She knew that the nonis understood more about what was going on in the world than she did, so she headed out to find them. Not that it would be very difficult, being so big and red. What's more, she soon found a couple of soldiers strolling very quietly around what had once been the train station. After making sure they were alone, Erica came out of hiding and approached them from behind.

—Hey— she called to them.

Both soldiers turned, one pointed his rifle at her.

—Hands where I can see them— he exclaimed, but his companion grabbed his rifle and raised it to prevent him from firing.

—Fool, she's the brika that defeated Commander Cromo.

—What?!— he exclaimed, surprised —Really?

—Yes, she looks just like she did in the photos. Lucky us, huh?

Erica puffed out her chest at the recognition and approached them, assuming they owed her respect. To her surprise, the nonis threw their weapons to the ground and lunged at her. Erica jumped to evade their huge fists, and with one kick sent them both sprawling.

She waited a while for them to get up, but she had hit them so hard that she knocked them out, so she went to one and shook him awake.

—Hey, hey, don't you dare sleep, what's the matter with you guys?

The noni in her hands shook, sore.

—Ah...— he exclaimed, holding a hand to his head — Yes, you're the famous brika. No doubt about it.

Erica didn't know what to say. She helped him sit down and repeated her questions several times to make him understand.

—Why am I being attacked?— she asked.

—You defeated our commander, one of the strongest red nonis in Nudo— said the soldier —Now everyone wants to challenge you.

—Is that how the nonis work?— she wondered — Don't they respect me for beating Cromo?

The noni frowned in bewilderment.

—Oh, of course. We respect you, little brika, and that's why we attacked you.

Erica quickly realized that there was a communication problem between the two.

—Do nonis fight with those they respect?

—Only with the strongest.

Erica smiled. She was starting to like their simple ways.

—Tell me, I'm looking for my father. Do you think your people could help me find him?

The soldier looked surprised.

—Just your dad? Why not all the humans we've captured?

Erica made an intensely lazy face.

—No, I don't like them.

This made the soldier laugh, and when he finished, he pointed her in a direction.

—Go that way, in a straight line. You'll find our fort. Over there is the bridge.

—Bridge?

—The link that connects this world to Nudo, my world. Your dad must be there, crossing the bridge like everyone else.

—Excellent, thank you.

She took a couple of steps toward her destination, but the soldier stopped her.

—Wait, girl.

—Yes?

—At this moment, all the nonis of this world know who you are and how you look like. When they see you, they will run to attack you. Keep that in mind.

Erica nodded.

—Does that mean everyone respects me?

—You're a celebrity, girl. Clench your little fists tight.

Erica nodded goodbye and walked away. She guessed that last was a certain expression nonis used to say to each other, though she wasn't sure what it meant.

--------------------------------------

After that, as she had been noticed, she was attacked by whole hordes of soldiers. They all wanted to fight her, no matter if they lost. Erica defeated them all and continued to advance where she was directed, until night fell and she found herself in the center of Santa Gloria, a few blocks from the main square. However, the heart of the city was protected by a huge wall fabricated with reddish materials. The wall spanned several blocks and stood five meters high. It was so thick that not even one of her punches would have been enough to knock it down, but it still wasn't much of an obstacle. Erica gathered momentum, bent backwards with her hands and took a tremendous leap that sent her over the wall and to the other side. For an instant in the air she saw buildings, flags, rows of tanks so big they could crush trucks, and uniformed nonis everywhere.

Then she dropped to the asphalt and crouched down. She was in plain sight on the ground. Fortunately, there was no one around to notice her, so she hurried to hide behind a dumpster. From there she looked at the interior of the fort and was surprised at how much the landscape had changed; she didn't know Santa Gloria, or at least she remembered almost nothing about it, but it was noticeable that the army of invaders had demolished a large number of the old buildings to set up barracks, sheds and warehouses. Perhaps the most striking was the palace that extended from the cathedral upwards, as if it were a tree that demolished the roof as it grew.

