Ch 25: Overcome Yourself

Your doubt, your regret, your fears... They can rule your life if you let them, but you alone can also set yourself free. Overcome them, and endless possibilities await...

            The door to the bridge suddenly opening, Alexander turned in surprise as Mythra stepped in. The chatter that had filled the bridge quickly fell silent as the two stared each other down for a moment. Then Mythra glanced at Grey with a reluctant smile before turning back to Alexander, raising her hand and pointing at him as she grinned menacingly and commandingly said, “You, the thousand year old numbskull there! I want a word with you, so get yourself up to the deck!” Adjusting his shades in frustration, Alexander was nevertheless glad to see she seemed more like herself. Trying to put business first though, he begrudgingly said, “Not that I’m not just as eager to sort this out, but now may not be the best time. We’ll be at Xandaris in around thirty minutes.” Pointing her thumb over her shoulder as a way of motioning for him to get going, Mythra simply said, “I doubt we’d be late if you’d get your butt moving already.” With a sigh, Alexander made his way to the door and left with her. Watching the door close behind them, Grey thought to himself, “You can do it Mythra!” Everyone else going back about their business, Saria suddenly approached Grey and said, “Um, it looks like we don’t have time now, but I still wanna train as soon as we can!” Smiling at her, Grey reached up and ruffled her hair a bit as he said, “What’re you talking about now? We’re not waiting another second! C’mon, down to the cargo hold.” Looking at him in confusion, Saria said, “What? B-but, we only have thirty minutes…” Flashing a sly grin, Grey simply said, “Plenty of time!”

            As Saria simply continued to stare in bewilderment, she suddenly seemed to stop making even the slightest movement, and everything around her seemed to freeze in time as well. Looking around in surprise as he realized he was the only one not affected, Grey thought, “What?!” Then he heard the faint jingling of bells and a feminine giggle, and he looked over at where Schmitt sat in the pilot’s seat to see an adolescent girl sitting on the backrest of his seat with her legs crossed, staring at him with her golden eyes. She had long blonde hair tied into twin pony tails, and wore a small beret with a pair of bells tied to it and two white feathers stuck in it. She wore a white jester-like collar around her neck with a gold diamond attached to it, a pair of long arm capes trailing out from under it, the one on the left black and the one on the right red, both decorated with a diamond symbol on the arm cape themselves and a gold diamond attached at each of their ends. Her long sleeved shirt was red and black, mostly hidden by her collar and the gold rings that were fastened around her stomach. Her pants were red and black and designed to be very baggy above the knees, and she wore strange looking long white boots which had gold crescent shaped pieces of metal attached to the soles of them, as though she were trying to be a rocking horse. Raising a white gloved hand to wave, gold rings around her wrists as well, the mysterious girl was smiling as she said, “Hi, nice to finally meet you Champ! You really are the type who can surpass a girl’s expectations!”

            Staring at the girl cautiously, Grey demanded, “Who are you?” Jumping off the back of Schmitt’s chair and landing on the floor of the bridge, her crescent boots making a loud clank, the girl calmly walked over to him as she replied, “Who knows? I’m not really the type for names anymore. All sorts of people have called me many, many names, I’ve been looked up to by countless races and civilizations, but in the end they always forget me and direct their attention to something else. It’s become a chore, you know?” Confused and slightly unnerved, Grey continued to eye her warily as he said, “Well, that’s interesting but it doesn’t really give me anything to call you…” Looking as though she were slightly troubled, the girl scratched her head thoughtfully a moment as she said, “Hmm, well… I guess if you have to, you can call me God. Or the Lord of Creation, whichever you like.” Standing there in stunned silence, after a moment Grey laughed somewhat nervously as he said, “So… you’re saying you’re a god?” Shaking her head, the girl replied, “Not a god. Just God. There’s only me after all.” Motioning for her to slow down, Grey said, “Wait, just wait a sec! Wasn’t Origin the god of this world? Weren’t there other Seventh Spirits just like him? You’re not another Seventh Spirit of some kind are you?”

