Archive of Our Own

[Moon Colony 23 (on route), January 3427: Timeline 24516893-SDENV-39725-KDB]

It was amazing how low gravity could simultaneously be both fun and a hassle. Usually, sci-fi media leaned into one more than the other, but in Ollie’s opinion, it was about equal in practice. And to think astronauts deal with this regularly back home... more or less. Their training is no joke, huh?

Naturally, she lacked any sort of formal training on the matter - a fact that could be seen as... concerning, given their latest case. Looking out the window of the enclosed hovercraft as it made its way across the lunar landscape. The gray, crater-filled surface stretched off in all directions under a permanent starry sky. It was mostly illuminated, but at the edges of her vision, she could see the border to the “dark side” of the moon.

And just above... she could see the Earth - half-light, and half-dark. The latter hardly mattered, however, given how many electric lights illuminated its surface - some in the ocean as well! Quite a lot of greenery was gone, too, unfortunately, replaced by browns and even metallic grays. The entire planet was in the middle of an advanced space-faring age, and nature did not seem to be a part of this vision of theirs.

It was pretty sad to see for her, being friends with quite a few nature spirits back home. But even so... seeing the planet hanging there was still quite awe-inspiring. She pressed a hand against the large thick glass, gazing at it longingly. She almost wanted to reach her arm through and grab it in her hands. To hold it close and soothe it over the loss of so much life upon it-

A large jostle in the shuttle ripped her from her thoughts. She yelped, feeling her stomach drop as her body pressed against the seatbelt holding her down. Even then, though, she could feel nausea from the sensation of nearly floating away. It made her shiver, curling up into her blue leather seat. She hugged the thick black coat on her body tightly, breathing carefully to prevent bile from rising in her throat.

Next to her, Ame looked a little unsettled, too, but like her she was managing. She wore an equally thick yellow coat to replace her normal detective attire. They were both also wearing some equally thick pants and boots, similarly colored for each. Neither had their hoods up, though, which allowed their hair to float around quite a bit.

None of the other passengers in this transport seemed to be affected like them. The shuttle was designed to hold forty people - twenty on each side of a large aisle with a red carpet in pairs of two. There were about twenty-six others in there with them, dressed in similar clothes of various colors, plus with form-fitting caps on some of their heads.

Every time they hit a bump (as strange of a description as that was with hover tech), none of them seemed bothered. The most emotion any had shown was a man who sighed as one caused an energy bar to fly out of his pocket and float, grabbed by him before it got away. Otherwise, they all actually seemed remarkably relaxed

None gave the time duo’s reactions much mind, besides a quick look when they gave a loud grunt. They had concluded they were not native to the moon, which did not appear to be an unusual occurrence. The zombie had overheard the couple two rows behind them whisper about how lunar transports had to be the worst part for “Terra tourists” after the third bump. And frankly... she felt she could agree after this.

Zero and low gravity truly were a double-edged sword here. Sure, jumping around to heights of several meters sounded amazing - something she hoped to have time for before they had to leave! But at the same time, the feeling of it could be so disorientating. If she had any questions about why the detective had never taken her on a moon trip before, she thought she had gotten her answers now.

But again, it was endurable, so the undead-girl tried to take her mind off it as the craft leveled out. Pursing her lips, she looked back out the window, trying to make small talk. “So... is the American flag out there somewhere? From, like, the Space Race in the 1960s?”

The time-traveler gave a small chuckle. “Heh - oh, Ollie! You need to brush up on your history. It was the 1950s that America reached the moon, remember?”

Ollie tensed slightly, glancing around the cabin at anyone who might have heard her. “Er, right! My bad! It was just so long ago, you know? It’s hard keeping track of all of that stuff. It was practically in the age of dinosaurs!”

Ame shook her head in amusement. “Of course it was.” She leaned back and shrugged. “But to answer your question, the landing site is supposed to be surrounded by an entire museum dome. A lot of the original equipment and the famous flag is obviously worn down a bunch, but they have plastic models to scale elsewhere to show what it originally looked like.”

The zombie nodded along. “I’m guessing you can’t set foot on the original grounds, though?”

“Not unless you want a quick open-shut life-in-prison trial,” the detective answered. “They take its preservation very seriously here.”

The undead-girl hummed, a bit intrigued by that. After another quick glance around, though, she leaned closer to her friend and spoke quieter so no one else would hear. She looked down a little in shame. “Sorry about the slip there. I should have thought about potential differences like that.” Showing too much ignorance about a timeline’s history in front of locals could raise suspicion about their nature. They could not rely on being dismissed as simply being idiots.

The time-traveler shook her head, patting her shoulder as she whispered, too. “One slip about older history isn’t going to be the end of the world - especially in a sci-fi age like this. There are a bunch of new planets with histories people have to learn. Or at least get a general overview of a few. Plus, you must be tired at this point.”

Ollie frowned, rubbing her chin. “Huh. I never really thought about how a time like this would affect history classes. Like, there has to be a lot for Earth alone with a whole millennium of more history than back home.”

“And that’s probably why most sci-fi writers don’t really touch it that often,” Ame commented, sighing and looking past her assistant to look out the window.

The zombie followed her gaze, once more looking up at the Earth. Attempting to relax again, she spared a glance back at her Senpai, her eyebrows furrowed a little. “And what about you? Are you feeling tired?”

The detective chuckled. “Oh, definitely! And I’ll let you know right now - trying to get sleep while in a place like this doesn’t end well unless we have time to adapt. Our brains can have trouble comprehending the change in environment and how it affects our sleep cycles.”

Sighing, the undead-girl’s eyes drifted along the barren, dusty landscape. “And I’m guessing we can’t afford it in this case?”

She could feel the time-traveler’s sympathetic gaze on her now. A hand patted her on the back. “We’re nearly done with this - I promise. Just one more case after this, and we’ll be home. We’ll have some time to rest before that, though. Just don’t expect to be back up to a hundred percent when we do.”

Ollie nodded, taking a deep breath as she tried to shake off her drowsiness. This adventure into other timelines was different than what she had done before... Well, beyond just never having been to the moon until now. It also was not the type of case they were handling, either - it was a standard gathering evidence case. It should be low-stakes, beyond maybe needing to sneak past some thugs. They should not be heavily armed at all, though, if things go wrong.

What was different this time, however, was that this was the sixth case in a row that they had done. No returns home - just case after case in other timelines, taking rests in those when it was needed.

It was hard to say exactly how long they had been away from their own timeline. By her best estimate, though, it had been about two weeks. They had been doing several different kinds of missions out there: helping to distract a dragon so an alternate Ame could sneak into his lair, tracking down suspects in an Ancient Greek casino, and more. The sheer difference between so many of the eras had been pretty jarring without a proper break between them, too. (That fantasy land with the dragon had been the last one, and now they were in the far future! She swore she could still smell the lavender of that mighty reptile’s scales, it barely having been twenty-four hours since then.)

The zombie had stayed a few days in timelines before now. It was a necessary thing for several cases, particularly when they were basically doing some from square one. But always before, it would end with them heading back to Ame’s office. There was time to unwind, even if they had to head back out, rare as that was. They would talk with each other and their friends, letting their minds decompress from the whole thing.

The blond, however, had decided her Kouhai was ready for this type of work. Where they would head to several timelines to knock out a large workload. It was a necessary thing when there were several time-sensitive cases (the irony was fairly mundane to her at that point) and/or the Network had a large backlog. In this case, it would also help her to take a break next week for a few days... as much as she took said breaks, when she still filled in paperwork during that time. Still, it meant she would not be leaving their “present” during it.

In the past, she had handled this stuff alone. This time, though, she had invited the redhead along, wanting to see how much she had progressed. If she needed more help in the past, she would normally get it from alternates or their Kronii. But now... this was her chance to prove, once again, how far she was coming along as an assistant.

