Day 59

[from Murder by Pixels]

As it happened, it was a few days before Harry and Sapphire were called into action. Lt. Hawke put down the phone after a brief call and stood up, clapping his hands together. "Alright," he said, "we've got our first homicide investigation. Get yourselves ready, and we'll be heading out as soon as possible."

The trio swiftly moved into action, getting ready to head out on what would be their first investigation together.

***

"So, what are the details?" asked Harry, as Hawke drove them to the scene in his police car.

"Victim's name is Carlo Bernardi," said Lt. Hawke. "Thirty-two years old, works as a chef at a restaurant downtown. Earlier today he was found shot dead in the kitchen. The manager insists that nobody's been in or out of the kitchen all day."

"So it was one of the other chefs," said Harry.

" There's only two other chefs working there, and the manager says they're both innocent," said Hawke. "Of course, it's our job to determine that, but…"

"So we could be looking at a locked-room mystery, then," said Harry thoughtfully. "Now that'd be an interesting first investigation."

""Interesting" isn't the word I would've used," said Lt. Hawke.

***

A short time later, the car pulled up outside the restaurant, which was already cordoned off with yellow police tape. Ducking their way under the tape, the three detectives entered the building. The manager, an old man who had to have been at least seventy, was stood solemnly nearby, while the other two chefs, one male and one female, were sat at a table in a state of shock, being consoled by another officer.

"I'll talk to the manager, get some more details," said Lt. Hawke. "Harry, you go talk to the chefs. Sapphire, go ahead and check out the kitchen. Change your gloves first, though."

Sapphire glanced nervously at her hands, covered as ever by her black fingerless gloves. Instead of removing them as instructed, however, she proceeded to put on the forensic latex gloves over the top of them.

"She has to wear those," Harry quickly explained. "It's for a, uhh, medical condition."

Lt. Hawke got the suspicion that they were being less than truthful, but it really wasn't worth causing a scene about it, so he let it slide. "Alright, fair enough," he said. Sapphire, looking a little uncomfortable with the attention being paid to her, quickly headed off towards the kitchens at the back of the restaurant, sweeping her magenta-tinged fringe to one side as she did so.

As Harry headed over to interview the chefs, Lt. Hawke made his way over to the manager. "Lieutenant Matthew Hawke, Jacksonville PD," he said automatically, flashing his badge. "I'd like to ask you a few questions about Mr. Bernardi, and the circumstances of his murder."

"Of course, of course," said the man, nodding. "Ask away."

Lt. Hawke pulled out a pencil and notepad. "When you called, you said that nobody had been in or out of the kitchen since the chefs arrived for work that day. Do you know that for a fact?"

"I asked the chefs and they verified it," said the manager. "Nobody but them has been in there all day. I imagine the CCTV footage will show the same thing."

Lt. Hawke nodded, scribbling a note down. "So there's CCTV cameras in the kitchen?"

The manager looked a little troubled suddenly. "Yes, there are."

"Something wrong?" asked Lt. Hawke, picking up on the man's unease.

"Well… it's unfortunate, but Carlo was actually the reason we had those installed," said the manager. "I might as well be completely honest with you… Carlo wasn't exactly a model employee. As a matter of fact, I'd already given him his two weeks' notice. He was supposed to be leaving in a few days."

"Why?" asked Lt. Hawke. "What'd he do?"

"A few months after he arrived, I noticed that things were starting to go missing or broken a lot more frequently than they used to," explained the manager. "Almost every week or so, he'd come to me saying that a stack of cutlery had gone missing, or the blender had broken. Bear in mind that the equipment we use in our kitchen isn't stuff out of Home Depot: it's premium-grade culinary equipment that can cost hundreds. At first I thought maybe he was just clumsy, but the other chefs were growing suspicious of him, and after a while, so did I. A few weeks ago, I installed the CCTV system without telling them, and I soon realized that Carlo wasn't losing or breaking the missing items. He was stealing them. I confronted him about it, and gave him his notice."

"So he'd been stealing from you all that time?" asked Lt. Hawke.

"Yes," said the manager, "and I wish I'd realized it sooner. It would have saved me thousands of dollars, and… it might have saved Carlo his life."

***

"I don't know what happened," said the female chef, as her male colleague gently patted her shoulder. "I was cooking a lamb shank for a customer's order, and then suddenly there was this huge bang. At first I thought something in the kitchen had exploded, then I saw Carlo lying there… and all the blood everywhere… oh God-!" Unable to continue, the woman covered her face with her hands and started to sob quietly.

Her colleague seemed slightly more composed. "We know Carlo had his… problems… but he was a great chef, and a great colleague. I can't believe anyone would want to do this to him."

"You didn't see anyone else in the kitchen?" asked Harry. "Or anything suspicious at all?"

"No," said the woman, wiping her eyes. "We have no idea where that shot came from."

"Now that's strange," remarked Harry. "Were there any open windows? Any openings at all through which the shooter could have fired?"

"I don't… I don't think so…" said the woman.

Harry thought this over for a moment. It was a most perplexing conundrum. Solving it would be most enjoyable. Sadly, he wouldn't get the chance, as at that moment, he and Lt. Hawke noticed Sapphire standing at the kitchen doorway, having apparently found something. The pair swiftly wrapped up their questionings and hurried over to her. "Something wrong, Sapphire?" asked Lt. Hawke.

"No," said Sapphire, "it's just… I found where the shot was fired from."

"Atta girl!" exclaimed Harry, patting her on the shoulder. "Alright, let me see."

The trio made their way through the kitchen, past Carlo's body, which lay where it had fallen, crimson blood pooled beneath it. At the rear of the kitchen was a service door, comprised of numerous metal shutters joined together, similar to a garage door. Whenever supplies were delivered to the restaurant, the door would be raised and the supplies sent in through this back entrance. Sapphire made her way over to the door, and pointed to a gap where two of the shutters had been forced apart.

"Here," she said. "The killer must have prised the shutters apart, poked the barrel of the gun through, and then…" She let the sentence drift away into nothingness, nodding vaguely.

"I see," said Lt. Hawke, crouching down a little to examine the hole. "Check for prints. If the killer never actually entered the crime scene, it might be the only forensic evidence we're able to recover. In the meantime, I'm gonna go get hold of those security tapes."

Sapphire nodded, and began checking the shutters for fingerprints, while Hawke left the kitchen in search of the CCTV footage. With not much physical evidence to go on, they were going to need all the help they could get.

Day 58

[from I Watch You Sleeping]

A few minutes later, I'm stood outside the door to Class 3-2. Whatever the deal is with that letter, and those photos, I can't let it get in the way of my schoolwork. Before entering, I take a couple of moments to compose myself. The last thing I need is people asking questions. However, my mouth is still dry and my hand shakes a little as I reach out, grab the handle and open the classroom door.

Everyone else is already inside and seated, and as I enter they all turn to look at me. That's not surprising, since I'm a few minutes late. Normally this would be kinda awkward, but at the moment I have bigger things to worry about.

Our homeroom teacher, Sasaki-sensei, is halfway through a talk about something or other, but cuts herself off and joins her students in staring at me.  She pouts, no doubt disappointed with my tardiness. "You're late, Miyazaki," she says.

