Teruko arrived back at her apartment after a day full of exercising and jogging, exhaling loudly and shutting the door behind her. The place was an absolute mess, as always; Teruko may eat healthy, keep up a steady job, and exercise regularly, but cleaning was not on her agenda. Stepping over all sorts of loose odds and ends, she made her way to her refrigerator, which was stocked full of nothing but various types of vegetables and undrinkable looking juices. She put up some groceries, then went to lie on her big, overstuffed black couch.
As she unzipped her track suit, she sighed into the air and began complaining to nobody in particular. "I'm pooped, but I'm not ready for bed... not yet. I wanna do something fun tonight!" she cried into the air like a child, throwing one arm over her eyes. "Why did I have to lose Roxxy?! We could have gone clubbing! I would've been so cooool!"
Ante's PET began ringing, indicating either a call or that the navi had something to say. It seemed to be the latter. Ante's form appeared on screen, with her usual dignified smile. "You know, Teruko, there's nothing stopping you from going out for a party by yourself. I don't know a lot about the practice, but it seems like it'd be a good way for you to meet new people, and you certainly seem to have the time," she suggested. "I also haven't gotten much exercise today; I've been dormant ever since we ceased busting with Gale. For that reason, I would not mind getting a little bit more virus busting practice while you're out."
Teruko's face brightened up and she sat back up, bouncing on her couch and clasping her hands between her Indian-style legs. "Really, Ante?! You want to go clubbing with me? Sure, it's gonna be awesome!" she exclaimed, then clapped her hands together in delight. Standing up, she threw off her track suit onto the couch and bent over, shoving her butt towards the PET ungracefully as she rifled through her closet for something to wear.
Trying not to stare, Ante pressed her hands together and shook her head. "I think you misunderstood, Teruko... You see, I don't know much about 'clubbing' and I doubt it's anything I'd have a natural knack for. You see, I was never one much for our formal parties... dancing, particularly, doesn't come naturally to me. It took me forever to learn to waltz, and I-"
The operator turned back to Ante with a grin, holding a cute, showy black dress in front of herself and raising her eyebrows. "Huh? Whaddya think? It'll look good on me, right? This'll make all that leg training worthwhile!" she giggled with giddy anticipation, wrapping her hands up underneath her athletic top and preparing to pull it off.
"Er, that is- wait!" Ante cried out as Teruko threw off her shirt. "I don't think it's really appropriate to..." she continued, but it was no use; her operator's tight gym shorts came off next, leaving the operator with only her incredibly immature looking white bra and panties (the panda print on the back of the bottom was about as immature as it could get). Teruko finally caught on, turning with immodestly bouncing breasts to look at her navi. Red-faced, Ante held up one hand for her to stop. "No, I don't think... that you should undress in front of me without covering yourself... It's not decent and I should remind you that your window is open."
With a quick and deliberate motion, Teruko ran over and hugged shut the drapes with a burning face. She didn't care if Ante saw her naked, but she sure didn't want her neighbors seeing it. "Gosh, thanks..." she muttered, pushing her hair out of her eyes briefly. "But uh, I'm getting naked, cause I have to change into my sexy panties... for clubbing," she explained with a small laugh. "So just don't look if you don't want to."
Nodding, Ante shut her eyes with graceful composure and waited for her operator to don her sexy panties.
...
When Ante was finally told to open them back up, Teruko had finished dressing into her dress. She'd wrapped a silver, rhinestone covered belt around her waist, accenting her hips, and had thrown on some black, high-topped boots to complete the ensemble. A little lip gloss helped make her face look less plain. Interestingly, she hadn't done a thing with her hair; it was in the same unfashionable upward spike as always. "What do you say? A whole new me, right?" she laughed triumphantly.
"Hmhm..." Ante chuckled. "Forgive me for saying so, but no matter how you dress yourself up, Teruko, you remain very much yourself. I intend this as a compliment, of course."
"You know, you have a way of making compliments sound pretty offensive some times," Teruko sighed, grabbing up a black leather pocket book and slinging it around one shoulder on a spaghetti strap. "Alright, come on! I'm going to show you how to- erk!" she cried out suddenly, holding one leg.
"Is something wrong?" her navi asked, raising one eyebrow in concern.
"N-no... I just realized that uh... I think I've worn out my legs... I don't think I'm going to be able to dance," she sobbed. "I-It's okay! It won't get me down! I'll just go out and have a drink or two! I can still meet people!" she reassured herself, pumping her fists at her sides. With determination, she picked up Ante's PET and stuck it in her pocketbook, then ran for the door.
((Headed to Jyve Nightclub))
Teruko's Apartment
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Teruko returned, not feeling as worn-out as she thought she would physically (after all, regardless of all of the walking, she hadn't danced), but still feeling emotionally exhausted. Had she really just sat around with her bra showing while allowing another girl to drink herself half to death? That didn't seem like the good time she'd gone out for. "Boy, Ante, I think that one was a mission failed," she moaned, sliding onto her bed and dropping her PET beside her.
"Not so, Teruko. I've acquired great friends and some memories to cherish. I'm grateful that you've allowed me to build a new circle of acquaintances, something I desperately needed after the glitching and abandonment," her navi reminded her, sounding earnest. "Ariel and John are nice too."
"Yeah, but let's just say I wouldn't want to live with them," she murmured, opening up a cold, disgustingly healthy drink and slurping it down. "Anyways, I guess it was okay. Maybe I'm a bit old-fashioned... I don't think the club setting's for me."
"Oh? Don't worry. There's nothing wrong with having mature tastes," Ante giggled quietly, thinking to herself that her operator might not be such a child after all.
