“What is it doing?” Finn asked. Jet halted and looked where Finn was pointing. White Noise sat in an alleyway, curled in on itself, hands altered so that they were large enough to cover its screen.

“Unusual…” Jet muttered, approaching White Noise. As he got closer, he could hear faint, stuttering white noise. The sound it made when it was hurt.

Strange. Neither he nor Finn had fought it recently, and Red Gent was a pacifist. At least, the Red Gent had never attacked the andahts before. Likely whatever power the rival teen had awakened in Soporifick was not something inherently offensive.

“Show me your face,” Jet commanded. Andahts were subservient to players that had dominated them. White Noise made a stuttering noise, as if hesitating, then gave into its instincts and turned to him obediently. Jet could see two large dents in White Noise’s screen, causing it to partially cave in, one dent larger than the other. A physical attack.

“Eat something you shouldn’t have?” Jet asked as he got down to his knees, reaching out and touching the broken glass. The creature recoiled at his touch, hissing, then hurriedly slinking away, ghosting down the alleyway until it was out of sight.

“Must have happened last night,” Finn murmured. “It won’t be hunting for a while.”

“I suppose not,” Jet agreed, shaking his hand, ignoring how it felt absent, nothing more than static. He got to his feet. “It must have been the Red Gent’s doing.” Or Aubrie.

“Hm. Big guy’s not gonna like that,” Finn said, tapping his foot. “He’s right. We should get rid of Red Gent while we’ve got the chance.”

“Red Gent doesn’t know we exist,” Jet argued. “Until he is getting in our way, we have no reason to announce our presence and make things unnecessarily complicated.” He adjusted his cuffs. “Remember, keeping it simple is key.”

Finn observed him for a few moments, before he commented, “Sometimes I wonder if you’re being too cautious.”

Jet bristled. “I get the job done with minimal collateral and Mr Lark likes that. You’re too impulsive.”

Finn just rolled his eyes. “Fine. We’ll keep watching. But I don’t like how things are developing.” He then grinned, leering at Jet. “I like hiding things from ‘Mr Lark’ though.”

Jet frowned at him, then side-stepped him and walked away. “C’mon, we’ve got a man to kill,” he muttered darkly.

The quicker they got their job over with, the quicker he could ditch Finn, which would be the best for everyone.

Finn quietly followed after him and nothing more was said for the rest of that night.

— 📀 —

It was several days later. A beautiful Saturday, in fact. Usually, Jet would either be doing work for Mr Lark or at home, sleeping off the work he’d done for Mr Lark. Today he was instead sitting in the Paracosmic, waiting for Aubrie to turn up.

Jet was staring at an empty coffee cup in front of him. He’d been waiting for a while.

The radio was strangely tuned to ‘Pammy’s Whammy Potshots’. The Paracosmic usually played City In Blue Radio, but for whatever reason, the radio was unfortunately tuned to Radio Pop instead. Mercifully, “Pammy” was playing something decent in the interlude of her show for once. So, at least he had a break from the woman’s obnoxious personality for the duration of the soothing song.

It was some old song from decades past; catchy enough to be known to Jet’s generation, old enough to carry that rustic charm modern songs lacked. He appreciated it; it was something he needed. It was something to keep his mind off waiting. Something distracting that wasn’t annoying.

He was tapping his foot.

Maybe she wasn’t coming. He was a stranger, after all. Why would a teenage girl meet up with a teenage boy she didn’t know? Outside of the… obvious.

Ms Silvey came over, placing a green tea latte in front of him.

“I didn’t order that,” he told her.

“It’s on the house,” she replied, sounding annoyed. She nudged the drink a little closer. “Waiting for our little Miss Sanders, are we?” she asked.

“Ah. Yes. Quite. Thank you for the drink, but… why?” Jet couldn’t help but ask.

“You’re a regular, aren’t you?” Ms Silvey replied. “And apparently, friends with my staff. Why wouldn’t I be nice to you while you wait?”

“I suppose… Although, I’m starting to think I’ve been stood up.”