            Looking slightly annoyed now, the girl puffed out her cheeks and stamped her foot as she said, “No, no, no! Jeez, if the word god is such a barrier for you then forget it! Lemme think about it again!” Rubbing her chin in intense thought for a moment longer, the girl’s face suddenly brightened a bit and she removed her hand, nodding definitively to herself as she said, “I’ve got it! If all you need is a name, I’ll just use the name of a book I liked a really long time ago! From now on Champ, you can call me Alice in Wonderland!” Feeling he had no clue what was going on, Grey begrudgingly decided to let it go for now, and simply said, “Uh, Alice then… Nice to meet you?” Alice revealed she also had rather long incisors as she flashed a toothy grin and said, “Verily!” Trying to get to the point, Grey asked, “So, Alice… Did you have something you needed from me?” Seeming rather pleased the name business had been resolved, Alice merely shook her head merrily and replied, “No, not right now. I just thought I’d come say hello to you now that you’re the new Origin and all. I don’t really care for getting involved in much anymore, but I got kind of lonely. People have been remaking existence over and over thinking they can do better, and I didn’t really feel like dealing with them, but you turned out differently. For some reason, I think you and your friends here are pretty interesting. I’m looking forward to seeing even more from you.” Flashing a thumbs up, Alice grinned brightly and said, “Keep up the good work!” Unsure what to make of the situation, Grey just decided to go with it, and said, “Uh, sure! I’ll do my best!” Placing her hands on her hips and nodding sagely, Alice said, “Good, good. Well, that’s all for now. I’ll let you get back to it.” Disappearing without a trace, Alice’s disembodied voice called out, “I bid thee farewell!”

            As Grey simply stared at where Alice had disappeared from, he was suddenly brought back to his senses as Saria said, “Grey?” Looking at her in surprise, he uttered, “Huh?” Realizing he’d just been about to train her before time had stopped, and that it must have seemed like he’d started staring off into space, Grey quickly said, “Oh, it’s nothing. Let’s go, time to train!” Following after him, still looking somewhat uncertain there was really time, Saria stammered, “R-right…” Exiting the bridge, they followed the hallway past the crew’s quarters and headed down into the cargo hold. A dark room devoid of much now that they had moved Gibolu’s transport onto the Tentrion, Saria wondered if there was a light they could turn on, as she was unsure about training in nothing but the light coming from the stairway. She quickly focused her attention though, readying herself to train hard as Grey said, “Ok, ready for this?” Nodding, Saria replied, “Yes!” Chuckling, Grey said, “Alright, let’s head to the training ground!” Blinking in surprise, Saria repeated, “Training ground…?”

            With a mischievous grin that would have made his father proud, Grey called out, “Hey Eazel! Two for the timeless dimension!” His voice ringing out loud and clear, the Observer of Life, Eazel the Plane Stalker, replied from seemingly nowhere, “Oh? Coming right up, my young friend!” The world around Saria and Grey shifted in a swirl of colors, and they found themselves in the completely white and empty expanses of the timeless dimension where Grey had trained several times before. Saria took a step back in shock, looking around in confusion and stammering, “W-w-where is this? There’s nothing here, and it’s like everything turned white…” Jumping in surprise as a cafeteria suddenly popped up out of nowhere without warning, Saria looked over at the familiar bearded old man wearing a studded belt around his head like a blindfold sitting at a table outside the cafeteria’s kitchen, a plate heaped full of eggs and bacon on the tabletop in front of him. Giving a brief wave, Eazel smiled and called out, “Welcome to your training ground, the timeless plane! The time spent here will not pass in the real world, but it’s still ill-advised for mortals to remain longer than what seems like a period of two weeks, just so you’re aware.”

            Setting to work, under Grey’s instruction Saria sat on the ground and began learning to gather a mass of EDE in order to create an Anima Weapon. Struggling just with managing to control her EDE, it wasn’t long before Saria started becoming frustrated. Beginning to try and gather her EDE together again, as it took shape briefly and then fell apart again, Saria sighed and said, “Maybe it’s really impossible for someone like me…” Narrowing his eyes, Grey watched her silently a moment. Then Saria’s eyes went wide in surprise as she heard Grey say, “Maybe.” Looking up at him questioningly, Saria thought he seemed slightly displeased as he continued, “Someone who thinks things like that probably can’t hack it.” Turning her gaze downward as her feline ears folded down in shame as well, Saria murmured, “Sorry…” Not letting up, Grey quickly said, “I’m not the one you need to apologize to. Apologize to yourself. However cruel the world has been, however lonely you’ve been, if you go and give up on yourself, then you won’t even be able to count on yourself either. When I first met you, all you seemed to think was that your hard and lonely life was just the way things are for ‘someone like you’, that there was something about being a half breed that made you the one who was wrong. I thought you’d changed a little, but you’re still thinking the same things. As a fellow half breed who’s no different from you, I’m more than a little disappointed.”