"No, uh, I mean... More like an amusement park, you know? I think that type of thing would be really fun!" she cheered. Ante mentally withdrew her notice, realizing that Teruko's tastes must be even more childish than she realized. "Let's go to an amusement park tomorrow! Have you ever been to one?" Teruko asked her navi excitedly.
"Well, no... But a woman my age can hardly enjoy something of that sort, I'd imagine," she sighed.
"Nonsense! I don't know where you keep getting it from, but you're not old. And furthermore, you're never too old for spinny cups, roller coasters, and my favorite amusement park activity: Find the Health Food Stand!" she laughed. "Oh boy, it's gonna be so fun!"
Closing her eyes, Ante desperately prayed that there would not be another hologram projector device set up in the vicinity of the park. The club booth was awkward enough; the last thing she wanted to do was sit across from her operator in a spinny cup.
While Ante's eyes were closed, Teruko promptly threw off her showy black dress and slipped into her pajamas, which were white with little pandas all over them. She did it all with the practice granted to a lifetime habit, although one she should have outgrown by now. "Ah, nothing comfier than pajamas. You should really get some, Ante," Teruko yawned, fluffing up her pillow.
"Hm... Thank you for the offer, but I believe I'm okay," Ante replied dryly, thinking they probably wouldn't suit her.
"Whatevs! Night Ante," she finished, flipping off the lights and pulling up her old blue, fuzzy comforter (it didn't match the rest of the furniture, but then, the rest of the furniture didn't match itself either). Teruko fell asleep, dreaming of tomorrow at the amusement park without even bothering to let her hair back down from its usual upward clip.
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Getting up from her bed groggily, Teruko didn't bother shaking Ante's PET into an awakened state and continued straight to her closet. She pulled off her pajamas slowly and with none of the practice with which she'd put them on, thanks to her sleepiness. Luckily, she'd managed to avoid a hangover through healthy drinking habits, but that didn't mean she liked waking up.
She was surprised to find out that when she managed to get her pajamas off she was left wearing her black fancy panties from last night. What had she been hoping to accomplish by wearing them out? She couldn't really remember, but whatever the case, they certainly wouldn't go with her outfit for today... and rewearing underwear would be awfully gross anyways.
With that in mind, Teruko quietly stripped off her underwear, so as not to wake up her navi. Ante seemed to get uncomfortable about nakedness in general, so Teruko guessed Ante'd object to her operator walking around naked. Still, she'd closed the blinds earlier, so it wouldn't hurt to be nude for a while. Fully stripped, she gathered up a more typical sample of clothes and headed for the shower.
As was her practice, Teruko made her way straight to the scale to see how she weighed up. She let down her hair as she turned to watch her body in the mirror; her bush-like hair immediately frazzled out around her head like an explosion. Checking the scale, she realized she'd gained some weight; apparently, even the healthiest of alcohol still had some risks for her. The gain was mostly negligible, however. After turning to observe her figure in the mirror, Teruko decided that her checkout was satisfactory for the morning.
A fine checkup put Teruko in a better mood. After turning onto the shower, Teruko slid her butt slowly across the tile wall, slowly emerging herself in the water. It took forever for her apartment to get water warm; she liked to go little by little so that by the time she was fully under, it'd be hot. Feeling cheerful now, she began to sing a little song, ignorant of the fact that everyone in the building's bathrooms could hear her as she did:
"La la laa, a carrot's in the bag~
La lee laa, corn is in there too!
Da da dee, the tomato vines will sag~
Soon we'll have a delicious veggie stew!
La la laa, one bowl is piping hot~
La lee la, the chef gets first taste!
Da da dee, the stew will feed a lot~
But the chef will eat it all if they don't make haste!
La la laa, there's a-!"
Stopping her song abruptly, Teruko cried out in shock as her hot water inevitably ran out before she'd even gotten halfway through soaping her body. She sped up her pace and finished up her shower so as not to freeze.
Shivering, Teruko wrapped her towel around her wet body and went to talk to Ante. "Wake up, sleepyhead!" she joked, grinning into her PET. She was somewhat disappointed when Ante appeared on screen, not with frazzled hair and PJs on, but with her usual hat and outfit.
"Good morning, Teruko. I see that you've finished your shower," Ante smiled back, returning her operator's affection but not catching the disappointment. "You should dress quickly; you'll catch a cold otherwise."
"Bah, me? A cold? Who do you think I am? I haven't had a cold in years!" she boasted, pressing one fist to her bosom. "Anyways, yeah, I'll get dressed." Quickly, the operator scampered back into her bathroom, dropped her towel, and pulled on her clothes. She came back out dressed in red sweatpants and a white t-shirt, displaying graphics suggesting that she'd participated in an Electown Girl's Poker Tournament in recent years, complete with spreads of cards and chips.
"Did you win anything?" Ante chuckled, making reference to her shirt.
"Nah, I like my singing, but I don't think anyone else cares for it," Teruko replied in a hurry, thinking her navi meant her shower singing. In truth, she'd lost miserably at the tournament, but she still went every year to lose more. Hurrying, she began brushing her teeth with one hand while knotting up her hair with the other.
"You know, ambidexterity is a good trait for a fighter to have as well. It behooves one to be able to demonstrate such flexibility," her navi offered.
Teruko laughed, accidentally specking her mirror with toothpaste. Before continuing, she rinsed and wiped the face of her mirror. "I sorta doubt you navis need to be able to fix your hair while brushing your teeth," she giggled. "Then again, maybe. Well, more importantly, today we're off to AdrenalineWorld!"
"Adrenaline... World?" Ante asked, feeling worried.
"Yeah! It's the best theme park, themed around all of the rides being way too fast! It's gonna be awesome!" her operator cheered, pumping her fists. "Listen, the big action movie star Von Derzel's gonna be there today, pulling off some awesome stunt! It's supposed to be sooo cool and sooo dangerous! We'll see that, go on some rides, and have a great time!"
