The girl stood above the man, broken monitor in hand, flickering LED fragments falling to the floor between them, but it seemed that Nadia was the one she was angry at. ‘Could you not feel the reminder? Did you not feel what he was doing to you?’ she yelled.

  ‘No…’ Nagia felt her throat close over her words. ‘No. I…didn’t…know.’ She looked down. Her dress had been moved aside. Her underwear was showing. She flung the dress back and held her hands over her crotch, clasping on tight as tears welled in her eyes. ‘Oh my god,’ she whispered. ‘I… I didn’t…know. I didn’t. I swear, I…’

  ‘Fuck.’ The girl threw the monitor aside. She came over and started unplugging everything. ‘It's okay, stop crying.’ She dragged her sleeve over Nagia’s face to catch the tears. ‘I got here in time, I think. I don’t know… There aren’t any cameras in here, so I can’t be sure, but I’m sure he didn’t do anything. I’m pretty sure.’ She turned Nagia this way and that, as if she could see the glowing handprints. ‘God damn it. I don’t know!’

  And then Nagia was the one assuring the girl. She tried to take comfort in the fact that she couldn’t feel anything wrong. No part of her hurt or anything. Her underwear hadn’t been moved, but it was still so disgusting that she couldn’t even bring herself to think about hypertheticals. ‘I shouldn’t have come here,’ she whimpered into the girl’s hair, the obvious conclusion.

  ‘Yeah,’ was the curt reply.

  ‘My mom will kill me.’

  ‘Probably.’

  ‘I’m such an idiot for letting this happen.’

  ‘Don’t think like that,’ the girl said firmly, holding Nagia’s face so she had to make eye contact. ‘You can’t be judgmental of a version of you that knew this thing you know now.’

  ‘What?’

  The girl pulled the rest of the stuff off Nagia, and then, because Nagia was still crying, reached into the pod and hugged her properly, pressing their chests together.

  Boom… boom… boom…

  The sound of two hearts mixing was something Nagia had never heard before. She breathed in the scent of cigarettes and flowery perfume. Somehow, it all became a little easier.

  The girl let go. ‘It’s okay now,’ she said. She looked around, saw the wheelchair, and moved it over. ‘How does… I don’t know how you do this.’

  Nagia sniffled. She dragged herself up and over the chair. The girl pushed her out, locking the door with the man still unconscious behind it, then they ran for the exit. They skidded to a stop at the reception area. The guy looked up, just as the girl slapped him. When he protested, she punched him. Yelling loudly enough for people on the street to stop, the girl told him about the man in the room. She asked why the doors didn’t remain locked.

  ‘They do,’ was the whimpered reply.

  ‘Not to that psycho!’

  The young man held up his hands like he was going to be hit again. ‘If there’s something wrong with the lock, it’s your job to fix it, Bry.’

  Nagia hugged herself, fear and loathing crashing over the urge to vomit.

  ‘I’m there for the computers,’ the girl said. ‘And don’t you dare say it’s in the job description, Ryan.’

  ‘But…’

  ‘I’m done with this shithole.’ The girl took off her badge and slapped it on the counter. When Ryan reached for it, she swiped it off the table.

  Ryan looked up, wounded. ‘You’re such an asshole,’ he said.

  The girl stuck her tongue out at him. Evidently, she had a piercing, too.

  It was difficult to know where to go after an incident like that. The girls decided fast food was an acceptable choice. There was a restaurant a block away, nestled within the arms of a mechanic and the skeleton of a would-be mall. The girl picked a spot at the back, away from the windows. She ordered for both of them and swiped her bracelet across the server robot’s face to pay.

  As the robot raced away down the aisle, Nagia finally allowed herself to breathe. She tried to come to terms with what happened. This girl, with her rock-star hair and neon-colored drip, was definitely a crazy angel in disguise. If she hadn’t done what she did, Nagia couldn’t fathom what could have happened to her. And then there was the face that she might’ve just caused this girl to quit her job as well. What do you say to someone like that?

  ‘Thank you,’ she said, peering up at the girl.

  The girl, who had been staring out across the busy restaurant, glanced back at Nagia. She smiled. ‘You’re welcome.’

  Their robot server came back with a tray of saturated fats and heavily salted carbohydrates in its long arms. There was a complementary toy that came with the order, a little bear wearing a propeller hat. The girl gave it to Nagia before digging into the meal.

  Nagia watched her eat. It seemed impossible for someone so small to shovel so much food into her mouth at once, but not uncouth. Impressive, if anything.

  ‘So,’ said the girl after a mouthful of friends and fizzy drink. ‘You want to talk about it or something?’

  ‘About what?’

  ‘The thing that just happened. Or are you one of those metal bitches who shrug off bullets?’

