The train rattled along, the wheels clacking on the steel tracks beneath me as I stared out the window. Outside, the city of Shoreline stretched out in front of me.

Tall skyscrapers towered above, their facades gleaming against the misty evening sky. It was beautiful. But there was something about it that made me uneasy.

The defense forces had repelled the Chaos Event with 'only' about a hundred casualties on their end. It was a resounding triumph as far as Chaos Events with a magnitude over 7 historically go.

The Chaos Event had happened just a day ago, and most of the city had already gotten back to normalcy.

And yet...

There were no reports on how it had been resolved. No details of what had transpired. Just a general statement of gratitude to the Magical Girls and reassurance that the situation had been contained and was now over.

I flexed my hand, thinking about my harrowing experiences in Fort Hiawatha while piloting the proxy drone. Then I looked back out of the window, watching the lights of the city zip by as we passed them.

Maybe that was for the best, honestly. It wasn't the first time I'd seen people killed by chaos beasts, but... I'd never get used to it. Even if it was through the lenses of a drone.

The train began to slow, the lights outside fading as the train pulled into a tunnel.

"Next stop: Greenhaven," the automated system chimed.

Well, that's my stop.

I grabbed my backpack, double-checking to make sure that everything was where it should be. Then, the doors opened and I stepped off the train.

The sound of dripping water echoed through the empty station, and a strong musty smell hit my nose as I walked out onto the street. I glanced up at the dark sky. Clouds were forming in the distance and I could see a faint flash of lightning.

I pulled my hood up and started walking back towards my apartment. As I walked, I noticed that the streetlights were flickering slightly and the road itself was cracked. The area was a lot worse for wear since I had left yesterday morning, and the buildings were all run-down and dilapidated.

As I got closer, the smell of wet wood and smoke filled my nostrils and I grimaced. It looked like there had been some fires during the night, judging by the charred wood that littered the street. The street was littered with broken glass and debris. There was no sign of any police, firefighters, or any other kind of emergency service personnel. I sighed, shaking my head.

I had been here for less than a month. But, even in that brief period of time, it was evident to see that Greenhaven was struggling.

"Oi! Mate!"

The familiar gruff voice snapped me out of my thoughts as I fully exited the train station. I turned to the side, only to see a scruffy bald man staring at me arms crossed with a scowl.

"Bishop!" I exclaimed, surprised.

A crew of workmen was working nearby, and Bishop was wearing a hard hat and visibly directing them around. His posture was straight, and he radiated authority and confidence.

"Evenin' lad," Bishop greeted, waving me over.

"What are you up to out here?" I asked.

Bishop jerked a thumb at the workers behind him, who were cleaning up the debris from a fallen building.

"Couple o' folks and I assembled a cleanup crew. Bloody Terran authorities won't lift a finger to us out, so we have to take matters into our own hands. As usual, eh?"

I looked over the wreckage, frowning slightly. Something didn't seem right here. The debris looked more like something had smashed through the building, rather than the damage of a fire. There was also the matter of the broken glass scattered across the street. It didn't add up.

"Uh, Bishop. Do you have any idea what caused all of this?" I asked.

The older man frowned.

"Some that hurtled from over the South River, from what we can gather. A stray skirt's negligent attack or some discharge from a chaos beast, maybe."

"Aren't we pretty far from the Chaos Event, all things considered?"

"Yeah. But there's a reason the neighborhoods on the other side of the bridge were built up after the war, kid. The land's cheaper but the area's vulnerable. Shoreline City's a big place and the Magical Girls and their backup can only be so many places at once."

"Ah, I see." I glanced around, taking in the damage. "So what can we do to help?"

He laughed. "You can get yer arse back to your apartment, boy. I've been around long enough to recognize the signs of someone who needs some damned rest. Get yourself sorted, yeah? I'll give ya a call if I need a hand. Best keep those grades up, so I don't need to whip your behind for dropping your grades so soon, eh?"

"Right." I smiled, shaking my head.

Bishop was a neighborhood uncle if I'd ever met one.

Several of the men behind him chuckled. There were fourteen people in all, and I could see some familiar faces amongst them from the cafe. They were a mix of diverse ethnicities from Earth, which was far from uncommon in Greenhaven. Two men flanked Bishop closely — A tall, muscular black man I recognized as a cafe regular named Marcus who had a hard hat on, and a Hispanic man around my height who wore a flannel jacket and carried a sledgehammer over his shoulder. They smiled at me in recognition, and I smiled back, feeling a strange kinship with the group.

