Take Me to the Future!

*wailing*

Sounds like there's a tyke crying over there.

Should we go and check what's up?

A beast kid all on his own...

Howdy kiddy, what's the matter?

I've lost my mom! I'm all alone. *snivel*

Myrus, how about we help out?

That's the only option! Abandoning him here would be like adding him to the local monster cafe's menu. They'd have him on toast in no time.

How did you get split up?

She was...my mom was...right with me, and then...a big blue hole appeared, and ate her! Then the hole disappeared too. *snivel*

Woah! Sounds like that might have been another spacetime rift! If it was, then...there's not much we can do. She could be anywhere and anywhen.

There's gotta be a way. What if we use one of those miraculous modern gizmo things?

I ran a scan to establish the space-time riftability of this zone. The results support Aldo's hypothesis.

Woo-hoo, thank the elementals for the ever-dependable Riica! So, can you work out where his mom is?

If a rift formed in this area, particles from the opposite side would been transferred locally upon formation.

You can scan for them, right? Over to you, Riica.

Verified: a 0.000002% shift in the local atmospheric composition compared to the expected value.

Detected: a microscopic portion of superalloy used specially in the construction of the Elzion Plate.

Does that mean his mom has been teleported off to the future?

That's the only possibility, surely! Thanks Riica, never doubted you for a second!

I'm Riica, an all-purpose android, type 2-03♪ There are no files relevant to "the impossible" in my directory♪

We're gonna try and find your mom, hang tight, okay?

Oh... Okay!

Let's get after that spacetime rift. Next stop: Elzion.

This place blows my mind. It's just crazy that all our wood and brick buildings all end up getting replaced by this floating metally place.

Seeing your reaction takes me back to that first day... Meeting people made from metal, riding in a flying horseless carriage, listening to a song on a sound orb...

Sure, all of that's great, but the best thing is being so near the clouds!

Oh, are you a cloud-gazing sort of person then?

Not just me. All of the beasts love gazing upon the sky. Looking at the clouds is what inspires us to dream! So living among the clouds is kind of like... living among dreams!

Do beasts actually live in Elzion then, alongside humans? Or are we all still on Snake Bone Island?

They're living in the East in a place called Angal.

The East...?! Have you met them, Aldo?!

Ugh, I'm dying to meet them too! There's a bunch of things I wanna hear about, like stories about the Future and the East!

Actually... I haven't seen any beasts in this era yet, I don't think.

Wonder if my ancestors still make a mean bowl of dorugeraboura.

For now though, we oughta focus on tracking down the kid's mom.

A beast in this town would have caught people's eye. Let's do some asking around.

A beast woman? Sounds like you guys have been watching too many historical dramas. I know TV is super immersive these days, what with the sensory interfaces, but you've gotta remember it's not really real.

Or maybe you say someone dressed up at a cosplay convention? I hate to break it to ya, but those horns would have been plastic.

A cornsplay conversion? What's that, Aldo?

Sounds kind of dangerous. I think we'd best stay away if we ever see one.

There was someone cosplaying around here the other day actually. I wonder what possessed them? Eh, guess there's an audience for that kind of thing.

An audience for cornsplay conversions?

I'm not really with ya, sorry.

(Now we know the boy's mother came to this era at least.)

Oh!

Oh sweet Sylph, oh Salamander above, oh mother of Gnome...

What is it?

They're magnificent! Truly. The shape of them, their swirl, texture... That crimson coloring, the positioning, oh heavens the angle of those...

Where did you purchase those horns? I simply MUST get some for my own purposes!

This guy is a little... Aldo, should we?

This was...unfortunate.

I'm tellin' ya, even my buddy the full-on beast fanatic would approve of these.

Beast fanatic? Would you tell us more about him?

Forget about that guy. He's not getting a hold of those horns before I do.

Him... And me too! Come on, let's celebrate this fated encounter with a quick selfie, eh?

I don't like the look in his eyes! Aldo, let's get out of here!

It's weirding me out too! Run, Myrus. Run!

No! Please, wait! At least let an old man get your name!

A beast? Nope, sorry. I haven't seen any around here.

I see. Thanks for your time anyway.

Besides, I didn't think there were any beasts in Elzion anyway?

Right...people of this continent doesn't know about what happened to the beastfolks.

I guess people in this time don't really know what happened to the beast after all either.

That's right. You're the first real-life beast I've seen. Before that I'd only seen them in encyclopedias at...

Wha, wait a second! You're a beast?! WHAT IS HAPPENING!

Yep! I'm a beast, through and through. You can have my autograph if you'd like♪

Whoa! Myrus, hang on. You're only going to make things more complicated!

Oh, you're right! Haha, got you! I'm actually just cosplaying.

AHHH, Oh, wait, really? Haha, of course you're not a real beast. If you were I doubt you'd just be wandering around town.

I didn't realize just how rare beasts had become in the future.

Although, I bet that weird old guy would love to hear about this.

Weird old guy? Not again...

Yeah, I heard that he's really interested in beasts. Apparently he used to be a famous archeologist, but fell into hard times recently and hasn't been the same.

I see, thanks for your help.

At least we can be sure that she was sent to this time period, huh?

But we've got no idea where she is. Aldo, what are we gonna do?