  ‘No,’ said Nagia. ‘I mean, yes.’

  ‘That was supposed to be a joke, or… wait. Which question were you answering?’

  Nagia wasn’t sure herself. She couldn’t face reality. She might never feel okay if she didn’t. But it also wasn’t the first time she had these feelings. Bile hovered at the threshold of her throat as she thought about the last time she had been so rotten, so hollow. ‘I just want to go home,’ she said.

  The girl shovelled another handful of fries into her mouth. ‘Oh, sure. I just thought you’d like to eat something. I’m one of those metal bitches who eat my bullets, you see. Sorry. Bad joke.’ With alarming speed, she finished the entire tray of food, then came over to help Nagia, who had been wedged between the chairs, which were bolted to the floor so that there was no room for her to reach down and move herself. ‘Sorry. Bad placement, also.’

  ‘It’s okay,’ said Nagia. ‘I’ve done worse.’

  The girl saw Nagia all the way to the station. She pushed the wheelchair all the way up the stairs, and even paid for the ticket, which Nagia didn’t know how to react to. ‘Thanks,’ was all she could think to say as they waited for the train. ‘That was a… date.’

  The word just slipped out, and Nagia knew she made a mistake immediately. The girl glanced down at her, eyes big and reflecting the neon lights of her headphones. ‘That wasn’t, uh… I have, a, you know…’

  ‘That’s not what I meant,’ Nagia said quickly. ‘I just had a good time. So thank you. For a good afternoon, kind of. Hour. Thank you for a good hour in an otherwise very bad day.’

  The girl laughed, tension releasing from her shoulders. She reached down and squeezed Nagia’s. ‘Sorry. I’m a little shaken, too, to be honest,’ she said, then after a thoughtful pause, she added, ‘I don’t want you to think that it’s like that with me. I mean, that place wasn’t the first place I wanted to work. Those people… aren’t the types of people I want to associate with.’

  Nagia nodded, saying nothing. The train arrived. Its doors hissed open, and the stream of people around them started to move.

  The girl pushed Nagia through, then stepped out. ‘Can I see you again?’ she asked.

  It was exactly what Nagia hoped she wouldn’t say. She turned around to face the girl. Smiling sadly, she raised her wrist to show bare skin, at the lack of a communicator bracelet, and the look of disappointment on the other girl’s face stayed with Nagia long after the doors closed, and the station disappeared into the mountains.

  Night had fallen by the time Nagia made it home. She was ready to run her head under some hot water and forget -almost- everything that had happened that day, but her wishes were shattered when, after dinner, a visitor showed up. She was putting the last dishes away when she heard her mother open the door.

  ‘Mr. Kobayashi?’ Sara gasped. ‘What are you doing here?’

  Nagia froze. She heard the music store’s owner answer in his baritone voice, ‘I hope I’m not intruding on your evening, Ms Nakamura.’

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  ‘Not at all. Please, come in.’

  Come in? What?

  ‘That’s alright. I’m here to talk about Nagia.’

  Oh, no.

  Nagia stashed the last plates onto the rack, slung the drying rag over the rail, and wheeled herself down the hallway. She zoomed past the doorway, only to be snagged at the last moment.

  ‘Nagia,’ Sara said, holding her daughter by the back of her chair. ‘What did you do to Mr. Kobayashi’s store?’

  ‘Nothing,’ Nagia answered. She tried to wriggle free, but her mother leaned down and locked the wheels.

  ‘That doesn’t look like nothing, Nagia,’ she said.

  Nagia slowly looked up, grimacing.

  In the doorway, the music store owner stood, holding a flute. It was missing one of the buttons, and the metal body was badly scratched. ‘I have security cameras,’ he said before Nagia could argue.

  But she tried anyway. ‘You started it, you weird old man. Mom. He was messing with me. He told me he hired me only to make a fool-’

  ‘Stop it, Nagia,’ Sara sighed. ‘I tried so hard to get you this opportunity, and you go and do something like this. Seriously. This is brash and stupid, even for you.’

  Hearing that from her mother, all the fight in Nagia disappeared. She turned away from the adults, shame and hatred gripped tightly in her lap.

  ‘I won’t charge you for the disruption to business,’ said Mr. Kobayashi. ‘The flutes would need fixing, however.’

  Sara thanked him profusely. ‘Let me just get my bracelet. I always take it off when I get home.’

  ‘Payment will not be from you, Ms Nakamura,’ said Mr Kobayashi. He nodded to Nagia. ‘From her.’

  Sara pointed to Nagia. ‘She is broke.’

  ‘Rude, Mom,’ said Nagia.

