Charlotte waited for Betty to get ready while she sat on the cushion. The kitchen was already clean and tidied to a t. She took her time but still Betty wasn’t ready and she couldn’t play with White Prism in case Betty called her from the room. In boredom, she tried to move the air around her, to gather it and control it, without assistance. To her surprise, she was able to do it without any problem.

I can somehow tell where the little balls of dirt are. She thought after moving air for some minutes. I can move them however I want. So weird, it’s as if I gained a new extension to my body. This is so different from the normal interaction I had with Prism. I believe with her, the energy was extracted and used in full, and as I was in her space, I didn’t have to worry about this feeling. Right now, she told me she wasn’t helping me with anything. The amount I use is a real problem, though. I use way more than ten times the previous amount, maybe close to fifty? It could be more… I’ll do more tests other day.

Charlotte stopped playing with the minute ball of dirt. It scattered instantly and produced an imperceptible air current. Charlotte turned to the opening door.

“What do you think?” Betty asked with a hand to her waist, her left leg handling all her weight.

Charlotte stared at her for a full minute. She had a black miniskirt so short it covered just enough to avoid showing her underwear, a wrong move, however, and it’ll be seen by the world. Her bare, white legs contrasted intensely with it and the black heels on her feet. They weren’t that tall, but more than enough to distance their heights to a full head difference. A black and white stripped, sleeveless blouse covered her upper body while still showing part of her cleavage. On her free hand was a small black purse hanging down. Her nails were painted of the same deep red color as her enticing lips, a slight blush on her cheeks and careful done eyelashes finished her face, ready to misbehavior. Her normal red blob hair was gone, in its place a longer and brighter straight hair without any decorations went down to her back.

“Hey, stop staring at me and say something!” She looked to the side as her blush intensified.

“O-oh! You look stunning!” Charlotte hastened to her feet, hitting her knee on the table in the process. “Truly beautiful, I was lost for a moment, really. Woa.”

“Really?” She looked at Charlotte with bright eyes.

“Totally! Had I not seen you going in there, I’d have thought you were a different person!” Charlotte said, getting a chuckle in response. “For you to get dressed like that, where are we going?”

“Well, there’s a party nearby.”

Charlotte breathed out a sigh she didn’t know she had. “I thought so…”

“Huh? Why? Don’t you like it?” Betty tilted her head.

“Not that much, I’m not a party person… I’m not saying I won’t go, just, don’t be too harsh with me.”

“Don’t worry! I promise you won’t get bored.” She winked at her and closed the door to her room. “But first, gimme your gun.” She extended her hand, asking for it to be delivered.

“What?” Charlotte took a step back, covering what she didn’t have with a smirk.

Betty rolled her eyes. “We’re going to a non-aggression place. You can’t bring any weapon.”

“Eh? No, I can’t give you it. It’s my only mean of protection.”

“C’mon, it’s safe in there. No one is allowed to bring a weapon.”

“But…”

“Sheesh, I swear, nothing’s gonna happen in there, trust me!” Betty leaned forward and winked, keeping on her face a happy expression. “I trusted you before, so now it’s time for you to trust in me!”

I just need to be more vigilant than normal, I guess. I’ll make White Prism scan my surroundings every three seconds, instead of the normal ten. “… Alright.” She put her gun on Betty’s extended hand.

“Oh! It’s heavier than it looks! W-well, I’ll leave this here.” She placed it under a cushion and jumped to Charlotte. “Let’s get going!”

Skipping to her side and they linked their arms together. Charlotte felt uncomfortable as she wasn’t used to being the one on the receiving end, not to mention that the one who linked hands was much taller than her. After turning all lights off and locking the house, they headed to the street.

They walked into an alley between two buildings four blocks from Betty’s place. It was dimly lit with only the light on top of the door Betty walked to. She knocked the door before pushing it open. They were greeted by a bodybuilder like, bald man who sat over a small chair almost invisible to the eye, the contrast, as comical as it was, didn’t allow for the two to laugh as the big guy emanated a strong presence.

