Friday, August 29th, 2042, Home of the Porter Family, Maywood Park, Oregon.

The living room fell into awkward silence after Kaelyn's surprise question. Not wanting to appear too nosy, Lucia made herself scarce and slipped into the dining room. There, Eduardo and the man named Brent—Megan's father, presumably—were discussing something in hushed tones. Lucia listened only halfway through their conversation before losing interest.

Suddenly, she heard the sharp clatter of metal against the kitchen tile, followed by a muted yelp and a short, startled hiss. Her heart leapt as she rushed to the kitchen. She found her mother, Sarah, standing by the island, frozen in place, one hand cupped around her other palm. A bloodied paring knife lay on the floor, just out of reach. Blood trickled down her wrist, splashing against the cutting board.

"Mamá—" Lucia rushed forward. "What happened?"

She must've overheard Kaelyn and Megan talking…

"I'm fine," her mother muttered between gritted teeth, face was pale, lips tight. "Just distracted. I wasn't paying attention."

She did not, actually, look fine.

Lucia grabbed a clean dishtowel, ran some water off the faucet, and gently reached for her mother's hand. "Let me see?"

Sarah winced as Lucia pressed the cloth to the wound. Maybe not bad enough for the ER, but deep—deep enough that it probably needed stitches. Lucia's jaw clenched. Her mother's hands were usually so steady in the kitchen. The depth of her anxiety was obvious; she must be deeply worried about whatever was happening to Ryan.

She probably hasn't even come to terms with having a second daughter yet…

Lucia exhaled. "Damnit, Kaelyn…"

Sarah grimaced. From behind, Lucia heard footsteps, and turned her head, blinking. Kaelyn and Megan rushed to the kitchen, worry clear on their faces.

"Oh—" Kaelyn took a tentative step and bit her lip. She looked down at the cutting board, then raised her gaze, fixing Sarah in the eyes. "That's a lot of blood, Mrs Porter—"

Lucia squinted her eyes.

She doesn't see Mamá as her mom...

"Can I take a look?" she asked, taking another step, reaching out with both hands, palms up.

Lucia and Sarah exchanged a glance. Lucia nodded, and Sarah echoed the motion, hesitantly.

Kaelyn stepped forward. Lucia shifted to the side, moving out of her way. She slowly peeled the blood-soaked towel away.

"What are you—" Megan asked, following behind. "Oh, eesh…" She frowned at the wound.

Kaelyn kept approaching, undeterred. She gently grasped Sarah's hands with her left and delicately traced the length of the cut with her right index.

Lucia glanced at Kaelyn's face, serene and serious. And when she looked back down… the cut was gone.

Gone.

Sarah stared at her hand. The wound had vanished. Smooth skin. No trace.

Everyone stared at her hand.

Kaelyn exhaled slowly, her fingers still resting lightly against Sarah's hand. "There, all better. No scar!"

Suddenly, she wobbled backwards, putting one hand on the island and taking a step to balance herself. Megan gently secured her upright, hands on her upper arms. "Hey, hey… You okay?"

"What…?" she slurred. "Did I go OOM already...?"

Lucia frowned for a moment, trying to understand. Suddenly, she caught on. "Out of Mana—" Her breath caught in her throat. "Kaelyn, did you just use magic or something?"

Megan laughed nervously. "No way, there's no such thing…"

Lucia raised an eyebrow and pointed at the catgirl held in Megan's own hands. "Tell that to your boyfriend over there?"

"Okay. Yeah, I get your point, Lu." Megan titled her head, trying to look at Kaelyn's face. "Babe? Do you need anything?"

The latter was stuck with a thousand-yard stare. A few seconds ticked by before she blinked slowly, the weight of the words slowly settling in her mind. "Sorry? Oh, I… can I sit down…? A water, maybe?"

"C'mere." Megan slowly led Kaelyn to the kitchen stools, while Lucia hurried to fill her a glass of ice-cold water.

She turned the faucet off, walked around her still-stunned mother, and handed the glass to Megan. "Mamá? How are you doing?" Lucia asked as she refocused on Sarah.

