Ame day [Part 1]

****Extra Perspective:**************************?????? ?, ??? ???????************

He wandered and ran, hoping to find peace but never found it. He was angry, but that anger held purpose. He was strong, the strongest there was, at least he had been until that day.

The lights danced about the ground as the tiny things made their threats. They couldn’t touch him. They couldn’t reach him. High above them he stretched, taller than the sky.

He beat his feet against the ground and ran, frustrating the tiny things on the ground. Only he knew the joy of his existence. Only he knew what it was like to be free.

****Perspective:************************The Final Ethel*************************

The park was silent as Final Ethel made her way down the path, past benches and playground equipment. Carefully she crept, stopping behind trees every few feet to be sure she hadn’t been spotted. She glanced at her watch; the pink dot was getting closer, ever closer.

“Lioness one to Lioness two, do you have confirmation on gazelle?” Alpha asked through the comms, her voice terse.

Final snuck around a tree, spying an empty swing set fluttering in the light breeze. She glanced at the GPS; her dot was almost overlapped with that of her target. She glanced back up just to confirm. Still nothing. “Negative on visual. Gazelle is free.”

“Should be near your location. Keep searching. Cheetah one, have you cleared the savannah yet?”

This time Hinako chimed in, “No hyenas spotted, savannah is clear, cheetah two is checking main road for mad dog no sightings yet.”

Mad dog, an apt name. Final thought. And so long as he didn’t show up things should turn out fine. Another voice cut through the line:

“Why Etel called Cheetah two? Etel faster than Cheetah one! Should be number one!”

“Codenames! Codenames!” Alpha insisted. “Do you want to look suspicious?”

Final stepped away from the tree and froze. An old couple, who had been walking down the path behind her had stopped to look. They glanced her over, no doubt noting the Hiwara uniform and the immense amount of sweat. Then, as if they meant to be as kind as possible, they bowed lightly, gave her a big smile, and tried to shuffle by without losing face.

“I think we’ve cooked the goose on ‘suspicious’ lioness one.”

“’Cooked the goose?’ What’s that code for?” Alpha mused.

“Nothing!” Final barked loudly. She glanced at her watch as the dot had moved away from her by a considerable margin.

“This is Cheetah one, Gazelle spotted prancing near watering hole, repeat, gazelle spotted.” Hinako chirped mechanically.

“Where’s ‘watering hole?’” Final asked impatiently.

“North path, duh!” Alpha snapped.

She made her way north while trying her best to stay as far away from the flashing pink dot on her watch. Finally, after a while of circling, the target came into view. Ame Owari looked idyllic. She was sitting cross-legged beneath a cherry tree, her schoolbag upturned with notepads and homework strewn about her like a summoning circle. Behind her a comically large water bottle leaned against her empty guitar case while in her hands she tuned “her baby” a big red electric guitar which she’d been coddling for the better part of a week.

Final ducked behind a bush and called out to the rest of the group: “Gazelle is sharpening horns, repeat, Gazelle is sharpening horns. We are a go for operation ‘H-2-Oh-no’” On the other end of the line Final heard Alpha stifle a chuckle.

“Cheetah one, waiting for your mark.” Hinako said.

“Roger.” Final responded, pulling back the sleeve on her left arm to reveal her new toy, the ‘shimmer watch’. It was a cumbersome thing, a big circular analog display face with a grooved metal dial on its circumference. This wasn’t Arkwright tech but something they’d gotten from Zero-2’s universe in exchange for lending Hotaru to The Empress. This was tech that hadn’t even gone to the Ethels at Final Council R&D yet, and it showed. It was rusty, smelly, and the battery was so worn out it could only last five minutes at most. But in exchange for that it provided something nothing else could: perceptional remapping.

It wasn’t a hologram, it wasn’t a projection, instead the watch emitted a field that when observed by others would conform to a pre-established idea. For example, if the watch had been set to “Wolf” then for the next five minutes no matter what Ethel did everyone observing her would see a wolf. It was stronger than a disguise. For all intents and purposes, it was a temporary lapse in reality that completely changed what could be observed.

