Day 217

[from Aishiteru! Hikikomori-san]

Yuuichi was startled to hear a knock on his door. He hadn't ordered anything recently, and he wasn't expecting company, so he had no idea who it could be. I guess there's only two people it could be, he thought to himself. One is Hiroto, but then he'd usually just Skype me. Which means it's most likely- The colour suddenly drained from Yuuichi's face as he realized something terrible: he had never told his parents about Ilana. With a rising sense of dread, he opened the front door.

Sure enough, there was his mother, smiling at him from the threshold. Though she was in her mid-forties by now, she still looked reasonably youthful, except for the grey streaks that were starting to appear in her long brown hair. "Hi, sweetie!" she said.

With his worst fears confirmed, Yuuichi went into panic mode. Unsure how to tell his mother about his mail-order bride, who was currently cleaning the bedroom, Yuuichi decided to simply keep it quiet and try and get his mother away as soon as possible. "Wh-what are you doing here, mom?" he asked.

"I just thought I'd pop by and see how you were doing," said Yuuichi's mother. "There's nothing wrong with that, is there? You are my son, after all."

"Well, yeah," conceded Yuuichi, "b-but you see, I'm kinda busy at the moment, so-"

"Oh?" said Yuuichi's mother, amused. "Busy doing what, playing games? Watching anime? Talking to your Internet friends?" This was partly why Yuuichi disliked his mother coming to visit him: she always made snarky comments about his inactivity, and they was always right. "Or could it be that you've finally got a lady over?" she added teasingly. "Wouldn't that be something!"

"Oh, no," said Yuuichi nervously, "I don't have anyone like that over-"

Before Yuuichi could finish, Ilana, who hadn't cottoned on to the fact she was supposed to be hiding, burst out of the bedroom with a feather duster in her hand and a cheerful smile on her face. "Hello!" she said, waving. "You must be mother of Yuuichi! I am Ilana, wife of Yuuichi. Is good to meet you!"

Yuuichi froze, rigid with shock. His mother's expression also froze, as she tried to process what had just happened. Slowly, her head turned to face Ilana. "W… wi… fe?" she repeated. As the revelation sank in, she turned back to Yuuichi, pointing a shaking hand at Ilana. "Yuuichi… i-is this woman really…?"

A bead of sweat ran down Yuuichi's brow. His plan to hide Ilana from his mother had been shattered, and he would never be able to lie his way out of it now. He heaved a defeated sigh and looked away, embarrassed. "Well… n-not yet, but… she will be, I guess-"

Yuuichi's mother suddenly let out a loud squeal of joy, causing her son to jump into the air with fright. A look of sheer ecstasy passed across her face, her eyes shining with joy. "I can't believe it!" she exclaimed. "My son is actually getting married! I never thought this day would ever come! And to such a beautiful woman!" She rushed over to Ilana, seizing her by the wrists and sizing her up with glee. "Tell me everything!" she gushed, her words coming out at light-speed. "How did you two meet? How long have you known each other? Was it love at first sight? Did you meet online? When are you planning to hold the ceremony? How far have you two gone in the bedroom? Are you already pregnant? Are those your real breasts? Tell me, what attracted you to my son-?"

"Mom, please," said Yuuichi, already looking exhausted. "Cut it out, you're bugging her."

Yuuichi's mother immediately turned her attention back to her son. "Why didn't you tell me you were getting married to such a beautiful young woman?!" she asked. "This is the greatest thing to happen since you left high school!"

"I didn't tell you because I know you'd overreact like this!" said Yuuichi. "And also I kind of forgot a little," he added sheepishly.

"It's fantastic, though!" said Yuuichi's mother. "Not only are you getting married, but to such an unbelievable catch! How on earth did you manage to hook her?!"

Wow, thanks for the confidence boost, mom, thought Yuuichi. "Well, the truth is," he said, "she's actually a mail-order bride. Oh, but I didn't buy her, it was Hiroto, he thought it would give me more responsibilities or something… huh?"

Yuuichi's mother had suddenly vanished. Heading out into the hallway, Yuuichi saw her pounding frantically on the door of Hiroto's apartment. Hiroto answered the door with a sigh. "What do you w-" he began.

Before he could finish, Yuuichi's mother let out another squeal of delight and seized Hiroto in a tight hug, spinning him around with glee. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!!!" she gushed. "I was starting to dread that my son would never get a girlfriend, but you went out of your way to fix him up with one! Oh, thank you so much, Hiroto! You're the best friend a son could ever have!"

"Th-thank you, Mrs. Yuuichi's mom," said Hiroto, rattled, "but could you let go of me please? You're crushing me."

"I'm sorry, but I'm just so excited about this!" said Yuuichi's mother, releasing Hiroto. "My son's never had a girlfriend before in his life, and he probably hasn't even talked to a girl in the last three years, but now he's getting married! It's every mother's dream to see her son walk down the aisle! Oh, I'm so happy I could cry!"

"Please, mom, stop," said Yuuichi, his face now bright red. "You're making way too much of a big deal out of this."

"But isn't it great?" his mother said. "You're finally doing something with your life! Oh, right! Does this mean you're going to get a job now? You'll need a steady income in order to support your new wife!"

"She's not my wife yet!" Yuuichi repeated. "And I already have a job! I'm working in a local call center."

Yuuichi's mother looked as though all her birthdays had come at once. "You even have a job now?!" she exclaimed. "That's amazing! This time a year ago you wouldn't even have considered getting a job!" She rushed back to Ilana, seizing her hands once more. "I really can't thank you enough, Ilana!" she said. "You've completely changed my son for the better! I don't know what would have become of him if you hadn't come along!"

Ilana looked completely overwhelmed by what was happening. She turned to face Yuuichi as though begging for help. "She talk too fast," she said, "I understand her not."

"Sorry, sorry, you're completely right!" said Yuuichi's mom, in the exact same enthusiastic manner as before. "I should have known you might have trouble understanding me! I mean, you're not from Japan, right?" She cleared her throat and then, to Yuuichi's horror, started speaking in a very slow, clear manner, accompanying her words with gestures, as one might when talking to a simpleton. "I. Am. Happy. For. You. You. Make. My. Son. Not. Lazy. He. Is. Lucky. To. Have. You."

"Now she talk like idiot," said Ilana, glancing at Yuuichi with a bemused expression. "I am confused."

"Mom, please!" said Yuuichi. "She's not an idiot! She just can't understand you because you're talking at 200 words a minute!"

"That's. Why. I'm. Talking. Slower. Now!" said Yuuichi's mom.

Yuuichi sighed and brought his hand up to his forehead. "This is gonna be a long day…" he muttered to himself.

Day 209

[from Aura of Chaos]

"So, what now?" asked Tara, as she and Xeron stepped back out into the streets. "We can't really make a move until that sorcerer does, so should we just stay in Clauston for now?"

"I think that would be best," said Xeron. "We can stock up on supplies, and I'm sure there are plenty of people here who'll have work for us. It's a huge city, after all."

"So, where should we go first?" asked Tara.

"I think if we're going to be spending a lot of time here, we should go find a place to stay first," said Xeron. "I saw a nice-looking inn near the city gates, we should see if they have any rooms spare."

"Good idea," said Tara.

The two headed off back towards the southern gates, and within half an hour they had booked a room at the Three Sisters Inn for the next week. This, they felt, would be ample time to earn some money, stock up on supplies, and sharpen their fighting skills, and given the pattern of his attacks so far, the sorcerer would most likely have shown himself again by then.

Their next destination was the Market District, in the southeast of the city. Not only was it conveniently close to the inn, but it contained the largest range of items for sale in one place in the whole kingdom. By the time they'd finished shopping, Tara had some new clothes, Xeron had a new iron chestplate and lance, and their supply of potions and remedies had been significantly replenished. Their funds, however, were starting to run low, and so the pair turned their attention to finding work.

