Ah, working at Capsule Corp...It truly was the aquatic elfen's dream come true! But even her passion gave way to the need for corporate mandated lunch breaks. Ayami would ABSOLUTELY be down to work nonstop! But...Gemini protested for the sake of the younger girl's personal safety. So! What did the bright eyed inventor do on her lunchbreaks? She sat in the lobby sipping a coffee of course. She watched as visitors of all shapes and sizes walked through the doors of this prestegious company HQ.

At least...That was the general idea up until she saw a massive backpack hefted by a small girl casually walk through the doors and head right for the store. The elfen paused half way through a sip, staring in amazement.

"This...Requires further inquiry!!!"

Ayami sprang excitedly from her seat, pulling her goggles down over her eyes and rushing into the shop!!! Meanwhile the poor employee tasked with manning the shop just...Stared in disbelief.

"Ma'am this is a capsule store. I don't-"

The clerk was immediately interrupted by a perky voice bursting with energy!



"Do you perhaps mean a sextant?"

It took little time before that voice was followed up by a begoggled girl crouching down and getting face to face with the Fae scientist!

"HELLO!"

... Ayami had little in the way of manners or personal space, but she balanced that out with a bright encouraging personality!

... The shop keep seemed to think otherwise, as he silently gestured for Vae to "run. As quickly as possible.". ... Ayami had a reputation at this company.
---
Vaelaria Zeni

"A sextant would be perfect actually! I almost forgot about those since you have to buy them!" Vae grins, and tries to stand on her tip-toes so that Ayami doesn't have to lean down as much. Zeni approaching catches her attention, and her manic grin probably matches the other two. The store clerk may want to make their leave now. And flee for their life. There are now three of them, and all of them are mad science.

"Hello and salutations to you both then! Wait... there was mention of science?!? I'm Vaelaria, a fae scientist! Fae are native to Hegemon, and while we physically may seem young, we're actually fully grown!" She gestures to herself proudly, looking at the two of them. She has pulled out a card that was sometimes given to alien species with characteristics that would be concerning to normal humans. The fact that Vae seemed to be a child on her own and potentially handling dangerous chemicals was concerning, so an 'alien id card' was given.

Though... looking at the two in front of her, there was something a little familiar feeling about the girl with pink hair, and the girl with orange- "Woah! Where is your bio-signature?!? I'm not even getting microbial grade readings in some places!" She's blatantly staring at Zeni, a look of awe on her face.

Run for your life poor store clerk. This may be your only chance.

---

Ayami Zeni

"Oh dear lord there are three of them". That was the only thing the clerk could think as the situation unfolded. Inevitably, they chose the safest action they could. Remaining very still... Very quiet. Just blending into the background so that they would hopefully target all of their energy on each other, and their quiet job could continue to BE quiet.

It seems that may have been the right choice, as the three energetic girls seem perfectly preoccupied with exchanging information, greetings, and an endless array of questions. When Vae shouts about the bio-signature, Ayami hits the nail right on the head by explaining that Zeni is an Android. That prompts the orange haired girl to point some finger guns at the Elfen. "Exactly right!"

But now, Ayami's curiosity only sparked Zeni's in turn. "Oh, oh! A research expedition!? That sounds like fun! We should all go together!"

The lobby hadn't been quite this chaotic in a long time. Fortunately, most people were following the example set by the Clerk. Don't draw attention, let things play out... And if someone was noticed, they would have to be an unfortunate sacrifice.

"I'm equipped to handle all kinds of things! Even exploring out in the wild and studying long lost artifacts!", Zeni happily explains as she places her hands on her hips with a big grin.

---

Ayami Vaelaria

Ayami grins as she watches both of them shoot finger guns her way. She returned the favor with a bright smile!

"Don't mention it. Everyone needs tools of the trade! Besides...It sounds like you're gonna need it."

Still...Zeni proposed an interesting suggestion. The pair joining Vae on a scientific expedition of discovery? Why it was EXACTLY what the elfen was hoping for! She gave an enthusiastic nod at Zeni and listened with a hand on her chin as Vae explained all the intricate details in full. All she really needed to hear was "Dimensional gap" and her eyes lit up like a thousand stars!!! She wasted no time in responding when Vae offered to let them come along.

"ABSOLUTELY!!!"

Ayami gripped one of Zeni's shoulders and shook it violently in all the excitement!!

"Yeah Zeni is equipped for all kindsa things!!! And me? I'm a top class inventor! I've made all kinds of gear for long trips like this! Just leave it t'me!"

... Ayami was now silently giggling like a maniac. And the store clerk slowly shuffled their way along the outer wall, trying to head for the exit...

---

Zeni Vaelaria

Vae was surprised at the synchronized agreement, but it only made her more excited for what was to come rather than afraid of how in sync the two were. The clerk was of a very different mindset though.

