"What were you doing in the hospital?", you ask Al as you walk to Get Mugged.

"Oh, I work here.", she replies. She strides ahead of you and opens the door to the coffee shop for you. As soon as you enter, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee makes its way to your nostrils. Different kinds of customers occupy the seats -- from doctors wearing their white coats, to families, who you presume to be visiting a relative confined in the hospital. You look at the menu and decide on what to order. Al excuses herself and falls in line. As soon as you make your choice, you walk to Al's side. Before you know it, you're up next on the queue.

"Dr. Hiiragi! Will you take a Caramel Frappe Coffee today?", beams Jade with much gusto.

Wait a second. Doctor? She's a doctor?

Al tells you to place your order first. You tell Jade your order, when Al interjects, "Make that two orders, Jade!"

"Okay!", Jade enthusiastically replies. As abruptly as she perked up earlier upon seeing Al, she suddenly has a small pout on her face. Her tone shifts into that of concern as she asks, "Is Fu alright, Doctor? I haven't seen her in class since Survival ended."

With a reassuring voice, Al says, "She's participating in an engineering contest in Ziara City right now."

Jade gasps and her eyes widen. "Whoa. Is that THE Yun Enterprises Big Ideas Engineering Competition?"

"No, it's the Blackmoon Corp Chemical Engineering Olympiad. She told me that she was representing your school." Al's response had a hint of pride, much like a mother would have whenever one of her children accomplished something.

"Oh, congratulations to her in advance! I'm sure she'll win." Jade pauses for a moment and scratches her head. "Wait, what was I supposed to be doing again?", she asks with a blank stare on her face.

Al gently says, "Have you punched our order? You haven't even asked me for my card yet."

"Oh! Right." Jade squarely hits her forehead with her palm. Al hands her two cards, which Jade swipes on the terminal.

"Received your Get Mugged Rewards card and charge card. Your order should be ready in a few moments." Jade hands Al the receipt and her charge card, and gestures for both of you to wait at the claiming area.

"Who is Fu?", you ask Al.

Al places her charge card inside her wallet, and holds on to the receipt. "She's my daughter, Fuyuka. I think I told you that she studies chemical engineering."

"Two orders for Al!", calls a barista. Al thanks him and takes the tray with your orders, and scans the room for two vacant seats. You point to a vacant table next to the window. She sets the tray on the table, and takes the seat facing you.

"I know it's a little strange for us to talk like this when we were never really close last time, so tell me a little more about yourself." Al establishes eye contact with you. Her eyes are slightly red, and she looks fatigued.

You tell her some things about yourself -- your current occupation, your hobbies, and other aspects of your life that you're comfortable with sharing to the public. She nods and smiles, at least giving the impression that she's listening to you. Every now and then, she would note similarities between your interests and hers. You then recall Jade refer to Al as 'Dr. Hiiragi'. Your interest piqued, you ask, "Jade called you Dr. Hiiragi earlier. What do you specialise in?"

A man wearing a white coat stops at the window in front of your table and waves. Al returns the gesture. "I'm a neurosurgeon and neurologist-psychiatrist.", she says as she looks at you again.

While it's a shame that you can't ask her about your regular health concerns, you express amazement.

"I'm just a regular human being." She adds, "I only started practising here in Centropolis two months ago. I was previously based in Atebus."

"Yeah, I remember! Why did you move to Centropolis, then?", you ask.

Al stirs her drink absent-mindedly as she responds, "Wills and Bella were looking into splitting up our organisation into Centropolis and Atebus divisions, so that we can guide the local doctors who participate in our field clinics. Wills and I are here in Centropolis, while Bella and Grace are in Atebus."

You tell her that she's doing some amazing work. She thanks you bashfully. As you take a sip of your drink, she says, "It's what gave me a sense of purpose after my husband died."

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you husband die?", you ask.

Al's countenance shifts into a sombre disposition. "He died of end-stage renal failure. At the time, I was not aware of it yet, but the world around us was ending."

It's understandable that someone besieged by grief can feel like things are spiralling out of their control. You reassure her by saying, "I'm sorry for your loss."

She bows and thanks you. "I mean it literally." She intently looks into your eyes. "Like Grace, Bella, and Wills, I come from another world."