"I wonder if it's worth checking the Lower Quarter, near the docks," said Xeron. "It's the poorest, roughest part of the city, and there's always a lot of crime happening there. It's a dangerous place, but we might be able to earn a lot of gold through collecting bounties, or righting wrongs or whatever."

"That sounds good to me," said Tara. "I mean, it can't be any more dangerous than when we defeated that Shoukan back in Hilston, can it?"

"Good point," said Xeron. "Alright, Lower Quarter it is, then."

The Lower Quarter was in the southwest of the city, located on the other side of the gate. There were significantly less people out in the streets of this part of town, perhaps because of its reputation as a hotbed of crime. Tara saw several run-down, dilapidated  buildings, some of which still seemed to be inhabited. The golden pavement beneath them was chipped and cracked, and in a few places missing completely, foot-wide chunks of earth poking out from amidst the tiles.

"Why doesn't the King try and renovate this part of the city?" asked Tara. "The longer it's left like this, the worse it'll get. Some of these buildings don't even look inhabitable!"

"He doesn't have any incentive," said Xeron. "It'd take too long, cost too much, and there'd be no guarantee it'd actually fix anything. So I guess he's just gonna leave this part of the city to rot."

Tara looked quite upset at this, but she realized there was nothing they could do about the state of the Lower Quarter. Fixing something like this was far beyond their power. Instead, she turned her attention back to the here and now. There appeared to be a street brawl happening a little way down the road they were walking on, and Tara felt Xeron tug on her shirt sleeve, gently steering her towards a side alley. "We should go a different way," he muttered. "We don't wanna get caught up in something like that."

"But we could help!" Tara objected. "We could stop the brawl, or something-"

"If the royal guard catch us getting involved in something like that, they'll probably arrest us too," said Xeron. "It's best that we try and stay out of trouble until-"

"Stop right there!" From out of the shadows in front of them burst a young woman with tanned skin and dirty grey clothes. Her left eye was covered with a black eyepatch, with a long scar just visible behind it. What caught Xeron and Tara's attention, though, was the jagged knife held in her hand, pointed straight at them. This young woman was trying to rob them.

"Hand over all your gold, and nobody gets hurt!" said the woman.

Xeron's response was to lift up his lance, as though to bring attention to it. "You sure you wanna do this?" he asked.

The woman seemed a little intimidated, no doubt realizing that the man she was trying to mug wasn't just some random citizen, but she tightened her grip on her knife and put on a brave face. "This is your last chance!" she said. "Hand over the money or I'll cut you!"

Xeron sighed, and launched himself into battle. The resulting fight happened too fast for Tara to make out what had happened, but at the end of it, the would-be robber was sprawled against the wall of the alleyway, wincing in pain, and Xeron was stood over her, holding her knife in one hand and his lance in the other. Judging from the lack of blood, he must have only used the shaft of his lance to strike her, rather than the tip. Xeron pocketed the knife, and reached out towards the girl, presumably to pull her to her feet.

"Whoa, whoa, wait!" said the girl hurriedly, holding up her hands in a gesture of peace. "Don't arrest me! I don't wanna go to jail again! Look, if you let me go, I can give you some good info! You guys aren't from around here, right? I can tell you all this city's little secrets!"

Xeron paused, a look of intrigue on his face. "What kind of secrets?" he asked.

Sensing Xeron was taking the bait, the girl relaxed a little. "Well, you're friend over there's a Witch, right?" she asked. "I can just tell, y'know? Don't worry, I ain't gonna tell anyone. Anyway, she's probably having a hard time looking for spellbooks and mana potions, right? Well, there's a place right here in the city where she can go to get more. But I'll only tell you where it is if you let me go. We got a deal?"

Xeron glanced over at Tara, seeking her approval, and Tara swiftly nodded. She really did need new spellbooks and a supply of mana potions if she was going to continue to be useful to Xeron, and besides, she felt rather sorry for this poor girl, reduced to  petty theft in order to get by. Judging from the looks of her, she was probably homeless as well. It seemed Xeron agreed with her sentiments, for he then nodded in turn. "We have a deal," he said.

The girl breathed a sigh of relief, and scrambled to her feet. "You won't regret this," she said. "Alright, follow me. It'll be easier if I just show you where it is."

"How do I know I can trust you?" asked Xeron.

"Well, what do I got to gain from tricking you?" asked the girl. "A one-way ticket to jail? No thanks."

"Point taken," said Xeron. "Lead the way."

Day 198

[from Pokémon xTreme]

"You know, considering you said we have to be there as soon as possible, you're not flying very fast," Taylor pointed out, as she and Brandon flew back towards Viridian City.

"I guess there's a part of me that doesn't really wanna face what's waiting for me in Viridian," admitted Brandon. "A big part of me. Like, all of me."

"That bad, huh?" asked Taylor.

"Oh, definitely," said Brandon.

"Should I… head back home while you get things sorted out?" asked Taylor.

"I'm not sure it'll be sorted out that quickly," said Brandon. "And this might end up affecting you too, depending on, umm… how things turn out."

Taylor, feeling ever more confused, could do nothing but hold on tight and wait until they arrived back in Viridian City. When they did, Brandon turned and headed towards the east of the city. "If this might affect me," she said eventually, "shouldn't you tell me what it is before we get there?"

"Like I said, I don't really wanna talk about it," said Brandon. "But you'll probably find out when we get there."

"I'm… kinda starting to worry a bit," Taylor admitted.

"That's okay," said Brandon, "so am I. We're almost there, though."

A few minutes later, and the pair had arrived at a street filled with large detached houses, in one of the more affluent parts of town. The houses' gardens were equally big, and several had swimming pools. Brandon flew to one that did not, and began to circle it, clearly apprehensive about landing. Taylor could see two figures standing in the front yard of the house, and though she couldn't make out anything about them, she guessed that these were the people Brandon had come to see.

Brandon let out a resigned sigh. "I guess I might as well tell you," he said. "There was this girl, and, well… her sister thinks I may have gotten her pregnant."

Taylor opened her mouth, closed it, thought for a moment, then said, "I don't really know how to respond to that."

"Yeah… now you know why I didn't wanna talk about it," said Brandon. "But you were gonna find out one way or the other; I mean, that's her down there, sending out her Talonflame to- OH HOLY SHIT!"

Brandon suddenly banked hard as the Talonflame swopped right at them, causing Taylor to squeal. The Talonflame circled round and prepared to swoop down at them again, and Brandon found himself faced with no choice but to land. Taking Charizard into a steep dive, he descended rapidly to the ground and stopped just short of the two sisters. Taylor staggered off of Charizard's back, a little dizzied after the sudden evasive manoeuvres. "It was all going so well…" she muttered.

With a measure of reluctance, Brandon climbed off of Charizard's back and turned to face the two women. Both had long, flaming red hair, and piercing blue eyes. The younger of the two was named Emma Williams, and she was the one Brandon had supposedly gotten pregnant. She stood a little way behind her older sister, looking a little embarrassed at the scene her sister was causing. The older sister was named Nicole, and she was currently staring daggers at Brandon, Talonflame's Poké Ball clutched tightly in her outstretched hand. As the bird Pokémon swooped back into its ball, Nicole immediately began to advance on Brandon.

Brandon nervously began to step backwards. "Uhh, can I just say that I-" he began, before Nicole punched him dead in the face, knocking him down. "Okay, maybe not," he said.

As Taylor looked on in shock, Nicole seized Brandon by the collar and dragged him back to his feet. She could see now why Brandon had been so apprehensive about coming here: Nicole was clearly very protective of her younger sister, and had quite the temper to boot. "You fucking bastard!" Nicole yelled. "Banging my sister is bad enough, but knocking her up as well?!"

