Dreamland

"Why don't you want to assist these people in their fight?" I asked as I cautiously navigated the nearly deserted police station.

After witnessing what I had during Agent Sewod's previous presentation, discerning who the good guys and who the bad guys were in this conflict wasn't particularly difficult, but Flo didn't seem eager to help.

Her response didn't come immediately. After a brief pause for thought, she posed a question of her own, "Assist? Are you concerned that the special operation forces might not prevail?"

I thought about that. Even though those thugs possessed some magic, they weren't invincible. The warfare in Mephisto's World resembled a medieval battle, albeit with added magic. Anyone employing magic to cause chaos in the real world would find themselves very soon outmatched. Modern warfare has progressed light-years beyond that medieval warfare fighting style. In a modern war, you could be targeted before you even realize you are being attacked. Cannons can shoot precision-guided shells twenty or thirty kilometers away with a precision strike of one meter. Drones can see you from afar and coordinate other drone swarms that would attack you. Radars could pinpoint your location even if you were concealed behind concrete walls, and high-velocity projectiles could penetrate meters of concrete or metal to reach you.

"Well, I don't see how they could lose," I conceded. "Even if some of those thugs have some magic, there's no chance they can withstand modern weaponry."

"In that case," she replied, "our involvement wouldn't alter the outcome. The only thing that would change is that you'd forfeit your freedom."

I tended to agree with the first part but had an issue with the second half: why should I lose my freedom?

"Why should they do that to me?" I inquired, "Considering that I would help them?"

"Do you believe they'll let you roam freely once they discover you have magic and can cast spells? Initially, they'll want to understand precisely what you're capable of, and then they'll attempt to replicate and control it. The question isn't whether you'll be restricted but rather the extent of those restrictions. What if we first observe how they treat others who can cast spells before revealing yourself as a magic-capable individual?"

Hmm, I ruminated for a couple of moments at her words. My alter ego seemed to be quite paranoid... but she does make some valid points, even though I could hardly fathom why someone would restrict me if I haven't committed any wrongdoing... but alright, maybe I should exercise more caution.

"Hmm, perhaps, but we'd miss out on a good opportunity to assist when it's needed," I mused.

She didn't seem to mind the lost opportunity; she shrugged and shifted her focus.

"What are you doing?" I questioned her.

"I'm placing a flower on this desk."

I would have rolled my eyes if I could. I've seen that, but the question was why, so I voiced it.

"Why would you do that?"

She explained to me with a satisfied tone in her voice:

"This is for the girl with the blue eyes, Sam, I think was her name. The poor girl lost her flower; I'm certain she'll be delighted to find a new one."

I gazed at the new flower she had placed on the girl's desk and felt the urge to voice my objections. Aside from wondering how she had located the desk, I pondered why she would care enough to involve herself with that couple, especially considering what had recently happened to the previous flower.

Shivers ran down my spine just by remembering that.

However, as she stood there, seemingly lost in thought, I couldn't help but inquire,

"What are you up to now?"

The flower was already resting on the desk, yet her gaze remained fixed on the air.

"I'm trying to grasp the bigger picture here... is this where you obtain a driver's license?" she asked.

"No, that's on an upper floor. The actual data isn't stored here; they use some computers, but these are essentially terminals; the real data resides online in a data center."

"Really?"

Her tone suggested she was now considering a broader perspective, and an odd sensation crawled over me as if my scalp were tingling.

"Hmm. Are those horns? Do I have horns? I mean, you... ah... I?"

She chuckled.

"Do you feel them?" she asked, her amusement evident. "You seem to be quite startled by my horns; why is that?"

"Are you the devil?" I inquired bluntly.

She simply laughed at me.

"The devil? No. Remember how you laughed about that girl with horns with Spartacius? You didn't think she was the devil, did you? To answer your first question, yes, I do have horns. You did see me that time in the glade, didn't you? Let's call them antennas, shall we? Because that's what they are for me—a more efficient tool for manipulating magic, or mana, as you call it. You have eyes to see and ears to hear, but how do you sense magic?"

"Cala can hear magic, and she doesn't have horns!"

"That's just a superficial sense, a basic perception. Cala isn't a skilled magic manipulator. Think of it this way: if you had larger ears that could swivel toward the source of a sound, you'd be better at hearing and assessing sounds, right?"

"Well, that makes sense."

"It's the same with magic. Inside your brain, you have some rudimentary magic manipulation sensors. For a spellcaster, your body is a tool to control magic, but it's only enough to cast simple spells. Magic is so much more! By using my magic 'antennas,' I can manipulate magic on a higher level than what a typical spellcaster can achieve. Right now, I need to employ manipulation at an even more advanced level—I don't want to fry all these computers; that would be counterproductive. I'm determined to secure that damn license for you."

"But I don't have horns?" I wondered, feeling somewhat unsettled. Why did it feel like I had them?

"Of course, that's why I created temporary magical ones. Now, shh, let me concentrate; I think I've found a lead."

Temporary magical horns?

I sensed her intense focus, akin to the sensation you get after exercising when your muscles are flushed with blood, and your hands and legs feel warmer. It was in this manner that I felt as if I had horns—a peculiar sensation.

