Momoko stretched, relishing the unfiltered sunlight at the Arc City Train station. A citiplex like New York, Arc City was a vast rolling spot of urban living in a desert. The buildings shimmered silver in the light, the skyscrapers piercing blue sky as beautiful as it was natural. Arc City had declined the dome-initiative that New York had embraced.

Momoko took in a deep breath as Lucas joined her on the platform, his yellow eyes wide under the baseball cap barely containing his budding horns.

"Smell that fresh air?" she grinned, twirling.

'More like smog and reeking population.' Flere growled from her pack.

"It's amazing." Lucas glanced around. "How do they survive without a dome?"

Nick joined them in his typical all black outfit, though today he had chosen jeans over slacks and his shoes had a sneaker-quality to them. Momoko cast a quick appraising look at her pale companions. They really were like opposites, one slouched and nervously pulling at his cap, the other standing tall and confidently glancing at his watch.

"When the dome-initiative was proposed, Arc City opted out." Nick explained. "The city council had felt that the land around the city didn't show enough toxic levels to justify the project's budget. The citiplex operates on a simple color-coded air quality system: green for clean, yellow for caution, and red when the air is harmful to breathe."

He started walking towards the gates at the end of the platform that led into the station's interior. "We'll get our respirators inside. They're a free amenity for travelers, and according to the local forecasts, tomorrow should be a yellow day."

Lucas hurried to match the taller man's steps. "What does yellow mean?"

Momoko smiled, following them as Nick explained how the respirators worked in conjunction with the color-alerts system. You would never know just the day before they considered each other a threat. A night of drinking together had cemented some male bonding process and Momoko was glad for it. There was no hint of awkwardness this morning when they all met up in the food cart for breakfast, discussing their plans for the city. Since Momoko wasn't sure yet on how they'd secure transportation further into the wastelands, and she hadn't felt comfortable discussing her plan in front of Nick, the main focus was on where to stay, which was fine by her. Nick had recommended a central hotel, and they'd head to it so they could get checked in before spending the day exploring.

Momoko adjusted the strap on her left shoulder as she walked, and felt a sudden chill nip at the back of her neck. She slowed just enough to glance around, a glimpse of black in the crowd making her throat go dry. The man in black. He was a few paces away, the top of his hat poking up from the dense crowd like a shark in water. Not heading towards them, but keeping pace with them. She forced herself to breath, reassuring herself that they had all just gotten off a train, naturally they were all heading the same direction.

It wasn't until they had received their respirators and were waiting for a cab, however, that it occurred to Momoko that once she had spotted that black hat, it had never quite faded from the corner of her vision. She turned her head slightly to the right to see the man a few dozen feet away, waiting in the cab line. She stared for a moment, but he didn't turn his pale face to glance at her, instead climbing into a cab when it was his turn. She sighed an inner sigh of relief. It was hard to follow someone if you left first, she reasoned.

"This is fun." Nick's amused voice interrupted her paranoia. "I've not take a cab in ages."

She turned to her companions and smiled. "I wonder if they're as crazy as New Yorkers."

"Oh," his eyes twinkled in amusement as a taxi pulled up to the curb and the uniformed train station agent waved them over to get in. "I hope so."

"Shotgun!' Lucas shouted, beating them both to the cab.

As it turned out, Arc City drivers were crazier than New York drivers. The man zipped through the crowded streets like they were in an action movie. While Momoko could appreciate the grace in the maneuvers he pulled, her pale companions were a bit paler by the time they coasted into the hotel valet area.

'We're here." Their driver growled, jabbing the dashboard metapad to register the fee.

Momoko pushed Nick out of the seat. "You guys get some solid ground, I've got it."

"Thank you." Nick wheezed, hurriedly exiting the vehicle, and Lucas clamored out after him.

"I think you could win a few prizes at racing." Momoko laughed, tipping the driver.

"Thanks miss." The driver tipped his hat. "Just—be careful while you're here, okay? Arc City ain't New York. We're too close to the waste."

"What do you mean?" Momoko blinked.

'Just what I said." The cabbie huffed as if offended that she didn't understand his warning. "Be careful. Things ain't as orderly as back east."

"Thank you." Momoko slid out of the seat and joined Lucas, who was staring at a couple of pigeons nesting on the sign for the hotel.

"You've seen pigeons before." Momoko teased him with a laugh.

"Not free pigeons." Lucas said with a hint of wonder. "I mean, these pigeons could have come from anywhere. Flew in from the gold coast. Who knows? There's no borders for them here. No dome to contain them."

Momoko titled her head, mulling over 'free pigeons' versus pigeons in the dome. She'd never really thought about urban wildlife in such a way.

Nick grabbed his suitcase and lead on. "Shall we?"

They made their way through a classically designed hotel lobby to the check-in. Momoko pushed Lucas to a second teller so they could book their own rooms.

She made up an excuse for Lucas being a minor when the pretty redhead asked for his ID. He was lucky he looked young... but it was something that had slipped her mind in the haste to get out of New York. When the girl excused herself to grab their keys, Momoko tapped on Lucas' shoulder. "We're going to have to get you an identity."

"How are we going to do that?" he frowned.

"With the magic of technology." She grinned, and sent a quick request to Grisla. Grisla knew some people, surely. Grisla always knew people. Her friend instantly pinged back, curious why she needed a fake ID. Momoko made up an excuse about a friend's cousin that wanted to go to a party. Grisla responded to send photo and name, she'd get it to her before the party.

"I love Grisla." Momoko laughed as the girl returned with their room keys.

"You're all set." The girl smiled.

Momoko thanked her and handed Lucas his key. "We're next to each other again. I made sure."

"Thanks." He grinned sheepishly.

Nick sauntered over. "What floor did you get?"

"Third." Momoko smiled.

"Your lucky number." Nick teased.

"You know it. Ten minutes to freshen up, and we all meet back here to go exploring?"

"Sounds like a plan." Nick agreed. "I'm on the ninth floor, so it might take me a minute longer."

"I can't wait to see the arch." Lucas exclaimed, heading for the elevator.

'How about you?' she purred to Flere.

'Oh, I'm thrilled to go exploring.' The fluff growled mentally. 'Being a keychain's the life.'