[ComicGuy89]

Chapter 3: Garde Espresso

“WHAT?!”

Curious eyes, wondering where the noise had come from, darted around before locking on to Nadia and Rose. Rose went scarlet and tried to shift her long, auburn hair to conceal as much of her face as she could. Nadia, however, did not even register the stares.

“Nadia, maybe we should keep our voices down …” began Rose, still blushing furiously.

“But Rose, you mean to tell me you’ve been here three weeks and haven’t tried Tran Cafe’s famous wraps?” asked Nadia incredulously. “Or their terrific cappuccinos?”

“Umm, no ... but if you say they’re good then -”

“Excellent! We’re going there now!”

Grabbing Rose’s wrist, Nadia sped off in the direction of Tran Cafe. Rose could only afford to keep up, doing her best to hold on to her hat and to avoid eye contact with anyone else. Left, right, left again they went, dodging disapproving pedestrians and once nearly knocking over a waitress' bowl of soup.

They must have passed rows of cafes and shops (Rose seemed too preoccupied to keep track) when Nadia came to a sudden halt, causing Rose to trip. She would have crashed onto the ground if Nadia did not reach out and grab her.

“Woops, sorry, I guess I got overexcited,” said Nadia, as Rose panted heavily to catch her breath. “But drat, would you just look at this, we’re too late!”

A long line had already formed outside the cafe. Nadia tapped her feet impatiently, looking at the time on her mobile phone.

“This isn’t fun,” said Nadia. “So we can make it fun! Let’s chat!”

“Err ... we could go back to Rendezvous Cafe, that’s usually pretty manageable at this time of -”

“And see Sally’s face? No way! I work there enough, don’t want to go there on my off-days, do I? Come on, we can wait!”

“No, I understand, really, but I'm really fine with Rendezvous and this line doesn’t look like -”

But Nadia was not listening. “So like I was saying earlier, the wraps in here are simply the best! We’ll each get ...”

As Nadia continued talking, Rose flushed red once more, but this time it was not out of embarrassment.

“Nadia,” said Rose quietly but sternly. It was a new tone, one that Nadia had never heard before, nor had ever expected to hear.

“Nadia,” repeated Rose, voice grave. “Please give me a chance to speak. I would really appreciate it if you didn’t always interrupt me.”

The cold and restrained fury in Rose’s voice left Nadia nonplussed and quiet. She knew she had gone too far. All the while Rose had been so accommodating, so patient and so quiet. Some kind of friend she was.

"I'm sorry, I -"

“It just seems that you haven’t been listening to a word I’ve been saying,” Rose went on. “You’ve been making all the decisions, overriding any of my suggestions. Do you even care what I have to say?”

This was it, thought Nadia. No more jokes, no more weaseling out. Just straight up honesty. She took a deep breath and looked straight at Rose.

“Rose, I’m sorry,” she said. “I realize I’ve taken you for granted, and I’ve not been fair to you. Will you please," she bowed her head, "forgive me?”

Looking up, she saw that Rose’s expression softened almost immediately. Despite a few lingering doubts, Nadia was sure that the shade of pink on Rose’s cheeks was no longer anger but bashfulness.

“N-No Nadia, you needn't apologize at all,” said Rose.

Nadia paused for a moment, in case Rose wanted to add more, before saying, “No, I do need to apologize. Rose, you mustn’t let me walk over you. I want to be your friend, and your equal. I want to treat you well. And for this to happen, I must treat you like how I would like to be treated.”

Hearing these words left Rose completely stunned. Unsure of what to say, she started choking as tears began forming in her eyes.

“Now come, would you like to go to Rendezvous?” asked Nadia politely. “You were right, it was foolish to queue up here.”

Fighting back tears, Rose nodded. Leaving Tran Cafe, the two of them walked to Rendezvous, side by side but saying nothing. It was actually not that far a walk, just three blocks down, but it seemed to take hours. Taking quick glances at Rose, Nadia could not make out whether she was angry, sad, or anxious; she seemed to be in great pain, biting her lip and dabbing her red eyes with her handkerchief. The feelings of guilt burned and clawed at Nadia’s insides and she tried to subtly quicken her pace.

It was to her great relief when they finally entered the door to Rendezvous. As they were taking their seats, Rose told Nadia that she’d have whatever she was having, but with tea instead of coffee.

“Hey, welcome, welcome!” greeted Sally in a sing-song voice at the counter. “Here to return some of the money I’ve paid you? You know we don’t do employee discounts.”