“Good evening.” He said with a tender voice contrary to what Charlotte thought, maybe the music leaking from the door at his side also came in play. “If you’ve a recommendation, the fee would be 5 FC, if not, it’d be 20.”

“I’ll pay.” Betty said before Charlotte could take out her money. “I was the one who insisted on coming.” She winked before handing two bills to the man.

He received them and nodded before he stood from his little chair. He walked to Charlotte and crouched before her.

“Huh? What?”

“I need to check for any dangerous item on you. Stay still and lift your hands to the sides.”

O-oh, boy. I wasn’t told about this!

She breathed out before bringing up her arms. The man, even while crouching, was still taller than her. He started by touching her waist slightly, with just enough strength to see if there was something under the pant. He moved towards her belly, then her back and finally her chest, where his brow jumped for a moment. He continued under her armpit and to each of her arms. At the end, he started to check down on her thighs while applying more force than before. He stood once he was done.

He knows! He knows for sure I’m not a man! That fucking pervert! He did it so slow at the end I thought I was going to die! I demand a compensation! She shouted in her mind as she tried to keep a straight and neutral face.

“Sorry for the inconvenience.” He started with the same tone as he brought himself up to his feet. “There’s a lady inside to check her, but let me see your purse first so we don’t have surprises.”

He moved to Betty as she lifted her little red purse to him. He felt it from the outside first and then opened to see its insides. He nodded after he was done and walked to the door, opening it with a key he took out from his black vest.

“I wish you have a great time.” He stood at its side, avoiding any eye contact with Charlotte.

Betty was the first to enter while Charlotte paused before going in, glaring at the man who kept looking away. “I wish to be rewarded for your little misbehavior.” She whispered before going in.

Betty waited for her after the door, she was already done with her checking. “What happened?” She said as Charlotte approached her.

“Nothing, I’m not used to this kind of thing, is all. How was yours?” She said as the two of them descended the stairs, music being hitting their ears louder and clearer.

“She only checked my waist. I was really surprised considering how throughout he was with you.”

“Y-yeah. Let’s go in.”

“What happened?” The lady after the door asked the bald man after the two were gone. “I saw he told you something.”

“Nothing, really.” He continued to feign ignorance.

“I don’t believe you. He glared quite hard at you.” She chuckled.

The big man sighed before turning to her. “I think I overdid it. Give him a drink as apology, that’s all I’m telling you.”

“Oh my! I didn’t know you swung that way! This is quite the revelation! I’ll tell boss about it!”

“…Yeah…” He answered, his voice losing its suave tempo as his left hand continued to open and close.

“A small boy, huh.” The lady closed the door between chuckles to the man’s sigh.

They arrived to the basement of the building to the beat of a fast-paced salsa song, lifting Charlotte’s mood in recognition, as well as a corner of her lips. The place had a cool ambience over all; considering there were more than 40 people inside it wasn’t hot at all. Wooden tables adorned the room with enough room for someone to walk by in between. Over the walls, Charlotte found a huge number of pictures, most of which were glued over others making an interesting mosaic. The pictures were of all kind, going from famous living people to centuries old oil-based vehicles.

Too bad they were too dangerous for the world, if only their structure would be brought back, I’ll surely get one.

She continued to study the pictures as they sat in one of the two empty tables. She looked at the counter bar next to them, mannered by an old man and a young woman, behind them an assortment of alcoholic beverages of every kind waited to be used. Going from soft wines to absinthe, the man handled the drinks already on the counter with expertise as three guests waited for them. Before a minute went by, a girl with the same attire as the one in the counter greeted them, leaving a list of all the possible drinks handled inside with the prices listed next to each drink, going from a simple beer at 10 FC to an exquisite cocktail at 1000 FC.

“This is quite the list.” Charlotte said as she read through it.

“I know! I heard this was one of the best places in this sector, I always wanted to come here!” Betty spoke over the loud music; even if it wasn’t deafening, it was still impossible to talk with a normal tone.

She turned to Betty with a raised brow. “Is this your first time here?”

Betty’s blushed more as she nodded with vigor. “So what! I never had the chance to come here. Coming alone is a no game for me!”

