Once I sought to change the future. It was my greatest mistake.

From the moment that Maria and I were abducted on that day at Mt. Itoi, perhaps my destiny was set. How would I have ever learned of the nature of PSI, that power of ones consciousness? As a reporter, how could I not indulge my curiosity in that alien race?

Perhaps that is the reason I spent far less time with the alien child than Maria did. If only I had not been focused on the potential of such knowledge, perhaps what is to come could have been avoided. But I cannot change the past.

PSI is a power of Ego - the self, ones own desires of how the world ought to be spilling forth to dye reality their own colours. For a reporter such as myself, the form that power took was natural. Abilities to 'See the Truth', at the expense of the far more common skills such as healing, or psychokinesis.

I started with the simple skill of Spirit Photography. Conjuring forth images of places I had never been. Performing a supernatural act felt incredible, but it as not enough. Soon, I began looking into Psychometry, reading an objects history through touch. I even tapped into a minor form of Telepathy.

Then the Dreams began.

The cloying darkness, the screams of billions. I knew these dreams were a premonition, but of what? Something terrible, but could I somehow avert it?

For whatever reason my captors would not allow me to inquire further. Perhaps they had foreseen some of what would happen, and were trying to protect Maria's adopted child. Perhaps they knew this tragedy would not affect them. Or perhaps they rightly feared the realm I explored.

The Dreamlands.

When I stole my captors technology and escaped there through my Magicant, I saw terrible things. Trees that dream of forests where none shall ever walk. Stormclouds that glare down with human eyes at their core. Worst, that horrifying, flesh coloured blob, that endless void bearing a terrifying childish innocence.

It is a maddening place. But there within, I saw the future clearly... and realised the fool I am.

I see an armada that blots out the sky. Our Mother, Earth, vanishes and the universe cares not.

I see a dark city that seeks to devour the horizon.

I see my great grandsons journey, and the hardships my folly will bring upon him.

I see the Child, Giygas, warped into something I cannot comprehend, having forgotten love. Four children, three boys and a girl, battle against the darkness.

When I escaped, I resolved to truly change fate.

Despite everything, I have failed. The visions have continued.

Yet I try. Ninten will learn Maria's melody. Eve will assist him to Itoi's peak. The knowledge of PSI has been spread.

I still have hope.

My vision of the children has changed. Two girls, two in shadow. It is proof.

The future does not refuse to change.

Initially intended as an omake, I kind of ran out of steam, so I guess its a mini-omake/brief exploration of a concept now? Or maybe three mini-omakes in a trenchcoat? Either way, enjoy, or don't.

Your whole body hurts

You were on your knees, your prized baseball bat being used to prop you up was the only thing stopping you from kissing the concrete.

Meanwhile, the culprits surrounded you, laughing, jeering at your pain. Grinning like their namesake when there's blood in the water.

"Tch…I knew the Sharks were thugs, but I didn't take you guys to be cowards too." You spat out venomously. "What. Were you afraid I'd kick all of your asses in a fair fight, so you jumped me instead?"

Bastards…all you were doing was walking home when suddenly they came out from the alleyways, battering you with their fists and whatever crude weapons they had. You fought back of course, but with the odds stacked against you as they were, you had no chance in a 7 to 1.

One stepped forward; a teen boy your age wearing a Shark bandanna and some ugly shades. In his hands he twirled a golf club.

"We don't play by anyone's rules besides our own, missy." He said in a voice that you would expect more from a 50 year old chain-smoker, "and all is fair in love and war!"

"The fuck do you guys even want? I didn't do shit to you guys!"

"Maybe not." He agrees as he leans on the club, "...but you know something we want to know, and now that you know we mean business, we'll ask ya nicely."

"Tell us…where's that damn treehouse?"

"...Piss off, I don't know anything about that."

"Bullshit!" He snarls at you, "We saw you following that dweeb in the baseball cap earlier! We know you know, and if you won't tell us…well, we'll get a little less polite." He scowled, "So…what will it be?"

…This was bad. You weren't in any shape to fight and Buzz-Buzz wasn't here to help. You could heal yourself with PSI but…should you infront of so many witnesses?

Dammit! Well, you know one thing for certain.

"Go fuck off back behind Fankie's coattails!" You say defiantly, "I'm telling you jackshit!"

The leader looked at you with fury for a moment, before receding to make way for a savage grin.

"Is that so…jeez, what is with people these days, not knowing what's best for them?" He sighed as he raised his golf club in the air, "no matter…a bit more roughing up will change your tune."

The club goes down and you clench your eyes shut to prepare for the pain to come.

*WHACK!*

a cry of pain rings out into the air.

…but it wasn't your own.