Nadia was not in the mood. “Hmm. Can we get two spaghettis, one latte and one earl grey, please?”

“What’s the matter with you today?” asked Sally, astonished. “Something’s wrong, isn’t it? You always have something to answer back.”

“No, nothing to worry about at all.”

“I know that face,” said Sally. “Come on, you can tell ol’ Sally! You can trust me.”

Nadia had to suppress a snort. Trust Sally? She’d trust her as much as she’d trust Mittens to guard her tuna. It was definitely none of Sally’s business.

“Hey, where’s Sharon?” asked Nadia, desperate to change the subject. “Isn’t she working this afternoon?”

“Oh, I sent her home,” replied Sally. “Funny you should ask, today she was absolutely terrible."

Nadia was surprised. "Terrible? What do you mean?"

"Getting the wrong orders, being slow with the dishes, messing up the coffee. She even dropped a large bowl of pumpkin soup, you know how much we charge for those! I would have fired her, but she’s done well so far so I set her to clean up and then sent her straight home.” Smirking, she added, “Saves me having to pay her for the rest of the shift too.”

This was troubling. Sharon’s been out of it for a while now.

“She wasn’t herself yesterday either," said Nadia. "Maybe I’ll give her a call later.”

At any rate, Sally was clearly distracted so Nadia finished up the order and paid. Leaving Sally mid-way in a rant about the goods and service tax, she went back to her seat. Now was the matter of Rose, who was staring at her knees. Her eyes were not as red as they were previously, but her face was as unreadable as ever.

Luckily, it was Rose who piped up first. “Listen, Nadia. I really don’t want this to be awkward. I’m sorry I said all the things I did.”

“No it’s me that has to apologize -”

“Let’s ... let’s just drop it,” said Rose, smiling shyly. “You’ve apologized already, and if you forgive me then we’re good.”

“I really don’t know what I can forgive if you’ve done nothing wrong,” said Nadia. “But if you insist, then I’ll say there will be ... umm ... how can I phrase this?" She twirled her hair. "Ah yes! There’ll be no ill feelings on my part.”

The red in Rose’s face dissipated and she managed a small grin. “Thank you! Now, don’t think I don’t remember why you wanted this lunch. What did you want to talk about?”

The events of the past hour were so hectic and charged that Nadia had totally forgotten that she had wanted to get advice about being a Garde.

“I’ll just get straight to the point. If you could be a superhero and save people, would you?”

Her remarkably forthcoming words surprised even herself. However, even more startling was Rose, who was beaming in excitement.

“Of course I’d do it!” exclaimed Rose. “I mean if I could, I would give up everything. Well, almost everything. It would be a dream come true!”

“That’s assuming superheroes even … err … exist right?” said Nadia in what she hoped was a joking, casual tone. “But why, why would you want to? What about the responsibility, the dangers?”

Rose, who was now positively radiating joy, seemed to not be bothered.

“Yes, but think about what you’re doing! So much good, it strongly exonerates the bad you might do! Not saying you do anything bad, of course -”

“Exonerates?”

“That means you make up for the bad you do, kind of like, get forgiven for it. It’s like balancing out the bad with tons of good! Isn’t that awesome?”

“Wow, I never thought of that before,” said Nadia slowly. It was definitely an interesting perspective, and one that she hadn’t considered. She was beginning to feel good about the prospect of being a Garde.

“I love superheroes!” continued Rose. “Modern mythology is what I always said they were! The Greeks have their epic heroes to inspire them, we have our superheroes. I used to enjoy reading comic books back in the day, pouring over every little detail, imagining myself having all these awesome powers -”

“What, did you stop reading?” asked Nadia, chuckling. It amused her to see Rose so energetic and excited, so different from her reserved self.

“Oh, no, I still try, it’s just not that cheap nowadays is it? I mean, I can’t afford to study and still buy them. I try to go to the library, they’ve got free issues there - say, isn’t that a curious cat?”

Nadia whipped around to look at where Rose was pointing. To her dismay, she saw Mittens leaning against the glass door.

“A carry bag, too, that’s so adorable,” said Rose. “And it looks like it’s pleading! Do you suppose it’s some performance cat, like they use in circuses?”

“Wait here,” said Nadia, getting up and walking over to the door. Mittens was now tapping the glass frantically.

“What do you want?” she hissed at Mittens as soon as she had closed the glass door behind her. “I thought you didn’t want to blow your cover, maybe try not to show up with that messenger bag around?”

