1st Spare - What Will I Do Without the Internet?

[reconstructs]

[Action; 5722 Cunningham Lane]

[There's a moment of shock when she wakes up, but realizing there's no immediate danger, the sensation passes. In any case, this is a strange situation.

Examining her room and area, she can't find any of her possessions. Was she kidnapped? This doesn't even seem like Japan though... and at such an important time too.

Oh, well.

In any case, Nico is wandering around the house calmly scoping the place out, though her quick movement belie some of her concern with the situation]

Hello? Anyone here?

[Phone]

[The first thing heard is a rather bored monotone voice of a young girl:]

Ah, oh no, what a frightening witch's barrier I seem to have fallen into.

Just kidding. It's pretty obvious this is something else... so who else is here? I don't really think I'm special enough to warrant kidnapping just me, so are the rest of you girls here? This is certainly an unexpected twist.

...I can't believe I'm using a phone with an actual dial on it.

[Action; Around Town]

[There's a young teenage girl being harassed by a pair of drone boys around her age. The reason? Rather than a dress, she's wearing shorts and a hat that clearly got swiped from some drone boy's closet. While the drones call her a tomboy and childish insults for not dressing like a girl, she just stares off with a bored look on her face.]

...you're really kind of annoying, huh?

Comments

[ phone ]

[imoutos]

Huh..? [ even if the girl herself already dismissed the option, Nadeko still sounds a little curious about that first line. ]

.. A witch's barrier..?

action;

[cullscuttlefish]

[It's the sound of someone stirring around a few doors down that gets Feferi's attention. She can't really help being excited when she sees it's an actual person.]

Hi! You must be new. I'm Feferi!

[Action]

[kingofshadows]

[If Nico glances out the window towards the backyard, she will spot a large red and black crocodile-esque creature writhing unhappily on the ground. ...Someone is blasting it with a hose.]

[wizardoftheweek]

A witch's barrier?

[Phone]

[burdenbearing]

--Nico? Is that you?

[She's kind of shocked, enough to hold off on the yelling for a minute or two.]

[reconstructs]

It's nothing really important. Don't worry about it.

[reconstructs]

[And Nico just. Kind of stops when she turns around and sees Feferi. And tilts her head.]

Uhhh-huh. Now that's not a very American name.

[YES, BECAUSE THE NAME IS WHAT TIPPED HER OFF THAT YOU'RE NOT AMERICAN]

[reconstructs]

...don't see that every day.

[She locates a backdoor and pokes her head out to see who has the hose]

Pest control problems?

[reconstructs]

Usually a lot stranger looking than this. More surreal...

...this is practically familiar, if a few decades out of date.

[reconstructs]

Hello~ Did you call me?

I wonder if I should be relieved or not I'm not alone?

[cullscuttlefish]

[Because the fins and horns and grey skin aren't enough to tell her that Fef isn't from around these parts, right?]

This place is supposed to be America, but I'm not from here. I can explain, though? At least as much as I can. This place is weird, though, just warning you.

[burdenbearing]

It is you!

[You're in trouble now, missy.]

Do you know how late you are? Satomi and I have been here for months already!

[reconstructs]

I kind of picked that up... so what's the deal?

I'm Nico, by the way. Kanna Nico.

[reconstructs]

For months?

[Well, that was interesting.]

I don't recall ever being such a heavy sleeper...

[Not that she'd been sleeping much anyway ever since- wait a second]

...did you say Satomi's here too?

[burdenbearing]

This place has some stupid magic going on here that messes with time.

[Suspicion activated.]

Yeah, she's the only other one of us here. Why?

[cullscuttlefish]

It's good to meet you, Nico! Anyway, yeah. This place is called Mayfield, and it's around 50 Earth years - give or take a few - in the past. Everyone here is from different places and different time periods. Nobody's entirely sure why we're here, though.

The main thing is, don't trust the town itself. Once a month or so, it will decide something absolutely horrible needs to happen, that affects everyone. Stuff like making it look and feel like a nuclear bomb fell. Or zombies. Or mass hallucinations.

At any given time, any of that stuff can and will kill you. It used to be that you'd come back a day later, but some idiots went and broke the revival mechanism. Now, you come back, but it's a lot longer, and you have side effects. Like thinking you're still dead, or reliving the moment you died.

[reconstructs]

Time, huh? What a pain.

[Satomi... and Mirai didn't think anything strange of it. If time was being weird, that could mean all sorts of things... made even harder because of what she knew of Mirai as well... well, she'd take it easy and observe for now.]

Oh, nothing, just surprised. Even if I said what I did, it did kind of feel like I was alone, so even having two of you here is a pleasant surprise. Just us three though, huh?

[reconstructs]

[She wonders if "50 years in the past" means anything if everyone's from different times, but it works out conveniently for her]

So we're basically here to be messed with? Strange place.

Coming back from the dead, huh? That's definitely a weird one...

[burdenbearing]

[...Well, whatever. She's got other things to worry about. If Nico's keeping secrets, they'll com out eventually.]

Mm, just us. Saki's not here. Umika, Kaoru and Kazumi aren't, either.

[A pause.]

But there are other magical girls like us.

[reconstructs]

Others, huh? That might be interesting to meet.

[burdenbearing]

One of them got droned a few weeks ago, but there's one or two others from where we're from, still. I haven't met them yet.

[kingofshadows]

Hm?

[Grimsley turns around in surprise, and in classic gag fashion, barely avoids spraying Nico. ...From the expression on his face, one would think he had done it on purpose.]

No, just bathtime. I don't know how many times I have to make it forget Mud-Slap before it stops.

...Who are you?

[cullscuttlefish]

Something like that. Though I have to admit, things have seemed too quiet lately. I don't like it, because it makes me feel like something really bad is going to happen.

[She nods.]

More than once, in my case. Three times and counting. It wasn't actually so bad the first couple of times - I mean, it sucked, but I didn't wake up hallucinating, so.

[Shrug.]

Um, if I can answer anything...?

[reconstructs]

Quiet before the storm, huh?

Well, I can't think dying is ever particularly great, but yeah, hallucinating afterwards sounds bad.

[Questions, huh? Well, might as well start with the obvious one]

So... what are you? If you don't mind my asking.

[reconstructs]

[She calmly ducks back inside long enough to dodge the water before stepping into the backyard]

Interesting pet.

Nico, new arrival. You?