I rub the back of my neck apologetically. "Sorry, Sasaki-sensei."

"Any particular reason you're late?"

I freeze for a moment. Should I tell her about the letter? This seems like a pretty big deal…

"…no, Sasaki-sensei. No reason."

She purses her lips disapprovingly. "Well, at least you showed up," she says. "Sit down, Miyazaki." She vaguely waves a hand in the direction of my seat, and I nod silently and sit down.

As I get out my things, Sasaki-sensei picks up where she left off. "Now, as I was saying…"

I'm about to tune out of her speech when I hear a whisper coming from my left. "Psst! Ken!" I turn my head to face Raiden. He's looking at me with something approaching concern on his face. Raiden doesn't get concerned easily. He knows something up. He always knows. That's partly why he's my best friend. One of my only two real friends, as Natsume was quick to point out this morning.

"What's up, man?" he asks quietly. "You look real troubled about something, and it's not like you to turn up late to homeroom. Did something happen to you on the way here? Come on, you can tell me."

I didn't tell Sasaki-sensei about the letter because that would have meant telling the whole class. I don't want everyone knowing about this. But I think I can trust Raiden. So I tell him about the letter, and the photos that came with it. He looks pretty surprised, and concerned. "Wow, really? Damn." Then a grin spreads across his face. It would be frightening, if not for the fact that I've known him since we were both five and I know exactly what he's about to say.

"Hey, you know what that means, right?" he whispers excitedly. "You got yourself a stalker! I bet she's a hot yandere chick who'd kill anyone who looks twice at you! Damn, I'd kill for a girl like that!"

"I know you would," I tell him, "but I don't want a stalker, or a girlfriend who murders people."

"Come on, man!" says Raiden. "Yandere is best dere!"

"No it isn't."

Raiden looks at me like I just told him the sky is orange. "You're weird, man."

"Excuse me?" I retort quietly. "I'm weird? I'm not the one who finds murderous psychopaths adorable." Nor am I the one who bought a hugging pillow of that girl from M*rai N*kki, but we agreed never to talk about that again.

Before our argument can continue any further, the bell rings to signal the start of class.

Day 57

[from Ichinichi]

Having eaten her breakfast, Akiko put on her shoes and got ready to leave for school. "See you later!" she called out as she opened the front door.

"Good luck!" her mother called out after her.

Akiko shut the front door behind her, and with a determined smile on her face she set off for school. Takeru would usually meet up with her about halfway there, and today, she planned to use their time together to discuss their plans for Tanabata. She wanted everything to be just perfect when she confessed to him that night.

Sure enough, when she reached the intersection where he was usually waiting for her, Takeru was there as usual. He was slightly taller than average, with a handsome face and short, rather messy brown hair. Akiko didn't know when she had started falling for him, or even why, but she knew that she wanted him to be hers. Tonight, she would try and make him hers.

Takeru, oblivious as ever to his friend's inner turmoil, waved cheerily to her as she approached. "Hey, Aki-chan," he said. "You ready for Tanabata tonight?"

Akiko nodded. "Yeah," she said. Come what may, she was ready. "It's gonna be a good night, I'm sure of it."

"I hope so," said Takeru. "It'll certainly be better than Tanabata three years ago. You remember that, right?"

"Oh, would you stop bringing that up?" complained Akiko. "You bring that up every year, and it's embarrassing!"

"Which is exactly why I keep bringing it up," said Takeru, smirking. He liked to tease her like this. There was nothing malicious in it; it was just what friends did. Her retaliation was to pretend that he had hurt her feelings to make him feel bad, when in reality she had actually grown to like the teasing a little. That being said, the Tanabata of three years ago was not a fun memory for Akiko. "I'll never forget that guy's face when you fell in the goldfish tank~"

"I'll never forget how cold it was…" Akiko shuddered. "Everyone was laughing at me… it was horrible…"

"I'm sorry," said Takeru, the inevitable apology coming sooner than Akiko had expected. "But like I said, this year will be better than that. Right?"

"I don't really see how it could be worse," said Akiko.

"Then it's guaranteed to be better, right?" said Takeru.

"I guess so," said Akiko.

"So, what are the plans for this evening?" asked Takeru. "What are we actually gonna do at the festival? I assume goldfish scooping is out of the question?"

"You're the worst!" said Akiko, pouting falsely.

Takeru chuckled nervously. "Sorry, Aki-chan," he said. "I'll stop bringing it up, I promise."

"You'd better," said Akiko, "or I might just push you in the goldfish tank and see how you like being laughed at!" She wasn't going to, of course, but if he could tease her, then she could return the favour.

Takeru continued to chuckle. "Sorry, sorry," he said quickly. "A promise is a promise, alright?"

Akiko nodded, the false look of hurt disappearing from her face. "Alright. I'll hold you to it."

"So, in all seriousness," asked Takeru, "what is the plan for tonight?"

"I didn't have much in mind, really," said Akiko. "I just wanted us to have a look around the stalls, maybe try a few of the games, and then find somewhere nice and quiet to watch the fireworks together." She tried to hide her blush at the thought of being alone with Takeru for the fireworks display. Every year until now they had watched it as part of the crowd, but this year she wanted to be alone with him so she could confess during the display. She hadn't been sure what Takeru would say, but to her pleasant surprise, he seemed to like the idea.

"That sounds good," he said. "Sometimes it can be a bit hard to see with all the people around, so finding a nice, quiet spot to watch it would be nice."

"Really?" she said, her excitement surfacing for a moment. "Alright, then it's settled. We'll be watching the fireworks together, and alone…" The thought made her a little giddy. Just me, Taki-chan, and the fireworks…

 "You alright, Aki-chan?" asked Takeru. "You seem kinda spaced out."

Akiko forced herself to return to reality. "Oh… no, I'm fine," she said quickly. "It's nothing, don't worry."

Day 56

[from A Thousand Miles to San Francisco]

Wednesday began as a normal day for Samantha. She headed into work as usual, and settled down at her desk on the fourth floor, ready for another day of moving numbers back and forth. It wasn't very long, however, before her supervisor Rachel made her way over for what Samantha guessed would be an important discussion.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute, Sam?" she asked.

"Sure," said Samantha. Having not really started yet, she was happy for an excuse to put off the drudgery for a few moments more. She expected to have to follow Rachel to her office, but instead, Rachel launched into her talk right then and there.

"Okay," said Rachel, "this morning we just got a big new set of invoices from several of our clients, including one of yours. We're already a little behind as it is, what with that bug that was going around - not that you could help being ill, but y'know, it's not very convenient from our point of view… anyway, what I'm saying is, we've got a massive backlog to clear now, and not as much time as I'd like. So, I was hoping you and a few of the others would be willing to put in some overtime, just until we've caught back up to where we need to be. You'll be paid overtime, of course - I'm not a slave driver, you know me."

"How much overtime are we talking here?" asked Samantha. She didn't really have any commitments that might be affected by this, but it would still be nice to know.

"Well, the longest they'll let me keep you here is seven, so… ideally, until seven," said Rachel.

Samantha blew hard out of her mouth. "How long for?" she asked warily.

