In the living room of Kimura Yasuo, Speaker for the East Asian Sanguine Congress, four adults from three different worlds and two different species of humans sat together on two very comfortable couches. Without asking, Rika chose to sit on one couch while the two Sanguine sat on the opposite one. A tray with a pitcher of cold water and four empty cups with neon zigzags decorating them sat on the glass coffee table between them.

"Not that I mind the visit and the request for assistance, but perhaps you should explain what is happening," Yasuo said with a smile after Zaria spent the first five minutes staring at her fingers in her lap.

"Oh, sorry. I was lost in my thoughts." She apologized sheepishly, pulling herself back into the present. "I was just thinking about whether or not my boyfriend might be sending someone messages while I am away from the apartment. And that is the problem. I understand that the Ones Who Have Moved On are the reason that everyone here is so happy or at least content almost all the time. It would make sense if that is why some of our group has been able to move on from the badness that they lived through in their last world and I am very grateful for that. But two of us seem to be being affected the opposite way sometimes."

Rika glanced at her sharply, then across at Speaker Vlachos with a questioning look. Zaria winced. She had not realized that Rika did not know about the emotional boost from being in this world. "I don't think it makes you feel anything you wouldn't already feel, Rika, it just helps your happiness and calmness to come forward so you don't have to focus on the negative emotions. Like a happiness shot."

"That is not exactly accurate, but for the moment it is close enough," Adrien Vlachos chuckled as he reached across and took the older woman's hand, causing her to blush scarlet. "They do not create happiness, they just help us to embrace it."

The two slowly began to smile again, for the moment lost in their own world. A polite clearing of a throat brought them back to the living room and the issue at hand. "Perhaps you could elaborate on what you have said, if you don't mind," Yasuo suggested as he poured a glass of water for Zaria before filling one for himself. "What have you been experiencing?"

"To put it simply, jealousy. And that leads to anger and sadness." The two men glanced at one another before busying their selves with their cups. "Oh no, I saw that look. What was that about?"

Adrien took a sip of water and refused to meet her eyes. "Mina Andrews has declared to her father and anyone who is near enough to listen that Mr. Gu is her destined mate. Is that true?"

"How would I know? If Gu Cheng knows he isn't-" Zaria swore colorfully. "It is happening again! He would not lie to me, especially if he knew it was something that would affect me, but I immediately thought he could be so that he could be with her! That's not right!"

"The magic behind the mate bonds are not understood," Yasuo started, speaking in such a way that Zaria thought he was choosing his words carefully. "But if someone is already with another when they meet their mate, it is not unheard of for the reactions that cause boosts in happiness to taper off or cease. There have been enough stories that I would be willing to believe that the reaction changes in order to help the two mates be together. If those are more than just stories, it would explain what is happening to the two of you..."

"Wait...so you are saying that this world has chosen someone else to be his mate so it is now working to what? Break us up?"

"It is not intentional, remember the Ones are not sentient. But if those two are destined to be mates then yes, the reactions may be altering to help push them together." Adrien looked uncomfortable, fiddling with his now empty glass. "If you are both experiencing the swing in emotions, then that may very well be what is happening. I am sorry, but there is nothing we can do about it. Even if we move those two farther away from each other it will not change how the two of you are reacting."

Rika wrapped her arm around Zaria's shoulder. "So what can we do for them? What if that woman tries to push between them again?"

The men exchanged a look again. Yasuo cleared his throat and poured more water into his glass. "A personal relationship is outside of the congress's abilities to interfere with. If he is not interested and has said so,then as your hosts we can speak to her father about it and tell him that she has already been declined. But that is all. If the two of you are leaving soon, it might not become a problem. The big issue is how to keep the two of you from experiencing the mate rejection emotions."

"We could have them both go on oxygen, perhaps? Wearing the masks will help filter out the chemicals that are causing the trouble. But they will have to wear them all the time, would that be a better choice than just talking things out and reminding each other?"

The two men began to throw ideas at each other, but they seemed to all be variations on sensory deprivation masks or crossing fingers and hoping for the best. Zaria let it go on for a few minutes before interupting as gently as she could.

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"I think I should tell Gu Cheng all of this, let him know that it is not our fault. Would you mind if I leave for a few minutes?"

"Why not ask him to come over and talk with us? The boys will be fine without someone over there for a little while."

Zaria smiled at Adrien, her mind working out how much trouble they would be in if the whole living room was filled solid with ice. "Gu Cheng's jealousy makes it so that it would be better if he was not too close to Speaker Kimura at the moment. His magic control might slip and that would be bad. "

"Me?" Yasuo looked confused for a moment before his eyes widened perceptibly. "Oh. But you have always been very polite, I have never felt even a little bit of interest from you! Have I acted inappropriately to you? I do admit that I was fascinated at the beginning with your not-magic as you say..."