Throughout the streets there were several nonis, hundreds of them, strolling calmly. You could tell they were confident of their military advantage over the humans.

—According to the other nonis, there's a bridge around here— Erica reminded herself —It must be in that castle.

That was fine for the moment, she would worry about the details later. Erica sneaked through the streets, sure that no one would see her. She ran silently and hid in alleys and behind vehicles.

—I'm a ninja— she said to herself —I could be a spy.

The night was dark. It didn't take her long to reach the main square, right in front of the cathedral. There were several guards posted at the entrance, obviously, but it was no problem for her. Nearby were other buildings, much less guarded. Erica climbed those, leaning on windows and cornices, up to the roof. There she stopped for a moment.

At that height she could see the whole area that the nonis had conquered, and beyond. She could not see well, because it was night, but she could make out the wall she had jumped over and some of the collapsed buildings around.

She looked to the front, at the castle built over the church: it had several towers, balconies and windows, but not many ornaments. It was tall, at least ten stories high. For a moment she wondered how the nonis had managed to build such a large castle in less than a month. It was curious.

—They look like muscle-headed brutes, but they have very advanced technology— she thought.

She continued on her way from the roof to the closest point to the castle. As she reached the edge of the roof, she noticed that the space between it and the castle was quite wide, an entire street. She also noticed that on the other side was a window wide enough for her to fit through, just barely. Jumping the width of a street wasn't much of a problem, but aiming for that window was going to be a bit more difficult. If she missed, she'd fall many stories and could break a leg. She could die if it happened.

—I only have one chance— she said to herself.

She backed up a bit, her breathing quickened as she felt the pressure, but she ignored it. She'd been in worse situations before, so she plucked up her courage, inhaled a big breath of air and ran with everything she had. She hopped on the edge of the roof like a frog and stretched her hands toward the window. Her body crossed the air like a paper airplane, light and fast. She watched the street pass several stories below, focused on the window. It was a tiny bit bigger than she had thought, but half of her body was pointed at the frame and half at the glass. She bent to aim squarely at the glass and hit it. The window shattered, her head went through the sill and her body rolled to the floor. She was inside, she was safe. Her feet touched the floor.

She clenched her fists, frightened and relieved at the same time.

—I'm alive— she said to herself, breathing heavily.

She needed a moment to recover from the shock, to forget the possibility of falling and dying a painful death. Then she scanned her surroundings to get her bearings and continued on her way. She found herself in a rather large hallway, leading to a few offices and stairs. She went up, crouching low and attentive to her surroundings, but after a few minutes of not finding anyone, she stopped trying so hard. Everything was very quiet, too quiet, there didn't seem to be anyone in the castle. It was suspicious.

—Do they know I'm here?— she wondered.

She thought they might be setting a trap for her, but she was sure she could overcome any challenge, so she puffed out her chest and continued confidently. Up and up she went until she came upon a large, black door with gold engravings. It was the first door built by the Noni with ornamentation that she had seen, that had to be an indicator that there was something different on the other side.

—That must be the bridge— she said to herself.

Somewhat nervously, she rested her hands on the door and pushed her way through. On the other side she found a corridor similar to the previous ones. There were stairs, offices, the usual. She felt a little disappointed, until she looked down the hall. There was another large door. She approached it and walked through.

She found herself in an office, but a different one from the others. It was big, very big, even for a noni. She had searched the other offices, in case she found hidden enemies. They were nothing out of the ordinary, but this one was full of decorations: a shield hung on the wall opposite the door, a table with a map of the country, a game console Erica had never seen, a desk the size of a bed, and a breathtaking view of the destroyed Santa Gloria. On the desk were many papers, a holographic screen coming out of a coin-sized device, and a picture, also holographic, with three little orange people that Erica didn't pay much attention to.

On each side of the office there was a door. The girl opened the one on the right and found a room with the space of an entire house; the bed was huge, there were pillows scattered all over the floor and a small table with leftover food, two used glasses and two chairs. There was nothing of interest to her, so she went back to the office to open the second door.

