At half-past noon, the mid-July heat was nearly unbearable. If there were any AC units somewhere in the massive complex, there was no way they could be on. What’s more, the endless crowds made every step feel claustrophobic, and the accompanying smell of B.O. was overwhelming. Even after years of attending a variety of conventions, Kyle Concord couldn’t quite get used to the uncomfortableness they all seemed to share. Especially anime conventions like this: Anime Exposé.

Despite all that, the electric atmosphere of passion, creativity, and overall fun from the stalls and shops, panels and guests, and general convention-goers made it well worthwhile. Kyle gazed over the railing to the floor below, where the masses were shuffling against each other, opposing flows of people trying to make their own way to various parts of the convention center. “And to think it’s only gonna get more crowded from here on out…” 

“Right? Glad we got in and had lunch when we did, even if Tony dragged us behind this morning because of his cosplay.”

“Hey, this outfit is already far from flattering! You could at least let me try and look half-way decent in this, Nick.”

Kyle turned to his two friends behind him. He’d met Nick four years ago, during freshman year of high-school. They quickly bonded over anime and an interest in airsoft, as well as a shared sense of dread at what their time after high-school might be like. The next summer, while attending Anime Exposé, they sat next to someone a year older than them at a panel for one of their favorite isekai anime, Made in Another World.

Back then, they didn’t realize just how well they’d get along with Tony, but for three years now, they’d met up at least once a month to spend time together. This month, the three of them had spent the night at Tony’s and left at nine in the morning to drive an hour and a half to come to the same convention where they’d first met.  

Nick was dressed as a butler, but being prone to heat strokes, had already taken off the jacket part of his cosplay and thrown it over his shoulder. Which, in hindsight, was probably for the better, since Nick’s shorter stature meant the rather long and unfixed tails of his jacket kept getting stepped on. He wore a white shirt with black vertical stripes to try to appear taller, but that didn’t change the fact that Kyle had to tilt his head down to look him in the eye.

Meanwhile, Tony was much taller than either Nick or Kyle, not to mention anyone else their age. Tony didn’t like bringing up his height, but Kyle guessed that Tony measured at least six inches taller than him, putting him at about six foot two. Thankfully, those extra inches helped keep the long and flowing blue dress that Tony wore from dragging on the ground. But that also meant it was harder to see the sparkling jewels on the tiara he wore, and the long white gloves meant to go up past the elbow reached just below on Tony. 

“Umm, you do know you don’t have to wear that the whole time, right Tony? Nick had a spare butler outfit that should fit you, and I brought it in my bag.” Kyle was wearing a simple Jansport backpack, which rather clashed with the rest of his outfit: a tight fitting butler outfit very similar to Nick’s, only with the tails tapered a little shorter and a white shirt, with just a hint of blue, hiding under the jacket. The heat wasn’t so bad that he needed to take the first layer off yet, and he was grateful that it hid a certain accessory he’d brought with him.

“Wait, you what?!” Nick shouted in disbelief. He moved to zip open Kyle’s bag, while Kyle kept spinning around to keep it out of reach.

“No, no,” Tony replied, holding up his hand to stop them. “It was a Gentleman’s Agreement, and I lost fair and square. It’s embarrassing as heck, yeah, but I’ll abide by our bet to the end of the day.”

“Well, if you say so,” Kyle said, shrugging his shoulders. 

“Good man! Or, Ojou-sama. M’lady? Whatever,” Nick said, patting Tony’s exposed back. “Maybe next time, you’ll listen when I tell you to practice your shooting. For now, you can appreciate having two handsome fellas like us as your lazy butlers.”

“Hey, I only lost because you and KC take airsoft way too seriously. I just play it so I can hang out with you guys.”

“Well,” Nick said, both hands up, “for the record, I only practiced enough so I could be sure I’d beat you. There’s no way I was beating Kyle in an airsoft contest.”

“Well, that’s fair enough,” Tony said, nodding. They both looked at Kyle, and at the airsoft pistol they knew he had secretly tucked in his back belt.

“Hey, what are you looking at?” Kyle shouted, covering himself. “It’s not like I’m obsessed or anything!”

“Sounds like something someone obsessed with something would say,” Nick said, pushing his glasses up his nose. 

“And says the one who brought his favorite airsoft pistol with him to AnEx,” Tony added, a hint of judgment in his voice. “Did you even get that checked in at the front desk? They’ll kick you out for sure if they find out you’ve hidden that. Not to mention, it doesn’t even go with your cosplay!”

“Hey, I’ll have you know that combat butlers and maids are in high demand lately! Probably! In some, very niche part of this convention center, most likely…”

“Right, right,” Nick said, pulling out his phone. “And that has nothing to do with the killer cat-maid twins from M.A.W. or anything, right?”

“Don’t kick him while he’s down, man,” Tony said grinning. “You know he can’t help fawning over those two. And their names, talk about on the nose! But they are pretty cute, I’ll give him that.”

“They are more than just cute, thank you very much!” Kyle said, pointing a finger at Tony. “And I’ve never denied my appreciation for the maid twins from Made in Another World, but combat servants have been popular in plenty of anime and manga beyond that! For example–”

“Speaking of, let’s put a pin in that.” Nick turned his phone around and showed the schedule on the screen. “The panel for season two of M.A.W. will be–”

“Dude, is it really too much to call it by its full name?” Kyle asked dryly.