"Until it's done, however long that might be," said Rachel. "So the harder you work now, the less late nights you'll have to work."

"You make it sound like I've already said yes," said Samantha.

"Well, I don't wanna pressure you into it," admitted Rachel, "but I have to admit, my manager isn't too happy with the amount of slack I cut you guys. If it were up to him, you'd already be doing the overtime just to make up for the days you missed. But it's not up to him. It's up to me, so I'm giving you the choice. If you wanna do it, then like I said, I'll pay you overtime, and if you guys need caffeine to stay awake, or whatever, then I'm happy to get you some coffee. If you don't wanna do it, I'll find someone who will."

"What if nobody wants to do it?" asked Mark, sitting at the next desk along, having apparently been listening to the entire conversation. "You gonna draw lots or something?"

"Actually, yes," said Rachel, turning to him with a smirk, "and I'll put your name in four times." Mark took the jibe in good spirits, nodding with a grin before turning back to his computer.

Rachel turned back her attention back to Samantha. "Well, when you've decided what you wanna do, swing by my office and give me a shout, okay?" she said.

But Samantha had already made up her mind. "Eh- no, actually, it's okay, I'll do it," she said. "If it's one of the companies I'm dealing with, then it's my responsibility anyway, right?"

Rachel nodded, and smiled approvingly. "That's true," she said.

"And anyway," added Samantha, "I could always use the extra money."

Rachel's smile grew into a small, amused grin. "Couldn't we all," she said. "Alright, I'll go talk to some of the others about this, and then I'll go let the manager know. Keep up the good work, Sam."

"Thank you," said Samantha. "Will do." Rachel turned to go, but a question suddenly occurred to Samantha. "Oh, wait! Uhh… when will the overtime start? You know… what day?"

"Tomorrow, most likely," said Rachel. "I won't make you stay behind today, as it's too short-notice, but tomorrow will be fine, right?"

"Yeah, tomorrow's fine," said Samantha, nodding. "Okay, thank you."

"Don't mention it," said Rachel. With a curt nod, she headed off on her way, and Samantha settled down to a long day of manipulating spreadsheets.

***

Once again, Samantha was relaxing after dinner later that day when her phone began to ring. She checked the caller ID, then smiled and answered. "Hey, Dawn," she said.

"Hey, Sam!" Even down the phone, Samantha could sense the excitement in Dawn's voice. "I got the tickets for The Dark Knight Rises! It's all booked now!"

"Oh, that's great!" said Samantha. "When is it, then?"

"I managed to get tickets for a midnight screening over in Aurora, this Friday," said Dawn. "I know it's a bit short-notice, but you've got nothing going on then, right?"

"Midnight?" repeated Samantha, her stomach starting to sink. "Ohh… sorry, Dawn, but I don't think I'm gonna be able to make it."

"What?!" exclaimed Dawn. "Oh, come on, Sam, I've been looking forward to this all week! You could have at least told me before I bought the tickets!"

"I know, I'm really sorry," said Samantha apologetically. "It's just, we've suddenly had a whole bunch of work piled on top of us, and now they're making me do overtime starting tomorrow, and I'm sorry, but I'm just not gonna be able to stay awake that long. I'm tired now and I only worked nine-to-five today, I'll be working nine-to-seven tomorrow and there's no way I can make it to 2am, or whenever the film's gonna finish. Sorry."

"No, no, it's okay," said Dawn, "I understand. I should apologize as well; I got a little over-excited about this, I guess. I probably should have talked this over with you before I booked the tickets, you know, and tried to find a time that would suit us both… instead I just booked the earliest screening I could find. Should I-"

"No, it's fine, really," said Samantha quickly, "you can still go. Don't let my work commitments get in the way of your fun. You can always just sell the extra ticket on eBay or something, you can probably get, like, a hundred dollars for it."

 "I think there's websites for that, where you can sell unwanted tickets," said Dawn thoughtfully. "But, isn’t it a bit sad to go to the cinema by yourself?"

"Maybe," said Dawn, "but I think it's sadder if you refuse to go just because I can't come with you. I mean, you said you were so excited about it, you booked the earliest possible screening for it… please, Dawn, just go, I can always watch it some other time. It's no big, deal, really-"

"Alright, alright, I'll go," said Dawn, chuckling. "Geez, now who's over-reacting? Alright, tell you what: once you know when you'll be free, I'll pay for your ticket myself. Is that a deal?"

"It's a deal," said Samantha, nodding. "Okay, have fun, Dawn."

"I'll try," said Dawn. "Oh… but we still need to meet up sometime, don't we? How about we just, I dunno, go out for a coffee sometime? Something simple, you know?"

"You mean something I can't cancel at short notice?" joked Samantha.

Dawn chuckled. "You can, but if you cancel on me twice in a row, I'll be pissed. You know that, right?"

"I won't," said Samantha. "That's a promise."

"Alright, well, I'll speak to you later," said Dawn. "Have fun at work."

"I'll try," chuckled Samantha.

"Alright, bye."

"Bye," said Samantha, and the two hung up at almost exactly the same time.

Day 55

[from Pokémon: The Chase]

Contrary to what the zoo manager had said, Arcanine was still in the city. It and the girl accompanying it, whose name it had learned was Abigail, had procured the map and were now busy studying it. It showed the whole of Kanto and Johto, with each city, town and route clearly labelled. If they were going to get to Ecruteak, this map was going to be invaluable.

"We're here," said Abigail, jabbing a grubby finger at Saffron City, right in the heart of the Kanto region. "And Ecruteak is, uhh…" She traced her finger along the map, trying to find it. "Here," she said after a few seconds, her finger now resting on Ecruteak. Looking between the two cities, they seemed awfully far apart. "That's a long way," she remarked.

"I'm a fast Pokémon," said Arcanine. "So, what route do we take?"

 "Hmm…" Abigail pulled out a pen, one of several discarded objects she'd found that she liked to keep with her. You never knew when they might come in handy, such as now, for example. "Well, how did you and your owner get here from Ecruteak?"

"We took the SS Aqua ferry from Olivine," said Arcanine. "It docks in Vermillion, which I believe is just to the south of here."

"It is, yeah," said Abigail, pointing to it on the map. "I don't think we can take the ferry, though. I don't have any money."

Arcanine nodded. "True," it admitted. "And we don't know when it leaves. There might not be a ferry service for days. So the best option is to travel by foot."

"Okay." Abigail began to trace out a route, starting from Saffron. First, they had to head north to Cerulean, then west through Mount Moon and into Pewter City. Heading south through Viridian Forest, they would arrive in Viridian City. This was where things started to get tricky. First, it seemed as though they would have to cut through the Pokémon League Reception Gate, then once they had achieved that, they could head south and then west along the coastline. However…

Abigail's pen stopped halfway along Route 27. "It looks like the only way through here is across the water," she said warily.

"That'll be a problem," said Arcanine, "since I can't swim, being a Fire-type and all."

"Then how will we get across?" asked Abigail.

"I don't know," said Arcanine. "I guess we'll have to hope some kind soul will be able to help us out."

