Day 90

[from Cyborg Team Alpha]

TWO DAYS EARLIER

Ichiko stretched and yawned as she headed out of the main building of her high school, and out into the grounds. It had been another long and tiring day, and she was eager to get home and relax. She and her friend Hinata had stayed behind as part of their Chess Club activities, but now it was getting late, and the clubs had had to pack up their activities and send their members on their way.

"-I still like Alice Chess the most," said Hinata. "Having to manage two boards at once, while your pieces are constantly jumping between then, is really quite challenging, but also adds far more complexity and strategy to the game. You have to be a real master of strategy to be good at that game."

"Yeah, I've only played it once and it gave me a headache," said Ichiko. "But I dare say I have the "strategy mastery" to get the hang of it fairly quickly." This boast was not unwarranted: Ichiko, despite being only sixteen, was a well-known prodigy of both mathematics and chess. She had finished her entrance exams in half the time of anyone else, scoring almost-perfect marks, and spent the rest of the time doodling chess problems on the back of her test paper. A false rumour had once spread that the examiner who marked Ichiko's test had attempted the problems, and been so frustrated by them that he offered Ichiko perfect marks in exchange for the correct solutions. He had, in fact, attempted the problems and been unable to crack them, but had simply given up on them.

"I'm sure you can, with enough practice," said Hinata. "We can play a few games together tomorrow, if you like."

"Yeah, that'd be interesting," said Ichiko. "Probably more interesting than what we were playing today."

The pair made their way to the hoverboard racks at the side of the school. There were a few bicycle racks remaining, but with hoverboards all the rage, their use was declining. Ichiko did not have a hoverboard - she preferred the exercise of walking - but Hinata did. She was already wearing her helmet, elbow and knee pads, and special high-friction shoes, having retrieved them from her locker, and now bent down to unlock the hoverboard from its rack. "Yeah, it's really not that hard once you get used to the "looking-glass" mechanics," she said. "Once you've gotten the hang of those, you can master it just like you would ordinary chess."

"I'm sure I can," said Ichiko. "Is there a world championship for it?"

"Woah, there, Ichiko," said Hinata, grinning as she retrieved her board. "I think you might be getting a bit ahead of yourself there."

"I was just asking," said Ichiko, as Hinata switched her hoverboard on. High-pressure air jets vented from the numerous slots in the bottom of the board, pushing it a few inches off the ground with enough force to support a grown male. Other jets embedded around the board's circumference would propel her forwards, backwards, or allow her to turn, depending on which direction she was leaning, just like an old-fashioned skateboard.

Hinata stepped onto the board, balancing herself upon it with practices ease. The extremely grippy, high-friction coating of her riding shoes made it impossible for her to slip or slide while standing on the board's surface, but meant she could easily step off of it once she had arrived at her destination. The boards were advanced, but not perfect, and were still fairly expensive, not that Hinata particularly minded.

"Alright, I'll be off then," said Hinata. "See you tomorrow, Ichiko!"

"See you!" said Ichiko, waving as her friend set off on her hoverboard. It wasn't especially fast - only ten miles an hour - but it certainly looked cool and futuristic, especially with its sleek design and blue-and-white colour scheme. Ichiko, however, was perfectly content to make her way home on foot, and so she too headed off on her way. Before long, Hinata was away and out of sight.

Ichiko made her way through the Tokyo streets, the late afternoon sun behind her as it began to set. To her right, the city's fleet of driverless cars rushed back and forth across the road, ferrying their passengers autonomously to their destinations, or else circling the city in search of their next passenger, all the while drawing power from the network of high-friction solar panels built into the road's surface. Even into the 2050s, Tokyo's reputation for being ahead of the curve when it came to technology rang truer than ever. The panels also provided a significant amount of Tokyo's energy, drastically reducing its carbon emissions in an age where preserving what little remained of the ice caps was a pressing global issue. For Ichiko, it was an exciting time to be alive.

As she continued innocently on her way, she heard a strange noise coming from an alleyway to her left. Ichiko stopped, her attention drawn to the sound. After a moment, she heard it again. It sounded like a dog barking. Looking into the alleyway, she saw a cardboard box sitting in the middle of the alley. Written on the side was "PLEASE TAKE TO A GOOD HOME". Ichiko could then make out a quiet, high-pitched whine, and now there could be no mistaking it: there was an abandoned dog inside that box.

Ichiko's compassion and curiosity compelled her to enter the alleyway, approaching the closed box. Even if she couldn't adopt the puppy herself - her parents would probably forbid it - she could at least take it to an animal shelter, where it could be properly cared for until it found a new owner. She knelt down before it and opened up the box.

There was no dog inside. Or rather, there was, but it was not a real dog. It was a toy robot dog, looking sadly up at Ichiko with blinking LED eyes. Ichiko paused, confused as to why someone would abandon a robotic dog in such a manner. Then, at the very last moment, it occurred to her that it might be a trap.

Then the robotic dog detonated with immense force. Ichiko's body was torn apart, her shattered, bloody limbs flying in all directions as her charred torso was thrown back by the force of the explosion. She was dead before she knew what had happened to her. A small trickle of blood ran from her half-open mouth, one eye frozen open in shock and the other destroyed by shrapnel from the exploding machine. And there she lay, bloodied, broken, and categorically dead, as the smoke and flames began to rise up into the afternoon sky above.

Day 89

[from I Watch You Sleeping]

At the start of our first ten-minute break between lessons, my phone vibrates in my pocket, telling me that I have a text message. Curious as to who could be texting me at this precise moment, I take out my phone and check the sender ID. It's an unknown number. With a strange sense of dread, I open the text and read it.

Hello Ken-chan! You got my letter, right? Look out for me in school today! I’ll be waiting for you~ xxxxxxx

I stare at the screen in horror, question after frightened question tumbling around inside my head. What do I make of this? Is this really the same person who wrote the letter? Who took all those photos of me? Are they here, at the school, right now? Are they watching me right now? How on earth did they get my number? In my paranoia I frantically look around the classroom, trying to see if anybody is watching me. There doesn't seem to be anybody…

…this is insane. I was still holding out a faint hope that this would all be just a hoax, a joke, or something, but this feels way too real to be a hoax. So… I really do have a stalker then. Raiden was right. Damn.

Luckily, my thoughts are suddenly interrupted by Meiko's arrival at our desks. "Here you go!" she says cheerfully. "This is all the girls in the photography club!" She hands me and Raiden a piece of paper that she appears to have torn from her exercise book. Written on it are two names.

"This is all of them?" says Raiden, surprised.

"Yep!" says Meiko. "It's kind of a small club, I guess."

"Well, that'll make our investigation a little easier, then," says Raiden. "Thanks, Meiko."

"No problem!" says Meiko cheerfully, before heading back to her seat, leaving the two of us to look at the list of names. Well… that's if you can really call it a list, since there are only two names on it. One is Meiko's. The other name I don't recognize, but Meiko seems to have anticipated that: A scribble next to the name tells us that she's from Class 2-4.

I take note of Meiko's handwriting. it's very loopy and girlish, like the title card for a girls' TV show. It's not like the handwriting on the letter at all. I point this out to Raiden.

"So you're saying it's not Meiko?" he replies.

"Doesn't look like it," I tell him.

