(Correcting the name of Jon's daughter, I forgot that it had been established already. Sorry.)
Anneza floated above her parent's house, waiting. (Why did she even live with her parents?) It felt a bit strange to watch everyone in a mad panic about not being able to read the internet... it all looked the same to her. She's always been able to read it...
... what kind of weird spell was everyone under?
She could feel the harmonious song of the great ship, Wings, before it even appeared. A whisper of a promise, a wink in the fabric of reality, just before it appeared in the air several meters above her. A flying ship... unlike anything made on Earth. The space girl of course, had no real need for a ship... but it would shave off a lot of time, for Lucas to take her to this strange 'other' world, that might hold a gateway to some other universe.
There was suspense and awe, as Anneza floated up to the strange galley, and her captain... the angel, Lucas came into view as she walked from the cabin and onto the deck.
... the two looked at each other. Anneza was taken aback by the somewhat 'indifferent' look. It wasn't exactly the whimsical smile she shared with her daughter. "Astra needs you" said Lucas in an atypical business fashion. "Come aboard."
The space-woman frowned just a touch, as she innocently floated into the spacecraft, her silvery dress flowing in the wind. Again... the curious feeling... like... something wasn't really right. Not right at all.
... and it hurt.
The ship was welcoming but... there was an edge to it. Something prickling under her skin... maybe something trying to dig at what was... underneath? Maybe she was looking into it too deeply.
Lucas spun the wheel of the ship, as they descended into the rainbow paths of reality. Strange flickering lights flashed at the window as they passed through this realm.
"How long until we get to this strange planet?" she asked, before things got too tense.
"We'll be there in a few minutes. I'll drop you off, and you can see if you can make sense out of this computer. Astra's good, but she's still just a kid. To be honest, I'll feel better if you're with her when looking at alien artefacts."
"How could you take my daughter from the sol system!" said Anneza suddenly.
Lucas frowned. "Hey wait- I did not do that! She was following someone else. I followed them, and this city wasn't even there before! Besides she isn't-" Lucas stopped. Just... for a moment as Astra entered the bridge.
The two hugged each other, and Astra seemed... content. "Mom?"
"Yes?" she said smiling back.
Astra looked at her... she was so happy- piratically glowing in person. Anneza was happy... Astra's rewriting of reality had worked! But then... she started to cry. "D-don't leave ever..."
"I'm here now..." Anneza assured. "I'll help however I can. Can you explain to me what has happened to the computers on Earth?"
Astra nodded. "Well- okay... this is going to sound a bit strange... but that alien machine has linked to the internet on Earth. It thinks the internet is part of itself and re-wrote everything on it in its own language-"
"Whoa- er- hold it... so the language is different? How come I can read it just fine?"
"It's an alien language," explained Lucas. "You're an alien. It's just how the new age works."
Anneza looked even more confused at that. "I'm no alien! I'm from Earth!" She was 'born' on earth, raised and lived there... just a strange alien girl, but nobody minded that. People liked her and treated her well...
Astra bit her lip. This must be because she wanted Anneza to be able to read... so the computer must have sent out a 'translation' program to Earth to fulfil her desire... and then it linked to the internet as it was now in the computer's language... Oh God! This was her fault!
Astra paled slightly. "The machine- kinda... re-writes what you think on things too. It can make anything happen. I... I didn't want you to feel alone no more... so..." she trailed away. How can she say it? How can she possibly say this was her fault?
Anneza frowned a bit. "So... you did something to me?" asked the woman carefully.
"-uh... yeah... please don't be mad! I just... wanted to make you happy." Astra gave a pitiable expression. She couldn't say it...
Anneza sighed and picked up her daughter, the two floating together in a gentle embrace. "Sweetheart, I can never be mad at you... and no harm done. I'm just glad you're safe. Let's see what this computer is, and maybe we can help Earth..."
"How bad is it? Is Earth okay?" Asked Astra worried.
Anneza gave it some thought, given what she pieced together on the news while waiting for the ship. "Well... it seems people can download real spells from the internet... Somehow. so we have some new mages running around. People are protecting the pages that are still in the alien- I mean- normal language," said Anneza thinking.
Lucas nodded. "So people on Earth are probably accessing this alien machine now. Billions of people exploring its database... this could get really weird. "What of the digital fairies?"
Anneza sighed. "The internet is now inhospitable to them. They had to retreat to AI hosts," explained the spacewoman sadly. "I'm told they are all safe. But one- cybernetic changed, is in the hospital. From Lakeside. A boy named Hiro. He's in a coma. Apparently he saved the last few... and burned himself out doing it. He also created the translation program that kept most of the vital machines running before... he..."
Lucas frowned a bit at that. Of course she knew Hiro... it didn't seem at all like what she knew of him though.
A curious light illuminated on a display for Lucas, making the angel pause. "Hm... Oh dear."
