RE: 2016-09-12 ff.: Vignettes
06-08-2025, 07:52 AM (This post was last modified: 06-11-2025, 07:41 AM by Bob Schroeck.)
06-08-2025, 07:52 AM (This post was last modified: 06-11-2025, 07:41 AM by Bob Schroeck.)
Chapter 4
We thought we had finished our collection of Vignettes after three sets... but we came up with more, starting with something that's a bit meta even for My Apartment Manager is not an Isekai Character. Enjoy!
2016
Drosselmeyer's Journal
September 20, 2016
9:44 PM ET
Tropes are an interesting way to look at the world, but of course everything is really about stories. Stories are woven into the very fabric of reality, and sometimes, the fates allow me to weave my own stories. The great thing about this new world is that there are so, so many stories, all twined together. It's hard to decide where to start writing first!
It's very hard to write a truly original story. If originality even exists. As Isaac Newton once said, he stood on the shoulders of giants — and just like Newton, I don't think that diminishes my own greatness one bit. But there's a little bit more to it than that, of course.
Lives and stories really like to follow existing stories, and wizards of old knew it as the Tradition. The Tradition is a force that tries to make events follow a traditional path, and echo old stories. It's as if the universe itself wants to see how the stories play out, again and again.
Case in point: Today I visited a coffee shop, and happened upon two young people, a boy named Julio and a girl named Roma. It took but a short bit of time to jot down their cute meet, and they fell in love almost instantly! The traditional path of star-crossed young lovers is an ancient one, but put in two different cultures and names similar to Romeo and Juliet? My ink just flew on the page, because the universe itself favored it. I shall look forward to following up on these two, because the Tradition likes tragedy just as much as happy endings.
But in this new world I find myself in, there are new traditional paths to study! I've seen one where "winter is coming", and nations and families tear themselves apart. Another one where a man allowing himself passion and love itself leads him to embrace "the dark side". I quite like that one! Someone has brushed up the old Odyssey, put it in outer space, and made it so some of the crew were living marionettes — machines in the skin of people — who sabotaged the humans from within. Such delicious stories, that I hope to put my own spin on it. It's a hard job — torturing people so that I can find out what they are truly made of — but someone has to do it!
As much as I fear my own stories are derivative, it's so hard to get inspiration from nothing. But I'm not really worried. It's fun to throw a few traditional stories together just to see what happens. Why fight it? It's just part of reality, and I can feel the Tradition even more strongly here than I did in my old life.
It turns out my own story is traditional too. Apparently I am share my name with a "fictional" wizard who could animate dolls. Do I really look like a nutcracker? I guess I do. Heh heh. I suppose if I could defeat any mouse kings if I were ever called on to do so. Maybe I could take on Disney? It sounds silly, but fate would favor me if I tried.
The Masaki residence, Coquitlam, BC, Canada
October 1, 2016
Washuu-chan listened to Garnett's explanation of Ranma's curse, thought for a moment, then grinned. "I have just the thing!" She typed at her holo-keyboard for a moment, then a portal appeared over her shoulder just long enough for a cylinder to pop out. She grabbed it before it could fall to the floor, then tossed it to Garnett. "Give him this!"
Garnett looked at what she'd reflexively caught. It was a Thermos — complete with the brand name.
"Now why didn't I think of that?" Garnett asked sarcastically.
The Steeple, Philadelphia, PA, USA
October 6, 2016
"I know you're on a diet, but mom's new chocolate cake recipe is sooooo goooood..."
"Nanoha!" Miyuki insisted. "Stop tempting Fate!"
Blossom Apartments, Ottawa, ON, Canada
October 12, 2016
Rob Donaldson closed his apartment door behind him and walked over to the kitchen nook. As he looked in the cupboard at what he had available for a lunch eaten alone, one jar caught his eye.
It was something he didn't eat very often since he'd become an apartment manager. His residents from early-21st-century Academy City thought it was something fancy, so they didn't eat it out of habit; they didn't want to become accustomed to eating a luxury food on a regular basis. Most of his residents from 1990s Japan thought it was some strange substance that they couldn't imagine anybody eating. Which, he granted, was fair; he couldn't understand how somebody would want to eat natto. The sole exception was Minako, who had spent time in England... but she thought it was disgusting. What does she know what's disgusting to eat? Rob asked himself. She eats Marmite.[1]
He decided to eat what he wanted, for a change... and pulled the peanut butter out of the cupboard.
Dr. John Hugh Gillis Regional High School, Antigonish, NS, Canada
October 21, 2016
"I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangement, if you don't want me to tell your parents about this."
Katie looked at Nabiki as if she'd grown another head. "What do you mean, 'tell my parents'? They've known that I'm gay for years — and my mom set me up with Tammy to start with!"
Nabiki's first attempt at blackmail in her new school in Nova Scotia was quickly spinning out of her control. "But... aren't you a Christian?"
Katie nodded. "Yes, but just because there's a chapel and a cathedral on the grounds of Saint F-X doesn't mean we're all Catholics in Antigonish," she replied. "Tammy and I attend St. James United,[2] and so do my parents and both of her fathers." While Nabiki wrapped her head around the idea of a homosexual couple being so open about their relationship that they attended a Christian church as a couple, Katie continued, "Just because we like a little privacy when making out doesn't mean we're hiding. Besides, this is a university town. I wouldn't say that anything goes, Ms. Tendo," Katie grinned, "but we're a lot more accepting than many other places. Do you mind if I show these photos to Tammy?"
"No, go ahead," Nabiki replied almost in a daze. And she had thought things were going so well, too. Then she realized from the mention of Anything Goes that Katie knew exactly who she was.
Blossom Apartments, Ottawa, ON, Canada
November 25, 2016
"What's got you so glum, pretty lady?" He didn't know why he called her that, but somehow it felt right.
Ami looked up at Rob, tears in her eyes for some reason. "I used the Mercury Computer to take notes in class today, and people laughed at me!"
Rob winced. There was no way for Ami's classmates to know that her palmtop was the most powerful device in the room, if not the entire university. Then he had an idea. "Back when Blackberry still made hardware, I used to use my cellphone as a front-end to my tablet so I could use a physical keyboard. Maybe Kazari and HAL could whip up something similar for you so you use your phone in public."
"And keep the Mercury Computer in my pocket?" He nodded. "Do... do you think they could?"
"I'm sure they could," he answered as he gave her a hug. "You've already got your visor as a front-end to your computer when you're in senshi form."
Virtual Space
December 22, 2016
Vanellope kicked at a non-existent stone. "It's not fair that we can't go to the Christmas party with everyone else," she pouted.
"Maybe next year," Felix said. "By then they might've had time to build robot bodies for us to use."
"In my case, it is less a matter of not being physical," KITT's avatar — a black car bigger than all the others combined — noted, "but of being too physical. It is difficult to seat an automobile at a dinner table," he added dryly. "But I am used to being overlooked or even ignored during most human celebrations."
"It's still not fair," Vanellope reiterated.
"Why don't we throw our own Christmas party?" Tamora asked as she ran her fingers through her husband's hair.
"Where would we hold it, dear?" Felix asked as he leaned back, eyes half closed.
"Sugar Rush," Vanellope declared confidently. "I mean, I'm its princess — I'll just order my subjects to organize it all for me. And KITT," she added, "I'm pretty sure I can set you up with a human-shaped avatar so you can join all the fun."
"I have to admit a certain curiosity about operating a humanoid form, Miss von Schweetz, even if it is virtual," KITT replied. "If you are able to arrange it, I would be happy to participate in the celebration."
"And maybe we can race after?" Vanellope added with a sly grin. "After all, that's what we do."
2017
Appartements Mont-Royal Sud, Montreal, QC, Canada
January 7, 2017
"It's not proper to burden somebody else with my personal problems."
"Ms. Matou," Harold Shea replied, "It's my job to be burdened with other people's personal problems, and to help them solve those problems. Would you be kind enough to help me do my job?"
"If you insist," Sakura said quietly. "But don't you know all about it already from watching my story?"
Harold nodded. "Knowing it and hearing it from you are two different things. Please, Ms. Matou, tell me about what you think was the beginning."
The fifteen-year-old girl sighed deeply, then said, "It all started when I was adopted into the Matou family as a child and I met my step-brother Shinji..."
Piffle Enterprises, Ottawa, ON, Canada
January 16, 2017
Gomez Addams took a look around Piffle's workroom, with artificial limbs, torsos, and heads on various workbenches. "This reminds me of great-uncle Frankie's lab!"
Blossom Apartments, Ottawa, ON, Canada
January 23, 2017
Her textbook hit the table harder than usual. The strong, solid, oak table; if she had slammed it onto one of the smaller tables, the table might have broken.
Everybody else in the common room turned to look at Ami. She looked upset.
"How am I supposed to study when I can't find any decent photos?"
Minako walked over, picked up the textbook that so offended Ami, and leafed through it. "Wow. I see your point."
"What point, Niiko Misaka asks?"
Minako turned to her, a frown on her face. She held up Ami's textbook and said, "It isn't just the Oscars that are so white."
"Exactly!" complained Ami. "Nobody in these books looks like us!"
"Maybe we should do something about that," Kazari opined without looking up from her laptop. Five minutes later, she, HAL, and Washuu-chan had worked out a plan to collect public-domain photos of medical conditions and make them available on the net.
Callahan's, Long Island, NY, USA
February 7, 2017
"Since it wasn't the first time we'd caught him doing that on duty, I had no choice but to fire him."
Rob winced. "Yeah, I can see why. But what about the starboard engine monitor?"
"I had to fire her, too," replied Lindy with a straight face.
He blinked, noticed the smile that was starting to form on her face, and laughed. She quickly joined in.
After a few seconds, Rob said, "Oh, you had me going there. And we even have a similar joke here, too." Then he sighed, and continued, "I do like your sense of humour, Lindy. I'd be happy to get to know you better."
She smiled in all seriousness. "I'm flattered, Rob, but I don't think of you that way. I'd rather we just be friends."
