"Honey, have you seen my rolex?" A husky voice rang out from downstairs.
"Hm?" Emily muttered for a moment. "Oh, which one Charles!?" Emily called back.
"My silver one, with the... Oh never mind Jaques found it!" He called back.
Emily didn't respond back, she just sighed and went back to writing on her laptop. It had been 5 whole years since Rick vanished. She searched all over the yard, the house, everywhere she could think, but all traces of Rick had vanished. She went into a deep depression for a few months, even almost destroying the camera in a fury, but she then realized that if the camera ruined her life then she could force it to fix it.
Now she was now 26, married to a former friend of Ricks who she transformed, and lived the high life. Charles was now a wealthy millionaire, letting Emily do what she wanted in their large mansion. For a few years she indulged in every substance she could find, but eventually decided it wasn't worth the trouble or side effects.
Now she spends her time somewhat distant, writing poetry, going out with friends, and dreaming of what her life may have been like if she had never bought that cursed camera. As a reminder, it sits on her bedroom dresser, staring at her as if to mock her.
"Bark, bark!" The small dog next to her yipped.
"Oh, sorry Mamacita you smell something girl huh?" She asked, petting the poodle's ass.
The dog had once been her mother, but Emily transformed her as punishment for erasing Rick. Of course, the worse punishment was her former brother, who was now nothing more than a maroon bra that she wore to fancy parties or when she wanted to get shit faced. The dog then stood up, wagging its tail before running out of her room.
She sighed, then proceeded to get back to her thoughts. Her face then strained. A small buzzer next to her desk caused her to nearly scream. She was getting quite frustrated at all the interruptions.
"Yes?" She asked, answering the device.
"Sorry to interrupt madam, but someone is here to see you, she says you're an old friend." Her butler Jaques explained.
"An old friend? Who?" Emily asked, half paying attention.
"Well that's just it madam, I believe it's a prank or a summer of some kind." He replied.
"Why do you say that?" Emily asked, slightly more interested.
"Well she didn't give her name, all she said was 'the camera gave me enough hell, just get her please' which to me doesn't make much sense... madam? Madam are you there?" Jaques asked again.
To his surprise, he heard the quick footsteps of Emily come stomping from downstairs. She barely managed to fold her robe shut as she ran up next to him.
"Jaques, I appreciate EVERYTHING you do for us, please take this bonus and treat yourself to a vacation this week." Emily said faster than a rapper before handing Jaques a very expensive check.
"M-madam are you su-" He began.
"Yes. Yes I am sure. Me and that visitor have a LOT to discuss." Emily stuttered, barley holding back tears.
"Alright." Jaques agreed, not wanting to miss the opportunity for a large bonus. He made his way back inside, towards the garage, while Emily stood poised at the door.
"Could it be? Could it actually be him?" She wondered, unable to comprehend what was happening.
She opened the door, holding her breath. Once open, a young asian lady was standing before her. She looked to be around 20, probably Japanese. She had large breasts, jet black hair tied in twin ponytails, and was dressed like a tourist with a large hiking backpack with jeans and a blouse. She looked up at Emily, tears in her eyes.
"Hey Em." She greeted.
"Oh my god... is it... is it you Rick?" Emily asked.
Now tearing up, Rick could only manage a nod. Without a second more to think, Emily ran over to her, wrapping her arms tightly around her as to never let her go again.
"Oh, baby I- I'm so so sorry." Emily stammered, now fully crying. "I- I thought you were dead! Or a bug or...." She managed before giving her a long kiss.
"Woah, I wonder what daddy would say about this." Rick joked, now blushing after the smooch from the older Emily.
"Daddy?" Emily asked. "Wait, let's take this inside, I don't want the neighbors coming over with annoying questions." She added. The two walked inside, letting Rick put down her large bag. The two sat next to each other on the fancy couch and stared at one another. "Rick...where were you Rick? What happened? 5 years Rick!" She said, feeling every emotion at once.
"Yeah, I know." She sighed, undoing her ponytails to let her hair down. "Well, one second I was standing in your front yard, then the next minute I was sitting in a Japanese classroom in Tokyo." She sighed.
"Oh my god... how young?" Emily asked.
"15... and an early bloomer." She sighed, fixing her chest. "I tried to get here... I tried so hard, but there's only so many times a teenaged girl can ask to go to America before her parents just stop listening. We did actually visit once, but that was when I was 17. Not to mention we were on the wrong coast and I hadn't learned English yet." She sighed.
"Wait, what?" Emily stammered. "English?"
"Yeah, I knew Japanese. I could read it, speak it, perfectly understand it, but English was now some nonsense to me! I had to spend the last 5 years RE-learning a language. Even now, I'm trying my best to speak English and not shift back. At least I got my masters in communication, but Yuki and the others always teased me for being a "Westaboo" and wanting American dick." She sighed.
"Who's Yuki?" Emily asked.
"My bff... she's mad annoying but is still my friend... she didn't know it back then, but she really helped me adjust, get more comfortable with who I am now you know?" Rick said.
"Rick..." Emily said, before stopping when Rick chuckled.
"Sorry, I just, I'm so used to Rieko that Rick just sounds... weird." She giggled. "So, Emily, what's your life been like... clearly you used the camera more?" She asked, gesturing at the mansion.
"Yeah... I just, when you were... well when I thought you were gone.... I tried to fill the whole, get rid of the guilt, but I guess I just made a wall to surround myself from thinking about it all." She sighed.
"Oh Em." Rick sighed, placing her hand over Emily's "Don't worry, you don't have to feel guilty anymore... now, where's that damned camera?" She asked.
The two walked upstairs, opening the door to Emily's room. Rieko spotted the camera and shivered. She hadn't seen that thing in so long. For a brief amount of time, she started to wonder if she had dreamed it all. Whenever she sleep over with Yuki or Akane, or whenever Akito tried to ask her out, she just felt like... herself. But at the same time, she remembered her old life. She remembered it all.
"Damn... I can't believe you kept it." Rieko muttered.
"Well of course. I needed to punish people, and make this shitty life better." Emily growled, lifting up the camera.
"Punish?" Rick asked.
"Yeah, first was my mother. She's currently downstairs sleeping on the doggy bed. I thought she deserved to be a living thing, though my "brother" deserved his fate for invading my personal space and ruining everything. That's why IT is currently sitting at the bottom of a laundry bin waiting for the maid to run the wash again.
"O-oh." Rick replied.
"Also, don't worry, I was just using Charles as a temp husband before getting rid of him once things worked out better." She added, equally as cold.
"So, anyway, you ready to be you again?" She asked.