That first name was unfamiliar to me, but the surname and kingdom name were both bloody fucking familiar.
Dreadfully so.
O-Oh God.
She continued speaking.
"Today, I was off duty and doing some patrols when I happened to witness you saving that child earlier."
Wait, she saw all of that?
I thought I was moving way too fast as XLR8 for anyone to notice.
Seriously, that déjà vu feeling was starting to hit me like a truck again.
Still, I had to keep my cool.
"O-Oh, you did?" I scratched my cheek awkwardly while hating how off-kilter I sounded.
"Indeed, and for that, I simply wished to offer you my gratitude for your actions." The redheaded beauty smiled wider, and damn, it was a really good smile. My heart nearly jumped right out of my chest.
What?
I'd never had a girlfriend before, and redheads were my type.
Sue me.
"Ah, well, there's really no need for that." I chuckled. "I just did what anyone in my position would've done." I shrugged. "Besides, it's not like I was the only one there. I just happened to be faster, so anyone could've done what I did."
For some reason, that only made her smile even more.
"Even so, it was a deed worthy of gratitude, and so I felt compelled to seek you out." Adelheid gently clasped her hands behind her back. "Though I must admit, it also piqued my curiosity to see someone move as fast as you did throughout the kingdom. Alongside that, there are naturally questions regarding why someone possessing such speed was blazing through the capital in the first place."
I internally facepalmed and cursed myself for getting carried away with XLR8's speed.
Great.
Now I was attracting the exact sort of sketchy attention every isekai protagonist inevitably stumbled into after randomly appearing in another world.
"But since I'm off duty today, those questions are far from my mind." Adelheid, the absolute angel that she was, giggled softly as I released the heaviest sigh of relief known to mankind. "Now then, you appeared to have been accosted by criminals, and for my late arrival, I once more offer my apologies."
"No, it's fine. I was able to handle myself." I smiled.
"I can see that. There is nary a wound upon you, nor any sign of injury upon the three ruffians behind you either." She glanced toward the unconscious thugs sprawled across the alleyway. "You must certainly be quite skilled."
"Nope." I shook my head while feeling the weight of the Omnitrix on my wrist. "Just dumb luck."
Still, as nice as it was to apparently be off the hook, or maybe I was never on the hook to begin with considering Adelheid genuinely seemed like a decent woman, I still needed answers.
And I was pretty sure Adelheid could provide them.
"Say, I'm sort of new to Lugunica as a foreigner, and I was wondering if you could help clarify a few things for me." I raised a finger.
"Of course. Ask away, erh…" Adelheid trailed off while raising an inquisitive eyebrow in my direction.
"Ah, now it's my turn to apologize." I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. "The name's Michael Abbot. Pleasure to meet you, Adelheid."
"And it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well, Michael." She returned my handshake, albeit with significantly more strength than I'd expected. Though honestly, that made sense considering she was a knight and all. "Now then, your questions?"
"Ah, right. So…"
Based on all the evidence currently presented before me and the tiny inkling of suspicion growing stronger after meeting Adelheid, I only needed one final piece to confirm exactly where the hell I was.
Because if I was right, then I was probably about to have a full-blown mental breakdown.
"MOVEITMOVEITMOVEITOUTTATHEWAYBROANDSIS!"
A voice bellowed through the alleyway, nearly drowned out by the powerful gale accompanying it as something, or someone, barreled directly through the path where Adelheid and I stood.
The figure moved way too fast for my eyes to properly track or identify.
"T-That was…" I blinked in shock.
"A child?" Adelheid muttered.
"Not so fast! Give back my insignia, you thief!"
Another voice echoed through the alleyway, and the moment I turned around to see who it belonged to, I immediately froze and stared.
THWACK!
"Hmmmrgh!"
A basketball-sized chunk of ice violently smashed directly into my face after soaring through the freaking air like a missile.
"Michael!?"
"O-Oh my goodness! I'm so sor-!"
I heard both Adelheid's worried cry and the panicked voice of the newcomer growing increasingly distant as consciousness rapidly escaped me.
The last coherent thought running through my mind before unconsciousness claimed me, alongside the final sight of an ashamed white-haired woman looking down at me while Adelheid and some floating cat hovered nearby, was a desperate prayer directed toward God, fate, or even the fucking ROB that had sent me here in the first place.
P-Please…
For the love of everything holy and sacred…
Tell me that Natsuki Subaru got transported here too…
Because if not…
Then I'm starting to realize it probably wasn't a mistake that I ended up here with the Omnitrix.
AN: Now this might be a bizarre idea, but I had fun writing it. Now the world of Re:Zero is actually more in-depth than I would have figured when I started reading the LN, and I know that things aren't done storywise since we're now only getting into Arc 10 when the story's ending may have to be pushed back all the way to Arc 15. Thus, a disclaimer, expect there to be minor to major deviances to canon since the LN is still in progress by the time I start this. A key factor to these deviances are of course due to the SI replacing Subaru as the Re:Zero world's chewtoy.
I do this because Subaru doesn't deserve what his canon counterpart goes through and because I love to put the SIs I write into harrowing situations because I enjoy writing characters who are out of their depth.
Anyways, I hoped that you guys enjoyed the chapter. I'm Out so Peace Out!
Fuuuuuck…
There I was, the complete fucking idiot and unfortunate sap that I was, sitting on the steps of some random-ass alleyway while clutching my head. My head currently felt like it was about to burst open like a watermelon, and the main reason why stood before me while profusely bowing her head in apology.
"P-Please forgive me! You two weren't my intended targets. I was after a thief and intended to target th-!"
Said reason being some random white-haired woman with pointed ears, purple eyes, and a white dres-okay, this was Emilia, the heroine of Re: Zero. Getting brained by a huge ball of ice may have contributed to my migraine, but her presence…
Dammit…!
No matter how much acknowledging my current situation aggravated my pounding headache, denying it would only make me look insane.
I was essentially in Isekai Dark Souls right now, the world where the usual isekai protagonist suffered countless excruciating deaths just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Which was every situation Natsuki Subaru somehow found himself in.
The signs should've been obvious, but could you really blame me? How the hell was I supposed to distinguish this place from any other fantasy realm until its heroine showed up and launched an ice missile directly at my face?
"Fret not, Lady Emilia. I understand your haste and hold no grudges, but I believe your apology should best be directed toward the poor soul beside me."
Spoke Adelheid, who had also been assailed by the ice chunks but came out of it completely unscathed. Then again, that was exactly what I'd expect from the woman who was apparently Reinhard FUCKING van Astrea!
I still had no fucking clue why Reinhard was a chick, but as a certified ginger lover, I had absolutely zero complaints whatsoever. Still, things had started clicking together the moment I met her, but now…?
"There, there…"
Soothing rubs along my back and the warm fur of someone beside me tried to settle my nerves.