Her mother blinked. She had been staring at her wound—or at least, where it had been—in disbelief. She slowly bent down to pick up the bloodied knife and seemed incapable of reconciling the two truths. On one hand, she clearly held the blood-soaked blade, the most obvious reminder of the events that had just transpired. But then she gazed at her other hand—bloodied, yes. But no longer bleeding. No visible cuts, no signs of stitches.

Lucia delicately took the knife out of her mother's hands. With the other, she tugged at her mother's elbow, guiding her to the kitchen sink. She let the warm water run for a few seconds. Seeing how her mother was still in shock, Lucia plopped the knife out of reach, then gently helped her mother wash her hands, guiding her to the soap. "Maybe just sit down for a bit? Let me handle finishing lunch?"

Still half in a daze, Sarah nodded. "Gracias, mija," she whispered, still visibly overwhelmed. "It tickles," she said, examining her mostly cleaned hand from every direction.

Lucia quickly glanced at her sibling. Kaelyn had her elbows on the island now, head bowed slightly as she sipped the water Megan offered her. Her hands trembled—just faintly, just enough for Lucia to notice. Megan stayed close, one hand braced lightly on Kaelyn's back, grounding her.

Lucia dried her own hands and returned to her mother's side, leading Sarah to the dining room. Eduardo, who was standing still in the hallway, stepped out of their way. Had he seen everything, including Kaelyn's miracle?

Sarah kept checking her palm, as if she expected the wound to open back at any moment. Her lips moved, silent words to herself. Lucia placed a steadying hand on her shoulder, headed back into the kitchen, and turned her attention back toward the island.

Kaelyn looked paler than usual. Her ears pinned halfway back, tail low, the tip twitching erratically. Lucia wondered which of the two was in charge now? Was it back to Ryan, or still Kaelyn? At this moment, it seemed to be a combination of both, rather than distinctly one or the other.

"That took a lot out of you, huh?" Lucia asked gently, crossing the kitchen.

Kaelyn managed a weak nod. "Yeah. Like… way more than it should have." Her voice was breathy, distracted. "I didn't expect anything to happen, honestly."

Lucia pulled the stool across from her and sat. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the counter. "Was it one of your spells? You play a healer, right?"

Kaelyn gave a tiny shrug. "No, not exactly a spell. This felt different. I just had a feeling I could do something like it."

Lucia tilted her head. "You wanna explain?"

Kaelyn glanced at Megan. The two exchanged a quiet look—one Lucia could not quite decode. Then Kaelyn looked back down at her hands. "I don't think it's magic," she said finally. "You know. Whatever's changing me? I think it's tech. It all started with the game, right? It could be nanotech, don't you think? Millions of tiny bots fixing me, reshaping me. Maintaining me."

"I mean, that sounds just as unbelievable as magic, if you ask me," Lucia said, shrugging. "Clarke's third law; 'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic', after all."

"Humour me," Kaelyn said. "I didn't chant anything, did not call on light magic to heal. What if, instead, I just transferred some nanobots when I touched her?"

Lucia's brows rose. "You think that's what happened? You gifted some nanobots to Mamá?"

Kaelyn nodded slowly, as if still working through it herself. "I didn't know... It just happened? I focused on the wound, wondering if I could heal it like I would in-game. And something in me took over?"

Lucia sat back slightly, gears turning behind her eyes.

She had to consider the profound ramifications of nano machines with the ability to heal injuries and physically alter their hosts' bodies, transforming them into youthful, healthy individuals from fictional races. It was just so much to swallow all at once.

Megan glanced at Kaelyn's profile. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Kaelyn's tail twitched again, a sharp little jerk. "I probably should eat something," she murmured. "Something more filling than sweet cereals. If I gave up on a bunch of them, the remaining bots may want to multiply to rebuild their stock..."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Lucia stared at her. Not just at the tired expression or the posture or the faint glisten of sweat at her temples—but at the implications.

Kaelyn could heal people. At a cost, but still.