"Well, that makes things simple," Raiden remarks. "I know a couple of second-year girls from the soccer club, maybe they'll know who this other girl is." Raiden's expression then becomes almost uncharacteristically serious as he continues, "You should go take a walk or something next break. Get some fresh air, clear your head. This must be pretty heavy for you."

I nod. "Yeah, just a bit."

"Alright, then that's settled," says Raiden, his expression going back to normal.

"Indeed it is." I reckon a walk will do me good. I'll get some fresh air, clear my head a bit. Yeah, that's what I'll do. Next break I'll go outside and take a nice walk.

***

True to my word, when the next lesson ends I head off to take a short walk through the grounds. Since there's only ten minutes of break, I can't really go all that far, but hopefully it'll still be enough to take my mind off things.

There aren't that many other students around outside. Most of them are still indoors, hanging out in their classrooms or in the corridors. Because of how short the breaks between lessons are, most people don't see the point in going outside during them. I never really did, either. But today is different.

As I round the back of one of the school buildings I spy a familiar face leaning against one of the walls, phone in hand. Her name is Aiko Minatoya. She's another of the students in my class. She's a strange one, by most people's accounts. She rarely, if ever, talks to anyone. She spends all her time on her phone, doing who-knows-what. Even during class she just sits at the back, quietly getting on with her work and ignoring everyone else around her, like she's the only person in the room. Right now that's a quality I find admirable. Being able to carry on regardless of what's going on around you…

My eyes rest for a moment on Aiko's phone, and a paranoid thought rushes through my mind. She was probably using it during the last break as well. She could easily have…

This ridiculous train of thought is halted in the nick of time as Aiko finally notices my presence. She almost reluctantly shifts her gaze away from her phone screen to look at me.

"Hey, Aiko," I say, raising a hand in greeting.

"Hello," is the quiet response.

I have no idea why, considering how quiet she usually is, but I decide to try and strike up a conversation with Aiko. Perhaps a good chat will help take my mind off things as well. "So, how are things?" I ask.

Aiko blinks, looking at me with a blank expression. "Things?"

"Yeah, you know… are you doing well with your schoolwork?"

A single, almost imperceptible nod is the only answer I get. Yeah… maybe Aiko wasn't the best person to try and strike up a conversation with. I might as well press on, though. It's not like I have anything better to do. Besides, any thoughts of her being my stalker are long gone. There's no way someone this anti-social could be a stalker. Right?

I decide to ask the one thing that everyone else in the year has probably been wondering since day one. "So, what are you up to on your phone?"

I'm almost expecting her to say, "It's a secret", or something, but instead she tilts her phone screen towards me, to show me. She's on a news site, halfway through an article on some conflict somewhere in the Middle East. There seem to be a lot of those happening.

"Are you interested in current affairs, then?" I ask.

Another tiny nod. Would it kill this girl to loosen her tongue a little? Still, I try to think of a current news topic that Aiko might have an opinion on. Maybe that way I can get a proper conversation going.

The article she was reading gives me an idea. "So, uhh… what's your opinion on all those Middle Eastern uprisings?" I ask.

A very slight change of expression indicates that Aiko finds this an interesting topic. "You mean the Arab Spring," she says.

"Yeah, that," I say nodding.

"It is long overdue," says Aiko. "These countries deserve freedom and equality." The words sounds strangely dispassionate when spoken in Aiko's hushed monotone voice.

"So you support the rebels?" I ask. Aiko nods, a little more forcefully than before. "But what about that guy, uhh… the one who ruled Libya? What was his name?"

"Muammar al-Gaddafi," says Aiko, her pronunciation flawless. I assume.

"Yeah, him," I say. "I heard that when the rebels found him, he was dragged from his hiding place and shot in the street. Didn't he deserve a fair trial?"

"Yes," admits Aiko. "But what of the thousands of innocents dragged from their homes and shot on Gaddafi's orders? They also deserved fair trials, did they not? Sinning against many is worse than sinning against one. If it takes one sin to prevent a thousand more, then that one sin is justified."

That's the longest I've ever heard Aiko speak for before. Not only that, but she's completely right. This is obviously a topic she feels very strongly about, even if she's still speaking in her quiet, almost monotone voice. "I guess you have a point there," I admit.

Before I can say anything further on the topic, however, Aiko speaks again. "If you don't mind," she says, "I would like you to leave me alone now."

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to annoy you," I say.

"You didn't," said Aiko. "I just prefer reading in silence. That's all."

Right now, I think I can understand why Aiko prefers solitude. And I think I can respect that. "Alright. My apologies," I say. "I'll leave you alone now."

"Thank you," mutters Aiko. she returns to staring at her phone screen, and I turn and head back the way I came. A short time later the bell rings to signal the end of break, and I traipse back to the classroom, my head no clearer than it had been when I'd left it.

Day 88

[from Sapporo Lilies]

46 MINUTES. The teams head out for the second half. Saitama have substituted off one of their midfielders, but I've decided not to make any changes just yet. We're doing well enough, so there's  no need to change anything just yet.

This time it's us who get to kick off. Sanae knocks it back to Konoko, who hits it forward towards Yui. She tries to cut through the Saitama midfield but find herself confronted by an opponent, and her pass across to Sanae is quickly intercepted. Saitama have started strongly, no doubt eager to claw back the deficit.

49 MINUTES. Konoko is in a tense stand-off with one of the Saitama midfielders. She has her foot on the ball inside the centre circle, trying to find a way past without giving away possession. The crowd are cheering her name loudly, encouraging her. Konoko's short, cute stature and bubblegum-pink hair, as well as her seemingly boundless energy in midfield, have endeared her to Sapporo's fans. She's one of our most popular players, and almost something of a mascot for the club. Looking around at the half-empty grandstands, I wonder how many of the people here came just to see Konoko in action.

Those who came here just for Konoko aren't treated to much of a show on this occasion. The girl jinks to the left, but her adversary sees it coming and wins possession with a perfectly-timed challenge. Konoko, relentless as ever, chases after her, and with Tomoko also closing her down, the Saitama midfielder is soon forced into a mistake, and possession is ours again.

55 MINUTES. As the ball goes out for a Saitama throw-in, I take the opportunity to make my first two substitutions. Yui seems to be starting to tire, so I replace her with Ichiko, who'll be receiving her first taste of first-team experience, even if this is only a friendly. Hinata, who's put in a mediocre display so far, also comes off in favour of Natsume, who seems pretty fired up and ready to go.

As they take the throw-in, Saitama suddenly break, racing down our left flank. Shinobu tries to stop the run but their left-winger just darts past her. The cross comes into the box, but it harmlessly flies over everyone and out for a goal kick.

58 MINUTES. Fiona picks up the ball in the centre of the pitch, intercepting a stray pass from a Saitama midfielder. Another of their midfielders quickly rushes over to try and reclaim the ball. Fiona manages to keep her away from the ball, and passes it across to Konoko. Konoko is quickly closed down, and although she tries to get a pass through to Natsume, it's quickly intercepted. Saitama's midfielders seem to have improved so far in the second half.

65 MINUTES. Saitama are building up an attack on the left flank. Tomoko moves in to close them down. However, as she makes the tackle, the whistle is blown for a foul. I'm not too sure about that, but the referee's made their decision, so there's not much I can do about it now. At least there wasn't a yellow card shown. In the meantime, I take advantage of the stoppage to substitute Choi in favour of Naomi, another young player who could do with the game time.

