I did not even have time to think about the consequences of my abrupt logout, and I know that part of Cala's somewhat erratic behaviour was due to stress.

The stress of being into a new world, the stress of not knowing what happened to the Lynx, Spartacius and the rest. I know she feels responsible for them.

I did not even have the time to think about all this, and now I had to meet Matt! What does the idiot want?

To my surprise, Matt's visit was not the pain in the ass I expected it to be. He was delighted to talk to Flo, she was happy to chat with him, and that happiness somehow took over my mood. He drank no beer, just some juice, which earned him praise from Mr Robertson, who stayed with us for about five minutes before leaving the room. Yeah, of course, he cannot forget that Cala pushed back against his moralizing stance.

Matt informed me that some policemen had asked questions about the incident at Tim's house, but it was not regarded as a big deal: some kids had played with crackers, and a curtain took fire. That was how the cops saw it, plus nobody was really hurt so they tended to close the matter without a follow-up.

Well, I had been wounded; however, Matt had told them that I was not. He had cut his hand in the aquarium's glass, and that's where the blood drops came from. That's what he had told them. No, it was not the other boy who'd hurt him.

He even had made a cut to his hand to have something to show, a thing that impressed Flo greatly. He had thought about it, he did the cut, and he went with his story just to save me some trouble?

In my opinion, he came here to brag about it, but I could not change Flo's mind. Eh, whatever.

When he left, he got a kiss on the cheek from Flo, and my naked breast touched him. That sent a shudder through my body. Fuck Flo and her illusionary shirts!!

She told me that she was very disappointed because Cala was also not really impressed by him. She was not as dismissive as I was but not impressed.

“Why can't I talk directly to Cala? I am Cala, so what have you done?”

“I haven't done anything... Ahm, ok, yes, I did this. The problem is that I made that additional connection with Cala. It seems that had put your body in the background and Cala's body in the foreground, but that did not change your connection to Cala.”

“I don't understand? What foreground and background?”

“Look, you have first to understand how these things work. You and me, we are both possessing Cala.”

Possessing Cala? She answered my unasked question:

“Yes, what you do in this so-called game is possessing people in the other world.”

If I could, I would have sighed: that world is a virtual game world, but I did not voice that.

She continued with her explanation:

“When you possess somebody, you are either an ethereal, or you become one, your body moves to the ethereal plane. You then connect to the real world inside your victim's body, neutralizing his control over his body. Look, when you die in the other world, you are a ghost. That ghost is the possessing entity that can move in the ethereal world. Do you understand me?”

I almost tuned her out. I don't need her explanations about possessing. I know this is not how it works; Cala is my avatar. Yes, an advanced avatar that was given the faculty to think. Maybe too advanced.

“How can I get a closer connection with Cala? I want to be able to better coordinate with her if I am to live with her body?”

She sighed.

“I don't know for sure. Now your connection to Cala is through me. All I could imagine is to strengthen the connection between us.”

“Would this mean that we will be unable to separate in the future?”

“No, we will still be able to separate. What this does is to bring us closer; we will influence each other even more than we currently do.”

She cannot, or she does not want to explain?

“What does this mean in plaintext?”

“It would mean, for instance, that you or Cala would get a better connection to my magic and I, for instance, to Cala's and your's aptitudes and memory. A more powerful integration of our bodies, minds and magic.”

I thought about it. I need to be cautious with Flo; things turn out to be a little bit different to what I expect them to happen. She says one thing, I understand it one way, and it happens... differently... to put it mildly. Well, I do not see what could be bad in this better integration.

“OK, do it.”

I went to my room, and she did her hocus-pocus. Spell magic highlighted my body from the inside out, but did she really do something? I still could not communicate directly with Cala, but I got better feedback on her feelings. Or I only imagine this.

“Don't be disappointed; this may evolve further; it is a process that I only started. Magic will work its way.”

Yeah, for sure.