Lucia turned slowly, gaze drifting toward her mother, who still sat quietly at the table, her eyes fixed on her hand like she had seen a ghost. "Oh, shit… Do you think these things will change Mamá too?"

Would the nanobots realise they were now in a different body? Surely they could tell the DNA differed, and that they got transferred over. But would they simply start adjusting their mother's body to the blueprint they were loaded with?

Kaelyn frowned at the idea. "I don't think so? I sure hope not! We touched only for a few seconds…"

Lucia felt her heart cave in her chest, but she tried to reason with her worry. There was nothing she could do right now about it either way.

If simply contact was enough to spread, however… would her mother wake up years younger tomorrow? Would she?

She focused back on Kaelyn. This was not just a game bleeding into real life. Her abilities—Ryan's abilities—had carried over, somehow.

Her mind jumped to other classes. What other powers could transformed players manifest in the real world? A faint chill ran down her spine, tempered with a small ray of hope.

"Hey, Kaelyn?" she asked, voice careful.

Kaelyn glanced up. "Hm?"

Lucia slowly licked her lips, hesitant. "That game of yours—it lets you change class, right?"

Kaelyn nodded. "Yeah?"

Lucia pulled out her phone, heart pounding. She opened the wiki and started scrolling, looking through the class selection. She found the one she had been looking for and followed the link to the sub-page. "Ah! I knew it!" she exclaimed.

The catgirl tilted her head, still apparently struggling to focus. "What?"

Lucia swiped the webpage and zoomed in on the important part. "Shifter. An adaptive class that lets players reshape their physical form to match the needs of the current situation."

She flipped the phone, showing it to Kaelyn.

Kaelyn squinted. "Okay? A versatile class?"

Lucia pocketed the phone and then grabbed both of Kaelyn's hands. "What if you switch your class to that one? Do you think you'd be able to use its power out here to change form? So neither Kaelyn nor Ryan would have to be so uncomfortable?"

Kaelyn blinked, still overwhelmed by both the physical toll. But Lucia could tell she understood what this implied. "You're serious?"

Lucia squeezed her hands. "Think about it," she said, low and urgent. "That healing thing just now? It was real. So maybe that class—the shifter—maybe it could let you… shift."

Kaelyn's eyes darted away. "You mean, shape-shift?"

Lucia nodded. "In-game, sure. But if this," she gestured vaguely at Kaelyn's whole body, "is following game logic now? Maybe it would let you change. Back and forth. Between you and Ryan. Or maybe even something in-between."

Kaelyn stared down at the counter. Her fingers twitched in Lucia's grasp.

"I mean," Lucia added, softer now, "if you're both stuck sharing the wheel, maybe this could be a way to adjust the driver's seat when you switch drivers too."

Kaelyn let out a shaky exhale. "That's… I don't know if that's how it works."

Lucia paused, her voice gentler now. "What if your class doesn't just define your role in the game? What if it's your role out here, too? It might be worth a try, right?" Lucia asked. "What level are you?"

Kaelyn hesitated. "Eighteen after yesterday's dungeon runs."

Lucia frowned. "Level thirty is when the next tier of classes unlocks. Got a lot of work ahead of you..."

Megan frowned, still standing protectively close. "Lu, don't get her hopes up. This isn't some cheat code."

"I know," Lucia said, glancing over. "But this isn't just about in-game mechanics anymore. Look around. She healed someone. This might be real. And if it is… if there's even a chance—" her voice caught, just a little, "—that she could learn how to change safely, intentionally? Then it's worth chasing, I think."

Kaelyn was quiet. Her tail had gone still. Her ears twitched slightly, low and uncertain. Finally, she whispered, "You think… if I hit level thirty, I could stop feeling like I'm trapped in the wrong skin?"

Lucia nodded, expression serious now. "Maybe? Maybe you'd have the power to choose."

That word hung in the air—choose—like a beacon.

Kaelyn blinked rapidly, clearly holding back tears. "No one's ever given me a choice," she whispered. "Not really."

