he portal's light enveloped them like a warm, bluish mist.
Suddenly, Lily felt the ground vanish beneath her feet.
— Aaaaah! — she screamed, arms flailing in the air.
She and the robot floated in a colorful void — as if they were inside a giant bubble made of liquid rainbows, where colors danced and spiraled around them. It was beautiful… and utterly disorienting.
Lily spun slowly, her hair fluttering and her beanie nearly slipping off her head.
— Is this a dimensional vacuum?! — she shouted, trying to reach the robot, who was turning upside down.
— Thanks for the useless information! — she shouted, already starting to laugh at the absurdity of it all.
Suddenly, a flash burst ahead, and before they could say anything...
POOF!
They both crashed into a field full of purple flowers and bluish grass.
The robot landed on its back with a loud THUD, so loud that a few orange-colored birds flying nearby scattered in a panic. Lily followed right after, face-first into a bush full of fragrant petals.
— Oww... my dignity. — she muttered, sitting up with petals in her hair and a flower stuck between her teeth.
The robot tried to get up, but a butterfly landed on his eye. He froze for a moment.
— Systems partially compromised. Diagnosis: I just became a landing cushion.
Lily burst out laughing, lying back on the alien grass.
— What a grand entrance, huh? — she said, still giggling.
The robot emitted a low recalibration hum, standing up with a soft clank. The flower in Lily's teeth dropped on its own.
Around them, the new world stretched out: trees with transparent leaves, glowing rivers, and a sky with two smiling moons — literally smiling, as they had carved faces on them.
— Okay… we're definitely not in the basement anymore. — said Lily, mesmerized.
— Where are we?
— Based on my calculations, we are in Floraxis.
— Flo... what?
— I thought that, being the doctor's daughter, you'd be at least a little smarter.
— Hey! I'm not stupid, okay?
— Then at least remove those flowers from your hair.
He then looked up at the sky and the two moons.
— We're definitely in Floraxis. The moons match the description.
— Hold on a second.
Lily said, pulling the rest of the flowers from her blonde hair and then putting her beanie back on.
— Is this your first time here?
The robot took a moment to answer.
— I never left that basement.
— Then how do you know about this place?
— I don't know.
He seemed thoughtful.
— Everything I know is stored in my memory, even if I've never experienced it.
Lily looked up again at the Floraxis sky, admiring the smiling moons.
— This is so... insane. — she whispered. — I should be worried about how to get back home, but… I think I'm actually enjoying this.
The robot stood up fully, brushing off the blue dust from his metallic arms.
— Sense of novelty: 82%. Risk potential: 74%. Chance of you getting into trouble: 99.9%.
— You've known me for thirty minutes. How can you be so sure?
— I'm a robot. Certainty is my middle name.
Lily rolled her eyes, laughing. But she stopped abruptly when she heard a strange sound. It was like a... meow? But... digital?
— Did you hear that?
— Data analyzed: biotechnological noise of undefined origin.
— Translation: weird thing coming our way, right?
Suddenly, from a translucent bush ahead, a small furry creature with glowing triangle-shaped eyes emerged. It meowed like a 90s modem and had a blinking antenna on top of its head.
— ...Okay. That's both cute and disturbing.
The creature jumped into Lily's lap, purring in binary code.
— Hey... weird little thing. — she said, scratching behind the antenna. — I think we just made a friend.
The robot approached, letting out a cautious beep.
— Detecting active tracking signal.
— Like... someone's after it?
— Or us. Probably both.
Lily sighed.
— Of course. Because a normal day never starts with alien flowers and ends with an interdimensional chase, right?
The robot made a sound resembling an electronic sigh.
— Welcome to Floraxis.
The bush shimmered again, but this time it was different. A loud rustling, as if dozens of tiny feet were running at once.
— Hey... robot, is that "tracking" thing of yours still working?
— Confirmed. Approaching at medium speed. Three… two…
Before he could finish, a figure leapt out of a tree — yes, out of the tree — and landed on its feet before them.
It was... a guard. Or something like that.
He wore armor made of golden leaves and a mushroom-shaped helmet. His mustache floated as if underwater. And, without ceremony, he raised a scroll and read with a firm yet melodic voice:
— Intruders from another dimension, in Floraxis have no permission!But since you fell like gentle rain, you'll now meet Queen Zininha's domain!
Lily widened her eyes.
— Is he... rhyming?
— Confirmed. Ceremonial poetic-military language. Popular among the Floraxis Fungal Guard.
— Fungal what?
The guard closed the scroll with an exaggerated flourish and pointed his leafy spear at the robot.
— Shiny object and clumsy girl… come in peace or get a pike twirl!
— That doesn't even make sense! — protested Lily.
The guard tilted his head.
— Complained about the rhyme, now face the climb: bad rhyme, more drama next time!
Lily raised her hands, exasperated.
— Okay, okay! We'll go with you, alien rap master.
The robot turned discreetly to Lily.
— I recommend cooperation. Chance of getting impaled: 47%.
— Is that a high number for me?
— Considering your skill in tripping over bushes, yes.
With the little creature still purring in binary on her lap, Lily and the robot were led by the Fungal Guard across the flowery field. In the distance, over lilac hills and among trees that sang in chorus, an enormous structure came into view — it looked like a floating castle made of colored glass, held up by glowing vine cables.
— Queen Zininha? — murmured Lily. — Sounds kinda... dangerous.
— Available data: known to be temperamental, eccentric, and obsessed with lemon tea.
— So basically, like my great-aunt.
The robot didn't reply. He was too busy trying to remove the butterfly still perched on his eye.