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Hearing Dorothy talk about Anna in such a good light to Jill was surprising but welcomed, Anna felt. Dorothy was so happy doing it too.
It wasn't like Anna disliked Dorothy, it's just talks about her to mom were somewhat rare and sometimes depressing.
The current talk was too good to the point where she couldn't help but say something positive back, the obvious "silly Becky" line. It couldn't be helped.
Right afterwards, Dorothy wondered where the compliment came from and questioned Jill out of confusion. She had heard the name "Becky" randomly a few times the previous months, but never knew where it came from. No person it seemingly originated from.
Jill tried to keep the secret of seeing Anna hidden as usual and pretended nothing was wrong.
But before Anna could blink another time, Dorothy was looking right at her with wide eyes. It was a mix of shock and confusion. There was complete silence for a few seconds, only the faint sounds of cars in the distance of Glitch City.
Dorothy:
"...Y-You're..."
From all the talks Dorothy had with Sophia Graem and images shown to her of the dead daughter, she was very sure.
The person standing right there in fear due to accidentally being seen, had to have been Anna Graem.
Clearly the "silly Becky" line being heard by Dorothy due to accidentally saying the line had a sudden emotional impact on Anna, and unintentionally made her visible.
First Jill, then Beth, now Dorothy. Who else would end up seeing her in the future?
Dorothy was the first to break this silence, feeling tears well up in her eyes.
Dorothy:
"A-Anna!"
Dorothy rushed to hug Anna, but as soon as the hug was attempted no contact was made. Her arms just went right through.
Meanwhile Anna didn't know what to do. She couldn't just vanish into thin air like she always did, it was too late. It couldn't be played off as a hallucination either for a few reasons.
Maybe if she hadn't said "Becky" so much to Dorothy while visibly hidden, this wouldn't have happened, and Jill would've just changed the subject as she is good at.
Jill was always able to pass off the weird faces in the bar due to thought talking with Anna as just thinking about random things while talking with Dana, Gil or any of the regulars.
After failing to do the hug, Dorothy was in an even worse state as it only confused her. What the hell was happening?
Clearly Anna was too much of a mess right now herself to focus and become tangible. She was even slightly glitching as a result of her emotions, flashing random text and the like.
To Dorothy, the dead daughter of her guardian was somehow alive right now, but as a ghost or something? A hologram? Nanomachines could be slightly seen too around Anna, which added to the questions.
And in the background of the alleyway, Jill simply watched all this happen, not really sure what to do other than to let this all play out. Clearly this was something very important and she wouldn't interrupt it or accidentally make things worse.
Dorothy:
"How are you... alive?"
Anna:
"...I don't know."
Dorothy:
"You're supposed to be dead..."
Anna:
"That I am."
"...I think... I should tell you some things, Becky."
Dorothy:
"..."
Anna:
"And Jo? I think you should go back home. This is going to take a while."
Jill:
"...Got it."
Jill then left, leaving Anna and Dorothy alone, hoping the further interactions between the two today would go fine, especially on Dorothy's side.
This was completely unexpected to happen. But with how weird Anna was overall in her current "dead" state combined with how close Dorothy was to her like she explained today and during December 24th, this probably would've happened eventually.
Meanwhile Anna started to explain everything to Dorothy, trying to be clear about it all.
Anna:
"I'll go from the start of all this, ever since I "died". Bear with me."
Dorothy:
"O-Okay."
Anna:
"So, after I left the hospital free of my nanomachines, I got hit by a truck."
"I died of course, but then I woke up. My body was gone or was still there, it's a fuzzy memory. But I quickly realized that I was indeed dead, and roamed Glitch City for a while."
"Eventually, I ended up at the Valhalla bar and met Jo."
Dorothy:
"Jo?"
Anna:
"Jill, just a nickname I have for her."
Dorothy:
"O-Oh."
Anna:
"I heard a lot of nice things about the bar from random people over time. And long story short, I wanted to be seen by Jo so bad that she was able to see me, I think. I just thought she was really cute."
Dorothy:
"W-Well, honey is pretty charming."
Anna:
"After that, I was just doing whatever, visiting her from time to time."
"And... keeping an eye on you and making sure Jo ensured your safety."
Dorothy:
"...Really?"
Anna:
"I don't lie, Becky."
Dorothy:
"...Thank you."
It was easily realized how much Anna cared about Dorothy even when dead. After that, Dorothy couldn't help but cry. Thankfully the Lilim's alert nanomachines weren't being released.
Dorothy:
"...*sniff*"
Anna:
"I'm here, Becky."
Anna tried her best to become tangible for a following hug, but it was difficult given everything going on.
The hug worked as best it could, and Dorothy couldn't help but cry more.
Anna didn't say anything during it and let Dorothy release all of her emotions. Anna meanwhile simply wondered if this could've been avoided, maybe by a different Anna or whatever. Maybe a "normal" timeline of VA-11 HALL-A wouldn't have led to Anna being seen.