“Is that so?” She grinned, causing a small squeal from Betty. “Ahaha, don’t worry, hmm, yeah! I’ll pay tonight in thanks for the afternoon’s games! Ask for whatever you want!”

“Really?!” Stars appeared on her eyes before she started to look at the list of drinks with new found determination.

Charlotte chuckled. Just don’t ask for something expensive.

Fortunately for her, Betty asked for a reasonable drink. They talked while drinking for the first thirty minutes, after the first round was over, they went to the dancing platform next to the counter and danced to the tune of the different songs the master of the bar played. At first, Charlotte moved awkwardly as she wasn’t used to be the leading figure, she got used to it after a few tracks. The songs were in constant change of genre, going through jazz, blues, to salsa and folklore like songs they improvised to.

After moving their bodies for a while, they returned to their table to drink some more and talk at ease. They repeated the cycle three more times. After finishing the third round of drinks, however, Charlotte started to feel lightheaded so on the fourth she just asked for a cheap beer to soften her incoming drunkenness.

Before they went to dance, a tall man wearing a white tuxedo approached them. Despite his well-dressed body, his face left her a stronger impression. He had piercings under his lips as well as his nose and left brow, his hair was held high up by jelly and his face was covered in old scars. He bowed before them, asking Betty to accompany him in a short piece. She looked at Charlotte, who closed her eyes for a second. Opening them, she shrugged. The two walked to the platform and started to dance.

If he tries anything on my Betty I can foil him, he doesn’t have any hot weapon, only a blade under his augmented left hand with a strange activating mechanism, easy enough to tamper with… She thought, following the two with her eyes.Huh, since when have I been this bold… ‘Think I’ve drank too much. She looked at the now empty beer and sighed.

She shook her head and stood from the table, wandering through the guests enjoying the night to the pictures she didn’t had the chance to study before. There were paper news between some of the pictures, old and new. She walked around the wall until she arrived to a corner that had an early occupant studying the pictures. The second song since Betty went away was almost finished. Charlotte looked at the dancing platform in search of her companion, who danced to the song with a smile on her face as her lips moved.

They’ll take a while; I better entertain myself to not get too bored. She turned to the one studying the pictures in the corner and walked over.

A girl with a long dress studied the pictures, she was smaller than Charlotte which boosted her courage to do something new.

“Excuse me, beautiful lady.” She spoke loud enough to garner the girl’s attention. “Would you bother to entertain me with a piece?”

The girl turned her body completely startling Charlotte for a moment. The white of her eyes was fully black with metallic sheen reflecting the dim light of the basement. There was a big scar at each corner of her eyes and a support under her chin which went under her clothes. The girl’s eyes moved up and down, studying Charlotte before she lifted her hand to her. Charlotte blinked once before taking it. The girl smiled at her before liking her lips and pushing her closer, destabilizing Charlotte to the girl’s height.

“I’m sorry.” The girl said with a monotonous voice. “But I don’t like to entertain naughty girls like you.” The girl released her hand and walked away.

Getting past of her surprise, Charlotte readjusted herself in the corner and turned to look for the girl. Finding her past some tables, she started to go her way as a loud laugher came from her side. She turned to find the black skinned man with jelly in his hair coming her way along with Betty, giggling on the way. She sighed and pointed to the wall as their table only had two seats, assuming the man still wanted to have a talk with them.

“Don’t worry, boy!” He said between snickers. “She’s into girls, so you don’t have to be disappointed to be rejected by her!”

“Girls, huh…” She said as a corner of her lips jumped.

“Yeah! Though the way she rejected you is new. She usually keeps her distance and turn down every male!” He started laughing again.

“Huh. I see you know her quite well.” Charlotte commented with a half-smile.

“Right!” He turned to Betty. “She’s the companion I was talking about. Her name is Kiri, it’s actually because of her I approached you. I’m Farid, by the way.” He finished by extending his gloved right hand.

“A pleasure, the name’s Hiro.” She shook hands with him. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I’m not certain. She told me you’re kind of strange so she wanted my help in that. But you don’t have to worry, we don’t have anything against you!” Farid said with a snicker.