"I suppose so," said Abigail. "Once we're through there, though, it looks like a fairly easy path to Ecruteak." Taking up her pen again, Abigail drew a route leading through to New Bark Town and Cherrygrove City, then northwest to Violet City and finally, their destination, Ecruteak. While there would be a few obstacles in their way, especially between Viridian and New Bark, overall it seemed like a fairly straightforward path, with little chance of getting lost.

Arcanine leaned closer, examining the route. "So that's the route we're taking, is it?"

"Yep," said Abigail. "Other than the water, and the Pokémon League Reception Gate here, I don't think we'll have any problems."

"Alright," said Arcanine, straightening up majestically. "We'll worry about those problems when we get to them. For now, let's head north to Cerulean. It’s not far, and once we're there, we can get some rest. You look tired."

"I am tired," said Abigail, nodding. Her current situation didn't really help when it came to getting a good night's sleep, but with a warm Arcanine to sleep against, she looked forward to getting some proper rest for the first time in a long time.

"Then let's get moving," said Arcanine. "The faster we get there, the faster we can rest."

Abigail nodded in agreement. She folded the map up, stowing it away in her pocket along with her pen and the other miscellaneous items she carried around. "Umm… do you know which way north is from here?" she asked, as she climbed back onto Arcanine's back. "I'm not sure I know."

"What's the name of the route that leads to Cerulean?" asked Arcanine. "There should be signposts pointing to it."

Abigail got the map back out again quickly to check. "Route 5," she said, before stowing it away again.

"Alright," said Arcanine. "I'll just keep an eye out for signs pointing to Route 5. Are you holding on tightly?"

"Yes," said Abigail, hugging herself against the Arcanine's soft, warm back, and trying not to grow too tired lest she fall asleep and let go.

"Then I'll be off, then," said Arcanine. "Don't let go." With that, it began to race off through the streets once more, with Abigail clinging tightly to its back as the night wind rushed past them.

Day 54

[from Aishiteru! Hikikomori-san][WARNING: potentially NSFW]

Ilana lay on the sofa, bored. Yuuichi had left for his first day of work, and now she was feeling listless, and unsure what to do with herself. The two of them hadn't really been apart for more than a few minutes at a time ever since she arrived at his apartment, and now she would be without him for several hours.

Look on good side, Ilana thought to herself. Yuuichi going to work for first time ever. He make big step today, good step. Then a thought occurred to her: I should give reward. He probably have tough day. I do thing for him so he feel better when back home. But what thing to do?

Ilana pondered this for a moment. She hadn't really known Yuuichi all that long, and she didn't really know all his interests yet. What kind of thing would he want as a reward? Whatever it was, it would also have to be cheap, because the pair of them didn't have all that much money, and it would have to be quick to prepare, as he would only be home in a few short hours. Ideally, she would have to make do with what was in the house.

That was when an idea struck her. One of the interests she knew Yuuichi had was that he was an avid reader of Japanese comics, or "manga" as he so insistently called them. Maybe they give me idea, she thought. Getting up off the sofa, she headed into the bedroom, crossing to Yuuichi's bookshelf. The first shelf was occupied by several plastic figurines depicting various anime and video game characters, many of whom were in a state of undress. Ilana smiled to herself. Husband is… what is word...? Hen-tay? Yuuichi is hen-tay.

The second shelf was stacked full of DVDs and Blu-Rays. The third and fourth shelves contained what Ilana was after, however: Yuuichi's extensive manga collection. She began to flick through the titles on the shelf, looking for one that might contain some kind of romantic gesture she could replicate for Yuuichi upon his return. She felt he would appreciate that.

Murder Book… no. The President is Magical Girl… no. Uhh… I know not what that one say. Or that one. I just skip them. Uhh… no… no… ah. This one look, how you say… promising. Ilana pulled out a thin volume with a cover depicting a pretty cartoon girl in an apron, who appeared to have fallen over while baking a cake and was covered rather suggestively with icing. Again, she couldn't quite decipher the full title, but she could make out the word "Love" in it and that was good enough for her.

Ilana flicked the book open and found herself confronted by a rather explicit drawing. Flicking to the next page, she was confronted by an even more explicit drawing of something that should logically come at the end of such a book, not the beginning. Oh, yes, she remembered suddenly, book is backwards in Japan. Is weird country. Having realized what kind of manga this was, she was half-tempted to close it and find another, cleaner one. However, driven by a strange curiosity and a desire to make Yuuichi happy, she instead opened the manga at the correct page and began to read, her face as scarlet as her hair.

***

When Yuuichi returned home several hours later, he was fairly exhausted. "I'm home," he called out lazily, kicking off his shoes.

"Welcome home~"

Yuuichi looked up and found himself confronted with a scene straight out of one of his explicit manga. Ilana stood before him wearing nothing but an apron, her cheeks rather flushed but a broad smile on her face. Her hands were clasped behind her back, pushing out her already substantial chest, which was now separated from Yuuichi by only a few feet of air and a thin strip of fabric. Slowly, her husband's face turned bright red, but Ilana was not done yet.

"Would you like bath first?" she asked sweetly, reciting the lines she had read in the manga and then practiced dozens of times. "Dinner first? Or maybe you want…" She leaned forward, blushing profusely but still managing her best seductive smile. "…me~?"

It was too much for Yuuichi to take. A fountain of blood erupted from his nose with enough force to send him tumbling backwards, albeit with a look of sheer bliss on his face. I have the best wife in the whole world!, he thought to himself blissfully, as he collapsed to the floor.

Day 53

[from Aura of Chaos]

Xeron was woken later that night by a commotion coming from outside. There seemed to be a number of people talking and shouting. Slowly sitting up, he began to listen, to see if he could make out what the voices were saying.

"--kill the Witch!"

"Burn her!"

"She's over this way!"

Xeron, still half-asleep, wondered at first whether the villagers had mistaken some poor innocent soul for the strange hooded figure who had attacked him in the cave earlier that day. If that was the case, he should ideally set them straight before an innocent woman got burned at the stake. If it actually turned out to be the hooded figure - which was unlikely as Xeron was certain they were male - they would be no match for it, and so he had better warn them away from attacking it. Either way, he needed to intervene.

Xeron slipped out of bed, put his armour back on, and lit a candle to light his way through the darkened inn. Holding it in one hand, he grabbed his spear in the other hand and headed off down the hallway. The inn seemed completely deserted, and he did not meet anyone on the hallway, nor downstairs in the tavern area. Presumably, everyone was either asleep, or joining in this supposed witch hunt.

With a growing sense of foreboding, Xeron left the inn. It wasn’t just there that was empty: the entire village seemed to be deserted, even more so than one would expect at this time of night. Xeron began looking around for torchlight, as a large angry mob such as this would no doubt have at least a few torches. He soon located the fiery glow, off to the east and slowly moving away from him. With a pang of horror, Xeron suddenly realized where the mob was heading, and who their target was.

"Tara!" The mob must have leapt to the same conclusion that he had: that his recovery had been too fast and too complete, and consequently must have been the result of witchcraft. However, unlike him, the villagers weren't willing to ignore the laws on witchcraft. All magic was forbidden. All Witches had to die.