So she's one of the mortals that Bella and Grace saved from the destruction of their world?

There is an uneasy silence between both of you for a few moments. Al breaks it when she says, "Bella must have told you how our world was destroyed. I can tell you about it again, if you'd like?" (Choose between "Listen to her story" (1A) OR "Change the topic." (1B))

You wonder if her concern is urgent enough to warrant giving her your phone number. You give it to her anyway, and ask for her number so that you can save it on your phone.

"Thank you. Take care!" Al waves at you. You return the gesture as you go on your way. You notice a Get Mugged outlet right next to the hospital, and decide to get a drink. You can just decide on what you want to drink when you get there.

As soon as you enter the coffee shop, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee makes its way to your nostrils. Different kinds of customers occupy the seats -- from doctors wearing their white coats, to families, who you presume to be visiting a relative confined in the hospital. You fall in line, look at the menu, and decide on what to order. You make your choice, and before you know it, you're up next on the queue.

"Welcome to Get Mugged! How can I help you?" Jade hands you a menu card showcasing Get Mugged's most popular drinks. You place your order and prepare the exact amount for the drink. Jade asks for your name, and writes it on the cup. She verifies with you that your name is spelled correctly, and takes your cash.

"Your order should be ready in a few moments." Jade hands you the receipt, and gestures for you to wait at the claiming area. You watch the barista prepare your order while waiting for your turn.

"One order for !", calls a barista. You thank him, take your drink, and scan the room for two vacant seats. The only vacant table has two sofa chairs next to the window.

As you place your drink on the table, a woman walks to you.

"Is this seat taken?" She points at the chair facing yours. You tell her that no one's with you.

"Thanks!" She gives you a wide grin as she takes a seat. She sets a tray on the table, containing a slice of cake and a large frappe. Its strange colours remind you of a frappe offered in a coffee shop chain that had since closed. What was it called again? SubetaBucks?

You had no intention to strike conversation with this lady, but her drink has you intrigued. "Hey, about your frappe--"

Before you can finish your question, she says, "Did you know that these places have a secret menu? They're not gonna tell you this, but you can ask them to copy some other place's drinks and they'll do it. You should try their Atebus shakes if you have time." She inserts a straw in her drink, and takes a sip. She extends her neck, her closed eyes forming upward arches. "Mmm, it tastes JUST like the Fusion Frenzy!"

"Thanks for the recommendations. I have to try that some time.", you tell her.

She giggles at you. "Since we're already talking, I gotta introduce myself, right? I'm Ellie. What's your name?" She extends her hand to you. You introduce yourself, and shake hands with Ellie.

"Anyway, I have a question to ask. Have you seen this person? They call themselves Luck."

[avatar=Luck]

(Choose between "Yes" (2A) OR "No." (2B))

With a soft and cautious voice, she begins, "Our world was in the midst of destruction by a destructive force that made itself manifest in a man whose greed corrupted his heart.

He wanted fame, so he detained my husband and pretended to be him. He wanted power, so he the usurped my husband's position as the Grand Master of our Order. He wanted the world, so he sought the Great Destroyer, and allowed himself to be possessed by him."

Al looks at you, her eyes damp, pleading that you would at the very least listen to her. "I understand if you think I've gone off the deep end. Everyone in the Order thought I lost my mind. How could I be sane when they could see my husband alive and well?

When they learned the truth, it was too late. The rampage of the Destroyer and his vessel began. He broke the seals that once forbade magic in our world, Seneria, and obsessively sought an ancient tome documenting the only written evidence of magic. He thought it had the secret to limitless magic.

I was not present when the succeeding events occurred, for my husband died in front of me in the hospital, from end-stage renal failure. All I know henceforth comes from Wills.

When the Destroyer realised that the tome did not document all known magic, and that it was merely the work of two people, he was enraged. He fused with the tome and became one with it, corrupting the magic inside. He became a wish-granting machine.

While many wanted to make a wish to the Destroyer, they received tainted glimpses of their desires. Whatever the Destroyer granted came with the price of destruction. And so, one woman commanded the Destroyer in the tome to destroy itself.

It agreed, but in exchange, Seneria had to be destroyed along with it. She saw her own death, but that did not matter to her. What was important was that some of us would be saved.