The free-kick is driven in, and a Saitama forward manages to get their head to it, but Miyuki palms it safely over the crossbar for a corner kick. The corner is taken short, and after a couple of passes, the cross comes in from the right wing. It's a poor one, however, and Miyuki catches it with ease.

70 MINUTES. One of the Saitama midfielders makes a poor pass, and Fiona is on to it immediately. Collecting the ball, she charges down the centre of the pitch. An opposing midfielder closes in to try and snatch the ball off her, but Fiona easily jinks past her. Ignoring Ichiko's calls for the ball - she's not in as much space as she thinks she is - Fiona continues to surge forward, all the way into the penalty area. Before their centre-back can close her down properly, she lets fly-!

GOAL! The ball rockets right into the top corner of the net, far beyond the desperate reach of the Saitama goalkeeper. Fiona wheels away with her index finger raised, her signature celebration. It seems that despite her age, she hasn't lost much of her old magic. That puts us 2-0 up, and with only 20 minutes to go, surely the game is ours now.

73 MINUTES. Saitama are trying hard to get something out of this match. One of their forwards makes a run, but Suzume brings them down on the edge of the penalty area. The referee blows her whistle immediately, and as Natsume and Ritsu protest, Suzume is presented with a yellow card. I figure that if I tell Suzume to calm down, or substitute her off, I'll just rile her up even further. Besides, even if she does get a second yellow card, which is unlikely at this stage, it won't matter since this is only a friendly, so for now I just decide to leave her be.

In the meantime, Suzume obediently lines up in the defensive wall, as two of Saitama's midfielders debate which of them will take the kick. Eventually it's decided, and as the referee blows her whistle again, the player takes her run-up and hits the free kick. It ricochets right off the wall, and Shinobu manages to pick it up before Saitama can, belting it up the pitch and away for a throw-in back in the Saitama half.

79 MINUTES. The pace of the match has slowed considerably as it enters the final stages, with both sets of players either running out of energy or choosing to conserve what little remains. This is only a friendly, and one whose result has pretty much already been decided, so there's no point in tiring yourself out completely.

I make my final two substitutions, changing to a laid-back 5-3-2 as we grind out the last few minutes. Fiona comes off to a round of applause and is replaced by Yuuko, to an equally loud cheer from the Sapporo supporters. Yuuko's past work at a local maid café means she's very popular with the club's male fans, perhaps even more so than Konoko. She happily plays it up, waving cheerily to the crowd as she comes on and blowing the occasional kiss.

As she passes me on her way to the bench, Fiona looks back at the spectacle and remarks, "It's a completely different game over here, isn't it?" Her Japanese is as impeccable as ever.

"It certainly is," I reply, nodding, as Fiona grabs a towel from the sidelines.

The second substitute is Yura, coming on in place of Sanae, who also receives a round of applause as she leaves the pitch, having scored our first goal of the night. Yura is a fast-paced poacher, so with the Saitama defence exhausted and probably demoralized, she should be able to run rings around them.

85 MINUTES. With our midfield weakened, it's harder than ever to break through Saitama's midfield, but as one of their players brings down Yuuko near the halfway line, we have the opportunity to break from a free kick. The crowd break into a chorus of boos, which I can only imagine are directed at the player who fouled Yuuko - evidently the Sapporo fans aren't too happy about their favourite idol being dragged to the ground.

From the free kick, the ball breaks to Konoko, who is still buzzing around as though it were only the first half. She weaves her way past two Saitama midfielders, but the ball is wrestled off her by a third and the chance comes to nothing.

90 MINUTES. The final whistle blows, and just as I'd expected, we've come away as the victors. I join the fans in applauding my players as they head off the pitch and down the tunnel. They did well today, and the result bodes well for our league chances this season.

Day 87

[from The Ember Stone]

"Ah, Jacob, there you are!"

As Jacob entered the kitchen of his family's farmhouse, he was halted in his tracks by his mother, who was holding a crate full of loaves of bread. She quickly deposited the heavy crate into his arms. "Could you take these loaves up to the village bakery, please?" she asked. "They're almost out, and they have orders to fill."

Jacob had only come into the kitchen for a snack, and hadn't expected to have such a task suddenly and literally thrust upon him. However, he knew this wasn't a request, but a command, so he had no choice but to comply. "Okay," he said, nodding. "I'll be right back."

"Please do," said his mother. "Make sure you get the correct money from them."

"I'm sure I will, mom," said Jacob. "They've never tried to swindle us before."

"Well, you never know," said his mother. "Now go on, hurry along."

Jacob nodded, and turned back the way he had come. Having grown up helping on the farm, carrying around heavy loads such as this and completing other manual labour tasks, he did not find the crate particularly difficult to carry, despite its weight. Opening the door, however, was a little more tricky. Evidently his mother, in her rush to get the hot loaves to the bakery, hadn't quite thought of that. Luckily Genevieve, one of the farmhands, was on hand to open the door for him.

"Thanks, Genevieve," said Jacob.

"Don't mention it," said Genevieve, bowing a little. "Are you heading down to the village?"

"I am, yes," said Jacob. "Do you need anything?"

"Yes, but I suppose it can wait until after you're done," said Genevieve. "If you don't come back with the right money, your mother will get angry, won't she?"

"Yeah, she will," said Jacob. "Alright, I'll be off then."

"See you later, Jacob" said Genevieve, bowing once more. With that, Jacob headed through the open front door with the crate of bread, and Genevieve closed it behind him. He started to make his way through the fields, towards the dirt track that led to the small village about a mile away from the farm. Jacob travelled there on a regular basis, delivering fresh goods from the farm, and was familiar with most of the people who lived there. It seemed to him like the kind of sleepy village where the only significant events were weddings, deaths, and new arrivals; the kind of village where you could live your whole live without anything exciting or unusual ever occurring.

As he set off down the familiar dirt track, Jacob was not expecting anything out of the ordinary to happen at that time, either. He had traced this route a hundred times before without incident. But today, things would be different.

Jacob noticed a bright red gleam out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head, curious, he saw a crimson streak, like a shooting star, fall from the sky, arcing over the trees and landing with a soft thud in the grass a short distance away. His curiosity piqued, Jacob decided that neither his mother nor the bakery would notice if he took a little time to investigate. The bread would stay hot for a while longer, after all.

Jacob trudged off into the grass, heading towards the spot where he had seen the red streak land. As he reached it, he carefully put the crate of loaves down to one side and bent down to examine the small crimson object that glinted at him from between the blades of grass. It was a jewel, slightly smaller than his thumb, and glistening with a deep-red colour. As he looked more closely at it, he could almost see small flames smouldering within it, as though the very insides of the jewel were on fire.

Jacob didn't know what kind of jewel it was, but he guessed that it was probably quite valuable. If he took it to the jewellers' in the village, he could sell it and earn a lot of money for the farm. He reached out and gently picked it up, his fingers curling round it. It felt strangely warm to the touch. Pleased with his find, he slipped the stone into his pocket and stood up. Picking the crate of bread back up, he continued on his way to the bakery at the village as though nothing had happened.

Day 86

[from Murder by Pixels]

The three detectives met up again outside the kitchen. "I couldn't find any fingerprints," said Sapphire. "The killer must have been using gloves."

