IC Date: 11/25/2025

The crashing of alien waves greeted Ronan and Tempesti from below as the soles of their shoes met the cobbles of Tempestine streets. Ronan’s breath caught in his chest as he looked around himself with a frantic urgency.

What.

What?

She wasn’t joking. She wasn’t lying. She wasn’t insane.

“This. Is real. This is real. Why didn’t you warn me? His voice went up several octaves as he spoke, alarm rising within him with every passing moment as he struggled to take in the panoply of…strangeness that unfolded before him. He might have called the lacily carved architecture Gothic, but the metal accents and generously applied botanical motifs defied that definition. The stained glass that adorned every façade failed to match his conception of Gothic architecture. Below them he could see an impossibly blue sea, more strange buildings, an island, what appeared to be a lighthouse gleaming among its pale brush. His heart pounded, seeming to vibrate the entirety of his body as he stared.

Tempesti raised her eyebrows at her companion’s statement, she supposed it was only natural that he would have been skeptical at the prospect of cell phone based space travel. It wasn’t unlikely that he’d just been humoring her as he waited for some prank to materialize.

“I tried to, I’m sorry. It’s definitely a shock the first time, I couldn’t quite believe it before the first time I tried it.” She offered a reassuring smile as she spoke, “I can take you back right now. Or any time you want, I can take you back. I won’t be offended if you want to go.”

“Are you kidding? This is AMAZING.” Ronan’s voice trembled as he spoke, some combination of excitement and fear propelling him. “I’m just...in shock. I’ll adjust. I need to see all of this. Or as much as you can show me. I know it’s absurd to ask to see all of it.” Ronan nodded, as though agreeing with his own statement.

Tempesti smiled gratefully, “Thank you, I’m happy to show you whatever you want to see, just let me know. And of course if you change your mind and want to leave I’ll take you right back home.” The senshi pointed toward the island in the harbor, “That is where we’re going. It’s called the Tower of the Winds and it’s where…a lot of Sailor Tempestis lived before the planet fell. I know of several libraries in the city but the one in the Tower has the books I’d like you to look at.” She decided that sparing him the gruesome history lesson was for the best, he already had enough to process with his presence on an alien world after all.

Ronan nodded silently, half listening as he scanned their surroundings. “We’re going to walk toward the docks down there,” she gestured toward the boathouse where the Tower’s ferry resided. “And we’re going to take a ferry to the island. The ferry is old, but it’s reliable. I’ve never had any trouble with it.”

Ronan decided against expressing the anxiety he felt at the prospect of taking a ferry that was god knows how old. He could only trust the fact that she knew more about this place than he did.

“Wait,” she held up a hand, excitement in her voice, “Look!” Even in a whisper, her glee was obvious as she pointed toward flashes of white and red in a patch of brush. “I’ve never seen them before.” With a small hop, a fat white bird appeared from within the vegetation, eyeing the newcomers with a cautious curiosity before waddling along the path, pecking at the ground with a cheerful enthusiasm. A soft gasp escaped Tempesti as it launched itself upward, a sparkling golden trail following its trajectory. “I’ve never seen anything like that either.”

“Neither have I,” Ronan replied flatly as he stated the obvious. “Thank you for bringing me.”