Telling Otherworlders that there was a whole system implemented in our world to deal with their arrival was generally something that you didn’t do. The N in FUN stood for Naïve for a reason, and though it was by far the least important part of the acronym, it was still an important aspect of interacting with Otherworlders.

When I told Jamie that I knew he was an Otherworlder, I’d been vaguely aware that I was breaking this rule, but chose to do it anyways because I was sick of hiding how I felt. Maybe if I was thinking more clearly at that point, I might have been able to squeeze out another lie, but I had been too emotionally charged to hold myself back.

When I saw Sera’s face again, smiling at me and Jamie, pretending as if nothing was wrong, I was almost worried about what sort of reaction she would have when I told her how our conversation went.

I hadn’t expected her to smile and brush it off like it was nothing. I hadn’t expected her to be fully frank with Jamie either, freely explaining her identity as a Mediator, and her role in containing Otherworlders like him.

Sure, she phrased it more delicately, telling him that the Mediators had a goal to “guide” Otherworlders towards their dreams, rather than to minimize the amount of damage they could do, but the subtext was clear. At least to me.

With her identity as a Mediator revealed, Sera took the opportunity to use her power and influence more openly. Once Jamie admitted his desire to go back to Plainswood, Sera supported the idea and pushed for us to leave as soon as possible.

After making sure Raine knew I was still alive and promising her I’d be safe, Sera and the guard escorted Jamie and I out of the city.

Two horse drawn carriages were waiting for us at the gates and set off immediately once we climbed inside.

“Jamie, Lena. Let me formally introduce you to Oren,” she said, pointing to the guard who was sitting beside her. He gave us a friendly wave. “Driving the cart we’re in currently is Laush. Tenna is driving the other cart.”

“It’s nice to meet you all,” Jamie said. His greeting was a little subdued, but it made sense given how tired he looked. “You’re all Mediators, then?”

“Aside from Lena, yes,” Sera said, as Oren pulled down his sleeve to reveal his eye tattoo to Jamie. “Sorry for deceiving you like this. I hope you’re not too offended?”

“No, it’s fine,” Jamie said, glancing sideways at me. “It makes sense why you would lie. Sorry for scaring you.”

“No need to apologize, Jamie,” Sera said, with a laugh. “An Otherworlder does as an Otherworlder does.”

Jamie frowned at that. Sera cocked her head to the side in confusion.

“Did I say something wrong?” she asked.

“No, it’s just,” Jamie paused to gather his thoughts before speaking. “Sorry, I’m still not getting this whole Otherworlder thing. Are there a lot of other people like me?”

Sera nodded. “A couple. Approximately four Otherworlders drop into Materia from Earth every year, though most people don’t know that,” she said, motioning to me. “Normal people like Lena assume that it’s a lot rarer than that.”

“It’s really that much?” I asked. I couldn’t remember exactly how many Otherworlders she said were active when she first mentioned it to me, but four per year felt excessive.

“Yup,” Sera said. “And the Mediators are well equipped to help every single one.”

“Help?” Jamie asked before I could.

“We help you integrate into our world in a safe way, making sure the transition between yours and ours is as seamless as possible. I have to assume that the switch is jarring in more ways than one.”

Why she gave Jamie a sad smile at that, I didn’t know, but Jamie seemed to understand. He grimaced and drew back a curtain to look out the window of the carriage.

Since we were on horse-drawn carriages, we were using one of the main roads that led out of Redstone, rather than the road towards the footpath through the forest that we used to get there in the first place. There wasn’t too much to look at surrounding the road, being flanked on both sides by empty plains, but as it grew later in the night, the clouds in the sky were painted in alternating shades of the orange of the setting sun and the purple of the coming twilight.

Jamie looked out the window, not addressing Sera’s unasked question.

I glanced at Sera to see if she would answer it for me, seeing as I was the only one in the carriage that didn’t seem to know what she was talking about. Her attention was mostly focused on Jamie, but she gave me a quick glance and a subtle nod before turning back to him.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Eventually, Jamie got bored of looking at the sunset and closed the curtain.

“It’s getting dark,” he said. “Shouldn’t we get ready for the night?”

Sera answered before I could. “Maybe if we were walking through the forest, but we’re travelling in luxury!” She laughed as she gestured around us.

“The Mediators paid good money for this, you know,” she continued. “No need to hunt for wood and food. We can just take some supplies out from storage and set up camp whenever. You can even sleep here if you want, though you’re probably too tall for it to be comfortable,” she said, turning around to lie down on her seat.

Oren had to lean back to avoid being kicked by her as she swung her feet up, but didn’t protest as she propped her feet up in his lap.

“It’s a shame really,” she said, lounging casually on the seat. “But being short does have it’s perks. You might be able to sleep here too, Lena.”

“Maybe,” I said, though I wasn’t going to try it now. I wasn’t sure I would be comfortable lying down with my legs in Jamie’s lap. The idea did appeal to me though. The carriage was absurdly luxurious, and I’d never experienced cushioning this soft in my life.