"Oh, I didn't mean that. I'm already dating Hyoga. I'm good with us being friends." Then his cellphone alarm chimed.
"It's that late already?"
Rob nodded as they both stood up. "Yeah. We have to go. I have to remind Mimi to head over to your place, and you have to be there to teach her. Same time next week?"
Lindy grinned. "I'll be here!"
Los Angeles, California, USA
March 17, 2017
Minkao Jinguuji leaned back against her apartment door after shutting and locking it, and took a long, slow breath. She held it for a moment, eyes closed, then let it back out just as slowly before opening her eyes again. She loved being a reporter but, damn, some days.
Shaking her head she pushed herself up and kicked off her shoes before making her way to her bedroom to change into something more comfortable.
An hour later, the remains of her dinner pushed back across the small dinette table to give her room, she flipped open the red notebook she kept hidden any time she left the apartment. Her eye fell upon the first line of the first page, written in her tight, neat kanji — so like and yet so unlike the romaji she had found herself using the last five months:
And she still didn't know how she'd ended up over twenty years in the future, a future that insisted she'd always been in it, with familiar names but slightly different histories. Not different enough, though, damn it all — her parents had still been disgraced, her life still shattered in the wake of their so-called suicides... but that investigation was a different-colored notebook, kept hidden in a different location entirely. That was for her search for justice. This one...
This one was for her search for meaning.
And with a rumor she'd heard coming out of the seiyuu community in Japan, she had her first lead since she'd found herself in this time and place.
Pensacola Beach, Florida, USA
April 8, 2017
"This is Crescent Rose," Ruby said, then smiled sheepishly. "I'm kind of a dork about weapons."
Fifteen minutes later, in Australia, Shinji waved at the giant robot. "This is my weapon, Evangelion Unit-01."
Ruby stared. "Whoa," she breathed, "that is so cool." Then she turned to Shinji. "You win."
Shinji cracked a tiny smile. "I usually did."
![[Image: 131px-Ruby_and_Shinji_and_the_Eva.jpg]](https://kanrikyara.miraheze.org/w/thumb_handler.php/0/0e/Ruby_and_Shinji_and_the_Eva.jpg/131px-Ruby_and_Shinji_and_the_Eva.jpg)
Source
Gehring Place
Houston, Texas, USA
May 15, 2017
"Jeannie! I'm home!" Tony announced as he closed the door to the apartment behind him and toed off his black oxfords.
"I'm in the kitchen, Master." Jeannie's voice was a near-murmur at his ear. Tony smiled to himself. Of course she wouldn't shout across the apartment. He set his briefcase on the console table next to the door, loosened his tie and slid off his jacket, to toss it carelessly on the sofa as he crossed the living room ... and stopped short at the tiny dining area, almost a breakfast nook, at the end of the brick wall that divided the living room from the kitchen. "Um, hello."
A blonde woman sat at the table such that she had been hidden from the front door. Tony frowned slightly in confusion; she was clearly well past middle age, but was ... "well preserved" was the first phrase that came to mind. She was also disturbingly familiar. "Hello, Major Nelson," she said, smiling, as Jeannie stepped out of the kitchen and placed a cup of coffee in front of her, and another at the place closest to the kitchen; its chair had been pushed out.
"Hello, Master!" Jeannie said brightly as she slipped gracefully into it. "Welcome home!"
Looking between the two of them, Tony suddenly realized why the older woman had seemed so familiar. He bent down and pecked Jeannie on the cheek, then said, "Thank you, Jeannie. I wasn't aware that any of your relatives had been displaced with us." He nodded toward the woman, who laughed musically. Jeannie joined her a moment later.
"I'm sorry, Major," the woman said, "I'm not one of Jeannie's relatives, although I can see how you might think that." She stood and offered him her hand, and he automatically shook it. "My name is Barbara Eden. I played Jeannie in a TV show fifty years ago." She slid her hand from his suddenly limp grasp, and raised it to cup his cheek. "You look so much like Larry. It's a pity he passed away before he could meet you."
Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada
May 15, 2017
"Manami, the more I learn about you, the more I wish I'd met you when you were alive."
"Oh, I think I probably wouldn't have looked twice at you when I was alive, Henry," Manami Kuroha replied. "You aren't Japanese."
Remembering the reputation that 20th-century Japanese had for unconscious racism, Henry Stewart said, "There is that."
Blossom Apartments
June 9, 2017
Lind drew the sword from the scabbard in order to present it to Minako. It was brown of hue, emblazoned with a dragon, decked with gold and gleaming bright. "I can think of none better to wield this sword in this reality than the commander of Neo-Queen Serenity's bodyguard. This is Gram, the sword that can cleave an anvil. The hero Sigurd used it to slay Fafnir, the dragon whose very breath is poison."
Rob looked puzzled. "But I spoke with Fafnir last December," he whispered.
Hyoga leaned over to Rob and whispered in reply, "While we were in Niflheim."
"Yes, while we were in... D'oh!"
Somewhere in Dublin, Ireland
July 22, 2017
"Why are you in bed with me?"
"You... asked me last night," Meg Deckard replied. "Twice."
"I don't remember that?"
"Do you remember what you had to drink?"
"...And you said Yes?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"I was drunk. You have those freaky powers. And... and... you're... I know who you really are."
"Yes. But I'm also a companion model boomer — and you needed companionship for the night. It's OK, you were perfectly honourable for the entire night. But it feels good..."
"It's not a real feeling. It's one you made."
"It is real. Right now, my feelings for you are real. And the feelings you have are real too. It's possible for someone to feel this way about you. It's possible for you to have these feelings about someone else."
"It feels so unlikely."
"It's difficult, but you're a good soul. Just be honest with yourself, and allow it to happen, rather than try to force it."
"Why'd you do this?"
"Like I said. You needed companionship."
Kaluakoi Hotel, Hawaii, USA
August 18, 2017
Ami Mizuno looked at the leader board in amazement. "How?"
Michiru Kaioh stood beside her, just as amazed. "I was expecting to tie with you, but I didn't expect that we'd tie for second."
The person who'd swum faster than either of the Senshi with water powers walked over to them, a pair of towels on her arm and a third draped around her neck. "That was a great race! I was worried for a while that I might have lost." She offered each of them a towel.
"Thanks, Chika," Ami said as she took one towel.
Michiru accepted the other towel. "How did you manage to keep up with us, let alone beat us, Ms. Minazuki?"
The youngster with no superhuman powers at all grinned. "I just swam the way I always do! Why, don't you spend hours in the water every day, too?"
Douglass Gardens Apartments
August 26, 2017
Azusa Nakano leaned toward Ruiko Saten and, sotto voice, asked, "Why is she doing this?"
"You know who her friends are," Ruiko said at the same volume. "She might not be able to survive hanging out with the Pillar of Cephiro and Neo-Queen Serenity if she doesn't."
"Yeah. That would be bad." Then both girls turned their full attention back to the ceremony: Sailor Moon had just transformed to Neo-Queen Serenity and stepped forward so that she was close enough to touch the young woman kneeling before her, flanked by her sister and her petitioning Sailor Senshi.
"We stand here in the watchful presence of the royalty and nobility of the Silver Millennium and their invited guests to witness the bestowal of a Star Seed to this worthy applicant."
Said assemblage being the Sailor Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen in their roles as royalty, the sole living noble, Baroness Tomo Takino, standing beside Princess Venus, and residents of both Douglass Gardens and Blossom recruited to pad out the audience.
"The gift of a Star Seed is not to be accepted lightly. The powers of a Sailor Senshi should not be used for personal gain; rather, they exist so that their owners can promote, protect, preserve, and embody virtues, including love. Knowing this, and knowing the burden of responsibility that you will assume, do you still choose to accept this gift, Miss Hirasawa?"
Yui Hirasawa looked up at Usagi, opened her mouth... and forgot her line.
Her sister Ui was the first to realize what had happened. She whispered, "I accept this responsibility."
"I accept this responsibility!" Yui echoed more loudly.
As a silver glow surrounded both Hirasawa sisters and lifted them into the air, Ui realized exactly what she'd done... and accepted the gift that she expected only her sister would receive that day.
Once the glow faded, the two new Sailor Senshi looked at themselves and each other. They were standing side-by-side and dressed similarly, wearing the requisite white leotard and sailor collar present in all of the solar system's Sailor Senshi uniforms, pleated short skirts matching their collars, and ballet-flat shoes covering white ankle socks on their feet. While the uniforms were both green with white trim, Yui's was the same shade as Sailor Jupiter's while Ui's was the brighter green of her junior-high school uniform. Instead of the expected choker, each new Senshi was wearing a necklace supporting a Minoan-style pendant. The astronomical symbol for Europa glowed on both girls' foreheads, but only Ui's symbol had a asterisk between the horns. Neither of them wore gloves, but both carried javelins.
While she was as surprised as everyone else at what had just happened, Neo-Queen Serenity recovered quickly. "I welcome you into the Sailor Team, Duchess Yui, Sailor Europa... and Princess Ui, Sailor Europa."
"But... but... how?"
Sailor Mercury turned to Ruiko. "There are two bodies named Europa in the solar system, a moon of Jupiter and an asteroid that is larger than Juno. This is an elegant way to resolve the question of who should become Sailor Europa."
Meanwhile, Usagi had returned to her Sailor Moon uniform and walked over to the man standing beside the Pillar of Cephiro. "Guru Clef, may I request a favor from you?"
While Usagi was short, Clef was even shorter; he had to reach up to place one finger on her lips. "Say no more, Your Highness. It would be my honor to teach these two young women how to use their new abilities."
Classified location
September 15, 2017
Rob looked him straight in the eye. "Let her go!"
He did so. "Very poor choice of words."
But since he wasn't watching his victim's fall, he didn't notice that Hyoga's wings were extended before she was halfway to the ground.
The Old Dietmeier Place
Lake Wobegon, MN, USA
September 22, 2017
"This is for you," Ruby said as she dropped a cardboard box onto the workbench in front of Buffy.