"Ah well, never mind," said Lt. Hawke. "No guarantee their prints would have been in the database anyway." Hawke held up a labelled video tape. "I've got the security footage, I'll be going through that once we get back to the precinct."

"Alright," said Harry. "I've got a couple more questions, actually, so bear with me a minute."

"Alright, we'll be right here," said Lt. Hawke. Harry nodded, and headed over to the manager, who was still standing nearby.

"Hey," he said. "Harry Payne, consulting detective. I'd like to ask you a few more questions, if you don't mind."

"Of course," said the manager. "Ask away."

"Did Carlo ever ask for a raise, or an advance on his paycheck, or something?" asked Harry.

"Actually, now that you mention it, he did ask for an advance a few months ago," said the manager. "I said I couldn't do that. Come to think of it, that might not have been too long before things started going missing from the kitchen. I guess that was when his money troubles started."

"I see," said Harry. "What about thefts from the register? Did any actual cash ever go missing?"

"No," said the manager. "I do all my accounting myself. If any money had gone missing, I would have noticed."

Harry nodded. "Did Carlo's behaviour ever seem… strange, or erratic?"

"You're asking the wrong person," said the manager. "I spend most of my time in my office, he spent his in the kitchen. You should ask them." He gestured at the other chefs, who seemed to have recovered slightly from their initial shock;  the female chef had stopped crying, though her eyes were still red. Having heard the question, they looked up at Harry as he turned to look at them.

"Uhh… I didn't notice anything," said the female chef. "He seemed pretty normal, really."

"Pretty normal?" pressed Harry.

"Well… sometimes he got angry if things didn't go right, but I thought he was just being hard on himself," she said.

"I see," said Harry. "Alright, that'll do. Thank you."

"You'll catch whoever did this, right?" said the female chef suddenly.

"Oh, of course," said Harry. "That's what we do."

"If there's anything else we can do to help you, just ask," the male chef chimed in.

"We will," said Lt. Hawke. "That'll be all for now, though. If we have any other questions to ask you, we'll be back, but for now we're gonna head back to the station and piece together what we've learned so far. Thank you for your co-operation."

"Of course," said the manager. "So long for now, and good luck with the investigation."

"Thank you," said Lt. Hawke. "Goodbye for now."

***

As the trio ducked under the police tape, Harry turned to Lt. Hawke. "Now, whenever Sapphire and I start working on a case like this, we always set ourselves three key questions," he said. "We find the answers to those questions, we solve the case."

"Alright," said Lt. Hawke. "So, what are the key questions here?"

"Well, we know Carlo was stealing equipment from the kitchens," said Harry. "We can assume he was then selling it in order to make money. So the first question: why did he need money so badly that he was willing to steal from his employer?"

Lt. Hawke nodded. "Second question should be: was his death linked to his money situation, or is there another possible motive we don't know about?" he suggested.

"Good question," asked Harry. "Sure, that'll be question number two. Question three, then… Sapphire, any ideas for question three?"

Sapphire thought for a moment, as the trio climbed back into Lt. Hawke's squad car. When she spoke, a slight Irish lilt had crept into her quiet voice, a sign she was becoming more comfortable around the lieutenant. "Well… whoever committed the murder must have known where Carlo worked," she said. "They also must have known about that rear entrance. So… who would have that information?"

"That's also a good question," said Harry, nodding as he fastened his seatbelt. "Alright, those are the three questions we'll be trying to answer, then. So, which one do we focus on once we get back?"

"I'd say the first one," said Lt. Hawke. "I'll get a warrant to search Carlo's house, we'll probably find some clues there as to why he needed all that money." Hawke carefully pulled away from the curb, heading back towards the precinct.

"So you want us to check the security tapes in the meantime?" asked Harry.

"That'd be great, thanks," said Lt. Hawke.

Day 85

[from The Ballad of Conor Stewart]

"So previously, the Monaco Grand Prix had had less places on the starting grid than every other race, because of how tight and twisty it was. Prior to '87, only 20 cars were able to qualify. Starting in '87, however, you had a full grid of 26 cars there. Only 28 showed up, and one of 'em got disqualified after crashing into Alboreto at Beau Rivage, so we were pretty much guaranteed a place on the starting grid. Pretty lucky, really, because if we'd started in '86, or they hadn't had that rule change, then we probably wouldn't have made it. Sure enough, we both qualified, me in twenty-first and Allen in twenty-fourth. He retired, but I came through in eleventh, ahead of the Ligiers, which was pretty good.

"I'll skip forward a bit now. Detroit was technically our home race, being an American team, but we both retired from that: my gearbox went, and Allen slammed into the barriers. Hildebrand wasn't too impressed, but there wasn't much we could've done about it. At France I retired again - my engine went that time - but Allen came through in seventh, behind Palmer, for our best-ever result up to that point. Now that might sound impressive, but I think only eight cars finished that race, so it really wasn't." Conor chuckled. "But hey, we were getting onto the grid for each race, we were fighting with the Tyrrells to be the best of the naturally-aspirated cars, so for our first season in F1, we weren't really doing all that badly. You look at the other naturally-aspirated teams that season - AGS, March, Larrousse - we were grinding their faces into the dirt each and every weekend.

"At Silverstone I finished eighth - again, out of only nine, but that time it meant I was the fastest of all the naturally-aspirated cars. Even if only two of them actually finished, but still, a prize is a prize. Now, for that season only, the FIA had side competitions for the naturally-aspirated runners: the Jim Clark Trophy for drivers, and the Colin Chapman Trophy for constructors. So as I was the fastest naturally-aspirated driver that day, I basically got a trophy for finishing second-from-last, which was amusing to say the least. It's probably still in my cabinet somewhere, actually.

 "Next race was Germany, at Hockenheim. Gotta say, I hate what they've done with the place. I loved the old Hockenheim, all those long, sweeping straights… alright, maybe it wasn't the safest place in the world, but it was a great circuit to race on. Blasting down a kilometre-long straight at 200 miles an hour, with another car right beside you…  you just don't get that anymore. It's sad that you guys will never get to drive that circuit, it was fantastic.

"Anyway, enough gushing about Hockenheim… Germany '87 was where we scored our first point. Not me, sadly… I was one of, like, fifteen people whose engines blew up during the race. Made it to about the halfway point, and suddenly there's flames coming out the back and I'm like, shit! Pull up! Pull up! Pulled over, got out, and that was my race run. Was I upset that Allen went on to finish sixth and get our first points? A little. But at the same time, I thought, well, if he can do it, so can I. I'll just have to wait for that opportunity.

"That was the halfway point of the season, and by that point I'd gotten a feel for the car. I knew how to get the most out of it. At the next race, in Hungary, I qualified fifteenth, my best grid position to date. That was when people started to take notice of me. Our car wasn't as good as the Tyrrell, but there I was, right alongside them on the grid. Then at the next race in Austria, I qualified highest out of all the non-turbo cars, while Allen failed to qualify at all. As for the race… well, that was pretty damn crazy.

