***Nina***

“Why’d we let them go alone?” I shouted, pacing around the room in a huff. Kei and I got worried when we couldn’t find the kids after the fireworks. We followed our pendants out to an old storehouse by the docks, which, to our dismay, was currently guarded by those stupid anti-cheat guards. We scouted the area as best we could before heading back to the inn to make a quick plan.

“To be fair, we did encourage them,” Kei countered. “We wanted them to have fun, just like you originally intended when you cast that spell.”

I sighed, “I hate it when you’re right.”

Kei flashed me a half-smile. “Isn’t that why you keep me around?”

“Hush you,” I grinned back. “Unless you got any ideas on how to save our two charges?” 

The silver-haired elf thought for a moment. “Robin said they keep more of those teleport scrolls for emergencies, but I don’t think either of us have enough magic power to get two teleports off, even with the spell scrolls. So we have an easy way in or out, but not both.”

“I don’t think we’re getting past any of them without a fight,” I mumbled. “But the two of us are completely useless if we get hit by any of their data attacks.”

I collapsed onto the bed with a dramatic sigh as I spitballed a plan. “How about we use it to get out? So that means we need to get in there and teleport out without being hit by any of the guards’ weapons. Once we’re in, we find Alec and Sylvia, then teleport clear.”

“Assuming the goddess hates these guys as much as the rest of us do, we should be safe once we reach the shrine,” Kei finished.

“And all that before my spell ends in about… maybe half an hour? Is that enough time?” Ugh. This plan definitely sounded better in my head. Laying it out like this, it really wasn’t looking good. 

“No way,” Kei said. “You saw how many guards there were! We’re going to get hit at least once.”

“You know we have to try,” I countered. “Even if we run out of time on the spell. Assuming the soul separation doesn’t outright kill Alec, we still have a chance to get him home safe. Since they were captured, I doubt my little sister has access to anything that could get them out of there without our help.”

“Don’t forget Syl’s from the other world too,” Kei reminded me with a light flick to my forehead. “Wait. Actually, that gives me an idea.”

My ears twitched at the suggestion. “And what’s that?”

Kei bit her lower lip. “Syl wasn’t paralyzed by that needle back in Tanbomachi, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“So… that means that people from her world might have resistance to data attacks. As much as I don’t want to suggest it, I think we might need backup from their world.”

“Did you just ask me to do something reckless?” I replied in disbelief. “Who are you, and what have you done to Kei?”

“Oh, shut it!” The elf shot back. “Do you want to save the kids or not? I’ll go find Robin, just, do your thing and get Karyl here.”

I gave a grateful smile to my partner in crime. “Alright, I’m on it.”

“Then move it, little fox!”

A few minutes later, I had found a suitable spot to cast my unfinished spell: a small park hidden behind a grove of trees. I took a deep breath, opened my console, and began typing out a message. 

***Karyl***

I stared incredulously at my phone screen, blinking a few extra times to confirm what I was reading. I just got a message from Sam through his Soulseeker Online account. That fact alone wasn’t really all that unusual, but Sam had been in a coma since last week, so there was no way the message was from him. Maybe his account got hacked? Curiosity piqued, I opened the app and tapped out a response.

[Nina]: Karyl, are you there?

[Kei]: Sam?!?!?

[Nina]: No, actually. Long story short, your friends are in trouble. Can I bring you here to help them?

[Kei]: Bring me where? And if you’re not Sam, who are you?

[Nina]: I guess I’m a friend of hers? By here, I mean this world, Haredo. I brought Sam into the game by accident, and we almost got her back home, but we ran into some trouble along the way. We need some help from your world, and you’re the only one we can contact at the moment. Come help us, please?

[Kei]: Why should I trust you? You don’t even know that Sam’s a guy.

[Nina]: He was, but you and I both know she’s trans. I know you’ve seen the signs, not to mention her depression. But Sylvia’s mental health has improved tenfold since she got here! She’s a cute as heck baby trans girl, and she needs your help. Please.

That got my attention. I knew Sam might be depressed, but I hadn’t really figured out a way to help him unless he asked for help. There was a part of me that thought he might be trans, but I wasn’t sure if I was just projecting myself onto him. If I asked him, and I was wrong, I’d probably have to explain why I knew so much about this topic. He seemed chill enough, and it probably wouldn’t change anything, but that dark thought in the back of my brain was absolutely terrified of ruining my friendship.

I sighed. Don’t think about that for now. First we gotta deal with this weird message first. While I had been thinking, “Nina” had sent a screenshot from the game. I opened the image to see a picture of Sam’s character looking very stressed. The light blue-haired fox girl was all dressed up in a fancy blue Kimono. Her hair was down and curled a bit at the ends, and some of the makeup she had on seemed to be smeared. She was standing in a small park in a fancy city, and she looked super worn out. There definitely was not this level of detail in the in-game photo mode. You couldn’t take screenshots from that close-up angle either. There was no way a hacker could fake this that quickly. So that means… 

[Nina]: Believe me yet?

[Kei]: Alright, I’m convinced. What do you need me to do?

[Nina]: Thank you! Okay, just sit in front of your computer, I’ll do the rest.

I did as I was told. I was going to ask if I should turn it on, when I felt a tugging sensation, followed by the feeling of falling.