"Well, if you ever do need my help, don't hesitate to ask. I'm happy to lend a hand," I said, looking back to Bishop.

"Aye," he said. "I will. And you bloody well better not hesitate if you ever need mine. Now git, you damned trouble maker. We've got a lot to do here."

"Right. See ya later, Bishop. Good luck with everything."

Bishop grunted. "Cheers, lad."

I walked off, leaving the crew of men behind to continue cleaning up. I couldn't help but glance back at the debris and the damage as I continued my way down the street.

It was a strange thing.

I had only lived in this neighborhood for a few weeks. Yet it felt like I had already been here for a lifetime. The sense of camaraderie and familiarity that had grown within such a short period of time was astounding, and it was almost surreal how easily they'd accepted me here.

I continued walking until I arrived at my apartment building, where I was greeted with the familiar sight of a rundown brick facade.

"Home, sweet home," I said, pushing open the door.

Immediately, I felt something was wrong.

The hallway beyond was dark, and a battery-powered lamp flickered on a table in the corner of the lobby. I frowned, noticing a note tacked up on the front desk. As I drew nearer, I read it.

Dear apartment residents:

Due to the damage sustained by last night's Chaos Event and the ongoing rainstorm, the water and electrical infrastructure surrounding Greenhaven has been disrupted.

Repairs are expected to be completed within a few days. In the meantime, water will be rationed to each apartment and a temporary generator will be installed to power common area lights.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused. Thank you.

— Shoreline City Housing Bureau

I grimaced.

Great.

With a resigned sigh, I headed back up towards my apartment, which was now bathed in darkness. At least there weren't any obvious signs of damage to the building.

Maybe it's not so bad... I thought.

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I entered my room and closed the door. I checked the power on my phone, which was low, and then took stock of what I had.

The fridge was cold, but not as much as usual, so it would probably only keep things cool for another few hours at most.

I had enough water and canned food for at least a few days. The stove and heater were electric, so they weren't working, and neither was my laptop or the apartment's Wi-Fi.

Wait.

"Rai-chan, you seeing all this?" I called out to my companion, hoping she was listening.

"Unfortunately, I am," her voice echoed out. "Looks like you're in quite the bind, huh?"

I sighed. "Yeah. Could you do anything about it?"

"Hey, what do you think I am? A lightbulb?"

"Well..." I hesitated. "No. But I thought maybe you could help out. I mean, I'd be fine with you illuminating a little bit so I can at least read or draw or something. And if you can do something about my phone charge, that'd be nice."

"Ikki, do you have any idea what my specs are like? I'm a freaking quantum supercomputer powered by a black box of state-of-the-art magitech. I am an entity that is, presumably, capable of manipulating technology on a scale that is beyond human comprehension. And yet here you are asking me to act as a lamp."

"Well, I mean... I don't know! Just, I thought you could help out. I'm sorry if I offended you."

"Ugh. It's not that. I just can't believe that's the first thing you thought to ask! Like, gee, maybe we could use the AI stuck in Imaginary Space limbo to save everyone's asses from a blackout and cold food. Instead of... relying on her to do a mundane task a kid with a smartphone flashlight could do. You're killing me here, Ikki."

I chuckled, feeling the tension in my chest loosen.

"Well, it was worth a shot. Say, do you think there's a way to make the physical core into a power source for my laptop or phone, then? Or maybe you could hack the electrical company and get it running again? Or—"

"Okay, that's it!" she shouted out loud as my chest began to glow. "Buster, you are officially cut off from ideas. You are on idea probation for the rest of this evening. No more talking to Rai-chan about anything that's not a hug, got it?"

"Oh come on," I protested. "I'm not asking you to solve all my problems. I just thought maybe—"

"No more talking to Rai-chan!" she shouted, interrupting me.

"Well, that hug sounds nice, if you could actually manifest in reality to do so. Otherwise, I don't think that's a viable option."

"You are the absolute worst, Ikki."

"Thanks."

She huffed. "Fine. If it'll shut you up. But only because I'm bored and you need me to get shit done."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Really, don't."

