Phantom Thief

A few minutes before meeting Herta, Himeko, Yuuto and Stelle stepped out of the Express as it came to a full stop in the Space Station.

'It's been a while…'

Walking out of the cabin and feeling not an ounce of snow fall on his face, Yuuto felt the corner of his lips rise. 

It may have been a little more than a week since the last time he's been here but it felt oddly nostalgic seeing the rows of metal and the stars shining just above him.

The platform that also served as the area where they fought the Doomsday Beast was spotless. Looking like there wasn't even a hint of damage from that one time.

'But it seems like there's quite the commotion here…'

The platform where the Express parked was usually barren with the exception of a few researchers. Now there were huddles of people causing a stir as if an exciting event was about to unfold.

"I heard that a big shot is coming soon…"

"I heard that Madam Herta…"

"That's true!!..."

Yuuto glanced at the passing people who acted more lively compared to usual. "Looks like something is going on."

"Yeah, usually those guys look dead but they look different this time," Stelle added as she also noticed the different atmosphere stirring around them. 

"Well, it is to be expected when some prominent members of the Genius Society are to meet around this time."

"Genius Society?"

Himeko smiled as she saw Stelle's confused look and reminded her that Herta belonged to the group she was referring to. 

Curious to learn more, Stelle urged Himeko to tell her more but was only able to get a tiny bit of info since it was only a passing comment she received from Asta before she came. 

'If I remember correctly it should be Screwllum, Ruan Mei and Stephan Lloyd meeting Herta for something about the Simulated Universe… '

Yuuto began to tune out as Himeko began talking about what she knew and his thoughts started to float towards those three members.

Each with their own sphere of research, they were able to combine their strengths and create a device that acted as an artificial universe. Used to research more about the mysteries of the concept known as an Aeon.

Trying to recall what each member did for their research, Yuuto was slowly pulled to a certain member whose work interested him.

'Ruan Mei excels in biological sciences, right? Maybe I can ask her some things that—….'

As Yuuto entertained the thought of asking Herta to introduce him, he abruptly stopped when he suddenly remembered her personality.

He looked down at his chest and felt the potent energy of the Stellaron coursing through his body. One that caused an immense and unknown change in him.

A person who turned a Stellaron into a heart + a sociopathic scientist who wants to unravel the essence of life =

"Trouble. Too much trouble…."

Yuuto mumbled and looked around to see if there was any sign of her as he should be safe for the time being.

This however was a short-lived thought when a fragrant scent lingered through the air and brushed past his nose.

A sweet, honey perfume slowly began to appear from his side and Yuuto was able to catch a woman that looked out of place.

Long brown hair carrying a turquoise streak. Loosely tied with a golden-coloured DNA hairpin. She brought her fork that carried a pink piece of cake from her plate towards her mouth and looked ahead ignoring the stares aimed towards her.

Her destination aimed towards the edge of the station, the woman felt a gaze that was different from the rest and turned her head to the side.

A pair of turquoise eyes stared at a spot that was empty and felt like a presence had just disappeared which confused her. Her gaze lingered for a while longer before turning away.

Savoring the sweet taste of cake that filled her mouth.

***

"Hey, did you grow taller during the time you left?"

"Are you sure it's not because you're short?"

"When did my height come into this?" Herta frowned when she looked at Yuuto.

Having confidence in her memory, she narrowed her eyes as she compared his appearance to just over a week ago.

'He looks taller and more built… did something happen…?'

Having an abrupt change such as these didn't usually interest her but sensing his disinterest to explain further, Herta shrugged her shoulders and looked at him with a glint in her eyes.

Ignoring the faint fluctuations of a dense energy rising within him.

"By the way, is it true that Miss Ruan Mei is here?" Yuuto said in an odd tone while he looked around.

Trying to turn a blind eye to seeing her on the platform just a few minutes ago. Yuuto tried to see if the off chance he saw a doppelganger.