The thought filled the ID girl with excitement, smiling a little. She continued to gaze out as another hovercraft - rectangular with painted blue streaks, matching the blue glow underneath - passed by several meters away going in the opposite direction. The pilot of the shuttle had a large window out the front, and she waved at presumably their pilot before they disappeared behind them.

The entire thing had been a little exhausting for her, but overall, she had been having a great time. Even if they had not really had much chance to explore each place, seeing them at all was a reward of its own. She was quite proud of the protection she had been able to provide on the rougher cases as well, amazed at the sword and gun techniques she had perfected over the months. (Both weapons were stored away along with their normal clothes in their luggage currently, in a compartment above them. Thank God they had permits...)

...But she also could not deny she was glad it was almost over. She missed the familiarity of her time, and there was so much she wanted to share with her Genmates about this. Thankfully, though, this case and their last one should not take long - put together, maybe two days tops, and less if they were quick! Even with the tiredness seeping in a little, she was sure they would-

Another bump had the undead-girl helping, followed by holding back a whine at the turning in her stomach as her body tried to float off again. Swearing she could taste bile that time, she swallowed the feeling down, her arms around her midriff. “God damn. I’m getting really sick of that. There was artificial gravity in the dome we got on this thing at. Why the hell does this thing not have any?”

“The systems needed to do that are apparently too big to fit on a craft of this size,” the time-traveler replied, rubbing a hand on her stomach. “Plus, that’s extra money to build these things. Creating Earth-like gravity isn’t cheap, you know.”

Ollie groaned, shifting in her seat. “Isn’t there a smoother way to get between domes?”

“I mean... obviously there’s spaceships,” Ame admitted, giving an awkward grin. “But those cost a lot more, and I’m budgeting my money. I have some important things I need to get back home and from...” She glanced at the others around them. “...my firm, so I can’t be too luxurious.”

...The zombie turned to her and glared. “I am going to empty my stomach onto you the next time we hit a bump.”

“Hey, I’m suffering, too!” the detective defended, raising her hands in surrender. “I also would have chucked up some extra money for an underground monorail, but the whole system is apparently undergoing maintenance.” She pointed out the window. “Anyway, we’re almost there. You can relax more.”

The undead-girl followed the finger. While it was hard to see directly with the angle, slowly getting bigger on their path was a large dome. It was mostly gray with painted United States flags along the base - an acknowledgment of the original government who commissioned them. (It was hard to tell from that distance, but... were there more stars than back home?) While mostly metal, though, the top appeared to be made of thick glass, or at least something transparent.

She nearly sighed in relief at the sight of it. “Thank God. The path looks clear, too. I can’t wait to have proper gravity again.” She frowned slightly, looking around the compartment before whispering to her Senpai. “Though, I guess I should be less angry at you and more at the engineers who haven’t built anything better by the 35th-century. You’d think they’d have stabler shuttles, at least.”

“Maybe they went through a tech regression period at some point,” the time-traveler offered quietly, getting more comfortable in her seat for this last leg. “Now get settled in. I don’t want to worry about paying extra because you couldn’t keep your breakfast down.”

Nodding in appreciation, Ollie’s hands tapped at her legs. Anticipation helped to push back the weariness from her lack of sleep as she smiled. “I’ll be sure to hold it in until we find a bin at our destination, then.”

The speakers built in above them activated then. Their pilot gave them an ETA of about five minutes until they arrived, before going into a spiel about the different attractions and places to visit in Moon Colony 23. The other passengers rolled their eyes, a few giving annoyed groans. It seemed that they heard this often, and a few glances sent their way made it clear it was meant for “tourists” like them.

She paid them no mind, however, as she looked up at the speaker and listened attentively. She did her best to make mental notes of potential places that might be useful for their coming mission, whether to investigate or run to if things went awry. No doubt her Senpai already had a list of what they needed to do, but she hoped she could present some new options. It would be a shame for one of their last cases on this extended trip to go wrong because she had kept her mouth shut.

Whatever her misgivings about lunar gravity so far, there was no way she was going to let a trip to the freaking moon be all negative! And what better way to experience some thrills than to get a bunch of criminals arrested? Time to get some evidence, and, if needed, see what fighting in space is like!

(Her anticipation rising, she failed to notice Ame frown for a moment, rubbing the side of her head. The EN member shook it off, though, and took a deep breath, clenching and loosening her hand a few times...)

-------

It was not Ame’s first time on the moon for a case. She had been to several versions of how humanity colonized the barren rock. It usually started with bases with their own contained atmospheres like they were in now, to varying degrees of advancement. She had also witnessed timelines where they terraformed the surface and created ecosystems and stable gravity. (All done with care to not affect the tides back on Earth or disrupt either’s orbits too much, allegedly.)

Seeing plants and animals on its surface was a neat sight at times. However, she had to admit that she had a certain fondness for domes and structures like in this period. It felt more like they were trying to preserve the “feel” the moon had through mankind’s building up of civilization. She supposed it linked back to her childhood, when she had various ideas of what she might do with her life - one being an astronaut, and later an astronomer. Both had lost to her interest in chemistry, medicine, and (obviously) detective work, but that wonder of looking at the stars was still there in her heart.

Even after having been on various moon bases, she still admired this one as they walked the halls. After their hovercraft had pulled into a hangar, they and the other passengers had gotten off once the outside room had pressurized. It had been a relatively smooth process getting through customs, which double-checked for anything missed back at Moon Colony 21. (A pity these places did not have proper names yet.) A few eyebrows had been raised at what was in their large bags, but her credentials had gotten them through.

Having an Ina in charge of one of these places sure is handy, the detective mused as they turned another corner. The paths in this place were wide, with plenty of branching paths and often having high ceilings. This helped to keep the place from feeling claustrophobic, even when they ran into a larger crowd. It was mostly white surfaces all around, but this was offset by real plants like trees and flowers growing in regular intervals along the ground and walls. The lighting also nearly felt like real sunlight, which further helped the place feel like home.

Ollie certainly seemed to be enjoying it, looking around in awe at the expansive base. They passed by open rooms that were set aside to be shops, or smaller ones that contained elevators to residences down below. Both were often painted, and plenty of smaller items helped to keep things from feeling sterile. At one point, they also passed by a double-airlock sealed room that, through a window, they could see led into a park, filled to the brim with plants. Animals also roamed the area, moving to workers who brought out food for them.

The zombie let out a low whistle as they passed it by, keeping her voice low. “Man... I can’t believe they were able to build all of this. It’s like we’re in a really big mall or something!” She grimaced a little, a hand lightly touching her stomach. “Their hover tech is still awful, though.”

The time-traveler rolled her eyes, smiling as she readjusted the bag on her shoulder. “I’ll be sure to pass your complaints over to the Ina here once we’re done. The research into that field will skyrocket and advance by centuries thanks to your input, I imagine.”

“I’d sure hope so!” the undead-girl huffed, also shouldering her bag, but a smile tugged at her lips as she tried to pout. “Iofi’s ship doesn’t have any of these issues, from what I know! I mean, I’ve never asked for a ride on it before, which...” She frowned deeply. “Actually, I have no clue why I haven’t done so yet. Do you think fuel or anything like that would be an issue for her?”

“You’d have to ask her yourself,” Ame answered. She had not gotten around to asking the alien-girl about her spacecraft, but she made a mental note to do that soon. “But before you ask, there have been no alien visitors in this timeline so far. Humanity has had to make all of its tech from scratch, so you can hardly blame them if their tech isn’t up to their specs.”

Ollie gave an exaggerated sigh. “And magic hasn’t helped, either? They clearly have some if I’m able to walk around without a glance. Also, they’ve gone beyond this solar system and no one has encountered an alien?”

The detective also sighed, shaking her head. “Look, I just have the notes Astro gave me - I had no time for independent research. This is my first time here. I don’t know everything .” She glanced at a sturdy-looking oak tree set in the middle of the large corridor.  “Though... I definitely want to visit again. I have so many questions about how these places were constructed.”