You opened your eyes to see the Sharks' leader clutching their now broken nose as blood flowed freely from it as his minions looked on in shock. But that was secondary to what was in front of you.

For now a girl stood between you and the leader, facing away from you as she faced the delinquents. You couldn't see her face, but her hair was bright orange, bundled into a tasteful ponytail. Her outfit looked like a school uniform, a blue blazer and a purple skirt. Her stance was strangely laxed, but something told you she was anything but.

"You…YOU BITCH!" The leader screamed in rage, forgetting his broken nose as blood flowed still. "How DARE you interfere with our business!? Who the hell even are you!?"

"Hmmmm~" this mystery girl hummed, "...I don't think you need to know what, just that I'm the one who is going to be whooping all of your butts for ganging up on a girl like this." She begins to stretch her arms as if she was warming up for an exercise, instead of being surrounded by several hostile goons like she was.

"I mean…seriously? That's like, totally lame! If you know what's good for you, how about you blow back to total bumsville before I teach you a lesson about being pathetic jerks!"

"What did you say!?" The leader shouted as he began to run towards the girl, his club raised into the air. "Know your place, bitch! I'll teach YOU to respect the Sharks!" In his rage, he seemed to have forgotten about you, now his wrath is focused entirely on the newcomer.

Big mistake.

Pushing through the pain, you pick yourself off the ground. By the time you did so, the leader was close and ready to swing at the girl, who showed no signs of blocking or even changing her stance.

She wouldn't have to, for you swung your own bat at the leader's chest, reminding him of your existence as he is knocked to the ground with a howl of pain.

The girl turned towards you in surprise and you saw her face, blue eyes meeting sapphire. "Wow, you're up already? Are you alright?"

"Yeah…" you reply as you get into a fighting stance, "...And you can now piss off. This is my fight, not yours."

That, and you didn't really want a goodie two-shoes getting hurt trying to help you.

She blinks before smiling, "Wellll, I think I'm a bit too deep to back out now, so how about we compromise and beat them together, sound fair?"

You give a small scowl, but turn towards the remaining Sharks, all of whom are now readying themselves for a fight. "...Fine, but you better not blame me for any scrapes you get."

The mystery girl smirks as she turns her attention to the Sharks as well, "Likewise, but I don't think that will be an issue between the two of us. Now let's teach these chumps a lesson!"

***************

You're breathing heavily, but you're still standing.

Which is more than you could say to the guys you just fought, each and every one of them were sprawled on the ground (or in a nearby dumpster in the case of one), collectively groaning in pain.

…Maybe you went too overboard?

…Nah, they jumped you, so they deserved anything that was coming to them.

"So these are the kinds of punks that live around here, huh…what's their deal anyways?" The mystery girl asked, looking down at the Sharks' fallen forms, apparently unimpressed.

You shrug, "Not from around here? They've been a pain around these parts for a good while…though this is the first time they targeted me. Idiots."

…Now comes the hard part.

"...Uh, thanks for the help there, by the way." You manage to say.

Why was it so hard for you to say 'thank you' you will never understand.

The girl opened her mouth to respond, probably to say something like 'no need to thank me!' or 'I only did what was right!' as all goodie two-shoes say.
…If her stomach didn't take that moment to interrupt her with one loud growl.

Silence reigned for a few moments after as you two stared at each other, the girl growing more flustered in each passing moment.

"I know!" she suddenly says, "How about you thank me by showing me a good place to grab a bite to eat around here?"

You couldn't help but snort, "Sure, sure. Follow me, I know a pretty good pizza place."

***************

Around 10 minutes of walking and 5 minutes of ordering later, you two sat along the curb outside Machs Pizza; a perfect slice of Pepperoni Lover's pizza in both of your hands.

You enjoyed the masterpiece slowly as one should, but the mystery girl must have been starving as she was eating it like it was ambrosia from the Gods themselves…or maybe she just never had a proper pizza before, you could see someone like that reacting the same way to the greasy delicacy of dough and cheese.

"Ahhh~" she sighs after she finishes off her slice, "That really hit the spot, definitely beats the pizza joints i've been to before!"

You suppose this would be a good time to ask a question that's been weighing on your mind.

"...Why did you help me back there? You didn't have any reason to, so why?"

The girl tilts her head, "Why not? I was just hanging out on a nearby roof when I noticed you being in that tight spot to the left of me, so I jumped down to help. Isn't it normal to lend a hand in situations like that?"

You snort as you shake your head, "Not here it isn't, though I guess that also explains how you suddenly appeared out of nowhere."

…Wait

You look at the mystery girl, "...You said I was 'to your left'? But that means you jumped down from the right, and the building there was several stories tall."

She tilts her head further, "...What about it?"