If only we had this during the advent. She mused. Ethel turned the dial two times to get it running. The watch beeped to life as the watch face rose a centimeter. She spun the dial until the readout said: “Old Man (5)” and pressed the watch face back down. In an instant she couldn’t recognize her own hands and then, her own voice.

She walked over to Ame on the path instinctively bending over and limping even though that probably wasn’t necessary. Ame perked up as she got close and asked, a little annoyed: “Can I help you?”

“Yes, would you mind helping me find my way to the theater? I thought it was around here.” She asked. And sure enough, without making any effort she sounded like an 85-year-old geezer.

“The theater?” Ame stood up, a bit confused. “You’re definitely headed the wrong direction, the nearest one is several blocks from here.” Behind her, Hinako stepped out from behind the tree, snatched up Ame’s water bottle, and skipped back again.

“Are you sure?” Ethel asked, “I feel like it’s that way? Right?” She said, pointing to Ame’s left where, past a metal fence was a large round bush. Ame glanced at the bush, then turned back with a grave expression.

“Old man… are you okay?” Ame asked. Hinako returned and placed the now empty water bottle by Ame’s things, disappearing once more behind the tree.

“You know what? I just remembered. I was looking for my glasses. I think they’re over here!” Final turned and continued down the path while Ame stared with a concerned expression. Ethel glanced behind Ame’s tree as she passed and sure enough, Hinako had disappeared.

“Cheetah one to lionesses. H-2-Oh-No is in progress. Repeat, H-2-Oh-No is in progress.” Hinako said over the comms. And she must have moved far away to avoid an echo. Final allowed herself to be impressed. Hinako was definitely faster than Etel.

“Roger that, Alph- I mean, Lioness one taking position.” Alpha chuckled.

Ethel sighed and glanced at the shimmer watch, which was now only visible to her. Three minutes left. After making sure no one was around and that Ame had gone back to tuning her guitar, she spun the dial until it read “Invisible” then pressed it down once more. Her hands and feet disappeared along with what she assumed would be the rest of her body and while it took some getting used to, she managed to walk back behind her bush to observe.

Ame finished tuning the guitar and after she’d spent a few minutes polishing the surface she placed it back inside its case and reached for her water bottle. Upon finding it empty she stood up and started walking towards the water fountain. All according to plan.

“Gazelle is going for a drink. Repeat, Gazelle is going for a drink.” Ethel reported just as Etel cut into the conversation.

“Mad dog sighted. Cheetah two is getting ice cream will race Cheetah One later.”

“Dammit! Confirm location of mad dog, Cheetah two!” Alpha crowed. “Cheetah two!”

“This is Cheetah one, mad dog is at east park entrance, estimated time to intercept Gazelle, four minutes or less.” Hinako responded, now apparently on the other end of the park. Final made a mental note to ask about that.

“New plan!” Alpha barked. “Lioness two, intercept Gazelle at Oasis, Lioness One will distract mad dog at edge of savannah.”

“What?” Final asked.

“Just go to the fountain and talk to Ame, I’ll distract Naoko! The rest of the mission is up to you!” Alpha gasped as she broke into a sprint.

Final spun the dial on the shimmer watch and after a few turns the readout read: “purge” she slammed the face down one last time and with a hiss the perceptual field dispersed. She turned around and marched back the way she had come. Of course, it had to come down to her.

Ame was bent over a small silver water fountain in the center of the park. Craning and turning her water bottle this way and that she managed after a second to get some water into the massive cylinder only for some of it to spill out as she tried to get more in.

“Well hey, fancy meeting you here!” Final said, trying her best to sound natural. Ame glanced past her down the road.

“Hey, Arkwright-san. Did you see an old man walking that way? He seemed a bit… off?”

“Off in what way?”

“He was saying weird stuff is what I mean. Not that it’s any of my business, I guess. Sweet old man though, very conversational.” Final noted that Ame hadn’t mentioned the old man’s appearance. Shimmer watch trial successful. She would have to tell Omega later.