You two, fine people. I suppose it is you two that have been in search of a beast, hm?

Umm... Yeah, I guess that's us. Do you know something about it?

Know something? Boy, I'm the leading researcher in the field of beast studies. There's not a thing I don't know about beasts!

Oh, so you're the weird old guy who's really interested in beasts, then!

Old I may be. But not weird, I prefer the term, "involved." I have the beast you are looking for under my protection.

Really?! So she's okay?

Mm-hm. I was just minding my business, when all of a sudden there was a blue flash and she appeared out of nowhere. I knew things would get complicated if EGPD were to find her. That's why I've kept her hidden in my humble lab until now.

Hear that, Aldo? She's safe! Would you let us meet with her, please? You see, we trying to get her back to her children.

Very well. But before that, might you indulge me in one small matter?

Wha, what's this light!

Very good. It seems you too are really a beast yourself. In which case, I have something I'd appreciate your help with.

Like what?

All I need is your assistance with some of my research, that's all. Afterwards, I'll let you meet with the other beast. You have my word.

You will?! Okay! I'm not much of a book person, but I'll do whatever I can to help!

Excellent. It shouldn't be too strenuous. My lab is in Xeno-Domain's Industrial Sector. I will be awaiting your arrival there.

Xeno-Domain, huh? Sure is a long way out for a research lab.

Xeno-Domain? That was the place that's way higher up than here, wasn't it? A place above the sky, huh... I can't wait!

Ah, finally. You're here.

So what do you need my help with?

Oh, I know! You want to know the secret behind my beauty, right? That's easy! It's all about love!

Such liveliness. Anyway, beast girl. Where exactly did you and your other beast friend come from? You see, both of you should have been extinct long ago. It's causing me great concern trying the work this out.

What! We're extinct?!

Well, that is merely one theory, but your being here seems to prove otherwise, does it not? Did you manage to survive the ruthless environment below through advanced evolution? Or perhaps, have the beasts found a habitable island somewhere?

I must find out the truth. That is why I will need you as my permanent research material!

What's wrong with you?! You can't use Myrus as your test subject! And now I think about it, where've you got the other beast?

Heh. Oh that? If you want to meet it so badly then allow me to introduce you.

I may have caused it to lose its sanity after over stimulating its battle instincts, however. Heheheh.

Wh-Why would you do something so mean?! How could you?

A beast is nothing more than an animal after all. They'll never be on par with humans, nor our technology. Although, I run into a problem. The only data I can extract from this thing is how it fights. But I need more than that. That's why I need you. It'll be a pleasure extracting all the data I want from you! Mwhahaha!

Cu...

Cut it out already! You think you can beat beasts so easily with your fancy technology?

I'll show you just how scary beasts can be when we're angry!

My...my head.

Impossible! I had programmed her feeble mind to remain in combat form, no matter what!

We'll be taking her back now!

N-No! You can't. I won't let you! I must restore my reputation. This is the only way!

The data I pull from you things is going to help me do that! Don't leave an old man with nothing!

......

So you think making us go insane and insulting our proud people is a good way to go about that?

If you really want my data so badly, why don't I give you a few scratches you can examine for later!

Ohwowowowo! Please don't kill me!

Heeeeeelp meeeeeeeee!

Tsk! Seems like it doesn't matter how much society advances, there'll always be good for nothing people like that!

Well at least he got a valuable life experience out of this. That's kinda like data, right? I told him beasts can be scary when we're angry♪

Phew. Well, I'm glad that's over. I don't think she's hurt either.

Yeah, let's get her back to her children straightaway!

Right. To the Serena Coast!

Mama, you're back!

Ohhh, I'm so glad to see you again!

Oh Myrus! I can never thank you enough! I'll be forever in your debt!

Haha, don't sweat it! It must have been really tough for you.

Like a waking nightmare! Day in and day out. I'm not as young as I used to be and don't have the energy to fight anymore. That's why I got caught.

Just what was that place anyway? Everything was so strange.

Well, yeah. It was the fut...

Myrus! Shhh! I told you, you can't just go around telling people about travelling through time!

Oh, what? Really? Oh yeah, sorry! It was... Umm...

It was a dream! That's right, a dream. You were possessed by a monster that makes you have nightmares! Hah there!

Ur, yeah. Exactly! We got rid of it though, so you're all fine now!

A monster you say. How frightening! Thank you so much for getting rid of it for me. But you know, it's strange. Ever since you rescued me, I've felt so much more nimble and energetic.

I almost feel young again. Isn't that strange?

Aha ha ha... Well, it wasn't all bad then, was it?

(Did that weird old guy do something to her to force her into combat mode?) (Well, she seems happy enough. Probably best to just keep quiet, I guess.)

Myrus, thanks for saving mama! And you, mister human!

What, me?

I gotta admit it, you're a good human! And...and you have cool hair too!

Haha, thanks.

So what do you think, huh? Beasts are pretty tough, right!

Yes. I'm impressed with how strong Myrus and other beastfolks are.

Oh yeah. I never doubted it. And I bet way in the future they're still out there somewhere, living happily.

And so are the beastfolks living in Angal! I hope, one day, I can meet our friends from the Future!

I think so too! I hope, one day, I can meet our friends from the future!