Ms Silvey smiled. “And maybe that’s all the more reason to offer a free drink,” she told him with a toothy grin.

“Ah. I see,” Jet mumbled. Ms Silvey was certain Aubrie had stood him up and was hoping a free drink might bribe him into staying loyal to the Paracosmic.

He had been waiting a long while.

But, unlike Ms Silvey, he highly doubted he’d been stood up.

Everything about Aubrie had indicated interest on some level and… That spark he had sensed. That connection. He hadn’t imagined it. There was something about Aubrie that attracted his attention and vice versa.

The door to the Paracosmic slammed open.

Aubrie stood at the entrance, panting, dishevelled, and clothes scruffy, her patched rucksack practically slipping off her shoulders. Her eyes met his and she quickly adjusted her clothes, smoothing down her hair as best she could as she walked over.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said with an apologetic smile.

“Don’t worry. Your boss has been keeping me company,” Jet informed her, with a smile that was definitely not teasing. To his satisfaction, she looked even more flustered, her attention drawn to Ms Silvey.

“I didn’t say anything embarrassing, promise,” Ms Silvey told her dismissively. She headed for the counter. “Have a fun date, you two.”

“It’s not a date,” both answered. They shot each other a surprised look, then broke into smiles.

“Shall we get going?” Jet asked, as he got up. She nodded.

“Just let me get myself a drink quickly and- let me put yours in a to-go cup too,” she insisted, taking the latte. Jet weakly protested, with no intention of actually stopping her. As she disappeared behind the counter, he collected his things and waited for her outside. She exited after him, handing him his free drink.

“Let me guess,” he said, looking at her mystery drink. “… honey milk tea.”

Aubrie looked at him with large eyes.

“How did you know?” she asked, stunned.

“I guessed,” he replied with a shrug. “I know you’re from the countryside, so I guessed you would be more inclined to choose an ordinary, common drink, since there isn’t as much choice outside the city. Black tea and coffee is the most common drink sold, so I guessed it would be one of those. Then I assumed you would be looking at the cheaper options on the menu, since you’re here to earn money for your family. Hence the focus on the cheapest drinks on the menu. Finally, as you are a woman, and most women prefer sweet drinks, I hazarded a guess that you would pick honey milk tea, the cheapest sweet drink on the menu, common enough to also be found outside of Orthank City.”

Aubrie’s lips quirked upwards.

“I’m not sure if you’re smart or if I’m a cliche,” she said, looking away. It seemed she thought she was a boringly predictable person.

“If you don’t mind me saying so, I’m fairly certain it is simply because I am very smart,” Jet told her and she snorted. “I could have been wrong, you know. I presented a likely possibility, but there was plenty of room for error. Perhaps a nice, expensive drink is the one luxury you like to afford yourself. Or perhaps you do not adhere to the stereotype that women prefer sweet things. There are many exceptions, after all.”

She nodded but was still rather quiet. Jet thought it best to let it lie.

“Where are we headed this fine day?” he asked.

“I thought a walk around the park would be nice,” Aubrie told him. “Do you like walking?”

“I could certainly do with the fresh air. And the exercise,” Jet answered.

“Not exactly a yes, is that?” she jabbed.

“See, you’re sharp too,” he replied, smiling. She rolled her eyes.

“Perhaps. But I’m not as slick as you.”

“I prefer charming,” he retorted.

“Of course you do,” she replied and mirth had returned to her eyes. “So, let’s see what I know about you, Mr Detective,” she said. She closed her eyes for a moment, holding her chin as if thinking deeply. “I know that Mondays to Fridays, you always go to the Paracosmic and order an iced green tea latte and avocado smash on toast. To go.”

“Yes. To the point I’m apparently known as green tea at the Paracosmic,” Jet couldn’t help but add.

“You don’t go to school around here, so going to the Paracosmic is a detour for you.”

“You think I don’t go to school around here?”

“I’ve never seen anyone else at the Paracosmic in your school uniform,” she answered.