"What did you discover?" I inquired.

She responded with another question, her head cocked to the side. "Hmm, do they have to make it so complicated?"

She moved toward the door.

"Interesting." - she mumbled.

"What is it?" - I wondered.

"Let's head upstairs." - she said instead of answering me. She seems to enjoy keeping me in the dark.

As she approached, the door opened automatically.

"Hey, if they have cameras, someone from security will come to check for me!" I exclaimed.

"No, I'm invisible." - she answered calmly.

"Then why did the door open?"

"Because I made it to."

OK... She was starting to become really scary. If they have cameras here, they'll think of ghosts...

“You really can make the doors open?”

“There are more ways to do this. I try not to fry them completely so that they should work later on.”

“That would be recommended.”

We entered the above offices. It was strange to see how well she could see in the dark; there was no need for her to turn on the lights.

“See, there are some raw licenses, and the lady working here is keying the data in....”

She took one empty license.

“Do we need to do this here? Can't you do your magic remotely?”

She sighed.

“It is easier this way. There is too much that I do not know, and you are not really helping. What's the matter now?”

“I am afraid. If I get caught here, I'll get into a lot of trouble!”

“You said that already. Keep cool. Only a bit more, and we are done.”

“But it's already getting late. I mean early morning; look, it is getting brighter outside!”

“Just a bit more time. I need to turn on this PC.”

She was taking her time. I don't know what she was doing, but I suppose she wanted to do a proper thing.

“Somebody is coming.”

“Yes, the cleaning staff. It is early morning.”

“Finished?”

“Not yet, but almost.”

How long are you 'almost' finished? She retired into a corner.

“What are you doing?”

“I can control what I need from here. Let the cleaning ladies do their work.”

People started to come in. Some security guards passed by; I was afraid they were investigating something, but they only made their rounds. Some technical guys came later, and then early office workers appeared.

“Flo, we have to leave now!”

“I am done.”

She grinned, showing me that former empty driver's license with my name on it.

“Cooool!”

I looked at it.

“Fuck Flo, it has the date of Sunday last week on it. That's not good! Is this what you put in the system, too?”

“Why? Is Sunday not good?”

“No!”

“Oh, I wondered why no other was on Sunday. OK, OK, let me correct it, Saturday, OK?”

She wondered why nobody was on Sunday, and she put it on Sunday...

“No! One working day, make it Tuesday, OK?”

“OK, OK! Just a moment, I need to correct the record too...”

“Maybe I should have kept it. The only driver's license made on Sunday...

“Now it is too late. You have had it since last Tuesday. About two weeks ago. Good?”

“I am good. Now, how do we get out!? Ahm, watch out, somebody is coming this way!”

In the next moment, I was flying through the window. I screamed again inwardly as I fell several levels and landed over a car in the parking. That was a surprisingly soft landing.

“Oops!”

“What do you mean, oops?”

“I am a flower atop of a car. If I transform back into a human, I'll be a human atop a car.”

“Oh!”

Now I understood what she did: she had jumped towards the open window and transformed into a flower in the air. She could have warned me. The problem was with my position on top of that car. She'll have to risk... OK, she did it. Fuck, I was sitting on the weak roof of a convertible, trying my best not to break it.

A baritone male voice froze me:

“What are you doing there?”

Flo turned and saw him. She tried a weak smile:

“Ahm. I'm trying to get down without breaking this...”

“Just don't move!! Don't! Let me help you...”

A gorilla picked me gently from the roof and helped me down.

“Uhm. Thank you very much!”

He had some muscles to pick me up like that. Eh? One hand went under my thighs, the other behind my back, and I was in the air.

“How did you get there?”- He looked up and sighed - “Oh. So you skip classes, hmm?”

I don't know what was happening on the floor just above the parking, but Flo nodded. The gorilla examined the car.

“It seems unharmed; if the roof does open, I will not kill you!”

Flo sighed.

“You'll need to take a ticket and wait your turn, but be warned that I might retaliate."

He chuckled whilst going inside the car. A moment later, the roof opened and started to fold. In thirty seconds, it was done.

He breathed relief.

“It seems to work. Am I free to go?” - she asked

She watched him sheepishly. He shrugged.

"I'm driving now to Queensborrow. I can drop you on the way if you are interested?"

Flo's eyes lightened:

“Really? I'm going there too; that's the district I live in.”

“Oh, cool!”

He made a gesture towards the free seat beside him. Flo looked at him: a massive dark-haired man with a lot of hair on his muscled hands, a colored t-shirt covering his pectorals, and a broad mustache above a grinning mouth with broad lips. I was undecided now if walrus or gorilla would best describe him. Flo, to my surprise, climbed into the cabriolet with a wide grin on her face.

I was so shocked that I did not even get to scream my fear and disappointment into her mind.

Damn Flo, what are you doing?

"Sunny!"

Flo shook his hand:

"Dolores"

"Dolores, the angel that fell from the sky into my car!" - he added with a grin - "You could have waited until I opened it."

Gosh, I'm sure if I would have been in the lead, I would have crashed through the roof and had an angry Sunny on my tail for wreaking the roof of his convertible.