Zoe and I emerge in the Metaverse. It looks the same as usual; the outline of our house in its dark, veiny monotony. I don’t know what I expected, exactly. Maybe for the house to be on fire? For a squad of Metaverse-cops to be ready to ambush us? But no.

Next to me, the familiar sound of Zoe sniffling and crying makes me come down from my high. She has both of her hands over her face. This naturally wouldn’t be easy for her.

“Um,” I say. “We should go to Anja’s. It’s closest.”

Zoe doesn’t say or do anything.

I guess I should say something.

“Hey,” I say. “Mom and Dad are… well, they said that they’re…”

“I can’t lose everything all over again,” Zoe says weakly.

“You… won’t,” I say. “We’ll make it right, like always.”

“But we don’t even know if using the Metaverse will work,” she protests. “Can’t we just… go back to reality, and go with them? Then at least we’d be together.”

For a moment, I suddenly feel crushed by the realization that a small part of me agrees with her. And suddenly I feel horrible for how shitty I was acting towards them.

What was it Mom was saying? They were pretty confident that whatever plan they had would work. I guess they’ve been right before. But should we have gone with them? They wanted us to. But…

“No,” I say. “Remember, the whole pretense of this is that they think we’re being abused or something. We wouldn’t be kept together,” I reason.

Zoe exhales deeply. “You may be right,” she says.

“Listen. Let’s go to Anja’s. And we can… support them from the outside.” I say.

After a pause, Zoe nods.

We briefly return to the real world to quietly pack overnight bags, and then, one final time, we leave to travel the darkened streets of our neighborhood.

----------------------------------------

“Hey Ted. We gotta go. Emergency,” I call out when Zoe and I arrive at the Methodist Church.

He barrels out of the woods in record time. “An emergency, you say?” he asks, one hand on his pistol.

“Yeah. It’s been an insane past few days.”

“What troubles you, Jolene?” he says. I’m confused for a moment as to who he’s talking to, until I see that he’s approaching Zoe. He reaches to pat her on the shoulder, but can’t quite reach and instead pats her elbow.

“Our parents… the ones who took me in… they’re being arrested!” Zoe explains in a strained voice. “Over some… bullshit law that was passed yesterday!”

“Just yesterday?” Ted questions suspiciously. “That ain’t how the law works.”

“Well, America’s becoming a fascist country, so that’s how it works now!” I say bitterly. “Come on, let’s walk and talk.”

We begin our route to Anja’s place, walking through the streets because who gives a shit? Not like there are any cars here. Things are quiet at the moment. I almost wish that a shadow would appear so I could have something to tear apart.

…Nope. Stupid thing to wish for, I take that back.

“Woulda made powerful allies, those two,” he comments.

“Yeah. I guess so,” I say. Then, I gasp as a realization hits me. “Wait. I bet that’s why they got arrested so fast. They knew.”

“Cops don’t know nothin’ about the supernatural,” Ted argues.

“Some of them do. Sheriff Hurt did,” I say. “The one who helped us save her. And died for it.”

Ted bows his head, as if doing his own private vigil.

“It’s ironic,” Zoe says. “They hailed him as a hero, only to then hurt the people he was fighting to protect.”

“Welcome to law enforcement in America,” I say. “Uh, no offense, Ted.”

“What pretense do they even have for this?” Ted questions.

“Um…” Something strange occurs to me at that moment. “Hey Ted. You know that Zoe and I are a lesbian couple, right?”

“Weren’t that what the whole shindig at the church was about?” he responds.

“Uh… yeah, it was,” I confirm. “It’s just, you were from another time and all. Are you… cool with that?”

“What do you mean, ‘another time?’” he asks.

“You’re from the past,” I say. “Before most people accepted gay people. Well, okay, I guess a lot of people still don’t. But still.”

“Didn’t accept me either,” he says. “Nobody thought an American and a Mexican should be wed.”

“You married someone Mexican?” I ask. “Huh. That’s right, people were racist back then too. Well, more so than today. You know what I mean.”

I look at Zoe, hoping to see her smile at this news. I’m disappointed, however. Her face is still stony with the shock and pain of what had happened.

----------------------------------------

To ensure that nobody sees us defy the laws of space and time, we emerge right next to the fence to Anja’s backyard, stuff Ted into Zoe’s bag, and then walk around to the front and knock on the door.