In an instant, Xeron realized he could not let this happen. Tara had saved his life, and now it was time that he returned the favour. Tossing the candle aside, he began to sprint towards Tara's house, cursing the heavy weight of his armour that slowed him down slightly. By the time he reached her house, it was already surrounded by at least two dozen villagers, wielding torches, pitchforks, and even small swords. The mayor himself stood before Tara's front door, brandishing a torch of his own. "Come out, you wench!" he cried. "Face your punishment!"

"What the hell are you doing?!" cried Xeron as he reached the mob.

"Ah, Xeron," said the mayor, turning to face him. His jovial smile suddenly seemed a lot more threatening. "Did you realize that this woman was a Witch?"

"She's not a Witch!" declared Xeron. He had no way of knowing this, of course, but surely they had no way of knowing that she was? "Let her go?"

"Of course she's a Witch!" said one of the other villagers. "I saw you when you were being carried out of the cave, you were on death's door! There's no way you could have recovered this fast without a Witch being involved!"

"And there you have it," said the mayor. "Now stand aside."

Xeron stepped in front of Tara's front door, blocking the mob's entry. "I won't let you hurt her!" he said.

The villagers were undoubtedly confused by Xeron's behaviour, until the mayor suddenly grinned. "I get it," he said. "I see what's going on. She's bewitched you. She's put some kind of spell on you so you'll protect her." The other villagers began to nod and mutter in agreement; to them, this logic made perfect sense. To Xeron, it was unprovable nonsense. "Don't worry, Xeron," said the mayor, "we'll free you from that wench's spell! Men: attack! But be sure to leave him alive!"

Xeron didn't want to fight these men, but as they advanced on him, weapons raised, it seemed that he had no choice. Suddenly glad that he had thought to bring his armour, he spun his spear round so he was fighting with the blunt end rather than the point, and prepared for battle.

Day 52

[from Space Hunter]

Slowly, Princess Aurelia awoke to find herself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. She recognized the sterile smell and soft lighting, however: she was in a hospital. She found herself wondering whether it was as advanced or well-equipped as the ones on her home planet. Then it occurred to her that the people of this race would not be familiar with her people's biology. Any medical treatments they might attempt could potentially have disastrous results. On the other hand, she was, at least, alive.

She wasn't sure what exactly had happened. Upon entering the planet's atmosphere, something had sheared on her ship's right wing, causing it to slowly disintegrate, and in turn sending the ship hurtling out of control. It had been a miracle that she'd been able to steer it away from the launch pad, and the masses of Vodi gathered there, or else things would have ended in catastrophe, both for this planet and for her own.

As she lay there, reflecting on this, a Vodi nurse pulled back the curtain surrounding her bed, presumably to check on her. Upon realizing the princess was awake, she jerked back with a squeal. "It's awake!" she exclaimed.

"Stay back!" said a voice from behind the nurse. "Men! With me."

The nurse rolled back out of the cubicle, and in rolled three Vodi males. At the front of them was General Pereira, a stern look on his face. The other two men carried primitive-looking projectile weapons, probably magazine-based. So, she was to be treated as a threat, then. Perhaps understandable: she had, after all, very nearly killed a lot of people.

The curtain was drawn back around the cubicle, shielding the four of them from view. General Pereira moved around to Aurelia's bedside, examining her curiously. Finally, he spoke. "Can you understand," he said slowly, "what I am saying to you?"

Aurelia nodded. "Yes. I have a translation device."

"I see," said the general, his spherical body rocking back and forth in what may have been this species' version of a nod. "So… do you realize the trouble you caused today? The damage you caused? The damage you so nearly caused?"

"Yes," said Aurelia, closing her eyes shamefully. "I am so dreadfully sorry. I came to this planet as a representative of my people, and I have made a terrible first impression upon you."

"You can say that again," said General Pereira fiercely. "Today was to be the most glorious day in our race's history, and then you arrived and ruined everything."

"I am so very sorry," said Princess Aurelia. "If there's any way I can make it up to you-"

"You can start by telling us who, or rather, what you are," said General Pereira. "Where did you come from? Why did you come here? What do you want from us?"

As the barrage of questions came forth, Aurelia began to realize something that only made her feel even worse.  This planet had never received an extraterrestrial visitor before. She was the first person from any other planet to ever make contact here. And she had made a complete and utter mess of it. I'm such an idiot, she thought. Well, the only thing I can do now is try and salvage things. Perhaps I can still get what I came here for.

"My name is Princess Aurelia Celarius Corsis," she began. "I am a Zetan, from the planet Zeta-4, several star systems away. I have come here to beg for your assistance. My people are dying of a terrible disease, and although our best scientists have formulated a cure, it requires materials that cannot be found on our world, the first of which is located here. I know you and your people must hate me after what happened today, but  please… this is all I will ask of you. Once I have what I need, I will leave you and your people in peace."

"That might be rather difficult," said General Pereira, after a moment's pause.

"What do you-" It was at this point that Aurelia remembered just how violently she had crashed, not to mention that the entire wing of her craft had been shorn off even before that. Her craft was heavily damaged at best, and irreparable at worst. And if it was irreparable, then she could never leave. She could never go back. Her people would think she had died, or abandoned them, and the vicious plague would never be cured.

It was too much for Aurelia to take. Shutting her eyes, she turned away and began to sob quietly into the pillow. Crying was not becoming of a princess, but Aurelia was too distraught to care what was expected of her at that moment. She was also too distraught to remember that Zetan bodily fluids were rather acidic, an evolutionary adaptation designed to kill anything that might try and eat them. As her tears dripped onto the pillow, they began to dissolve it, the soft down hissing as it was eaten away by the caustic fluid.

"What's she doing?" asked one of the guards, puzzled. "Is it some kind of attack?" He started to raise his weapon, but General Pereira put his hand on the barrel and forced it back down again.

"I don't think so," said General Pereira. "I've served in the army for 30 years and I've never seen anyone look that sad while attacking. This must simply be a trait of her species." Pereira moved closer to Aurelia's bedside, his expression suddenly more compassionate.

"While your actions today were almost unforgivable," he said to her, "I can sympathize with your plight. We Vodi have faced many threats to our own existence, and yet we persevere. However, I am not the one in charge of making the decision over whether we should help you. I shall tell the Emperor of our land what you have told me, and he will tell the other Emperors, and together they will decide how to proceed. They are compassionate men, and they may well decide to help you. However, the fact remains that your… craft, or whatever it is… was heavily damaged in the crash. Our finest engineers are studying it presently, but its technology appears to be far beyond our understanding. Even if we can somehow figure out how to repair it, you will be stranded here until it is fixed." He hesitated, then added, "I'm sorry."

Aurelia wiped her eyes, looking back at the general. "It's okay," she said. "Thank you. You are an excellent ambassador for your people."

"Thank you," said General Pereira. "You will most likely be discharged from the hospital soon, as your biology is so foreign to us that we have no idea how to treat you, or whether you even need treatment. Your external injuries, however, have been patched up…. with some difficulty, I might add, though I cannot fault you for the biology of your people."

Aurelia nodded. It probably wasn't worth asking just how much chaos her acidic blood had caused, so she decided to ask a different question. "What will become of me then? Once I have been discharged, I mean."