Eventually Dorothy calmed down, her shaking mostly stopping as well as her tears. Anna had a comforting and an understanding face all the while. She cared about Dorothy as much as the other way around.
Anna:
"Are you alright now, Becky?"
Dorothy:
"I-I think so..."
"So... what now?"
Anna:
"Hm?"
Dorothy:
"What about m-mom?"
Anna:
"..."
Dorothy:
"Anna?"
Anna:
"I don't know. I really don't."
Dorothy:
"She'll eventually find out about you, I'm scared."
Anna:
"Don't worry about it for now, Becky."
Dorothy:
"Are you sure?"
Anna:
"Weren't you just talking to Jo about how smart I am? Come on, have some faith. I'll work something out soon."
Dorothy:
"Alright..."
Anna:
"Should I leave you to work for now, or do you want to go somewhere with me to talk for the rest of the night?"
Dorothy:
"...I can afford to miss most of the rest of today, so sure. I don't think I'm in the right state for sex anyway."
"I know a nice place where I'll easily be able to talk with you without anyone else thinking I'm malfunctioning."
Anna:
"Heh, then let's go."
On the way to the destination, Dorothy and Anna held hands for a while like actual sisters, both pretty happy. No one was around to give weird looks to Dorothy either surprisingly.
Maybe this accident had a better result than if it didn't actually happen. Maybe Anna would have to do some intense thinking soon.
Eventually a hotel still in the Neon District was reached, and Dorothy used a gifted holo-coupon she had from a client to rent a room for two. The receptionist was confused at this gesture seeing as only Dorothy was there aka 1 person, but it was passed off as Lilim being Lilim.
Anna couldn't help but chuckle at this confusion, and promptly followed Dorothy to the room.
The hotel was pretty high-end which Anna appreciated. Even so, it was a rare slow night of business thus the reception area had few people.
Once both were there, Anna revealed herself once again with surprisingly little effort. Maybe after Anna reveals herself the first time to someone, the subsequent reveals are really easy to do, Anna thought. It was somewhat clear with all the Jill conversations.
Anna:
"So, how are you Becky?"
Dorothy:
"Well, considering.... you. I'm fine."
Anna:
"Hehe, you're the best. I've actually seen you deal with some of the clients today and I must say, nice."
Dorothy:
"You're as into sex as me?"
Anna:
"I mean, I am very gay, and my girlfriend was the best person I could've wished for as a partner. Jo is pretty hot too."
"Though of course with you it's a job."
Dorothy:
"Doesn't mean I'm not happy with it."
Anna:
"Fair."
"By the way, I saw how you talked to mom about her potentially using you as a replacement for me, and also saw how she made up with Lanette's mom about our deaths. I'm proud of you and her."
Dorothy:
"...Thanks."
Anna:
"Anyway, speaking of that, you're familiar with that Ingram guy right?"
Dorothy:
"What about him?"
Anna:
"I should tell you more about his backstory, so that you can try to help him at least feel a bit better over his dead daughter."
Dorothy:
"...Got it."
Anna:
"So, when his daughter was first born, it became too much for his wife, so she ended up leaving and it was a bad moment, but Ingram still remembers good things about her overall."
"Do you remember when you were first hired by him?"
Dorothy:
"Yeah..."
Anna:
"1 year before he did, her daughter died."
"As for how, a busy White Knight made her hit her head on a wall next to her. She died soon after."
Dorothy:
"..."
Anna:
"After that, Ingram went on a few years long mission to make sure the White Knight died. Eventually after getting enough information about the White Knight, he was able to hire someone to successfully achieve just that."
Dorothy:
"Oh..."
Anna:
"Sorry, am I getting too deep?"
Dorothy:
"N-No, continue the story."
Anna:
"Alright. After the White Knight was killed, it didn't really help Ingram that much. It left a void in him and even with wanting to repair that, things like drinking and sex and even hiring you didn't seem to help."
"And that's about it, besides from some other dead relatives."
Dorothy:
"Thank you... for telling me his past."
"I'll try as hard as possible to help him be happier, I promise."
Anna:
"You're a smart girl Becky, I believe in you."
Dorothy:
"Should I go take care of it now, or just wait until the next hiring day with him starts?"
Anna:
"It's up to you."
Dorothy:
"Alright, I'll think about it."
"I think I should get back to work soon, I haven't had many clients today."
Anna:
"I understand. Your work is always important."
"Take care, Becky."
Dorothy:
"You too, Anna."
With a smile, Anna floated through the wall and into the rough direction of Jill's apartment. The flying and building intangibility was a bit surprising still, but it was thought of as cool from Dorothy's end.
As for Dorothy, she left the hotel using the elevator as a short time to think back on what happened.
Once in the main lobby, the hotel was exited still much to the receptionist's confusion given the still lone Lilim.
As for Dorothy, the usual was going to happen again, dealing with various clients like routine.