“Oh yeah, he was getting some help from a young man on the other side of the park.” Final reassured.

“That’s good. I was hoping someone would come along.” Ame sighed, pressing the water fountain button with her whole hand.

“Say, Owari-san, would you like to hang out tomorrow?” Final asked, prompting Ame to look up at her.

“Well, I do have some free time. One of our bandmates got sick at that last concert so we’re skipping practice this weekend. Hmm.” Ame set down her water bottle and pondered while Final held her breath. “Where were you wanting to go?” She asked, finally.

“Just some shopping with me and some girlfriends. We were also going to check out the theater in Choshishi and hit up the aquarium if you’re interested.”

“Aquarium!?” Ame’s eyes lit up. “I love the aquarium, yes, I’d love to go! Who else is coming?”

“Just me, Hazel and one of our other classmates, you may have met her. Hinako?”

“Doesn’t ring a bell.” Ame said flatly.

“I thought not.” Final chuckled. “Well, anyways, I guess we’ll see you tomorrow what time is good for you?”

“Early, preferably. How does 7am sound?” Ame replied, excited.

“Works for us! We’ll see you then! Now, I need to go find my sister, I think she’s skateboarding around here.”

“Sounds good.” Ame said, her face beaming ear to ear. Final wished fleetingly that she could catch that smile in a bottle and keep it for rainy days. Ame Owari really was a ray of sunshine at any hour of the day.

Final said a brief goodbye, then wandered off in the direction of a very frustrated Alpha in casual clothes holding an argument with a tall straight-laced-boy with messy hair.

“This is Lioness two, Gazelle captured, Lioness two returning to den.” Final stated.

“Cheetah One to lionesses. Cheetah two captured. See you when you get here.” Hinako said, casually. Final stopped in her tracks and absently scratched her head. How? She wondered to herself. Is she magic?

****Perspective***********************The Soldier, “Hazel” (Ethel Alpha 632-E)*******

Alpha stretched and lumbered into the bedroom tired and ready for sleep. In the corner, tucked behind her desk and away from the window, Final was shoving her new watch into a massive metal cylinder that looked more like a bazooka than a kind of charging apparatus. After watching her struggle to place the watch into it’s metal groove she deigned to ask: “Do you need some help?” Which Final dismissed as she gave the watch one last shove coaxing a low buzzing sound from the machine as it began to charge.

“All that for five minutes?” Alpha asked, pulling her futon from under the bed.

“Five minutes of perceptional shielding, yes. Pretty useful!” Final said, putting her hands on her hips and feeling proud.

“I see, shame we can’t get that kind of thing on our Arkwright watches, that’d be a lot better.”

“Not yet!” Final started, holding up a finger, correcting her. “R&D have said these trial runs are going to provide them with enough data to one day make not only a better model but compartmentalize the functionality into an application that can be installed on the Arwkright corporation wristwatches!” Alpha allowed the silence to continue for a second. “As well as our phones!” Final stated, eagerly snatching up her Arkwright Corporation phone from her nightstand.

“You put way too much faith in the research and development Ethels, Final. Trust me. Ethels are better off specializing in one thing.” Alpha said, taking her watch off and tossing it next to her pillow as she laid back.

“You mean getting Ame and Naoko together?” Final said, absently combing her hair with her unfurled antennae.

“Yep! And our ‘Ame day’ plan should be a good way to relieve her of that pent up anger against Naoko. So long as she doesn’t see him for a while and gets to relax a bit, we should be able to finally clear up Hotaru’s mess.” As if on cue, Alpha’s watch beeped loudly. She picked it up and read: ’45 new messages from Miyagi_Hotaru.’ “Speak of the devil.” She spat, tossing the watch out of arm’s reach.

“I think you should give him an update, Alpha. I know he messed up but, to be fair, none of us were fully aware of the emotional contagion thing.” Final sounded like she thought highly of the guy. Heck, after a second, Alpha started to wonder if maybe she liked him! She gave her doppelganger a long hard stare. For some reason, the idea that someone would take an interest in Hotaru bothered her deeply.