“Do you think I enjoy scouring the town for your mug?” growled Mittens. “Look, I know I said I’d give you a day, but we’ve got a bit of an emergency. No time for details, so I’ll be quick. I haven’t told you this, but the Nihil can possess humans who have fallen to despair, and I think one is happening now!”

“One what? What do you mean possess? Where?”

“Just in an alleyway not far from here. I said we don’t have time to explain the details. I sensed the Nihil, his power is enormous! If you don’t want to do this, be quick about it because I need to find someone, like, right NOW!”

Nadia gulped. She had to make a decision now? “Look, I’ll just follow you now and we’ll see what’s up, okay?”

“Whatever, let’s go!”

“Hold on a second!”

Nadia peeked into the cafe and called out to Rose, “Hey, Rose, uhh … emergency! I’ll be back later, real sorry!”

“Were you talking to that cat?” asked Rose in disbelief. “Hold on, if it’s an emergency I’m coming with you!”

“No, you stay put, it’s dangerous!”

“Dangerous? All the more reason for me to come along, Nadia Chen! Wouldn’t want my friend getting hurt. Don’t worry, I can take care of myself!”

“We don’t have enough time!” whispered Mittens urgently. “Just let her tag along!”

There was no choice. Rose was out the door in a flash and started running to keep up with Nadia and Mittens, who had already taken off.

“Are we following this cat?” asked Rose when she was side by side with Nadia.

Nadia gave an nervous chortle. “Goodness Rose, that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve -”

“Cut the chatter!” shouted Mittens, looking behind as his four paws propelled him forward. “Yes, I’m talking,” he added, seeing Rose’s stunned face. “I’m not a cat but we’re in a bit of a rush so I guess you can just assume I’m one for now.”

Rose now seemed to be on autopilot: running, but, if her blank face was any indication, hardly registering what was going on around her. Nadia thought it looked terribly cute. She gave her an apologetic smile and a pat on her shoulder.

“I promise we can do explanations later,” she said. “And I suppose I better tell you everything then, too.”

*

It had been barely a few blocks when Mittens made a sharp turn left into an alley. He then came to an abrupt stop.

“Just up ahead, but be cautious,” he whispered to them. “I can sense his overwhelming energy. Do you have a plan, Nadia?”

Squinting into the alleyway, Nadia shook her head. “Where are they anyway?”

“The power’s origin seems to be just round that corner back there,” said Mittens. “But seriously, you need a plan! This is no ordinary Nihil!”

Nadia felt a hand on her shoulder. “He’s right, you need to be prepared,” said Rose. “Are you sure you know what to do?”

“Not at all!” said Nadia, looking back and grinning widely. “I’ll just make it up as I go along!”

Before either Mittens or Rose could protest, she took off into the alley, calling back, “You guys stay there!”

“So much for a surprise attack,” said Mittens, slapping his forehead. “Come, we better go after her.”

Turning round the corner, however, Nadia wished she had paused to think this through, for a horrible sight unfolded before her.

“Sharon!” she gasped.

There on her knees was Sharon, skin drained of colour, body arched backwards and mouth gaping wide open. Her eyes were solid, jet black, as if her pupils had exploded and enveloped them entirely. Something was clearly causing her intense agony, but she seemed unable to scream.

Standing over her was a man, dressed in a dapper, cream silk suit, holding a cane and wearing the same void and empty eyes as Sharon.

“Interruptions,” he murmured. His dark eyes stared straight into Nadia’s and she felt a great shiver, as if any warmth within her had been forcibly extinguished. For a few moments he peered, before turning back to Sharon, waving dismissively at Nadia. “You are of no use to me.”

There was a shrill cry. Rose had caught up to Nadia and was now grasping her face in terror.

The man jerked his head to look at Rose just as he did to Nadia. Unlike with Nadia, he smiled.

“You, on the other hand, you have amazing potential,” he said slowly, pointing his cane at Rose. “I can sense it, overflowing! Pity I can’t work on both of you today, but I’m not going to let you go just yet.

He lowered his cane and returned his attention to Sharon. Holding out his hand towards her, he said lazily, “Now, Sharon, give in to despair.”

Raising her head, with tears now streaming from her vacant eyes, she stretched out her arm and met his hand with hers.

Nadia could barely register what happened next. A dark aura grew from the joined hands and wrapped Sharon like an enormous, opaque cloak. Shrieking in agony, she tore her hand from the man’s as she writhed and struggled to break free of the evil energy. In seconds, it engulfed her completely. When it finally scattered, it revealed an unrecognizable, inhuman Sharon. Sporting razor-sharp claws for feet, gigantic wings for arms and bronze-green feathers that engulfed most of her body, Sharon had transformed into a monster.