"My lovely daughter's magic may be powerful, but so is her healing, so I'm curious as to why you're still in so much pain."
And while I appreciated the gesture, it definitely helped that the one comforting me was an oversized furball who had been dubbed throughout the anime, manga, light novel, and web novel as the Beast of the End himself, Puck. The normally tiny guy had grown to my size just to help calm me down and had been giving me nonstop back rubs ever since I woke up from Emilia's healing.
Ugh…
"Sir Michael, are you truly still unwell?" Adelheid asked while looking at me with a slight frown.
Taking a deep breath, I forced myself out of my funk and nodded.
"Y-Yeah, I just…needed to catch my breath, is all."
"Hah, there ya go~! All you needed was a lovely back rub from yours truly~!" the overgrown cat spirit chuckled before immediately shrinking back down to normal size and floating over toward the Half-Elf's side.
"Again, sir, I really must apologize fo-!"
And there went said Half-Elf deeply bowing her head for yet another drawn-out apology.
Ugh!
I held out a hand to stop her and shook my head.
"Look, I'm fine now. You beaned me, then you healed me, so you corrected your fuck up and now I'm back on my feet." Well, not literally since I still needed to sit down and gather my bearings. I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed. "I wouldn't say we're one hundred percent squared away, but I'll forgive you for nearly taking my head off."
"Y-You will?" Emilia blinked before straightening up, both hands clasped anxiously in front of her chest. The relief that crossed her face was almost unfairly sincere. "Thank you. Truly, thank you very much. I know an apology alone cannot undo what happened, but I'm reaaaally glad you're willing to forgive me."
"See? I told you things would be fine in the end, Lia." Puck waved a tiny paw as if the whole situation had been nothing more than a mild inconvenience. "Besides, this guy looked like he had a pretty thick head. A little ice to the face wasn't going to keep him down forever."
My eye twitched.
Thick head?
This fluffy little war crime in the making really just called me thick-headed after his daughter knocked me unconscious with a flying chunk of frozen water.
Also, little ice?
That thing had been the size of a basketball and carried the force of an angry pitcher with a grudge. I was pretty sure I saw God, my ancestors, and the customer service desk at El Super all in the same blink before I hit the ground.
Still, I forced myself not to say any of that out loud.
Not because I was above it, mind you. I absolutely wasn't. But because I was currently surrounded by two walking nuclear deterrents and a woman who was either Reinhard's female counterpart, alternate universe sister, or some other freak of nature blessed by the world itself.
So, for once in my life, I chose wisdom.
Barely.
"Yeah, yeah…" I grumbled, rubbing the spot where my skull still felt tender. "Glad my thick head could be of service."
Puck's ears perked up, and the little bastard gave me the smuggest cat smile imaginable.
"I knew you'd understand."
I did not understand.
I understood violence.
But once again, wisdom.
Beside me, Adelheid brought a gloved hand to her lips and softly laughed. It was a gentle sound, warm and light enough that it briefly distracted me from the migraine currently trying to claim squatter's rights inside my skull.
Damn.
Even her laugh was nice.
That was unfair.
"I am relieved as well," Adelheid said, her smile softening as she looked at me. "For a moment, I feared the blow had done far greater harm than Lady Emilia's healing could mend. It is good to see you awake and able to speak again."
"Barely," I muttered.
"Barely is still better than not at all," Puck chimed in.
I slowly turned my head toward him.
This cat was testing me.
Emilia must have noticed because she gave Puck a small frown. "Puck, please don't tease him too much. He only just woke up."
"Sorry, sorry~." Puck floated lazily onto his back with his paws tucked behind his head. "I'll behave. Probably."
Probably?
Yeah, definitely a cat.
I exhaled slowly, trying to shove aside my irritation and focus on the more important part of this whole mess. Because while getting my face caved in by Emilia had been painful and humiliating, it had also confirmed a few things for me. This was Re: Zero. Emilia was here. Puck was here. Felt had probably just sprinted by with the insignia. And Adelheid…
My gaze shifted toward the redheaded knight.
Adelheid van Astrea.
That name was still ringing all sorts of alarm bells in my head.
But if I wanted answers, then I couldn't just sit here like a concussed idiot and wait for the plot to roll over me. I needed to play this carefully. I needed information. Names. Context. Confirmation. Preferably without revealing that I knew way too much about people I had never officially met before.
So I did the smart thing.
I pretended to be ignorant.
Mostly.
"Actually," I began, letting my hand fall from the back of my head, "now that my brain isn't actively trying to leak out of my ears, I should probably ask something."
Adelheid's attention returned to me immediately. "Of course. What troubles you?"
"You called her Lady Emilia earlier." I tilted my head slightly in Emilia's direction. "So, I'm guessing you two know each other?"
The alleyway grew strangely quiet.
Not silent exactly. I could still hear the distant clatter of carriages, the muffled hum of the capital beyond the alley, and some poor idiot groaning in his sleep behind me after Pesky Dust put him under. But between the four of us, the air shifted.
Emilia's eyes widened slightly, and she glanced toward Adelheid with a look I couldn't fully read. Uncertainty? Worry? Maybe even caution?
Adelheid looked back at her.
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
There was an entire conversation happening between their eyes, and I was not invited.
Which was very rude, in my opinion.
Puck, floating at Emilia's side, stopped lounging and righted himself in the air. His usual carefree expression didn't disappear completely, but something sharper settled behind his eyes as he looked between Adelheid, Emilia, and me.
Okay.
That was not ominous at all.
Then Adelheid's hand drifted toward the hilt of her sword.
I noticed.
Of course I noticed.
The thing felt like it had its own gravitational field. Even when she wasn't drawing it, even when she barely moved her fingers near the hilt, my brain immediately screamed that the sword was a problem. A very large, very ancient, very I-could-die-before-realizing-I-was-dead type of problem.
My shoulders stiffened despite myself.
Uh.
Did I ask the wrong question?
Because I was pretty sure I asked the most normal question in the world.
The awkward eye conversation continued for another few seconds before something seemed to click behind Adelheid's gaze. Her fingers eased away from the sword. She let out a quiet breath, then looked back toward Emilia with a slight smile and a small nod.
Emilia still looked unsure, but after a moment, she nodded back.
Puck gave a sheepish little shrug, though his eyes lingered on me a bit longer than before.
Meanwhile, I sat there watching all of this with absolutely no clue what the fuck was happening.
Were they really debating whether to tell me her name?
Or…was it to tell me…
…whether my hoodie was tacky?
Because honestly, both options felt possible right now.
Adelheid finally turned back to me. "Yes, I am acquainted with Lady Emilia. We met some months ago under particular circumstances."
Particular circumstances?
That was certainly one way to phrase finding one of the royal candidates of Lugunica. Assuming that was still the situation here. With Adelheid existing, I was no longer trusting canon with both hands on the wheel.