Lucia reached up and tucked some hair behind Kaelyn's ear. "Then it's time you got one." She smiled, but her eyes were sharp. Determined. "First, though," she said, standing, "you're eating something. Something with protein. If you're gonna go full anime shapeshifter on us, you're not doing it on an empty stomach."

Kaelyn let out a weak laugh. Megan chuckled.

"Guess I'll take that as a yes," Lucia grinned, already heading for the fridge.

Lucia pulled the door open and scanned the shelves. Whatever Mamá had been prepping had smelled like garlic and citrus—maybe chicken for tacos, or arroz con pollo? Her eyes landed on a covered glass bowl filled with marinating thighs, red onion slices floating in a golden orange brine. Yep. Chicken.

She glanced at the cutting board. Bloodstained but still usable after a good wash. A small pile of halved limes sat beside a bowl of chopped cilantro, and the rice cooker was already humming quietly on the counter, steam rising from its spout.

Lucia rolled up her sleeves. "Alright. Time to pretend I know what I'm doing," she said—then smirked. "Except I actually do."

She grabbed the cutting board, rinsed it, then moved to the sink and washed her hands for a full twenty seconds, scrubbing the dried blood from under her nails. The metallic scent clung to her skin, oddly mingling with garlic and lime.

Behind her, she could hear Megan murmuring softly to Kaelyn, something low and comforting. A stool creaked. A glass clicked faintly against the counter. For once, the background noise made her feel less alone. Like they were all holding this weird moment together, one breath at a time.

She returned to the island and laid out the chicken, patting the pieces dry with paper towels and arranging them neatly on a plate. Mamá always said to dry chicken first or it would not brown right. Lucia remembered that. She remembered a lot more than she thought she had.

"Lu," Megan said, watching her work, "you sure you've got this?"

Lucia snorted. "I'm a university student; I can finish a recipe."

"You study science," Megan teased.

Lucia shot her a look. "Cooking is chemistry! I know how to follow instructions. It's chicken, not a particle accelerator."

Kaelyn let out a soft giggle. "Or alchemy!" Lucia glanced up and caught her sibling smiling, a little crooked but genuine. Megan looked relieved, too.

Lucia added a little oil to the nonstick pan and waited for it to shimmer before laying the chicken thighs down with a sizzle. The citrusy aroma hit instantly, mixing with cumin and something earthy and toasted. Mamá's spice blend. The real deal.

From the dining table, Papá cleared his throat and called out. "You girls need any help in there?"

"We're good," Lucia called back. "Just making sure no one bleeds out again."

"Good… That's good," he repeated before returning to quiet conversation with Brent.

Lucia flipped the chicken after a few minutes, pleased with the colour. She glanced at Kaelyn, who was watching her now with something between admiration and nostalgia.

"Hey mana," she said, lowering her voice. "You want rice with this, or tortillas?"

Kaelyn pondered the question for a moment, as if she had only just returned to the room. "Both? Both. Both is good," she said with a teasing smile at the corner of her lips.

Lucia grinned. "Now that's a geeky answer."

Kaelyn chuckled again. Megan visibly relaxed, though her hand stayed on Kaelyn's back. The worst of the moment had passed, but something new had started here—something strange, and huge, and maybe a little terrifying. But at least now they were facing it together.

Lucia plated the first batch of chicken and checked the rice, then started pulling tortillas from the warmer. As the smell filled the kitchen, the atmosphere shifted—familiar, warm, homey.

"You know, even if the shifter thing ends up a bust, maybe levelling up will help you figure out what's going on with this game?"

Megan tensed. "You know, I'm not sure I like the idea of her spending more time in the game. It already did this much…"

"I get you're worried—" Kaelyn shook her head. "But, it's my body, my choice, bella. Plus—I also don't think my logging on or not will impact what's happening to me out here. The changes always seem to happen overnight."

"But if you need to log on during the day for a new batch of instructions…? Maybe you could avoid triggering more by staying offline all day?"

"If that's the case, then it's already too late for that, I'm afraid. I logged in first thing in the morning to post a new video online. In any case, I don't think any of us wants me to stay stuck in this in-between form."