"At the first start, three different people crashed, though I managed to avoid that particular carnage. Second time round, I wasn't that lucky. Someone got away slowly at the front, the whole grid condensed, and then a couple of people ploughed into each other and that just sparked a chain-reaction. Before I can really do anything, I'm sandwiched between Alex Caffi and Christian Danner, my front wheels have come off, and I'm sliding into the gravel trap with the rest of them. Now, this was back in the days when they still had spare cars - they don't anymore, so if a big first-lap pile-up like that happens again, you're looking at a race with only fourteen cars at the restart, which is just silly, in my opinion.

"Anyway, by the time the race truly got underway, it should already have finished. When it finally was over, without any more drama on my end, I was eleventh, and won another nice trophy for being the fastest of the non-turbos. By that point, I was happy with where I was. I was battling to be second in the overall Jim Clark Trophy - there was no way I was gonna beat Palmer, his lead was too big by that point - and I was getting some good results.

"After the race, I actually had a chat with Ayrton Senna - I knew him through his team-mate Satoru Nakajima, who like I've said before, was a great bloke. Now, at that time, Senna was starting to think that his future prospects at Lotus weren't all that good; he'd won two races that season, but those turned out to be the last races Lotus ever won, and by that point Williams were dominating. So we got into a discussion about it, and he was like, well, every driver wants to win races, and win championships, so if moving teams will help me do that, then I'll do it. I was like, yeah, you're lucky in that regard, you've got a reputation already. You could walk into any team you wanted, whereas if I left Hildebrand, finding a better drive next year would be hell. He said, well, you can hardly get a worse drive, can you?" Conor chuckled as he remembered. "I actually could've done, to be fair, but only barely.

"Anyway, after that, he said something that stuck with me for a while afterwards. He said, from what I've seen of you in practice, you're a pretty good driver. If you were in the Lotus, you'd be scoring a decent amount of points. Now, I wasn't too sure, but he was like, trust me, you're good. With the right car, you'd be right up there. And that stuck with me. I realized I'd become complacent: I was like, yeah, I'm at the back of the grid, and that's fine with me, but it wasn't, really. Senna was right, all racing drivers want to win, they want to be in a position where they can win. And not just class victories, which was what I'd been getting so far with the Jim Clark Trophy: actual, overall victories. Getting to stand on that top step and drink the champagne. I wanted that. I wasn't gonna get it at Hildebrand, but if I drove my nuts off, like Senna had done when he drove for Toleman, I'd build up that reputation and be able to get a drive at a team that could give me that opportunity. I already felt comfortable in the car, I knew what I was capable of, so I decided to just go for it."

Day 84

[from Striker Man]

"Hey, it's only been twelve days? That was fast. The author must be running out of ideas. Oh, and I'm already at the pyramid, that's cool."

Striker Man was indeed outside the Pyramid of Faruk al-Faruk, whose riches he had been tasked with plundering in order to save his football club from bankruptcy. He had enlisted the help of his two best friends, each of whom had unique skills, to make the job that much easier.

The first, Stuporwoman, was Striker Man's oldest friend. Not that she was that old. How can you tell the age of a stick figure anyway? In any case, Stuporwoman was agile and a surprisingly good fighter, but had an IQ of about -17. Right now, for example, she was facing in completely the wrong direction, oblivious to the enormous pyramid right in front of the trio.

The second of Striker Man's friends was significantly more intelligent than not just her friends, but almost everyone else in the entire world. Her name was The Genius, and she was currently staring at the pyramid with interest, adjusting her glasses with one hand while holding a briefcase full of science things in her other hand.

"This is unequivocally a most enthralling discovery," she said, her speech as bafflingly verbose as ever. "An Ancient Egyptian pyramid in the middle of Sussex… how phenomenally anachronistic."

"A what?" asked Striker Man.

"It's a very interesting find," The Genius clarified, forcing herself to dumb down her speech.

"It is," said Striker Man. "How much treasure do you reckon there is inside?"

"Unquestionably, its worth is practically incalculable," said The Genius.

"And is that enough to pay off my club's debts?" asked Striker Man.

"Yes," said The Genius simply.

"Alright," said Striker Man. "So, how do we get inside? That's a big stone door there, and I don't see any handles or buttons or anything." He pointed at the pyramid's entrance, which was sealed off by an enormous sandstone slab.

"Be not apprehensive, Striker Man," said The Genius. "I have made preparations." She set down her suitcase and opened it. Inside were numerous stoppered flasks, more than such a case could conceivably contain, each one half-filled with liquids of various different colours and consistencies. These were The Genius' concoctions, and she carried one for almost any possible situation, including, for example, if one wishes to melt through a large sandstone door.

The Genius pulled out a long test tube full of bubbling purple liquid, and another full of pale blue liquid, and advanced towards the door. Pulling out the stopper, she threw the contents of the test tube over the stone slab, and in an instant it began to dissolve. Within moments, the only trace of the door was a caustic purple puddle on the floor. The Genius poured the pale blue liquid on top of this puddle, and the acid was swiftly neutralized and became no more dangerous than a puddle. "One can still drown in four inches of-" I meant a shallow puddle. And stop breaking the fourth wall, you guys! "My apologies."

"Nice going, Genius!" said Striker Man, possibly the first time this sentence had been said non-sarcastically. "Alright, let's get inside and-"

"Not so fast," said The Genius. "The passageways will almost inevitably be brimming with pitfalls and ambuscades."

"Well, that's convenient," said Striker Man. "If we fall into any of the pitfalls, we can get to hospital quickly."

"Ambuscades, not ambulances," said The Genius. "It means traps."

"So the ambulances are traps?" said Striker Man.

The Genius sighed and facepalmed. "Let's just get inside and misappropriate the riches within," she said. Taking out another stoppered flask, this one filled with luminous green fluid, The Genius shook it vigorously and it began to glow brightly. Using this to light their way, The Genius entered the dark interior of the pyramid, with Striker Man close behind.

"Come on, Stuporwoman," he said, "we're heading inside now."

Stuporwoman, who had been staring intently in the wrong direction the whole time, suddenly turned to see where the voice had come from and was astounded. "Look, Striker Man!" she exclaimed, pointing at the pyramid. "There's a giant pointy thing over there!"

"We're going inside the pointy thing," said Striker Man dully. "Come on, hurry up."

"Yes, ma'am!" said Stuporwoman. She happily skipped off after Striker Man, and the three friends entered the pyramid in search of the treasure within.

Day 83

[from Devastation: Online]

[TOP-SECRET REPORT]

[DECLASSIFIED FOR YOUR EYES ONLY]

The spacecraft belonging to the individual now identified as "Lael'in" was first detected by ASA scientists on 18th August 2020 at 19:38:38 GMT, as it began to approach Earth. It was then imaged for the first time at 19:55:10 GMT , whereupon the scientists realized it was a spacecraft and the military were contacted. After much discussion as to whether or not to make the discovery public, it was eventually decided to be in the public interest, and was thus announced via an impromptu ASA press conference at 22:15 GMT, generating massive interest across the globe in what was potentially mankind's first confirmed extraterrestrial encounter.

On 19th August, at 01:36:57 GMT, Earth received its first signal from the spacecraft:  an intermittent 20-second pulse transmitted at 1420.406 MHz, almost precisely the "hydrogen line", and thus the frequency expected by some scientists to have been used for such a signal. At 01:39:26 GMT, ASA began to beam the signal back in reply. At 01:56:13 GMT, they then began beaming a second signal to the spacecraft; encoded within were several thousand tweets made by civilians around the planet, using the hashtag #WeAreHere, as well as information on Earth such as its diameter, mass, albedo and atmospheric pressure, intended to indicate to the spacecraft's occupant(s) that humanity was intelligent and knowledgeable about its home planet.