            Burning with shame, Saria suddenly felt resentment bubbling up from somewhere unknown, and clenching her fists she looked up at him tearfully and shouted, “What do you know about me?! I grew up all alone, a lowly half-breed who had nothing! But you, you had a family, you had friends! You were born He of the Infinite, but I was just a girl surrounded by people who treated me like dirt!” Unmoved, Grey sternly replied, “And whose fault is that? It’s not mine, and it’s certainly not yours! Whether I was brought into a loving family, whether I was born with some kind of destiny, you’re the one who’s letting those people who treated you like dirt convince you that you deserved it! I’m not some special case, and if I’d been alone just like you, I can’t say for sure I’d be the same person. I can say however, that I’d be capable of everything I am now if I only put my mind to it.” Her face falling, Saria shook her head in denial, soon breaking into tears as she covered her face and sobbed, “No, no… You don’t understand Grey, you just don’t understand! You’re not like me, I’ve always been so weak and helpless, but you’re strong! You’re special!” Kneeling down and cradling her in his arms, Grey said, “We’re not so different Saria. Just like me, you’re the child of Alexander and Amelia Bastille. The same blood flows through your veins, and it’s about time you looked at it as a gift instead of a curse. Being strong isn’t about how you’re born though, it’s about how you choose to live your life. You said you wanted to be strong, to fight, so don’t go back on those words and say you can’t do it. You’ll become strong if you choose to never give up.” Sobbing in his arms for a while, Saria suddenly pulled away from him and raised her hands up in front of her, summoning her EDE and her courage as she thought, “Someone like me… can do this!”

            Her mass of EDE gathering up before her, as it squirmed and molded together, it took the form of a small wooden bow with silver colored metal reinforcements. Holding the bow up before her and looking at it in disbelief in a moment, Saria murmured, “I…” A smile spreading across her face, Saria looked at Grey and said, “I did it!” Smiling back at her approvingly, Grey nodded and said, “Yep. I knew you could.” Looking the bow over a while longer, Saria said, “It’s kind of small, but I really made it all by myself…” Rising to his feet, Grey said, “It’s all we need to get you going. Now that you’ve got that, we’ll have you learn to use it and teach you how to survive on the battlefield. With any luck, we’ll be able to get you an Anima Entia by the time we’re through here.” Looking over at Eazel, who was busy digging into his plate of food, Grey called out, “Hey Eazel, can we get some target practice?” Glancing at him while chewing a mouthful of eggs, Eazel raised the hand holding his fork with a nod and several target dummies popped up. Rising to her feet, Saria looked at the target dummies and started testing out her aim, getting used to the bow as she fired off a few wind arrows from it. Taking down all the dummies, as more popped up, Grey said, “Not bad. Now let’s see that arrow you used to try and save Fenrip.” Turning to him in surprise, Saria uttered, “Huh?!” Grinning slyly, Grey said, “What? Don’t tell me you can’t do it?” Hesitating only momentarily, Saria gathered her courage again as she took aim and thought, “No way! I’ll never say that again!” Charging up her arrow, Saria let it fly and blew away all the dummies with a mighty arrow of wind. Watching the dummies be blown away, Grey thought to himself, “Just like I thought. We’re twins after all, looks like she’s got the same potential. She might be able to pull it off…”

            The elevator to the deck arriving, as the doors slid open Mythra and Alexander stepped out, the brisk morning air and the light of the early morning sun washing over them. As Alexander stood there waiting expectantly, Mythra walked past him further out onto the deck, keeping her back to him as she stared out into the open skies. Getting a bit impatient, Alexander said, “Well? I believe you have something to say to me Mythra?” Smirking to herself, Mythra replied, “So impatient, it’s almost like you’ve been worrying yourself silly this whole time over little old me…” Feeling a twinge of irritation, Alexander said, “Of course I’ve been worried. I’ve hardly ever seen you act like that, even in the old days. I know we’ve had our differences Mythra, but I care about you.” Her smirk becoming a smile as her heart skipped a beat, Mythra said, “Jerk, you had to say that now. Now I’m getting my hopes up that you’ll be happy about what I’m about to tell you.” Slightly confused, Alexander was unprepared as he simply said, “I’m not sure what you mean, but I can’t say how I feel about it unless you tell me first.” Nodding, Mythra replied, “I know that now. I won’t run away anymore.” Closing her eyes, Mythra took a deep breath, and after a moment she turned around with an uncharacteristically bright smile that made Alexander’s heart jump as she said, “I love you Alexander. I always have.”