The zombie raised an eyebrow. “And your alt-version decided to tell you about the original moon landing sight when we’re not even visiting?”

“I think she just likes to gloat about being born and living on the moon,” the time-traveler replied. “A lot of Ame’s, myself included, have at least a passing interest in astronomy. I get the sense she likes to rub it in our faces that she was lucky enough to be born during a space age due to that.”

That earned her a curious look from the undead-girl. “Huh. I didn’t realize that was a common thing around the Network. A lot of the people I’ve met didn’t seem like the type.”

There was a brief pause from Ame at that. Common... She wishes that her friend had not phrased it like that. She had not even been thinking along that line, but now that it was pointed out... Well, she was right, was she not? How she fell in line with her other selves in that regard. A commonality that made her mind want to wander along the possibilities-

She blinked hard, banishing that line of thinking before it could take root. She smiled as best she could before her Kouhai became suspicious of her small moment of silence. “I mean, I’m sure many people look up and wonder what’s out there in the sky, right?” She reached into her coat and pulled out a small notebook, flipping to the relevant page. “Her gloating aside, though, she did also give the relevant information for this case.”

Ollie stood a little straighter, her eyes sharpening a tad as she gave a determined grin. “Right! Can’t get distracted when we have some smugglers to bust, can we?”

The detective nodded in agreement, looking around the space they were in. Eventually, she spotted a narrower corridor branching off and led them over to it. Nobody else was inside it right now, giving them a measure of privacy. It was almost like an alleyway, except it was far cleaner than one would imagine one to be, and had stairs and ramps further in that led to other levels of the dome.

She dragged them to one of those stairways, sitting them down at its edge. She tapped her notepad with her finger. “Now, let’s review one more time what we’re here to do. I’m sure you paid attention earlier, but with how much we’ve pushed our sleep schedule, it’s good to do this just in case - even for me.”

The zombie shrugged, not appearing bothered by this. “Sounds good. It should be pretty straightforward, though, right? We just need to break into the storage warehouse down below where they’re storing their contraband, get some pictures, and hand them over to the local authorities. As long as we’re careful, it should be a piece of cake, right?”

“In theory,” the time-traveler agreed, but let out a weary sigh. “But you’ve seen how wrong a simple task like that can go. We know these guys are trying to supply weapons to potential insurrectionists here in the colonies... but we have no clue how invested they are. Or if they’re willing to die for the cause... explosively.”

That caused the undead-girl to flinch, now looking uneasy. The blond felt bad for it, knowing her friend was likely thinking about their excursion to a time bubble not too long ago. When the EN girl had nearly found herself blown up by a bomb left by terrorists to cause chaos in that town. It was only through a combination of good timing, using her Watson Concoction, and the unexpected intervention of her alternate - Snow - and her partner that they all got out virtually unscathed.

Still, the experience had been nerve-wracking for them both. She held it together, of course, but she had been scared of dying there. It had taken a while to calm down in the midst of helping out survivors in the neighboring buildings of the detonation. And that was on top of having to deal with the withdrawal effects of her Concoction afterward, which was never fun, and was only more stress for the patchwork woman.

In short, that whole case had been rough. The only upside was when she sent her reports to Intel with an explanation of how their initial analysis of the bubble had missed an explosion. She was not ashamed to say she smiled at getting the return message saying that the Ame who had been charged with looking for Time Shifts was fired. (They would be fine - the Network was not short on open positions elsewhere or cases to be done.)

The case they were doing right now was similar in certain ways - even with better information, there were a few unknowns to contend with. And this time, they could not rely on backup to come help bail them out. Astro was in another dome trying to bust a different part of the smuggling line, as well as two other alternates spread around. If they ran into trouble, they had to deal with it on their own.

The idea was to do this all simultaneously so they could shut down vital parts of the line and cripple it - perhaps shut it down for good. Astro knew for certain where each place was. All she needed was the extra hands to ensure a swift end, and could think of no one better to help than her other versions in the Network. Her Ina was placing a lot of trust in them for this, so they had a lot of expectations on them as well.

If they failed this... more lives than their own were in danger of violence. These colonies could end up a battleground with nowhere to run... unless one wanted to go on a moonwalk and face the void of space.

After a few moments of thinking, Ollie took a deep breath, looking at her uneasily. “You... don’t think they’d be crazy enough to do that, do you? If they set off a bomb, then the whole base could end up depressurized! That’s tens of thousands of deaths at a minimum! Wouldn’t that defeat the whole purpose of what they want?”

“Depends on how much sense they have,” Ame replied, not willing to dismiss the possibility. Still, she tried to give a reassuring smile. “But I hope they won’t if we’re caught, too. It’s always possible these smugglers don’t believe in the cause, too, and are just delivering the goods. I can’t imagine they’re willing to all die for this in that case. But that doesn’t mean they’ll let us walk away with the evidence.”

The zombie nodded, a bit of strength entering her gaze. “Okay... It won’t come to that, anyway. If they try to explode anything, I’ll cut them down before they can even press a detonator.”

The detective smiled wider at her determination. “I like the attitude. But remember to look after your own life, too.” She pulled out her watch and tapped it. “And if things get extra dicey, try to get to me and I’ll hop us out of here to the nearest timeline. There’s no interference like... back then.” She figured that was important to make clear - that this time, she had more options to escape and preserve her life... Not that she would not also try to stop a detonation if she saw a chance, though, either.

It appeared to have the desired effect as the undead-girl smiled a little easier. “That’s good.” She chuckled, scratching the back of her head. “I think we’re overthinking about the worst-case scenarios, though. If we’re not caught, we don’t have to worry about any of that.”

The time-traveler nodded. Granted, they would potentially be pushing that problem over to the authorities there, but... Well, that was their job, was it not? They would have the resources for a mass arrest like would be needed. Plus, they would hopefully have a specialist who could deal with a 35th-century bomb if it was needed.

They needed the evidence they were getting to actually act, however, and infiltration had not gone well for them. They needed them to succeed here so they could deal with these smugglers. With that in mind, she began to dig through her pockets to find the holo-map Astro had lent to her. It had the full schematics of what the lower levels of the colony looked like. Their main warehouse of operation was marked clearly upon it, along with various potential entry points.

She wanted to review them again, just so they were both sure where they would be heading in. It would also help to go over the estimated number of people and the most likely patrol patterns. She would scout that stuff out before they went in properly, of course. But guesses were better than nothing, especially when they would have blind spots. They could then discuss one more time what weapons they were bringing in if they needed to fight their way out.

Once that was done and in position, she would contact the other Ames’ and let them know they were ready. Astro would then give the signal for them to move in and get the evidence. They were expected to get the evidence to the police within two hours. It would not take them long to mobilize after that, they were assured.

She was not worried about the other teams for this one. This was Astro’s home turf, so she would probably do the best out of all of them. As for the other two, while they were not alternates she was familiar with, they had seemed capable at the meeting in Moon Colony 19. One even had a Zeta with her, who appeared to be a virtual agent like hers.

They were accepted for this job for a reason. They would know something about stealth and gathering evidence. Like, that was a given when they were all detectives, was it not? All of them likely had these skills... It was prominent enough among others, too. So comm-

Ame’s hand spasmed, just barely not freezing up. That was... three times now, counting her small bit of disorientation back on the shuttle. Where her thoughts had started to wander in that particular direction. And that could be taken as a sign that something... much worse could make itself known. Christ - not now! We’re so close to being done!

But like it or not, she would have to address it real quick. However, she would prefer it not to be under her friend’s gaze if possible. Clearing her throat, she gave her a sheepish smile. “Say, actually, could you go get me a coffee? I feel like I need to wake up a little more if we’re going to do this right.” It was not a lie, at least. She was a bit concerned about how heavy her eyes were... and being more awake always helped when her mind wandered too much.

