Answers

Watching a movie with Lorelei had been a bad idea.

Since Nico watched movies so regularly, he hadn't considered the fact that the lights go off in the theater. Thankfully, it hadn't been pitch-black, and it hadn't lasted too long before the movie started. Even so, Nico could still clearly remember seeing her tense up; Hear her breathing go ragged.

"You okay?" Nico asked her.

"Yeah," Lorelei replied. "Why?"

"I saw you when the lights went out in the theater," Nico explained. "Sorry I didn't warn you. I didn't even think of it."

"It's alright," she assured him. "Besides, it was still entertaining."

"Hey, Lorelei?" Nico started hesitantly. "You mind if I ask you something?"

"Sure," she replied casually.

"Why are you afraid of the dark?"

Yasmine's restaurant was just as beautiful as Lydia remembered it.

Instead of sitting down to eat, as she and Jason had before, they were led to a different area in the back. It looked like an extra storage area to a modern-day kitchen, which made sense, given who was running it. The extra supplies were as modern as you could get in a fantasy world, using only the highest quality of materials. The floors were checkered in color. A portion of one wall had a section with the names of famous chefs from Lydia's world, all written in pretty calligraphy.

"Lorelei!"

Yasmine's brown hair was tied up. Some little pieces that had escaped twizzled down around her face. They made sure to frame her smile so freaking perfectly that Lydia actually questioned her sexuality for a second. Then she remembered that she already had a love interest.

Yasmine frowned. "Why are you back here in the kitchen storage? You guys are my guests." Her eyes widened. "Oh, Syn brought you, didn't she? Sorry, she's new."

She led them to another room further back. This one had two couches, one of which Yasmine immediately went for. Yasmine's chosen couch was covered with pillows, which Lydia could respect. She and Jason chose the other couch, which unfortunately had less pillows.

"You don't mind that I took you here, do you?" Yasmine asked, suddenly cautious. "We did just decide to get rid of the contractions, but you seemed like you'd have been fine with it when I saw you last. How are you doing, by the way?"

Lydia blinked, trying to keep up with her fast-paced words. She turned to Jason. "Did you not tell her?"

"Tell me what?"

"Okay," Lydia started, "I know this is going to sound weird, but I'm not Lorelei."

Yasmine sat up. "Sorry, what?"

Lydia explained everything to her. It felt kind of good to get it all out, honestly. Sometimes, Jason would come in with details she had forgotten, which she appreciated. It was nice to have someone back her up. Well, other than Nico, of course.

"Alright, wow," Yasmine said. She leaned back as she took it all in.

Suddenly, her eyes widened. "Wait, so, that day when Lorelei came to my restaurant. . . Was that you?!"

"Yup."

"So, what do you need from me?" Yasmine asked.

"We need to know how you got isekai'd," Lydia said. "I mean, it's pretty obvious that your travel was more. . . permanent than mine."

Yasmine nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, that makes sense."

They waited for a few minutes, then Lydia couldn't take it anymore. "So?"

"Sorry," Yasmine said. "I'm just not sure how to describe what happened."

She took a deep breath. "Okay, so I was walking home after work. I was interning at a restaurant near my house, so I never really bothered with the bus. Out of nowhere, this raven does that stupid noise. You know, the kind they do when they're trying to find their friends?"

Yasmine shook her head. "Anyway, I decided to follow it. I remembered hearing somewhere that raven's eggs were cool as hell. Plus, I was pretty sure you could cook them, so I was pretty invested. So, I followed him into the woods to see his eggs. If he had any, that is. I'm not really sure if ravens take care of their eggs or if they do something different."

"It took a while but, eventually, we came to a clearing." Yasmine's eyes grew distant. "It was so colorful. I mean, I know it's pretty colorful around here, what with the lack of pollution and all, but it was really colorful. In the middle of it was what kind of looked like a piece of a rainbow. I couldn't find the bird anymore, so I thought he went through the rainbow. I went through, too, and. . . wound up here."

"Why didn't you go back?" Lydia asked. "Why did you stay?"

"I didn't have a choice," Yasmine said. "Once I realized that I was somewhere else, I tried to go back. It wouldn't let me go through the rainbow again."

"Where was the forest at?" Jason asked.

"Gloom Grove," Yasmine replied.

"That's pretty close to Lorelei's family's estate, isn't it?" Lydia asked.

"Yes," Jason said thoughtfully, "it is."

"Do we go there next, then?" Lydia turned to Yasmine. "Oh, wait, Yasmine. Where were you when you met the bird?"

"Near LA," she said. "Los Angeles LA, not the state of Louisiana, so you know."

"Do you have any specific locations?"

It took a little longer to get the specifics down but, twenty minutes later, Jason and Lydia had some pretty good leads. Of course, they couldn't do this next part together. Since so many people forgot Lorelei, it'd be weird if she suddenly showed up near some noble's estate. Well, not for the people who still remembered her but, apparently, Lorelei didn't want to be seen by the nobility, so Lydia would stay put.

"Lydia, I would still like to talk," Jason said.

"Oh, jeez, not this again." Lydia sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I freaked out, and thanks for comforting me, by the way, but I'm over it now, alright?"

"I feel there is more to it than that," Jason said.

"Well, there isn't," she said, a bit sharper than she intended. "Look, I appreciate your concern, but it's really fine. No amount of you trying to talk to me is going to change my answer."

Jason sighed in defeat. "Alright."

"I suppose I will just have to find a different strategy."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Lydia moved on as they neared the back exit Yasmine had told them to take so they didn't attract attention. "What do you think happened to me and Lorelei that made our situation so different?"

"I wouldn't know," Jason said. "But Lorelei might."

"You think we should ask her?"

"I was going to do that anyway," Jason responded smoothly as they stepped outside. "Other than checking on the forest, that is the next logical step."

"I wonder if there's a common thread between us," Lydia said. "I mean, there has to be, since we both ended up like this."

Jason looked up at the starry sky. "Only Lorelei would know."