All of us who survived the destruction of our planet were gathered by the angels. The nearest habitable planet with intelligent life was Subeta. After what seemed like eight years of space travel to us mortals, we arrived in your planet more than two years ago. It was difficult to adjust at first. We had non-human peoples in Seneria, too, but things were just… different.

As a doctor, I had to go through board certification again, because none of our documents were valid as far as Subeta is concerned. As did the rest of the doctors who were with me.

I pity that woman, so much. Little did she know that she was duped. So many people died in vain, hoping that with the destruction of Seneria, the Destroyer would be gone.

He followed us to Subeta. Fortunately, he was significantly weakened, and could not pose much harm. Or so we thought. He manipulated a man named Wayne Rodrigues from Atebus, and promised him that he would help him destroy the aliens he hated, if only Wayne did as he commanded.

Through the courage of the Destroyer's sister, he was vanquished. Hopefully once and for all."

Al shakes her head. "I know a lot of this probably doesn't make sense to you. I don't expect that it would. I don't understand it fully, either. I was just hoping I could say this to someone, anyone. My colleagues would surely think I should be a psychiatric case, myself."

(Proceed to 1B.)

"You.", he says. "Yes?", you ask.

His eyes narrow into slits as he says, "Don't try interfering in matters that don't concern you. I'm watching you." He turns around and returns to his pupils.

You leave the park and turn right to the nearest street. He must have recognised you from the Survivor Memorial. Considering how grouchy he was the last time you met, it may spell out trouble if he speaks with you again.

You make your way through the crowd, hoping he's not chasing after you. On the sidewalk, you see Anna crouched down on the street. There is a long scab on her face and her extremities have a green discolouration to them.

You feel a tug at your clothes, from the side.

If he's going to say something cryptic, you might as well ask for his name, so that you can file a police report against him if he decides to stalk you. Alternatively, it will satisfy your curiosity, should he prove to be someone you just misunderstood.

"Wait... your name!", you yell.

He stops walking. Neither does he turn around to face you, nor does he respond to your question.

A pupil of his walks up to him. "Sensei, can we practice some more?"

He nods wordlessly, and follows his student to the rest of the group.

You leave the park, turn right to the nearest street, and make your way through the crowd, hoping he's not chasing after you. On the sidewalk, you see Anna crouched down on the street. There is a long scab on her face and her extremities have a green discolouration to them.

You feel a tug at your clothes from the side.

She does not seem to be her usual, cheerful self. Did something happen?

As her eyebrows furrow, she seethes in anger. She stands up and pins you to the wall. You notice that her eyes are red, as she grunts and shouts, "Don't play dumb with me! Where. Is. The. Bag?!"

"Did you try the chips?", she asks in an exasperated tone. You notice that her eyes are red.

Avoiding the question, you ask her if she's okay.

She crouches and hides her discoloured, shaking hands in the pockets of her jacket, hanging her head. "I had to do something very difficult."

"Like what?"

She brings her head up to look at you. "I had to let go of an old friend." She lets out a sniffle and curls into the foetal position, burying her head in her knees. "I don't really want to talk about it right now."

She seems to really be in a foul mood today. You decide to leave her alone for now and go on your way, when a large crowd blocks your way. Some people jump up and down, possibly to get a glimpse of something.

As you make your way out, against droves of people pushing you forward, one of the policewomen approaches you and instructs your group to leave or at least stay behind the tape. You catch a glimpse of a wheelchair and its occupant moving closer to the crime scene.

"Cess?" Gloria leaps out of her wheelchair and crawls into the scene. The two policemen she tried to pass through crouch down and quickly restrain her.

As she is pulled back into the crowd, she yells, "Cess! Who did this to you?" She squirms her way out of the grip of the policemen holding on to her arms. Dragging her body towards the crime scene with one arm, she reaches for the lifeless body.

A policewoman carries her away from the scene, and says, "Get out of here. You're contaminating the crime scene!"

Perhaps today wasn't a very good day to take a walk. You go back to the park and opt to find another way home. As you pass by the bleachers next to the open field designated for sports, you notice that the pink-haired man is still practicing martial arts with his students. A figure with long, black-hair, similar to that of the person in the crime scene stands in the highest bleacher.