Ollie blinked in surprise at this, but she quickly nodded with a grin. “We’re about to go into the heart of a bunch of criminals, and you’re giving me the role of coffee girl?”

“That is not a fair argument,” the detective replied, rolling her eyes. “And besides, it’s not the first time I’ve asked you to get me a drink. Don’t say it like it’s some new thing.”

“Yeah, but why is it always me who has to get it?” the zombie complained playfully. She shook her head. “All the time, it’s ‘Ollie, get me a drink,’ or ‘Ollie, go fetch me some extra ammo?’ And do I ever get any thanks for it?”

The time-traveler raised an eyebrow. “You mean like literally every time you do so?”

“But sometimes you aren’t verbal about it!” the undead-girl pointed out, as if it was some big point. “You’ll just give me a nod! It’s like we’re not even acquaintances at that point!”

Ame breathed out a chuckle, shaking her head fondly. She smiled as she patted her Kouhai on the back. “Well then, how about I promise to get the coffee next time either of us feels like we need the caffeine?”

Ollie smiled, hopping to her feet. “Finally, the respect I deserve! Good thing, too! You were this close to getting a dark-roasted black coffee!”

“Oh, God!” the detective managed while laughing, gagging a little at the thought. She already was not much of a coffee person - it was for the energy when she needed it more than the taste. Having it dark-roasted with nothing added was simply torture more than anything.

The zombie laughed with her, before her hand started digging through her coat. “Heh. But seriously, I just use that card you gave me, right?”

The time-traveler nodded. It was a special one from the Network that worked in most timelines for currency (if they used cards, naturally) that she had given to her ages ago. “Yep. I think I saw a shop back down the corridor, so go there and come straight back. Feel free to get yourself something, too, if you want it. But try to be quick - we shouldn’t keep the others waiting too long, and I want to review our map again.”

“On it, boss!” the undead-girl said with a cute salute (which made her heart fuzzy). Then she skipped off, exiting the “alley” and re-entering the crowd before disappearing.

Once she was gone, Ame sighed, leaning back on the stairs. She moved to the side enough for anyone who might unexpectedly come down, smoothing out her clothing. Once she was comfortable, she then took a deep breath... and tried to focus her thoughts. To tentatively poke around in her mind to see if anything was... static.

She felt no immediate signs she was slipping into an episode, but that did not calm her down just yet. She knew that there was going to be a chance of this coming up - there always was when she did multiple cases in a row. It would be foolish to try and brush off those first few signs that she might be slipping, especially since she did not always have the luxury of being able to do anything about it.

She desperately hoped it was nothing, because if it was her dissociation... there was nothing she could do about it. There never was, beyond occasionally delaying it for a time. But it would affect her ability to operate all the same, which was the last thing anyone needed right then.

The detective grunted, crossing her arms protectively over herself. Of all the times that this could come up, this would be one of the worst. She had been praying that if she were going to be hit by one, it would be after she had gotten home. It was not uncommon to have reached her office, only to collapse onto her couch an hour later with scattered thoughts. But it had just as often happened in the middle of a case and forced her to find a place to hold up until it passed.

My one mercy is that it rarely starts when I’m in a fight, she thought as she stared off at nothing. It made sense, she supposed. When she was running around and fighting for her life, her brain was too focused on the moment to be bothered by anything else. There was no time to think of much else when bullets were flying and she needed to navigate her way to safety.

It was mostly in more quiet moments that episodes popped up. When her mind had time to process all the places she had been visiting. Everything different about them from what she knew, but also the elements that were the same - deep inside, if not on the surface. Where it all put her in the vast sea of timelines that made up the multiverse... and what it meant to be her when she worked with several other “hers.”

Dissociating or not, thinking about that always gave her a headache. She just could not stop herself from comparing her talents and interests with the others. From considering... if her commonality with them made her obsolete, or if her differences were an “anomaly.” Logically, she knew neither was true, but repeating that never seemed to do much. Those ideas just kept festering until she lost all sense of self and... detached herself from the present.

And it frustrated her to no end, because... she loved seeing the multiverse! She may stay professional on the job, but being in places like this colony always made her giddy. She enjoyed studying the histories and the cultures of these places - finding time to revisit some of her favorites especially. And, regardless of her issues, she loved meeting alternates of both her and her friends, learning all the ways in which their lives were different.

So... why was she cursed with this problem? Why could she not wander the timelines without fear of losing control of her mind? Why her, when so many other Ames’ did not have this issue? Not even the most insane versions seemed to have any problems going places! So... why?

Sighing deeply, the time-traveler rubbed at her eyes, making sure there were no tears. She doubted she would ever have a full answer to any of that - just experiencing it all too fast in her early days, she figured. All she could do was manage the symptoms and... hope that healing might be possible one day. With all the help Kronii provided with their private talks, she had a decent chance, all things considered.

Though, thinking of the Warden, she could not help but bite her lips. She remembered letting her know about her plans to do this extended work before they left - willingly. Most of the time, she only did a string of cases like this because the Network conscripted her to. There was no need to make things worse for herself by constantly pushing her boundaries and triggering episodes. Lord knew that would likely only make her condition worse.

But this time, she had volunteered to do it. She was feeling a little more confident after the last two times she did this and not suffering any dissociations. Not that she thought she was cured, but she hoped her luck would hold out for a third time. Plus... whatever the others said about her work habits, she did like taking breaks from this work. She wanted to spend time with them here soon, and these types of jobs always gave her some vacation time.

It was part of the reason she did not want to suffer an episode right now. She wanted to prove to Kronii that she was getting better. She also did not want that cloud hanging over her when she took those days off from cases and got to spend more time with the rest of EN. All she wanted was a few peaceful days with them for her efforts out there.

...And on top of that, this was not the scenario she wanted to explain her issues to Ollie.

Ame felt a simmering guilt build up in her gut remembering her Kouhai. She glanced back out at the street, worried that she might come back any minute and find her in this state. There was no sign of the redhead yet, though. Hopefully, she would have time to compose herself before her friend started to come back. She had to compose herself. This... would be such a bad time to put all of this on her. Right when their cases were almost done.

Despite the zombie having worked for her for several months, she had not told her about her dissociations. Whenever she had to go on extended trips over several timelines, she left her behind. If any case required assistance, she had just requested it from the Network. And whenever other opportunities came up to explain it, she simply... did not.

It was not intentional, despite how that might have looked! There were genuine concerns on her part about how the undead-girl could handle being away from home for so long. It was a trying experience the first time, and she had wanted to ensure she was ready. And after having helped her get used to how bizarre other timelines could be, she had felt now was as good a time as any to give her a test run. A feeling that she was proven right about, as far as she was concerned! Other than being a little homesick, which was expected, the patchwork woman was handling things quite well! She could not be prouder of her progress.

It had not had anything to do with her potentially witnessing the detective have an episode. Although... she now sort of wished she had explained it before they left. Even if she did not lose herself here, there had always been a chance it would happen. But it had not occurred to her to do so. She... did not think about her trauma there too much when it was not actively happening. Who would? She tried to keep it in the back of her mind, which was also a big reason she never thought about mentioning it the past few months except in hindsight.

She was not trying to keep it a secret from Ollie. Her insecurities on the matter and how it would affect their dynamic, however, had made it so she might as well have been. She was so scared of losing that trust... Of appearing weak despite her efforts.

But now, if she was not careful... her friend might learn of it in the worst possible way.

The detective frowned at that possibility. Her hands clenched as she took a deep breath, feeling a deep determination in her gut. She refused to let the ID girl get hurt like that because of her failure to communicate. Along with this, she also would not let this affect their mission and cause problems for Astro. She did not even feel that dreadful static in her head that always accompanied her dissociations.

She would not let herself be consumed by one this time. She would hold out until they got home, if she was going to have one at all. She would prove to everyone, including herself, that she was stronger than that. Show them all that she was not fragile... even if she feared she was deep down.