"A prezzy? For me?" Buffy grinned at the smaller girl. "You shouldn't have!"
Ruby giggled and rolled her eyes. "While we work on creating your weapon, we need to get you ready to actually use it when we're done." She patted the box. "I've made a mockup of it, weighted and balanced to feel the same in your hands as the real thing will when it's finished, whichever form it's in." The younger girl looked very pleased with herself. "That way you can start learning how to use it right away."
"That's what I love about you guys from Remnant," Buffy declared as she opened up the box. "You all know the way to a girl's heart."
Blossom Apartments, Ottawa, ON, Canada
October 6, 2017
"Rob Donaldson. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Yamada."
Motoharu looked confused for a moment. "My name is -"
Rob cut him off, quickly. "Yamada, if you want any chance of being allowed to marry Maika in the future."
"Oh." Motoharu looked thoughtful for a moment, then smiled and extended his right hand. "Motoharu Yamada. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Donaldson."
Rob quite happily shook the once and future Tsuchimikado-san's hand. "I'm glad we could clear that up so quickly."
Elsewhere in Blossom Apartments
Same Time
"Call me 'Misaka Leet', Misaka 13337 suggests."
"Might I suggest 'Lita' instead? That's an actual girl's name here," Artemis pointed out.
"What kind of name is 'Lita' for an electrokinetic?" asked Sailor Jupiter with disdain, having flashbacks to when she had watched the dub of her own anime.[3]
Misaka 13337 smiled slightly. "'Misaka Lita' it is, then."
2018
Somewhere in Northbrook, IL, USA
February 7, 2018
"Hey, I have a girlfriend! She's in Canada."
"Yeah, right. You have a girlfriend in Canada. You and that guy from The Breakfast Club."
"No, really!"
"Then tell us about her!"
"Well, she's tall, she was born in Japan, and she says I remind her of her sempai, whatever that means..."
Somewhere in Ottawa, ON, Canada
March 25, 2018
"Dr. Mizuno, if your daughter was to return to Japan now, she would have to go back into high school. Here, she is already majoring in Pediatric Cardiology at the University of Ottawa, and she has already been selected to get hands-on training at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute to supplement her classes." Saeko actually looked surprised at that revelation. Even in Japan, the Heart Institute was famous as a ground-breaking medical institution. "I assure you, Ami-san is not letting her life go to waste."
In a briefing room aboard the Tuatha de Danaan, submerged in the Black Sea near Ukraine and Pottsylvania
July 9, 2018
Due to the security around the operation, Commander Mardukas was personally on the radio: "Mama Bear to Papa Bear, Pleiades are being briefed now. Request your status report. Any changes to the situation?"
Meanwhile, Captain Teresa Testarossa was carrying out that briefing. "If we're going to defeat Cinder's deployed forces, we'll need to get you in behind them, here." She pointed at a spot on the map. "However, they have anti-teleport wards deployed. That means getting you five in there the hard way."
Mikoto nodded. "I don't really like combat drops, but we're getting used to them."
"Agent Papa Bear and his team have also detected heat and radio sensors deployed in Cinder's troops' position, so we have arranged the use of a glider that Hyoga's going to pull to get you to the drop point. The five of you will bail out at 200 feet."
Niiko shook her head. "It has to be 100 feet or lower."
Mii raised an eyebrow. "You're sure? If you jump at 100 feet, your parachutes won't have time to open."
Nana's reply was, "Oh, we get parachutes?"
Mardukas smiled as he thought these Misaka Sisters were almost Gurkhas.
Callahan's, Long Island, NY, USA
August 14, 2018
"I don't know whether anybody would even notice the gender imbalance among the displacees," Lindy commented. "There may be hundreds of displaced refugees, but Japan alone has somewhere around one and a half million high-school-age girls, I believe."
"Close enough for government work," Mamoru agreed.
Rob grimaced. "Have you seen the statistics that governments keep? It's only 'close enough' if you have the exact number. That estimate's close enough for private sector work."
Hyoga sighed at his foible. "Spot the ex-bureaucrat, everybody." Then she turned to her date. "Rob, there's a time and a place to be pedantic, and a friendly get-together in a bar is not it."
Rob had the grace to look contrite. "Right, Sorry."
Unnamed mailing list, Online
September 29, 2018
From: @33Stars_Band
33 minutes ago.
Hi...
Since we have followers in California, This applies to us
Every member of this band is an artificial lifeform pretending to be human.
2019
Blossom Apartments, Ottawa, ON, Canada
January 21, 2019
"It's only 40 cm of snow. Why would they close the schools?" Ami noticed just a hint of a smile playing on Rob's face as he said that.
Just then, Ruiko looked up from her laptop and announced, "Rob, they closed the schools!"
"Wow. That doesn't happen very often. It was my turn to make breakfast, but I have to use my power to clear the snow from the walkway and the parking lot instead."
"I'll make breakfast," Ami offered.
"Thanks." Rob looked at the news report that said the storm was affecting all of eastern Canada as he grabbed his coat. "Looks like we're stuck here until they plow the roads unless we use a portal, and there's no point in using the portal network to visit Windsor, Montréal, or Antigonish; they've been hit as hard as we have and I'd be surprised if anyone other than our friends in Nova Scotia were ready for it. Once I'm back inside, we can figure out something that we can do together. Anybody else here ever play Dungeons & Dragons?"
"Famicom, Sega, or Playstation?" Ruiko asked.
"Pencil-and-paper; the books are in the glass-fronted bookcase."
"Oh you meant a tabletop RPG. Is Ami going to be our Dungeon Keeper?"
Classified location
March 8, 2019
"If only I had more electricity to draw on, I could make this work," Mikoto Misaka said through gritted teeth.
Before anybody else could reply, Fate started chanting:
"To pound is lightning,
To echo is thunder,
Alcus Curtas Agias..."
As storm clouds gathered and started to send lightning down to the earth, Nanoha's eyes went wide. "Fate hasn't used that spell since she activated six Jewel Seeds at once... and it nearly killed her!"
Somewhere in the Solar System
April 8, 2019
"What's quackening–" The redheaded girl began shrinking down, collapsing into her smaller form in a couple second. "Quack," said the yellow ducking.
"Crap, antimagic." Brent declared, "This is not good. There's no way we could beat them without magic." He scooped up the duck and started a hasty retreat through the steely halls of the spaceship.
"Qua... quack-quack-quack-qua-quack!" Entchen warned.
"Yeah, I know they're faster than me." Brent darted through a steel door. Not having any way to lock it, he went for the old standby, pulling a knife from his pocket and slamming it into the door control keypad. The lock sparked, sputtered, then smoked, disabling the door.
Entchen gestured around the room with her left wing. "Qua–" A storage bay, and a dead end. The metallic din outside the door grew even louder.
"What's the chance there's a plasma rifle in the crates? These guys don't seem too big on OSHA rules." But he never got the answer to that question, as a spot in the door started to glow red, then begin to cut through the door.
"Okay, new plan. Let's get out of here. Some magic can't be suppressed; it's written into spacetime itself." As the cutting torch was halfway through its giant loop through the bay doors, Brent told the duck, "Sorry about this," and began reciting:
"Through the darkness of future's past
The magician longs to see
One chants out between two worlds
Fire, walk with me!"
The storage bay doors blasted open, but there was no one inside.
In another place entirely, two people regained awareness. It seemed like a very well lit room, yet all that illuminated them from above was mere starlight. Long red curtains hung all round them, and a matching plush red sofa lay on the checkerboard floor.
Sitting on this sofa were one human man, Brent Laabs, and one duckling, Entchen. They were alone in the room, and looked around, not knowing what they were looking for.
And then, there was a pretty blonde girl in a chair, sitting beside the couch as if it had always been there. She spoke, her voice garbled as if she was speaking backwards, "You are a bird, but you are not a bird." Her voice was somehow perfectly intelligible to Brent and Entchen.
Entchen slowly lifted her wings, then folded them back into place. She turned to face the girl and quacked, "It's complicated." This too, was understood by all in the room.
"You are a dancer. You will dance with me?" The duckling turned to look over, and nodded up and down four times. In a blink, Entchen was standing, facing the girl who looked like Laura Palmer.
Brent watched the pair, dancing a slow ballet to haunting jazz. The dancers looked like a perfect mirror each other's actions, except one was a girl but not a girl, and the other was a duck but not a duck. He complained, "This place, every single time."
Aboard the Federation science ship USS Yosemite, Starbase 1, Earth Orbit
May 16, 2019
Rob noticed that a program was already running on the ship's holodeck. But this was where Ami had told him she wanted to see him, so he walked in.
The holodeck was running a simulation of the original NCC-1701 Enterprise's sickbay, with only one person in the room — a petite young woman with short hair so dark it seemed almost blue. She was wearing a DS9-era Starfleet uniform, though.
"Ami?"
She turned to face him. Rob saw that she was wearing a badge shaped like Washuu-chan's signature crab instead of a Starfleet commbadge, and her hair was parted on her right instead of on her left. "Hello. You must be Mr. Donaldson. I am not Ms. Mizuno; I am the prototype Zimmerman-Hakubi Long-term Medical Holographic program, or 'LMH' for short."
Okay, this wasn't what I expected, he thought. "Hello, miss. I wasn't aware that Washuu-chan was working with Dr. Zimmerman on your project; I assume that you're ready to be posted somewhere."
"You assume correctly, as far as your assumption goes. I have been designed to serve as a medic in locations where it would be impractical to station a full-time physician. I have been programmed with both the Starfleet and Juraian medical databases, and my appearance and personality have been based on Ami Mizuno. I am currently undergoing field testing."
The door behind her opened, and Ami walked in. "Are you running...? Oh, hello, Rob! I see you've met the LMH."
"Hi, darling. That I have." He turned his attention back to the LMH. "Do you have a name?"
"I am the Zimmerman-Hakubi Long-term Medical Holographic program, or..." The hologram stopped when she saw Rob shaking his head.