"This is Lady Emilia," Adelheid continued, her tone calm and polite. "A kind young woman whom I have had the privilege of speaking with on several occasions. And the spirit beside her is Puck, her contracted companion."
Emilia seemed to relax at the introduction, though a faint nervousness still clung to her shoulders.
"Y-Yes. My name is Emilia." She placed a hand over her chest and offered me a small, earnest smile. "It's nice to meet you, Michael. Though I really wish our first meeting had been under better circumstances."
"Likewise," I said, giving her a tired nod. "The name's Michael Abbot. Professional victim of wrong place, wrong time syndrome, apparently."
Puck giggled. "That sounds like a pretty unlucky profession."
"You have no idea."
Actually, he probably did. He was standing beside Emilia, which meant bad luck was basically the weather forecast.
Trying not to think too hard about that, I pushed myself a little straighter on the steps and extended my hand toward Emilia.
"Well, near-death experience aside, nice to meet you properly."
Emilia froze.
She stared at my hand like I had offered her a live grenade.
I blinked. "What?"
Her eyes flicked from my hand to my face, then back again. "You're…offering your hand?"
"Yeah?" I raised an eyebrow. "It's customary where I'm from. You know, handshake. Greeting someone properly. Unless that's not a thing here, in which case, this is about to get really awkward."
"No, it's not that." Emilia hesitated, her voice softer now. "I just didn't expect you to be so…forthcoming. Especially after I hurt you."
There was something under those words.
Something familiar from what I knew of her story. The way people looked at her. The way they judged before speaking. The way being a Half-Elf meant carrying someone else's sins before she even got the chance to open her mouth.
My expression sobered a little despite myself.
"Look, you apologized, healed me, and clearly didn't mean to hit me. I'm not saying I'm thrilled about getting knocked out, but I'm not going to treat you like a monster over an accident."
Emilia's lips parted slightly.
For a moment, she looked genuinely stunned.
Then, slowly, carefully, she reached out and took my hand.
Her grip was light at first, almost uncertain, but when I gave her hand a small shake, she followed along. It was clumsy. A little awkward. Honestly kind of adorable.
"Then…thank you," she said quietly. "It's nice to meet you too, Michael."
Puck watched the exchange with open approval before floating closer with both tiny paws extended.
"Well, if Lia gets one, then I want one too!" he declared happily. "I'm Puck, Lia's adorable and dependable partner. Great to meet you, thick-head Michael."
My smile twitched.
"Just Michael is fine."
"Got it, Thick-Head Michael."
I stared at him, unimpressed.
While he shamelessly smiled back.
I sighed and held out one finger, which he grabbed with both tiny paws and shook with great enthusiasm.
Yeah, I can already see that this furball's going to be a pain to deal with.
But now that the ice had been broken between us, I finally needed to confirm something so I could get a clear idea of how fucked I was at the moment.
"Say, Emilia, I know it's a random question…" I poked my head past Puck to look the Half-Elf in the eye. "Before coming here, you wouldn't have happened to come across anyone who looked off, have you?"
Emilia tilted her head in an admittedly cute fashion. "Odd?"
"Yeah, you know, someone wearing-." I stopped myself, realizing that "tracksuits" wouldn't even be a thing in this world. "Odd clothes," I finished before continuing, "has black hair, a pair of mean-looking eyes, and acts weird?"
…
…
…
Huh?
Why was she…no, why was everyone looking at me like that?
"Erm…you?" Emilia pointed at me.
"…" Okay, I walked right into that one. W-Wait, mean-looking eyes? I don't even ha-nevermind. "Ahem, no, well…er…" I facepalmed and shook my head, ignoring the peal of laughter coming from the floating spirit who had decided to perch himself on my shoulder.
"I mean before you ran into me," I sighed.
"Mm, no. I'm afraid not. Why is that?"
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
"Whoa!" Puck immediately hopped off my shoulder while I did my best to keep my composure.
"N-Nothing. No reason whatsoever…" I squeaked out before rubbing my palm down my face.
That pretty much confirmed my death sentence. In place of Subaru, I was the recipient of the RBD curse unless he somehow spawned into this world someplace else. I didn't even want to employ the obvious method of exclaiming "RBD" just to test it since fuck having my heart nearly crushed by a crazed yandere bitch-witch.
Plus, even if the possibility of him spawning elsewhere were true, him being here would pretty much prevent the world from going to shit. If he weren't here, then Emilia, Felt, and Rom would die today. Crusch and her whole camp would die to the White Whale. Roswaal's lands would be besieged and slaughtered by the Witch Cult's Sloth Sect. Then there'd be a whole lot of chaos from so many major characters being dead at that point.
For all the shit Subaru got for his Main Character Syndrome during the first arcs of the story, his actions actually contributed a lot to the prosperity of the freaking world.
And now I was here with one of the most broken gadgets in fiction in one of the worst isekai worlds to live in.
I stared down at the ground while my brain slowly folded in on itself like a lawn chair under a fat guy.
Okay.
Okay, okay, okay.
No Subaru.
At least, no Subaru that Emilia had seen.
Which meant there was a very real chance that the universe, fate, Satella, some bored ROB, or whatever cosmic bastard had decided to throw me into this world had put me here as the replacement. Not a backup. Not a side character. Not some extra dude who got dropped into the capital with a cool watch and the freedom to fuck off into the sunset.
No.
I might have actually been the poor asshole expected to keep this whole deranged fantasy death spiral from imploding.
Me.
Michael Abbot.
A man whose greatest recent accomplishment before getting isekai'd was surviving overtime at an Amazon Fulfillment Center without screaming into a box cutter.
The thought made my stomach twist.
Because if Subaru wasn't here, then Return by Death might be mine.
Might.
There was no proof. No hard confirmation. No creepy witch-hand squeezing my heart into human soup, and I was absolutely not about to test it. I had no desire to suddenly blurt out, "Hey, I can come back after dying," just to discover whether or not a jealous shadow witch could bypass the Omnitrix and turn my heart into stress putty.
No thanks.
I was curious, not suicidal.
Yet the possibility kept scratching at the back of my skull.
Return by Death.
A power that only sounded amazing to people who never thought about the fine print. Infinite retries? Great. Except every retry meant dying, and dying in this world was not some quick little fade-to-black videogame respawn. Subaru had been gutted, frozen, cursed, mauled, crushed, and mentally broken so many times that I was honestly surprised the dude still remembered how to function as a person.
And if that was supposed to be my future?
Fuck.
Fuck that.
Hard pass.
The Omnitrix was heavy on my wrist. Heavy in a way it hadn't felt before. Not physically, since the thing wasn't dragging my arm down or anything, but mentally. Before, I had been treating it like my golden ticket. A busted cheat item that could let me survive, escape, and maybe even find a way back home. But now?
Now it felt like a loaded gun taped to my arm while fate politely asked me to walk into a minefield.