Her face remained the same, beautiful and serene as Sharon. All except the eyes. The same blood red eyes as the hellbeast Nadia had fought earlier.

“Sharon!” cried Nadia, reaching out to her transformed friend. What was she to do?

“Not bad, not bad at all,” said the man, circling Sharon, examining her. “Certainly more successful than I had anticipated. Flight will certainly be useful. Leave behind your old name, Sharon, you have use of it no longer. I shall call you … Siren.”

Siren got on all fours and prostrated herself in submission before the man. This display, even more than anything she had seen, made Nadia feel sick to the core.

“Enough!” she shouted. “Let Sharon go!”

“Quiet, girl!” said the man, flicking his hand carelessly in her direction.

An unseen force lifted Nadia off her feet and slammed her into the wall. Rose started towards Nadia, but Siren, wings flapping, blocked her path. She raised her claws, ready to attack.

“Siren, stop!” commanded the man. “We need that girl. Take her.”

“Rose, no!” screamed Nadia as Siren took hold of Rose. With her prey grasped in her claws, she hovered over obediently to the man.

“Ah, so your name is Rose” said the man. He gazed amusedly at Rose, who was kicking and fighting as hard as she could to loosen Siren’s grip on her arm. “Pleasure to meet you, Rose. I hope we’ll be delightful acquaintances.

“As for you,” he added, turning his gaze to Nadia. “Don’t worry, I have no intention of killing you. I need you to spread my name. Know that I am John Smith, and you will soon cower in fear of that name.”

“John Smith?” spat Nadia, getting up. “What sort of name is that?”

“Oh, you may laugh now, girl, but laugh while you can. There won’t be much laughter when my world, my vision, comes to pass.”

Using his powers, he grabbed hold of Nadia again and threw her in the direction of a few trash cans. Fighting to pick herself up and bring back focus to her eyes, Nadia heard him say “Come, Siren!” followed by a flapping of wings. When her vision finally returned, John Smith was gone.

Mittens came running. “Nadia, Nadia, get up! Are you alright?”

Nadia groaned, head throbbing with thoughts and questions. This was too much. How was she expected to fight power of that magnitude?

But then she saw Rose’s hat on the ground, dusty and torn and cast her fears aside. Only one thing mattered now; no more dallying, her friend was in danger. It was, at last, time.

“Mittens, how do I change?”

Mittens’ eyes seemed to glow. “Finally! You need a transformation device! Just imagine one like you did your weapon.”

“Something coffee then,” mumbled Nadia, wracking her brain. “Coffee, coffee, what makes coffee?”

The thought came in a flash. Perfect.

In her open palm, a ball of light formed which gradually stretched and pulled to form a portafilter. A mahogany handle just like on her spoon, but gilded with gold. It supported a brass basket.

“What’s that?” asked Mittens.

“It’s a portafilter, you make espresso with it,” answered Nadia. “Now what?”

“You need a Coeurgarde name. Garde and something, like Garde Lightning or Garde Fire …”

There was no need to think about this one. Nadia knew exactly what her name would be.

“Here comes … GARDE ESPRESSO!”

Lifting her portafilter up, she saw that it was glowing, glimmering in the sunlight. A rich, brown espresso began forming from the basket. As if guided by instinct, she spun on the spot, pulling the espresso into a long spiral around her. This too, started to radiate light, shining so bright that it threatened to blind her. Then there was the same warm sensation she had felt when she first became a Garde.

It was but a few moments before the light was gone and she was in the same loud barista outfit she had yesterday. Strength in arms, check. Cufflinks, check. Funny hat, check. Wait, something was missing.

The Giant Spoon of Doom formed in her hand. Check!

“That’s more like it,” she smirked, picking up Mittens in her other hand. “Now come, Mittens, we must save Rose. Garde Espresso is ready to express some justice!”

Mittens looked up.

“What.”

*

Using Mittens’ mysterious Nihil-tracking abilities, it wasn’t long before they found John Smith and Siren.

“Right in Beacon Square … this maniac’s not hiding at all!” said Nadia, observing the assembly that had already formed.

In the air was John Smith, suspending Rose beside him. Siren fluttered silently beside him, expressionless.