Over the following two days, as the spacecraft continued its approach, signals continued to be transmitted back and forth between ASA's scientists and the spacecraft. At 05:17:18 GMT, the craft's approximate landing point was calculated to be somewhere within the region of Greendale, near the western coast of Albion. At 12:17:08 GMT, it was discovered that the spacecraft was transmitting in what appeared to be binary, however, when translated into both numbers and English, no meaningful pattern was found. It was determined that the craft's occupant was attempting to communicate in its native language, but could not be understood. At 12:54:49 GMT, the signals from the spacecraft ceased, and upon resumption at 21:22:57 GMT, it was once again transmitting the 1420 MHz signals.

At the same time, tests confirmed the craft's extraterrestrial nature, however ASA scientists were unable to calculate its exact point of origin. Thermal imaging confirmed that there was one life-form aboard the craft, now known to be Lael'in, but no further specifics were able to be determined. During an emergency meeting at 13:00 GMT, the world's leaders determined that the spacecraft, being only a solitary ship, did not constitute an invasion fleet, and that Earth was not in any danger from it. At the same time, the decision was made to quarantine the ship and any of its occupants upon arrival, to prevent any alien diseases - to which humanity would have no immunity - from spreading among the populace.

On 21st August, at 08:53:47 GMT, the spacecraft entered Earth's atmosphere, with billions worldwide watching the event live. A congregation of world leaders, including the President of Albion, were stationed in a field on the outskirts of Greendale that had been agreed upon as the landing point. A number of military personnel were also present, and four FA-18 fighter jets were on standby at Arwing City International Airport, ready to be scrambled if the spacecraft showed any signs of hostility. Ultimately, this precaution was not necessary.

After successfully passing through the atmosphere, the spacecraft touched down outside Greendale at 09:02:13 GMT. At 09:03:02 GMT, a door opened in the side of the craft, and six seconds later, Lael'in took her first steps upon the Earth's surface. She was wearing a silver spacesuit and helmet, which she later revealed to have been a precaution not only against potential atmospheric hazards, but against Earthly diseases against which she would have had no defence.

Upon Lael'in's egress, the President of Albion stepped forward, flanked by two armed guards, and declared, "Welcome to planet Earth. We are honoured to have you here," before bowing as a sign of greeting. After a moment's pause, Lael'in bowed in response, then held out a holographic transmitter for the President to take. The President took the transmitter and pressed a green button on the side to switch it on, with the holograms being transmitted across the planet via television cameras.

The first hologram contained a sequence of text written in seven different languages, as well as a notation resembling binary. It has since been translated to mean: "I am Lael'in. I come from Dae'lora. I mean you no harm. I have an important message for your kind." The second hologram was of her home planet, since identified as Dae'lora. The third hologram depicted male and female children of her species, the Dae'lora; the fourth hologram depicted an adult male and female. The fifth hologram depicted a building that has since been identified as the parliament building of the Dae'loran capital city; the sixth hologram depicted a city later identified as the same.

The seventh hologram depicted the same city in ruins. At this, many members of the congregation gasped; some of the military personnel, believing this to be a threat, began to consider taking action until the President of San Felipe told them, "I don't think they caused that [violence]. I think that's one of their cities."

The eighth hologram depicted a giant bipedal robot opening fire on a cluster of what appeared to be civilian buildings. This was later designated as an X-Class Devastator. The ninth hologram was a three-dimensional rendering of the machine, with a scale that appeared to indicate its size as being fifty-two feet. The tenth hologram was a star map with two arrows. One was labelled with a small image of a Dae'loran, and reached all the way to Earth. The other was labelled with an image of a Devastator, and reached only halfway to Earth, stopping well before the Solar System.

Navigating back to the hologram of the Devastator, the President of Albion asked, "Do you mean to say that these machines are on their way to Earth?" When Lael'in did not respond, the President pointed to the machine, then at the ground, and Lael'in nodded. The President then navigated back to the hologram of the ruined city, pointed at it, then as the ground, as though to ask, "Will this happen here [if they arrive]?" Again, Lael'in nodded.

The eleventh and final hologram was another message. This one has since been translated as follows: "You are not alone. My people will help you fight them. We will not allow another race to suffer as we have. But your people must prepare, for they are coming, and they will bring devastation."

Day 82

[from Sonic the Hedgehog Returns]

Dr. Julius Robotnik had a villainous grin on his face as he entered the Death Egg's control room. So far, everything had gone precisely according to plan. He'd deliberately leaked the information about the top-secret plans as bait for the Freedom Fighters. Had they failed to steal it, no harm done. Had Snively defeated them, he would have been free of them once and for all. As it happened, they'd escaped with the plans, but even that was no big deal. Now they knew what was coming for them, and they knew there was no way they could stop it. With their morale supposedly crushed, now was the time to strike.

Snively was already in the control room, poring over the monitors. As Robotnik entered, he turned round to face him. "Good afternoon, your excellency," he said. "The Death Egg's completion is on schedule; we should be ready to lift off in a matter of days."

"We're moving the schedule forward," said Robotnik. "Are the Death Egg's propulsion and weapons systems online?"

"Yes," said Snively, "but-"

"Good," interrupted Robotnik, not caring for the objections of his subordinate. He swept an arm dramatically, pointing at the controls. "Launch the Death Egg! Set a course for the Great Forest!"

"But your rotundness," objected Snively, "the Death Egg's outer shell isn't quite complete yet! The Freedom Fighters could-"

"Could what?" snarled Robotnik. "Fly up forty thousand feet in the air, through an army of Buzz Bombers, get inside, defeat our prototype guarding the engine room, and shut it down? Hah! There's no way they'll ever even get up here! Now launch the Death Egg! We're going to wipe the Great Forest off the face of Mobius, and those pesky Freedom Fighters with it!"

Snively knew there was no point in objecting further. There was nothing he could do to stop Robotnik from launching the Death Egg, even if doing so seemed like a big mistake to them. "As you wish, your majesty," he said. "Preparing launch sequence."

As Snively set about preparing for launch, Robotnik settled down in his command chair, steepling his fingers and peering expectantly at the monitors. "Let's see what this new power source is capable of."

***

Meanwhile, Tails was piloting his plane high above the factories of Robotropolis, trying to look for any trace of the Death Egg. This city had formerly been known as Mobotropolis, and had been the capital of the Kingdom of Acorn that had peacefully ruled over the planet. Then Robotnik had taken over, and everything had changed. The beautiful green city had been replaced by a haze of smog and pollution, with SWATbot factories on every street corner, mobile vans that roboticized anyone they encountered, and fifty-foot statues of Robotnik adorning almost every open space. It was truly a grotesque sight to behold, though to Tails, who had never seen the splendour of the old capital, the city had simply always been this way.

Sally's voice came through the headset once more. "Any sign of the Death Egg yet, Tails?" she asked.

"Not yet, Miss Sally," said Tails. "I'll keep looki- wait, what's that sound?"