"I-I swear I used a condom!" Brandon stammers. "Honestly, I-"

"Well, obviously not!" barked Nicole. "So the question now is, now that the damage is done, are you gonna man up and do right by Emma? 'Coz I'm not gonna let you just walk away after you've knocked her up. You're gonna learn some goddamn responsibility for once in your life! Got it?"

"What exactly do you want me to do?" asked Brandon.

"You want me to spell it out for ya?" asked Nicole. She angrily jabbed a finger at Emma. "You and Emma are gonna raise that kid together! I'm not letting her become some penniless single mother, struggling to make ends meet, because you couldn't keep it in your Calvin fucking Kleins! That's your kid in there, and you are gonna raise it properly, or so help me, I will scorch that precious face of yours into charcoal! Got it?"

"Uhh…" Brandon was clearly conflicted for a moment between his training commitments, his desire not to get into a serious relationship, and his total, unabated fear of Nicole. Finally, fear won out, and he resigned himself to his fate. "Okay. Whatever you say."

Seemingly pacified, Nicole released Brandon, and he gratefully took a few steps back. "Good," said Nicole. "Make sure you take care of her. I'll be keeping an eye on you both, to make sure." She turned to face her younger sister who, like Taylor, seemed to have spent the whole time looking on in horror. "Emma? You sure you're okay with letting this creep into your life?"

Emma nodded, sweeping a strand of hair aside as she regained her composure a little. "Of course," she said. "I'm carrying his baby." She rubbed her stomach, which Taylor noticed was still rather flat. She had to be in the early stages of her pregnancy.

"Then it's settled," said Nicole. "Who knows: maybe if you clean up your act, you might actually be a half-decent father and husband."

"Wait, husband?" said Brandon. "Who said anything about-"

"Well, what did you think I meant when I said you'd be raising the kid together?" said Nicole indignantly. "Of course you're gonna fucking marry her! That's how this works!"

"Look, could I have some time to… think about all of this?" asked Brandon. "This is a lot to take in at once! Besides, I've got… stuff going on, I can't just… drop everything and get married and-"

"Why?" asked Nicole. "What's so important?"

Brandon gestured in Taylor's direction, and Nicole noticed the teenage girl standing at Charizard's side for the first time. Taylor meekly waved at Nicole. "Uhh… hi," she said.

Nicole, seemingly mistaking Taylor for a love interest, rolled her eyes. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me-"

"N-no, it's not like that," Brandon quickly stammered, "she's my student. That's all. I'm teaching her how to be a Pokémon Master, it's part of my community service. Besides, she's like-" Brandon paused, then turned to Taylor. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen," said Taylor.

"Exactly," said Brandon. "I'd say we're just friends, but… I dunno, are we friends? We've known each other, like, three days."

"I'd like us to be friends," said Taylor, "but nothing more."

"Three days is still longer than you knew Emma for," Nicole scowled. "But alright. I guess I'll trust you on this occasion. You taking her round the Pokémon Gym Challenge?"

Sensing an opportunity for a normal, relaxed conversation, Brandon nodded. "Yep," he said. "We're doing the traditional route, so she'll be facing you last."

"Wait… she's a Gym Leader?" said Taylor.

"I think some proper introductions are in order," said Brandon. "Taylor, this is Nicole Williams, Viridian City's Gym Leader… and my future sister-in-law, apparently. Nicole, this is Taylor Evans, my mentoring student."

"I look forward to seeing you in my Gym," said Nicole. "Brandon might be a total asshole, but I have to admit, he's an excellent trainer."

"Yeah, I kinda got that already," said Taylor.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that…" Gesturing at Emma, Brandon continued, "This is Emma Williams, Nicole's younger sister, one of several one-night-stands, and now apparently the mother of my child."

Emma stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Brandon's, looking up at him adoringly. "And your future wife," she said. "Don't forget that."

"Yeah, I guess that too," said Brandon, who was clearly still overwhelmed by all these sudden developments.

There was a moment of awkward silence, before Taylor asked, "So, uhh… what now?"

"Well, I'd like to go home and… deal with all this stuff," said Brandon. "I need some time to myself for this all to sink in."

Nicole nodded. "You've got a lot to think about," she said, "and a lot to start planning."

"I guess I have," said Brandon. "Taylor, I'll drop you off at your house first, and then we'll pick this up tomorrow, alright?"

"Okay, sure," said Taylor. "Let's get going."

Day 196

[from Project Hover]

"We're here in London's Hyde Park, for the first race of the inaugural World Hoverboard Racing Championships. I'm Ashley Garcia; here with me is Italian hoverboarding maestro Gianni Abbruzzi. Gianni, what do you think of this 1.5-mile circuit they've laid out here? Is it a fitting first race for the sport?"

"Well, in terms of the sport's history, there has never been a hoverboard race here before, so it doesn't have that history that places such as Japan or America do," said Gianni. "But at the same time, this is a historic opportunity for the sport to get more exposure in the UK, especially with an Englishman, David Edwards, competing in the field. As for the track itself, it's a very fast-looking layout, with some long straights that will really push the top speeds of these hoverboards, as well as some tight turns that will provide overtaking opportunities, such as the tight Turn 3 hairpin. While the main paths are quite narrow in places, there is plenty of grass at the side of the track, and of course these hoverboards are all-terrain; you won't lose any speed by going off-track, unless you hit the barriers."

[AUTHOR'S NOTE: Find the track layout here: http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/808028007]

"Now, there are ten teams and twenty drivers taking part in this inaugural tournament," said Ashley. "We've got teams here including Texas, one of the earliest pioneers of hoverboard technology, and Kasaiki, one of the world's foremost hoverboard manufacturers and a dominant force in the Japanese hoverboard-racing scene. We've got teams from MIT, Shanghai University, and the UK's own Cambridge University. "You'd have to say that Kasaiki and Texas look like the favourites, don't they?"

"They are most definitely the favourites," said Gianni, nodding. "Their hoverboards are undoubtedly the fastest and most reliable on the grid, and I think the other teams will struggle to stop them from dominating this first season, except for perhaps Alti Racing's Claudia Brunelle. She's an exceptional racer, one of the best in the field, and could challenge the top four riders."

"What about the Texas and Kasaiki riders, then?" asked Ashley. "Both of Kasaiki's drivers are still only teenagers: compare that to Claudia, who's 26, or Texas' Aidan Parker, another of the legends of hoverboard racing, who turns 28 next month. Do you think the relative youth of the Kasaiki team will count against them?"

"Maybe at first," said Gianni, "but I think as the season goes on and those girls get more comfortable with their boards, their performances will improve quite dramatically. It's important to remember that these girls - Rika Natsume and Kazumi Matsuhara - even if they are only 18 or 19, they've still been racing hoverboards for several years, competing in the junior categories, so they're not completely inexperienced. And let's not forget, of course, this is the first-ever hoverboarding tournament on a truly global scale. None of the riders, not even the veterans like Aidan, have ever done anything like this before."

"Rika Natsume, Kasaiki's lead driver, is one of the youngest riders in the field, at just 18 years old," said Ashley. "Do you think that's too young to be competing at this level?"

Gianni shook his head. "Not at all," he said. "As I said before, she has several years' experience already, and I've seen her racing: she has an immense amount of raw talent, and the potential to become one of the sport's great names. She may be the youngest driver in the top teams, but I still reckon she's one to look out for this season."

"Okay, thank you for your input," said Ashley. "Qualifying is about to get underway, so let's head over to the track and our commentators, Callum Lancaster and Adam Scott..."

