The lights weren't mystifying or galactical or even ominous. They were stuffy and blinding and were a natural light source. Eniola raised a hand to cover her eyes. It wasn't until wires and a hospital band materialized did she jump.

Eniola peeled her head off the bed she was sleeping on, and the smell of sterile fluid attacked her nostrils. Dizziness wrapped around her head. Eniola looked down to feel a soft cotton gown wrapped around her. It looked ugly.

Eniola scanned the room. Wires had attached themselves to her skin and were hooked up to a bag of fluid that connected down from a wire. Eniola wasn't sick. Right? Besides the fluid, were holo-screens Eniola was too dizzy to pay attention to.

Suddenly the doors slid open before two nurse-droids whirred in.

"Patient name: Eniola Mobolaji Adeyemi," the android said in their crisp voice. "Awakened at 5:38 pm under care in Blue Flower Hospital for severe dehydration."

"What?" Eniola breathed. "Where is everyone?"

Eniola began, feeling the pressure of memories coming back to her. Enigma. UTOPIA. Keone.

"Can you tell me what's going on in the world? Can you tell me anything? What about Keone Palea? Do you know anything about him?"

"I cannot give you any updates on other patients because you are not next of kin," the nurse-droid explained, and Eniola sighed.

Eniola ignored the headache that formed in her head as she sat upright against the bedframe of her sterile hospital room. Suddenly another machine whirred and Eniola felt a cool rush through her arms. She grimaced.

"Those electrolytes are targeting your sources of dehydration," it began. "We advise you to rest and stay in bed."

Eniola sat back as her heart sped up. She looked down at herself. There were bruises and bandages in various spots. "Can you tell me how I got here? Or can I at least see a human doctor? Why am I dehydrated?"

The nurse-droids stayed still. "Dr. Chopra should be with you soon."

Eniola nodded as they both left the room. She sat back. It killed her not to know the outside world. It killed her not to know what was going on. Eniola could just walk out, but there was no promise that she wouldn't faint two steps in. Then an idea came to her.

"Netscreen on," Eniola spoke, and a screen materialized right in front of her. "News."

It was crazy. A male news anchor with hair that looked too gelled down spoke. "Kain Harrison, world's most notorious cyberterrorist and criminal, was arrested Friday night with crimes against humanity. It was discovered that he had many allies and an organization called the PSEUDO backing him. They have taken about 20 members into custody."

Eniola gulped before she sighed in relief. Kain was at least done for now and so was the PSEUDO.

"The same night, world scientists fixed the global power outage as the power in the entire world came back on. However, the 'Enigma' has not been found or has not been discovered."

Eniola smiled. She didn't register for the rest of the newscast, but it seemed like things were going back to normal. Eniola sat in bliss. It was partly because of her. Then the bliss warped into worry.

Enigma was only gone because of Keone. He took Zaira's place and transferred himself to Enigma. Maybe Zaira was wrong? Maybe Keone wasn't dead. And maybe he was just in another suspension tank, barely living, yet still living.

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The doors slid open, but this time a bronze-skinned woman in a long lab coat entered. This must've been Dr. Chopra.

"Eniola," she said, as she read her clipboard.

"Yes," Eniola croaked.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"Confused," Eniola said. "And tired. No one is telling me anything. How did I get here?"

"You and your friends were all found unconscious in the middle of West Sydney for starters," Dr. Chopra began. "This was after the last glitch."

"Last glitch?" Eniola asked.

"Yes," she continued. "The world had a glitch that lasted for 10 minutes straight. After that, you all appeared on the streets. What were you doing?"

"I don't know," Eniola mumbled. Frankly, she didn't like the idea of just being splayed out on the street.

"Your friends all suffered minor injuries like you, but you'll all be okay," Dr. Chopra said. Eniola breathed in relief. She told Eniola more about her condition and how she was being treated with electrolytes and how her body had not seen water for a whole day, which Eniola guessed was bad.

"I won't die?" Eniola asked.

"No," she denied. "You would never die."

Dr. Chopra would be surprised at how wrong she'd been.

"Um," Eniola began. "Do you know anything about the patient, Keone Palea?"

She toggled with her screens. "No. I'm sorry. But if I find anything, I'm going to tell you."

"Thank you," Eniola croaked.

"I'm going to leave you to get rest," Dr. Chopra said with a smile before she left again and slid open the door. Well, not until a crowd blocked her.