"That's what you are. I'm asking who you are."
Ami sighed. "We hadn't chosen a name for her yet. Unless you've thought of something you like, LMH?"
"Not yet, Ms. Mizuno. Perhaps Mr. Donaldson might have some suggestions."
"Well..." He thought for a moment. "Yuuko — gentle child — oh, but sometimes you'd have to be forceful in order to get a patient to cooperate."
"It is a better name than what I was considering: Ichiko."
"Meaning 'first child'," Ami explained. "She is the prototype, after all."
"What about Akemi?"
"Bright and beautiful? I think your view of me might be influenced by what you think of Ms. Mizuno."
"I was thinking beautiful crystal, actually."
"Because my pattern is stored in computer memory crystals?"
Rob nodded. "And because you are a beautiful woman."
"Mr. Donaldson, should you be complimenting a woman you just met while your girlfriend is in the room?" The LMH smiled.
"He does it all the time, LMH, but he usually only compliments his other girlfriend. Whichever of us is being complimented."
"Your personal life is more complex that I had been lead to believe, Ms. Mizuno."
"It's less complicated than Tenchi Masaki's," Rob pointed out.
"True. And I have come to a conclusion: I do not wish to be called LMH any more. Please call me Akemi."
Ami nodded. "As you wish. Is there a family name that you would prefer to use?"
"I thought that would be obvious. Dr. Zimmerman is essentially my father, after all."
Rob extended his hand. "I'm pleased to meet you, Akemi Zimmerman."
She took it, and they shook hands for a moment. "And I'm happy to meet you, Rob Donaldson. Since you've given me my name, does that make you my godfather?"
"I would be honoured to have that role in your life, Akemi."
Lunar Orbit
August 17, 2019
They walked into the Brattain's captain's cabin, which was just as clean and tidy as all of the other cabins had been. Too clean and tidy in Rob's opinion, considering the ship's history... which was probably why Starfleet was willing to simply give it to the Crystal Millennium. Admiral Luna, of course, wasn't about to refuse a free ship, and crewed it with Misaka Sister volunteers.
"Well," Rob commented, "this is your new home away from home." They both looked around, seeing outside the window the work crew repainting the name and registration number on the hull from "USS Brattain NCC-21166" to "CMS Brattain CMS-1". All things considered, it was a pretty nice place. But Starfleet had always been generous with the size of their ships' senior officer quarters, Defiant-class ships notwithstanding.
Even the captain's safe was open and empty. Instead of a tumbler knob, there was a small keyboard inset in the bulkhead above the safe's door.
"I suppose I should put the commissioning paperwork in here, Misaka 13560 comments."
"Haven't you chosen a personal name yet, Misaka-Issa?"
"I am still not accustomed to having an individual name, Misaka Hoshi comments." She put the paperwork into the safe, then tried to close the safe's door. It closed, but wouldn't stay closed.
The computer — which of course sounded exactly like Majel Barrett — announced, "Type in a pass phrase to lock the safe."
Hoshi thought for a moment, then typed in ten keystrokes. The safe's door locked.
Rob smiled. "And of course everybody in the Misaka Network knows that combination now."
Hoshi nodded. "It was Misaka Nana who suggested it, Misaka Hoshi replies. Correction: Misaka Hoshi-Issa replies."
"Now that it's official, congratulations on assuming command of the CMS Brattain, Captain Misaka." He shook her hand. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to share the safe's combination with me in my capacity as Chief Scientist Mizuno's consort and Neo-Queen Serenity's residence manager, would you?"
She looked at him flatly. "That is insufficient need-to-know, Mr. Donaldson. But Misaka Nana says you should be able to figure it out yourself, Misaka-Issa adds."
He thought for a moment, remembered that Nana was the first of the Misaka Sisters to develop a sense of humour, then remembered a rather famous SNL sketch. He walked over to the safe and said the characters as he typed them in. "G-E-T-space-A-space-L-I-F-E."
The safe opened.
He re-closed the safe, turned back to Hoshi, and commented, "You really should pick a password that isn't so easy to guess." Then, after a moment, he added, "And make sure commander-in-chief Aino, Admiral Luna, or somebody on their staff knows what it is."
2020
Crystal Millennium, The Moon
May 5, 2020
"From the person who has everything"
"Remind me again why we're doing this?"
Rei sighed. "Somebody has to do it, Your Royal Highness."
"We have staff! Well-paid staff! Why aren't they doing this?"
"It's because we have staff that we have to be the ones to do this."
Usagi thought about that for a moment. "You've lost me there."
Sometimes, Rei Hino despaired for her queen. This was one of those times. "We're in charge of the Crystal Millennium now, and by agreement you're the face of the Solar System to anybody who wants to deal with people who don't live on Earth and the leader of the magical girls who want to be in a team. Belldandy save us all."
"Hey! I'm not that bad!"
Rei refused to comment.
"I know I'm the Crystal Millennium's top diplomat because of who I am and who I was in my life in the Silver Millennium, Rei. And I also know that you know that that job plus my PoliSci coursework keeps me busy. Too busy to be doing something like this."
"And that's exactly why you're out here doing it."
Usagi blinked as she tried to figure out what Rei was saying. Finally, she said, "You're not making any sense."
"We have money. We have people to do things for us, except study. We can get almost anything that isn't unique just by asking for it and justifying spending tax money on it."
"I don't do that!"
"Neither do I, but we could do that. What we don't have is unlimited time. So the only thing that we can give anybody as a present that means anything..."
"... is our time! Okay, I get it now!"
"Finally!" Rei Hino, Princess Mars, dope-slapped her sovereign... lightly and playfully. "Now can we get back to cleaning Ami's pool for her?"
"After we finish this break. You know what Mako-chan would say if she caught us wasting food, even something like these ice pops."
Rei nodded. "Okay, let's finish our snack, then get back to work."
![[Image: usarei-summer.jpg]](https://www5c.biglobe.ne.jp/~unmoral/wf/illust/usarei-summer.jpg)
Source
Crystal Millennium, The Moon
December 12, 2020
"Luna, you used to be an admiral, right?"
The Mau — currently in cat form — turned away from her family and looked up at Rob's question. "That's right. I was one of Queen Serenity's military advisors during the Silver Millennium."
"That implies you and she had a navy. How big was your fleet?"
She sighed deeply. "Before or after Metaria's youma attacked?"
Rob had the grace to look chagrined. "Sorry." After a moment, he continued, "I was hoping that there might have been a few ships somewhere near the ruins of the capital, but that isn't very likely, is it? Even if there was a military base that close to the palace, they... no, you would have deployed every ship you had to defend the capital, wouldn't you?"
Artemis turned to Rob. "Why wouldn't there be a military base at the capital, Rob? There's a Canadian Forces Base here in Ottawa, after all."
"And each princess had a yacht that was hangared there, that last day," Luna added. "They refused to use them to escape — they stood and fought, and died, protecting the civilians."
"I don't suppose you remember where the hangars were?"
Luna gave Rob "the look" that all the females at Blossom had learned from Mikoto Misaka. "They were right beside my own office."
"I hadn't asked you that yet. But I'll ask the $64,000 question now: can you give directions to the hangars that Yuuno and Fujitaka could follow?"
The archaeological dig at the ruins of Moon Castle, Crystal Millennium, The Moon
Same Day
"So how did she die?" asked Usagi,
Yuuno Scrya looked up from the bones just long enough "You don't want to know," he said.
Usagi pouted. "But I love watching True Crime series on television. And it can't be any worse than some of those. Why, there was this one time where they locked this girl in a basement and..."
"OK." Yuuno interrupted her, taking a breath. He sat back on his own heels, giving himself a moment to compose his thoughts and wonder what it was about women and brutal homicides.
"The left leg and lower right arm were disassociated from the remains." He pointed to a another cordoned-off area, about ten meters away. "We found them over there." Another archaeologist was busy cataloging them.
"Ow," said Usagi.
Yuuno nodded "She broke her back, pelvis, several ribs, and this fracture on the jaw here." He beckoned her in close to the bleached remains. "You can actually see where claws tore into the bone, here, here and here."
Usagi loomed in.
"Ooohh."
"Anyway, none of that would've killed her immediately. From the position of the bones and how it looks like she tried to protect herself I'd say she was still alive and conscious when they burned her body."
"Ow," said Usagi, again.
"I don't know who she was — most of the uniform is burned."
Usagi stared down at the remains with grim intensity. The bones stared back up at her through empty eye sockets. Something inside her stirred — a vague familiarity. Yuuno, seeing she'd zoned out, busied himself brushing layers of regolith from between bleached bones. Her fingers — what remained of them — still held on to to a sliver object, the size of a zippo lighter but infinitely more ornate. Even after centuries, it hadn't tarnished.
Ami reached over Yuuno's shoulder and took the device from the corpse's cold dead hand.
Usagi 'eeped' in shock, the spell on her broken by Ami's sudden intrusion.
"Hey!" Yuuno snapped. "You can't just take something from a dig!"
"Why not?" said Ami. "It's mine."
Yuuno blinked in surprise. "Is this...?" he started, motioning toward the body.
"Yes, that's me. How did I die?"
Usagi's face lit up, her mouth snapping open ready to reveal the goriest of details. Yunno's hands smothered the words before they could emerge.
"Quickly," he blurted out. "Very quickly. Almost painless in fact. Just poof and gone. Probably never even realised it happened."
"Ah," Ami nodded, looking down at the device in her hand and carefully not looking at her previous incarnation's corpse.
Usagi steamed, her face already turning a bright cherry red.
Distractedly, Ami said, "Yuuno-kun, Luna has remembered where the Silver Millennium's royal hangar was. Can you send a team to see whether anything's still there, please?"
We thought we had finished our collection of Vignettes after three sets... but we came up with more, starting with something that's a bit meta even for My Apartment Manager is not an Isekai Character. Enjoy!
