All Aboard The Freedom Ship

Where is everybody?!

Shannon! Ciel! It's a disaster!

Whoa, calm down. What are you talking about?

Where do I start...

I was playing with monsters as part of my taming routine.

What a beautiful day! Makes you glad to be alive, doesn't it?

Indeed it does! I'd have never imagined that one day we'd be able to live so peacefully.

It's like a dream come true. We have our adorable children and each other, and this beautiful house and garden.

I've never been happier. My heart is swelling with love for you, my dear!

I love you just as much, darling!

There they are!

You sure it's them?

Affirmative! That's PF–057 and MM–738, no doubt about it!

It's you... How did you find us?!

The recent time layer distortion did not escape our attention. We followed up on it and lo and behold! It led us to two wanted criminals!

Stay back! We're not going anywhere with you!

Darling...

Resistance is futile! Do as we say or we'll use force!

Oh no! What's going to happen to Mom and Dad?

I was careless... I should've known they'd detect the time layer distortion!

There's a warrant for your parents?

......

We're fugitives. The people who attacked Mom and Dad are hired trackers.

Whaaat? Are you serious, Sis?

I'm sorry, Ciel. You were not supposed to ever find out.

Unlike the rest of our family, you have nothing to do with this. You're innocent.

Only Ciel is?

We wanted Ciel to be free, unrestrained by a dark past. To be carefree and live a happy life. Please, understand this, Ciel. We kept certain things secret for your own good.

B-But...

Guys, stopping crime is my duty as a COA agent.

No, wait, Renri! I don't believe that Ciel's family committed any crimes!

Aldo, that's kind of you but...

...Let me finish. The crime that's being committed here is abduction.

Wait, what?!

There's no arrest warrant for this family to the best of COA's knowledge, and COA has the latest intelligence. Therefore, your parents were illegally taken against their will.

Glad you see it that way, Renri!

Thank you, both of you...

So um, we've got to rescue them! Let's go!

Refusing to talk won't get you anywhere!

Your children are on our list, too. We know there's five of them. So, where are they? Not going to tell us? Well, I hear pain makes people chatty.

Uwaaah!

Aaah!

Have you changed your mind yet about talking to me?

Urgh... Over my dead body!

What parents would betray their children!

Parents who don't want to be beaten into a pulp, I'd say.

Mom! Dad!

Release them, or you'll have us to deal with!

And who the heck are you!

I recognize one of them! The pink-haired girl is one of the daughters, DW-981!

I'm not just a number. My name is Shannon!

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Bold as brass and dressed in an outlandish outfit, just like her parents!

Aldo, look! Over there!

It's a wormhole! These guys are from another timeline?

Oh? You're familiar with spacetime gateways? You guessed correctly. We hail from another time. This gateway leads to our world.

Going by your calendar, our era is a thousand years ahead of this one!

A thousand years?!

Although to be more precise, our world exists on a different time axis. It's like another dimension.

That's our original homeworld. We came from an alternate future.

This family is guilty of a Class A crime in our world. They fled to this world and managed to escape justice for a while but we finally got them.

What crime are they being accused of, exactly? If you don't mind me asking.

How ludicrous! It should be obvious. You people from the past aren't very clever, are you?

They wear their hair long, do not follow the dress code nor the prescribed diet, and to top it off, engage in artistic pursuits! They're shameless, disgusting criminals.

How are those things crimes? They're personal freedoms anyone takes for granted!

Talking to you is of no use. Our culture and values are literally worlds apart.

Yes, trying to reason with them is entirely pointless. They just won't see things our way.

That seems to be the only point that we agree on. What will you do, then? If you're banking on your pathetic security system, let me inform you that we've disabled it.

How did you...

Hahaha! Hacking it wasn't a challenge to us, you fool. Your crude behind-the-times methods are useless against our cutting edge technology!

How is this possible! We're more technologically advanced... yet they defeated us?!

Deal with it. You're under arrest for breaking the laws of OUR world.

Thank you so much, everyone. You saved us!

Are you okay? It's horrible what they've done to you!

It's not as bad as it looks. Don't worry, Ciel.

I'm so relieved you're safe!

But...I'm really confused. We escaped from some other future world?

That's a lot to take in, and today's been so stressful.

Let's go back to the house. We'll explain everything from the start.

The future world we're originally from is like something from a nightmare. Thinking back on it makes me shiver. There's nothing but rules and restrictions, everyone's behavior is micromanaged, there's no freedom at all. People don't even have names. You're given a number, assigned a job, and that's your whole life.

Entertainment and any sort of cultural activities are forbidden. Music, painting, literature, anything. Remember the way they looked? Everyone has to look the same. Dress uniformly, have short hair.

Even children?

Everyone. It doesn't matter how old you are. Uniformity is all that matters in that world.

That's awful! You can't even dress pretty...

Pretty clothes just don't exist in that world. Everyone gets a dull uniform. I wore one too.

The world you're describing sounds so grim.

It is grim, Aldo. Many people die without ever experiencing art. Yet there were a defiant few who engaged in cultural activities in secret.

We met at one of those secret meetings, fell in love and got married.

Alas, the authorities found out about us, branded us criminals and put us on the wanted list. We managed to escape thanks to the help of a resistance group.

Now I understand. Whether you're criminals or not depends on the system of values one subscribes to...

