Chapter Text
April 24th, 207X
Glitch City
Jill sighed as she looked at her phone. She didn’t hate her job, but it got tiring from time to time. Buying the holo-plant really did wonders for her mental health. Who knew something so simple would help her relax this much?
“Well, time to go to work again,” Jill muttered to herself as she pocketed her phone. She took a deep breath before taking her uniform out of her cupboard and changing into it.
“See ya, Fore. Hold down the fort while I’m out, okay?” Jill said to the black cat resting next to her. The cat’s ears twitched, but other than that, he made no response.
Jill then stepped outside of her apartment into the rainy streets of Glitch City. Luckily, the route she took to work sheltered her from the rain, so she didn’t get wet on the way there.
Eventually, Jill made her way to the safe haven in the middle of nowhere. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door.
April 24th, 2023
Seattle, Washington
Barista’s head snapped up from his phone as he heard the door swing open. Freya barreled into the cafe, every inch of her body soaking wet from the rain.
“Dammit, why is it even raining this time of year?” Freya grumbled. Barista snickered as he went to grab a towel. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing, nothing,” Barista repressed his laugh as he handed Freya the towel. “On the house.”
“Thanks,” Freya smiled as she started to dry herself to the best of her abilities. “Can I have my usual? It’s freezing out there.”
“Of course,” Barista said. Making the triple shot espresso was almost like second nature to the barista now. He was good at it before he opened Coffee Talk, but now he could do it with his eyes closed.
“So, what’s the scoop?” Barista asked as he handed Freya her drink. “Did you learn anything?”
“Only how impossible that kind of magic is,” Freya shook her head as she took a sip. “It’s almost impossible to teleport between states, much less dimensions.”
“Well, if Zelretch can do it, he might be from another dimension himself,” Barista rubbed his chin. “I wonder if it’s common where he’s from.”
“That would be a disaster,” Freya’s brow furrowed. “Writing about dimension hopping is cool, but thinking about the real life implications is kind of terrifying.”
It was then the door opened. The two turned their heads to see a girl with long bangs and a ponytail wearing what seemed to be a uniform for some sort of restaurant or bar.
“Sorry I’m—” The woman stopped herself, looking at the two with her mouth still open. Despite her facial expression, her eyes showed no change in emotion. Her eyes were deadpan, but Barista could sense the distress deep within her soul. “Where the hell am I?”
“Welcome to Coffee Talk,” Barista wasted no time. Now that he had a better grasp of the situation, he was able to adjust in whatever way he needed to properly. He flicked his underneath the counter and magic swirled around him. Although the newcomer didn’t notice, he couldn’t help but silently chuckle at Freya’s grimace. “Come sit down and have a drink. When you leave, you’ll return to where you needed to go as if no time had passed.”
“Wonderful,” The woman rolled her eyes before taking a seat next to Freya. “The name’s Jill, by the way. Do you have any beer?”
Jill didn’t know why she sat down. She knew she should have just turned around and left, but something compelled her to sit down. The place was very old-fashioned. It wasn’t like anything she had seen in Glitch City. Maybe it was the aesthetics of the place? Sure, VA-ll Hall-A was small and genuine, but this place had an entirely different feel to it. It was almost… homey.
“Jill, eh?” The woman sitting next to her had a smirk on her face. She seemed human, but something was… off. Jill couldn’t exactly put her finger on it. She wasn't a Lilim, that was for sure. “I’m Freya. Nice to meet you.”
“I’m simply known as Barista. Unfortunately, we do not sell any alcoholic drinks,” The man behind the counter introduced himself. Jill clicked her tongue in annoyance. “We do have coffee and tea, though.”
“Tea…” Jill thought back to earlier in the day. When she went to the store to buy the holo-plant, she had considered buying tea as well, but refrained. Lenore always used to drink tea. Apparently she drank coffee in high school, but it would make her hyper, so she switched to tea to help her study. Lenore was as knowledgeable about tea as she was with pretty much any other subject. Her mouth twitched in a small desire to form a nostalgic smile, but the weight in Jill’s heart smothered it. “Can I have some tea?”
“Any preferences?” Barista asked. Jill paused to think. She saw the blue herbs on the counter and felt something drawing her towards it.
“Can I have something with that blue herb over there?” Jill motioned to the ingredient in question. “I’m not an expert on tea, so I’ll leave the decision making to you. I do have to take a shift, though, so I need to stay awake.”
“If you were going to take a shift, why did you want beer?” Barista asked as he turned to the machine.
“Implants. What happened to the whole "don't ask” thing?” Jill huffed.
“Implant? Like… those sci-fi movies?” Freya asked, her eyes wide. “No, that’s stupid. Interspecies transplants for anything that isn’t a life saving operation is very illegal, you know? I won’t rat, but a cop frequents this place.”
“What? You think I’m part Lilim? That’s kind of a fucked up thing to assume. Especially without any proof,” Jill raised an eyebrow.