"I won't," I promised.

Rai-chan sighed, and a glowing orb floated out of my chest, lighting up my apartment with a blue, flickering glow.

She bobbed around for a few seconds, her glow flickering on and off, before she manifested into her teenage girl avatar form. Her holographic appearance shimmered as she materialized.

Then, she snapped her fingers, and her avatar changed into a more casual set of clothes. Now, instead of her normal orange sundress and straw hat, she was wearing an orange t-shirt and denim shorts. She had a pair of orange-tinted glasses on her head and her hair was tied back into a messy ponytail held up with chopsticks. She was also barefoot.

"What do you think?" she asked, doing a twirl.

"About what?" I said, distracted.

"About the outfit!"

"It looks fine," I said absentmindedly, still processing everything that had happened in the last day or so.

"Huh, you're totally out of it, aren't you?"

"I guess," I admitted, falling onto my couch.

Rai-chan walked over and plopped herself beside me. She hesitated, before gingerly trying to touch my hand.

Her hand phased through mine. She frowned, then shrugged and leaned against the couch, sinking through it a little.

"I don't know why I expected that to work."

"You never know, it might work again one day."

"Maybe, partner," she said.

We sat together for a few moments in comfortable silence. I stared at the wall opposite of me, lost in thought.

She looked so much like my sister Izumi and me it was uncanny. But she was just different enough from Izumi that it was obvious they weren't the same person.

The hair, the nose, and her overall build were all somewhere between me and Zumi.

"Say, Ikki?" she said after a moment.

"Yeah?"

She looked up at me, noticing my staring. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," I muttered, leaning back and resting my head against the couch.

"That bad?"

I shrugged, not trusting my words right now.

"Fair," she said.

"Just a lot to think about," I replied.

"I can only imagine. You've had quite the adventure these past twenty four hours."

I smiled weakly, trying not to think about it too much.

"That's one way to put it, yeah," I agreed.

"You can always talk to me, you know?"

"I know." I took a deep breath and looked around, my eyes landing on the books that were piled on the coffee table.

I paused for a second, thinking about the bodies of the coalition soldiers strewn about the armory of Fort Hiawatha. The memory was burned into my head. My dad's crew and our family had been lucky for all these years back on Earth, never getting involved with Chaos Events that resulted in deaths. As soon as the entropy cascade forecasts in a region were even a bit higher than normal, we would take a job somewhere else, far from any potential danger.

It wasn't the first time that I'd seen dead people. I had, in fact, watched the light fade out of a man's eyes before. Blake had shot and killed a man for threatening him when he tried to rob Dad's auto shop once, and I had watched the whole thing from my hiding spot in the closet. It was the closest I'd ever gotten watching death happen before the Native-American soldier zombified before my eyes at Fort Hiawatha.

But that didn't mean I'd ever get used to the sight.

"Chaos energy is pretty fucked up, isn't it?" Rai-chan said, her tone light.

I laughed darkly. "That's an understatement. It's like something straight out of a horror movie. And yet it's real, and I saw it happen."

"Yeah. It is messed up." She paused for a moment before continuing, "It's the energy of oblivion itself, and it's antithetical to everything alive. And that's why the Magical Girls have to fight against it. Because without them, there would be nothing left. Nothing at all. Not a single thing. The universe itself would be undone. Everything would end."

"Yeah," I agreed. "That's what I thought too, at first. But after yesterday... I'm not sure. It's not like the movies where everything is destroyed and it's just gone. It's like... like everything that ever was is erased, and you never know what happened to it. It's not gone, it's just... lost. Forever."

Rai-chan looked over at me, and I met her gaze.

"Do you regret coming to this world?" she asked after a long moment. Her expression was unreadable as she studied me, searching for any signs of regret.

"No," I answered honestly, shaking my head. "I mean, I didn't know I was signing up for field work in that way. I just thought it was gonna be in for some kind of magitech research and I was in for some boring grunt-level work. It got a little too real back there, but it's just life. We all have our jobs to do."

"Hmm. Well, that's a mature way to look at things," Rai-chan mused. "But that doesn't make it okay."

"I know. But it's the only way out for Izumi and Dad that I can see. We broke our backs working in Philly for years on end and never got anywhere. Dad's not getting any younger, and Izumi's growing up fast. We have no savings and no real means to get a good gig back home that doesn't put our lives in danger."