Trying to take strength from this, she dug into her pocket and brought out the holo-map. Pressing a button on the flat, circular device, she watched as a colorful 2D image of the floor plans of the floors below showed up. By the time the zombie got back, she would have their strategy finalized on how they were going to get this evidence. A few worries about her identity were not going to stop them from getting this case done.

The best way to hold off a potential episode was to distract herself, after all. And she had more ways to do that beyond simply planning for this job...

-------

There was plenty to consider when trying to slip into an underground warehouse. Unlike a building in a city, there was a highly limited number of ways you could enter it. There was no wandering around the sides outside the walls to find a crevice or a service ladder or the like. There were few places to hide when going down the corridors leading to its entryway, too. Even if one had digging equipment, it was tricky to use them without creating too much noise.

The fact they were on the moon only added extra levels of complications. If they wanted to “create” a new entrance, then they risked not only a cave-in, but also depressurization. Such a thing would put not only them at risk, but any innocent people nearby. That meant their best bet was to try and use an already existing entrance, which was difficult since the criminals likely had eyes on all of them.

Even as they hid around the corner several meters away from one doorway, they could see the guard. He wore a fully gray version of the clothes they had on, leaning casually against a white wall near the metal door in front of its holographic code pad. In addition, he had on a belt that had a holstered gun that almost looked like a white semi-automatic pistol, but with glowing red lines along where the slide would usually be.

He did not appear all that concerned about being seen, which made sense. Officially, the warehouse he was guarding served as a holding place for electronic equipment - some above civilian-grade stuff. As far as Ame knew, it even did legitimately store some of those for legal sellers who also used the space.

However, the staff and guards were all funded by a shell company - a front for the smugglers. Most of them were members who kept up the front and played nice with the others using the warehouse to not rouse suspicion. Those few who were not in on the ring itself were assumed to either be bought off or kept ignorant with specially assigned inspection plans. Either way, though, they could not count on them for help if they were caught.

Unless something major happened, the authorities could not look into the place. Trying to file legal paperwork for an inspection would only give the smugglers time to hide everything, too (at least, if they were smart, which Astro assured them they were). If anything was to be done, it had to be with hard evidence that required immediate attention.

She and Ollie were just about ready to give them that excuse. She glanced at her partner as they backed up around the corner, keeping her voice down. “You ready to do this?”

The zombie nodded, patting her coat where she had a special stun energy weapon - similar to the guard’s in appearance, but with green lines. “As I’ll ever be. Are we sure this door is our best bet, though?”

“You saw the others - they all have two guards on watch,” the detective said, also feeling where her lent weapon was. “We’ll have an easier time subduing just him to get in. Our only other option would be the ventilation systems, but the ones here are a cramped fit. We might not be able to crawl through them in the first place.”

The undead-girl sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. I bet you wish we could have gotten in through the original one you wanted, though.” She frowned a little in worry. “I don’t remember Astro saying security was this watchful...”

The time-traveler also frowned, getting out her phone. She had messaged the others that they had taken position about ten minutes ago, while also mentioning what they had noticed. They had expected a few doors to have one guard at most, while those that required codes to mostly be left alone. It still would not have been easy to get in, of course - someone would probably have been standing on the other side to quickly take down - but it would have let them make a quicker approach.

This change in pattern was not insurmountable. So long as they played their cards right and stuck to the plan she had come up with, they should be able to get in all the same. However, she was hoping for an answer as to why these guys had changed their routine. If it was due to anything major going on with the insurrection... or because of a leak about their plans...

She went to the group chat made specifically for this mission, as was protocol to have when working directly with other versions if possible. There, she saw that the other two Ames’ who had come here were reporting similar things on their end. It made her more uneasy, but she kept that feeling in check. She waited with a controlled calm, looking to see what Astro had to say about this.

Then, after a few moments, she came to them with answers:

AstroAme: Nobody panic! This is actually a good thing in certain ways! I just contacted Ina, who said that several warehouse workers had been called for massive “colony work meetings” in various bases. It seems that the leaders of the moon wanted to try and make things easier for us under advisement from the authorities. I wish they had thought to tell us about this, but that bureaucracy mixing with independent investigations, I suppose.

AstroAme: The result has meant more guards on the outside to prevent others from getting in, but it should also mean fewer people inside! We’ll be able to move in there more freely with how strained their workforce will be. Still, don’t let down your guard, especially getting in. One alarm, and taking out these smuggling lines will be a lot harder. Reconfirm if you’re ready?

Ame felt like sighing in relief. It was a different scenario than she had planned, but this was definitely still workable. She sent a confirmation message to Astro, and the others also said they were positioned. Her alternate thanked them, then told them to stand by for her signal.

While they waited, the blond turned to her partner to give the good news. “Well, it seems that we aren’t compromised. In fact, there should be fewer guards inside now! We should go and thank the Ina here for that when we can for that.”

Ollie let out a breath, nodding. “Oh, thank God! I was worried this meant an important meeting was going on inside. Like with the leader of the insurrectionists.”

“Not today, but I’ve had to assist with that happening once before,” the detective mentioned. She peered carefully around the corner for a moment. The guard was still there, looking even more bored than before if possible, and slightly irritated. She could understand why, since these meetings would be causing delays in their shipments. Wonder if we’ll get lucky and he’ll wander off to use the bathroom. It’ll save us a performance.

The zombie hummed, one hand idly tapping the upper part of her other arm. “How did that mission go, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Got shot in the arm and had one of my legs broken,” the detective said casually. “The others got pretty banged up, too. But on the bright side, nobody died. I wasn’t fast enough with my Concoction, though, to fix all of the damage, so I had to do a little healing when I got back.” (She stopped thinking about what came after, with Kiara hovering so insistently around her and lecturing her. As if she understood her work and how to manage the risks, like she was not doing her best already to-!)

The undead-girl paused, looking her up and down, before giving an exasperated chuckle and half-smiling. “The way you treat getting injured at times is truly... something.”

The time-traveler gave a weary smile back. “Trust me - if I ever get a serious injury, I treat it that way. The gunshot wound was pretty shallow, and I’ve broken plenty of bones.” She gained a more mischievous grin. “Besides, those injuries served as great motivators for Gawr, who I had brought along for that one.”

Ollie had to cover her mouth to prevent herself from laughing too loud. “Oh, wow! Now I almost feel bad for those guys.”

“I bet they were feeling bad, too, after all the water that threw them around that cave,” Ame replied. It had been quite the sight then to see the former Atlantean warrior fight without holding back. (She was also grateful the shark-girl got the phoenix off of her back and made her fretting more manageable.)

The two shared some more giggles over the story, before settling back into position. She kept her phone out, waiting for a signal to be sent to get started. Their entry would have to be a little improvised at this point, but she knew they could handle this. They would be back up the upper floors and helping the police prep for their raid in no time!

...Assuming, of course, she did not end up dissociating.

She held back any physical reactions to the thought. While it was true her episodes rarely happened while in the middle of danger, there were a few occasions of it happening. Remarkably, it had not happened so far when she was working with others in the Network. That meant she did not have to feel too bad about retreating. She could time jump out of a situation, have her panic attack, and then deal with the consequences of that in her own time.

But she could not ignore that her streak could finally be broken here. Jumping back to the exact moment she left could be tricky, and it came with the concern of revealing her nature. (It was hard to appear unnoticed in a place with limited space like a moon colony.) And that was not mentioning how the redhead would likely react to having to suddenly deal with that.

The small distraction there had helped keep her mind off of things, but she needed to be extra sure. Thus, closing her eyes, she tried to keep her mind occupied... by thinking about how different this timeline was to hers. All the unique concepts about it she knew of it, no matter how big or small, from her normal reality.

Such a method would probably seem contradictory to what she was trying to accomplish at first. Her dissociations, however, were more so based on how she viewed herself and specific personal relationships. While elements of another timeline could help exacerbate that, pondering their unique elements also helped to keep her mind stimulated. By focusing on these, she could ground herself better in the present and not lose track of where she was.