"Lady Emilia," Adelheid's voice cut through the edge of my spiraling thoughts, smooth and careful. "If I may, perhaps we should return our attention to the matter that brought you through this alley in such haste."
Emilia blinked as if she had been pulled from her own thoughts, then quickly straightened. "Ah, right!"
Puck's little ears twitched, and he drifted closer to her shoulder. "The thief, huh?"
The thief? Right, Felt.
Small blonde brat. Red eyes. Fast enough to blow through an alley like a human-shaped gust of bad decisions. Currently holding the key that kicked off the whole nightmare.
Or rather, holding the royal insignia.
Not that anyone here was saying that part out loud.
Adelheid lowered her head slightly toward Emilia. "I must offer my apologies as well. The thief passed directly by Sir Michael and me moments before you arrived, yet I failed to stop her."
"There's no need to apologize," Emilia said quickly, shaking her head. "You didn't know what was happening, and she was moving reaaaally fast. I was the one chasing her, so it's my responsibility."
"Even so," Adelheid replied, "as a knight of Lugunica, allowing a thief to pass so close without interception is not something I can overlook lightly."
A knight of Lugunica.
That title carried weight. Even I could hear it.
It wasn't just pride, either. Adelheid sounded genuinely bothered by it, like the failure had hooked itself under her skin. Which made sense if she really was genderbent Reinhard. People like that didn't just help because they wanted to. They helped because the universe practically branded responsibility into their bones.
Emilia's expression softened. "Please don't blame yourself. You've already done more than enough by helping him."
She glanced toward me when she said that.
I pretended not to notice.
Mostly because I was still busy trying to decide whether my life had become a tragic horror series wearing fantasy clothing.
"Well," Puck said, floating lazily beside Emilia, "apologies are nice and all, but they don't get us any closer to finding our little thief."
"You're right," Emilia said, her face becoming more focused. "Sir Adelheid, did you happen to see what the thief looked like?"
"I did," Adelheid, someone who no doubt had a Divine Protection to their conundrum, answered without hesitation.
That caught Emilia's attention immediately. "You did?"
"Indeed. She was a young girl, likely in her early teens. Blonde hair, red eyes, small stature, and quick on her feet. Exceptionally so."
Puck hummed, tapping his chin with one tiny paw. "Blonde hair and red eyes. That narrows things down a bit."
"Do you think she lives in the capital?" Emilia asked.
"It's possible." Puck floated upside down for a moment, clearly thinking. "A girl that young, moving through alleys that confidently? She probably knows the city pretty well. Maybe she's from around here or at least spends enough time here to know which routes to take."
"That makes sense," Emilia murmured. "She also seemed used to running from people."
Puck gave her a flat look. "Lia, she stole from you. She's a thief."
"Right…" Emilia looked embarrassed for a second. "That would make sense too."
Adelheid brought a hand to her chin, her eyes narrowing slightly in thought. "Given the direction she fled, she may be attempting to leave the busier districts behind. A stolen item would be difficult to sell openly, especially if its owner is actively searching for it."
The way she said "item" was careful.
Very careful.
Nobody said insignia. Nobody mentioned the royal selection. Nobody mentioned Emilia's candidacy, the throne, or the fact that the little badge Felt had stolen was politically explosive enough to make everyone in this alley very dead if the wrong people found out.
I almost laughed.
Not because it was funny, but because the secrecy felt painfully obvious from my side of the fourth wall. They were all politely walking around the truth like two tap dancing elephants trying not to step on some ants.
"Then she may try to find someone who can appraise it," Puck said. "Or someone willing to buy things without asking too many questions."
"A stolen goods dealer?" Emilia asked.
"Something like that."
Adelheid nodded. "The lower districts may be the most likely destination. There are places in the capital where such trades occur, especially among those who prefer to avoid the eyes of knights and guards."
"The lower districts…" Emilia repeated, determination building in her voice.
And there it was.
The road to the loot house.
The path to Elsa Granhiert.
The Bowel Hunter.
My fingers curled slightly against my knee.
Of all the first bosses in a story, Re: Zero really decided to start with a freaky assassin who got off on slicing people open and playing jump rope with their intestines. She wasn't the strongest monster in this world. Not even close. But she was more than enough to slaughter everyone here if things went poorly.
Well.
Almost everyone here.
My gaze flicked briefly toward Adelheid.
Actually, if she was anything like Reinhard, then Elsa was about to have a very bad night if Adelheid made it to the loot house. But that raised a different problem. Reinhard hadn't been part of the first loop until later, and when he finally showed up, he basically ended the encounter. If Adelheid was here now, maybe things were already different.
Or maybe her existence didn't guarantee shit.
Because this world loved nothing more than punishing confidence.
I could leave.
The thought came suddenly and clearly.
I could get up, say good luck, and walk away.
Technically, I didn't owe these people anything. Emilia had accidentally knocked me out. Puck had called me thick-headed. Adelheid was nice, sure, but I barely knew her. Felt was a thief, Rom was a stranger, and Elsa was the kind of problem normal people spent their entire lives avoiding for very good reasons.
I didn't have to follow Subaru's path.
That was the thing.
I didn't have to be him.
I didn't have to bleed the way he bled. I didn't have to crawl through every nightmare, die in every brutal way, or sacrifice my sanity for people I'd just met. I had the Omnitrix. I had options. I could transform into XLR8 and be across the city before anyone blinked. I could fly away as Jetray, hide, gather information, figure out the watch, maybe use Grey Matter to unlock something useful.
I could leave the capital.
I could survive.
Maybe.
But the thought of walking away sat wrong in my chest.
It wasn't heroic conviction. I wasn't going to lie to myself and pretend I was some noble savior who charged into danger because justice burned in my heart or whatever. I was scared. Terrified, actually. My hands were steady only because I had a lifetime of pretending I wasn't freaking out whenever life threw bullshit at me.
But I knew what would happen if I did nothing.
Emilia would go looking for Felt. Puck would follow. Felt would end up at the loot house. Rom would be there. Elsa would arrive. Without Subaru stumbling around like an idiot chad that he was, the timing could go all wrong.
People would die.
Maybe Emilia. Maybe Felt. Maybe Rom.
And maybe the entire timeline would start collapsing from there.
I swallowed.
What did it say about me if I ran?
Not what did it say in some grand moral sense. I wasn't worried about a narrator judging my character arc. I was worried about me. About having to live with knowing I had the Omnitrix on my wrist and still chose to let people walk into a slaughterhouse because I was scared.
Subaru had faced Elsa with nothing.
No powers. No armor. No alien watch. No super speed. No diamond body. No fire, flight, clones, or nightmare fairy dust.
Just dumb luck, persistence, and some well-timed planning.
And yeah, he died. Horribly. More than once.
But he still tried.
My jaw tightened.
Goddammit.
I hated that.
I hated that it mattered.