Ante pushed her hat up on her head and sighed, trying to imagine the place they were headed. "After all of that that, I wonder if we'll actually feel like eating those health foods you mentioned," she mumbled as Teruko ran out the door.
((Headed to Scilabs))
"Not so, Teruko. I've acquired great friends and some memories to cherish. I'm grateful that you've allowed me to build a new circle of acquaintances, something I desperately needed after the glitching and abandonment," her navi reminded her, sounding earnest. "Ariel and John are nice too."
"Yeah, but let's just say I wouldn't want to live with them," she murmured, opening up a cold, disgustingly healthy drink and slurping it down. "Anyways, I guess it was okay. Maybe I'm a bit old-fashioned... I don't think the club setting's for me."
"Oh? Don't worry. There's nothing wrong with having mature tastes," Ante giggled quietly, thinking to herself that her operator might not be such a child after all.
"No, uh, I mean... More like an amusement park, you know? I think that type of thing would be really fun!" she cheered. Ante mentally withdrew her notice, realizing that Teruko's tastes must be even more childish than she realized. "Let's go to an amusement park tomorrow! Have you ever been to one?" Teruko asked her navi excitedly.
"Well, no... But a woman my age can hardly enjoy something of that sort, I'd imagine," she sighed.
"Nonsense! I don't know where you keep getting it from, but you're not old. And furthermore, you're never too old for spinny cups, roller coasters, and my favorite amusement park activity: Find the Health Food Stand!" she laughed. "Oh boy, it's gonna be so fun!"
Closing her eyes, Ante desperately prayed that there would not be another hologram projector device set up in the vicinity of the park. The club booth was awkward enough; the last thing she wanted to do was sit across from her operator in a spinny cup.
While Ante's eyes were closed, Teruko promptly threw off her showy black dress and slipped into her pajamas, which were white with little pandas all over them. She did it all with the practice granted to a lifetime habit, although one she should have outgrown by now. "Ah, nothing comfier than pajamas. You should really get some, Ante," Teruko yawned, fluffing up her pillow.
"Hm... Thank you for the offer, but I believe I'm okay," Ante replied dryly, thinking they probably wouldn't suit her.
"Whatevs! Night Ante," she finished, flipping off the lights and pulling up her old blue, fuzzy comforter (it didn't match the rest of the furniture, but then, the rest of the furniture didn't match itself either). Teruko fell asleep, dreaming of tomorrow at the amusement park without even bothering to let her hair back down from its usual upward clip.
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Getting up from her bed groggily, Teruko didn't bother shaking Ante's PET into an awakened state and continued straight to her closet. She pulled off her pajamas slowly and with none of the practice with which she'd put them on, thanks to her sleepiness. Luckily, she'd managed to avoid a hangover through healthy drinking habits, but that didn't mean she liked waking up.
She was surprised to find out that when she managed to get her pajamas off she was left wearing her black fancy panties from last night. What had she been hoping to accomplish by wearing them out? She couldn't really remember, but whatever the case, they certainly wouldn't go with her outfit for today... and rewearing underwear would be awfully gross anyways.
With that in mind, Teruko quietly stripped off her underwear, so as not to wake up her navi. Ante seemed to get uncomfortable about nakedness in general, so Teruko guessed Ante'd object to her operator walking around naked. Still, she'd closed the blinds earlier, so it wouldn't hurt to be nude for a while. Fully stripped, she gathered up a more typical sample of clothes and headed for the shower.
As was her practice, Teruko made her way straight to the scale to see how she weighed up. She let down her hair as she turned to watch her body in the mirror; her bush-like hair immediately frazzled out around her head like an explosion. Checking the scale, she realized she'd gained some weight; apparently, even the healthiest of alcohol still had some risks for her. The gain was mostly negligible, however. After turning to observe her figure in the mirror, Teruko decided that her checkout was satisfactory for the morning.
A fine checkup put Teruko in a better mood. After turning onto the shower, Teruko slid her butt slowly across the tile wall, slowly emerging herself in the water. It took forever for her apartment to get water warm; she liked to go little by little so that by the time she was fully under, it'd be hot. Feeling cheerful now, she began to sing a little song, ignorant of the fact that everyone in the building's bathrooms could hear her as she did:
"La la laa, a carrot's in the bag~
La lee laa, corn is in there too!
Da da dee, the tomato vines will sag~
Soon we'll have a delicious veggie stew!
La la laa, one bowl is piping hot~
La lee la, the chef gets first taste!
Da da dee, the stew will feed a lot~
But the chef will eat it all if they don't make haste!
La la laa, there's a-!"
Stopping her song abruptly, Teruko cried out in shock as her hot water inevitably ran out before she'd even gotten halfway through soaping her body. She sped up her pace and finished up her shower so as not to freeze.
Shivering, Teruko wrapped her towel around her wet body and went to talk to Ante. "Wake up, sleepyhead!" she joked, grinning into her PET. She was somewhat disappointed when Ante appeared on screen, not with frazzled hair and PJs on, but with her usual hat and outfit.
"Good morning, Teruko. I see that you've finished your shower," Ante smiled back, returning her operator's affection but not catching the disappointment. "You should dress quickly; you'll catch a cold otherwise."
"Bah, me? A cold? Who do you think I am? I haven't had a cold in years!" she boasted, pressing one fist to her bosom. "Anyways, yeah, I'll get dressed." Quickly, the operator scampered back into her bathroom, dropped her towel, and pulled on her clothes. She came back out dressed in red sweatpants and a white t-shirt, displaying graphics suggesting that she'd participated in an Electown Girl's Poker Tournament in recent years, complete with spreads of cards and chips.
"Did you win anything?" Ante chuckled, making reference to her shirt.