FULL ENTRY LIST

TEXAS HOVERSPORT
#3 Haruka Morimoto (♀, JPN)
#4 Aidan Parker (♂, USA)

SHANGHAI UNIVERSITY
#8 Liang Tai (♂, CHN)
#9 Li Zhen (♀, CHN)

CHT RACING
#14 David Edwards (♂, GBR)
#15 Michael Altermann (♂, GER)

TAKASA HOVERSPORT
#17 Takeshi Okamoto (♂, JPN)
#18 Saori Shinomiya (♀, JPN)

ALTI RACING
#22 Claudia Brunelle (♂, FRA)
#23 Vincent Martelli (♂, USA)

TEAM KASAIKI
#27 Rika Natsume (♀, JPN)
#28 Mazuki Matsuhara (♀, JPN)

HOVERTEC RACING
#29 Adam Williams (♂, USA)
#30 Ryan Edmonds (♂, CAN)

GRAVITAS RACING
#34 Francesco De Martini (♂, ITA)
#35 Marko Ivanović (♂, HRV)

PRETORIA RACING
#36 Marius Engelbrecht (♂, RSA)
#37 Elize Roberts (♀, RSA)

MITRA
#55 Carl Mitchell (♂, USA)
#56 Jamie Chung (♂, CHN)

Day 194

[from The Ballad of Conor Stewart]

GIRL POWER

It's been twenty-three years since Formula 1 last had a female driver. In this interview, AUTOSPORT's Ryan Nurse talks to the woman hoping to buck that trend.

In the sixty-five years since the Formula One World Championship began, only five women have ever taken part in a Grand Prix, and only two - Maria Teresa de Filippis and Lella Lombardi - have ever started one. Lombardi remains the only woman to have scored a championship point, at the tragic 1975 Spanish Grand Prix. All jokes about female drivers aside, women don't exactly have the greatest track record in F1, especially when compared to other motor racing disciplines.

The trend has been reversing recently. In the last few years, Susie Wolff, Simona de Silvestro, and the late Maria de Villota have all tested for various teams on the paddock. However, Giovanna Amati remains the last woman to have entered an F1 race, for Brabham in 1992, and she didn't exactly cover herself in glory. Now, one woman is aiming to rewrite the history books.

Step forward Brooke Stewart, daughter of 90s F1 racer Conor Stewart. The latest in a long line of second-generation drivers with F1 aspirations, Brooke is aiming to become not only the first female F1 driver in twenty-three years, but the most successful female F1 driver. With Lombardi having scored just half a point, it's arguably not the highest of bars.

"Maybe not," says Brooke with a chuckle, "but I think the biggest barrier really is just getting into F1. There are so few seats, and so many drivers competing for them, that it's hard just to get the chance. It's definitely easier to score points now than it was when Lella was racing, we've got points down to tenth now, but first I've got to actually get onto the grid."

To that end, Brooke and several other drivers are currently training at an elite racing school set up by her father Conor, at a private test track near his Perth home. Brooke and fellow pupil Sergio Cervantes are currently competing in the Formula Renault championship, but the 18-year-old has her sights set on following in her father's illustrious footsteps.

"It's always been F1 for me," she says, when asked if she would ever consider a different series such as DTM. "Of course, I'll race elsewhere if I can't get a seat, but F1 has always been the ultimate goal.

When asked why she feels there have been so few woman in Formula One, Brooke is reluctant to put it down to just sexism. "There's certainly a few guys out there who think, 'Oh, women can't drive', or 'I don't wanna be beaten by a girl', but it's definitely not as bad as it may have been when, say, Lombardi or Desiré Wilson [winner of a non-championship F1 race in 1980] were driving. I think maybe also, team owners will look at the track record of women in F1, which isn't that stellar, and think, 'Well, she's not gonna be much different, is she?'

As I talk to her, Brooke displays a wisdom beyond her years, and a boundless passion for racing. Despite having inherited the looks of her mother, supermodel Christina Bianchi, Brooke has chosen to walk her father's career path, one that's arguably even more hostile to women than the modelling world. However, Brooke believes that she can perhaps pave the way for a new generation of female racers.

"I think the biggest problem is that, you know, there aren't really any female racing icons to draw young girls into racing. There's Danica [Patrick, IndyCar driver] over in America, and that's it, really. It's similar to how there weren't many German drivers until [Michael] Schumacher came along in the 90s, or how there weren't as many Spanish drivers until [Fernando] Alonso came along. There needs to be a successful woman in the top level, saying, 'Look, women can do this as well,' and I think that's when we'll start seeing more women coming into the sport."

Does Brooke think she can be that female icon? "I sure hope so!" she says. "I don't wanna come into the sport and leave without making a mark, and I certainly don't want people thinking that I'm only getting this far because of my surname. If I do get into Formula One, I'd like to make a name for myself while I'm there."

Changing topics for a moment, I decide to ask Brooke about her classmates: Cervantes, Heimo Saarinen, and Stefan Dijkstra. Does she think any of them will ever reach F1? "I don't know," she says with a shrug. "They're all very good, but they're still learning, still refining their skills, just as I am. Maybe someday they will, maybe they never will. They have the potential, though, I think."

Brooke will have to go some way to emulate the success of her father, who won the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix for Tyrrell, and finished on the podium twenty-three times during his nine-year spell in F1. But in terms of becoming the most successful woman in the sport's history, as she aims to become, she's definitely in with a good chance.

Day 192

[from Street Racer]

As Lien and Tristan raced back towards the latter's apartment, weaving frantically in and out of the traffic, Lien couldn't help recalling the first time that she had met Tristan…

SIX MONTHS AGO

DISUSED TRAIN DEPOT

Lien couldn't help being curious about the street races. Here in Jade City, they were everywhere. Every other day, you would hear about another race that had taken place. People would discuss how they'd seen the brightly-coloured racers fly past them on the street, or heard their windows rattle as the turbocharged engines roared past their houses. Lien herself had seen them from time to time: a Sileighty drifting through the suburbs, pursued by a Mazda MX-5; three cars that had roared past her on the freeway, going too fast for her to see what they were; a yellow-and-black Camaro cruising the streets, looking for action.

Tonight, she was finally going to see the street racers up close for herself. Her friend, Charlotte, had gotten word of a drag race going down at an abandoned train depot on the outskirts of the industrial district. A mile-long section of abandoned railway had been torn up and turned into an impromptu drag strip, perfect for racing away from the eyes of the police. Charlotte had invited Lien to come with her, and the two girls were soon approaching the track.

"Now, let me go over a few things with you again," said Charlotte. "First off, these guys are high on testosterone, and most of 'em are sexed-up jerks. If one on 'em tries touching you or something, you have to assert yourself-"

"Geez, I don't need you to tell me that," said Lien. "I know how to handle myself around guys, don't worry about that."

"Well, just don't try kicking them in the balls," Charlotte remarked. "These guys have cajones made of steel. Which brings me on to the second thing: keeping safe during the race. Basically… don't worry about it. Doesn't matter how far back you stand, if one of those things loses control at the kinda speeds they'll be going at, you won't be able to get out of the way. Don't worry about earplugs either; by the time you've put 'em in, the race will be over."

"You know, you're not exactly making this sound like the hottest ticket in town right now," said Lien.

"Yeah, but you're still coming anyway, right?" said Charlotte. "You've been bitten by the street racing bug. You're not gonna turn back now no matter what I tell you."

Lien nodded. "You're not wrong," she admitted. "I know it's dangerous, not to mention highly illegal, but…"

"-you still wanna check it out." Charlotte finished the sentence for Lien. "I understand. It was the same for me when I first got into this. It's not just the racing itself, it's the thrill of it all: the illegality, the secrecy. It gives me a rush. I'm sure you'll feel it too."

"I'm sure I will," said Lien.

Before long, the two girls had reached the abandoned depot, and the makeshift start line. Already there were five cars present, their drivers milling with the spectators and with each other. The race order had not been sorted out yet, and with little chance of the police turning up, there would likely be multiple races to look forward to. As they approached, Charlotte nudged Lien and pointed out an orange-and-black Nissan 370Z. "See that?" she said. "That's the guy everyone wants to beat: Jason Diaz. He owns the scene around here."

