The Quest for the Fallen Angel... Island

[Mami Tomoe]

Sailing from the Fallen Angel took... not quite as long as getting there, actually. I guess actually knowing where we were going helped. We reach the docks again - I anchor the boat just offshore. I place my hands down on the beach, close my eyes and focus. I need a dock. Something sturdy, something that won't just last long enough for me to use it, but something everyone here can use.

I wait a few minutes. I peek one eye open - the Omnuhdumdoodeedum's forming, but it's still not changing material, and the shape it's taking is really rough-looking. I close my eyes again and keep thinking. Something like... concrete, maybe some wood to make it look nice... I don't know, just... make it look like the other one! I finish at last and open my eyes again.

There it is - two identical-looking docks next to each other. I walk across the dock, tie my boat to a hook on one side of the cement slab and walk back to the sand. I glance around idly, noticing awed stares from beachgoers and odd-looking people alike.

"What? Can't a girl make a dock for her boat from thin air in peace?" I ask, then laugh a little. "I'll be here all week. Except probably not."

I stride through the group of onlookers with Histy in tow. Immediately realizing that I have the perfect opportunity to ask for directions, I turn around and look at the crowd that continues to stare. "Oh, uh, I gotta ask," I say. "Where can I find 'blistering sands'?"

"Blustering Sans?" goes someone in the back. "No, blistering sands," I reaffirm. "A desert or something, I guess."

"Oh!" the same voice responds. "You're looking for the Endless Dunes! Just go straight from the gate you came in here!"

"Thank you, random person! You will be immediately forgotten, but your advice will live on!" I run off into the city.

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"...And from here, the way to the gate looks straightforward," Histy chimes. She's been sitting on my shoulder since we got into town, with a map pulled up from the Daytodayverse or whatever it's called. "See? That should be the gate," over there." She points it out to me. I can barely see the tip of her finger out of the corner of my eye, but I know what she wants me to see: a pair of palm trees curved down so their leaves meet. But this time something looks different - there's five nondescript-looking people in white suits of armor waiting at the gate. Each one has a gun that looks like something Uni would like.

"Halt," says one of them, clarifying that at least one is a dude. "We've received word that there's an unidentified Prime in the city. Supposedly she's about four foot nine, with pinkish-purple hair, and she has a..." he slows down. "Floating little girl with a book as a companion. It's you, isn't it?"

"Yup, yup, yup," I respond without hesitation. "Unless this is some kind'a freaky clone situation where somebody's been messing things up and they look like me. That's not happening, right?" I ask. Histy looks like she's ready to lose her mind on my shoulder.

"Not quite," he answers, "but for safety's sake, we would prefer to have you identified, miss. So long as you don't plan to do any harm to the Empire, this wonderful city or its inhabitants, we'll get along just fine."

"Empire, huh?" I repeat the word. It's not a word that gets thrown around often, and when it comes to gaming in Planeptune - no, gaming in all four Lands - Empire usually doesn't mean good. I decide to give them the benefit of the doubt. "Well, Mr. Empire," I respond, "I'm Neptune!"

I hear an audible sigh. I'm not sure if it's from Mr. Empire or from Histy. "My name isn't Empire. I'm not even sure what made you think that," he says, "but regardless, it's nice to meet a Prime that carries herself well." Mr. Empire offers a hand. I close his hand into a fist and then bump fists with him.

Mr. Empire looks to Histy. "I don't mean to be rude," he starts, "but how do you put up with her?"

This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Probably.

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"So you're looking for the Endless Dunes," Mr. Empire clarifies. "If you're headed that way, you should really be careful. A few groups of Primes have popped up in that area and have started causing trouble. You'll need someone to watch your back if you're going to keep safe," he explains. "Fortunately, it looks like you have that covered."

"Yeah," I respond. "I mean, Histy's more a lover than a fighter, but I'd probably still be eating pudding in that place where the texture pop-in's really bad," I joke.

"I should introduce myself," Histy jumps into the conversation. "I am Histoire, the Tome. It's a pleasure to meet you," she says, "and while it would be wonderful to stay and chat, we have an urgent task at hand, and I can't imagine that we're your only priority. We apologize for occupying your time - we'll be on our way."

"Things get a little crazy here from time to time," Mr. Empire admits, "but for a while things have been pretty nice. We haven't had much to do, since it's been pretty peaceful around here for a little," he explains. "It's nice to talk with a Prime, even if they're not an outspoken supporter of the Empire."

"Well, maybe we can keep in touch?" I ask. "Histy has one of those Dumdeedumverse thingies. We can talk over that somehow, right?"

"Well, you can e-mail using a Dataverse Device, if that's what you're trying to say," he explains, "and that sounds like a nice idea." After figuring out how to make an e-mail account, making one for Histy and then making one for me, we exchange e-mails and part ways.

"Well, that was interesting," Histy observes. "Shall we get going?"

"Alley-oop!" I shout, leaping through the portal.