"Nah, I like my singing, but I don't think anyone else cares for it," Teruko replied in a hurry, thinking her navi meant her shower singing. In truth, she'd lost miserably at the tournament, but she still went every year to lose more. Hurrying, she began brushing her teeth with one hand while knotting up her hair with the other.
"You know, ambidexterity is a good trait for a fighter to have as well. It behooves one to be able to demonstrate such flexibility," her navi offered.
Teruko laughed, accidentally specking her mirror with toothpaste. Before continuing, she rinsed and wiped the face of her mirror. "I sorta doubt you navis need to be able to fix your hair while brushing your teeth," she giggled. "Then again, maybe. Well, more importantly, today we're off to AdrenalineWorld!"
"Adrenaline... World?" Ante asked, feeling worried.
"Yeah! It's the best theme park, themed around all of the rides being way too fast! It's gonna be awesome!" her operator cheered, pumping her fists. "Listen, the big action movie star Von Derzel's gonna be there today, pulling off some awesome stunt! It's supposed to be sooo cool and sooo dangerous! We'll see that, go on some rides, and have a great time!"
Ante pushed her hat up on her head and sighed, trying to imagine the place they were headed. "After all of that that, I wonder if we'll actually feel like eating those health foods you mentioned," she mumbled as Teruko ran out the door.
((Headed to Scilabs))
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Teruko returned home to her apartment after an abbreviated date with Bruce Shiner and his navi, Dare. She had seen more of Ante than she ever had before, but that was really a treat for Bruce more than anyone, she imagined. Besides that, there hadn't been a lot of progress in any of her relationships. Well, she did confirm that Bruce's tastes were pretty average so far as dirty things went, so that was good for her. She stumbled into her apartment, hit the light switch with one flailing arm, then collapsed belly first onto her bed and comforter. That was the best feeling, after a long jog... but only if it was shortly followed up by getting up and grabbing some water from the fridge. She lay her PET down and jumped up to do so, grabbing her athletic bottle on the way over and unscrewing the cap. "Mmmm! I can't wait for tomorrow. That's a good way to feel at the end of a weekend, huh, Ante?" she asked, still panting between words a bit as she filled up the bottle from her sink's spicket.
"Agreed," Ante concurred. "Of course, for me, it will be back to that same mission tomorrow," she chuckled, sounding less adverse than one might expect given that she'd nearly lost all of her clothes in front of everyone involved in said mission. Perhaps it was for that reason that she was pleased to have a break in the mission and give her wardrobe a chance to refresh.
"Me too! Kinda," Teruko giggled, having chugged down some refreshment while Ante was briefly speaking. "Mmm!" Although, that reminded her... why was she pursuing Bruce, again? She hadn't seen him demonstrate many handsome qualities so far besides having a decent body, having brief, sporadic flashes of quick thinking, and having a cool job. It felt a little shallow, but in the end, it might just have been that she was eager to get back into the dating scene and happy to see she was having a little success with it. He who waits for the perfect catch goes home hungry, she figured, and even though Bruce surely wasn't perfect given his dietary habits at least, he was the effort she was putting in. "Ah! I'm happy~"
"I as well!" the Black Queen spoke up from the PET, reminding everyone of her presence. "It's nice to see the day wrapping up like this. I imagine you'll be straight to bed, Teruko?" Ante fixed her supporter with a stern frown. The shadow of the black queen fell back slightly, feeling menaced. "I suppose it is a bit early, but Teruko must be tired, right?"
"Yes. But first things first: we need to get you back into your own body," the Red Queen sighed. "Remember? We acquired an SP base from the latest mission. That will be the perfect way to give you your own body so that you no longer have to co-inhabit my mind. You'll be able to control your own physical being again and I would certainly appreciate the help in combat. Assuming you still wish to have that role."
The Black Queen had clearly been hoping to extend the move-out date as far as she could, but she reacted in a wounded groan of pain when Ante pointed out that she needed to assist in the fighting... mostly, because she knew that it was her duty, but she was so much enjoying being inside Ante's mind that she hated to give it up. "Y-You're right... I suppose all good things must come to an end. There comes a time where duty outweighs personal pleasure, and we have clearly reached that crossroads. It's time for a decision! And I suppose I must have my body back..."
"... You sound a lot more upset about getting your bod back then I had expected," Teruko murmured over the lip of her bottle. "Come on, now! Some of us put a lot of work into our bodies. You get a nice one crafted out of thin air! You ought to be more appreciative."
"Well, she will have to return to her old body. I don't want her to have to acclimate to another new one, after familiarizing herself with two," Ante pointed out. "I hope that's agreeable to you."
"Of course! There's nothing wrong with my body, after all," the Black Queen agreed, finally dropping her resistance. When Ante looked uncertainly to one side, she felt her hair bristle a bit. "W-What's wrong with my body, Red Queen?!"
Ante looked caught in the act, covering her mouth with one hand and shaking her head. "Nothing! Nothing at all. I was just thinking that you'd always been such a darling belle at all of our parties and was wondering if you wouldn't be somewhat remiss that the body you're going back to is... how shall I put it..."
"I can still read your thoughts, you know... There's nothing wrong with having muscles! I'm proud of it the way it is. Er, was," the Black Queen responded. "Very well. I'll buy in to your goading! Please, Teruko, prepare my new body!" she resigned herself.
"Actually, I was going to eat a little first since I didn't get much at dinner..." Teruko pointed out. She'd shrugged her coat off of her shoulders and was already tearing into one of her veggie skewers, which was still warm from when she hadn't managed to eat it earlier. "How about after that, alright?"
"Oh. Of course."