Anja’s dad answers. “Good afternoon!” he greets us cheerily.

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“Hi Mr. Beulen!” Zoe says. “Um, my apologies for the short notice, but… we were wondering if we could stay the night tonight.”

“That should be alright,” he says, smiling at us. “Anja will be happy to see you.”

“Thank you,” I say.

He points us to Anja’s room, where I’m not entirely surprised to see that Nova is also there, laying flat on her bed and playing his 3DS moodily.

We recap what had happened, and the realizations we had about it while on route to Anja’s house.

“Aunt Kierstyn could’ve told them about your parents,” Anja points out stormily. “I didn’t even think about them using the new law for an attack of opportunity.”

“Well, we better launch our assault as soon as we can, then,” I say. “You guys are suspended anyway, and I don’t really care about going to school right now.”

“We still need to figure out how to get on to the airship, though,” Anja points out. “We shouldn’t just count on the palace not having any defenses.”

“Won’t be an issue if we spawned there,” Nova points out, eyes still glued to his 3DS.

“How are we supposed to do that?” I question. “That would require entering the Metaverse from inside the capitol building.”

“Maybe we could ask for a tour?” Zoe suggests.

“That’ll take too long. And they wouldn’t give a tour to a bunch of children without a chaperone,” I refute.

“If there was a way to swing it, it does seem like entering directly from the capitol would be simplest,” Anja says. “But as for how to do that… well…”

And then, unexpectedly, my phone rings.

I quickly pull it out, expecting it to be one of my parents. But, instead, I read from the caller ID that it’s Sarah, my trumpet teacher, of all people.

“Um… I better see what this is about,” I say. I step out of the room and answer.

----------------------------------------

I answer the phone in the hallway outside Anja’s room, standing right across from a black and white photo of two people I’m assuming are Anja’s great grandparents or something.

“Ashley?” she asks once I pick up the phone.

“Speaking,” I say. “I take it you’ve heard about what happened?”

“Where are you right now?” she inquires. “Are you safe?”

“Yep. I’m at a friend’s place,” I confirm.

“Good,” she says. “Stay there for right now- don’t return to your house.”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” I say.

“Zoe’s with you, right?”

“Of course.”

“Okay,” she says. “So. First of all, I need to tell you that everything’s going to be alright. Your parents and I planned for this possibility. I have gotten them in touch with my lawyer, George Wang. He’s a great lawyer and he specializes in civil liberties cases. He has connections to the ACLU, who are currently working to combat the recent law.”

“Okay, that’s great. But how long is it gonna take?” I ask.

“You never know with this type of thing,” Sarah admits. “Our first priority right now is to ensure that you and Zoe aren’t going to be transferred to an orphanage.”

“They’d probably send at least Zoe back to live with her folks,” I say. “But yes, I’d rather not have to go through all of that.”

“Your parents also wanted me to tell you not to use your Persona and to trust the legal process. Of course, I uh, can’t actually stop you from doing anything-”

“Wait. What?” I exclaim. “ You’re in on that too? You gotta be kidding me!”

“You mean your father didn’t mention me? Tsk tsk. How ungrateful,” she complains.

“How many people in my life have been hiding things from me?” I demand. “First my parents, then you, who else?”

“Uhh, I uhh, probably nobody else you know,” Sarah stammers. “You’ve already met Lucy, so…”

“Of co- you know Lucy?” I ask.

“Oh yeah. She never leaves me alone,” Sarah explains, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

“So if you knew about her, why didn’t Mom know?” I question.

“Because your Mom only ever knew ‘Lucas,’ and I only ever knew Lucy,” Sarah says enigmatically.

“What- This is stupid. Okay, fine, whatever. Well, you can tell my mom and dad that I’m not sitting around on my ass while they’re in jail.”

“I figured you’d say that,” Sarah says, sighing. “Oh well. I can tell them I tried now.”

“Why don’t they want me to do anything, anyway?” I rant. “If I’d had this attitude before, Nova would’ve been forced to move back with his abusive mom, Zoe would’ve been tortured in conversion therapy, something far worse could’ve happened to Kevin…”

Sarah cuts me off. “Because not everything can be solved by targeting just one person. Sometimes it’s best to let the system run its course.”

“Well, fuck the system.”