I hated that the comparison even worked because Subaru was a reckless shut-in with a hero complex, who'd barely even experienced normal life in the real world, and I had no interest in being gutted to prove a point of being better than him. But there was a difference between not wanting to die and letting people die when I might actually be able to stop it.
The Omnitrix pulsed faintly on my wrist.
Or maybe I imagined it.
Either way, I glanced down at the hourglass symbol.
XLR8 could help track Felt if I got a clean direction. Diamondhead might survive Elsa's blades better than my very stab-able human body. Swampfire or Heatblast, whichever one I had, could create distance. Pesky Dust was terrifyingly useful if I could avoid getting high off fairy instincts. Grey Matter might think of a plan I couldn't.
Rath…
No.
Absolutely not unless things went to shit.
The last thing I needed was to transform into an angry tiger wrestler and start screaming my intentions at the Bowel Hunter while she giggled about my guts.
Still, I had tools.
Not guarantees, but tools.
And maybe that was enough.
For now.
If things went bad, I could run. If things went worse, I could improvise. If Return by Death was real…
Nope.
Not finishing that thought.
I was not about to start planning around my own death.
"I think we should search the nearby streets first," Emilia said, pulling me back to the conversation. "If she's trying to sell what she took, she may not have gone too far yet."
"That's a kind thought," Puck replied, "but if she's as quick as she looked, she could already be several districts away."
"Then we ask around," Emilia said. "Someone must have seen her."
"Likely," Adelheid agreed. "A blonde girl moving at such speed would draw attention, especially if she was being pursued."
Puck looked toward the alley mouth. "The problem is figuring out who would actually tell us anything useful."
Emilia frowned. "We can still try."
"Of course we can," Puck said, softening immediately. "I'm not saying we shouldn't. Just that we'll need to be careful."
Careful.
Yeah.
That would be nice.
Unfortunately, the plot had already stolen caution's lunch money and shoved it into a locker.
Adelheid glanced toward the unconscious thugs still sprawled behind us. "These men may know something of the lower districts. Once they wake, questioning them may prove useful."
"I would rather not rely on intimidation if we can avoid it," Emilia said.
"They tried to rob me," I muttered without thinking. "Fuck 'em."
Everyone looked at me.
I blinked, only then realizing I had spoken out loud.
Puck's mouth curled. "So, you were listening."
"Unfortunately," I said, pushing myself up from the steps with a tired grunt. My legs protested, my skull throbbed, and my common sense screamed at me to sit back down and shut the hell up.
I ignored all three.
I dusted off my hoodie, then casually looked between Emilia, Puck, and Adelheid like I wasn't internally signing away my right to a peaceful survival plan.
"Anyway," I said, rolling my shoulder as if this were the most normal decision in the world, "I'll help you find whatever it is you lost."
"E-Eh?" Emilia blinked in shock.
"Exactly like I said. I'm going to help you find whatever has you running down alleys blindly chucking ice shards at people's faces," I reiterated, not wanting to repeat myself.
"I-I-I-!" Hah, looks like I managed to make her flustered because now she was looking a little too red. "Sir, I can't possibly ask you to-."
I shut her down and crossed my arms. "No need for the 'sir' crap. Just call me Michael or Mike, and you don't have to ask me for anything because I already decided that I'm helping you. Now let's start by getting these three assholes to squeal on whatever they know."
Emilia stared at me like I had just announced I planned to fistfight the moon.
"W-Wait, no, you really don't need to do that!" She waved both hands frantically in front of herself. "You've already helped enough by not getting angry at me, and I don't want to trouble you any further!"
"Too late." I shrugged. "I'm already involved."
"But-!"
"And honestly?" I shoved my hands into my hoodie pocket. "I'm broke, homeless, and currently have absolutely nothing better to do. Helping you solves at least one of those problems by giving me something to do."
Puck snorted loudly while floating upside down.
Adelheid looked like she was trying very hard not to smile.
Emilia, meanwhile, looked horrified.
"You can't decide something like that so casually!" she sputtered.
"I just did."
"Y-You-!" About what I expected, Emilia didn't look convinced in the slightest.
Rather than calming down, she looked even guiltier now.
"I appreciate the offer, really, but I can't ask someone I just met to put themselves in danger for my sake," she insisted. "Especially after what I did earlier."
Ah.
There it was.
I stared at her for a second before sighing through my nose.
Without another word, I turned and started walking toward the three unconscious thugs sprawled across the alley.
"H-Huh?" Emilia blinked. "M-Michael?"
I crouched beside the pretty-boy thug and grabbed a fistful of his shirt collar.
"Michael, wait!" Emilia hurried after me. "You can't just do that!"
I glanced back over my shoulder. "Pretty sure I just did."
"That's not what I meant!"
"Well, if you feel that guilty about nearly caving my skull in," I continued casually while giving the unconscious thug a light shake, "then you should let me help as compensation."
Silence.
I looked back and found all three of them staring at me.
Puck's mouth slowly fell open.
Adelheid blinked once.
Emilia looked utterly baffled.
"…What?" I frowned. "Why are you all looking at me like that…again?"
"That…" Emilia pointed at me while struggling to form words. "That doesn't make any sense!"
"It makes perfect sense."
"No, it doesn't!"
"Yes, it does."
"How!?"
"Fine let me put you on game real quick." I pointed at myself. "You assaulted me with ice."
Emilia winced.
"You felt bad about it."
Another wince.
"So now you let me help you out, and boom, guilt reduced." I snapped my fingers. "Everybody wins."
"That would just make me even more indebted to you!" Emilia cried.
"Huh." I paused. "Didn't think about that."
"That's because your logic is ridiculous!" she huffed.
Beside her, Puck abruptly burst into laughter.
"Pfft-HAHAHAHA!" The spirit nearly doubled over in midair while clutching his stomach. "Lia, I think your attack scrambled his brain more than we thought!"
"Puck!"
Even Adelheid failed to contain herself this time, a soft laugh escaping her lips as she brought a hand near her mouth.
Goddammit.
Why did her laugh have to sound so nice?
"You are certainly…unique, Sir Mi-Michael," Adelheid corrected herself smoothly.
"Thank you, I think." I tilted my head.
"That wasn't meant to be a compliment," Puck snickered.
I shrugged. "Look, I'm just being selfish."
Emilia blinked. "Selfish?"
"Yeah." I gestured vaguely. "I want to help, so I'm helping. Pretty straightforward. You don't have to think so hard about it."
"That's not selfish!" Emilia immediately shot back. "That's just being selfless!"
"No, selfless is helping people because you ignore what you want. I want to do this."
"You still gain nothing from it!"
"Nope, I'm still getting something out of this."
"Y-You are-? Wha-?"
"Getting to help you."
"Ergh!" You know it was actually pretty fun teasing Emilia.
"Okay, okay." Puck floated between us before our argument could devolve any further. The little spirit wiped a fake tear from his eye while grinning. "As hilarious as this is, I think we're getting off track."