"For the time being, you will remain confined to the military facility in which you currently reside," said General Pereira. "Once we've confirmed that you pose no threat to our planet, you'll be transferred elsewhere, at the Emperors' discretion."

Aurelia had a sudden thought. "Where is my ship?" she asked.

"Its wreckage has been brought here to be analyzed," said General Pereira. "As I said before, though, its technology is beyond anything we have ever seen before." General Pereira seemed to then be struck by the same thought as Aurelia. "But then… you most likely understand it, don't you? Since it's your ship and all."

"I do," said Princess Aurelia, "for the most part. I lack the technical skill to fix it myself, but perhaps I can assist your engineers in understanding its inner workings. If it can be repaired, then I can leave once I have obtained the materials I seek, and as a token of my gratitude - and my heartfelt apologies - you may keep any of the technology you may discover in the process of repairing it. It is the least I could do to make up for everything."

General Pereira seemed most intrigued by this idea, as all generals would when presented with the prospect of advanced technology. "Very well then," he said. "I will relay everything you have told me to the Emperor, and if all goes as planned, he will agree to this deal. I have just one last question, however. Exactly what material is it that you require from us?"

"I do not know exactly," said Aurelia, shaking her head. "All I know is its chemical composition. Once I'm allowed back to my ship, I can retrieve the formula from its hard drive for you."

"Alright then," said General Pereira. "That will be all for now. I shall leave you in peace, Princess of Zeta-4." The general motioned to his two bodyguards, and the three of them left the cubicle, leaving Princess Aurelia alone with her thoughts.

Day 51

[from StarLight]

It had occurred to Sanae that, having been gone for almost 400 years, Kousen was going to be rather out of touch with modern society, and especially modern technology. While this would be a great source of comedy, she didn't really want to come home one day to find Kousen had smashed open the TV because she thought there was someone trapped inside it, so she felt it would be best to try and give Kousen a crash-course in modern technology.

Firstly, she reverted back to her normal form, placing the White Star Emblem safely on her desk. She had no idea what effect its energy might have on her electrical devices; for all she knew, it might wipe her hard drives or fry her phone's circuitry. With that done, she help up her smartphone for Kousen to see.

"This is a cellphone," she explained. "It lets you talk to other people over long distances. These days you can do all sorts of other things on them as well, like play video games, watch movies, surf the Internet… oh right, you won't know what the Internet is, will you? I gotta show you that!"

"I don't know of these "video games" and "movies" you speak of, either," said Kousen, looking thoroughly perplexed. "And what is "surfing"?"

"Ehh…" A bead of sweat formed on the side of Sanae's face as she realized just how much her familiar had to learn. "This is going to be difficult…"

"You don't have to teach me everything at once," said Kousen reassuringly. "I'm sure I'll pick up plenty of information about this time as we go along. But if you must, try and start with the basics."

"Like what?" asked Sanae. "I know there's all kinds of stuff you didn't have in the 1600s, but I don't know everything that's been invented since then."

"Well…" Kousen looked around the room briefly, trying to find something simple-looking yet unfamiliar that Sanae could explain easily. After a moment's searching, she spotted the lampshade hanging from the ceiling, and the light bulb glowing brightly within it. She floated up to the ceiling, staring curiously at the light source. "What is this magnificent light?" she asked.

"That's a light bulb," said Sanae. "You didn't have light bulbs in your time?"

"Light bulbs…" repeated Kousen. "No. We lit our houses using candles. This lightbulb is far brighter… how does it create so much light?"

Sanae was a little relieved to be asked something with such a simple explanation. "Well," she began, "there's a little coiled-up wire inside, and when electricity passes through it, the wire gets really hot and starts to glow. It's not very efficient compared to more modern designs, but it works."

"I see," said Kousen, nodding as though she understood. A moment later, however, she asked, "What is electricity?"

At this point, Sanae was completely overwhelmed. "Ehh?! You don't even know what electricity is?!" she exclaimed.

"No," said Kousen blankly. "Is it some kind of energy?"

Sanae quickly recovered from her initial shock, thoroughly relieved that Kousen was able to grasp the concept for herself. "Uhh… yeah, basically," she said. "It's a special kind of energy that can pass through metal wires. It's used to power pretty much everything these days. My cellphone runs on electricity, for example."

Kousen floated down to take a closer look at the device. "But it doesn't have any wires," she said, perplexed. "How does the electricity get to it?"

 "We have these things called batteries that can store electricity in them," said Sanae. "I mentioned them earlier, remember? They work kinda like the Emblem does. When the battery's connected to the phone, and it has power in it, the power flows through the wires inside the device and allows it to work, just like how the Emblem's power flows through me while I'm holding it. If you remove the battery, or the battery runs out of power, the phone will stop working. Does that make sense?"

"I see," said Kousen, nodding. "Yes, that makes sense. So the electricity flows through wires to get to the house to power the light bulb?"

"Yep," said Sanae.

"Where does the electricity come from?" asked Kousen.

"Well, there's a bunch of different ways of generating electricity," said Sanae. "Can I explain those later, though? This scene is starting to drag on a bit and the audience are probably getting bored."

"You could continue your explanations off-screen while the scene cuts to something else," suggested Kousen.

"Hey, yeah, good idea!" said Sanae. "Let's do that then."

***

Meanwhile, in one of the three large rivers that flowed through Mitsuzawa, a strange, ominous shadow had appeared beneath the surface of the water. The shadow slowly made its way upstream, headed towards the densely-packed centre of the city. Nobody seemed to notice it, or pay it much attention. Perhaps those who saw it assumed it was a whale, or a dolphin, or some other animal. It was not. It was far worse than anyone in Mitsuzawa, save Kousen, could have imagined.

The shadow advanced along the water's surface until it reached a suspension bridge spanning the length of the river, ferrying cars from one side to the other. Nobody on the bridge could see the dark figure lurking beneath the surface, so even as it began to emerge from the depths, those on the bridge were entirely unaware of the danger they were in.

Suddenly, the water erupted, and out of the river burst a creature the likes of which had not been seen in almost 400 years. It was a gigantic sea serpent, easily fifty feet long, with a large gaping jaw and two long, sharp fangs. As it let out an almighty roar, thrashing in anger, everyone in the vicinity screamed and ran, as people are prone to doing when gigantic monsters appear from nowhere. The bridge quickly jammed with traffic as those on it tried to get clear; finally, those on it resorted to getting out of their cars and fleeing on foot.

The bridge was cleared just in time. The monster, enraged by the screaming, roared once more and slammed its head into the bridge. The bridge shattered under the impact and collapsed into the river, the numerous abandoned cars on it sliding irretrievably into the depths. Those gathered around watched on in horror, especially those who hadn't finished paying off their now-lost cars.

The monster did not seem the slightest bit scathed, despite having slammed headfirst into a heavy suspension bridge. It did, however, continue to roar and thrash angrily, kicking up tremendous amounts of spray as it did so. As the reality of what was happening began to sink in for those watching, various questions began to form in their minds: what was this creature? Where had it come from? What did it want? And who was going to stop it before it caused any more damage? What the city needed right now was a hero.