Sarah scoffs. “You’re becoming such a teenager. Listen. Your parents and I know how this shit works. I don’t know what you think you know. But you need to trust them . Or at least trust me. Don’t you trust me?”

“It’s not about you,” I say. “Why would I put any trust in the people who just arrested my parents? The people who sat around and jerked their cocks while children were being kidnapped?”

“You’re over-generalizing,” Sarah says tiredly. “I mean the court system . The state has many arms, and they’re meant to balance each other out. Just… let us handle this. I personally don’t even care if you get you and your Persona friends on this too. Just don’t do anything stupid. I know you won’t. You’re a smart girl. Are we clear?”

“Y-yeah,” I say. I suddenly feel very tired and sad. “Also, tell my parents that… I’m sorry.”

“Thank you, Ashley. I will,” she agrees. “And remember. Don’t be stupid.”

“Alright,” I say.

“I’ll keep you posted. Talk to you soon.”

“Sure.”

She hangs up.

----------------------------------------

Ashley’s departure leaves an awkward silence in its wake. That is, until Zoe’s bag starts rustling, seemingly of its own free will.

“Oh, right. Sorry,” Zoe says, unzipping it and letting Ted out.

“T’was too quiet in here,” Ted comments, as he rolls out of the bag and attempts to look dignified as his paws grip my carpet.

“You have been very quiet since getting here,” I comment to Zoe. “I would ask if you’re okay, but… obviously you’re not.”

Zoe shakes her head, her eyes dead and blank.

There’s another awkward pause, as I struggle to think of anything I can say.

Instead, it’s Zoe who speaks first. “Why did it have to end like this?” she begs, a tear rolling down her cheek.

“Well… I saw Ashley’s parents in action. They are absurdly powerful. They could incapacitate a crowd of people in the blink of an eye,” I say.

“Would’ve been a lot of help against the palace,” Nova complains into his 3DS, teeth clenched. “But, I guess they’re like, Uber-powerful…”

“Why is it always palaces?” Zoe asks, staring at the floor.

“Uh… what do you mean?” I ask, not following.

“People, places, out there in the world, making everything worse. Who’s out there trying to make it better?”

“There’s always people making things better,” I say. “We fight, we sweat, we bleed, we die, and we never stop. And things never get better as much or as fast as we want. But they get better.”

Zoe nods curtly. “Could we do that… in the Metaverse, too?” she wonders aloud.

“Isn’t that what we’ve been doing?” Nova asks.

“No, I think I know where Zoe’s coming from here,” I interject. “What we do is stop things from getting… worse. Palaces make things worse. We don’t really make things better than they were before.”

Zoe nods.

“What’s a palace, but a temple to man’s sin?” Ted comments sagely.

“But does just being without sin make you good?” Zoe asks, seemingly more to herself than anyone else. “What is ‘good…’”

“Pizza’s good,” Nova comments flippantly.

I roll my eyes at him. “Nova, that’s not what she meant!”

At this point, Ashley re-enters. She sighs, looking more exhausted than I’ve ever seen her.

“Just found out about another person who’s been lying to me,” Ashley says. “My trumpet teacher, Sarah, knows about Personas too.”

“She does?” Zoe says. “Huh.”

“Your family has a lot of connections,” I say. “I guess that’s a double-edged sword.”

“Anyway. Where are we even going to sleep?” Ashley asks.

“Should be able to all fit in my bed,” I offer. “I call little spoon!”

“You can’t be serious,” Ashley protests.

“Why not?” I ask, grinning a little despite everything.

“Nova’s a boy,” Ashley points out simply.

“That’s racist,” Nova says.

“Well, if you’re gonna be like that, I have sleeping bags,” I say. “Oh, this will be fun! It’s been a while since I’ve had a sleepover.”

“What about me?” Ted inquires.

“You usually sleep outside, don’t you?” Ashley points out.

“Eh, my house is further from the woods,” I say. “You can stay here for tonight. I’ll find a nice blanket for you.”

“I greatly appreciate it, madam,” Ted says, tilting his head as if tipping an imaginary hat to me. Not knowing what else to do, we spend the rest of the evening talking, first about our plan for tomorrow, and then about random stuff. It’s a weird atmosphere. Like normally this would be fun, having all my friends over. But the overarching sense of tension and dread goes a fair way towards dampening that, sadly.