"No, and that is part of the point. We are both seeing things where there are none, but the feelings seem completely valid at the time. It was only when I started pointing it out that he was able to notice it." It was true that she had not been around Yasuo at all since leaving the dinner early that night. She did not mention that since sitting down in the living room next to Rika she had been having difficulty looking away from the speaker. Everytime she started to zone out and stare at him she would mentally shake her head and remind herself that while handsome, Gu Cheng was much more attractive. Then the attraction popped like a soap bubble and disappeared for a few minutes before coming back. "I don't like feeling as though my emotions are being controlled, even if something is not doing it consciously."

"No, I understand." A grimace crossed his face, and she wondered if he was being pushed the same way. Her mind began to slide toward the path of least resistance again and she smacked it back in line. A moment passed and he self-consciously added "I believe that it might be affecting me as well. Perhaps this explains why Ms. Andrews is having trouble controlling herself, if she is also being pulled in. If it is more than just the mate bond between the two of them..."

They spoke about it for some time. Adrien said that he would order mask systems for the two offworlders, with the hope that it would help them them to cope until it was time to leave.

"Is it possible that something similarly odd is happening to that group of Anis which is causing trouble?" Rika asked, her cup of water cradled in her hands.

"What do you mean?" Nobody belittled her shy question and she seemed to straighten up a little and continue.

"I don't mean that there is a mate problem in their group. But could something be affecting the Ones around them? Or what happens if they are in a place where very few have ever lived before? Would the Ones be thinner there?"

The two men looked at each other for a long moment, an action that was becoming increasingly familiar. Zaria thought about the troubles the Sanguine were having thanks to her world, where Anis were accusing them of having special powers like telepathy. She pointed that out, how their wordless communication could lead others to wonder. They both looked at each other again and then began to laugh.

"Oh, no! We have just known each other for so long we can follow each others thoughts." Adrien laughed and looked away first. "That is an intriguing thought. You think that the terrorists might be affected as they are because they are somewhere with fewer Ones? Why would anyone choose to stay away and take the chance that they will feel badly all the time?"

"Maybe they are not staying that way intentionally. What if it is a learned behavior?" All three looked at her confused. "Okay, maybe in this world kids aren't taught the hatred and anger of their parents. But it is not rare in mine. Someone hates a person because of their skin color, or religion or their lack of one, and they pass those beliefs on to their kids without intentionally doing so. Just their words and manners are picked up by the children. If someone in the past had what they felt was a good reason to feel negatively, they might have stayed in that place and then their kids pick up on it and stay in that place and the cycle keeps going."

"So we look in areas with very low human populations and find the group, then move them to more populated areas so they can be happy." The two men looked at each other again and nodded in agreement.

"I mean..." Zaria trailed off, realizing her words that wanted to come out were a learned behavior as well. Do they really have the right to tell someone they have to be happy all the time? If they do the crimes may stop, so would happiness be like a more upbeat prison reform for them?

"What, Miss Joseph? Your manner of looking at things is odd and I find myself intrigued." The warm voice that filled her heart with sunshine spoke to her from across the table and Zaria found herself smiling at Yasuo while he smiled back. Almost at the same time they both furrowed their brows and looked away. Now that he was aware of what was causing any feelings he might occasionally notice, he too was trying to fight it.

Zaria thought for a moment to try and pick the right words. She gave up and grimaced. "No, it's nothing. It would be horrible if something like the death of that woman were to happen again. The cycle of hate they are stuck in has to end."

With the beginnings of a plan that would help them with their sticky political issue with the Anis, and a more firm plan to help Gu Cheng and Zaria work their way through the time they had left in their current world, the group dispersed. Rika and Adrien smiled at each other and left together, hand in hand, while Zaria crossed the landing and knocked on her door for someone to unlock it. Down the stairs she heard the sound of Cathy's voice greeting her father and Rika, and even after her door opened she chose to stay on the landing to wait for Cathy to make her way up the stairs.

The normally unflappable and cheerful woman paused at the top of the stairs, one hand clinging to the railing while the other lightly massaged her back. A distraught expression tugged at Zaria's heart."Oh, Miss Joseph, you are exactly who I came to see! I did not want to discuss this over the phone. Something horrible has happened!"

"Okay, let's go inside and you can tell me all about it. You look like you need to take a seat-"

"Miss Joseph!" She interupted, reaching out to take Zaria's hand. "Mina Andrews has declared Prokis against you!"