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In the early hours of the night, Teruko had come to a realization: she had no idea how to transfer over the personality of a remnant ghost/shadow of a former navi into its old body using an SP base. She recalled hearing that such things had been done before and spent a long, long time scouring the BBSes and net, figuring out the proper way to do it. At the wee hours of the night, she finally managed to finish compiling all of the information into a guide for herself. "Aaah... Good... It's ready... I was starting to wish that I'd just let you keep on having no body."
"Thank you, truly! I must say, I'm eagerly anticipating it now!" the Black Queen replied. "Perhaps it's just the wait."
"Or maybe it's because you navis don't get sleepy, like I do," the sleepy operator yawned. She'd long since changed into her pajamas and was working on the PET while kneeling at her bed; it took every ounce of determination for her to stop herself from plopping her cheek down onto the comforter and falling asleep. "Well... It's loading now. I'll let you get used to it and we'll... huuuuah... talk about it some more in the morning..."
"Good. Is it in?" the SP asked, a wide grin spreading across her shadowy face. She'd be clapping her hands together excitedly if she had any physical hands to clap. "Teruko? Hello?"
Ante interrupted; she'd been reading a story to pass the time, but it was easy to drop. "It appears she's asleep. Luckily, everything we need is inside the PET now. We can finish crafting this ourselves and in the morning, you can introduce yourself under your old appearance and name: Fold." The two worked until the morning, preparing the Black Queen her old body and armor.
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Teruko wasn't a late sleeper by any stretch of the imagination, certainly not on work days. That said, Fold had completed the preparations for her new body some time before Teruko awoke and was waiting excitedly to introduce herself as soon as her operator stirred. Once Teruko finally did, she pressed one hand to her newly formed metallic breastplate and gave a small curtsey, as much as her armor would allow, seeing her operator's sleepy face in the PET monitor. "Good morning! I'm Fold, the Black Queen. It's good to meet you, now that I'm in my proper form," she began, giving a pleasant smile and lowering her head.
After staring at the screen for a while, Teruko rubbed at her eyes and gave a big yawn. "You're always so fancy, Ante, even during the mornings..." she murmured, already feeling around her apartment with her hands until she managed to find her bathroom. She disappeared behind the door, then threw her clothes out onto the floor behind her.
Fold stared for a moment, then frowned, slumping her shoulders. "Hm. That didn't go how I meant for it to," she spoke aloud to no one in particular. "I believe she mistook me for you."
"Strange. We really don't look all that similar, do we? Apart from the skin, that is," Ante chuckled. "Don't worry. She'll be more on the ball once she gets out of her shower."
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After yet another wait, Fold was finally ready to introduce herself to her new operator, who was presently ignoring her and preparing a morning meal. "Ahem!" she coughed, trying to draw attention to the PET. Teruko finally caught on and ran over to her PET, nearly spilling her fruit smoothie in the process. "Hello, Teruko. I just wanted to let you know that the swap was a success and I've now reclaimed my old body," she announced, giving another curtsy.
"Wah! You look just like Ante!" she exclaimed, verifying that the earlier mistake had really been her surprise over seeing someone who looked so much(?) like Ante, rather than a product of her being sleepy. "Are you two sisters or something?"
Rather than being upset, Fold clasped her hands together and smiled, stars gleaming in her eyes. "S-Sisters? You think I and the Red Queen look like sisters?!" she asked, nodding along as if to beckon Teruko to say yes. "Maybe it's a good thing that I got this body back after all... and that I'm glitched."
"Ah! So the gray skin is just because of the glitch, okay... But uh... Does that mean you're also going to be forced to strip whenever your battle routine thinks its engaged?" she asked, tilting her head.
Fold smiled awkwardly for a moment, staring, then spun to face Ante, raising her eyebrows. Ante matched her expression for a moment, then stared into the sky aimlessly. "O-Oh, yes... I suppose there's a chance that feature carried over as well," the princess navi laughed, trying to make light of the situation even after all of the misfortune it had brought her. "Well, that is problematic! But there's really nothing we can do about it."
Thankfully, Fold wasn't overly concerned. "So be it. If the princess is suffering, then the least I can do is shoulder that same burden to lessen her woes!" she offered, pressing her fist to her new shield dramatically. "Although, that does seem to make me a little less effective at my job than I should be: namely, protecting you."
"About that..." Ante coughed, unsure of how her SP would take the next piece of news. "You're also greatly weakened. Right now, I would put your strength at-"
"Whatever it may be, I will always defend you!" Fold interjected, giving a cool smile of resolute willpower.
"-that of an ordinary Metool..." Ante finished, looking at the sky again now. "It will grow back in time, though, I'm sure!"
"... O-Oh... I see," the armored woman concurred, looking increasingly uncertain now as the smile fell off her face. "B-But... My armor and my muscles are all still here... I should still be able to... Well, I suppose that's just my appearance, isn't it?" She seemed to be deflating faster and faster.
"Cheer up!" Teruko urged her, pumping her fists excitedly. "I know what'll make you feel better! Let's get some bugfrags from the second half of that mission, okay? That way you'll be a bit stronger and you can get back to defending yourself!"
Fold nodded enthusiastically. "And more importantly, my queen. Oh... My name is Fold. I believe I forgot to mention that in our second meeting."
The Black Queen didn't give an explanation as to why she hadn't said that yesterday, but Teruko wasn't looking for one. What Teruko was looking for was her discarded running shoes from yesterday. The morning's festivities and introductions had cut into her time a little bit. She needed to be at the gym well ahead of not only all other employees, but also well ahead of Bruce. "Great! Although, Fold sounds kind of unlucky," she remarked offhandedly, searching beneath her bed for her sneakers. "Aha! Here they are. Well, actually, the queen of spades is pretty unlucky! So I guess it fits. Hey, does it ever feel weird that Ante throws a little picture of you at other people to weaken them? Her Black Queen card, I mean."
"I find it flattering," the SP replied in a no-nonsense way.