As a gust of wind blows and sweeps her hair into the air, the stoic expression on her face shifts to one of shock, as she says into her phone, "Cess… is dead?"

Curiosity gets the better of you, prompting you to walk closer so you can find out what the commotion is all about.

All of a sudden, you hear Gloria yell, "Cess! Who did this to you?"

You tip-toe and look for Gloria on the other side of the crowd, which congregated around someone with long, black hair, and a serenely closed eyes lying on the ground. As soon as you see her mouth, you realise that something is amiss. You'd rather not commit the sight to your memory, so you decide not to think about it. Having made her way past the crime scene tape, Gloria reaches for the lifeless body.

A policewoman carries Gloria away from the scene, and says, "Get out of here. You're contaminating the crime scene!"

Perhaps today wasn't a very good day to take a walk. You shrug and head back home. The incident will probably be reported in the news later.

You pay your surroundings little mind, only looking out for landmarks, when you overhear a familiar voice. You follow the sound, which leads you to the entrance to an alleyway. You cautiously take a peek, and see Makoto, his back facing you.

"We lost Cess. We have to be careful from now on.", he says into his phone.

Her voice softens and calms down as she says, "Okay. I'll be right there."

With hesitation, you walk up to her back, and ask, "Who is Cess?"

She turns around, her hair fanning upwards and to the sides. She drops her phone and kneels down to pick it up. As soon as she gets back up, she eyes you with suspicion.

"Do you know her? Disturbing me in the middle of a call better be worth it.", she sternly says.

Her voice softens and calms down as she says, "Okay. I'll be right there."

"Yes?", she replies, possibly to a question.

"Since when were you concerned about me?", she asks in an indignant tone.

She chuckles. Wistfully, she says, "To think that a few years back, we used to run at odds against each other."

"Those were the days. Just wait for me there. Good-bye." She pulls the phone away from her ear and pushes a button on its keypad. The lady wearing a suit descends the rows of bleachers.

His back still turned towards you, he says into the phone, "Hang on. Call me again later, okay?" He pulls the phone away from his ear and pushes a button on its screen.

He turns around, and you notice a look of surprise on his face when he sees you. "Oh, hello. What brings you to this part of the city?"

His sombre voice taking on a serious tone, he says, "She collapsed in front of Bits and Bytes. I suspect massive haemorrhage based on the little I could see at the time, but let's wait for the forensic investigation. The police are there now."

A moment of silence. With a concerned tone of voice, he asks into the phone, "Vera?"

"You take care.", he declares emphatically.

He grimly declares, "Aria is killing our people off slowly. We're all that's left of The Order now."

"Okay. See you." Makoto pulls the phone away from his ear and pushes a button on its screen. As he places his phone in his pocket, he turns around, and you notice a look of surprise on his face when he sees you. "Oh, were you listening in on me?"

Before you can say anything, he gives you a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I'm not upset. So what brings you to this part of the city?"

But no. You mentioned Cess, and that piqued her interest.

She pushes a button on the keypad of her phone, and says, "My time is valuable. You ought to say what you have to."

"Why don't we take a walk while talking?", she asks. You agree to her proposal and continue, telling her about the heavy police and media presence in the area and giving her a description of the lady who lay dead in front of Bits and Bytes -- she had long, black hair like this woman, and slightly tanned skin. Her blue eyes were wide open and her mouth agape.

You do not wish to say more.

Seeing your discomfort, the woman assures you, "That is good enough." She rests one of her hands against your shoulders. "Were you there when it happened?"

You tell her that you were on your way home from the park when you saw people already gathered around the crime scene.

"That woman you saw is Cess. So she really must be dead.", she tells you with a hint of sadness.

As you keep walking down the stretch of hobby shops, she looks left and right, as though searching for something. Without looking at you, she asks, "Can you tell me your name?"

You introduce yourself to her. Her lips curl up into a subtle smile.

"I am Vera Wong."

A pause.

"Cess was a co-worker. She just arrived in Centropolis two months ago. She was set to have a good life, but that was cut short.", she tells you.

She stops in front of the Trading Card Centre. You see Makoto waving at you from inside. Vera gestures for you to follow her into the shop.