2016
Drosselmeyer's Journal
September 20, 2016
9:44 PM ET
Tropes are an interesting way to look at the world, but of course everything is really about stories. Stories are woven into the very fabric of reality, and sometimes, the fates allow me to weave my own stories. The great thing about this new world is that there are so, so many stories, all twined together. It's hard to decide where to start writing first!
It's very hard to write a truly original story. If originality even exists. As Isaac Newton once said, he stood on the shoulders of giants — and just like Newton, I don't think that diminishes my own greatness one bit. But there's a little bit more to it than that, of course.
Lives and stories really like to follow existing stories, and wizards of old knew it as the Tradition. The Tradition is a force that tries to make events follow a traditional path, and echo old stories. It's as if the universe itself wants to see how the stories play out, again and again.
Case in point: Today I visited a coffee shop, and happened upon two young people, a boy named Julio and a girl named Roma. It took but a short bit of time to jot down their cute meet, and they fell in love almost instantly! The traditional path of star-crossed young lovers is an ancient one, but put in two different cultures and names similar to Romeo and Juliet? My ink just flew on the page, because the universe itself favored it. I shall look forward to following up on these two, because the Tradition likes tragedy just as much as happy endings.
But in this new world I find myself in, there are new traditional paths to study! I've seen one where "winter is coming", and nations and families tear themselves apart. Another one where a man allowing himself passion and love itself leads him to embrace "the dark side". I quite like that one! Someone has brushed up the old Odyssey, put it in outer space, and made it so some of the crew were living marionettes — machines in the skin of people — who sabotaged the humans from within. Such delicious stories, that I hope to put my own spin on it. It's a hard job — torturing people so that I can find out what they are truly made of — but someone has to do it!
As much as I fear my own stories are derivative, it's so hard to get inspiration from nothing. But I'm not really worried. It's fun to throw a few traditional stories together just to see what happens. Why fight it? It's just part of reality, and I can feel the Tradition even more strongly here than I did in my old life.
It turns out my own story is traditional too. Apparently I am share my name with a "fictional" wizard who could animate dolls. Do I really look like a nutcracker? I guess I do. Heh heh. I suppose if I could defeat any mouse kings if I were ever called on to do so. Maybe I could take on Disney? It sounds silly, but fate would favor me if I tried.
The Masaki residence, Coquitlam, BC, Canada
October 1, 2016
Washuu-chan listened to Garnett's explanation of Ranma's curse, thought for a moment, then grinned. "I have just the thing!" She typed at her holo-keyboard for a moment, then a portal appeared over her shoulder just long enough for a cylinder to pop out. She grabbed it before it could fall to the floor, then tossed it to Garnett. "Give him this!"
Garnett looked at what she'd reflexively caught. It was a Thermos — complete with the brand name.
"Now why didn't I think of that?" Garnett asked sarcastically.
The Steeple, Philadelphia, PA, USA
October 6, 2016
"I know you're on a diet, but mom's new chocolate cake recipe is sooooo goooood..."
"Nanoha!" Miyuki insisted. "Stop tempting Fate!"
Blossom Apartments, Ottawa, ON, Canada
October 12, 2016
Rob Donaldson closed his apartment door behind him and walked over to the kitchen nook. As he looked in the cupboard at what he had available for a lunch eaten alone, one jar caught his eye.
It was something he didn't eat very often since he'd become an apartment manager. His residents from early-21st-century Academy City thought it was something fancy, so they didn't eat it out of habit; they didn't want to become accustomed to eating a luxury food on a regular basis. Most of his residents from 1990s Japan thought it was some strange substance that they couldn't imagine anybody eating. Which, he granted, was fair; he couldn't understand how somebody would want to eat natto. The sole exception was Minako, who had spent time in England... but she thought it was disgusting. What does she know what's disgusting to eat? Rob asked himself. She eats Marmite.[1]
He decided to eat what he wanted, for a change... and pulled the peanut butter out of the cupboard.
Dr. John Hugh Gillis Regional High School, Antigonish, NS, Canada
October 21, 2016
"I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangement, if you don't want me to tell your parents about this."
Katie looked at Nabiki as if she'd grown another head. "What do you mean, 'tell my parents'? They've known that I'm gay for years — and my mom set me up with Tammy to start with!"
Nabiki's first attempt at blackmail in her new school in Nova Scotia was quickly spinning out of her control. "But... aren't you a Christian?"
Katie nodded. "Yes, but just because there's a chapel and a cathedral on the grounds of Saint F-X doesn't mean we're all Catholics in Antigonish," she replied. "Tammy and I attend St. James United,[2] and so do my parents and both of her fathers." While Nabiki wrapped her head around the idea of a homosexual couple being so open about their relationship that they attended a Christian church as a couple, Katie continued, "Just because we like a little privacy when making out doesn't mean we're hiding. Besides, this is a university town. I wouldn't say that anything goes, Ms. Tendo," Katie grinned, "but we're a lot more accepting than many other places. Do you mind if I show these photos to Tammy?"
"No, go ahead," Nabiki replied almost in a daze. And she had thought things were going so well, too. Then she realized from the mention of Anything Goes that Katie knew exactly who she was.
Blossom Apartments, Ottawa, ON, Canada
November 25, 2016
"What's got you so glum, pretty lady?" He didn't know why he called her that, but somehow it felt right.
Ami looked up at Rob, tears in her eyes for some reason. "I used the Mercury Computer to take notes in class today, and people laughed at me!"
Rob winced. There was no way for Ami's classmates to know that her palmtop was the most powerful device in the room, if not the entire university. Then he had an idea. "Back when Blackberry still made hardware, I used to use my cellphone as a front-end to my tablet so I could use a physical keyboard. Maybe Kazari and HAL could whip up something similar for you so you use your phone in public."
"And keep the Mercury Computer in my pocket?" He nodded. "Do... do you think they could?"
"I'm sure they could," he answered as he gave her a hug. "You've already got your visor as a front-end to your computer when you're in senshi form."
Virtual Space
December 22, 2016
Vanellope kicked at a non-existent stone. "It's not fair that we can't go to the Christmas party with everyone else," she pouted.
"Maybe next year," Felix said. "By then they might've had time to build robot bodies for us to use."
"In my case, it is less a matter of not being physical," KITT's avatar — a black car bigger than all the others combined — noted, "but of being too physical. It is difficult to seat an automobile at a dinner table," he added dryly. "But I am used to being overlooked or even ignored during most human celebrations."
"It's still not fair," Vanellope reiterated.
"Why don't we throw our own Christmas party?" Tamora asked as she ran her fingers through her husband's hair.
"Where would we hold it, dear?" Felix asked as he leaned back, eyes half closed.
"Sugar Rush," Vanellope declared confidently. "I mean, I'm its princess — I'll just order my subjects to organize it all for me. And KITT," she added, "I'm pretty sure I can set you up with a human-shaped avatar so you can join all the fun."
"I have to admit a certain curiosity about operating a humanoid form, Miss von Schweetz, even if it is virtual," KITT replied. "If you are able to arrange it, I would be happy to participate in the celebration."
"And maybe we can race after?" Vanellope added with a sly grin. "After all, that's what we do."
2017
Appartements Mont-Royal Sud, Montreal, QC, Canada
January 7, 2017
"It's not proper to burden somebody else with my personal problems."
"Ms. Matou," Harold Shea replied, "It's my job to be burdened with other people's personal problems, and to help them solve those problems. Would you be kind enough to help me do my job?"
"If you insist," Sakura said quietly. "But don't you know all about it already from watching my story?"
Harold nodded. "Knowing it and hearing it from you are two different things. Please, Ms. Matou, tell me about what you think was the beginning."
The fifteen-year-old girl sighed deeply, then said, "It all started when I was adopted into the Matou family as a child and I met my step-brother Shinji..."
Piffle Enterprises, Ottawa, ON, Canada
January 16, 2017
Gomez Addams took a look around Piffle's workroom, with artificial limbs, torsos, and heads on various workbenches. "This reminds me of great-uncle Frankie's lab!"
Blossom Apartments, Ottawa, ON, Canada
January 23, 2017
Her textbook hit the table harder than usual. The strong, solid, oak table; if she had slammed it onto one of the smaller tables, the table might have broken.
Everybody else in the common room turned to look at Ami. She looked upset.
"How am I supposed to study when I can't find any decent photos?"
Minako walked over, picked up the textbook that so offended Ami, and leafed through it. "Wow. I see your point."
"What point, Niiko Misaka asks?"
Minako turned to her, a frown on her face. She held up Ami's textbook and said, "It isn't just the Oscars that are so white."
"Exactly!" complained Ami. "Nobody in these books looks like us!"
"Maybe we should do something about that," Kazari opined without looking up from her laptop. Five minutes later, she, HAL, and Washuu-chan had worked out a plan to collect public-domain photos of medical conditions and make them available on the net.
Callahan's, Long Island, NY, USA
February 7, 2017
"Since it wasn't the first time we'd caught him doing that on duty, I had no choice but to fire him."
Rob winced. "Yeah, I can see why. But what about the starboard engine monitor?"
"I had to fire her, too," replied Lindy with a straight face.
He blinked, noticed the smile that was starting to form on her face, and laughed. She quickly joined in.
After a few seconds, Rob said, "Oh, you had me going there. And we even have a similar joke here, too." Then he sighed, and continued, "I do like your sense of humour, Lindy. I'd be happy to get to know you better."
She smiled in all seriousness. "I'm flattered, Rob, but I don't think of you that way. I'd rather we just be friends."
"Oh, I didn't mean that. I'm already dating Hyoga. I'm good with us being friends." Then his cellphone alarm chimed.
"It's that late already?"
Rob nodded as they both stood up. "Yeah. We have to go. I have to remind Mimi to head over to your place, and you have to be there to teach her. Same time next week?"
Lindy grinned. "I'll be here!"
Los Angeles, California, USA
March 17, 2017
Minkao Jinguuji leaned back against her apartment door after shutting and locking it, and took a long, slow breath. She held it for a moment, eyes closed, then let it back out just as slowly before opening her eyes again. She loved being a reporter but, damn, some days.