Another big disappointment was to see that Matt had no dream interface. It seems they are relatively poor, he lives alone with his mother, and they do not have the money to buy one. Well, shit. I also do not have the money to buy a new one to replace the one Flo had just busted, and all her magic is not enough to fix it. Why can't she cast a 'repair' spell and fix it?

Flo and Cala are putting a lot of pressure on me to help the Lynx and the gang, but I do not know how. The girls, Lola and Clara, are adamant dream-interface haters. I cannot borrow money from them or their parents as they would certainly talk with my parents about it. How can I explain to my parents that I need money for a new dream interface when they barely survive and are struggling to pay my fees?

The impending catastrophe took its course when I got an email from Helen complaining that the proxy server that I lately used for my Mephisto login had been shut down. There is now no known solution to connect to the old game. Will I ever see the Lynx again? I need to keep the hope up else Cala would yank my hair in desperation.

As long as she thinks the Lynx is OK and eating sausages trademark Spartacius, she is reasonably OK.

Would a different Mephisto game help? The next day I sneaked out and went to a dream-interface shop and 'tested' one of their new interfaces. It worked perfectly, there is a new Mephisto game, but it seems to be a reload of the old version. I could even login there and activate Cala. Another Cala. I also met Alice, but it was all fake. At least it helped Flo to better understand what I mean by a game world.

“This is a fake world. There is no magic in it. It is not real!”

“Yeah, the same as your world. Your's is only a little bit more elaborated.”

“This is not true! How can you say that!? Even Cala agrees with me!”

Soon I was out of the game as the vendor allowed only a limited time for testing. Actually, there is no reason to push for a new dream interface without the real Mephisto game. I watched again unhappily the peppered price and left.

There was also some good news, my driver's licence was valid, and the Robertsons were happy to see the insurance company decided to pay. There was no other follow-up for Lola, which meant the only thing lost was Clara's car.

I learned that there was also an adjacent scandal as many police computers had been wiped out, and people talked of sabotage; somebody simply destroyed a lot of information. Well, I guess it was probably Flo's 'careful work' result, but all I got from her was that without real horns, it is difficult to fine-tune magic to this extent. Maybe it was somebody else, who knows? The discussion about hosting their servers was again opened, as they had a local contractor currently. If I think about it, maybe a cloud provider hundreds of miles away might have been too much even for Flo to manipulate. I don't know what proximity she needs for her magic to work.

Whatever, I have now my licence, and Lola is happy. As happy as she can be without a car.

I had an itchy feeling for some time in my back, and when I scratched there, I encountered some hardened skin. Is this still from the burning? I do not remember having burnt my back, but it may be. The itchy, scratching feeling should also be on my face, but it is only a fake wound...

Wait a minute, Flo healed me; there should be no itchy, scratchy feeling at all! I need to have a look in the mirror!

It was Sunday, and I was just going to check my itchy back when the bell rang. As nobody seemed to hurry to open the door, I went there and found Gonzo with a broad smile.

“Hey, lady! You look wonderful today!”

I laughed happily. Gonzo and his compliments. He likes seeing me happy. What's funny is that I know he is not after me, he is after Helen, and he would never dare say this to Helen. That makes it even more valuable. But I soon got bored talking about Helen. I let White Flower interact with him.

“Hey, Gonzo. How are you doing? Have you met Helen? What did she say about the flowers?”

He was telling me everything enthusiastically. Yes, he did meet Helen. If she was happy? Yes, she was overjoyed to get the flowers. In my mind, I only shook my head: you idiot, you still do not understand?

My attention was raised when he spoke about a bike. He was planning to make a photo campaign for his shop, and he would be glad to rent me a bike if I would accept to drive a bike with the company's motto. A small electrical bike, easy to handle.

OK, let me see it. He even had several photos with boys and girls on bikes which did not look bad. Am I interested? I could earn some money. It was not much what he could pay but still something. I laughed. Me as a model? Does he pity me and wants to help me financially, or was this a bad joke?