            Standing there frozen stiff, Alexander seemed to have been paralyzed with shock. Thinking this must be some kind of joke or game, once he’d regained himself, Alexander adjusted his shades and said, “Mythra… is this some kind of new way for you to mess with me?” Letting slip a bit of laughter, Mythra held her smile as she replied, “I knew you’d say something like that. It’s my own fault after all, I never could stop myself from messing with you. I’m like a little boy who teases the girl he likes.” A wave of realization washing over him, Alexander could see she was serious. Trying to make sense of this, he sputtered, “B-but, Amanus, he was the one you liked! You were always clinging to him, you were destroyed when he died! You even became attached to Grey at first because of the fact that he was He of the Infinite just like he had been! Not that I’m proud of it, but I did read that diary!” Her smile faltering a bit, Mythra turned away and moved over to the railing, trying to hold herself together as she explained, “I was a bit annoyed by that, but I’m not so dumb as to risk putting the truth in a diary. I’m also too cowardly for that… Think about it, back then when I first met you, even with my feelings for you I couldn’t be sure you wouldn’t reject me just for being a half halman. You were human after all, you were pure blood.”

            Despite his strong urge to stop her there, Alexander listened patiently as she continued, “I wanted you to ask me first, I wanted you to look at me, to make my fears go away. So like an idiot, I constantly tried to show off how affectionate I could be, trying to make you jealous by using another man. I didn’t feel that way about Amanus at all, he was just a friend, but when he died in that last battle and you came back all beat up, the first thing that came to my mind was ‘thank goodness’.” Looking back at him with a face that was clearly about to break, Mythra said, “I hated myself… I used him, said all those things, fooled around so much… and when he dies I can’t even stop being selfish for five seconds to mourn him?” She turned away again and started to tremble, and taking a step forward Alexander reached his hand out as he said, “Mythra, that’s not true… It’s more than clear his death was far from a painless experience for you…” Despite how much he wanted to go to her and comfort her though, he could not take another step, not wanting to be hasty and give the wrong idea. He was still unsure of his own feelings, and still held a great deal of loyalty to Amelia.

            Pulling herself together, Mythra looked back at him, and seeming able to read what was on his mind just by looking at his face, she smiled and said, “It’s alright, I’m fully aware of just how late I am… I can’t ask you to move on right away, and I’ll never expect to take her place in your heart.” Turning around and facing him properly, Mythra’s face was a bit red and her ears furled down in embarrassment as she said, “Still, if… if at all possible, would you… take however much time you need… and think about whether you can be with me someday?” His heart jumping once again, Alexander turned his gaze away, blushing a bit himself as he replied, “I… I’ll try. Honestly, Amelia still holds a strong place in my heart, and I never thought the day would come when the two of us would look at each other like this. Still, for someone so close to me to express such earnest feelings… I couldn’t possibly not treat it seriously. I’ll think about your feelings, and my own, and find the words to reply to you.”

            For a moment Mythra seemed to stare back at him, and then as relief began to show on her face, Alexander noticed her legs starting to tremble. Trying to hide his concern, Alexander said, “I-In any case, you’d better come back inside the ship and calm down. We still have a job to do, it’ll be a problem if you’re so worked up.” Nodding, Mythra started to slowly move in the direction of the elevator doors. Unable to watch, Alexander walked over to her and offered his arm as he said, “Honestly, I didn’t think I was this unapproachable…” Walking back to the elevator as she leaned against his arm for stability, Mythra replied, “Sh-Shut up, things like this aren’t easy for me when I’m serious! A small part of me was a little scared you’d take advantage of this to get back at me for how much grief I gave you in the past…” Looking only slightly offended, Alexander retorted, “I would have still taken it seriously in the end, but I can’t say I didn’t think about making a few wisecracks.” Continuing to lean on him as they got onto the elevator, Mythra sounded more proud than annoyed as she said, “Figures. You’re really the most worthy opponent there is when it comes to a battle of words. Only fitting for the Master of Rune Swordsmanship…”