“Umm, sorry if this is weird,” Jamie said. “But is your personality really different from what it was an hour ago, or is it just me?”

“Why?” Sera asked. “You want me to change it back?”

Jamie seemed conflicted by the question. “Which one’s your real personality?” he asked, then shook his head. “No. Obviously you’re not a real-life tsundere.”

“I could be,” Sera said, batting her eyelashes and placing a finger on her lip. “If that’s what you wanted, big brother.”

I didn’t know why Sera was calling Jamie her brother while adopting a cutesy-seductive voice, but I hated it. I felt my face cringe and grimace uncontrollably.

“What the hell was that?” I asked.

Sera laughed and sat up, freeing Oren from his duty as a footrest.

“Looks like you didn’t like it either, eh big brother?” she asked Jamie, ignoring my question.

“Please stop,” he said, giving her a grimace that mirrored mine. “Dubs are disgusting.”

“If you insist,” Sera said, raising her hands in surrender, either ignoring or already knowing what he was talking about. “I’ll act however you want me to.”

Sera gave Jamie a wink, and the boy blushed and looked back out the window.

“We should be stopping soon, right?” he asked. “Even if we don’t need to gather anything, don't we still need to set up camp?”

Sera laughed but didn’t comment on Jamie’s abrupt change of subject. “I guess we should,” she said. Though the carriage walls seemed too thick for the driver to hear us, we stopped almost immediately.

Oren opened the door first and hopped out. Before I could stand up though, Sera reached across the carriage and put a hand on my arm.

“Lena,” she said. “Could you stay behind a bit?”

“Should I stay too?” Jamie asked.

Sera grinned at him. “I was going to ask Lena if she could help me change out of this skirt, on account of the bloodstains. I like you and all, but I think it might be a little early for you to stay for that.”

Jamie blushed. “Yeah, I should go,” he said before hastily rushing to join Oren outside.

Sera gave him a cheeky wave before she walked up to the door, closed it, bolted it, and immediately turned around to pounce on me.

Not expecting it, I couldn’t react in time as she easily jumped on top of my lap, straddling me and digging her knees into the cushion while simultaneously pinning my arms to my sides with her thighs. I was so surprised by the move that I didn’t know what to think, but the wide-eyed, almost manic look she gave me made me flinch back, afraid of what she was going to do to me. I tried to get up, but Sera had me in a tight enough grapple that I could barely move, let alone try to lift her off my body.

Not that I tried very hard. I was just too shocked to properly register what was going on.

Even when Sera roughly grabbed my face with both of her hands, I could only stare up at her, not understanding what was happening.

I was even more confused when Sera planted a hard kiss directly on my forehead.

“You’re a fucking angel, Lena,” she said. I was about to gather my wits long enough to ask what the hell was going on, but before I could, she let go of my face and grab my entire head in a tight hug instead.

My survival instincts finally kicked in when I tried to suck in air and found that I couldn’t while I was being smothered by her chest. I flailed as best as I could to throw Sera off of me, and thankfully she let go, leaning backwards and giving me a sheepish grin.

“Sorry,” she said. “I got a bit excited.”

“Huh?” I said, barely conscious from my near-death experience.

“You’re a miracle worker,” Sera said, hugging me once more, though she made sure not to nearly kill me this time. “How’d you manage to pacify the Otherworlder so easily?”

“What are you talking about?” I asked. “I didn’t do anything to pacify him. I just treated him like a regular person. Aside from the freakish powers, he just seems like some confused kid.”

“You’d be surprised how having freakish powers can change people, Lena,” Sera said, rocking back and getting off of me. “I was about to piss myself, thinking I was sending a civilian to calm down an Otherworlder who seemed like he could be on the verge of a finale event. You might have just stumbled upon the most stable Otherworlder to have ever come to Materia.”

“Finale event?” I asked. “What’s that?”

Sera’s smile turned brittle at the question. “Well, normally I would say it’s classified, but I did promise I would explain more about Otherworlders when I got the chance, didn’t I?” She sighed. “Welp. This whole case is the definition of breaking protocol already. What’s another black mark on my record?”

Sera sat down at the other side of the carriage and gave me a hard look.

“I think it goes without saying that all of this is confidential information,” she said. “Revealing this sort of information carelessly would see you being tried for grand treason, with the likely punishment being execution.”

It was terrifying to hear being said out loud, but I had expected it. “I understand,” I said.

Sera nodded, the grin returning to her face. It felt like an attempt to bring the mood back to normal, but I couldn’t quite ignore the fact that she’d just told me I could be executed if I wasn’t careful.

“Okay then. All cards on the table. What do you want to know first?” she asked.

Everything and nothing. I wanted no part in this Otherworlder business, but knowing that I was a Follower, I wanted to understand the kind of situation I was in.

“What’s a finale event?” I asked.

“It’s the moment that triggers an Otherworlder's death," Sera said, as casual as if she were talking about the weather. "Next question?”