“Lilim? What’s that?” Freya tilted her head. She then hit her hand with a closed fist in recognition. “Right. Alternate dimensions.”
“Alternate what now?” Jill heard what she said, but she didn’t want to believe it.
“My apologies. A patron of mine decided to set up a few gateways to this place,” Barista replied as he placed a cup of tea in front of her. The only word that could describe it was beautiful. The liquid itself displayed the visage of the rising sun in a deep blue sky and it was decorated with blue peas and a honeycomb.
“I… see,” Jill’s mind was still reeling, but the tea looked good, so she took a sip. It had a complex and unique flavor. It was both warm and cool at the same time and it had a hint of sweetness, but the tanginess of the herbs still shone through. “It’s good.”
“I’m glad you enjoy it,” Barista smiled as his eyes flicked over to the blue peas. The new herb really let his creativity shine through, and he really appreciated that. “That particular recipe is called Flowerbed. I think you can guess why.”
“Yeah. Don’t see many flowers in Glitch City these days,” Jill admitted. Plants just couldn’t survive in most parts of the futuristic metropolis. If you wanted to see a real plant, you would have to go out of your way and pay money for the privilege. The bartender had done it once in the past and while it was exciting, she couldn’t really afford to go again.
“That sounds… horrible,” Freya’s expression looked genuinely pained. Sure it sucked, but Jill didn’t know why Freya looked so hurt by the idea.
“What?” Jill asked. “What’s the big deal?”
“Freya here is a fairy,” Barista explained. “Races like the fae and elves are really in tune with nature. A world, or even a city without plant life is like a nightmare.”
“I can explain that myself, but yeah, that’s about right,” Freya heaved a sigh. “Moving here to Seattle was really hard. Back home, there weren’t nearly as many buildings. I think I almost passed out when I realized how little plant life was here.”
“There really isn’t much space for plant life back home,” Jill shook her head. “They sell holo-plants and stuff, but it’s not like the real thing.”
“The future looks bleak, doesn’t it?” The bartender said. Jill looked up at the man, trying to read his expression, but she couldn’t judge his character. He was an enigma. After doing what she did for long enough, she had been able to deduce the moods and demeanors of customers, but the man before her was completely unreadable.
“It’s not all bad,” Jill shrugged her shoulders.
“I’m not sure I can believe that,” Jill heard Freya mutter.
“Well, the future isn’t something we have to think about for a while. Let’s just focus on the present,” The Barista said. “You said you had a shift? What do you do?”
“I’m a bartender,” Jill took another sip of her tea. The natural honey was a completely different experience to the artificial sweeteners she was used to. “Much more used to being behind the counter, you know?”
“You get clients like this?” Freya stifled a chuckle.
“Yeah, we get a lot of weirdos like you,” Jill shot back with a straight face. Freya recoiled as if she was shot, but Jill paid her no mind. “This place is a lot like VA-11 Hall-A I guess.”
“How so?” Barista asked.
“It’s small, and from what I can tell, a bit off the beaten path in an overcrowded city,” Jill’s eyes drifted towards the windows. “But it feels different. It feels… safe to talk, I guess.”
“I’m not sure any story’s safe with Freya in the room,” Barista replied with a small smile. “Nevertheless, thank you for the praise.”
“Hey!” Freya exclaimed. “What is this? “Insult Freya” day?”
“Just saying the truth,” Barista replied.
“As fun as this is, I think I’m going to have to leave,” Jill took the last sip of her tea and stood up. “I still have a job to do.”
“Do come again,” Barista said as Jill put a stack of bills on the counter.
“Not sure if I have a choice,” Jill said as she walked off, closing the door behind her. As it did, Freya looked at the bills she left.
“She gave you…” Freya’s jaw hit the floor. On the counter were five $100 bills.
“I wonder what kind of place she works at,” Barista put the money in the till before looking at the door with an unreadable expression. “I’m sure it’s quite something.”
April 24th, 207X
“Hey Jill…” As soon as Jill stepped into the bar, she was greeted by her boss wearing a familiar helmet.
“BWAH!” Jill exclaimed as she jumped back. “What the hell?”
“That’s not something I get out of you every day,” Dana stifled a chuckle.
“What happened?” Jill asked.
“Dunno. I was gonna ask where this came from,” Dana said.
“Well, a White Knight stopped by yesterday and—” Jill paused. “Did you really put something on without knowing who it belongs to?”
“Jill. I don’t plan out every action I do. I just... act,” Dana said. After a pause, she tilted her head. “Hey, your bags are getting better. You doing something about it?”
Jill paused to think. She definitely felt a lot better than she usually did. She then thought back about what had just transpired. It appeared it wasn’t some fever dream she concocted. It didn’t really matter anyways. She let a small smile approach her face and spoke.
“I had a nice cup of tea.”