“I don’t see why you care so much. He’s doing fine!” Probably, she thought. “He saw the collapse of the world in my timeline, he was trained to be a soldier, and he’s a crack shot besides. What Hotaru needs is experience following and guarding a VIP which his time with Empress Ethel should bear out.”

She met Final’s icy stare from across the room. “Trust me. Hotaru Miyagi doesn’t need your sympathy let alone mine.” Final’s scowl settled into a pitying look as she folded her arms. Alpha shrugged and stared back. She wasn’t about to feel bad over something so simple. Hotaru had to deal with Hotaru’s mess, that was just the way things worked.

Final stood up and walked until she was standing over Alpha’s futon, looking down. “What?” Alpha asked.

Final stretched her antennae towards the door and flipped the light switch, leaving only the bright glow from the shimmer charger in the corner as she returned to bed. Final climbed in, pulled her sheets up and turned away to face the wall; after a few moments Alpha did the same.

“Listen, Alpha.” Final whispered after a few minutes of silence. “I know he’s not the brightest guy, but he cares a lot about you.”

More than you know, sister. Alpha thought, remembering his awkward confession in the desert.

“I’m just saying. Not that it’s the only reason to respond to him. But he’s very genuine, and he went out of his way to follow you here and to try and help with the mission. He’s a good guy. I think you should just talk to him; it’ll help him be a better member of the team too.” Final said, sounding the world like some doting mother.

Alpha shifted to her back, readjusting her blankets so she could poke one of her feet out. “Final. The most important thing is staying focused on the next steps. So long as we can move Ameko closer together that’s all that matters, seriously.” Alpha said, making sure to speak loudly enough to be heard.

“me -nd, ko.” Final muttered.

“What!?” Alpha snapped, not moving from her comfortable position.

“Their names are Ame and Naoko!” Final said, a bit louder, shuffling uncomfortably on her bed as she pulled her sheets around. Alpha watched her settle down a bit then closed her eyes, letting out a slightly pained sigh.

“You’re right. A lot of Ethels forget that Ame and Naoko are individuals.” Alpha responded. “However, one day we’ll find a way to get them together. They’ll be happier that way, and it’s the only thing left to fix in the multiverse. So those Ethels that refer to them as Ameko are on the right track. We have to think about what comes next.”

Final stayed silent, and after a while Alpha could hear the soft breathing of sleep taking over as her antennae relaxed and flopped over the side of her bed. One day she’d understand. But then again, maybe if she didn’t it would all be for the better.

****Extra Perspective:**************************The Human Ethel, Omega************

Omega poured over the itinerary for the next day, making sure all parties involved had enough allowance to shop, eat, and play if it came down to it. She didn’t want to spoil them, of course, but then again that was part of the fun.

Beside her one of the techie Ethels from universe 314-pi yawned and stretched, running her antennae through her short hair in a kind of nervous-tick.

“Good work,” Omega told her. “Get some rest.”

“I’m trying to, Omega but something’s been bothering me, seriously.” She relayed.

“What’s that?”

“These police reports.” She noted, pointing at the screen to a series of classified documents the group had pilfered over the last few days. “These have been going on for at least a week now and I’m not sure what to make of them. It seems like it just keeps going forever.” She said, pointing to the nature of each call: “escaped animal”.

Omega’s eyes narrowed as she gave the dataset a closer look. “Is this what I think it is?” She asked.

“Check out the date of the first one.” Pi Ethel said, pointing to the date, precisely two weeks ago.

“The great advent.” Omega scratched her chin and paced.

“Should we call for some back up from Zero-2?”

“No. That should be our last resort. Forward this information to Hinako. If things get bad, I’ll pull her off the date team to take care of it.” Omega decided.

“Won’t that mess with Ame-day?” Pi Ethel asked.

“Of course, but I think this thing might mess with it more.” She said gravely, staring long and hard at the blurry photo on the police report. A long yellow neck spotted brown and two stumpy horns.