"What about the rest of these guys?" asked Lien.

Charlotte pointed at a yellow-and-blue Ford Mustang. "That's Bouncer," she said. "He's Jason's number two. Try and get in his way and you'll have him to answer to." Next, she pointed at a dark green Pontiac GTO. "That's Vincent. I've seen him around a couple of times, he's nothing special." Then, she pointed at a blue-and-white Nissan Skyline GT-R. "That," she said, "is Tristan Starr. He's a new guy, from outta town, but he's really damn good."

"What about the fifth car?" asked Lien.

"Dunno who that is," said Charlotte with a shrug.

"I think there's another car coming in," said Lien, as a distant roar signalled another approaching racer.

"I see 'em," said Charlotte. "That's a… not sure. Impreza, maybe? Yeah, that's definitely an Impreza. No idea who's driving it, though. Sorry."

Lien shrugged. "How many more do you think are gonna turn up?"

"Not sure," said Charlotte. "There's not long until the racing's scheduled to start, so this might be it."

Sure enough, no more racers arrived, and as the drivers began to discuss the race format amongst themselves, Lien wandered off by herself to take a closer look at the cars. The Mustang looked to her like it would be the fastest car, but if it belonged to Jason's "number two", then she suspected he might try and throw the race in Jason's favour. She hoped this wouldn't be the case, as she'd been looking forward to a good race for days, but she knew that a lot of street racers had bad reputations, and Jason and Bouncer were certainly no exceptions.

In terms of appearances, Lien wasn't entirely sure if she liked the loud, ostentatious looks of the cars, now that she was up close to them. All six cars had flashy body kits, large rear spoilers, and bright neon strips on the underside. Most of them also had spinners, tinted windows, and unnecessarily loud stereo systems; the sole exception was Tristan's Skyline, which had none of these things. While the other drivers seemed to have built their cars for show, Tristan seemed to have built his for racing. The only question was whether it would be fast enough to beat the Mustang.

"Nice car, isn't it?"

Lien jumped at the sudden voice. She hadn't heard Tristan Starr approaching. Looking at him, she couldn't help noticing that he was rather handsome. "Uhh… yes. Yes, it is," she said.

"I gotta get racing now, though, so, uhh… if you don't mind…"

"Oh, yes, of course." Lien started to head towards the finish line, then turned back and waved to Tristan. "Good luck," she called out.

"Thanks," said Tristan, before getting into his car.

Since six racers had shown up, the drivers had agreed on an elimination format. There would be two heats of three cars each, and the winners of each heat would face off in a winner-takes-all duel. The first heat was about to begin, and consisted of Tristan, Bouncer, and the Impreza driver. This all but confirmed Lien's suspicions: Bouncer would try and knock Tristan out in the heats, then let Jason win the final head-to-head and take the spoils. Despite having only known him for five minutes, Lien found herself hoping that Tristan would crash the party and win the race.

By the time Lien reached the finish line, the racers had already started revving their engines. She was now a little tired from having walked so much, but nonetheless she eagerly anticipated the start of the race. From this distance, she could barely see the cars at the start line, but she knew they were there, ready to start.

In the distance, a loud rumble signalled that the race had begun. The tiny dots on the horizon swiftly grew larger and larger, and Lien leaned forward expectantly, waiting to see who would emerge from the darkness in the lead…

Day 186

[from Vanishing Point]

Mizuki watched the sun slowly sink below the horizon, its golden glow reflected in the shimmering waters of the river before her. A gentle breeze played at her shoulder-length emerald hair, and at the hem of her dress. She turned to the tall, spiky-haired man standing with her. "Beautiful, isn't it?" she said.

"It sure is," he agreed. "But not as beautiful as you."

Mizuki blushed and smiled, just as a heavy gust of wind blew her fringe over her face, obscuring it. She shook her head, sweeping her hair back into place, and the man chuckled. Mizuki herself couldn't help grinning a little.

"Mizuki," said the man suddenly, "I want you to be my girlfriend."

Mizuki seemed taken aback by the sudden suggestion. She took a step back, blushing harder. "Ehh?!"

"Well?" said the man. "How about it?"

Mizuki clasped her hands to her chest and looked away, clearly flustered. "This is… so sudden…" she said.

"Mizuki!"

Startled, Mizuki turned round to see Shinji, her plucky childhood friend, racing down the riverbank towards her, and her confusion intensified. "Huh? Shinji?"

Shinji stopped just short of Mizuki and the other man, resting his hands on his knees for a moment to catch his breath. "I'm sorry, just… give me a minute…" he said, raising a hand. The two others waited patiently, and after a moment or two, Shinji finally straightened up and addressed Mizuki with a nervous but determined expression. "Don't do it, Mizuki!" he said. "Don't become his boyfriend! Be mine instead!"

This confession shocked Mizuki even more than the first one, and she reeled back, her face turning as red as the sunset. "Ehh?!!"

Shinji nervously held out a box of chocolates, his own face swiftly reddening. "Mizuki… please accept my feelings!"

The taller man sneered at the newcomer. "Hah!" he said. "Like she'd ever pick a wimp like you over someone like me!"

Shinji held his ground. "I may be a wimp," he said, "but I've known Mizuki for far longer than you, and I know she'll choose me!"

"Oh yeah?" said the other man, amused. "Well, I guess we'll find out, won't we?" He turned to his shell-shocked beloved. "Come on, Mizuki, who's it gonna be? Me, or this pipsqueak?"

Mizuki looked from one man to the other and then back again, In addition to her shock and embarrassment from the sudden confessions, she now felt highly flustered by the pressure. "Uhh… uhh…"

"Aaand… cut!" The sharp voice of the director brought the fake scene to a close. "Alright, that's a wrap. Great job, everybody!"

The moment the director's voice rang out, the embarrassment faded entirely from Mizuki's face, replaced with a triumphant grin. "Yes!" she exclaimed, pumping her fist. "Nailed it!"

"Well, I guess that's Season 2 all wrapped up," said Shinji, or rather, the actor who'd been playing him. "Now all that's left is to celebrate."

"Leave that to me!" said Mizuki. Stepping off the fake riverbank, which was nothing more than a studio set, she started to address the various staff gathered around. "Alright, listen up, everyone! Now that we've finished filming Season 2, it's time for our big end-of-filming celebration party!" Amidst cheers from the crowd, she continued: "We're gonna need pizzas, beer, a barbecue, plenty of meat to go on it, some chocolates - some more chocolates, that is," she added, as she took the box of chocolates from her co-star's hands. "We'll need yakisoba - lotsa yakisoba - and I'll have someone from Kyūrei bring us over a whole bunch of sugar-free cola! Being their spokesperson has its perks! Oh, and if any of you want anything else, go ahead and order that too! Everything's on me!"

"Wow, really!" exclaimed one of the cameramen. "You're so generous, Mizuki!"

"I'll order the pizzas!" said the boom operator, pulling out his phone.

"Shouldn't you have organized this before now?" asked Shinji's actor. Mizuki's only response was a carefree shrug. "And are you sure you're alright paying for everything?"

"Please, I'm a billionaire!" said Mizuki. [AUTHOR NOTE: That's in yen] "If I can't splash out, who can?"

"Well, I'm gonna go get the beers in," said the other actor. "You'll pay me back, right?"

"Of course!" said Mizuki. "I said I'd pay for everything, didn't I?"

"You did, and I'm gonna hold you to that," said the other actor. "Alright, later."

As her co-star waved briefly and then headed off, Mizuki turned her attention to the heart-shaped box in her hands. "In the meantime," she said, "I've got a date with this delicious box of chocolates!"

"Uhh, Mizuki… we're gonna need that prop again when we start shooting Season 3," said Shinji's actor, as Mizuki walked off with the box.