"Oh, I see," Teruko chuckled. "Well, let's get to the gym! I won't let Bruce beat me there today!" She grabbed her PET, her bottle, and her keys, then jogged out the door, pausing only to lock the door behind her.
((Off to Weekendz Work Gym))
"Agreed," Ante concurred. "Of course, for me, it will be back to that same mission tomorrow," she chuckled, sounding less adverse than one might expect given that she'd nearly lost all of her clothes in front of everyone involved in said mission. Perhaps it was for that reason that she was pleased to have a break in the mission and give her wardrobe a chance to refresh.
"Me too! Kinda," Teruko giggled, having chugged down some refreshment while Ante was briefly speaking. "Mmm!" Although, that reminded her... why was she pursuing Bruce, again? She hadn't seen him demonstrate many handsome qualities so far besides having a decent body, having brief, sporadic flashes of quick thinking, and having a cool job. It felt a little shallow, but in the end, it might just have been that she was eager to get back into the dating scene and happy to see she was having a little success with it. He who waits for the perfect catch goes home hungry, she figured, and even though Bruce surely wasn't perfect given his dietary habits at least, he was the effort she was putting in. "Ah! I'm happy~"
"I as well!" the Black Queen spoke up from the PET, reminding everyone of her presence. "It's nice to see the day wrapping up like this. I imagine you'll be straight to bed, Teruko?" Ante fixed her supporter with a stern frown. The shadow of the black queen fell back slightly, feeling menaced. "I suppose it is a bit early, but Teruko must be tired, right?"
"Yes. But first things first: we need to get you back into your own body," the Red Queen sighed. "Remember? We acquired an SP base from the latest mission. That will be the perfect way to give you your own body so that you no longer have to co-inhabit my mind. You'll be able to control your own physical being again and I would certainly appreciate the help in combat. Assuming you still wish to have that role."
The Black Queen had clearly been hoping to extend the move-out date as far as she could, but she reacted in a wounded groan of pain when Ante pointed out that she needed to assist in the fighting... mostly, because she knew that it was her duty, but she was so much enjoying being inside Ante's mind that she hated to give it up. "Y-You're right... I suppose all good things must come to an end. There comes a time where duty outweighs personal pleasure, and we have clearly reached that crossroads. It's time for a decision! And I suppose I must have my body back..."
"... You sound a lot more upset about getting your bod back then I had expected," Teruko murmured over the lip of her bottle. "Come on, now! Some of us put a lot of work into our bodies. You get a nice one crafted out of thin air! You ought to be more appreciative."
"Well, she will have to return to her old body. I don't want her to have to acclimate to another new one, after familiarizing herself with two," Ante pointed out. "I hope that's agreeable to you."
"Of course! There's nothing wrong with my body, after all," the Black Queen agreed, finally dropping her resistance. When Ante looked uncertainly to one side, she felt her hair bristle a bit. "W-What's wrong with my body, Red Queen?!"
Ante looked caught in the act, covering her mouth with one hand and shaking her head. "Nothing! Nothing at all. I was just thinking that you'd always been such a darling belle at all of our parties and was wondering if you wouldn't be somewhat remiss that the body you're going back to is... how shall I put it..."
"I can still read your thoughts, you know... There's nothing wrong with having muscles! I'm proud of it the way it is. Er, was," the Black Queen responded. "Very well. I'll buy in to your goading! Please, Teruko, prepare my new body!" she resigned herself.
"Actually, I was going to eat a little first since I didn't get much at dinner..." Teruko pointed out. She'd shrugged her coat off of her shoulders and was already tearing into one of her veggie skewers, which was still warm from when she hadn't managed to eat it earlier. "How about after that, alright?"
"Oh. Of course."
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In the early hours of the night, Teruko had come to a realization: she had no idea how to transfer over the personality of a remnant ghost/shadow of a former navi into its old body using an SP base. She recalled hearing that such things had been done before and spent a long, long time scouring the BBSes and net, figuring out the proper way to do it. At the wee hours of the night, she finally managed to finish compiling all of the information into a guide for herself. "Aaah... Good... It's ready... I was starting to wish that I'd just let you keep on having no body."
"Thank you, truly! I must say, I'm eagerly anticipating it now!" the Black Queen replied. "Perhaps it's just the wait."
"Or maybe it's because you navis don't get sleepy, like I do," the sleepy operator yawned. She'd long since changed into her pajamas and was working on the PET while kneeling at her bed; it took every ounce of determination for her to stop herself from plopping her cheek down onto the comforter and falling asleep. "Well... It's loading now. I'll let you get used to it and we'll... huuuuah... talk about it some more in the morning..."
"Good. Is it in?" the SP asked, a wide grin spreading across her shadowy face. She'd be clapping her hands together excitedly if she had any physical hands to clap. "Teruko? Hello?"
Ante interrupted; she'd been reading a story to pass the time, but it was easy to drop. "It appears she's asleep. Luckily, everything we need is inside the PET now. We can finish crafting this ourselves and in the morning, you can introduce yourself under your old appearance and name: Fold." The two worked until the morning, preparing the Black Queen her old body and armor.
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Teruko wasn't a late sleeper by any stretch of the imagination, certainly not on work days. That said, Fold had completed the preparations for her new body some time before Teruko awoke and was waiting excitedly to introduce herself as soon as her operator stirred. Once Teruko finally did, she pressed one hand to her newly formed metallic breastplate and gave a small curtsey, as much as her armor would allow, seeing her operator's sleepy face in the PET monitor. "Good morning! I'm Fold, the Black Queen. It's good to meet you, now that I'm in my proper form," she began, giving a pleasant smile and lowering her head.
After staring at the screen for a while, Teruko rubbed at her eyes and gave a big yawn. "You're always so fancy, Ante, even during the mornings..." she murmured, already feeling around her apartment with her hands until she managed to find her bathroom. She disappeared behind the door, then threw her clothes out onto the floor behind her.