But of course it was just a far-fetched idea. 

"Yeah, I needed to call a meeting for the Simulated Universe. Want me to introduce you to her?"

"No, in fact, I want you to hide me from her."

"What?"

"Ahem. I mean, there's no need for that." 

Yuuto cleared his throat and decided to change the subject to the emergency Herta was talking about.

"By the way, why did you want to call me so urgently? Don't tell me you missed me?"

"Try to keep those crazy thoughts to yourself." Herta clicked her tongue after hearing his words.

"But it is true that I want to see you."

Yuuto was about to say something but didn't have the time to do so as she brought a palm-sized cube that had various inscriptions written within it.

His interest peaked as he took the cube given to him and looked at the proud smirk Herta had on her face. Her usual bored eyes had a hint of excitement looking at the object he was holding and couldn't help but explain what it was.

"Remember that I wanted to use the crystals you created to help with some functions of the Simulated Universe?"

"Yeah, like minimizing some heating issues within the system."

"Correct. But after sending a sample to a partner it turned out to be more than just a thermal conductor."

"Is that so…"

Turning the object with his fingers, he looked at the faint rustic lines laid within the cube and tried to find out why Herta was so proud of this object.

"These are circuits?"

"Integrated ones if you wanted to be more exact. Try to guess how much is inscribed inside."

Yuuto hummed to himself as he tried to count the ones near the surface but he noticed that there seemed to be more within so he decided to do a rough estimate.

"100?"

"Not even close it's—-"

"Correction: There are 245,987,034 distinct ICs that are supported by an additional 598,734 supporting conduits and computational elements."

"Hey, I was just going to say that."

"My apologies. I got ahead of myself."

Hearing the metal doors open behind him, Yuuto saw a person or more so to say a mechanical lifeform who nodded his head towards Yuuto.

A green butterfly fluttered around his head and landed on his shoulder as he walked closer to the two.

Dressed in a brown suit and a prominent red tie hidden within the vest of his coat, the man's glowing green eyes flickered as he saw the white cube in his hands.

"It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Screwllum and the mentioned individual who Herta had create the object within your hand."

Stretching out his hand for a handshake, Yuuto also introduced himself while shaking hands with Screwllum.

"I always wanted to meet the person who had given Herta me this crystal. How does such a substance hold many elements that are yet to be fully discovered?"

"That is also my question."

Getting some pleasantries out of the way, Yuuto glanced at the cube in surprise when he learned of the vast amount of circuits running through this object.

But what made him even more curious was the functions this object had. 

"How many worlds can you simulate with this?"

Throwing his question in the air the two geniuses paused for a moment and gave their predictions.

"Possibly countless solar systems."

"Addition: With each planet containing their supposed past in the past few millennia."

Yuuto expected it but hearing it from the two made it even more real. But there was still something that confused him. "So did you call me to show me this?"

He had a pretty good read on Herta's personality so her causing such a big fuss just to show him this cube was something he felt was out of character. So he could vaguely guess there was something else she wanted to show.

Herta didn't even open her mouth and pulled up a video that looked like security footage and urged him to watch.

Her face crumbled into a deeper frown signifying the situation annoying her, making Yuuto even more curious as to what this was.

At first, it was silent. Just a storage room that carried a few curios with a few boxes that carried the crystals he gave her.

A few more seconds began to go by before a change finally occurred within the video.

Through the metal walls, a small Wubbaboo popped into the room and moved its tiny body toward the boxes that were stacked near the corner.

[Wuu…same..smell…wuu…]

Tiny cries rose from it before the ghost moved through the boxes and left the room. Leaving not a single crystal in that storage compartment.

–CLICK

The video turned off and Yuuto stared at the screen feeling like he just watched the most innocent heist in history.

"..."

"..."

"...So you have a little phantom thief on the loose?"

"Not only a little thief but one that stole a large portion of the brand new components that I wanted to use for the Simulated Universe!!"