I was not interested but then felt a strong desire to do so. Cala was interested. Since Flo's 'connection strengthening', I understand better Cala's feelings. Well, if Cala is interested, let's do it. It could be a good learning opportunity for her about this world, and I have some fun, nothing else to do today.

So I informed the Robertsons and left with Gonzo.

Gonzo knew his cars and bikes. He knew engines, pistons, wheels and tuning chips. Everything had a logic and worked according to the laws of physic. Women? That was a problem. An insurmountable problem. That did not work with logic; not even the laws of physics were of much help.

All the good tips and advice he had received so far had brought him zero results. It was frustrating and demotivating.

It was by chance that he had met Dolores and decided to help her. He knew from the beginning that he had no chance with her. Besides, he was in love. He had a crush and nobody to talk about.

In his despair, he had talked with Dolores about her and to his surprise, not only did she give him advice, but it was good advice. She really helped him. So how could he motivate her to help him further? He could not just pop up here and ask questions. That’s why he tried to be inventive, to interest her and subsequently bombard her with his questions.

For him, her advice was priceless; for Flo, it was fun, and she was glad to give it to him; the exchange was mutually beneficial.

His shop was closed for the weekend, and we were the only two living persons in about a mile around. I don't know how he manages to survive with his shop here in the middle of nowhere, but he explained that the location was cheap, he could buy it, now owns it and huge swats of the ground around. He does all his advertising on his own site and a lot of services in the vicinity. Plus, it is in close proximity to the city, just a dozen of kilometres drive.

Well, he took a couple of photos with me sitting on the mini bikes that he had prepared. He said that my wounds were not a problem; he would photoshop those away. Then Cala's interest turned to one of his best machines.

“No, no, no, that is a heavy machine! That's not for...”

He did not finish his sentence when Cala moved it. He jumped near me, alarmed:

“Wow, easy lady, take care not to drop it on your foot. That machine is heavy, and it can break your foot like that!”

Cala shrugged:

“I guess we can make better pictures with this one.”

He hesitated for a moment, then asked if I could try with a different blouse? He has some with the company's motto.

Well, I don't find that to be a problem.

I was happy that I had an illusion blouse on me as Cala would have undressed it and dressed the other one without a problem. Cala does not seem to have this basic naked shaming feeling. She is no exhibitionist, just a natural. How did it come to this, I do not know.

Flo had to take over. She made an illusionary blouse on the floor and dressed the other one after he turned his back to me.

We took a couple of photos, and Cala raised the stakes:

“What if we make some photos in movement?”

He hesitated, but Cala convinced him. So he explained to her what to do, and she tried. He was at first very reluctant and afraid, but with the time, he relaxed.

Cala is a very fast-learning person. Especially when it is about physical activity. I could drive well, and I had a lot of practice, but with virtual cars, not bikes. Cala is definitively a bike lover, and her progress was evident from minute to minute.

“Wow, lady, you are a natural! Born a biker!”

Cala only grinned, happy. What followed were more and more daring exercises. After two hours, she could jump with her feet on the bike, or stand only on her hands, one hand on the steering, one hand on the chair. She laughed. She refused to wear a helmet. Well, in the beginning, he managed to force her to wear one, but then she threw it away and ran laughing with the bike. Catch me if you can! He could not know she was practically indestructible, and this bitch only laughed at him.

After a while, he had to accept it. Cala's way or the highway. When he saw what she could do, he even changed his mind:

“Wow, lady. Let's make a contract for four weeks. You can have this bike and drive it where you want. You pay your gas; all I want is for you to wear this 'Gonzo bikes' t-shirt from time to time. Not always; the bike has the logo too. Do we have a deal?”

“Deal!”

“Ahm, I forgot to mention, any ticket, park ticket, or speeding is yours to pay, OK?”

She laughed.

“You forgot the essential, but sure.”

