“We are eventually going to get to see a story, right?” Cap said. “Not that this isn’t pleasant in its own way.”

    Daiki looked around. They were surrounded by scrubland. Small prickly shrubs dotted the landscape, tiny islands in a sea of red sand. The horizon shimmered from the dry heat. A bead of sweat rolled down Daiki’s brow.

    “It’s a proper story world,” Aquila said. “There’s an active information stream tethered to a hub world. It’s just not a very populated one.”

    Daiki pulled off his cloak and rolled it up, then packed it into his backpack. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cap do the same with his leather jacket and roll up his sleeves, and Kasumi take off her sweater. Aquila just looked around, taking in the scenery.

    Cap stared at her. “Aren’t you a bit...hot...in that coat?”

    Aquila shrugged. “It’s made from a good wool. It breathes.”

    Kasumi chuckled. “There’s no point. Whenever she’s out, Aquila wears the coat. We were in the middle of a desert making temples – I’m wearing a light dress and straw hat, and she’s in the coat.”

    “It was comfortable enough,” Aquila stated.

    “She was drenched with sweat and drinking water as fast as I could draw it for us. Wouldn’t take the coat off, no matter what I said.”

    “I love this coat,” Aquila groused. “It has lots of pockets.”

    Kasumi grinned at Cap. “And when we get home she always puts it on the doorknob to the front door. Never on a coatrack, or in a closet – it’s always on that doorknob. No exceptions.”

    Daiki took off his leather breastplate, and attached it to his backpack. Then he smiled to himself and looked back to the horizon. His eyes narrowed. There was something there. A tiny dot, almost lost in the heat shimmer.

    “It’s my house too,” Aquila said. “I can put my coat wherever I want.”

    “I’m not complaining,” Kasumi stated. “I just think it’s funny.”

    “Cap, can you see what that is?” Daiki interrupted, pointing at the dot.

    “Sure,” Cap said. “I’ve got enhanced vision...let me see what we’ve got.” Cap frowned. “Wait, is that a giant robot?”

    Aquila grinned at him. “And you were worried we wouldn’t see anything interesting.”

    “If that’s the only thing here, we may as well take a look,” Daiki said.

    “Agreed,” Cap said.

    “On foot,” Daiki declared. “We want to be as low impact as possible.”

    Cap looked disappointed, but nodded.

    Aquila shrugged. “I’m up for a walk.”

   Kasumi nodded, turned to Aquila, and said, “And you’re doing your own laundry tonight.”

    “Wait, that doesn’t seem fair!” Aquila protested as they started to walk.

    “Then take off the coat,” Kasumi said. “It’s hot out here.”

    “Not happening.”

    Beside him, Cap chuckled. “So, what kind of story world do you think we’re in?”

    Daiki shrugged. If he squinted, he could now make out a couple of features on the robot head. “Maybe an adventure of some sort.”

    “It looks a bit like the Australian outback,” Cap stated. “It could be a ‘survival in the outback’ sort of story...with a giant robot...so maybe not.”

    “It doesn’t remind me of anything from any light novel I’ve read,” Daiki said.

    “Maybe it’s a post-apocalyptic future with giant robots,” Cap suggested. “If there’s one, there could be more.”

    They fell silent. As they walked, the robot became more distinct, its features clearer. Most of what Daiki could see was reddish brown from corrosion, almost blending into the sand and scrub were it not for the occasional shiny corner scraped clean by the wind.

    Daiki heard a sharp intake of breath from Aquila.

    “What’s wrong?” Kasumi asked.

    “I think I recognize it,” Aquila said. “But it can’t be here. That makes no sense.”

    Daiki turned to look at her.

    Kasumi put her hand on Aquila’s shoulder. “It’s from your war?”

    Aquila nodded. “It was flown by this kid on the other side. But he wasn’t from a story world anything like this. And surely the Sage of Eternal Wisdom would have sent him home after the war if he wanted to go back – she wouldn’t have sent him here.”

    “Sage of Eternal Wisdom?” Cap asked.

    “She was a mage leading the other side,” Aquila replied. “Had this thing about braids – her hair was full of them. I’m pretty sure she had the power to send people home – that’s one of the reasons I only came back to the hub world once, to mail Kasumi’s letter. I thought the Sage would handle getting people home once the war ended. She was the sort of person who would do that.”

    “We can just turn back now,” Kasumi said. “We’ll find a place to camp and wait until morning.”

    Aquila shook her head. “I need to know.” She strode forward.

    As they walked, the robot towered over them, all rust and exposed corroded servos. At its feet emerged what appeared to be a small shanty town behind a low improvised defensive wall, made from scrounged wood and metal.

    “They must have cannibalized the robot,” Cap said.

    “What happened here?” Aquila muttered.

    “It’s HER!” a voice called from behind the wall. Daiki heard a flurry of activity, and then the gate opened to reveal four men in ragged clothing, all but one holding weapons.

    “Hello!” Cap said with a smile. “We were just passing through and we noticed your little settlement here. Can we be of assistance?”

    “Don’t you mean you’re here to finish what you started?” one of the men snarled, brandishing a katana as he stared at Aquila. “Killing Atlantia and the others wasn’t enough for you – you have to come back for us too?”

    Aquila raised her hands and shook her head. “Please, I’m not here to fight. None of us are here to fight. I just want to know what happened.”

    “Listen to her,” the unarmed man said. “She was many things, but she was never dishonest. If she says she’s not here to fight, it’s true.”

    “Ragnar,” Aquila said, looking at the man with teary eyes, her voice almost a whisper. “How are you here too? Why aren’t you home with your daughter?”