"The chocolates will have gone off by then," said Mizuki, undoing the ribbon, "and it'll be a waste." She opened the box, tossing the lid and the ribbon aside, and took out a chocolate. "Besides, we can always just buy another box-" She popped the first chocolate into her mouth, then carried on talking through her mouthful. "-or we could just re-use the empty box. It's not like the audience are gonna know there's no chocolates in it."

"Then you'll probably be needing the lid…" said Shinji's actor.

***

A short time later, the party was starting to come together. Tables were being laid out throughout the studio, with various food and drink spread out across them. A banner reading "SEASON TWO FILMING IS OVER" had been hung over the entrance. Mizuki was perched on the edge of one of the tables, eagerly scoffing the box of chocolates, much to the chagrin of a passing assistant.

"Miss Sato? What are you doing?" the assistant exclaimed.

"Eating chocolate," said Mizuki nonchalantly, before popping another chocolate into her mouth as though the assistant was not there.

"You can't eat that whole box by yourself!" said the assistant, staring in horror at the half-empty box. "It's not healthy! You'll get fat!"

"Screw you I can't eat the whole box by myself," mumbled Mizuki through a mouthful of chocolate.

"Miss Sato," the assistant began, "I insist that-"

But Mizuki had had enough of her dietary habits being criticized. She swallowed her mouthful, and suddenly her eyes began to glow an eerie white, her pupils and irises vanishing entirely. "No," she said, her voice mysteriously layered. "I insist that you quit bugging me and do something useful, like bringing me that plate of yakisoba I already asked for."

As Mizuki spoke, the assistant's eyes glazed over, her expression turning blank and her posture relaxing. When she spoke again, it was in a robotic, monotone voice, devoid of any trace of emotion. "Yes Miss Sato," she said. "Right away Miss Sato. I apologize for the inconvenience Miss Sato."

The assistant bent forwards in a mechanical bow, then walked off. Mizuki's eyes returned back to normal, and for a moment she watched the assistant go, confused as to what had just happened, before letting out a weary sigh. "I just did the thing again, didn't I…" she muttered.

Day 185

[from Sonic the Hedgehog Returns]

A heavy storm had blown across Robotropolis and the Great Forest that night, bringing with it torrential rain and thunder. This was not the kind of weather that one would wish to be out in. However, the girl currently sprinting across the rooftops of the outskirts of Robotropolis did not have a choice. She had to get to Knothole, no matter what. Even the two SWATbots chasing after her could not stop her.

"THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE, CITIZEN." drawled one of the SWATbots, aiming its laser gun at her. "SURRENDER YOURSELF OR PREPARE TO BE ELIMINATED."

"Not a chance, rustpot," said the girl.

The two SWATbots duly opened fire, but the girl was able to nimbly dodge their fire as she ran, occasionally resorting to acrobatic jumps or flips to get out of the way. Even when faced with gaps between the rooves, or a slight rise or dip, the girl charged onwards without putting a single foot wrong, her parkour skills carrying her gracefully across the skyline.

Finally, however, she appeared to have reached a dead end. At the end of the row of buildings in front of her was a large metal billboard, facing the street below. She could not avoid it, as there was no other path onwards. However, she had a plan. She kept going, running straight at the billboard, and as she reached it, she ran up it for a brief moment before kicking off it and flying into a backflip. The closest of the two SWATbots was unable to pull off such a delicate manoeuvre and slammed straight into the billboard, knocking it over; it came to a rest at a perpendicular angle, perfectly bridging the gap to the next roof. Meanwhile, the girl manoeuvred herself through the air mid-backflip and landed right on top of the second SWATbot, slamming it down hard into the roof and destroying it. With the path ahead now clear, and her pursuers dealt with, she charged onwards through the driving rain in search of her destination.

***

At Knothole that night, Princess Sally Acorn was fast asleep in bed when she was suddenly woken by a series of slow, loud thumps on her door. Staggering bleary-eyed from her bed, she got up and went o the front door to see what was the matter. "This better not be Ant with another one of his nightmares…" she grumbled.

When Sally opened the door, she realized that it was not Antoine, nor indeed was it anyone she knew. It was a teenage fox girl, her dark-blue fur completely soaked by the rain. She was wearing a black midriff-baring tank top, black shorts, and sports shoes that were caked in mud. In spite of her athletic-looking physique, the girl was completely and utterly exhausted, panting and gasping for breath, and before she could say anything coherent, she toppled forwards and passed out.

"Oh my gosh!" exclaimed Sally, quickly moving forwards to catch the girl before she could hit the ground. Sally dragged the unconscious girl inside, water dripping from her fur onto the wooden floor, then closed the door behind her. She made up a bed for the girl out of old sheets, laid her down inside it, then collapsed back onto her own bed. She felt too tired to do anything more for the girl, so she would just have to check on her in the morning.

When Sally woke up the next morning, however, the girl had vanished from her bedroom. The pile of neatly-folded, slightly damp sheets next to Sally's bed was the only indication that she hadn't just dreamt the whole thing. Puzzled as to where the girl could have gone to, Sally changed out of her nightgown and into her daywear - a blue denim vest and shorts, navy-blue boots and white gloves - and headed through into the living room, whereupon she found the girl from the previous night casually doing star jumps , her bushy tail swishing from side to side. "64… 65…" she said to herself.

Sally was positively stunned. "What on Mobius do you think you're doing?" she exclaimed.

"My morning exercises," said the girl.

"You were passed out from exhaustion just a few hours ago!" said Sally. "You should be taking it easy!"

"Perhaps," admitted the girl, and she slowed carefully to a stop. "In any case, my lady, I should move on to the topic at hand. I bring grave news from the Freedom Fighters in Emerald Coast."

Sally was surprised, not least because the Emerald Coast Resistance was one of the strongest remaining pockets of resistance outside of Knothole, but because it was quite some distance from Knothole. "You ran all the way here from Emerald Coast?" she said. "No wonder you passed out… your fitness is truly astonishing. But please, continue. What of the Emerald Coast Resistance?"

"I'm afraid that the Emerald Coast Resistance has fallen," said the girl, a look of sorrow passing across her face. "Somebody betrayed us, and relayed our position to Robotnik. Our leader, Sgt. Nero, has been captured, and all our other members have been Roboticized… or worse." Her expression continued to grow ever darker. "Nero and I are likely the only ones left. Please… I want you and your Freedom Fighters to help find and rescue him."

"What makes you think Robotnik hasn't already Roboticized him?" Sally asked.

"The sergeant has been a thorn in Robotnik's side for years," said the girl. "Perhaps not as big a thorn as Sonic the Hedgehog, but still a powerful enemy. Now that Robotnik has him in his clutches, he'll be taking his time, and enjoying his victory. He won't Roboticize Nero just yet, but even so, we still need to hurry if we want to find him and save him."

Sally still felt rather reluctant. "I can't say I agree with Nero's methods," she said. "He's reckless, violent, and not averse to using deadly weapons." The Freedom Fighters had a strict no-guns policy, with Bunnie's built-in laser cannon being the only exception. "However," Sally continued, "I can't deny that he's a brilliant strategist, and a powerful ally in the fight against Robotnik. I'll have to discuss it with the others, but I'm sure they'll agree to help you rescue him."

"Oh, really?" exclaimed the girl. She quickly stooped into a low bow. "Thank you so much, your highness!"

"Please, there's no need to be so formal," said Sally. "Just call me Sally. And your name is?"

"Solstice," said the girl, straightening up. "Solstice the Fox. "It'll be a huge honour to work alongside you, and the great Sonic the Hedgehog."

Day 182

[from A Thousand Miles to San Francisco]

"You know, I picked up a guy in Palm Springs once - must have been about twelve years ago now - he was heading to San Francisco too, but for a completely different reason. His name was Max, he was an IT wizard or something. He used to run some kinda online business - can't remember what it was called, or what it did - but when the dot-com bubble burst back in 2000, his company was one of those that went under. Guy lost everything: his job, his house, his money, his girlfriend… he told me he had nothing left, so he was gonna throw himself off the Golden Gate Bridge and end it all."