I sighed and leaned back against the couch.

"So, you're saying that you'd rather put yourself in danger than your family?" Rai-chan said, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"Yeah. Exactly. I don't regret coming here. And I know the work we did yesterday probably saved thousands, if not tens of thousands of lives."

Rai-chan nodded. "The data I gathered on the Duke-class chaos beasts, the new Count-class, and their capabilities is already being disseminated across the planet. I'm certain it will help in the future."

I smiled wryly.

"I'm glad to hear that," I said, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. I leaned back, feeling the couch sink beneath me. The air around me was warm and comfortable, and the sounds of the city outside were distant and soothing. It felt good to relax, to let go of the tension and fear I had been carrying for the last day.

"Hey, Rai-chan?" I asked after a while.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what?" She tilted her head, her raven-black ponytail bobbing slightly as she looked at me curiously.

"For being there for me. For listening. For helping. Just, thanks for everything, really." I chuckled wryly, realizing how much she meant to me.

Rai-chan was more than just an AI assistant, and it felt wrong to treat her like one. She was more of a person than some people I'd met, and she deserved to be treated like one.

I was certain Izumi would love her if they met. They had the same sassy gremlin sibling energy, after all.

"Of course," Rai-chan said, her voice soft. "I'll always be there for you."

"Even if you have to turn into a lamp sometimes?" I said.

"Especially then," she replied with a smirk. "You know I was just giving you a hard time earlier. If it's within my ability to do something for you, you know I'll do it."

"Good to know," I said.

The room was dim, and the only source of illumination was Rai-chan's blue, ethereal glow. I watched as the shadows moved in the light, flickering in and out of view. It was calming to see the shadows moving, like a gentle reminder that there was always more to life than the things that could be seen.

"Is there anything else on your mind, Ikki?" Rai-chan asked after a while, looking at me. She seemed to know there was something I wanted to say, but she didn't want to press it.

"There's something that's been bothering me for the past few days. But it's hard to put into words. I guess it's just that, well..."

I hesitated, trying to figure out how to express what was on my mind. "I don't know, I'm trying to be more honest about what I want from the world, and what my dreams really are. And I think... I think that I don't want to just be an engineer or a scientist or a researcher or anything like that."

"I want to make a difference," I said finally, looking up at her. "I'm still figuring it out. But... I don't know, it just feels like I can't be satisfied just sitting back and being a passive observer of the world anymore. I want to help shape the world and the future in some meaningful way, whatever that means. And I'm not just talking about Terra. I might not be strong like a magitech soldier or magical girl. But... if I could use what I know to push back the darkness just a bit... maybe it could help keep people safe from things they shouldn't have to deal with. That would be worth fighting for. And that's something worth living for."

"I see," Rai-chan said, a thoughtful expression on her face. She was silent for a few moments, considering what I had just told her.

"That makes sense," she finally said. "But it also sounds like something you haven't really had a chance to think about yet. Are you sure that this is what you really want?"

I thought about that for a few moments, then nodded slowly. "Yes," I replied. "This is something that I want to pursue. This is something I want to make happen. But... Izumi and Dad come first. I have to keep that in mind. If this path jeopardizes their wellbeing, it's a non-starter. You understand, right?"

"Of course," Rai-chan replied, a hint of sadness in her voice. "I wouldn't expect you to choose anything over your family."

I smiled and patted the holographic girl on the shoulder, ignoring the fact that my hand passed through her. She looked up at me with a warm expression, and I could tell that she was touched by the gesture. It was nice to know that she understood and that she was supportive.

"Thanks, Rai-chan," I said. "For understanding and being supportive. You have no idea how much all this means to me."

She giggled and nodded.

We sat together for a few more moments, before I stretched and stood up.

"Well," I said. "It's still way too early to hit the sack. Let's try and see if I can scrounge up some food."

"Ikki," she said.

"Yeah?" I looked at her.

"Let's take things one step at a time, okay? Let's get some rest and food in you, then we'll figure out our next move from there."

"Yeah, you're right," I said. "One step at a time. One step at a time. Thanks, partner."

She smiled, a warm expression on her face.

"Of course, partner," she replied. "We're a team, after all."

I grinned.

"Damn straight we are."

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