Emilia puffed out her cheeks slightly and crossed her arms. "It's this nincompoop that's being unreasonable, not me." Who the fuck uses nincompoop in their vocabulary anymore?
Puck snickered again before turning toward Emilia. "Honestly, Lia, I think we should let him help."
That immediately caught her off guard.
"You too, Puck?"
"Mmhm." The spirit nodded. "Apart from that little mental screaming episode earlier, I haven't sensed any bad intentions from him."
I stiffened slightly then sighed in realization. Right, forgot that he could do that…
And of course he picked up on my earlier existential crisis.
Fantastic.
Puck's eyes briefly flicked toward me though noticeably a tad bit softer now.
"There's fear, confusion, and a whole lotta stress rolling around in his head," he admitted. "But no ill intent. At least none that I can feel."
Emilia's expression faltered slightly as she looked back toward me.
Meanwhile, Adelheid folded her arms beneath her chest and nodded once.
"I would agree with that assessment," she added calmly. "Though my methods differ from Puck's, Sir Michael has not spoken a single falsehood since our meeting."
Right, I almost forgot that she had that Divine Protection that allowed her to create various Divine Protections for herself.
The Sword Saint bullshit was real as expected.
So cool yet unbelievably horrifying and broken, it also helped ease my conscious when she finally removed that hand from the pommel of her blade. It almost made me fear that she considered me a viable threat to use it against.
But I doubt that I was deemed a worthy opponent for the fickle sword, Reid, so those worries wouldn't really amount to much anyways.
Emilia seemed to realize the same thing because her shoulders sagged slightly.
With both Puck and Adelheid essentially vouching for me, her resistance visibly weakened.
Still, she hesitated for another moment before finally letting out a long, tired sigh.
"…Alright," she relented softly. "If you truly want to help, then…I'll gratefully accept it."
I chucked, "See? Was that so hard?"
"Mmm," Emilia pouted even harder at me.
Heh, so childish, she really was a little kid in the body of a teenager.
Emilia sighed again before stepping toward me and awkwardly holding out her hand.
"Then…thank you for your offer to help, Michael."
I looked down at her hand.
Then I looked back at her.
Then, instead of shaking it, I raised my own hand and held it up beside her face.
Emilia blinked.
"…What are you doing?"
"A High-five."
"…High…five?"
"Yup."
"…What's that?"
"Watch."
Emilia stared at my raised hand with deep suspicion, like I had just introduced advanced calculus into the conversation.
Since she was taking to long, I used my other hand to raise her own, then smacked my palm against hers.
Emilia immediately pulled her hand back and stared at it.
Then at mine.
Then back at hers again.
"…I don't understand."
Meanwhile, Puck was outright wheezing with laughter again. "You humans are weird," he declared.
Ignoring the continued confusion radiating off Emilia, I walked past her toward the unconscious trio.
"Alright then." I cracked my knuckles. "Time to wake Sleeping Beauty and his backup dancers."
A dangerous amount of dark amusement bubbled in my chest as I crouched beside the pretty-boy thug again.
You know.
I was beginning to realize something.
Having overwhelming backup behind me felt fantastic.
"Actually," I paused before looking over my shoulder, "you guys should probably huddle behind me for this."
Adelheid raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?"
I grinned.
"No reason. It'll just make this way funner."
"…I do not see any harm in humoring this," Adelheid admitted after a moment before calmly stepping behind me.
Puck's eyes gleamed with sudden understanding.
"Ohhhhh." The spirit snickered mischievously before floating over and plopping himself directly onto my beanie-covered head.
"…Really?" I deadpanned upward.
"Absolutely." The cat spirit shamelessly nodded and crossed their arms.
Emilia still looked completely mystified by the high-five thing and absentmindedly opened and closed her hand while stepping behind me alongside Adelheid.
Seriously?
Was she still thinking about that?
I shook my head before focusing back on the unconscious thugs.
Alright.
Showtime.
I gave pretty-boy another rough shake.
"Rise and shine, asshole."
"Mnnngh…"
The thug groaned weakly while his two buddies slowly began stirring nearby.
"Ugh…what the hell…"
"My head…"
"Why's everything spinning…"
Pretty-boy cracked an eye open and immediately scowled at me. "You…"
I flashed him a bright smile.
"Did you enjoy your dirt nap?"
"What the fu-"
Then he noticed the figures standing behind me.
All three thugs froze.
Their faces drained of color so quickly it almost looked impressive.
One moment they were annoyed.
The next, they looked like their souls had collectively left the building.
Because standing behind me was the Kingdom's Sword Saint, an incredibly powerful spirit, and a silver-haired Half-Elf staring directly at them.
Pretty-boy's jaw slowly dropped.
The midget made a strangled noise.
The tall, fat one looked seconds away from passing out once more.
Oh, this was beautiful.
A smirk spread across my face as I slowly raised a single finger toward them.
"It must suck waking up from a good dream to a nightmare like this, yeah?" I asked pleasantly. "And since I'm such a nice guy, I can end it real quick as soon as you tell me what I wanna know, capiche?"
It didn't take much to get them to squeal about who the blonde-haired, red-eyed girl was and where she'd likely be going after making a good steal. I didn't even need to threaten them or anything to get it either. They just spilled whatever they knew without pause or even trying to feed us misinformation. It helped having Adelheid and Puck around to fact-check any lies, but all they could do was confirm that everything told to us was, in fact, the truth.
Afterward, I let them go once I squeezed them dry of any useful information. Emilia had actually taken pity on them and begged my spiteful ass to stop using Puck to scare them. She was far too good for this sinful world.
Though I wasn't a completely cold guy, so I gave them a donut. One donut to be split between all three of them, and it was just your average plain doughnut at that. I wouldn't judge them for turning to mugging due to their poor circumstances, but they did try to mug me, so they should've been glad I was giving them anything at all.
Concluding my business with the trio of goofy-ass thieves, it was finally time to head straight for the slums of the city and get that insignia back. If we got there early enough, Puck would be more available during the conflict with Elsa, we'd save Felt and Rom, and get back the insignia before the moon even rose.
Not to mention, I probably wouldn't even have to go in myself since Adelheid was with us.
"I believe that, with things now in hand, I'll make my leave." Adelheid bowed.
"Wait, already?" I gasped. "I thought you were going to help out too?"
She smiled apologetically at us. "While I would love nothing more than to assist Lady Emilia during this plight, I still have duties around the city that require tending."
Ah, right. Being the strongest in the land meant a whole lot of responsibility.
Good point.
Counterpoint.
"But didn't you say you were off duty? That means you can warrant yourself some time off to hang with us," I argued.
"I appreciate the sentiment, Sir Michael, but whether I'm on or off patrol, I am still a knight to the people of Lugunica, and their safety and needs precede even my own." Adelheid smiled. Happily at that, too, and to me, it just didn't sit right while to others like Emilia, she no doubt saw the obvious chivalry in it.