Shaking her head she pushed herself up and kicked off her shoes before making her way to her bedroom to change into something more comfortable.
An hour later, the remains of her dinner pushed back across the small dinette table to give her room, she flipped open the red notebook she kept hidden any time she left the apartment. Her eye fell upon the first line of the first page, written in her tight, neat kanji — so like and yet so unlike the romaji she had found herself using the last five months:
Quote:1. This is not my world.
And she still didn't know how she'd ended up over twenty years in the future, a future that insisted she'd always been in it, with familiar names but slightly different histories. Not different enough, though, damn it all — her parents had still been disgraced, her life still shattered in the wake of their so-called suicides... but that investigation was a different-colored notebook, kept hidden in a different location entirely. That was for her search for justice. This one...
This one was for her search for meaning.
And with a rumor she'd heard coming out of the seiyuu community in Japan, she had her first lead since she'd found herself in this time and place.
Pensacola Beach, Florida, USA
April 8, 2017
"This is Crescent Rose," Ruby said, then smiled sheepishly. "I'm kind of a dork about weapons."
Fifteen minutes later, in Australia, Shinji waved at the giant robot. "This is my weapon, Evangelion Unit-01."
Ruby stared. "Whoa," she breathed, "that is so cool." Then she turned to Shinji. "You win."
Shinji cracked a tiny smile. "I usually did."
Source
Gehring Place
Houston, Texas, USA
May 15, 2017
"Jeannie! I'm home!" Tony announced as he closed the door to the apartment behind him and toed off his black oxfords.
"I'm in the kitchen, Master." Jeannie's voice was a near-murmur at his ear. Tony smiled to himself. Of course she wouldn't shout across the apartment. He set his briefcase on the console table next to the door, loosened his tie and slid off his jacket, to toss it carelessly on the sofa as he crossed the living room ... and stopped short at the tiny dining area, almost a breakfast nook, at the end of the brick wall that divided the living room from the kitchen. "Um, hello."
A blonde woman sat at the table such that she had been hidden from the front door. Tony frowned slightly in confusion; she was clearly well past middle age, but was ... "well preserved" was the first phrase that came to mind. She was also disturbingly familiar. "Hello, Major Nelson," she said, smiling, as Jeannie stepped out of the kitchen and placed a cup of coffee in front of her, and another at the place closest to the kitchen; its chair had been pushed out.
"Hello, Master!" Jeannie said brightly as she slipped gracefully into it. "Welcome home!"
Looking between the two of them, Tony suddenly realized why the older woman had seemed so familiar. He bent down and pecked Jeannie on the cheek, then said, "Thank you, Jeannie. I wasn't aware that any of your relatives had been displaced with us." He nodded toward the woman, who laughed musically. Jeannie joined her a moment later.
"I'm sorry, Major," the woman said, "I'm not one of Jeannie's relatives, although I can see how you might think that." She stood and offered him her hand, and he automatically shook it. "My name is Barbara Eden. I played Jeannie in a TV show fifty years ago." She slid her hand from his suddenly limp grasp, and raised it to cup his cheek. "You look so much like Larry. It's a pity he passed away before he could meet you."
Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada
May 15, 2017
"Manami, the more I learn about you, the more I wish I'd met you when you were alive."
"Oh, I think I probably wouldn't have looked twice at you when I was alive, Henry," Manami Kuroha replied. "You aren't Japanese."
Remembering the reputation that 20th-century Japanese had for unconscious racism, Henry Stewart said, "There is that."
Blossom Apartments
June 9, 2017
Lind drew the sword from the scabbard in order to present it to Minako. It was brown of hue, emblazoned with a dragon, decked with gold and gleaming bright. "I can think of none better to wield this sword in this reality than the commander of Neo-Queen Serenity's bodyguard. This is Gram, the sword that can cleave an anvil. The hero Sigurd used it to slay Fafnir, the dragon whose very breath is poison."
Rob looked puzzled. "But I spoke with Fafnir last December," he whispered.
Hyoga leaned over to Rob and whispered in reply, "While we were in Niflheim."
"Yes, while we were in... D'oh!"
Somewhere in Dublin, Ireland
July 22, 2017
"Why are you in bed with me?"
"You... asked me last night," Meg Deckard replied. "Twice."
"I don't remember that?"
"Do you remember what you had to drink?"
"...And you said Yes?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"I was drunk. You have those freaky powers. And... and... you're... I know who you really are."
"Yes. But I'm also a companion model boomer — and you needed companionship for the night. It's OK, you were perfectly honourable for the entire night. But it feels good..."
"It's not a real feeling. It's one you made."
"It is real. Right now, my feelings for you are real. And the feelings you have are real too. It's possible for someone to feel this way about you. It's possible for you to have these feelings about someone else."
"It feels so unlikely."
"It's difficult, but you're a good soul. Just be honest with yourself, and allow it to happen, rather than try to force it."
"Why'd you do this?"
"Like I said. You needed companionship."
Kaluakoi Hotel, Hawaii, USA
August 18, 2017
Ami Mizuno looked at the leader board in amazement. "How?"
Michiru Kaioh stood beside her, just as amazed. "I was expecting to tie with you, but I didn't expect that we'd tie for second."
The person who'd swum faster than either of the Senshi with water powers walked over to them, a pair of towels on her arm and a third draped around her neck. "That was a great race! I was worried for a while that I might have lost." She offered each of them a towel.
"Thanks, Chika," Ami said as she took one towel.
Michiru accepted the other towel. "How did you manage to keep up with us, let alone beat us, Ms. Minazuki?"
The youngster with no superhuman powers at all grinned. "I just swam the way I always do! Why, don't you spend hours in the water every day, too?"
Douglass Gardens Apartments
August 26, 2017
Azusa Nakano leaned toward Ruiko Saten and, sotto voice, asked, "Why is she doing this?"
"You know who her friends are," Ruiko said at the same volume. "She might not be able to survive hanging out with the Pillar of Cephiro and Neo-Queen Serenity if she doesn't."
"Yeah. That would be bad." Then both girls turned their full attention back to the ceremony: Sailor Moon had just transformed to Neo-Queen Serenity and stepped forward so that she was close enough to touch the young woman kneeling before her, flanked by her sister and her petitioning Sailor Senshi.
"We stand here in the watchful presence of the royalty and nobility of the Silver Millennium and their invited guests to witness the bestowal of a Star Seed to this worthy applicant."
Said assemblage being the Sailor Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen in their roles as royalty, the sole living noble, Baroness Tomo Takino, standing beside Princess Venus, and residents of both Douglass Gardens and Blossom recruited to pad out the audience.
"The gift of a Star Seed is not to be accepted lightly. The powers of a Sailor Senshi should not be used for personal gain; rather, they exist so that their owners can promote, protect, preserve, and embody virtues, including love. Knowing this, and knowing the burden of responsibility that you will assume, do you still choose to accept this gift, Miss Hirasawa?"
Yui Hirasawa looked up at Usagi, opened her mouth... and forgot her line.
Her sister Ui was the first to realize what had happened. She whispered, "I accept this responsibility."
"I accept this responsibility!" Yui echoed more loudly.
As a silver glow surrounded both Hirasawa sisters and lifted them into the air, Ui realized exactly what she'd done... and accepted the gift that she expected only her sister would receive that day.
Once the glow faded, the two new Sailor Senshi looked at themselves and each other. They were standing side-by-side and dressed similarly, wearing the requisite white leotard and sailor collar present in all of the solar system's Sailor Senshi uniforms, pleated short skirts matching their collars, and ballet-flat shoes covering white ankle socks on their feet. While the uniforms were both green with white trim, Yui's was the same shade as Sailor Jupiter's while Ui's was the brighter green of her junior-high school uniform. Instead of the expected choker, each new Senshi was wearing a necklace supporting a Minoan-style pendant. The astronomical symbol for Europa glowed on both girls' foreheads, but only Ui's symbol had a asterisk between the horns. Neither of them wore gloves, but both carried javelins.
While she was as surprised as everyone else at what had just happened, Neo-Queen Serenity recovered quickly. "I welcome you into the Sailor Team, Duchess Yui, Sailor Europa... and Princess Ui, Sailor Europa."
"But... but... how?"
Sailor Mercury turned to Ruiko. "There are two bodies named Europa in the solar system, a moon of Jupiter and an asteroid that is larger than Juno. This is an elegant way to resolve the question of who should become Sailor Europa."
Meanwhile, Usagi had returned to her Sailor Moon uniform and walked over to the man standing beside the Pillar of Cephiro. "Guru Clef, may I request a favor from you?"
While Usagi was short, Clef was even shorter; he had to reach up to place one finger on her lips. "Say no more, Your Highness. It would be my honor to teach these two young women how to use their new abilities."
Classified location
September 15, 2017
Rob looked him straight in the eye. "Let her go!"
He did so. "Very poor choice of words."
But since he wasn't watching his victim's fall, he didn't notice that Hyoga's wings were extended before she was halfway to the ground.
The Old Dietmeier Place
Lake Wobegon, MN, USA
September 22, 2017
"This is for you," Ruby said as she dropped a cardboard box onto the workbench in front of Buffy.
"A prezzy? For me?" Buffy grinned at the smaller girl. "You shouldn't have!"
Ruby giggled and rolled her eyes. "While we work on creating your weapon, we need to get you ready to actually use it when we're done." She patted the box. "I've made a mockup of it, weighted and balanced to feel the same in your hands as the real thing will when it's finished, whichever form it's in." The younger girl looked very pleased with herself. "That way you can start learning how to use it right away."
"That's what I love about you guys from Remnant," Buffy declared as she opened up the box. "You all know the way to a girl's heart."
Blossom Apartments, Ottawa, ON, Canada
October 6, 2017
"Rob Donaldson. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Yamada."