"Alrighty! I have everything I might need personally on hand, but I want to make sure the two of you are prepared? It would essentially be an expedition into unknown territory with potentially hostile native organisms! While I don't personally know where we will end up, I have hopes that we should be able to adapt to any circumstance! I have preformed a few tests to ensure that the area past the dimensional gap is inhabitable, and has no potentially hazardous long term effects!"

"If you're both ready right now, then take my hands!" She will offer each of them a hand, having to stand on her tip toes so that the other two wouldn't have to reach down. When both Zeni and Ayami grabbed her hands, they would seemingly disappear in a flash of purple-hued light. Once they were gone... the clerk was finally free, tears streaming down their face. They were free....

---

The world that Vae brought the two science enthusiasts was... odd to say the least. While West City was described as a concrete jungle by some, this seemed to be a 'jungle' of a different sort. Stretching even beyond where some of the highest skyscrapers could reach, trees with silvery bark stood as beacons around them. Shelf mushrooms grew from their sides, each of them large and hefty enough to support a few people. From strange golden barked trees, branches and vines draped off of them like a weeping willow. Jewel toned flowers bloomed on their branches.

Vae seemed to be staring at none of this though. Instead, she was focused on a rather plain seeming tree nearby? It was large, but nowhere near the height of some of the others. The only thing interesting about it was the clear, glass-like leaves it had.

"... I recognize this species of tree." A massive grin spread across her face.

---

Ayami Zeni

Zeni grins as Vae and Ayami both express their concerns over the Android being ready. "Don't worry! Mother was really attentive to detail on every kind of possible environment I can survive in! You name it, I can take it!"

And on that note, it flows rather nicely to her next point, she turns to show the humble backpack, gesturing towards it with a hand raised up and a thumb pointing down towards it. "And everything we could possibly need is packed in here and ready to go, you'll see it if we need it!"

With all that said and decided, the Android turns to face the pair, and then grabs Vae's offered hand as instructed! "Let's do it!", fortunately for everyone in the lobby, the excitable trio disappeared in that purple-hued flash of light... And no one else was dragged along for the ride! Nothing else, either. This raised the question of exactly where they went.

Most people were just a little relieved that nothing went wrong, and so went about their day. They're the boring part of the story now so we are SWIFTLY MOVING ON.

The trio arrives in a decidedly alien environment; at least for Zeni and Ayami. Vae had the potential to be more familiar with all of this. But in either case... The Android was already recording everything for later research. Her eyes were working an overtime that most might not realize; zooming in, switching to various scan modes, taking in incredible amounts of details on the fly.

While full analysis on sight alone was impossible, she could still glean a lot of information. The Elfen asks if the Android is seeing all of this, and there was only one response to that! "Yeah... It's crazy! So many new things to sift and sort through later! We'll need so many samples -- It's a scientific gold mine!"

But all of this wonder would soon be called to a singular location as Vae utters the magical words. Zeni immediately zips over to investigate, just as Ayami did.

"Whoa... I've never seen anything like it before.", Zeni couldn't help but state the obvious; but at the same time it proved just how eager she was to learn about this too.

---

Vaelaria Ayami

This place was incredible... Vae wasn't the only one taking notes! As the fae described the Jubjub tree in great detail Ayami procured a notebook of her own from her pouch and began to write down the noted properties of the tree's resin, making a note to test that resin to it's absolute limits later...With a small sketch of the tree completed and the notes taken down, the notebook was stashed away as the elfen approached the tree and ran her hands along it's surface.

"... Hey Zeni? I'm gonna need some help collecting a sample of that resin. I gotta stress test this stuff!"

Although the elfen inventor was grateful that the android was ALREADY in the same mindset as her! This place was somewhere no human or machine had likely ever been before. Still, setting all of that aside Vae was taking a lot of notes herself...And wanted a naming suggestion! There were a few thoughts that ran through the water elfen's mind as the questioned was posed to her, and each one was pretty good in Ayami's mind, but one in particular stood out...

"My Gramma used to tell me fairytales about this place that was completely untouched. It was called "Avalon"...How's that sound?!"

This was exhilarating! Not only was she pioneering for her people in this place, but the elfen inventor was being given the opportunity to assist in naming it?! Such a thing was almost unheard of in the modern era. Ayami's eyes glowed brightly as she was all too happy to assist in this endeavor! She was-Wait...What's that? Ayami peers around the fae scientist, looking at the bush that was moving...Were her eyes playing tricks on her? No, no she was fully awake! The girl crept ever closer to the "shrub"...And then reached into her pack, taking out a piece of her leftover lunch.

"Don't move...An inch..."

Was the only thing the elfen uttered to the other two as she carefully tossed the piece of food out, hoping to bait this creature out of hiding!

---

Zeni Vaelaria