It was a technique she had been trying to perfect, believing it to be her best protection from her issues. She prayed it would hold her together for this job, too, as she considered what she knew about this timeline. So... Ina. She’s the leader of Moon Colony 21, but has a lot of pull otherwise. She’s heralded as keeping religion alive in space as people become more obsessed with machines and science. Kind of a mix of church and state, but she doesn’t mandate any religious events. Which one did she believe in? Did Astro mention-?

No - don’t think about your other self too much! But... she did mention how she wishes there were more plants there. Not just in the colonies, but on Earth. A lot of deforestation has been happening since the turn of the millennia. I don’t think there’s a Fauna here to protect it or a Mumei to hold back progress. A Kronii from somewhere else watches over the timestream. It happens at times, but it’s sad none of the Council are here. Beyond that...

...Christ, this is easier when I know more about the timeline. I know quite a bit about the next one! Why couldn’t I be having these concerns then? Ugh... just focus more. Now, I think the early colonies were made in the... 27th century? It was also just in the last one that humanity truly started to spread beyond the solar system. That’s a good amount of advancement in that amount of time. I wonder how they solved the problem with light speed? Is it done with some sort of warp engine, or do they-?

She was brought out of her thoughts by a tap on the shoulder. Jumping slightly, she almost turned to give an annoyed glare. She stopped herself, though, as she saw her Kouhai looking at her curiously. “What has you thinking so hard there?”

Blinking at this, the detective cleared her throat and shrugged casually. “Nothing important. Just some details about this timeline that I thought were pretty neat.” It was best to be mostly honest on this, otherwise her friend might dig deeper. She was getting pretty perceptive about whether she was lying about stuff here lately thanks to their time together.

The zombie appeared to accept the answer, thankfully, as she smiled and looked around the empty corridor they were in. “I don’t blame you. It’s one thing to watch a show or read a book about being on the moon and imagining yourself in the character’s place. To actually be here, though... I don’t think I’ve calmed down from that yet.”

The time-traveler gave a friendly eye roll. “I don’t think you helped yourself by getting yourself caffeinated tea along with my coffee.”

“You think you’re the only one who needs an extra wake-up call sometimes?” the undead-girl complained. “I would have gotten a coffee, too, if they didn’t make me feel so weird. I’m actually a little shocked you don’t get more tea like that.”

“However it may affect my stomach at times, coffee gives me more energy,” Ame replied. “Besides, when was the last time you heard of an investigator brooding over a case with a cup of tea in hand? It kills the ‘hard-boiled’ vibes!”

“...Since when have you ever tried to appear like that to anyone?”

“Since just now when I thought about the comparison.”

Ollie giggled, shaking her head. She then paused, suddenly gaining a more thoughtful expression. “Say, do you... go to other planets and moons often in your work? This is the first time you’ve really brought me off of Earth.”

The detective raised an eyebrow, thinking back on their cases. “Really? I mean, I know I’ve never taken you anywhere with low gravity. But... has it really all been on Earth? I could’ve sworn I had taken you to another planet by now.”

“Never once,” the zombie confirmed. “I’ve seen some spaceships at a distance, a few aliens,  and been to other Realms. But unless we count that last one, I’ve never been anywhere in the stars.”

The time-traveler frowned, rubbing her chin. “Huh... That’s strange. I didn’t mean to do that. I guess... I like to use Earth a lot as a hub. It’s surprisingly important across the multiverse in various mythical and intergalactic politics and wars.” Things like that and more made it interesting to see how the landscape there changed between each timeline, metaphorically and literally. She supposed it also made sense she would be more concerned over the fate of a version of her own world over happenings anywhere else. (Plus, it was not like she volunteered her service to the Network’s Multiversal-Galatic Development Division often.)

“I’m not complaining - I was just curious,” the undead-girl reassured. “It’s so hard to keep up with alternate histories as is without expanding things that widely!” She then gave her a cheeky grin. “But still, maybe we could get you a spacesuit of some kind and do this more often?”

Ame furrowed her eyebrows. “Why... would I need to have one of my own? I can always borrow one from the Network if I need one for a case, or locally.”

“Sure, but what about back in our timeline?” Ollie questioned. “We were talking earlier about how Iofi could give us a lift. I’m sure Sana could give us a few tours of space once she gets back from dealing with that black hole.”

The detective's frown deepened as she considered this. She had not considered that she might need one back home. But realistically, speaking, if she took a case in the far future back there, then having a suit of her own would be useful. (And the mention of Sana reminded her of how she could not use her watch to visit the Speaker without risking suffocation if she was off... among other nasty space effects. If the woman ever needed to leave like this again...)

However... she could not ignore how eager her partner looked, and given her antics on streams... she could guess as to a possible reason. Thus, she sent her a deadpan stare. “And how, exactly, does my wearing a spacesuit... ‘excite’ you?”

The zombie blinked in shock, before sheepishly chuckling and rubbing the back of her neck. “Heh... That’s... only half the reason, I swear!”

“I’m sure,” the time-traveler responded, allowing herself a small smile. “But... I really don’t see what the appeal is. Unless you like seeing people in puffy inflated suits.” Sure, she was pretty out of touch when it came to romance and... kinks. But even then...

The undead-girl scoffed. “Oh, come on! They can look quite sexy when they’re just hanging off of the body.” Her grin became more impish. “And you have to consider what it’s like to unzip a suit like that to reveal the tighter undersuit and armor beneath. I bet you’d look so nice doing that.~”

Ame’s cheeks heated up at that, coughing a few times as she looked away. Her lack of a real response only caused the ID girl to laugh more, patting her good-naturedly on the back. She smiled at that, un-tensing a little as she giggled along. While the other’s joking teasing could embarrass her at times, she truly did enjoy them. There was no need to take them too seriously, either - it was all in good fun.

(But... if it was not serious, why did she want to do that so strongly now? For only her to see...)

It was banter like this and earlier that made her feel a bit foolish for not taking a partner for years. Little things like that kept her spirits up in dire situations, and helped her enjoy less serious cases all the more. And whatever fears she had of it at first, she was enjoying being a teacher about multiversal travel. It was even getting harder to not ask the redhead along when she was strictly not needed.

She was like an anchor to the blond, in many ways. A person she was hoping would always have her back for a long time to come. An energetic, but gentle presence that kept her sane despite her own-

The detective’s eye twitched slightly. That last thought... She did not like pursuing it. Her friend was not there to be some tool to fix her brain. She deserved to know about her dissociations, but she should not have to worry about trying to get rid of them. She already did so much for her, especially when it came down to fights. The EN member had to be careful when she thought about things like that.

...But perhaps she could acknowledge her presence probably helped her sanity. Just having those heterochromatic eyes on her, both admiring and protective... She liked to think it made a difference. Maybe it was even the reason she had not felt that “static” build-up at all. A living ward to all the trauma she tried to push through...

She was brought out of her thoughts again by a small tap. The undead-girl tilted her head, her brow slightly creased. “You sure you’re good?”

The time-traveler looked at her for a moment... then smiled softly. “Yeah... I think I am. I have you to thank for it, too.”

Ollie blinked, looking a little flustered at that for some reason. Before either of them could say anything more, though, a quiet ping came from the phone still in Ame’s hand. Looking down at it, she saw that Astro had just given the signal, telling them to move in. The other two Ames’ sent acknowledgments, and she swiftly did the same.

As nice as conversing with her friend was, they still had a job to do. She took one last look around the corner, where the guard still stood, then back at her partner. “Looks like we’re sticking with the plan. You ready?”

The zombie nodded, giving a slight smirk. “I think you’ll be quite proud of how far my acting abilities have come.”

The detective chuckled. “Well, you don’t need to strain yourself too much here. You’re basically playing yourself.”