Motoharu looked confused for a moment. "My name is -"
Rob cut him off, quickly. "Yamada, if you want any chance of being allowed to marry Maika in the future."
"Oh." Motoharu looked thoughtful for a moment, then smiled and extended his right hand. "Motoharu Yamada. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Donaldson."
Rob quite happily shook the once and future Tsuchimikado-san's hand. "I'm glad we could clear that up so quickly."
Elsewhere in Blossom Apartments
Same Time
"Call me 'Misaka Leet', Misaka 13337 suggests."
"Might I suggest 'Lita' instead? That's an actual girl's name here," Artemis pointed out.
"What kind of name is 'Lita' for an electrokinetic?" asked Sailor Jupiter with disdain, having flashbacks to when she had watched the dub of her own anime.[3]
Misaka 13337 smiled slightly. "'Misaka Lita' it is, then."
2018
Somewhere in Northbrook, IL, USA
February 7, 2018
"Hey, I have a girlfriend! She's in Canada."
"Yeah, right. You have a girlfriend in Canada. You and that guy from The Breakfast Club."
"No, really!"
"Then tell us about her!"
"Well, she's tall, she was born in Japan, and she says I remind her of her sempai, whatever that means..."
Somewhere in Ottawa, ON, Canada
March 25, 2018
"Dr. Mizuno, if your daughter was to return to Japan now, she would have to go back into high school. Here, she is already majoring in Pediatric Cardiology at the University of Ottawa, and she has already been selected to get hands-on training at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute to supplement her classes." Saeko actually looked surprised at that revelation. Even in Japan, the Heart Institute was famous as a ground-breaking medical institution. "I assure you, Ami-san is not letting her life go to waste."
In a briefing room aboard the Tuatha de Danaan, submerged in the Black Sea near Ukraine and Pottsylvania
July 9, 2018
Due to the security around the operation, Commander Mardukas was personally on the radio: "Mama Bear to Papa Bear, Pleiades are being briefed now. Request your status report. Any changes to the situation?"
Meanwhile, Captain Teresa Testarossa was carrying out that briefing. "If we're going to defeat Cinder's deployed forces, we'll need to get you in behind them, here." She pointed at a spot on the map. "However, they have anti-teleport wards deployed. That means getting you five in there the hard way."
Mikoto nodded. "I don't really like combat drops, but we're getting used to them."
"Agent Papa Bear and his team have also detected heat and radio sensors deployed in Cinder's troops' position, so we have arranged the use of a glider that Hyoga's going to pull to get you to the drop point. The five of you will bail out at 200 feet."
Niiko shook her head. "It has to be 100 feet or lower."
Mii raised an eyebrow. "You're sure? If you jump at 100 feet, your parachutes won't have time to open."
Nana's reply was, "Oh, we get parachutes?"
Mardukas smiled as he thought these Misaka Sisters were almost Gurkhas.
Callahan's, Long Island, NY, USA
August 14, 2018
"I don't know whether anybody would even notice the gender imbalance among the displacees," Lindy commented. "There may be hundreds of displaced refugees, but Japan alone has somewhere around one and a half million high-school-age girls, I believe."
"Close enough for government work," Mamoru agreed.
Rob grimaced. "Have you seen the statistics that governments keep? It's only 'close enough' if you have the exact number. That estimate's close enough for private sector work."
Hyoga sighed at his foible. "Spot the ex-bureaucrat, everybody." Then she turned to her date. "Rob, there's a time and a place to be pedantic, and a friendly get-together in a bar is not it."
Rob had the grace to look contrite. "Right, Sorry."
Unnamed mailing list, Online
September 29, 2018
From: @33Stars_Band
33 minutes ago.
Hi...
Since we have followers in California, This applies to us
Every member of this band is an artificial lifeform pretending to be human.
2019
Blossom Apartments, Ottawa, ON, Canada
January 21, 2019
"It's only 40 cm of snow. Why would they close the schools?" Ami noticed just a hint of a smile playing on Rob's face as he said that.
Just then, Ruiko looked up from her laptop and announced, "Rob, they closed the schools!"
"Wow. That doesn't happen very often. It was my turn to make breakfast, but I have to use my power to clear the snow from the walkway and the parking lot instead."
"I'll make breakfast," Ami offered.
"Thanks." Rob looked at the news report that said the storm was affecting all of eastern Canada as he grabbed his coat. "Looks like we're stuck here until they plow the roads unless we use a portal, and there's no point in using the portal network to visit Windsor, Montréal, or Antigonish; they've been hit as hard as we have and I'd be surprised if anyone other than our friends in Nova Scotia were ready for it. Once I'm back inside, we can figure out something that we can do together. Anybody else here ever play Dungeons & Dragons?"
"Famicom, Sega, or Playstation?" Ruiko asked.
"Pencil-and-paper; the books are in the glass-fronted bookcase."
"Oh you meant a tabletop RPG. Is Ami going to be our Dungeon Keeper?"
Classified location
March 8, 2019
"If only I had more electricity to draw on, I could make this work," Mikoto Misaka said through gritted teeth.
Before anybody else could reply, Fate started chanting:
"To pound is lightning,
To echo is thunder,
Alcus Curtas Agias..."
As storm clouds gathered and started to send lightning down to the earth, Nanoha's eyes went wide. "Fate hasn't used that spell since she activated six Jewel Seeds at once... and it nearly killed her!"
Somewhere in the Solar System
April 8, 2019
"What's quackening–" The redheaded girl began shrinking down, collapsing into her smaller form in a couple second. "Quack," said the yellow ducking.
"Crap, antimagic." Brent declared, "This is not good. There's no way we could beat them without magic." He scooped up the duck and started a hasty retreat through the steely halls of the spaceship.
"Qua... quack-quack-quack-qua-quack!" Entchen warned.
"Yeah, I know they're faster than me." Brent darted through a steel door. Not having any way to lock it, he went for the old standby, pulling a knife from his pocket and slamming it into the door control keypad. The lock sparked, sputtered, then smoked, disabling the door.
Entchen gestured around the room with her left wing. "Qua–" A storage bay, and a dead end. The metallic din outside the door grew even louder.
"What's the chance there's a plasma rifle in the crates? These guys don't seem too big on OSHA rules." But he never got the answer to that question, as a spot in the door started to glow red, then begin to cut through the door.
"Okay, new plan. Let's get out of here. Some magic can't be suppressed; it's written into spacetime itself." As the cutting torch was halfway through its giant loop through the bay doors, Brent told the duck, "Sorry about this," and began reciting:
"Through the darkness of future's past
The magician longs to see
One chants out between two worlds
Fire, walk with me!"
The storage bay doors blasted open, but there was no one inside.
In another place entirely, two people regained awareness. It seemed like a very well lit room, yet all that illuminated them from above was mere starlight. Long red curtains hung all round them, and a matching plush red sofa lay on the checkerboard floor.
Sitting on this sofa were one human man, Brent Laabs, and one duckling, Entchen. They were alone in the room, and looked around, not knowing what they were looking for.
And then, there was a pretty blonde girl in a chair, sitting beside the couch as if it had always been there. She spoke, her voice garbled as if she was speaking backwards, "You are a bird, but you are not a bird." Her voice was somehow perfectly intelligible to Brent and Entchen.
Entchen slowly lifted her wings, then folded them back into place. She turned to face the girl and quacked, "It's complicated." This too, was understood by all in the room.
"You are a dancer. You will dance with me?" The duckling turned to look over, and nodded up and down four times. In a blink, Entchen was standing, facing the girl who looked like Laura Palmer.
Brent watched the pair, dancing a slow ballet to haunting jazz. The dancers looked like a perfect mirror each other's actions, except one was a girl but not a girl, and the other was a duck but not a duck. He complained, "This place, every single time."
Aboard the Federation science ship USS Yosemite, Starbase 1, Earth Orbit
May 16, 2019
Rob noticed that a program was already running on the ship's holodeck. But this was where Ami had told him she wanted to see him, so he walked in.
The holodeck was running a simulation of the original NCC-1701 Enterprise's sickbay, with only one person in the room — a petite young woman with short hair so dark it seemed almost blue. She was wearing a DS9-era Starfleet uniform, though.
"Ami?"
She turned to face him. Rob saw that she was wearing a badge shaped like Washuu-chan's signature crab instead of a Starfleet commbadge, and her hair was parted on her right instead of on her left. "Hello. You must be Mr. Donaldson. I am not Ms. Mizuno; I am the prototype Zimmerman-Hakubi Long-term Medical Holographic program, or 'LMH' for short."
Okay, this wasn't what I expected, he thought. "Hello, miss. I wasn't aware that Washuu-chan was working with Dr. Zimmerman on your project; I assume that you're ready to be posted somewhere."
"You assume correctly, as far as your assumption goes. I have been designed to serve as a medic in locations where it would be impractical to station a full-time physician. I have been programmed with both the Starfleet and Juraian medical databases, and my appearance and personality have been based on Ami Mizuno. I am currently undergoing field testing."
The door behind her opened, and Ami walked in. "Are you running...? Oh, hello, Rob! I see you've met the LMH."
"Hi, darling. That I have." He turned his attention back to the LMH. "Do you have a name?"
"I am the Zimmerman-Hakubi Long-term Medical Holographic program, or..." The hologram stopped when she saw Rob shaking his head.
"That's what you are. I'm asking who you are."
Ami sighed. "We hadn't chosen a name for her yet. Unless you've thought of something you like, LMH?"
"Not yet, Ms. Mizuno. Perhaps Mr. Donaldson might have some suggestions."
"Well..." He thought for a moment. "Yuuko — gentle child — oh, but sometimes you'd have to be forceful in order to get a patient to cooperate."
"It is a better name than what I was considering: Ichiko."
"Meaning 'first child'," Ami explained. "She is the prototype, after all."
"What about Akemi?"
"Bright and beautiful? I think your view of me might be influenced by what you think of Ms. Mizuno."
"I was thinking beautiful crystal, actually."
"Because my pattern is stored in computer memory crystals?"