"What is it?"
"Eh.. Don't have a word for it yet. Time current. It makes time go a little bit faster outside the ship cause it slows us down. We'll probably emerge on the other side a few weeks into the future. Instant to our perspective. No biggie, these things happen. It's still faster then you flying to the planet... Ah, here we are. Wings, accent!"
The ship slowly rose above the rainbow paths, into normal reality... as the strange planet came into view. Wings descended to the surface like a bird to water. Quickly they went onto the deck and flew to the sphere, which housed the universal computer. A quick an easy trip as all were capable of flight.
Anneza floated around quite... awestruck. She had never seen anything like this before. Yet it felt kind of familiar. Like some 'instinct' could guide her. "Okay... well... let's start."
Lucas glanced at a chronometer... it looks like they lost a month into this journey... it made her a little anxious to know what has happened on Earth.
In this strange new age, there was one child that never grew up...
She started her life as 'Jeff'. A rich teenager.
A snob...
A bully...
Now, she was a giant...
A giant... girl. A girl made out of strange clockworks and springs, one of the curious 'clockwork girl' sisters, with a wind-up key on her back. Time had not altered her. She looked exactly the same as the past five years. The same height, the same cog that kept her powered... stuck perpetually at about the age of eleven.
... she was really, a very sad little girl, that was too big for the world... wearing a very simple dress, made for her large form. Her hair was long, and was almost like a waterfall with the way it shimmered. All the clockworks had curious hair, and Jeff's was certainly the most motile to look at.
She was not alone though. Her mother was with her, and she had visits from two other clockwork girls. Belle, the diminutive one... and the more normal sized 'Ricky'... She liked them because they did not show much difference in their ages either. But lately, she had noticed the odd wrinkles of her mother... and it made her feel very sad. A lot of things, made her feel sad.
Ricky looked up to Jeff. "Hi... how are you feeling today?"
Jeff sat down crossed legged, so that she could more easily look at Ricky. To her, she was like a little doll. "I'm... okay," she said a little roboticly.
"You gave your mother a scare you know, when you pretended not to move after being wound up. she thought she broke you."
Jeff frowned a bit. "I just... didn't see the point of moving," she said quietly. "Going to school... 'cause everyone I know moved on. An' I can't."
"What did the doctors say?" Asked Ricky. "Do they think... you'll grow up?"
"They don't know," replied the giant clockwork girl rubbing her strange mechanical elbow. "But one doctor said- it might be psy- psych-"
"Psychological?" Asked Ricky curiously.
"Uh huh..." Jeff looked in the distance. "It's because... I don't want to grow up. Somethin' holds me back so.. I don't..."
"But you know you have to, right?" Ricky said in concern.
"I know... but if I do... I might become like- like what I used to be like an'... an'... I'll be a lot bigger so I can't play with you no more or fit in my house. I might even hurt people!" The young giantess rubbed her eyes. How many times had she nearly 'stepped' on someone? No tears came out as she lacked tear ducts (or any human organs) but she was very upset.
Ricky gave the giantess a hug around her leg. "You'll be fine Jeff... I heard you picked a new name for yourself too?"
"Oh... yeah... uh... Joan." The girl said with a blush.
"Joan... I like it," said Ricky. "I'm Rikki... with an 'I' now" she said smiling.
"You're lucky you get to keep your name," sighed the girl.
"It... isn't luck. I guess I just adapted to things quickly. Maybe changing your name will help you move on... its a gift for you. A fresh start... not something you need be sad at."
"...maybe," said Joan unconvinced in awkward silence.
"... I'm sorry to hear about your dad" Rikki said quietly. She didn't really want to bring this up, but... who else would?
The girl looked distantly. "It's better he's gone. Everyone's... happier. Everyone." The girl stared out quietly.
"He was still your father," reminded Ricki with gentleness on her strange vibrating voice.
"They dunno what happened to the plane. He might... still be alive. Somewhere."
Rikki looked unsure on what to say.
Gwydion looked to his big sister. Lilly had just explained to her little brother, that their father was on the plane that vanished...
"But The angel Lucas is going to find him?"
"Yeah," said Lilly. So you got nothing to worry about. "I'm going to go see Miss Madison. You want to play with Ernestine today?"
Ernestine was Jen's first born daughter. The same age as Gwydion and the two got on really well.
Gwydion looked a bit happier to hear he would get to play with his slug-girl friend. However, it was clear something else was bothering him.
"What's wrong Gwydion," asked Lilly bending down to his level.
"Um... I ... was made fun at in school," the little five year old boy said quietly.
"Oh? Why?"
"'cause... I'm... human," he said sadly.
"Oh..." Lilly frowned at that. "Well... Mom can talk to the teacher and make sure it stops."
"I wanna be like you! An' Ernes..."
"We'll... talk about it later Gwydion. Come on, lets take you to play with Ernestine."