Herta felt like ripping her hair out as she tried her best to forget the Wubbaboo who stole her items just under her nose.

"Really now…" Yuuto could feel his lips twitch seeing the annoyed curses Herta was letting out and gripped the cube in his hand. "Luckily it didn't take this."

"If it took that, I would have turned this station upside down and organized a hunt to find that little astral spirit."

Screwllum who was listening to the side, also added a few words. 

"The components it took were just supportive elements that are used to support that cube you have. Its design was a bit hard to make but it was well worth it." 

"You could refer to that cube as the new heart for the Simulated Universe. So referring to the components that the Wubbaboo stole could be considered the vessels and arteries to that cube."

Hearing Screwllum's analogy, Yuuto nodded as he understood why Herta was making such a fuss.

"So the reason for calling me is to show me this and to also…"

"To catch that little thief."

"As I thought."

"Well, you did hear the words it said right? The only 'smell' it could have taken from those crystals is probably yours. Being the person who made them."

Yuuto didn't know what expression he should make as Herta began talking about a scent his crystals gave out. 'It should smell good right…?'

He recalled hearing Jingliu say that the scent had a calming sensation so he could only prayfully hope that it didn't smell anything close to bad. 

Herta who didn't realize that Yuuto was thinking about her words, continued to go on before she reached the meat as to why she called him.

"Can you find that little thief?"

"How do you expect me to find a ghost?"

"Just walk around the station and maybe your scent can lure it to you. I tried finding it yesterday and still no luck."

Yuuto felt his lips twitch seeing Herta suggest that he should act as some sort of bait.

"Just wave your coat around and call it like a cat or something. If you don't want to, just give me some of your clothes so I can have Arlan try and catch the spirit with Peppy."

"What am I, some sort of premium Wubbaboo bait…?" 

Yuuto took a step back as Herta's intense stare was boring into him but it seemed like another individual took this as a sign and placed his hand forward.

"Suggestion: I may not be of much help but I can help assist Sir Yuuto in finding some areas where this Wubbabo could potentially be."

"Mr. Screwllum…"

Yuuto looked at Screwllum with a touched expression. Screwllum mechanical eyes narrowed slightly in an attempt to show a smile that was lacking due to his features.

But Yuuto didn't mind that and stood beside him. Not forgetting to stick his tongue out towards Herta.

Waving his hand in the air, a checkered cap suddenly appeared in his hands and found itself on his head where he suddenly looked like a detective ready to solve his first mystery. 

–SNAP

"Let us find this sneaky phantom thief and bring back Mr. Screwllum's stolen parts!" 

The sound of a pair of white gloves immediately confused Herta while Screwllum was the same. But he found this action to be quite amusing as he had never seen such a random act come from a person.

Curiosity filled his mind and looked at Yuuto with interest as he was a refreshing individual. Fitting the bill like how Herta described him. 

"A pleasure to be of help."

"Why were you so quick to help when he offered it and where did you even get that hat…"

Herta had a boatload of questions but ultimately pushed it to the side as she was happy to finally have someone who could help her find that Wubbaboo.

"The little twerp also managed to meet Ruan Mei so she should be back soon."

Thinking about a certain curio she wanted to hand over to Ruan Mei, Herta crossed her arms and watched the two beside her discussing their plans.

Leaving her off to the side by herself.

***

[There should be a spot just 20 meters from your spot.]

"I'll check it out now."

Turning the corner and reaching an isolated part of the Station, Yuuto closed his phone and kept his eyes peeled for any movements.

"But walking around like this is pretty nice."

Yuuto summoned a piece of candy that he began chewing on while he passed through the empty halls.

Seeing as majority of the researchers were near the central part of the Station where they hoped to see Ruan Mei or Screwllum with their own eyes.

He felt like this was a good chance to do something he didn't get the chance to do the last time he was here. 

Of course, he was currently on a mission to find this Wubbaboo but there wasn't anything preventing him from doing 'side missions' during this little walk.