Rob nodded. "And because you are a beautiful woman."
"Mr. Donaldson, should you be complimenting a woman you just met while your girlfriend is in the room?" The LMH smiled.
"He does it all the time, LMH, but he usually only compliments his other girlfriend. Whichever of us is being complimented."
"Your personal life is more complex that I had been lead to believe, Ms. Mizuno."
"It's less complicated than Tenchi Masaki's," Rob pointed out.
"True. And I have come to a conclusion: I do not wish to be called LMH any more. Please call me Akemi."
Ami nodded. "As you wish. Is there a family name that you would prefer to use?"
"I thought that would be obvious. Dr. Zimmerman is essentially my father, after all."
Rob extended his hand. "I'm pleased to meet you, Akemi Zimmerman."
She took it, and they shook hands for a moment. "And I'm happy to meet you, Rob Donaldson. Since you've given me my name, does that make you my godfather?"
"I would be honoured to have that role in your life, Akemi."
Lunar Orbit
August 17, 2019
They walked into the Brattain's captain's cabin, which was just as clean and tidy as all of the other cabins had been. Too clean and tidy in Rob's opinion, considering the ship's history... which was probably why Starfleet was willing to simply give it to the Crystal Millennium. Admiral Luna, of course, wasn't about to refuse a free ship, and crewed it with Misaka Sister volunteers.
"Well," Rob commented, "this is your new home away from home." They both looked around, seeing outside the window the work crew repainting the name and registration number on the hull from "USS Brattain NCC-21166" to "CMS Brattain CMS-1". All things considered, it was a pretty nice place. But Starfleet had always been generous with the size of their ships' senior officer quarters, Defiant-class ships notwithstanding.
Even the captain's safe was open and empty. Instead of a tumbler knob, there was a small keyboard inset in the bulkhead above the safe's door.
"I suppose I should put the commissioning paperwork in here, Misaka 13560 comments."
"Haven't you chosen a personal name yet, Misaka-Issa?"
"I am still not accustomed to having an individual name, Misaka Hoshi comments." She put the paperwork into the safe, then tried to close the safe's door. It closed, but wouldn't stay closed.
The computer — which of course sounded exactly like Majel Barrett — announced, "Type in a pass phrase to lock the safe."
Hoshi thought for a moment, then typed in ten keystrokes. The safe's door locked.
Rob smiled. "And of course everybody in the Misaka Network knows that combination now."
Hoshi nodded. "It was Misaka Nana who suggested it, Misaka Hoshi replies. Correction: Misaka Hoshi-Issa replies."
"Now that it's official, congratulations on assuming command of the CMS Brattain, Captain Misaka." He shook her hand. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to share the safe's combination with me in my capacity as Chief Scientist Mizuno's consort and Neo-Queen Serenity's residence manager, would you?"
She looked at him flatly. "That is insufficient need-to-know, Mr. Donaldson. But Misaka Nana says you should be able to figure it out yourself, Misaka-Issa adds."
He thought for a moment, remembered that Nana was the first of the Misaka Sisters to develop a sense of humour, then remembered a rather famous SNL sketch. He walked over to the safe and said the characters as he typed them in. "G-E-T-space-A-space-L-I-F-E."
The safe opened.
He re-closed the safe, turned back to Hoshi, and commented, "You really should pick a password that isn't so easy to guess." Then, after a moment, he added, "And make sure commander-in-chief Aino, Admiral Luna, or somebody on their staff knows what it is."
2020
Crystal Millennium, The Moon
May 5, 2020
"From the person who has everything"
"Remind me again why we're doing this?"
Rei sighed. "Somebody has to do it, Your Royal Highness."
"We have staff! Well-paid staff! Why aren't they doing this?"
"It's because we have staff that we have to be the ones to do this."
Usagi thought about that for a moment. "You've lost me there."
Sometimes, Rei Hino despaired for her queen. This was one of those times. "We're in charge of the Crystal Millennium now, and by agreement you're the face of the Solar System to anybody who wants to deal with people who don't live on Earth and the leader of the magical girls who want to be in a team. Belldandy save us all."
"Hey! I'm not that bad!"
Rei refused to comment.
"I know I'm the Crystal Millennium's top diplomat because of who I am and who I was in my life in the Silver Millennium, Rei. And I also know that you know that that job plus my PoliSci coursework keeps me busy. Too busy to be doing something like this."
"And that's exactly why you're out here doing it."
Usagi blinked as she tried to figure out what Rei was saying. Finally, she said, "You're not making any sense."
"We have money. We have people to do things for us, except study. We can get almost anything that isn't unique just by asking for it and justifying spending tax money on it."
"I don't do that!"
"Neither do I, but we could do that. What we don't have is unlimited time. So the only thing that we can give anybody as a present that means anything..."
"... is our time! Okay, I get it now!"
"Finally!" Rei Hino, Princess Mars, dope-slapped her sovereign... lightly and playfully. "Now can we get back to cleaning Ami's pool for her?"
"After we finish this break. You know what Mako-chan would say if she caught us wasting food, even something like these ice pops."
Rei nodded. "Okay, let's finish our snack, then get back to work."
Source
Crystal Millennium, The Moon
December 12, 2020
"Luna, you used to be an admiral, right?"
The Mau — currently in cat form — turned away from her family and looked up at Rob's question. "That's right. I was one of Queen Serenity's military advisors during the Silver Millennium."
"That implies you and she had a navy. How big was your fleet?"
She sighed deeply. "Before or after Metaria's youma attacked?"
Rob had the grace to look chagrined. "Sorry." After a moment, he continued, "I was hoping that there might have been a few ships somewhere near the ruins of the capital, but that isn't very likely, is it? Even if there was a military base that close to the palace, they... no, you would have deployed every ship you had to defend the capital, wouldn't you?"
Artemis turned to Rob. "Why wouldn't there be a military base at the capital, Rob? There's a Canadian Forces Base here in Ottawa, after all."
"And each princess had a yacht that was hangared there, that last day," Luna added. "They refused to use them to escape — they stood and fought, and died, protecting the civilians."
"I don't suppose you remember where the hangars were?"
Luna gave Rob "the look" that all the females at Blossom had learned from Mikoto Misaka. "They were right beside my own office."
"I hadn't asked you that yet. But I'll ask the $64,000 question now: can you give directions to the hangars that Yuuno and Fujitaka could follow?"
The archaeological dig at the ruins of Moon Castle, Crystal Millennium, The Moon
Same Day
"So how did she die?" asked Usagi,
Yuuno Scrya looked up from the bones just long enough "You don't want to know," he said.
Usagi pouted. "But I love watching True Crime series on television. And it can't be any worse than some of those. Why, there was this one time where they locked this girl in a basement and..."
"OK." Yuuno interrupted her, taking a breath. He sat back on his own heels, giving himself a moment to compose his thoughts and wonder what it was about women and brutal homicides.
"The left leg and lower right arm were disassociated from the remains." He pointed to a another cordoned-off area, about ten meters away. "We found them over there." Another archaeologist was busy cataloging them.
"Ow," said Usagi.
Yuuno nodded "She broke her back, pelvis, several ribs, and this fracture on the jaw here." He beckoned her in close to the bleached remains. "You can actually see where claws tore into the bone, here, here and here."
Usagi loomed in.
"Ooohh."
"Anyway, none of that would've killed her immediately. From the position of the bones and how it looks like she tried to protect herself I'd say she was still alive and conscious when they burned her body."
"Ow," said Usagi, again.
"I don't know who she was — most of the uniform is burned."
Usagi stared down at the remains with grim intensity. The bones stared back up at her through empty eye sockets. Something inside her stirred — a vague familiarity. Yuuno, seeing she'd zoned out, busied himself brushing layers of regolith from between bleached bones. Her fingers — what remained of them — still held on to to a sliver object, the size of a zippo lighter but infinitely more ornate. Even after centuries, it hadn't tarnished.
Ami reached over Yuuno's shoulder and took the device from the corpse's cold dead hand.
Usagi 'eeped' in shock, the spell on her broken by Ami's sudden intrusion.
"Hey!" Yuuno snapped. "You can't just take something from a dig!"
"Why not?" said Ami. "It's mine."
Yuuno blinked in surprise. "Is this...?" he started, motioning toward the body.
"Yes, that's me. How did I die?"
Usagi's face lit up, her mouth snapping open ready to reveal the goriest of details. Yunno's hands smothered the words before they could emerge.
"Quickly," he blurted out. "Very quickly. Almost painless in fact. Just poof and gone. Probably never even realised it happened."
"Ah," Ami nodded, looking down at the device in her hand and carefully not looking at her previous incarnation's corpse.
Usagi steamed, her face already turning a bright cherry red.
Distractedly, Ami said, "Yuuno-kun, Luna has remembered where the Silver Millennium's royal hangar was. Can you send a team to see whether anything's still there, please?"
- RK: Real-life Rob thinks that the world would be boring if we all liked the same things. In-universe Rob hasn't figured that out yet.
- RK: For folks outside of Canada: The United Church of Canada was formed (one hundred years to the day before this chapter was posted to AO3) from a merger of a large fraction of Canadian Methodist, Congregationalist, and Presbyterian churches. One of the United Church's tenets is that Biblical prohibitions that made sense when the Bible was written are not necessarily applicable to the modern world. "Inspired by God" is not the same as "Commanded by God".
- RK: Obviously, Mako-chan isn't a dub fan.
--
Rob Kelk
Sticks and stones can break your bones,
But words can break your heart.
- unknown
Boycotting all products from the USA as long as that country's leader continues to threaten to annex my native country.
Government of Canada: How to immigrate to Canada
Government of Canada: Claiming refugee protection (asylum) from within Canada
Rob Kelk
Sticks and stones can break your bones,
But words can break your heart.
- unknown
Boycotting all products from the USA as long as that country's leader continues to threaten to annex my native country.
Government of Canada: How to immigrate to Canada
Government of Canada: Claiming refugee protection (asylum) from within Canada