            Chasing Saria across the timeless plane as she fled from him using wind enhanced speed, Grey fought without a weapon in hand but instead with the silver framed mirror he used to warp through mirrors, firing spells from it without the use of an incantation. Saria fired back at him, missing again and again with arrows of wind from her bow, Grey avoiding easily with his Accelerate speed boost and catching up. Striking out with his fists, Grey shouted, “C’mon, hit me! Those half-hearted shots aren’t enough! You can’t hesitate even in training, battles in reality are way too harsh to go in with such weak preparation! I’m the enemy, I’m threatening everything you cherish, now attack!” Dodging again and again and leaping into the air with an acrobatic maneuver to avoid his next strike, then spinning in the air with a multiple flip, Saria opened fire with a hail of wind arrows, and Grey barely had time to leap back and escape. Landing, Saria lunged at him after firing a few more arrows and then swung her bow as a blunt weapon with a fierce cry.

            Grey’s mirror flying in between them as he sidestepped her arrows, a wall of black hexagons appeared from a black rune circle and blocked her blunt strike, and Saria bounced off of it to land hard on her back. Seeing her lying there panting, Grey smiled to himself and called his mirror back to his side as he said, “Good job, you’re really coming along! Rest a bit, we’ll go again soon.” Strolling back to the cafeteria, Grey took a seat with Eazel as he commented, “You sure can eat when it comes to breakfast.” Setting his fork on top of his cleared plate of eggs and bacon, Eazel replied, “Indeed I can!” Seeming to look over at Saria, who was sitting up now catching her breath, Eazel added, “I suppose she’s still an amateur, but you really can keep an opponent on the run, even without a pair of swords. I’m sure we can expect great things from her, but don’t push her too hard. All things come in due time.” Shrugging his shoulders, Grey replied, “She said not to hold back. The fact that I’m fighting barehanded is betraying that expectation as it is.” With a slight laugh, Eazel said, “Don’t hold back? Maybe she’s the one overdoing things. I hardly think she’d get anything done if you really went all out.” Turning to look out at Saria as she struggled up, Grey said, “True, that’s too much of a crash course, but…” Watching her stagger towards the cafeteria, clearly intent on continuing early, Grey rose from his chair to face her as he said, “She’s finally giving her all without hesitation. She’ll be there in no time.”

            Having made their way through the streets of Celestis to the place where the apartment complex Amy once called home had stood, Amy and Letanya found it in ruins, what remained of it after the fire that had been sparked the night of their great escape blocked off for demolition. Staring through the chainlink fence erected around her former home, Amy thought for a moment about everything that had happened that day, the last day she would see her father’s face. Floating there next to Amy, Letanya was doing her best to restrain herself, Amy having made it quite clear on the way over that she was not to come near her with impure intentions. Trying to make conversation, Letanya looked out at the ruins as well and asked, “So… this is where your Dad died? Must’ve been a pretty bad fire… Were you here when it burned down?” Glancing over at Amy, as she saw tears in her eyes, Letanya reeled back slightly in surprise and sputtered, “Whoa! Um, h-hey, don’t cry… I’m sure it must have been terrible, but I’m sure wherever he is now, he’s just happy you’re ok. Things like this just happen, but you have to keep going forward.” Wiping her eyes, Amy turned to go as she muttered, “If it were the me now, there would have been so many things I could’ve done to save him…”

            As Letanya followed her down the sidewalk, she tried to wipe away the gloom with another attempt at conversation as she asked, “So where to? Are you hungry? Let’s find a restaurant and take a break. You can tell me more about your hometown here.” Sighing, Amy replied, “Letanya, I didn’t come here to play around. You don’t even have money to spend at a restaurant anyways…” Letanya’s face fell in disappointed realization, and she merely grumbled, “Stupid currency! Dining together in a restaurant with a cute girl is almost one of my natural rights, but I can’t even order or treat you if I can’t cough up pieces of paper and metal?!” Rolling her eyes, Amy commented, “Well, you pay after you eat, but I’m not about to dine and dash… Are you really sure it’s even ok for you to be coming with me? Observers are supposed to be uninvolved aren’t they? You’re going to get a lot of attention too, floating around like that…”