"[Archive]"

Placing his palm on a glowing bubble hidden near a corner, Yuuto placed the memory he took from the memory bubble and placed it in his library.

"I'll get as many of these things before I leave."

Yuuto recalled the memory bubble he looked at before where it showed the memory of a woman holding a mirror. The memory itself was cryptic and he didn't really understand what it signified.

But having these memories may be helpful in the future.

"There's another one here."

Seeing another round memory bubble beside an elevator, Yuuto stuck his hand out and copied it into a fragment. The white light from his palm dimmed and he turned around to reach the spot Screwllum talked about before.

A room with basic necessities including a few computers and some tables. Yuuto sat down by a desk and closed his eyes. 

Gradually, a faint trace of white mist began to rise from his body as he let it slowly fall towards the ground.

'Now we wait.'

He opened his eyes and took another piece of candy as this was the third time he had done this. It assisted him greatly when he added [Clarity] to the mist but the first few times weren't enough to catch the targeted Wubbaboo's trace.

But after the second time, he managed to catch a small lead with the assistance from Screwllum so he knew that he would get some sort of lead this time around. 

Feeling the candy melt in his mouth, Yuuto leaned back in his chair and felt a bit bored waiting. Feeling like it was a good time for a break, he closed his eyes once more and brought a few fragments out.

"It won't hurt to check at least one of these."

Staring at the copies of the memory bubbles he archived, Yuuto placed his fingers on one of them and decided to check what it had inside.

A faint brown and purple light grew from the fragment and his surroundings shifted.

–SHUFFLE SHUFFLE

–WHIRR WHIRR

From a bright open room, Yuuto felt like his body was frozen in place while the muffled sounds of creatures seemed to crawl on what seemed to be wooden planks.

The air was thick and humid while the scent of moldy rotten wood permeated the air.

"The hell is this…"

Yuuto frowned when he felt his body shake uncontrollably when he attempted to escape this enclosed box he found himself trapped in. The sound outside the box began to grow as the sound of movements increased and turned more violent.

–CREAK CREAK

Iron-like limbs started to scratch the wooden box and mouths dripping with sticky saliva that should only be used for chewing and eating began degrading the only piece separating him from them.

[TA()YZZ()()()] [()()()()()YRONTH]

[()()YZZY()()()TH]

Incomprehensible words that should have not been possible from their mouth began spewing a name repeatedly. As if it was the only word it knew.

The constant movements reached its peak. Creating sounds that would drive a person to insanity and pieces of sawdust slowly fell onto Yuuto's face.

[TAYZZY...]

Before the swarm of creatures could reach Yuuto through the hole they made, the darkness immediately faded away and Yuuto returned to the room.

With cold sweat drenching his body.

"That was disgusting…"

Yuuto covered his face as he thought about the memory he just looked into and could feel the raw fear that the person in the bubble had when trapped in that wooden box.

"But out of all the memories it had to be something about the Propagation...? This has to be one crazy coincidence considering the thing happening beneath the Space Station…"

Thinking of the experiment Ruan Mei did, Yuuto felt a shiver and felt the need to eat more sugar to keep his thoughts away from what he had just seen.

"Let's try a cookie this time—"

[Monyu…]

"Hmm?"

About to take a bite of the cookies Pom Pom made before they left, he felt a slight pressure on his thighs and heard a tiny sound which caused him to look down.

[Monyu… Monyu..!]

"...."

With a body that was shaped like a green pastry and giant brown eyes that stared at him. Yuuto picked up the creature and felt his fingers sink into its soft skin.

[Monyu!!]

"Monyu?"

***

I lied haha. Been away for a camping trip and came back to a lot of HSR news.

AND A FREAKING FATE COLLAB HELLO?? I better see Artoria or Gil as a unit so I can bully the Sunday weekly boss some more.

Anyways the next patch is a skip for me but the next one however… I need Feixiao and Lingsha badly.