A low rumbling sound was audible in the distance, and the ground beneath the plane seemed to be shaking a little. Tails followed the sound, looking to the right, and saw the one thing he had not wanted to see: the Death Egg's spherical form slowly rising from the ground in the distance, the steel behemoth suddenly dominating the skyline. Its profile had been obscured by a plethora of tall buildings and cranes, some of which promptly toppled over and crumbled as the machine rose higher and higher.

"Tails, what's going on?" asked Sally. "What's happening?"

In his shock, it took the young fox a moment or two to find his voice. "Uhh… well, the good news is, I found the Death Egg," he said nervously.

"And the bad news?" said Sally warily.

"It's launching…" said Tails, the fear evident in his voice.

***

Sonic, Sally and Rotor were gathered round a monitor, tracking Tails' progress via radar, as well as the plane's diagnostics. With those two words, the mood in the room changed dramatically. Sally and Rotor both looked fearful and shocked, while Sonic leapt forward and grabbed the microphone, his expression suddenly serious. "Tails, get outta there now!" he said.

"Will do," came the reply.

"Rotor, bring up your aerial recon satellites and start tracking it," said Sally. "If that thing gets too close to Knothole, we'll have to evacuate."

"Not gonna happen, Sal," said Sonic confidently. "We're gonna knock that thing out of the sky before it reaches the Great Forest."

"How?" asked Sally. "How will you even get up there to shut it down?"

"Do I even have to say it?" asked Sonic, as though the answer was obvious. "I'll use-"

***

"A plane?!" said Robotnik incredulously, as the craft appeared on the Death Egg's surveillance monitors. "Since when did those blasted Freedom Fighters have a plane?!"

"Shall we open fire on it, sir?" asked Snively.

"No, Snively," said Robotnik sarcastically, "I want you to invite it inside for tea and muffins." He angrily slammed his fist down on the control panel. "BLAST IT OUT OF THE SKY!"

"At once, your sphericalness," said Snively.

The Death Egg, and the Buzz Bombers escorting it, opened fire, and Tails was left frantically trying to dodge a hail of laser fire. Almost losing control, the plane was pitched into several barrel rolls before Tails managed to recover control, shaking his head to clear his dizziness before opening the throttle as far as it would go, accelerating away.

Robotnik was undaunted. "Ready… fire the Egg Cannon!" he declared.

Snively pressed a large red button on the control panel, and the Death Egg's giant metallic eyes began to light up with a powerful green glow as the laser charged up. Tails noticed the glow and started to panic. "Uh-oh."

Tails banked hard to the left, and a second later the Egg Cannon fired, an enormous green laser pulse blasting from between its eyes. It barely missed the plane, instead evaporating a good several blocks of Robotropolis. Firepower that immense could wipe out the Great Forest in no time at all. Immensely relieved to have dodged the beam, Tails continued to make his escape.

***

"He's out of weapon range now, sir," said Snively, "and it'll take a while for the cannon to charge back up again. Shall we pursue him?"

"Certainly," said Robotnik. "After all, I can only imagine that he's headed back to Knothole now. All we have to do is follow him, and he'll lead us straight to the Freedom Fighters."

"Very good, sir," said Snively. "The plane's travelling too fast for us to catch up with it, but I'm going to track it using our satellites. We'll be able to follow the path it takes, straight to Knothole."

"Excellent," said Robotnik, settling back in his chair. "How long until we arrive?"

"At our current speed, we should be at the Great Forest in about three hours," said Snively. "The Egg Cannon will be charged by then, and ready to destroy Knothole once and for all.

"Excellent," said Robotnik. "I've waited long enough to destroy those Freedom Fighters; I can wait a few more hours." And so he steepled his fingers, and waited.

Day 81

[from Pokémon xTreme]

Brandon knocked smartly on the door of the breeder's house. "Hey Ellen, you in?" he called out. "It's me, Brandon!"

A moment later, the door opened, revealing a slightly flustered-looking woman with messy black hair. She had on a sky-blue T-shirt with "KEEP CALM AND SOFT RESET" printed on it, and a pair of smart white pants. She seemed to be clutching a handful of shining white stones. "Sorry for the wait, I'm up to my knees in Skitty right now," she said, her voice quick and skittish. "Some guy over in Sinnoh wants a shiny male and I'm like, "yeah, good luck with that", but he's paying me a lot for it, so… anyway, what can I do for you?"

Brandon waved a hand at Taylor. "Remember I was gonna do that mentoring thing? Well, this is who I'll be mentoring. I figured you were the best place to come to to get her a starter Pokémon, so… yeah. Seth's here too with his kid that he's mentoring."

"I see," said Ellen, nodding. She held out the hand not holding the stones. "Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm Ellen, I'm a friend of Brandon's."

"I'm Taylor," said Taylor, shaking Ellen's hand. Her shake was a little too energetic. "It's, uhh… nice to meet you."

"I need to use the PC for something," said Brandon, "so while I do that, could you go with Taylor and look for a Pokémon with her? Thanks."

"Sure, it's not like I'm totally rushed off my feet or anything," said Ellen sarcastically.

Taylor could sense the sarcasm in Ellen's voice, but Brandon clearly didn't, for he quickly said, "Thanks, Ellen," and darted off inside the house.

Ellen sighed. "For a world-class trainer, he sure is an asshole," she grumbled as Brandon ran off. "But I guess I don't have a choice now. Come on inside for a moment, I gotta go put these Shiny Stones away and then we can look for a Pokémon for you."

Taylor nodded and followed Ellen inside, closing the door behind her. The house was rather messy and cluttered, with boxes and items scattered around all over the place. As they entered the kitchen, Taylor saw that there appeared to be a Pokémon egg being incubated in the microwave, with another two sat nearby in actual incubators. A number of evolutionary stones were scattered across the dining table, and Ellen set the Shiny Stones down upon it before turning her attention back to Taylor.

"Okay, so, I have hundreds of Pokémon here at the ranch," explained Ellen. "Most of them have Egg moves, most of them have pretty decent Natures, and pretty much all of them have perfect IVs. Of course, I don't know which Pokémon has what, because there's so many of them around, but yeah, if you see a Pokémon you like, point it out, and I'll have a look and see what it has in terms of moves and stuff. If you still like it, then it's yours."

Taylor had only understood about half of this, but she got the gist: if she found a Pokémon she liked, she could have it. She nodded. "Okay."

"Alright, let's get back outside and have a look, then," said Ellen. "Brandon can catch up once he's done with whatever the hell it is he needs a PC so desperately for."

 "Needs to make room in his party for Seth's Zapdos," Taylor explained, as they headed back towards the front door. "They keep betting over it or something."

"Yeah, that's right, they do," said Ellen, nodding. "So what stupid thing were they betting over this time? Because it's usually something stupid with them. They weren't racing here on their Pokémon with you two on their backs, were they? If so, I apologize."

Taylor nodded sadly. "That's exactly what they were doing," she said. "I'm really not looking forward to having to fly back on that thing."

"Don't worry, they're both really rather excellent at flying when they're not going hell-for-leather," said Ellen. "Considering Brandon specializes in Flying-types, you'd really rather hope he's an excellent flyer, wouldn’t you?"

"Have you flown with them before, then?" asked Taylor, as they passed through the front door and stepped back into the extensive garden.

"A few times," said Ellen. "Alright, like I said, you're free to pick any Pokémon you like, but you'll want to check its IVs, Nature and moves first, to make sure they're what you want."