Rolling her eyes at that, the undead-girl nonetheless stepped more into the middle of the hall they were in. She waited a few seconds, then slowly started to move her feet in place. She soon started to stamp them harder gradually, as if she was coming running from further down the hall. The noise had a slight echo in the metal halls, which the guard no doubt was starting to notice.

She did this for a few seconds, taking a few deep breaths. Then, with a gesture from the blond, she ran around the corner. Her face instantly morphed from serious and determined to wide-eyed with wonder. She kept her voice high-pitched to sell the image. “WOW! These underground tunnels are amazing!”

The time-traveler rounded the corner right after her, pretending to be out of breath. Hands on her knees, she sent a fake but convincing glare to the other. “Slow down! Don’t you realize you’ve gotten us completely lost? Now how am I supposed to see out of the sky dome?!”

“Oh, you worry too much!” Ollie said, twirling on her feet and looking completely carefree. “All we have to do is go up, right? Besides, this place is so pretty when we don’t have to see so many decorations!”

“Barren, more like,” Ame grumbled, standing straighter and crossing her arms. Her eyes stayed on the redhead, but in the corner of them, she watched the guard. He had come off the wall with a look of concern at first. But after their exchange just now, he quickly started to look a little annoyed. As far as he was concerned, he was looking at some tourists who had gotten lost in the lower levels.

Perfect, she mused. Keeping up the act, she pretended to just now notice him and sighed with relief. She walked over, giving an apologetic smile. “Excuse me, but... could you help us? The elevators down the way we came broke down, and my friend has gotten us turned around.” She sent a glare back at the ID girl, then looked back. “Can you point us to the nearest way to get to the... Lincoln section, I think it’s called?”

Appearing to hold back a groan, the guard quickly calmed down and nodded. He half-turned and pointed down the corridor. “Of course. The quickest way is to go down this way and take the right down there, see? Take the third left after that, then follow the signs from there. They’ll point you toward the nearest elevators.” He looked back and raised an eyebrow. “Have you not been paying attention to any down here?”

“Hard to when you’re playing catchup with this girl,” the detective said, pointing back at the patchwork woman. She peered down toward where he pointed. “But... which right did you mean? The one with a faint green light coming from it?”

The man appeared confused, turning again to see what she was referring to. “Green light? What the hell are-?”

That was as far as he got before Ollie closed the distance. Before he even had a chance to recognize she had done so, she pulled out her stun gun and put it point blank to his back, pulling the trigger. A yellow bolt of energy left the barrel and struck him with a zap, immediately causing him to suck in a breath as his body shuddered and his knees buckled.

Before he could shout, the EN member took out her own weapon and pistol-whipped him on the back of the head. The duo caught him before his shocked, unconscious body could fall to the ground. Gingerly, they lowered him down, looking around to make sure they were not seen. No one came to check about the noise, though. The other entrances to the warehouse were too far away for the gasps to be heard thanks to how big it was. It would be some time before any of them thought to check on him.

Once they had him on his back, the blond took a deep breath, then nodded to her partner. “Good work there.”

“It was your plan,” the zombie retorted but smiled at the compliment. She looked down at her weapon, whose green lights had gone dark but were quickly turning on again as it recharged. “This thing makes more noise than a taser, though. Not much, but considering this is a stealth mission...”

“But you don’t have to worry about body armor stopping it from working,” the time-traveler said, walking away from the guard. She began to mess with the code pad, its holographic display appearing. “You would need energy shields for that one.”

The undead-girl stood behind her, gun raised as she alternated pointing it down both sides of the hall, just in case. “And we were sure he would not have any? Yeah, Astro said civilians would not have them, but... I mean, they’re smugglers. I doubt they cared.”

“At that range, it would not have mattered anyway,” Ame retorted, not looking away from the pad. “Besides, that’s why I also pistol-whipped him so quickly.”

Ollie hummed. “I guess I just expected more of an advanced civilization?”

The detective laughed. “No matter how great the tech is, it’s still going to have flaws and weak points. It doesn’t matter how far you go into the future or what aliens you meet.”

It was then that she finished typing in the override code that they had been given. A moment later, the door slid open silently, revealing a short corridor into the warehouse proper. She knew where they would be coming in from there... and where the contraband was likely being kept. All they had to do was be cautious of remaining patrols inside.

Not that she was worried, when she turned and looked at her little protector. Smirking, she nodded toward the entrance. “You ready to be quick?”

The zombie mirrored her expression. “At this rate, I think we’ll have time to get another coffee before we need to meet the authorities.”

Another laugh was shared between them. They dragged the body of the man into the small space to hide it. Then, with their weapons in hand, they slunk through further and made their way in... with her pushing all fear of dissociation from her mind. She would prove stronger than them this time. She would endure until this case and their last were done! She would prove that she was healing, to herself and Kronii!

...She could almost even pretend that most of that was not bravado.

-------

Ollie was not sure what she had expected after they had snuck into the warehouse. After having done so many cases and seen how plans fell apart all the time, she had expected some sort of disaster. Maybe something minor, like subduing another guard just in the nick of time before he called out their presence. Or perhaps they really would find a bomb and have to make a hasty retreat, or do something to prevent it going off.

And yet... nothing major happened. On the contrary, the mission had been almost... stupidly easy, in a way. Sure, they had to be careful about keeping their heads down as a few people aimlessly wandered around the various containers in the gargantuan space. (It had felt almost as big as a few city blocks there.) It was also not easy to quietly peek into said containers when most of them were metal and had further padlocks to contend with. While they had further overriding codes for those, it still took time to enter them, which were moments that anyone could have come upon them.

However, despite these small things, they had managed to look into several shipments undetected. A few had been legitimate, but thanks to some shipping logs they had been provided, they were able to find plenty of the fake ones. In those, they had found energy rifles and electromagnetic grenades hidden underneath regular hardware. They both got plenty of pictures of these, and the markings on their containers indicating who had sent them.

After that, getting back out had not been a hassle. The zombie had kept looking behind them as they went to the police station, expecting someone to follow. However... no one did. Even the guard they had knocked out had stayed down when they came back through - hands and legs bound just in case. No shouts followed them when they got back into the upper levels and blended back in with the crowd. There was just... no retaliation.

She did not even know if they found out about their presence by the time they turned the evidence in. The police chief thanked them for their service, and then they were left alone as several officers were summoned to prepare for the raid. Messages Ame had received from the other groups indicated that they had similar luck. Astro-Ame gave her appreciation to them, and then... that was that.

This left the duo to retire to a rental room on one of the edges of the dome - special accommodations for their service. It was a rather plain space - two small beds, a few generic pictures of flowers, and a screen that showed a broadcast of the lunar surface beyond. (A real window would be more expensive.) The redhead sat alone currently on the white sheets of one mattress, twiddling her fingers. Meanwhile, the blond was out returning their borrowed equipment and filling out some legal paperwork. She would be back any moment, leaving her to wait to discuss things.

It also left her to stew a little bit about the ease with which this all happened.

She was not ungrateful that things went so well. It was unusual for there to be so few complications, but things like this happened. Any case where they were not getting nearly singed or having to duck under cover from gunfire was a good one. It certainly got Astro-Ame everything she wanted, too. And considering the weeks they had been out, having such a smooth case near the end of their time out was a blessing.

However... it also meant she was left with a lot of energy. Her unspent anticipation, along with the caffeine earlier, made her wonder if she would get any sleep before they had to leave. The detective had said they would have seven hours once she got back, then they would head off to do the last case. With how much they had been moving between timelines, she should not be wasting this time.

Yet she could not imagine that she would get a good amount of sleep like this. It made her sigh, flopping backward against the bed as she looked up at the round light fixtures. She had been given warnings about how tired this whole affair would make her, but it was still not easy going through it. It seemed that she would only be getting a proper rest once they were home and the changing of time zones (in more ways than one) would not scramble her internal clock.