"Trying to please everyone is just a way to make sure you please no one?" Lucia mused. She nodded slowly, folding the warm tortillas into a towel-lined basket. "That's fair. Just… don't push yourself too hard either, okay? You looked ready to pass out a few minutes ago."

"I still kinda am," Kaelyn admitted. "But I think the worst has passed."

"You've been through a lot," Megan murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to Kaelyn's temple before sitting beside her. "We all have. This is just a bit much."

Lucia ladled the rice into bowls and started plating the chicken. She worked methodically, letting the rhythm of preparation keep her from spiraling too far down the rabbit hole of what-ifs. Nanotech. Class systems. Shifting identities. It was all too much to hold in her head at once, so she focused on dinner.

"Food's up," she finally said, carrying plates to the island and nudging a stool toward Kaelyn with her foot. "Eat while it's hot."

Kaelyn perked up at the smell, ears twitching slightly as she leaned forward. "Oh my God, that smells amazing."

"Careful," Lucia teased, "you're dangerously close to calling me cocinera."

"Not unless I get dessert after," Kaelyn shot back, her voice stronger now.

"Don't tempt me. I'll throw together flan and make you cry."

Kaelyn smiled, then took a bite—and visibly relaxed the moment the flavour hit. "Okay, that's stupid good," she mumbled, already going for the rice.

Megan let out a breath. "She's eating. That's good."

Lucia poured herself a glass of water and leaned against the counter, arms folded loosely."You ever think maybe this game wasn't made just to entertain people?"

Kaelyn paused mid-bite. Megan stiffened.

Lucia continued. "I mean, I don't know. But it's doing this—changing you, bringing something akin to healing magic—it can't be an accident, right? It's much bigger than just a classic game reborn in Full-Dive VR. Way bigger."

Kaelyn chewed slower now, her expression darkening with thought. "Yeah. You're right," she admitted. "But what is the endgame? Why would a game dev do something this big—but then just market it as nostalgia bait?"

Megan narrowed her eyes. "Dad was wondering the same earlier today. Did you know? Someone caused his rig to burst into flames. His whole apartment stinks of burnt electronics and water-damage now. Just because he was investigating them?"

Kaelyn gasped. "Wait, your dad what?"

"He was digging into the company. Something's fishy. I mean, what kind of game studio owns power plants? Anyway, he borrowed top tech from the news station in the van. With better hardware, he might learn something useful before he gets caught again."

Lucia's brows furrowed. "Okay, so they're absolutely hiding something. Maybe they have plans for you or all the players going through this. How many cases did they confirm so far? Three? Four?"

Kaelyn swallowed, then said softly, "Just my luck. One in a million. Literally."

Lucia exhaled slowly. "Time to try to counter whatever's happening, then? So we make our own plan. You hit level thirty. Pick the shifter class. And we figure out how to take the reins before this thing drives you off a cliff."

Kaelyn looked at her plate—the colour, warmth and spice—and for a moment remained silent. Then she said, "You really think I can beat this? Take control back?"

"I think you can adapt," Lucia said. "Same as always. You've always been good at learning fast."

Megan reached across and took Kaelyn's hand again, squeezing it gently. "We'll do our part. Dad's going back to look into the company. I'll be with him, helping him however I can. Lucia, you can keep an eye out for her? Watch around the house? I'm worried about her ever since yesterday's news. Some guy at the bar was ranting about 'what he'd do if he got his hands on her paws'. I was this close to throwing a bottle at him."

Kaelyn shuddered and closed her eyes for a second, holding Megan's hands like lifelines. Then she nodded, firm and quiet. "Alright. Level thirty. I can probably do that."

Lucia smiled. "That's the spirit. Now eat. You're squishier than a level-one newbie."

Megan chuckled. Kaelyn picked up a forkful of chicken and rice, but her hand paused midair. "You don't think they're watching us right now... do you?"

"Who, the devs, or assholes from the bar?"

"Yes," Kaelyn said.

A long pause.

Megan glanced out the window. "…Well. Looks like some of the bold ones showed up. I keep spotting people trying to peek through the curtains."

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