"I see that you're acquainted with Vera, ? Small world!" Makoto chuckles.

You respond, "No, we just met earlier."

" told me a few things about the incident. Gloria ran into the crime scene.", states Vera.

"She did WHAT?", Makoto raises his voice in surprise, and gets ready to head out of the store when Vera grabs his arm.

"Let the police handle it. We are private investigators now, not vigilantes.", she sternly says.

Makoto gently removes Vera's hand from his arm. "You know Gloria. She's a fighter, but we can't just leave her alone! She's one of our informants."

"You really changed for the better. I never expected you to outwardly express concern for your subordinates." Vera hides a smile.

"Follow me." Makoto leaves the store. Both you and Vera follow after him. He runs toward the crowd, now thicker than when you last saw it.

"Look for Gloria in the crowd. She should still be here, somewhere. Let's split up and meet again at Manwar's shop." Makoto squeezes his way through the crowd, leaving you and Vera to search the side close to the media vehicles and the shop itself.

Reporters encircle one police officer, who is giving a statement.

"We will diligently investigate the death of Princess Marjoram--" He is interrupted by a woman clad in gloves, booties, a disposable head cap, overalls and a face mask, who shows him a blood-stained, grey object inside a transparent biohazard bag.

As you leave the park, she quickly glances behind her, but fails to notice you. She reverts her attention to the sidewalk in front of her. She looks left and right, as though searching for something.

As soon as you're closer than an arm's length from her, you say, "Excuse me, miss."

Her hair flies in the wind as she turns around to look at you, a stoic expression on her face. "Yes?"

"Who is Cess?", you ask.

"Do you know her? Disturbing me in the middle of a call better be worth it.", she sternly says.

"Do you know anything about it?", he asks.

You respond that you just saw police in the area and saw Gloria crawl up to the scene, without mentioning her name. You'd rather not think of the body on the ground and the way it looked. Hopefully Makoto doesn't ask anything about that.

Disappointed, he sighs and looks out of the alley. "I see. So when you got there, the crowd already gathered around the area?"

"Yes. I saw a few media vehicles but I don't know what happened there.", you say.

"Wait a second." Makoto rubs his chin. "A woman ran into the crime scene? Do you remember what she looked like?"

You carefully describe Gloria's appearance to him, noting that she used a wheelchair. His eyes widen as soon as you mention her name.

His words rushed, he asks, "What happened to her? Is she okay?"

You respond, "The police officers barricading the scene pulled her away from the enclosed area."

"Part of me is relieved that the police were there to stop her, but at the same time, I can't help but worry about Gloria. She's my co-worker, like Cess, the woman who died." Makoto pauses for a moment. He looks at you as he says, "There's some place I have to go to, but it won't take me too long. Let's take a walk while talking."

"You don't happen to know anything about what's going on there, do you?", he asks.

You respond that there were police around the area, and a few media vehicles, but don't know what happened. You'd rather not think of the victim laying on the ground and the way she looked. Hopefully Makoto doesn't ask anything more, because you'd rather leave it at that.

He looks out of the alley. "I see. Must not be what you expected after taking a walk, huh?"

You agree. Before you can change the topic, he enquires, "Did you see anything else?"

Uh-oh. It's probably best to volunteer what little information you have about the situation. The victim had long, black hair and slightly tanned skin. Her blue eyes were wide open and her mouth agape. For the sake of self-preservation, you blocked out anything else about the woman.

"That's Cess. She's a co-worker of mine from Atebus." Makoto pauses for a moment. He looks at you as he says, "There's some place I have to go to, but it won't take me too long. Let's take a walk while talking."

... Makoto?

"I see that you're acquainted with Vera, ? Small world!" Makoto chuckles.

"Who is ?", asks the woman.

"Oh, a coincidence, then?" Makoto establishes eye contact with you. "I didn't know you were a collector. What brings you to this quiet shop?"

"Excuse me, miss.", you say.

Her hair flies in the wind as she turns around to look at you, a stoic expression on her face. "Yes?"

You tell the woman that you're just curious, because you heard that name a couple of times today.

She draws a gun out of her suit and points it at you. "I am afraid I cannot disclose that information to you."