Samantha gasped, horrified. "What? Really?" she said.

John nodded. "Yep," he said. "'Course, he only told me that after I'd let him in and set off again. I said, I'm not driving you all the way to San Francisco just so you can kill yourself when you get there, that's almost five hundred miles. He was begging me, he said, 'I know I sound crazy, but that's where I want it all to end'.

"I looked over at the guy -- looked him dead in the eyes -- and I could see that he was desperate. But more than that, he was scared. Really scared. I fought in Vietnam for four years, I know what a man looks like when he's scared, and this guy was scared out of his mind. He'd had everything he'd ever worked for taken away from him in the blink of an eye, and he just didn't know what to do with himself. I realized he was so scared, he'd stopped thinking straight, and he'd somehow decided that suicide was the only option left to him. But I knew that deep down inside, he didn't really believe that. So I looked him dead in the eyes, and I told him, 'I don't think you want to kill yourself. Not really. I can see how frightened you are. If you really wanted to kill yourself, you wouldn't have hailed my truck, you would've jumped out in front of it.'

"Max then explained to me that the reason he wanted to go to the Golden Gate Bridge to kill himself was because he'd made a suicide pact with a woman he'd met online. Her husband had left her for another woman, and taken their kid with him, and she'd decided she couldn't live without her family. However, she didn't wanna die alone, so she'd been searching on the Internet for someone to join her in San Francisco and leap off the bridge with her. They'd met on some kinda Internet chat room, and they'd agreed to meet at the bridge that night and jump off together.

"He told me I was right: he was scared. He was having second thoughts about going through with it, but he didn't know what else to do. I told him to just take some time, think about what to do next with his life. 'You got all the time in the world,' I told him, 'you're still pretty young.' Honestly, he couldn't have been older than thirty. Seeing someone that young with so little hope was pretty darn sad. I told him he still had plenty of time left to get things sorted out, and to make something of himself. Hell, he owned his own company. It might not have worked out for him, but that's a lot more than I ever accomplished.

"So finally, Max admitted that I was right. He didn't really wanna die; he just wanted a solution, a way to fix his life. He hadn't been able to find one, so he felt like his only remaining option was suicide, but he told me he now realized that he just hadn't been looking hard enough, or thinking hard enough about it. I asked if he wanted me to turn around and take him back to Palm Springs, and he said no. He still wanted me to take him to the Golden Gate Bridge, but instead of throwing himself off of it, he was gonna try and talk the woman out of jumping, just like I'd talked him out of it. He told me, 'If I'm gonna try and build a new life, then I think she should try and build a new life as well'."

Samantha found herself rather touched by the whole story, but also a little anxious about its ending. "That's so sweet," she said. "So what happened in the end? Did he manage to save her?"

John merely shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "We got to San Francisco at about ten o'clock at night, I dropped him off as close to the bridge as I could get, he thanked me for all my help, and then he disappeared into the night. Never saw him again. For all I know, he might have jumped after all. I do wonder sometimes what happened to him, and to that other woman, but I guess I'll never know."

Samantha nodded. "I guess not," she said. For a fleeting moment, she had thought about trying to track him down upon reaching San Francisco, but in a city of four million people, and with nothing to go by except his first name, it would be utterly impossible. Besides, even if she did find out, she would most likely never see John again either. Somehow, however, not knowing how the story ended made it all the more intriguing and mysterious.

[AUTHOR NOTE: Sadly for you guys, you ARE going to learn how it ends! Not today, however, since it's almost 2am and I'm exhausted. I could just put it in a paragraph-long epilogue here, but why not write a full scene about it? This scene will most likely be exclusive to Project 20:15 and won't be in the final novel, so look forward to it at some point in the future.]

Day 177

[from Vanishing Point]

Kamui, using his detective contacts, had learned of Obsidian's criminal history within the city. This usually seemed to consist of murdering one or two pursuing Shinsuke City Patrol guards, and then disappearing off the grid again. City Patrol were still trying to track them down, but didn't have any leads. For the test subjects, however, this was proof that they were not alone in their fight against Shinsuke. All they needed to do was to track Obsidian down somehow.

Kamui decided that he and the escapees should head into Shinjuku, close to where Obsidian was last sighted, and ask random passers-by if they had any information on her whereabouts. With any luck, they would find someone who could at least point them in the right direction, as right now they knew only that Obsidian was somewhere in the city.

"Are you sure we'll find her this way?" asked Cobra, as the group made their way out of the subway station.

"It's a bit too late to be asking that now," Kamui pointed out. "Thought to be honest… no, I'm not. However, it's the best chance we've got. Besides, if Obisidian finds out we're looking for her, she might come looking for us. So it might work out either way."

"I see," said Cobra. "Well, in that case, let's hope she's paying attention. Speaking of which…" Cobra nudged Hanako, who had been staring in amazement at the buildings all around them. "Focus, please," she said. "We're here to look for someone, not to sightsee."

"Okay," said Hanako. "Sorry."

Outside the subway station was an elaborate gilded fountain. "Alright, let's split up and meet back here at six," said Kamui. "Don't stray too far, in case you're unable to find your way back. If you find anything, let us know via text." He had purchased cheap disposable cellphones for each girl on the way up to Shinjuku, and much to Hanako's displeasure, as she had wanted a replacement for her old iPhone. "And make sure you keep an eye out for any Shinsuke patrols," Kamui added. "Got it?"

"Got it!" Hanako immediately went racing off, and the other three promptly set off in separate directions, ready to begin their investigations.

***

After half an hour, Kiyoko had not had any luck with finding a lead, and already felt like giving up. However, her fortunes were about to change. A teenage girl with blue hair suddenly came bounding over to her. "Excuse me," she asked. "are you looking for someone?"

Kiyoko seemed grateful for the assistance. "Ah, yes," she said. "Me and my friends are looking for this woman." She held up a print-out of Obsidian's face. "Have you seen her?"

Upon seeing the image, the girl seemed to react in some way, perhaps surprise, perhaps curiosity. "Oh yeah, I saw her just a few minutes ago," she said. "I can show you where she was headed, if you like."

"Really?"said Kiyoko. "Thank you. That'd be a great help. Oh, but… I should call the others first…" Kiyoko quickly took out her phone and sent a group text to Kamui, Cobra and Hanako, letting them know the situation. A few minutes later, the group had reassembled again.

"So you said you're going to show us where Obsidian went?" asked Kamui.

"Yeah, that’s right," said the blue-haired girl. "If you're quick, you might still be able to catch her."

"Alright, thanks," he said. "Lead the way, miss, uhh…"

"Emi," said the girl. "My name is Emi."

"I see," said Kamui. "Well, lead the way, Emi."

Emi nodded, and headed off through the crowded streets with Kamui and the escapees in tow. After a few minutes of walking, Emi suddenly turned and headed down a narrow side alley. Her four companions, suddenly wary, exchanged nervous glances before following her inside. "Are you sure this is the right way?" asked Cobra.

"Yep," said Emi. "She definitely went down this alleyway." Cobra scowled slightly, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"How much further is it?" asked Hanako.

"Oh, not much further," said Emi. "Not much further at all."

As she reached the centre of the alleyway, Emi suddenly stopped and span on her heel, turning to face Kamui and the girls with a serious look on her face. As the four fugitives stopped, confused, Emi was suddenly enveloped in a brilliant white glow, and before their very eyes her silhouette began to change, slowly growing taller. A stunned Hanako turned to Kamui, who seemed almost as stunned. "What's happening to her?" she asked.

