was more tiring than I thought. The amount of healthy blood cells in there is three fourths of the original, the others had to be disposed off, just to prevent any linking to me and that's what spent most of the energy..."

She went out after sighing to herself. Before opening her eyes, she felt an excruciating pain permeate her head. She sucked in air and opened the lid to let the invisible waste go away. She closed it back after some seconds and placed the test tube in the table.

"Are you done with that small ritual?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Charlotte felt light headed, sound hit hard on her ears and her brain shouted for rest.

"What's wrong? Oh my, your face is pale! What happened to you?!" Olimpia stormed to Charlotte’s couch, she crouched in front of her and touched her head. "You've no fever and your pulse is normal? Are you weak to blood?"

"I, don't know? I guess? Hey, can I go back now?"

"Like this? No, I don't want you dying in the street, you'll stay here until you're better."

"I insist, they must be worried." Charlotte said with a weak smile, her head at least didn’t feel as bad as that time with the kidnapers.

"... Ok, I'll walk you there." She straightened her body and walked to her kitchen.

"There's no need." Charlotte shook her head and stood up, the world around her spun for a moment. She clenched her teeth in stubbornness.

Olimpia looked back at her and sighed. "You're a proud one, I can see that. Try not to fall on the street."

"Thanks." Charlotte smiled as best as she could and walked to the front door.

Once she entered the elevator, she closed her eyes and saw a lot of black spots in her vision. She exited the building and walked to Eve's house. In the way she stumbled upon a random restaurant and went in. She ordered six meals but was only able to finish four, her stomach hurt and she felt like throwing out. She walked unsteadily and arrived to Eve's, it took her almost two hours to do all this. She climbed slowly the stairs, cursing at her hot headed self. She arrived to the eight floor and knocked on the second door on the right. After a moment, she saw how the world started to spin again and felt her body gave up to gravity. Fuck.