***

Conveniently, the city already had a hero. Inconveniently, she was currently occupied with other matters.

"This is a television," said Sanae, waving her hand at the device. "Did you have plays back in your time?"

"We did, yes," said Kousen. "They were the pinnacle of entertainment."

"Well , you can think of a television as being like having hundreds of theatres in your own home," said Sanae. "Each theatre is called a "channel", and most of them run 24 hours a day. As well as plays, or "programmes", they show documentaries - those are programmes about real-life things - and news programmes that tell you what's going on in the world. They're great for both entertainment and for learning things."

 "I'm not sure I understand," said Kousen, looking puzzled. "This small box is a theatre? How do the actors fit inside?"

Sanae had seen this coming a mile off, but even so she still facepalmed quite hard. "There's nobody inside it," she said. "It's electronic, like my cellphone." Sanae thought for a moment about how to explain the inner workings. Uhh… did you have flipbooks in your time?"

"No," said Kousen.

Sanae sighed and nodded. "Right… well, how television works is, a series of static pictures are transmitted to it through the air, one after another, like electronic portraits. The television then shows these pictures one after the other, really really fast, and it looks like the pictures on the screen are moving, but actually it's just a bunch of still images. Does that make sense?"

Kousen looked thoroughly mystified. "Not in the slightest," she said.

Sanae sighed again. "I'll just show you, then." She turned on the TV, and by sheer coincidence, was just in time to catch the start of what appeared to be an emergency broadcast.

"We interrupt this programme to bring you an urgent news announcement," said the news anchor in a serious tone. "What appears to be a gigantic sea monster has emerged from the river in the centre of the downtown area, demolishing a bridge and sending dozens of cars plummeting into the depths. Nobody is thought to have been killed or injured, but as the strange creature continues its rampage, fears of a city-wide catastrophe are starting to spread-"

Kousen's technology-induced confusion rapidly gave way to concern. "So, it's begun already," she said. "Monsters are starting to converge on Mitsuzawa. You'll have to teach me how this device works another day, Sanae. Right now, your destiny awaits."

Sanae nodded innocently, then suddenly did a double take, an expression of shock emerging on her face. "Waitwaitwait… I have to fight a giant freaking sea monster?!!" she exclaimed. "I can't fight a giant sea monster! I only got this Emblem an hour ago! I don't even know how to use it!"

"I know how inconvenient this is for you," said Kousen. "I personally would have liked to have been able to teach you how to harness the Emblem's power before the first monsters appeared. But I guess it can't be helped now. I'll have to explain how to use it on the way there."

"You mean I'm really going to have to fight it?!" cried Sanae. "But I'm not ready! What if it kills me? Oh God, I can't die in Episode 1! I'm the protagonist!"

"Don't be so concerned," said Kousen. "With the power of the Emblem flowing through you, your endurance will be far greater than that of any ordinary human. That monster may be huge, but it'll be no match for you, even with your lack of experience. As White Star, it is your duty, nay, your destiny to defeat that monster, and defeat it you shall! This city needs you, Sanae Hikari. This storyline needs you."

Sanae nodded, her confidence returning. "You're right," she admitted. "It might be tough, but I'm an anime protagonist! I can probably do anything! I might fail the first couple of times for comedic or dramatic purposes, but I'll always succeed in the end, because the protagonist never loses! And even when they do, they always win the second time!"

Sanae switched off the television and strode over to her desk. As she gazed upon the White Star Emblem, she could see her determined face reflected in its shining surface. She was ready - at least mentally - to face her destiny, and kickstart the series' plot. All she needed now was a fancy catchphrase to yell as she transformed. She thought of one quickly, then swiped the Emblem from off of the desk and held it high above her head. "White Star: Transformation!" she yelled, and once more she was engulfed in a blinding white light.

Day 50

[from The Ember Stone]

"He's coming!"

As the guards within scrambled to their posts, the doors of the Crimson Temple were torn asunder, and the evil sorcerer Vaz'qui stepped over the threshold, his black cape billowing behind him. This was the fourth and final stop on his quest to gain the ultimate power. The Silver Temple, Jade Temple and Aqua Temple had already been plundered by him, their guardians slaughtered and their sacred elemental stones stolen. All he needed now was the Ember Stone that lay inside this temple, and he would be invincible.

One by one, the guards began to draw their swords and charge at Vaz'qui. One by one, they were swiftly cut down. The first guard was thrown effortlessly through the air and into a wall, with enough force to shatter his bones. He was the unlucky one; it would take him several minutes to die from his injuries. The next three were all impaled by sharp spikes that shot up from the earth, piercing straight through their steel armor and skewering their hearts. Their deaths were mercifully swift.

The fallen guards' swords began to levitate off the ground, and a moment later, at Vaz'qui's command, they shot forwards, each one impaling a guard through the neck. Blood sprayed across the temple floor as the four guards collapsed, the weaker of them already dead, the stronger of them slowly drowning in their own crimson blood.

All this time, Vaz'qui did not take his eyes off the door at the end of the chamber, or even break step.  He knew what his goal was, and in his mind, he knew he could not be stopped. The Ember Stone, and immortality, were about to become his, and nobody could do anything about it. Not the puny guards whose corpses lay strewn across the blood-soaked floor. Not the weak guardian who lay in wait on the other side of the door. Not even their pathetic traps.

As he stepped in front of the door to the Ember Shrine, the floor suddenly crumbled away beneath his feet. This, it seemed, was a last-ditch attempt to stop him, or at least slow him down. It was useless. With the Silver Temple's Gust Stone in his control, he was able to halt his descent long before he would have hit the forest of sharp spikes at the bottom. Easily levitating himself back out of the pit, Vaz'qui blasted open the doors to the Ember Shrine.

The shrine itself was a large, tall circular chamber, with a ceiling at least ten metres high. In the centre was an elaborate stone pedestal upon which stood the Ember Stone. The pedestal was surrounded by a ring of flames, but with the power of the other three Stones at his command, this was no obstacle to Vaz'qui. He raised his hand and a powerful stream of water burst forth and dowsed a section of the flames, creating a gap for him to pass through.

Now only one obstacle remained between him and the Ember Stone. Standing atop the pedestal, blocking his way, was Erica, the guardian of the Ember Stone. Her expression as she looked down upon the sorcerer was one of stony determination. She had known he would be coming, and she knew what was at stake: right now, she was the only thing standing between Vaz'qui and invincibility. The fate of the entire world, it seemed, lay heavily on her shoulders.

Vaz'qui landed on the floor of the shrine, glaring up at Erica from beneath the hood of his robe. "Stand aside," he growled. "It's useless to try and resist me."

Erica, to Vaz'qui's surprise, started to grin. "Oh, I know I can't beat you in a straight fight, Vaz'qui," she said. "So I'm not going to try. I have a much better plan instead."

"Anything you try will be futile," sneered Vaz'qui. "Give me the Stone, and I will make your death merciful."

"I don't think so, Vaz'qui," said Erica. She raised a hand dramatically. "Activate the Last Resort!"