As soon as she placed her hand on the handle, the music reached her. Curious, she opened the door to find herself on a large terrace, adorned with statues and holograms of strange beings of various shapes and colors, dancing and shaking as if it were the best night of their lives. In one corner were several nonis playing all kinds of instruments. They seemed amused, so much so that it took Erica a while to realize that they were also holograms.

In front of the girl, the terrace stretched out in the shape of a large diamond. On the other side, at the far end of the terrace was a circular platform elevated by three steps. Beams of light came and went, illuminating the space inside the platform and those who were amusing themselves on it. Erica shyly approached the platform, and as she did so, she noticed that there were only two people there, two real persons, no one else.

The rhythm to which they danced was similar to rock, with innocent steps, energetic turns and constant glances between the two, but there was also more touch, more rubbing, and certain sexual innuendos that the girl would never have dared to make, not at her age.

As she came closer she could see the details in their bodies and faces: the one on the left was an orange noni, short among the others of his kind and with rather large horns. The woman was a little taller than him, her arms and torso were thin, her hair short and white. She wore bright, tight, green clothing, or so Erica thought, until she got closer and realized that the green, shiny thing covering her body was not clothing, but scales, and that instead of legs she had a thick tail.

—Who the hell are these guys? — she wondered.

Then the noni stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face her. The snake woman followed the line of her dancing partner's eyes and also stared at the girl. The girl took a step back, intimidated, as the snake woman disappeared. She simply vanished into thin air, as if she were an illusion.

The girl stood in place, paralyzed. She looked everywhere, but besides the holograms she could only see the noni, who waited patiently on the dance floor.

She waited for a while, but nothing happened. Erica took a couple of shaky breaths, then shook her head to calm herself. She didn't know what that snake woman had been, but she was gone. She just had to ask that noni about the bridge.

Ready, she took a step forward to advance, but at that moment she felt a pressure on her entire torso and was lifted into the air. The girl froze for a moment, totally confused, until the snake woman reappeared right beside her. Her tail grabbed Erica and held her up.

—How the fuck...

She looked the snake woman in the eyes. She didn't look very different from humans; her skin was a pale greenish-gray, the corner of her mouth quite large, under her eyes were two small holes. The snake woman smiled at her with her tremendous mouth, like a child looking at a chocolate bar with her name on it.

—Hey, Erica— she greeted her —We've been waiting for you. Come with me.

Without waiting for her answer, the snake woman took her in a jiffy to the dance floor and deposited her there, where she began to dance with her. The noni joined them, and suddenly the girl found herself between the two, guided by the movements of her hands and tail like a rag doll. The snake woman spun her around like a spinning top, then noni grabbed her and lifted her into the air for a moment.

—Stop!— she shouted.

She grabbed the noni's hands to pull them apart. With that she let go and fell between him and the snake woman. She immediately threw herself to the side to roll and make distance. Then she stood up and prepared to defend herself against both of them.

—Who are you?— she asked, but the music was too loud and they couldn't hear her well.

Erica, irritated, turned to the musicians of the holographic band.

—Shut up!— she shouted.

The musicians stopped in their tracks, looked at each other, somewhat nervously, and disappeared along with the rest of the holograms. The noni, the snake woman and the girl were left alone on the dance floor.

—Who are you?— cried Erica, upset —And how do you know my name?!

The noni and the snake woman looked at each other, somewhat surprised.

—My name is Víkala— said the snake woman.

—I am Tur, the dancing noni— said the orange noni, to which his partner laughed.

Erica also found it funny, whether it was true or not, but she restrained herself from showing it.

—The other nonis told me that the bridge would be around here, but I don't see it— she continued— Do you know anything?

Vikala opened her mouth, but said nothing. She looked like she wanted to tell her, but she shouldn't have. Instead, she turned to Tur, who smiled mischievously.

—I'll tell you— he promised —if you come and dance with us.