"Oh, my gosh!" a sudden voice yelled, as Eniola's family cut through the door. It was her parents and Kol and Olu. A tear dropped on her cheek. Here they were in the flesh.

"Mom!" Eniola screamed in relief as her parents ran to her and threw her arms around her. "Dad!"

Eniola allowed herself to be hugged into the crushing weight of her family. She soaked them all in. It didn't even occur to her that her parents and Olu were in the same room until they were.

Her parents immediately analyzed the medical screens that were pumping the electrolytes into Eniola. Her dad spoke up, "Why are you severely dehydrated?"

"And how did you end up in Sydney?" her mom began. "Why has the world been calling you a criminal and why have you gone missing? When Olu told me what had happened, were we so worried! Now you're in a hospital in Sydney?"

Her mom didn't seem angry or confrontational. The crackly waver in her voice soon broke into a choked sob which her dad held her immediately. Eniola tried not to let tears escape her. But they did.

"I was so scared and confused these past few weeks," Kol said, also crying. "I missed you."

Eniola tried to hold back the tears, but then one escaped, letting the rest fall freely. She wiped back a sob.

"What happened?" Oly asked. "What happened?"

"Let me explain to you," Eniola admitted. "I think the only for you to understand is for me to explain everything."

That's when it all came out. The entire story. Eniola started back in the SCOPE championships when she found out about the people attacking SCOPE players and found out it was Paradox. She tried her best to explain the science of synthetic atoms and how Paradox had tried to change the reality of the world and how that catalyzed into glitches. Eniola told them about Zaira and how she created Enigma and how she helped them in South Korea. She explained how Paradox framed them and sent them on the run and then met the PSEUDO at the Beijing Airport, and how they trusted them and strategized to go with them to Sydney before being betrayed. She explained to them how Keone almost died and how they stayed in a safe house before splitting up to defeat Enigma by going on the inside, then getting sucked into a land called UTOPIA then barely surviving before taking Enigma down at the beacon before emerging in the streets.

The entire time, her family listened intently and didn't once interrupt her, even in the sketchy parts. Maybe they didn't believe her. Eniola was even sure she'd believe herself. It was too bizarre. Eniola tried not to get choked up on obvious parts and tried not the feel exhausted. It wasn't until then, that Eniola felt more exhausted than she did when she woke up. She looked at the holo-clock on the wall and almost jumped in surprise when it had jumped a full hour. Eniola just talked for one hour.

"Now I'm here in the hospital," Eniola finished. Everyone looked at her like she'd gone mad.

"So how many boyfriends have you had?" her dad suddenly asked

"Really dad?" Olu sighed. "Eniola just went through hell and back and you're concerned about boyfriends."

Her dad shrugged. "This is all that happened?"

"Yes," Eniola struggled to say. "That's the true story, and I have a feeling it's going to be many times that I say that."

"We were so worried," her mom cited quietly. "So many prayers went up for you. I was so stressed."

"We couldn't bear the thought of something happening to you," Olu said.

"All of you?" Eniola asked, and they nodded. She couldn't help a smile from creeping onto her lips. They were at least on talking terms.

"How are May and Adeola?" Eniola asked.

"They're fine," Olu gulped. "They couldn't come because it was only immediate family." Eniola nodded.

"Wait!" Eniola began. "I almost forgot. What happened to you? Did we lose anyone?"

Her dad sighed. "We lost Bola. We had to destroy her because she almost killed all of us."

Eniola sighed. Bola had been with her since she was a child. She was always good to them, and now she couldn't imagine anyone else serving them. Bola was one of a kind to her, even if she wasn't.

"What got us through the mini-apocalypse was praying and having faith," her dad admitted. "And then when we got notified that you were in a hospital in Sydney, all of us were on the next flight, which was lucky for them because the airport opened again."

"That's good," Eniola said. "Thank you for coming."

"Of course," Olu said. "For you."

Eniola said nothing for the rest of the time, but everyone talked amongst themselves. Including her parents and Olu. It seemed like there was a crack in their hostility.

Crazy how it took the world almost ending to bring them together.

The last Eniola had been in a hospital, her parents had disowned her. But maybe that changed. Maybe they were more scared of losing Eniola for real than their ideal version of her. And they weren't like that awful vision she saw. She didn't betray them. She made them understand.

Eniola smiled. She could get used to this.