  Mr. Kobayashi didn’t smile. He said coolly, ‘I will be deducting from your wages every week until the total amount of repairs is paid.’

  Nagia took a second to understand what he meant. ‘You’re hiring me? Even after all that?’

  Mr. Kobayashi handed the broken flute to Nagia. ‘This one is free. A token of apology for making fun of you. But don’t expect it’ll all be this easy.’

  With a bow, the shop owner left. Sara bid him safe travels and closed the door. She turned to Nagia. ‘What the hell happened today?’

  It took Nagia a long time to enter the other world that night. She brushed her teeth twice, ran a shower so hot she could just hear her mother’s astonished cries when the power bill next arrived. She did her nightly muscle stimulation routine in slow motion. A bruise was forming on her right ankle. This was probably where the virtual world machine in the cafe had been poking her to try and wake her up. She deliberately took her time before using her own machine, like a coward, unable to face the decision that awaited her. She hadn’t really made any decisions, but she knew there really was only one way to ensure her survival. She needed to give Brianna up to the Legion.

  She just didn’t want to admit it to herself.

  She even considered going straight to bed, but that would have broken a decade-long routine. And who was she kidding? There was nothing left in her days at this point other than the other world. Meeting the punk girl was a highlight, but it wasn’t everything. Not like the other world.

  Brianna was already there. Her back was turned. Nagia was about to scare her, but at the last second, she chickened out and tapped the other dragon on the shoulder.

  The rainbow dragon turned. She had something in her mouth. A white sphere, swirling with a shifting array of color, pulsated between her teeth. She smiled around the object. ‘I was waiting for you,’ she said, and then gasped when Nagia hugged her. ‘Guess you were too, huh?’

  Nagia nodded, pulling back. She felt silly, but she was happy to see her friend again. She didn’t even care about the orb until the rainbow dragon gestured to it again. ‘It was what I wanted to show you last time,’ Brianna said.

  The little star was undoubtedly the white hole coveted by Kronos and his grey celestial lackeys, and Selien, the Lord Legionnaire. Nagia had never seen anything like it. So small, it looked harmless with its milky light, that she couldn’t imagine it doing anything other than warming a dragon’s claw, let alone being the counterpart to one of the greatest forces in the universe.

  ‘Are you alright?’ Brianna asked. ‘You look funny. More so than usual.’

  Nagia shook her head. ‘I just had a bad day.’

  ‘Me, too,’ said Brianna. ‘My dad is dating this woman, right? And she’s completely got him around her little finger. Does anything for her. I mean, he’s just out of his mind. Doesn’t even care about his shop anymore, which I guess is fine cause his shop blows, but I mean, it’s so gross, you know?’

  Nagia smiled. It was jarring to hear an ancient celestial being talk like a teenage brat - just the kind of distraction she needed.

  ‘I keep talking about myself, sorry,’ said Brianna. ‘Hey, Wanna feel up my ball? Might make both of us feel better.’

  Nagia chuckled. ‘I would love to get my paws and mouth all over your ball, Brianna.’

  The rainbow dragon loosened her jaw and laughed. The orb floated into the space between them, coloring the darkness with its soft glow.

  Curious, Nagia reached out. The tip of her claw rested against the sphere’s surface and sank into it, as if the orb were made of softer things.‘It's like a beachball,’ she wanted to say, but the truth snapped into view through the connection she made with the artifact. She saw this very sphere growing, larger than her, then a moon, a planet, a star. It dwarfed systems, rivaling the black holes that were supposed to be its shadows, and then it brought destruction unlike anything that existed before. Trillions of worlds spewed forth from its center, filling the galaxy with useless information. It was like an insurgence of foreign matter, injecting into a limited space an unlimited amount of stuff. It pushed away stars, cosmic structures, asteroid belts, and all manner of Terran home worlds that existed within the spaces between. Destruction wrought the galaxy as entire systems collided into one another, the fireworks from which burning away whatever machine tried to render it.

  Within the span of a thought, it was all over. Nagia yanked back from the sphere. The Milky Way, reduced to a jumble of trash code. All the lives that started and ended in this other world would be gone. Only a second had passed, but it was enough to change everything. ‘Where did you get this?’ she asked Brianna.

  The other dragon refused to go into details. ‘All you need to know is that I fiddle with computers as a job, and I just so happened to stumble upon something one of the devs left behind, which led me to their closet, where I got this sweet little thing,’ she said, grinning like a kid showing off the pearls she stole from her mother.

  Nagia couldn’t believe what she was hearing. ‘Do you know what this is?’

  ‘A game-ending item,’ Brianna said. ‘Isn’t it cool?’