Fold stared for a moment, then frowned, slumping her shoulders. "Hm. That didn't go how I meant for it to," she spoke aloud to no one in particular. "I believe she mistook me for you."
"Strange. We really don't look all that similar, do we? Apart from the skin, that is," Ante chuckled. "Don't worry. She'll be more on the ball once she gets out of her shower."
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After yet another wait, Fold was finally ready to introduce herself to her new operator, who was presently ignoring her and preparing a morning meal. "Ahem!" she coughed, trying to draw attention to the PET. Teruko finally caught on and ran over to her PET, nearly spilling her fruit smoothie in the process. "Hello, Teruko. I just wanted to let you know that the swap was a success and I've now reclaimed my old body," she announced, giving another curtsy.
"Wah! You look just like Ante!" she exclaimed, verifying that the earlier mistake had really been her surprise over seeing someone who looked so much(?) like Ante, rather than a product of her being sleepy. "Are you two sisters or something?"
Rather than being upset, Fold clasped her hands together and smiled, stars gleaming in her eyes. "S-Sisters? You think I and the Red Queen look like sisters?!" she asked, nodding along as if to beckon Teruko to say yes. "Maybe it's a good thing that I got this body back after all... and that I'm glitched."
"Ah! So the gray skin is just because of the glitch, okay... But uh... Does that mean you're also going to be forced to strip whenever your battle routine thinks its engaged?" she asked, tilting her head.
Fold smiled awkwardly for a moment, staring, then spun to face Ante, raising her eyebrows. Ante matched her expression for a moment, then stared into the sky aimlessly. "O-Oh, yes... I suppose there's a chance that feature carried over as well," the princess navi laughed, trying to make light of the situation even after all of the misfortune it had brought her. "Well, that is problematic! But there's really nothing we can do about it."
Thankfully, Fold wasn't overly concerned. "So be it. If the princess is suffering, then the least I can do is shoulder that same burden to lessen her woes!" she offered, pressing her fist to her new shield dramatically. "Although, that does seem to make me a little less effective at my job than I should be: namely, protecting you."
"About that..." Ante coughed, unsure of how her SP would take the next piece of news. "You're also greatly weakened. Right now, I would put your strength at-"
"Whatever it may be, I will always defend you!" Fold interjected, giving a cool smile of resolute willpower.
"-that of an ordinary Metool..." Ante finished, looking at the sky again now. "It will grow back in time, though, I'm sure!"
"... O-Oh... I see," the armored woman concurred, looking increasingly uncertain now as the smile fell off her face. "B-But... My armor and my muscles are all still here... I should still be able to... Well, I suppose that's just my appearance, isn't it?" She seemed to be deflating faster and faster.
"Cheer up!" Teruko urged her, pumping her fists excitedly. "I know what'll make you feel better! Let's get some bugfrags from the second half of that mission, okay? That way you'll be a bit stronger and you can get back to defending yourself!"
Fold nodded enthusiastically. "And more importantly, my queen. Oh... My name is Fold. I believe I forgot to mention that in our second meeting."
The Black Queen didn't give an explanation as to why she hadn't said that yesterday, but Teruko wasn't looking for one. What Teruko was looking for was her discarded running shoes from yesterday. The morning's festivities and introductions had cut into her time a little bit. She needed to be at the gym well ahead of not only all other employees, but also well ahead of Bruce. "Great! Although, Fold sounds kind of unlucky," she remarked offhandedly, searching beneath her bed for her sneakers. "Aha! Here they are. Well, actually, the queen of spades is pretty unlucky! So I guess it fits. Hey, does it ever feel weird that Ante throws a little picture of you at other people to weaken them? Her Black Queen card, I mean."
"I find it flattering," the SP replied in a no-nonsense way.
"Oh, I see," Teruko chuckled. "Well, let's get to the gym! I won't let Bruce beat me there today!" She grabbed her PET, her bottle, and her keys, then jogged out the door, pausing only to lock the door behind her.
((Off to Weekendz Work Gym))
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((Arriving from Weekendz Work Gym))
"Pic~nic~daaaaa~yeeeeee~!"
Teruko's not-so-melodious voice rang out from inside the shower as Teruko took her morning shower, preparing to start her day-off right by, ironically, going to meet everyone she worked with. "Well, not just them!" the exercise instructor reminded herself, taking a moment to admire her current physical condition: fit, thick only where she wanted to be (mostly), and excruciatingly hard-earned. Today, she'd be tested again: the Weekendz Work Gym picnic would be subjected to many of her vegetable dishes, but alongside that, a variety of less healthy options like fried chicken, hot dogs, burgers, cookies, brownies, and God only knew what else. Teruko knew it was a mine-field, but it was one she'd brave for the sake of her working relationships...
... As well as her non-work-related ones, which, to be fair, were still working, at least so far. Teruko had managed to convince Bruce to show up to the picnic, which she figured was a good sign, given that she could hardly blame if he wanted to skip one of her work functions. All the free food, including many of the types that she'd be forced to tolerate, the kinds she often tried to steer him away from, probably helped his acceptance as well. Whatever the case, it'd be their ideal chance to have fun in a normal setting, not one that would be dominated by waitresses dressed up as knights or herself dressed in bloomers.
On that note, once she was done showering, toweling off, and executing a few other hygenic functions, she redressed herself in appropriate unmentionables, followed by a pair of black athletic shorts and a white t-shirt, displaying the Weekendz Work logo in bold but unimaginative purple block letters. Next came her short running socks and sneakers. Not exactly dressed up, but sporty for the occasion, and she figured it couldn't hurt to show her legs off and give Bruce a reason to stick around. Finally, she snapped up her hair with a purple scrunchy, leaving the miniature ponytail sticking upward. Beaming wide, she grabbed up her PET. "Do you know what da-" she began, then cringed as a message boomed from the PET, asking her if she was ready to play a hand of strip poker. Putting back on her smile, she started over from the top. "Do you know what day it is? It's the day of my company picnic! Let's get out there and have fun!"