We left our world behind with no regrets, and traveled to many other parallel worlds. Finally, we arrived here, in this timeline.

And we decided to make this our new home!

We couldn't believe our luck. This world was ideal for us.

It wasn't without some difficulties at first, but we worked together to overcome them.

After some time, when we acclimatized... Something which gave us another cause to celebrate happened!

What was it?

An event which marked the transition from us being outcasts to citizens of this world.

It was your birth, Ciel!

Oh. Ohhh!

To you, this world was your home. You were born with the right to express yourself freely and live however you liked. It meant so much to us all. I'll never forget that day. The beautiful blue sky... We felt as if the world itself welcomed you and gave you its blessing.

I kind of feel bad now. I had no idea that you'd all gone through so many hardships!

What should I do, Shannon? I want to do my bit for the family. Just tell me what.

Just be you, Ciel! For us, freedom was hard-won, but for you it's a gift you were born with! Live your life the way you want, and find what makes you happy.

Dress how you like, eat what you enjoy, spend time with people who make you smile.

What I want is to protect your freedom. Which is why I can't just let the trackers from our world go. I have to make sure they can't take away all that we've worked so hard for...

What are you planning to do with them?

......

What will you do with us?

Release us at once. Do that and we'll put in a good word for you so that the judges will treat you with mercy.

I feel sorry for you. You don't even realize what you're missing out on. How limited you are.

You never even had the chance to see what's missing in your lives!

Shut up, you filthy criminal! You will corrupt us with your devious reasoning!

Didn't think you'd be willing to listen to me. Well, that leaves me no choice...

Shannon, you're not thinking of...

Shannon! Violence is not the answer!

Ciel! Sing for them!

...Huh?

...A song?

You want me to sing?

"Sing"? Is that some type of torture?

This...is singing? It's making me feel strange! What's this tightness in my chest?

It's affecting me as well!

What's going on? Why am I crying?

Art speaks to the heart!

Ciel's singing is as powerful as magic.

It moves even hearts which seemed to have turned to stone.

Just like you, we shed tears when we first heard it.

I remember it as clearly as if it was yesterday!

What do you mean? Wh-who are you?

Heh heh! You see, we've gone through the same thing.

We're from the same future world as you guys. Like you, we came here to capture this family. In the end, we decided to stay. If we went back, we'd never get to hear Ciel's lovely singing again.

......

You have that choice now, too. You can stay here with us, and start a new life!

Did you like my song?

Err... It...it was very beautiful.

Teehee! Thanks! I can sing for you any time you like, just ask!

That is, if you decide to stay with us. There's plenty of room in the house, if you want to move in!

That...that would be great!

Phew, all's well that ends well! Ciel's singing is our secret weapon, haha!

Is that how you got all those other people to stay on the island?

Come to think of it, Shannon has had me sing for strangers before, out of the blue.

It's just my guess but... Is this whole island from your future world too?

Bull's-eye! Yes, and in fact it's not just an island but a spacetime traveling vessel.

Seriously?! So it's like the Riftbreaker?

Yes, basically.

Although it's seen better days, and its energy reserves are running low. It can still fly, but not travel between timelines and dimensions.

The secret underground room was the control room?

The engine room, to be precise.

The garden with its changing paths, which mystified me from the start, uses technology from the future...

One more question. Where are your sisters? Are they not in this timeline? COA has been unable to track down the whereabouts of any of them.

My younger sister is probably in our timeline, somewhere in this world. She sends me messages sometimes. The next two may be somewhere in the past, or maybe the future. As for the last one...

I have no idea! She's always been her own person, if you know what I mean.

I was hoping they'd be here. I really wanted to meet them!

I'm sorry for keeping all these secrets from you, Ciel.

Renri...

You now know our family's secret, which you've been trying to uncover since you arrived. Your job's done here. Will you report it to COA?

What would you do if I did?

It would be very inconvenient, to say the least. We'd have to leave everything behind and find somewhere else to settle down. Maybe Aldo could help us find a new home?

I could ask the Synth Hydra to take you to another era.

...... In the world you come from, you're wanted criminals.

But you have committed no crime here in this world. You're model citizens. I have an obligation to report illegal activity, which I found no hint of here.

Thank you!

However! I intend to keep this post and continue monitoring your family. For as long as I'm a COA agent, I'll see to it that no one else gets assigned here in my place.

That's brilliant, Renri! Going out of your way to keep anyone else from finding out our secrets.

If any pesky agents show up sniffing around, you'll kick them out from our island♪

I never said that! Don't put your own spin on it. All I promised you was that I wouldn't report anything as long as you keep within the boundaries of the law. But if you don't, I'll turn you in and report everything I know about you!

Starting recording... Report number zero six.

New residents have joined the subjects. I will be closely monitoring their interactions. The new arrivals have been given their own rooms in the mansion and appear friendly. Nothing out of the ordinary has taken place in recent days, and there are no signs of suspicious activity...

Whoa! You okay there?

There's nothing to fear!

Physical wounds heal on their own, but to heal a heart, you need love! I have so much love to give you...

Whyyy!

......

Wow, he flew a long way!

Guys! Let me show you my cool new trick♪

...I have not noticed anything of concern. End of report.

What is all the fuss about?

Isn't it almost lunch time? Why are you still horsing around?