Charlotte frowned and before she opened her mouth, she decided to close her eyes. She looked through Betty’s body in search for anything wrong with White Prism’s help. Apart from the slight alcohol intoxication, she was fine. She left White Prism on full alert and opened her eyes after a few seconds.

“Kind of strange, huh?”

“Yeah! Though I already know you got your secrets and you’ll tell her when it’s time,” He turned to Betty before ending his words, “right?”

“Yes! I’m sorry, Hiro.” Betty said before approaching Charlotte’s ears. “I had to tell him about you being with Luxuria, he’s an agent of the Alliance, you see.”

Charlotte took a step back before glaring Farid.

“You don’t have to worry.” He said with his hands on the air. “We’re not here because of you, this is a neutral place inside the city. We’re here on other business.”

“Please Hiro! He was just worried about me! He told you, didn’t he? There was something strange that girl asked him to confirm!” Betty begged her.

Charlotte looked at Betty for a moment before sighing, receiving a hug in response.

“Though I admit, I really want to know what it was she saw strange in you. She obviously didn’t know anything about your affiliations.”

“I want to know it too!” Betty insisted.

“I told you I was going to tell you something later, remember?”

“Uhm, yes?” Tilting her head, Betty looked at Charlotte with unsure eyes.

“Anyway. I’ll tell you later, away from him.” She glared at Farid before softening her eyes on Betty.

“What?” Betty said with tearing eyes. “But I want to know now. It’s killing me that they approached us because of that!”

“Yeah! I also want to know!” Farid shrilled from the side, a mischievous smirk pasted on his face.

… He’ll get to know eventually… That girl already knows. She scratched her head in annoyance her secret was so easy to expose. “… Agh, alrigh-“

“CAREFUL!” A high-pitched scream came from the entrance of the pub, making the three of them to turn in sync with the other guests to see what was happening.

A man covered in a long, tattered black coat ran inside the basement shouting, “Freedom!”, before his body caught on fire.

“Damn!” Farid shouted.

Charlotte found herself flying through the air soon after that as great pain surged through her body. She opened her eyes as soon as she could, finding herself lying on the floor surrounded by countless debris. Her ears hurt as a strong whistle kept them from hearing the silence of the previously noisy bar in the basement. The lights almost completely gone with only the constant blink of those good enough.

She sat with difficulty after her ears regained some of its functions. She heard people crying in despair and agony as her mind tried to comprehend the situation. W-what, happened? She looked around, almost everyone was on the floor with faces twisted by pain. She noticed a shadow approaching her, turning her head, she saw the little girl, Kiri, with her clothes in tatters, under which a metallic sheen reflected the blinking lights. She kept approaching her, no, she approached the man lying a couple meters beside her, Farid, and crouched at his side. Kiri touched him for a while and then lifted him up to a sitting position.

“-re… -ke?” She heard the girl saying.

Charlotte frowned. Farid started speaking after a while but Charlotte wasn’t able to understand half his words. Kiri let him lay carefully on the floor before turning to her. Kiri’s frown deepened as she stared down at her. Crouching in front of her, Kiri started to talk and hit her on the cheeks. After a few seconds, Charlotte started to register the hits and Kiri’s voice.

“Alright, you’re mostly fine now.” She said. “Help me tend the survivors. Help is already coming.”

Survivors…? She blinked twice. Right! Survivors! BETTY! She shook her head before looking around her. “Betty!” She jumped to her feet ignoring the pain in her body and looked around, a body laid on the floor some meters away from her. She ran to it and turned it around, getting a scream of agony in response. It wasn’t Betty, it was a man covered in bruises and blood. His face distorted in pain and his mouth gaping open with shouts.

“Be careful!” Kiri shouted near her as she tended to another victim.

Charlotte let the man on the floor as carefully as she could with her trembling hands and closed her eyes. She was unable to connect with the colorless space in her two initial attempts. Calm down! Charlotte! You have to be calm and composed to enter! Calm down! After breathing in and out five times, her heart started to stabilize as well as her breathing. Trying to enter once again, she finally found herself inside it.