"I guess," said Taylor, who still wasn't sure what any of that actually meant. "Okay then… let's see…"

Day 80

[from Vanishing Point]

That night, Kamui set up the spare bedroom for the three girls to sleep in. Two futons were laid out on the floor, a single and a double, providing enough space for them all to sleep. The three girls gathered around the futons, Kiyoko in her white pyjamas, Cobra in a navy blue nightie, and Hanako, perhaps predictably, in pastel pink pyjamas.

 "So… who gets the single and who gets the double?" asked Cobra.

Hanako almost instantly put her hand up. "Ooh! I want the single! I want the single!" she said.

"But… I wanted the-" said Kiyoko quietly.

"Too bad!" said Hanako, cutting her off. "I called it first!"

"But-"

"Quiet," said Cobra suddenly. "Alright, we'll settle this argument fairly, using an ancient method that's been passed down for generations: rock-paper-scissors!" She swung an arm dramatically through the air, giving the declaration more drama than it really needed.

Kiyoko gave Cobra a blank look. "Rock-paper-scissors?" she repeated.

"Huh? You don't remember how to play?" said Hanako. "It's simple! We each hold out a hand like this, somebody counts to three, and then on "three" we each make a shape with our hands!" Hanako demonstrated each of the shapes on her hands as she continued. "Rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, and paper beats rock! The winner gets the single futon!"

Kiyoko's expression remained fairly blank. "How does paper beat rock?" she asked, confused.

"Because otherwise the game wouldn't work, silly!" said Hanako. "Now come on, get ready!"

Hanako and Kiyoko both held out a hand, which they then balled into a fist. "Alright then," said Cobra. "The winner gets to take the single futon, and the loser has to share the double with me! On the count of three, make your shape! One… two…"

Hanako grinned to herself as Cobra counted down. That single futon is as good as mine!

***

"Zzzzz… zzzzz…"

As it turned out, the single futon was not Hanako's. Instead, she had to share with Cobra, who as it also turned out, was a very heavy snorer. While Kiyoko curled up in the single futon, peacefully dozing, Hanako was wide awake, unable to sleep with the loud noises coming from the girl next to her. She buried her head under her cushion, trying to drown it out, but it would be a very long night for her.

***

The next day, after lunch, the four gathered in the living room to help Kiyoko prepare for the mission, and ultimately to see her off. As Kiyoko affixed an microphone and earpiece to the side of her head, Cobra headed upstairs with a second pair, to check that they worked. "Testing, testing, one, two, three," she said. "Can you hear me, Kiyoko?"

"Yes, I can hear you," said Kiyoko.

"Okay, then we're good to go," said Cobra.

Kiyoko looked down at her side, where Kamui's handgun was holstered, the weight of the metal pressing gently against her hip. Her hand gently brushed it, then quickly jerked away. "Do I… really need this…?" she asked.

"It's just a precaution, in case things go south," said Cobra's voice in her ear. "But don't worry, that's highly unlikely."

"Are you sure?" asked Kiyoko, who seemed rather concerned.

This time Kamui answered, heading over to comfort her. "There's no need to worry, Kiyoko," he said. "As long as you remain invisible, you shouldn't be detected. Trust me."

Kiyoko nodded, her confidence starting to build. "Okay… I think I'm ready," she said.

"Are you sure you'll be able to turn invisible?" asked Cobra in her ear. "You haven’t tried since we escaped from the facility."

"I know," said Kiyoko. "But, if I could do it then, even if I didn't realize, then I should be able to do it now. Well… here goes."

Kiyoko closed her eyes, clasping her hands in front of her, concentrating. After a moment, she flickered, then disappeared from sight completely. Kamui and Hanako both gasped in surprise. "Wow!" exclaimed Hanako.

Kiyoko's voice came floating forth from where she had been standing in front of them a moment before. "Did it work?" it asked.

"It did," said Kamui.

Kiyoko breathed a sigh of relief. "I guess I'll be going then," she said.

"Good luck," said Kamui.

"You can do it!" Hanako called out. "We believe in you!"

"Thank you," said Kiyoko, her voice coming from near the door this time. The front door opened, and then a moment later, closed behind Kiyoko as she left.

***

After about half an hour of walking, Kiyoko reached Shinsuke Headquarters, a massive tower of glass and steel rising sixty storeys above the Tokyo streets. Kiyoko came to a halt before it, staring up at it in awe. "This is it," she breathed.

"That's right," said Cobra in her earpiece. "Too late to back down now."

"Well then… let's get this over with," said Kiyoko. Taking a deep breath, she slipped quietly through the crowd and into the car park in front of the building, being careful not to bump into anyone. Crossing the car park, she headed towards the automatic glass doors at the entrance of the building, which slid open automatically as she approached.

A man in the lobby noticed the doors slide open seemingly of their own accord, peering over the top of his newspaper. "Hmm… damn doors are broken again," he muttered, before returning to his paper.

Kiyoko took shelter behind a potted plant, in spite of her own invisibility, and started talking to Cobra in a hushed whisper. "So, where do you think the CEO's office is?" she asked.

"Probably on one of the top floors," said Cobra. "Hang on, I'll get Kamui on the line; he'll probably know more about this place than we will."

There was a rustling sound as Cobra removed the headset, then another one a moment later as Kamui put it on. "Hey, Kiyoko," said Kamui. "Now, there are sixty floors in this building, so the best thing to do with be to start at floor sixty and work your way downwards."

"I need to set off the fire alarms first, right?" asked Kiyoko. This, as far as they could gather, was the only way to get the CEO out of his room for long enough for them to get the job done.

"No," said Kamui sternly. "You'll need to take the elevator up to the top floor first, because it'll shut down for safety reasons in the case of a fire alert. You'll probably also need some kind of security card to be able to use the elevator and get through certain doors, so you'll need to steal one from an employee.

Kiyoko looked round the side of the potted plant, watching the employees scattered around the lobby. She quickly noticed the lanyards round their necks. "I think I see the cards," she whispered. "They're wearing them around their necks."

"I see," said Kamui. "Well, that makes them easier to steal, but also harder to steal without being noticed. You'll just have to try."

Kiyoko nodded, and closed her eyes, trying to commit the routine to memory. "So… "borrow" a security card from an employee, take the elevator up to the top floor, set off the fire alarm, look for the CEO's office, get inside, and steal any data that might be relevant." She nodded once more. "Okay. Let's do it."

Kiyoko slipped out from behind the potted plant, cautiously sneaking up behind an employee who was drinking at the water cooler. Glancing around to make sure nobody else was looking, Kiyoko quickly took off the man's lanyard and stuffed it into her pocket, whereupon it vanished from sight. Noticing a set of elevator doors opening at the end of the lobby, Kiyoko quickly slipped inside, as the woman inside pressed the button for the eighteenth floor.

"Doors closing," said an automated female voice. The doors slid silently shut, and the elevator began to rise up through the floors. The female employee leaned back against the wall of the elevator, slipping her hands into her pockets and humming quietly to herself. Kiyoko took advantage of her inattentiveness to press the button for the top floor, before hiding away in a corner, hoping the elevator didn't fill up more on the way up, lest someone end up pushed against her. What an awkward and embarrassing way that would be to have her cover blown.