Her question was answered a second later as a white glow faded, revealing the unmistakeable figure of Obsidian standing before them where Emi had stood not a moment ago. Her ebony hair billowed in the breeze that rushed through the alleyway, her eyes filled with the usual hatred. One of her eyes was still a vivid electric-blue, just as Emi's had been; the other was a burning crimson. The test subjects let out a gasp as they realized the truth: Emi had been Obsidian the whole time. "So that's her power," gasped Cobra.

"So, you're the ones who escaped from that test facility, huh?" asked Obsidian. "I saw the news reports. I was wondering when our paths would cross." Her hand strayed to the handle of one of her katanas, but she did not draw it from its sheath on her back. "Let me ask you three something," she said, her mismatched eyes focusing on the escapees. "Do you know why the sky is blue?"

Kiyoko and Hanako blinked, confused. Cobra, however, suddenly felt a searing pain in her temple. She put her hand against it, rubbing it gently. "R… Rayleigh scattering," she groaned, and the pain subsided as quickly as it had appeared. "The sky is… blue due to Rayleigh scattering. Why do you ask?"

Obsidian's hand dropped back to her side once again. "I don't know," she said. "It's one of the few things I remember from when Shinsuke tried to brainwash me: being asked that question, and not knowing the answer. Somehow, I felt that I should ask you, and that if you knew the answer, I could trust you."

"How strange," Kamui remarked. "Perhaps their attempted brainwashing still left some sort of imprint in your subconscious."

"Perhaps," said Obsidian. "But enough of that. I assume you are here to propose an alliance of some sort?"

"That's right," said Cobra. "We're going to unravel this mystery, and find out who we are, why we were given these powers, and what Shinsuke's plans are. Then we're going to stop them."

"We're also going to track down the test subjects, one by one," said Kamui. "If they are under Shinsuke's control, perhaps we can break that spell somehow."

For the first time, Obsidian showed the group a small smile. "Well, that certainly sounds like a plan to me," she said. "I have every intention of destroying Shinsuke for what they've taken from me."

"Your memories?" asked Kamui.

"Not just that," said Obsidian, the smile fading again. "My identity. They turned me into a damn number. I've gone too far now perhaps to return to my old life, but if I can at least know what they took from me, that will be enough."

"So will you join us?" asked Cobra. "Will you help us?"

Obsidian nodded. "I will help you to the best of my ability. However, I work better alone, and in any case, wherever I go, Shinsuke usually follow behind. You don't want to be too close to me for too long. So we'll go our separate ways for now. I'll be in touch." With that, Obsidian turned on her heel and began to walk off.

"Hey, wait!" Kamui called after her.

Obsidian stopped, but did not look back. "I know of one other test subject," she said. "Mizuki Sato, the famous actress. She would never talk to the likes of me, but I'm sure you would have more luck."

At the mention of the actress, Hanako's eyes lit up with childlike ecstasy. "No way!" she exclaimed. "The Mizuki Sato?!"

Kiyoko seemed rather taken aback by Hanako's sudden burst of excitement. "Who's Mizuki Sato?" she asked.

Hanako turned to Kiyoko, shocked. "You don't remember Mizuki Sato?!" she said. "She's only, like, the greatest idol and actress ever! She-"

While Hanako continued to rebuke Kiyoko, Kamui stepped forward to address Obsidian. "Thank you, Obsidian," he said. "We'll check it out."

At the mention of the name "Obsidian", the woman's eyes flashed dangerously, her electric-blue eye turning deep crimson to match the other. "And another thing," she said menacingly. "Don't call me Obsidian. That's not my name. It's what they call me."

"I'm sorry," said Kamui. "Then, what would you like us to call you?"

"Call me Rei¹."

"Okay then," said Kamui. "So long, Rei. It was nice meeting you."

"Until we meet again," said Rei. She carried on down the alleyway, an as she approached the end, her figure was enveloped in a white glow once more as she transformed back into Emi. In an instant she was gone, hidden amongst the throngs of people still going about their business.

"Well, that was interesting," said Cobra, as the group began to make their own way out of the alleyway.

"It certainly was," said Kamui. "So, should we go and pay Miss Sato a visit? The sooner the better, right?"

"Sounds good to me," said Cobra.

Hanako seemed overwhelmed with joy at the thought of meeting her idol. " OhmygoshIcan'tbelieveI'mactuallygonnameetmyidolMizukiSatoallmylifeI'vewantedtomeetherandfinallyI'mgonnagetthechancewellnotactuallyallmylifebecauseI'veonlyknownsheexistedforaboutthreeyearsorsobut-" Having finally run out of air, she took a deep breath in. "I'm so excited!" she proclaimed loudly.

"We gathered," said Cobra, completely deadpan.

Kamui pondered Rei's words for a moment. "Mizuki Sato, a test subject…" he mused. "Shinsuke must have known they'd be getting themselves into trouble by capturing someone that famous. Perhaps they didn't realize who it was until it was too late."

"I guess," said Kiyoko, before turning to Hanako, curious. "You still didn't really answer my question, though… who is Mizuki Sato?"

"She's, like, the greatest actress in the entire world, ever!" said Hanako. "I've seen all of her shows! Oh, and she also sings, too!"

"That's right," said Kamui, nodding. "She's a popular idol. She's done albums, TV shows, movies, all sorts of stuff. Now that I come to think about it, she went missing a couple of months ago. She turned up four days later at a police station, claiming she'd lost her memory and that there were strange men following her around." He smiled, then looked over at Cobra. "It certainly does fit the pattern, doesn't it?"

Cobra nodded. "That must have been when they kidnapped her," she said.

"I agree," said Kamui. "Of course, those strange men were just her fans, but she couldn't remember why she had fans in the first place. Apparently she's got her memory back now, though, and she's settled back into the celebrity lifestyle like she never left it."

"That's right!" said Hanako. "She remembers everything except for those four days she was missing! Hey, wait… if she got her memories back, then that means you two can get your memories back too, right?" she added, looking at Kiyoko and Cobra.

"I hope so…" said Kiyoko.

"Me too," said Cobra.

"But… if she's that famous, then wouldn’t it be hard to talk to her?" asked Kiyoko. "I mean, she'll probably have bodyguards and stuff…"

The expression on Kamui's face showed that he hadn't considered this at all. "That's an excellent point, Kiyoko," he said. "We'll have to bear that in mind."

Suddenly, Hanako came to a stop, holding her arm out to the side to signal the others to halt. Her other arm pointed up at the towering skyline above them. "Up there!" she said. "That's Mizuki Sato."

Kiyoko followed the direction of Hanako's finger. Far above them, on the side of a skyscraper, was a digital billboard depicting a woman with neat, shoulder-length emerald-green hair. Her teeth glistened an impossible shade of white as she held up a bottle of some sort of sugar-free beverage, speaking in a loud voice that was simultaneously barely audible over the din of the city.

"Kyurei Sugar-Free Cola!" the digital Mizuki proclaimed. "Superstar taste that won't ruin your superstar smile!" As if to emphasize this last point, Mizuki's perfect smile grew even wider as digital sparkles danced around her mouth. Hanako found the whole spectacle rather amusing.

"She seems nice," said Kiyoko.

"She is!" said Hanako. "So, shall we get going, then? Mizuki-tan is a very busy woman, and we wouldn't want to keep her waiting! Also, I know where her studio is! They did a video tour of it once!"

"Why am I not surprised," said Cobra, once again completely deadpan.

"Well, that's certainly convenient," said Kamui. "Alright, lead the way, Hanako, but don't rush ahead or we won't be able to follow you."

Hanako nodded, and continued on her way through the busy streets with the others in tow. Above their heads, the digital Mizuki continued to extol the virtues of Kyurei Sugar-Free Cola in a constant, almost hypnotic loop.

FOOTNOTES

¹ Obsidian's preferred name is written with the kanji for "zero", symbolizing that she is "nothing" without her memories and true identity