  ‘Cool?’ A bitter laugh escaped Nagia. ‘You don’t get it, do you? This isn’t a game for me. This isn’t a game for most people here. This is life, more real than what’s on the other side. What you have here could end everything we worked so hard to create. I can’t let you keep it.’

  The smile faded from Brianna’s face. ‘I thought you were different,’ she said, looking more disappointed than afraid or guilty. She took the orb before Nagia could reach for it again. The two dragons stared each other down for a moment. Neither made the first move. ‘So, what?’ Brianna asked, impatient. ‘Are you going to try and take it from me, like all the rest of the assholes around here?’ It sounded like a challenge.

  Nagia considered her options. There was no way she could win a fight against a dragon who had her wings and powers intact. Even if Nagia could snatch the orb away from Brianna, she had no real way to escape the ensuing chase. She had to do it smartly, somehow, and she’d only get one chance. It wasn’t just her own survival now. The fate of this universe depended on her. She tried to smile, like all this was a joke. She asked Brianna if she could meet her here again tomorrow. When asked why, she lied and said, ‘I think it’s neat, what you have, actually. I want to show one of my friends. He’s interested in these kinds of artifacts. He even pays for them.’

  Brianna’s eyes narrowed. ‘But you said this could end everything. Why would someone buy it?’

  ‘He is a keeper of things, like I am a keeper of secrets. It’s just what we do,’ said Nagia. That part wasn’t a lie.

  ‘Uhhuh,’ said Brianna. ‘What would he pay me in? Celestials don’t have currency.’

  ‘We have secrets,’ Nagia said. ‘If you meet me here tomorrow, I guarantee you’ll learn something that would be worth so much more than what you have.’

  It was almost there, but not quite. ‘Tell me something first,’ Brianna said. ‘Some little secret as proof that this is a real deal.’

  ‘What, like a teaser?’ Nagia asked.

  ‘Yes,’ said Brianna. ‘I want to know something about you, something no one else here knows.’

  That wasn’t difficult, but it still felt like a betrayal of her title. She wasn’t supposed to tell anyone anything. That was her whole deal. She was the Keeper of Secrets, the most tight-lipped dragon in the galaxy. The celestial’s ancient circle had relied on her to keep the records of their oral history for a reason, and during the war with the Legion, she was the only one tasked with carrying vital messages across the frontlines.

  But if she didn’t give Brianna something, then it would only make it harder for her to trust Nagia.

  What if she lied? Come up with some harmless factoid that could never be traced back to her? No. That wasn’t how she did things, and she was already lying about the whole deal to begin with. It felt… wrong, somehow, to add to the lie with more falsehoods. She took a deep breath. ‘I just turned sixteen,’ she said. ‘My celestial form is two centuries old, but my real one is sixteen.’

  ‘Oh,’ said Brianna, surprised. Perhaps she had not expected the truth from Nagia afterall. ‘Me, too. The sixteen part, not the dragon thing.’

  ‘What? Are you serious?’ Nagia asked.

  ‘My birthday is in three weeks,’ Brianna said.

  ‘Mine was last month.’

  ‘So you’re older than me.’

  ‘I guess I am.’

  The two girls in dragon form regarded each other with curious eyes. It made a lot of sense. They had clicked so easily. Was it too good to be true, though? Surely a coincidence like this was too unlikely to have happened naturally.

  Brianna voiced their mutual skepticism. ‘This isn’t some grooming tactic, right? You’re not some old geezer living in the back of his van and pretending to be someone else, are you?’

  ‘I could ask the same thing,’ Nagia said. ‘How do I know you’re not the dad in all your stories?’

  That got a chuckle. Brianna shook her head and started to back away. ‘It’s been good to know you, Oya… something something tastu.’

  ‘Where are you going?’

  ‘I’ll meet this friend of yours,’ said Brianna. ‘But not here. I’ll pick a place and send you the coordinates through a sprite tomorrow morning.’

  ‘But I can’t fly,’ said Nagia.

  ‘You’ll just have to figure that part out,’ said the other dragon, drifting for a few more lengths before flicking her tail around and darting towards the stars. ‘Use one of your secrets, Keeper. Isn’t that what you do?’

  That night, Nagia slept in her bed instead of the empty cosmos. She had grown used to being upright all the time, and the soft mattress felt weird, but she wasn’t going back to the machine. She was afraid that a legion ship might come knocking on her ephemeral door, but her dreams were just as bad when she did fall asleep. She saw herself being sucked into the whirlpool of garbage code coming out of the white hole. She felt encompassing pain as the binary claws pried into her crevices, pushed out everything that was her, and blew her up into chunky mist.

  She woke up to knocking at her door. It was her mother calling her to breakfast and to get ready for her first day of work. Before the end came, real life, it seemed, was going to come first.