After Yune left, Mary called in the shopkeeper to heal Jack's wounds. Yune was too far gone for the two of them to search, and even if they did find her, neither of them were sure that they could even convince her to come back.
Jack didn't personally know Mizu, and Mary barely knew anything about Yune's life.
However, Jack still continued to look for Annie with Mary's help.
"You sure you want to keep searching? We've been asking around for a long time. And by we, I mean me," Mary complained.
Jack sighed, "Let's just ask this local hardware store first. Then, we can just go home. I don't really feel like doing this right now, anyways."
"Yeah. Ever since Yune left, the team hasn't really felt the same," Mary replied.
Jack didn't think highely of Mary, but after seeing her protect Jack, she had a different opinion. It didn't feel like it was something Mary would do. So, Jack decided to test her to see if she had indeed changed. She put her expectations, low, though. She may have just protected Jack since she could have plans in using her.
"When you go in there, I want you to threaten the guy," Jack said, "Also, if he doesn't give you information, cut off his hands."
"What!?" Mary exclaimed, "What is with you? Why would I do that?"
"Yune was right when she said that you were improving. You really are getting something of a conscious. If it had been the old you when we first met, you wouldn't even think twice about threatening some random guy. You might have actually got a bit of a kick at hurting him."
"Was that supposed to be an out-of-season April fools joke? Or was that supposed to be mocking? I can't tell," Mary said confused, "Nevermind. Let's just go."
Mary didn't believe that something within her was different. She always felt a pride in being a queen, but now that she isn't one, she didn't really have much of a superiority complex anymore. She began to think of others as human beings. Nonetheless, Mary was insulted that Jack insinuated that she couldn't threaten somebody. She had done it plenty of times before.
Mary and Jack entered the small hardware store. The place sold basic equipment and paints, so Jack thought that Annie might have visited.
Mary went up to the counter and rudely asked the clerk, "Hey, punk. Have you seen any teenagers come by here? Preferably a blonde one. Would have gone by Annie, probably."
Mary's eyes went black and purple, and the clerk answered honestly, "No. I haven't"
"You better be telling the truth, or I'll cut yer arms off. Ahh, who am I kidding? Of course, you're telling the truth. Alright. Thanks, anyways," Mary said.
"See, I can threaten people just fine," Mary said to Jack.
"Yeah. Nice threats," Jack replied sarcastically.
"What? You didn't think that was good enough. Watch this," Mary replied. She pointed to a random stranger in the room wearing an old leather jacket and yelled at him, "Hey, you! Your jacket sucks!"
Then, the man muttered, "My jacket?"
And then he began to tear up.
"Wait. I'm sorry. Don't cry," Mary said compassionately.
And while Mary was trying to apologize to the random stranger, the clerk asked the two girls, "Hey. Would you like to pick up some more supplies?"
"No. We're not here to pick up supplies," Mary replied.
But Jack looked back at the clerk confused. There was a strange word included in that question, Jack thought.
"What do you mean 'more'?" Jack asked.
"Well, you are a regular. I got some more paints and hardwood that you could use," he replied.
"I don't understand. We haven't even met before."
"Really? I'm sure we have. There's not many girls that look like you."
Mary stood up to defend Jack, "Hey! Don't try to insult my pal just because she's super tall and scary!"
"Thanks, Mary," Jack replied sarcastically.
"No problem."
"Oh, I wasn't trying to insult anybody," the clerk replied, "But I know it was you. Unless you have a twin or something."
"What was 'I' doing here?" Jack asked. It seemed strange that there was another girl who looked like her picking up supplies. Paints and hardwood.
"Well, you came and bought whole piles of paints, hardwood, nails, and a bunch of other stuff like wires. You didn't really talk much, though," the clerk replied.
"Mary, ask him some more details. I want to make sure he's telling the truth about it," Jack whispered.
"Gotcha. Hey, Paint-boy, were you telling the truth? Are you certain it was this girl?" Mary asked.
"Yes. I was almost a hundred percent sure. But I guess I was wrong. Sorry to have disturbed you," the clerk replied.
Jack then tapped Mary and whispered, "Ask him if he knows where we can find this other 'me'."
"Do you know where we can find this doppelganger? Or maybe somebody who knows where we can find her?"
"No. Sorry. She picked up the materials herself. She took all the supplies in both arms and walked straight out. I asked her if I could help, but she shook her head every time. I don't even remember which direction she went towards. She came in lots to pick up more, but I never really checked where she went."
Jack nodded and thanked the clerk. They both left the small hardware store.
"I think we've been looking at this wrong," Jack said.
"Yeah. I didn't know you bought so much junk. I hope you haven't been spending my black coins on them," Mary complained.
"What? No. I'm saying that we've been asking the wrong questions. We should be looking for somebody that looks like me. I don't know how, but it looks like Annie was able to make a copy of me," Jack replied.
"A copy? Do you think she made like some kind of android or something like on the TV shows?" Mary asked.
"I don't know. Probably just somebody that Annie found that might look like me. Annie's powers included shooting lasers and that was all. But then again, her signature was on that creature that I found. She may have found some way to make her own demons, so if that's the case, I don't know what she's capable of," Jack said.
"Sure. But we haven't come across any other creatures that had a signature. And you were the only one who saw it."
Jack looked at her angry thinking that Mary didn't believe her, but Mary continued, "Don't worry. I believe that you saw what you saw. A lot of strange things have been happening, anyways. First, the three of us come back from the dead. Next, Night Demons have grown something of a mind since our arrival, and we even keep one as a pet. I wouldn't put it past us if we found a Light Guardian who could do all the things you suggest."
"You're right. The world has changed after we came back. It's like everything around us is changing because of us."
"And I thought I was so self-centered. But, I do think you're right. When we find this Annie, do you think we'll need help. From what you've told me, she sounds like a long-range fighter. Yune would be helpful against somebody that prefers to fight long-range. She could use her chains to make sure she doesn't try to get far."
Jack thought about it, but she doubted that Yune would help her. Although Jack didn't know how much damage she caused to Yune in the past, she still felt sorry for what she did. However, Yune would rather accept Jack's body in pieces rather than an apology.
"No. We can't rely on her," Jack said, "We'll have to fight as a team of two. We should be fine."
"If you say so. I just hope she's safe. I always felt like she was a better mother than my own," Mary replied.
"Let's go home. We'll pick up some pizza on the way back," Jack said. Upon hearing the word "pizza", Mary began to jump up in excitement. And as they walked, all Mary could think of was getting pizza.
Meanwhile, Jack thought that they finally found something that could lead them to Annie. Somebody that looked like herself, she thought.
They worried about Yune, but they couldn't do anything about it. All they could do was hope that Yune was safe, but they were sure that she didn't feel the same about Jack.
They continued forward clinging to whatever hope they have.