“Where’s Betty!” She shouted at White Prism, who immediately showed Betty with brown colors. She was five meters from her. Soon after that, a screen appeared in front of her, informing her of Betty’s condition. “Damnit! Stabilize her! Use however amount of energy is required!”

Opening her eyes, she was about to run to Betty when the scream of the man below her made her look at him. Damn… This… She entered the colorless space again and asked White Prism how was the man beside her. He wasn’t as bad as Betty, he’ll be at death’s door soon if she did nothing, though. I can’t save two at the same time… Hell, I don’t even know him. Betty’s the priority! But he’s still a victim! Damnit!

She looked at him once outside. “Don’t worry,” she started, “help is already coming. You’ll be fine. Try to breath in and out and focus on it.” She brought his hands to his abdomen and lifted his head with a ruble she found next to her. The man calmed down considerably at her words and tried to calm his breath as much as he could. She nodded at him before saying she had more things to do.

Before arriving to Betty, she walked by another body, it was dead, a woman’s. She gritted her teeth and continued.

“Betty!” She crouched beside her, not daring to do the same she did with the man.

Charlotte’s eyes closed and studied her injuries once again. Betty’s kneed were broken and even now were in the opposite direction they should be, all her lumbar part of her spine was broken with some of its bones rupturing the organs beside it, the kidney receiving a major injury and from which most of her blood was leaking.

“The recovery can be boosted, right? Don’t just contain the hemorrhage. Do it.” She told White Prism after thinking.

THERE IS ENERGY NECESARY FOR YOU

“I already said it doesn’t matter how much energy is required, use it. I don’t want to lose someone while being able to help.”

ALRIGHT.

“… But first, show me what happened. You’re on when that happened, right?”

Beside her appeared a new image, it showed the full bar without sound or colors. At the front door was the coated man. He had a slight yellow sheen, a color she was seeing for the first time in the colorless space. She frowned. After a moment the man’s abdomen started to be torn apart as well as his clothes. His remaining upper body then flew to the ceiling and splattered in it. An explosion, she concluded. The people near him, already with their faces turned to him, started to be lifted by the debris and the air caused by the explosion. People flew, broken chairs and tables hit more people, causing the nearest ones to die almost instantly. One of the debris, a chair’s seat, hit Betty on her back. Charlotte stood past Betty and the black man from the Alliance, Farid, who acted like shield from most of the debris.

As Charlotte’s body started to be lifted by the explosion’s wave, she was covered by a red sheen, protecting her from the impact she suffered. Betty didn’t receive that treatment, however. Her knees gave forward before she rolled twice. Charlotte rolled twice backwards without taking much damage. She gritted her non-existent teeth.

“How many are still alive?” She asked before the image disappeared.

In the projection of the external world, White Prism showed her who was still alive, as well as who was in critical condition.

“Thirty-four… Everyone near the entrance are dead. Twenty on critical condition… Keep the link only on Betty, I’m sorry for the rest but I can’t do anything else… Keep working on Betty, don’t let her die. Please.” Her voice didn’t quiver, she didn’t have a throat which could quiver in there. “Stop looking after me, too. Only focus on Betty.”

Going back to the real world, she already knew who was dead and alive, and who could be saved and who couldn’t. She started to move.

However unprofessional she was, she had been reading books on medicine for the last few days. She could help a little bit. But there were some who she couldn’t help, she had to forsake them even amidst their cries for help. She helped stabilize five women and four men, even trying to help one on death’s door. For nothing, he stopped breathing as she tried to close his wounds.

Farid joined them after a while, as well as two others who could move still.

Charlotte helped stabilize the most part of the victims. She received glares from the other two civilians helping them as she walked past someone who cried for help, dying a couple of minutes later. After a while, people in white clothes descended on the basement. She was brought to the car Betty was put in after insisting she wouldn’t allow her to go alone.

Kiri helped her get inside.

They went to a big hospital she didn’t know existed in Paversia and anxiously waited for Betty outside the surgery room she was in. She waited for the next hour. At six in the morning, she was informed Betty was out of danger, but that she would most likely be unable to walk again. She cried in joy, at least she was able to save someone she cared for this time.