“Christ’s sake...It’s been a full day” Aerith said under her breath. She was panicking internally, after all her brother was missing, but part of her wanted to find that pen. Maybe it had taken Jake to a mystical world without her. Jake would need the advice and guidance that only Aerith had, unless he had found someone else…

The bus had passed too, so it’s not like he’d gone to school. Maybe he was at Nadene’s house, she always had him doing something weird or strange. Or maybe one of those bullies really got to him. Aerith smirked at the thought.

Another one came to mind, maybe he’d just run off...but then Saul would’ve told her that would he not? She sighed to herself, jotting down a few notes as she pushed away excess trash from the table. A few different theories here and there, but she didn’t really have any concrete evidence.

Just at that moment, a slight knock was heard at the door. Aerith hastily rushed to the door only to see some girl. Her hair was over stylized and she had clothing on much too expensive to be here. Aerith looked at her dismissively,

“What is it you have for me?” Aerith asked, turning up her nose as much as she respectably could

“Have? Uh, no...I need to see Jake. Didn’t know he had a sister”. Stephanie looked off, trying to avoid any embarrassment. She peaked by while she waited for an answer.

“Yes...he does...unfortunately he’s missing, hasn’t shown up in a day”. Aerith began to shut the door, to which Stephanie stuttered and held the door open.

“Wait, Jake too? I-I came here because of Layali and Nadene...also Zackory. They’re all missing too...I’m worried about all of them...”. Aerith looked on in interest, perhaps they had all been whisked away to a new world like she originally theorized. A group of four that knew each other well was always the best choice for things like this.

“Yes, upsetting isn’t it? Come then, I supposedly have the time to spare”. Aerith left the door open as she signalled for Stephanie to come in.

“Name’s Stephanie by the way...yours?”.

“Aerith...Aerith Greindsworhthia”. The girl paused for a moment and awaited for Stephanie to bully her or find some excuse to leave. Stephanie only shakingly nodded and continued carefully stepping amongst the house. Her eyes widened when she came across the kitchen, debris still everywhere with a clear hole in the ceiling.

“W-What...how’d that happen?” Stephanie asked, still unable to keep her eyes off it. Aerith hardly even batted an eye at it, taking a few random assorted items and setting them near a bag on top of the bed.

“The bed was too heavy, either that or Jake” Aerith paused to find her words, “The house is clearly a little run down...sorry about that”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“No no, it’s fine. Just...not what I’m used to I guess. Where are we going..?” Aerith thought for a moment, focusing on any spots where a bunch of people Jake would have known would be around.

“The mall, that one with the long name. You have enough money to at least get in right?” Stephanie nodded, patting the pants pocket where she kept her wallet. Aerith let out a sigh of relief, she didn’t have the money to start up any alchemy business to make any money, nor did she have any money to steal from Jake. Aerith shoved a few more things in the bag before she headed towards the door.

“We’ll ask anyone who knows where they might’ve gone…” Aerith looked over her shoulder and smiled, “And if not then we’ll do something responsible...like telling my dad or something”

“With the condition of this place I doubt that’d be any better then calling mine…”. Stephanie spoke mainly to herself, but Aerith heard her anyway. She chuckled and stepped outside, the sun irritating her sensitive skin. Stephanie followed soon closely behind, curiously looking around at all the different sights and sounds.

“Different isn’t it?” Aerith noted as they came up to a road. She ignored the stop sign, not as if the cars would ever pay attention to it. The mall was only one mile away, but the transition between the two districts would make it seem like an entirely separate continent. Stephanie’s comfortability would gradually increase as time went on and she got more acquainted with her surroundings, with Aerith's case being the opposite. The sidewalks got cleaner, there was less empty lots, and it certainly smelt nicer. Some of the shops looked inviting.

Though the amount of eyes on her increased as well, more people paying attention to her outfit and hair style. Aerith shot a dismissive glance at all of them, looking forwards towards the mall yet again.

“We passed by her house y’know” Stephanie said, “Layali’s...of course it’s empty, but we could still check...y’know, later on”. Aerith stopped and turned behind her, clearly annoyed.

“We’re more likely to find someone that could help us if we just go to the mall first”.

“But, even if we did, it’s just gonna be some kid...” Stephanie stepped back now, “Let’s just go to Layali’s house”.

“Why do you have such an attachment to her anyway? I’m trying to find my brother...what’s Layali matter to you?”. Aerith shook her head and turned away, “It’s getting dark soon anyways...heading out right now is our best option”. Stephanie nodded, giving a glance behind her before she turned back and followed.

“If you have to know she’s my friend, but wouldn’t anyone want to find a missing person?” Stephanie pointed out. She moved faster now, clearly flustered. The mall was coming ahead shortly, and though this wasn’t the first time she’d seen the mall, it definitely looked like a different building. The mall looked very much like a city, with each large block being carelessly added on the side of another, with large bridges and even railways circling around. The surrounding area was dotted with fake plants and grass, controlled entirely by brick outlines. The sheer cost to run this thing, the sheer absurdity, Aerith thought it was outrageous. The brightly lit title summarized it all perfectly, The Mega Super Extreme Awesome Duper Million Tra- Tra- Tra Trillion Bunch of Billion Mall. The ‘Tra-Tra-Tra’ being lit up one after the other individually.

“This is what money gets you then…” Aerith muttered, “The resources used for this thing could be used to do...anything else, but instead they build this”. Stephanie laughed, and nodded her head.

“This place has priorities over the whole county electricity wise. This place’ll cause a blackout 3 times a day with no consequence...You’d be an idiot to set up shop or even live within miles of this place…”

Aerith grimaced at the building. Quickly, she rushed into the entrance, making sure Stephanie was following behind her.