    “The gate spell didn’t work, did it?” the man with the katana said. “We didn’t go home, we just ended up here!”

    “You can’t blame her for that, Sutoka,” Ragnar said. “We were the ones who waited too long before leaving.” He turned to Aquila. “The world of our creators was really nice. We all enjoyed being there once the war ended. Half of us decided to stay. But, the Sage’s power was failing, and by the time we were ready to leave and she cast the spell it was too late. None of us made it home.”

    “These people,” Kasumi said, “are they...”

    “They’re people I hurt, yes,” Aquila said.

    “We had to take apart Titan’s Rage!” a young man with an improvised club declared. “All that time defending my world and then fighting you, and we had to take it apart for parts! What have I missed? What has happened to my world without me?”

    Aquila stepped forward. “I am so sorry,” she said. “For everything I did to you, I am so very, very sorry. I had no right. If I could take all of it back, I would. Please, just know that I’m sorry.”

    “If you’re really sorry, you’ll pay for what you did to Atlantia,” the young man with the club said. Ragnar looked at him with alarm.

    “Yes,” Sutoka said, tightening the grip on his sword. “You want to show us you’re sorry, give us justice for Atlantia.” The third man, armed with a wooden staff nodded.

    Aquila looked at them, nodded, and said, “Okay. I agree.”

    Sutoka blinked. “What?”

    “I said I agree,” Aquila said, shrugging off her coat. “I’ll let you have justice for Atlantia. Will you allow me a couple of minutes to make myself ready?”

    “We’re not you,” the man with the wooden sword said.

    Daiki turned to stare at Aquila to see Kasumi grabbing her arm. “What are you doing?”

    “I’m paying for what I’ve done,” Aquila said, handing her the military coat. “In the left breast pocket is a – you know what, don’t worry about it. Deal with it later.”

    “You can’t throw yourself on their mercy,” Kasumi cried. “They’ll have none!”

    “I know.”

    “What do you think you’re all doing?” Daiki heard Ragnar demand behind them. “Is this who you want to be? A bunch of vengeful murderers?”

    “It’s justice,” he heard Sutoka say.

    “It’s revenge,” Ragnar retorted.

    “Listen to me,” Aquila told Kasumi. “I hurt all of these people. I tore them from their homes and killed their friends in front of them. They have the right to demand this of me. I am okay with this happening.”

    “I’m not,” Kasumi wept, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Please don’t do this. I need you.”

    Aquila turned to Cap and Daiki, her green shirt fluttering in the breeze. “Daiki, I hope you have a safe trip. Once you find Athena, please get Kasumi home before you settle in Osaka. Cap, please keep Daiki and Kasumi safe.”

    Ragnar glared at his three companions. “Don’t do this.”

    “You going to stop us, demon hunter?” Sutoka demanded. “After all she did?”

    “I want it known that I will have nothing to do with this,” Ragnar hissed.

    “I think we’re all okay with that,” the young man with the club said.

    Aquila took a deep breath and knelt before Sutoka. “I’m ready,” she said, bowing her head and extending her neck.

    Daiki looked at Cap. His teeth were clenched as he watched, his eyes blazing.

    Sutoka shifted into a combat stance and raised his sword. “For Atlantia,” he said.

    “So, interesting piece of trivia,” Cap said, sliding between Sutoka and Aquila with a smile and forcing Sutoka to take a step back. “I can shoot lasers from my eyes. It’s a superhero thing. I’m a superhero. I can fly too.”

    The young man with the club blinked. “What...what does that have to do with anything?”

    “I will rephrase,” Cap said, his smile fading. “I’m a superhero who can shoot lasers from his eyes, and I will use them on anybody who lays so much as a finger on her.”

    Behind Cap, Aquila raised her head. “What are you doing?” she asked.

    Daiki stepped forward to stand beside Cap, drawing the Black Sword. “Same here. Except for the eye lasers, I mean. You want her, you have to go through me. I think I can handle a samurai and...” He looked at the man with the wooden sword. “...whatever you are.”

    “No, stop!” Aquila pleaded. “This is my choice! I deserve this!”

    “You may not have noticed this, but you are the only one of us who feels that way,” Cap said.

    “What is wrong with you?” Sutoka roared. “How can you possibly protect her? Do you have any idea of who she is and what she’s done?”

    “Oh, we know,” Cap replied. “She told us all about her war.”

    Behind Daiki, Aquila began to weep. “Please don’t do this for me,” he heard her cry. “I don’t deserve this. I don’t want this.”

    “She killed over a hundred of us,” the man with the wooden sword declared.

    “That few?” Cap replied. “When I fought to liberate Europe from the Nazis, I killed almost two thousand. People die in wars. But once the war is over, the killing stops. Your war has been over for five years.”

    “There’s two of you, and three of us,” Sutoka growled, pointing his sword at Cap. “You really think you can stop us from taking her?”

    “My superpowers have been growing for eighty years,” Cap said. “I’m bulletproof – and swordproof – I can fly, I can move faster than the speed of sound, and I’m strong enough to throw you into orbit without breaking a sweat. The three of you can’t even scratch me.”

    “Please stop,” Aquila cried softly. “Please just let this happen.”

    “I know you feel that way,” Daiki heard Kasumi say. “But you’re going to get up and put your coat back on.”

    “You’re supposed to be superhero, right?” the young man with the club asked. “Aren’t you supposed to be punishing the guilty?”

    “No,” Cap declared. “A true superhero protects people from those who would harm them. And the only people trying to harm anybody right now is you three. You were hurt by her – we know. She has never hidden who she is and what she has done from us. You want her to make things right. She clearly wants that too. But you’re going to find another way. Your war is over. Her life is not yours to take.”