“Ah. Well, the Paracosmic is not a detour. It’s on my way.” Along the scenic route, sure, but she didn’t need to know that he had previously been to many cafés, trying to find one that might offer a drink effective against Soporifick. And he didn’t need her thinking he was going to the Paracosmic exclusively to see her… Even though that was what he kind of was doing.

“I see… I’m guessing your daily order is your breakfast, which means you’ve got money to buy breakfast every day?”

“Good observation. That is indeed the case,” Jet agreed. She hummed.

“So what I know is you don't go to a school near the Paracosmic, you have money to buy breakfast from a café far away and… you’re a detective of sorts. That’s… I think that’s all I know about you.”

“I’m happy to tell you more,” he told her.

“Why green tea?” she asked. When he looked at her questioningly, she explained, “You turn up at seven every day. So you must be getting up early. Most people start their day with caffeine, either black tea or coffee.”

“I find green tea more refreshing. It also doesn’t risk staining my teeth from frequent drinking,” he answered honestly.

“I didn’t think you’d worry about something like that,” she commented. He just shrugged.

They reached the park and walked along its lake. As they strolled, Aubrie talked about her life, with Jet careful not to talk too much about his, wanting to assess what kind of person Aubrie was first.

She seemed strangely naïve and yet still sharp-witted enough to catch his eye. Sometimes she genuinely did not know things, but that was offset by her love for playing a seemingly clueless sap and he found himself more often than not playing right alongside her.

As a reuslt, he did feel a little bit of emotional whiplash when, under a gazebo, she turned to him with a serious expression and abruptly asked, “Can I ask you a hypothetical question?” All the whimsy and playfulness they'd had along their walk had disappeared, as if it had never been there in the first place.

“Colour me intrigued,” Jet replied, hoping to lighten the mood. Unfortunately, she remained stoic.

“Do you know Alice through the looking glass?”

“Yes,” he answered. “That wasn’t a hypothetical question.”

“Don’t tease me,” she complained. “I’m getting there. Say there really were a mirror world on the other side of the looking glass. That people could fall into.” She was talking about Soporifick.

“Ok. I’m supposing there is.”

“People fall into this looking glass world. All the time. And there are monsters there that kill them. Now, you have fallen into this world, but unlike everyone else, for some reason, you have powers.” So she was like him. A fourth person. It didn’t please him.

“Why?” he asked, very much asking both her and whatever being that had bestowed her with powers.

“I don’t know. You’re the hero? Is that reason enough?” she asked.

“It’s a poor narrative but go on.”

She sighed. “As a person with power, is it your responsibility to save the people falling through the looking glass?”

“I would have thought the answer would be obvious.”

“Even if it means breaking laws?” she pressed. The question made him pause. Right. She wasn’t like him. She was still a citizen of the law, protected by the law.

“How would you be breaking laws in this scenario?” he asked.

“Well, if you wanted to save Alice, you’d have to go through the mirror she used to enter the other world,” Aubrie explained. “So, to save her, you need to break into her home and trespass. Remember, no one else knows this world exists and would think you mad for claiming it does. The same way Alice thought she was mad.”

“I see…” Jet made a show of contemplating seriously. “I suppose if there really was no other way to save Alice, or the other people in danger… I believe the end justifies the means.” And he was being absolutely sincere when he said that. He firmly believed that the ends could always justify the means. “Why are you thinking along these lines? It seems a bit odd,” he pointed out. “Not that I mind, I just find it curious.”

Aubrie smiled sheepishly.

“I already told you that we're reading, well, studying the Alice in Wonderland books in our night classes. I guess it  got me thinking,” Aubrie smoothly claimed. “I’ve never read anything like them before.”

“I see,” Jet replied. “If the night classes are prompting you to actually think about what you’re reading and ponder such hypotheticals, I have to say the night classes are proving more effective than their daytime counterparts.” Aubrie laughed at that. He continued, “If you have any more hypothetical questions, I’m more than happy to discuss them with you. I know it can be difficult finding a suitable discussion partner.” It’d be a good way to keep tabs on her too.

She smiled sweetly. “Thank you, Alarie. I appreciate it.”

“Always, Aubrie,” answered Jet.