"You've already done more than enough for us, Adelheid. Please don't let us keep you," Emilia voiced gratefully with a smile and a wave.
"And I pray that you recover what you've lost in due time," Adelheid said, though with a knowing glance at me, she nodded with an even bigger smile. "But I believe you're already in capable hands. Take care, you three, and should you need my help, do not hesitate to call for me."
She began to leave, and me being halfway disappointed that she was leaving and…frustrated.
Frustrated with the knowledge that she was so deeply ingrained into her role as a "Guardian" that nothing else seemed to matter or bring her joy.
And so I rushed to salvage the situation.
"Oi!" I grunted before opening the box of donuts still in my hands. Only ten remained from the dozen I had purchased. "You gotta at least treat yourself, so take one."
"Ooooh~! What are these?" Puck cooed while floating toward the heavenly aroma of my pastries, but I remained entirely focused on Adelheid, who looked between the donuts and me.
"No need, Sir Michael. Your generosity is appreciated, but I-."
"Take one. I'm not leaving in good conscience if you don't at least enjoy yourself while you throw yourself into work. So go on, pick whichever one you like, and trust me, these taste fantastic."
"Sir Michael, I-."
"Do you really want me chasing you around the city just to make you take one? Because I will." I narrowed my eyes at her, and based on how her own widened, she must've realized I was being completely serious. "Now then…pick a donut."
"…These are certainly the oddest form of bread I've ever seen." Emilia peeked over my shoulder while Puck beside her drooled at the sight of my pastries.
"…Well…" Adelheid blinked before sighing with a wistful smile. "Who am I to deny such hospitality, then…"
Adelheid reached toward the box and grabbed…of course she'd pick the apple fritter because life just unfairly bent over backward for her.
"Thank you, Sir Michael." Adelheid smiled.
But I wasn't leaving it at that.
"If you really want to thank me, then use your breaks to actually take a break for once!" I angrily pointed and huffed. "Next time we meet, we're going to hang out so I can make sure you aren't overworking yourself. After all, call yourself a knight all you want, but you're still only human at the end of the day."
"…!" That clearly surprised her, though it didn't last long as she immediately coughed into her hand and nodded. "I see…I'll take that into consideration, then." She quickly turned away from us and waved. "Well then, once again, I wish the two of you well in your search through the slums. Have a good day."
Aaaaand…there she went.
Damn. Hate to see her leave, but love to watch her go.
"That was rather kind of you, Michael." Emilia giggled, breaking my focus away from Adelheid's back.
Yup. I was totally looking at her back.
"Oh, that? Nah, I was just annoyed, is all, and totally did it for myself." I coughed while trying to compose myself.
"Really, though?" Emilia asked. "It seemed to me that you were genuinely worried for Sir Adelheid."
Before I could refute that, Puck, who was helping himself to the donuts in my box, decided to "helpfully" chime in.
"Oh, he definitely was, Lia. But he was also feeling a bunch of other things while talking with the Sword Saint too." Damned cat.
"Really?" Emilia blinked innocently. "Like what?"
"Well, a few of the emotions I picked up on are things I promise to explain when you're older." Puck snickered, much to Emilia's pouting annoyance and my steadily rising blood pressure. "But the more poignant one I picked up on wa-hurck!"
I snapped the donut box shut over the chatty cat spirit trapped inside and turned toward Emilia with a groan.
"Enough about me. We've gotta find that thing you're looking for, yeah?"
"Oh right! The slums! Let's head for the city's lowest layers!"
"Right." I nodded before following after the running Half-Elf.
It was during our rush down the street that I started realizing something incredibly crucial for my future here.
Fuck.
D-Did I actually force my way into scheduling a date with Adelheid?
You know what, first let's survive Elsa before thinking that far ahead…
"Nyehehe, you're flustered again, boy~!" Puck snickered from within the box, prompting me to violently shake it in an attempt to shut him up.
The little bastard just kept laughing at my expense.
"Say, Michael, if you don't mind me asking…"
"Yeah?"
"What's that thing on your wrist?"
You know, I was waiting to see how long it'd take before she finally asked since we started our trek toward the lower layers of the city. The whole hour we'd spent walking had consisted mostly of random conversations about the different locales throughout the capital that we passed by. Puck was currently taking a catnap in Emilia's hair after eating four of my donuts!
So that left me and her to discuss whatever happened to pop into her head.
Shrugging, I decided that being truthful was the way to go since Puck was still here and because I was pretty sure any explanation involving the Omnitrix would mostly fly over Emilia's head anyway.
"This?" I raised my wrist slightly. "It's called the Omnitrix."
"The…Omnitrix?" Emilia repeated slowly, as though trying to feel out the strange word on her tongue. "What exactly is it?"
"Well…" I scratched my cheek. "The easiest comparison would probably be calling it a watch that tells time."
"Tells the time?" Emilia blinked. "Like a Seer Crystal?"
Right.
Different world.
"Sorta?" I awkwardly admitted. "It's supposed to tell time."
Emilia's eyes brightened a little. "Oh! So it really is like a Seer Crystal then!"
"…It doesn't actually tell time."
The Half-Elf blankly stared at me.
"…Eh? …Then why call it a watch?"
"Because it looks like one."
Emilia blankly looked at me so hard it hurt. "That doesn't make any sense."
"Y-Yeah…" I had to give her that much.
Emilia tilted her head in confusion while looking between me and the Omnitrix.
"…I still don't fully understand."
I sighed before deciding to try again. "Okay, so basically, it's a Metia."
That immediately got her attention.
"A Metia!?" Emilia gasped while staring at the Omnitrix with newfound amazement. "This is a real Metia?"
"Uh, yeah." I nodded. "A pretty crazy one too."
Puck cracked one eye open from where he rested atop Emilia's hair.
"Hm? So that strange thing really is a Metia?" the spirit muttered curiously before floating free from Emilia's silver locks and hovering closer.
"Yep." I held up the Omnitrix. "This thing lets me transform into different alien forms based on the DNA stored inside it."
Silence.
Emilia blinked.
Puck blinked.
"…Into different what forms?" Emilia asked carefully.
"…And what's a dee-en-ay?" Puck added.
Riiiiight.
I forgot I was talking to medieval fantasy people.
"Okay, let's back up a little." I rubbed my forehead. "Aliens are basically…uh…"
How the hell was I supposed to explain extraterrestrial life to a medieval fantasy world?
"…Rare demihumans?" I tried weakly.
"That's somehow more confusing," Puck immediately replied.
"Dammit."
Emilia looked thoughtful. "So…they're different races?"
"Yeah!" I pointed at her. "Exactly! Different races from very far away."
"Ahh…" Emilia nodded slowly. "I think I understand that part."
"Good, because the next part's gonna suck." I sighed.