You blink before slowly shaking your head and turning away from this maniac "...You know what, nevermind."

"Okay!"

Silence reigns for a few more moments as you finish your own slice.

"...Soooo…"

"...What?"

"...What's your name?"

…Oh…huh, you only realize now that you haven't actually made introductions yet.

"...Cass" You say, "Most people around here call me 'CD' though."

At least when they aren't cursing you out for something you are only occasionally at fault for.

"'CD'? Like, the disc?"

You roll your eyes, "Yeah, exactly like that."

"I see! Nice to meet you then, CD-San!"

"CD…'San'?" You repeat, clearly confused as the meaning of the addition is lost to you. It sounded familiar, but you couldn't quite put your finger on it…you think you heard something like that in one of those cartoons your sister likes?

"Ah, right, I guess you guys wouldn't use honorifics."

"'Honor fics? Wha-"

She waves a hand, "Don't worry about it. Anyways, I'm Kyoko and I'm from River City! It's nice to meet you!"

Kyoko…

"Kyoko huh…you're Japanese then?"

Kyoko scratches her head, "...I guess?"

"...You guess."

She shrugs, "I mean, my family was from Japan, but that doesn't really mean much to me outside history classes…which I mostly sleep through anyways. River City was always my home." She pauses, "...Well, I guess until now that is."

You guess that makes sense. You can't say you know much about what the rest of The City is like, but the classes you did bother to take did make it clear that the Eagle Quarter was unique in that it was almost entirely populated by settlers from a place called the 'USA', and that's why so many people here still consider themselves to be 'American' despite never seeing their homeland before it was crushed into dust. Many zones probably don't have the same origin story.

"So you're not just visiting? Did you just move here?"

Kyoko nods, "Yup! Mom was getting anxious about all the Syndicate guys around our old neighborhood, so she had a few of her old friends help us get a place here." her bright smile dims a little, "...It is a little bit of a bummer though, having to leave all my friends…"

"That would suck, yeah." You agree, "Well, for what it's worth, welcome to Onnet. The lamest town in the entire Quarter."

Kyoko frowns, "That doesn't sound like a nice thing to say about your hometown."

"I'm just being honest." You say bluntly, "The only thing worth a damn here is the Arcade really, but even that's been taken over by the Sharks too. It's only going to get worse too, thanks to the lockdown."

"What about the people?" Kyoko asks, "Are the people fun here at least?"

"Asking the wrong person for that." you reply

"You don't know?"

You give a small shrug, "I'm not 'popular' you could say, so I don't have alot of experience with the others here to say for sure."

"...Don't you have friends?"

"...Not really." You admit, "Fits me just fine though, people don't bother me, and I don't bother them…at least until today."

"...I see."

Kyoko gets up from the curb and clasps her hands together.

"Then it's settled." she proclaims with a beaming smile

You look up at her in slight confusion, "What is?"
She extends a hand out towards you, "I've decided you'll be my first friend in this town!"

…What

"What."

"...Unless you don't want to be friends." Kyoko says, but in a way so crestfallen that you almost feel guilty if you were to reject.

"Wha-No no no!" You quickly say, "I guess, I'm fine with it but…why? You only just met me and I told you I don't have the best rep around here. Hell, for all you could know, I could have started that fight earlier!"

Kyoko taps her chin, "I guess…but then you would be a bit of a dummy for taking on so many people at once, and I don't think you are."

"Geez, how kind of you."

"But even if I did, I also overheard that one guy his whole spiel about a treehouse anyways."

You think for a moment, "...You got me there, but still how can you be sure we would have anything in common at all!"

"Oh, that's easy!" Kyoko responds chipperly, "We already have plenty in common! For example, we both get into fights…"

"You've only seen me in a fight once."

"...we both can take a hit as well as we can send one out."

"...I will give you that."

"...We both like pizza."

"Okay, but who doesn't?"

"...And we're both cute girls!"

"...Okay, now you're begging me to hit you."

"Point is…" Kyoko continues on, "I think we're two birds of the same feather in a way, and birds of a feather stick together! So what do you say?"

God, this girl is starting to give you a headache, part of you wants to turn her down but…well, you do need allies for what's to come, and you've seen enough that Kyoko could be useful…yeah, those are the only reasons you're considering this.

"...Agh, fine!" You answer, "But only because you would probably bother me regardless if I said no."

"Alright!" Kyoko was practically glowing, "I gotta go now before my mom starts blowing up my phone, but how about we meet again this weekend?"

"Sure, but don't expect much."

She smiles still, "Okay then! I'll see you later, CD-San!"

And with that, she begins to walk away, waving back at you until she's far in the distance.

You are now alone at the curb, looking at the asphalt below.

"Why does it feel like I'm going to regret this?"