Ante gave a smile and a chuckle. "I'm looking forward to meeting Miss Dare again, myself. While a picnic would be fun, I believe I owe Miss Dare and Miss Fold both a mission in which I will take a more active role. I'm still somewhat embarrassed about how I let myself indulge so heavily in our last outing. Perhaps this time we'll do something that's more to Miss Fold's preference, like..." she responded simply, then paused, thinking for a moment that she hadn't actually spent much time with Fold since the two of them had been tethered together as navi and SP. Unfortunately, given her amnesia, that meant Fold was still something of a mystery to her.
"A casino night!" Fold offered, appearing first as a black shadow over Ante's shoulder, then becoming ground-bound, manifesting her body around the black wisp.
"... Ahem, it's early in the morning, not night time, though I suppose that isn't a constant on the net," Ante coughed into one fist, then proceeded. "Perhaps something to Miss Dare's preference, like... a footrace?" she posited hesitantly, finding the idea fairly unappealing.
"Ha ha ha! A footrace up a snowy mountain or something! That Dare goes at it 225%! Bruce is working hard today too to avoid all the hamburgers and hot dogs. He's giving it at least, mmmmmm, 125%," Teruko calculated.
"... Well, I hope the day lives up to your expectations," the navi sighed, thinking it was fairly unlikely that her date would hold up to that promise, considering he hadn't even been asked to make it yet. "And I'd like to know how you arrived at those percentages as well."
"No time for math! I'm an exercise instructor, not a math teacher, doi! Let's just go to the picnic already, okay?" Teruko finished, sticking her tongue out like a girl about half her age before leaving her apartment, jogging to the metroline as was her habit.
((Headed to ACDC, topic: Weekendz Work Company Picnic))
"Pic~nic~daaaaa~yeeeeee~!"
Teruko's not-so-melodious voice rang out from inside the shower as Teruko took her morning shower, preparing to start her day-off right by, ironically, going to meet everyone she worked with. "Well, not just them!" the exercise instructor reminded herself, taking a moment to admire her current physical condition: fit, thick only where she wanted to be (mostly), and excruciatingly hard-earned. Today, she'd be tested again: the Weekendz Work Gym picnic would be subjected to many of her vegetable dishes, but alongside that, a variety of less healthy options like fried chicken, hot dogs, burgers, cookies, brownies, and God only knew what else. Teruko knew it was a mine-field, but it was one she'd brave for the sake of her working relationships...
... As well as her non-work-related ones, which, to be fair, were still working, at least so far. Teruko had managed to convince Bruce to show up to the picnic, which she figured was a good sign, given that she could hardly blame if he wanted to skip one of her work functions. All the free food, including many of the types that she'd be forced to tolerate, the kinds she often tried to steer him away from, probably helped his acceptance as well. Whatever the case, it'd be their ideal chance to have fun in a normal setting, not one that would be dominated by waitresses dressed up as knights or herself dressed in bloomers.
On that note, once she was done showering, toweling off, and executing a few other hygenic functions, she redressed herself in appropriate unmentionables, followed by a pair of black athletic shorts and a white t-shirt, displaying the Weekendz Work logo in bold but unimaginative purple block letters. Next came her short running socks and sneakers. Not exactly dressed up, but sporty for the occasion, and she figured it couldn't hurt to show her legs off and give Bruce a reason to stick around. Finally, she snapped up her hair with a purple scrunchy, leaving the miniature ponytail sticking upward. Beaming wide, she grabbed up her PET. "Do you know what da-" she began, then cringed as a message boomed from the PET, asking her if she was ready to play a hand of strip poker. Putting back on her smile, she started over from the top. "Do you know what day it is? It's the day of my company picnic! Let's get out there and have fun!"
Ante gave a smile and a chuckle. "I'm looking forward to meeting Miss Dare again, myself. While a picnic would be fun, I believe I owe Miss Dare and Miss Fold both a mission in which I will take a more active role. I'm still somewhat embarrassed about how I let myself indulge so heavily in our last outing. Perhaps this time we'll do something that's more to Miss Fold's preference, like..." she responded simply, then paused, thinking for a moment that she hadn't actually spent much time with Fold since the two of them had been tethered together as navi and SP. Unfortunately, given her amnesia, that meant Fold was still something of a mystery to her.
"A casino night!" Fold offered, appearing first as a black shadow over Ante's shoulder, then becoming ground-bound, manifesting her body around the black wisp.
"... Ahem, it's early in the morning, not night time, though I suppose that isn't a constant on the net," Ante coughed into one fist, then proceeded. "Perhaps something to Miss Dare's preference, like... a footrace?" she posited hesitantly, finding the idea fairly unappealing.
"Ha ha ha! A footrace up a snowy mountain or something! That Dare goes at it 225%! Bruce is working hard today too to avoid all the hamburgers and hot dogs. He's giving it at least, mmmmmm, 125%," Teruko calculated.
"... Well, I hope the day lives up to your expectations," the navi sighed, thinking it was fairly unlikely that her date would hold up to that promise, considering he hadn't even been asked to make it yet. "And I'd like to know how you arrived at those percentages as well."
"No time for math! I'm an exercise instructor, not a math teacher, doi! Let's just go to the picnic already, okay?" Teruko finished, sticking her tongue out like a girl about half her age before leaving her apartment, jogging to the metroline as was her habit.
((Headed to ACDC, topic: Weekendz Work Company Picnic))