            Stopping at the corner of the block, as they waited for the street light, Letanya nonchalantly replied, “I set up a few precautions while you weren’t looking. It’s a little draining channeling it, but this spell I’m casting will rewrite the image seen by any bystander who looks at me. Nobody will see anything out of the ordinary. If Archon still wants to complain about the code at this point, let him. There’s no way anyone’s stripping anyone of their power for a while.” As they crossed the street, they suddenly turned about the same street and went down it again, and noticing this, Letanya asked, “Where are we going?” Proceeding down the other side of the street from the burned down apartment complex, Amy said, “I used to work here. I didn’t see any notice about the incident or where the victims’ graves are, so we’ll have to ask someone.” As Amy came to a stop in front of the diner she had worked at while going to school, Letanya stopped as well and looked through the windows of the diner, then up at the sign on the building that said, “Good Burger”. Stars in her eyes, she squealed, “It’s the promised land of my girls romance comics!”

            Hurrying into the diner with the hopes of leaving this embarrassing person behind, Amy stepped inside and looked around, the diner much the same as when she left it, a simple family owned restaurant with a clean environment that was usually not very crowded. Over behind the register counter, working in the visibly open kitchen where the food was prepared, a man in his thirties with tanned skin who had wild, dark brown hair and yellowed-brown eyes was humming a tune as he flipped burgers, dressed in a red and black uniform and white apron, with a white with red stripes burger joint hat on his head to complete the outfit. Following Amy into the diner merrily as she stood there staring at the familiar figure, Letanya asked, “Where should we sit?” Able to see that there was no getting through to this one, Amy replied, “Fine, sit wherever. I’ll see what I can afford…” Letanya satisfied, as she floated off to pick a table, Amy approached the counter. Hearing her come up, the man turned with spatula in hand and started to say, “Welcome! What can I getcha tod-” Stopping cold, the man’s eyes went wide for a moment, and then he donned a big grin as he exclaimed, “Holy smokes! Amy, you’re back?!” With a slightly embarrassed smile and a wave, Amy said, “Sorry if I caused you any trouble Tedd.”

            With smiling eyes and an even bigger grin, Tedd gave a random two fingered salute and replied, “No sweat girl! Even after all this time, you’re still so uptight! If anyone’s been through trouble, I’d say it’s you.” His expression becoming somewhat less cheerful, Tedd added, “I heard about your old man, and I can hardly ignore that pile of rubble over there…” Nodding solemnly, Amy managed a smile and said, “It’s a long story…” Laughing, Ted twirled his spatula as he said, “I’ll bet! I’ve heard all sorts of things, rumors and tabloids are everywhere. Even with the recent announcements from TINN though, I’m sure I don’t know the half of it.” Shooting her a sly look, he added, “It’s always the quiet ones…” Turning somewhat red, Amy tried to steer the subject in the right direction, asking, “Do you know if they’ve made graves for the people from the apartment building who died? I didn’t see a notice anywhere, and I’d like to pay my respects.” Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Tedd murmured, “Ah, I did hear they made a memorial plot for the fire victims, but I haven’t had time to go visit myself. All the authorities running around were a bit bad for business at first, but there was also a slight boom after that from onlookers and such due to all those rumors I mentioned. Things may look quiet now, but it’s been a rollercoaster at times. I had to hire some more help with you gone.”

            His eyes lighting up in realization, Tedd suddenly said, “Say, that’s an idea! I’m sure she knows more than I do, she was looking into everything concerning you!” Raising an eyebrow curiously, Amy asked, “Who was?” Looking over at the door to the staff room, Tedd animatedly explained, “She’s already here getting ready for work, she came in just before you. There’s some teacher’s assembly thing at your school, so classes are out today and she planned ahead with me for a full day’s shift. Said she wants to be here as much as possible in case you come back. You never brought her around or anything, so I was surprised you had friends like that.” Unsure just who would go to such lengths, Amy again asked, “Who are you talking about?” Placing his free hand on his hip, Tedd looked at her disapprovingly as he said, “C’mon now, can’t think of anyone? Truth is, she’s told me you never really opened up much at school, but it’s still kinda sad to see she doesn’t even come to mind after all that. Tell you what, you’re hungry right? How about you take a seat and I’ll ready up some grub on the house? You here by yourself?” Hesitantly, Amy said, “No, I’m here with a friend. I was going to order something cheap for her, but on the house is a little…” Signaling with his hand for her to stop right there, Tedd said, “Girl, you were a loyal member of the Good Burger family for a long time, and you never took freebies, leftovers, or discounts. I can at least spare you and your friend a meal on the house after all the hard work you’ve put into this place.”