At Erica's command, a series of wall panels slid back, revealing a ring of magical beam weapons surrounding the pedestal. Vaz'qui was not concerned by them; their beams would not be strong enough to harm him, even when combined together. However, when the beams fired, they targeted not Vaz'qui, but the Ember Stone itself, much to the sorcerer's surprise. The fiery red jewel began to spin rapidly on the pedestal, shining brightly as its many facets reflected the beams' light all over the shrine.

"What is this?" asked Vaz'qui."

"This is my final plan to ensure you'll never get your hands on the Ember Stone," said Erica. "It was a risk, not activating it until you arrived here, but I wanted you to be here to see it. I wanted to see the look on your face when your twisted goal was ripped from your grasp!"

The jewel continued to spin faster and faster, the light growing more and more intense until Vaz'qui could barely look at it any more. Then, suddenly, there was a blinding flash and an almighty shattering sound, followed by a rumble as the shockwave from the blast rippled through the shrine. When the light faded, the Ember Stone was gone, shattered into several pieces that floated high above the pedestal.

This was the last thing Vaz'qui expected. He took a step back, shocked. "What have you done?!" he exclaimed.

Erica threw back her head and laughed. "What a priceless reaction!" she boasted. "You see? The Ember Stone has shattered into ten pieces, and in a moment I will scatter them across the entire world. Neither you, nor anyone else, will ever be able to lay their hands on the Stone again!" Erica laughed once more.

Vaz'qui fumed silently for a moment, stunned and enraged by this sudden development. Then, he calmed down, and let out a chuckle of his own. "You can scatter the pieces as far as you like," he said, "but as long as they still exist, I will find them. When I do, I will restore it, and your efforts will have been for nought. I admire your creativity, but even such an extreme as this will not prevent me from reaching my goal."

Erica grinned. "We'll see about that," she said. She snapped her fingers, and a section of the temple roof slid back, revealing the dark, cloudy sky above. All at once, the shattered pieces of the Ember Stone soared upwards through the gap in the roof, and then scattered in every direction. The wall panels slid back into place, cutting off the magical beams, and the roof slid back into place.

Erica was now left alone in the shrine with Vaz'qui. She was expecting him to fight her - he had, after all, killed the other three shrine guardians - but instead, he simply turned on his heel. "If the Ember Stone is no longer here," he said, "then I have no further business here. I shall take my leave, and begin searching for the shards of the Stone. I will spare you for now: your pathetic life is hardly worth the effort. But do not cross me again, or I will make you suffer unimaginably."

"I'm so scared," sneered Erica.

Vaz'qui ignored her, striding back through the temple, past the bloodied corpses of the guards he had slain earlier. Neither he nor Erica knew how long it would take for him to collect all the pieces of the Stone, but the longer it took him, the longer Erica and the other heroes of the world would have to try and find a way to defeat him. And if Vaz'qui, the world's greatest evil, could be vanquished, the world, and the elements, would once again be in harmony.

Day 49

[from Pokémon xTreme]

"So, where are we going?" asked Taylor, as she and Brandon left the hall.

"I know a breeder over in Cerulean City," said Brandon. "She can hook you up with a Pokémon that'll be much stronger than what they're handing out in there. They'll still be a low enough level that you can control them, but they'll stomp a Squirtle or Bulbasaur into the dust. Trust me on that."

"Isn't Cerulean, like, two routes away?" asked Taylor. "How are we going to get there?"

"Fly, of course," said Brandon casually.

The pair exited the buildings, heading back down the front steps. Seth, the spiky-haired blond man Brandon had been talking to, was standing there with his own mentee, seemingly waiting for the pair of them. "Hey, Brandon," he said, waving. "So, who'd you get?"

"Uhh…" Brandon turned back to Taylor. "What was your name again? Taylor?"

"Yeah," said Taylor, who was starting to think that maybe Brandon wasn't all he'd been hyped up to be.

"Yeah, this is Taylor," said Brandon, gesturing in her direction. "Taylor, this is Seth Voltaire, my friend and rival."

Seth stepped forward, seizing Taylor's hand and shaking it. "Pleased to meet you, Taylor. Don't worry," he added, perhaps noticing the concern on Taylor's face. "Brandon might be a dick, but he's a great trainer. I'm sure he'll make a great trainer outta you as well."

"Uhh… I guess," said Taylor, a little surprised by Seth's forwardness in taking her hand.

Seth let go of Taylor's hand and turned to address his self-proclaimed rival. "You taking her to Ellen?" he asked.

"Yep," said Brandon. "You taking him?"

"Yep," said Seth. "Wanna race?"

Brandon snatched an Ultra Ball off his belt, grinning. "What's the prize?" he asked.

"Winner gets first pick," said Seth, removing a Great Ball from his own belt.

"That it?" said Brandon, smirking.

Seth scoffed. "What else you want?"

Brandon's smirk grew wider, almost becoming a grin. "You know what I want," he said.

"Oh," said Seth, rolling his eyes as though something obvious had just occurred to him. "He wants my Zapdos," he clarified for Taylor and Kieran.

"You have a Zapdos?!" exclaimed Kieran. "Holy shit!"

"Not for long he doesn't," said Brandon smugly.

"Yeah, you wish," retorted Seth, cracking a grin. Taylor saw now what Brandon had meant when he said they were "friends and rivals". Both men were clearly enjoying the continuing repartee, relishing each others' competitiveness.

"Come on, then," said Brandon, "let's go! First one to Ellen's gets Zapdos!"

"You're on!" said Seth. "Go, Skarmory!" Seth threw his Great Ball, and Skarmory emerged from it with a metallic cry, its steel wings flapping.

"Go, Charizard!" Brandon threw his Ultra Ball, and Charizard burst forth in a flash of light, roaring as its own wings unfurled. In an instant, Seth and Brandon began clambering onto their respective Pokémon, each eager to take off as soon as possible. "Come on, get on!" Brandon called out to Taylor.

Taylor, who had never flown on a Pokémon before, was feeling rather nervous and startled, especially given Brandon's sudden haste. "Uhh… okay…" Nervously, she climbed onto the Charizard's back, shuffling forwards along it and wrapping her arms around Brandon's torso for safety.

"Hold on tight," said Brandon, and with an almighty flap of its wings, Charizard took off. Taylor let out a brief squeal as she was suddenly ferried upwards towards the brilliant blue sky, the wind rushing past her at incredible speed. She tightened her grip on Brandon, clinging to her mentor for dear life. Seth and his Skarmory were only a second behind them, Kieran also holding on tightly to his mentor.

"Alright, buddy," said Brandon, patting Charizard's neck, "take us to Ellen's, and fast!"

Charizard let out another confident roar, executed a nimble banked turn, and with another almighty flap it suddenly rocketed through the skies above Viridian like an orange missile. Taylor's scream was quickly snatched away by the on-rushing wind, her blonde hair billowing behind her. She shut her eyes, clinging onto Brandon even tighter.

"Too fast, too fast!" she cried out. These words were also snatched away by the wind before Brandon could hear them, and even if he had, he wouldn't have slowed down. This was a race he was determined to win, even if it meant terrifying his new protégé. And so Charizard continued its blistering pace, tearing through the skies above Kanto with Seth and his Skarmory in hot pursuit.