“People of Beacon Port,” said John, voice calm, yet amplified throughout the square. “My name is John Smith. Yes, I would not blame you for being unimpressed now, but you will soon know to fear my name. It will be a name of authority to which you will all bow.”

Rose was struggling to break free of her invisible bonds. Nadia hid behind a tree and tried to formulate a plan of attack. It was too dangerous to just jump in; her recklessness cost her her friend the last time.

“I suspect many of you know, as I do, that the natural state of humanity is despair,” drawled John Smith. “We fool ourselves by thinking that there is anything better in life, as if by mere idealistic wishing, we could somehow be free from our wretched existence. But you are wrong, all of you!”

With that he gestured to a nearby car and it flipped over. It came crashing, alarms blaring loudly, creating a dissonant noise in chorus with the now screaming and frenzied crowd.

“SILENCE!” John’s voice boomed. The people went quiet almost immediately, too afraid to breathe.

“You are not only wrong, you know it in your hearts. And that is the worst part of this charade! You fight it and pretend everything will be alright. But, no matter I was wrong once, too. I now know that there is power in despair. Freedom! When we stop forcing ourselves to deny our natural state, we are free to unlock our potential! This girl here -” John bowed to Rose. “- will show you the power granted to you if only you embrace the inevitability of your hopelessness.”

“My dear Rose,” he extended his arm to Rose, ”give in to despair.”

The crowd watched, shocked, as Rose twitched and convulsed in mid-air. Her eyes alternated between the jet black void and a milky white and she screamed in pain.

But Nadia saw her fists clench tight. She was fighting back!

“Why won’t you just give in?” demanded John. Teeth gritted, he fought to maintain his grip.

Rose gave a loud shout and with a burst of energy, broke free from her unseen bonds and sent John flying into the square fountain. Siren and Nadia took off in a dash; Siren right after her master, and Nadia towards Rose, hoping to catch her friend before she hit the ground. But before she could reach, a man jumped out and caught Rose.

Will Keegan had saved Rose’s life.

Seeing John incapacitated, everyone else took the opportunity to start running for their lives. Amidst the chaotic din of screams and panic, Nadia raced over to Will, who was laying Rose down on the grass.

“Phew, thanks Will!” blurted out Nadia.

“Sorry, do I know you?” asked Will Keegan, eyeing Nadia curiously.

Woops.

“Nevermind that,” said Nadia hastily. “How is she?”

“Seems alright, but unconscious.”

“ARRGH!”

They both looked to see John, soaking wet and livid with rage as Siren helped lift him out from the fountain.

“I’M NOT DONE WITH YOU GIRL!”

“Yes, you are,” said Nadia, stepping boldly in front of Will and Rose.

“Out of the way!” yelled John, advancing towards them. He swung his arm in front of him. Nadia, expecting a telekinetic blast, braced her feet. Nothing came. So, she was immune to his powers in Garde form. Now for some fun.

“Why?” demanded John. “Why can’t I affect you?”

“Hey! I haven’t given my introduction yet!” said Nadia indignantly. “If you’re not going to ask, I’m Garde Espresso! And you will pay for your -”

“Garde?” John paused, pondering. “That’s right, the Herald mentioned I’d be seeing you soon enough. This changes things.”

“You didn’t let me finish my -”

“Siren,” said John, snapping his fingers.

Nadia felt her stomach lurch as she was tackled by the Siren, who pummeled her into the air. Again.

No, it was better this time. With her enhanced strength, Nadia managed to land on her feet, staggering slightly but still standing.

“Dispose of this … Garde,” John commanded. “I am afraid I shall have to leave you, Garde. Your friend is a lovely specimen, but I’ll need more time to work on her.”

Before Nadia could say anything, John leapt back and disappeared round the corner. There was no time to give chase, as Siren was already in mid-air, seconds from slashing her face with razor-sharp claws.

Nadia dived aside, but was not fast enough. She gasped in pain as sharp cuts formed across her face.

“Ouch!” she cried. “Sharon, stop it!”

Siren-Sharon hissed and bared her teeth. She then inhaled and did a most curious thing: she began to sing. It was pleasing to listen to, yet immensely sad and full of agony. Nadia was mesmerised, losing all energy, unwilling to continue the battle.

Sensing opportunity, Siren slashed across Nadia’s face, swinging her around and sending her crashing into the ground. Nadia wheezed the air out of her lungs and grasped her bleeding cheeks.

“S-Sharon, please …”

Siren’s wing met Nadia’s chin. She flew upwards a few feet before plummeting to the ground again. Eyesight blurred, eardrums ringing now. Not good.