I hope she does not think that I'll pay for those? Is she planning to do a lot of traffic violations?

He took at least a couple of hundred photos with her. We ate at his grill behind his shop. He was looking through the photos, wondering.

"Look at this one! And here! Wow! You look good. You make my bike look like epic thunder!"

I looked around. How can he live here alone in the wildness? What Sunday would he have had?

After the grill, the party was over, he had to work.

I took the bike and drove home. Cala took the helmet that he gave me and put it in the inventory box. She took a pair of glasses out.

What? Inventory box? I do have the inventory box with me?

Fucking yeah, at my belt, there is this innocent-looking leather rectangle that is my inventory box.

“Let me lead, let me lead! I want to check the inventory box!”

“Cala doesn't want to wait now. You know what's in there, and she is eager to drive. You'll do it when we are at home. OK?”

Well, she is right; there is no urgency. It was only a shock to realize that thing was here. She put the glasses on her head and drove. Gnome made glasses that look a little like skiing glasses.

“Hey, you need a helmet! You cannot drive a huge bike like this without a helmet!”

After a while, I got the answer:

“Cala says she doesn't need a helmet to drive this bike.”

The bass roar of the bike filled my ears, and I had a lot of trouble stopping Cala from driving like a crazy bitch through the traffic. I was whining to Flo, and Flo was telling Cala, who was just confabulating about other things:

“I think I'll let my hair grow long!”

“What? Why?”

She had said that aloud. Did she want to inform me that she wants long hair? Do I have now to struggle with my alter ego(s) over my haircut? She continued:

“I think I would like to feel my hair fluttering in the wind when I ride this thing.”

The girls were talking with each other.

I know they are doing something. I can feel and fear that.

She stopped, and she had long blond hair hanging over her shoulders in the next moment. She grinned happily and drove further with her long hair fluttering in the wind.

"Why blond?"

"Out of fun."

“Don't you understand that I need to wear a helmet, not only glasses? They'll take my license for this shit!”

Well, I did not work for that license. She did. Actually, this is not true; I did spend my night in that police station! Cala only laughed. She does not hear me, and Flo does probably not tell her what I say. This is an alter-ego conspiracy against me! Of course, five minutes later, I was stopped by a police car.

“I told you so!”

At least I have now the satisfaction of seeing it happening as I said it will.

I was now expecting to lose my fresh, hardly won driver's license. It was fun to see Cala grinning,... then taking off an illusory hairy helmet. A helmet with long hair. It looked so real in her hand? Wow, Flo is good! The policemen watched her and laughed:

“You should patent that thing!”

They did not even want to control her license. They left, and Cala put her 'helmet' back on.

Well, the girls won this one, hands down. What would have happened if they had wanted to look at the helmet? But I guess Flo had something to do with the fact that they left me so easily. A little manipulating fairy, hm?

When I arrived home, they were feeling great, and I had to accept that they'd handed everything OK. I parked my thundering bike near the house and went to take a shower. The itching in my back was now really disturbing.

I did not have to undress much; I had only Gonzo's t-shirt and the leather trousers on. Well, the boots too. I watched my back in the mirror, and my good mood turned sour. I had two small floppy things made of leather hanging over my shoulder blades.

“What the fuck? What is this?”

Dead skin? Wounds?

I slapped one hand on my forehead.

“Ow!”

I had a painful bump there.

“When did I hit my head so bad?”

OK, yes, Cala did a lot of funny gymnastics on that bike, drew all kinds of narrow curves, and accelerated hard on one wheel. All kinds of stones had been propelled into the air and fell around; some landed over me. It was part of the show. It must have happened sometime there.

I saw there was a symmetrical bump on the other side. Funny, did I hit my head in such a symmetrical way?

As I was looking at my face in the mirror, suddenly, the two symmetrical bumps made sense, and it dawned on me.

“Fuck, I'm growing horns... and wings!”

My feet slipped, and I landed hard on the cold marble.