“Yes. Now the panel is at three, and they’re doing a lottery for who’ll get to attend based on your convention badge number. I already entered all three of us, so fingers crossed we all get in, because that’s the only panel that’d interest us today. Winners will be announced at two-thirty, so we’ve got two hours to tour the main hall, and then an hour or so after the panel to check out the artist alley.”

“You’re the man with a plan,” Tony said with a thumbs up. Kyle saw the fabric of the gloves straining, and imagined a hole where his thumb would stick out.

“What do we do if only one or two of us make it?” he asked. Neither of them met his eyes. “Alright, how about the good old ‘Last one there’s a rotten egg,’ like always?”

All three of them grinned mischievously, and they brought their fists together in agreement.

“Alright, then let’s get going! After you, my lady,” Nick said with a bow, continuing his fake English accent as he gestured for Tony to take the lead. Kyle winced at the display, but Tony took it in stride, holding the hem of his dress up too high as he began towards the convention center’s main hall.

“Hey, you guys think you can help me carry some of this? My arms and neck, and… my whole body is getting tired at this rate.” On top of his backpack, Kyle now carried a bag in each of his hands, and another bag draped around his neck.

Nick, attempting to pull off his butler cosplay more convincingly, had put on an English accent and offered to carry the bag of stuff Tony had bought, including a buildable mecha kit, a stylish belt, several t-shirts, and a hat with the logo of an anime-original sports team. In turn, Kyle offered to carry the DVDs, CDs, books, and manga that Nick had purchased, while Tony carried Kyle’s singular bag.

When they needed a restroom break, Kyle offered to hold onto all their stuff, but he hadn’t planned on continuing to carry it after they got back. With his hands full, and neither party member offering to take back their own stuff, Kyle had no choice but to hang his own bag around his neck, dangling in front of his chest as they continued around the main hall. Thankfully, it only held one of his two purchases: an exclusive boxed collectible of the maid twins Shiroshi and Kuroshi from Made in Another World. His second buy was strapped on the left of his belt, hidden beneath his jacket, and the several ounces it weighed didn’t help the aching Kyle felt all over his body.

Tony finally offered a helping hand, but Kyle shook his head. “I know I said one of you, but Mr. Would-be-Butler over there should be helping instead.” They both turned to look at Nick, who was scrolling on his phone, not watching as he kept nearly bumping into people in the crowd.

“You good?” Kyle asked, extending an arm out and hoping Nick would take his own stuff back.

“Uh, yeah, I was just checking my messages, and…” he started, picking up his pace as he walked past the two. Without looking behind, he shouted “Last one there’s a rotten egg!” and took off, disappearing into the crowd.

“Crap, it's time already?” Kyle asked, wishing he had a free hand to look at his phone. “How’s that fair, taking a head start?”

“Sorry KC,” Tony said, “but a deal's a deal. We fist bumped on it!” And with that, Tony took off as well. Kyle cursed his luck and chased after them, weaving between the crowds as best he could while carrying so much stuff. He quickly lost sight of Nick, but he was just able to keep up with Tony as they exited the main hall.

“Which way?” Kyle called out, just a tad behind.

“Jeez, you’re still there?” Tony said with a smirk. “Asthma or not, I guess four years of cross country weren’t for nothing, huh? You’re still the rotten egg, though!”

“Just get after Nick already!”

Tony nodded and pointed to an escalator leading to the floor below. It was packed full with other con-goers, so Tony took a breather as he began his slow descent. As Kyle got closer, though, he saw the escalator leading up had been shut down and marked off with a wet floor sign. He smiled to himself as his chance to pass Tony.

“And you’re only a rotten egg if you're last!” he said, ignoring the yellow cone and hurrying down the frozen escalator. He winked at his friend as he started his way down, each step carrying him faster than Tony’s escalator moved.

“Hey, you can’t–” But whatever else he said, Kyle didn’t catch.

There was a slight jolt as the frozen escalator suddenly began to move again, throwing Kyle’s feet out from under him midstep. He started tumbling, losing his grip on his friends’ bags of merch. In that moment, his heart dropped, knowing he might well have damaged or even destroyed Tony’s mecha, or the collection Nick had trusted him with. 

He was barely able to wrap one arm around the bag in front of him, the other going around his neck a moment later as his head began smacking the sides of the escalator as he continued downward. “Ow, crap, ow, dangit, shi–!”

He cursed as he fell, rolling over half the length of the escalator, landing on his side as he reached the bottom. His shoulders, head, back– everything hurt way more than it did carrying his friends’ bags of stuff. What’s more, he was too embarrassed to stand back up. Anime conventions were commonplace for weird, embarrassing, and even downright cringe things to happen; but tumbling down an escalator in the main lobby area was probably going to take the cake for most people who’d seen him.

His eyes remained closed as he forced the dizziness out of his throbbing head, and struggled to stand up straight. When he finally opened his eyes, he was greeted with two headlights barreling towards him.

“Woah, woah, woah!” he shouted. His legs were screaming back at him as he willed them to action, just barely diving out of the way of the vehicle as it drove past. “Who the hell drives a car into a convention center?!”

But as he looked around, he realized he wasn’t indoors anymore. Or anywhere near a convention of any kind. He looked down and found himself on a cobblestone walkway, and the architecture of the surrounding area was unlike any modern city he’d ever seen. Better put, everything, from the people to the buildings, looked like they were from nearly a hundred years ago, if not straight out of a steampunk's fantasy. Kyle’s mind raced as he took everything in.

This can only mean one of two things: this is the most lucid coma anyone’s ever been put into… or I’ve been sent to another world!