“Girl, what are you doing?” Mittens screamed. “Attack, that beast isn’t Sharon anymore!”

Her vision was returning now. Siren was on the ground, crouching and wings drawn in, studying her. Nadia struggled to her feet, holding on to her spoon for support. She looked straight at Siren, who opened her mouth to sing again.

As the tragic tones reached Nadia’s ears, she felt weak again. But she had to fight it.

With all the effort she could muster, Nadia cried out, “Sharon! I know you’re in there!”

Siren paused for a moment, confused.

“Sharon, you have to fight it! I know you can!”

At these words, Siren fell to her knees, clutching her head in pain. Nadia turned to Mittens, who was shaking his head from the dizzying effects of Siren’s song.

“See, she’s still in there, Mittens!” she shouted. “I can’t hurt Sharon! I can’t hurt my friend!”

“Ugh,” moaned Mittens, clutching his forehead, trying to concentrate. “Yes, you can! I mean, it’s not that you’re hurting her,” he quickly added, seeing Nadia’s raised brow. “You’re just destroying her Nihil body. It’s like destroying a shell!”

Siren was now back on her feet, growling and stretching her wings out. Nadia gripped her spoon tightly. Should she do it?

“Are you sure?”

“Just trust me! Do you know better than me?”

He was right, she didn’t.

Siren took flight again, claws raised. She dived at Nadia’s head, but Nadia ducked and this time punched and landed an uppercut on Siren’s abdomen. Siren howled and fell to the ground. Before she could get up, Nadia stamped her feet on her wing and pinned her to the ground.

“Wow, I’m a bit violent,” said Nadia, staring at Siren, who was wailing in pain. “Too violent. Hey Mittens, I can do that glowy thingy, right?”

“Do it!”

Taking her spoon, she drew that same triangle in the air that she drew previously. She lifted her spoon above her head. Siren was still pulling to get her wing free.

“Come on, Garde Espresso! Do it now!”

Face contorted in hatred, Siren bared her teeth at Nadia. Sharon’s beautiful face, deformed with such rage …

“I really need a more elegant way of doing this,” gulped Nadia.

Down went her spoon. She swung again and again. Siren shrieked each time the spoon made contact. She started to glow red.

“I’m sorry, Sharon!” she shouted and jabbed the spoon hard into Siren’s chest.

Jumping away, Nadia saw Siren shine a bright red and explode. As she landed, she saw Mittens scampering over.

Nadia felt horrid; she had inflicted such violence on her friend. “M-Mittens, I’m a monster! I don’t know what got over me, I fought like a madman!”

“Hush!” commanded Mittens impatiently. “Look!”

The wind picked up and the smoke cleared, revealing Sharon lying on the ground, tattered and unconscious, but otherwise unharmed.

“Didn’t trust me now, did you girl?” smirked Mittens. “I told you she’ll be fine. A Garde’s weapon harms only Nihil. At least in its powered state.”

“You try having to hack your friend to pieces! So … I now have the license to smack possessed Nihil as much as I want. Poor Sharon though. We’ll need to arrange for an ambulance.”

As she lifted Sharon up with both arms, she heard a voice.

“It’s Garde Espresso, isn’t it?” asked Will Keegan, walking into view. Mittens quickly slinked out of sight.

“Uh, yeah, that’s me.”

“That was some impressive fighting.”

“Come on now, it was awesome, wasn’t it?” said Nadia, winking and grinning.

Will cleared his throat.

“The girl, the one earlier, she says her name is Rose,” he said. “She wants to meet you.”

Rose was lying by a tree. Her face was pale and worn out, but her eyes were glowing in admiration. Nadia set down Sharon beside her.

“Garde Espresso …” said Rose slowly. “I heard you rescued me. I saw you fight, it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen.”

“It’s Will here who saved you,” said Nadia, waving her hands. “Don’t thank me, thank him.”

“She already did,” said Will. “And that reminds me, how do you know my name?”

Not again, Nadia thought.

“Uhh …”

“Well, before I lose my chance, I just want to say thank you,” interrupted Rose, starry-eyed. “For everything. You’re … you’re the coolest! So brave! I wish I was like you.”

Nadia was taken aback, though she did not understand why. Something about Rose’s words touched her. She smiled affectionately at her.

“Thank you.” said Nadia. “You were pretty brave too, Rose! You stood up to that jerk even when he tried to brainwash you!”

“Wait, how do you know my name?”

Nadia blinked.

“Have to go now, be safe!”