...At least we stopped an uprising - for now, anyway, the undead-girl thought, which brought plenty of satisfaction. She did not know if it was an inevitable event - she had not asked anyone about how history was supposed to progress. They may have only stopped it from happening earlier than it was supposed to. But they still gave the people of these colonies more time to live in peace. No one would take that from her.

She had been learning to take those kinds of victories. Ever since that mission in the bubble timeline, she was coming to better accept that they could not prevent all atrocities or bad periods. They helped where they could, but they could not erase all terrible things, no matter how hard they tried. So, she was taking pride in the people they could help. In the deaths they prevented and the mysteries they could unravel.

If they could bring just a little more peace to the multiverse, even at its low points... That was worth something.

It was about then that the door to the room slid open. Looking over, she watched as the time-traveler stepped into the room, looking at her phone as she went over and sat on the other bed. “Well, it sounds like everything went well for the authorities. It probably helped that so many of the smugglers were still in those meetings that were called. They didn’t exactly have any weapons to fight back with.”

“What about those in the warehouse?” Ollie asked, sitting up again to address her.

“They were still wrapping up by the time I left, but it sounded like their teams had gotten alright,” Ame replied, looking up from her phone. “It sounded like a few of the smugglers surrendered without issue. Guess they weren’t diehard for the cause after all.”

The zombie hummed, glancing down. She let out a long breath, one finger tapping her other palm. “So... in other words, there was no need to worry about an explosion, huh?”

The detective frowned, catching on to what she meant immediately. “Ollie... you’re fine if what happened in the bubble timeline still affects you.”

The undead-girl flinched, hating the reminder of that time. She hated the lingering effect it had been having on her. It had not been either of their faults that they had to scramble so much to escape that explosive from those terrorists there. It had just been bad intel. It was far from the only time their lives had been on the line, either.

But even so... the unexpectedness of it all had shaken her. She had been a bit more paranoid about unknown factors since then, and a little more watchful even when not on guard duty. She had tried to not be too overbearing about it, but... she still worried she had been annoying her Senpai with her extra vigilance when possible. The last thing she wanted was to become a hindrance to her work by going too far.

Seeming to sense her thoughts, the time-traveler sighed, getting up and walking over. She knelt slightly and hugged her, patting her on the back. “I’m serious, Ollie. If I thought there was a problem with your attitude, I would have told you ages ago. Do you think I would have brought you for these cases if I did?”

Ollie took a deep breath, slowly nodding. She pulled back and gave an apologetic smile. “Of course. Sorry, I... I think I’m starting to let that whole event go, anyway. Not that I’m not going to be scared for your life in other situations.”

“You’d better be worried for me if I have a gun pointed at me!” Ame said with a smile. The two laughed, disengaging the hug as she stood up and stretched. “But that’s enough of that. We should probably be getting ready to lie down.”

That reminder made the zombie groan. “Ugh! I don’t know how I’m supposed to get any sleep! I can’t even turn off the screen to help!” She gestured to the view of the lunar surface, where the dark side had crept closer, but there was still plenty of light.

The detective gave a weary chuckle. “Can’t say I’ll do much better. Still, try to get as much as you can. The last case might not go smoothly like this one.” She walked back to her bed, laying on her back and propping her head up with a pillow. “This good of an operation is to be appreciated. I guess that’s what happens when you have the local government fully on your side, though. And that they have such fine control over so many aspects of these colonies.”

“Are we going to get called back soon to deal with a rise in tyranny here from that?” the undead-girl asked, half-joking, but also genuinely curious.

“Astro says nothing like that is in this place’s immediate future,” the time-traveler replied, holding up her phone. “A lot of those regulations and legal power is due to the domes technically still being the property of the countries of Earth. There’ll be some major reformations coming in the next century, though, apparently. Some of the more invasive stuff will be dealt with then in a far less bloody fashion than we stopped here.”

Ollie nearly felt a surge in her heart at the confirmation of the difference they had made. Still, she focused more on the other’s phone, snickering a little. “Why am I not surprised you're spending time learning more about this place when we’re about to leave it?”

“Hey, if she’s going to ramble about how great this place is, I may as well get something from it,” Ame said with a shrug, though a sparkle was in her eyes. “It’s a good method to fall asleep to for me, too.” She then frowned some, glancing around. “I am kind of sorry you didn’t get much from your first real space trip. I should have gotten us a case on a space cruiser, or at some distant star.”

The zombie waved her off. “It’s fine. I know you’ll show me some crazier stuff eventually. I wasn’t trying to give you a hard time about it - just teasing is all.”

“...Except for wanting to see me to get a spacesuit, I’m guessing?” the detective asked, amusement in her tone.

“I was certainly serious that you would look dashing in one,” the undead-girl replied, a wide grin on her face. She broke down into giggles soon after at seeing the other flush lightly. It was so easy to get a reaction out of her with those flirts! As seriously as she took this job, she was glad she could joke so casually like that.

(Then why did it not feel like a joke? Like she’d actually want to see her friend slowly unzipping a suit to reveal what lay under... Maybe nothing at all-)

Ame eventually sighed, smiling as she went back to her phone. “Just get some rest. We’ll do a case review before we leave and get changed into our normal clothes.”

Nodding, Ollie did her best to settle in. Just one more case, and we’ll be home. She could not wait to see everyone again, and to spend some more mundane time with her Senpai on her break. She would not let that desire lead to mistakes for this last case, though. Closing her eyes, she prayed that her lingering tiredness would be enough for at least a few hours of shut-eye.

...Before she could even begin to drift off, though, the detective spoke up again. “Hey... Ollie?”

Pausing, the zombie opened her eyes and looked over at her. Something about her friend’s tone was... strange. “Yes, Ame?”

The time-traveler glanced away for a second, seeming to debate something. Then, with a sigh, she met her gaze, her expression hard to read. “It’s... There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about. It has nothing to do with how you’ve been doing! But I should have talked to you about it sooner. It’s... not a good time right now, but sometime after we get back, remind me to do so in the next few days, okay?”

The undead-girl furrowed her eyebrows, feeling a twinge of concern. “Um... sure. But are you okay? You seem...” She trailed off, not sure how to describe what she was seeing.

Ame appeared to ponder that, then shrugged. “I think I am. Don’t worry about it too much. I just don’t want to forget to do this. I’ve got it under control for now.”

That... was not entirely reassuring. Still, Ollie decided to not press the issue yet and nodded, frowning. “Okay, then. I trust you on this, but let me know if anything changes, I guess.”

The detective gave her a thumbs up, then returned to her phone. The zombie turned her head back and once more closed her eyes. She was not sure what her friend may have been referring to. She had not noticed anything wrong while they did this case, nor any of the last few. They were both remarkably healthy after so much work, if anything!

...Well, perhaps she had felt that something was slightly off earlier. It was not anything she could pin, though. Just a sensation she had gotten while she had been getting their drinks before, and seen the blond thinking so hard before they got their signal. She had thought it was paranoia from her remaining concerns caused by the bubble timeline, but now that she had heard this...

Even so, however, she tried to shake it off. Whatever it was, she was sure the time-traveler would explain it in full once they got back. They just had to get through this last job, and all would be well!

It’s going to be pretty tricky, though, the undead-girl mused as she turned in her bed to get more comfortable. From what she remembered the EN girl saying about this one, they would be up against a mob, and demons might be in their ranks. They were similar to the ones back home, but the blond was a bit concerned, since they could actually recognize time relics like her watch on sight and by "feel." They would need to be careful how they approached infiltration of their base to get the ritual needed to restore the angelic power they were disrupting. They were not helped by the Ame there being out of commission.

Still, she had confidence they would get through this. They would help the Aqua there with this problem (who knew she could be a good mayor of Chicago?) and end the chaos there. While she doubted things would go fully their way like there, they would overcome what was thrown at them!

...So why did she feel so uneasy as well?