Adam and Stella had just left their third hostel, and already Stella’s feet were starting to hurt.  At the front desk of each establishment, they had asked about a tall man with a scar, and suggested that he might be a cosplayer.  Every time, they had been met with a polite denial.

    “We should start making our way towards the shopping district,” Stella said, checking her watch.  It was already 9:00.  “He’s probably on his way there now anyway.”

    “And you’re hungry,” Adam said, grinning.

    Stella smiled.  “Something like that.”

    Adam checked his phone.  “Our next hostel in that direction is about twenty minutes away.”

    Stella’s phone rang.  She picked it up to hear Atria’s voice on the line.  “Anything?”

    “Not yet,” Stella said.  “We’re heading towards the shopping district now, and we’ll check a couple of places along the way.  You?”

    “Nothing,” Atria said.  “Cap reports the same.  For all we know, he got street clothes yesterday, or the hostel staff are just being discreet.”

    Stella felt Adam tap her on the shoulder as they reached the intersection.  He pointed down the street to the right.  A tall figure in a blue cloak was halfway down the block, his head poking above the crowd.

    “Actually, I think we just found him,” Stella said.  “Adam will text you the location.”

    Stella hurried through the crowd, getting closer to the tall figure.  “Excuse me!” she called in Japanese.  “Are you Daiki Yamato?”

    The man stopped and turned.  Behind her, she heard Adam making his way through the crowd to catch up.  “I am Daiki Yamato,” the man said.  “Who are you, and how do you know who I am?”

    “My name is Stellaria, but everybody calls me Stella,” Stella said.  “I’m from another world, like you.  But, it’s more complicated than that.”

    “I’m listening,” Daiki Yamato said.

    “This may sound unbelievable, but we’re fictional characters from stories created in this world.  This is the world of the people who created us.”

    Daiki chuckled.  “I think somebody has been messing with you.  I’m quite familiar with parallel worlds, and this isn’t my first time travelling between them.  This may not be my Japan, but that just means that it’s an alternate Japan.  The other two Legendary Weapon heroes in my world were also from different alternate Japans.  We’re all quite real, and so are our worlds.  Also, you really need to work on your pronunciation.”

    “We can prove it,” Stella said.  “Your creator is with our team in Tokyo.  Her name is Akari Soto.  We can show you the light novels you’re from, and–”

    “And I have to go to Tokyo with you and your friends, yes?”

    Stella nodded.  “We’ll do what we can to get you home, too.”

    “I’ll pass,” Daiki said.  “My fiancee may have fallen into this world with me, and I need to find her if she has.  I can’t do that in Tokyo.  Her name is Athena, and she’s a half-wolf demi-human.  If she’s here, she’s probably very frightened and confused.  Her world isn’t anything like this one.”

    Stella nodded.  “I know what that’s like.  My world is from a fantasy video game, and I wouldn’t have survived if my fiancé hadn’t found me.  We’re working with the Japanese Self-Defence Force.  If you come with us, we will help you find your fiancee.”

    Daiki sighed.  “Look, you seem to mean well, but I don’t know you.  The fact that you know my name and who I am does suggest that you are who you say you are, but I’ve been betrayed before.  I think I’d rather handle this myself.”

    “We’ve got some friends coming,” Stella said.  “My best friend, Atria Silversword, is on her way, and so is our other friend, Captain Infinite.  They’re both like us – She’s a mech pilot, and he’s a superhero.  Would you be willing to hear them out?”

    Daiki Yamato took a deep breath and was about to speak when a new voice spoke in an American accent, saying in English, “You must be Daiki Yamato.”

    Stella turned to face a tall, well-built American with short dark hair, dressed in a black three-piece suit.  The man looked at her.  “And I recognize you two from my colleague’s surveillance spell.”

    “Who are you?” Stella asked in English.

    “I am a representative of the other side,” he said, and then turned to Daiki Yamato.  “Did they suggest that they were the only interested party in this matter?  That’s quite dishonest of them.”

    “What is he saying?” Daiki asked in Japanese.

    “Joke’s on you, pal,” Adam said in English.  “He only speaks Japanese.”

    “Unfortunately, my associate and interpreter has yet to arrive, although he is on his way,” the man said, and then held up a flip phone.  “You’re not the only ones with cell phones.  That said, I was given one Japanese phrase should this situation arise.”  He turned to Daiki and said, in accented Japanese, “Don’t trust them.  Trust us instead.”

    Daiki looked at Stella with suspicion.  “Who is this man?  What is his part in this?”

    The man looked around.  “I think we’re drawing a crowd.  Let’s discuss this somewhere more private.”

    “I think we should stay right here,” Adam said in English.

    “What are you all saying?” Daiki demanded.  “Somebody translate!”

    The man pulled open his jacket just far enough to display the gun holstered under his shoulder.  “I disagree.  And since what we fictional characters have to say to one another is not for the general crowd, I think we’ll be going with my suggestion.  That alley over there seems appropriate.”

    Stella inhaled sharply.  “He wants us to come with him,” she said in Japanese.  “And he has a gun.”

    The man in the suit motioned to the alley.  Stella swallowed and took Adam’s hand.  He gave her a reassuring squeeze.  Slowly the three of them walked into the alley, the man following a few feet away.

    “That’s far enough for some privacy,” the man said.  “Now, precisely what is it you are offering to Mr. Yamato?  Our side reserves the right to make a counter-offer, but we need to know the starting point in this negotiation.”

    Stella looked at Adam and swallowed.  “We’ll try to find a way to send him home,” she said in English.

    “My associate can travel between worlds at will,” the man said.  “So we can guarantee his safe journey home once this is all done.  What else are you offering?”

    “Would somebody please translate?” Daiki said in Japanese.

    “To meet his creator,” Stella said in English.

    “Meeting our creators is in our plans as well,” the man said.  “Our counter-offer seems better.  Perhaps you should retire from this negotiation.”

    “Enough!” Daiki roared in Japanese.  “I don’t know what you are arguing about, but I want nothing to do with either of you!  Just tell me one thing: have any of you seen my fiancee?”

    The man glanced at Daiki and then at Stella.  “What is he asking?”

    “He wants to know if you’ve seen his fiancee,” Stella replied in English.  “She’s half wolf.”

    “That sounds very intriguing,” the man said.  “But I’m afraid we have not.  We will help him find her, however, if she can be found.  Please translate this with precision.  I would be very disappointed if you left something out.”

    “What did he say?” Daiki demanded.

    “He hasn’t seen her,” Stella said in Japanese, clenching her fist to stop her hand from shaking.  “And he says he’ll help you look for her.”

    “If none of you have seen her, then what use are any of you?” Daiki growled.  “Let me leave.”

    “What did he say?” the man said.

    “He wants to leave,” Stella said in English, and then blurted, “Please don’t hurt us.”

    The man drew his pistol and leveled it at them.  “I’m afraid I am going to insist that Mr. Yamato comes with me.”

    “Please,” Stella begged, “I didn’t leave anything out, or misrepresent what you said.  Please just let us all go.”

    “I’m afraid I just don’t find you very credible,” the man said, flicking the safety off his gun.  “And if you’re going to stand in my way, you’re going to have to be removed.”

    Stella grabbed Adam’s hand and squeezed for dear life.  And then the world exploded around her.

NEXT: “Casualty”