            Waving her off before she could say another word, as Amy headed out to find Letanya at their table, Tedd called after her, “Make sure you don’t go peeking! Sit with your back to the staff room!” Finding Letanya, Amy took a seat opposite her at the table where she couldn’t see the staff room, wondering what in the world was going on. Looking over at her eagerly, Letanya held up the menu and said, “The waitress hasn’t come yet, but I know just what we should start with!” She quickly pointed to an item on the menu, and as Amy leaned forward to take a look, a vein throbbed angrily on her forehead as she saw Letanya was aiming for a shared drink intended for couples. Struggling to remain civil, she glanced at the pushy Observer and said, “If you order that, I’m leaving…” As Letanya sulked, someone came up behind Amy to their table, calling out, “Welcome! What can I get you today?” Recognizing the voice immediately, Amy whirled around in disbelief, laying eyes on a girl with light brown hair tied in twin pony tails and green eyes in a Good Burger uniform. Seeing her standing there, Amy indeed felt ashamed she hadn’t even come to mind as she said, “Mia?!” Carrying a pair of water glasses, having only been told there were two customers waiting, the water glasses fell to the floor as Mia saw Amy’s face. They were thankfully plastic glasses, and ignoring the water that had spilled everywhere, Mia rushed forward and threw her arms around Amy’s shoulders in a hug from behind the chair as she exclaimed, “Stupid Amy! You don’t say goodbye, and then you show up without any warning! That’s not fair!”

            Watching Mia embrace Amy, rather than getting jealous, Letanya looked on with a sly expression as she asked, “Old girlfriend?” Turning red, Amy exclaimed, “No!” Squeezing Amy tightly, Mia giggled and playfully said, “Oh Amy, you don’t have to hide it!” Sighing in exasperation, Amy glanced over at Mia and said, “Don’t give her any misunderstandings, she’ll take it seriously.” Releasing Amy at last, Mia flashed a smile at Letanya and said, “Well, it might be fun to pretend, but if you’re that worried about it I suppose I won’t lead her on. You didn’t strike me as one to go for girls though Amy, weren’t you going for that boy?” Flustered at this even greater misunderstanding, Amy fumbled for words as she stammered, “N-n-n-no! No, no, no, no, no! Mia, she’s just a friend!” Chuckling to herself at her flustered reaction, Mia responded, “I see, that’s something of a relief. I wouldn’t want to think you always avoided me because I wasn’t your type.” Blushing redder still, Amy exclaimed, “MIA!” Motioning for her to calm down, Mia said, “Alright, alright! I’m just so glad you’re ok. Not only that, you really seem like you’ve changed, huh?” Amy showed a mild look of surprise, and Mia continued, “I can tell you’ve really come out of your shell, even if you do seem a little down. Is everything ok?”

            Already struggling just to be back here in the town where her old life came to an end, Amy’s mind was still filled with indecision and uncertainty involving her future with Grey, and apparently it showed. Managing a smile, Amy tried her best not to worry Mia as she said, “I’m just thinking about my Dad. It’s only been around a month, and it’s the first time I’ve come back.” Somberly, Mia said, “Yeah. It must have been hard…” Then taking out her order list as she glanced at the spilled water, she said, “I’m just dying to catch up, but I’d better get a towel and give Tedd a piece of my mind. What do you two want to eat?” Amy and Letanya both making their orders, as Mia was about to go place them, Amy called out suddenly, “Mia…” As Mia turned back to her curiously, Amy felt herself compelled to ask something, a question that hung there in the back of her mind for no other reason than society’s cruelty. Hesitating only a moment as to how to phrase it, she asked, “Weren’t you surprised? I was… a rogue energist the whole time…” Mia realizing instantly that Amy had worried herself over the differences between them, she only showed a warm smile as she replied, “A lot of people were, but it didn’t really shock me that much. No matter how shy and secretive you were, I could tell there was just something about you. I really wanted to get to know you more.” With that, Mia hurried off to get a towel, leaving Amy to contemplate the fact that there was still someone here that had accepted her all along.