Puck snorted.
"The DNA thing is basically…" I paused. "Uh…"
Fuck.
How do I explain genetics to people whose world still used magic rocks to tell time?
"It's sorta like…" I waved my hand around vaguely. "The stuff inside a living being that determines what they are."
"…Mana?" Emilia guessed.
"No."
"…Od?"
"Nope."
"…A blessing?"
"Not even close."
Puck floated closer with narrowed eyes. "Then what exactly is it?"
"Science."
That only confused them more.
I sighed deeply.
"Alright, screw it. It'll be easier if I just show you."
Before Emilia could question me further, I stepped closer toward her and raised my wrist.
Immediately, the Half-Elf stiffened slightly.
"H-Huh?"
"Look closer," I urged while bringing the Omnitrix up between us. "It'll make more sense if you see it."
Emilia hesitated for a second before leaning in.
The moment her face moved closer, I could see her violet eyes reflecting off the Omnitrix's dark faceplate. Meanwhile, Puck floated over curiously beside her shoulder.
"Hm…" Puck muttered. "It definitely smells strange."
"Thanks, I think."
"No, not bad strange. Just…different."
Emilia, meanwhile, seemed far more focused on the device itself.
"It's very intricate…" she murmured softly. "I've never seen a Metia designed like this before."
"Well, that's because this thing's built different."
I pressed the button on the Omnitrix.
Chkkt!
The faceplate rose upward with a mechanical snap before illuminating with green light.
Emilia jumped slightly.
"O-Oh!"
Several silhouetted figures immediately appeared beneath the glowing faceplate.
Puck floated upside down beside it.
"Oooooh…" His tail flicked curiously. "Now that's interesting."
"See these?" I pointed at the silhouettes while turning the dial. "Every one of these is a transformation."
The silhouettes rotated one after another beneath the glowing green light.
"This one's super fast."
Click.
"This one's strong."
Click.
"This one's smart."
Click.
"And this one's a menace to society."
"…Which one?" Emilia asked.
"Yes."
Puck barked out a laugh.
"So with one push," I continued while hovering my finger over the dial, "I can transform into whichever race the Omnitrix has stored."
Emilia's eyes sparkled with amazement.
"That's incredible…"
"Yeah, it's pretty busted." I huffed.
"Can I see it closer?" she asked before blinking nervously. "O-Only if that's alright, of course."
"Sure, but you can't really take it off me." I awkwardly tugged at the Omnitrix. "It's kinda stuck."
Puck tilted his head. "A curse?"
"Nah." I immediately waved that off. "Far from it. It's more like…"
I paused.
"…Merged with me."
That earned two confused looks.
"You lost us again," Puck admitted.
"It's attached to me via biolock onto my…DNA…" I stopped when Emilia's expression somehow became even more lost. "You know what? Just think of it as permanently stuck to me until I die."
"…That sounds slightly concerning," Emilia admitted.
"Eh, only when I have an itch that I can't reach." I chuckled.
"Did you make this Metia yourself?" she asked curiously.
I snorted. "Oh hell no. I don't even know how to make a toaster, let alone this thing." I lifted my wrist slightly. "Truthfully, I have no clue how I got it. I just woke up with it attached to me."
Puck's ears twitched.
"He's telling the truth," the spirit confirmed while still staring intently at the Omnitrix. "Though honestly, that just makes him even weirder and adds more questions than answers."
Despite her own confusion, Emilia still looked fascinated by the Omnitrix.
"Can I…touch it?" she asked carefully.
"Sure." I smiled. "Just don't push down on the dial."
"O-Okay."
Slowly, Emilia reached toward the Omnitrix.
The moment her fingers brushed against the side of the device, her eyes widened.
"It's warm…"
"Yeah?"
"And it's…" She blinked. "Moving?"
"Huh?"
Before I could question that statement, the Omnitrix abruptly changed color.
The green glow instantly shifted into a bright yellow.
"…Uh."
Puck floated backward slightly.
"Michael?" Emilia asked uncertainly.
Oh shit is it about to do what I think it's gonna-!?
The Omnitrix suddenly emitted a pulse of yellow light that washed directly over Emilia.
Vwoom!
Emilia froze.
Puck's fur puffed slightly.
And then a robotic voice echoed from the device.
[Unknown DNA Samples Acquired.]
"…What?" I stared at the Omnitrix.
The faceplate began rapidly rotating on its own while glowing yellow.
[Scan Complete.]
The light faded.
"…Well," I said weakly. "That definitely wasn't supposed to happen."
Emilia looked utterly lost. "…Was that bad?"
"I…don't think so?" I scratched my head.
Puck narrowed his eyes. "It felt weird," the spirit admitted slowly. There wasn't fear in his voice exactly, but there was definitely caution now. "Not dangerous weird. Just…weird weird."
I quickly raised both hands. "Okay, first off, you're fine. It didn't hurt you, right?"
Emilia blinked before shaking her head. "No…"
"Then we're good." I raised a thumbs up.
"But what did it do exactly?" she asked.
"…Apparently it gathered data on you," I admitted while staring at the Omnitrix in disbelief. "Which means now I can probably transform into…whatever it scanned from you."
Emilia frowned.
"…I'm not entirely sure how I'm supposed to feel about that."
"Honestly? Same."
Puck floated closer toward the Omnitrix again.
"So this thing can copy people now?"
"Not really?" I muttered. "It scans an aspect of the person and it allows me to transform into them if that makes any sense."
Emilia opened her mouth, clearly about to ask another question, but before she could speak, something else caught my attention.
A young girl stood near the edge of the street.
Green hair.
Pink dress.
And currently crying her little eyes out while looking completely lost.
My expression softened slightly.
Then an idea immediately popped into my head.
Actually…
This worked perfectly.
I raised a finger toward Emilia and Puck.
"Hold that thought for one sec."
"Huh?" Emilia blinked.
Without further explanation, I turned and started heading toward the crying child while raising the Omnitrix.
If I was gonna convince Emilia and Puck that the Omnitrix wasn't dangerous (when used for good that is), then a practical demonstration was probably the best way to do it.
Plus…
Helping a lost kid was generally a good thing.
As I walked, I turned the Omnitrix dial while scrolling through the silhouettes.
Okay, who'd be best for cheering up a crying child?
XLR8? Too intimidating.
Diamondhead? Absolutely not.
Rath? Dear God, no.
Then I stopped on one particular silhouette.
A grin spread across my face.
Oh yeah.
This one'd work perfectly.
Especially because I still remembered that in the original show, this alien had been voiced by the same guy who voiced Yacko.
With a single motion, I slammed the dial downward and a burst of green light exploded outward, enveloping my whole form.
AN: With Re: Zero being very character focused, I didn't expect to make this chapter so long, but I'll get straight to the point in the next one so as move the plot along. Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:I like murder drones, Spoof, Cessau and 183 others